The Inheritance (audio story)

The Inheritance was the first story in the audio anthology Geronimo!, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by Alfie Shaw and featured Jacob Dudman as the Eleventh Doctor and introduced Safiyya Ingar as new companion Valarie Lockwood and Mandi Symonds as Patricia Lockwood.
== Publisher's summary ==
For Patricia and Valarie Lockwood, it was to be an evening like any other. Dinner with a few friends, a chance to unwind and forget the horrors of the world. However, their plans are disrupted by the arrival of a mysterious stranger. A man who brings tragedy in his wake.
== Plot ==
On Research Rig 6 in the 54th century, Cyberneticist Valarie works on her mother Patricia's leg whilst, on the news, Arabella Hendricks announces that the Fulcrum Corporation is making progress in finding the cause of the millions of recent deaths. The Doctor arrives at the door with a bomb, looking for a plasma cutter, and unsuccessfully tries to help when the Lockwoods' friend Dan suffers a mysterious attack and dies.
Valarie calls for security and follows the Doctor outside, where he defuses the bomb with her plasma cutter. Johnson takes both of them to speak via direct link with Hendricks, who reveals to the Doctor that she used UNIT information to send him a distress call six months ago, bringing him to Earth to put a stop to the deaths which began two months prior and has resulted in lockdown. The Doctor agrees to help, assisted by Valarie, in return for information on Clara Oswald, and they are taken to the hospital to begin. On the way, Valarie updates her mother, who is looking after Simone, and deduces that the Doctor is a time traveller.
At the hospital, the Doctor and Valarie examine a patient before going to visit Dan's body in the morgue. Valarie pulls the data off of his hard drive and finds that he had won 10 million credits in the lottery a minute before his death, something which the Doctor believes is significant. After Patricia informs Valarie that Simone has died, the Doctor realises that the currency has been infected by the incurable Darinthian Blight and informs Hendricks. The Blight could be destroyed by deleting all digital money, but the Doctor's screwdriver is destroyed by the firewall when he attempts to do so.
Hendricks refuses to enact the deletion, so Valarie instead suggests that everybody spends their money in what Hendricks terms the "Buy to Live" sale whilst she and the Doctor find a proper cure. In return, Hendricks promises to hand over the information she has found on Clara Oswald, which she describes as a "fascinating read". The Doctor takes Valarie to where he materialised the TARDIS to do some tests, but finds that it has disappeared. As he wonders where it could have gone, Valarie receives a call from her mother, who receives a message informing her that she is Simone's sole beneficiary. She attempts to alter her will to leave her money to Fulcrum, but she requires two witnesses.
The Doctor and Valarie go to Fulcrum headquarters to see Hendricks and learn that nobody outside of the rig is aware of the Darinthian Blight. Hendricks, who has the TARDIS, confirms that she infected the currency as a method of extortion and refuses to delete Patricia's money or allow the Doctor into his ship. The Doctor and Valarie are returned to the rig to find a cure and receive a call from Patricia, who resigns herself to her fate. The Doctor overcharges Valarie's pain suppressor to prolong her life once the infected money enters her account and plans to pretend that he has found a cure.
Hendricks orders Johnson to lock the Doctor and Valarie up in separate cells and transmat Valarie's suppressor to her in a Faraday chest, but the two manage to use the transmat themselves and arrive in her office. Hendricks quickly has Kimberly return Valarie to the rig and the Doctor enters the TARDIS, finding that it needs four days to infiltrate Fulcrum's firewall. Valarie changes the ownership of the bombs around the rig to herself, keeping Hendricks from detonating them when she deems the Blight useless to her, but is unable to make any payments due to Hendricks suspends her FulcraMart account. Hendricks offers to tell the Doctor where Clara is in return for his silence, but he declines.
The Doctor connects the rig's infected Intranet to the Internet, resulting in all money on Earth being infected. Unable to disconnect from the Internet, Hendricks has all accounts on Earth wiped to save herself and deletes all information on Clara Oswin Oswald and Project Double Dip before leaving the planet. The Doctor pilots the TARDIS to the rig, getting a new screwdriver on the way, and takes Valarie to the hospital, leaving her a note telling her that he will be back in ten minutes. He returns two weeks later, having had no luck tracking down Hendricks's consultant, and invites Valarie to join him in locating Clara.
Inside the TARDIS, Valarie excitedly asks for explanations about the dimensional transcendentalism and the sonic screwdriver but is interrupted by the phone. A woman asks for help and the TARDIS is hijacked, suddenly taking off by itself.
== Cast ==
* The Doctor - Jacob Dudman
* Valarie Lockwood / Computer - Safiyya Ingar
* Patricia Lockwood - Mandi Symonds
* Arabella Hendricks - Lara Lemon
* Daniel Simpson / Security / Patient - Wayne Forester
* Simone Simpson / Receptionist / Stranger - Jasmin Hinds
== Worldbuilding ==
* Valarie uses a plasma cutter.
* Dan orders Chinese through FulcraMart.
* Patricia calls FulcraMed for an ambulance.
* The Lockwoods live at 49 Gibson Avenue.
* Valarie calls FulcraSafe for security.
* In a previous incarnation, the Doctor played hide and seek with Leonardo da Vinci in 16th century Florence.
* Arabella Hendricks owns UNIT files on the Doctor.
* Arabella bought the Earth as the Fulcrum Corporation's headquarters in the 52nd century. She is 236 years old.
* The Doctor requests information on Clara Oswald in return for his help.
* FulcraLaw inform Simone of Dan's will.
* Due to the digital lockdown, the Internet has been shut down.
* Humans are fitted with a neural interface at three years old. They use it to access the net and store money and personal data.
* The Doctor worries about Cybermen being involved, and notes their survivability is only surpassed by Daleks and the Master.
* Darinthia was a wealthy system with coins made of platinum.
* XB396 wiped out Darinthia and any who laid claim to the fortunes abandoned there. It then became known as the Darinthian Blight and was later given to Hendricks by a consultant in possession of a TARDIS.
* Valarie attended university and was supported by her mother.
* FulcraCare deals with customer feedback.
* FulcraBank deals with money.
* The Doctor accidentally brings Valarie sapling sherbert trees instead of grapes.
== Notes ==
* The story was originally set in a stock exchange and the entire planet was infected from the outset. Alfie Shaw "crunched" the world down to focus more on Valarie. (BFX: The Inheritance)
* Shaw included Patricia as he enjoyed how Russell T Davies focused on companions' families and killed her off to have Valarie grieving much as the Doctor is for Amy and Rory. (BFX: The Inheritance)
== Continuity ==
* Hendricks is revealed to be the one who sent the Doctor the distress call that brought him to Earth. (AUDIO: Prequel to Geronimo!)
* The Doctor calls the TARDIS "Sexy". (TV: The Doctor's Wife)
* The TARDIS creates a sonic screwdriver. (TV: The Eleventh Hour)
== External links ==
Category:Geronimo! audio stories