Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Infernal Nexus (novel)

Professor Bernice Summerfield and the Infernal Nexus, or simply The Infernal Nexus, was the fourth novel published by Big Finish Productions, part of their Big Finish Bernice Summerfield series. It featured the return of Jason Kane, who last appeared in the final Virgin New Adventures novel Twilight of the Gods in 1999.

Publisher's summary
Acting on an abstruse tip-off from the renowned paraphysiologist Dr Rupert Gilhooly (a man who, like, knows a lot of stuff) one Bernice Summerfield has found herself on a probe-ship heading deep into the Problematic Heart of the galaxy — not knowing what, or quite who, she might find.

What she finds is Station Control. A place that exists, simultaneously, in four hundred and seventeen dimensions, a brawling, souk-like Nexus between every world that can, or has or ever will be. And one of those dimensions is Hell.

Bernice knows nothing of the rivalries and power-plays going on here. So she blunders right into them and makes a complete hash of everything, natch. And one of the particular whoms she finds, quite frankly, what with one thing and another, she could quite well do without. In her current state.

Plot
Benny is finally starting to write the sequel to her book Down Among the Dead Men, trying to take her mind off of things such as recent weight gain. She is interrupted by Braxiatel, who introduces her to Dr Rupert Gilhooly and Father Igron Alsabius. The two men were on the Tinker's Cross when Gilhooly's probes, which he had sent into trans-dimensional space, caused an energy backlash which knocked the ship off of its dimensional axis. The ship is now stuck in deep space with everybody who was not in the shielded laboratories dead and Braxiatel tasks Benny with shifting it back and collecting the data.

Benny enters her ship and shifts into the trans-dimensional void where the Tinker's Cuss is. She is quickly picked up by a space octopus strapped to an energy source and meets the captain, Akroexabor, who takes her to Station Control, a nexus point between 417 multiverses. Benny is forced to sell the probe ship to pay for her docking fees and is welcomed into the Iron Sun family whilst she is there. She sees Mora di Vasht getting kidnapped and tries to save her, but her bodyguard, Suzi II, knocks her out.

Benny finds herself in Volan Sleed's custody, suspected of being involved in Mora's disappearance, and learns that Mora is the daughter of Lucien di Vasht, one of the few people who pose a threat to Station Control. Sleed agrees to let Benny investigate under the condition that she is accompanied by one of his lieutenants, Jason Kane. Jason is bound by his contract with Agragazar Fletchcock and is thus loyal to Sleed, his successor, and shows almost no emotion at being reunited with his ex-wife.

At the Starsail Lounge, where Mora had been heading, Benny pretends to be Mora and is attacked by a Whistling Ninka whom she defeats using her rape alarm, which sends it into a coma. Before it passes out, it says that it was hired by the Clan of the Pontificating Dragon, something that does not surprise Jason as he and Sleed already suspected that they were involved. Benny is irritated by Jason keeping this information from her and goes to confront the Dragon Clan.

Mora is trapped in a dungeon and guarded by Whorl and Sloater and realises that Suzi II is also involved in the kidnapping. Suzi II has had her control circuits circumvented and no longer has to obey Mora, although it takes great effort for her to resist. Mora exploits this and escapes into the Underland where she is surrounded by cannibals.

Mae An T'zhu is angered by Benny's inquiries into the Dragon Clan and decides to try to find Mora. She sends guards into the Underland, accompanied by Benny, and they save Mora from the cannibals. Mora informs them that her kidnappers are working for Sleed, who has punished Whorl and Sloater and reassigned Suzi II and has been given permission by her father to punish those responsible for the kidnapping with "extreme prejudice".

Benny confronts Sleed and realises that he had intended for her to inform him of the Whistling Ninja's alleged employers, giving him reason to punish the Dragon Clan. He excommunicates Benny and Jason from the Iron Sun family which has the effect of breaking Jason's contract, restoring him to his usual self. He manages to convince Mae to help Benny, whom Sleed has dropped into a maze. There, Benny is saved by Suzi II, who had also been under contract to Sleed and now wants her revenge against him, and they reach the centre of the maze where the worthy contestants have merged into a monstrous organism as part of Sleed's attempts to create the perfect being. Jason arrives with Mae's guards, who destroy the creature.

Benny is surprised to find that Jason is back to his ordinary self but they have to deal with Sleed before having a proper conversation about their relationship. Sleed has gone to the Conclave of Families where Lucien holds the representatives at gunpoint and scans them for traces of Mora's DNA, which Whorl and Sloater have planted on a number of them. Benny and Jason, who are now a Family of their own and have the right to address Conclave, reveal the truth and Suzi II brings Mora to her father. Lucien leaves with Mora and his men, not caring that she could give valuable evidence against Sleed.

Suzi II beheads Sleed, who quickly grows a demonic new one and begins to attack the representatives. Jason decapitates him again when he tries to attack Benny and he grows the head of Agragazar, revealing that Sleed's species have split personalities. Agragazar, a travel agent, decides to merge the Iron Sun Family and the Dragon Clan under Mae's rule and to punish Whorl and Sloater by sending them back to the Infernal Regions. Benny and Jason find that her ship has been disassembled and they travel to the Tinker's Cuss on an octopus. Benny returns the ship to her reality and she and Jason send out a distress call which is picked up by Barquentine. Benny offers to ask Braxiatel if Jason can stay at the Collection for a time, an offer that Jason accepts. They talk and decide that they will have a fresh start, taking their relationship slowly and making sure to work through their issues.

Benny finally gets a medical check-up to find out what is wrong with her body. She learns that she is pregnant and briefly considers having sex with Jason and pretending that it is his. However, she is pregnant with a half-Killoran baby as she had had unprotected sex with Adrian whilst Avril Fenman was in possession of her body.

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Jason Kane
 * Volan Sleed
 * Agragazar Fletchcock
 * Mora di Vasht
 * Suzi II
 * Mae An T'zhu
 * Rupert Alouicious Barnstable Gilhooly
 * Father Igron Alsabalus
 * Akroexaber
 * Whorl
 * Lucien di Vasht
 * ARVID

Computers

 * Benny encounters an ARVID in The Maze.

Currency

 * Souls are the currency in the Infernal Regions and one of the currencies in use at Station Control.

Individuals

 * Bernice finds out she's pregnant, she thinks about shagging Jason and pretending it's his.
 * Jason Kane has sex with Mae An T'zhu.
 * Suzi II is a cybernetically altered being.

Literature

 * The Kiss of the Dragon Lady is a proposed story by Jason Kane of Dead Dog in the PreProductions.

Theories and concepts

 * Theory of Transdimensional Contrivance is a theory postulated by Dr Gilhooly which states if you become cut off from your home dimension you don't age because you're away from your native timeline.

Species

 * Benny uses a rape alarm to stun some Whistling Ninjas.
 * A Trichoate is a type of demon containing three separate personalities.
 * The Monasticy of Slom is a race of land-based squid with a profound religious fanaticism for punctuality.
 * The Snata is mentioned.

Continuity

 * Jason Kane was engulfed into the multiverse in PROSE: Twilight of the Gods.
 * Jason Kane started working for Agragazar Fletchcock in PROSE: The Dead Men Diaries - The Door into Bedlam.
 * Benny got pregnant when her body was taken over by Avril in PROSE: The Squire's Crystal, who used it to have sex.
 * Benny previously encountered an ARVID in PROSE: Ship of Fools (also by Dave Stone).
 * The idea of "Theory of Transdimensional Contrivance" is mentioned in AUDIO: Walking to Babylon.