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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Novel|
|image= NA010 transit.jpg
novel name= Transit|
|series = [[Virgin New Adventures]]
image= [[file:NA010_transit.jpg|250px]]|
|range = Virgin New Adventures
series=[[Doctor Who]] -<br/>[[Virgin New Adventures]] |
|number in range = 10
number= 10 |
|number= 10
doctor=[[Seventh Doctor]] |
|doctor = Seventh Doctor
companions= [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]] |
|companions= [[Bernice Summerfield|Benny]], [[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart|Kadiatu]]
enemy= [[Fred]] |
|featuring = [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|The Brig]]
year= [[Earth]], [[London]] & [[Kent]], early 22nd century <br> [[Mars]], [[Olympus Mons]] |
|enemy= [[Fred (Transit)|Fred]]
writer= [[Ben Aaronovitch]] |
|setting= [[London]], [[2109]]
publisher= [[Virgin Books]] |
|writer= Ben Aaronovitch
release date= [[December]] [[1992]] |
|cover= [[Peter Elson]]
format= Paperback Book, 264 Pages |
|publisher= Virgin Books
isbn= ISBN 0426203844 |
|release date= 3 December 1992
previous story= [[Love and War]] |
|format= Paperback Book; 12 Chapters, 264 Pages
next story= [[The Highest Science]]}}
|isbn= ISBN 0-426-20384-4
'''''Transit''''' is the tenth novel in the [[Virgin New Adventures]] series. It was written by [[Ben Aaronovitch]], and featured the [[Seventh Doctor]] and was the first novel to feature [[Bernice Summerfield]] as a companion following her introduction in the [[Love and War|previous novel]].
|prev= Love and War (novel)
|next= The Highest Science (novel)
|series2 = [[Interweaving with the New Adventures|''DWM'' "New Adventures order"]]
|prev2 = Love and War (novel)
|next2 = Pureblood (comic story)
}}
'''''Transit''''' was the tenth novel in the [[Virgin New Adventures]] series. It was written by [[Ben Aaronovitch]] and featured the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Bernice Summerfield]]. It was the first novel to feature [[Bernice Summerfield]] as a companion following her introduction in the [[Love and War (novel)|previous novel]].


==Publisher's summary==
== Publisher's summary ==
''''Oh no, not again...''''
''"Oh no, not again..."''


It's the ultimate in mass transit systems, a network of interstitial tunnels that bind the planets of the solar system together. Earth to Pluto in forty minutes with a supersave non-premium off-peak travelcard.
It's the ultimate in mass transit systems, a network of interstitial tunnels that bind the planets of the solar system together. [[Earth]] to [[Pluto]] in forty minutes with a supersave non-premium off-peak [[travelcard]].


But something is living in the network, chewing its way to the very heart of the system and leaving a trail of death and mutation behind it.
But something is living in the network, chewing its way to the very heart of the system and leaving a trail of death and mutation behind it.
Line 30: Line 37:
Once again the Doctor is all that stands between humanity and its own mistakes.
Once again the Doctor is all that stands between humanity and its own mistakes.


==Characters==
== Plot ==
*[[Seventh Doctor |The Doctor]]
In the year [[2109]], the Earth's colonies throughout the solar system are connected by the [[Sol Transit System]], or STS, a system of train "tunnels" through the fabric of reality itself. Travel is fast, nearly instantaneous; and the ambitious human race is about to open its first interstellar addition to the system. The first Star Tunnel, or "[[Stunnel]]" for short, will go to the colony at [[Arcturus]], 26 light years away. Something goes drastically wrong, however, when something unknown pushes its way out of the stunnel and into the body of the system itself, vaporizing everyone on the platforms for the opening ceremony.
*[[Bernice Summerfield]]
*[[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]]
*[[Francine (Transit)|Francine]]
*[[Sam|Old Sam]]
*[[Zamina]]
*[[Roberta]]
*[[Blondie]]
*[[Ming the Merciless|Ming]]


==References==
[[Lunar University]] (or "Lunarversity") student [[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]]—a distant descendant of [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]] from an illicit relationship in his early military days in Africa—gets briefly involved with a group of special maintenance workers on the Stunnel project, and develops a hasty but passionate relationship with Zak, or [[Blondie]] as he prefers to be called, the youngest member of the crew. Related events lead her to be at [[King's Cross|King's Cross station]] when the entity from the stunnel passes through, destroying everyone; but she is saved by the sudden appearance of the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]]. The TARDIS itself, with [[Bernice Summerfield]] still inside, are hurled to the end of the line, somewhere in another station. Stuck with few options, the Doctor falls in with Kadiatu, who connects him to a family friend, a woman named [[Francine (Transit)|Francine]], who is—famously—a completely blind veteran of the [[Thousand Day War|war]] on [[Mars]] between the humans and the Ice Warriors some twenty years earlier, and also an accomplished underworld boss. Unknown to the Doctor, Kadiatu knows exactly who he is.


===[[:Category:Books|Books]]===
Benny finds herself in a slum near the last station in the solar system, on [[Pluto]], and falls in with two prostitutes, [[Roberta (Transit)|Roberta]] and [[Zamina]]. (By coincidence, Blondie is also from this slum, and is well known to both girls.) Benny quickly uses the girls, as well as a local gang, to seize power and then spark a riot that sends destruction careening through the slum. Roberta is killed in the fighting, and Benny escapes. Meanwhile, the Doctor knows a thing or two about Kadiatu, as well—he realises that she has been genetically engineered, probably as a soldier. He discovers her rather complete files on him, and learns that she is very close to discovering [[time travel]], a few centuries early for humanity. He considers deleting the files, but decides against it, fearing the repercussions. He also realises—though she didn't tell him—that she is a descendant of his old friend. When she awakens, he helps her solve a minor problem she is dealing with, and in return, recruits her to help him recover Benny and put an end to the crisis in the STS.
* Kadiatu's great grandmother of the same name wrote ''[[The Zen Military-A History of UNIT (2006)]]''.
* Because of that book, and the general residual footprints the Doctor has left through history, he and UNIT are something of a cultural phenomenon - including an Opera based on [[Battlefield]].


===[[:Category:Buildings|Buildings]]===
Blondie's crew, led by a former—and highly augmented—soldier called [[Old Sam]], begins to search the now-closed system for the source of the problem, using a modified maintenance train they call Fat Mama. They are assaulted by a group of mutated individuals, and barely escape with their lives and heavy damage to the train, though one crewmember—[[Dogface]]—is critically wounded and whisked off to a hospital. They report in to their supervisor, the System's manager, Ming, often called "Ming the Merciless". Meanwhile the Doctor and Kadiatu make their way to the slum on Pluto, where the fighting has ended and the relief workers have arrived. There they find the TARDIS; it struck the wall of the station with enough force to embed it deeply in the wall, with the door unfortunately facing the wrong way. Benny arrives at the station, and tries to kill the Doctor; it becomes clear that she is possessed by the transit system entity. He is saved by Old Sam and Blondie; Benny flees, collecting Zamina as she does, and joins a refugee group headed for Mars. During the fight, Kadiatu discovers—and is disturbed by—her own preternatural fighting skills, which she does not understand; a flashback shows that she herself is not her parents' natural child, but was found by [[Yembe Lethbridge-Stewart|her father]] on a military mission, organised by Francine. She was genetically engineered by the [[Imogen|Imogen corporation]] as a supersoldier of incalculable ability; however her father couldn't bring himself to kill the infant warrior, and adopted her instead, vowing to overcome her creation with a good upbringing and psychology. She knows none of this, however.
* In his [[Smithwood Manor| house]] the Doctor tries to retroactively stock his cupboards, but he forgets.


===[[:Category:Conflicts|Conflicts]]===
The Doctor takes Blondie and Kadiatu to [[Smithwood Manor|his house]] in [[Kent]], where the couple's relationship deepens. The Doctor realises that the STS hasn't been invaded by an outside intelligence; rather, because it is structured in the form of a complex neural network, it has evolved its own intelligence. He builds a device to communicate with the system, and finds that while he is correct, he only has part of the story. The system, though certainly intelligent, was invaded by a competing intelligence—a virus of sorts—from another dimension, which breached the system where reality was thin along the Stunnel's path. The Doctor decides to help the system expunge the virus. He contacts [[Ming (Transit)|Ming]] and her fellow executives and offers to help—and none too soon, because something in the system is preparing to open the Stunnel again.
*The [[Thousand Day War]] was fought with the 'Greenies', a slang term for [[Ice Warrior]].
*[[Ubersoldaten]] were augmented soldiers that fought in the Thousand Day War.
*Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart is the only surviving "super soldier" created after the Thousand Day War with Mars (the rest were killed by her adoptive father).


===[[:Category:Currency|Currency]]===
Benny and Zamina are placed with a family on Mars, but Benny quickly kills them. She heads out, intending to get to STS control and advance the virus's plan—but she manages to resist the virus's control long enough to send Zamina away with a warning for the Doctor. The Doctor gets the message, and takes Kadiatu to Mars via the tunnels, finding that Benny has fled in a vehicle out onto the wilder parts of the surface. She leads them to a dormant Ice Warrior nest, where she tries to shoot the Doctor; Kadiatu kills her. The Doctor is furious, until he realises it's not the real Benny; it's a mutant made to look and sound like her. She was a decoy; they are forced to race back, having lost time on this distraction—and moreover, the [[Ice Warriors]] asleep in the nest will eventually awaken, not knowing their war with Earth is over.
*[[Moneypen]]s are used to transfer currency.


===[[:Category:The Doctor|The Doctor]]===
Waiting to be picked up, Kadiatu compares notes with the Doctor about her family history, and then reveals something disturbing—she has dreams about an old woman, whom the Doctor identifies as the [[Pythia]] of Gallifrey's past, giving a curse against childbirth. Francine arrives in a modified jet and picks them up, but is shot down by an automated system that misinterprets her intentions. She lands safely somehow, though the plane is destroyed. A chance encounter with one of the rescue crew that collects them makes the Doctor realise that he may be far too well known to humans now, and he considers deleting knowledge of himself from human records.
*The Doctor refers his [[Third Doctor|third]], [[Fourth Doctor|fourth]] and [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]] incarnations' liking for [[Alcohol#Wine|wine]], [[Alcohol#Beer|beer]], and [[cricket]] respectively.
*The Doctor]] gets [[drunk]] celebrating the [[universe]]'s birthday with Kadiatu.


===[[:Category:Events|Events]]===
Benny makes her way to STS control and sets the reactors to overload, pouring power into the Stunnel's grid, preparing to open the gates on both ends. The Doctor and Kadiatu arrive, but find that it's another false Benny. The Doctor sends the maintenance crew's drones to build a machine to draw power from the TARDIS, and then he heads to the Stunnel station by freesurfing the tunnels—that is, travelling them on a board, without a train. Inside the tunnels, he picks up an unidentified, disembodied hitchhiker, telepathically entering his mind. At the other end, he finds a battle in progress, between the entity's mutants and the human security forces, with Blondie and Old Sam there holding the line as well. Blondie dies in the process, horrifying Kadiatu. Benny—the real Benny this time—is there as well. As the Doctor arrives, the gateway opens, and the full entity emerges, possessing Benny; it seems the version that was already inhabiting her was only an agent of sorts. As it claims no name, the Doctor calls it "[[Fred (Transit)|Fred]]". However, before it can act, the machine connected to the TARDIS fires a powerful burst of artron energy through the tunnel, channeled through the Doctor, striking Fred and driving it back into the tunnels and into its own dimension, taking Benny with it. As the Stunnel starts to collapse, the Doctor follows it in, trying to rescue Benny; Kadiatu follows him.
*Earth's ''official'' First Contact with aliens is embodied in the Arcturan Treaty of [[2085]].


===[[:Category:Individuals|Individuals]]===
The Doctor finds himself in a world of subjective reality, malleable to the wills of those inside it. He shapes reality into a form he can navigate, and leaves messages for Kadiatu to follow. He also finds that the artron energy—representing the TARDIS itself—takes the form of two cats, one green, one silver. He battles his way through to a confrontation with Fred. Fred admits that it has concealed its true purpose until now; it can't act with impunity in the real world, but here, it has more power; and it saw the potential in the Doctor, and wanted to take him to augment its own power. To that end, it kidnapped Benny, planning to lure the Doctor here so it could acquire his mind. Kadiatu arrives manifesting as a leopard, and attacks Fred; the Doctor transfers the hitchhiker from his own mind to Benny's, forcing Fred out, and Kadiatu devours Fred. The hitchhiker then vacates Benny's mind and takes form—it is the Transit entity, and now, without any opposition, it feels comfortable vacating the system and remaining here in this dimension, where it can reach its full potential. The Doctor, Benny, and Kadiatu return to reality just as the gateway collapses.
*Bernice doesn't look when she walks out of the TARDIS and falls down a hole.
* The family motto of the Lethbridge-Stewarts is here stated as: Nemo me impine lacessit ("No one attacks me with impunity").
*The Lethbridge-Stewart family has a long history of military service and an interest in the unusual.
*[[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]] dreams of [[Pythia]]. She is related (by both adoption and some of the genetics used to create her) to [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]].


===[[:Category:Locations|Locations]]===
The crisis is resolved; but before leaving Earth again, the Doctor visits the Stone Mountain data repository on the moon, which contains the sum total of human knowledge. He has deduced that its AI management software has become sentient, and threatens to expose it to humanity—who are paranoid about such things—if it doesn't accommodate him. He persuades it to delete all records of his own existence on Earth, and he personally destroys what hard copies are available; and in return, he gives it pointers on how to live with humanity. It names itself [[FLORANCE]], and immediately begins establishing a presence on Earth, before revealing itself. The Doctor returns to the station on Pluto, and has the maintenance crew cut the TARDIS free of the wall, and takes a very shaken Benny with him when he leaves. He sends Old Sam to make peace with the newly awakened Ice Warriors, and sees that Kadiatu gets a job with STS. He offers her a chance to come with him, but she refuses—but warns him that she'll give him a head start, then come after him. Later, she completes her time machine, and then destroys all her research, before setting off after the Doctor—but where her allegiance lies, remains to be seen.
*The Doctor states he's visited "all three [[Atlantis]]es".


===[[:Category:Politics|Politics]]===
== Characters ==
*A President runs the [[Union of Solar Republics]] and is based in [[Reykjavik]], [[Iceland]].
* [[Seventh Doctor]]
* [[Bernice Summerfield]]
* [[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]]
* [[Francine (Transit)|Francine]]


===[[:Category:Transport technology|Transport technology]]===
=== The Floozies ===
*The 'botched' [[Zygma energy]] experiments of the [[30th century|thirtieth century]] are mentioned.
* [[Old Sam]]
* [[Credit Card]]
* [[Dogface]]
* [[Lambada]]
* [[Blondie]]
* [[Ming (Transit)|Ming the Merciless]]


==Notes==
=== Others ===
*This novel is often noted for its multiple use of expletives; the word ''Fuck'' is used ten times in this novel, the first use is on page 41 (followed by page 45, 70, 71, 212 , 229 and 261)
* [[Zamina]]
:*Included in the ten times count is the word ''fucking'' which appears on pages; 83, 117, 202
* [[Roberta (Transit)|Roberta]]
*A prelude to this novel appeared in [[DWM 195]].
* [[The Doctor (Battlefield)|Flying Dutchman]]
* [[FLORANCE]]
* [[Verhoevan]]
* [[Max (Transit)|Max]]
* [[Yak Harris]]
* [[Mariko]]
* [[3Boss]]
* [[2Boss]]
* [[Naran]]
* [[Colin (Transit)|Colin]]
* [[Achmed (Transit)|Achmed]]
* [[Lynx (Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible)|Lynx]]


==Continuity==
=== Flashbacks of Kadiatu's past ===
* Kadiatu reappears in: [[NA]]: ''[[Set Piece]]'', ''[[The Also People]]'' and ''[[Happy Endings]]'' (also a brief cameo appearance in [[NA]]: ''[[The Dying Days]]''). She also reappears and re-meets Bernice Summerfield in [[BFBS]]: ''[[The Final Amendment]]''.
* Brigadier [[Yembe Lethbridge-Stewart]]
* [[The Doctor's House]] last appeared in [[NA]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]''.
* Chief [[Yembe]]
*The infection of the TARDIS is referred to once more, it occured in [[NA]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark]]''.
* [[Mariatu]]
*FLORENCE appears again in [[NA]]: ''[[Sleepy]]'' and [[EDA]]: ''[[Seeing I]]''.
* [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|The Brigadier]]
* The unknown future incarnation of the Doctor that first appeared in [[Marc Platt|Marc Platt's]] novelisation of [[Battlefield (novelisation)|''Battlefield'']] reappears here in a cyberspace encounter with a supporting character.


==[[Seventh Doctor - Timeline|Timeline]]==
== Worldbuilding ==
*This story takes place after [[DWM]]: ''[[Younger and Wiser]]''
=== Books ===
*This story takes place before [[VD]]: ''[[Playback]]''
* Kadiatu's great grandmother of the same name wrote ''[[The Zen Military]]''.
* There is an [[opera]] based on the Doctor.


==External links==
=== Conflicts ===
*[http://www.drwhoguide.com/whona10p.htm Prelude to '''Transit''' as published in DWM #195]
* The [[Thousand Day War]] was fought with the "[[Greenie]]s".
*{{dwrefguide|who_na10.htm|Transit}}
* [[Ubersoldaten]] were augmented soldiers that fought in the Thousand Day War.
*{{whoniverse|NA10.php|Transit}}
*[http://www.oocities.com/rico.briggs/tran.html Bewildering Reference Guide to '''Transit''']


{{Virgin New Adventure Series Box | before = [[Love and War]] | after = [[The Highest Science]]}}
=== Currency ===
* [[Moneypen]]s are used to transfer currency.
 
=== The Doctor ===
* The Doctor refers to his [[Third Doctor|third]], [[Fourth Doctor|fourth]] and [[Fifth Doctor|fifth]] incarnations' liking for [[wine]], [[beer]] and [[cricket]] respectively.
* The Doctor gets drunk celebrating the [[universe]]'s birthday with Kadiatu.
 
=== Events ===
* Earth's ''official'' First Contact with aliens is embodied in the Arcturan Treaty of [[2085]].
 
=== Individuals ===
* Kadiatu dreams of [[Pythia]]. She is related to [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]].
 
=== Jargon ===
* "[[Personspace]]" refers to the area of space explored by humans.
* "[[Catfood-monster]]" refers to a homeless person.
* "[[Joyboy]]" refers to male [[prostitute]]s.
* "[[NAFAL]]" means to "not-as-fast-as-light".
 
=== Planets ===
* Benny once attended a conference at the [[Institute of Human Ecology]] on [[Cygni VI]].
* Benny picked up a digging mantra on [[Proxima IV]].
 
=== Politics ===
* A President runs the [[Union of Solar Republics]] and is based in [[Reykjavik]], [[Iceland]].
 
=== Transport technology ===
* The "botched" [[Zygma energy]] [[Sigma experiments|experiments]] of the [[30th century|thirtieth century]] are mentioned.
 
== Notes ==
* This novel is often noted for its multiple use of expletives; the word "fuck" is used fourteen times in this novel.
* A [[Prelude Transit (short story)|prelude]] to this novel appeared in [[DWM 195]].
* The novel is based on an idea that Ben Aaronovitch submitted to the ''Doctor Who'' production team for [[Season 25 (Doctor Who 1963)|Season 25]].<ref>http://www.shannonsullivan.com/drwho/lostrz.html</ref>
* Kadiatu was considered to be the new companion, Bernice didn't appear in the first draft, but Peter Darvill-Evans decided to make Bernice the new companion so the book had to be rewritten to fit her in.
 
== Continuity ==
* Kadiatu reappears in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'', ''[[The Also People (novel)|The Also People]]'' and ''[[Happy Endings (novel)|Happy Endings]]'' (also a brief cameo appearance in [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dying Days (novel)|The Dying Days]]''). She also reappears and meets Benny once again in [[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Final Amendment (audio story)|The Final Amendment]]''.
* [[The Doctor's house]] last appeared in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Warhead (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Warhead]]''.
* The infection of the TARDIS is referred to once more. This occurred in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark (novel)|Cat's Cradle: Witch Mark]]''.
* The Doctor dreams of Ace running like a [[Cheetah Person|cheetah]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Survival (TV story)|Survival]]'') but says she was always a [[wolf]] to him. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Curse of Fenric (TV story)|The Curse of Fenric]]'')
* The Doctor taunts a possessed-Benny by saying he never built her a boom-box. ([[TV]]: ''[[Silver Nemesis (TV story)|Silver Nemesis]]'')
* FLORANCE appears again in [[PROSE]]: ''[[SLEEPY (novel)|SLEEPY]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[Seeing I (novel)|Seeing I]]''.
* The unknown future incarnation of the Doctor that first appeared in [[Marc Platt]]'s novelisation of ''[[Battlefield (novelisation)|Battlefield]]'' reappears here in a cyberspace encounter with a supporting character.
* The Doctor mentions that he has visited "all three [[Atlantis]]es." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Underwater Menace (TV story)|The Underwater Menace]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Dæmons (TV story)|The Dæmons]]'', [[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster (TV story)|The Time Monster]]'')
* The Doctor calls the entity "Fred." He'd previously attributed this name to a [[Robot Yeti]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'') and [[Romana I]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Ribos Operation (TV story)|The Ribos Operation]]'')
* The Doctor, if he has to die, wants to do so alone and believes it would be best if all traces of him were erased. The Doctor's [[Eighth Doctor|next incarnation]] would share this belief. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Scherzo (audio story)|Scherzo]]'') This would eventually change by his [[Eleventh Doctor|eleventh incarnation]]. (While he explained his actions after having the idea to use the [[Teselecta]], he is describing his choice to send the invitations while he still believed he was going to die.) ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'')
 
== Cover gallery ==
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
NA010 transit.jpg|Original cover
NA010 transit textless cover.jpg|Textless cover
</gallery>
 
 
== External links ==
* [http://www.drwhoguide.com/whona10p.htm Prelude to '''Transit''' as published in DWM #195]
{{dwrefguide|who_na10.htm|Transit}}
* {{whoniverse|na10|Transit}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/tran.htm The Cloister Library: '''Transit''']
* [http://www.oocities.com/rico.briggs/tran.html Bewildering Reference Guide to '''Transit''']
 
== Footnotes ==
{{reflist}}
{{NA}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Bernice Summerfield sources]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]
[[Category:Seventh Doctor novels]]
[[Category:Virgin New Adventures featuring Bernice Summerfield]]
[[Category:NA novels with Bernice Summerfield]]
[[Category:Virgin New Adventure Novels]]
[[Category:1992 novels]]
[[Category:1992 novels]]
[[Category:Stories set in 2109]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set on Mars]]
[[Category:Novels set on Mars]]
[[Category:Stories set in Kent]]
[[Category:Stories set in Kent]]
[[Category:NA adaptations of unproduced television stories]]

Latest revision as of 20:16, 22 April 2024

RealWorld.png

Transit was the tenth novel in the Virgin New Adventures series. It was written by Ben Aaronovitch and featured the Seventh Doctor and Bernice Summerfield. It was the first novel to feature Bernice Summerfield as a companion following her introduction in the previous novel.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

"Oh no, not again..."

It's the ultimate in mass transit systems, a network of interstitial tunnels that bind the planets of the solar system together. Earth to Pluto in forty minutes with a supersave non-premium off-peak travelcard.

But something is living in the network, chewing its way to the very heart of the system and leaving a trail of death and mutation behind it.

Once again a reluctant Doctor is dragged into human history. Back down amongst the joyboys, freesurfers, chessfans, politicians and floozies, where friends are more dangerous than enemies and one man's human being is another's psychotic killing machine.

Once again the Doctor is all that stands between humanity and its own mistakes.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

In the year 2109, the Earth's colonies throughout the solar system are connected by the Sol Transit System, or STS, a system of train "tunnels" through the fabric of reality itself. Travel is fast, nearly instantaneous; and the ambitious human race is about to open its first interstellar addition to the system. The first Star Tunnel, or "Stunnel" for short, will go to the colony at Arcturus, 26 light years away. Something goes drastically wrong, however, when something unknown pushes its way out of the stunnel and into the body of the system itself, vaporizing everyone on the platforms for the opening ceremony.

Lunar University (or "Lunarversity") student Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart—a distant descendant of Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart from an illicit relationship in his early military days in Africa—gets briefly involved with a group of special maintenance workers on the Stunnel project, and develops a hasty but passionate relationship with Zak, or Blondie as he prefers to be called, the youngest member of the crew. Related events lead her to be at King's Cross station when the entity from the stunnel passes through, destroying everyone; but she is saved by the sudden appearance of the Seventh Doctor and the TARDIS. The TARDIS itself, with Bernice Summerfield still inside, are hurled to the end of the line, somewhere in another station. Stuck with few options, the Doctor falls in with Kadiatu, who connects him to a family friend, a woman named Francine, who is—famously—a completely blind veteran of the war on Mars between the humans and the Ice Warriors some twenty years earlier, and also an accomplished underworld boss. Unknown to the Doctor, Kadiatu knows exactly who he is.

Benny finds herself in a slum near the last station in the solar system, on Pluto, and falls in with two prostitutes, Roberta and Zamina. (By coincidence, Blondie is also from this slum, and is well known to both girls.) Benny quickly uses the girls, as well as a local gang, to seize power and then spark a riot that sends destruction careening through the slum. Roberta is killed in the fighting, and Benny escapes. Meanwhile, the Doctor knows a thing or two about Kadiatu, as well—he realises that she has been genetically engineered, probably as a soldier. He discovers her rather complete files on him, and learns that she is very close to discovering time travel, a few centuries early for humanity. He considers deleting the files, but decides against it, fearing the repercussions. He also realises—though she didn't tell him—that she is a descendant of his old friend. When she awakens, he helps her solve a minor problem she is dealing with, and in return, recruits her to help him recover Benny and put an end to the crisis in the STS.

Blondie's crew, led by a former—and highly augmented—soldier called Old Sam, begins to search the now-closed system for the source of the problem, using a modified maintenance train they call Fat Mama. They are assaulted by a group of mutated individuals, and barely escape with their lives and heavy damage to the train, though one crewmember—Dogface—is critically wounded and whisked off to a hospital. They report in to their supervisor, the System's manager, Ming, often called "Ming the Merciless". Meanwhile the Doctor and Kadiatu make their way to the slum on Pluto, where the fighting has ended and the relief workers have arrived. There they find the TARDIS; it struck the wall of the station with enough force to embed it deeply in the wall, with the door unfortunately facing the wrong way. Benny arrives at the station, and tries to kill the Doctor; it becomes clear that she is possessed by the transit system entity. He is saved by Old Sam and Blondie; Benny flees, collecting Zamina as she does, and joins a refugee group headed for Mars. During the fight, Kadiatu discovers—and is disturbed by—her own preternatural fighting skills, which she does not understand; a flashback shows that she herself is not her parents' natural child, but was found by her father on a military mission, organised by Francine. She was genetically engineered by the Imogen corporation as a supersoldier of incalculable ability; however her father couldn't bring himself to kill the infant warrior, and adopted her instead, vowing to overcome her creation with a good upbringing and psychology. She knows none of this, however.

The Doctor takes Blondie and Kadiatu to his house in Kent, where the couple's relationship deepens. The Doctor realises that the STS hasn't been invaded by an outside intelligence; rather, because it is structured in the form of a complex neural network, it has evolved its own intelligence. He builds a device to communicate with the system, and finds that while he is correct, he only has part of the story. The system, though certainly intelligent, was invaded by a competing intelligence—a virus of sorts—from another dimension, which breached the system where reality was thin along the Stunnel's path. The Doctor decides to help the system expunge the virus. He contacts Ming and her fellow executives and offers to help—and none too soon, because something in the system is preparing to open the Stunnel again.

Benny and Zamina are placed with a family on Mars, but Benny quickly kills them. She heads out, intending to get to STS control and advance the virus's plan—but she manages to resist the virus's control long enough to send Zamina away with a warning for the Doctor. The Doctor gets the message, and takes Kadiatu to Mars via the tunnels, finding that Benny has fled in a vehicle out onto the wilder parts of the surface. She leads them to a dormant Ice Warrior nest, where she tries to shoot the Doctor; Kadiatu kills her. The Doctor is furious, until he realises it's not the real Benny; it's a mutant made to look and sound like her. She was a decoy; they are forced to race back, having lost time on this distraction—and moreover, the Ice Warriors asleep in the nest will eventually awaken, not knowing their war with Earth is over.

Waiting to be picked up, Kadiatu compares notes with the Doctor about her family history, and then reveals something disturbing—she has dreams about an old woman, whom the Doctor identifies as the Pythia of Gallifrey's past, giving a curse against childbirth. Francine arrives in a modified jet and picks them up, but is shot down by an automated system that misinterprets her intentions. She lands safely somehow, though the plane is destroyed. A chance encounter with one of the rescue crew that collects them makes the Doctor realise that he may be far too well known to humans now, and he considers deleting knowledge of himself from human records.

Benny makes her way to STS control and sets the reactors to overload, pouring power into the Stunnel's grid, preparing to open the gates on both ends. The Doctor and Kadiatu arrive, but find that it's another false Benny. The Doctor sends the maintenance crew's drones to build a machine to draw power from the TARDIS, and then he heads to the Stunnel station by freesurfing the tunnels—that is, travelling them on a board, without a train. Inside the tunnels, he picks up an unidentified, disembodied hitchhiker, telepathically entering his mind. At the other end, he finds a battle in progress, between the entity's mutants and the human security forces, with Blondie and Old Sam there holding the line as well. Blondie dies in the process, horrifying Kadiatu. Benny—the real Benny this time—is there as well. As the Doctor arrives, the gateway opens, and the full entity emerges, possessing Benny; it seems the version that was already inhabiting her was only an agent of sorts. As it claims no name, the Doctor calls it "Fred". However, before it can act, the machine connected to the TARDIS fires a powerful burst of artron energy through the tunnel, channeled through the Doctor, striking Fred and driving it back into the tunnels and into its own dimension, taking Benny with it. As the Stunnel starts to collapse, the Doctor follows it in, trying to rescue Benny; Kadiatu follows him.

The Doctor finds himself in a world of subjective reality, malleable to the wills of those inside it. He shapes reality into a form he can navigate, and leaves messages for Kadiatu to follow. He also finds that the artron energy—representing the TARDIS itself—takes the form of two cats, one green, one silver. He battles his way through to a confrontation with Fred. Fred admits that it has concealed its true purpose until now; it can't act with impunity in the real world, but here, it has more power; and it saw the potential in the Doctor, and wanted to take him to augment its own power. To that end, it kidnapped Benny, planning to lure the Doctor here so it could acquire his mind. Kadiatu arrives manifesting as a leopard, and attacks Fred; the Doctor transfers the hitchhiker from his own mind to Benny's, forcing Fred out, and Kadiatu devours Fred. The hitchhiker then vacates Benny's mind and takes form—it is the Transit entity, and now, without any opposition, it feels comfortable vacating the system and remaining here in this dimension, where it can reach its full potential. The Doctor, Benny, and Kadiatu return to reality just as the gateway collapses.

The crisis is resolved; but before leaving Earth again, the Doctor visits the Stone Mountain data repository on the moon, which contains the sum total of human knowledge. He has deduced that its AI management software has become sentient, and threatens to expose it to humanity—who are paranoid about such things—if it doesn't accommodate him. He persuades it to delete all records of his own existence on Earth, and he personally destroys what hard copies are available; and in return, he gives it pointers on how to live with humanity. It names itself FLORANCE, and immediately begins establishing a presence on Earth, before revealing itself. The Doctor returns to the station on Pluto, and has the maintenance crew cut the TARDIS free of the wall, and takes a very shaken Benny with him when he leaves. He sends Old Sam to make peace with the newly awakened Ice Warriors, and sees that Kadiatu gets a job with STS. He offers her a chance to come with him, but she refuses—but warns him that she'll give him a head start, then come after him. Later, she completes her time machine, and then destroys all her research, before setting off after the Doctor—but where her allegiance lies, remains to be seen.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Floozies[[edit] | [edit source]]

Others[[edit] | [edit source]]

Flashbacks of Kadiatu's past[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Books[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Kadiatu's great grandmother of the same name wrote The Zen Military.
  • There is an opera based on the Doctor.

Conflicts[[edit] | [edit source]]

Currency[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor[[edit] | [edit source]]

Events[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Earth's official First Contact with aliens is embodied in the Arcturan Treaty of 2085.

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Jargon[[edit] | [edit source]]

Planets[[edit] | [edit source]]

Politics[[edit] | [edit source]]

Transport technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This novel is often noted for its multiple use of expletives; the word "fuck" is used fourteen times in this novel.
  • A prelude to this novel appeared in DWM 195.
  • The novel is based on an idea that Ben Aaronovitch submitted to the Doctor Who production team for Season 25.[1]
  • Kadiatu was considered to be the new companion, Bernice didn't appear in the first draft, but Peter Darvill-Evans decided to make Bernice the new companion so the book had to be rewritten to fit her in.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cover gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]


External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]