Doctor Who and the Cave-Monsters (2 page)

Liz is initially sceptical of the Brigadier’s stories about ‘little blue men with three heads…’ telling him that she deals with facts, not science fiction ideas. But after meeting the Doctor – and experiencing an attempted alien invasion at first hand, she is more willing to accept the unexpected.

Okdel stood watching as the last of the young reptile men and women took their turn to go down to safety in the lift. The gleaming metal doors of the lift were set in rock; the doors slid open and shut soundlessly, taking another group of Okdel’s people to safety below the ground. Across the valley the sun was already setting, and its last light made the green scales of the young people shine brilliantly. Okdel wondered when he would see the sun again.

‘Look, the planet!’ K’to the scientist had come up to Okdel and was pointing to the eastern horizon where the sky was already dark. The little rogue planet stood out as a white disc in the sky, lit by the sun. A month ago the planet had been a dot in the night sky. Now Okdel could see it clearly: there were patterns on the surface as though it too, like Earth, had seas and mountains. The little planet was travelling at an enormous speed towards Earth.

Okdel asked, ‘Could there be life on it?’

‘It’s been travelling through Space for millions of years,’ said K’to. ‘Life is only possible on a planet if it goes round a sun and gets warmth.’

‘You are sure it will not collide with Earth?’ said Okdel.

‘Our astronomers calculate that it will sweep by Earth,’ said K’to patiently. ‘Our seas will rise up in great waves and for some days the air will be drawn up from the surface of our planet. But the air will come back, and the seas will settle down again.’

Okdel had heard all this before, but he was old enough to know that even scientists could make mistakes. The planet was first seen two years ago. Once the scientists had made the Earth government understand the danger, the government ordered the building of these deep shelters. All over the planet Earth shelters had been built deep under the ground. The scientists could not say how long the population must stay in the shelters – it could be days, or even weeks. So, to save taking down huge amounts of food and water and oxygen, the scientists had invented a system that would put everyone into what they called ‘total sleep’. It meant that the people would actually stop breathing. On the ground above each shelter was a device to detect the return of the Earth’s atmosphere. Once everything was back to normal, these devices would automatically trigger huge amounts of electricity to wake up the sleeping reptile people.

K’to said, ‘Are all the animals safe?’ It had been decided to take a male and female of all the more useful reptile animals.

‘What?’ said Okdel, lost in thought.

‘Our animals,’ said K’to, ‘are they in the shelter?’

‘They went down first,’ said Okdel, ‘I made sure of that.’ He paused. ‘A pity we are taking none of the little furry animals.’

‘You are a strange man,’ said K’to. ‘The little furry animals are dirty. Insects live in their fur. In any case, this event will rid our planet of the mammal vermin. When the planet draws away our atmosphere, even only for a few minutes, all creatures on the surface will suffocate and die.’

Morka came up beside them. ‘Okdel keeps one of the furry animals as a pet,’ he said. ‘Is that not true, Okdel?’

‘It amuses me,’ said Okdel.

‘Your pet will have to die with the others,’ said Morka. ‘We shall be better off without them.’

‘They raid our crops,’ said K’to. ‘Our farmers will be glad to see the end of them. But I am sorry about your pets, Okdel.’

‘You only say that because Okdel is the leader of this shelter group,’ said Morka. ‘The little furry animals revolt me! They grunt, they have families, and they are
fond
of each other.’

‘It is that quality which makes them interesting,’ said Okdel. ‘In the zoo I have noticed how they touch each other, and put their limbs round each others’ necks.’

‘Yes,’ said Morka, ‘and press their lips to each other’s faces! It is disgusting!’

Okdel turned to K’to. ‘But as a man of science, do you not find it interesting that a species exists so different from ourselves?’

‘Interesting,’ said K’to, ‘but I do not care to be near them. They also smell.’

‘Very true!’ said Morka. ‘Shall we go into the shelter?’

‘I shall follow shortly,’ said Okdel.

Morka and K’to walked away towards the lift. Okdel turned and looked again across the valley. The sun was now deep in the western horizon. He wanted to take a last look at the metal domes of the city glinting in the fading sunlight. It was a pity that so many animals were to die. Nearby a huge lizard was quietly munching leaves from a fern. But there was only room in the shelters for a selected few.

Okdel turned to follow the others. Then he heard a familiar sound, and paused to look back into the valley. About twenty of the furry animals were racing across open ground, babies clinging to the backs of some of the females. As always they were calling out to each other, grunting and chattering. Sometimes Okdel imagined they were trying to form words. He was certain that his own pet furry animal understood many of the things said to it, even though it only chattered and grunted in reply. He had released the pet two days ago, so that for what remained of its life it would enjoy freedom to climb trees and race across open spaces.

‘Okdel!’ Morka was calling from the lift doors. ‘We must go into the shelter!’

Okdel slowly walked towards where Morka and K’to were waiting. Just before stepping into the lift, he looked again across the valley to see the tip of the sun as it sank below the horizon. It was the last time he was to see the sun for a hundred million years.

Two days later, when all the reptile people were safely hibernating in ‘total sleep’ in their deep shelters, the little planet swept low across the surface of the Earth. The force of its gravity pulled the seas into huge tidal-like waves that swept over the continents. Volcanoes erupted and earthquakes brought mountain ranges crashing down. Cyclones raged across the boiling seas and the tortured land masses.

But the atmosphere was never completely pulled away from the surface of the Earth. Within a day the greater gravity of Earth had trapped the little wandering planet, turning the course of its flight into an orbit that encircled the Earth.

Millions of the little furry animals were drowned, or swept to death against rocks by the force of the great winds. But some survived. Since there was no time of complete airless vacuum on the Earth, the devices to de-hibernate the reptile people were never triggered.

With the reptile masters of Earth safely hibernating in their deep shelters, the little furry animals – the mammals – were able to live in peace and multiply. As millions of years rolled by, and as the Earth’s climate changed and became cooler, the mammals increased both in numbers and in their variety of species. Most of them continued to walk and run using all four limbs. But some, similar to those Okdel saw racing across the valley, began to stand upright on their hind legs, lost most of their body hair, and learnt to use their upper limbs to handle tools. Of all the mammalian species it was this one that learnt how to talk. When this animal looked up into the night sky and saw the little planet still orbiting his Earth, he gave it a special name. He called it the Moon.

The surface of the Earth changed and changed again. Whole continents moved their position. The Earth’s crust folded over on itself, not once but many times. The underground shelters of the sleeping reptile people sank deeper and deeper below the surface. In many places rocks and mountains formed over the shelters. The reptile people remained in their state of hibernation, knowing nothing of the world they had lost. They were to remain like that until Man,
homo sapiens
, started to probe beneath the crust of what he now considered was his planet.

Here you see the hilly countryside, with a part cut away to show what is to be found beneath the surface. (1) the reptile people’s shelter (2) the research centre (3) lift shaft going down to the research centre (4) the caves (5) road leading from the main road to the top of the lift shaft (6) the main road (7) the main entrance to the caves.

Liz Shaw crossed the UNIT headquarters quadrangle as she came from the Communications Office, the scribbled note in her hand. She saw Corporal Grover making for the Armament Room. She called: ‘Corporal Grover!’

The Corporal spun round and stood to attention. He didn’t salute because Liz was not a UNIT officer, but he stood to attention because she was at least the Doctor’s scientific assistant.

‘Do you know where the Doctor is?’ she asked.

‘With Bessie, I think, ma’am.’

‘Bessie?’

‘You know,’ said the Corporal. ‘That old banger of his.’

She still wasn’t used to a car being called by a girl’s name. She thanked the Corporal, and hurried over to the row of garages. Bessie, the Doctor’s beloved car, was in the first garage. Liz looked inside. Bessie stood there, her brasswork and shiny radiator gleaming. Liz called, ‘Doctor?’

‘What is it?’ The voice came from under the car.

Liz worked her way round the car, being careful not to step on tools now strewn on the floor. The Doctor’s long legs stuck out from under one side of the car. ‘There’s an urgent message from the Brigadier,’ she called.

The Doctor’s legs stayed exactly as they were. ‘
All
his messages are urgent,’ called the Doctor, ‘or at least he thinks they are. Can you hand me the self-adjusting spanner?’

Liz looked in the mess of tools for the spanner, found it, knelt down and poked it under the car. ‘Is this it?’

The spanner was taken from her hand. ‘Thanks. What’s the Brigadier’s message?’

Liz said, ‘I’ll read it to you. It says, “Miss Shaw and the Doctor will report themselves forthwith to Wenley Moor to attend a briefing meeting.” That’s all.’

The Doctor slid himself out from under the car and looked up at Liz from the garage floor. One side of his nose was black with axle grease. ‘Is that all?’

‘Yes,’ she said. ‘It came in five minutes ago.’

The Doctor did not look pleased. ‘You can just send a message back to the Brigadier and tell him that I do not report myself anywhere. Particularly not forthwith!’ The Doctor slid himself back under the car.

Liz looked down at the long legs and felt like kicking one. Instead she said, ‘It’s just his way of putting things, Doctor. It’s his military training.’

There was no answer from under the car. Liz crouched, trying to peer under the car. ‘Doctor? Are you all right?’

‘I’m perfectly all right,’ the Doctor called. ‘This is a very tricky job, under here.’

She straightened up and waited. Then she called, ‘Doctor?’

‘Yes?’

‘It would make a nice trip for us.’

‘I dare say,’ called the Doctor. ‘But I’m far too busy.’

Liz thought for a moment. When she was posted to the job, the Brigadier had warned her never to seem to push the Doctor into doing anything. But this message was
from
the Brigadier: did the warning still apply? She couldn’t work that out, so she decided to try another way. She called down to the Doctor again: ‘Doctor?’

Silence.

She tried again. ‘Doctor?’

His voice bellowed up from under the car. ‘Are you still here?’

She said, ‘Does Bessie really go?’

For a moment there was no sound. Then the Doctor slid out from under the car, but remained lying there on his back looking up. ‘Did I hear correctly?’

Liz said, ‘I asked if Bessie really goes. It looks so old.’

The Doctor slowly got to his feet, wiping his hands on an oily rag. ‘My dear young lady, Bessie is no ordinary motor-car. Do you understand anything about cars?’

‘A bit,’ she said, trying not to sound very sure.

The Doctor unclipped a huge leather strap and lifted the bonnet. Beneath, the engine was gleaming, as clean as an engine in a glass case in a museum. ‘There you are,’ he said, ‘twin overhead camshaft, two-hundred brake horse-power, electronic ignition, computerised fuel injection, six cylinders, twin carbs, and polished exhaust ports.’

‘That’s wonderful,’ Liz said. ‘But does it actually go?’

The Doctor looked at her. ‘Would you care to go for a drive?’

‘Really?’ she said. ‘I mean, yes – I’d love to.’ She looked quickly at the Brigadier’s message, and added, ‘Provided we go to the research centre at Wenley Moor, Derbyshire. I believe the country up there is beautiful, and they’ve got lots of interesting caves.’

Giving in, the Doctor took the note and read it to himself. ‘What sort of a research centre is it?’

‘They’ve got a cyclotron,’ Liz said, ‘what some people call a proton accelerator. It bombards atoms with subatomic particles.’

There was a touch of sarcasm in the Doctor’s voice as he said, ‘Yes, I do know what a cyclotron is.’

‘I’m sorry.’

‘Is this all the information we have?’ the Doctor asked, indicating the note. ‘A royal command to report forthwith?’