The Clone Masters: The Rule Of Death
Story: The Liberator receives a message directed specifically at Blake: the copy of him grown by the Clone Masters is in failing health, and needs his help. Despite Avon’s repeated warnings that this is almost certainly a trap, Blake insists on following the signal to its source, which means gaining an audience with the last survivinging Clone Master who remains after their order was destroyed, which involves a side trip to gather – or steal – the necessary funds to pay for that privilege. Even that task is costly, nearly costing Vila and Avon their lives. Nearly everything about visiting the Clone Master’s new inner sanctum involves being defenseless, which is, of course, when Avon’s warnings are proven to be correct.
Review: Oh, thank goodness, someone actually came up with a good reason to revisit the Clone Masters’ copy of Blake. Introduced in the 1979 Blake’s 7 TV episode Weapon, the Fake Blake has cropped up again and again in fan fiction, often as a way of circumventing the series finale (which was more final than most shows’ series finales). That episode also saw the only appearance of the Clone Masters (who seemed like they were being set up as a Big Deal, narratively speaking, only to disappear from the story thereafter), as well as the only appearance of Rashel, a freed slave who turns the table on virtually everyone in that story, winning her freedom and that of Blake’s copy. And of course, as far as the television series went, that was all we got of that story. … Read more