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| Geoffrey Beevers' Master (promotional pic from Big Finish covers). Palpatine vibes xD |
Audio: I Am the Master, a Big Finish short trip written and performed by Geoffrey Beevers.
5/5. Goodreads review also here.
Geoffrey Beevers' engaging monologue as the Crispy Master is equally
creepy and charismatic as he recounts, from a literal soundbooth xD, how
he came to rule and cause the destruction of a planet.
As well
as revelling in his evil power games, the Master also includes in his
storytelling a surprising amount of social criticism as he explains how
he exploits a series of societal factors for his benefit - from
capitalism, politics and environmental issues, to people's hypocritical
binary ideas of good and evil, to how distorted ideals for egalitarian
and utopic societies can create oppression, war and totalitarian regimes
very easily. Loved this take, combining actual legit social critique
with an exploration of the Master's amoral logic and pragmatism which he
uses to destroy and gain power.
Some quotes of this that I quite liked:
"Another thing that helps - helps me, that is, which is what ultimately counts - is that life forms can always be convinced that they are the goodies, pure and virtuous, and that some other life form is evil and must be destroyed! That's really the most helpful handle to have if you want to create death and destruction - 'Oh look, over there are some really bad people! They're not good, like you and me! Why don't you go and kill them?' Haven't you noticed how the so-called goodies usually end up killing just as many people as the so-called baddies? So, what does it really matter if the goodies win, so long as there's lots of destruction (...). I find that's a comfort, when I'm feeling a bit depressed, to remember - evil always originates in the attempt to eliminate evil in others. And the winner of the battle will always call themselves goodies anyway by definition, so I find there's a big area there that I can really exploit. Another ares is the whole thing of unintended consequences. People can start out oh so confident, with all kinds of good intentions, but they just don't think of the terrible side effects. But I mustn't give away all my secrets. I don't want people aware of what I'm doing when I hypnotize them."
"Recently I've become quite interested in the destructive power of ideas.
It is evident that the bright ideas of one generation can feed the
disasters of the next. All it needs is simplification and distortion.
Let me illustrate this with the aid of your own, miserable civilization:
'Love your neighbour' in the right hands can become the Inquisition.
'Men should be equal' [not women, heh] can become Stalinism. Freedom can become - well, you get my meaning. Simplify and distort."
And we also have a bonus final
ASMR 'hipnosis-in-progress' session with the Master whispering 'And you
will obeeeey meeee' into the in-universe microphone inside his TARDIS
disguised as a sound booth lol xDDD
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| Beevers' Master's 'crispy' gone-wrong incarnation from "The Keeper of Traken" |
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