Gallery of Dreams

view from the Crystalline Plane

Omega Theta IV, the Gallery

The Crystalline Plane, the Gallery

Gallery of Dreams was a canned serial from Season 1 of Category War. It was one of the serials proposed for the last slot. This slot would be filled by "Operation: Earth".

## Synopsis

The Resistance explore a Gallery made of dreams and nightmares.

## Plot

### The Gallery (1)

After the events in Avalon IV, Ankarstian’s TARDIS materializes in a seemingly uninhabited area of space and time - however, something materializes right next to Ankarstian's TARDIS.  The object - which resembles a huge art gallery - generates a tractor beam that drags the TARDIS into it.

The inside of the gallery resembles a huge collection of rooms filled with fog.  Poseidon steps into one of the rooms - and finds himself on a planet with yellow skies and green grass.  The name of the planet immediately appears in Poseidon’s mind - Omega Theta IV - and that a battle between the Resistance and the Alliance has begun, however, the battle resembles a Napoleonic battle - with Poseidon as the Duke of Wellington.  His “companions” are Hydrium, his left-hand man - and a stunning woman named Tarcrayenne

Ankarstian then walks into a room - and finds herself in the office of “Anne Smith” - a private eye.  She then realizes that she is Smith.  That is when a damsel walks into the room.  She identifies herself as Jean T. Townerbie - who goes by her middle name of Tannison.  An “associate” of Anne’s - Mike Watts - was investigating the murder of Tannison’s husband - John Townerbie - when he was murdered.  Watts’s body was holding a letter addressed to Anne in his hand about John’s murder and as such Tannison wants her to investigate his death.  Anne says that she will consider it and Tannison then leaves - Anne initially doesn’t wish to investigate the crime.  However, comments about John being killed by something not of this world draws Anne’s attention.

The next member of the Resistance - Areex - to enter an empty room discovers himself in a quarry-like wasteland.  They soon remember exactly where he is - a place called the “Crystalline Plane” which serves as something as a purgatory in their people’s religion.  Areex considers themselves a non-believer, however, they still hold on to the belief of the purgatory.  That is when they realize that the Crystalline Plane is a complex dreamscape generated by the gallery.  They initially think that they can’t be harmed, however, this is disproven when a knife is plunged into their chest and they can feel excruciating pain from it.  A voice speaking in their language then tells them that their dreams have been made real.

### Forever Dreaming (2)

Meanwhile, on “Omega Theta IV”, Poseidon has discovered a weak-spot in the Alliance forces and sends a fleet of forces - with three cannons drawn by horses - into the weak-spot.  This leads to a short battle beginning and one of the cannons being fired.  It misses the Alliance forces and then hits the atmosphere - causing a huge hole to be formed in it.

In the room adjacent to the Omega Theta room, three beings sit in a darkened room.  One of them is Tholbar Elvgurem, a Russian mobster godfather.  The other two beings present are Hadrian Elvgurem - his right-hand man - and Belgrod Federtin, a sadistic “fixer” with a penchant for macabre violence.  The three mobsters then enter a room which holds another one of the Elvgurem family - a brilliant mathematician crippled by the rival Rokorian family.  He was locked in this room due to him going “pot-stir crazy” (as Belgrod puts it) and chanting about “dreams being real”.  While looking over the mathematician, Tholbar and his acolytes discuss the death of John Townerbee.  Tholbar, Hadrian, and Belgrod know that they haven’t committed the crime (meaning that they haven’t done it) but they know that anyone investigating the crime doesn’t know that.  Therefore when Hadrian mentions Anne Smith Tholbar realises that she must be investigating the case.  He then sends Belgrod and another mobster named Kwuaren to “fix” Anne so she can’t find out their involvement in other crimes.

Meanwhile, on the Crystalline Plane, Areex has been tied to a post by several other members of his own people.  The leader of this grouping is the same being who stabbed Areex.  They then reveal themself to be called Globis - and to be female.  This causes Areex to start having doubts about Globis actually being the same species as them due to Areex’s species not having genders.

In the “Mobster” room, Anne and Tannison find themselves on the same street that Tannison’s husband was killed on.  Anne begins to look for anything that could tell who or what killed John.  what Anne finds is a being that resembles a gorilla with green fur and four eyes.  It almost kills Anee, however, she shoots it.  The beast then disappears.  Anne walks across the street to Tannison - and is grabbed from behind by Belgrod.

On the Crystalline Plane, Areex begins to tell everything inaccurate about Globis and “the Crystalline Plane” - with examples being that “it’s obvious that the ‘Plane’ is a quarry” and “The sky is just CSO”.  That is when Globis motions to another cultist to start lowering Areex down into the pit that he has been tied over.  As Areex lists everything wrong with the dreamscape, something down in the pit roars.

Anne comes to in a dark room.  She finds herself to be laying on a decorated concrete slab wearing almost no clothing.  She then realises that she has been tied to the slab.  That is when Belgrod walks in.  He says that tends to enjoy this part of the “fixing”, however, before events can get any “worse” one of the walls of the room is smashed open and the being from before emerges from the hole.  It throws itself onto Belgrod, tearing him in two - vertically.  Anne remarks that she would be impressed if she wasn’t about to die.  That is when another hole forms, this one with a “failing-forcewall” glow around it.  Poseidon and Tarcrayenne walk out of the hole.

Poseidon almost immediately notices Anne and unties her.  While this is happening, Tarcrayenne wanders over to the beast, which has seemingly fallen dead from the bullet wound.  She mutters one word - “rejuvenation” - before placing her hands on the beast.  Anne and Poseidon then watch as Tarcrayenne and the beast phase into one another - with Poseidon realising that Tarcrayenne and the beast are the same being.  Anne then remarks that she wuld have came to that conclusion first.  And then remembers who she actually is.  Ank then realises that it wasn’t the bullet wound that caused the beast to stop dead.  It was something else.  That is when the Darkness around the hole surges forward to consume two new victims.

## Cast

* Ankarstian - Lesley Dunlop
* Poseidon - Chris Barrie
* Areex - John Scott Martin
* Tarcrayenne - TBA
* Hydrium - Jeff Rawle
* Mike Watts - TBA
* Jean Tannison Townerbie - TBA
* John Townerbie - TBA
* Globis - TBA
* beast - TBA
* Tholbar Elgurvem - John Hollis
* Belgrod Federtin - George A. Cooper
* Hadrian Elgurvem - Alun Armstrong
* Elgurvem mathematician - Roy Skelton
* Kwuaren Federtin - David Gooderson

rest to be added

## References

### Species

* The Ooophiloni are beings that create Ooophiloni ultrahouses

## Notes

* This story would have served as the intro story of the Eversiscendants, with the original version of this story having them as either main or secondary villains

## Continuity

* The Hiders, Wraiths, men with clocks for faces, blobs of vortex goo, leeches that feed on time, huge leviathans, and labryinthine vortex dwellers are mentioned (CW: *The Raid*, *The Time Storm*, *The Labryinth of Karakarat*; DW: *The Slow Empire*, *Anachrophobia*, *Space in Dimension Relative and Time*, *The Taking of Planet 5;* TOR*: The Undertaker's Gift)*
* Ankarsti*a*n would later wear the hat from her time in the cityscape while on Pillaria (CW: *Genesis*)
* Belgrod, Hadrian, Tholbar, and the mathematician are based off of the Eversiscendants. Ank encountered them in Operation: Earth
* Kwuaren is based off of Admiral Quartz - who last appeared in Decay