| THE NATURAL HISTORY OF FEAR by Jim Mortimore |
| Story 54 Synopsis: Light City is a strange utopia where questions are free thought are forbidden. The Editor is a leading law officer, with the Conscience acting as on-the-spot police. One citizen, a Nurse, thinks she remembers events seen in broadcasts happen for real. The Editor takes interest. The Conscience tells her that they used to be partners, but an attempt to give her new memories failed. He is taken to have his memories edited. The Editor claims to be on his side in trying to foment the Revolution, but the Conscience doesn't believe him. The Nurse goes missing. The Editor visits the DJ, who broadcasts to the masses, and finds him guilty of subversion. But when the acting Conscience arrives, the DJ has been murdered, and the Editor faces tribunal. He insists he can stop the impending revolution, but they deny there even is one, and insist he is edited. He escapes, vowing to kill the Doctor and stop the Revolution. When he finally comes before the Censor, he is shown the arrival in Light City of the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz, and their confusion with local life. The Editor realises he had incited the revolution, and as angry citizens chant for answers, the state begins to crumble... |
| Review:- A clever conceit is at play here, with the lack of credits allowing for a highly audacious stunt. Listeners expecting that the regular cast are playing the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz presents the mystery of why they should all have assumed new roles, as Editor, Nurse and Conscience. When a character's subversive use of questions leads to revision, it seems to be that our heroes have themselves been revised/brainwashed, and talk of revolution, and the Doctor's missing memories, lead the listener to make assumptions over what will come. Assumptions which turn out to be false. For the reason there are no credits, is that the heroes we're expecting to feature, have long left. Instead, the cast are playing actual citizens of Light City. This, of course, leads to the dangerous view that their fates are immaterial. But by then, the damage has been done. The totalitarian structure of Light City will draw comparisons with other fictions, like 1984, and the story is built around the danger of ideas, of posing questions and not showing blind obedience in all matters. The Editor exists to edit the memories of people who have broken the law, a law that is handled on the ground by the Conscience. Above the Editor is the DJ, and at the top is the Censor. Because characters are revised during the play, it becomes possible to see different lights cast on different roles. The progression of the story also means that higher and higher strata come under focus as the story goes on. The false assumption about the nature of the protagonists leads to temporary drama over the missing location of the record of the Doctor's memories. Reminiscent of Minuet In Hell, the Editor believes it's important to find this record, and the listener agrees, believing that it will allow him to recover his wits. The Editor is the definite centre of the play, and his belief in revolution seems more concrete than that of anyone else. He also seems sure that the elusive Doctor is the cause of the trouble, so his defiant escape at the end of pt. 3 and intention to stop the Doctor at all costs seems to set up a complicated conclusion. And then, the carpet is pulled from under the listener's feet. For having found the missing memories inside the child's top which forms a metaphor for Light City, as well as providing a neat cover for the CD, the Editor is informed of the truth, and the listener hears of the arrival of the Doctor, Charley and C'rizz. What happened to them later becomes irrelevant, as it turns out that they left long before, and the story has in fact been about the consequences of their arrival on the people they left behind. Quite how this makes sense is another matter, unfortunately. So pleased is the play with its coup de theatre, it stops trying so hard and merely sits, awaiting applause it no longer deserves. Whilst Paul McGann and India Fisher are the driving forces in making the script live, they're ultimately let down by that same script. As the play ends with revolution beginning in Light City, the listener finds him/herself asking questions - but not exciting ones like "why don't we smash the state?" but more mundane ones like "how come this is the 2nd play of the last 3 to create such a sense of disappointment?" So far, the Divergent Universe has seemed less and less interesting... hopefully the next adventure for the Doctor and his friends will improve that summary. |
| Disclaimer: I own a copy. |