Doctor Who_ The Devil Goblins From Neptune - Keith Topping [84]
As far away as the nearest boozer, at least.
'Certainly.' said the professor, with a slightly irritated sigh that seemed to ask what was wrong with the explanations he had previously given. 'Perhaps Mark can field this one.'
'What? Oh, yeah, right ... ' Mark Wilson sat up from a slumped position in the seat next to Trainor. He had hoped to get away without saying anything during the event and had been delighted with his lack of involvement so far. Now, sadly, he was going to have to sing for his supper.
'Well, Neptune's a blue planet, the eighth in our solar system, midway between Uranus and Pluto.' he said. Even the man from the Sun was finally scribbling something in his notebook. It was discovered in the 1840s, and is the smallest of the four "gas giants". It has a very eccentric orbit, at times being the furthest planet from the sun. We know very little about the planet, but we can tell from observations carried out in this country, and in America, that the atmosphere is made up largely of hydrogen and helium, that the surface temperature is minus four hundred degrees Fahrenheit, with wind speeds exceeding one thousand miles per hour.'
'Not, perhaps, the most hospitable of places to visit.' said Trainor with a quick chuckle that most of the press sycophantically joined in with.
'So, is there any chance of life on Neptune?' the man from the Daily Mirror asked.
In a word, no.' stated Trainor. 'Mind you, we said the same about Mars...' He turned to Wilson with a wicked grin.
'Sorry to interrupt, Mark. Please continue.'
'Thanks.' said Mark. 'Neptune has two moons that we know of - Triton and Nereid - and possibly several more. Our most recent probe has confirmed a faint series of rings, similar to those around Saturn. We're very interested in Triton, the larger of the moons, which is pink and almost planet-sized. Preliminary results suggest that it may have a nitrogen-based atmosphere.'
'Any chance of life there?' asked the disgruntled man from the Mirror.
'None whatsoever,' said Trainor. can guarantee there are no little green men on, or near, Neptune!'
* * *
At the back of the conference hall, Viscount Rose showed his security pass to one of the many UNIT guards checking entry.
He found himself a seat just as Trainor cracked his glib joke.
Rose joined in with the laughter around the room. And he continued to snigger long after the subject had changed.
Benton was taken to one of the caravans by several of the Venus People. He was given a white smock to put on and had his other clothes taken away.
If you wanna be one of us, you got to look like one of us.'
said Scouse with a snarl that suggested he still wasn't convinced by Benton's story.
After a while, Arlo appeared at the caravan door.
Is he ready to rock, or what?' he asked, and Benton was brought to the fireside, where all of the Venus People sat in a large circle. 'This is the appointed place.' said Arlo solemnly, as Benton was forced to kneel before him.
'What's all this in aid of?' asked Benton.
'The Treatment,' said Arlo. 'This is where you enlist again, soldier boy. You've got to go through the ceremony, or, like, it's no deal. Dig?'
'Dug.' said Benton, and swallowed as Arlo pulled a large dagger from his voluminous kaftan.
'Where those of the former age turned to violence and the spilling of blood, we turn away from such things.'
announced Ada to the hushed Venus People. He hurled the knife into the fire. where it landed on the remains of Benton's handgun.
'Where those of the former age lived by words, we live by deeds.' said Arlo, pulling pages from what seemed to be an old leather-bound Bible. He threw these into the fire.
'Where those of the former age looked to a new heaven and a new earth, we look beyond this planet for our deliverance.' He took something from his pocket. 'This is our body,' said Arlo to Benton in a whisper.
Benton looked at Arlo's outstretched