//------------------------------//
// 17: Nightmares (Pt 1) 
// Story: Constant: Time Guardian 
// by TimeSpawn 
//------------------------------//

Nighttime had fallen on Ponyville, and Jethrek was finishing an analysis of the events after the time they went to get the extraneous seed. At the moment, nothing seemed out of place, and all events afterward matched with the original data recorded by the probes. After reading through the results one last time, he found that he had nothing else to do, so he left the control center, intent on practicing his maneuverability in the large empty chamber which Constant showed him earlier.

Along the way, however, he found that the energy level in his travel machine was low. Surprised, he thought back to all the times he had checked it. He then recalled Constant telling him to polarize the shell of the machine. It must have taken a lot of power for the energy level to be so low. He turned around in the corridor and went to the lab instead. At the moment, he wished that Constant was awake to help him replace the cell, but since he was not, Jethrek decided to wait until his current power cells were charged. He maneuvered onto the charging port and backed up to plug in. Inside the machine, he saw a charging symbol, confirming that he was now receiving energy from the Monitor's power grid. Again, finding that he had nothing else to do, he decided to do the only thing he could at the moment, which was to sleep until either full power was restored to his machine, or until Constant woke up and came to wake him up too.



Constant had finally found a way home by using the dimensional stabilizers in the Monitor. For him, it had been a long two hundred years since he first arrived, and he was looking forward to going home. Around him, ponies were waving their hooves to him as he waved back going inside the Monitor. 

Inside the control room, which had been refitted tremendously, he looked at a transparent cylindrical container. Inside of that container were the preserved remains of Jethrek, who had died in some battle to protect the ponies. He put his hand on the container, sighing deeply. "I'm sorry," he said, "I promised that I would bring you home...I didn't plan to bring you home like this." 

He walked to the navigational control panel and started typing in the settings for the Monitor to depart to his own universe. He looked at the viewscreen one more time and watched the ponies whom he had acquainted himself with waving their hooves goodbye to him. He smiled, a tear falling from his eye. A moment later, he hit the execute button and watched the view as the Monitor ascended from the ground. Accelerating, the view finally showed the darkness of space with the stars shining in the distance. Then came the time vortex, which the Monitor traveled through for a while, and then made a quick side turn to hit the "surface" of the vortex.

There was a slight trembling as the viewscreen showed nothing but bright white light. After about thirty seconds, the light diminished, once again showing the darkness of space. Constant, sitting himself down at another console, checked the quantum signature of the matter around the Monitor, and found that he was finally in his own universe again. "I'm finally home," he said, his voice creakier than it was before. "I wonder what my time probes have been recording here." He scanned the area as far as possible and found one. He set a course to pick it up.

Sometime later, he started downloading data from the probe. All of a sudden, an alarm sounded, and all the screens in the lab turned red. He cursed and looked at one screen to see where paradoxes had occurred. One paradox showed, then another, and another, and another. The screen kept displaying altered events until the console exploded. Constant backed up to avoid getting hurt and ran to the main control room to set a course for Earth. He did so, and within seconds he was there. But he didn't see the big blue marble it was meant to be. It looked grey, and when Constant dared to zoom in to examine a land mass, he saw that almost everything and everyone had been mechanized. "Cybermen!" he exclaimed. 

Suddenly, he felt a massive quake and was thrown back by the force. He stood up to find out what had happened, and found that nothing had happened to the Monitor, but rather, to Earth. The water was back, but the people on the land were not humans. They were Daleks fighting against Sontarans. "What did I miss while I was gone?!"

Another shockwave hit, and this time, Constant looked at the viewscreen to find hundreds if not thousands of statues covering their faces. That, plus the wings on their backs gave away what they were...Weeping Angels. Now, Constant had definite reason to panic. He kept watching the screen, not daring to look left, or right, or for that matter, blink. "Jethrek, I wish you were alive right now," he thought to himself. At that moment, a shadow loomed over the screen, and the screen went static. Constant knew it would only be moments before the Weeping Angels started to have their way with the Monitor. He looked back to find the source of the shadow to find...a dark navy-blue alicorn standing behind him. "What are you doing here?!" Constant asked, panicked, "You're not supposed to be here!" He knew who it was from watching his probe records. It was Princess Luna. 

"Am I not?" Princess Luna responded in an almost declarative tone, "Or is it you who aren't supposed to be here?"

"What are you talking about?!" Constant replied, "Sensors did not detect you entering my ship before I left, so how did you---" He felt something touch his shoulder, followed by the feeling of getting pulled. "NO! AAAAAUU--" 



"---UUUGH!" Constant finished his yell of panic as he woke up. He looked around and saw that he was still in his own living quarters. "What was I doing earlier?" he asked himself quietly, and then he remembered. "Oh yes, that's right...But why would Princess Luna show up in one of my dreams? Why a nightmare, too, for that matter?" He sighed, thinking of possible reasons, but could find no possibility that he could go with. He got himself out of bed and prepared for another shift in the Monitor. Before the shift, however, he decided to go to the library first to see if any of the ponies he knew could provide answers.



Jethrek had just reached the global coordinates of where the Time Lords kept their most top-secret weapons. Or so he thought. When he looked around, he could find no sign of any structure or settlement that would have such a storage chamber. "Unit 1376-Alpha to Battle Saucer 14. I am at the coordinates provided to me. There is no sign of any weapon storage chamber."

"Unit 1376-Alpha. Check your coordinates again," came the reply.

Jethrek checked the coordinates in his travel machine. "Coordinates confirmed," he reported. He waited for an answer. In the distance, he saw weapons fire being exchanged between Time Lords and Daleks. 

Finally, he got a response. "Unit 1376-Alpha. You are above the intended location. Transmaterialize yourself to the new coordinates we are sending you."

"Receiving coordinates!" Jethrek replied. Once his internal display showed him the intended location, he saw just how deep down the intended location was. "Transmaterializing!" he reported, and he disappeared from view. He rematerialized in a large chamber. It seemed almost limitless. "Unit 1376-Alpha to Battle Saucer 14. I am inside their hidden chambers. Searching for the weapon now." He searched around the chamber he was in at the moment to find what he was assigned to look for. At that moment, he could see nothing. Everything around him was labeled as either "to be scrapped" or "failed experiment", including a box labeled, "Project Constant". He blasted the box open and electronic pads fell in front of him. One of them blinked on, requesting a passcode. Jethrek tried every decryption method he could think of but failed to get the passcode. On his twentieth cycle, the pad sparked, and the screen went dead. He tried again with another pad, but it self-destructed as well. Giving up, he made note of where everything was...until he saw something labeled "Warning: Do not attempt to destroy. Do not enter." He looked up to see its cylindrical design with a rounded top. This object appeared to stand out from everything else, which was most likely the indication he needed that he found what he was looking for "Unit 1376-Alpha to Battle Saucer 14. I have failed to access materials for 'Project Constant'. However, I believe I have found another weapon we have been searching for. I will investigate." He waited for a response. "Battle Saucer 14, respond! Are you receiving this transmission?"

All he heard were several Daleks aboard said saucer speaking. "Contact lost with Unit 1376-Alpha. Attempting to re-establish connection...Connection failed. "

"Boost signal and attempt communication again!" said another.

"Battle Saucer 14, respond! I am investigating the weapon!" Jethrek said. When he got no response, he looked around, until he found the doors. That confirmed his suspicion, which was that the object he was looking at was a TARDIS. He looked for a keyhole or some other point to unlock the door. When he found it, he put his suction manipulator on it and used magnetic energy to manipulate the lock. After a few minutes, the door finally unlocked. The doors moved inward with a jerk and slid side-to-side to open. 

He went inside and started investigating. The control room looked very basic, even for the time when the Time War was happening. He tried accessing a console, only to get the words "Access denied" in Gallifreyan script. After many attempts, he turned to go into another chamber, when he heard the doors to the outside slam behind him. He rushed to them and tried using his suction manipulator to open the doors again, but failed. "Unit 1376-Alpha to Dalek fleet! Emergency! Requesting assistance!"

Once again, all he got was a conversation between several Daleks, none of them showing any indication that they received his message. Finally, the leading Dalek on board Battle Saucer 14 spoke up. "We must assume that he has been destroyed. Continue with the attack!"

"NO!" Jethrek exclaimed, "RESPOND! RESPOND! BATTLE SAUCER 14! I AM TRANSMITTING!" 

"Strange," said a voice, "You didn't hear them before. How do you know that they abandoned you?"

Jethrek looked around. "Who is there?! Identify yourself! Identify yourself or you will be exterminated!"

"How violent!" the voice went on, "I have never seen any creature with such a violent nature as yours."

Jethrek went toward a door to the corridors. When they didn't open, he blasted them open with his laser weapon. "Where are you?!" he demanded. "Answer or I will find you and exterminate you!" 

"You don't expect anypony to comply with your demands when you threaten them like that, do you?" the voice asked. 

"Fear is a weapon of the Daleks!" Jethrek responded. 

"Is that so?" the voice inquired, "I thought like that too, once, about myself.."

When Jethrek turned a corner, he came face-to-face with a tall, dark navy-blue alicorn. "Exterminate!" Jethrek exclaimed, and fired his weapon at her. 

The alicorn shielded herself with a magical spell. "Even if you do hit me here, you will not harm me," she said simply. 

Jethrek tried again and again but to no avail. Finally, an alarm sounded, and screens everywhere displayed the message "Intruder Alert." Jethrek remembered this event well. He turned away and started running for another chamber. Spikes extended from the walls and emitted sparks, which all connected to Jethrek's travel machine, causing him to scream in agony.



Constant was walking down a corridor when he heard Jethrek screaming.  He quickened his pace and ran to the lab, where he found Jethrek connected to the charging port and shaking. "What happened?" he asked.

Jethrek turned his eye stalk to him shakily. "I had a nightmare," he replied.

"You too, huh?" Constant asked, "I had one in which we made it back...but you were dead when we got back, and...when we did go back, our universe was in chaos. Paradox after paradox was occurring...and then I found myself looking face-to-face at Princess Luna."

"Princess Luna?" Jethrek asked, "Describe her."

"Dark, navy blue fur," Constant said, "brighter mane and tail..and she was wearing---"

"A black outfit," Jethrek finished, "and a tiara and a royal-themed set of shoes."

Constant looked to Jethrek again. "Exactly right!" he said, "What was your nightmare about?"

"Losing contact with my group during the Time War," Jethrek replied, "Before I was incapacitated, I encountered her."

Constant sat down at a wall and thought. "I want to say it's a coincidence that we saw the same pony in our dreams, but the fact that we both had nightmares says otherwise."

"I agree," Jethrek replied..."I felt like a connection was made from far away."

Constant looked to Jethrek, "Do you think there was a telepathic connection?"

"It is likely," Jethrek said, "and now that you have mentioned that notion, I am feeling what you would call a...headache."

"I'll be right back," Constant said, and he ran back to his personal quarters to get his sonic screwdriver. When he got back, he scanned Jethrek. "My sonic screwdriver detected an increase in mass. Open up." Jethrek pushed the appropriate control inside, and the neck of the travel machine raised a few inches up, while the center portion of the front plating below it extended out before sliding in opposite directions to reveal Jethrek himself. Constant scanned Jethrek again..."This is interesting...Your brain mass has grown by about ten percent. Is that normal?"

Jethrek paused for a moment. "In some cases it is. However, I will need more information to find out if this is one of those cases."

"Then I suggest we keep an eye on this for a while before we do anything about it," Constant said.

"Agreed," Jethrek replied.

"In the meantime," Constant said, "I think I'll go do a little research. If someone else has seen that alicorn in a dream or nightmare, I think it would be beneficial to find out why that is."

"And find a cure for the problem if it is the result of a sickness," Jethrek added.

"Perhaps," Constant said, taking note of Jethrek's emphasis on negative possibilities, "Close your machine now, I've got all the information I need on you for the time being."

Jethrek did so before moving to a console to start reviewing probe logs.

"I'll scan you again later to see if your brain mass has grown any more than it already has," Constant went on, "If it does, I hope it is not the result of some kind of cancer caused by your integration into that machine. I don't want you to end up dead before we return to our universe."

Jethrek stopped suddenly. He turned himself slightly and turned his eye stalk to look at Constant. "Why would you be concerned about that?" he asked.

That question made Constant realize exactly what he had said. "Yes...That question just came to my mind as well. Why would I be concerned about that?...I guess it's because of the nightmare I had..."

Jethrek turned himself completely to face Constant. "Explain."

Constant sighed. "As I said before, in my nightmare, we did make it back to our own universe...but...you were dead. I had your biological body placed in a stasis tube to preserve it. And for some reason, I felt bad about seeing you dead."

"How can that be?" Jethrek asked, "Your race and mine are enemies."

"That's an understatement, Jethrek," Constant replied, "but even so, what I have told you about my nightmare is the truth."

For a few moments, Jethrek just stood there, looking at Constant as he typed on a console, narrowing down his search parameters for ponies or other beings who had nightmares with Princess Luna in them. Hopefully, his probes would have picked up something.

As Constant looked over the records, he thought carefully about how he was going to handle the situation. If there actually was a telepathic connection between him and Princess Luna when he had that nightmare, it would mean that those in the higher up would be aware of his presence. As serious as that sounded, this was also a personal situation, and when he was a time agent on Gallifrey, regulations stated that time traveling for personal reasons was prohibited, unless another legitimate situation called for it. After putting this into consideration, he decided not to use time travel to figure out why Princess Luna ended up in his nightmare. Instead, he would try to find something in the present or something that happened most recently. He decided to check the events in Ponyville first to see if the probe he retrieved from Sweet Apple Acres had picked anything up. For a short time, nothing came up, until he found an event where Princess Luna was in a studio somewhere in Canterlot where Rarity was giving out costumes for pop star Sapphire Shores and her group. Looking up at the visual record of said event, he stabbed a key on the console with his finger to pause the video. "Aha!" he said aloud, "Found you!" 

This caught Jethrek's attention, and his eye stalk snapped in Constant's direction. When he saw Princess Luna on the screen, he recognized her at once. "That is her!" he said, pointing one of his claws at the screen, "That is the pony I saw in my nightmare!"

"So it wasn't a coincidence after all then," Constant pondered, "I wonder..." He typed into the console, telling the computer to track where Princess Luna was before she went to that studio. The video played backward quickly with no sound, following Princess Luna, while the screen on another console showed where she was on a map. "Hmm...So she wasn't in close range beforehand..." he thought to himself. He fast-forwarded the video back to the point where he had stopped before. "Hmm...but why was she there?" He reversed the video in standard speed, again, with no sound, as he felt it was not important at the moment. "Who is that?" he asked himself, looking at the white filly with a pink-and-purple striped mane and tail whom Princess Luna was conversing with. "Wait a minute!" He immediately remembered where he had seen her before when he was first getting the lay of the land in Ponyville. "I saw her running out of the library with her friends...I think Spike knows her...If I remember correctly from the first time I went out to get the lay of the land, her name is...Sweetie Belle."

"Are you suggesting that we speak to her?" Jethrek asked. 

Constant looked to him. "Yes, but not like an interrogation. We're trying to find out if she had a nightmare of the same kind as us. If she did, then maybe she can tell us how she dealt with it."

"I predicted that would be your reasoning," Jethrek said,

Constant went to a cabinet nearby to get the perception filters he and Jethrek would need.

"Constant," Jethrek began.

Constant looked back at him. "Yes, Jethrek?" 

Jethrek thought for a moment. Something was bothering him deep down, but he didn't know what at the moment. He shrugged it off. "Never mind. I'll tell you later if it comes back to me."

"Uh...okay, then," Constant said, as he pulled out the perception filter devices. "Carousel Boutique is not far," Constant went on, showing a map, "It's a short walk from here, as you may observe." He put his perception filter on. "Now, I've downloaded the image from the previous perception filter you used into the memory of this one." He connected Jethrek's perception filter to a port on his travel machine's body. "Also, given that you may need to fly if the need arises, I added wings to it, so you'll look like a pegasus."

"Understood," Jethrek replied, "Activating perception filter." A moment later, Jethrek's appearance was that of the same burgundy stallion he was before, with wings added. Jethrek saw the image in a corner on his internal display, so he knew what he looked like currently. 

"Okay," Constant said, turning on his perception filter and walking to the entrance doors, "Let's see if Rarity knows where Sweetie Belle is." He pulled the doors back, let them open slightly, and looked around to make sure no one was watching. "All clear. Let's go."

Jethrek followed Constant out of the Monitor and looked around. "Primitive setting," he remarked quietly.

"Not for a culture that uses magic, if you ask me," Constant replied as he watched the doors close behind them, "Come on. I'll take you to Carousel Boutique. That's where Rarity and Sweetie Belle should be right now." As Jethrek followed him, Constant noticed just how Jethrek's perception filter image was walking. It was almost robot-like. "Move more freely, Jethrek," Constant said.

Jethrek looked to him, confused. "Freely?"

"Your perception filter is walking in the same manner as a Cyberman," Constant explained, "Loosen up a bit."

"I will try," Jethrek replied. After a few seconds, his image was walking more naturally. 

"That's better," Constant said, "Keep that up. We're almost there." When they arrived at Carousel Boutique, Constant peeked through the transparent front door to see if Rarity was in. Thankfully, she was there, and she was organizing sheets of cloth, trying to decide what to use as a base color for a new dress. "Rarity's in," Constant said, "Let's see if Sweetie Belle is in too." He opened the door, and a bell over it rang, catching Rarity's attention.

Rarity looked toward the front door to see who had entered. "Ah, welcome!" she greeted, catching Jethrek's attention more than Constant's. "Have you two come on business? Or perhaps you've come to purchase something for a special somepony?" Constant closed the door behind him after Jethrek entered, and looked outside to make sure no one in particular was watching close by. "Uhm...is something the matter?" Rarity asked with a concerned look on her face.

Constant looked to her. "Rarity, it's me. Constant."

"Wha---Oh!" Rarity said, "Hello again! I assume there have been no troubles since our last meeting?"

"Not really," Constant said, "Nothing we couldn't handle, anyway. Listen, is---"

"And who is your friend?" Rarity asked, walking to Jethrek. Then she noticed the way he, or rather, his perception filter image, was standing. "Hmm, you look tense. Perhaps a spot of chamomile tea will soothe your nerves."

"I do not require refreshment, thank you," Jethrek replied, his first attempt at non-militant conversation.

"Oh, please, I insist!" Rarity said, "I sometimes drink this tea to calm my nerves too, whenever I'm in a bind."

"Uhm...Rarity?" Constant said, "Jethrek won't be able to drink tea."

"Well then, what about you?" Rarity asked. Then, Constant's words sank in. "Did...Did you say...Jethrek?"

"Yes," Constant replied, "This is him."

"Greetings," Jethrek said.

Rarity looked at Jethrek, confused. "Uhm...You're certainly...different from the way Constant described you."

"Your confusion is most likely a result of the perception filter that I am using to hide my true appearance."

"Ah, I see," Rarity said, "Anyway, I apologize. You two came here for a reason, and I am hindering you from your...objective. Is there something you need from me?" 

"Is your sister around, by chance?" Constant asked.

"Sweetie Belle?" Rarity asked, "What do you want with her?"

"Just a conversation," Constant replied, "We need to confirm something involving someone in the...higher-up."

"Higher-up?" Rarity asked, "What would Sweetie Belle have to do with someone in the higher-up?"

Constant sighed, "Okay. I didn't expect the questions to go this far. We have reason to believe that Sweetie Belle had a nightmare some time ago and that Princess Luna somehow found her way into it. Jethrek and I had nightmares recently, and we both saw Princess Luna in our nightmares too. If it was the result of a long-range telepathic link...then we're in trouble."

Rarity looked from Constant to Jethrek, then back to Constant. "When do you want to talk to her?"

"As soon as possible," Constant replied.

"Princess Luna must have entered our dreams for a very specific reason," Jethrek added, "We want to find out what that reason is."

"Uhm...very well," Rarity said, a little nervous, "but don't take too long with her. She'll be returning from school in about..." she looked at the clock "...three hours. You might want to come back then."

"Thank you," Constant said, bowing slightly, "Your assistance is appreciated."

"Don't thank me yet, Constant," Rarity replied, "Sweetie Belle was quite heartbroken when she heard the news about your arrival, and the fact that we had to keep everything you told us a secret. If she actually does agree to talk with you two, I suggest that you start by personally apologizing to her."

Constant nodded. "I will do just that."

"Very well," Rarity said, going back to organizing her cloth, "See you in three hours, then?"

"Three hours," Constant agreed, "We'll be here."

Rarity nodded. "Good. Now, if you will excuse me, I have to organize my materials before designing a new dress."

"Alright, we won't keep you busy then," Constant replied, turning toward the door, "Come on, Jethrek. Let's take a break while we wait."

"A well-deserved one after our earlier mission," Jethrek added.

Outside, on their way back to the Monitor, Constant had a slight smile on his face. "Well done," he said to Jethrek, "You kept your aggressive nature at bay while we spoke to her."

"It was easier than I anticipated," Jethrek replied, "and for some reason, that concerns me."

Constant looked to Jethrek as they walked. "Why?"

"I do not understand myself," Jethrek replied.

"Hmm, maybe we'd better check your internal systems when we get back to the Monitor," Constant said thoughtfully.

"I agree," Jethrek said. 



Inside the Monitor, in the medical ward, Constant finished another sonic scan of Jethrek's brain. "Well, your brain mass has not increased anymore than it already has," he said, "I don't know, perhaps I'm missing something..."

"You have extensive information in the computers on this ship," Jethrek said, "A quick search should reveal what is causing these symptoms."

Constant sighed, "Yes...hang on..." He walked to a console and ran a search.

Jethrek turned the eye stalk of his open machine to face Constant. "Did you consider how extensive your knowledge was on Dalek biology before building this machine for me?" he asked.

"I knew enough to build the standard equipment, including the casing for your second brain," Constant replied, "Look, when I finally joined the ranks of the Gallifreyan temporal security forces, I came with majors in engineering, temporal mechanics, and history, and minors in a few medical subjects including xenobiology. I learned enough about the Dalek brain to correct all malfunctions in the second brain before I first woke you up in the stasis chamber, and the programming for it was easy to figure out." His last statement suddenly made him realize something. "Hmm...yes...the second brain...Jethrek, I need access to it."

"Why?" Jethrek asked.

"I need to see if it was affected by your nightmare," Constant replied, "I'm sure that it keeps records of its own?"

"Correct," Jethrek replied.

"Then I need to see if something happened during the time you had that nightmare," Constant explained, "Plus, I've got a strange feeling that if your second brain was damaged somehow, your own brain grew because it was compensating for whatever was lost."

Jethrek took time to think. What Constant suggested was logical, but at the same time, he could not believe that he was agreeing to it. "Scanning internal system," he said..."I will allow you to access the programming for my second brain." With that, he opened his suit to reveal himself. "I will instruct you on how to connect it to the computers."

It took about half an hour to make the connections. When they were done, Constant ran a translation program to decrypt the programming of the second brain. He surveyed it carefully. "I don't see anything wrong with the programming," Constant said, "Let's look at the recent record." He looked through the internal sensor records until he found the time index he was looking for. "Here it is...you went to sleep here when you started charging your machine...and...a little further...THERE! That's where the dream started. Let's see what happened with the other systems starting here..." 

Jethrek observed the records until something caught his attention. "Stop." Constant did so. "Move back fifteen rels." When Constant reversed the record to the time Jethrek requested, Jethrek's eye widened for just a moment. 

"What is wrong?" Constant asked.

"This is where the malfunction started," Jethrek replied, "Unfortunately, it cannot be corrected unless by an authorized medical or maintenance Dalek."

"So in other words, even I can't correct it?" Constant asked.

"Correct," Jethrek said, looking to Constant, "A discreet security code must be entered to allow authorized Daleks to make modifications, correct the programming, or replace hardware in this situation."

Constant sighed. "Is this type of malfunction fatal?"

"No," Jethrek replied.

"Well then, it looks like we have two options, Jethrek," Constant said, almost ready to give up on the current problem, "Either we find a way to crack the code...or you adapt to the malfunction somehow."

"The latter would be inconvenient for a Dalek," Jethrek stated, "The malfunction in question has to do with how my second brain regulates my behavior."

That caught Constant's interest. "Does it now?" he asked, looking at the charts again, "Jethrek, I think this relates to what Fluttershy was talking about."

Jethrek looked to Constant. "Explain."

"Fluttershy said that your race lacks the concepts of kindness and...well, friendship in general." Constant replied, "I believe that the second brain is proof of that, given that it's limiting the way you think."

"The programming of the second brain is vital to prevent deviation from a Dalek's objective," Jethrek argued, "It is necessary for the entire race."

"So I've noticed," Constant said, "So I've no---Wait..." Suddenly, an idea clicked in Constant's mind, "Jethrek, tell me, does the second brain also watch your natural brainwave patterns?"

"Yes," Jethrek replied. 

"Hang on a second." Constant searched the records until he found what he needed. In a few moments, two bars showing wave charts appeared side-by-side. "Let's play the records again," he said. He played the records. One wave chart showed Jethrek's brain activity, while the other showed the second brain's activity. When it passed the point where Jethrek noticed the problem, Constant froze the charts..."Now this is interesting," he said, "Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

Jethrek looked at the chart, and his eye widened again. "Continue playback," he said. Constant did so, and Jethrek watched as the two charts showed that after that moment, the second brain went back to normal operation, but his own brainwave patterns had changed slightly. "I am not looking forward to this meeting with Sweetie Belle," he stated.

"Why?" Constant asked.

Jethrek looked back to Constant. "It may confirm that this brainwave activity, and the increase in my brain mass, are a result of my biological brain trying to bypass portions of the second brain's programming. If this is the case...I may not be fit to return to the Daleks."

By Constant's observations, he could tell that Jethrek was actually afraid. He turned off the graphical displays and sighed. "Well, if that is the case, at least you'll have a chance to start a new life." He disconnected the second brain from the console. "I suggest you actually think about whether that is an advantage or disadvantage for you."

Jethrek closed his machine, and turned his eye stalk toward Constant, pondering why he would suggest an idea like that.