The Shadow Play (audio story)

The Shadow Play
Script release:	online here
Main character(s):	Justine, Eliza
Main enemy:	Lolita, Sontarans
Key crew
Publisher:	BBV Productions
Writer:	Lawrence Miles
Director:	Nigel Fairs
Release details
Release number:	2
Release date:	October 2001
Format:	1 CD
ISBN:	none
Faction Paradox audio dramas
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Audio Adventures in Time & Space
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The Shadow Play was the second Faction Paradox story to be released, and the second part of the first chapter of The Faction Paradox Protocols.

Publisher's summary

Faction Paradox website

Justine finds out how well she fits the glass slipper; a baptism of fire turns into the agony of diplomacy; Miss Lolita gives a lesson in the correct use of weaponry; General Kine discovers that it's easier to disarm a Sontaran than a Cousin; Eliza becomes an accomplice to vehicle theft (on a grand scale); and one Great House falls while another one rises.

BBV Productions website

PRIMER FOR THE SPIRAL POLITIC (POST-WAR EDITION)
2: THE SONTARANS

Era: Last thirteen-million years.
Technology: Military (blatant), limited time-awareness.

It's perhaps unwise to think of the Sontarans as a species, as such. A homunculus breed, hatched by the million and engineered for full-engagement warfare, the Sontaran military machine is regarded by many time-active cultures as an "occupational hazard": a force of nature rather than a race, compelled by duty and genetics to acquire new technologies for its endless war effort. It should be remembered, however, that with the backing of a higher power even the crudest of breeds can become something quite different.

Plot

Now bonded with Grandfather Paradox's shadow, Justine tells Eliza that she is a siege engine, barely human, and that the shadow possesses an unlimited armoury within. After Eliza leaves, Justine hears someone she thinks is a messenger of Grandfather Paradox, but finds it is really Lolita, there to convince her that the treaty is a good thing, and to offer for her to join the other Houses' side. She declines, remaining loyal to the Faction.

Godfather Morlock notes that the Sontarans have returned, brought to the Empire as an "independent security force" for the Houses, supposedly as a precaution, and then he and Eliza go to sign the treaty. As negotiations for the treaty come to a close, Godfather Morlock notes that the treaty contains a clause mandating the surrender of any Faction member who has committed a serious crime against the Great Houses. Knowing that no living resident of the Empire has committed such a crime, Morlock agrees to sign the treaty.

Eliza and Morlock are watching as in Trafalgar Square, the entirety of the Eleven Day Empire have gathered, surrounded by 38 Sontarans. Ruthven welcomes Lolita of House Lolita to speak, and she explains the treaty, and that Justine is a criminal and so must be surrendered for trial due to the "Transition of Affairs": Justine's shadow has committed crimes, and so, under Faction protocol, she is guilty and must be on trial. If she fails to appear before trial, the Houses will declare martial law over the Empire. The treaty's enactment means that the spirits won't intervene, causing violent protest among the Faction members. Shocked by this, Ruthven redirects the guards from the timeship to help calm the riot, but the Sontarans continue to follow Lolita's orders, firing over the square. Lolita legally declares martial law, and then tells Kine to shoot Ruthven whenever he likes. She has communicated with the spirits, who are on her side, and has Kine send some of his men back to the ship.

Justine asks for help from the spirits: they are the city, they are the laws. Morlock comes in and tells her that she has to leave the  Empire before the Sontarans find her, as the spirits won't protect her anymore. When the Sontarans corner them, Justine uses her shadow axe to kill them. She and Morlock head for Lord Ruthven's ship.

Morlock, Justine, and Eliza arrive at the ship, intending to send Justine back to the Homeworld as a representative of the now-officially-recognised House Paradox. Outside of the Empire she'll be outside Faction law, so cannot be arrested. The other Houses are so wrapped up in their War they wouldn't care anyway. Justine doesn't want to go, but Morlock insists. Kine and another Sontaran arrive back on the ship, untrusting of Lolita, who promised them key technology. Justine kills several Sontarans, appearing behind Kine with Morlock and Eliza. She's already killed the entire patrol guarding the ship. Morlock sends Kine off the ship, but not before Justine cuts off his arm. Morlock hopes that Kine's attempt to kill Lolita will slow her down enough to give Justine and Eliza a head start, though Morlock stays in the Empire. However, Justine disobeys Morlock, not going to the Homeworld.

Kine confronts Lolita, angry that she did not tell him of the Faction's weaponry. Quelch yells at Morlock, but he's happy that the shadow of the Grandfather is with its new owner. Sontarans arrest them both. Eliza and Justine find their ship is being caught in the explosions from the Sontaran warships, of which there are now several, Kine having brought in reinforcements. They land on Tower Hill, outside of both Faction and Sontaran control - for now. Quelch and Morlock are brought before Lolita and Kine. Lolita has a ritual to perform. She brings them into the ritual hall, threatening to kill the entire Empire unless Morlock tells her where Justine is, but he still refuses. She says she stole the biodata from the archives to make contact with the spirits easier.

Ruthven, who is somehow still alive, insists there are no spirits, but Lolita says whatever you call them - spirits, time anomalies - they're there, and will track down Justine. She invokes them, as she thinks simply asking won't be enough. Justine and Eliza have arrived at the home of the Unkindnesses, and Justine asks them if this is what they saw when they looked into the future. They say yes, but when she says this is her destiny, they tell her that there is no such thing; only probability. She doesn't have to go to the Homeworld and uncover Lolita's plan. They leave.

Lolita has made Quelch teach her the invocation. As part of this, Quelch uses a knife to mark Lolita's skin, which does not bleed.  Morlock thinks the invocation will kill Lolita, who is now omnipresent and omniscient, the spirits using her as a conduit. She can't sense the Sontarans, but she can sense Justine, who is talking to Eliza, explaining that the instincts of the shadow are telling her not to go to the Homeworld. Lolita orders Kine to kill Ruthven, but Kine refuses, so she does it herself. Kine orders his men to shoot Lolita, but she survives, and leaves.

Justine somehow opens a door without touching it, finding Lolita arriving. Kine uses the ship communicator to tell Lolita that a warship is in the area and ready to fire, but Lolita has already blocked communications between him and his ship. Lolita explains to Justine that she's doing all this as a show of power, building a reputation for her House. Justine uses her shadow to steer the ship, taking off. Lolita taunts Justine about her past, but Justine has the upper hand: the Sontarans don't belong to the city, and so Lolita can't control them, but Justine can.

Morlock points out to Kine that the warship is moving towards Tower Hill, despite Kine giving no such order - because Justine did. Lolita leaves, and Justine stops the warship, but through the viewing screens sees something happening to the city. Lolita is everywhere - she speaks into the ritual hall, nothing that Morlock had known about the fusion bomb, and had led Justine into the trap so she'd be in the right place, right time, to take on the Grandfather's shadow. She promises to consume the entire city. Kine tells Morlock that they are no longer enemies, and that his assault corps are now dedicated to destroying House Lolita, even as they are destroyed.

The Unkindnesses leave the city, as do Justine and Eliza. Justine is sure Lolita can still track them, and wonders if not even the Homeworld will be safe from Lolita. Instead of heading to the Homeworld as Morlock suggested, they decide to fly around the universe, looking for other outcasts like themselves to build an army, so they can fight back. Lolita addresses the Council of Houses, telling them of the fall of House Paradox.

Cast

• Cousin Justine - Suzanne Proctor
• Godfather Morlock - Ellis Pike
• Lolita - Caroline Burns-Cook
• Cousin Eliza / Godmother Quelch - Emma Kilbey
• Lord Ruthventracolixabaxil / General Kine - Nigel Fairs
• The Voice - Linda Bartram

Crew

to be added

Worldbuilding

• The Seventy-Ninth Sontaran Assault Corps are mentioned.
• House Tracolix is mentioned.

Notes

• The story was recorded on 14 July 2001. (REF: Downtime – The Lost Years of Doctor Who)
• The letters "ISIN" were hidden in the skulls on the page for this story on the Faction Paradox website.

Continuity

• Lolita mentions that there are hundreds of shadowless agents of Faction Paradox who don't mix with the ones who have shadows. (PROSE: Unnatural History)
• Eliza says that the lions in Trafalgar Square "gave [her] the shits. Previously, in the novel Dead Romance ^[+]Loading...["Dead Romance (novel)"], Eliza - as Christine Summerfield - was scared of the lions, when they were Sphinxs

External links

• Official The Shadow Play audio download page at bbvproductions.co.uk
• Official The Shadow Play CD page at bbvproductions.co.uk
• Script of The Shadow Play at factionparadox.co.uk
• The Shadow Play at the Faction Paradox wiki
• The Shadow Play at the Doctor Who Reference Guide