Cat's Cradle: Warhead (novel)

Cat's Cradle: Warhead is the sixth novel in the series of Virgin New Adventures published in the 1990s, and the second in the Cat's Cradle story arc. Written by Andrew Cartmel and set after Survival, it features the Seventh Doctor and Ace. It is the first in a trilogy of "War" titled novels. The second is Warlock (published in 1995) and the third Warchild (published in 1996). This novel is unique in that it begins a trilogy of stories whilst also being in the "Cat's Cradle" trilogy.

Publisher's summary
''The place is Earth. The time is the near future — all too near.''

Industrial development has accelerated out of all control, spawning dangerous new technologies and laying the planet to waste. While the inner cities collapse in guerrilla warfare, a dark age of superstition dawns.

As destruction of the environment reaches the point of no return, multinational corporations and super-rich individuals unite in a last desperate effort — not to save humankind, but to buy themselves immortality in a poisoned world.

If Earth is to survive, somebody has to stop them.

From London to New York to Turkey, Ace follows the Doctor as he prepares, finally, to strike back.

Plot
On a mountain side, the Doctor helps a little boy construct a slingshot.

to be added

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Ace
 * Lynx
 * Shreela Govindia
 * Vincent Wheaton
 * Justine

Butler Institute
 * Mathew O'Hara
 * Stephanie
 * Lewis Christian
 * Mulwray
 * Maria Chavez

The "Site"
 * Anne Marie O'Hara
 * Patrick O'Hara
 * Brodie

New York Police Department
 * Tessa Mancuso
 * James McIlveen
 * Breen
 * Petersen
 * Cooper

Turkey
 * Miss David
 * Massoud
 * Dwefar

Vincent's Home Town
 * Bobby Prescott
 * Sally
 * Eliot
 * Lyndon
 * Rebecca Cox

Cthulhu Cyber Club
 * Guthrie
 * Sean
 * Warren
 * Calvin Palmer

Businesses

 * The Butler Institute is investigating the transference of the human consciousness into computers.
 * Lewis Christian and Mulwray are in the Biostock Acquisition department of the Butler Institute.
 * Stephanie is in the Social Acquisition department of the Butler Institute. Mulray also was in this department.
 * McCray's drugstore carries the magazine Heavy Metal.

Cults

 * The Witchkids are a group of youths that, in the recent past been, have petrol bombed various buildings such as McDonald's.

Individuals

 * Lynx follows the Doctor to the Butler Institute.
 * Shreela Govindia dies of an autoimmune disease.
 * Maria Chavez is a cleaner at the Butler Institute.
 * Ace hears the music of Bo Didley.

Fictional characters

 * Jack Blood is a popular fictional character.

Psychology

 * Vincent Wheaton has psychic powers.
 * Justine has enough anger that she can be the ammunition for Vincent's psi powers.

Science

 * The Doctor makes a poor man's cryogenic system, with gel instead of low temperatures.
 * Justine uses tetrodotoxin.

Weapons

 * Ace knows how to use a Vickers helmet attached to a handgun.

Continuity

 * Shreela is dying. (TV: Survival)
 * The Doctor uses his house on Allen Road. (COMIC: Fellow Travellers, PROSE: Transit)
 * The TARDIS is waiting in the house's basement, recovering. (PROSE: Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)
 * The Butler Institute develops into another threat the Doctor has to deal with later. (PROSE: Deceit)