The Sandman (audio story): Difference between revisions

== Plot ==

In deep space travels a large fleet of ships called the Clutch, which is led by a reptilian race, the Galyari, but populated by hundreds of races.  A Galyari nursemaid tells a group of children the legend of the Sandman, who takes the skins of misbehaving children.  Suddenly the story becomes terribly real, and the children die in agony.  Their mother, trade director Nrosha, feels their pain, and takes security Commander Brel and his patrol with her to the nursery...but it is too late.  The Sandman, also known as the Doctor, has struck again.

While the Doctor and Evelyn set off, Mordecan contacts Nintaru’s and reviews their agenda; Mordecan must first meet Nrosha, but then they will meet another contact in another ship, as they have done in the past.  Nintaru’s anxiety grows; the Galyari have stringent trade laws, and are not happy with what she is selling, but she intends to go through with it—especially as this is the last shipment.  Meanwhile, Evelyn notices a strange thing: none of the Galyari will look directly at the Doctor.  She suspects something is going on, and her thoughts are verified when he breaks into the Orchestrator’s control center.  He intentionally trips the alarm, knowing it will summon the Orchestrator to him.  He explains that this is a valid technique for him, as the Galyari have no grasp on a criminal mindset; this means, however, that they punish severely any criminal that does face justice.  While they wait, the Doctor plays with the controls for Traffic, the central computer that coordinates the fleet, and learns it is being controlled from an auxiliary command center.  Orchestrator Shol arrives, and the Doctor becomes haughty and arrogant, terrifying the Orchestrator.  When Evelyn confronts him about it, he tells her she is wrong about him; he IS the monster they believe him to be.

The Doctor’s behaviour continues to shock, as he dictates to Shol that the Galyari must cease their trade in weapons, a problem which reappears every few generations despite the Doctor’s efforts.  Shol reluctantly agrees, though he knows it will make his people poor.  Meanwhile, Mordecan talks business with Nrosha; he has brought a shipment of sunbirds, which the Galyari regard almost reverently, as they themselves descend from an avian species.  He realizes she is more troubled than usual—and she becomes even more so when he reveals that his unwilling passenger was called “the Doctor”—the alternate name of the Sandman...

Despite Evelyn’s disgust with the Doctor, Shol agrees to the demands, if the Doctor will end the recent unnatural deaths.  The Doctor knows nothing of these deaths, and is caught off guard, but plays along, and gets Shol to describe the deaths, which began with Shol’s own predecessor as Orchestrator.  That death began after a meeting with Mordecan, but the sale proposed at the meeting fell through with the Orchestrator’s death.  Since then, others have died, and it has been attributed to the Sandman.  The Sandman would, in the past, only take skins shed during the “growth sickness” that all Galyari periodically undergo; but now the skins are being taken before they are shed, killing the victims.  Evelyn and the Doctor are horrified, especially upon learning that trade director Nrosha’s young were early victims.  The Doctor promises to end the deaths as soon as he meets with Mordecan—but they are interrupted by Nrosha and Brel, who burst in.  Through the pain of looking at the Doctor, Brel opens fire.

Brel’s inability to look directly at the Doctor throws off his aim, and the Doctor and Evelyn retreat, destroying the door lock on the way out.  They flee through the Clutch, and notice the lights flickering as they do; this indicates there is a cloaked security drone watching them, tapping into the somewhat-incompatible power system.  The Doctor captures the drone and begins rewiring it to find Mordecan, but before he can finish, an announcement is made: this ship is leaving the Clutch, and is about to be detached from its neighbors.  Evelyn manages to make it to the airlock and into the next ship, but the Doctor, delayed by his electronic work, does not.

Shrol is unable to wait patiently, and resumes his duties—but he is unable to contact his sub-Orchestrator, Korshal, in the auxiliary command center.  It seems the Sandman has struck again, although the Doctor is nowhere near that area.  Meanwhile, Mordecan and Evelyn arrive at the rendezvous point, waiting for Nintaru and their secretive contact.  When the trade deal under the former Orchestrator fell through, this was the only option.  Mordecan warns her that the contact is unpleasant to look at; if Nintaru is smuggling drugs, as Mordecan suspects, the contact seems to have sampled them.  Nintaru and the Doctor arrives, but when she reaches for her merchandise, the Doctor reveals he has stolen it, to prevent any Galyari from having contact with it.  The contact grows angry, and comes out of the shadows to attack—and calls the Doctor by name.

Brel arrives, having tracked the Doctor, but is stunned by the sight of the monster.  Mordecan snatches Brel’s gun and kills the creature.  It proves to be a Galyari skin, empty inside.  Brel still plans to the kill the Doctor; to stop him, the Doctor removes his coat and waistcoat, revealing that it serves as a sort of camouflage to the Galyari, who are highly sensitive to bright, clashing colours.  This is tantamount to admitting he has no supernatural powers; but Brel lets that go in the face of a more important issue: once, the Galyari also had a power of camouflage, much like chameleons on Earth.  Brel realizes that the walking skin is something requiring analysis, and he summons a medical team for Nintaru; but at that moment, they are interrupted by a broadcast summons.  Its voice comes from the auxiliary command center, and is familiar to the Doctor.  It claims to be the new Sandman, and the new Orchestrator of the Clutch; and it will let every non-Galyari depart, if only they bring him the Doctor.