Art Decadence (audio story)

London in the 1920s and Sir Reggie works for Torchwood, saving the world from alien invasions. Really, he relies on the services of his loyal butler while he paints the town red.

But there's a new sensation in high society - What is the secret of The Serpentine Club and can Forster save his master from it?

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

After banishing the Seramon Gestalt and killing an alien disguised as a baronet, Sir Reggie returns home and has Forster, his butler, deal with the police in pursuit of him. Forster erases their memories by drugging them and assists Sir Reggie in stopping a Dardallian queen with a flare gun he has adapted to act as a containment net, causing the queen to immolate herself. Forster is tasked with dealing with the queen's 800 hatchlings whilst Sir Reggie goes to the club and later buries the corpses of Sontaran scouts, blows up a golem factory and deals with his drunken master, who has heard of people changing after visiting the Serpentine Club. In the morning, however, Sir Reggie is far more concerned about his wife Prudence planning on visiting from the countryside.

Forster accidentally interrupts Sir Reggie whilst he is having sex with Janks, a young man who introduces himself the next day as the new footman and whom he is to train. Sir Reggie is soon taking Janks, who irritates Forster with his uncouth manner and theft of his biscuits, with him on alien-hunting missions and to visit the Serpentine Club. Afterwards, Forster finds Janks shaken, having seen something at the club which frightened him into fleeing without Sir Reggie. Conversely, Sir Reggie claims that the club was a false alarm and takes Janks into a room away from Forster. He acts normal and agrees with the Seronax's offer to protect Earth from the Varkans so long as they kept the Varkans' kidnapped heir hidden with a bioregulator to live as a human, an agreement which Forster disapproves of.

Forster and Sir Reggie stop the Tolga from assassinating the Seronax ambassador, although the Prime Minister is shot in the chest and Forster uses a containment net to keep his heart from exploding. As the power pack will be exhausted in 18 months, the Prime Minister is forced to start accepting suggestions from Sir Reggie, whom Forster confronts upon realising that he has been affected by an alien force and who reveals that he has been taken over by the Mara. The Mara offers to possess Forster instead, but he declines. Forster continues to serve Sir Reggie, but Janks takes over many of his duties until Sir Reggie dismisses him, after which Janks leaves with a collection of silverware and Sir Reggie invites Forster to the Serpentine Club. The club is full of people under the Mara's control, feeding the Mara with chaos, and Forster is horrified.

When Janks returns to the house to try to get out of the cold, Sir Reggie tempts Forster into letting him in and having sex with him, the first time he has had sex with a man, but Forster's mistaken belief that Janks was under the Mara's control offends him and Janks storms out the next day. Forster is torn between getting his master back and keeping him under the Mara's control given that he is better at fighting aliens this way. Ultimately, he blows up the Serpentine Club to kill those inside under the Mara's control and traps the Mara inside of Sir Reggie with his containment net to continue to serve Torchwood as his servant.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Senior Producer - John Ainsworth
Cover Art - Sean Longmore
Director - Scott Handcock
Executive Producer - Jason Haigh-Ellery and Nicholas Briggs
Music - Blair Mowat
Producer - James Goss
Script Editor - Tim Foley
Sound Design - Toby Hrycek-Robinson
Written - James Goss
Theme Music - Murray Gold

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Dardallians are similar to locusts.
Sir Reggie wears bowler hats.
Forster has an adapted flare gun which now serves as a containment net.
Sir Reggie is a member of the Sloanes Club.
Sir Reggie knew Forster's father.
Sir Reggie is married to Lady Prudence, who lives in the countryside.
The Seronax offer 200 years of protection from the Varkans in return for Earth not allying itself with the Sabshak.
Sir Reggie's aunt supports the containment of aliens rather than using violence. Her house is Torchwood's headquarters. She is currently in India.
Forster eats Bath Oliver biscuits.
Forster enjoys jigsaws.
Forster has a bullet wound in his leg from the First World War.