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DOCTOR WHO
GENESIS OF THE DALEKS

Written by
Terry Nation

Part Three

(Overlap from the guards running into the silo)

[INT. Rocket silo]

(The THALS begin climbing the scaffolding, SARAH has fallen only a little way, and SEVRIN heads down to the rung on which she has landed.)
SEVRIN: Are you all right?
SARAH: I think so.
(Another MUTO falls.)
SEVRIN: We must go on, Sarah. It's our only chance.
(She nods. They climb a short way further and are now at the level of the nose cone.)
SEVRIN: That section of the roof slides out. We can get to it from the top of the rocket.
SARAH: We've got to get across first.
SEVRIN: We'll have to jump. Now I'll go first, you follow, and I'll catch you.
(He makes the jump, of about a metre.)
SEVRIN: Come on, Sarah. Come on! You've got to do it, do you hear me? Jump!
(She makes the crossing with one very large step.)
SEVRIN: We're nearly there. Just a bit more and we're out on the surface of the dome and safe.
SARAH: Yes.
(SEVRIN is climbing the nose cone when the SOLDIERS get to the top of the scaffolding. A SOLDIER fires a shot into the air.)
SOLDIER: That's far enough. Right, come on back down here.
(SEVRIN does so.)
SOLDIER: Now you. Come on, move! I'll get her.
(He jumps across.)
SOLDIER: Give me your hand. Come on.
(He grabs SARAH's hand and gives her feet a kick. She is holding his hand, dangling in the gap and screaming.)
SOLDIER: If I should just slacken my grip... They say that people who fall from great heights are dead before they hit the ground. I don't believe that, do you?
(He pulls her back up.)
SOLDIER: You're going back to work. In a day or so, you'll wish I had let you drop. Right, get over.
(She obeys.)

[EXT. Cave]

DOCTOR: It's lighter this way.
HARRY: Looks as though we've made it.
DOCTOR: Look.
(There are vertical bars inset in the rock.)
HARRY: It must be the way through to the wastelands.
(They head in that direction. HARRY steps into a giant clam-like creature, which snaps closed on the lower half of his leg.)
HARRY: Doctor, quick! My leg! Quick! Pull it out, Doctor.
(The DOCTOR finds a large rock, but hitting the shell with that does not work.)
HARRY: Quick - it's pulling me in!
(The DOCTOR breaks a stalactite off and uses it as a lever to prise open the bivalve's shell.)
DOCTOR: Easy, easy.
HARRY: Get that thing off.
(HARRY frees his leg.)
DOCTOR: One of Davros's experiments?
HARRY: Magna paeloris.
DOCTOR: What?
HARRY: Latin.
DOCTOR: Never mind the Latin. Let's have a look at your foot. Nothing seems to be broken. It's incredible. You have some bruises, though, Harry.
HARRY: Why is it always me who puts a foot in it?
DOCTOR: You'll be all right. Can you stand up?
HARRY: I think so.
(As soon as he does so, something growls.)
DOCTOR: Let's get out of here.
HARRY: We must look out for Sarah. She's out there somewhere.
DOCTOR: We'll find her. We've got to contact the Kaled leaders first.
(The DOCTOR tries to move the vertical bars. The metal groans.)
HARRY: Try again. They're pretty corroded.
(HARRY's assistance makes the difference. The bars slowly part.)

[INT. Laboratory]

(Two Daleks, with gun attachments, approach.)
DALEK: We await your commands.
DAVROS: Excellent, excellent.
KAVELL: Perfect, Davros, perfect. A brilliant creation.
DAVROS: A brilliant creation, yes, but perfect, no. Not yet. I want improvements made to the optical systems and the sensory circuits. Their instincts must be as accurate as a scientific instrument. You will begin at once. Dismantle the viewer circuit.
(DAVROS glides off. KAVELL speaks with RONSON.)
KAVELL: Does Davros know the prisoners have escaped?
RONSON: I don't know what you mean. The prisoners are in their cell.
KAVELL: Don't worry, I won't betray you. You're not the only one concerned about the morality of the work we are doing here. Now answer me. Does Davros know they've gone?
RONSON: The prisoners are in the detention room for further interrogation. (He looks away.)
KAVELL: Well, I have news for you. They've reached the city and made contact with the leaders whose names you gave them.
RONSON: How do you know?
KAVELL: There is some advantage of being in charge of the communication system. All we can hope for now is that they convince the leaders that Davros' work here must be ended.
RONSON: They must. They must!
(NYDER, just beyond the two Daleks, has been watching them converse.)

[INT. War room]

(RAVON, the DOCTOR, HARRY, and MEN in overalls are gathered.)
MOGRAN: My fellow councillors, I've asked you to assemble here and not in our House of Congress as our meeting is of a most secret nature. There are no listening devices here, are there, Ravon?
RAVON: Not that I know of, Mogran.
MOGRAN: Doctor, will you please tell the councillors what you have told me?
DOCTOR: Yes, of course, and some of what I will tell you relates to events in the future, not only on this planet but also on others whose existence you don't even know of. But my knowledge is scientific fact. Now, Davros has created a machine creature, a monster which will terrorise and destroy millions and millions of lives and lands throughout all eternity. He has given this machine a name, a Dalek. It is a word new to you, but for a thousand generations it is a name that will bring fear and terror. Now undoubtedly Davros has one of the finest scientific minds in existence, but he has a fanatical desire to perpetuate himself in his machine. He works without conscience, without soul, without pity, and his machines are equally devoid of these qualities.

[INT. Rocket silo]

(The surviving prison labour are unloading another batch of explosives. SARAH staggers and collapses as soon as she emerges from the rocket.)
GUARD: What's the matter with her?
SEVRIN: She's tired. She needs rest.
GUARD: This is the last consignment. When that's packed aboard, she'll get all the rest she needs. Now pick up your loads!

[INT. Laboratory]

NYDER: (speaking to DAVROS) I've just had word from one of our supporters in the dome. Councillor Mogran has called a secret meeting. The only councillors invited are known opponents of the work we are doing here in the bunker.
DAVROS: I want a full report on everything that was discussed. I don't care how you get the information - get it. However, I think we need not be too concerned. Many times in the last fifty years, factions of the government have tried to interfere with my research here. They have failed. They will fail again.
NYDER: There's something else. The two prisoners in Ronson's charge - they've been seen at the dome. They are at the meeting.
DAVROS: Impossible! There is no escape from here.
NYDER: I've checked their cells. They are missing.
(DAVROS rotates his Dalek chair and looks at Ronson's desk, where RONSON and KAVELL are working. RONSON looks away as DAVROS looks over at him.)
DAVROS: Find out how they escaped, and report to me immediately.
NYDER: What action shall I take concerning Ronson?
DAVROS: For the moment, none. I will deal with him in my own way.

[INT. War room]

(The members of the council speak in a corner.)
RAVON: That was a very impressive speech, Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes, it was meant to be.
HARRY: Let's hope it's convinced them.
DOCTOR: Yes, let's hope so, Harry. Sometimes words aren't enough.
HARRY: Well, they seem to have reached a decision.
(Three people leave the room.)
MOGRAN: I'm afraid, Doctor, the councillors could not agree to halt all experimentation at the bunker.
HARRY: The councillors are fools.
MOGRAN: Let me finish, please. It has been agreed that an independent tribunal will investigate all work that is being done at the bunker.
DOCTOR: But that could take months! Davros already has several prototype Daleks ready for action.
MOGRAN: It has also been agreed that, pending the investigation, Davros's experiments will be suspended.
DOCTOR: It is less than I'd hoped for.
MOGRAN: And I promise you, Doctor, if your allegations are borne out, all work at the bunker will be closed down.
DOCTOR: Thank you.
MOGRAN: And now I must go with my committee and inform Davros of our decision.
HARRY: Now I think it's high time we looked for Sarah, don't you?
RAVON: The one you left behind in the wastelands?
HARRY: Yes. You have some news of her?
RAVON: I can't be certain, you understand, but our agents inside the Thal dome report a newly arrived girl prisoner who led an attempted break-out. Gave the Thals quite a bit of trouble.
HARRY: That'll be her.
DOCTOR: In the Thal dome, you say?
RAVON: The Thals are using prisoners to load their last great rocket.
HARRY: Rocket?
RAVON: They think they'll win the war with it. What they don't know is that no matter how powerful their rocket, it cannot penetrate our protective dome. Only a matter of months ago, Davros perfected a new substance which has the strength of thirty-foot-thick reinforced conc-.
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, well, never mind about that. Could you help us to find Sarah?
RAVON: One of my agents could lead you into the service shafts underneath the Thal city.
DOCTOR: Oh, good, good-
RAVON: But after that you're strictly on your own.
HARRY: Fair enough.
RAVON: Right, I'll give you a map showing how to reach the rocket silo area.
DOCTOR: Thank you.
HARRY: Well, Doctor, looks as though we've got to cross the wastelands again.
DOCTOR: Yes, and that's when our troubles really begin.

[INT. Laboratory]

(The four members of the council are speaking with DAVROS and NYDER.)
DAVROS: An investigation? But of course, Mogran. I welcome any inquiry into our work here. I think the idea is an excellent one. The Kaled people sacrifice much so that we should have the materials we need. They have the right to know how our work is progressing. And when they learn of our achievements, their patriotism will be refired. It is vital that our soldiers know that they and we of the elite are as one, working together to bring the final victory.
MOGRAN: I'm grateful that you've accepted this decision so, so patriotically. There's one thing more. Until the inquiry, all work is to be suspended.
DAVROS: If that is your wish, then, naturally, I will obey. It will take some time to close down certain pieces of equipment. Shall we say, er, twenty-four hours?
MOGRAN: Twelve.
DAVROS: It will be difficult, but it will be done.
MOGRAN: The members of the tribunal will arrive in that time. Thank you, Davros, for your co-operation.
DAVROS: It is simply my duty. The inquiry will reveal nothing, except our loyalty and total dedication to the cause of the Kaled people.
(The councillors leave.)
NYDER: We cannot allow this investigation. They cannot fail to see the dangers to themselves in the Dalek project.
DAVROS: Calm yourself, Nyder. There will be no investigation.
NYDER: But you can't stop it now.
DAVROS: I can and will! The council has signed the death warrant of the whole of the Kaled people. Only we, the elite, we and the Daleks will go on.
NYDER: The whole of the Kaled people? You would go that far?
DAVROS: Did you ever doubt it?
NYDER: No.
DAVROS: There is much to do. I want the genetically conditioned creatures installed in the machines immediately. Twenty of them.
NYDER: Twenty?
DAVROS: They are our troops in this battle for survival.
NYDER: But they're still very erratic, unstable.
DAVROS: They will not be allowed self-control. I will prepare a computer program that will limit their actions. After that, we are going on a journey.

[INT. Thal corridor]

(A hatch in the floor opens behind a GUARD. The DOCTOR's head appears. He has begun climbing out when he turns round, sees the guard, and pops below the hatch again. Seconds later, another GUARD arrives, and the two leave together. A few seconds later, the hatch rises again. The DOCTOR scrambles out quickly, and HARRY follows. They slide the hatch back into place and head down the corridor. Down the next corridor, they duck into a side room, and someone walks past, entering the room opposite. The DOCTOR and HARRY creep out and look through the small window in that door. DAVROS, NYDER, and several THALS are in the room.)
HARRY: What's Davros doing here in the Thal city?
DOCTOR: Shh-sshhh.
(They listen at the vent at the bottom of the door.)
DAVROS [OC]: And I am no longer influenced by...

[INT. Thal room]

DAVROS: ...words such as 'patriotism' and 'nationalism'. My concern is only for peace, an end to this carnage that has virtually destroyed both our races.
THAL COUNCILLOR: Why aren't you telling this to your own government and people?
DAVROS: I have tried. Time and again, I have tried. But now they will be satisfied with nothing other than total annihilation of the Thal people.
THAL COUNCILLOR: Then they deserve to perish, and perish they will when we launch our rocket. It's primed and ready. The countdown for firing can begin immediately.
DAVROS: And it will fail.
THAL COUNCILLOR: It can't fail.
DAVROS: The Kaled dome cannot be penetrated. Your great rocket will hardly scratch it.
(The DOCTOR and HARRY dash across the corridor. GUARDS pass, and they soon are squatting beside the door again.)
DAVROS: This is the measure of my faith. Nyder.
(NYDER produces a sheet of paper.)
NYDER: It is a simple chemical formula. If the substance is loaded into artillery shells and fired onto the surface of the Kaled dome, it will weaken the molecular structure and make it brittle. Your rocket will then be able to penetrate without resistance.
THAL COUNCILLOR: Why are you giving us this information? You know that your own people, the Kaleds, will be utterly exterminated.
DAVROS: No price is too great to pay for peace. I only ask that when the war is over I be allowed to help in the reconstruction of our planet.
NYDER: We want only to see the conflict brought to an end. This formula gives you the power to bring that about.
DAVROS: By dawn tomorrow, our world could be at peace.
(The COUNCILLOR considers the piece of paper.)

[INT. Thal corridor]

(DAVROS and NYDER exit the room, and the door closes.)
NYDER: Do you think they believed you?
DAVROS: It is unimportant. They are hungry for victory. They will use the formula and fire their rocket no matter what they believe my motives to be. And when they do, Nyder, when they do...
(The THALS leave the room.)
THAL COUNCILLOR: I've given orders that a barrage of shells containing the formula should begin as soon as possible. The rocket launch can begin immediately. And now I'll arrange your safe escort out of the city.
(He leads the two Kaleds away, and the DOCTOR and HARRY emerge.)
HARRY: Doctor, somehow we've got to warn Mogran and the other Kaled leaders.
DOCTOR: Yes, and we haven't found Sarah yet. Come on.
(Heading down another corridor, they see GUARDS wearing protective clothing.)
DOCTOR: Excuse me, can you help me? I'm a spy.
(He knocks the men's heads together.)
DOCTOR: Their suits, Harry.

[INT. Rocket silo]

SARAH: The rocket's loaded. Why are they still keeping us here?
SEVRIN: Why take the trouble to move us? It's easier to leave us here. Yes, but when it's fired, the exhaust blast will burn us up.
(Two people wearing protective clothing and holding guns enter. The taller one beckons the GUARD on duty. This earns said GUARD a punch in the gut from the shorter figure. The two men remove their helmets.)
SARAH: Harry! Doctor!
DOCTOR: You all right, Sarah?
SARAH: Oh, I am now. Listen, we've got to get out of here. The Thals are going to launch this rocket and-
DOCTOR: Yes, yes, I know. Listen. I want you and Harry to go back to the Kaled dome. Harry knows the way. Tell them all we know. There's a chance if they launch an all-out offensive, I might be able to stop the rocket.
SARAH: What are you going to do?
DOCTOR: Try to sabotage it, or at least delay it. Off you go.
SARAH: Right.
DOCTOR: Good luck.
SARAH: Sevrin, you come with us.
DOCTOR: Well, don't just stand there. Come on, you're free! Go now while you've got the chance. Come on!
(The MUTOS slowly leave the room, and the DOCTOR approaches the rocket. HARRY leads SARAH and SEVRIN to the hatch by which he entered. SEVRIN follows SARAH down, and HARRY is last. GUARDS fire into the hole in the floor.
The DOCTOR is looking at the rocket when the GUARD wakes up and crawls to a button on a panel at floor level. He presses it. Electricity at the bottom of the scaffolding zaps the DOCTOR, whose hands contract around the bottom rung.)

The above notes, transcription, etc. by Anna Shefl

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