Ascension (Torchwood Soho audio story)

Ascension was the fourth release in the Torchwood Soho audio series. It was written by James Goss and starred Samuel Barnett as Norton Folgate, Dervla Kirwan as Lizbeth Hayhoe, Tom Price as Andy Davidson and Joe Shire as Gideon Lyme.

	Norton, Lizbeth, Andy, Lyme
	Armitage, Goringe
	London, Wales and Moscow, 1950s
	Big Finish Productions
	James Goss
	James Goss
	6
	4 July 2024
	3 CDs Download
	BFPTWSOHO04CD
	ISBN: 978-1-80240-150-9 (physical); ISBN 978-1-80240-151-6 (digital)
Torchwood Soho
← Previous	The Unbegotten

You may be looking for the Gallifrey audio story.

Publisher's summary

Is the end of the world really nigh? A number of groups believe so – and what’s odder, they’re all vanishing.

Have they really gone to heaven, or is something far worse happening? It’s Torchwood. Obviously something far worse is happening.

1. Burning Bright

When carol singers on the runway bring down a plane, Torchwood investigate.

2. Chariot of Fire

The race is on to stop the world ending at midnight. Norton has it all under control.

3. The Invisible Worm

In Moscow, the true power of Ascension is revealed.

4. We Have Built Jerusalem

It's up to Lizbeth, Andy and Gideon to save the world now.

5. Dark Satanic Mills

Come on holiday, all ye faithful! What is going on on Salisbury Plain?

6. Fearful Symmetry

As the net tightens, does the human race have one last use for Torchwood?

Plot

Burning Bright (1)

A group of carol singers trespass on a runway at London Airport where a church one stood and refuse to leave despite a jet liner arriving from New York, their leader shouting that they are there to ascend to Heaven. The aeroplane is unable to pull up and explodes as it lands, something that attracts the attention of Norton. He gathers Andy, Lizbeth and Gideon early in the morning and informs them of the explosion and how the group vanished in a blaze of light. The newspaper is full of declarations of the end of the world, so the group split up to investigate.

Gideon joins Sister Patience's Peckham Apocalypse, Lizbeth Pastor Tom's Dane Street Ascension and Andy Father Dinsdale in Wales. Father Dinsdale eventually admits to Andy that he began his career as a fraud, but he has come to truly believe that the faithful will soon ascend. Meanwhile, Norton repeatedly attempts to meet with ministers to discuss the situation without success, although he tells Gideon otherwise, and believes that the supposed prophets might have received an alien signal which they have each interpreted differently given their predictions of different days for the end of the world.

Norton meets with Armitage at his club and confides in him that he believes that the government has been infiltrated, but Armitage claims that they are simply annoyed by his actions in Ashenden and at Mandeville Walk. He eventually meets Sir Reginald Peebles as he leaves his office and realises that the government know the Ascensions to be true, so he hurries to Peckham and saves Gideon from disappearing with Sister Patience and the rest of the congregation. Thanks to her lateness, Lizbeth avoids ascending with Pastor Tom's group.

Chariot of Fire (2)

Andy and Father Dinsdale are joined by a number of believers in the wake of the recent Ascensions and Father Dinsdale puts them to work on his farm. Not understanding why he would have them do this if the world is ending, Andy learns that Father Dinsdale has had three groups Ascend in the past but has always been left behind and that the next Ascension will be at midnight in two days' time. Norton keeps up the pretence with Lyme that he is making progress with the higher-ups and visits Armitage with Sir Reginald, Ruddigore from the Ministry of Works, the Archbishop and various others to discuss Ascension as what he calls the Ascension Action Group.

Norton makes little progress, but claims otherwise when he meets with Lizbeth, who is upset by Maggie's Ascension, and when Andy calls him whilst he and Lyme are walking Bunbury. Lizbeth visits General de Souza, an old friend, and gets him to take over the Ascension Action Group to ensure that work is done. De Souza puts a stop to Norton's plan, Operation Angel Wings, as he believes that a powerful weapon is responsible for the Ascensions and that it must be investigated before any action can be taken. He takes the operation under military control, frustrating Norton and leading him to form an alliance with Armitage and to fall out with Lizbeth. In Wales, the Ascension begins and Andy sees a blinding light.

The Invisible Worm (3)

Lizbeth and Lyme find Andy left behind at Father Dinsdale's farmhouse, upset that Norton had forgotten to rescue him before the Ascension. Lyme changes the locks on his and Norton's home out of anger and Andy demands that Norton sends him back to his own time, which Norton agrees to do if he helps him with the task de Souza has given him: to find a way to weaponise the Ascension and test it in another country. Lizbeth travels to Moscow with Father Dinsdale to work on this mission and employs the assistance of Aleksandr of the KVI, knowing that his government will eventually shut down the project she finds obscene.

Aleksandr shows Lizbeth a machine, found in a crashed spaceship, which shows the spread of the idea of Ascension and indicates that something within the idea can affect the physiognomy of those that believe in it. Father Dinsdale spreads the news of Ascension and gathers followers in Moscow whilst further Ascensions occur in Havana, China, Egypt, North Korea and Cuba, delighting Armitage. When Lizbeth tells Aleksandr to expose and stop the project, he locks her up and joins Father Dinsdale's mass Ascension event of other a thousand people, which de Souza and Armitage celebrate. Afterwards, Lizbeth analyses the coal-like substance left behind and, before she is captured by the Soviets, informs Norton that it is the most powerful fuel the Earth has ever known.

We Have Built Jerusalem (4)

to be added

Dark Satanic Mills (5)

to be added

Fearful Symmetry (6)

to be added

Cast

• Norton Folgate - Samuel Barnett
• Andy Davidson - Tom Price
• Elizabeth Hayhoe - Dervla Kirwan
• Gideon Lyme - Joe Shire
• Patience - Naana Agyei-Ampadu
• Armitage - Greg Austin
• Sofia - Ali Bastian
• Dinsdale - Jamie Baughan
• Minnie - Anna Bernard
• Edward - Michael Higgs
• Sir Reginald - Adam Howden
• Aleksandr - David O'Mahony
• Cedric - David Sterne

Worldbuilding

• Ken flew a Spitfire.
• Lizbeth is in a relationship with a barmaid.
• Ruddigore works at the Ministry of Works.
• Agnes makes jam.
• Father Dinsdale likens himself to John the Baptist.
• Wodehouse and Fowler work at Armitage's club.
• Goringe is still working for Armitage.
• Lyme gets chips for Norton and extra fish cake for Bunbury.
• Gertie joins Father Dinsdale. She looks forward to seeing her grandmother in Heaven.
• The CIA have had a team at Caversham Listening Station since 1943.
• Lizbeth finds peach stew an acquired taste.
• Aleksandr asks Lizbeth to keep the Council on Religious Cults informed.
• Ascensions take place in Havana, China, Egypt, North Korea and Cuba.

Notes

• Ascension was recorded on 27 and 30-31 January and 9 February 2023 at the Soundhouse and remotely.

Continuity

• Lizbeth is in a relationship with a barmaid. She met Mia in AUDIO: The Unbegotten ^[+]Loading...["The Unbegotten (audio story)"].

Cover gallery

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  "Demonic" cover

• 

  "Angelic" cover

• 

  Textless "demonic" cover

• 

  Textless "angelic" cover

External links

• Official Ascension page at bigfinish.com