The Keys of Marinus

BOOK DETAILS

Pages	128
ISBN	0-426-20125-6
Publication Date	21 August 1980

SYNOPSIS

MARINUS a remote force-shielded island set in a sea of acid, governed by THE CONSCIENCE the ultimate computer which rules and balances the gentle life of Marinus, guarded by

ARBITAN THE KEEPER ruthless protectorof a peace-loving race threatened by YARTEK Warlord of the brutal sub-human Voords, sworn enemy of Arbitan and of Marinus, who has within his grasp

THE KEYS OF MARINUS the Conscience’s vital micro-circuits, the doors of good and evil.

Can The Doctor find the hidden circuits in time? Arbitan’s command was ‘Find them, OR DIE!’

NOTES

CHAPTER TITLES

The Sea of Death
The Marble City
The Velvet Web
The Brains of Morphoton
The Screaming Jungle
The Whispering Darkness
The Snows of Terror
The Demons
Sentenced!
The Mystery of the Locked Room
The Missing Key
Arbitan’s Revenge
Final Goodbyes

DEVIATIONS FROM THE TELEVISED STORY

The Voord are identified as a frog-like subspecies with bullet-shaped heads, lacking their distinctive inky black helmets.

The warrior that stalks Susan around the perimeterof the marble City is described as a “Class 1 Voord Assault Trooper”, programmed to kill enemies on sight, implying that part of the Voord assault force may be bionic or robotic in nature.

It’s never quite clear what triggers the outer city walls’ ability to rotate. The novelisation clarifies by stating that there are sections of the marble that are pressure sensitive. At that time, The Doctor also notes the appearance of vegetation on the island, foreshadowing later events of the novella.

Yartek is said to have developed a technological immuniser to the influence of the Conscience, distributing it among his followers, rather than the unexplained resistance of the televised story.

Ian is still on the rope bridge when Vasor severs it with his knife.

Sabetha and Altos briefly visit Ian during his incarceration in Millennius.

Aydon attempts to flee the Court when identified by Sabetha before he makes his protestations heard. It’s vice versa in the televised version. The shot that kills him is a “spurt of blue flame” and Susan sees that those closest to the body as it falls are Tarron, Eyson and Larn.

When the false key is inserted into the apparatus of the Conscience, there is a red glow at the centre, growing in intensity, until finally spokes of purple light radiate outwards along the delicate metal connectors. The entire structure blazes like a giant catherine wheel and self-combusts. The explosion vaporises Yartek and the entire Archive Room of the complex in less than a million th of a second.