Tears of the Oracle (novel)

 is the twentieth Virgin Bernice Summerfield New Adventures novel. It is a return to the "main narrative" after the two previous novels, which went down different avenues. Irving Braxiatel, Clarence and Chris Cwej return.

Publisher's summary
"Benny, you're ill. Let us help you. We want to help you. Really we do. This paranoia. These delusions. What you've done — it's driven you insane. Nobody wants to hurt you. We're your friends."

On Dellah, the shattered former home of Bernice Summerfield, only the Advanced Research centre survives — the last remnant of the once famous university. But it's under siege from fanatical groups of religious inquisitors, searching for new converts or dangerous heretics.

Benny would have to be mad to go back.

Jason Kane, Bernice's one-time husband and all-time opportunist, has found the ancient remains of the Oracle of the Lost on an obscure planetoid known only as KS-159. Or so he says.

Benny would have to be mad to believe him.

The mysterious Irving Braxiatel is looking for somewhere quiet to house his huge collection of... everything.

Benny would have to be mad to suggest KS-159.

The Oracle of the Lost, legend says, can answer any question. But the cryptic answers she gives are never helpful, and often dangerous.

Benny would have to be mad to reawaken her. Or ask a question. Or believe the answer.

Plot
to be added

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Irving Braxiatel
 * Clarence
 * Divson Follet
 * Emilia Winston
 * Hayward Denson
 * Chris Cwej
 * God
 * J-Kibb
 * B-Aaron
 * Skutloid
 * Drexton
 * Garshal

Biology

 * Benny thinks it was her Mary-Sue, the attempt to recreate her personality, that gave her the brain tumour. It is possible the process went wrong, inflicting life-threatening damage.

Groups

 * Advanced Research Department (ARD) on Dellah is most likely completely destroyed as it was overrun by religious extremists.

Individuals

 * Bernice Summerfield is diagnosed with a brain tumour.
 * Irving Braxiatel thinks of Bernice as family.
 * On pages 166 - 167 is a brief (yet detailed) description of Braxiatel's time before leaving Gallifrey. It states the Doctor is Braxiatel's brother.
 * The Oracle reveals that Clarence was once !C-Mel.
 * Chris Cwej (following his exposure to radiation in the universe in a bottle) regenerates, not into a killing machine, but into a short (he's now Benny's height), stocky and mellow-voiced man.
 * A Time Lord in a monk's robe assists Chris through his regeneration, saying, "We can give the process a small push".
 * As he's regenerating, Chris mentions body beppling.

Locations

 * Braxiatel wins KS-159 in a card game on Vega Station.

Species

 * Skutloid, Drexton and Garshal are Ice Warriors.

Time travel

 * Lack of telepathy hinders the People in mastering successful time travel.

Titles and offices

 * Bernice holds the Watkinson Chair of Archaeology, named in honour of Edward Watkinson.

Continuity

 * Braxiatel uses a communication cube to contact his people for assistance in the same way the Second Doctor does in TV: The War Games.
 * Chris was exposed to the lethal dose of radiation in PROSE: Dead Romance.
 * Benny got a Mary-Sue in PROSE: The Mary-Sue Extrusion.
 * PROSE: Demontage features the Vega Station.
 * There is a brief revisit to Benny's wedding in PROSE: Happy Endings.
 * !C-Mel (the ship Clarence once was) first appeared in PROSE: The Also People.
 * When discussing his imminent regeneration of Chris Cwej, the Time Lord mentions Chris had a boddy bepple to appear as a giant teddy bear in PROSE: Original Sin.
 * Skutloid, Drexton and Garshal all first appeared in PROSE: The Medusa Effect.
 * Emilia Winston first appeared in PROSE: Dragons' Wrath. This was also the novel in which Braxiatel worked out Joseph wasn't an "ordinary" porter...and neglected to tell anyone.
 * Braxiatel is revealed to be the Doctor's brother. This does not mean that the Doctor's surname is Braxiatel, however.