THE MUTANTS
BY
BOB BAKER
AND
DAVE MARTIN
EPISODE TWO
1: INT. SKYBASE ONE. TRANSFER SECTION
(KY uses JO as a shield as he backs towards a transport cubicle.)
JO: But I'm not an Overlord! I've come to help you!
(KY and JO enter a transport cubicle. The MARSHAL, the DOCTOR and the guards, weapons trained, stand before the row of cubicles.)
MARSHAL: Now, you fool! Shoot!
DOCTOR: No, you can't!
MARSHAL: I said fire!
(The guards fire and the cubicle explodes. When the smoke has cleared, there is a large burnt hole in the glass of the door but no sign of JO or KY. The MARSHAL raises the microphone in his baton as the DOCTOR looks on in horror.)
MARSHAL: (Into radio.) Alert all ground stations. (To the DOCTOR.) Your friend won't get far...without a mask.
2: INT. SOLOS. TRANSFER STATION
(The transfer station on Solos looks much like its counterpart on Skybase, complete with signed, segregated cubicles. The Solonian cubicle glows with an intense blue light which fades, along with the sound of the materialisation which at first blocks out KY'S words as he speaks to JO. He has now released her.)
KY: ___. No Overlord can exist without a mask.
JO: How many more times do I have to tell you I'm not an Overlord?
(A short distance away, a Skybase guard sits behind a counter behind which is a sign which reads:
CHECK
OXYMASKS
BEFORE LEAVING
He hears a radio message from the MARSHAL.)
MARSHAL: (Over radio.) I want both of them. Do I make myself clear?
SOLOS GUARD: Sir.
(He grabs a gun from a wall mounting and opens the counter door as KY and JO step out of the cubicle. A klaxon alarm starts to blare out. KY looks round warily.)
KY: ___ outside. The atmosphere is poisonous! No Overlord can exist for more than a few hours without a mask.
JO: Well, what am I going to do?
KY: Well you will stay here. I shall make a run for it.
(He starts to head off but JO follows.)
JO: No, I'm coming with you!
KY: Look, I warn you - my life is more important than yours - to Solos and my people. I cannot stop to help you.
(The alarm stops.)
JO: I'm coming with you.
(In the now silent passage, KY hears something.)
KY: Shh, guards!
(He pulls JO round a corner as the reception guard turns round another. He spots JO just out of hiding and starts to walk towards her. KY springs out from one side and grabs the guard round the neck, pulling him to the floor.)
KY: (To JO.) Come on!
(The guard quickly starts to recover as KY pulls JO down the passage, past the counter and to a door marked with a sign next to it which reads:
AIRLOCK
OXYMASKS
MUST BE
WORN
The guard fires a shot which hits the sign. A shower of sparks explodes as KY opens the door and bundles JO through.)
3: INT. SOLOS. TRANSFER STATION. AIRLOCK
(KY presses the palm-print sensor and the inner door closes. He starts to twist a dial on a device on the outer door.)
KY: Alright?
JO: Fine so far.
KY: Good.
(He opens the door and they step cautiously out onto the foggy surface of the planet.)
4: INT. SKYBASE ONE. MARSHAL'S OFFICE
(The DOCTOR is sat at the centre table in the MARSHAL'S office as the man himself closes his baton radio. The Time Lords container rests on the table and two guards stand on the door.)
DOCTOR: Bad news.
MARSHAL: For you Doctor, for your friend - they have escaped on to the surface of Solos.
DOCTOR: Ah.
MARSHAL: Still, without a mask... But never fear, Doctor, we shall find her - or her body.
(The DOCTOR looks up.)
DOCTOR: Would you kindly explain that remark, sir?
MARSHAL: During the hours of daylight no human can survive on Solos without an oxymask. The soil contains a nitrogen isotope unknown on Earth. The ultra-violet rays of the sun cause a kind of...poisonous mist.
DOCTOR: (Concerned.) How poisonous?
MARSHAL: I give your friend an hour, possibly less depending on how fast they're travelling. I could, of course, step up the search.
(The DOCTOR quickly rises to his feet.)
DOCTOR: May I suggest that you do so immediately?
MARSHAL: Or I could call off the search altogether - let them escape.
DOCTOR: (Shocked.) And let her die? You can't do that!
MARSHAL: I can do as I please, Doctor. And since the unfortunate assassination of the Administrator, Solos is under Martial Law - my law.
DOCTOR: How very convenient for you. Now look, are you going to search for Miss Grant or not?
MARSHAL: That depends on you, Doctor.
(He looks down pointedly at the container.)
DOCTOR: Does it?
(The DOCTOR picks the container up.)
MARSHAL: Well, I thought you said this box was intended for Ky?
DOCTOR: Apparently.
MARSHAL: Then I shall want to know what's in it - before he does.
(He takes the container off the DOCTOR.)
DOCTOR: No, I'm sorry. That would be completely unethical.
(The MARSHAL crosses to his desk.)
MARSHAL: Then I shall be forced to recall my men, Doctor. We're stretched very thin on Skybase. So many demands on our resources, you know.
(The DOCTOR considers and gives in.)
DOCTOR: Alright. I'll try and open the box for you, but...I shall need your most advanced laboratory facilities.
(The MARSHAL opens his radio.)
MARSHAL: (Into radio.) Calling Solos - intensify the search.
(He is about to finish his message, but...)
DOCTOR: Marshal!
MARSHAL: (Into radio, reluctantly.) The girl must not be harmed.
DOCTOR: That's better.
5: EXT. SOLOS
(KY and JO run as fast as they can through the stunted bushes and mists of the planet. KY easily takes a lead as JO is starting to find it hard to breathe. She stumbles down. KY, constantly looking out for guards, sees that she has fallen. He considers but goes back to help her as she lies stretched out on the ground, gasping for breath. He picks her up to carry her.)
6: EXT. ANOTHER PART OF SOLOS
(Shortly behind them, STUBBS, COTTON and another Skybase guard, all wearing oxymasks, are in pursuit. STUBBS carries a bleeping tracer.)
STUBBS: This way.
(STUBBS looks at his device.)
STUBBS: Funny? Only one now. Only one trace registering.
(They carry on.)
7: EXT. ANOTHER PART OF SOLOS
(With JO in his arms, KY carries on through the mists. He hears the bleep of the tracer close behind him.)
8: INT. SKYBASE ONE. LABORATORY
(The MARSHAL has taken the DOCTOR to a futuristic laboratory in Skybase. The room is triangular in shape with a raised platform running round the edge of two sides. The doorway is on the upper level to the left and the ubiquitous two guards stand on duty. The walls of the laboratory are covered with control panels. In the well of the room are various pieces of equipment including one device which resembles a cylinder which rests at an angle. The MARSHAL walks along the outer platform with pride as the DOCTOR follows. The tour of inspection over, the MARSHAL turns to the DOCTOR for his reaction. He is disappointed...)
MARSHAL: Well?
DOCTOR: Adequate. Not quite what I hoped for but...adequate.
(The DOCTOR steps down to the lower level and starts to look over the cylindrical device. The MARSHAL follows.)
MARSHAL: Adequate! What do you mean "adequate"? It's the finest laboratory it's possible to build.
DOCTOR: Well, I was rather hoping for a particle reversal set-up. You know, something that would...
(He waves his hands in a circle.)
DOCTOR: ...Turn the box inside out, but...well all this stuff, it seems for geared for atmosphere modulation.
(He points to a part of the cylindrical device.)
DOCTOR: And this circuits about to overload for a start.
(He switches it off.)
DOCTOR: What is it anyway - weather control?
MARSHAL: Well, something of the sort. Now, tell me, Doctor...
(He is interrupted as the door opens and a furious, plump little man bursts in. He is past middle age and dressed in a brown tunic and speaks in a middle-European accent.)
JAEGER: (Shouts.) What the blazes is going on in here?!
(He stops and gives a sickly smile when he sees who is there.)
JAEGER: Oh, it's you Marshal. My apologies. But there was tampering with one of the circuits.
DOCTOR: Yes, I'm terribly sorry. I'm afraid that was me. I'd no idea that the thing was operational. One of your circuits was about to overload.
JAEGER: Marshal, I must insist! The experiment has reached a critical stage. I'm working here alone and against time...and, with respect, I can't afford...to have you or anyone else interfering with it whenever you feel like doing some stupid guided tour!
MARSHAL: Jaeger, that's enough.
JAEGER: You give full priority to atmospheric regeneration and then you expect...
MARSHAL: (Shouts.) Jaeger! Jaeger!
(JAEGER falls silent.)
MARSHAL: For the moment, Jaeger, I want you to give full priority to this little problem here.
(He taps the container which rests on a lab table.)
JAEGER: What? (Puzzled.) What is it?
(JAEGER picks the container up as the DOCTOR steps forward.)
JAEGER: Who is this man?
MARSHAL: An emissary from Earth - or so he claims.
(The MARSHAL'S baton bleeps and he answers it.)
MARSHAL: (Into radio.) Mmm?
VOICE: (Over radio.) Varan's son's in your office, Marshal.
MARSHAL: (Into radio.) Good. Hold him there.
(He closes the baton.)
MARSHAL: I'm sorry, gentlemen, I cannot stay. The assassination, you understand? A man is being held.
(He heads for the door.)
MARSHAL: Jaeger, I want you to give the Doctor all the help he needs to get that thing open. Doctor, I'll keep you informed about Miss Grant, and you'll keep me informed about your progress. (Smiles.) Won't you?
(He walks out.)
9: EXT. SOLOS
(KY still carries JO across the wasteland, constantly hearing the bleep of the Skybase guard's tracking device behind him. He deposits JO in some dense shrubbery on a ledge and heads back a little to listen and watch. A short distance away, STUBBS looks at his device watched by COTTON and the third guard.)
STUBBS: It's now two.
(He nods to the third guard who heads off in one direction.)
STUBBS: (To COTTON.) Come on.
(They head off in another. The third guard slowly makes his way towards where JO is hidden. KY watches, choosing his moment carefully and then jumps down from the ledge onto the guards back. The fall knocks the guard out. KY takes his oxymask and returns to JO with it. He places it over her mouth.)
10: INT. SKYBASE ONE. MARSHAL'S OFFICE
(The MARSHAL walks into his office where VARAN'S son is waiting, looking over the pouch-like device that he used to kill the Administrator. The MARSHAL waves the guards back at the door not to enter. They step back and the door closes.)
MARSHAL: Greetings, son of Varan.
VARAN'S SON: Why have I been brought here a prisoner? It was upon your orders that I killed the Administrator. You said he was an enemy of our people.
MARSHAL: You've done well. Now for your reward.
(VARAN'S son smiles.)
11: INT. SKYBASE ONE. TRANSFER SECTION
(VARAN stalks down the corridor next to the reception area towards the MARSHAL'S office.)
12: INT. SKYBASE ONE. MARSHAL'S OFFICE
(The MARSHAL has the assassination device in his hands, looking it over as VARAN'S son watches.)
MARSHAL: Amusing little device, isn't it? Works...perfectly.
(He aims it at the Solonian. Alarm appears on his face and then shock as the MARSHAL fires. He clutches his stomach and falls to the floor. At that moment, the door to the office opens and VARAN walks in. He instantly sees his SON on the ground. He casts a look of hatred at the MARSHAL and kneels down to examine his son. He waves a stiff hand over the corpse and then raises his hands to his gods and says a couple of words in his native language. He then looks at the MARSHAL as he starts to unsheathe his sword.)
VARAN: So...
MARSHAL: No regrets, Varan. First the Administrator, now an attempt to kill me. He was in league with Ky.
VARAN: You lie! You ordered us to kill the Administrator!
MARSHAL: Others will believe me!
(The MARSHAL again raises the pouch and fires. The shot misses and VARAN makes a run for the door, managing to get out. The MARSHAL opens his baton.)
MARSHAL: (Into radio.) Attention! Attention! This is the Marshal speaking...
13: INT. SKYBASE ONE. CORRIDOR
(VARAN stumbles along the corridor as...)
14: INT. SKYBASE ONE. ANOTHER CORRIDOR
(...elsewhere, guards search.)
MARSHAL: (OOV: Over tannoy.) Solonion Varan has gone mutant. He is at large on Skybase. If taken, he must be dealt with immediately.
15: INT. SKYBASE ONE. MARSHAL'S OFFICE
MARSHAL: (Into radio.) Calling Solos, calling Solos. This is the Marshal. Stubbs and Cotton, come in.
16: EXT. SOLOS
(STUBBS and COTTON have found the fallen guard as they receive the MARSHAL'S message.)
STUBBS: (Into radio.) But we're almost on them, sir.
MARSHAL: (OOV: Over radio.) I want you up here immediately - out.
STUBBS: (To COTTON.) Stay here.
COTTON: Thanks.
(STUBBS is about to head back...)
COTTON: Stubbsy?
STUBBS: Yeah?
COTTON: Someone's pinched his mask.
STUBBS: I'll send some medics down to pick him up.
17: INT. SKYBASE ONE. LABORATORY
(The attempt to open the container progresses. JAEGER has rigged up a device, rather like an elaborate elongated lamp, which points at the subject of their efforts together with various other pieces of equipment in an extemporised lash-up. His jacket off, the DOCTOR paces the platform reading some notes.)
DOCTOR: You know, I can't think why you people ever came here.
JAEGER: Thaesium, Doctor. This planet is one of the richest fuel sources in the galaxy - or it used to be.
DOCTOR: Are the deposits now exhausted?
JAEGER: More or less.
(The DOCTOR joins him.)
DOCTOR: So, now you plan to colonise the planet in earnest, if you can change the atmosphere?
JAEGER: That's my problem, not yours.
DOCTOR: Well, there are other people concerned, you know?
JAEGER: Such as?
DOCTOR: Well, the Solonians, for example. After all, it is their planet.
JAEGER: Was, Doctor. (Smiles.) It is "Doctor", is it?
(The DOCTOR gives him a look for his goading and starts to look over a machine connected to the lamp-like probe.)
DOCTOR: I think you'll find that...
(He un-plugs and the correctly plugs back in various wires which lead into the device.)
DOCTOR: That that should hold the Proton beam steady, "Professor"!
(JAEGER looks at him sharply. He loses his temper...)
JAEGER: (Shouts.) I think that this whole thing is a senseless waste of time! (Scoffs.) Particle reversal! (Laughs.) Nobody has ever achieved it!
DOCTOR: On the contrary, my dear chap, I found it a very useful research technique.
JAEGER: Er, what do you expect to happen?
DOCTOR: I expect the particles to reverse...and the box to turn itself inside out. What's on the outside will be on the inside, and what's on the inside will be on the outside - where we can see it.
JAEGER: Rubbish!
DOCTOR: You think so?
(The DOCTOR takes a small control unit and, unravelling the wire from it, takes a few steps back to a safe distance.)
DOCTOR: Come over here and see for yourself.
(A look of doubt on his face, JAEGER joins him.)
DOCTOR: You ready?
(JAEGER gives the slightest of nods.)
DOCTOR: Then watch.
(The DOCTOR switches the control unit on. Immediately, lights start to flare around the container and a tablet with strange markings on is momentarily revealed against the inside of the container. Almost immediately, the device explodes with a small flash...)
18: INT. SKYBASE ONE. CORRIDOR
(VARAN reaches a doorway. He hits the palm-print sensor with the handle of his sword until the door opens. He steps in. A sign next to the door reads:
HERBARIUM
NO UNAUTHORISED
ENTRY
Guards footsteps approach the door.)
19: INT. SKYBASE ONE. HERBARIUM
(They look within. The room is suffused with an orange glow and is filled with plants and greenery but there is no sign of VARAN.)
20: EXT. SOLOS. CAVE MOUTH
(KY carries JO towards a large cave mouth. Looking round to make sure they are not being followed, he steps within a few feet and rests JO gently on the ground. She has the oxymask on her face. Taking her hands in his, he stands behind her and pulls her arms back and forth, rather like rowing a boat, in an effort to make her lungs contract and therefore to breathe. The technique works and she quickly comes round. He helps her sit up and takes the mask off. She looks round in some fear as she recovers her breath...)
JO: What is this...place?
KY: A disused mine. One of many on Solos.
JO: I remember...running.
KY: I nearly left you to die.
JO: What about the mask?
KY: A guard's.
JO: He...!
KY: He'll be alright if he takes it easy. You won't need this while you're in here. It's the daylight makes the air poisonous to Overlords. You are from Earth, but you are not...
JO: (Interrupts.) The Doctor! We came to help you.
KY: Ah, the Overlord with the box.
JO: For goodness sake!
KY: I'm sorry. My people know Earthmen only as Overlords. It's difficult to think otherwise.
JO: The box! It was for you! But, that's...why I followed you.
KY: (Puzzled.) Me? Why?
JO: I don't know.
KY: Is it weapons?
JO: I don't know!
KY: Who sent you?
JO: I...we must ask the Doctor.
KY: How?
21: INT. SKYBASE ONE. LABORATORY
(The DOCTOR starts to make repairs to the lash-up as an astounded and transformed in attitude JAEGER watches.)
DOCTOR: Well, there are bound to be one or two snags to begin with.
JAEGER: But...but it worked?
DOCTOR: Well, of course it worked.
JAEGER: But theoretically it's impossible.
DOCTOR: I don't suppose you saw what it was, did you? I mean inside, I mean?
JAEGER: Not clearly, but the process...
DOCTOR: ...Was all over in a flash. Yes, I know.
(The door opens and the MARSHAL enters with STUBBS.)
MARSHAL: Is Varan here?
(JAEGER is still too stunned to reply.)
DOCTOR: Who?
MARSHAL: Jaeger, have you seen him - Varan, the Mutt?
DOCTOR: Another mutant?
MARSHAL: He was heading this way. Jaeger!
JAEGER: (Impatiently.) No, Marshal, I haven't seen him! I've got more important things to do.
MARSHAL: So long as that Mutt stays alive, he's a menace to everybody on this Skybase. He was behind the assassination plot with Ky.
(The DOCTOR is more interested in what the MARSHAL has to say than the experiment which now consumes JAEGER'S attention...)
DOCTOR: And now you say he's mutating?
(STUBBS' radio bleeps.)
VOICE: (Over radio.) Mutant Varan hiding in storage section ,sir.
STUBBS: They've located him, sir.
MARSHAL: Alright, Stubbs, you know what to do.
STUBBS: Sir.
DOCTOR: Marshal?
MARSHAL: Mmm?
DOCTOR: I wonder...could I perhaps go on this "Mutt hunt" with you?
MARSHAL: Out of the question.
JAEGER: I'm sure the Doctor has good reason. He'd find it most interesting.
MARSHAL: What?
(Behind the DOCTOR, JAEGER gives a shake of his head to indicate that he wants the DOCTOR out of the way. The MARSHAL takes the hint.)
MARSHAL: Oh, very well. Stubbs?
STUBBS: Sir?
MARSHAL: Keep an eye on him.
STUBBS: Yes, sir. I will.
(The DOCTOR takes his jacket and leaves with STUBBS. The MARSHAL steps down to JAEGER.)
MARSHAL: Well?
JAEGER: With that man's help, I could the whole atmosphere regeneration project operational within a week.
MARSHAL: What?!
JAEGER: He understands particle reversal. He could speed up the whole process.
MARSHAL: Then we must be sure he stays with us. Yes, his assistant's the key to that as well.
22: EXT. SOLOS. CAVE MOUTH
(KY is putting together a small pile of twigs and branches to make a fire.)
JO: How long before they track us down?
KY: Caverns run for miles. They'll never find us.
JO: Well that means neither will the Doctor?
KY: We must wait. My people will tell me when the Doctor comes.
JO: (Puzzled.) Your people?
KY: The dispossessed, the outcasts, the terrorists as the Overlords label them.
(JO continues to look puzzled.)
KY: Tell me about the caverns of Earth.
JO: The what?
KY: The caverns - where you live on Earth.
JO: I live in London!
(KY thinks he understands and smiles.)
KY: A sky city.
JO: No, London. London on the ground.
KY: No, I have seen pictures of Earth. No one lives on the ground. The air is too poisonous. And soon, Solos will be the same. The Overlords only promise independence so they can go on plundering our resources, turning our green fields into their grey slagheaps. Am I not right? Is it not true?
JO: I...don't know. It's rather a long time since I left Earth.
KY: Once my people were farmers and nomads. Now look at them. (Bitterly.) Slaves in factories and mines! Already the pollution is causing mutations. The "Mutts" as the Marshal calls them.
(He snaps a branch in anger.)
KY: Mutts!
JO: What happens to them?
KY: Well they are killed. Hunted down and killed. Or if they escape they hide in places like these.
23: INT. SOLOS. CAVE PASSAGE
(Not far away, a creature with a stubbled back and claw-like hands scurries down a passage with a roar...)
24: INT. SKYBASE ONE. HERBARIUM
(The DOCTOR and STUBBS cautiously enter the herbarium.)
DOCTOR: What is this place anyway? What's it for?
STUBBS: Seed propagation. Earth crops for Solos.
(His gun ready, STUBBS walks further into the semi-darkened room.)
STUBBS: Varan? Varan? It's no use, me old son. Let's get it over with.
DOCTOR: (Appalled.) Get it over with? You don't intend shooting him in cold blood, do you?
STUBBS: It's the only way.
DOCTOR: How do you know?
(STUBBS ignores him. He goes one way while the DOCTOR walks off in another direction.)
STUBBS: (Smiles.) Come on, Varan. Varan? Make it easy on yourself!
(Suddenly he feels the tip of a sword in his back as VARAN steps out of cover. STUBBS drops his gun but twists round on the Solonian and they start to struggle.)
VARAN: Varan is no Mutt, Overlord! I am a warrior and I fight like a warrior!
(VARAN has the upper hand and obviously intends the use the sword on STUBBS' throat. The DOCTOR picks up the dropped gun and aims it at VARAN.)
DOCTOR: Varan, no! Varan! Varan, wait!
(He fires at VARAN'S hand and shoots the sword out of it. He hands the gun back to STUBBS who aims it at VARAN but the DOCTOR knocks it back.)
DOCTOR: Don't be a fool, Stubbs! Can't you see? There's no sign of any mutation.
STUBBS: But the Marshal said he was a mutant!
VARAN: The Marshal has murdered my son!
DOCTOR: I think you'd better tell us what you know - quickly! We're your only chance.
25: INT. SKYBASE ONE. MARSHAL'S OFFICE
(COTTON stands to attention before the MARSHAL who sits at his desk in his office.)
COTTON: I thought you knew, sir. The guard's mask was gone when we found him.
(The MARSHAL jumps up in anger.)
MARSHAL: No, Cotton, I did not know! I'm surrounded by incompetents!
COTTON: Sir.
(The MARSHAL starts to pace...)
COTTON: Sir?
MARSHAL: Well?
COTTON: At least it means the girl is still alive.
MARSHAL: Yes, Cotton. But Ky has got her and not us. I want that girl found - understand? One more thing; as far as the Doctor is concerned, we have already got her.
COTTON: Sir?
MARSHAL: We have already got her, Cotton. She's in hospital - on Solos. Right?
(COTTON nods.)
26: INT. SKYBASE ONE. CORRIDOR
(The DOCTOR and STUBBS have left VARAN having heard his story and they make their way back to the MARSHAL'S office. STUBBS is astounded at what he has heard.)
STUBBS: You mean His Nibs fixed up the whole thing? Had the Administrator done in and then swung the blame on the natives?
DOCTOR: That's right. You heard Varan's story.
STUBBS: I see. And if there's independence, the Marshal's out of a job.
DOCTOR: Yes, exactly. But now the planet's under marshal law, "his nibs", as you call him, means to keep it that way.
STUBBS: So what do we do?
DOCTOR: Keep Varan in hiding, tell the Marshal he's been dealt with. I can't move against him openly until I am sure Miss Grant is safe. I'll just have to play for time.
27: INT. SKYBASE ONE. MARSHAL'S OFFICE
(They enter the MARSHAL'S office where the man himself is still with COTTON and two other guards.)
MARSHAL: Ah, Doctor, good news. Stubbs, did you find Varan?
STUBBS: He's been dealt with, sir.
DOCTOR: (In disgust.) Dealt with!
MARSHAL: Mmm, these Mutts are a bigger menace than you realise, Doctor. As no doubt Miss Grant will tell you.
DOCTOR: You've found her then? When can I see her?
MARSHAL: Cotton?
COTTON: She's receiving oxygen treatment - in a day or so.
DOCTOR: A day or so?
MARSHAL: Possibly longer. She was in pretty poor shape when Cotton found her.
DOCTOR: What about Ky?
MARSHAL: Ky left her to die, Doctor. The whole planet will remain under marshal law until the full of the assassination dies down. Meanwhile, Doctor, Professor Jaeger could use you on a project of some urgency. It will pass the time.
DOCTOR: Until you let me see Miss Grant, you mean?
MARSHAL: (Smiles.) Exactly!
28: INT. SKYBASE ONE. LABORATORY
(The DOCTOR has returned to the laboratory. On one wall is a semi-ornate diagrammatical decoration showing SOLOS, its layers of atmosphere and Skybase in orbit. JAEGER uses a pen-like device to draw arrows on a screen on a machine in front of him which appear on the device, illustrating his plan for the watching DOCTOR'S benefit. The arrows all point down through into the atmosphere.)
JAEGER: What I propose to do is to bombard these layers of the atmosphere with ionisation rockets at these points. This will provide...a barrier against the ultra-violet rays which create the poison mist.
DOCTOR: What you're proposing - and do correct me if I am wrong - is an all out rocket attack on a defenceless planet.
JAEGER: (Amused.) But these aren't military rockets!
DOCTOR: Well, try telling the Solonians that.
JAEGER: I can't understand your concern, Doctor. This planet, as it stands, is no longer of any use unless we make the atmosphere breathable.
DOCTOR: Even if it means wiping out every Solonian in the process?
JAEGER: (Losing his patience.) Earth is fighting for its survival. The side-effects are of no importance!
(The DOCTOR slams a fist down on a console and jumps up.)
DOCTOR: (Shouts.) Genocide as a side-effect!
(He paces the laboratory in anger.)
DOCTOR: You ought to write a paper on that, Professor!
JAEGER: Perhaps you have an alternative suggestion?
DOCTOR: Yes, perhaps.
JAEGER: Particle reversal, no doubt? Your little forte?
DOCTOR: Particle reversal is one way. Not as violent as yours, of course, but...the result will be the same.
JAEGER: The question is, Doctor, can it be done?
DOCTOR: Well, we could try an experiment, couldn't we?
(The door glides open and COTTON enters.)
COTTON: The Marshal wants to see you, Professor.
JAEGER: Can't it wait?
COTTON: You know the Marshal.
JAEGER: Oh, very well, I know.
(Resigned, he leaves the laboratory. COTTON waits until the door has closed and steps down to the DOCTOR who has returned to his work.)
COTTON: Sir?
DOCTOR: Mmm?
COTTON: I've been chatting with Stubbs. He's a kind of mate of mine.
DOCTOR: Oh, yes?
COTTON: About Varan? And about Miss Grant.
(The DOCTOR, his interest caught, stands up.)
DOCTOR: When can I see her, Cotton?
COTTON: That's it her, sir - you can't. We didn't find her.
DOCTOR: What?
COTTON: As far as we know, she's still with Ky.
DOCTOR: (Thinks.) That means I've got to find both of them. How am I going to do that?
COTTON: All the guards have orders to stop you leaving this section.
DOCTOR: Is there any other way to the transfer station?
COTTON: 'Fraid not, sir.
(The DOCTOR paces, thinking.)
DOCTOR: Cotton, is there an emergency power supply to the transfer station?
COTTON: Yes, it... Why, sir?
DOCTOR: What would happen if I blew the main power supply to the whole of Skybase?
COTTON: Sheer chaos.
DOCTOR: Yes, exactly. But if the emergency power supply to the transfer station were already switched over...?
COTTON: You could slip down to Solos in the confusion.
DOCTOR: Yes, exactly. Can you get the power switched over?
COTTON: I can try.
DOCTOR: Good, now I'll tell you what I want you to do...
(The door opens and an angry JAEGER returns...)
JAEGER: Cotton, who told you that the Marshal wanted to see me?
COTTON: He did, sir.
JAEGER: Then one of you must be mad.
COTTON: Oh, yes sir. Sorry, sir. Maybe he changed his mind, sir.
(COTTON walks out, nodding to the DOCTOR as he goes.)
DOCTOR: Professor, I've been thinking. Perhaps we could try an experiment, er, just to prove whether I'm right or wrong - about particle reversal.
JAEGER: Good.
DOCTOR: But we'll need to link up to the main power supply.
(JAEGER looks dubious...)
29: INT. SKYBASE ONE. TRANSFER SECTION
(Clipboard in hand, COTTON approaches a guard who is on duty in the reception area.)
COTTON: Orders to check stand-by equipment.
(The guard steps aside and COTTON starts to press buttons on a panel which is marked MAINS STANDBY. The door to the Solonian cubicle now seems to have been fixed.)
30: INT. SKYBASE ONE. HERBARIUM
(STUBBS enters the herbarium.)
STUBBS: Varan!
(VARAN steps out of hiding in the shrubbery.)
STUBBS: Listen - we're going to try and get you off Skybase. Now when I go, I shall leave this door unlocked.
VARAN: How do I know this is not just another Overlord trap?
STUBBS: When the time comes, you head straight for the transfer station, but wait for the signal first.
VARAN: What signal?
STUBBS: You'll hear them announce a power failure. That'll be your chance.
VARAN: When will this signal come?
STUBBS: That's it - we don't know! You'll just have to trust us, Varan.
(He leaves, watched by a narrow-eyed VARAN.)
31: INT. SKYBASE ONE. LABORATORY
(The DOCTOR has connected a large cable from the cylindrical device to his particle reversal equipment. He steps up to a wall panel on the upper level.)
JAEGER: Surely you'll overload the whole power supply?
DOCTOR: Oh, not a bit of it, old chap. That modulator's utterly reliable, but...I'd be very grateful if you'd keep a close eye on it, would you?
(JAEGER leans over the equipment.)
DOCTOR: Well, are you ready?
JAEGER: Yes.
DOCTOR: Well, here goes.
(The DOCTOR flicks a switch. A glass tube within the machinery starts to glow and the hum of power builds and builds. JAEGER looks at the DOCTOR in concern.)
DOCTOR: It's alright, don't worry. Just you keep your eye on that centre dial.
(The little professor turns back to the equipment - which promptly explodes in his face. The room is plunged into semi-darkness and JAEGER lies on the floor, unconscious. The DOCTOR retrieves the container and his cloak and heads for the door.)
TANNOY VOICE: Skybase One - Emergency! Emergency!
(JAEGER comes round...)
TANNOY VOICE: We have power failure.
32: INT. SKYBASE ONE. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE LABORATORY
(...as the DOCTOR makes his escape from the laboratory.)
33: INT. SKYBASE ONE. CORRIDOR
(VARAN comes cautiously out of the herbarium.)
TANNOY VOICE: Emergency! Emergency!
(He has not gone far when he is spotted.)
GUARD: Stop or I fire!
(The guard fires but misses.)
34: INT. SKYBASE ONE. CORRIDOR
(The DOCTOR makes his way down another corridor...)
35: INT. SKYBASE ONE. TRANSFER SECTION
(...and into the transfer section. He checks the operating panel and hearing a noise steps back. VARAN grabs him round the neck.)
VARAN: Die, Overlord, die!
Dr. Who
JON PERTWEE
Jo Grant
KATY MANNING
Marshal
PAUL WHITSUN-JONES
Varan
JAMES MELLOR
Ky
GARRICK HAGON
Stubbs
CHRISTOPHER COLL
Cotton
RICK JAMES
Jaeger
GEORGE PRAVDA
Varan's Son
JONATHAN SHERWOOD
Title music by
RON GRAINER
and BBC Radiophonic Workshop
Incidental Music by
TRISTRAM CARY
Special Sounds by
BRIAN HODGSON
Film Cameraman
FRED HAMILTON
Film Sound
DICK MANTON
Film Editor
DAVE KING
Visual Effects Designer
JOHN HORTON
Script Editor
TERRANCE DICKS
Designer
JEREMY BEAR
Producer
BARRY LETTS
Directed by
CHRISTOPHER BARRY
COLOUR