Project Infinity

"How much death can you watch before it becomes meaningless?"

Writer: Nicholas Briggs 

Format: Audio

Released: January 2002

Series: Dalek Empire 1.04

Featuring: Suz, Alby, Kalendorf

Synopsis 

The Seers of Yaldos have a sad story to tell, but Alby and Kalendorf know they must listen.

Meanwhile, the Daleks seem unconcerned by their recent defeats. They have their sights firmly fixed on Project Infinity

In the hands of the Daleks, the human race's only hope of victory could signal the destruction of the entire universe.

Verdict 

Project Infinity was a fantastic finale to what has been a brilliant and very consistent first series of the Dalek Empire range, in which Nicholas Briggs has pulled off a wonderful coup. This really is a magnificent idea and it really does feel like a sci-fi soap opera! The character development over the four stories has been marvellous and it's also been terrific to see what the Daleks get up to when the Doctor isn't interfering in their latest devious scheme. The setting of the 42nd century has been very good and it's going to be over 2,000 years before the accuracy of the audio can be questioned, and I'll be long gone by then but if anyone is scouring the outer depths of whatever the internet has become and squanders upon this blog, then comment on the accuracy! Ha! The failure of Suz to appear was a shock and added credibility to her apparent death. The revelation of the narrator, who I originally had suspected was Suz herself, was very intriguing. I liked the background to the Seer of Yaldos and the agony Alby was going through due to her connection with Suz was outstanding! It must have been emotionally challenging - and that's an understatement. The reference to The Human Factor was a heartfelt moment as across the cosmos it was revealed Suz got the message from Alby that he loved her. And she felt the same. It was interesting not having our main character star and I think the absence of female familiarity slightly hurt the story in parts but Mirana made up for what was mostly a no show. The reference to The Genocide Machine was brilliant and I love how the library on Kar-Charrat is being continuously referenced, it was such a unique thing and it should be reused no doubt! The similarities to The Mutant Phase were outstanding and I love how Mirana's mind was linked to that of the Dalek Emperor, likewise in the  mentioned story with Ganatus. The fact she'd been working towards a Dalek cause without even realising it for so long was terrific. The tying up of the series as a whole really was excellent. The reason the Daleks wanted the Veganite way back in Invasion of the Daleks was revealed nicely. Suz continuing the phrase of "Death to the Daleks!" was nicely included. The whole plan of occupying the galaxy by the Daleks not even being their main objective was quite a surprise but I thought it was great! The Daleks conquered the galaxy just to create a diversion so the Earth Alliance wouldn't notice a lone Imperial Command ship sneaking off to the other side of the galaxy for their real objective. And that was Project Infinity. It wasn't a weapon. It was a device that was wanted to be used by both the Daleks and Alliance. The idea behind it was audacious magnificence. Both factions wanted to have a sneak peak into parallel universes - one where the Alliance had found a way to defeat the Daleks and one where the Daleks were invincible, respectively. The idea was just brilliant! The fact that the Daleks took the initiative and opened a gateway to the universe where the Daleks were invincible was frightening, but then that brought the resolution! These parallel universe Daleks seemed shocked at the normal universe Daleks' actions and it seemed that conquering a galaxy was completely un-Dalek in the parallel universe. I'd like to meet that universe's Davros if that's the case! The extermination of the Imperial Command Daleks was a shocking but great climax! What a wonderful resolution and now there's a lot of questions to be asked in the second series, which has been set up in style.

Rating: 9/10