(DOCTOR WHO THEME)
We're approaching a planet.
Which one?
We shall soon see.
Ow.
What's the matter my dear?
I burnt myself on the console.
Oh, something overheating here. Just as well we're landing? Er, Susan, check the fault locator please.
Yes Grandfather.
We're not going to blow up or anything are we?
Oh no no no, of course not.
It's just, well, there we were in the late eighteenth century and I tried another frequency to sidestep the ship back into the middle of the twentieth century.
There's something on QR18, Grandfather. And A14D.
YELLOW STANDBY! GRANDFATHER, THE DOORS, THEY'RE OPENING!
What's happening... Unbelievable!
Chesterton close the doors please! We haven't materialised properly! Quickly!
What do you mean close the doors?
Don't argue dear boy it's an emergency, close the doors! Quick! Use force!
Is everything alright?
We're just landing.
Are you alright Doctor?
.. what?
Are you alright?
Oh please, don't bother me!
What happened just then?
Susan, go back to the fault locator, and I want you to check everything, child you understand, EVERYTHING!
Well at least we seem to be alright.
Mm? Oh don't be childish, they opened!
The doors opened before we had properly materialised!
But what does it mean?
Hah-ah!
Doctor, you needn't keep it a secret from us!
What?
Doctor, don't keep us in suspense.
Oh don't go on with these futile questions! Please, can't you understand, can't you see?
No we can't - that's just it!
Oh we were just about to materialise when the doors opened and we hadn't properly adjusted!
You mean something went out of the ship?
No that's impossible!
Came inside then?
Oh please, don't keep talking on the twentieth-century level! I'm talking about time-travel!
Neither of you can understand what I'm talking about I can s-see that!
How could we, you've never explained it to us!
My dear boy...
Grandfather everything's alright! There isn't a fault anywhere, not even on yellow standby!
But there must be something wrong, Susan! I shall have to check that fault locator myself to make sure, excuse me...
Oh I do wish he wouldn't talk in riddles!
So do I. Susan perhaps you can help us?
I just know that the most dangerous moment is at the point of materialisation.
Nothing's ever happened to us before.
Well the doors have never opened like that before.
Well, happily no harm's been done. It's most puzzling. Oh my dear Barbara was I rude to you just now?
If so, I'm so sorry. I-I always forget the niceties under pressure. Please forgive me.
There's nothing to forgive.
Thank you. Hm.. Hah!
Well I suppose everything's alright. And yet, er... See the temperature there is perfectly... it's quite safe to go outside.
Oh Susan, just turn on the scanner a minute, let's try and see where we are.
Doctor!
Perhaps you need a new tube Doctor?
Did you notice the way it blew out?
It was like an internal explosion.
Yes, like, like ehh... something too big for it's frame!
Yes.
And yet, I don't know... That can't be right!
What do we do now Doctor? Take the scanner out and strip it down?
Oh no no no, dear boy. No, it's most puzzling of course, but now don't know what's behind those doors.
Well we must go outside and look. You said it was quite safe...
Yes... I wonder why the..? Well, we must see.
Shall I open the doors Grandfather?
Er, yes please Susan. But all of you, cautiously please!
Doctor, what made the doors open before?
The space pressure was far too great whilst we were materialising.
The strange thing is that we all came out of it unscathed! Hah, it's, it's most puzzling, it's a big mystery my boy, come along...
It's like a mountain pass or something.
Now why wouldn't the scanner show us all this mm?
Perhaps that was the only damage to the ship, Doctor. Overloading on the scanner circuits.
Yes, I suppose so it could be...
What a strange rock formation!
Yes, it is, isn't it?
There are two different types of rock. Doctor?
Mm?
Look... This is ordinary stone up here, but this down here seems to be quite different.
Chesterton, here. Come here, look here. Is that cement? Heh.
Might be.
Rather a rough kind isn't it?
Mn, very rough. They look like pebbles of sand don't they?
Yes, yes as a matter of fact it's in a way to hold the stone in place. You know to fix it firmly beneath!
I would have thought the stone was heavy enough to keep itself in place.
Yes, it's all most odd isn't it? Most odd...
Now Barbara, I suggest that you and I take that path, and Susan and you sir, er, go that way, mm?
Yes alright, but stay within calling distance, and you see anything sing out. We'll do the same.
Yes, yes, yes... Mmm.
Mm...
Now take this rock here, it's most extraordinary...
Doctor! Doctor, it's a huge snake!
What, eh?
Let's call the others.
Oh, er, wait wait wait... Yes, I-I I think it's dead.
What a fantastic size!
No eyes no head, it seems though. It's skin is interesting isn't it?
Interesting?
Yes, it's er, so dull and pink.
Doctor, Doctor, are you sure it isn't just sleeping?
Oh no no no, it's quite dead, no-no. Death you see has it's own particular posture and appearance.
Yes yes, well, let's go a bit further.
Yes...
Warm isn't it?
Yes.
Ian! Look at this.
That's odd. I suppose it couldn't be an egg, hah. Not that size.
There are more of them over there, look.
Yeah. Ostrich?
It would have been rounder than this.
There are dozens of them over here! There's a whole pile of them!
Oh! Ian, Ian!
It is dead isn't it?
Yes. It's dead alright - stiff as a poker. What a fantastic size!
Yes.
It's a giant ant.
It is like it isn't he? It looks as if it was trying to carry these eggs.
Yes, well that's natural behaviour for an ant, when it's attacked, take the eggs to safety.
The worker ant would give his life rather than abandon the eggs you know...
Well he couldn't have had much of a chance could he?
I mean he must have died quickly.
Yeah... All these eggs scattered about. Other ants must have been frightened away.
I wonder what sort of a world could produce an insect that size?
Well here we are then, this is the tail end of it, and I know what it is. It's a huge earthworm.
What?
Yes, there are no earthworms this size on your planet.
You're right there aren't!
know except for it's size, I would swear that it came from your world.
However, lets..er, let's go on. Come along.
It's like a maze really. All these channels.
Yeh.
We must be careful not to get lost.
Oh no, we won't, no. And I'm determined not to go back until we have discovered something more definite.
At the moment we only have one phenomenon, and this mystery.
What mystery?
Well, all this, maze you're talking about, you know.
I admit it's all a bit haphazard, but it seems to have some kind of a pattern about it
and this pattern suggests to me that there's a brain with a purpose behind it all, Hm. Come along.
Ian I counted six of those dead ants.
Yes, I know. They're all about us, everywhere.
Now this is really baffling!
A huge picture of Night Scented Stock!
Yes it is, but why put up a picture of it? I don't get it. Ah, some writing there... “Alf's Seed Company, Norwich!”
Norwich! That's England isn't it? Norfolk!
Yes, it is. Susan, this means we're on Earth!
Something's very odd here, first those ants, now this.
I suppose it couldn't be part of a crazy exhibition, you know where everything had been increased in size?
Well now, this is interesting. This has been cut by a manufacturer.
Look out! I...
Are you alright?
Yes, fine.
If you'd been anywhere near that it would have given you a nasty headache!
Yes... Hey, look at the end of that, it's all charred!
Yes, you can see quite clearly what this is. It's a matchstick.
Well it certainly looks like one.
No, it just doesn't look like one, it is a matchstick.
What, that size?
Don't you see, that huge earthworm and now this? Can't you see what's happened Mm?
I don't understand this at all Susan. I'm going to have a look around the other side of this.
Alright.
Look at this matchbox!
It must be an exhibition Susan, something like the world fair. Things this size...
No Ian.
Well what else? look at the scale of things!
You're wrong Ian, completely wrong!
I-I thought just now that something was wrong when I saw that, but now I'm sure.
Alright, what's your theory then?
That these things haven't been made bigger, we've been made smaller!
Smaller?
We have been reduced roughly to the size of an inch!
An inch?
Mm. You, me all of us, and the ship!
We must get hold of the others quickly and return to the TARDIS!
No Susan, no. It can't be.
I'm right Ian, I know I am. Well that's the danger Grandfather was afraid of when the doors opened.
He wouldn't admit it was possible that's all.
It isn't possible Susan, it's ridiculous!
Oh Ian, work it out for yourself! The doors of TARDIS opened, that means the space pressure forced us to reduce!
What's that?
Run Susan, run!
Look urgh!
Ian? IAN WHERE ARE YOU?
I-AN! SU-SAN!
Oh, Barbara, BARBARA OVER HERE!
Oh Barbara!
Susan, what's the matter?
What's happened?
There was a great big matchbox, a-a-a huge one, and and Ian and I came to have a look at it
and and then he sat on it, and there was this terrible noise, and he fell inside it and now he's gone!
He's gone, oh he's just vanished!
It's alright, it's alright.
Someone picked it up I suppose.
We can climb this and see over the top. Oh... Oh Barbara, I can't reach it.
It's alright, I'll do it.
No-no, now-now-now, please no. Let me do it, you might hurt yourself. You just rest easy, Mm?
Oh be careful Grandfather.
I'm alright... Oh..
Yeah.. Well it looks a tremendous distance to me.
There's a house over there, and there's a man sitting down reading something. It's a notebook I think.
Did he have the matchbox?
How do I know?
I don't know how you know, but you surprise me sometimes.
Yes, I suppose so.
Look, watch what you're doing will you?
Look, Doctor give us some hope, I mean, Ian's inside that matchbox!
Gently, gently gently!
We've got to find Chesterton!
But Grandfather, supposing the man walks off with the matchbox!
Have courage my dear! I know that all of this is a bit of a nightmare, but we've just got to get Ian back and then we can go back to the ship.
And then can you get us back to normal size?
But of course, yes I'll try! There's always a chance! But first things first, we must find Chesterton, and we can't go back that way.
We must go back that same way we came.
Puss-puss. Puss-puss-puss-puss.
Oh hello, thank you.
It's Mr Forester isn't it? We spoke on the telephone...
Yes, I got here as quickly as I could. I hope you haven't taken any action yet?
Not yet, but I have written my report.
You do realise what's at stake here Mr Farrow? The early experiments were noted by the ministry, welcomed in fact!
I've already geared factories, advertising and all the rest of it to start pushing DN6.
I'm sorry about that, but I can't give you the approval that you want.
We could of course spend more time on the refining...
Oh, there's much more to it than that, as I have mentioned to you on the telephone.
You want to bring in another expert to go over the tests again?
You're not a scientist are you? Well let me put it this way.
On the surface DN6 appeared to have all the characteristics of a major breakthrough in the manufacture of insecticide.
Oh, and I can quite understand why you've pinned all your hopes on it.
Particularly as my own minister was so enthusiastic, but the very exhaustive tests that I have made show that DN6 is totally destructive.
Well that was the idea wasn't it? I mean, Smithers said that it will even prevent locusts from breeding...
I don't think..
Knocked them out all together.
I don't think I'm making myself quite clear.
There are many insects which make a vital contribution to agriculture, and these insects must not die. Did you know that?
Does... Smithers know about this?
Well I have expressed my doubts to him.
But he's so engrossed in this venture that I'll have to break the hard facts to him very gently.
I see. You're aware of course that if it doesn't go into production I shall be completely ruined?
That is very unfortunate, but really, you should have waited till we gave you the go-ahead!
Well that's all very well, but it doesn't help me does it? Surely we can work something out?
There's a fortune to be made out of this...
I don't think I want to go on with this conversation.
Really I... shouldn't be seeing you at all, except that I did promise to you over the phone that I'd explain the facts to you in person.
What happens now?
Well officially my holiday commenced yesterday.
I've a small boat down in the Harbour and I'm going to make a tour of the rivers of France.
But before I go today I shall telephone my ministry and then post them my report.
Couldn't you leave it until you have got back from your holiday, give me a little grace?
Oh, you know I couldn't do that!
Do you know why I am a success Mr Farrow? Because I've never allowed the word “can't” to exist, there's always a way, always!
Not this time.
This isn't business, this is science, the formulae is unacceptable and I can't and I do mean can't Mr Forester, allow DN6 to go into production!
Now I'll make that phone call.
Just a moment!
Barbara!
Don't move!
Do not move.
Oh don't touch it!
I think It's dead.
But it could still sting!
Mm. Hah-ha! What an awe-inspiring sight!
Now what chance would human-beings have I really wonder, in a world of creatures like this bee, mm?
None at all!
Little closer look...
Well I haven't taken my eyes off it Grandfather, it hasn't even trembled. It seems you're right, it is dead.
The same distinctive aroma!
Yes, I've noticed it on all the other dead things.
Well that must be what's killing them then.
I wonder what would want to kill off nature like this?
Well what worries me is all the different things it's killing.
Things that fly in the air, things that move on the ground, things that move under the ground. So indiscriminate.
Doctor?
Mm?
Whatever it is that's killing these things... Could it kill us too?
Well, we must presume that it can. So no eating or drinking until we've done our very best to find Ian mm?
(A roaring boom momentarily splits through the heady silence.)
That's not thunder surely?
It sounded more like an ancient cannon!
Oh, we're progressing nicely.
I've seen a lot more of those dead ants, Doctor.
Yes, it's rather widespread I'm afraid.
Oh dear, I wonder what would have happened to us if any of those creatures had still been alive?
Hah-ha, yes. I wonder, I wonder.
And you say you saw that man?
Yes, he's over there.
Oh, not any further please, I'm exhausted, it's taken us ages to get here!
What's that smell..? Cordite... gunpowder mm?
Yes... that would explain the explosion, and also the man. It's not far, come on I'll show you.
He's been shot dead.
Are you sure he is dead?
Oh yes.
Nothing but death all around us!
Yes, what's happening here?
You weren't with us Chesterton, but every insect we came across was dead.
Yes, Susan and I saw a great many huge dead ants.
Everything else was the same, Ian.
Yes, and we don't know what it is that killed them. But that man, he's been shot. Murdered!
But who'd kill insects in a perfectly ordinary garden?
I mean pests one can understand, but surely it's wrong to kill bees and worms and things isn't it?
Quite so. Both are vital to the growth of things.
However, we must leave this little mystery and get back to the ship. As I said my dear, it's fortunate for all of us us that everything is dead...
Grandfather!
(DOCTOR WHO THEME)