General Karen Brett is hailed as a hero on the return from her latest campaign in humanity’s war against its own android creations, but she only reluctantly accepts the accolades. She makes a public appearance with President Levinson, whose policies and war plan she disagrees with – she feels he isn’t taking an aggressive enough stance with the androids. During the meeting, a silver-clad figure teleports into the White House, assassinates the President, promises Brett that she will become the new President, and then vanishes again. She does indeed ascend to the Presidency, but she finds that once in office, even she can’t turn the tide of the war. She discovers a deeply buried secret project, code-named Scorpius, which Levinson made every attempt to erase from existence, even to conceal it from any successors to the presidency. She’s able to find out very little, but she finds out enough – Scorpius is somehow tied to the silver giant who gunned down Levinson in cold blood, and it could change humanity’s fortunes in the war. In fact, it could change humanity forever…
written by Nicholas Briggs
directed by Nicholas Briggs
music by Nicholas BriggsCast: Sarah Mowat (President Karen Brett), Mark McDonnell (Nash / Liam), Toby Longworth (President Levinson / Pilot / P.A. voice / Captain), Nicholas Briggs (Cyberman / Cyberplanner / Control / Reporter / Guard), Ian Brooker (Helliton / Hendry / Glaust / Karen’s Father / Guard in Karen’s quarters / Protester), Hannah Smith (Samantha / Computer), Barnaby Edwards (Paul / Comms / Security), Samantha Sanns (SSC Control / Comp / Helm / Operations Officer)
Notes: All four of the Cyberman plays were recorded live in studio, with the small cast doubling, tripling or quadrupling up on characters and sound effects mixed in or performed live; Nicholas Briggs did minimal overdubs to add more sound effects and the musical score. Sarah Mowat and Mark McDonnell previously starred in the first cycle of Dalek Empire audio plays, also written, directed and scored by Briggs. Nicholas Briggs has also provided “official” Cybermen voices, giving the Cybermen in the new TV series episodes Rise Of The Cybermen and The Age Of Steel a vocal treatment not unlike what is heard here; this episode’s Cyber-voices are based on the Troughton-era Cybermen heard in such episodes as Tomb Of The Cybermen, though the Cyberman design seen on the cover of all four Cyberman audios is the one introduced in the later Troughton story The Invasion. The Sword Of Orion incident and the android wars are holdovers from Briggs’ eighth Doctor audio story of the same name, which actually started out as an amateur audio production he wrote and starred in during the late 1980s.
LogBook entry by Earl Green