Doctor Who_ Dinosaur Invasion - Malcolm Hulke [42]
‘One space traveller safely returned,’ said the General, slipping his revolver back into its holster. ‘Fortunately she’s not spoken to anyone. Do, please, try not to let her escape again.’ He turned on his heel and went back down the corridor.
Grover laughed. ‘You’re an intrepid young lady, Miss Smith! Well, what are we going to do with you now?’
‘Well you needn’t put me back on that stupid space ship. It’s all a fake. What you’re doing to those people is cruel. They all believe they’re travelling to a new world.’
‘And so they are,’ said Grover. ‘But their new world —New Earth, as they call it—will be this one swept clean and returned to its early innocence.’
Sarah tried to understand. ‘You’re going to send them back into the past?’
‘No, my dear. That, we have discovered, is technically impossible. Instead, Professor Whitaker is going to bring the past to them.’
Professor Whitaker smiled. He always liked to hear his name mentioned. ‘I shall roll back Time to the Golden Age of youth, beauty, and innocence.’
Sarah asked, ‘And what about all the people alive on Earth now?’
‘They’ll know nothing about it,’ Grover answered her.
She tried to work it out. ‘Is that why you produced the monsters—to get people out of the way so they wouldn’t be affected?’
‘Why not tell her the truth,’ said Whitaker. ‘She’s going to realise sooner or later.’
‘It may be difficult for you to understand,’ Grover turned to Sarah. ‘When the Timescoop activates Operation Golden Age, the only people to remain in existence will be those in its immediate proximity. That is to say, the people in the space ship and ourselves. The others will vanish.’
‘That’s mass murder! ‘
‘As I said,’ Grover continued calmly, ‘they will know nothing about it. We had to clear London so that undesirable people, people not approved by us as right-thinking, wouldn’t be taken back through Time with us.’
‘What a disgusting idea,’ she blurted out, ‘to destroy the whole world because it isn’t quite as you like it! ‘
‘Eventually, you will see our point of view, Miss Smith.’ Grover straightened up. ‘Now we have much work to do. Operation Golden Age is close at hand. Professor Whitaker is about to materialise dinosaurs throughout London, finally to clear the streets of soldiers, looters, and anyone else who may still be in the area. Then you will accompany us back through Time to the pure unpolluted world which we seek. The world as you know it will no longer exist, and will never have existed! ’
9 Operation Golden Age
‘ ... Patrol 29 to Base. Time 0925 hrs. Monster sighted in Cornwall Gardens, Kensington. Believed to be tyrannosaurus rex. Am engaging with mortars... ’
‘ ... Time 0927. UNIT patrol 57 to UNIT Headquarters. Pterodactyl at Tower of London is attacking the ravens. UNIT personnel moving in to fight and destroy... ’
‘ ... Command to all Army and UNIT personnel in the Greater London Area. Tall fair-haired man—known as the Doctor, and proved responsible for monster invasion—to be taken dead or alive. Last seen near Marble Arch in stolen Army jeep. Repeat: to be taken dead or alive. By order of General Finch... ’
‘ ... Finchley Road, North West London. Patrol 69 to base. Large monster, believed to be diplodocus, trapped in Alyth Gardens. Twitch of tail demolished synogogue and five houses. We are attacking with CS gas. Time 0945 hours... ’
‘ ... General Finch to all patrols. Do not waste time seeking and attacking monsters during this new outbreak. Give top priority to apprehending the Doctor, who must be taken dead or alive. I repeat, concentrate on finding the Doctor. By order of General Finch, Commander-in-Chief, Greater London Emergency Area... ’
The Doctor’s stolen jeep screamed to a stop as a tyrannosaurus rex reared up in front of him. The Doctor put the vehicle into reverse gear, did a smart three-point turn, and drove off in the opposite direction—to find himself facing another tyrannosaurus rex. He swerved, crashing the jeep into the wall of a factory. Steam billowed from under the bonnet. The Doctor tried to start the engine