Sakkrat Many legends speak of this world, home of an ancient empire destroyed by its own greatest achievement The Highest Science, the pinnacle of technological discovery When the TARDIS alerts the Doctor and Bernice to the presence of an enormous temporal fluctuation on a large, green, unremarkable planet, they are not to know of any connection with the legend But the connection is there, and it will lead them into conflict with the monstrous Chelonians, with their contempt for human parasites; into adventure with a group of youngsters whose musical taste has suddenly become dangerously significant; and will force them to face Sheldukher, the most wanted criminal in the galaxy Born in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, Gareth Roberts has been variously a civil servant, a drama student, and a comedy writer and performer The Highest Science is his first novel THE HIGHEST SCIENCE Gareth Roberts First published in Great Britain in 1993 by Doctor Who Books an imprint of Virgin Publishing Ltd 338 Ladbroke Grove London W10 5AH Copyright © Gareth Roberts 1993 ‘Doctor Who’ series copyright © British Broadcasting Corporation 1963,1993 Cover illustration by Peter Elson Typeset by Type Out, Mitcham CR4 2AG Printed and bound in Great Britain by Cox & Wyman Ltd, Reading, Berkshire ISBN 426 20377 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 With thanks to Yvonne’s cafe and Alan’s taxi service Contents Prologue 1: The Chain is Broken 2: Behold Sakkrat 15 3: What’s A Nice Girl 29 4: Urnst 37 5: The Freaks 51 6: Dinnertime 63 7: Mind Like a Sieve 71 8: Deadly Weapons 81 9: The Sceptic 97 10: Death Of A Salesman 109 11: Death By Trivia 119 12: Guilt Trips 129 13: Burn Up 141 14: City of Ghosts 153 15: Exits and Entrances 163 16: Strategy Z 173 17: The Monumental Guardian 185 18: Devious Minds 191 19: Way Out Theories 205 20: Just A Moment 211 Epilogue 221 Prologue: My heart stopped as I glanced up from the ruins of the temple of fallen idols For there above me, etched on to the misty green horizon, towered what I had feared most; the shattered remains of the lost city itself! There I remained for agonizing hours Every fibre of my body threw itself back from the sight in horror, but that wretched and deep spirit of discovery that may still signal the end for me at last gained control of my legs and forced me up the mountainside! What dread secret would I find there? And were it fit to tell, would I remain alive to breathe that awesome truth to any other frail human soul? An extract from Being an Account of my Discovery of the Unnamable Secrets of Sakkrat, Gustaf Urnst Published by the Magick Quarterhouse Computer Press, Glastonbury, 2421 ... writer and performer The Highest Science is his first novel THE HIGHEST SCIENCE Gareth Roberts First published in Great Britain in 1993 by Doctor Who Books an imprint of Virgin Publishing Ltd... parasites enter the range of the forward screen He gave the order to open fire The expressions on the faces of humans as they died were ridiculous How could the dangerous fools of the Respect For... the mysterious disappearance of the first mission, which offered no protection to them against the second The strange events of the original mission lived on in a different way The story of the