''The Highest Science'' is an original novel written by Gareth Roberts and based on the long-running British

science fiction television Science fiction first appeared in television programming in the late 1930s, during what is called the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Special effects and other production techniques allow creators to present a living visual image of an imaginary ...

series ''

Doctor Who ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series depicts the adventures of a Time Lord called the Doctor, an extraterrestrial being who appears to be human. The Doctor explores the u ...

''. It features the

Seventh Doctor The Seventh Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the BBC science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'', and the final incarnation of the original Doctor Who series. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy. W ...

and Bernice and the first appearance of the recurring monsters, the Chelonians. A prelude to the novel, also penned by Roberts, appeared in ''

Doctor Who Magazine ''Doctor Who Magazine'' (abbreviated as ''DWM'') is a magazine devoted to the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. Launched in 1979 as ''Doctor Who Weekly'', the magazine became a monthly publication the followi ...

'' #196. The novel was going to be adapted into the 2009 ''Doctor Who'' Easter special, making this story, like ''

Human Nature Human nature is a concept that denotes the fundamental dispositions and characteristics—including ways of thinking, feeling, and acting—that humans are said to have naturally. The term is often used to denote the essence of humankind, or ...

'', an early "version" of a

canonical The adjective canonical is applied in many contexts to mean "according to the canon" the standard, rule or primary source that is accepted as authoritative for the body of knowledge or literature in that context. In mathematics, "canonical example ...

television story; the concept was continually altered, however, resulting in "

Planet of the Dead A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a young ...

". The Chelonians were mentioned onscreen in the episode "

The Pandorica Opens "The Pandorica Opens" is the twelfth episode of the fifth series of British science fiction television programme ''Doctor Who'', first broadcast on 19 June 2010 on BBC One. It is the first in a two-part finale; the second part, "The Big Bang" ...

" as one of the Doctor's enemy species who have banded together to defeat him, suggesting that the events of the novel (like those of the television-acknowledged novel ''

The Monsters Inside ''The Monsters Inside'' is a BBC Books original novel written by Stephen Cole and based on the long-running British science fiction television series '' Doctor Who''. It was published on 19 May 2005, alongside ''The Clockwise Man'' and '' Winner ...

'') have in fact happened.

Publisher's Summary

Sakkrat. Many legends speak of this world, home of an ancient empire destroyed by its own greatest achievement: the Highest Science, the pinnacle of technological discovery. When the

TARDIS The TARDIS (; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension In Space") is a fictional hybrid of the time machine and spacecraft that appears in the British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who'' and its various spin-offs. Its exterior ap ...

alerts the Doctor and Bernice to the presence of an enormous temporal fluctuation on a large, green, unremarkable planet, they are not to know of any connection with the legend. But the connection is there, and it will lead them into conflict with the monstrous Chelonians, with their contempt for human parasites; into adventure with a group of youngsters whose musical taste has suddenly become dangerously significant; and will force them to face Sheldukher, the most wanted criminal in the galaxy.

Chelonians

This novel sees the first appearance of the Chelonians, a race of cybernetic humanoid tortoises who appeared subsequently in other spin-off novels and are referenced in ''

''. The Chelonians are war-like, hermaphroditic and lay eggs. They have cybernetic enhancements that include X-ray vision and improved hearing, but this advanced state of technology often causes them to consider human-beings as a form of parasite to be removed. Contrary to how they are depicted on the dust jacket art to this book and ''

Zamper ''Zamper'' is an original novel written by Gareth Roberts and based on the long-running British science fiction television series ''Doctor Who''. It features the Seventh Doctor, Bernice, Chris Chris is a short form of various names includ ...

'', they walk on all fours.

Audio Adaptation

In December 2014

Big Finish Productions Big Finish Productions is a British company that produces books and audio plays (released straight to compact disc and for download in MP3 and m4b format) based, primarily, on cult science fiction properties. These include ''Doctor Who'', the ...

released an audio adaptation of the novel.

References

External links

''The Highest Science'' Prelude
{{DEFAULTSORT:Highest Science, The 1993 British novels 1993 science fiction novels Virgin New Adventures Novels by Gareth Roberts (writer) Seventh Doctor novels