Room of Amber
I thought of the principal idea
for this story a few good years ago. It
dawned on me one day that on Cloudbase, only the Angels’ ready room had a
“color” name, i.e. the Amber Room, while none of the other compartments
mentioned in either the original series or the annuals have any such
designation. I thought there just HAD
to be a reason for it, and I came up with the idea that it must have been named
after someone, such as a Lieutenant or Captain Amber. I’ve finally brought that idea to life in this story.
Since the name “Amber Room” is
mentioned in the series from early on, I decided that the events of this story
would take place BEFORE the first series episode, but after Chris Bishop’s
magnificent story “All the Colours of the Rainbow.” Hence there is no mention of either the Mysterons or Captain
Scarlet’s indestructibility. To
illustrate these facts, I have included references that Captain Black isn’t
even on Mars yet and Scarlet is vulnerable to injury (albeit a very minor
one). In addition, the character of
Captain Scarlet appears in a role equal to the other characters rather than
being the main protagonist. Remember,
at the time this story takes place he is just another one of the captains.
However, since my story takes
place after “All the Colours of the
Rainbow,” Captain Brown and Becky Evershaw are already married and Becky is
expecting their first child. There is
also some interaction between Scarlet and Destiny Angel, since Chris elaborated
on their “history,” but I’ve made it clear that their relationship now is
friendly rather than romantic. There is
some interaction between Scarlet and
Rhapsody, which could indicate the beginning of something more, but there is no
visible attraction just yet. I’ve also
reinforced the idea that Blue and Symphony are already established as a couple.
Captain Brown was just a throwaway
character in the original series, of course.
Brown’s alter ego of Steve Blackburn, however, was originally my
idea. I had christened Captain Brown
with his “real” name and elaborated on his background in my story “Chance for a
Lifetime,” and then Chris expanded on the idea in “All the Colours of the
Rainbow.” I am merely continuing Chris’
wonderful development of this character.
The character of Father Ivory, the
Cloudbase chaplain, is also mine. I’ve
mentioned him in two of my stories, “Chance for a Lifetime” and “Mixed
Doubles.” I’ve written him as a
Catholic chaplain originally from Italy, but as he plays only a minor role in
this story there’s not much more to say about him.
I invented the character of
Captain Amber for this story, based on my comments above, but this is not to
say he will be a “throwaway” character.
Chris Bishop and I have recently been discussing the eventual revision
of “All the Colours of the Rainbow,” and she agrees with me that there is a
place for him there.
If you have comments on this
story, or any of the others I’ve written, please feel free to forward them to
me care of Chris Bishop. I’d love to
read them.
S.I.G.!
Mary J. Rudy
