The Lonely Computer (short story): Difference between revisions
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{{Infobox Story | {{ImageLinkShortStory}} | ||
{{Infobox Story SMW | |||
|image = The Lonely Computer.jpg | |image = The Lonely Computer.jpg | ||
|doctor = Tenth Doctor | |doctor = Tenth Doctor | ||
|companions = [[Donna Noble|Donna]] | |companions = [[Donna Noble|Donna]] | ||
|enemy = [[Momus|Momus the Wise]] | |enemy = [[Momus|Momus the Wise]] | ||
|setting = {{il|[[Belgium]], [[800]]|[[Planet 12 of the Ridion Alliance]]}} | |setting = {{il|[[Belgium]], [[800]]|[[Planet 12 of the Ridion Alliance]]}} | ||
|writer = | |writer = Rupert Laight | ||
|illustrator = [[Brian Williamson]]<br />(2 illustrations) | |illustrator = [[Brian Williamson]]<br />(2 illustrations) | ||
|format = Online short story | |||
|publication = [[Doctor Who website|''Doctor Who'' website]] | |publication = [[Doctor Who website|''Doctor Who'' website]] | ||
|release date = | |release date = 24 May 2008 | ||
|prev = | |series = ''Doctor Who'' online short stories | ||
|next = | |prev = Number 1, Gallows Gate Road (short story) | ||
|next = Blue Moon (short story) | |||
}} | }} | ||
'''''The Lonely Computer''''' was a short prose story published online | '''''The Lonely Computer''''' was a short prose story published online over two pages in 2008. It totalled 3,055 words. | ||
== Summary == | == Summary == | ||
| Line 21: | Line 23: | ||
== Plot == | == Plot == | ||
When trying to reach [[1985]] for a shopping trip, [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] drags the [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Donna Noble|Donna]] off course by twelve hundred years, landing them in [[Belgium]] in the year [[800]]. They arrive in a pantry used for storing vegetables and meat. Using his [[sonic screwdriver]], the Doctor opens the only door available but is told to stop by two guards who take them into the kitchen. A man named [[Baldebert]] confronts them and declares the Doctor the Emperor's official food taster. Baldebert welcomes them to the court of [[Charlemagne]]. He lets the Doctor taste several dishes to see if they are [[poison]]ed. In the middle of testing, a young boy named [[Macon]] runs in, declaring that Charlemagne had disappeared. The Doctor becomes worried, because the Emperor had a meeting with [[Leo III|the Pope]] later that day and if that meeting did not happen, Charlemagne would never have been crowned head of the [[Roman Empire]]. The Doctor and Donna follow Macon to where Charlemagne had disappeared. There the Doctor finds [[quantum detritus]], left behind when someone or something has been taken out of [[time]]. | When trying to reach [[1985]] for a shopping trip, [[The Doctor's TARDIS|the TARDIS]] drags the [[Tenth Doctor]] and [[Donna Noble|Donna]] off course by twelve hundred years, landing them in [[Belgium]] in the year [[800]]. They arrive in a pantry used for storing vegetables and meat. Using his [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]], the Doctor opens the only door available but is told to stop by two guards who take them into the kitchen. A man named [[Baldebert]] confronts them and declares the Doctor the Emperor's official food taster. Baldebert welcomes them to the court of [[Charlemagne]]. He lets the Doctor taste several dishes to see if they are [[poison]]ed. In the middle of testing, a young boy named [[Macon]] runs in, declaring that Charlemagne had disappeared. The Doctor becomes worried, because the Emperor had a meeting with [[Leo III|the Pope]] later that day and if that meeting did not happen, Charlemagne would never have been crowned head of the [[Roman Empire]]. The Doctor and Donna follow Macon to where Charlemagne had disappeared. There the Doctor finds [[quantum detritus]], left behind when someone or something has been taken out of [[time]]. | ||
The Doctor and Donna disappear and find themselves in a long abandoned palace. A booming voice informs them that they are in the [[Palace of Hy-Ridion]]; the Doctor looks out the window. They are not on [[Earth]]. The voice introduces itself as [[Momus]] and says they are on [[Planet 12 of the Ridion Alliance]]. Momus says that the Doctor is the final guest in the Great Dinner Party, which Momus has spent a long time gathering. Momus himself is a small computer hovering in the air. A hidden door in the wall opens to reveal some of history's greatest leaders, artists and scientists (including Charlemagne) who are arguing and demanding that they be released. The Doctor has a talk with Momus, who says that after his planet's population of great scientists decreased after the [[Seven Hundred Year War]], he decided to bring all of Earth's greatest minds to bring the planet to a new age. The Doctor reasons with Momus and persuades him to take the people home. | The Doctor and Donna disappear and find themselves in a long abandoned palace. A booming voice informs them that they are in the [[Palace of Hy-Ridion]]; the Doctor looks out the window. They are not on [[Earth]]. The voice introduces itself as [[Momus]] and says they are on [[Planet 12 of the Ridion Alliance]]. Momus says that the Doctor is the final guest in the Great Dinner Party, which Momus has spent a long time gathering. Momus himself is a small computer hovering in the air. A hidden door in the wall opens to reveal some of history's greatest leaders, artists and scientists (including Charlemagne) who are arguing and demanding that they be released. The Doctor has a talk with Momus, who says that after his planet's population of great scientists decreased after the [[Seven Hundred Year War]], he decided to bring all of Earth's greatest minds to bring the planet to a new age. The Doctor reasons with Momus and persuades him to take the people home. | ||
== Characters == | == Characters == | ||
[[File: | [[File:S4 07b story 02.jpg|thumb|The Doctor with the historical figures.]] | ||
* [[Tenth Doctor]] | * [[Tenth Doctor]] | ||
* [[Donna Noble]] | * [[Donna Noble]] | ||
| Line 36: | Line 38: | ||
* [[Winston Churchill]] | * [[Winston Churchill]] | ||
* [[Michelangelo]] | * [[Michelangelo]] | ||
* [[ | * [[Noël Coward]] | ||
* [[Francis Drake]] | * [[Francis Drake]] | ||
* [[Caligula]] | * [[Caligula]] | ||
| Line 43: | Line 45: | ||
* [[Joan of Arc]] | * [[Joan of Arc]] | ||
* [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] | * [[Ludwig van Beethoven|Beethoven]] | ||
* [[Isaac Newton]] | |||
== | == Worldbuilding == | ||
* ''[[I, Claudius]]'' is referenced by the Doctor. | * ''[[I, Claudius]]'' is referenced by the Doctor. | ||
== Notes == | == Notes == | ||
* The depiction of Cleopatra is based on {{w|Elizabeth Taylor}}'s portrayal of the character in {{wi|Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra}}. | * The depiction of Cleopatra is based on {{w|Elizabeth Taylor}}'s portrayal of the character in {{wi|Cleopatra (1963 film)|Cleopatra}}. | ||
* Donna thinks she recognises [[Galileo Galilei]] but his presence was not confirmed. | * Donna thinks she recognises [[Galileo Galilei]] but his presence was not confirmed in the illustration. | ||
* Conversely, [[Isaac Newton]] appears in the illustration but is not mentioned in the story. | |||
== Continuity == | == Continuity == | ||
| Line 59: | Line 63: | ||
== External links == | == External links == | ||
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/features/stories/fiction_the_lonely_computer_01 "The Lonely Computer" on the Doctor Who BBC website]. | * [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/features/stories/fiction_the_lonely_computer_01 "The Lonely Computer" on the Doctor Who BBC website]. | ||
{{TitleSort}} | {{TitleSort}} | ||
[[Category:Web-based Doctor Who short stories]] | |||
[[Category:2008 short stories]] | [[Category:2008 short stories]] | ||
[[Category:Tenth Doctor short stories]] | [[Category:Tenth Doctor short stories]] | ||
[[Category:Winston Churchill stories]] | |||
[[Category:Stories set in Belgium]] | [[Category:Stories set in Belgium]] | ||
[[Category:Stories set in 800]] | [[Category:Stories set in 800]] | ||
[[fr:The Lonely Computer]] | [[fr:The Lonely Computer]] | ||
Latest revision as of 15:10, 6 January 2024
The Lonely Computer was a short prose story published online over two pages in 2008. It totalled 3,055 words.
Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]
Landing in 800, the Doctor and Donna find Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne kidnapped by an insane computer...
Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]
When trying to reach 1985 for a shopping trip, the TARDIS drags the Tenth Doctor and Donna off course by twelve hundred years, landing them in Belgium in the year 800. They arrive in a pantry used for storing vegetables and meat. Using his sonic screwdriver, the Doctor opens the only door available but is told to stop by two guards who take them into the kitchen. A man named Baldebert confronts them and declares the Doctor the Emperor's official food taster. Baldebert welcomes them to the court of Charlemagne. He lets the Doctor taste several dishes to see if they are poisoned. In the middle of testing, a young boy named Macon runs in, declaring that Charlemagne had disappeared. The Doctor becomes worried, because the Emperor had a meeting with the Pope later that day and if that meeting did not happen, Charlemagne would never have been crowned head of the Roman Empire. The Doctor and Donna follow Macon to where Charlemagne had disappeared. There the Doctor finds quantum detritus, left behind when someone or something has been taken out of time.
The Doctor and Donna disappear and find themselves in a long abandoned palace. A booming voice informs them that they are in the Palace of Hy-Ridion; the Doctor looks out the window. They are not on Earth. The voice introduces itself as Momus and says they are on Planet 12 of the Ridion Alliance. Momus says that the Doctor is the final guest in the Great Dinner Party, which Momus has spent a long time gathering. Momus himself is a small computer hovering in the air. A hidden door in the wall opens to reveal some of history's greatest leaders, artists and scientists (including Charlemagne) who are arguing and demanding that they be released. The Doctor has a talk with Momus, who says that after his planet's population of great scientists decreased after the Seven Hundred Year War, he decided to bring all of Earth's greatest minds to bring the planet to a new age. The Doctor reasons with Momus and persuades him to take the people home.
Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]
- Tenth Doctor
- Donna Noble
- Momus
- Baldebert
- Macon
- Charlemagne
- Cleopatra
- Winston Churchill
- Michelangelo
- Noël Coward
- Francis Drake
- Caligula
- Cher
- Boudica
- Joan of Arc
- Beethoven
- Isaac Newton
Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]
- I, Claudius is referenced by the Doctor.
Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The depiction of Cleopatra is based on Elizabeth Taylor's portrayal of the character in Cleopatra.
- Donna thinks she recognises Galileo Galilei but his presence was not confirmed in the illustration.
- Conversely, Isaac Newton appears in the illustration but is not mentioned in the story.
Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]
- The Fourth Doctor previously met Boudica in the company of Leela in Norfolk during her revolt against the occupying Roman forces in 60. (AUDIO: The Wrath of the Iceni)
- The Doctor would later recall walking through the forest with a bow and arrow in TV: The Unicorn and the Wasp.
- The Doctor and Winston Churchill would meet again in TV: Victory of the Daleks, after the Doctor began his next incarnation.
- The Doctor once told Donna that Cleopatra's beauty was greatly exaggerated. (PROSE: Ghosts of India)
