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CONTENTSSTORIESPowerstone .......................... ..... 7 The Sh roud of Azaroth ............................ 18 Hound of Hell .......................................... 26 The M onster of Loch Crag . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 Horror Hotel ................ ..................... 48 The Curse of Kanbo-Ala ...... ..... 55 FEATURESIntroducing K9 .................... 4

Professor Rubik's Cube ............. Talking of Technology ............... K9s Quiz

Meet Sarah Jane Smith ........ ..... 6 Ca n You Follow Instructions? . . . . . . . . . . 13 The Shape of TV To Come ..................... 14

What is the Secret of the Standing Stones? 34 Myth or Monster? ............................ 43 UFOs Is This the Answer? .................... 45 Once Upon A Time, There Was A Robot 46 Ghostly Goings On .................................. 62 A

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K9 is n o ordinary canine. To give him his precisedue, he is a real-time d ata analyser robot, wh o justhappens to be in the sha pe of a m echanical dog.With his original master, the Time Lord Dr Who, K9has already seen action and adventure a-plenty,and he's analysed himself a nd the D octor out ofmany a tricky corner.K9's space-travelling days ar e behind him now,but that doesn't m ean he's out of action. Quite theopposite, in fact.K 9 has been assigned to assist investigativejournalist Sarah Ja ne S mith in the course of herdramatic exposes an d startling stories,and he'salready proving to b e just the kind of helpmateevery investigative journalist needs. He doesn't getflustered (that was never in any of his memoryprogram mes), and he possesses all the loyalty an dobedience of the more familiar four-footed friends.As for intelligence, well, K 9 would be a candidatefor Mensa if they had any open ings for metalmembers. H e has an IQ of over 300, and can

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analy se a problem with devasta ting accuracy , in lessthan two flicks of a dogs tail so to speak.K 9 has a blaste r in his snou t which extends tostun any adversary, and it can even kill, if thedang er is sufficiently deadly. H e can mo ve hisheadup and dow n in order to direct this blaster, whichshoots off a pow erful red ray.Not tob e confused with the blaster, K 9 also has a

prob e, which extends from his head to allow him toanalyse objects which would otherwise be just outof his range .K 9 has been programmed to speak his replies toquestions, but for occasions when he is left alone toconduct detailed analyses, he has also beenequ ipped with a tick er-tape facility, whichdischarges from his mouth.He is fitted with tracks , to facilitate mo vement onrough ground, and one other feature of note is histail,which moves u p and d own an d from side toside. Thisis an indicatorof K9 s opinions on various

matters, and it does have a certain parallel amonghis m ore ord inary cousins.

Just to keep the record straight, the K 9 who helpsSarah Jane Smith is actually Mark IIIof the m odel.Mark I was left on the plane t Gallifrey, with theDoctors assistant Leela, a nd Mark IIwas left inE-space with Rom ana II.

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Sarah Ja ne first met the Dod or when she visiteda Research Establishment where there had been anum ber of mysterious disappearan ces. S he posedas her aunt to gain adm ittance, an d found that themystery was also being investigated by th e D octor,wh o was a t that time working with UNIT.I Sarah Ja ne stowed away in the Tardii, and thatwas the beginning of her association with theDoctor, which was to take her on man y fantasticjourneys through time a nd space. Sarah Ja ne stoodbeside the D octor as h e faced the S ontara n Linx,the Daleks, the Cyberm en a nd th e Ice Warriors,an d she remained with him w hen he changed fromh~ third to his fourth incarnationTheir association c am e to a rather sudde n e ndwhen the Doctor was summoned to Gallifrey by hisfellow Time Lords,and he decided that he couldno t risk Sara h Janes safety on this dangerous

meellaraJaneSmithSarah Jane Smith is a freelance journalist byprofession, an d fiercely ind epe nde nt by nature.Orphaned as a child, she was brought up by herau nt, the distinguished scientist Miss Lavinia S mith,and since her aunt was always busy, and SarahJane spent a lot of her time amu sing herself, thechild grew up to be th e kind of you ng wo ma n whocan look after herself very well, thank yo u, anddoesnt need any help from anyb ody.. .with theexception of K9.

mission. Sarah Ja ne found herself back on earth,and her life becam e m ore normal, for a while.Now though, with her nephe w B rendan, SarahJane is facing dang er once m ore, a s herinvestigative talents lead her into ever m orepunling and more dangerous-mysteries.Sarah Ja ne S mith never ceases to bless the daywhen she o pened that wooden box, and found thatthe D octor had thoughtfully sent her the bestpresent she could ever have. H e may look ratherod d, an d h e m ay b e a bit of a know-it-all, but youcouldnt hav e a better canine than K9!

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Tellme, Mlss Smithhud! what started your thud!bang! -journalistic interest in bang! thud! thud! witchcraftand the supernatural?Sarah Jane waited a few sec-onds fo r the noises that hadpunctuated Toby Goughs ques-tion to abate. When they did shequickly ran through her answer inher mind before answering. It wassatisfactory. Well, I think, shebegan, that I was really crash!Sarah Jane broke off and sighedimpatientlyat the further interrup-tion. This was ridiculous! Imsorry,Toby, shesaid. I supposeshould have realised that thiswould be a bad day for you tointerview me. Perhapsyoudbettercome back another day.Toby Gough nodded. Alrightwith me, Miss Smith, he said,packing away his tape recorder.But itllhave to be before the endof the week, otherwise we wont bein time for next weeks deadline.Make it Friday, then, saidSarah Jane, smiling. She had toadmit that she was rather looking

forward to seeing herself in theInteresting Neighbours column ofthe local weekly paper. She hadbecome quite a celebrity sincemoving down to Moreton Har-wood!Whats going on, anyway?asked Toby Gough.All the noise, you mean? saidSarah Jane. Oh, my Auntdecided that she wanted morestorage space in the basement somy Aunts ward is knocking out acouple of walls. I must admit hesdoing quite a good job. SarahJane smiled. I f a bit noisily. Comeon, Ill see you to the door.Sarah Jane rose from her chair.Toby Gough packed away the lastof his things and followed. Thethudding, banging and crashingrecommenced from somewheredownstairs.

A bit to your left, K9, saidBrendan. Thats it. Fire!K9 fired as requested. The laserbeam that shot from his snoutstarted to cut away at a chunk ofmortar between two bricks. Themortar soon dissolved. Brendanand K9 moved back as the bricks,freed of their bonding, fell from thewall with a crash.A billowing cloudof dust obscured the work area.Perfect! declared Brendan.Good job, K9!Affirmative, Master Brendan,said K9, shall I continue?Not yet, K9, said Brendan,moving to the spot from where thebricks had fallen. I want to checkhow far back these bricks go.

I will scan, said K9. DensityindicatesNo, K9,interrupted Brendan.Sarah and Aunt Lavinia will mur-

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cr

der me if they find out I made youdo a// the work! Brendan startedto probe into the recently createdhole. It wont take me long.The space left by the missingbricks was at approximately headheight, and Brendan was surprisedto find that his hand vanished intoit, surprised because h e hadexpected to feel more bricks.Instead, the hole seemed to stretchback and open out. It was verydark inside. Puzzled, Brendan bentdown and picked up a torch. Flick-ing on the light, he stuck the torchinto the hole. He pulled it ou t againa second later, his hand shaking,his face an ashen mask.Sarah, hecroaked, and then itturned into a terrified scream ofhorror, Sarah Jane!

Iesitated before she did as heasked. Then she picked up Bren-dans discarded torch and peeredin. She had to stop herself fromjumping back in horror as Brendanhad doneBeyond the wall was a caveabout the size of a small cupboard.Rocks and bits of moss lay scat-tered about it. Here and there,droplets of water fell from over-hangs and splattered on the cavesrocky floor. There was a dank andmusty smell. The thing that hadmade Sarah Jane and Brendanjump was lying in the middle of thecave, half-obscured by whatlooked like the remains of an oldrock-fall. It was a body!Intrigued by Sarah Janes reac-tion, Toby Gough moved over tothe hole. He too gasped in shock.Will you look at that! he said.Not taking his eyesoff the body, hestarted to pull a camera from hissatchel.Sarah Jane played the torchbeam over the body. It was old,very old, and all that remained wasa skeleton and the rotted pieces ofa rough, simple robe. The holloweyes of the skull stared out frombeneath a tatty hood, and the armof the skeleton seemed to bestretching ou t ahead towardswhatever the eyes had once staredat. Boney fingers had gougedthemselves into the soil betweenSarah Ja ne was just saying the rocks. The cave roof mustgoodbye to Toby Gough when have fallen in on him, said SarahBrendans scream echoed out of Jane, he must have been trying othe basement. She spun around, pull himself free when he died.the cold hand of fear on her heart. Suddenly, the cave was filledBrendan sounded like he had had with a brilliant light. Sarah Janean accident! turned. Toby Gough was takingSarah Jane ran to the stairway picture after picture of the cave andthat led down to the basement. the body, the flash on his cameraCome on, Toby! she yelled. exploding into light every few sec-Brendan sa t on the floor amidst onds.a pile of bricks and powdered mor- Mr. Gough! objected Sarahtar. K9 was nearby, his probe Jane. Ididnt give my permissionpointing up towards the hole. for those pictures!Sarah Jane ran to both of them. Cant miss an opportunity likeWhat is it? she demanded. this, Miss Smith, said Gough.What happened? This thing will make the frontThe hole, said Brendan, page!weakly, look in the hole! Sarah Jane grabbed GoughsThe shock that he had had a few camera. No more pictures. Notmoments before wasstillevident in yet. We dont know a thing about

Brendans voice, and Sarah Jane this body; who it is, where it came

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from, how old it is, anything! Untilwe do, I dont want any unneces-say publicity! Do you understandme?Gough shrugged and apolo-gised. Alright, Miss Smith, hesaid. I wont put anything in mypaper until we know whats goingon. Can I have my camera back?

Sarah Jane hesitated, thensmiled. She knew that she wouldprobably have done the samething in Toby Goughs place, andthat she had done many times inthe past. After all, that was whatbeing an investigative reporter wasall about! She handed the cameraback to Gough.Now, she said, I supposewed better let the police knowabout the body. Come on. SarahJane began tomake her way out ofthe basement.As the others warily followed,casting frequent glances backtowards the unseeing eyes of the

skeleton, one thought stuck inSarah Janes mind just how hadan apparently centuries-oldbodygot where it was? What had hap-pened all those years ago?No publicity! bawled SarahJane, angrily, the next morning,Gough agreed! She threw thatmornings copy of The Standarddown on the coffee table andfumed.The papers headline readMYSTERY SKELETON DISCO-VERED!, and next to it was a largephotograph of the previous daysdiscovery.Freedom of the press, mydear. said Aunt Lavinia, matter-of-factly.Ill give him freedom of thepress! shouted Sarah Jane. Justwait till I get my hands on him!When I do, Ill

Sarah Jane was interrupted bythe telephone starting to ring. AuntLavinia got up and walked over toit, picking up the receiver.

Seven-seveneight, she said.This is what I didnt want,Sarah Jane whispered to Brendan,now that one papers got it, everynational in the country will wantfurther exclusives! Sheturned toAunt Lavinia. Whichever paper itis, tell them no!Aunt Lavinia put down thephone. I t isnt a reporter, dear,she said, its a Professor Clay ofthe museums history department.He wants to speak with you.Sarah Jane put down her coffeeand went to the phone. AuntLavinia handed over the receiver.Professor Clay? said SarahJane. What can I do for you?

Miss Smith, said Clay, I mustsee you about the article in thismornings Standard. Could youpossibly come around to themuseum? This evening, perhaps?Well, I dont know, said SarahJane, is it important?Yes, MissSmith, replied Clay,I

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gravely, I would even goso far asto say it was a matter of life anddeath.Sarah Jane paused. What couldhe mean? She knew that there wasonly one way to find out. Verywell, Professor Clay, she said, Illbe around this evening.Professor Clay uttered a briefthank you and goodbye, and thenthere was a click and a buzz on theline.The road to the local museumtwisted and turned through coun-try hills and dales, and, with theadded problems of a heavy rainthat had started when darknessfell,Sarah Jane was having difficultykeeping to th e correct route

Turn right at next junction, Mis-tress, said K9,scanning the maplaid ou t on the dashboard.Thanks, K9,said Sarah Jane,why do these places always haveto be ou t in the middle ofnowhere! She peered ou tthrough the rain-batteredwindscreen. There was a sign-posted junction a little way ahead.Here?Affirmative, confirmed K9.Sarah Jane turned the cararound the corner. A straight roadstretched out ahead. Glad to befinally off the winding countrylanes and onto a proper route,Sarah Jane accelerated. Weshould be there in no time now,she said.

Obstruction ahead, Mistress!barked K9.Startled by the sudden andunexpected declaration, SarahJane stared ou t through thewindscreen. Three robed figuresstood directly in the cars path! Butthe road had been clear a secondago! They must have leapt out ofthe bushes!Sarah Jane slammed her foot onthe brake pedal. It was too late!She wasnt going to stop in time! Ina last, desperate attempt to avoid acollision, Sarah Jane spun thesteering wheel to the left. The carshot off the road and ploughedstraight into a ditch!Sarah Jane felt her head crashinto the dashboard, and a thick

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wave of nausea flooded over her.Dimly, she registered three robedfigures approaching the car.Powerstone! they cried, fling-ing open the door of the car,Powerstone!All Sarah Jane could say beforeshe lapsed into unconsciousnesswas, Help,K9! But there was no ~response.Sarah Jane awoke ten minuteslater, her head pulsating painfully.Ohh, she moaned, what hap-pened?Mistress? said a familiar butdistant voice.Sarah Jane shook her head.K9? She turned to where hercomputerised companion shouldhave been sitting, but the pas-senger seat was empty. Rain blewin through the open passengerdoor. Sarah Jane stepped out ofher side of the car. K9? sherepeated.K9 lay on the ground nearby, hissquat, metallic body tipped onto itsside. Sarah Jane went over to himand lifted him back to his properposition. You must have beenthrown clear when we crashed,she said. Are you alright?I am undamaged, Mistress,said K9. The accident was notsevere.Sarah Jane remembered thethree robed figures. I dont think itwas an accident,K9,she said. I

t h ink we were deliberatelyambushed! The question is, why?

.

Unknown, Mistress, said K9.Suggest we continue journey.Professor Clay may be able to offerfurther information.Sarah Jane nodded. I think youmay be right. Ive got a feeling thatthis ambush has something to dowith the body we found. SarahJane turned back to look at her car.The front wheels had buried them-selves up to the chassis in mud.But were not going tobe continu-ing our journey in my car, Imafraid. Ill have to call the garage.Public telephone booth locatedapproximately three hundred andfifty yards to our ear, Mistress,K9pointed out.Sarah Jane looked back the waythey had come. Right, she said,wed better start walking.

Just after she called the garage,Sarah Jane put in a call to Profes-

sor Clay, explaining why shecouldnt make the meeting. Clayasked where she was and told herto stay there, and half an hour laterhis car appeared from a side road.Sarah Jane and K9 t ook the pas-senger seats. While he started toexplain why he had wanted to seeSarah Jane, Professor Clay steeredhis car back onto the road forMoreton Harwood.So,you see, he said, after hehad gone through the basics, thebody you discovered was that ofamember of a fourteenth centurycoven which used to gather in thecaves below Moreton Harwood.Its really not surprising that youcame across him, the cave systemis quite large. Many houses in thearea are built over old passage-ways and tunnels. A cave-in prob-ably just opened one up so that it

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ran parallel with your basementwall.Do you think there are morebodies down there? asked SarahJane.Oh, undoubtedly, said Pro-fessor Clay. Its a historical factthat when most of the cave systemcollapsed there was a meeting ofthe coven in progress, I very muchdoubt that many of them got outalive.But those that did carried thecoven on, you say?Professor Clay nodded.Though inactively. Its a ruling ofthis palticular coven that no meet-ings can be held without the pow-erstone, the thing thats supposed

to concentrate the dark forces thatthey worship. And thatpowerstonewas lost during the collapse of thesystem.Soyou think that that was whatthey were after? asked SarahJane. The people on the road, Imean?Yes, said Professor Clay.Even though the odds on thatparticular body being in possessionof the powerstone are probablytwenty to one, the descendents ofthe original coven members wouldstill clutch at straws to find it. Theyhave been deprived of it for overfour hundred years, after all!Well, theyre out of luck thistime. said Sarah Jane . Thepolice removed the skeleton thisafternoon. There was nothing onit. Sarah Jane stared out of thewindscreen. The manor housedrive was approaching on the left.Next one, she said. In here,thats it.Professor Clay guided his carinto the small tree-lined drive and

r

up to the manor house. Parking infront of the main porch, he killedthe engine. Sarah Jane got out andlifted K9 after her. Caution, Mis-tress, he said.Sarah Jane wondered what K9meant, and then she realised. Themanor house was dark. Therewasnt a light in any window.

Thats odd, she said. Bren-dan and Aunt Lavinia should bein. As she spoke, Sarah Jane wasaware of how loud her voicesounded in the still night air. Sheturned to Professor Clay, a feelingof foreboding creeping up on her.You dont think?Professor Clay nodded. Thecoven. I half expected this. I did saythey would dutch at straws to gethold of the powerstone. Theyreprobably searching your basementright now!Thoughts of Brendan and AuntLavinia shot through Sarah Janesmind. If the coven had harmedthem! K9! Sarah Jane said,your laser! Slowly,shestarted tomove towards the front door.Professor Clay called out frombehind her. Dont worry, hesaid. The matter is in hand.Sarah Jane turned, wonderingwhat Professor Clay meant.

I took the precaution of callingthe police after you told me of yourroad accident, he continued.They came straight here.The door of the manor houseopened. Sarah Jane spun back toface it. A squad of policemenpoured out, each one holding astruggling, robed figure in his arms.Brendan and Aunt Laviniaappeared behind them. Sarah,said Brendan, moving over to thelead prisoner, I think you knowthis one. With a flourish, Brendanpulled back the figures hood.Toby Gough snarled at him. Nowyou know why he printed thestory, Brendan declared, hewanted to let all his fellow covenmembers know of the discovery!

Sarah Jane walked over to thecaptive Toby Gough. Well, Mr.Gough, she said, smiling, thismakes a change. Tomorrow, youwont be making the news. Tomor-row, youll be the news!

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I.

THE SHAPEOFTVTO Within thenext few yearstheway that weview andusetelevisionwillchangedrastically. Wewillhaw fargreaterchoice in whatweview-and when we view it-and therewillbeawhole new rangeof programmesandservicesfromwhich to choose.The changeswillbethanksto two importanttechnological developmentsCOME directbroadcastsatellites andcable-casting.

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A

When Professor Erno Rubikof Budapest w as teachinghis students the principlesof geometrical sculpture h efound that they had great difficulty in grasping th e ideaof three-dimensional design images. So the professordevised a simple teaching aid, made from scraps ofwood and coloured tape, to help them .Professor Rubik couldnt possibly have imaginedthat soo n his simple teaching aid would be on sale allover the world, driving millions of people slowlymad Ill explain. The Rubik Cub e, as the device becameknown, fascinated the professors students, andeveryone else who saw it. Such was the demand forthe coloured cub e that it was patented, m anufacturedand put on the market. In Hungary almost half amillion Cubes were sold in two years (thats on e for

about every twentieth person in the whole population)and soon t he Cu be was being puzzled over in almostevery corner of the world, with sales in early 1981topping seven million and rising.But what is the Rubik Cube? The multi-colouredobject is deceptively sim ple. Attractive to look at andpleasant to hold, it is made up of twenty-seven Oxo-cube-s ize cubes, arranged in three layers of nine toform a 2quarters block. Each side of the Cube showsmatching coloured facesat least the colours matchwhen you first bu y one.The idea is that you unpack the Cube, mix up thecoloured cubes by means of a hidden mechanicalsystem that enable each face of the cube to revolvehorizontally and vertically, hen manipulate the Cub eso that each face of the cube is a solid colour again .

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Soccer stars Emlyn Hughes and Andy Gray seem to be having trouble

That solution to the puzzle sounds simple,doesnt it? But ask someone whos tried it, orbetter still try yourself, and youll soon find that itis anything but simple. There are a mind-boggling43,252,003,274,489,856,000 possible colourcombinations-and just one correct one.It has been estimated that a computer operating atone change of pattern per micro-second would takeabout 3,000 million years just to count the patternchanges!Yet the puzzle can be solved, and children find iteasier than adults. In fact adults lag behind in this testof mental gymnastics-top standard for them is threeminutes to solve the puzzle; for children its oneminute.The world record at the time of writing is held byNottingham A level student Nicholas Hammond,who unscrambled th e C ube in just 3 7 seconds-and ifyouve tried the puzzle youll know how incredible tha t

is.Very few people have been able to work out howthe Cube is put together, an d it has been described asa brilliantly simple masterpiece of three-dimensionaldesign. Made in Hungary, they are sold all over theworld with their secret locked sa fely inside.Why not try the m indbending Rubik Cu be? If youget it wrong the first time, remember that there areonly another 43,25 2,00 3,27 4,48 9,85 5,99 9 possiblecolour combinations

but Its childs play for schoolboyDavid Millburn, whocracked the Cube in 54 seconds.

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Flames consuming his arm, thescreaming figure of the demonAzaroth raced along the balcony ina desperate dash for freedom.From behind, Luke Dyson, clutch-ing his injured shoulder with onehand and brandishing a crucifixwith the other, called ou t his name.Azaroth spun to face him andhowled like a trapped animal.Dyson smiled and thrust thecrucifix into Azaroths goat-likeface. With a defiant glare, Azarothleapt from the balcony, and with afinal scream plummeted towardsthe floor far below!Cut! yelled George Spielberg.Print it!

II

A loud cheer went around the George. Thanks for letting meroom. On the balcony, the actor come and watch.playing Luke Dyson dropped his Youre welcome, Spielbergcrucifixand mopped his brow. The said. What about your friend?demon Azaroth picked himself up he added, looking down at K9.from the pile of cushions on which My data banks have accumu-he had landed and waited patiently lated much information relevant towhile a technician sprayed his the field of cinematic production,burning arm with a fire exting- said K9. Thank you.uisher. Spielberg sighed wistfully. Ah,OK, folks, continued Spiel- K9. I wish I could useyou in one ofberg, thats it for the day. Kill the my films. Youd be a box officelights. He turned to face a young sensation..woman by his side. Sarah Jane giggled. I cantWell, Sarah, he said, did you quite see K9 playing the romanticenjoy your look into how a film is lead in something like Gone Withmade?, The Wind, can you?Sarah Jane smiled. Very much, Perhaps not, but.. Spielberg

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began, but never finished. Theconversation was broken by asound from the balcony. SarahJane and Spielberg looked up. Afigure was stumbling towards thesafety rail at its edge. Look out!cried Spielberg. Youll fall!Fleetingly, Sarah Jane had thethought that the figure might havebeen one of the units stuntmenpractising for the next day, butwhen she heard the crack of splin-tering wood from the railing sheknew she was wrong. As shewatched in horror, the railingparted and the figure came hurtlingover the edge, and this time therewere no cushionsto break the fall!The figure hit the floor with asickening thud. No! yelledSpielberg. Not again!Sarah Jane and Spielberg ranover to the still body, closely fol-lowed by K9 and the remainingmembers of the film crew. SarahJane turned the body over. It wasone of the lighting technicians. Atrickle of blood ran from his mouth.How bad is it? Spielberg asked,his voice unsteady.K9? said Sarah Jane.K9 extended his probe. Injuriessustained as a result of fallare min-imal, Mistress, he diagnosed.However, human has enteredshock. Immediate hospitalisationnecessary for continuation of phy-siological functions.Sarah Jane stood up. Some-one get an ambulance. Quickly!George Spielberg stepped backfrom the injured man, buying hishead in his hands. Sarah Jane wentto him. George, she said, gently,what did you mean before, whenyou yelled not again?Spielberg put down his handsand looked at her. This house iscursed, he said, more than a hintof fear in his voice, cursed by theshroud of Azaroth!Sarah Jane took Spielberg bythe arm and led him into a sideroom, a study, away from otherears. Once he had settled down, hebegan to tell her about the otheraccidents, and everything thathad happened since they hadarrived on location. Sarah Jane lis-

tened with mounting disbelief.

Soyou see, he said, this filmis based on fact. The Azaroth cultactually existed, here, i n thishouse, up until twenty yearsago. Itonly broke up when the last of theDeAth family, the leaders of thecoven, was killed in a car accident.It was said then that the house wascursed by the arch-demonAzaroth, that anyone who enteredthe house would die! Of course,when I decided to use the house foradded authenticity in the film, Itook no notice. Spielberg took adeep breath. Now Im notso sure.One man has been killed, Sarah.Killed!

George, said Sarah Jane,picking her words carefully, bythe sound of things all these acci-dents are more than just coinci-dence. Curse or otherwise, some-thing is going on. If you dont mind,K9 and I would like to stay aroundand get to the bottom of it.Spielberg sighed in relief. I washoping youd say that. Ill get mysecretary to fix you up with aroom.Spielberg said goodnight soonafterwards, and Sarah Jane wasescorted up to her room by JillGrant, the production secretay, apleasant girl in her early twenties.

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I

Going up the stairs, Sarah Janecould easily understand howrumours of a curse got started inthe house; its gothic design cap-tured the mood of somethingunholy. But she soon forgot aboutthat. The day on the set had beenhectic, and she was asleep as soonas her head hit the pillow.Mistress. Wake up, Mistress,said K 9 . Intruder in immediatevicinitycinity.Sarah Jane awoke immediately.What is it. K9?The door, Mistress, said K 9 ,and moved over to it, his laser bar-rel ready to fire. Caution isadvised.Sarah Jane got out of bed andquickly dressed. The handle on thedoor was rattling and turning.Someone was trying to get in!Who is it? Sarah Jane chal-lenged.

Suddenly, the handle stoppedmoving. Sarah Jane heard thesound of running footsteps retreat-ing down the hall. Without hesita-tion she flung open the door.Come on, K9 , she said. Letsfind out who our mysterious visitorwas!The house was silent and dark,and Sarah Jane and K 9 movedquietly along the corridor and outonto the balcony. There was nosign of life anywhere. Deliberately,Sarah Jane left off the lights. Any-thing on infra-red,K9? she whis-pered.K 9 stopped and scanned thesurrounding area. Suddenly, hebarked a warning: Behind you,Mistress!Sarah Jane spun, her heartpounding with shock.A grey figurecame hurtling out of the shadowstowards her. K9! Sarah Jane

\

cried, but whatever else she wasgoing to say was cut short as herattacker slammed into her. SarahJane gasped in pain and fell backagainst the balcony railing. Sheheard the now familiar splinteringof wood. She was going to bepushed over!Then, as quickly as it hadstarted, it was all over. Sarah Janeheard the sound of K9s stun beamfiring and felt her attacker fall back.Quickly, she rolled away from theedge. Clutching his arm, herattacker staggeredoff intothe dark.Attacker escaping, Mistress,

said K9 . Iwill pursue.No, K9! shouted Sarah Jane.Youll never catch him now.Slowly, she stood up, rubbing heraching back. Theres nothingmore we can do tonight. Lets goback to bed. Despite what hadhappened, Sarah Jane could notstifle a yawn.

The next morning, the housewas once again full of the hustleand bustle of a film crew at work.Sarah Jane came down to be metby George Spielberg, and she toldhim of the nights events. Once hehad expressed his concern, SarahJane asked permission to. nosearound on the set while the daysscenes were being filmed. Spiel-

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thingsso that she could approachthe problem afresh later, she beganto watch the filming. I thinktheyre setting up for the sacrificescene,K9, she said.The lights on the set dimmed. Inthemiddleof the floor, a technicianturned on a dry-ice machine.Cloudsof fog-like vapour started toflow around a group of actorsgarbed in ominous monks habits.Outof the corner of her eye, SarahJane saw the actor playing Azarothworking his way around the edgeof the set. As usual, he was in fullcostume, his face hidden beneaththe goat-like mask.Action! yelled George Spiel-berg,and the actors began to chantand wave their arms. Sarah Janewas soon engrossed in the fictionalworld.Look out! someone shouted.Get away from there!The warning had to be shouted a

second time before Sarah Janerealised they were calling to her.Quickly she turned, and lookedwhere they were pointing. Thesupport on one of the brutes -theimmense lights used on a film sethad been released. It was fallingright on top of her! Instinctively,Sarah Jane somersaulted out ofthe way. She cleared herself just intime. With a resounding crash, thebrute hit the floor. Metal buckled.Shards of hot glass exploded allover the set. Electrical wiressparked as connections wereripped apart.Sarah Jane knew full well that ifher reactions hadnt been so goodthere would hardly have beenenough left of her to identify!Through the chaos on whatremained of the set,George Spiel-berg ran over to Sarah Jane. Areyou alright? he cried.

Sarah Jane nodded, she had ascratch on her leg, but that was all.What happened? gaspedSpielberg.Another accident, George.Someone just tried to kill me.Sarah Jane took a deep breath.And I think Iknow who. Comeon, George, she said, weregoing to have a chat with our friendAzaroth!Miles Bracken, the actor whoplayed Azaroth, could not befound anywhere on the setor in thehouse. Conveniently, he seemedto have disappeared. But SarahJane was determined to challengehim with her suspicions, and,obtaining his home address fromSpielbergs records, she, K9 andSpielberg himself drove over in hercar.

Impossible! shouted Bracken.

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Thats a ridiculous accusation! outburst. If youre going to point almost below the horizon. NightSarah Jane stared at him. the finger of accusation at any- was creeping in. The house wasWhy? one, he bawled, point it at the silent and dark. Caution isBecause, Bracken declared, writer of your film, Richard advised, Mistress, said K9.getting increasingly angry, I Kenyon! Switching on the lights, Sarahhavent been near the set! He Sarah Jane stopped. What Jane moved into the main room.turned to Spielberg. You can- makes you say that? The floor was obscured by a layercelled my contract, remember! Bracken faltered. Dont YO U of white mist. The dy-ice machineBracken tookaletter from a drawer know? he said incredulously. had been turned on!and shoved it in Spielbergs face; it Hisreal name isnt Kenyon. Its Someone has a sense of thewas a letter stating that Brackens DeAth! He changed it by deed poll dramatic, said Sarah Jane. Sheservices would not be required twenty years ago. Richard DeAth looked at her watch. According toafter all. It was on the film com- was the high priest of the Azaroth her calculations, DeAth shouldpanys official letterhead. Satis- cult! have arrived about half-an-hourfied? hissed Bracken. Sarah Jane took a second to before them. Plenty of time to pre-Suddenly, the reason why absorb the revelation. Then, she pare some accidents. Be care-Azaroth wasneverseenwithout his turned to Spielberg and said: ful, she said.mask on set hit Sarah Jane. George, ring DeAth. Make some Sarah! cried Spielberg.Azaroth was an imposter! But excuse to meet him at the house. Sarah Jane spun. At the otherwho? Apologising to Bracken, she Were going to set a trap! end of the room, Richard DeAthturned to Spielberg. Come on, sat in a aye armchair looking atGeorge, she said. Well start all By the time Sarah Jane, K9 and them. His hands were folded in hisover again. Spielberg returned to the house, lap.

As they reached the door, Brac- most of the film crew had left for Sarah Jane walked over to him.ken broke into one more angry the day. The sun was already Even before she reached him, she

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knew something waswrong. There for. By becoming angry, Jill Grant With a nod, Spielberg exitedwas something odd about the way had thrown herself off guard. through the window. Sarah Janehis head hung, something strange Now, K9! Sarah Jane yelled. began to work her way over to theabout his eyes. Sarah Jane soon Fire! unconscious girl.knew what it was. His neck was Affirmative, Mistress, Later, the three of them sat onbroken. Richard DeAth was dead! responded K9. A thin red stun the grass outside. It was all over. JillFools! someone shouted from beam shot from his snout, hitting Grant had been taken to hospital.the balcony. Youre all fools! Jill Grant in the stomach. With a The body of Richard DeAth had

Sarah Jane and Spielberg howl of pain she stumbled back- been rescued from the flames.looked up in shock. Azaroth stood wards, tripping on the top few stairs Only the house itself continued toabove them, a flaming torch in of the balcony. bum.each hand. He was laughing like a Watch out! warned Sarah You know, said Spielberg,maniac. Azaroth lowered the Jane but it was too late. fact is sometimes stranger thantorches and held them beneath In her last few seconds of con- fiction. He paused. Accordingtodrapes that hung at either end of sciousness, Jill Grant grasped legend, the only way to end thethe balcony. They caught immedi- blindly at the remains of the curse of Azaroth was to cleanse it.ately, and within seconds tendrils drapes, only to find that they tore Cleanse it by fire! He looked backof fire had started to creep up to away from their fastenings. With a at the remains of the DeAth ances-and along the surrounding wood- shocked yell of protest, she tipped tral home, spitting and crackling inwork. This place is a tinderbox! completely off balance and sailed the cold night airyelled Spielberg. Itll go up like a out into the air above the stairs,bomb! We have to get out of landing a moment later at theirhere! base.Dont move! warned Azaroth. The window, George! SarahHe was pointing a gun. Jane shouted, aware that the fireWho are you? pleaded Spiel- was gettingout of control. Smashberg. Why are you doing this? the window!Azaroth laughed again, and Spielberg grabbed a chair andlifted his other arm to pull offthe threw it at the window. The glassgoat-like mask. Spielberg and shattered instantly.Sarah Jane gasped in horror. It was Call the fire brigade! SarahJill Grant, th e production secret- Jane shouted. 111 get Jill ou t ofary! here!

Why? she shouted. Becauseof him! She pointed at DeAth.Twenty years ago, two peopledisappeared after attending one ofhis coven meetings. They were myparents! After that night I never saweither of them again! After thatnightIwore I would get revenge!Spielberg looked over atDeAths body. Well, now youhave, he said, but why all theaccidents? Why kill us?To cover her tracks, inter-rupted Sarah Jane. DeAthsdeath will just be another in a lineof unfortunate accidents. Somepeople may even believe it was thecurse of Azaroth. Theres no waythe police will be able to determinethe cause of this fire. She may bemad, but shes clever!Mad! screamed Jill Grant.You dare to call me mad! Shebegan to make her way down offthe balcony and towards them.Sarah Janes comment had hadjust the effect that she had hoped

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Let's take a look at some new developmentsin science and technology.

WHAT'S SOSPECIAL ABOUT SPACE? The Space Shuttle has opened up fantastic newpossibilities for space exploration, and also forusing the environment of space for setting uplaboratories and even small factory units,working on projects which are difficult tomanage on earth.But why is it easier to work with them inspace?Well, in fact there are several reasons.One of the most important concerns the stateof weightlessness, which does not exist onearth because of the forces of gravity. Thismeans that materials can be made in spaceinside containers, but free of any contact withthe surfaces of these containers. Absolute purityof these substancescan therefore beguaranteed. Completely new alloys could bedeveloped, and substances such as a foamsteel, which would be so light that it would floaton water. Crystals for use in electronicequipment can also be grown much larger inorbit.There are also two other major advantages toworking in space. First, there IS all that freeenergy, i n the shapeof unlimited sunlight. Andthen there is direct access to a state of vacuum,which is necessary for many industrialprocesses.

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ARE YOUSTILL THERE?Making contact with intelligentalien life on other planets haslong been a dream of manyscientists. Of course, we do notreally know if such life formsreally exist, but there is always apossibility.In 1974a message was sentfrom a giant radio telescope inPuerto Rico, to Messier 13, astar cluster on the edge of ourgalaxy. The message containedinformation about ourselves,and it would obviously befantastically exciting if we wereever to receive an answer. Wemight haveto wait a whilethough..Messier 13 is so far away thatthe message will take24,000years to get there.

FUSIONOR FISSION?There is a great deal of controversy about thepros and cons of nuclear power, with the mainargument concerning the dangerousradio-active wastes which the processproduces, which wi ll not be safe for hundreds,even thousands, of years.An alternative for future reactors might be theprocess of nuclear fusion, rather than fission.Various types of reactors working on thisprinciple are at present under investigation anddevelopment, and in one example a laser beamis used to crush pellets of deuterium. Under thiscrushing pressure the atoms are fused together,giving off immense heat, which turns water tosteam. The steam is used to spin electricturbines. generating electricity.Two main advantages of this process are thatit produces little radio-active waste, and alsothat the fuel, deuterium, comes from sea water,which is easily available.

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megaliths that was Druids Ringstood out against the night sky,HOUNDOFHELL silhouetted by the almost fullmoon. It was a grim reminder thatMidsummers Night, the time whenthose who worshipped the darkforces practised their summer sol-stice ceremonies, was onlytwenty-four hours away! SarahJane shivered. Even now a smallgroupof hooded figures was mov-ing about within the ring, preparingfor he nightof evil that was soon to

hh, Brendan, whisperedS a r a h Jane. They might hearyou.Brendan froze, one foot restingon solid ground, the other halfliftedoutof the marshy ground intowhich it had sunk a second earlier.Sorry, Sarah, he whisperedback, butIant help it. You canttell whats marsh and what isnt.With a cautious look around, heslowly lifted the trapped foot. Itcame free of the mud with a horr-ible squelching sound. Brendanwinced. If you think Im havingproblems, look at K9.Hesjust notbuilt for this sort of thing!Sarah Jane turned and lookedback beyond Brendan.K9wasty-ing to work his way towards themfrom a few yards back. His sensorprobe was extended from hissnout, and he moved slowly anderratically. Sarah Jane knew that.he was tying todetermine whether

the ground aheadofhim wassolid.It was a difficult task; more thanonce that nightK9 had accidentallyslipped into the soft mud, and ithad taken all of Sarah Jane andBrendans strength to pull him outagain.Sarah Jane squinted through thedarkness, picking out the solidground. To your left, K9, shedirected, just a little. Thats it. Atfirst she had tried to carry him, butthe topographyof the area coupledwith the camera equipment thatshe carried had made it impossible.Getting to Druids Ring, for K9,Brendan and herself, was turningout to be one hard slog. Eventu-ally, though, K9 successfullytraversed the last few feet, and herolled up beside them. Continue,Mistress, he said.Sarah Jane looked ahead of her.N o more than a hundred yardsaway, the circle of ancient

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No, K9 , Sarah Jane decided,this is as far as we go. We cantrisk being spotted. She unslungthe camera from around her neck.You two keep a look out, shesaid to K 9 and Brendan, Ill getthis on film.Through the zoom lens on hercamera, Sarah Jane got a muchbetter view of the activities withinthe ring. There were five people inall, unidentifiable beneath theirsatanists robes, and they seemedto be building some sort of effigyfrom branches and stones. It wasprobably going to become thecentre-piece of the followingnights ceremony. Sarah Jane con-centrated on it, and shot off a stringof photographs. It was the likenessof a dogagiant, ominous houndof hell!

Suddenly, from behind SarahJane, there came a startled gasp.Sarah Jane turned. While tying towipe mud off K9s body, Brendanhad lost his balance. Too far overto recover, he was falling headlonginto the marsh! The splash andgasp of pain he gave in landing cutthrough the silence of the night!Brendan, no! yelled SarahJane, but she knew that the dam-age had already been done. Criesof discovery and warning echoedfrom Druids Ring. They had beenspotted! Come on! screamedSarah Jane. Weve got to get outof here!Reslinging her camera, SarahJane leapt up from her hidingplace. Already she could see thehooded figures racing towardsthem. Each one held something in

his hand. The first shot rang outthrough the night, and a bulletimpacted not six feet away!Guns! yelled Sarah Jane.Theyve got guns!Despite the difficulty he had hadearlier, Brendan flew out of themarsh like a tornado. Sarah Janeyelled at him to get moving. Bren-dan began to run. With a cry of,Come on, K9! Sarah Jane fol-lowed. Another shot rang out.Racing back across the marshproved to be far more difficult thanwalking across it. There was n otime to decide which paths to take.Both Brendan and Sarah Janefound that they stumbled everyfew yards. The satanists, obviouslymore used to the terrain, began togain ground fast.Sarah Jane stared ahead as she

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ran, desperately hying to pick outthe bordering road where she hadleft the car. She couldnt see itanywhere! A bullet thudded into asmall mound next to her, sending aspray of soil and grass into the air.Swerving to avoid it, Sarah Janetripped o n a clump of coarsemarshweed. The wind wasknocked out of her as she collidedwith the ground. Brendan turnedto look back. Keep running!shouted Sarah Jane, her breathatching in her throat.

But K9!yelled Brendan, look-ing even furtherback.Sarah Jane rolled around, sud-denly realising how much difficultyher computerisedcompanion mustbe having. K 9 had stopped andturned back towards the satanists!K9!Sarah Jane yelled, whatare you doing?Rapid motion over this terrainimpossible for this machine, Mis-tress, h e responded. Currentposition held.No, K9! objected Sarah Jane.Im not leaving you!But K 9 had other ideas. Hisprimary programme was to protecthis mistress, and that was just whathe intended to do. As Sarah Janewatched, stun beam after stunbeam shot from his snout. Onesatanist doubled over and fell intothe marsh. Twenty percent reduc-tion in enemy attack potential, K 9declared. Will continue offen-sive. K9 began to fire again. tinued to fire back. thatshe had no choice, Sarah JaneK9s second attack brought a Sarah Jane felt her heart leap took a deep breath and grabbedwave of retaliation. Now able to into her throat. K 9 was hit! Desper- the lifeless K9, hoisting him up intodetermine his position, the satan- ately, she began to scramble her arms. He was heavy, veryists et ff olley f unfire.Bullets towards him, bullets raining heavy, but she had to get him outhit the ground all around K9. He around her. How bad, K9? she of there. Bullets hurtling into thefired again, downing another ofthe yelled. marsh around her, Sarah Janesatanists and drawing even more Not incapacitated, Mis K 9 started to run for Brendan and thefire. began, but he did not finish. car.Sarah Jane had to dive forcover Another bullet smashed into his Just as Sarah Jane, K 9 andto avoid any possible ricochets. side, enlarging the earlier hole. Brendan finally reached the road,Leave it, K9! she shouted. One More sparks shot from it. As Sarah the satanists came pouring over ashot could! Jane gaped in horror, K9s head nearby rise. For a secondortwo itBut h e r cry came too late. drooped, and he did not say seemed to Brendan that their luckAnother hail of bullets cam e another thing. had run out but somehow Sarahscreaming through the air, and this NO! Sarah Jane screamed. Jane managed to flingopen the cartime hey hittheirtarget! K9rocked Sarah, this way! Brendan door and drop K 9 onto the backwith the impact as one bullet shouted. The car! seat. Brendan leapt into the pas-slammed into his side and one into Sarah Jane stared over at him, senger side while Sarah J anehis back. Sparks burst from the not really taking in what he had revved the cold engine into life.holes left by both! Damage, Mis- said. Then it hit her: the car! They Go!thought Brendan. Go!tress!K 9 announced. but he con- might escape after all! Knowing Sarah Jane slipped into gear and

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slammed her down onaccelerator.With a screech of tyres, the carshot off down the road. Brendanexhaled slowly and rested his headon the dashboard in relief. In therear view mirror the satanistsdwindled out of existence.Just how serious is it? askedSarah Jane later, her concern forK 9 obvious in her voice.Brendan sighed and rubbedtired eyes. I really dont know,he said helplessly.K 9 lay before him, his computer-ised innards showing through openaccess panels of all shapes andsizes. Tools were scattered allabout. Brendan had been workingon him all night, but even now,with early morning sunlight stream-

ing in through the windows of the

nor house, K 9 seemednearer repair.The trouble is, Brendan said,wearily probing K9s circuits with ascrewdriver, that K 9 is the resultof technology hundreds of yearsahead of our own. Normally hisauto-repair capabilities would dealwith the problem themselves, butwith the damage being what itis Brendan trailed off and satback, obviously exhausted.Aunt Lavinia, who had beenwatching all along, but no longerseemed tobe content to doso,rosefrom her chair. Right, she said,thats it. You both need rest. Upto bed, and no arguments!Sarah Jane and Brendan startedto protest, but Aunt Laviniastopped them. You said yourselfthat theres little you can do, and

whatever you can do will be donebetter after youve had somesleep. She pointed to the stairs.Go! Aunt Lavinia was right as usual.Sarah Jane felt half-dead, andBrendan was more dead thanalive. Reluctantly, the pair of themgot up and walked to the door.Aunt Lavinia, said Sarah Jane,look after K9.Aunt Lavinia smiled. Hell besafe with me, she said.Sarah Jane had no idea howlong she slept, but when she finallyawoke darkness had replaced day-light outside the window of herroom. She snapped awake. It wasnight! Midsummers Night! Shehad to return to Druids Ring! Thenshe remembered K 9 and theevents of the night before, and all

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thoughts of returning to the marshto complete her expose of thesatanists drained from her mind.She couldnt think of anything butgettingK 9 back to normal. Slowly,she got up and dressed, thenbegan to make her way down-stairs. Brendan joined her on thelanding.K9 is gone, said Aunt Laviniawhen they walked into the sittingroom. I couldnt stop him.Joy and worry flooded throughSarah Jane at the same time. Joythat K 9 had apparently recovered;worry because he had seeminglygone off on his own devices, some-thing that he would not normallydo without telling her first. Why?she asked numbly. What hap-pened?

Thats that strange thing,explained Aunt Lavinia. Onemoment he was like hed been allday, the next he was off and mov-ing across the room!Well, said Brendan, it seemsas f I did him some good after all.By the sound of it I repairedenough damage for his auto-repaircircuits to take over and completethe job. It was hit-and-miss, but itseems to have worked! Brendansmiled, pleased with his handy-work. Did he say anything?Two things, said AuntLavinia. Data required when hefirst started to move, and Ceaseinterference when I tried to stophim leaving.Hewasquite adamantabout it!Oh-oh, said Brendan, hissmile disappearing, I dont likethe sound of that.That doesnt sound like K9 atall! said Sarah Jane.Thats what Im worriedabout, Brendan went on. Onething I did notice when was trying

to repair him was that there wassome damage to his memorybanks. It sounds like theyre stillmalfunctioning.Which means what? ques-tioned Sarah Jane.Brendan frowned. One, that hemay not know who he is. Two, thathis behavioural pattern may havealtered. Three, he concludedgrimly, that he may not knowwho we are!Will it be permanent? SarahJane asked.Brendan shook his head. No,he said, the auto-repair circuitswill rectify the fault eventually. Butuntil they do, K 9 will be confused,possibily even dangerous. Wehave to find him.But where, dear, AuntLavinia said, where?

I think I may know, saidBrendan. Come on, Sarah, getthe car!Brendan was working o n thetheory that K9s omputer mind, inits faulty state, would latch onto its

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most recent experiences in order torepair itself, rather like puttingtogether the pieces of a jigsaw and based on that theory there wasonlyone place he could haveposs-ibly headed for: Bodmin Marshes,the location of Druids Ring!Sarah Jane parked the car a littleway along the road from wherethey had been the previous night,and the two of them got out andsurveyed the view in front of them.The marsh shone in the half-light ofthe full moon. The lightsof flamingtorches flickered in the distance.Sarah Jane looked at her watch;it was half past eleven. She knewthat at this time the satanist cere-mony would be in full swing, andthat it would be extremely danger-ous to go closer, but if K9 was outo n the marsh she had to risk it.Brendan, she said, go andcall the police. Get them out here.Im going in.Brendan started to object, butthere was no way that Sarah Janewas going to endanger her youngfriends life again and she soonpersuaded him. AsBrendan beganto trudge along to the nearest callbox, Sarah Jane started to pick herway out across the marsh.

She had gone no more than tenyards when a satanist appearedbehind her! Back again? h e said,rhetorically. This time you wontget away!Sarah Jane awoke with a moan,the lump on her head throbbingpainfully. The satanist had hit herhard! Dimly, she was aware thather hands and feet were tied.Dreading what she might see, sheopened her eyes.Sarah Jane was laid out on asacrificial stone in the centre ofDruids Ring. Satanists circled her,each one holding a flaming torch inhis hand. Druids Ring was alightwith the glow they gave, and itechoed with the sound of chanting.Sarah Jane swallowed hard. Thistime she was really in a mess! Shestrainedto seebeyond the circle ofhooded figures for any sign ofBrendan and the police.

Ragok! shouted one of thesatanists. Ragok!At the sound of the cry a hushdescended over the ring. All thesatanists froze in their tracks. Thenthe cry began again, only this timeit was repeated over and over byevery satanist present The circleoffigures blocking Sarah Janes viewparted. Sarah Jane gasped in

shock and horror.Where the likenessof a hound ofhell had been the night before, satK9!The effigyof sticks and stoneshad been removed, and K9 hadbeen positioned in its place!Ragok! came the cry again.Ragok!Sarah Janes mind swam. Sheknew enough about the ceremonyto know that Ragok was the nameof the hound of hell supposedlyworshipped that night, but thesatanists were calling K9 by that

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name! What was going on? K9!she cried.K 9 made no sound of recogni-tion. It was obvious that he had stillnot fully recovered. Suddenly,Sarah Jane realised what musthave happened. K 9 had been withher when she had researched intoRagok, the details would havebeen absorbed into his memorybanks! In his confused state ofmind K 9 had probably identifiedwith the legend of the hound ofhell! K 9 thought he was Ragok!No, K9! Sarah Jane cried.No!

A hand slapped down overSarah Janes mouth. Midnightapproaches! shouted the satanistresponsible. It is the time of thesacrifice!Sacrifice, thought Sarah Jane.

That had to mean her! Desperatelyshe began to struggle against herbonds. Above her, the satanistproduced a long, gleaming knifefrom his robes. Sarah Jane staredup in horror. The knife was poisedabove her, glinting in the torch-light. She only had seconds! In onelast, desperate gamble, Sarah Janebit the hand that was clamped overher mouth. It was snatched away.K9! she screamed, its SarahJane! Sarah Jane! Remember, K9!Remember!There was no response. Thehand slammed back down acrossSarah Janes mouth. Terrified andgasping for breath, she realisedthat shewas losing consciousness.Her last sight was of the knife arc-ing down towards her, and theneverything went black.

Sarah? said a voice. Sarah?Sarah Jane slowly opened hereyes. Brendan and a police officerwere looking down at her and smil-ing. Sarah Jane lifted her arm andrealised that she had been untied.It was all over! What happened?she said weakly.You got throught to K 9 just intime, said Brendan. Itsbecauseof him youre still in the land of theliving.Sarah Jane sat up and lookedabout her. The stunned bodies ofat least ten satanists lay on theground. K 9 was poised abovethem. K9, it is you! shoutedSarah Jane.Affirmative, Mistress,responded K9. Why should it notbe me?Brendan caught Sarah Janespuzzled glance. He doesnt

lets go home.

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2What: is The Green Flash?

5 Who was John Couch Adams? 7 What is the Big BangTheory?

K9 knows all there is to know about science, the stars andspace.How manyof these questionsfrom his memorybanks1It was discovered on 13th March 1781 by William Herschel, who at firstbelieved it to be a comet For same time itwas known variously as Hyper-cronius, the Georgian Planet (in honour of Herschel's patron, King GeorgeIll),or simply Herschel. In 1850 it was given the name by which we know ittoday. What is the name of this planet?3When did Neil Armstrong first step onto the surface of the Moon?Who washis co-astronaut and what was the name of their spacecraft?

The200 n. Hale eflectoratPalomarMountain inCalifornia swidely houghtof as being he largest in the world, but in actual fact it is only the largest inthen theestern is located?orld Hemisphere. Do you know where the largest optical telescope

What is the name of he star constellationnamed after the beautiful daugh-ter of King Cepheus and Queen Cassiopeia in mythology?

'What does the phrase: Wow! Oh Be A Fine Girl and Kiss Me Right Now Sweetie' have to do with studying the stars?

9 What was the 'Lunar Hoax' of 1835? 10 This French astronomer began his career at Marseilles observatory, n the role of caretaker! He was self-taught and concentrated on looking for comets He found 36,and was eventually made Director of the Museum Observatoryin Florence. What was his name?

ANSWERS

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of forcesendingbeneficialbeamsof energy acrossth ecountryside.Fanciful it might seem , but consider for a mom entthat we are looking at this theory from th e point ofview of modern man, who lives in citiesand hasallthe miracles of science at his disposal.Early man w asmore in tune with the rhythms of nature, and it ispossible that he was able to sense much more than weare able to. He m ay have used, in otherwords, th emysterious sixthsensewhich issooften speculatedabout today.Looking again at Stonehenge, we h o w that therewere three distinct in itsbuilding, and that thesestages spanne d an incredible 1,000yearsor more.The firstworkers were the Neolithicpeople whobeganthe construction around 2700BC,andamongst other th in s they setup the famousHeelstone,which linesup with the Midsummer's Daysunrisefrom th e centre of the circles.The seco nd section was built some 800years laterby the people we h o w asthe Beaker People (sonamed from their habitof buryingpottery with theirdead). It was the BeakerPeople who brought thegiantbluestones, each weighing more than four tons,from the Prescelly Hills in South Wales, which was adistanceof some 200 miles or mo re.

Mast remarkableof all, how ever, was three ofthe construction, which probably took place aro und1500BC.Thiswas when the giantsarsen stones,eachweighing up to 50tons, were placed in position aftertheir 20mile journey from where they were hewn.We d o not know exactlyhow they were move d, butcalculations would indicate that as many as 1,000men w ould be needed to haul them acrosscountry,usingsledges.Once at the site the stones would have to beworked until they were the required shape-andsarsen is the hardestof allBritish sto nes towork-andthen w ould com e the businessof placing them in theirrequired positions, possibly using timber ramps a ndscaffolding.How did primitive man ma nag e such incrediblefeats of engineering? And why? How did the impetusto contin ue building ke ep th e work going for athousand years?And, becausethe evidencesuggeststhat S tonehe nge was never finished, why did they notcomplete their task?We will probably never know the answers to allthese puzzles. Th e strange secretsof th e standingstones will stay locked inside those m assive chunksof

rock for years to come, and the stones themselvesmay outlive eve n our adv anced civilization.

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TheMonster of LOCHCRAG

Susan Hamilton gasped in reliefasthe red public telephone boxappeared out of the mist, its interiorlight acting as a beacon in thedarkness. Desperately, the freezingnight air searing her lungs; shestumbled towards it and pulledopen the door, almost falling in.Somewhere outside, she couldhear the ominous lapping of wateron the banks of the loch, and thesound made her fumble with fear.She hadnt expected it to come tothis. She hadnt expected to vanishlike the others. But the thing wastoo clever, she knew that now. Thething was coming for her! Franti-cally, her fingers numb with cold,she snatched up the phone andstarted to dial. She had to contactSarah

Archie MacGibbon placed twodrinks on the bar of the Stag Hoteland smiled. Aye, thatll be onepound and tenpence please, MissSmith.Thank you, Archie. One foryourself. Sarah Jane paid for thedrinks and moved with them to atable in the corner of the loungebar. Gently sipping her drink, she

looked around the cosy, familiarroom. Although it had been overfive years since her last visit, SarahJane was happy to see that theplace hadnt changed a bit. Thetraditional log fire still crackledhospitably in the grate next to hertable, and the antiques with whichshe had become.entranced longago still adorned the walls. Therewas something about the tinyScottish hamlet of Gillicuddy,something timeless that neverfailed to attract Sarah Jane. Here,she could forget all about the trialsof being an investigative reporterand lose herself in happy holidaymemories. She was glad that shehad taken up the suggestionof herold friend, Susan Hamilton, andtravelled up to the highlands for afew days rest. As soon as Susanarrived, Sarah Jane was lookingforward to a good chat about oldtimes.

Telephone call for you, MissSmith.Sarah Jane looked over atArchie, questioningly. Who couldbe calling her here? Hoping that itwasnt about work, she movedover and took the phone from theold Scot. Hello?Sarah!Sarah Jane smiled, recognisingthe voice instantly. Susan, shesaid, warmly, where are you? Ivegot a drink waiting for you here.No time. Listen to me,Sarah.Im in trouble. The loch. Some-thing going on. Danger. My room.Check my room For a sec-ond, the line went dead. SarahJane was about to say somethingwhen she heard some sort ofscuffling from the other end. Then,Susan spoke again, only this time itwas hurried, distant. Sarah,youve got to help! Help me,Sarah, hel The sentence

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ended in a scream.Susan! Sarah Jane cried.Susan! But there was noanswer. Sarah Jane heard a dullthud on the line, and then the pipswent. A second later, Sarah Janestood stunned, the dull drone of aclosed telephone line sounding inher ear. As she replaced thereceiver, all she could say was,Susan?Bad news, Miss Smith? saidArchie.I dont know, Archie, SarahJane replied, not wishing to soundalarmist. Idont know. But shewas going to find out.Sarah Jane switched her carheadlights from dip to full beam,and peered out through hercondensation-smeared wind-

screen at the country lane beyond.It was a uselessexercise, the earliermist having turned into a full fog.Sarah Jane frowned.She had ascertained from Archiethat there were only two publictelephone boxes i n the areaaround Gillicuddy, and as one wasin the the closed and locked postoffice, Susan had to have calledfrom the other, which was sited onthe banks of Loch Crag. As SarahJane had been driving along thebanks for the past twenty minutes,she knew that it had to be aroundsomewhere. But she could se enothing.Parameters of normal spec-trum visibility, said K9 from thepassenger seat, do not extendbeyond ten point four feet, Mis-tress.

I can see that, K9,said Sarah.Can you switch to infra-red?Affirmative.Doitthen. Keep a ookoutfor atelephone box.The probability of the Doctorhaving materialised the Tardis inthis area at this time is approxi-mately two billionNot the Tardis, K9, inter-rupted Sarah Jane, just a normal,everyday call box.Apologies, Mistress. Confusionregarding present mission due tofact that I was awoken from rest

phase and placed into automobilewithout sufficient explanation orreason.

Sarah Jane had to smile.Youre forgiven,K9. I only wish Icould explain. Can you see it?Affirmative. Object immedi-ately ahead has shape and massconforming to what is required.Sarah Jane braked. K9 wasright. Directly ahead, the tele-phone box had emerged from thefog. Sarah Jane bit her lip whenshe saw that there was no sign ofSusan. Inside, the telephonedangledon its lead. Whatever hadhappened, Susan had had no timeto place it back in itscradle. Increas-ingly concerned, Sarah Janeopened the car door and, pickingup K9,stepped out. Placing him onthe ground. she said. Continue-red scan, K9. Scan for bodyas well. Were looking for myd.

K9 began to trundle off acrossthe grass. Almost instantly, he hadvanished into the fog. Only thesound of his, Affirmative, toldSarah Jane where he was. She shi-vered. It was a very bad night to beout.Backtracking on what K9 hadreliably computed was Susanspath, Sarah Jane and K9 even-tually came to what was quicklyidentified as Susans car. It wasabandoned, the driver door swing-ing open, on a slopejust above thewater line of the loch. Feeling thebonnet, Sarah Jane found that theengine was cold. There wasnothing, no clue, to indicate whathad happened to Susan. Nothing,except acamera, which K9 foundapparently tossed into a clump ofvegetation. It , too, was Susans.

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Sarah Jane placed it in her hand-bag. Still no indications of life,K9?Negative, Mistress.Sarah Janes heart fell. It wasbecoming increasingly obviousthat there was n o way that theywere going to find Susan now.They would have tocontinue in themorning. Regretfully, Sarah Janesaid, Come on, K9, letsget backto the hotel. Tomorrow well callthe police.On the way back to the car, K9suddenly stopped dead in histracks, reporting that his infra-redscan had detected something onthe surface of the loch. Straining,Sarah Jane stared out over thepitch-black, inhospitable waters.Whatever K9 had sensed, it wasgone now, or at least she couldntsee it, and K9 was unable tosupply

an explanationof what it had been.Involuntarily, Sarah Jane shud-dered. There was something mys-terious and threatening about aScottish loch at night, and SarahJane thought about all those oldstones of the famous Loch Nessmonster. Could there be a monsterin this loch too? What could poss-ibly have made Susan Hamiltonvanish like she had?When she and K9 finally arrivedback at the Stag Hotel, Sarah Janewas happy to see that all the lightswere out and that everyone hadgone to bed. She was happybecause she didnt want everyoneto see her breaking into SusanHamiltons room. Susan had men-tioned the room during her phonecall, and Sarah Jane had a feelingthat she might find something thatwould shed some light on her

friends dsappearance.I wish, she said to K9 as thetwo of them moved quietly alongthe guest room corridor, that theDoctor had left me a sonic screw-driver as well as you. I was neververy good at picking locks.Your participation is not

required, Mistress, K9 respondedin as much ofa whisper as he couldmanage. The simple relocation oftumblers within lock mechanism iswell within the bounds of mycapabilities. Please indicatethrough which portal you desireaccess.Sarah Jane smiled. I shouldhave known. Trust the Doctor toteach you something like that.Room number six.K9 moved over to the door andregarded it for a second. Then,with a clicking of mechanisms. a

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I-liasnout. It began to hum. A secondlater, Sarah Jane heard the lockclick open. After you, Mistress,said K9.Susan Hamiltons room was ashambles. Sheets of note paperand newspaper cuttings were scat-tered everywhere. Furniture andbedclothes were strewn across thefloor. Sarah Jane had no doubtthat the room had been ran-sacked but by whom? Andwhy? She only hoped that who-ever was responsible wasnt stillthereDanger, Mistress! warned K9.Intruder!Sarah Jane had not time to reactbefore a dark figure came hurtlingtowards her from a corner of theroom. Sarah Jane tried to dodge,but the figure collidedwith her andsent the pair of them tumbling tothe floor with a bang. For a fewmoments the two bodies wrestledwith each other, but Sarah Janeeventually lost her grip and thestranger, obviously a man, judgingby his strength, picked himself upand raced out into the corridor.

Get him, K9! Sarah Janeshouted.

K 9 reversed and moved into thecorridor, his laser barrel extendingbefore him. He firedtwo shots, butboth missed, the stranger havingdarted around a corner before K 9could line up a proper aim. Heknew pursuit would be useless,and his logic circuits soon dictatedthat the more profitable coursewould be to return to roomnumber six. De-activating hisweaponry systems,K 9 turned backto the door.Never mind, K9, said SarahJane, we should be able to iden-tify him from this. In her hand sheheld a small gold crest medallionwhich she had torn from thestrangers jacket in the struggle. Itcontained the image of a dragon.It shouldnt be too hard to identifythis. In the meantime, lets seewhat he wanted with Susansthings.

It didnt take long to determinewhat had been happening. In thecorner of the room, the strangerhad stuffed a pile of newspapersand notes into a bucket. On thefloor beside it, a lighter had beenleft, obviously forgotten in the rushto escape. The stranger hadintended to burn the things in thebucket. Sarah Jane began to pullout the newspapers. opening themup to look at the headlines:POACHER DISAPPEARS ONLOCH CRAG. ABANDONEDSIGHTING OF THINGGIGANTIC SMUGGLING RINGSUSPECTED. NINE-YEAR-OLDBOY VANISHES WHILE OUTSEIZED OFFSCOTTISH COAST.IS THEREA MONSTER IN LOCKCRAG?Sarah Jane had seen enough.

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I This was obviously what Susanhad wanted her to see.She smiled.Susan hadnt invited her up just fora holiday at all! Knowing thatSarah Jane could never resist amystery, this had been in her mindall along! But even now that shehad seen them, Sarah Jane waspuzzled. What connection wasthere between disappearances,smuggling, and an unsubstantiatedmonster sighting by some innocentgroup of holidaymakers? SarahJane frowned. She didnt know,but shewas sure of one thing; nowthat Susan too had disappeared,she and K9 were going to find out!

The Laird, Miss Smith, saidpolice constable McGregor, whohad joined Sarah Jane for break-fast the following morning, andwas now examining the medallion.That creast belongs to the Laird,Stephen Crag.Crag? questioned SarahJane, taking back the medallion.Constable McGregor nodded.He owns all of the land surround-ing Loch Crag. Has a castle on topof the hill. Not a very friendlycharacter, likes his privacy.Ill bet he does, said SarahJane, a suspicion already formingin her mind.

Now, youre not connectingthe Laird with all this smuggling,are you, Miss Smith?Or the disappearances. Orboth. Arent you? Sarah asked.McGregor laughed. Och, no!The Laird is a respectable man!Besides, theres no way he couldsmuggle anything into his castle.Itd be impossible overland, andwhat channels there are from theloch to the sea are mainly sub-merged. Itd be impossible to get aboat through!Then you think Im wrong?McGregor smiled. Aye, I do.Forget about it, Miss Smith.Sarah Jane stood up from thetable. Constable McGregor. Aclose friend of mine has disap-peared under very strange circum-stances. UntilIind her, Ihave nointention of leaving Gillicuddy, orof dropping this matter. Now, willyou help me or wont you?McGregor blushed, recognisingthat he had been backed into acorner. He had to admit to himselfthat he had had his own suspicionsabout Crag but monsters onthe loch? Smuggling? Strange dis-appearances?It was a lottosuspectof one man, almost too ridiculousfor words. Finally, he relented.Alright,Miss Smith, he said witha sigh, Illhelp as much as can.Good, said Sarah Jane with asmile, now this is whatIwant youto do

Sarah Jane and K9 stood on thebanks of Loch Crag, a small row-boat bobbing about in the waterbeneath them. Although it wasonly six oclock, it was alreadyalmost totally dark. Night comesquickly n heScottish Highlands. Itwas getting very cold, too, andSarah Jane buttoned up the coatshe was wearing: Looking at herwatch, she said, Come on, K9,time to go.Large concentrations of lowtemperature H 2 0 disagree withinternal circuitry, Mistress,objected K9.Sarah Jane smiled, glad for thatbit of K9s unintentional humour.She knew that what they wereabout to do could prove danger-

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ous, and she did not feel verycheerful. But setting herself and K9up as bait in a trap was the onlyplan she could thinkofto prove hersuspicions about Crag, so, taking adeep breath, she reassured K9 andcarried him into the row-boat withher. When they had both settleddown, she took up th e oars andpushed off from shore. Scannerson, K9, she said. If anythingmoves, tell me.Nothing happened for half anhour. It was like another world outin the centre of the loch; black, sil-ent and cursed with an atmosphereof terrible loneliness. Sarah Janehummed to herself nervously, andpoured herself a hot coffee fromthe flask she had brought along.Then, just as she was beginning tothink she may have been wrong allalong,K9 extended his laser barreland uttered a warning. Objectapproaching at speed, Mistress.Trajectory ndicates it will interceptthis vessel in eight point oneseconds!Sarah Jane sat bolt upright andstared into the loch. But shecouldnt see a thing! What is it,K9? Where is it?Four point six secondsExtreme caution, Mistress!

E

Sarah Jane felt the first twingesof panic. She had at least expectedto see something when she hadplanned this! Sometimes she wasjust too curious for her own good!Sarah Jane stood up, and the boatstarted to rock. K9,where is it!Data indicates object is sub-merged. Two point four seconds toimpact. Warning, Mistress! Warn-ing!But it was already too late. In thelast seconds, Sarah Jane saw thething. Just beneath the surface ofthe loch, a dark shape loomed and,above, black finssliced through thewater, sending spray everywhere.Sarah Jane screamed. It was a

monster! Then, a figure leapt fromthe water and grabbed Sarah Janeby the arms, and, struggling, shewas pulled overboard! For a fewseconds, the water thrashedmadly, and then Sarah Jane wasgone! Air bubbles broke on thesurface.Mistress? saidK9.Mistress?Although h e had been prog-rammed to protect Sarah Jane atall times, K9 knew that there wasnothing he could do. K9 fell silent,logically tying to formulate a plan.Calculating he eddies and currentsin the loch, he knew that he wouldeventually be carried back toshore.

7

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Constable McGregor slappedhis hands together to drive awaythe cold, and continued his walk upthe drive to Castle Crag. If MissSmith was wrong, he knew that theLaird would not take kindly tobeing disturbed at this time ofnight, but if she was right, he knewhe had to stay alert. McGregorreached the portcullis of the castle.Although two men stood behind it,it was closed.I wish to see the Laird,McGregor shouted.Thats impossible, Constable.Im sorry.This is official business. Obs-tructing a member of the Queensconstabulay in the course of hisduty is a criminal offence.We have our orders oneof the men started to say, but henever finished. A beam of red lightsuddently hit him on the shoulder

and he fell to the ground. Much toMcGregors shock, the other manstarted to pull a gun from his jacket,but he too never had a chance tofinish what he had started.McGregor spun round to face thedirection from which the beamshad come. They are stunned,said K9,no other course of actionwas possible.Constable McGregor gaped atK9.Now he had seen everything!A talking dog? A talking, metaldog? McGregor shook his head.What are you? he said, hisaccent deteriorating into thickScots.I am K9. Mistress Sarah Janewill explain. Please proceed. K9let off another laser bolt at theportcullis, hen, with a call of,ME-

tress, he moved in through thehole.McGregor, suddently wishing he

had never become a policeman,followed.Three pounds and fifty pence,please, Miss Hamilton, saidArchie MacGibbon.Susan Hamilton handed overthe money and, with difficulty, car-ried the round of drinks back to thetable. So, as I was saying, shesaid, when K9 burst in throughthat door and stunned Crag and allhis men, I couldnt believe it!McGregor laughed. Aye, hes acanny dog, all right. But still cantbelieve it all happened in the first.place.It was a brilliant plan, though,said Sarah Jane. By using a mini-submarine disguised asa monster,Crag could frighten anyone away

from the loch, keeping the coastclear for his smuggling activities.And the submarine was th e perfectmethod of getting through thechannels to the sea.Susan Hamilton nodded. If ithadnt been for us,he could stillbegetting away with it now.Which reminds me, saidSarah Jane. Next time you inviteme up fora holiday she smiled, can we stay away from theloch?Susan Hamilton smiled back.Affirmative, said K9.

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A

K9 helped to expose the 'monster' of LCrag, and it turned out not to be a monsterat all. But what of Loch Ness, and the fam-ous monster which many people believestill lives there?The Loch Ness monster is regularly in the news,whenever a new sighting is made, or a newexpedition sets out to discover the truth aboutthe fascinating legend. So far, Nessie, as themonster is affectionately known, has eluded allattempts to prove or disprove her existence, andshe remains as mysterious today as when shewas first mentioned in history.That was in the year 565, more than fourteencenturies ago.It happened when St Columba was travellingto Inverness, where he hoped to bring Christian-ity to the Picts. As he passed the loch, a smallboat drifted out from the shore, and one of hisfollowers tried to retrieve it. He had hardlystepped into the water before 'a strange beast'rose out of the water beside him. St Columbafaced the creature, and ordered it to leave theman alone and the monster disappeared againinto the dark water.

The darkness of he water of Loch Ness, in act,has been one of the greatest difficulties facing allexpeditions which have searched or Nessie eversince. It is caused by the very dark peaty soil ofthe area, which cuts visibility down dramaticallyunder the surface of the Loch.Over the centuries, sightings have been made.But it has only been in comparatively recentyears thatthe monster has attracted he attentionof the world, with sightings being widelyreported and commented upon.One famous sighting was made in 1933, whena local hotel owner and his wife saw a giganticcreaturewithtwo humpsorcoilsand asnake-likeneck And in November of that same year cameanother important landmark, when a local manwalking home from church was able to take thefirst photograph of the creature. Experts con-firmed that the film had not been tampered with,but unfortunately the picture was not very clear.

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The 'object' it showed was some 40 feet long.Since then other photographs have shown thenow-famous humps of he monster, and itssmall, snail-like head. It seems to have a long,graceful neck, and a rather flat tail. Some photosshow small flippers towards the frontof the crea-ture, and larger ones at the back It seems to begrey in colour, though descriptions vary fromsilver grey to almost blackFor some reason, the Loch Ness monster isgenerally referred to in the feminine form, as'she', but of course if it does exist, then theremust logically be both male and female of thespecies, as one monster could surely not havelived through all those centuries. One theory isthat it is a species of creature left over from theprehistoric era, when huge creatures roamed theearth, and that a small colony still exists in theloch, reproducing, and generally going abouttheir lives, as they have done for thousands ofyears.Naturalist Sir Peter Scott, who has made sev-

\

eral studies of the monster, believes that it maybe related to the plesiosaurs, which scientistsbelieve disappeared from the earth some 7 mil-lion years ago. The waters of Loch Ness aredeeper in parts than the North Sea, and the crea-tures could be living undisturbed in subterra-nean passages and caves.Whatever the truth of the legend, it has cer-tainly caught the attention of the world, andexpeditions have arrived from many countries tosearch for the creature. Armed wi th submarines,powerful underwater lights, tape recordings ofthe calls of other sea creatures, and similar para-phernalia, the scientists and enthusiasts haveproceeded to search. They have taken photos,and they have for he most partcome awaycon-vinced in their own minds that the monster doesexistBut as for definite proof, well, Nessie isn't quiteready to introduce herself ye t If and when shedoes decide to make herself known to her public,let's hope she's in a friendly mood!

_ .e--:

IThis is the basic shape which most of the photo-graphs of Nessie seem to show. Sceptics insist thatthe photographsare aked, or elsesimplyshow loat-ing logs or masses of vegetation. Eye witnessesthink otherwise!

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A constant stream of UFO sightings continues to pourinto the officesof investigativesocieties, week in andweek out, and many people are convinced that weare being closely observed by the inhabitantsofanother planet. On th e other hand , there isalso aconstant stream of more down-to-earth explanationsfor all those lights an d sights in the skies.One of thelatest explanations comes from scientistsin Russia, following a spate of sightings by very reliableobservers.

O ne of the first incidents cam e in October 1977,when three new Soviet miliary aircraft were beingtested near the cityof Ryazan. Suddenly the crewsnoticed a luminous, pulsating object. It was blindinglywhite, and it had the appearance of a huge ballofcotton wool.Thai on e sightingwas mysterious enough, but itwas followed by several more. In another case thecrew of an Aeroflotairlinersaw what they took to bethe rising moon in the sky, and switched off the cabinlightsso hat the passengerswould get a good view.

On yet another occasion, another of these strangebright lights actually collided with an Aeroflot aircraft,and caused considerable damage, though no one washurt.All this might sound disturbing;butSovietscientistsare not at all convinced that their pilots have seenships from outer space. Th ey have ano therexplanation: chemiluminescence.Chemiluminescencecan probably best be described

ascold radiation. In the atmosphere there are alwaysmillionsof microscopic, chemically-active particles,and it iswhen theseparticlesconde nse that theycreate chemiluminescence. Their light becomesintense, and itmay ev en be, at times, twenty timesbrighter than that of the sun.The rare phenomenon known asball lightning isatypeof chemiluminescence,and ball lightning tselfhas been th e explanation for many UFO sightings inthe past.So there you are.. a very plausiblesounding explanation for som e of those mysteriousa

They all did get a good view, but no t of the rising lights in the sky. Scientists all over the world aremoon. Instead, it was a mysterious brilliant white disc, probably nodding their heads in agreem ent.which emitted light as f from a searchlight. As for us lesser mortalswell, wed still ratherbelieve in little green men! Wouldnt we?

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upona time,wasa

I

a robot creature which worksformanas Greek legend there isf a metal man, Talos, who guards the islandgMinos.he story of a beautiful dancing

in The Sandman by ETAn of the public, andth e beautiful ballet Coppelia.

of a living puppet.was fascinated by acreation was exhibited by Johann Maelzel.lzels Chess-Player, exposed thex it was. allkindsof

his ideas were generally way aheadHis steam-powered elephant, which heofCawnpore, was

hismarvellous imagination.

The word robot has come t o mean a lmostanysortofdevice that can be programmedtohelp man, from the purely functionalmachines used in construction processes inmodem industry,to the highly fancifulcreations of science fiction. ofwhich the StarWars robotsR2D2 andC3POare thebest-knownexamples.The use ofrobots in industryisa fascinatingsubject, but just for now lets take a look atK9s colleagues the robots of fiction.

THE20thCENTURYIn the 20th century the idea of robots and androidsbegan to be widely discussed, both in fiction and, ofcourse, in real life technology.An early idea from fiction were he atom-poweredrobots built by an electronic brain in EdmondHamiltons The Metal Giants. That story waswritten in 1926, and in 1928and 29 came storiesfrom David H Keller, including one, The Threat ofthe Robot, in which robots were seen working invarious professions, including playing Americanfootball.To go back a coupleof years, the word robotitself came from the Czech play R.U.R., by KarelCapek. It was derived from the words robota,meaning compulsory abour, and robotnik,meaning workman. The robots in the play areindistinguishable from humans, and nowadays suchcreations are termed androids, from the Greekword for man-like.

From the 1950s onwards, stories about robotsreally took off, and they were popping upeverywhere, n fiction, on television and, of course,in science fiction films. Some of the stonescontained a hintof menace, when the machinesturned against their creators, and other stories tooka humorous form, suchas a 1966story, Revolt ofthe Pota to Picker by Herb Lehrmann, wheremachine built for drudgery n the fields actuallylongs for a career asa dancer.

A

THE MOVIE WORLDThe fantastic success of science fiction films n he 1970s and 80s.with their almost unbelievably imaginative specialeffects, has assured the fictional robot its place in the hearts of the general public. The lovable R2D2 and C3POof the hugely-successful Star Wars are the best examples, but therewas also the sinisterMax in Wait Disneys Black Hole, and the helpful android Rab in LogansRun, to name but four of the most popular movie creations. And on TV, K9 just has to be the most entertaining.Looks like the future of the robot isa rosy one, and if past history isanything to go by, the real life world of the robot willprobably be even more fantastic than anything which has been created in Ifiction. 4

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he small rock chamber hiddenT h e below the Crag Cliff Hotelwas filled with the sound of chant-ing. A robed and hooded figuremoved slowly around a stonetable, sprinklinga fine red powderover its harsh grey surface. Di-mon. Di-mon. Di-mon, he repe-ated. At first,the chant wassoft,butas the powder obscured the stone itgrew louder. Di-mon! Di-mon!Di-mon! Finally, t h e figureexhausted the red powder. Thechanting stopped. The table oftransformation is prepared, thefigure said.

Besides the chanter, there werefour men and a young woman inthe chamber. All except the youngwoman were dressed in similarrobes and hoods. One of the menstepped towards the stone table.Then we await the eve, he said.Suddenly, the young womandashed forward and grabbed theman who had spoken by theshoulders, spinning him to faceher. Father, she cried. youmust stop this madness! The manstared at the young woman.Soon, my child, he bellowed,the eve will be here. You will

become of the body. You willunderstand. You will follow. Hesighed, and when he spoke againhis voice was surprisingly gentle.Then then it will be madnessno longer.The young woman pulled away,her eyes full of fear. Dont youunderstand? she cried, her voicewavering. I dont want to belong!I want no part of this evil!The man stiffened. Evil! heshouted, his voice full of angernow. You dare to call us evil! Heraised his hand as if to hit the youngwoman.

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No! cried one of the other fig-ure