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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Short Story|
|series=''[[Doctor Who Magazine|DWM]]'' short stories
name=The Heat-Seekers|
|doctor = Fourth Doctor
series=''DWM'' short stories|
|companions=[[Sarah Jane Smith|Sarah]], [[Harry Sullivan|Harry]]
doctor=[[Fourth Doctor]]|
|setting= [[Dead Sea]], [[Israel]], Stone Age
companions=[[Harry Sullivan]] <br /> [[Sarah Jane Smith]]|
|writer = Andrew Lowes
year= [[Dead Sea]], [[Earth]], Stone Age|
|publication= ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' [[DWM 117|117]]
writer=Andrew Lowes|
|cover date= October 1986
publication= ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' [[DWM 117|117]]|
|prev = Power to the People (short story)
prev=|
|next=Hall of Mirrors (short story)
next=|
}}
|}}
'''''The Heat-Seekers''''' was a ''[[Doctor Who]]'' short story published in the [[DWM 117|117th issue]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''. It featured the [[Fourth Doctor]] and his companions [[Sarah Jane Smith]] and [[Harry Sullivan]].
'''''The Heat-Seekers''''' was a ''[[Doctor Who]]'' short story published in the [[DWM 117|117th issue]] of ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]''. It featured the [[Fourth Doctor]] and his companions [[Sarah Jane Smith]] and [[Harry Sullivan]].


== Summary ==
== Summary ==
[[Olag]] was one of the lucky few to be allowed to hunt while his tribe were held as slaves by the "melters-of-rock". They had arrived in their metal ships andt were now drilling down through the rock, ever forward towards the centre of the Earth. They forced his people to work the mines by their new masters. They were ape-like creatures who carried "thundersticks" that sent bolts of light capable of melting rock.
[[Olag]] was one of the lucky few to be allowed to hunt while his tribe were held as slaves by the "melters-of-rock". They had arrived in their metal ships and were now drilling down through the rock, ever forward towards the centre of the [[Earth]]. They forced his people to work the mines by their new masters. They were ape-like creatures who carried "thundersticks" that sent bolts of light capable of melting rock.


Olag steals a "thunderstick" from one of the creatures. He runs into the tunnels and encounters three more strangers (the [[Fourth Doctor]], and his travelling companions [[Harry Sullivan]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]]). There is a huge energy pattern on the scale of [[Hiroshima]] in [[1945]], so the Doctor has arrived to investigate. He greet Olag and hides from the invaders. The Doctor recognises them as [[Ronan]]s from the planet [[Ronan|Ronos]]. The planet was believed destroyed when the Ronans drilled into their own planet. It was moving away from its sun and became colder.  
Olag steals a "thunderstick" from one of the creatures. He runs into the tunnels and encounters three more strangers (the [[Fourth Doctor]], and his travelling companions [[Harry Sullivan]] and [[Sarah Jane Smith]]). There is a huge energy pattern on the scale of [[Hiroshima]] in [[1945]], so the Doctor has arrived to investigate. He greet Olag and hides from the invaders. The Doctor recognises them as [[Ronan (species)|Ronans]] from the [[planet]] [[Ronos]]. The planet was believed destroyed when the Ronans drilled into their own planet. It was moving away from its sun and became colder.


This small band of survivors sought to do the same to the Earth and chose the [[Dead Sea]] as one of the thinnest parts of the Earth's crust. However, Ronos was a dry world and the Ronans were allergic to salt water.
This small band of survivors sought to do the same to the Earth and chose the [[Dead Sea]] as one of the thinnest parts of the Earth's crust. However, Ronos was a dry world and the Ronans were allergic to [[salt water]].


Olag uses the stolen "thunderstick", a laser weapon, to weaken the tunnels. The Dead Sea floods the tunnels. The Ronans are driven through the flooding caves which were then flooded as the Sea drained.
Olag uses the stolen "thunderstick", a laser weapon, to weaken the tunnels. The Dead Sea floods the tunnels. The Ronans are driven through the flooding caves which were then flooded as the Sea drained.


The Doctor, having parted the waters, recalls the first time this was done, in the [[Red Sea]] by [[Moses]] ...
The Doctor, having parted the waters, recalls the first time this was done, in the [[Red Sea]] by [[Moses]] ...


== Named Characters ==
== Characters ==
* [[Doctor]]
* [[Fourth Doctor]]
* [[Harry Sullivan]]
* [[Harry Sullivan]]
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]]
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]]
* [[Olag]]
* [[Olag]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* [[Fourth Doctor|The Doctor]] recalls witnessing the energy imprint of the atomic bomb dropped on [[Hiroshima]] in [[1945]].
* On a previous visit (a bit later), to the Dead Sea, the Doctor had helped develop a permanent ink for writing the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]].
* [[Harry Sullivan]] seems able to operate the TARDIS well enough to "programme the commands" to compute the the outside atmospheric conditions.
* On a previous visit (a bit later), to the Dead Sea, the Doctor had helped develop a permenant ink for writing the [[Dead Sea Scrolls]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* This short story was the runner-up in the Under 15 Category in a competition run by ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' in [[1986]] and printed in [[DWM 117]].
* This short story was the runner-up in the Under 15 Category in a competition run by ''[[Doctor Who Magazine]]'' in 1986 and printed in [[DWM 117]].
* Written by reader '''Andrew Lowes''' aged 10, the story ran to nearly three pages and was illustrated by regular magazine artist [[John Ridgway]], who donated the artwork as part of the prize that included a [[Sevans|Sevans Dalek kit]].
* Written by reader Andrew Lowes, aged 10, the story ran to nearly three pages and was illustrated by regular magazine artist [[John Ridgway]], who donated the artwork as part of the prize that included a [[Sevans|Sevans Dalek kit]].
* This was the first piece of original DWU fiction to feature a non-current Doctor, barring stories released shortly after a regeneration and [[Multi-Doctor story|multi-Doctor stories]].


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The TARDIS is able to show on its scanner its destination, which can be zoomed in.
''to be added''
 
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[[Category:Fourth Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:1986 short stories]]
[[Category:DWM prose stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in the distant past]]
[[Category:Fourth Doctor DWM short stories]]
[[Category:Sarah Jane Smith short stories]]

Latest revision as of 22:47, 1 March 2024

RealWorld.png

The Heat-Seekers was a Doctor Who short story published in the 117th issue of Doctor Who Magazine. It featured the Fourth Doctor and his companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Olag was one of the lucky few to be allowed to hunt while his tribe were held as slaves by the "melters-of-rock". They had arrived in their metal ships and were now drilling down through the rock, ever forward towards the centre of the Earth. They forced his people to work the mines by their new masters. They were ape-like creatures who carried "thundersticks" that sent bolts of light capable of melting rock.

Olag steals a "thunderstick" from one of the creatures. He runs into the tunnels and encounters three more strangers (the Fourth Doctor, and his travelling companions Harry Sullivan and Sarah Jane Smith). There is a huge energy pattern on the scale of Hiroshima in 1945, so the Doctor has arrived to investigate. He greet Olag and hides from the invaders. The Doctor recognises them as Ronans from the planet Ronos. The planet was believed destroyed when the Ronans drilled into their own planet. It was moving away from its sun and became colder.

This small band of survivors sought to do the same to the Earth and chose the Dead Sea as one of the thinnest parts of the Earth's crust. However, Ronos was a dry world and the Ronans were allergic to salt water.

Olag uses the stolen "thunderstick", a laser weapon, to weaken the tunnels. The Dead Sea floods the tunnels. The Ronans are driven through the flooding caves which were then flooded as the Sea drained.

The Doctor, having parted the waters, recalls the first time this was done, in the Red Sea by Moses ...

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • On a previous visit (a bit later), to the Dead Sea, the Doctor had helped develop a permanent ink for writing the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This short story was the runner-up in the Under 15 Category in a competition run by Doctor Who Magazine in 1986 and printed in DWM 117.
  • Written by reader Andrew Lowes, aged 10, the story ran to nearly three pages and was illustrated by regular magazine artist John Ridgway, who donated the artwork as part of the prize that included a Sevans Dalek kit.
  • This was the first piece of original DWU fiction to feature a non-current Doctor, barring stories released shortly after a regeneration and multi-Doctor stories.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added