Revenge of the Swarm (audio story)

The Doctor thought he had defeated the microscopic Nucleus of the Swarm in his fourth incarnation. He was wrong. It survived within the TARDIS, and now it has brought it back to Titan Base, back to the point of its own creation. It has a plan that spans centuries, a plan which will result in the Nucleus becoming more powerful – and larger – than ever before.

To defeat it, the Doctor, Ace, and Hex must confront the Nucleus within its new domain — the computer-world of the Hypernet, the information network crucial to the survival of the human empire. But if the Doctor is to save the day, he has to risk everything and everyone he holds dear...

Plot

Part one

to be added

Part two

to be added

Part three

to be added

Part four

to be added

Cast

The Doctor - Sylvester McCoy
Ace - Sophie Aldred
Hector Thomas - Philip Olivier
The Nucleus of the Swarm / Computer - John Leeson
Shafira - Mandi Symonds
Root / Receptionist - Maggie Service
Vonchef - John Heffernan
Professor Oksana Kilbracken - Phyllida Nash
Talin - Siobhan Redmond
Lugerman - John Dorney
Security Guard Brabbeko - Paul Panting

Crew

Cover Art - Tom Webster
Director - Ken Bentley
Executive Producers - Nicholas Briggs and Jason Haigh-Ellery
Music and Sound Design - Andy Hardwick
Producer - David Richardson
Writer & Script Editor - Jonathan Morris
The Nucleus created by Bob Baker and Dave Martin

Worldbuilding

The Doctor and Ace visit Pelisipodron, a planet of jewels.
In the 50th century, phonetic spelling is common in the English language.
Four crewman is typical for a moonbase the size of Titan Base. The base's crew all died from the Saturnian plague.
The Swarm seeks to ensure its own creation by returning to the Bi-Al Foundation on K4067, where it mutated from the Saturnian plague.
Professor Oksana Kilbracken developed a process of cloning on Earth in 4880.
In the 52nd century, the Hypernet has records of the Doctor and Ace's appearances from the previous visit to K4067 in 4920 as well as of the Fourth Doctor and Leela from their visit to the asteroid in 5000.
The Doctor refers to his fourth incarnation as "the fellow with the scarf".
Talin describes the Hypernet as "a network linking together the entire Human Empire using transmissions sent through hyperspace using a process of quantum entanglement."
The Doctor and Ace ride light bikes on the Hypernet.
While in 4920, the Nucleus cloned itself and uploaded its mind to the Bi-Al Foundation computer. Using the TARDIS' Relative Dimensional Stabiliser and the power of the Hypernet, it intends to recreate itself and become corporeal.
Using a neural interface helmet, it is possible for an individual to upload their mind to the Hypernet while their body was kept alive in a cataleptic trance.
Ace refers to Top of the Pops, The Matrix and Space Invaders.

Notes

This story was recorded on 20 and 21 February 2014 at the Moat Studios.
This story is both a prequel and a sequel to the television The Invisible Enemy. John Leeson reprises his role as the Nucleus of the Swarm from that story.

Continuity

The Doctor refers to the fact that the bottle which contained Hex's memories was smashed into a million pieces. (AUDIO: Afterlife)
The Swarm has been dormant within the TARDIS' computer since it was defeated by the Fourth Doctor and Leela on Titan Base in 5000. (TV: The Invisible Enemy)
The Doctor retains an immunity to the Swarm from his previous infection in 5000. (TV: The Invisible Enemy)
The Doctor tells Ace that entering the vortex with the TARDIS doors open is not a good idea. (TV: Planet of Giants, The Enemy of the World, The Web of Fear)
Shafira refers to Ace as a spacenik. In 5000, Professor Marius assumed that the Fourth Doctor was "one of those good-for-nothing spaceniks". (TV: The Invisible Enemy)
Professor Kilbracken refers to the fact that humanity will begin to spread through the stars in several decades. Her prediction was accurate as the Great Breakout was underway by 5000. (TV: The Invisible Enemy)
The Doctor describes Ace as an explosives expert. (TV: Dragonfire, et. al)
Ace recalls the buggies on Terra Alpha. (TV: The Happiness Patrol)
The Doctor decides to take Ace and Hector to Athens, Greece in 421 B.C. to relax after defeating the Swarm. (AUDIO: Mask of Tragedy)
The Doctor and Ace previously had their minds uploaded to an electronic network. (PROSE: Love and War)

External links

Official Revenge of the Swarm page at bigfinish.com