the projections blew out sideways in both directions into a fine red dust. Doctor How, Kevin and Trinity watched in silence for a few minutes as the red dust tore through the vacuum at dazzling speed to form a red ring around the planet. After just ten minutes it had begun to settle into a blazing red of even density.
“It’ll be very bright for a few weeks,” said the Doctor, quietly. “Then, as you’ve seen with the surface of Oberon, it’ll begin to get a bit dirty. A little less red. Duller.”
“I get it. So only Herschel will see it with his… primitive telescope. Then it’ll be another couple of hundred years before anyone else knows any of those rings are there.”
“ Exactly. Nine years after that, Voyager 2 will pass by and take images.”
“And no one will have a clue why there’s that one red ring. Or what it’s made of.”
“Thank God for that. Mission accomplished. Let’s go home.”
Thanks for reading – I hope you enjoyed it!
Doctor How is a five-volume series of novels. Book one, Doctor How and the Illegal Aliens is due for release on March 13 th 2014.
The Doctor needs your support in the forthcoming battle. Please do one (or more!) of these:
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For the avoidance of doubt, this is a work of parody.
Doctor Who and TARDIS are registered trademarks of the BBC. No, really, they are.
Other works by the same author:
Doctor How and the Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy (available for a limited time only; contains extract from book two!)
Apocalypse Later: A guide to the end of the world by Nice Mr Death (paperback only)
Britons in Brief (anthology)
More about him is available from these sources:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/MarkSpeed
Author information and more writing: www.markspeed.co.uk
Amazon Author Central: http://www. amazon.com/author/markspeed
Author biography
Mark Speed finished writing his first novel at the age of fifteen. His comedy writing has appeared in newspapers as diverse as the London Evening Standard and The Sun , and been broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra. He performed his solo comedy, The End of the World Show , at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2011 and 2012.
He was born in Glasgow and swore he’d never move to London. He’s lived in Edinburgh, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Nottingham, Bristol and Bath, which gives him an understanding of Britain as a series of distinct tribes. Against his better judgement, he moved to London in the late Nineties, and loves it now that he gets it.
Amongst other postgraduate and professional qualifications, he has a Master’s degree in Creative Writing from City University, London. In 1995 a chiropractor told him he’d never run again. Sensibly, he gave up chiropractors, and has since completed several marathons and a couple of Olympic-length triathlons. He occasionally does irresponsible things like scuba and skydiving.
In case you hadn’t guessed, he’s a ‘polarity responder’.
Copyright © Mark F Speed 2014
All rights reserved
ISBN 978-0-9573204-6-8
The right of Mark F Speed to be identified as the author and illustrator of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written permission of the copyright owner and publisher.
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