Doctor Who_ The Dying Days - Lance Parkin [103]
I chuckled. This was traditional y the first question a human asked in any lecture about Martian history. I’d done the same fifteenish years before. 'You're judging their civilisation in terms of your own. There's a lot to be said for a stable society rather than a progressive one. The Ancient Egyptian civilisation thrived for thousands of years without a single new invention, they hardly even improved on their existing stuff. The only thing that changed in four thousand years under the Pharaohs was the introduction of the chariot, when the Phoenicians attacked. Or was it the Assyrians? I forget.' A number of the officers were shuffling impatiently, so I shunted off that particular train of thought. 'Anyway, the Martians are exactly the same, only their stability has been forced on them by a lack of resources. Mars is in what we archaeologists call a "state of decay": they've lost advanced technological knowledge - or it sits in libraries gathering dust - because they have no use for it. What's the point of knowing how to build an atom bomb if there isn't any plutonium? Or a silicon chip if there isn't any silicon? Or a log fire if there aren't any logs?'
There was a murmuring around the room. They seemed excited by this. I'd stolen the last bit from a textbook that wouldn't be written for four hundred years. I enjoyed appearing all-knowing, having a roomful of military men hanging on my every word. They were lucky I didn’t get my spoons out and start playing them.
'So in many ways, we are at an advantage?' Bambera asked.
I nodded sagely. 'Oh yes. Humanity is in the middle of a rapid stage of technological progress. Within a hundred years, we'l have overtaken the Martians in a number of key areas.'
Another round of murmuring.
'Don't get carried away,' I warned. 'Just think how easy it would be to conquer Victorian England using Harrier jump jets and nuclear submarines.'
The officers were apprehensive again.
'The Doctor built a sonic jammer,' the Brigadier said, trying to keep the spirit of optimism stoked up. 'That reflected the Martian's energy ray back at them. I take it that we can't do that yet?'
I shrugged.
'If we had the right frequency we probably could,' one of the technicians said. 'Problem is we don't have the frequency.'
'We need to strike before they consolidate their position,' Lethbridge-Stewart said. 'They could be preparing a giant occupation fleet on Mars.'
I shook my head. 'They have the technology, but not the raw materials. That one warship represents a massive investment of time and energy - think of all that metal and fuel. There's probably a year's entire clan defence budget tied up in it. Britain found it a lot easier to build the Mars 97 than Xznaal did to build his warship.'
Lethbridge-Stewart frowned. 'So that's not the spearhead, that's the entire invasion?'
Captain Ford was nodding. 'Our intelligence suggests that the Martians are staying put. The Provisional Government is preparing consignments of raw materials for export to Mars: steel, timber, fertiliser.' He swept his hand over the map in front of him that had al of the production sites marked off.
Lethbridge-Stewart was trying to concentrate. 'Surely they'l use Earth's resources to build more warships? I would have thought that would be logical. Only then would they send for reinforcements. So we have to strike now, before more of those things are operational.'
Bambera frowned. 'Strike where? Look, they aren't building anything at the moment. If they started, they can't build any of those things overnight, or in one place. You are right to be concerned: we'll pass this on to the other cel s, get them to watch out for unusual activity at aerospace factories, shipyards, that sort of thing.'
'I want to go into Windsor,’ Lethbridge-Stewart announced, 'We need more detailed maps.'
Bambera chuckled, presumably by the thought that an elite military force needed to pop