The android’s existence as an intelligent weapon acting on Terileptil directives, embodying the conflict between programmed obedience and autonomy.

The Doctor and his companions seek refuge in the wine cellar, unaware it doubles as an experimental lab. Tegan lifts a sack to reveal cages of distressed rats, their suffering …

The Doctor desperately attempts to negotiate with the android by exploiting its apparent knowledge of soliton gas risks, shouting a warning that firing its beam will ignite the cellar as …