Corpse Marker (novel)

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Corpse Marker was the twenty-seventh BBC Past Doctor Adventures novel. It was written by Chris Boucher. Featuring the Fourth Doctor and Leela, this novel was a sequel to the 1977 television story The Robots of Death.

Publisher's summary

Long ago and far away, the Doctor and Leela faced the Robots of Death...

To a society dependent on robots, the news that these benign, tireless, obedient labourers could be turned into killers would cause panic. So it was kept a secret. In Kaldor City, only the three survivors of the Sandminer massacre know the truth. But now, several years later, they are beginning to show signs of mental breakdown. And once again, the robots are being programmed to kill. Can the dead genius Taren Capel possibly be involved in this new outrage?

Worst of all, this time the deadly robots are not confined to a Sandminer. This time they are loose in Kaldor City. And this time, unless the Doctor and Leela can stop them, they really will destroy the world.

Plot

Threatened by upstarts from the common classes, such as Topmaster Kiy Uvanov, Company Executives hire Carnell, a noted Psychostrategist, to devise a plan to undermine the people's trust in the current generation of robots, allowing the Company to introduce a new cyborg class with a minimum of fuss and ensuring the panic-stricken populace will accept the stability offered by the traditional ruling families. However, Carnell fails to factor the Doctor and Leela’s presence into account and soon the plan goes completely wrong. As the executives who hired Carnell are now out to make him a scapegoat, he strikes a deal with Uvanov, giving Uvanov the leverage he needs to ensure a smooth transfer of power to him and his followers.

Characters

(in order of appearance)

References

Individuals

  • Uvanov's full name is Kiy Uvanov, Toos' is Lish Toos, and Poul's is Ander Poul. None are descended from the Founding Families
  • Uvanov no longer works on Storm Mines. At the start of this story, Uvanov is a Topmaster for The Company. By its conclusion he attains the position of Firstmaster Chairholder.
  • Poul remembers nothing about his experience on Storm Mine Four.
  • Toos has no living relatives.
  • Uvanov’s executive assistant Cailio Techlan is a minor member of one of the 20 founding families. The Doctor likens her to Taren Capel.
  • Carnell is a Psychostrategist. It has taken 2 years to establish himself as a financial planner and economic analyst in Kaldor City. Before arriving on Kaldor he was on the run. It is less well known that he was a confidential adviser to the cartels.
  • Mor Tani and Sarl are brothers.
  • The populace of Kaldor City have turned its back to the idea of space travel. Curiousity and determination are traits regarded as counterproductive.
  • Individuals from the outer zones are known as ‘Zoners’.
  • Padil’s real name is Sel Pitter daughter of Diss Pitter.

Objects

  • The TARDIS has ‘transdimentional flows’.
  • A Stun-kill is a weapon that looks like a cattle prod, capable of delivering a lethal shock. The setting can be adjusted, maximum is lethal.
  • Cascade Berries stimulate the sense of taste and suppress the sense of smell.
  • Z9a is an explosive device.
  • A level seven security zone refers to a place with no official existence.

Blind Heart Desert

  • Kaldor City is situated along the southern edge of the Blind Heart desert.
  • Placing a Storm Mine on ‘minimum drive’ is enough to prevent it from sinking into the sand of the Blind Heart desert.
  • The winter wind that blows into Kaldor City from the Blind Heart desert is called ‘The Emptiness’. Otherwise, the weather is usually calm and mild, known as ‘Ore-dream’ by the workless of the Sewerpits, named for the good fortune it brings to the poor.

The Company Board

  • The Company Board is comprised of 30 individuals, mostly made up of senior members of the twenty founding families.
  • Firstmaster Chairholder of the Company Board is the most senior position on Kaldor. There are Topmasters and Firstmasters. The latter being the higher position.
  • Five members of Layly Landerchild's family previously held the title of Firstmaster Chairholder. For as long as anyone can remember there have been Landerchilds, Roatsons, Mechmans and Farlocks on the Company Board.
  • During the events of this novel, Diss Pitter is Firstmaster Chairholder of the Company Board. He is from one of the minor families, whose links to the twenty founding families are tenuous.
  • The civilian administration, known as the Minor Faction, was originally devised to make group representations to the Company Board on behalf of the minoritys. This organization has developed in strength and influence as the numbers of outsiders, those unrelated to the founding families increased. The 'Minor Faction' have fought what it terms as ‘non-blood merit’, encouraging for the inclusion of founding family members on the Compnay Board. The hostility of the 'Minor Faction' has led to Landerchild being denied the position of Firstmaster Chairholder of the Company Board.
  • Some members of the founding families aren’t rich, Carnell has been involved with their attempt to re-establish their power.

Storm Mines

  • Storm Mine Four was eight months into a two year tour when the events of TV: The Robots of Death occurred.
  • After the Taren Capel incident, Storm Mine Four was abandoned, left to sink into the desert. The events were covered up in order to prevent the end of civilization on Kaldor. The official story detailed the crew’s struggle against ore raiders.
  • Very few people outside the company board know the true story of Storm Mine Four. There are confidential debriefing tapes documenting the incident.
  • Plans and schematics were recovered from Taren Capel’s cabin on Storm Mine Four.
  • Storm Mine Seven is staffed by 14 human crew members, Lish Toos its Captain, Mor Tani its Pilot, and Simbion its Chief Mover.
  • Toos bans robots from entering the control deck of the Storm Mine, confining them to areas where she herself would not be working. Also, she enforces the ruling that no robot is permitted in the crew’s living quarters unless specifically tasked, and no robot is allowed in her personal quarters under any circumstances. As each of her tours progress the amount of deactivated robots rises steadily until by docking there is hardly a functioning robot active on the mine.
  • Storm Mine Seven returns from an 18 month tour of the desert with its ore hoppers full with high grade lucanol. Trial assays estimate this will separate out at around 70%, a level considered to be ‘pure’.
  • At the end of the Storm Mine Seven tour there are only six functioning robots left operational.
  • The Storm Mine has an area known as ‘gross function’ where robots are held.

Robots

  • The information that a Laserson probe can be used to modify robots to kill humans is classified.
  • A deactivation circuit is used to shut down robots en masse
  • A robot can switch to a different wavelength in order to see in total darkness. They also have infrared capabilities.
  • stopDums are used for restraining humans in a non-aggressive manner. Standard Dums can be reset to perform the function of a stopDum.
  • medVocs are capable of administering medical care to humans.
  • ‘SASV’ stands for Serial Access Supervoc.
  • SASV1 is a prototype robot. It is able to act as a directed control and modification device for other robots. Transferring its own modification level to the robots around it, particularly with Cyborg-class robots. It has no individual will, no inhibition about killing, and can duplicate this in any other robot.
  • Unbeknownst to its creators, and unlike other types of robot, SASV1 is capable of dreaming. And as such, is unable to distinguish between those dreams and reality.
  • The robot division is obsessed with security. During the events of this novel, Uvanov is one of the Topmasters in the robot division.
  • There is an activist group known as The Anti-Robot Front, abbreviated as 'ARF'.

Tarenists

  • Tarenists are a quasi-religious group, one of the hundred fringe cults hostile to robots.
  • Followers of Taren Capel are known as Tarenists. Whenever mentioning his name, they follow it with “humanity be in him”. They carry corpse markers with Taren Capel’s initials incribed to identify themselves and to mark their victims.
  • The Taranists believe Taren Capel turned his back on his creations, his life’s work, and called for the destruction of robots.
  • Capel’s teachings:
    • Instruct one to fight against robots.
    • Urge one to dress modestly for the struggle.
    • Call martyrs to ‘the cause’.
    • Discourage dependence on non-human help.
    • Call for his followers to win in order to sacrifice.
  • The aim of the Taranist is to return to a world where humanity counts, while at the same time striking at strategic robot installations

Sewerpits

  • The poor area of Kaldor City is known as the Sewerpits. It is where the dregs of Kaldor civilization reside.
  • There an invisible boundary around the sewerpits that scrambles robots control systems. It’s unknown whether it's a natural or artificial effect. The boundary maybe generated by a natural rock formation, magnetic or radioactive, or some combination or variation. The Doctor thinks it artificial, who also thinks it will interfere with fliers too if below a certain height.
  • The Doctor speculates the sewerpits might have originally been designed to trap rogue machines. He thinks it’s possible this civilization may have destroyed itself with killer robots at least once before.
  • The Doctor’s theory is that a killer machine is definded as malfunctioning and the boundary field is set up to accomadate it: In order to be capable of killing, a robot must be of a higher order of complexity and the field accomadates that. Killers cross and normally inhibited robots don’t and then once they are in they can’t get out again.

Allusions

  • “If he didn’t exist then it would be necessary to invent him.” – Carnell on Taren Capel.
  • “Fear is the enemy of reason” – Leela quoting The Doctor.
  • “Wave cash above your head and they’ll never know how short you are.” – Toos, quoting an old saying.
  • The Doctor mentions Conan Doyle, and quotes a line of dialogue associated with Sherlock Holmes: “Eliminate the impossible, and whatever’s left, however improbable, must be the truth.”
  • The Doctor once mentioned to Leela 'The Inverse Law of Advertising': The less important something is, the more important bragging about it becomes.
  • “Money means never having to say you’re sorry.” – Toos quoting someone she can’t remember.

Notes

Continuity

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ A Day in Kaldor City: 8 August 2002 by Douglas McNaughton
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BBC Past Doctor Adventures
 
First Doctor
Susan, Ian, Barbara
Ian, Barbara, Vicki
Steven, Dodo
Ben, Polly
 
Second Doctor
Ben, Polly
Ben, Polly, Jamie
Jamie, Victoria
Jamie, Zoe
Serena
 
Third Doctor
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Jo, UNIT
Jo, Liz
Jo
Sarah
 
Fourth Doctor
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Harry
Leela
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Seventh Doctor
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"Infinity Doctor"
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