The Library in the Body (audio story)
The Library in the Body was the first story in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield box set The Unbound Universe.
Publisher's summary
In a dying reality knowledge is the only thing left of value — and the Kareem have come to destroy it. Can Bernice and the Doctor save the last library?
Plot
Benny is giving a lecture when the TARDIS materialises and a Doctor she does not recognise pulls her inside by the hand. He had hoped that Benny would serve as an anchor into her universe due to her unique artron cloud, but he unwittingly brings her to his reality instead, which is dying as the result of a war in which he refused to fight. They materialise on the Gateway, a bridge between the the two universes and the last splinter of a great civilisation.
The Doctor pilots the TARDIS to the Library, the target of the Kareem, who believe that knowledge is evil and brought about the war. The Doctor extends the TARDIS's shields to protect the undefended Library for a time and tells everybody to get to safety inside the building. The Sage of Sardner suggests that the books are transmatted onto his spaceship for their protection, but the Mother Superior objects and counters that they should be moved to nanovaults of the Monastery of St Beedlix. A fight almost breaks out between the acolytes and the nuns before the hard-light interface Librarian declares that the books will not be moved.
The Kareem wipe out the ships above the Library and refuse to recognise the authority of the Doctor, who calls himself the universe's champion. Benny finds the Doctor over an acolyte's body without any obvious damage and accuses him of being responsible when the other visitors arrive to ensure her continued freedom. She visits him in his cell and learns from King Mandeville that he is the Ruler of the Universe following the deaths of everybody else in line, an idea that she finds laughable. The TARDIS shield fails, so Benny links the walls to the power grid to absorb the Kareem's energy weapons. The Librarian puts Mandeville asleep and releases the Doctor.
to be completed
Cast
- Bernice Summerfield - Lisa Bowerman
- The Doctor - David Warner
- The Librarian - Zeb Soanes
- The Sage of Sardner - Guy Adams
- Acolyte Farnsworth - Tom Webster
- Mother Superior - Rowena Cooper
- Mandeville / Kareem Chief / Acolyte - Alex Jordan
- The Master - Sam Kisgart
References
- Mandeville is the cyborg king of Dalather. He was Commander of the Binary Wastes.
- The Mother Superior belongs to the Sisterhood of St Beedlix.
- Benny sees Norton Folgate's treatise, the Iliad and a first edition of Howards End. She prefers Howards' Way.
- The Mother Superior is accompanied by Sister Christie and Sister Perpetua, who carries ginger snaps.
- Sister Angelicus is killed by the Kareem.
- The nuns sing songs to the tunes of "Amazing Grace" and "Greensleeves".
- The Doctor says that St Beedlix was a "batty woman" with a heart of gold who made an awful trifle.
Notes
- This story debuts a new theme tune for the Bernice Summerfield series. Arranged and composed by Blair Mowat, this theme tune was based on the themes used for the Doctor Who Unbound series, with eerie melodies and sounds.
- This story's plot, involving a supposedly benevolent alien that is actually a parasite, is intended to mirror the television story The Claws of Axos. (BFX: The Unbound Universe)
- Benny says "adventure is my name", a reference to the second theme song for Bernice Summerfield.
Continuity
- Benny describes her recent experiences with the Doctor as "a Lazy Susan". (PROSE: Big Bang Generation, AUDIO: The Pyramid of Sutekh)
- This is not the first time Benny has travelled inside the TARDIS of an alternate universe Third Doctor. (PROSE: Blood Heat)
- Benny has encountered space nuns before. (AUDIO: Bad Habits)
- Benny refers to her friends and family. (AUDIO: Paradise Frost et al.)
- Benny uses the Prisoner's Dilemma to escape being locked up. (AUDIO: The Prisoner's Dilemma)
- The library has copies of Norton Folgate's books. (AUDIO: Ghost Mission et al.)
External links
- Official The Library in the Body - The Unbound Universe page at bigfinish.com
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