WILLIAM EMMS

Based on the BBC television serial by William Emms by arrangement with the British Broadcasting Corporation

Number 104 in the Doctor Who Library

A TARGET BOOK
published by
the Paperback Division of W. H. ALLEN & CO. PLC

1 Four Hundred Dawns

The Doctor was puzzled. He had brought the TARDIS back into time and space, switched off the controls and turned on the external scanner. But as he moved the scanner from one angle to another he grew more uneasy. It wasn’t that there was anything particularly wrong about the landscape he was viewing, at least not within his experience. In fact, it was quite appealing. But there was something wrong out there and he couldn’t yet put his finger on exactly what it was.

The terrain wasn’t exactly welcoming, he had to admit that. It was black, bearing a strong resemblance to tarmac. But numerous cracks had appeared in the surface and out of these trees and plant life had sprung in abundance. There were even flowers, though no evidence of how they were pollinated. He could see nothing even resembling a butterfly. Come to that, there was no sign of bird life either. He continued to stare intently at the screen.

Behind him Vicki was cutting Steven’s hair. Her dark eyes moved from the job in hand to stare intently at the Doctor. ‘Arrived, have we?’

The Doctor’s attention remained on the screen. ‘We have, my dear.’

Steven raised his head from the angle at which Vicki had tilted it. ‘Good. Where?’

‘Ah.’ The Doctor examined the control panel. ‘Somewhere in Galaxy Four. I don’t know exactly where, I’m afraid. But... there’s something not quite right about it.’

Steven stood up and he and Vicki crossed the console room to join the Doctor in staring at the screen. Neither was overly impressed. Vicki did not care for the black surface, though Steven did find a redeeming feature in the plants. He tousled his fair hair where Vicki had last been clipping and looked more closely. There was something distinctly odd about the scene, something missing. He felt uneasy. Like the Doctor, he could see no sign of animal life, but there was something else. After all, life could be underground, or even concealed somewhere in the greenery. So what was it?

‘Could you put the sound on, please, Doctor?’ The Doctor checked his instruments and made an adjustment. ‘It is on. Full now.’

They all listened intently and heard not a sound. The silence was quite overpowering. They could almost feel it. There was no sound whatsoever, not even of wind. All the trio could hear was their own breathing; all they could feel was the beating of their hearts.

‘Weird,’ whispered Vicki.

But the Doctor was again surveying his instruments. Everything was in satisfactory working order.

He stood back and sighed: ‘Atmospheric pressure, temperature, oxygen content, radiation, all satisfactory.’ He looked again at the scanner. ‘I wonder if itnd ms possible to have a planet so obviously conducive to life, yet... without any?’

‘Well, I’ve finished chopping Steven’s hair. Can we go out and see?’

The Doctor shrugged. ‘I don’t see why not. There’s just a chance that we might get some peace.’

‘For a change,’ Steven added dryly. ‘Perhaps there’s even a river or a lake. Fancy a swim, Doctor?’

‘Young man, this is a scientific expedition,’ the Doctor replied tartly. ‘It pays always to be cautious.’

‘There’s a limit to – ‘ Steven broke off as something banged against the side of the TARDIS.

They looked at each other, startled, and there was yet another bump. The Doctor raised his hand for silence. Whatever it was continued to keep knocking against the TARDIS, proceeding along one side, then another, obviously investigating the machine. And now they could hear something else: a curious chittering and jingling sound, obviously emanating from the intruder.

‘What is it?’ Vicki whispered.

‘Something mechanical,’ the Doctor answered. ‘A robot of some sort.’

‘But why the knocking?’ Steven wondered.

‘I would guess that it’s blind and has to proceed by touch,’ the Doctor said.

The knocking ceased, the intruder having completed its circuit of the TARDIS. It fell silent and they heard it moving away.

‘Look,’ Vicki said, pointing at the screen.

They followed her gaze and saw their visitor. It was a short, round structure made of some metallic substance. It could not have stood much more than four feet in height. The body consisted of a round base, a rather larger main body and a smaller shoulder section. The facial section was a grill, surmounted by a skull-like cap from which antennae protruded. The grill contained what looked very much like a gun. It came to a halt some ten metres away and faced the TARDIS again. A series of coloured lights started flashing in its head and it emitted a soft, high note.

The Doctor was fascinated. He noted too that around the base were a number of pear-shaped instruments which he took to be sensors.

‘It looks to me as though it’s sending a message,’ Steven said.

The Doctor nodded. ‘To its controllers, whoever they are.’

Steven grimaced. ‘Or whatever they are.’

The robot was on the move again. It turned and began to trundle away. Vicki was still staring at it. ‘Look how it moves,’ she said. ‘It’s got a sort of "chumbley" movement.’

Steven stared at her in disbelief. ‘Chumbley?’

‘Yes. Can’t you see?’ Her attractive face weakened as she nearly lost conviction. ‘All sort of... chumbley.’

‘Well, he’s gone now,’ the Doctor said. But he was thinking how wrong he had been in deciding there was no life on the planet. Not only was there life, but highly intelligent life at that. It took considerable technical skill and knowledge to bring into being a robot such as they had been watching. The question was: what sort of intelligence? He had encountered many varieties of intelligent life forms and not all of them had been friendly. Well, there was only one way to find out.

‘We’ll have the doors open,’ he said.

Steven was recalling the Doctor’s previous words of caution. ‘Wouldn’t it be better to wait for a while? Those things might be dangerous.’

But the Doctor ignored him. He pressed the control button and the door swung open. Picking up his stick, he made for the open air, a strange but brave sight in his battered trousers and frock coat, cravat fluttering about his neck, and his white hair not as tidy as it might have been. Vicki and Steven exchanged a slightly worried glance, then followed. Once outside, the Doctor breathed in deeply and with enjoyment. ‘Delightful. Just the right oxygen content.’

‘And the flowers smell lovely,’ Vicki said.

Steven, however, was shielding his eyes and looking into the sky. ‘I see we’ve got three suns. I wonder which one we revolve around?’

The Doctor finished locking the door of the TARDIS. ‘It’s quite possible that they revolve around us.’ He straightened and pocketed the key, glanced at Vicki who was examining the flowers, then at the terrain surrounding them. It reminded him of a past experience. ‘The silence is just like it was on the planet Xeros.’

Vicki turned from examining the flowers. ‘We haven’t jumped a time-track again, have we?’

‘No, no, my child. Not this time.’ He tilted his head to the side. ‘But I don’t like the silence. Not at all.’ Vicki gasped. ‘Doctor!’

The Doctor and Steven looked at her, then followed her pointing finger’. A Chumbley had appeared from behind the TARDIiS and was obviously ......