Doctor Who_ The Also People - Ben Aaronovitch [1]
8 Gardens of Stone ................................................................................... 97
Hyper-lude .............................................................................................. 107
9 Cult Status .............................................................................................. 109
10 Unsmiling in the Darkness ...................................................................... 123
Hyper-lude .............................................................................................. 135
11 Tears of Rust .......................................................................................... 136
12 Travel ing Man Blues .............................................................................. 148
Epilogue ....................................................................................................... 157
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Kate Orman for reminding me how much fun this is. Rebecca and Peter for putting up with my total lack of grammar, punctuation, spelling and my somewhat loose perception of linear time as it pertains to deadlines. Nick Chatwin and Muhmud Quayum for their help. And my family for their support. I'd like to remind everyone that while talent borrows and genius steals, New Adventure writers get it off the back of a lorry, no questions asked.
Notes on the Pronunciation of Proper Nouns
!x is an aspirated consonant pronounced by clicking the side of the tongue against upper right-hand teeth.
!q is an aspirated consonant pronounced by 'clucking' the tongue.
!c is an aspirated consonant pronounced by placing the tongue against the front teeth and sucking them explosively back.
a is pronounced ah as in car.
e is pronounced eh as in leg.
i is pronounced ee as in leek or keep.
o is pronounced like the a in walk.
u is pronounced oo as in look or cook.
Stress is on the second syllable from last: aM!xitsa is pronounced am- !xit-sah; saRa!qava is pronounced sah-rah- !qah-vah.
I have chosen to use the simplified (personal) versions of people's names throughout the text as the more complex (use) designations would be cumbersome and serve little purpose. An example is the drone aM!xitsa, whose use designation incorporates the diminutive of his construction point and generation; thus: aM!xit-i!xa!xi-sa!Qa!cisa.
To avoid meaningless and ugly neologisms and to avoid unnecessary descriptions I have translated certain commonplace nouns into their closest English equivalents; thus: hours, minutes, days, months, monkeys, apple trees, caramel, coffee, chocolate, pastries, etc.
To avoid further confusion I have rendered all Xhosa, Themne, Shona, Martian and Gallifreyan words in their accepted English forms.
One further note: in order to err on the side of political correctness I refer to Indigenous Terrans rather than Earth Reptiles or the archaic Silurians.
Prologue
According to the old women there had once been a Leopard that fell into a trap. She lay there in the bottom of the trap, her powerful body bruised and sore. It was hot and dusty. She felt miserable.
'Let me out of this trap,' the Leopard cried. 'Let me out!'
But nobody came to let her out. All the other animals were afraid of the Leopard and were secretly glad that she might die. After many hours a woman walked past the trap. The woman had a kind face and smiled when she met people on her travels.
'Let me out, let me out,' the Leopard whimpered, her voice weak with thirst and captivity, the bruises on her body throbbing with pain.
The woman walked over to the trap. When she saw the Leopard inside she was frightened.
'Let me out,' called the Leopard, pathetic in her misery. 'If you do not let me out I will soon die.'
The woman looked down at the Leopard for a long time. She had travelled far and wide in the world and knew that leopards were the most dangerous of animals. More cunning than Chief Lion who was lazy and let his wives hunt for him. Stronger than cousin Cheetah who ran like lightning but for only a small distance. More vicious even