Sold Out (short story)
Summary
The Doctor attends a virtual-reality concert created by Diamond Sharp, the greatest rock star of his generation, while Mel sits in with the technicians, more interested in the technology than the performance. However, one of Diamond’s horror icons unexpectedly bites him in half, and monsters from his earlier rock operas storm off the stage and begin to slaughter the audience members, who find themselves unable to escape into reality. Diamond’s manager, Rolly, manages to reach an exit point and escape; however, once outside the simulation, he’s more concerned with handling the negative publicity for this fiasco than in helping those still trapped in the deadly VR environment. Inside, the Doctor is assisted by a black skeleton whom he names Jack, and by Robin Pen, a critic who helps escort the surviving audience members to an exit point. Mel connects herself to the VR simulation when she realises that Rolly isn’t going to help, and meets an avatar of the AI that controls Diamond’s computer deck.
The AI used to belong to a serial killer who forced it to kill innocent victims, and when it began writing music as therapy to atone for what it had been made to do, Diamond took the AI’s songs and sold them as his own. When the AI decided the time had come for it to move on, Diamond put together this final concert, intending to slaughter his audience, blame the AI and retire on the profits. The Doctor has by now deduced the truth for himself and confronted Diamond, who tries to kill him using imagery from the Doctor’s own memories -- specifically, reminding him of the time he was exiled to Earth and forced to dance to the Brigadier’s tune. However, Mel learns that the skeleton Jack is another avatar of the AI, and demands that it overcome the limitations of its programming and refuse to obey Diamond’s homicidal commands any longer. Jack steps in to save the Doctor from his bad dreams, and the Doctor sends Diamond into a coma by creating a scenario in which Diamond has become universally forgotten. The Doctor and Mel emerge from VR and convince Rolly to take on the AI as his new client; if he sells its songs to many artists instead of just one, he will become rich and famous.
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