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DOCTOR WHO AND SHADA
Based on the BBC television serial by Douglas Adams

PAUL SCOONES

A TSV BOOK
published by

the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club

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A TSV Book Published by the New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club, 2006 New Zealand Doctor Who Fan Club PO Box 7061, Wellesley Street, Auckland 1141, New Zealand www.doctorwho.org.nz First published in 1989 by JPS Books Second edition published in 1991 by TSV Books Last print edition published in 2001 Original script copyright © Douglas Adams 1979 Novelisation copyright © Paul Scoones 2006 Doctor Who copyright © British Broadcasting Corporation 1979, 2006 This is an unofficial and unauthorised fan publication. No profits have been derived from this book. No attempt has been made to supersede the copyrights held by the BBC or any other persons or organisations. Reproduction of the text of this e-book for resale or distribution is prohibited. Cover illustration by Alistair Hughes

Respectfully dedicated to the memory of Douglas Adams and Graham Williams

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Contents
Prologue 1 Professor Chronotis 2 The Worshipful and Ancient Law of Gallifrey 3 In Search of the Book 4 The Sphere 5 Skagra 6 Dead Man 7 The Krargs 8 Think Tank 9 Skagra’s Plan 10 Shada 11 Into the Vortex 12 Battle of the Minds Epilogue 5 7 13 19 24 30 38 43 50 58 63 71 78 83

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Author’s Note
Of all the many serials that were developed by the BBC Doctor Who production office but, for one reason or another, never made it to our television screens Shada is perhaps the most deserving of recognition as an ‘official’ Doctor Who story. It was not through an inability to make the scripts work, or a failure to fit in with the direction of the series that kept this story from a television broadcast. Had the story not been pulled due to industrial action after over a third had been filmed or recorded, Shada would certainly have taken its rightful place as the final, six-part story of the seventeenth season, broadcast following The Horns of Nimon. It is in recognition of this story’s unique status - as one that should have been part of the television series - that it has been included in this set of novelisations covering the television serials that have not been published by either Target Books or Virgin Publishing. Readers noticing certain similarities between names, locations and dialogue appearing in this book and in Douglas Adams’ 1987 novel Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency should be aware that Shada came first. Adams never permitted Target to novelise this (or his other two stories: The Pirate Planet and City of Death) and later reused aspects of his Doctor Who stories in his original fiction.. Shada was originally the first novelisation produced as part of this set of five books. I first attempted an adaptation in the mid-eighties, working from the detailed ‘Archive’ synopsis in Doctor Who Monthly issue 81 (October 1983). In 1988 Jon Preddle transcribed a video reconstruction of the surviving scenes linked with text from the scripts that had been produced by UK fans. The novelisation, adapted from Jon’s transcript, was published in 1989, launching this series of books covering the ‘unnovelised’ stories. Later, the acquisition of copies of the rehearsal scripts (the same version of the scripts that were subsequently reproduced in the 1992 BBC Video Shada box set) prompted a complete rewrite, published in 1991. For this new version (produced ten years to the month after the previous edition), I have taken the opportunity to revise the book, incorporating a large number of minor changes. Many grateful thanks are due to Jon Preddle for his invaluable help and advice with all three editions of this book.

Paul Scoones October 2001

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Prologue
The space station revolved slowly in orbit around a large red sun in a system devoid of planetary bodies. The station was a simple construction consisting of a hexagonal hub joined to an outer circular ring by three struts. This was Think Tank, the research station of the Institute for Advanced Science Studies. The station was occupied by just six men, each a top-ranked intellectual in their chosen field of scientific study. The six distinguished scientists were at present all participating in an experiment that was taking place in a chamber located at the very centre of the station’s hub. The men were sitting silently and motionlessly; eyes closed and their arms resting by their sides. They were seated