recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Suspended animation

**Suspended animation**, or **cryonics**, was the temporary slowing of bodily functions to allow for the preservation of the human body.

In 2027, it was deemed unsafe and experimental. It was also listed as prohibited by the Brussels Accord on Animal and Human Experimentation. After being refused permission to experiment on humans, Professor Paton took up the position as Moonbase Coordinator, where he came up with the plan to sabotage the computer aboard the spaceship Daedalus, sending it on a trajectory out of the solar system. His hopes were, someone would notice the cryonic chambers aboard and suggest a plan which involved using them to save the crew. When no-one failed to come up with this plan, Paton panicked and suggested a plan which involved blowing an airlock door, with the crew in the cryonics chambers, sending them on a new trajectory back into the solar system.

Paton knew this was a win-win scenario. Should it fail, he would be viewed as a man who had tried everything, should it succeed, it expected to become famous and foresaw the him being allowed to continue his studies and experimentation into cryonics. His plan was foiled by Nathan Spring of the International Space Police Force and he was removed from his position. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)
The Moon

**The Moon** was Earth's only natural satellite.

By 2027, a Moonbase had been built on the Moon for scientific research. Many other sites also existed on the surface of the Moon, including habitation blocks, scientific outposts, and even a graveyard owned by Lunar Internments. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*, *Intelligent Listening for Beginners*, AUDIO: *Dead and Buried*)

With its Moonbase, the Moon was viewed as a hub for all space travel, commerce and law enforcement. As such, with new Commander of the International Space Police Force Nathan Spring taking full control, he immediately sought a new office at the Moonbase, from which he could relay messages and send his staff on their missions, keeping a close eye on all things that went on. Another reason for this decision, however, was Spring's inability to acclimatise with the weightlessness aboard the Charles de Gaulle, the location of one of the ISPF outposts. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)

The Moon saw its fair share of lawlessness, such as the mysterious glitches and compression failures, (TV: *Other People's Secrets*) an explosion of a Moon outpost and murder of the Moonbase Coordinator, (AUDIO: *Hostage*) a set of murders known as the Moonbase Killings, (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*) and numerous crimes linked to the rise of the Collective. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*, et al)

Commercial shuttles were made available to those who wished to travel to and from the Moon, whether it be Earthside, to Mars or to other spacestations. These shuttles resembled, and functioned very much, like standard Earth aeroplanes but required its passengers to strap in during the flight due to the weightlessness. Traffic throughout space was regulated by Controllers, who worked aboard the spacestations. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*, et al)

It was true that, before the ISPF, there was no official lesligative body aboard the Moon to police the staff and inhabitants. In fact, even after the installation of the "Star Cops", many people refused to acknowledge their authority. Furthermore, the Commander of the ISPF, Nathan Spring, regularly saw himself tripped up and his investigations ruined by none other than the Moonbase Coordinators themselves. One such example was Ashikir Ahmed, who placed the blame of the Moonbase Killings entirely on the shoulders of Nathan Spring, who had been forced to take an Earthside break after his recent excursion to Mars. Ahmed was extremely anti-ISPF, and was always getting in their way and ruining their investigations. It wasn't until he was almost the final murder victim himself that he was glad of their presence. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)

Those stationed aboard the Moon could not exceed their specified number of months work. Moonbase personnel were forced to take "shoreleave" on Earth for medical reasons. When a malfunctioning drinks machine in Area Seven beckoned, Pal Kenzy was delighted to announce to Commander Spring that she had a planned shoreleave and couldn't investigate the matter. (AUDIO: *Death in the Desert*)
Nelson Mandela (space station)

The **Nelson Mandela** was a space station used in the research of cathe iboga.

Professor Sani Habib led the research into the altering of the genetics of the known narcotic cathe iboga, for use as a reliable food source that could be cultivated in arid conditions, such as in the desert or on Mars. During an outbreak of the narcotic strain on Moonbase, Paul Bailey took Habib in for questioning on Moonbase. Habib was found to be innocent of any involvement and he explained to them the nature of their research. He was later freed and, after willingly helping them with their investigation, returned to his work. (AUDIO: *Death in the Desert*)

## Behind the scenes

* The Nelson Mandela space station is named after former president of South Africa, and anti-aparteid activist.
Rossa McPhillips

**Rossa McPhillips** is a writer for the *Big Finish Star Cops* range.

After serving as a soldier, McPhillips began a career in writing. He has written for both *Doctor Who* and *Torchwood* for Big FInish Productions.

## External links

* **Rossa McPhillips** at the Internet Movie Database
* Official Twitter account
* Official Instagram account
Chad

**Chad** was a country in Africa.

Dr Kay Jones was working in a laboratory in Sahel, near the remains of Lake Chad. Her job was to mutate the plant cathe iboga so it could grow in arid conditions, such as in the desert and on Mars, and become a lifesaving foodstuff. When Jones was kidnapped, it was assumed that the local Justice and Democracy Movement was to blame. Nathan Spring, Commander of the International Space Police Force, took it upon himself to investigate her disappearance. (AUDIO: *Death in the Desert*)
Bridging chip

A **bridging chip** was an important piece of the depressurisation sensors in the space suits used by Moonbase.

The bridging chip's job was an important part of the sensor, and allowed the suit wearer to notice when their suit was exposed to the vacuum of space. During a routine spacewalk, Sonia Garrett failed to notice a tear in her suit, leading to her suffocation on the surface of the Moon. Forensics officer Mica of the International Space Police Force noted that the bridging chip in her suit had been swapped out for a faulty one, meaning that she had no knowledge of the tear throughout her spacewalk. This led the ISPF to believe that Garrett had been murdered. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*)
Anna Shoun

**Anna Shoun** was a former employee of Hanimed and, later, a physician for the International Space Police Force.

## Biography

Upon learning that Hanimed, the Japanese company for which she worked, was selling medications laced with a toxic substance, Anna Shoun became disillusioned with the company and joined the International Space Police Force as a physician. (TV: *In Warm Blood*)

*To be added.*

## Other information

* The series has been widely criticised for its racial stereotyping. The character of Anna Shoun is one such example. It is said that her character is not a well-rounded enough character. Similar has been said in regards to them making the American characters of the space station *Ronald Reagan* warmongers, and the Italian characters into Mafia types. Similarly, Arab characters were written as Islamists. This is likely the reason why, when *Star Cops* was brought back in 2018, no attempt was made to bring back this character, or any of the attitudes of the 1980s.
Witness Protection

**Witness Protection** was a service provided by the British police force.

When Anton Makowski was forced by the Collective to grow close his old friend Paul Bailey, kidnap and lead him to his death, Paul and Colin Devis managed to foil the plan and place Makowski and his family into Witness Protection, seeing him get a new identity and further protection from the Collective. (AUDIO: *Old Flame, New Fire*)
Brian Lincoln

**Brian Lincoln** was an officer for the British police force.

In 2027, Inspector Lincoln worked underneath Chief Inspector Nathan Spring on numerous cases including a drowning case, which the computers had concluded was accidental. Unhappy with this verdict, and working on a hunch, Spring ordered Lincoln to dig deeper. Lincoln interviewed the window and inspected her home. Lincoln also worked out that the body must have drowned further in the lake, and that it would be impossible to drown at the shallow edge, where the body was found.

While the case was ongoing, the Commander of the British police force, Gerard, was eyeing up the position of Commander of the International Space Police Force for Spring, something which Spring outright did not want. In the end, Spring was sent to the space station Charles de Gaulle to investigate some fatal suit malfunctions. Spring was able to prove both the drowning case and the suitcase incident were murders. However, upon returning to Earth, he was informed that Lincoln had been credited for the drowning case and had been promoted to Chief Inspector, meaning that Nathan Spring had to either accept the position with the ISPF or go jobless. (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*)

At some point, Lincoln was promoted to Chief Superintendent. While Nathan Spring and his team were on a mission to Mars, he was temporarily placed in Spring's position on Moonbase as Acting Commander of the International Space Police Force. Under the leadership of Moonbase Commander Ashikir Ahmed, who was vocally anti-ISPF, he found the work difficult and it was reported that crime on the Moon had grown. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)

## Personality

Lincoln found himself regularly exhausted by Spring's inability to trust technology, and found his orders to further investigate extremely tedious. But he got his head down and went ahead with the work, getting the job done in the end. He was likeable and got along well with Spring.
Helen Pitcher

**Helen Pitcher** was the medical cordinator at Moonbase.

During the Moonbase Killings, Pitcher aided Nathan Spring and his officers to analyse the bodies of the victims. At first, the bodies had no remarkable details to them. When Spring asked her to delve deeper, she found that the bodies had large amounts of nanites inside. Upon the solving of the case, Pitcher was tasked with examining the Moonbase crew members and removing any existing nanites. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)
Kay Jones

Dr **Kay Jones** was a genetic scientist who worked alongside Prof. Sani Habib in their research on cathe iboga.

## Biography

### Early life

Kay Jones was the daughter of Clare Jones. She also was the younger sister to Lee Jones. (AUDIO: *Death in the Desert*)

### Hating Nathan Spring

During her life, she saw Lee Jones enter a ten year relationship with Nathan Spring, a British police officer. During an early meeting between the Jones family and Spring, Kay took an instant dislike to him, thinking he was leading her sister on. (AUDIO: *Death in the Desert*)

Later in life, Kay became a genetic biologist, working in Chad. Under the supervision of Prof. Sani Habib, Kay was mutating cathe iboga to become a hardy plant that could grow in arid conditions, such as the deserts and on Mars. This would enable it to become a viable foodstuff. Unbeknowst to others, she was actually mutating it to become a narcotic and was selling it on Moonbase. (AUDIO: *Death in the Desert*)

Her disliking of Spring hit a new high when she became aware of the Collective's bounty on his head, following his interference in their operations on the Icarus station. (AUDIO: *Hostile Takeover*) Later tellling Spring that her and the Collective's interests had aligned, Kay put a plan into effect, which saw her staging her own kidnapping from her laboratory at the hands of the Collective. She knew that Spring would feel a sense of regret following the death of Lee Jones, and would investigate himself. The Collective then kidnapped Spring, and Kay played the part of victim to find out what Spring knew about the Collective. Upon finding out how little he knew, she revealed her allegiance and attempted to kill him. This failed ultimately and she was injured by Spring and taken into custody. (AUDIO: *Death in the Desert*)

## Personality

Kay Jones was an evil, ruthless performer. She made no effort to hide her despise of Nathan Spring, which grew like fire following the death of her sister Lee Jones. Her anger had blinded her to the point that she had become an attempted killer. All of this had surprised Spring, who had known of her dislike of him. He had never sensed anything stronger than that.
The Bad Beginning

***The Bad Beginning*** is the first book in A Series of Unfortunate Events and the first one by Daniel Handler. It is narrated in the first person as Lemony Snicket. The book was first released in 1999. The book is about the Baudelaires becoming orphans on Briny Beach, and them meeting Count Olaf. The Baudelaire Children are on Briny Beach. They are doing an experiment to see how to make the rock dropped into the water go farther. But then, they see a figure emerging from the fog. This figure is Mr. Poe. Mr. Poe tells them that their mansion has burned down and that their parents have died. They are taken into the care of a treacherous man named Count Olaf who is greedy for the fortune that the Baudelaires have left behind.

## Beginning

***For Beatrice,***

***darling, dearest, dead...***

## Note at the Back

Dear Reader,

I'm sorry to say that the book you are holding in your hands is extremely unpleasant. It tells an unhappy tale about three very unlucky children. Even though they are charming and clever, the Baudelaire siblings lead lives filled with misery and woe. From the very page of this book when the children are at the beach and receive terrible news, continuing on through the entire story, disaster lurks at their heels. One might say they are magnets for misfortune.

In this short book alone, the three youngsters encounter a greedy and repulsive villain, itchy clothing, a disastrous fire, a plot to steal their fortune, and cold porridge for breakfast.

It is my sad duty to write down these unpleasant tales, but there is nothing stopping you from putting this book down at once and reading something happy, if you prefer that sort of thing.

With all due respect,

Lemony Snicket
Perth Observatory

Pal Kenzy once likened the laser used aboard the Icarus Station with the astronomical telescope at **Perth Observatory**, due to its enormity. (AUDIO: *Hostile Takeover*)

## Behind the scenes

* Perth Observatory does exist in Australia. The original observatory was founded on Mount Eliza, in West Perth in 1896, before being moved to Bickley in 1965, giving it its alternate name of "the Bickley Observatory". The Bickley Observatory has an altitude of 428 meters (or 1,404 feet). Discover more here.
Ben

**Ben** was one of two employees working at the Eurotunnel when a worm infected the system and caused multiple failures.

On a routine handover between him and his colleague, Leo, a dataworm infected their systems, causing numerous failures in the computer. Ben reported this to central control but it was too late. Numerous shuttles collided causing multiple wreckages, as reported by WWBC News. (TV: *Intelligent Listening for Beginners*)
Ian Potter

**Ian Potter** is a writer for the *Big Finish Star Cops* range.

## Career

Ian Potter is a contributor to the world of *Doctor Who*, having written numerous short stories and audio stories for its expanded media, and its spin-off ranges. For *Big Finish*, he made his *Star Cops* writing debut with *Tranquility and Other Illusions* for *Star Cops: Mother Earth Part 1*, as well as having written for many ranges, including *The Avengers*, *Survivors*, *2000 AD* and the numerous *Doctor Who* ranges and spin-offs.

Potter was, up until September 2006, a television curator for the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. He has worked for a handful of BBC televison projects, including *Trust Me, I'm a Celebrity* for BBC One, *Ads Infinitum* for BBC Two, and *Up Late* for BBC Choice. His further works include those for BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 7 and Guerilla Books.

## External links

* **Ian Potter** at the Internet Movie Database
* Official Twitter account
Alcohol

**Alcohol** was a popular beverage.

It was usually drunk socially, between adults. Nathan Spring and Rosalynn Emmett shared a bottle of wine during their date. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)

After the brutal murder of his girlfriend, Spring drunk alcohol in excess in the Lotus Garden. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)

Alcohol was banned in outer space for those working on the Moonbase. During the leadership of Moonbase Coordinator Ashikir Ahmed, the ban was lifted and a Hallowe'en party was thrown aboard the Moonbase. After the murder of the woman throwing the party as part of the Moonbase Killings, alcohol was swiftly banned again. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)
David John Pope

**David John Pope** was an actor who played the role of Michael Chandri in the *Star Cops* episode *Intelligent Listening for Beginners*.

Pope would go onto play numerous roles including the Kandyman in *Doctor Who* in the same year, as well as Luigi the Waiter in *My Husband and I*, Mario Caselli in *A Sense of Guilt*, and Kabbaddi in *The Knock*.

## External links

* **David John Pope** at the Tardis Wiki
* **David John Pope** at the Internet Movie Database
Kyle Rogers

**Kyle Rogers** was part of the maintenance crew aboard the Moonbase.

Due to him working in the late hours, he was known as working the "red eye shift". Working these late hours, meant that his relationship with partner Abby Panton, who was his girlfriend and worked on the Moonbase as a duty officer, was suffering. He had started a secret love affair with construction engineer Reagan Prince.

Shortly before Nathan Spring had resumed his duties as the Commander of the International Space Police Force, Rogers attended a Hallowe'en party. He had attended dressed as a vampire, as witnessed by Inspector Paul Bailey. There, he was seen by one of Panton's close friends and knew that this would be the start of the end of his relationship. When Rogers and Prince snuck out of the party to collect smuggled alcohol, Prince was brutally murdered. Rogers found her body and was horrified to find that it had lacked its eyes. This marked the beginning of the Moonbase Killings. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)
Home

Welcome to the wiki about Daniel Handler's famous book series A Series of Unfortunate Events that anyone can edit!

A Series of Unfortunate Events is a book series written by Daniel Handler (pen name Lemony Snicket) that consists of thirteen main books: The Bad Beginning, The Reptile Room, The Wide Window, The Miserable Mill, The Austere Academy, The Ersatz Elevator, The Vile Village, The Hostile Hospital, The Carnivorous Carnival, The Slippery Slope, The Grim Grotto, The Penultimate Peril and The End.
Reagan Prince

**Reagan Prince** was a construction engineer on the Moonbase.

She entered an affair with Kyle Rogers, who had a girlfriend. At a Hallowe'en party on the Moonbase, the two of them went in search of alcohol. Prince became the first victim of the Moonbase Killings, after being brutally murdered and having her eyeballs removed. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)
Artificial intelligence

**Artificial intelligence**, or **AI**, was the intelligence of machines and software, rather than that of human beings and animals.

AI could be used in a number of ways. Nathan Spring owned a machine called Box, which enabled him to communicate with machines, steal data, answer questions both mundane and philosophical, and also converse. Box sometimes allowed itself to run away with itself, much to Spring's annoyance. One such instance saw Box allowing another similar and potentially dangerous device, belonging to Ryan McGuinness, communicate with it. (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*, AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)

By 2047, many people both Earthside and out in space owned communication screens. These were voice activated and allowed for long distance communications. They were used by scientists on Moonbase to follow the flight patterns and trajectories of space vehicles, such as the Daedalus. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*) The International Space Police Force, informally known as Star Cops, used these screens to keep in constant communication with their other bases, such as the Coral Sea, (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*), as well as perform filing and data entry duties, as performed by Pal Kenzy. (TV: *Trivial Games and Paranoid Pursuits*)

Some space stations used PR Graphics to answer their incoming calls. These PR Graphics had lifelike human faces, and were able to sift through the data stored at a space station in order to answer questions. Dilly Goodman once attempted to speak to the PR Graphic used by the Ronald Regan space station in attempt to talk to her brother, but found it highly infuriating as the answers it gave her didn't ring true. It became clear that some artificial intelligence could be fed false data. (TV: *Trivial Games and Paranoid Pursuits*)

The debate as to whether artificial intelligence was deemed life was a hot topic, especially during the Moonbase Killings. Aboard the MacDyne space station, the disabled and frail Ryan McGuinness seemed to have a perfect alibi, despite having the motive for the murders on Moonbase. There were also no logs of him ever leaving his space station, even if he physically could withstand the G-force of space travel, or the gravity of the Moonbase. It turned out that the McGuinness aboard the space station was actually an artificial intelligence of the real McGuinness, who had created an exoskeleton and was murdering the personnel on Moonbase. While Colin Devis had no doubts that the artificial McGuiness wasn't "real" and ought to be shot dead, Nathan Spring had other ideas. It was clear to Spring that this wasn't a decision that should be taken rashly. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)

When arriving at the Spa King Hotel in Liverpool, Colin Devis had to speak to the artificial intelligence to book in. As part of his experience, the AI system recorded his biometrics and voice pattern. The AI told Devis that this information would be erased in seven days in accordance with his "right to be forgotton". To accept terms and conditions, the user had to say "consent". (AUDIO: *Old Flame, New Fire*)
Graeme Harper

**Graeme Harper** (born 11 March 1945) was one of the two directors of the *Star Cops* series in 1987.

He is more notable for his work as assistant floor manager, production assistant and director for numerous *Doctor Who* stories throughout the Classic and Modern eras of the show, becoming a staple of its identity. His approach to *Star Cops* was much different to that of the other producer, Christopher Baker, with Harper bringing studio lights way down to their minimum levels and including numerous props, making the sets look more "lived in", rather than being bright and clean, how Baker preferred.

## Credits

### Director

* *Trivial Games and Paranoid Pursuits*
* *This Case to be Opened in a Million Years*
* *In Warm Blood*
* *Little Green Men and Other Martians*

## External links

* **Graeme Harper** on the Internet Movie Database

## Footnotes

1. ↑ Doctor Who Guide
2. ↑ *Star Cops* interview clip
Brussels Accord on Animal and Human Experimentation

The ***Brussels Accord on Animal and Human Experimentation*** was legislation that outlined the laws surrounding the usage of human beings and animals in experimentation purposes.

Nathan Spring showed Moonbase Coordinator Professor Paton a printed copy of the *Accord* following his suspiciously timely intervention during the potential catastrophe surrounding the cargo ship Daedalus. Spring and Theroux reminded Paton that he was refused a licence for human experimentation during his research on suspended animation, making it suspicious that the Daedalus, a cargo ship carrying his experimental suspended animation pods, would have to be used in an attempt to save the two pilots.

Spring put it to Paton that he purposefully caused a malfunction in the Daedalus' seemingly infallable computer, causing it to career out of control. He then suggested the pilots blow an airlock changing the trajectory of the ship and enter his suspended animation pods to survive the eight year travel back to the solar system. Paton outright denied these claims, but Spring made it clear that he would be following all lines of enquiry regardless of Paton's position in the aeronautical field. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)
Sandra (Grandma's Footsteps)

**Sandra** was a medical clerk on Moonbase.

An "old pal" of Colin Devis of the International Space Police Force, Sandra and Colin were gambling buddies. During the investigation into Nekare Contractors, Sandra died in mysterious circumstances on the Moon. Devis started to connect the mysterious accidents on the Moon to Canavar Casino, a secret casino channel that used the Moonbase network. Upon revealing this to Nathan Spring, they both logged onto the network to find Sandra's name with a line through it, as though they were taunting those in debt.

They found out that, despite being very much in debt with the casino, Sandra had won a strangely large amount of money during the time that an injured Liam Patterson had been allowed to fly Earthside, despite it being against procedure. Spring put two and two together, claiming that it was clear Sandra was paid a large amount of money to change Patterson's personal files, allowing him to fly. Furthermore, it became clear that her death was simply to silence her. (AUDIO: *Grandma's Footsteps*)
United States of America

The **United States of America**, sometimes shorted to the **United States**, or just **America**, was a country. It was considered one of the space powers. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)

## History

Around 1868, a notorious criminal organisation known as the Black Hand Gang was formed in the United States of America. Bizarrely, by 2027, another organisation named themselves after the repressed Spanish anarchists, the Black Hand, of 1883. This naming was coincidental. (TV: *Intelligent Listening for Beginners*)

Chief Superintendent David Theroux of the International Space Police Force was once an engineer in the US space program before quitting and becoming a Star Cop. (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*)

WBC News reported that numerous space powers were going to launch a formal protest against America in Geneva, after it refused to allow a foreign body onto its unmanned space station to investigate its purpose. Upon learning that his girlfriend's murder was a small part in a plot to uncover American secrets from the space station and blame it on the Russians, Nathan Spring informed them and their space station was defended against a rogue British spy on a stolen space shuttle. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)
Joseph Ntembi

**Dr Joseph Ntembi** was an environmental scientist, whose drowning became part of an ISPF case. (AUDIO: *The Stuff of Life*)

## Biography

Joseph Ntembi was born in Nairobi, which he recalled as parched and dry. Before his death, he had been witness to a five year drought that had ravaged his homeland. He also stated that his people had failed in their attempts at creating artificial rain. Ntembi had spent his later years focusing on space, but the environmental struggles at home had led him to accept the position of Head of the African Cloud Seeding Initiative, something he felt morally obliged to do.

Two weeks before the public announcement of his new position, Ntembi had flown to Venice. Having unknowingly been led away from his fellow sightseers by a hostess at the Marco Polo Airport, Ntembi found himself the sole passenger aboard a submarinal cruise of Venice. With his hostess vanished, the submarine was set on a collision course and Ntembi was unable to flee, causing him to mysteriously drown.

*To be added.* (AUDIO: *The Stuff of Life*)
Coral Sea

The **Coral Sea** was a space station. It was a development of the Allied Pacific Consortium. One of those situated there was Inspector Pal Kenzy of the International Space Police Force, before she was subsequently offered a job working alongside Commander Nathan Spring. (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*)
Time (magazine)

**Time** was the name of a magazine.

Dr Joseph Ntembi had rembered the beautiful photograph on the cover of one issue of Time, which had shown the ruins of St. Mark's Basilica, featuring its famous Horses of St. Mark's. That had inspired him to visit the sunken city of Venice. (AUDIO: *The Stuff of Life*)
Venice

**Venice** was a city in Italy. (AUDIO: *The Stuff of Life*)

## History

Venice had once been a city above water but due to environmental reasons, it was now only visible via submarine tours. One such sightseer, Dr Joseph Ntembi took a submarinal tour to see St. Mark's Basilica and its famous Horses of St. Mark, which he noted were now replicas of the original. He remembered seeing this landmark on the front cover of Time magazine. After the mysterious drowning of Ntembi, the International Space Police Force sent Inspector Paul Bailey to investigate when they found similarities in other cases. Venice was accessible via Marco Polo Airport. (AUDIO: *The Stuff of Life*)

Submarine Captain Julia Morelli had become a useful contact of Inspector Paul Bailey of the ISPF following this investigation. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)
Housing

* Housing might be a bit tricky if you don’t have relatives or friends who speak Chinese. But agents are available.
* If you know Chinese, 591.com.tw is the best site to use for house hunting (This is what the locals use)
* Here are some helpful links:
	+ http://focustaiwan.tw/news/eng\_intercomm/201508290003.aspx
	+ http://www.studychineseintaiwan.com/2016/12/01/finding-housing-in-taiwan-where-to-find-foreigner-friendly-taiwan-apartment-listings-2/
Karakoram

The **Karakoram** was a mountain range that spanned the borders of Pakistan, China and India.

Shortly after the Moonbase Killings, Chief Superintendent Priya Basu of the International Space Police Force, took time off to go mountaineering along the Karakoram, leaving Pal Kenzy to temporarily take her place. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*)

## Behind the scenes

The Karakoram is not to be confused with Karakorum. Whereas the Karakoram is an Asian mountain range spanning the aforementioned three countries, Karakorum was the capital of the Mongul Empire between 1235 and 1260.
Andrew Smith

**Andrew Smith** is a writer and script editor for the *Big Finish Star Cops* range.

## Career

After having sent in numerous scripts to numerous *Doctor Who* script editors, all of which received positive feedback, Smith's submission of *The Planet that Slept* was finally produced under the name *Full Circle*, and was broadcast from 25 October 1980. Smith went on to also write the novelisation. At the time of broadcast, Smith was the youngest person to write for *Doctor Who*. He then had a lengthy career as a police officer.

With his earlier work for *Doctor Who* in mind, *Big Finish Productions* approached Smith to continue his earlier storyline with a sequel, *The Invasion of E-Space*, which was released in October 2010. He has since written numerous audio stories for *Big Finish*, as well contributing to their other ranges including *Star Cops*, *Survivors*, *Blake's 7* and numerous *Doctor Who* spin-off ranges. He is a regular attendee of *Big Finish Day*, a yearly convention dedicated to the audio dramas produced by *Big Finish*.

## Bibliography

### Script Editor

* *Star Cops: Mother Earth Part 1* (with Guy Adams)
* *Star Cops: Mother Earth Part 2*
* *Star Cops: Mars Part 1* (with Guy Adams)
* *Star Cops: Mars Part 2* (with Guy Adams)
* *The High Frontier 1* (with Roland Moore)
* *The High Frontier 2* (with Roland Moore)
* *Star Cops: Blood Moon* (with Roland Moore)

### Writer

#### Star Cops: Mother Earth Part 1

* *One of Our Cops is Missing*

**Star Cops: Mother Earth Part 2**

* *Hostage*

#### Star Cops: Mars Part 2

* *Bodies of Evidence*
* *The Highest Ground*

#### Star Cops: Blood Moon

* *I Was Killed Yesterday*
* *London Zone*

## External links

* **Andrew Smith** at the Internet Movie Database
* Official Twitter account
Mike

**Mike** was co-pilot of the cargo ship *Daedalus*.

He and his co-pilot, Lara, were well-known among the space working community for their love affair. This led to many personnel debating whether their close relationship posed problems in their working environments. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)

Mike and Lara became the centre of an ISPF case when the seemingly infallable computer of their ship malfunctioned causing them to fly onwards without the option to break. Mike and Lara changed the flight trajectory of the ship by blowing an airlock, enter suspended animation pods and wait for their ship to re-enter the solar system in roughly eight years where they would hopefully be reanimated. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)
Star Cops: Mother Earth Part 1 (audio anthology)

***Mother Earth Part 1*** was a full cast anthology released 29 May 2018 by Big Finish Productions. It starred David Calder as Nathan Spring, Trevor Cooper as Colin Devis, Linda Newton as Pal Kenzy. It also introduced Rakhee Thakrar as Priya Basu, and Philip Olivier as Paul Bailey.

## Publisher's summary

*It’s the near future, and mankind has expanded its presence in space. Maintaining law and order among this network of space stations, satellites and moon outposts is the responsibility of the International Space Police Force, known colloquially as the Star Cops. Their leader is Commander Nathan Spring.*

While dealing with crimes including drug smuggling and murder, the Star Cops find themselves facing a new and sustained threat. The activist group Mother Earth, ideologically opposed to humanity’s presence in space, has been quiet for some time. But no longer. The group returns with a vengeance, prepared it seems to go to any lengths to achieve its aims.

1.1 *One of Our Cops is Missing* by Andrew Smith

As construction of the Vasco da Gama, the largest space station ever put into orbit, nears completion, Nathan is visited by an old friend, who asks for his help in tracking down a missing undercover officer.

Meanwhile, Inspector Priya Basu is investigating a near-fatal spacewalk accident on the space station Rakesh Sharma that may be no accident at all.

1.2 *Tranquillity and Other Illusions* by Ian Potter

A murder at the historic scene of the first Apollo moon landing offers few clues for the Star Cops. Why would anyone want to kill Philip Hughes, a property entrepreneur? And what has become of the mysterious woman who was with him at the time? The investigation leads to a moon outpost, where anyone may be the killer.

1.3 *Lockdown* by Christopher Hatherall

Tech Tower is a state of the art, high-security, high-technology building located in Paris. It seems the ideal venue for an international conference on how to counter the growing threat from the Mother Earth group.

Nathan and Priya attend as representatives of space policing. Soon, they and everyone else in the building find themselves in danger as a disruptive attack by Mother Earth coincides with a plot by criminals to carry out a high stakes robbery.

1.4 *The Thousand Ton Bomb* by Guy Adams

A failed bombing of Moonbase provides the Star Cops with an opportunity to strike back at Mother Earth. Paul Bailey is called on to use his undercover skills once more.

But Mother Earth is about to escalate its campaign of violence with a spectacular attack. And the Star Cops are among those in the firing line.

## Notes

* This is the first official continuation of the television series after its cancellation in 1987. It featured the surviving cast members David Calder, Trevor Cooper and Linda Newton, as well as some new faces.
* As stated in the behind the scenes, the creators of the audio series wished to include Linda Newton in a bigger role, but found it very hard to locate her due to her having very little online presence.
Food

* Taiwan has amazing food and it is a national obsession.
* Hungry in Taipei seems to be the most popular English blog (based on number of followers)
* Ipeen seems to be the equivalent site to yelp although I don’t see a mobile version and you might have to do a lot of google translate:
* Yelp and Google Maps are both active in Taiwan and have a lot of good reviews of places
United Kingdom

The **United Kingdom** was a country.

It was sometimes referred to as Britain, and its people as "Brits". (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*)

## Geography

### Location

The United Kingdom was located in Europe, and was linked to the mainland via the Channel Tunnel. (TV: *Intelligent Listening for Beginners*)

Commander Nathan Spring had an apartment in London. He reguarly visited a local Chinese restaurant, the Lotus Garden. (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*) Other places in London were Dulwich, which was once the home of Susan O'Brien. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*) The streets of London were patrolled by robot police drones. (AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)

### Climate

The United Kingdom tended to rain and be rather dull. (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*, AUDIO: *Sins of the Father*)

### Government and Police

The United Kingdom had a strong police force and spy network. The force relied heavily on machines to undertake their cases, much to Nathan Spring's annoyance. He noted that "classic policing" had gone out of the window, and that, much to the disagreement of those around him, including the head of police, machines can miss nuance and context. Spring proved his point when he helped fellow investigator Brian Lincoln to solve a drowning case that the machines had gotten wrong. Typical of the British police, that led to Brian getting the praise and Spring being sent to a new role off-world. (TV: *An Instinct for Murder*)

British spies were much more ruthless. When the United Kingdom became aware of a mysterious and unmanned American space station, they decided to set into events a plan that would embroil Nathan Spring, now Commander of the International Space Police Force. The British wanted to gain entry to the station, in the hopes that it contained weapons. Knowing that it could cause war, they sent their officer Corman in disguise as a police officer. She informed Spring that Lee Jones' murderer was a man named John Smith, and that they had to stop him at all costs, even if it meant entering the space station. The plan was to lie to Spring that Smith was a Russian spy, and then have Smith publically announce what he saw inside the station. Realising this to be a ruse, and that he British murdered his girlfriend, Spring informs the Americans of the British plan and hands Corman over. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*)

Other problems were shady characters known as the "Urban Apaches". These were a gang of rollerskaters who performed small crimes in London. (TV: *Conversations with the Dead*) There were many real gangs in the United Kingdom, such as the Red Core, the Black Hand Gang, and the Collier Gang. None of these compared to sheer scale of the Collective, a group that conglomerated other groups, and had hidden operatives around the world and seemingly in every position, such as policing and governmental. (AUDIO: *Hostile Takeover*)

### History

> *The events of the* Star Cops *series will be placed here, as well as other important events.*
>
>

## Footnotes

1. ↑ It is not explicity explained in the series that Great Britain is part of the United Kingdom
Habitation Block 32A

**Habitation Block 32A** was a living quarters that, according to Sonia Garrett, were built to the new design spec, making them much more modern and appealing. Garrett was somewhat jealous of these.

On 12 July, at 4:42pm, Garrett was sent to check and repair the outside airlock as part of her job. When she got there, she depressurised her moon rover, and set out for the airlock. A tear in the suit, and a failure of the suit to inform her of the escaping oxygen, caused her to suffocate on the Moon. Sonia Garrett's murder was then investigated by the International Space Police Force. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*)
Water quality

* Do not drink the tap water without filters. Some apartments does come with filtered water at the sink but with others, you might want to buy big jugs and a dispenser.
* Most locals prefer to boil water instead of (or in addition to) filtering the water because simple filters might not make the water clean enough to drink.
* Taiwan also does not have fluoride in their water. Make sure to practice good oral hygiene.
Xander O'Brien

**Xander O'Brien** was a former-television presenter and later meteorologist.

## Biography

### Early life

Xander O'Brien once hosted a science television programme. During this time, he had a fling with his cohost, Jemima. Later, his wife passed away, causing him to give up his showbiz career and take care of his daughter, Susan. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*)

### Life aboard the Hattie Jacques

With his daughter grown up and now a journalist for a science magazine, O'Brien acquired an old S-Class space station and named it the Hattie Jacques. There, he took up his new hobby of meteorology, where he would measure and report on solar flare activity. Every two weeks, O'Brien would leave the Hattie Jacques in his shuttle and collect supplies from Moonbase. He had done this for seven years.

At some point, he met with a representative of the Collective, who blackmailed him to murder enginner Sonia Garrett. They threatened to murder his daughter, should he fail. Four weeks before her death, O'Brien caused a tear in her suit using his humidity probe, and swapped out her bridge chip in her depressurisation sensor for a dud one. Unbeknownst to him, she would use her colleague, Velma's, spacesuit to perform her next spacewalk. Two weeks later, Garrett would go for another spacewalk and this time, she would use her own suit. Sonia Garrett suffocated on the surface of the Moon. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*)

### Death

Under investigation from the International Space Police Force, and fearing that he would be caught, O'Brien created an alien paranoia to explain Garrett's death. He had convinced himself that aliens lived amongst the Moonbase personnel, and that *they* had killed Garrett. The Collective had planted an explosive device in the shuttle pod of the Hattie Jacques, and knowing that he was a dead man either way, he took it upon himself to enter the pod and fly away with the device.

In his last moments, Nathan Spring informed him that his daughter had been murdered in a house fire, and pleaded with him to name the criminal organisation that had killed his daughter and blackmailed him to take a life. With seconds to go, O'Brien managed to name the Collective to Spring, but died before being able to provide further investigation. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*)

### Legacy

Upon learning of the Collective's involvement in the Mark Robinson and Jacob Depard cases, both Colin Devis and Nathan Spring remember the warning that O'Brien gave to them moments before his death. (AUDIO: *Hostile Takeover*)
Financial

* ForeignersinTaiwan has a very helpful page: https://www.foreignersintaiwan.com/blog-370963385326684/taiwans-economy-faq
* ATMs can be found in the following locations:
	+ Metro stations
	+ 7-11 and other convenience stores
	+ Post offices
* Note that if you use "convenient" ATMs (which are not run by your bank), you will be charged a $15NT convenience fee regardless of how much money you withdraw. If you wish to avoid this fee but your bank does not have many ATMs, the easiest thing to do is to open an account with the post office. This way, you can use the post office's many ATMs for free.
* Any bank can help you with exchanging money.
Petey K

**Petey K**is a member of the Penguin Band in *Snowy Penguin*. He currently plays the guitar, but has also played the piano, triangle, kazoo, ukulele, and accordion. He is normally found with 1 or 2 other band members during parties and events. By meeting him, players can obtain a free background and a stamp.
Hattie Jacques

The **Hattie Jacques** was an old S-Class space station owned and repurposed by Xander O'Brien.

At some point later in his life, O'Brien acquired the station, named it the Hattie Jacques, and used it to measure and report on solar flares. The Hattie Jacques was extremely old, as noted by both Paul Bailey and Colin Devis, who were trapped in its airlock while O'Brien manually overrode the systems. O'Brien himself explained that he had been aboard the station for seven years. O'Brien had attached numerous antenna to the station, one of which broke off due to the sheer age of the station.

Being an S-Class station meant that the external wheel system created artifical gravity. Bailey explained to Devis that the Hattie Jacques' age wasn't just a bad thing, as its design enabled the station to survive for a long time. Bailey and Devis' visit was due to O'Brien being the main suspect in Sonia Garrett's murder. When it became clear that the Collective had hidden a bomb in the shuttle pod of the Hattie Jacques, O'Brien entered the pod and detached it with himself inside as an act of repentence but also because he knew he was a dead man walking, with his connection to the Collective. The pod exploded with him inside. (AUDIO: *Dead Air*)
Cave Mine

The **Cave Mine** is an underground cavern in *Snowy Penguin*where miners can dig for treasure. This cavern was opened up after a rockslide revealed the entrance, and later on penguins set up mining equipment, and since then, it was a place to dig for coins. The mine is very dark, and used a snowball-powered generator to illuminate the cavern.
Leveling

Leveling in Belenus is done with the experience gained by interacting with the populace, going on adventures, and otherwise utilizing the skills bestowed by the various Rift Sealer Classes.

The Maeykka Restoration system encourages players to Multiclass (up to three different Classes at the same time, unless they are conferred additional slots by the Crafter Class). For determining the appropriate challenge level of each player, calculate:

**Highest Level of Class + Number of Levels in Other Classes/2 (rounded down)**

So for an Adventurer who is a Level 7 Warlock, a Level 3 Ranged, and a Level 2 Mender, the challenge level they should be subjected to would be:

**7 + (3+2)/2 rounded down = Level 9**

## How to Level

The adventurer gains experience while out in the world of Belenus, but they can only rank up in their chosen Class in the right place. They must find the requisite expert in order to spend their experience points for the next level in whichever class they choose.

### Junior Tier Leveling

For Apprentices and Squires, leveling to the next round in the Junior Tier requires finding a Journeyman/Knight and having them sign an official document witnessing your level progression.

Either you already have a sponsor or you can go to a Guild Hall, or various shops (run by Journeymen) to officially level up and buy any new techniques, spells or recipes.

### Journeymen Tier Leveling

Leveling in each Tier of the Journeyman Level requires you to get to a Guild Hall and officially get to the next level. Each rank in this tier gives you access to different rooms and perks within your Guild.