Network (Blake's 7 zine)

Zine
Title:	Network
Publisher:
Editor(s):
Date(s):	May 1993
Series?:
Medium:	print, zine
Size:
Genre:
Fandom:	Blake’s 7
Language:	English
External Links:
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Network is a gen h/c 170-page anthology of Blake's 7 fiction by Candra Daneson.

It was proceeded by Network: A Blake's 7 Zine of Sorts, an August 1992 zine that uses the pseud Cetel Hansen. That zine contains the same content as this gen zine (plus one story called "Decision"), as well as some of the content of the slash and het sister zine, Network Encounters.

Contents

• Preface
• Synopses
• Abandoned ("Avon is accidentally left on a primitive planet, is injured and must fight for survival until the others return for him but do they really intend to return? Wild animals, lack of food and water, and Federation patrols make life especially trying for him. But his most difficult challenge is his mental anguish over whether or not Blake and the others have betrayed and abandoned him. An Avon's inner soul, Blake-Avon friendship, Avon-everyone friendship story.") (sequel to "A Meeting of the Minds;" S2, post-Horizon, pre-Pressure Point; A-hc, A-C)
• Avon's Word, or, The Price of Friendship ("Blake becomes seriously ill on a remote planet. His only chance for life lies with a mysterious being who controls a cure. The creature will release the cure, but demands a high price in exchange. Avon pays the price -the surrender of his own soul/life energy to the creature -to obtain the cure for Blake. Once cured, Blake must find away to win the return of his friend's soul. A Blake-Avon friendship story.") ("Author's note in Network: A Blake's 7 Zine of Sorts: The opening premise for this story was inspired by the B7 short story, Rest and Recreation, by April Giordano and Mary Gerstner, as published in "SYZYGY, Issue II," by S.T.A.R. Press, San Diego, 1987.") (S2; B-hc, A-B)
• Bargain ("Blake and the crew are on a remote planet to establish contact with the local primitive tribal/early feudal societies. Unfortunately they arrive at the time of a great theft and are so accused. Avon is kept as hostage while the others are sent to retrieve the stolen artifact. This is all very much to the delight of the chieftain's little daughter, Annisah, and her dog, who have both taken a liking to Avon, much to Avon's chagrin. Avon finds himself playing tutor to Annisah, answering her endless questions about the stars and geometry. Ever cheerful Annisah has a few things to teach the gloomy Avon as well. Their budding friendship is threatened, however, when Blake and the others fail to return within the proscribed time limit. Can bright little Annisah and her faithful Hound find a way to save Avon from ritual execution? What will Blake do to save his friend? An Avon-other, Avon-Blake friendship story.") (S1; A-ocf child, A-B)
• Caught ("Blake and Avon are on a mission to blow up a Fed industrial complex. They separate and Avon is trapped by some machinery which suddenly activates. Avon desperately tries to free himself as he is slowly dragged to his death. Finally facing his own inability to help himself, he calls for Blake, even though he believes the other man is well out of hearing range. But Blake does hear, manages to rescue him, and promptly upbraids him for not calling sooner. A resolution follows. A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (S2; A-B)
• Cliffwalk ("The crew are involved in extensive talks with an assembly of local chieftains on a primitive planet. Unknown to the others, a bored and tired Avon sets out on along walk alone along the cliffs overlooking the sea. Concerned for his safety, Blake searches for him and follows him up the cliff trail. A confrontation and resolution result. A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (S2, post-Pressure Point; A-B)
• Debts ("Vila is feeling guilty about having left Avon at the mercy of Federation thugs during a mission together on a planet. Avon had eventually managed to escape anyway and does not blame Vila, compounding Vila's guilt feelings. Cally explains Vila's sulking to Avon and suggests he find away to make Vila feel better. Avon comes up with a scheme to give Vila a chance to "be the hero" for Crossfire the Feds. When things don't go as planned, Vila does, in fact, become the hero for once, much to everyone's surprise, saving Avon's life in the process. An Avon-Vila friendship story.") (S2, post-Hostage; A-V, A-hc)

• Follower ("Avon has been trapped in a Fed complex about to explode by a Fed agent with a personal grudge against him. Blake comes to rescue him, finding him handcuffed to a railing, Both cuffs and railing are made of a material Blake can not cut through with equipment on hand, so he sets about trying to pick the lock with some Vila-taught skills. Avon insists there is no time for Blake to open the cuffs and that he should save himself. Of course, Blake refuses to leave, no matter how close the countdown gets. Blake is determined to free Avon or die with him. Did Vila teach Blake well enough? A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (S2; A-B)
• Friends and Allergies ("Blake startles Avon at work on the computers and Avon cuts his hand on a device containing a fluid to which he is severely allergic. Avon persuades Orac to drop what it is doing and direct the medical computers to produce an antitoxin. Orac complies, but will they be able to deliver the medication into Avon's system in time? Avon isn't looking too healthy ... A Blake-Avon, Avon-Orac friendship story.") (early S2; A-hc)
• Hereafter ("Blake and Avon face death together at the hands of a squad of Fed troopers. Humor and dignity highlight the last moments of their friendship together in this life, as they consider what might lie beyond. A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (alt-S2; A-B)
• A Meeting of the Minds ("After Zondar, Cally realizes she must have continued contact with another intelligence in order to survive. The moondisks broke the hold of the creature, but they can not provide the support she needs. Only one person aboard the Liberator possesses a mind disciplined enough to help her - only one person with whom she could successfully establish the required empathetic link, will Avon agree? And if he does, will he be able to cope with the violation of his intensely private nature? An Avon-Cally friendship story.") (S2, post-Shadow; A-C)
• Nightmare ("Blake has aterrible premonition of Avon's death and then seems helpless to prevent the unfolding of events as they occurred in his dream. Will Blake be able to prevent the conclusion of the dream from becoming reality? A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (S2; A-B, A-hc)
• Pilot ("On a mission on a Fed controlled planet. Avon and Jenna encounter, Devon, a former lover of Jenna's, now leader of a secret resistance movement on the planet. When Avon is mistakenly shot by one of Devon's men, Jenna must decide how much she is willing to risk to save the life of a man she often despises, Avon finds a way to return the favor later on. An Avon-Jenna friendship, Jenna development story.") (S1; past J/ocm, A-hc, A-J)
• The Promise ("Just what did Blake say or do to get Avon to give Blake his word to stand and fight off the alien invasion at the end of Star One?" Avon isn't the type to agree easily to throwing away his life. A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (S2, Star One; A-B)
• Reluctant Ally ("Avon enlists the aid of a monstrous creature, an Artak named Nebron, to assist him in rescuing Blake and the crew, who have fallen into villainous hands. Avon has acquired possession of the zerfir, a strange crystal which gives its holder power to control the Artak. The catch is that the power exists only when the crystal is actually held in one's hand. At every opportunity, Nebron attempts to force Avon to drop the crystal, thus giving Nebron a chance to kill him and be free (until the next person finds the crystal). Avon attempts to bargain with the Artak, giving his word that once Blake and the others are rescued, he will give the zerfir to Nebron. According to legend, this free giving of the crystal to the Artak will free it. However, Nebron, used to having highly unscrupulous individuals seeking to gain control of him, finds it difficult to trust, a sentiment with which Avon sympathizes. An uneasy truce eventually develops. But Avon doesn't know the complete legend, and Nebron isn't bothering to enlighten him. What will really happen if Avon hands over the crystal? An Avon-Other friendship story.") (S2; A-ocm alien)
• Sink or Swim ("Blake, Avon and Vila are aboard a shuttle which crashes into the sea on a remote planet, half a kilometer from shore. The shuttle is sinking in rough water. Blake is unconscious and Vila reveals he doesn't know how to swim. Avon himself has ahead injury and knows he won't be able to make the swim more than once. What will Avon do? A Blake-Avon-Vila friendship story.") (S1; A-B-V)
• The Soul of the Machine (sequel to "Friends and Allergies") ("Avon and Orac are on a remote planet attempting to communicate with a supercomputer they have discovered there, a computer even more powerful than Orac. Blake and the others are off exploring an adjacent planet, thinking computer and computer expert safe in the abandoned underground complex. Avon and Orac establish contact with the computer, Doran. Doran takes a liking to Orac and Orac is completely taken with Doran. However, Doran soon reveals its hostile intentions toward organic lifeforms -including Avon, Orac must make a choice. An Avon-Orac friendship story.") (sequel to "Friends and Allergies;" S2; A-O)
• Therapy ("Avon dislocates a shoulder during a mission on an alien planet with Blake. Can he get over his natural mistrust and allow Blake to help ease his pain? Or will he be a twit as usual? A Blake-Avon friendship story. (S2; A-B, A-hc)
• Traitor ("Avon has helped Servalan and her mutoids gain access to the Liberator. Has he finally shown himself to be the traitor some would call him? Or is there another explanation? Jenna is all for killing him on the spot. As always, Blake wants to know why. But it may be too late anyway - in the battle with Servalan, Avon was wounded. Blake wants desperately to believe in Avon's loyalty. Will Avon live long enough to set the record straight - one way or the other? A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (S1; A-hc)
• What Are Friends For ("Avon is near-fatally injured on a mission with Blake when the roof of an underground cavern collapses on them, draining a reservoir above. Unable to budge the beam pinning Avon to the floor, Blake can do little but hold his friend's head above the water and give what comfort and words of support he can for the three and a half hours it takes the others to find and rescue them. During this time, the agony of intense pain drives Avon to reveal some of his fragile inner self to Blake, including his desperate fear of dying alone, Once Avon is recovered, Blake sets out to find that "inner" Avon again. A Blake-Avon friendship story.") (S2; A-B-hc)

Reactions and Reviews

This is a one-person, self-published zine. It's actually pretty good; all of the stories are competently written, though some of them are really just scenes from stories and should be expanded for better effect. If I were the author, I would have submitted the stories to as many different zine eds as possible in order to get lots of free trib copies, instead of going to the trouble and expense of publishing it myself. But she says in the "Preface" that originally the zine was just going to be for herself and her friends, and only later did it occur to her to make it generally available; so maybe it didn't even occur to her to submit the stories elsewhere. She also comments interestingly on the reason why there's so much Avon-hc: "Since Avon is so strong-willed, he rarely reveals his emotions unless he is in dire straights [sic]. Thus, the hurt-comfort subgenre becomes an important vehicle to the examination of Avon's psyche. If you find I seem to beat up a lot on poor Avon in these stories, just remember, it's for his own good, as he will reveal himself to the others and be correspondingly rewarded with their love and support.

Speaking of h-c, there's a new Blake-Avon zine out called Network, all stories by Candra Danesen, almost all of them h-c, and unlike Questions of the Past, the repetition in this zine did bother me. The stories were also full of glaring continuity errors (Orac in the first season, Gan matter-of-factly popping up after Pressure Point, etc-)- And the focus on the B-A relationship was so single-minded that the Federation all but disappeared as a living presence. On the plus side, Candra does get many of the characters' voices right: Avon's, Vila's, Cally's — even Orac's. (But not Blake's, I'm afraid.)