Veteran Spaceship Rally (short story)
Veteran Spaceship Rally was a Cosmic Capers short story printed in TV Century 21 in 1965 which contained elements from the Doctor Who universe.
The world capital of Unity City, introduced in The Daleks comic story Duel of the Daleks, made an appearance. Additionally, the city of New London on Mars was also featured following its debut in the cover story Tempest Awarded V.M. in a context which tied-in to the events of The Daleks story The Amaryll Challenge.
Summary
Crowds line to route between Mars and Earth in preparation for the annual Veteran Spaceship Rally from Brighton to New London. They watch as outdated spacecraft from centuries past go by; a Blue Streak rocket from 1960 breaks down and has to be pushed while the Ancient Mariner 1 rows through space until one of the oars breaks apart. Its race is saved thanks to the pilot bringing a spare. Meanwhile, keen antique collector Drungle Drugoon enters in the so-called Bird Rocket, which works by the pilot climbing inside, standing on the edge of a high cliff, flapping the rocket's wings and jumping off. Drugoon is later admitted to Unity City Hospital, stated to be "quite comfortable" during the night after being admitted in the afternoon. Eventually, the rally is won by the 1XX Rocket, with the owner commenting that he didn't think they would make it, noting that their engine had cut out at the start which forced them to throw out some floorboards to help them get into space.
Characters
Worldbuilding
- The Ancient Mariner 1 dates back to 1876 while the Bird Rocket is from 1882.
- Some of the spaceships entered in the rally are borrowed from museums.
Story notes
- Although relatively insignificant to the wider world of TV Century 21, Veteran Spaceship Rally was notable for establishing Unity City as a recurring setting within the magazine. At the time of its publication it had not been referenced beyond its initial mention in Duel of the Daleks and its debut proper in Ceasefire — But War Tension Mounts... and President Offers Peace..., the second and third parts respectively of the primarily-Fireball XL5 comic story The Astran Assassination.
Continuity
- Around the same time as the Veteran Spaceship Rally an amateur radio astronomer in New London picked up a message from Skaro which simply said "All you have left is fear. The Daleks are coming!" over and over again. This forced the Space News Agency to make a statement about the safety of the Solar System, as depicted in PROSE: Tempest Awarded V.M..
