THE LEGACY OF SION
by ANDREW KEARLEY
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In 2015, Europe is a single federal state. It's not a very united state however. Crime is out of control. Extremist political groups are growing in influence - particularly nationalist movements within the old member countries. Terrorism is a major problem. Faced with these concerns, President Driscoll holds a conference to find ways of promoting unity. His grand design is to create a sense of European national identity by installing a monarch as figurehead - effectively the restoration of the Hapsburg dynasty of Holy Roman Emperors.
The TARDIS arrives in the Vatican City, where the Doctor becomes caught up in the shady business dealings between the Mafia and Cardinal Remington, the head of the Vatican Bank. He also meets Professor Sinclair, a noted historian who is researching the secret occult history of the Knights Templar. He tells the Doctor of a secret society, the Priory of Sion, that was the power behind the Templars, and has been influencing the political development of Europe for the past thousand years. The new monarchist movement is a direct result of the Priory's influence, for they are the guardians of the greatest secret of the Christian world.
When the Pope is seriously wounded in assassination attempt, it is only the beginning of a campaign of terror, seemingly aimed at destabilizing every institution and authority in Europe. Several attempts are made to sabotage the President's Unity conference. Professor Sinclair's colleague is the victim of what seems to be a random mugging - until her assailant is identified as a senior Mafia hood. And finally Rhonwen is kidnapped...
All these events are at the instigation of a sinister crime lord known as Johnny Maestro - and hiding behind that alias, the Doctor discovers none other than his old adversary the Master, now close to death and set about a desperate plan to find a way to regenerate his body - even if it means destroying the human race in the process...
The Legacy of Sion has its origin in a book entitled The Holy and the Holy Grail by Henry Lincoln (of Yeti fame) and others. This rather amusing work is one of several that have been written around the mysteries of the Knights Templar, the lost treasure of Rennes-le-Chateau, and the Priory of Sion. Indeed, while I was writing The Legacy of Sion, at least another two books on related topics were published, which shows if nothing else that there is always a market for this sort of nonsense. I won't go into the whole business here, since it would give away some of the plot developments of The Legacy of Sion, but let me just assure you that I remain a most skeptical person - I find these historical conspiracy thrillers fascinating reading, but I don't really believe that the Vatican and the governments of Europe are part of some sinister plot to control our destinies. Part of the purpose of The Legacy of Sion was to debunk and to spoof this sort of thing, a task in which I hope I've succeeded.
However, in the inordinate number of years it's taken me to think about completing that final draft of the novel, it does seem as if my thunder has been stolen by the ridiculous and unwarranted success of The Da Vinci Code. Like I said, there's always a market for bollocks like this! Indeed, the bookshelves seem to be crammed with historical-religious conspiracy thrillers at the moment, all with cover designs trying to emulate those of Da Vinci - as if the publishers believe we might think they're part of the same series. Do they think we're stupid? I was looking at the latest one of these the other day, and the quote on the cover proclaimed the author was "the only challenger to Dan Brown's crown". That's damning with faint praise. My front cover would say "pisses all over Dan Brown from a great height". Still, I can't publish now - I don't ride on bandwagons. So sorry, The Legacy of Sion will probably never see the light of day. Drop me an email if you want me to send you a copy...
The Legacy of Sion would have been the longest book in the Bullseye series so far. When I was writing it, I decided to invent a new semi-companion figure who could assist the Doctor, thus spreading the load of the plot across three regulars. This was to be Inspector Greg Maxwell, the policeman in charge of security at the Unity conference. We learn that he is an old acquaintance of the Doctor, having met him during some UNIT incident years before. However, during the writing process, Greg Maxwell grew steadily less important to the story, and somebody else came forward to fill the semi-companion role: Monsignor Umberto Cavallari, the head of security at the Vatican City. To my considerable surprise, this reformed criminal turned Catholic priest became one of my favourite characters, so much so that I seriously considered having him join the TARDIS at the end of the story. In the end I decided against it - I'm not sure that the Doctor Who universe is quite ready for a time travelling priest just yet! But Monsignor Cavallari most definitely has a part to play in the future of the Bullseye series.
As I noted when discussing The Michaelmas Phantoms, I had originally planned to have the Doctor occasionally attached to a revamped version of UNIT. I've since decided against this - it's far better to invent something new than retread old ground. So, I expect to see the Doctor making regular returns to the near-future setting of The Legacy of Sion - Rome in the early twenty-first century. I really can't think of anything more different from the UNIT set-up than to have the Doctor based in the Vatican, with Monsignor Cavallari as our equivalent of the Brigadier...
As mentioned above, the villain of this piece is none other than the Master. I'm not spoiling a surprise by telling you that - he's even going to be on the front cover. When I was writing the story, it was my intention to introduce a regenerated Master as a regular recurring villain - now I'm not so sure. We'll see how it goes...
The Insider's Guide to Bullseye
Doctor Who, the television series
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The following extract is to whet your appetites. The finished novel may be published one day...
Rhonwen walked down the steps of police headquarters, and felt the sunshine on her face. A great sense of relief swept over her. After a night in the clutches of the Mafia, and then their bribed police commissioner, she had wondered whether she would ever see daylight again. But now, she was within a hair's breadth of freedom, about to be driven back to the Doctor.She glanced back at Inspector Bertillon, who followed her down the steps. "I expect you're glad to be outside," he said sympathetically. "Those interviews can get a little claustrophobic, can't they?"
Rhonwen nodded emphatically.
"You're a very brave young lady," Bertillon added. "You've been through a difficult experience, but you've kept a level head. The Commissioner seems very happy with all the information you've provided."
"Well, I was glad to help," replied Rhonwen.
"My car's over here," said Bertillon, and directed her to a parking space at the far end of the forecourt.
He was in the process of unlocking the door, when his attention was caught by a sudden explosion of frenzied activity. Several of his colleagues burst from the building, and ran towards their cars. At the same time, he could hear the wail of multiple sirens, indicating that a number of police cars were being despatched from the underground car park at the side of the building.
"What the hell...?" he murmured. He started back towards the main entrance, leaving Rhonwen standing alone beside the car. At the same moment, Commissioner Frohlich came running out onto the steps.
"What's going on?" Bertillon demanded.
Catching sight of him, Frohlich stopped in her tracks, almost stumbling down the steps. "We've got a gangland war on our hands," she blurted out.
"Why, what's happened?"
"Vincenzoni's been found dead - shot to pieces inside his car."
"Well, it doesn't mean a gang war," said Bertillon. "Vitali will take over the family business - he's well established now as the Don's successor."
"Vitali's dead as well," replied Frohlich grimly. "Believe me, there's going to be a war over this - when the other gangs start scrambling to take over Vincenzoni's position."
With this, she turned away and ran over to her car. As she was unlocking the door, she looked up suddenly, and said, "The girl. Fraulein Jones."
Bertillon was still standing at the foot of the steps, stunned and alarmed by the news. It took him a moment or two to focus. "What about her?"
"Take her into custody."
"But she's told us everything," Bertillon protested.
"Put her in a cell and leave her there," Frohlich insisted. With Vincenzoni's death, the whole situation had altered. Rhonwen was no longer under the same threats to do as she was told, and Frohlich couldn't afford to let her go free. Rhonwen knew too much about her arrangement with Don Vincenzoni - maybe enough to get her indicted.
"There's more to this than meets the eye," Frohlich added. "And I'm sure she knows something about it. Lock her up, then follow me out to the murder scene." With that, she slipped into the driving seat of her car.
Bertillon turned round to face Rhonwen, who had come up behind him - and she had clearly caught the tail end of his conversation with Frohlich. In that moment, her eyes seemed to communicate her innocence. Bertillon reached out to take her by the arm. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. "I've got my orders."
Behind him, he heard Frohlich turn over her car engine. An instant later, there was an ear-splitting crash, like a clap of thunder. He felt a burst of searing heat against his back. A massive shock wave pushed him over onto his face. Windows shattered, and alarms started to go off. A few seconds later, shards of red hot metal rained down all over the car park.
Rhonwen was thrown from her feet, to land awkwardly against the forecourt wall. She struggled up into a sitting position, and opened her eyes. Commissioner Frohlich's car was nothing more than a few burning scraps of metal. A huge plume of black smoke rose up from the wreckage, high into the air.
Policemen were pouring out of the building, only to stop in their tracks and stare helplessly at the remains of the car. A crowd was starting to form out in the street, as people emerged from all the surrounding buildings, to see what was happening, and gawp in morbid fascination at the wreckage.
Rhonwen managed to stagger to her feet. She looked down at the prostrate form of Inspector Bertillon, who was just starting to lift his head. He had been about to arrest her before Frohlich died. He would surely do so now - the coincidence of the explosion at that moment seemed practically to implicate her.
Whilst the policemen were still distracted, Rhonwen took her chance. She turned, and ran out through the gateway. Her steps were shaky at first, as she stumbled out into the road and pushed her way into the crowd. No one seemed to have spotted her escape, not even Inspector Bertillon. Suddenly, she felt a little guilty about leaving him, and hoped that he wasn't badly hurt.
She felt a firm hand grab hold of her arm, and realized with resignation that she hadn't escaped after all. She turned her head, and looked with horror into the pudgy, grinning face of Gaston.