Revolution in Space (audio story)

Revolution in Space
Doctor:	Third Doctor
Companion(s):	Sarah
Main enemy:	Zyla Kalstein
Main setting:	Hygieia, asteroid belt, 24th century
Key crew
Publisher:	Big Finish Productions
Writer:	Jonathan Morris
Director:	Nicholas Briggs
Producer:	Heather Challands
Music:	Nicholas Briggs
Sound:	David Roocroft
Cover by:	Sean Longmore
Release details
Number of parts:	6
Release number:	13
Release date:	13 February 2024
Format:	3 CDs Download
Production code:	BFPDWDR0305
ISBN:	ISBN 978-1-80240-167-7 (physical) ISBN 978-1-80240-168-4 (digital)
Behind the scenes video
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The Third Doctor Adventures
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Revolution in Space was the story comprising the thirteenth release in The Third Doctor Adventures, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Jonathan Morris and featured Tim Treloar as the Third Doctor and Sadie Miller as Sarah Jane Smith.

Publisher's summary

The Doctor and Sarah find themselves in an asteroid, on the outer reaches of Earth’s solar system. It’s the future, and humans have colonised this inhospitable place, to mine vital minerals to supply their home planet. However, links with Earth are becoming ever more strained, and forces within the colony are seeking independence. Revolution is in the air.

Meanwhile, in the deepest chambers of the asteroid, a powerful force is emerging. Its influence is growing rapidly. But how will it affect Sarah Jane Smith and her place in future history?

Plot

Part one

On the way back to Earth, something interferes with the TARDIS's navigational systems and the Doctor, who believes that his people could be responsible for the diversion, and Sarah land inside the asteroid Hygieia in the asteroid belt. They observe another asteroid being collected for mineral extraction via gravity beam and the Doctor deduces that they are in the 24th century, a time during which miners use machines to draw out minerals in a stream of molten debris. Realising that they are in the path of such debris, they are detected by the mining team as they try to escape through a hatch and are saved by Operator Rellack when the process is stopped.

Rellack explains that Hygieia is a former Earth penal colony, the current residents of which are demanding independence, and Security Officer Miro takes the Doctor and Sarah to Governor Rogan, who was once a prison governor. On the way, Sarah hears whispers which she dismisses as her hearing things. Rogan initially accuses the two of them of being anti-colonial activists, but goes on to show them a picture of the Big Dumb Object, a crystalline, star-shaped object found on Hygieia being studied by Dr Gottfried, whom he sends the Doctor to. His sonic screwdriver dates the object to 10 million years ago and detects psychic radiation.

The miners gather to discuss their situation and call for rebellion, but First Tribune Foyle, who represents them in meetings with Rogan, will only agree to a transfer of power from Rogan to himself if it is done peacefully. Operator Goole, working as a spy, reports the planned mutiny to Rogan, who urgently requests a military suppression force.

Sarah asks for a tour of the prison and Miro introduces her to Mullins, who has been in a childlike state since the deaths of his parents in a gravity beam accident and performs odd jobs around the prison. Mullins agrees to show her around and takes her to meet Zyla Kalstein, the last and unrepentant inmate who reveals that she influenced Sarah into coming to see her with her telepathic powers. Zyla's powers scare Sarah and she runs, followed by Mullins; he tells her that she has angered Zyla and, as a result, he too is angry, which coincides with the BDO letting off an increased amount of radiation.

Part two

Miro stuns Mullins with a tranquilliser dart to stop him attacking Sarah, causing the BDO's psychic radiation to return to normal. The Doctor deduces that Mullins was channelling the energy and examines him, running tests over the night and finding that he has been contaminated and developed telekinetic powers controlled by his emotions. Also during the night, Miro learns that Rogan has summoned the suppression force not to prevent the uprising but to ensure that the miners are dealt with in the harshest way possible once they usurp him, hopefully allowing him to return to Earth. In the morning, the miners forcible get a hold of tranquillisers and attack.

Rogan announces his relinquishment of the governorship and orders his guards and the colonists to stand down and surrender to Foyle's new regime. The Doctor is unsurprised as he knew of this revolution and its outcome, but he declines to tell Sarah what else is going to happen so as to keep her from getting involved. She refuses to stay out of it and reminds him that she is not actually his assistant before leaving him to make psychic contact with the BDO. Dr Gottfried records him as he touches the BDO, which alerts Zyla to his presence and leads her to inform Mullins that her plans will be put into place prematurely.

Foyle declares the independence of Hygieia and imprisons Rogan and Miro, the former telling him of the imminent arrival of the suppression force. Rellack suggests that they threaten the lives of Rogan and Miro to get the upper hand on the suppression force and that they weaponise the gravity beam, a proposition which Sarah protests against. She is locked up with the other two prisoners because of her coming from Earth and worries about the bloodshed that will result if someone usurps Foyle's place. Elsewhere, Zyla grows more powerful and tells Mullins that everybody will soon be hers to command. Her followers praise her name.

Part three

The BDO's psychic radiation increases and the Doctor and Dr Gottfried head to the prison, the closest part of the colony, to find who is drawing power from it. Their question is answered when Mullins takes them to Zyla, who informs them of Sarah's imprisonment. The Doctor prioritises cutting Zyla off from the BDO over rescuing Sarah given his companion's ability to look after herself and generates a dampening field around the BDO with Dr Gottfried's magnetic wave detector and radiation interferometer, which he believes will return those affected by the radiation to normal. He leaves Dr Gottfried in charge of it and goes to find Sarah.

Goole, having been promised the office of Tribune once things return to normal, reports to Rogan that Rellack is gaining support to oust Foyle, which Sarah recognises would put herself, Rogan and Miro in danger of being executed. The Doctor releases them with his sonic screwdriver, but Rogan remains in the cell for his own safety whilst the others leave. As they do so, the Doctor tells Sarah that the BDO is most likely not meant to be a part of these events and that they will have to get themselves involved, which is likely the reason that the Time Lords sent them there.

Zyla uses her powers to compel Dr Gottfried into damaging the equipment generating the dampening field and to become her servant, after which Rellack has Operator Carver imprison Foyle with Rogan and takes his place. He announces that Foyle's has temporarily stepped down due to illness and orders the Doctor's capture. The Doctor, however, has already arrived with Sarah and Miro and they warn him of Zyla, who escapes her cell with psychic energy, but he is incredulous and refuses to ask for Earth's help. When Goole informs him of the approaching Earth ships, Rellack orders him to destroy them with the gravity beam and is prepared to execute the three of them in addition to Rogan.

Part four

Sarah suggests that Rellack pretend that Rogan is still in control once the Earth ships arrive and to put off making them aware of the revolution until Zyla is defeated and the ships returned to Earth, a plan which Rellack agrees to. When he has Rogan brought to him, however, he instead orders him to send the ships back, only for Commander Holbrook to request landing anyway to give his men some time off of their ships. Rogan agrees so as not to rouse suspicion and Rellack has Carver lock him and the group up with Foyle, telling Goole to de-energise the gravity beam for now and to allow the ship to land. Unbeknownst to everyone else, Dr Gottfried, still under Zyla's control, visits Goole to offer him her help.

Rogan hurriedly tells Holbrook that the workers have taken over, but Carver tranquillises and kills the commander before he can alert his forces. Rellack takes Holbrook's gun and kills Rogan before ordering Goole to increase the artificial gravity in the area in which the suppression force is, leaving them, the Doctor, Sarah, Foyle and Miro unconscious. The Doctor and his friends are captured by Carver after gravity is restored and marched to Holbrook's ship to be taken to Earth with the soldiers as a gesture of goodwill to Earth's government. As MSF Conqueror is launched, Zyla visits Rellack and offers to join forces with him to build a new world for a new race of superior humans, suggesting he destroy the Earth ship as a show of power.

Rellack has Goole energise the gravity beam, which he refuses to do on account of it being mass murder. However, Zyla contacts Dr Gottfried telepathically and has her torture Goole with her psychic powers until he submits and obeys Rellack's command. On the ship, the Doctor and his friends get free of their bonds and put on spacesuits to spacewalk back to Hygieia, but the ship shakes as the gravity beam begins to affect it. Soon after, Goole reports that the ship has been destroyed and Rellack and Zyla declare that the war of independence has truly begun.

Part five

Having exited the airlock before the ship's destruction, the Doctor, Sarah, Foyle and Miro are separated with only ten minutes of oxygen each. Sarah spins away through space until the Doctor realises that she has absorbed psychic energy and directs her to use telekinesis to bring him and the others to her. They fly together to an induction tunnel and are noticed by Dr Gottfried, who is forcing Goole to repair the gravity beam after he damaged it to prevent it being used again. Goole claims that the group are likely space debris and sets the beam to overload before running off, but she manages to cancel it.

Rellack turns against Zyla when he learns that she wants to build an empire and Mullins takes him away to lock him up, but Mullins is incapacitated by a pain in his head and Rellack gets away, returning to the workers and claiming that Zyla has been set free by murderous Earth sympathisers. He leads the workers in an attack on prison and flees as they are massacred by Zyla's supporters. Mullins's corpse is found afterwards by the Doctor, Sarah, Foyle, Miro and Goole and the Doctor examines him in the medical bay, confirming that his brain has been burnt out from channelling psychic energy.

Sarah is concerned that she too will die given that she has been using her new psychic powers and the Doctor believes that she has only days at most and only if she keeps herself from using them. The Doctor decides to create a psychic dampener to protect the group from psychic radiation when they confront Zyla, who arrives suddenly with a group of her acolytes and destroys the dampener. She has Miro and Foyle taken away and the Doctor and Sarah imprisoned; inside the cell, Sarah struggles to resist her powers and hears Annis voice say that warships are approaching.

Part six

The warships stop outside of the range of the gravity beam and the commander makes contact wth Hygieia Command, revealing that they know that the Conqueror was deliberately destroyed and will launch neutronic missiles unless Hygieia surrenders. When Sarah uses her powers to open the cell door, she hears Hygieia's thoughts and learns of the impending deadline, which passes without a response from Zyla. She and the Doctor rescue Miro and Foyle and head to Command where Zyla and Annis are waiting for the warships to fire, planning on turning their missiles back on them with the gravity beam. As Sarah, Foyle and Miro combine their powers, the Doctor uses Contact to join them.

Contact causes the Doctor's mind to link with Zyla and she shows him a vision of her inhuman crimes. Rellack joins the group in fighting Zyla and Annis's powers for the sake of Hygieia, killing both of them as well as himself. As Zyla has damaged the communications and the gravity beam controls, the Doctor reasons that the only way they can save Hygieia from the five approaching missiles is if Sarah uses her powers at the expense of her own life. The Doctor, Foyle and Miro assist in turning the missiles away and making contact with the fleet commander, explaining that the destruction of the Conqueror was done by a rogue element and that Hygieia wants peace. The commander agrees to pass on the message.

Sarah collapses and the Doctor leaves her in Foyle and Miro's care whilst he returns to the BDO and explains to it the harm that it is doing. The BDO starts absorbing psychic energy instead, restoring everybody to normal before it blows up. Foyle informs the people that Hygieia will build a peaceful relationship with Earth and the Doctor and Sarah wishes them luck and ask that they and the BDO be left out of the history books. On the way to the TARDIS to return to the Brigadier, the Doctor wonders if the Time Lords actually were involved in them landing on Hygieia or if they landed there by accident.

Cast

• The Doctor - Tim Treloar
• Sarah Jane Smith - Sadie Miller
• Governor Rogan - Richard James
• Tribune Foyle - David Dobson
• Operator Rellack - Barry Aird
• Operator Goole - Robert Whitelock
• Officer Miro - Anna Critchlow
• Dr Annis Gottfried - Charlie Norfolk
• Mullins - Tom Alexander
• Zyla Kalstein - Juliet Aubrey
• Operator Carver - Harry Myers

Crew

• Cover Art - Sean Longmore
• Music, Script Editor & Director - Nicholas Briggs
• Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
• Producer - Heather Challands
• Sound Design - David Roocroft
• Writer - Jonathan Morris
• Senior Producer - John Ainsworth

Worldbuilding

• The Doctor believes the TARDIS was detoured by the Time Lords.
• The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to open an observation hatch.
• The asteroid belt is sparse.
• A gravity beam can be used to collect asteroids.
• On Earth, convicts were sent to Australia.
• Sarah says that she might need some coffee.
• Gottfried is a geologist.
• Gottfried speculates that the artefact is made of osmium.
• The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to perform carbon dating.
• The four types of radiation are: electromagnetic, particle, gravitational and psychic.
• Miro uses a tranquilliser dart on Mullins.
• Sarah once covered a story about telekinesis.
• The Doctor generates a dampening field with a magnetic wave detector and radiation interferometer.
• The Doctor mentions how easy Harry Houdini made escaping from his bonds look.

Notes

• In the behind-the-scenes material, Revolution in Space is identified as "the Boston Tea Party in space". (BFX: Revolution in Space)
• Zyla is also compared to Hannibal Lecter. (BFX: Revolution in Space)
• Notably, Sarah temporarily gains psychokinetic powers over the course of this story.
• This story was recorded on 21-23 August 2023 at the Soundhouse.

Continuity

• Sarah refers to seeing mining work on Exxilon (TV: Death to the Daleks) and Peladon. (TV: The Monster of Peldadon)
• The Doctor tries telling Sarah one of his stories about the hermit on the mountain, but unlike Jo, Sarah is neither charmed or relaxed by it. Instead, she frequently interrupts. (TV: The Time Monster)
• The Doctor tells Sarah that "while there's life, there's hope". He said the same thing in Planet of the Spiders ^[+]Loading...["Planet of the Spiders (TV story)"].

Cover gallery

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  Textless cover

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  Alternate cover

External links

• Official Revolution in Space page at bigfinish.com