A Better World was a short story written by Aristide Twain. It was the twentieth short story submitted by fans for the Doctor Who: Lockdown! series, for the Tweetalong of Turn Left. The main antagonist of the story, Auteur, was used under licence from Jayce Black.[1]
Plot[]
In a crowded street in Shan Shen, Auteur notices Donna, and her significance to time. In a fit of hubris, Auteur decides to create a new timeline through Donna. He senses a power in the street, a Beetle, and Auteur tells its puppet, a fortune teller, to feed Donna to the Beetle. The plan is successful.
Auteur follows Donna to the new timeline, where he witnesses a Christmas Star firing upon the Earth. He knows the Renegade is dead, and, disguised as an ordinary human, shares a drink with a time-sensitive woman named Alice.
Auteur decides that he wants to tell Donna what he's done, to tell her she's the star of her story, but he's unable to reach her. Another time-sensitive woman stands in his way. One time, quite literally.
He's unable to do much, but he manages to sabotage an abandoned timeship, to seal the fate of the Renegade. Donna is sent back in time by a group of humans, and Auteur is left asking himself a question. Could she sacrifice herself for the Renegade?
Characters[]
References[]
- The Beetle is part of the Brigade.
- Auteur recalls the War and the fall of the Shining World.
- Auteur refers to second time-sensitive woman as the "Wolf-girl".
Notes[]
- After the appearance of Bernice Summerfield in a previous Lockdown story, Twain felt "emboldened", and gained a commercial license to use Auteur from Jayce Black. Twain also made sure that other characters were more ambiguously named.[2]
- Shan Shen being "a land of opportunity for an initiate of the ways of Paradox" references the Monk's opinion of the planet in the audio story Blame Game (audio story) The Blame Game.
Continuity[]
to be added
External links[]
- Aristide Twain's writing at his blog
- A Better World at the Fan Gallery (defunct link)