PLANET
OF THE
SPIDERS
BY
ROBERT
SLOMAN
PART ONE
1: EXT. PATH
(Along a pathway that runs down from some stone steps, a young man walks. He looks thoughtful and preoccupied as he strolls in the evening light. It is MIKE YATES - ex-UNIT Captain - his hair growing long and his clothes definitely civilian in tone. He stops and looks round at the pastoral scene of cows in a nearby field. His moment of contemplation over, he moves on.)
2: INT. THEATRE
(The DOCTOR and the BRIGADIER, also out of uniform and in a smart suit, are sat in the audience of a small theatre watching a cabaret evening. The two men are the only members of the audience neither applauding nor laughing at the northern "Comedian" on the stage. Indeed, they look bored to tears.)
COMEDIAN: (OOV: On stage.) Here's a funny thing! Here's a funny thing! When Archimedes - you've heard of Archimedes - jumped out of his bath and ran down the road without his clothes on, he didn't shout "Eureka", he shouted "I'm a streaker!"
(The audience groans appreciatively and there is another smattering of applause. The DOCTOR looks pained and the BRIGADIER shoots him an accusatory look.)
3: EXT. LAMASERY GROUNDS
(MIKE YATES is nearing the end of his walk which terminates in large a country house which can be seen through the trees and across a stretch of unkempt lawn. He approaches the house.)
4: INT. THEATRE
(The audience applauds once more, although the contribution from the DOCTOR and the BRIGADIER more closely resembles a slow-hand clap. Some jolly music strikes up...)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Here, Doctor, this is a complete waste of time.
(The DOCTOR is about to reply but raises a hand for silence and looks interested as the compère takes to the stage with the next announcement.)
COMPÈRE: (OOV: On stage.) And now, ladies and gentlemen, the management takes great pleasure in presenting to you...
(The DOCTOR sits up in anticipation.)
COMPÈRE: (OOV: On stage.) ...that exotic Turkish delight of the east - Sherezadi!
(The DOCTOR looks disappointed and lowers himself down in the seat again. Next to him, the BRIGADIER does the exact opposite and looks interested in proceedings for possibly the first time that evening as the oriental music strikes up...)
5: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(MIKE walks slowly along a passage of the building. Lamp brackets hang on the wall, pictures on the walls and curtained sash windows look out on the countryside. MIKE reaches the end of the passage and stops suddenly as he hears a chant...)
GROUP: (OOV.) Om...
(MIKE walks round the corner of the passage and approaches a doorway.)
GROUP: (OOV.) Om, Om, Om, Om...
(As he reaches for the door handle, there is a clash of cymbals mixed in with the chanting. MIKE quietly reaches for the door handle...)
GROUP: (OOV.) Om, Om, Om, Om...
(...and pushes open the door.)
6: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR ANTE-ROOM
(He is at the top of a short flight of steps into a small room. Down below, through another door, the chanting is clearer and another voice can be heard. It is deep and with a tone that is a strange combination of being both weary and yet alive with greed and wanting...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(MIKE quietly enters the room...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(...walks down the steps towards the second door...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(...and pauses at the second door.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(He listens at the door for a moment...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
7: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR
(Within the cellar, there is another clash of cymbals. On the floor is a mandala spread out.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(Some three foot by five foot, this is a decorated parchment which seems to show a circular map of different oriental scenes and symbols. The map is held by a creature resembling a devil of red skin and snakes for hair. Further snakes writhe near its feet.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(As would be expected of a large house, the cellar is large and slightly cavernous. It is mostly empty and the wine-racks are unoccupied. Round the mandala are sat five men cross-legged on cushions.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(At the head of the group is the main chanter - LUPTON. He wears a checked jacket, has greying hair and has looks that mirror his voice - slightly weary and yet with eyes that blaze.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(Circling to LUPTON'S right sits KEAVER - a tall balding man who holds the cymbals - and MOSS who looks like an ageing hippy student with his beard and glasses.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(To LUPTON'S left sit BARNES - a man about the same age as LUPTON with a perpetual look of worry on his face - and LAND, a young man prematurely balding.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(The door to the cellar opens quietly and MIKE looks through, a nervous look on his face...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
(...as the ceremony continues below.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(The five men stare intently at the mandala.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(The chant of the five men grows more intense in tone - especially LUPTON.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
(MIKE creeps slowly into the cellar and quietly down another flight of stone steps.)
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(The chanting of the group grows even more strident as they reach a crescendo.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(MIKE stares through a spider's web at the proceedings down below.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(To his shock, he sees a blue glow appearing in the centre of the mandala.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
(He leans forward to get a better view...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(...and his face touches the web.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
(Recoiling in shock...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
(...he knocks a lighted candlestick down the stairs. Down below, the group breaks off their chant. LUPTON spins round to see the candlestick as it falls and the open door at the top of the steps but there is no-one there...)
8: INT. THEATRE
("Sherezadi" comes to the end of her act and the smiling BRIGADIER is one of the most enthusiastic applauders in the audience - a fact which does not escape the DOCTOR.)
DOCTOR: Well...you enjoyed that.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Extraordinary muscular control. Very fit, that girl. I must adapt some of those movements as exercises for the men.
DOCTOR: (Smiles.) They'd take some adapting.
COMPÈRE: (OOV: On stage.) And now, ladies and gentlemen, a slight contrast - that mind reader extraordinaire, Professor Herbert Clegg!
(The DOCTOR leans over to the BRIGADIER.)
DOCTOR: This is what we came for.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: And about time.
9: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR
(LUPTON has picked up the fallen candlestick. BARNES is also on his feet.)
BARNES: Shall we carry on?
LUPTON: No, no, no, no. It's too late now. We'll try again tomorrow.
(The other three men get up.)
LUPTON: Are you sure you saw nothing?
BARNES: Oh, it was the wind. Someone left the door open.
(Suddenly they hear the roar of a sports car above as it starts up and drives away.)
LUPTON: Listen.
BARNES: It's a car.
LUPTON: Well, there's only one car here. The car belonging to our new friend - Mr. Yates.
10: INT. UNIT HQ. LABORATORY
(The next day, the doors to the DOCTOR'S laboratory open and the BRIGADIER shows a visitor in. He is a dapper bearded little man dressed in a felt hat, wearing a bow tie, waistcoat and a cloak. He carries a walking stick. The DOCTOR steps forward and shakes his hand.)
DOCTOR: Ah, Professor Clegg. How good of you to come.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: To be honest, I'm not quite sure why I have come. Your message was, er, somewhat ambiguous.
DOCTOR: Yes, that's my fault entirely. I do apologise. Won't you sit down?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Thank you.
(The DOCTOR has gestured to a chair next to a wooden writing desk. CLEGG walks over to it and puts hat and stick down.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: You, er, you want me to do my act for you? Oh, some sort of, er, regimental guest night, is it? Cabaret? I do a lot of dinners.
(He takes his cloak off as he waits for the answer.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Lord, no! (Hastily.) Er, but clever stuff, mind you, but not really my cup of tea.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: (Smiles.) Oh, then, er, what exactly is it you want of me, gentlemen?
DOCTOR: Well, you see, Professor, er, I'm doing a little research into ESP.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: That's Extra Sensory Perception, you know?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Ah, yes, as a matter of actual fact, I, er, I did know that.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Oh, really? Well, I can't[say that I did until the Doctor explained this morning.
DOCTOR: You see, Professor, my particular field covers, er, psycholotry, telepathy and, er, clairvoyance as well. So I thought perhaps you might be able to help me.
(The smile disappears off CLEGG'S face and he starts to look worried.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Oh. Well, you see, er, I'm afraid I can't - dearly as I'd like to.
DOCTOR: You disappoint me, Professor.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: (Nervously.) Er, well, there you are - that's just it. I'm, er...well, I'm not a professor at all - that's just for, er, well, you know...professional purposes, do you see?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: You're trying to tell us that it was all a lot of tricks?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Well, er, not to put too fine a point on it...yes.
DOCTOR: Just a word code with your assistant, eh?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Ah! Very, er, very perspicacious of you, Doctor. I feel sure that my secret is safe with you.
DOCTOR: Oh, indeed it is, Professor. Indeed it is.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Thank you.
(Relieved, he turns to pick up his hat and cloak.)
DOCTOR: I assure you that I shall tell nobody that you are really a very powerful clairvoyant.
(CLEGG spins round.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: I beg your pardon?
DOCTOR: That's your real secret, isn't it?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Oh, why ever should you think that?
DOCTOR: You made a couple of mistakes last night, Professor. You gave the answer before your assistant had uttered a word.
(CLEGG suddenly looks pained.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Oh...
(He sinks into a chair, looking troubled and ill.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: It's happening more and more. I don't want it to! I...I was quite happy as a performer, Doctor, but...I seem to be developing this...this power! (Passionately.) Oh, I hate it! I hate it!
(He stares into space.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: The things I can make happen...
DOCTOR: Like physical manifestations? Psychokinesis, for example?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Well...yes.
DOCTOR: Well that's remarkable.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Puzzled.) Er, would you mind explaining?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Er, psychokinesis? Moving things by the power of the mind.
DOCTOR: A very rarely developed faculty in homo sapiens. Er, Professor? (Correcting himself.) Er...Mr. Clegg. Would you give us a demonstration?
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Well, er...
DOCTOR: Please?
(CLEGG considers and sighs.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Oh, very well.
(He stands up and looks across the lab at a plastic cup and empty plate on a tray that rests on a lab bench - the remains of the DOCTOR'S last meal. As he concentrates on the tray, it suddenly shakes slightly and rises into the air. It hovers above the bench and floats across the room in front of the astonished eyes of the BRIGADIER. CLEGG looks as if he is undergoing a great effort.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: I can't! I can't keep it up!
(The tray and its contents fall to the floor. CLEGG sits again.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: You ought to use that in your act.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: (Snaps.) And lose my sanity? It would be a poor exchange.
(The DOCTOR bends down next to the little man.)
DOCTOR: (Gently.) Mr. Clegg, your powers may seem to be extraordinary, but I assure you that they lie dormant in everyone. They're perfectly natural.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: I find that very difficult to believe.
DOCTOR: But that's what my experiment's all about, Mr. Clegg.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: (Hopefully.) You mean...you mean...you can find out...why I'm different?
DOCTOR: Possibly.
PROFESSOR CLEGG: Then...very well, I...I'll help you all I can.
DOCTOR: Good!
11: INT. LAMASERY. HALLWAY
(LUPTON walks down the staircase in the main hall of the Lamasery, protesting to and following a little man in front of him. This is CHO-JE, one of the main monks of the Lamasery. He is dressed in traditional Tibetan robes, wears round pebble glasses and looks and speaks as if he finds perpetual joy in the world...)
LUPTON: Not only a journalist - but a woman journalist! We do not want her here.
CHO-JE: We cannot shut out the world entirely, my brother.
LUPTON: Why not? You used to - in Tibet.
CHO-JE: All things pass away, as you will learn in your meditation. This world of samsara, this world of appearance...is the world of change.
(He walks through a doorway.)
LUPTON: Yes, but...
(LUPTON follows him...)
12: INT. LAMASERY. SITTING ROOM
(...into an elegantly but cosily furnished sitting room. Resolutely English in style, its only incongruous object is a Tibetan prayer wheel on the other side of the room next to another door.)
LUPTON: I came here to get away from the world, so did the others. We came here to find solitude.
CHO-JE: One day you will learn to walk in solitude amidst the traffic of the world.
(CHO-JE goes to the other door.)
LUPTON: It's still not too late to stop her coming.
(CHO-JE pauses in the doorway and smiles.)
CHO-JE: But it is. Mr. Yates has already gone to the station to fetch her.
(He spins the prayer wheel and walks out. LUPTON looks concerned.)
13: EXT. MORTIMER RAILWAY STATION
(At the nearby railway station, the train pulls away from the platform as MIKE waits at the gate. SARAH, carrying a small bag, hands her ticket in and greets MIKE. He gestures to his open-topped red MGB sports car and they both get in.)
SARAH: What's it all about?
(MIKE doesn't answer. He puts the car in gear and they speed up the entrance hill.)
14: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(An aggrieved LUPTON and BARNES come out of a room and into a passageway.)
LUPTON: Of course it's no accident! We heard his car last night, didn't we? He's bringing her here because he suspects something.
BARNES: We'll just have to stop for a while - that's all.
LUPTON: Stop? Now? On the point of breakthrough? The power in that circle last night ____...
(They are interrupted by a loud voice.)
TOMMY: Hello, Lupton.
(They turn and see a burly, curly haired dressed in a woolly jumper man stood in the passage. He has a childish smile on his face and holds a small flower in his hand up to the two men. This is TOMMY, the simple-minded handyman of the Lamasery.)
TOMMY: Look.
LUPTON: (Coldly.) Mister Lupton.
TOMMY: Yeah, mister.
(The simple handyman smiles down at the flower again.)
TOMMY: Look...pretty.
BARNES: Go and get on with your work, Tommy. You're not wanted here.
TOMMY: Finished weeding - look, Barnes.
(He holds the flower up to the second man.)
TOMMY: Pretty flower...
BARNES: Yes, I can see. Now go and find something else to do, will you?
TOMMY: Er, gonna have a cuppa.
(He grabs BARNES' arm in a friendly but tight hold.)
TOMMY: Er, you like a cuppa? (To LUPTON.) Er, you like a cuppa, mister?
BARNES: For pity's sake!
(He shoves TOMMY away from him and onto the floor. The two men walk off, totally unconcerned about the man they leave behind.)
LUPTON: Get the others together. There's no time to be lost.
(TOMMY looks sadly at the departing men and then realises his hand is on the flower. He looks down at the crushed specimen.)
TOMMY: Pretty...flower...poor pretty...
15: EXT. COUNTRY ROAD
(MIKE'S car speeds down a leafy lane towards the monastery. SARAH is trying to plug MIKE for information.)
SARAH: It's a nice day.
MIKE YATES: Yes, isn't it.
SARAH: Oh, come on, Mike - out with it!
MIKE YATES: Mmm?
SARAH: What is it all about?
MIKE YATES: I told you - it's a great story for that magazine of yours.
SARAH: A couple of refugee Tibetan monks setting up a lamasery in darkest mummerset?
MIKE YATES: It's not a lamasery. It's a meditation centre.
SARAH: Okay, so maybe meditation's the in-thing. Maybe I can sell it to Percy. I still want to know what it's all about. Look, you'd better start at the beginning. I mean, what are you doing here anyway?
MIKE YATES: Trying to sort myself out, I suppose, after that golden age mess.
SARAH: Ah.
MIKE YATES: I mean, like you said, everybody's going on about meditation of one sort or another, so I thought I'd have a crack at it. Then I saw in the paper about these two Tibetans.
16: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR
(LUPTON'S group is sat around the mandala again in the cellar. KEAVER bangs the cymbals to begin the ceremony.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
17: EXT. COUNTRY ROAD
(SARAH and MIKE'S journey continues...)
SARAH: Well it sounds to me as if these people are just getting on with their meditation. You know, doing a bit of homework.
MIKE YATES: Then why be so secret about it? No, they're up to something. I think they're in touch with some...oh, I don't know - some power. It's definitely a job for UNIT.
SARAH: Well then, you must tell the Brig or the Doctor.
MIKE YATES: And you think they'd believe me? Last time we met I pulled a gun on them.
(SARAH smiles as she realises why she is there.)
SARAH: Oh, now I get it!
18: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
(The chanting gets more intense.)
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
(LUPTON starts to almost shout his chant as he stares into space.)
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
(Through his mind's eye, he seems to see the road and the journey taken by the two people...)
19: EXT. COUNTRY ROAD
SARAH: So, you want me to have a look round and then tell the Brig for you?
MIKE YATES: That's the general idea.
SARAH: (Unimpressed.) Mmm.
MIKE YATES: Please?
SARAH: Okay.
MIKE YATES: Bless you, Sarah Jane.
SARAH: You'll have to convince me though.
MIKE YATES: Don't you worry.
(They both look ahead. Suddenly, where a second ago there was an empty road, there is now a farmer on his tractor. MIKE steps hard on the brakes as SARAH holds up her hands in a reflex. MIKE turns the wheel round as hard as he can and the little sports car spins on the road and onto the verge. SARAH gasps with relief and the two look back at the road. There is no tractor. The road is empty and the only sign of life and movement is birdsong in the trees.)
MIKE YATES: There's nothing there.
SARAH: So you did see it?
MIKE YATES: The tractor? Of course.
(SARAH, shaking somewhat, nods her head.)
SARAH: I'm convinced.
20: INT. UNIT HQ. LABORATORY
(CLEGG is sat in a chair with a strange and futuristic pair on headphones attached to his head. From this runs a lead that the DOCTOR plugs into a small unit and then onto a device on the lab bench on which are a series of dials and buttons. On top of this is a monitor screen.)
DOCTOR: You see, Brigadier, the electrocephalograph will show us his brainwaves on here as we carry out the tests. Right, let's try a little simple psycholotry, shall we? Er, Lethbridge Stewart, my dear fellow, would you like to give Mr. Clegg some little article of yours?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Mmm? Oh! Yes, yes, rather.
(He takes off his wristwatch...)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Hmm.
(...and hands it to CLEGG. The DOCTOR turns a dial on the device and three lines of pulse-like readings appear on the monitor.)
DOCTOR: Right, ready when you are, Mr. Clegg.
(CLEGG turns the watch over in his hands and stares into space with narrowed eyes.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: This watch was given to you...eleven years ago....you received it...in a hotel. Er...a hotel by the sea. Er, Brighton, was it?
(The BRIGADIER starts to look uncomfortable.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: From a young lady called...er, Doris. She said it was to mark her gratitude to you...
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Hastily.) Yes, all true! Absolutely spot on!
(He almost snatches the watch back from CLEGG as the DOCTOR looks on with a little smile on his face.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Mmm. Well surely you've got enough, Doctor?
DOCTOR: A little too much perhaps, eh, Alastair?
(The DOCTOR grins as the BRIGADIER stalks away. The DOCTOR pulls another device over to CLEGG. It resembles a sort of all-over hairdryer on a large adjustable stanchion.)
DOCTOR: Right, this is what we call the IRIS machine...
(He switches it on and it gives out a loud humming sound. The DOCTOR crosses to another device next to it – a second monitor screen.)
DOCTOR: ...or Image Reproduction Integrating System. It translates your thoughts into pictures on this monitor here.
(The DOCTOR reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls out his sonic screwdriver which he gives to CLEGG.)
DOCTOR: Try this, will you?
(CLEGG turns the screwdriver over in his fingers as the DOCTOR and the BRIGADIER stare at the monitor. For a moment only static appears. Then an image of a fearsome creature from the DOCTOR'S past – a Drashig! The large dragon rears up out of the marshes within a section of Vorg's scope on Inter Minor. CLEGG looks down at the screwdriver, his eyes opening wide in horror. The BRIGADIER looks at the DOCTOR in shock. He smiles and turns back to the screen where he sees himself using the screwdriver to ignite the marsh gas, enveloping the Drashigs in flame. The extraordinary images are intercut with flashes of static.)
21: INT. LAMASERY. SITTING ROOM
(SARAH has been introduced to CHO-JE and, with MIKE, they are in the sitting room as SARAH conducts her interview and scribbles on her notepad.)
CHO-JE: We can but point a finger along the way. A man must go inside and face his fears and hopes, his hates and his loves and watch them wither away. Then he will find his true self. It is no self. He will see his true mind - which is no mind.
SARAH: And...that's what meditation's all about?
CHO-JE: Yes! Then old man must die and the new man will discover to his inexpressible joy that he has never existed!
(CHO-JE smiles with great glee.)
SARAH: (To MIKE.) Well, good luck, mate!
MIKE YATES: I think I'm gonna need it!
(They join CHO-JE in his giggles.)
SARAH: But, if you do start ferreting about in your subconscious, aren't you going to turn up all sorts of nasties? I mean, complexes, phobias and what have you?
CHO-JE: Of course, the demons and the divinities?
SARAH: Mmm.
CHO-JE: But in our way - the Vajrayana Way - we use the powers to help us. If we will excuse me, it's time for the meditation class.
(He gets up and heads for the door.)
MIKE YATES: But couldn't that be dangerous - if these...these powers were used wrongly.
CHO-JE: It could be so, yes, by evil men in their ignorance and craving, it could indeed be most dangerous.
MIKE YATES: I see.
(CHO-JE gives him a knowing smile.)
CHO-JE: Such a thing could never happen here.
22: INT. UNIT HQ. LABORATORY
(CLEGG still holds the sonic screwdriver with a shocked look on his face.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: I'm sorry, I...I saw...well, just fantasies!
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Don't worry, Professor, you're doing very well.
DOCTOR: Indeed you are, Professor - indeed you are.
(The DOCTOR takes the screwdriver back off him and pockets it.)
DOCTOR: Now - erm, do you feel up to bending the odd fork?
(Before the PROFESSOR can answer, SERGEANT BENTON walks in with a small parcel in his hand.)
SERGEANT BENTON: Doctor, I...
(He fails to see the BRIGADIER but does spot the IRIS device above the PROFESSOR. He smiles.)
SERGEANT BENTON: Oh, doing a bit of hairdressing on the side, eh?
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Benton...
(BENTON turns at the sound of the warning voice.)
SERGEANT BENTON: Sorry, sir, I didn't see you there.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: What do you want?
SERGEANT BENTON: Well this package, sir. It's just arrived by express post. I thought it may be urgent.
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: Well, for the Doctor or for me?
SERGEANT BENTON: Well, that's just it. It's addressed to the Doctor or Brigadier Lethbridge Stewart or Captain Yates or, er, Sergeant Benton. It's from South America, sir.
DOCTOR: Well, from Jo?
SERGEANT BENTON: Well, I reckon so.
DOCTOR: Well let's take a look.
(He takes the package from BENTON and is about to open it when a thought strikes him.)
DOCTOR: Well, no, wait a minute. I've got a better idea. Er, Mr. Clegg. Would you like to tell us what's inside this package?
(CLEGG takes the proffered parcel from the DOCTOR'S hands. His hands start to feel the wrapping and his eyes narrow in puzzlement.)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: This has come a long way...
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (Smiles.) Yes, of course, from the Amazon. Sergeant Benton just told you.
DOCTOR: Brigadier, please!
(CLEGG continues...)
PROFESSOR CLEGG: From beyond the stars...er...could it be a meteorite? Oh...it's beautiful. A gemstone...a blue jewel...
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: (To the DOCTOR.) Lord, not that stone of yours?
DOCTOR: The crystal from Metebelis Three. Thank you, Mr. Clegg.
(He takes the packet from the little man.)
DOCTOR: Let's take a look, shall we?
(He rips open the packaging and holds up a familiar blue stone.)
DOCTOR: Well, well, well.
23: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(MIKE is showing SARAH around the Lamasery. The tour has ended in the deserted passageway. From beyond a door comes a constant chanting.)
MIKE YATES: And that...that's about it.
SARAH: Where is everybody though?
MIKE YATES: In there, most of them.
(He points at the door. On it is hung a sign which reads:
MEDITATION
ROOM
________
PLEASE BE QUIET
SARAH: Well, that's more like it. Can I have a look?
(She heads for the door with a smile.)
MIKE YATES: Well, I don't think...
SARAH: Now, that sweet little lama said to show me everything, didn't he?
MIKE YATES: Yes, but he didn't mean you to...
SARAH: Well, come on then.
MIKE YATES: Alright, but for heaven's sake be quiet.
(SARAH shushes him and quietly opens the door.)
24: INT. LAMASERY. MEDITATION ROOM
(They peep round the door. In a well-furnished room, the students at the Lamasery are sat in two rows facing each other. MOSS and LAND are among them. At the end of one of the rows is CHO-JE. SARAH notices with a frown that no one in the room is chanting. She looks down and sees that the sounds come from a reel-to-reel tape recorder at her feet. She looks up at MIKE for an explanation.)
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) It helps with the meditation.
SARAH: (Whispers.) What are they meditating about?
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) Not about anything, but just...meditating. Watch.
SARAH: (Whispers.) So what are they watching?
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) They're mentally watching their tummies...go up and down as they breathe.
(SARAH smiles.)
SARAH: (Whispers.) Like contemplating their belly buttons.
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) You could put it like that. Come on.
(They retreat back into the passageway and close the door.)
25: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
SARAH: Well, I hope you all know what you're on about.
MIKE YATES: It probably seems a bit daft.
SARAH: Oh.
MIKE YATES: It's an exercise in awareness really.
(He checks his watch.)
MIKE YATES: Hey! Come on, it's time we hid in the cellar.
SARAH: Oh! Right.
(They turn a corner...and walk straight into the sinister forms of LUPTON and BARNES who smile at the pair.)
LUPTON: Good afternoon, my brother.
MIKE YATES: Good afternoon.
(LUPTON looks inquiringly at SARAH who coughs at MIKE to introduce her.)
MIKE YATES: Oh, er, this is Sarah Jane Smith. She works for "Metropolitan", you know - the magazine.
LUPTON: Yes, I know. Cho-je mentioned that you would be coming.
MIKE YATES: (Puzzled.) Did he? When?
LUPTON: This afternoon. I trust you had an...informative visit.
SARAH: Oh, er, yes. Yes, thank you, most pleasant.
(There is an awkward silence as LUPTON stares at SARAH.)
SARAH: Well, after a bad start, that is...
(LUPTON puts on a frown and a show of puzzlement.)
LUPTON: A bad start?
SARAH: Yes, well, Mike and I were driving down the road...
MIKE YATES: (Interrupts.) Oh, we had a little accident.
SARAH: Accident?! A...
MIKE YATES: (Interrupts.) The car ran off the road.
LUPTON: (In mock concern.) You were lucky to escape. The roads round here can be very dangerous - very dangerous indeed.
(MIKE and LUPTON stare at each other.)
MIKE YATES: I take your point.
LUPTON: (Firmly.) Good. (To SARAH.) You must stay and share our meal with us.
SARAH: (Smiles.) Oh, great!
MIKE YATES: (Hastily.) I'm afraid that we've no time.
LUPTON: Well, at least have a cup of tea.
SARAH: (With relief.) Oh, now you're talking!
MIKE YATES: Er...no, unfortunately Miss Smith has to leave right away.
SARAH: But I...
MIKE YATES: (Interrupts.) If you don't go now you'll miss your train.
(He takes her arm and almost drags her away.)
SARAH: We've got hours yet!
MIKE YATES: I think you must have mis-read your timetables.
SARAH: Oh! (To LUPTON.) 'Scuse me! ___.
(As MIKE and SARAH move out of view, LUPTON and BARNES look at each other.)
26: EXT. LAMASERY
(The ornate double front door of the country house open and MIKE and SARAH step out.)
SARAH: Look, I just don't understand you.
(MIKE doesn't reply. He heads towards his sports car and gets in. SARAH has no choice but to follow.)
SARAH: You said you want me to see for myself and now you...
(MIKE starts the car up.)
SARAH: ...suddenly take off.
(The car almost does take off as the pebbles off the drive shoot into the air from under the tyres as the MGB screeches away.)
27: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY
(LUPTON steps away from the window from where he has witnessed the departure and turns to BARNES.)
LUPTON: I don't think we shall have any more trouble. That young man's scared out of his wits. Warn the others. We carry on as planned.
(LUPTON and BARNES head in separate directions down the passageway.)
28: EXT. LAMASERY DRIVEWAY
(MIKE drives at speed down the driveway of the house.)
SARAH: Look, what's it all about?
MIKE YATES: That was Lupton.
SARAH: We... Oh, so that's why you pinched me. I'll be bruised for a week.
MIKE YATES: You heard what he said - he'd been told you were coming.
SARAH: So?
MIKE YATES: Well don't you see? He must have been responsible for that hallucination - that non-existent tractor. He tried to kill us.
29: EXT. ENTRANCE GATES TO LAMASERY
(MIKE drives out of the gates of the house and pulls up. He switches off the engine.)
SARAH: So why are we running away?
MIKE YATES: We're not.
(He gets out of the car and smiles down at SARAH.)
MIKE YATES: We're letting him think we're running away. Now we'll go back on foot.
(SARAH tuts and smiles.)
SARAH: The fiendish cunning of the man!
(She gets out and follows him a short distance to where he is able to help her up to the railings, prior to climbing over.)
30: INT. UNIT HQ. LABORATORY (EVENING)
(As dusk falls, the DOCTOR, frowning, attempts to read Jo's hand-written letter.)
DOCTOR: (Reads.) "And we're at our twenty-eighth native village." No, hang about - twenty-ninth. (To BENTON.) Switch on the light, for me, Sergeant, will you?
SERGEANT BENTON: Alright.
(BENTON switches on the lab light and the DOCTOR continues with the letter.)
DOCTOR: (Reads.) "We haven't found our toadstool yet, and we're not likely to if I don't get rid of this crystal."
(Intent on the contents of the letter, neither the DOCTOR nor the UNIT men notice CLEGG as he picks up the aforementioned crystal off the bench and starts to look at it.)
DOCTOR: (Reads.) "You see, the Indian porters say it's bad magic. Like it goes or they go. So, Doctor, if you're away on a cheap day-trip to Mars, perhaps you could look after it for me, Brigadier? Or if you're away in Geneva, how about it, Mike? Or my lovely Sergeant Benton?"
(BENTON grins.)
DOCTOR: (Reads.) "I must say I miss you all very much..."
(CLEGG continues to stare at the crystal, turning it over in his hands.)
31: INT. LAMASERY. PASSAGEWAY (EVENING)
(MIKE has opened a sash window and he helps SARAH to finish climbing through it.)
SARAH: (Whispers.) Thanks.
(MIKE lowers the window and they are about to make for the cellar when a voice booms behind them, causing them to jump.)
TOMMY: Why are you climbing in the window?
MIKE YATES: Er, yes, yes, I...
TOMMY: Play games?
MIKE YATES: Er, that's right - just playing a little game.
(They attempt to move off but TOMMY follows.)
TOMMY: Tom likes games. (Hopefully.) Tom play game too?
SARAH: (Quietly.) Er...tell you what, Tom...
TOMMY: Who are you?
SARAH: (Quietly.) Erm, oh, my name is Sarah - Sarah Jane Smith.
TOMMY: (Smiles.) Tom likes you, Sarah Jane Smith.
SARAH: (Quietly.) Oh, well, you see, Tom, this game...it's called "secrets", and its a secret that I'm here.
(She puts a finger to her lips and "shushes". TOMMY smiles and repeats the movement.)
SARAH: (Quietly.) Yeah, so, you won't tell anyone, will you?
(But TOMMY'S avaricious gaze has fallen, like a magpie, onto a silver broach that SARAH is wearing.)
TOMMY: Ah, that's pretty...
SARAH: (Quietly.) Would you like it?
(She takes the broach off and hands it to TOMMY.)
SARAH: (Quietly.) There, now careful not to prick yourself.
TOMMY: Oh, it's pretty!
(Totally taken with his new trinket, TOMMY lumbers away.)
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) A shameless display of feminine wiles! Come on!
SARAH: (Whispers.) Nonsense!
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) Shh!
(He goes to the door that leads to the cellar ante-room.)
32: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR ANTE-ROOM (EVENING)
(He opens the door and they step in, going quietly down the first short flight of steps.)
33: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR (EVENING)
(The enter the cellar. It is empty. The cushions, cymbals and mandala are in place ready for the ceremony.)
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) They're obviously just about to start. Let's find somewhere to hide.
(Suddenly, they hear movement above.)
LUPTON: (OOV: Outside the cellar.) Well, now ___.
SARAH: (Whispers.) Listen!
MIKE YATES: (Whispers.) Hide behind here, quick!
(He pulls her into an alcove behind a pillar.)
LUPTON: (OOV: Outside the cellar.) Find out ___.
(SARAH walks straight into a spider's web and stifles a cry. She realises that she's making too much noise and falls quiet. The two duck down and wait. The door to the cellar opens and the five men walk in. MIKE and SARAH move round the pillar, keeping out of sight of the new arrivals as they take their accustomed places. KEAVER picks up the cymbals and clashes them. The chant starts.)
GROUP: Om, Om, Om, Om
(MIKE and SARAH watch.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
34: INT. UNIT HQ. LABORATORY (EVENING)
(The DOCTOR is still reading the letter. CLEGG'S eyes narrow in fear as he looks at the crystal in his outstretched hands. A blue glow is starting to emit from it.)
DOCTOR: (Reads.) "And the coffee's just about as filthy as UNIT tea - if that's possible. I must go now, or I'll miss the next cleft-stick to civilisation..."
(Suddenly a strange force plucks the letter from the DOCTOR'S hands. Before he or the soldiers can react, the room starts to shake throwing them from side to side. A howling wind starts up and jars and bottles fall from the shelves. Interspersed with the wind is a reverberating sound which causes BENTON to try and clamp his hands over his ears as he also struggles to remain on his feet.)
35: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR (EVENING)
(The sound is also heard in the cellar but the men round the mandala don't seem to notice it as they continue their chant.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani... padme hum...
36: INT. UNIT HQ. LABORATORY (EVENING)
(As the BRIGADIER and BENTON struggle to remain upright, the DOCTOR staggers across the lab in the face of the roaring wind towards where CLEGG still sits in his chair, swaying slightly as he stares at the crystal. The DOCTOR reaches the little man, stretches out a hand and grasps the crystal from his hands. CLEGG cries out in pain and falls back in his seat. The wind stops as does the swaying of the room which falls silent as the DOCTOR feels for a pulse from CLEGG.)
BRIGADIER LETHBRIDGE STEWART: I'll get the M.O.
DOCTOR: You're too late, Brigadier - he's dead.
37: INT. LAMASERY. CELLAR (EVENING)
(SARAH and MIKE are getting nervous as the ceremony continues.)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(LUPTON'S voice rises to a crescendo again...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(SARAH looks on in open-mouthed shock...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(...as a blue glow fills the centre of the mandala...)
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: Om mani...
GROUP: Om.
LUPTON: ...padme hum.
(...and, as the glow subsides, a twitching, two-foot wide spider materialises in its place...)
Doctor Who
JON PERTWEE
Sarah Jane Smith
ELISABETH SLADEN
Brigadier
Lethbridge Stewart
NICHOLAS COURTNEY
Mike Yates
RICHARD FRANKLIN
Sergeant Benton
JOHN LEVENE
Professor Clegg
CYRIL SHAPS
Lupton
JOHN DEARTH
Barnes
CHRISTOPHER BURGESS
Moss
TERENCE LODGE
Land
CARL FORGIONE
Keaver
ANDREW STAINES
Cho-je
KEVIN LINDSAY
Tommy
JOHN KANE
Written by
ROBERT SLOMAN
Title Music by
RON GRAINER &
BBC RADIOPHONIC
WORKSHOP
Title Sequence
BERNARD LODGE
Incidental Music by
DUDLEY SIMPSON
Special Sound
DICK MILLS
Film Cameraman
FRED HAMILTON
Film Sound
JOHN GATLAND
Film Editor
BOB RYMER
Visual Effects Designer
BERNARD WILKIE
Costume Designer
L. ROWLAND-WARNE
Make-Up
DEANNE TURNER
Studio Lighting
RALPH WALTON
Studio Sound
JOHN HOLMES
Script Editor
TERRANCE DICKS
Designer
ROCHELLE SELWYN
Directed by
BARRY LETTS
COLOUR
© BBC 1974