Primeval (audio story)

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Primeval was the twenty-sixth story in Big Finish's main range. It was written by Lance Parkin and featured Peter Davison as the Fifth Doctor and Sarah Sutton as Nyssa.

Serving as a prequel to The Keeper of Traken, it was notable for exploring the history of Nyssa's home planet of Traken and the wider Traken Union, as well as for being novelist Lance Parkin's first audio story.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Nyssa will die at dawn, and the Doctor doesn't even know why.

To save her life, he must make a desperate journey to the only place in the universe where a cure might exist to heal her.

When even that fails, the Doctor has a choice —­ let Nyssa die, or make a deal with the devil.

After all, the road to hell is paved with good intentions...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

Part one[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor begs Shayla, a great Trakenite doctor, and her assistant Sabian to help Nyssa, who has collapsed. She is in critical condition. This illness is the same as the one the Doctor tried to fix before by putting her into deep sleep (TV: Kinda) and has been causing increased psychic sensitivity. They are 3000 years in Traken's past, so that Nyssa can be treated by an expert on Trakenite biology. Nyssa wakes up, and Sabian agrees to stay with her while the Doctor goes with Shayla to announce his presence on the planet to the Consulate. Consul Hyrca keeps watch while Consul Janneus communes with the source to learn more about the Doctor, finding danger, and a strange pattern across space and time.

Shayla explains that Nyssa has been exposed to evil, and this is acting like a cancer to cause this illness. The Consuls and Shayla discuss perfection and evil with the Doctor. The Traken Union believes they exist in a state of perfection, with leaders chosen among the elite by the elite, and their society and decisions are guided by the Source. Meanwhile on a ship, Anona talks to Captain Narthex, who expressed some doubts about his Lord Kwundaar, who then summons him. However, Narthex tells Anona to go instead. She feels it is an honour, but becomes worried as she enters a room, alone, to the sound of laughter.

Nyssa tells the Doctor that in her time they did not study Traken's history, because surely nothing can be learned from it, but she knows that they must be in the Primeval times. The time before the Keepers, when the Source governed itself, and back when they still had disease and religion. At the same time, Anona is told by Kwundaar that the source is burning him, and enters her mind, telling her that she cannot remember the time before she came to the ship, and must not look at his face. Anona promises to obey him as he declares that he will bring the Traken Union down and destroy the Source. Sabian explains that the Source is a mechanical sun, built to allow Traken to exist in a state of paradise. Hyrca believes the Doctor poses too great a challenge to their authority, a danger to their way of life, whilst Shayla explains that Nyssa has been through so much, and is unlikely to survive more than a few days, while Janneus calls the Doctor "borderline abusive" for putting her in so much danger. They discuss removing the Doctor and Nyssa from Traken to protect their society.

Narthex knows what questions Anona has about Kwundaar because he has them too, describing him as a "living God". He tells Lieutenant Anona that the Source will turn them to stone if they get any closer. Meanwhile, Shayla breaks the news to the Doctor, telling him he must leave by nightfall and pledge never to return, but then Sabian interrupts them, saying that Nyssa is relapsing. Shayla tries to help her relax, allowing her to sleep. She suggests that their only hope may be Kwundaar, with the only way to get there being Captain Kabe.

Sabian begs them not to leave, but they go to the space port anyway. The pair ask Kabe to be smuggled out of the Union, and the Doctor agrees to pay whatever he wants.

Nyssa and Sabian talk about how incredible Shayla is at saving lives, but she isn't convinced when he tells the Consuls that they went to the northern shores. Nyssa's presence is demanded for a meeting with the Consuls, whilst on Kwundaar's ship, the crew note Kabe's approach, believing them to be his agent on Traken. Anona is told telepathically to intercept the ship and do what they will with the passengers. Kabe tells the Doctor and Shayla where Kwundaar is stationed, and that they're basically pirates, splitting loot and worshipping Kwundaar. Some "pirates"- including Anona- intercept them, boarding the ship and killing Kabe. They take the Doctor and Shayla to see Kwundaar. Meanwhile, Nyssa proclaims that the Doctor is in terrible danger and about to die. The Doctor and Shayla find the ship to be old and Kwundaar to be reportedly immortal before the Doctor is sent to see Kwundaar alone. He already knows about Nyssa's condition, and the Doctor tells him that he'll do whatever Kwundaar wants to save Nyssa, then asks Kwundaar to show his face. The Doctor gasps and yells as he sees Kwundaar's face, who is laughing all the while.

Part two[[edit] | [edit source]]

Anona tells Shayla not to see if the Doctor is alright, and Narthex arrives to tell her the same. Shayla confronts the pair about what happened to Kabe, calling them fools for following Kwundaar. They feel no guilt. The Consuls talk to Nyssa, with Sabian still protesting due to her weakened state. They gasp when she calls the source 'just a machine", and accuse her of heresy as they continue questioning her. On the ship, the door to Kwundaar's room opens, and they find the Doctor's hearts beating rapidly as he appears to be unconscious. He awakens quickly.

Meanwhile, the Consuls continue to concoct an idea that Shayla has removed the Doctor from Nyssa's presence to prevent the evil within him from spreading further, and that Nyssa must be disintegrated to prevent the evil from spreading. As Nyssa begins to protest, she collapses once more.

Kwundaar is a powerful telepath, and the Doctor is still trying to figure out what leverage he can have over a seemingly omniscient being in order to get him to save Nyssa. Anona is assigned to watch over Shayla and the Doctor while they're on the ship. On Traken, Sabian is charged with Nyssa's care until the morning, when the Consuls will commune once more to decide her fate for certain. Sabian takes Nyssa to a healing spring to ease her pain while she waits to die. Anona tells the Doctor that she is 18, like Sabian, as they attempt to convince her that Kwundaar is evil. Anona tells of how her parents died because people like the Trakenites refuse to share their medical knowledge with those they deem unworthy. Anona refuses to hear of the outside universe, saying she is happy serving Kwundaar.

Narthex, on the other hand, talks about how working there allows him to provide for his three daughters, doing this for them rather than for Kwundaar's purpose. Nyssa invites Sabian into the water with her, and he explains that the source is what provides this water with these healing properties, as the interface for it is housed below the stream that feeds into this spring. Nyssa seems to think the Doctor is her only hope. The Doctor returns to Kwundaar's room, reminding him that his purpose for being there is urgent. He tells of the security of the Traken Union, even if it is a "guilded cage", and says he will not destroy it, even for Nyssa. Instead of destroying the union, the Doctor is given the combination to the chamber where the source is stored (245680) and told that Nyssa will live if he brings him something from the chamber, but the Doctor isn't sure what.

Shayla adds medical information to the computer on the ship as the Doctor returns to tell her they will leave. However, Kwundaar, speaking through Anona, tells them that Shayla will stay on the ship as a plaything. The Doctor grabs Shayla and runs. Hyrca announces to Nyssa and Sabian, who left the spa where the spring was and found the TARDIS removed, that she will be placed in quarantine until they decide if she needs to be disintegrated. They put the TARDIS in quarantine too, until they can work out how to dispose of it, and say Sabian will also be monitored for signs of illness. Nyssa appears to have been cured by the spring.

The Doctor and Shayla escape Kwundaar's ship in Kabe's ship. Anona is told that Nyssa is Kwundaar's agent on Traken, and he infected her in the first place, finding her through the evil she'd been exposed to. This is why her psychic potential has been unlocked, and it is his voice she has heard in his dreams. Nyssa has been resisting, causing her illness, and so the Doctor is his real agent, doing what he asks more than Nyssa does. Once he has no more use for the Doctor, he will kill him.

Part three[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor and Shayla return to Traken, immediately met with armed Fosters, Hyrca, and Janneus, who arrest them for consorting with enemies of Traken. However, Shayla convinces them to let the Doctor leave, after a consulate board of inquiries has been briefed on their adventure. They have been checked for signs of evil infection, so are allowed to go see Nyssa. The Doctor finds her to be teaching Sabian the Charleston, and tells her that once they leave Traken, he can teach her psychic defences that will help her battle the illness.

On Kwundaar's ship, Anona and Narthex are training for their impending attack on Traken. Narthex breaks her nose. Meanwhile, the Doctor and Shayla meet with the board of Consulate inquiries, having the pair recount their adventure. The Doctor explains that Kwundaar is a powerful psychic who can detect minds across time and space, and even incoming ships. The consulates are not interested in finding out about Kwundaar's true nature, and say it is impossible that he could have visited Traken before as he claimed. They also don't care about Kabe's death, infuriating the Doctor.

Shayla will give her account the next day. The Doctor discusses his meetings with Kwundaar as Narthex contacts his daughter, who he hasn't called for a while. Nyssa and the Doctor depart in the TARDIS, but the Doctor knows they must return. He tells Nyssa it's because Kwundaar mentioned that he wanted something from the vault that contains the source interface, but he doesn't know what, and he can't leave without finding out. He did not mention this to the Consulates.

They work out that the vault is near the spa Nyssa was in (because that was what gave the water it's healing properties). Meanwhile, Janneus expresses doubts about the source being infallible, because it didn't give judgment on the Doctor. He and Nyssa go swimming towards the vault.

Kwundaar's ship is having difficulties with the ship's communications due to the power fluctuations the Doctor's escape caused. At the same time, Nyssa and the Doctor break into the vault using a laser cutter, coming face to face with the source's interface, which seems overactive. The Doctor finds the chamber to be older than the source, and as old as the spa house. The Consulates note the incoming attack by Kwundaar's fleet, but is not worried, because the source is active. The Doctor uses the combination Kwundaar gave him to unlock and enter the source interface with Nyssa, finding it bigger on the inside. They fail to find what Kwundaar wanted, but the Doctor does increase the source's security.

Kwundaar tells Narthex that the Doctor has done what he asked. The attack begins as Nyssa and the Doctor come across Sabian and Foster Etrayk. Anona takes Etrayk hostage, and the fleet now have control over the vault entrance, and this sector. The sun is black, and Nyssa tells him that the Doctor boosting the security stops the source's light from getting through. Kwundaar has won.

Part four[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Consuls discuss the damage of the attack so far, with Shayla entering to tell them they need to restore the source to destroy all the invaders. Narthex orders the Consuls to kneel; Kwundaar now has full control over Traken. Narthex and Kwundaar announce that the Doctor must be shot on sight, and ask the Consuls to open the vault to the source interface. Janneus resists and is shot at, so Hyrca opens the vault instead from the entrance in the consul chambers. Nyssa decides to swim from the spa to the vault entrance.

Anona is ordering Shayla and Janneus to pull down tapestries. Narthex and Hyrca enter, and Narthex orders that the people of Traken are not mistreated until the Slavers Trade arrives. He orders Anona to go after Nyssa. Sabian and the Doctor come across a machine being carried to the consul room- probably the interface of the source-, but Narthex finds them, stuns the Doctor, and takes them to the Consul chambers. Elsewhere, Anona spies a girl wearing the Doctor's coat: Nyssa. She is in front of the TARDIS, about to swim to the source. Anona comes into the water with Nyssa, and the water burns her, because it is imbued with the Source's energy. Nyssa takes her gun and stuns her.

The Doctor wakes up- he and the Consuls are chained up, as well as Shayla and Sabian. Kwundaar is in the vaults, gaining control of the source. Anona meets up with Narthex, who goes to Kwundaar to tell him about Nyssa's approach- the Doctor mentioned that she got away in Narthex's presence. Nyssa arrives, Kwundaar telling her that he'd been with her forever. He overpowers her telepathically. Meanwhile, the Doctor spots a coincidence in the length of preparation for this attack- over 2000 years- that Anona tells him she learned of in the ship's logs. Exactly as long as it has been since the source was first activated. Narthex brings the Doctor down to the vault to witness Kwundaar's victory. Anona comes, and Shayla is brought too on the Doctor's request.

The Doctor leads Kwundaar to explain: Kwundaar was the god of the early Trakenites, but they betrayed him. He then built the Source as the ultimate expression of science, but the Trakenites then had no need for him, so kicked him off the planet. The source is now under his control; he enters the source to complete the process, ordering Narthex to kill the Doctor, Nyssa, and Shayla. Meanwhile, Janneus reveals that the Consuls were once the high priests to the living god- Kwundaar. This corroborates Kwundaar's story. The Consuls have been keeping this a secret to avoid dissent among the union's people.

The Doctor tells Anona that all he has to do is type in a number and Kwundaar will be destroyed within the source; she'll be free. When she refuses and is about to kill him, Narthex shoots her and frees the Doctor, revealing that it was he who opened the hatch on the ship to allow them to escape. The Doctor promises to protect Narthex's daughters. Anona dies, but not before she destroys the source manipulator, meaning they cannot stop Kwundaar. Sabian tries to convince the Consuls that they are wrong to accept Kwundaar's new rule over them. The Doctor connects a new keypad to the source manipulator so it can be used again, then tells the others he will enter the source, forming a mental link with it to delay Kwundaar until they can enter the sequence of numbers to lock down the source.

Kwundaar tells the Doctor that he will use the beacon to call back the old gods that were exiled outside the universe, and the pair duel, with Kwundaar quickly overpowering him. Nyssa enters the source to keep distracting Kwundaar, but he removes her heightened psychic abilities so she can't fight him. He takes the lockdown code from her mind. Narthex attempts to fight Kwundaar, and Kwundaar attacks him. The Doctor essentially is now Keeper, and reveals that the code Kwundaar just entered that he took from Nyssa's mind was actually the wrong code, one that gives the power to the Doctor instead. Nyssa reactivates the shield for the source, and the Doctor uses his new power to destroy Kwundaar. Shayla takes on the power, becoming the first Keeper of Traken. Entering the lockdown sequence- the real one- bonds Shayla with the source.

Narthex decides to stay on Traken and call his daughters here. Nyssa tells the Doctor she will stay with him, as Traken is her past, not her future, and that they still have work to do.

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Gallery[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • This story portrays the planet Traken three thousand years before TV: The Keeper of Traken. It also tells how the Keeper's position came to be.
  • This story reveals that Nyssa's collapse in TV: Four to Doomsday and the telepathic powers which she demonstrates in TV: Time-Flight are the results of Kwundaar's manipulations. Seeking to regain control of the Source, Kwundaar needed to use a native of Traken who had left the union. He chose Nyssa. Ultimately, it is the Doctor that Kwundaar wants to use to regain control of the Source.
  • Kwundaar knows of Traken's eventual destruction. (TV: Logopolis)
  • Nyssa refers to Adric's death. (TV: Earthshock)
  • Nyssa had previously considered asking the Doctor to take her to Traken before its destruction on numerous occasions before he actually did so. (PROSE: Empire of Death)
  • Nyssa teaches Sabian the Charleston. She had herself been taught the dance by Tegan Jovanka while attending a party at Cranleigh Hall in Oxfordshire on 11 June 1925. (TV: Black Orchid)
  • The Doctor alludes to the loss of his sonic. (TV: The Visitation)

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 'Backstage' of the official Primeval page at bigfinish.com.
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