Information Service (TV21 125 short story)

Information Service was a 21 short story printed in TV Century 21 that contained elements from the Doctor Who universe.

Summary
Spencer James of Hounslow writes in to the Universal Secret Service to request information on the Astrans, a species which he notes the crew of Fireball XL5 are currently engaged with. In response, a history of the planet Astra dating back to the 18th century is printed for his viewing.

Characters

 * Spencer James

Worldbuilding

 * Astra is a planet similar to Earth in size and atmospheric conditions.
 * Astran history dates back as far as Earth's and is one of war. For the latter part of the 18th and 19th centuries, Astra was intent on building up a space empire, which numbers "many hundreds of tiny planets" in 2067.
 * The capital city of the Astran Empire is Kapland.
 * The Empire is run with a governing parliament with a Kaplan as the President and a Kaplan Minus as the Vice President.

Story notes

 * This story reveals many details about the scarcely-told history of the planet Astra, first mentioned in the television story The Rescue, which was set in 2493.

Continuity

 * Spencer James acknowledges that the Astrans are currently featuring in an adventure relayed from Fireball XL5. (COMIC: The Shrink Ray)
 * As they are on a level of intelligence equal to humans, the Astrans were at first hostile to Earth. (COMIC: Space Border Battle)
 * The two space empires are currently united in friendship. (COMIC: Astra's Final Battle, Andromeda Or Die, The Shrink Ray)