Silent Majority (audio story)

Silent Majority was the third story in the audio anthology, Silenced, produced by Big Finish Productions. It was written by John Dorney and featured Jemma Redgrave as Kate Stewart, Ingrid Oliver as Petronella Osgood, James Joyce as Josh Carter and Warren Brown as Sam Bishop.

Publisher's summary
Kenneth LeBlanc looks set to lead his party to national victory, overturning political opinion and taking the polls by storm. UNIT can only stand and watch as a silent revolution takes place.

But who are LeBlanc's real backers? And what use to them is the triumph of a leader who seems to be nothing more than a liability?

The Silents are about to make the headlines.

Plot
A month after the Prime Minister's resignation, Kate and Osgood hold yet another conference to remind everybody at UNIT about the Silents and how they have been working to rig the election in LeBlanc's favour. Osgood gives everybody 360 degree headbands which will allow them to have a permanent panoramic view, preventing the Silents from leaving their sight and allowing them to see a small image of a Silent when necessary.

Having used a Silent message to get the Prime Minister to call a general election, Josh is trusted by LeBlanc and Cecil, although neither can remember exactly how he proved himself. Osgood visits him at his flat and tells him that he is being brainwashed, but he does not believe her and kicks her out. Before leaving, however, she uses an image of a Silent to allow her to steal his laptop without him remembering. Sam tells Kate about the Silents' message in the footage of the Moon landing, which she assumes was done by the Doctor, and Osgood finds that Josh has requisitioned military hardware.

Osgood and Sam visit Mr Heston at Heston Haulage and use the holographic projector to gain access to his information. They then visit the home of Steve Barnes, who made the delivery, and find evidence that he has been killed by the Silents. His mobile phone indicates that visted Beaconsfield Services off the M40 and Kate deduces that Josh is planning for a massacre in the incumbent Prime Minister's constituency in order to make footage that will rival the Moon landing, allowing the Silents to have their message heard worldwide. Meanwhile, a Silent tasks Josh with assassinating LeBlanc once his victory has been declared and to then detonate the explosives.

Osgood uses the holographic projector to gain access for herself, Kate and Sam upon arriving at the Prime Minister's constituency. Sam goes looking for a bomb and kills the Silents in the basement before having his men defuse it. LeBlanc is declared a Member of Parliament and Josh points his gun at him, but Osgood manages to stop him and Kate calls for an evacuation. A Silent appears on a screen and tells humanity to leave them alone and to forget anything that they know about them after killing LeBlanc and destroying the city. Kate, Osgood, Sam and Josh get away, realising that the Silents have won.

Using the image of a Silent, Osgood gets LeBlanc's Members of Parliament to stand down in the wake of his death and another election is called. Josh is seen to by UNIT's best psychiatrists and Kate watches the footage of the riot with Osgood and Sam; the Silent tells them to forget about them, and they do.

Cast

 * Kate Stewart - Jemma Redgrave
 * Osgood - Ingrid Oliver
 * Lieutenant Sam Bishop - Warren Brown
 * Captain Josh Carter - James Joyce
 * Kenneth LeBlanc / Heston - Nicholas Day
 * Cecil- Tom Alexander
 * News Reporter - Aaron Neil
 * The Silence - Nicholas Briggs

Worldbuilding

 * Osgood uses her holographic projector to create an image of a Silent. It is broken when Osgood uses it to knock Josh out.
 * Osgood hypothesises that the Silents could be native to Earth like the Silurians.
 * Kate mentions Neil Armstrong.
 * Mr Heston's father owned Heston Haulage before him.
 * Steve Barnes worked at Heston Haulage. He delivered the military hardware.
 * Sam mentions Guy Fawkes.

Continuity

 * Bishop mentions the Silents being in the Moon landing footage. (TV: Day of the Moon)