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fully and honestly. There shall be no legal representation, and all decisions of the Court shall be final and binding, against which there is no appeal.’
    Jo protested. ‘That means we’ve got no rights at all!’ The Doctor tried a gentler approach. ‘Why don’t we drop all these formalities, sir, and get on with the questions? We’re perfectly willing to talk to you.’
    General Williams concealed a smile at the Doctor’s cheek. ‘Tell me, for what purpose did you board this cargo ship?’
    ‘For no purpose at all,’ replied the Doctor honestly.
    ‘Kindly answer my question,’ said the General.
    ‘It was an accident,’ said Jo. ‘We didn’t want to come on board at all.’
    The Doctor took up her argument. ‘My spaceship and this one narrowly avoided a collision in hyper-space and somehow my ship materialised in the hold of your cargo ship.’
    The General’s eyes narrowed. ‘What do you mean—materialised?’
    ‘It’s a thing the TARDIS can do,’ Jo began. ‘It can materialise...’ Her voice trailed off as she realised everyone was staring at her incredulously. ‘... just as it can dematerialise. Doctor, you’d better explain about that.’
    ‘I need no explanation,’ said the General. ‘This is scientifically impossible.’
    The Doctor was indignant. ‘That, sir, depends on your kind of science! Earth science, even in this century, is very limited.’
    ‘Anyway,’ said Jo, ‘that’s what happened.’
    ‘I see.’ Clearly the General didn’t see at all. ‘And where is this so-called spaceship of yours now?’
    ‘The Ogrons took it,’ said Jo. ‘When they stole your flour.’
    ‘Ogrons?’ queried the General.
    Captain Gardiner touched a document on the table. ‘It’s in my report, sir. Whatever nonsense the prisoners told me, I carefully recorded it.’
    ‘Yes, of course.’ The General had only glanced at the report since his arrival from the presidential palace. ‘So these creatures just picked up your spaceship and walked off with it?’
    The Doctor nodded. ‘It’s a very small spaceship,’ he explained.
    By now the General was convinced he was faced with two lunatics or very cunning enemy agents. ‘According to the crew you sent signals to guide the Draconians, then aided them to board and plunder this ship.’
    ‘That’s quite untrue,’ the Doctor protested. ‘The testimony of these two pilots is totally unreliable. They’re suffering from deliberately induced hallucinations. They’ve simply incorporated us into the pattern of their delusion.’
    ‘You must listen to us,’ Jo pleaded. ‘There was this strange sound. It makes you see things, the things you fear most. I even saw a Drashig!’
    ‘A what?’ asked the General, more convinced than ever that these people were mentally deranged.
    ‘What my young friend is trying to say,’ said the Doctor, ‘is that this sound was transmitted from the Ogrons’ spaceship. It made your two pilots see us as Draconians, and when the Ogrons boarded they saw them as Draconians, too.’
    Jo turned to Hardy and Stewart. ‘You thought we were Draconians first of all—remember? Now you say we’re human stowaways. Try to remember what really happened.’
    The General turned to the pilots. Both men looked disturbed and angry at Jo’s insinuations. ‘Well?’
    ‘They’re lying,’ said Stewart. ‘We know what we saw.’
    ‘You saw what you expected to see,’ said the Doctor. ‘Do you remember the sound?’
    For a moment Hardy and Stewart glanced at each other, and the Doctor had the impression that true memory was dawning in both of them. Then they avoided each other’s eyes.
    ‘We were attacked by the Dragons,’ Hardy insisted. ‘You were helping them!’
    ‘Then what about the air-lock door?’ asked the Doc-tor. ‘It was re-sealed after the attack. Wasn’t that odd?’ He turned back to the General. ‘The Ogrons wanted these two men to remain alive, to make sure the Draconians were blamed for the