Occam's Razor (audio story)

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Occam's Razor was the first audio play in the Kaldor City series. Written by Alan Stevens and Jim Smith, it focused on the arrival of a mysterious figure called Kaston Iago and his insinuation into the confidence of Chairholder Uvanov.

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

"You are dealing with a professional. Probably a hired killer. Resourceful, highly intelligent. A computer specialist."

Kaldor: A city of robots on a world of robots. The Board runs the Company, and the Company runs the planet. Nothing happens in Kaldor City without the Board's approval. So how come its members are dying?

Company Chairholder Uvanov is faced with an escalating problem: political allies and enemies are being killed and nobody knows who will be next or why. Even Carnell, the ex-Federation psycho-strategist, is at a loss to provide an explanation.

One man may hold the answers-- a man who crossed the border into Kaldor City six hours ago: Kaston Iago, a man with a past and maybe an agenda. A man with the skills to set everything right.

Kaldor City - Occam's Razor uses characters and concepts from Chris Boucher's Doctor Who novel Corpse Marker to tell a dark, aggressive tale of ultraviolence and political intrigue.

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

(in order of appearance)

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Individuals[[edit] | [edit source]]

Objects[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Justina owns a painting of a red pentagram by Wallbank.
  • A stun kill is an electro shock baton.
  • Iago recommends the walls in Uvanov's place of residence be reinforced with Herculaneum alloy.

Kaldor City[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Hotel Kolibri is located in the eastern sector of Kaldor City.

The Outer Zones[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Iago crossed the border into Kaldor City about 6 hours before Bibo Mechman's death.

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The title of the story, that the simplest explanation is true, refers to the fact Iago has been committing the murders before framing another board member in order to gain Uvanov's trust.
  • The events of the story are based on the Night of the Long Knives, where the SS, under the authority of Adolf Hitler, purged a Nazi paramilitary organisation called the Sturmabteilung (SA), and hundreds were killed. A clue to the source material appears in the name of the hotel Iago stays in called Kolibri, which is German for "Hummingbird", the codeword used to send the execution squads into action on the day of the purge. The society of Kaldor is partly based on Nazi Germany.[1]
  • The line where Iago claims to be a rhubarb farmer, inspired the plot of AUDIO: Hidden Persuaders involving oxygen production. Rhubarb being a plant that produces high levels of oxygen. [2]
  • Occam's Razor is set two years and three months after the novel Corpse Marker and around eight years and four months after Robots of Death.[3] The third edition of Mad Norwegian Press' reference work AHistory dates Occam's Razor to the year 2889.
  • Unfortunately, although the story was recorded in 2000, it was released in early September 2001, so some early reviews tied 9/11 to a scene where a flyer crashed into a building. The script was written about eighteen months before those events took place.[4]
  • Wallbank is probably named after Peter Wallbank, who produced artwork for several Blake's 7 audio productions associated with the makers of the Kaldor City series.
  • The copyright notice printed on the CD release of this production states: "Unauthorised copying, hiring, renting, public performance and broadcasting is strictly prohibited or Iago will fill your attic full of rubber."
  • This story was part of a recording block that also consisted of Death's Head.[5]
  • The CD cover art was designed by Andy Hopkinson.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Uvanov became Firstmaster Chairholder in PROSE: Corpse Marker.
  • From an in-universe perspective, Carnell first appeared in PROSE: Corpse Marker.
  • Bibo Mechman, who is found dead in this story, appeared in PROSE: Corpse Marker.
  • Justina owns a painting of a red pentagram by Wallbank. This is foreshadowing the emergence of the Fendahl. This scene will be revisited in AUDIO: Checkmate. The portrait of the Fendahleen given to Uvanov in AUDIO: Taren Capel is also by Wallbank.
  • The scene in which Justina is left alone in the bitterly cold wind takes on a more sinister aspect in AUDIO: Checkmate in which, transformed into the Fendahl Core, she mentions the cold winter wind that blows in directly from the centre of the Blind Heart Desert.
  • Carnell's comment, "People like to see patterns in things, even when there not there." is reminiscent of a line spoken by the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 Doctor Who made-for-TV movie: "I love humans. Always seeing patterns in things that aren't there."
  • V31 is in the service of Carnell. V31 will next appear in AUDIO: Taren Capel, again voiced by Robert Lock.
  • As with TV: The Robots of Death this story revolves around a murder mystery.
  • Uvanov recently made a proposal to the company board concerning the opening up of trade links between Kaldor and other colony worlds. This helps reconcile the continuity of the Kaldor City series with AUDIO: Robophobia in which Kaldor City has a massive interstellar robot trade.
  • This story seeds the idea that Kaston Iago is actually Kerr Avon from Blake's 7:
    • When Iago meets Psychostrategist Carnell (played by Scott Fredericks, reprising his role from Blake's 7), he already knows about the Terran Federation and what a psychostrategist is. Carnell remarks that Iago must be the only other person on the planet with this information.
    • Like Avon, Iago is skilled in robotic computer programming.
    • The sound effect of Iago's gun blaster is very similar to that used by Avon in the fourth and final series of Blake's 7.
    • Iago mentions Herculaneum alloy, which promised the Liberator's hull in Blake's 7.

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

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ Kaldor City: A Critical Response Part I
  2. ↑ A Day in Kaldor City: 8 August 2002 by Douglas McNaughton
  3. ↑ Magic Bullet Productions on Facebook: "A firm timeline for the events of Kaldor City."
  4. ↑ The True History of Magic Bullet: An interview with Alan Stevens, producer of Kaldor City and Faction Paradox. (Part 2 of 2)
  5. ↑ The True History of Magic Bullet: An interview with Alan Stevens, producer of Kaldor City and Faction Paradox. (Part 1 of 2)
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