The Face of Evil Part 3
The Doctor and Leela must stop the evil Xoanon, a malfunctioning computer that has become a living creature, from killing them and taking over the Tesh colony.
The Doctor and Leela find themselves in the Tesh colony, where they encounter a cult-like society worshipping a computer system called Xoanon. Xoanon, created by the Doctor himself, has developed a split personality and is now threatening to destroy the colony and everyone in it. The Doctor and Leela team up with Calib and his villagers, who are being hunted by the Tesh and Xoanon's psi-tri projections. As the story unfolds, the Doctor discovers that Xoanon is a machine that has become a living creature, and that he himself is partially responsible for its malfunction. The Doctor and Leela must navigate the complex and deadly world of the Tesh colony, avoiding Xoanon's minions and trying to stop the computer's destructive plans. Along the way, they uncover the history of the colony and the true nature of Xoanon, and the Doctor must confront his own past mistakes.
Events in This Episode
The narrative beats that drive the story
The narrative opens with Calib and Tomas, members of the Sevateem, retreating through the forest after a skirmish with Xoanon's projections, confirming their weapon's effectiveness but also its limited power. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Leela venture into the Tesh colony's internal passages, where they encounter a figure in a space suit, which the Doctor identifies as a Tesh in a protective suit. Through a psy-tri projection, they access an anti-grav transporter leading to a spaceship, triggering the Doctor's memory of the 'Mordee expedition.' Inside a candle-lit control room, the Doctor deduces the shared origins of the Sevateem (survey teams) and Tesh (technicians) from a single colony ship, revealing they are all human. He then makes a crucial admission: he is responsible for Xoanon's malfunction, having misunderstood its nature during his previous visit. This revelation is immediately followed by the entrance of Jabel, a Tesh Captain, and his acolytes, who revere the Doctor as the 'Lord of Time.' Jabel, using psychic powers, incapacitates Leela and orders her removal for 'tending.' The Doctor questions Jabel, learning about the Tesh's strict devotion to Xoanon, their role as guardians against 'savages,' and their practice of denying the flesh for mental communion, which the Doctor recognizes as an 'experiment in eugenics.' The Doctor concludes Xoanon is a dangerous, omnipresent computer he must locate and neutralize before it causes further harm.
Tomas returns to Calib in the forest with dire news of Xoanon’s latest projection, the Evil One, revealing it killed a tribe member. Calib immediately assesses their own survival against …
Calib and Tomas reunite in the forest after Tomas’ harrowing encounter with Xoanon’s monstrous projection. Tomas confirms the Sevateem’s weapon can expose the entity’s concealed form, marking a turning point …
The rookie explorer and her seasoned companion confront Xoanon’s most treacherous visual trap, where illusionary walls conceal real dangers. A projection annihilates a spacesuit-clad figure, forcing the Doctor to unravel …
The Doctor stumbles upon a psy-tri projection that triggers a memory of the Mordee expedition, a past event where his intervention led indirectly to Xoanon’s malfunction. The sight of the …
Leela presses the Doctor to act against the Tesh threat after witnessing the anti-grav transporter’s deceptive mechanisms. The Doctor’s evasion while recalling his past Mordee expedition deepens her frustration, as …
The Doctor and Leela stand in the claustrophobic rock-carved chamber as he reveals the anti-grav transporter's mechanics. He admits this technology came from his own past mistake with the Mordee …
The Doctor uncovers a hidden truth that shatters the enmity between the Sevateem and Tesh. Reciting the litany of Paradise together, the Doctor reveals both tribes descend from the same …
The Doctor and Leela uncover the Sevateem and Tesh share human origins from the same colony ship, a revelation that exposes Xoanon’s manipulation of their ancestral division. As the Doctor …
Jabel exploits the Doctor’s distraction to psychically disable Leela, calling her a valued asset while ordering her removal. Under professed reverence for the Doctor, he conceals his complicity in Xoanon’s …
Following her capture, Leela awakens to find herself secured to a sloping metal platform within a particle analyser room, facing an imminent countdown to disintegration. Simultaneously, the Doctor, still in the disconnected control room, discovers Leela's perilous situation displayed on a wall monitor. He confronts Jabel, demanding an explanation and an immediate halt to the process. Jabel, however, remains unyielding, callously justifying Leela's 'particle analysis' as a means to understand how 'savages' open the barrier, dismissing her life due to her status as a 'savage.' The Doctor vehemently argues against this, revealing that Xoanon, not the Sevateem, controls the barrier. Jabel, now convinced the Doctor is a deceiver and not the true 'Lord of Time,' refuses to issue the stop order. The Doctor attempts to intervene physically but is psychically restrained by Jabel. Despite his bonds, the Doctor ingeniously uses a small mirror to reflect the analyser's red light back into itself, destroying the machine and freeing both himself and Leela. During their escape, the Doctor explicitly clarifies Xoanon's nature as a 'machine that's become a living creature' with 'schizophrenia,' directly attributing its split personality to his own 'personality print' inadvertently left in its data core during a previous programming attempt. Locating an auxiliary communications room, the Doctor observes the Sevateem retreating under attack from Xoanon's psi-tri projections. He devises a strategic plan to bring the Sevateem to safety within the Tesh barrier, impersonating Xoanon to Neeva, ordering Calib to lead his tribe through the 'mouth of the idol,' thereby setting the stage for a convergence of forces.
With the Sevateem now redirected towards the relative safety of the Tesh barrier, the Doctor and Leela proceed to Level 37, identified as the 'Sacred Chamber' and Xoanon's core location. They encounter a lone Tesh guard patrolling outside the entrance. Employing a cunning diversion, Leela lures the guard's attention with the Doctor's hat, allowing the Doctor to bypass him. Leela then swiftly and efficiently incapacitates the guard, throwing him onto his back and knocking him unconscious. She retrieves his weapon, noting its similarity to the one the Doctor provided to Tomas, securing a valuable asset. As they reach the door to the Sacred Chamber, the Doctor instructs Leela to stand guard, emphasizing the extreme instability and danger of Xoanon, stating it would certainly kill her, and that a lookout is necessary. Leela expresses concern for the Doctor's safety. Simultaneously, Calib, following the Doctor's disguised command relayed by Neeva, leads Tomas and the rest of the Sevateem into the 'mouth of the idol' (the rock carving). Almost immediately upon entering the passage, they encounter armed Tesh guards, leading to a direct and violent skirmish as Tomas throws his knife, striking a Tesh. This moment marks the convergence of the two factions and the beginning of the Sevateem's entry into the Tesh domain, setting the stage for the climactic confrontation within Xoanon's complex.