Hidden Persuaders (audio story)

Hidden Persuaders
Main character(s):	Kaston Iago
Featuring:	Uvanov, Carnell, Paullus, Landerchild
Main enemy:	The Church of Taren Capel
Main setting:	Kaldor City, 2890
Key crew
Publisher:	Magic Bullet Productions
Writers:	Jim Smith, Fiona Moore
Director:	Alistair Lock, Alan Stevens
Producer:	Alan Stevens
Release details
Release date:	November 2002
Format:	1 CD, 60 minutes
Production code:	KC003
ISBN:	none
Kaldor City audio stories
← Previous	Death's Head
Next →	Taren Capel

Hidden Persuaders is the third audio play in the Kaldor City series. Written by Jim Smith and Fiona Moore, it follows the attempts of the Church of Taren Capel to commit an act of terrorism to further their cause.

Publisher's summary

"Nothing is yet known of the terrorists' demands, but Security remain poised to act instantaneously on any information received."

Terrorism is on the increase and — amidst a media frenzy — hostages are being taken. The Church of Taren Capel are fighting back and nobody in Kaldor City is safe. Who is behind the cult's remarkable success, and what is their next target? Most importantly, when it comes to politics, who really has the most to gain?

Kaldor City - Hidden Persuaders uses characters and concepts from Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell a gripping tale of corruption and media manipulation.

Plot

to be added

Cast

(in order of appearance)

• Landerchild - Peter Miles
• Uvanov - Russell Hunter
• Packard - Nicholas Courtney
• Carnell - Scott Fredericks
• Iago - Paul Darrow
• Justina - Patricia Merrick
• Blayes - Tracy Russell
• Rull - Trevor Cooper
• Cotton - Brian Croucher
• Crane - Jim Smith
• Manzerak - David Bickerstaff
• Paullus - David Collings
• Guido - Robert Lock
• Bextor - Alistair Lock
• Voice - Tony Lang
• Leighton - Mark J. Thompson
• Caitlion - Alison Taffs
• Corda - Scott Andrews
• Berganza - Alan Stevens
• Damon - Nickey Barnard
• Zala - Jasmine Breaks
• Voc Voices - Bruce McGilligan

Worldbuilding

Individuals

• Guido is the best flierman currently in Uvanov's employ, he usually pilots flier 372.
• Rull's pay-packet has several deductions.
• Iago last met Leighton 3 months ago in Uvanov's office.
• The news channel will be speaking with Thrate Corda's family.
• Diss Pitter died in a flier explosion alongside his longtime companion Cailio Techlan. Pitter's daughter (Sel Pitter, also known as Padil) was kidnapped by a distant faction four years ago and found dead a year later.

Objects

• Cotton comments on Justina's painting of a red pentagram.
• Manzerak uses a stun kill on its lowest setting.
• A flier is equipped with heat detectors.
• Leighton was inventor of the six-handed multi-tasker, a robot so heavy it fell through the floor.

Kaldor City

• A single day on Kaldor lasts 26 hours.
• Westmar Township is situated in Zone 5. Its population is 4523.

Oxgenator Four

• Oxygenator Four supplies about 30% of Kaldor City's additional oxygen requirements. If it is disabled everyone in the eastern sector will find breathing difficult.
• The Church of Taren Capel's attack on 'Oxgenator Four' coincides with a security drill.
• Rull thinks it's the Anti Robot Front who have attacked 'Oxgenator Four'. They are usually responsible for things like that. None of the terrorist groups are security trained.

Blind Heart Desert

• A storm mine picked up Taren Capel's skull a couple of years back in the Blind Heart Desert.
• The Tarenists believe Taren Capel walked away free into the Blind Heart Desert, and one day he will return as a god to judge them all.

Tarenists

• The Tarenists are highly dangerous anti robot fundamentalist group operating out of the sewerpits.
• Whenever Taren Capel's name is mentioned it is followed with "humanity be in him".
• Diss Pitter was a strong opponent of social toleration being extended to Tarenists.
• A Tarenist cell known as the Church of Taren Capel has claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks that have occurred in Kaldor City during the last 3 months.

Notes

• The title of the story is derived from The Hidden Persuaders by media theorist Vance Packard and is partially an attempt to introduce some of the themes of his work into the series. The reporter Zala Vance and the newsreader Daniel Packard in this story are named after him.
• Writer Jim Smith had the idea for the story, involving oxygen production, during the writing of Occam's Razor:

"In order to justify a joke we had in the script, Alan and I did some research into rhubarb. The idea was to find a reason why they'd have taken rhubarb to a Colony world. During this ridiculous research, entirely undertaken to justify a line that made us laugh I found out that rhubarb is the second-best oxygen-producing plant there is. That is it converts carbon dioxide into oxygen more efficiently than any plant on Earth except one... so I had this semi-comic idea of all these industrial rhubarb farms on Kaldor producing oxygen. This got me thinking about the idea of air-as-utility like water or gas, and I just thought, 'What would we do if someone turned the oxygen off?' For a while the working title for the script was 'The Rhubarb Conspiracy' - even though there's actually no mention of rhubarb in the finished script."Jim Smith

• The story is set four months after the previous Kaldor City audio, Death's Head, and one month before the next, Taren Capel. The third edition of Mad Norwegian Press' reference work AHistory dates Hidden Persuaders to the year 2890.
• A specially recorded audio trailer was released to promote this story taking the form of a short monologue as read in character by Paul Darrow as Iago.
• The copyright notice printed on the CD release of this production states: "Unauthorised copying, hiring, renting, public performance and broadcasting is strictly prohibited or Leighton will sell you a crap robot."
• This story was part of a recording block that also consisted of Taren Capel and Checkmate.
• The play reintroduces the character of Poul from The Robots of Death, again played by David Collings, here going under the name of Paullus. The next play confirms it is the same character.
• The CD cover art was designed by Andy Hopkinson.

Continuity

• This story opens with an announcement of the deaths of the characters Padil, Diss Pitter, and Cailio Techlan from PROSE: Corpse Marker. In that story, Padil was affiliated with the Tarenists, Diss Pitter was Firstmaster Chairholder of the Company Board, and Cailio Techlan was Uvanov's executive assistant.
• 'Z9' explosives were previously used in TV: The Robots of Death, and by the Doctor to destroy SASV1 in PROSE: Corpse Marker.
• Rull's investigation into the Larson Project pays off in the next audio, AUDIO: Taren Capel.
• Cotton comments on Justina's painting of a red pentagram. It previously featured in AUDIO: Occam's Razor. This is foreshadowing the emergence of the Fendahl. (AUDIO: Checkmate)
• Iago now considers himself to be Uvanov's 'personal assassin'. In AUDIO: Death's Head Iago considered his title to be 'personal security consultant', whereas Uvanov previously considered him to be his 'personal bodyguard'.
• Iago took a holiday sometime last year, just before he started working for Uvanov. It lasted one day and ended up with the Hotel being burnt down. Uvanov sent in a team of trigger-happy thugs to apprehend Iago. (AUDIO: Occam's Razor)
• The attendant seen at the Gentlemen's Oasis in AUDIO: Death's Head is revealed here to be an agent for the Church of Taren Capel, named here as Manzerak.
• The existence of Taren Capel's skull is revealed. A fake skull covered in contact poison featured in AUDIO: Death's Head
• Blayes has been supplying the Tarenists with technical advice for the past 5 months. (Uvanov gave instructions for Blayes to be manipulated into becoming their rebel leader at the end of AUDIO: Death's Head.)
• The Tarenists have claimed responsibility for the terrorist attacks that have occurred in Kaldor City during the last 3 months.
• Iago last met Leighton 3 months ago in Uvanov's office. Who Uvanov mistakes for Hume. (Hume died in Uvanov's office in AUDIO: Death's Head)

External links

• Official Hidden Persuaders page at Magic Bullet Productions
• Official Hidden Persuaders page at Random Static
• Hidden Persuaders at the Doctor Who Reference Guide