058 - Doctor Who and the State of Decay

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DOCTOR WHO AND THE STATE OF DECAY

Based on the BBC television serial by Terrance Dicks by arrangement with the British Broadcasting

Corporation

TERRANCE DICKS

A TARGET BOOK published by the Paperback Division of W. H. ALLEN & Co. Ltd A Target Book

Published in 1982 by the Paperback Division of W. H. Allen & Co. Ltd A Howard & Wyndham Company 44

Hill Street, London WIX 8LB

'Doctor Who' series copyright (c) British Broadcasting Corporation 1981

Printed in Great Britain by The Anchor Press Ltd, Tiptree, Essex

ISBN 0 426 20133 7

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired

out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that

in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the

subsequent purchaser.

Contents

01 The Selection

02 The Strangers

03 The Stowaway

04 The Messengers of Aukon

05 The Tower

06 Tarak's Plan

07 The Secret Horror

08 The Resting Place

09 Escape

10 The Vampires

11 The Traitor

12 Attack on the Tower

13 The Arising

14 Departure

01 The Selection

Looming above the Village was the dark Tower. Its pointed turrets reared up against the night sky, dominating

the landscape as they had done for a thousand years. The simple village dwellings huddled about its base.

Beyond the Village was a scattering of ploughed fields, bordered on one side by dense forests, on the other

by swamp.

There were no lights in the Village, no movement in its unpaved streets. All was silent. Only one building gave

out a few chinks of light from its shuttered windowsthe long, low village hall, known as the Centre, where the

villagers gathered for their communal meals. There were lights in the Tower, too. Those who dwelt there kept

late hours, and were seldom seen in daylight.

Day and night, the approaches to the Tower were patrolled by guards, grim-faced men clad in black-leather

jerkins, studded with steel. They carried pikes and swords and wore daggers at their belts. A few of them, the

senior and most trusted, carried heavy blasters in worn holsters at their belts.

One of them was Habris, Captain of the Guard. Lean and grim-faced like his fellows, he marched along the

gloomy corridors of the Tower with reluctant haste. The haste was because he was on the business of the

Lords, and dared not delay. The reluctance was because, as always, to enter the presence of his rulers made

Habris sweat with fear.

He paused outside the great State Room, scowling at the door guards, who sprang to attention.

What was it about the Lords, he wondered, that filled him with such unreasoning terror? They were cold and

distant, but no more so than to be expected of those in such a high position. They were swift to punish those

who failed them, but they valued good service, and Habris knew he stood high in their favour. It wasn't so

much any quality they possessed, decided Habris, it was something they lacked. There was a sense of

something remote and alien about them. It was the way they looked at you, as if you were a member of some

different, inferior species, whose concerns were of no real interest to them.

It was as though they weren't quite human.

Habris became aware that the door guards were standing rigidly to attention, their faces filled with terror,

assuming no doubt that his scowl was for them. Consoling himself with the thought that they feared him just

as much as he feared the Lords, Habris braced himself and marched into the state Room.

Lord Zargo and Lady Camilla were sitting on their twin thrones. Between them stood Aukon, their Councillor.

The three Lords were talking in low voices. They broke off and looked up when Habris entered.

He marched up to the dais and bowed low. 'It is the Time of Selection, my Lord.'

Zargo leaned forward, black eyes glittering in the pale, bearded face. 'Choose well, Habris. Let them be young

and strong, filled with life.'

'It is spirit, not flesh, that the Great One prizes,' said Aukon. There was reproof in his voice. Habris thought no

one but Aukon would dare take such a tone with Lord Zargo.

Lady Camilla's eyes, too, shone with feverish excitement. 'Yet flesh and blood has its place, Aukon.'

'I still look in vain for the first of the Chosen Ones. The Great One will need new servants at the Time of

Arising. Remember that, Habris.'

'Yes, Lord Aukon.'

Habris bowed, and left the State Room, relieved to be on his way.

In the Centre, the villagers were gathered, waiting. As always, at the Time of Selection, there was a kind of

subdued tension in the air. All those of Selection age were assembled in the hall, and Ivo, the burly Village

headman, moved among them, pausing here and there to tap a young man or a young woman on the

shoulder, ignoring the looks of mute appeal from their anguished parents.

Those he tapped moved to the centre of the hall, where they formed a long straggling line. They stood there,

heads bowed, waiting apathetically.

The far end of the hall formed a kind of kitchen area and Karl, Ivo's son, was standing there with his mother,

Marta. He was bigger and stronger than any of the young men in the room, and Marta looked fondly at him.

He would be as big as his father some day - if he lived.

Suddenly, to her horror, Karl moved away from her side and went to join the other young people in the centre

of the room.

Ivo swung round and glared at him. 'Karl, get back! Get out of the way!'

'Why, father? Shouldn't I be standing with the others? Just because I'm your son-'

'I said get back!' Clamping a massive hand on his son's shoulder, Ivo shoved him back to the kitchen area.

Marta grabbed him by the sleeve and thrust him towards one of the wooden benches. 'Sit there, boy. Do as

your father tells you.'

Sulkily Karl sat down. No-one protested.

A few minutes later Habris came into the hall with a squad of guards.

He nodded to Ivo and glanced around the room. 'Are they all here?'

'They are all here,' said Ivo steadily.

Habris began moving along the line, pausing before each of the young men and women. Sometimes he

passed on, sometimes he tapped the one before him on the shoulder. Those he tapped moved out of the line

and went to stand in a steadily growing group by the door.

Habris went on with his task with mechanical efficiency, looking, as he had been instructed, for any spark of

resentment or rebellion. As always, there was nothing. Like cattle, the victims waited to be chosen, and like

cattle they stood patiently by the door. When Habris was finished, perhaps a third of those in the line had

been chosen. He waved his hand, and the rest moved hurriedly to rejoin their waiting parents.

The Selection was over.

Or - not quite. Habris felt rather than saw that someone was glaring at him. He turned slowly, and saw Karl,

Ivo's son, sitting on a bench in the kitchen area, his eyes burning with anger.

Habris knew that Karl was Ivo's son, that Ivo had been holding him back from Selection. And he knew too that

the Lords had recently become dissatisfied with the quality of those he had chosen. Here at last was

someone with the spirit that they had demanded. Habris pointed to Karl. 'You! Come here!' Karl rose and

moved slowly towards him.

Ivo hurried to stand between them. 'No, Habris. He is not for Selection.'

Habris hesitated. He and Ivo were not exactly friends, but they shared a mutual respect, based on their

different kinds of authority. Besides, Ivo was responsible for the distribution of food, and he took good care to

took after his friends. Like everyone in the Village, Habris's main concern was with his own survival. There

was a good chance that Karl was of the kind the Lords were seeking. It would please them if Habris brought

him back. Moreover, if Habris felt that Karl was suitable and did not bring him, Aukon would know. It was

more than dangerous to keep secrets from Lord Aukon - it was impossible. Somehow, Aukon would pluck the

truth from his mind and before long the guards would have a new Captain.

Harshly Habris said, 'I have to follow the procedure. You know that.'

'Why?' said Karl furiously. 'Why must we obey those in the Tower? Why do you obey them, Habris? You're

not an evil man. You eat with us sometimes, my father gives you wine...'

Habris's black-gloved fist struck him under the ear, felling him to the ground.

Habris turned to Ivo. 'It has to be done. You understand.'

Ivo said nothing.

Half-dazed, Karl struggled to his knees. Habris reached down to pull him upright. Suddenly Karl thrust his

hand aside, and sprinted for the door.

'Stop him,' yelled Habris. The guards were already moving to block Karl's escape. Two of them grabbed his

arms, and he was dragged over to the rest of the chosen group.

Habris said, 'The boy has spirit, Ivo. I'll try to get them to take him as a guard. I can promise nothing, you

understand.'

Still Ivo did not speak. Something about the expression on his face made Habris shiver and he turned away.

With an angry gesture he waved the guards and their prisoners away, and, followed them from the hall without

looking back.

Marta ran sobbing towards Ivo, burying her head in his chest. Ivo put a massive arm around her shoulders and

stared over her head, his face like stone.

02 The Strangers

The Doctor was lost.

It was not the first time in his many lives, but on this occasion he was rather more seriously lost than usual,

not just on the wrong planet or in the wrong time but in the wrong universe.

At the conclusion of a recent adventure, the TARDIS had been sucked through a kind of whirlpool in the fabric

of Space/Time, and had emerged into something the Doctor called the exo-Space/Time continuum - E-Space

for short.

Now he was studying the instrument readings on the many-sided central control panel of the TARDIS, trying.

to work out some way of getting the TARDIS back into normal Space. Romana, his Time Lady companion,

and K9, a small mobile computer who just happened to look like a robot dog, watched him gloomily. Both

suspected, quite rightly, that prospects were not very good.

The Doctor straightened up, running his fingers through a tangle of curly hair.

'Well, Doctor?' asked Romana impatiently.

The Doctor chose to take her question literally. 'Yes, I'm fine thanks. The poor old TARDIS is feeling a bit

queasy though.'

'Really!'

'Still, so would you be if you were warping about in E-Space.'

'That's just what we're doing, Doctor.'

'Yes, I know, but not personally.' The Doctor patted the console. 'Poor old girl.'

It always infuriated Romana when the Doctor spoke of the TARDIS as if it was a living creature. 'But we are

personally trapped here, Doctor;' she said, through gritted teeth.

The Doctor said optimistically, 'There's a low probability we can slip off home the same way we got here.'

'But meanwhile we're trapped,' said Romana with gloomy relish.

'Don't keep saying that, Romana.'

K9 interrupted them. 'Master?'

'Not now, K9.'

Romana switched on the scanner, which showed nothing but empty space, tinged with a rather sinister

shade of green. 'Well, we are trapped, Doctor, admit it. Marooned in the exo-Space/Time continuum!'

The Doctor remained infuriatingly cheerful. 'Well, you never know, it might turn out to be quite nice here. Once

we've seen the sights, met a few people ...'

Romana waved towards the scanned. 'Supposing there aren't any planets here?' 'Come on, Romana, E-Space

isn't that small. There must be planets here - we'll find one sooner or later.'

Despairingly Romana turned away. It was almost as if the Doctor was enjoying the situation. 'Doctor, you're

incredible.'

'Well, yes, I suppose I am,' said the Doctor modestly. 'I've never given it much thought.'

'Master!' said K9 again.

'Well, what is it?'

'There is one isolated planet at extreme limit of scanner range.'

'Well, why didn't you tell me?' said the Doctor rather unfairly. 'Is it inhabited?'

'Habitable, Master.'

'Atmosphere?'

'Atmosphere and gravity approach closely to Earth normal,' said K9 importantly. 'Day equivalent to 23.3 Earth

hours, year to 350 Earth days.'

Romana looked unbelievingly at the Doctor. 'How do you do it, Doctor? How did you know?'

'Oh, knowing's easy,' said the Doctor cheerfully. 'Everyone does that ad nauseam. I just keep on sort of

hoping. That's much harder!' He went over to the console anal began setting a course for the strange planet.

Some considerable time later, they were all studying the planet's image on the screen, while K9 scanned its

surface with his sensors.

'Well,' said the Doctor. 'What do you make of it, K9?'

'I have discovered one localised concentration of metal artefacts, Master, suggestive of high technology.'

'Civilisation!' said the Doctor exultantly. 'Maybe their scientists will help us to find a way out of here.'

'Low energy levels suggest only primitive life-forms,' said K9 discouragingly.

Romana looked at the Doctor. 'Sounds as if their civilisation might have come and gone.'

'The data is anomalous,' said K9 worriedly.

'Well, at least there's life of some kind,' said the Doctor briskly. 'And where there's life ...' He went over to the

console. 'Let's land and take a look, shall we?' A minute or so later, the central column of the TARDIS

console shuddered slowly to a halt, and the Doctor operated the door control. 'Well, here goes!' He went

outside.

The TARDIS had materialised on the edge of a wooded clearing, the square blue shape of the police box

incongruous beneath the trees. The Doctor looked round approvingly. It was a pleasant spring day. Sunshine

filtered down through the tree tops, and birds sang in the branches. All in all, there was a reassuring

atmosphere of rural peace. 'Well now,' said the Doctor. 'Isn't this nice!'

Romana appeared behind him. 'Why here?'

'I put us down close to K9's energy concentration.' The Doctor fished a little telescope from one of his

capacious pockets. 'As a matter of fact, it should be just over there.' He put the telescope to his eye and

focused it, gazing across a stretch of open country. 'Ah, there we are. Look!' He passed the telescope to

Romana.

She took it, adjusted the focus, and found herself looking at an oddly-shaped tower crowned with three

pointed turrets. At the base of the Tower was a cluster of low buildings.

The Doctor took back the telescope and looked again. 'A typical medieval scene. The protective castle, with

village dwellings huddled around it like ducklings around their mother.'

'K9 said there were signs of high technology!'

'Well, computers aren't infallible.'

'Sshh Doctor! You'll hurt his feelings.'

The Doctor grinned, and went back inside the TARDIS. 'It's awfully nice out there, K9, fine summer's day, a

castle and a village. Romana and I are just going to take a look.' K9 glided forward eagerly. 'Not you, old

chap, you'd better stay here.'

K9's tail antenna drooped.

'Come on,' said the Doctor encouragingly. 'Someone's got to stay on guard. See if you can compute a

method of reverse-transition from existing data. You'll enjoy doing that, eh?' And with that, the Doctor was

gone.

K9's tail antenna rose again, and he began whirring and clicking contentedly. There was nothing he liked

more than a good, complex calculation.

Behind him an inner door opened just a little and two bright eyes peered cautiously through the crack. K9

was too busy to notice, but he was not alone in the TARDIS...

The Doctor and Romana were skirting the edge of the wood, heading in the general direction of the Village.

There was a stretch of agricultural land just ahead of them, and the Doctor pointed out that it appeared to

have been cultivated by hand rather than by machinery.

'Mind you, just because their way of life appears to be simple, we mustn't assume they're primitive or

ignorant. They may have turned away from technology deliberately, opted for a semi-rural culture. It's always

a mistake to judge by appearances.'

A man appeared on the track ahead of them. He was short and squat with grimy, work-worn features, he wore

rough homespun garments, and he carried a billhook over his shoulder. He was trudging along, head down

and did not notice the Doctor and Romana until he was nearly upon them. Then he jumped back, his face

twisting with alarm.

'Hullo!' said the Doctor cheerfully. 'I wonder if you could help us. We were just-'

Terrified, the man backed away. He touched ears, eyes and mouth in some ritual gesture, then turned and

fled into the forest.

'Why didn't you ask him some questions, Doctor?' said Romana mischieviously. 'You mustn't judge by

appearances, you know. He was probably their Astronomer Royal!'

The Doctor chuckled. 'I didn't even have time to ask him the name of his tailor!'

They went on their way.

Romana said, 'Did you notice that sign he made?' The Doctor nodded. 'Some kind of ritual gesture to ward off

evil.'

'What evil?'

'Well, us at that particular moment. You know, Romana, I've a feeling they're not too used to strangers here.'

In the Centre, a few peasants were dawdling over their bowls of gruel, watched impatiently by Habris and Ivo.

'Get a move on, you lot,' yelled Ivo. 'You'll be late getting back to the fields.'

Scraping the last few drops of gruel from their bowls, the last of the stragglers shuffled out, and Habris and Ivo

resumed their conversation.

'Increase the food allowance and you'll get better results,' said Ivo. 'They're too weak to work any harder.'

Almost everything the Village produced went to the Tower, leaving the villagers just enough to survive.

'I'm the one who has to report to the Tower,' said Habris. 'Am I supposed to tell Them they're taking too

much?'

'You're the one who has to tell Them about poor harvests, too,' Ivo pointed out unsympathetically. It was an

old argument between them, never resolved.

'I'll see what I can do,' growled Habris. 'But I can promise nothing.'

'That's what you said about my son.'

'He was taken to the Lords, with the others. That's all I know. When there's news, I'll tell you.'

'News!' said Ivo disgustedly. 'When is there ever news?'

'Hullo,' said a cheerful voice behind them.

They turned and saw the Doctor and Romana in the doorway.

'You're not from the Village,' said Ivo in astonishment.

Habris, too, was amazed. 'Or from the Tower!'

'That's right,' said Romana brightly. 'We're strangers.'

It isn't possible,' muttered Ivo. 'There is only the Tower and the Village, nowhere else. How can you be here?'

Habris decided to take no chances. It was obvious that these two were not peasants or guards-which meant

they must be Lords. He stepped forward and bowed stiffly. 'My Lord, how may I serve you? I am Habris,

Captain of the Guard.'

The Doctor looked at him in astonishment. 'How may you serve me?'

'I am at my Lord's command.'

The Doctor decided to take advantage of his unexpected status. 'We were just wondering if there happened to

be any scientists in your charming village?' Habris and Ivo exchanged looks of utter horror. It was almost as

though the Doctor had asked after sorcerers or black magicians.

The Doctor looked at their appalled faces. Perhaps if he used some more primitive term ... 'Witch-wiggler?' he

said hopefully. 'Wangatur? Mundanugu? Fortuneteller?'

Ivo shook his head vigorously. 'Such things are forbidden. We know nothing of them here.'

Habris gulped and backed away. 'If you will excuse me, my Lord. My duties...'

He edged past them and fled through the door.

The Doctor said, 'I take it you don't get many strangers here?

'Strangers?' repeated Ivo stupidly.

'Yes. Visitors. Foreign devils. People you don't know.'

'Everyone here is known.'

'What about people from the next village?' asked Romana. 'Or the nearest town?'

'There is only the Village and the Tower. Nowhere else.'

'Who lives in this Tower of yours?' asked the Doctor.

'Why do you ask what everyone must know?' shouted Ivo in sudden anger. 'Are you sent to test me? I am Ivo,

headman of the Village, like my father before me, and his father before him. The Lords know I am loyal.'

'There's no need to shout,' said the Doctor soothingly. 'So you serve the Lords, do you? Splendid, I'm sure.

And what do the Lords do for you?'

'They protect us-from the evil that stalks the night.' Ivo made the ritual gesture the Doctor had seen before. He

turned away. 'You must go elsewhere with your questions. I have work to do.'

By now Romana was convinced that they had stumbled on the village idiot. 'Come on, Doctor, this is silly.

We're just wasting time.'

The Doctor lingered for a moment longer. 'One last question, Ivo. These Lords of yours, how long have they

ruled over you?'

'Forever,' said Ivo dully. He turned away.

The Doctor rubbed his chin. 'Forever, eh? That's a very long time.'

The Doctor turned and followed Romana from the Centre.

As soon as he was gone, Ivo hurried over to the door and opened a hidden locker in the wall beside it. He

produced a small black hand-communicator, pressed the call button and held it to his lips. 'Kalmar? Kalmar

can you hear me?' There was a brief distorted crackle of response.

'Two strangers, here in the Village,' said Ivo urgently.

The device gave a crackle of astonishment.

'That's right, strangers,' repeated Ivo. 'And Kalmar - they were asking about scientists!'

03 The Stowaway

By now K9 was happily absorbed in his calculations - but not so absorbed that he did not hear a stealthy

footstep behind him. He spun round, extruding his noseblaster. 'Halt!'

Standing frozen before him, one foot poised off the ground, was a small, round-faced, dark-haired youth who

looked strangely familiar.

'Your presence here unauthorised,' said K9 severely. 'Explain.'

'You remember me,' said the young man cheerfully. 'Adric?'

K9 scanned his memory banks. They had encountered Adric on the last planet they had visited. 'Immature

humanoid, non-hostile.' He retracted his blaster.

'That's better!'

'Your presence is still unauthorised. Explain!'

'I stowed away.'

'Stowed what away?'

'Myself. I'm a stowaway.'

Again K9 scanned his data bank. 'Stowaway. One who hides in a ship to obtain free passage.'

'I thought I'd join up with the Doctor and see the universe. Where are we?'

'On an unidentified planet on what the Doctor refers to as E-Space.'

'What space?'

'E-Space. The term is used to distinguish it from the normal or N-Space from which we originated.'

'Oh, I see,' said Adric, not seeing at all.

'The concepts are unfamiliar to me. The Doctor will explain.'

'Where is he?'

'The Doctor and Mistress Romana have gone in search of astro-navigational data. Their journey was

dangerous and ill-advised. As soon as I have finished my calculations, I shall go and rescue them.'

'Just you stay there and get on with your sums,' said Adric hurriedly. 'I'll go and find them.'

'Stop! Your journey is also dangerous and unnecessary.'

Adric looked thoughtfully at the little automaton. He had no intention of hanging about in the TARDIS while

the Doctor and Romana had all the fun. But he knew K9 was quite capable of setting his blaster to stun and

shoot him down - purely for his own good, of course.

Adric thought fast. 'Now listen, I'm a stowaway, right? And that means I shouldn't be here at all.'

'Correct.'

'Then the sooner I leave the better! Just let me out will you ?'

K9 operated the remote control and Adric headed for the door. He paused in the doorway and gave K9 a

cheeky grin.

'Gotcha!' he said, and disappeared.

The Doctor and Romana were following a path through the shadowy depths of the forest. 'There's something

going on here,' the Doctor said thoughtfully. 'Something very odd indeed.'

'Just a standard medieval culture, Doctor. Repressive aristocracy and terrified peasants.'

The Doctor shook his head. 'It's more than that. The situation is more complicated than you think.'

'How far are we going anyway?'

'Oh just to the next village.'

'But there isn't a next village-or so they said.'

A high-pitched chittering sound came from the gloomy shadows above their heads.

'What's that noise ?'

'Sounds like bats. They come out at dusk, you know.'

The Doctor stopped and looked indignantly down at Romana. 'What do you mean, there isn't another village?

There's got to be another village somewhere-' He broke off. 'Just a minute though, maybe you're right.

Remember K9's orbital scan? That settlement was the only one to show up on it.'

Romana was staring ahead of them. 'Doctor, look!'

A grey-cloaked, grey-hooded figure had appeared at the end of the path looking incredibly sinister and

ghostlike in the gathering shadows.

The Doctor heard a rustle behind him and spun round. Another hooded figure had appeared on the path

behind them. More came out of the woods on either side. They were surrounded.

Warily the Doctor watched the approaching figures. They were armed with staves and pikes and cudgels -

primitive weapons, but enough to make resistance impossible, at least for the moment. As always, the

Doctor's overriding feeling was one of curiosity. Here was yet another aspect of life on this strange planet, and

he wanted to know more about it.

'Doctor, say something!' hissed Romana.

With a welcoming smile, the Doctor said, 'How do you do? I'm the Doctor and this is Romana.'

No answer. The hooded figures moved closer.

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DOCTORWHOANDTHESTATEOFDECAYBasedontheBBCtelevisionserialbyTerranceDicksbyarrangementwiththeBritishBroadcastingCorporationTERRANCEDICKSATARGETBOOKpublishedbythePaperbackDivisionofW.H.ALLEN&Co.LtdATargetBookPublishedin1982bythePaperbackDivisionofW.H.Allen&Co.LtdAHoward&WyndhamCompany44HillStreet,Londo...

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058 - Doctor Who and the State of Decay

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