The Sleeping City

This is a very slow audio I found very hard to properly focus on it so I left kinda the same as a went in which is a shame as I loved Ian potters most recent work for big finish

Pretty good. This story takes the form of a police interview, but transitions into a separate tale throughout. A story in a story. Told by Ian after his return to earth.

Ian is interviewed about his return to earth. To convince the cop that he really travelled through time and space, he tells the story of the planet Hisk, where the people have pretty harmonious lives. The party is exploring the local market there.

After this short exploration, some kind of break takes place throughout the city. Everyone gathers in big halls, where they all join digital dream sessions. Think of it like limitless VR chat, if that helps. These sessions help the people understand each other and make the more aware of the society they live in.

Vicki is immediately on board with this, since she knows the technology from her own time. Ian and Barbara join later on. But something quickly goes wrong, as a harbinger appears in someone’s dream, which means that person will soon die.

The party is quickly on the case, and to make a long story short. It turns out the system is the problem. Society unconsciously decides who is allowed to live, and makes sure that the people unknowingly destroy anyone who doesn’t fit.

To solve this problem, Ian and Barbara set up a private session, and slowly other people join in. They see Ian and Barbara’s dreams and will slowly turn into good people again.

So, far that’s pretty okay stuff. The setup for the society is pretty good and I like the way it is all presented. It’s a friendly location, and that’s surprisingly rare. The fact that we’re listening to a story that basically talks about VR chat about 3 years before it actually came out, is pretty neat. It all works, but it isn’t necessarily massively appealing yet.

Then the conflict and resolution happen and it all feels a little run off the mill. Society is the problem. Unconscious criminal activity. Nothing we haven’t seen before. The resolution especially is pretty weak. Ian and Barbara thinking of home saves the day, and that’s not really well established or explained beforehand. It just happens.

After that the story decides to throw in one quick twist: The police interrogation is actually part of the dream scenario they’re building. And that’s a shame. Because really getting to know what their own period thought of their disappearance would be a lot more interesting. Oh well, it’s harmless I suppose.

And then it ends. And I don’t really have more to say. It has some neat concepts in the dream sharing. And it has great setup at the start, but it uses all that to tell a pretty standard story. Could’ve been more, but it works I suppose. I wouldn’t recommend it, but I would also not be offended by anyone who likes it.