Opening narration box
The Doctor finds the TARDIS but must tame the planet's unfriendly antibodies before he can step inside!
Summary
Following the nerves running from Kul’s ancestors' ship's info-banks down to the heart of the planet, the Doctor and Kul are attacked yet again by the planet’s antibody defences. This time the antibodies take the form of purple-pink humanoid blobs. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to temporarily confuse them and knock them to the ground, makes a telepathic contact through the root-like nerves with the planet itself. Linked mind to mind, the planet explains the antibodies protect it from all lifeforms, unable to distinquish between ‘visitors’ and real infections. The planet is lonely and only able to communicate with passing alien technology which it has attracked over the years, most of it crashing on impact, the survivors hunted down by the antibodies. The antibodies launch another assault on the Doctor and Kul. This result in Kul exposing the planet's nerve-root ganglia. With a little ‘surgery’ the Doctor makes the planet’s antibodies less aggressive and allows the planet to finally contact the organics. The planet gives its word to look after Kul and his people and share the info-banks knowledge which it had absorbed with them. With roses sprouting from the ground around Kul, the Doctor leaves in the TARDIS with his own Roses to think about.
Characters
- Tenth Doctor
- Kul – one of the Life Ark (Gamma Class VII) survivors – brown, hairless humanoid with large mouths and blue eyes. Once lived beneath the living planet where he survived by scavaging and living on an island of debris.
Original print details
Installment, publication title with page count and closing caption.
- 4/4 DWBIT 15 (4 pages) TO BE CONTINUED!!!
- No reprints to date.
Notes
- Supporting the series of collectable Doctor Who trading cards, the magazine carried a regular four page, individually titled comic strip of the Tenth Doctor’s adventures.
- The artwork and colours were bold and bright, reflecting the tone of the magazine and, as did Doctor Who Adventures, reflected the appeal to readers younger than those catered to by Doctor Who Magazine.
- This strip differs from others in two respects, both regarding script wording. The opening tag is not a “story so far…” but more a teaser to this story's conclusion. Also, the opening frames are written from the Doctor's point of view “Me and Kul, we’re climbing miles down a shaft in the breathing rock…”!
References
- The Battles in Time comic strip sought to reinforce the association of its Doctor with the one seen on screen with ‘props’ from the TV series: blue/brown suit, intelligent-looking glasses, sonic screwdriver and psychic paper.
Continuity
to be added
Timeline
- This story takes place after DWBIT: Beyond the Sea
- This story takes place before DWBIT: Plague Panic
