Drilling Town Success (short story)

Drilling Town Success was a Dateline 2066 short story printed in TV Century 21 that contained elements from the Doctor Who universe.

Summary
In order to investigate the possibilities of finding the mineral pyritellium in the rocks, a vast town is contructed on the bed of the North Sea. The creation of the Cadiz Drilling Construction Company's director McGuire Weston, the town is built entirely of audax-feros and equipped with every convenience for the miners and their families. Over the three weeks the town has been operational, seaweed and other water plants are grown as a vegetable substitute while fish and other marine animals are penned in larhe corrals. They are rounded up by a revolutionary new submarine which shines a hynotic light at them that forces them into the pens. If the mineral deposits are as expected, the town will soon double in size. Meanwhile, further undersea towns are being constructed, this time in the Atlantic and the Pacific, in the hope of accelerating the search for new ores.

Elsewhere, World President Nikita Bandranaik of the World Space Empire arrives in Kahra for the start of his five day state visit to a chorus of welcoming cheers. He is formally greeted by Mars Senator Yahun Stat and then the two diplomats board a hovercar and journey on to their destination, World House, where the President will enjoy a dinner hosted in his honour.

Further afield in the Solar System, the Space News Agency reports that Jumbo Grotzenkap, President of the Saturn Government and leading Senator for the planet, has been re-elected to serve for another seven years. During the election, Grotzenkap succeeds in gaining an overall majority of ninety-three over the other four parties with his Saturn Free Front Party.

Finally, it is announced that "extensive" meteorite showers are approaching Jupiter which are predicted to reach the planet by mid-afternoon. Also, heavy solar flares are reported to be moving north with Mars, Venus and Mercury warned to be on the lookout. Conversely, Earth's weather for the coming day, at least in the British Isles, is said to be "fine".

Characters

 * Nikita Bandranaik
 * Yahun Stat
 * Jumbo Grotzenkap

Worldbuilding

 * Provisions for the town in the North Sea arrive by ship each month.
 * It is planned that Bandranaik will visit the Kahra State Fair on the second day of his visit.
 * The results for the election on Saturn took over two weeks to gather owing to the delay in receiving them from isolated stations.
 * The temperature in Great Britain will be fourteen degrees centigrade at 10.46AM, which will have risen to nineteen degrees by 5.06PM, with the evening being described as "fair" and "steady" at thirteen degrees.

Story notes

 * The World President's dominion is stated to be the World Space Empire in this story. It was named as the "Solar Empire" in This is 2065 and Help Plea from Planet but Bandranaik has most often been described as the head of the World Government.

Continuity

 * Nikita Bandranaik's visit to Mars was previously announced by his Press Secretary Norrie Kama. (PROSE: Border Flare Up)