DOCTOR WHO AND THE SILURIANS
BY: MALCOLM HULKE
5:15pm - 5:40pm
[SCENE_BREAK]
1. INT. CAVES
(Two men wearing potholing gear are exploring a large subterranean cave. DAVIS holds a thin wire ladder steady whilst SPENCER climbs down.)
SPENCER: Well this is fantastic!
(They look about examining their surroundings, when there is a faint, far-off noise sounding like an animal roaring.)
SPENCER: What was that?
DAVIS: Nothing.
(However DAVIS isn't quite sure of his own conclusion, and starts moving through the cave.)
DAVIS: Wait.
(DAVIS moves in the direction of the noise. After some time he finds a somewhat concealed opening to a larger space. Again the noise is heard much closer, and since SPENCER has followed directly in his footsteps, DAVIS beckons him to stay back. He then moves through the narrow opening which seems to be the source of the sound. He looks around, momentarily disoriented by the change in scale of the cave. Then there is a huge roar, and DAVIS wheels round, looking upwards at something indescribably terrifying.)
DAVIS: Spencer! Spencer!
(Accompanied by the same loud roar, a giant claw rakes across DAVIS and he falls backwards onto the floor of the cave. SPENCER rushes through the opening to reach DAVIS, who is clearly unconscious or dead. SPENCER looks up at something towering above him, and jumps back in sheer terror.)
SPENCER: Ah! Ah! Ah!
(SPENCER retreats from the opening and stumbles back through the cave, completely dazed.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
2. INT. DOCTOR'S WORKSHOP, UNIT H.Q. DAY
(The DOCTOR lies on the floor underneath an old, but well-looked-after, shiny yellow car, the engine of which he is busily working on. He is cheerfully humming and singing Lewis Carroll's poem Jabberwocky to himself, totally absorbed in his activity.)
DOCTOR: (Singing.) "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves / Did gyre and gimble in the wabe..."
LIZ: (Off-stage.) Doctor!
(A number plate marked WHO 1 lies at the DOCTOR's feet.)
DOCTOR: Come on Bessie, be more co-operative. (Singing.) "All mimsy were the borogroves, And the mome raths..."
LIZ: (Entering holding a note.) Doctor!
DOCTOR: Oh?
(As the DOCTOR slides out from underneath Bessie we see he is lying on a low cart and wearing a grey mechanics' coat rather than his usual frock coat.)
DOCTOR: Oh hello Liz!
LIZ: You'll never get that thing running.
DOCTOR: (Sitting up.) Oh don't you be so disrespectful. I'll have you know this is a car of great character.
(He rises, and as he does, a small circular loop falls from his shoulder into his hands.)
DOCTOR: I was very lucky to get her.
LIZ: Are you really going to drive about in it?
DOCTOR: Yes, certainly. I've nearly finished my modifications. I thought we'd take her out for a trial run, in a minute.
(He examines the loop.)
DOCTOR: Now I wonder what that's for. Oh well.
(Not knowing what he intended to do with the loop, he throws it aside. He potters across to his work bench, followed by LIZ.)
LIZ: Urgent message from the Brigadier.
DOCTOR: Oh he's away, isn't he? Investigating some scientists.
LIZ: Yes, well he wants us to join him. (Reading the BRIGADIER's note.) "Miss Shaw and the Doctor will report themselves forthwith to Wenley Moor, attend a briefing meeting at precisely..."
DOCTOR: (Interrupting.) My dear Miss Shaw, I never report myself anywhere. Particularly not forthwith.
LIZ: Oh, it's just his way of putting things.
(Taking a wrench he gets back on his cart and slides himself back underneath Bessie.)
DOCTOR: I'm sorry Liz, I won't go. I'm far too busy.
LIZ: Come on Doctor.
DOCTOR: "'Twee..."
(He starts singing too low, and has to jump into a higher key.)
DOCTOR: "'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves..."
(LIZ is obliged to get down on hands and knees beside the car in an effort to engage the DOCTOR's attention.)
LIZ: It would make a nitce... a nice trip for us. We could visit the caves.
DOCTOR: (Suddenly alert.) Caves? What caves?
LIZ: Well, that part of the country's famous for them.
DOCTOR: Oh.
LIZ: Mmm.
DOCTOR: Is it?
LIZ: It is.
DOCTOR: Oh, alright then.
(The DOCTOR once again slides out from underneath the car.)
DOCTOR: I'll drive you up there in Bessie.
(LIZ stares blankly at the DOCTOR, until he points in the direction of the car.)
LIZ: Bessie?
DOCTOR: Yes, Bessie.
LIZ: I see.
DOCTOR: Ah, ha ha!
(The DOCTOR kisses his hand and touches it to the bonnet, whereupon the engine springs to life and begins sputtering away. He retrieves his frock coat from the peg on the wall and prepares to change from his mechanics' coat.)
DOCTOR: (Handing the frock-coat to LIZ.) Alright my dear, hold that please...
[SCENE_BREAK]
3. EXT. LONDON STREET; RESEARCH CENTRE; COUNTRY ROAD. DAY
(Threading it's way through the streets of London can be seen a "bright yellow banger" driven by the DOCTOR, with LIZ in the passenger seat. The shot pulls back as Bessie approaches. A cut to a series of concealed country buildings, revealed only by the large antennas standing above the ground. Finally, the DOCTOR and LIZ reach the country, with the DOCTOR rounding the corner of an unsealed road at dangerous speed; LIZ must hang on to her seat for safety.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
4. INT. WENLEY MOOR RESEARCH CENTRE, CONFERENCE ROOM
(Doctor Charles LAWRENCE is giving a briefing to his staff who are seated in rows in front of him, whilst BRIGADIER Alastair Lethbridge-Stewart is sitting to one side, listening to him droning on.)
LAWRENCE: I trust that point is clear. And I would emphasise again - that despite the presence of our friends from UNIT...
(LAWRENCE leans slightly in the direction of the BRIGADIER, who returns an alert look at LAWRENCE.)
LAWRENCE: ...to whom we shall give every possible co-operation - this problem is, I am sure, a scientific one.
(A UNIT soldier enters from the double doors at the left, goes up to the BRIGADIER and whispers a message in his ear, who nods and then stands and leaves with him.)
LAWRENCE: It is our duty as scientists to deal with it ourselves. Only by exercising redoubled vigilance in all our duties can we track down the errors that are holding back the work of this research centre.
[SCENE_BREAK]
5. INT. CORRIDOR
(As the BRIGADIER and the UNIT soldier leave the conference room we can hear the dying strains of Doctor LAWRENCE's lecture.)
LAWRENCE: (OOV.) The work of this research centre is vital...
(The BRIGADIER heads for the lift.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
6. INT. RECEPTION FOYER
(The BRIGADIER walks past the reception desk followed by the UNIT soldier, and finds the DOCTOR and LIZ standing in front of the doors of the lift, with their passes being inspected by a black-capped security officer.)
BRIGADIER: Ah, there you are at last.
DOCTOR: There you are at last.
BRIGADIER: (Turns to the UNIT soldier and dismisses him.) Right.
(The security officer meanwhile finishes with the DOCTOR and LIZ, hands LIZ's pass back to her, and leaves also.)
DOCTOR: And just where are we?
BRIGADIER: In a cave.
LIZ: We can see that.
BRIGADIER: Or rather in an atomic research centre which has been built into these caves.
DOCTOR: Why? More security?
BRIGADIER: (Smiling to himself.) Exactly.
DOCTOR: Look, may I ask you, why am I here?
BRIGADIER: Come this way - the meeting's waiting.
(The BRIGADIER turns in the direction of the conference room.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
7. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
(Dr LAWRENCE is still haranguing his staff.)
LAWRENCE: We are already very considerably behind in our research program, and I am deter...
(The entry of the BRIGADIER, the frock-coated DOCTOR, and the mini-skirted LIZ completely distracts LAWRENCE's train of thought for a moment. He regains his composure and continues:)
LAWRENCE: And I am determined we will recover our lost ground, and go on to make the new and important discoveries that lie ahead. Alright, that will be all.
(The meeting breaks up. Dr LAWRENCE's senior staff, consisting of Dr John QUINN, and Major BAKER, gather in the middle of the conference room as the remainder of the staff file out through the double doors. QUINN accidentally bumps into Miss DAWSON as she goes to leave.)
QUINN: Oh, I'm sorry.
BRIGADIER: (Performing introductions.) Gentlemen, my colleagues, Miss Elizabeth Shaw, and the Doctor. Doctor Lawrence, director of this establishment.
LAWRENCE: How do you do.
BRIGADIER: Doctor Quinn, his number two.
QUINN: (Exchanging a handshake with the DOCTOR.) Hello.
BRIGADIER: Major Baker, station security officer. Doctor Lawrence, perhaps you would be kind enough to put my colleagues in the picture.
(QUINN, BAKER and LIZ sit in the front row of seats whilst the BRIGADIER takes his seat in the corner. The DOCTOR remains standing. Dr LAWRENCE leans back on his desk to begin his briefing.)
LAWRENCE: This establishment consists basically of a device for research into the nature of the atom - cyclotron - otherwise known as a proton accelerator. It, ah...
(The DOCTOR turns his back on LAWRENCE and starts wandering down the conference room to look at the documents and illustrations on the wall, clearly to the annoyance of LAWRENCE.)
LAWRENCE: It bombards atoms with subatomic particles.
DOCTOR: (Without turning back to face LAWRENCE.) Why?
LAWRENCE: We are on the verge of discovering a way to provide cheap, safe, atomic energy for virtually every kind of use.
QUINN: (Turning around to LIZ and the DOCTOR.) We're developing a new kind of nuclear reactor, one which converts nuclear energy directly to electrical power.
DOCTOR: (Leans on a desk and turns back to face the group.) Well that's all very well. But what is going wrong?
BRIGADIER: (Leaning forward.) Two things. First, an abnormally high rate of personnel trouble. Nervous breakdowns. Absenteeism. Accidents. But the really serious problem, is the power losses.
LAWRENCE: There have been a certain number of unexplained leakages in the power supplied by the nuclear generator. I am confident we shall find an explanation.
BRIGADIER: You haven't found one yet, Doctor Lawrence, that's why I'm here.
QUINN: Well it's a highly complex piece of machinery, naturally there are problems.
DOCTOR: Naturally.
BRIGADIER: (Standing.) Now there are three possible approaches to this problem. Security.
BAKER: Everything has been double-checked.
BRIGADIER: Then you will triple-check it, Major Baker, under my supervision, thank you.
BAKER: Sir.
BRIGADIER: Personnel, this will be dealt with by Miss Shaw.
LIZ: (Bemused.) Oh yes?
BRIGADIER: (Returning LIZ's smile.) Yes. Finally the purely scientific angle, now the Doctor here...
(He sees the DOCTOR is not paying attention.)
BRIGADIER: What is it Doctor?
DOCTOR: (Searching his pockets.) It's the most extraordinary thing. I can't seem to find my sonic screwdriver anywhere.
(QUINN chuckles to himself, whilst the humourless LAWRENCE can only imagine the worst.)
LAWRENCE: (Incredulous.) You're not proposing to dismantle a piece of equipment worth fifteen million pounds with a screwdriver?
DOCTOR: Well it's not worth fifteen million pins if it doesn't work, is it?
BRIGADIER: Oh Doctor, I suggest you start by just looking round.
QUINN: Yes, let me take you both over the installation.
(QUINN stands and opens the door for LIZ and the DOCTOR.)
DOCTOR: Splendid, come on Liz. Doctor Quinn, which way do we go?
QUINN: To the left.
DOCTOR: To the left.
(LIZ, the DOCTOR, and QUINN file out to the left.)
LAWRENCE: Brigadier, I shall expect to hear from you as soon as you have anything to report. You'll see that our work is disrupted as little as possible.
BRIGADIER: Of course sir. I'll use this room as my HQ if I may.
LAWRENCE: Very well.
(LAWRENCE gives BAKER a dismissive glance as he stalks to the door. He turns back to the BRIGADIER.)
LAWRENCE: And eh... I should be grateful if you could hurry things up, Brigadier. I want this place working normally again.
BRIGADIER: We all do sir.
(LAWRENCE leaves to the right. After he has gone, BAKER crosses to the door, melodramatically opens it to check that no one is listening outside the door, and rejoins the BRIGADIER.)
BAKER: I must say sir, that I fail to see the necessity for the involvement of UNIT.
BRIGADIER: How long have these disturbances been going on?
BAKER: Three months.
BRIGADIER: Then there's your answer.
BAKER: Sir?
BRIGADIER: Something's been happening here which is outside the normal security pattern, and that is precisely the business of UNIT.
(He turns to leave.)
BAKER: Sir. I think I have the solution.
BRIGADIER: Have you?
(The BRIGADIER stops by the door and BAKER steps up close to him.)
BAKER: Someone has been carrying out a planned, deliberate program of sabotage... from the inside.
[SCENE_BREAK]
8. INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM
(The cyclotron room is a large square room divided into a large lower floor and a smaller, raised upper control room separated by a glass partition. In the centre of the lower area of the room, embedded in the wall, is the huge drum of the cyclotron, which glows with a bright red light, fluctuating slowly; in the very centre there is a spherical, mirror-like surface emanating a rather golden light.)
DAWSON: Electron voltage readings...
(As the DOCTOR and LIZ follow QUINN through the outer door of the cyclotron room he asks a technician to hold the door:)
QUINN: Can you manage?
(The DOCTOR and LIZ stand beside Miss DAWSON at the control desk whilst QUINN indicates the cyclotron behind him.)
DAWSON: Right. Initiate circuit check.
QUINN: Now this is the very heart of the cyclotron. Literally so in fact, we're actually inside the machine itself.
DOCTOR: You have your own nuclear reactor, do you?
QUINN: Oh yes. Oh yes. The cyclotron uses power in enormous quantities.
(QUINN pulls open the inner glass door.)
QUINN: Would you care to ah, step down?
(As they step down from the control chamber to the main floor of the cyclotron room QUINN and Miss DAWSON quickly exchange a glance.)
DOCTOR: What happens when one of these power losses occurs at a particularly crucial time?
QUINN: So far, we've always managed to stabilise.
LIZ: If you didn't?
QUINN: Well, theoretically...
DOCTOR: Your nuclear reactor could turn into a massive atomic bomb.
LIZ: You ought to shut down the place at once.
QUINN: That would be a decision for the Director.
DOCTOR: A decision he might be reluctant to make, hmm?
QUINN: Doctor Lawrence has the research program very much at heart.
(Suddenly feeling ill, LIZ holds her hand to her head.)
LIZ: I think I'd better make a start on... on the personnel files. I wonder if someone could show me where to go.
QUINN: Oh yes, of course.
(He turns to one of the technicians.)
QUINN: Mister Roberts, take this young lady across to Doctor Meredith in the medical wing.
(The DOCTOR notices LIZ's sudden turn for the worse.)
DOCTOR: Liz, are you all right?
LIZ: Yes... I'm fine.
(ROBERTS, a bearded young man in a white lab coat, leads the way out of the main cyclotron room.)
ROBERTS: Come this way, please.
DOCTOR: I'll join you later, Liz.
LIZ: Bye.
(ROBERTS and LIZ go out.)
QUINN: You don't mind if I ah, carry on?
DOCTOR: No, no, please do.
(QUINN takes ROBERTS' place, puts on his glasses and pores over the secondary power controls. After a moment the DOCTOR picks up the conversation again:)
DOCTOR: Quite an achievement, building this centre in these caves.
QUINN: Yes, there are miles of them still in their natural state. Breathtaking. Ever been potholing?
DOCTOR: No, not for a very long time.
QUINN: No, well I'm very keen on it. At least I was, until...
DOCTOR: Until what?
QUINN: A couple of our junior technicians went exploring on their day off. There was an accident, one of them was killed. The other is still in the sick bay.
DOCTOR: You have your own doctor?
QUINN: No, Doctor Meredith comes in from the local hospital.
DOCTOR: This technician. Was he badly hurt?
QUINN: (Nervously.) Well now I'm not sure, they seem to be hushing it up, ha, ha.
DOCTOR: I wonder why.
QUINN: I beg your pardon?
DOCTOR: I said I wonder why.
QUINN: (Cheerfully dismissive.) Oh well.
DOCTOR: Now Doctor Quinn, these power losses. Do they take any particular pattern?
QUINN: As far as we can see, completely random.
DOCTOR: I see. Well I wonder whether I could possibly check. A fresh eye, you know.
QUINN: Oh yes, of course. Here's the log.
(The desk intercom phone rings.)
QUINN: (To the DOCTOR.) Excuse me. (Picking up the phone.) Quinn here. No, no, no, two-three-six today, now get that right. Two-three-six. Yes indeed.
DOCTOR: Doctor Quinn?
QUINN: (Into the phone.) Excuse me. (To the DOCTOR.) Yes?
DOCTOR: This log seems to be incomplete.
QUINN: (Finishing the phone call.) Look, I'll ring you back. (Puts the handpiece down.) That log should be kept every day.
(QUINN picks up the microphone to communicate with the upper cyclotron control room.)
QUINN: Miss Dawson?
DAWSON: Yes, Doctor Quinn?
QUINN: Come down here a moment will you?
(He puts the microphone down whilst Miss DAWSON comes down.)
QUINN: What an extraordinary thing.
DOCTOR: Hmm.
QUINN: (As Miss DAWSON enters.) Miss Dawson, there's a query here, perhaps you can help. Do you know who usually keeps this log?
DAWSON: Oh, it used to be Spencer.
QUINN: Ah, well that explains it. Spencer's the chap who got hurt in the caves.
(The DOCTOR shakes his head.)
DOCTOR: No, Doctor Quinn. I don't think it does explain it.
(He hands the log back to QUINN.)
DOCTOR: Look.
QUINN: At what?
DOCTOR: There at the bottom of the page, by the string, the binding? You'll see a tiny shred of paper. Some of those pages have been torn out.
(The speechless Doctor QUINN and Miss DAWSON look uncomfortably at the DOCTOR.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
9. INT. RECORDS OFFICE
(Doctor MEREDITH, the medical doctor for the centre, stands in front of a planning chart whilst LIZ inspects the records kept in a series of filing cabinets against the opposite wall.)
MEREDITH: I might be able to help you, if you could only tell me what you were looking for.
LIZ: I don't know myself yet, Doctor Meredith.
MEREDITH: We've had a lot of trouble of course. Mild neuroses, imaginative ailments, one nervous breakdown.
LIZ: Yes, so I see.
MEREDITH: But of course these things are quite unavoidable.
LIZ: This isn't the only atomic research establishment in the country, you know.
MEREDITH: The others haven't quite the same problem. Working continuously underground you hardly know n... day from night down here.
(As he had promised, the DOCTOR arrives to check up with LIZ.)
DOCTOR: Ah Liz, any luck with those records?
MEREDITH: I take it you're yet another member of the UNIT team?
DOCTOR: Yes. Depressing, isn't it!
LIZ: This is Doctor Meredith.
DOCTOR: Oh splendid, just the chap I wanted to see. Now look, this ah, this patient of yours, Spencer, the one who was injured in the caves, may I see him?
MEREDITH: I'm sorry, that's quite out of the question.
DOCTOR: Oh really? Why's that?
MEREDITH: Because I won't allow it, that's why. I'm about to have him moved into hospital. Besides, you have no authority.
DOCTOR: Doctor Meredith. As an associate of UNIT, I think you will find that I have the authority to do precisely as I please. May I now see your patient?
MEREDITH: Oh, it seems I have no choice. Alright, but I warn you, it is at your own risk.
DOCTOR: Thank you.
(The DOCTOR holds the door open and smiles in victory at the sighing MEREDITH and LIZ as they exit the office.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
10. INT. SICK BAY
(MEREDITH, LIZ, and the DOCTOR enter into the confined sick bay ward to see SPENCER, who is discovered to be drawing a series of animal figures onto the wall beside his bed. A technician standing guard leaves the room.)
DOCTOR: How long has he been behaving like this?
MEREDITH: Since he came out of his coma, with occasional spells of trying to throttle me.
DOCTOR: Astonishing, it's quite astonishing.
MEREDITH: It's the only thing that keeps him quiet.
DOCTOR: Was he much of an artist before the accident?
MEREDITH: Not that I know of.
DOCTOR: Excuse me.
(The DOCTOR moves past LIZ to get around to the side of the bed where SPENCER is crouched. He now sees the full extent of the drawings.)
DOCTOR: It's absolutely amazing.
LIZ: Careful Doctor.
DOCTOR: Yes, alright.
(The DOCTOR comes up and leans down behind the oblivious SPENCER.)
DOCTOR: What's this one, old chap?
(The DOCTOR taps SPENCER on the back and points to the shape of a biped. SPENCER reacts in fear and turns, screaming wildly at the DOCTOR.)
DOCTOR: It's alright, old chap, it's alright.
(SPENCER after a moment attacks the DOCTOR and tries to throttle him. The DOCTOR evades backwards onto the bed, and SPENCER leaps on top of him. MEREDITH and LIZ reach out to help.)
DOCTOR: (To MEREDITH.) Keep away Doctor, get out, leave this to me.
(The DOCTOR removes SPENCER's hands from his throat and gradually talks SPENCER back down into a calm state:)
DOCTOR: It's alright, old chap. Now calm down. Settle down now. Calm down. That's it. Steady down now. That's it. Calm down. Nobody's going to hurt you.
(SPENCER returns to his wall and his sketching.)
MEREDITH: Are you alright? I did warn you.
DOCTOR: Yes, I'm alright. He's just frightened, that's all.
LIZ: So was I. What's made him like this?
DOCTOR: Some kind of fear. It's absolutely incredible. It's thrown his mind back millions of years!
[SCENE_BREAK]
11. INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM
(In the upper control room of the cyclotron, Dr QUINN, Miss DAWSON, and ROBERTS make final checks for the planned cyclotron run.)
QUINN: Twenty-four thirty-five.
ROBERTS: Check.
QUINN: Twenty-eight over two.
ROBERTS: Check.
QUINN: Forty-seven... hello, something wrong there isn't it. Ah no wonder, the T one-four's not working. Have you tested it today?
DAWSON: Doctor Quinn, the secondary readings.
(She hands QUINN a clipboard.)
QUINN: Roberts, would you mind testing the T one-four?
ROBERTS: Yes.
(Under the watchful gaze of a UNIT corporal, Miss DAWSON goes up to QUINN.)
DAWSON: I'm frightened. What's going to happen?
QUINN: You mustn't panic. Just behave... normally.
DAWSON: This UNIT investigation, they're bound to discover something.
QUINN: I know, it's a risk.
(QUINN stands and moves forward to the glass partition.)
ROBERTS: (Distantly from the main cyclotron room.) Twenty-four, power normal.
QUINN: Good.
(Miss DAWSON joins him at the glass.)
DAWSON: John, you've got to tell them to stop. At least while these people are here.
QUINN: Do you think I haven't? Either they don't listen, or they don't understand.
DAWSON: (Intensely.) They've got to stop!
QUINN: Shh!
ROBERTS: (Using the downstairs comms microphone.) T one-four, S K.
QUINN: (Picks up the microphone to reply.) Thank you, Roberts.
DAWSON: Tell the Brigadier, or Baker - they'll help.
(QUINN doesn't answer and is about to move back around the desk when Miss DAWSON grabs hold of him.)
DAWSON: Before someone else gets killed.
QUINN: They wouldn't believe me, and anyway there's far too much at stake. Now take your hand off.
(Miss DAWSON lets QUINN go, and he goes back around to his place at the upper control desk.)
DAWSON: It's not worth the risk.
QUINN: (Looking up at DAWSON from his chair.) The knowledge I shall gain is worth any risk.
[SCENE_BREAK]
12. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
(Major BAKER stands staring at the BRIGADIER leafing through a file, which he closes. The phone rings, and the BRIGADIER hands the file back to Major BAKER.)
BRIGADIER: It's very comprehensive, Major Baker.
BAKER: Not quite, sir, there's you and your team.
BRIGADIER: (Smiling.) No doubt you'll see to that.
BAKER: Yes sir. I checked on your security clearance as soon as you arrived, Miss Shaw's clearance has just come through.
BRIGADIER: Very thorough.
BAKER: This man you call the Doctor, sir, there is nothing on file at central intelligence records about him.
BRIGADIER: No, there wouldn't be.
BAKER: Well then may I ask sir...
BRIGADIER: No, Major Baker, you may not. The Doctor is my personal responsibility.
(At this moment the DOCTOR strides in, when BAKER clearly doesn't want him there. The DOCTOR exchanges glances with the UNIT corporal by the door and the BRIGADIER.)
DOCTOR: Oh yes, very homely.
(There is an uncomfortable silence which even the DOCTOR can detect. In the end he turns away and waits for BAKER to finish.)
BRIGADIER: Right, thank you Major Baker, we'll have another go at those files later.
BAKER: Sir.
(BAKER stuffs his files into his briefcase.)
BAKER: I shall be in my office, sir.
(He picks up his briefcase and walks out. The DOCTOR holds open the door for BAKER, who glares back at him as he leaves. The DOCTOR watches him disappear up the corridor through the glass windows set into the doors.)
DOCTOR: Where exactly is his office?
BRIGADIER: Down the other end of the corridor.
DOCTOR: He's very conscientious, isn't he?
BRIGADIER: Well he slipped up badly once some years ago, he's been trying to make up for it ever since. You'd better look out Doctor, he wants to run a security check on you.
DOCTOR: I wish him joy of it.
BRIGADIER: I don't suppose you've found anything?
DOCTOR: On the contrary. I've found enough to make me very, very worried.
[SCENE_BREAK]
13. INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM
(With the latest test about to get underway, Doctor QUINN is seated in the upper control room. As he gives instructions into the comms microphone, Doctor LAWRENCE quietly enters from the outer door.)
QUINN: Stand by, stand by.
LAWRENCE: Everything normal, Doctor Quinn?
QUINN: Everything is perfectly normal, thank you Director, we've just completed final checks.
LAWRENCE: Oh good.
(LAWRENCE is about to leave again, when QUINN pulls a clipboard from a nearby desk.)
QUINN: Hey, I'd like to include some of these supplementary tests.
LAWRENCE: And have our schedule fall even further behind? With UNIT looking over our shoulder? No, I don't think so.
(Dr LAWRENCE leaves without any further debate. Dr QUINN picks up the comms microphone and continues from where he left off.)
QUINN: Stand by. Prepare to initiate program two-three-six.
(In the lower half of the cyclotron room Miss DAWSON is seated at the secondary bank of instruments in the middle of the room. The technician ROBERTS is standing directly in front of the cyclotron, which is glowing dully.)
DAWSON: Two-three-six. Check.
QUINN: (Out of view.) Proton acceleration, phase three.
DAWSON: Phase three. Check.
(In the background ROBERTS seems to be wandering around without knowing where he is. Behind him the central sphere of the cyclotron begins oscillating quicker.)
QUINN: Roberts, electron voltage reading please.
(ROBERTS has drifted into a world of his own, somehow mesmerised by the cyclotron. He wanders over to stand in front of Miss DAWSON's desk. After ROBERTS fails to respond for some time, Miss DAWSON shrilly asks:)
DAWSON: Roberts! Electron voltage readings!
(ROBERTS suddenly snaps out of his reverie and looks up at QUINN and DAWSON.)
ROBERTS: Sorry sir.
(He rushes to his post and picks up the microphone.)
ROBERTS: Electron voltage reading, two thousand million, power rising.
QUINN: Thank you.
[SCENE_BREAK]
14. INT. CONFERENCE ROOM
(The BRIGADIER is skeptically and amusedly listening to the DOCTOR's evidence, which is only serving to irritate him.)
BRIGADIER: Cave drawings on the walls? My dear Doctor, if that's what you call evidence!...
DOCTOR: Of course it's evidence.
(He agitatedly taps a pencil on the BRIGADIER's desk twice.)
BRIGADIER: Look. This poor devil sees his friend killed in an accident, he wanders around those caves for hours before they get him out, well quite naturally he has some kind of breakdown.
DOCTOR: Which turns him into a brilliant Paleolithic cave artist?
(The BRIGADIER doesn't rise to the bait - he has no explanation.)
DOCTOR: Well what about the logs then? Those torn out pages?
BRIGADIER: Now there you may have something. Could be sabotage, I suppose...
DOCTOR: Ah!
(The DOCTOR shows the BRIGADIER the pointy end of his pencil.)
BRIGADIER: ...or someone trying to cover up simple incompetence.
(The DOCTOR slams the pencil down in vexation and it clatters on the ground.)
DOCTOR: Lethbridge-Stewart, what on earth is the point of my trying to discover things for you if you keep turning them down all the time!
BRIGADIER: Then I suggest you discover something I can't dismiss.
DOCTOR: You're not exactly a little Sherlock Holmes yourself, are you?
(The BRIGADIER is so taken aback by the DOCTOR's spite that he raises his eyebrows. At that moment, the whir of the air conditioning dies away and the lights fade down.)
DOCTOR: What the devil's that?
BRIGADIER: It's another power failure.
(The BRIGADIER returns the DOCTOR's jibe.)
BRIGADIER: Come on, Doctor Watson!
(They leap to their feet and head for the cyclotron room.)
[SCENE_BREAK]
15. INT. CYCLOTRON ROOM
(A full emergency is in progress in the cyclotron room, with the lights in the room fluctuating wildly. An alarm klaxon is sounding on some of the instruments. ROBERTS and another technician are standing watching the electron voltage readings.)
ROBERTS: Power very erratic sir. It keeps dropping off, and then suddenly there's a boost.
(The full staff of the research centre race through the doors to their posts, followed last of all by Doctor LAWRENCE, who heads straight to Doctor QUINN's desk in the upper control room. QUINN appears to be assured and in command of the situation.)
LAWRENCE: Get that reaction back under control, Doctor Quinn. Shall I take over?
QUINN: (Coolly.) That won't be necessary, thank you.
(QUINN picks up the comms microphone and starts the shutdown process.)
QUINN: Stand by. We are going to close down in carefully measured stages. There is no need for panic, just follow normal routine.
(DAWSON is still at the secondary control desk in the lower half of the room, watching the cyclotron.)
DAWSON: Proton acceleration very irregular.
(The cyclotron is wildly flashing with energy.)
QUINN: Close down sector one.
(There is a hum of electrical equipment as the section is closed down, and the DOCTOR and the BRIGADIER arrive in the cyclotron room.)
QUINN: Electron voltage readings please.
DAWSON: Six thousand million, still rising.
1st TECHNICIAN: (Out of view.) Sector one closed down sir.
(The BRIGADIER leans over QUINN and interrupts, but QUINN carries on regardless.)
BRIGADIER: What's going on?
QUINN: Close down sector two.
(There is another loud hum of electrical equipment as the next section is closed down, and the DOCTOR pulls the BRIGADIER aside to answer his question.)
DOCTOR: They're trying to close down the cyclotron without the nuclear reactions getting out of control.
2nd TECHNICIAN: (Out of view.) Sector two closed down sir.
BRIGADIER: I see. Anything we can do?
DOCTOR: Yes - keep out of the way, I should think.
(The DOCTOR and the BRIGADIER descend to the lower floor of the cyclotron room.)
QUINN: (Out of view.) Close down sector three.
DAWSON: Power still fluctuating.
QUINN: Roberts, close down sector three.
ROBERTS: No, it's no good, I can't!
(ROBERTS is again in the grip of some influence and stands away from his post, looking upwards at the instruments.)
DAWSON: The power is back on full. Proton acceleration seven thousand million, still rising...
(Miss DAWSON gets up from the control desk to see what's holding back ROBERTS.)
DAWSON: Roberts! Roberts! ROBERTS!
(Miss DAWSON runs forward to shut down the sector three control bank herself. As she runs past ROBERTS he lunges out at her and begins to attack her. She screams and falls over. The DOCTOR and the BRIGADIER jump to Miss DAWSON's aid and pull off ROBERTS; the BRIGADIER knocks ROBERTS out with a chopping blow to the back of the neck.)
QUINN: Shut down sector three, someone take over, shut down sector three.
(The DOCTOR steps up and operates the controls. There is a reassuring hum as the equipment is closed down.)
DOCTOR: Sector three shut down.
QUINN: (Out of view.) Thank you, Doctor. Close down sector four.
[SCENE_BREAK]
16. INT. RECORDS OFFICE
(The emergency over, LIZ leads the DOCTOR into the records office.)
DOCTOR: Now what about those records Liz.
LIZ: Well there's a terrifically high rate of minor neuroses - two hundred percent above the normal, even for a place like this.
DOCTOR: Any pattern.
LIZ: Everyone who was affected worked at one time or another in the cyclotron room. Even I felt odd while I was there.
DOCTOR: Really? In what way?
LIZ: Feeling of oppression, almost terror.
(The DOCTOR sits down at the side desk below the wall chart.)
DOCTOR: You know, it's obviously something that only affects some humans. Otherwise they'd all crack up.
LIZ: So you too think it's something to do with the cyclotron room?
DOCTOR: No, well not really, but... it is the deepest part of the centre. And it's the nearest to those caves.
LIZ: So?
(The DOCTOR agitatedly thumps the desk.)
DOCTOR: Everything leads back to those caves, Liz. Davis was killed there, Spencer was frightened into becoming a cave man.
LIZ: That reminds me, there's a report here on Davis.
(LIZ goes and extracts the file from the top draw of the filing cabinet on the other side of the room.)
DOCTOR: Oh yes.
LIZ: The police forwarded a copy.
DOCTOR: Let's have a look.
LIZ: Even a map showing where they found him.
DOCTOR: Oh good.
(LIZ deposits the report, map and other documents from the folder onto the desk. The DOCTOR skims through the report and picks out some salient remarks:)
DOCTOR: (Reading aloud.) "Immediate cause of death, fracture of the cranium. Further observations: unusual abrasions on the body, strangely resembling scratches or claw marks. Presumably caused during fall."
(The DOCTOR looks up in puzzlement.)
DOCTOR: Claw marks!
[SCENE_BREAK]
17. INT. CAVES
(His curiosity having gotten the better of him, the DOCTOR has equipped himself with potholing gear, and with the aid of the map from the police report, has made his way to the very same caves where Davis and Spencer had ventured forth.)
(He climbs down a thin ladder into the space, and looks about the surrounding rocks and sand. As he looks, he hears a faint, far-off noise, possibly like an animal roaring.)
(Not in the slightest bit unnerved, the DOCTOR steps forward and after some brief reconnoitering, discovers a discarded hammer. Encouraged, he continues in much the same direction, between a narrow crevice and upwards into a small cranny, where he again is rewarded, this time with the discovery of several large loops of climbing rope. Again there is a faint roar from somewhere nearby.)
(The DOCTOR looks around and notices a small opening, which, although quite narrow, appears to lead to a much larger space. He puts aside the rope and cautiously climbs through the opening into a much larger chamber. He looks around the space, seeing nothing. After several moments he turns back to retreat through the opening, when there is a colossal roar behind him.)
(The DOCTOR turns to stare upwards at a carnivorous dinosaur of the same mould as the Allosaurus or Tyrannosaurus rex. It reaches down at him with it's sharp fore-claws, and trapped in the opening all the DOCTOR can do is raise an arm over his face in self-defence...)
Plan: A: the Wenley Moor Research Centre; Q: Where are the Doctor and Liz summoned to? A: Brigadier; Q: Who summons the Doctor and Liz to the Wenley Moor Research Centre? A: several staff members; Q: Who suffers nervous breakdowns at the Wenley Moor Research Centre? Summary: The Doctor and Liz are summoned to the Wenley Moor Research Centre by the Brigadier, after several staff members suffer nervous breakdowns.