Now that this year’s Paul Spragg competition is over and I didn’t win, I thought that I’d share my entry with you.

Synopsis

Under the vision of Vadra, the Great Luminary, the planet of Tau Zeta was said to be the most beautiful in the entire galaxy. Among the homeworlds established as Earth set about colonising the furthest reaches of space, it gained a reputation as a place where one’s beauty never cracked. Those who visited its fertile lands boasted of the world’s near-constant temperate climate, of lands steeped in luscious greenery, and of people who accentuated the phrase perfect beauty as their youthful radiance lasted well into their later years.

It was said that, under the Great Luminary’s leadership, the people of Tau Zeta would conquer the stars with their looks alone. However, all that changed when their great leader vanished without a trace, leaving it up to the Head Visioneers to scramble for their planet’s new age.

Arriving on the planet for a spot of sightseeing, The Doctor and Yaz quickly discover that all is not well in the colony of the eternally beautiful. Its once-radiant population had become marred with stress and anxiety. Recently, some of its leaders had gone missing, and people across the colony have been kept awake by strange screams echoing through the air vents.

Investigating the incidents for themselves, all roads lead to the Great Luminary’s wonder drug, Rejuvia. A seemingly innocuous pill, its effects are heralded as a miracle of science, able to reverse all signs of ageing. An impossibility? Perhaps not, but certainly too good to be true. 

Continuing to expose the dark corners of this planet’s bright sheen, The Doctor will find the horrifying truth. While Tau Zeta’s beauty is only skin deep, what lurks beneath is truly grotesque.

Facing a powerful foe who has had nothing but time, the Doctor’s resilience will be tested to its absolute limits…

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