Truyện tiếng anh virgin missing adventures 13 invasion of the cat people gary russell

        INVASION OF THE CAT-PEOPLE Gary Russell     First published in Great Britain in 1995 by Doctor Who Books an imprint of Virgin Publishing Ltd 332 Ladbroke Grove London W10 5AH Copyright © Gary Russell 1995 The right of Gary Russell to be identified as the Author of this Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 'Doctor Who' series copyright © British Broadcasting Corporation 1995 ISBN 426 20440 Cover illustration by Colin Howard (featuring Scratch, Tarot and Al) Typeset by Galleon Typesetting, Ipswich Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Berks All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher's prior written 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             For Gary and Grayson with more love well, you get the idea         Introduction Yes, it's that time again, when the tedious author decides to rabbit on unnecessarily and bore you rigid Promise not to go on as long this time — but this book could not see print without some very important acknowledgements Firstly, the entire book came to mind after meeting and falling madly into friendship with Anneke Wills, whose beliefs, fears, loves and passions both inspired me and equalled so many of my own And whose life across the Atlantic means that we are bereft of her company in Britain for too long Come back soon! Secondly, a group of people who helped me research so much of the background and without whom none of it would have even veered towards the accurate (and I hope they forgive me for Doctor Who-izing the facts to fit the fiction): Jean Riddler explained all things ley-ish; Ian Martin provided me with maps of the world before, during and after continental shifts; Mark Ayres patiently explained acoustics to me, a total ignoramus when it comes to anything acoustic; Jamie Woolley took me to Cumbria and his parents' gorgeous farmhouse on the coast which I have cheerfully rebuilt into a manor house but the general locale is the same — the story's genesis, therefore, is down to him Extra special thanks to Porl Cooper for supplying all things mystic, angelic and beautiful Polly's tarot reading on page 162 was done by him I picked the cards and shaped subsequent events surrounding Polly and Tim's characters as a result — although the number of coincidences was astonishing A real case of the characters writing the book, methinks 1    For their help in researching the real backgrounds to Ben Jackson and Polly Wright amongst other Who-things, Marcus Hearn and Andrew Pixley Polly Wright's surname is not my invention: it was given in Gerry Davis's character breakdown and audition script sample when, as story editor, he and producer Innes Lloyd created Ben and Polly in 1966 The fact that the name is the same as Barbara's, from a couple of years earlier in the show's history, is probably coincidental and further strengthens my belief that when Davis first came to Doctor Who he wasn't particularly au fait with its history — hence his repeated use of Doctor Who as the character's name: The War Machines (Doctor Who is required'), The Highlanders (Doctor von Wer') and The Underwater Menace (Dr W.') Despite that, the Lloyd/Davis run on Who provided us with Season Four, wherein this adventure is set and, for me, remains the finest season of all the Sixties run Immeasurable help also came from the Australian gang — representatives of the most wonderful continent in the world! In no particular order: Fiona, Todd, Kate (still a fiery Pakhar), Nathan, Sarah, Mel, Neil, Lucy, Stephen and Steven Also, Paul Vyse who kept my head together when I most needed it And gave me all that mud! Oh, and Simon Burney for being all the inmates at Wentworth rolled into one And not forgetting Simon Sadler who had to put up with me traipsing around Oz trying to research everything Aboriginal Most importantly: John Ainsworth who always deserved better than he got And an extra special mention for Scibus and Mister PeeCee — who took friendship, fun and The Monster of Peladon above and beyond the call and without whose time, patience and company this story would have no roots at all Frock on, kids!   2    Foreword So, there I was, travelling around Mexico when my friend Gary Russell asked me to write an introduction to his new Doctor Who book Not only I consider this an honour, it also goes to show that I am somehow strangely connected with this show more than any other And then I have to say I am not surprised, because magic happens around the whole thing of Doctor Who that continues on and on — into the next century even! And isn't it strange that so much of what seemed to be way out back then is considered normal now — even this blooming fax machine that I'm sending this on! So, I hope you enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed playing Polly Anneke Wills Vancouver '95   3    Prologue 3978 BC Deep space, approaching Mutters Spiral The ship was humming along with the complex machinery inside it So too were the occupants, constantly humming, non-stop, ad infinitum Each separate component, every individual, all humming together for the benefit of the greater whole If they stopped, one of two things would happen The ship would either blow up or drop out of control, hit an atmosphere at the wrong trajectory and disintegrate Or, if they were really unlucky, the ship would just drift, the machinery falter and the occupants' brains atrophy and they would fall senseless for an eternity Faced with such unattractive prospects, the hummers understandably continued humming They were elders of the universe, explorers whose researches had exhausted their own planet and solar system They knew it all Curiosity was a common failing of many galactic empires and these people were no different They were many millions upon millions of miles from home Their humming kept both physical and mental entropy at bay, granting 'them apparent immortality and allowing them to cross the vast distances in space between the astral bodies they could visit And plunder They would spot a planet that looked interesting, send down a recon-crew and, if it suited their purposes, leave marker buoys on it to claim it as their own Every so often one of these planets would have a greater significance The large blue/green sphere they were approaching now was one such planet It was only a few million years old, its molten core still raging in turmoil Not quite ripe but getting that way Only a few more millennia and it would be exactly what they needed They prepared a recon-party Five of them 4    `Information?' sang the commander of the mother-ship ++PROCESSING>++ There was a pause before the computer hummed back, ++TRACES OF IRONMAGNESIUM SILICATES WARNING> PREDICATIONS INDICATE FURTHER MASSIVE CONTINENTAL SHIFT LIKELY> SUGGESTION> RECON-PARTY BE WARNED OF THIS FACT> CALCULATIONS FOR POSITIONING OF THE MARKER BUOYS MUST BE RE-SOUGHT TO AVOID ERRORS++ `Noted The recon-party shall be informed Basic readouts?' ++THE ATMOSPHERE IS ESSENTIALLY GOOD ALTHOUGH A HEAVY PARTICLE FLUX EXISTS OVER THE FAR NORTH WEST> READOUTS SUGGEST A MASSIVE MATTER/ANTIMATTER EXPLOSION OCCURRED WITHIN THE LAST MILLION YEARS> THE EFFECT ON NATURAL LIFE HAS BEEN CATASTROPHIC WITH THE ESSENTIAL BALANCE OF NATURE UPSET IRREVOCABLY> SUGGEST CAUTION> NEW LIFE-FORMS EXIST AT RUDIMENTARY STAGES++ `Mammalian, reptilian or silicon-based?' ++MAMMALIAN, INSECTOID, REPTILIAN AND MOLLUSC> A GREAT DEAL OF VEGETATION COVERS A MAJORITY OF THE PLANET