Chapter 1

In that gossamer of consciousness just between being awake and being asleep, the irrational fears of our dreams combine with the stark terrors of reality to create the most frightening things of all. Strackman Lux thought it odd that this thought should occur to him now. It was what his parents and grandparents had always told him in bedtime stories. But now wasn't the time for stories. It hadn't been the time for stories for a hundred years, since the library his family owned, the biggest library in the universe, had been sealed off from the rest of creation.

He took a long blink as he realised that it was the glare from his screen that was causing his headache. He'd been working too hard again.

But for him this was normal. As head of the Felman Lux Corporation, anything else would simply not do. He glanced at the readout on his digital clock, the only other light in his office. 4.17 am. Letting out a long sigh, he admitted to himself that it was time to go home. But as he glanced down at his screen again to turn it off, he again remembered what his parents and grandparents had told him. His mouth went dry, his hands started to shake, and he cursed himself for being scared like a ten year old boy. He took a deep breath, and then he got a feeling, right in the back of his head. A feeling that he was being watched, and a strange impulse to look up. He slowly lifted his gaze from the screen and started back in terror. There stood a creature, apparently humanoid in form, but with an elongated white face, pitch black eyes and a tiny mouth. It was wearing an antiquated black suit, white shirt and tie. Lux tried to gather his wits; this was a practical joke. A practical joke that someone would be fired for in the morning. He pointed a finger at the creature, but before he could address it, the being spoke, in a rasping tone. "We are the Silence!"

Lux rubbed his tongue against his teeth to salivate his dry mouth. "Who?"

"The Silence. We have ruled your species since the wheel and the fire".

"Then why have I never heard of you?"

"You have heard of us. You just don't remember. Even after tonight, you will never remember me".

"Then why have you come?"

"Revenge".

Lux felt his heart skip a beat. "Revenge? On me?"

"Not on you. On our two greatest enemies".

"And who are they?"

The creature ignored the question. "You will take a team to our homeworld. The world on which your ancestors built your library. The one we rule".

"But why?"

The creature handed Lux a photograph of a woman. "You will bring this person with you as a part of your team".

"Who is she?"

"Professor River Song. When you bring her we will have our revenge upon her and the Doctor".

"Which Doctor?"

But Lux never got an answer. The creature stepped back into the darkness. "Which Doctor?" he repeated. But no answer came. He stood up and started to follow…

…follow what? Suddenly he was confused. He could have sworn he had just been talking to someone. He shook his head and looked at the clock. 4.22 am. As he again remembered what his parents told him in his bed time stories, he pondered the familiarity of the number. 4.22. Or maybe 4022. The number of people who disappeared from his family's library so long ago. The library. Yes, that's what he was thinking of. He mumbled to himself. "Someone should really go back there and find out what happened". He moved back to his desk and sat down. He typed something into his database, and seconds later he saw himself looking at the profile of a female archaeologist. Her name was Professor River Song. It was then that he noticed the photograph on his desk. As he wondered how it had got there, he felt a shiver down his spine as he realised that it was identical to the photograph on his screen. But then he banished all these thoughts from his mind. They were irrational after all. And tomorrow he would get back to rationality. He would put together an expedition to find out exactly what happened in his Corporation's library.

And this "Professor River Song" may well be able to help.