The hesitation did not go unnoticed. The crocodile helmet's servos whirred as the face plate swiveled and focused down at Smith. The metal face nor glowing eyes offered any sign of what he should, could do, much less whether this was a trick or not. There was no hint encouragement for him. Smith stepped forwarded and considered the machine while several eyes burned against his back.

Given time, Smith figured out the very basic controls. Better, he figured out what his task was. Now it only took the entry of the command to take the first step towards showing himself faithful. The System Lord had made sure that Smith didn't have access to anything sensitive or anything that would kill the Doctor. He would not waste his God's time trying to conduct an interrogation.

This was merely a demonstration, to prove himself, to both his God and to his former crew where he stood.

For the Doctor, several things happened at once. Something metal and slimy, like a slug, pressed right against his temples and a metal cord coiled around his neck. The first began to produce a high pitched sound against the side of his head, growing increasingly painful. While the noise grew, what might have been a pleasant warmth from the coils began to grow, burning hotter and hotter.