The Terrible Shame of a Tree (audio story)
The Terrible Shame of a Tree was the first story in The New Adventures of Bernice Summerfield audio anthology The Eternity Club 3, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by James Goss and featured Lisa Bowerman as Bernice Summerfield.
Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
Missing for a thousand years, the Endless Arboretum has been found. Are the last survivors of Lucrece still alive? And who is hunting for them?
Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]
Benny holds a birthday party for Geren, although nobody at the Eternity Club is familiar with human traditions such as birthday cakes and Starll blows the candles out. Geren too makes a wish: that Benny will come to learn the truth. When Benny notices that Derek is not present, she finds him looking at the stars and tracking an object which he refuses to tell her about, but she is able to deduce that it is the Endless Arboretum, a self-sustaining ark from the lost planet of Lucrece. He is comforted to know that the flora of Lucrece survives, but Benny takes him to the docking bay against his will and flies the two of them to the wooden arboretum to see the last hoar trees for themselves. After seeing that the saplings are healthy, he asks to return to the club and Benny agrees once they have seen the trees bloom.
Tree Surgeon Alkaran breaks into the arboretum with her gang of loggers and sends Siras to investigate Benny's shuttle whilst the others search for a map to assist them in finding the hoar trees to be cut down. Benny attempts to keep this development a secret from Derek and attempts to get him back to the shuttle, but he sees the loggers with their chainsaws as they near it and they find that they are too late. Siras accuses Benny of being a rival logger and threatens her and Derek with a flamethrower in an attempt to learn the location of the hoar trees, prompting them to flee. The loggers start burning the plants downs and Benny hides by climbing Derek until fire forces them to run and use the air conditioning to put the fires out, after which Benny has him release an argon-based fire suppressant which chokes the loggers and drives them to the silver leaf plantation.
Once the loggers are in the plantation, Benny warns them that the burning atmosphere will soon be released there and demands that they return to their ship. Alkaran refuses, however, and saws her way through a door whilst her fellow loggers head back to the ship too late and are killed. Benny and Derek go to check on the hoar trees and Benny realises that Derek is one of them, although she cannot understand why he does not want to be with his kin as they bloom and to connect with them as was tradition on Lucrece. He explains that he fled Lucrece whilst his entire forest gave their bodies to build the arboretum and does not believe that he is worthy enough for the saplings to know, his suffering lodged with the Universal Tree. Alkaran attacks him as she intends to make chairs out of the trees, but the hoar trees bloom and release a wave of psychic energy.
Benny is left unconscious and learns upon awakening that the trees have forcibly joined Alkaran to the Universal Tree, leaving her completely immobile and muttering to herself whilst Benny has merely had her synapses purged. Benny suggests that Derek stays aboard the arboretum to teach the hoar trees as he has proven himself to them and he eventually gives in. He joins the forest and Benny wishes him a happy birthday.
Cast[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Bernice Summerfield - Lisa Bowerman
- Derek - Derek Elroy
- Alkaran - Jaye Jacobs
- 312 / Siras - Simon Kane
- Starll - Dan Starkey
- Grizella - Naana Agyei-Ampadu
- Professor Altazar - Shai Matheson
- The Suspension of Geren - Victoria Gee
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Starll wishes to confront a Rutan and make an omelette out of them.
- Terran Alphan icing sugar can be used to make a powerful explosive.
- Derek accuses Benny of fat shaming him.
- The loggers use chainsaws.
- Alkaran and her group use a translator.
- Derek releases an argon-based fire suppressant.
- Alkaran accuses Benny and Derek of being environmentalists.
- Alkaran lived in a colony.
- Alkaran's father took her poaching and showed her how to make chairs out of trees.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Terrible Shame of a Tree was recorded at the Soundhouse on 9 October 2023.
- Originally, Derek was intended to return to the Eternity Club. However, Tim Foley suggested that he remain with his kind and that it should be his birthday. (BFX: The Eternity Club 3)
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
to be added
External links[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Official The Terrible Shame of a Tree page at bigfinish.com
Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]
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