Still Lives (short story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Short Story|
|range                  = Short Trips (series)
name=Still Lives|
|series in range        = Short Trips: Zodiac
series=[[Short Trips (series)#In print|ST short stories]]|
|series number in range = 1
doctor=[[Third Doctor]]|
|number in series       = 4
companions=[[Liz Shaw]]<br />[[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]]|
|main character = [[Helen Martin]], [[Mark (Inferno Earth)|Mark]]
year=[[England]], the [[1970s]]|
|featuring    = [[Third Doctor]], [[the Brigadier]], [[Liz Shaw|Liz]]
writer=[[Ian Potter]]|
|setting      = [[England]], ([[Earth]] and [[Inferno Earth|parallel Earth]]) July [[Dating protocol|1974 or 1980]]
publication=[[Short Trips: Zodiac]]|
|writer       = Ian Potter
prev=Twin Piques (short story)|
|anthology    = Short Trips: Zodiac
next=Constant Companion (short story)|
|release date = 6 March 2002
|}}
|series      = ''[[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]]''
|prev         = Twin Piques (short story)
|next         = Constant Companion (short story)
}}
'''''Still Lives''''' was the fourth short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: Zodiac]]''. It was written by [[Ian Potter]]. It featured the [[Third Doctor]] and [[Liz Shaw]].
'''''Still Lives''''' was the fourth short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: Zodiac]]''. It was written by [[Ian Potter]]. It featured the [[Third Doctor]] and [[Liz Shaw]].
== Summary ==
== Summary ==
Helen Martin has gone missing. The Doctor and Liz decide to investigate, but visions of her begin to drift in and out of reality. Are the events of the Inferno about to disrupt the future? Can the Doctor save Helen from past events that could tear the Earth apart?
[[Helen Martin]] was guarding a time experiment at [[UNIT]] when she felt the world lurch. She knew it was the [[Third Doctor]]'s fault, so she went to his building. Inside she saw the [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier]] and [[Liz Shaw]], unmoving.
 
She has spent the last five years in what she originally thought was a time loop where it is always 11:15 a.m. on [[22 July]], and no-one and nothing moves. However, she is able to move from place to place, and time is passing, so she rejects the loop theory. She can sleep and eat, and she can affect small things that are near her. She has worked out a routine whereby she sleeps for eight hours, and goes to UNIT headquarters in the morning to see if the doors have opened. She has noticed that things are starting to change slightly from day to day. One day she sees raindrops falling sideways, up, and down, and realises that she is moving through time sideways, that is, she is experiencing other versions of 22 July.
 
Meanwhile, Liz is worried about Helen, who is missing, and tries to get the Doctor involved. She thinks the Brigadier suspects that Helen has defected to the [[Soviet Union]].
 
[[Mark (Inferno Earth)|Mark]] has spent the last several years caught in time. He had experienced things dimming and had a feeling of nausea. When it passed, the drilling that he had heard constantly had changed pitch. He spends his days watching television or reading the paper, and spends a lot of his time drunk. He has noticed things are starting to change slightly from day to day.
 
The Doctor and Liz have realised that the Doctor's recent trip sideways in time must have affected Helen, as she was in the area during the experiment.
 
One day, Mark is making his way down the street when he sees someone — Helen — moving as well. She sees him too. They try to call out to each other and run to each other. Helen tells him they only have five more years of this left, then they fade away from each other. Helen has worked out that she is moving sideways towards his time, and he is moving sideways towards hers. They will be in the wrong realities, but it has to be better than what they are experiencing now.


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
* [[Third Doctor]]
* [[Third Doctor]]
* [[Liz Shaw]]
* [[Liz Shaw]]
* [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]]
* [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart]]
* [[Helen Martin]]
* [[Helen Martin]]
** goes missing after the Inferno incident, when she was patrolling behind the Doctor's hut.
* [[Mark (Inferno Earth)|Mark]]
* Mark
** former [[Republican Security Forces]] soldier from the [[parallel universe (Inferno)|parallel universe]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
* By her own reckoning, Helen lived in [[Maida Vale]] for around five years.
* Mark was a [[Republican Security Forces]] soldier in the [[Inferno Earth|parallel universe]].
* On the Inferno Earth [[Coca-Cola]] had a different recipe.
* As in the real-world, the version of [[ITV]] on the Inferno Earth broadcast schools programmes.
* On the Inferno Earth the [[BBC (in-universe)|BBC]] carried [[advertising]]. Mark notes the four television channels as simultaneously airing ''Chorley's People'' (presumably on BBC1), the ''Playpen Pals'' (an allusion to ''[[Play School (series)|Play School]]'', which was broadcast on BBC2), the countdown clock for ITV Schools, and an advert for [[fish finger]]s (which by process of elimination must be on BBC3).


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
''to be added''
* The stories in ''[[Short Trips: Zodiac]]'' are inspired by the signs of the [[zodiac]]. This story's theme is {{w|Cancer (astrology)|Cancer}}.
* Parts of this story are told through Liz's journal.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* Liz is sceptical of the Doctor's claim to have recently visited a [[Parallel universe (Inferno)|parallel universe]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'')
* Liz is sceptical of the Doctor's claim to have recently visited a [[Inferno Earth|parallel universe]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'')
* There is a daytime chat show ''Chorley's People'' hosted by [[Harold Chorley]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'')
* In both universes there is a daytime chat show on the BBC hosted by [[Harold Chorley]] called ''[[Chorley's People]]''. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Web of Fear (TV story)|The Web of Fear]]'') In both universes his guests are [[Cross-dressing|transvestites]].
* Liz refers to the ''[[Daily Chronicle]]'' journalist [[James Stevens]]. ([[MA]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy (novel)|Who Killed Kennedy]]'')
* Liz refers to the ''[[Daily Chronicle]]'' journalist [[James Stevens]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Who Killed Kennedy (novel)|Who Killed Kennedy]]'')
* Liz tells the Doctor that [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] is "a bit of maths whizz on the quiet." ([[DW]]: ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]]'')
* Liz tells the Doctor that [[Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart|Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart]] is "a bit of maths whizz on the quiet." ([[TV]]: ''[[Mawdryn Undead (TV story)|Mawdryn Undead]]'')
* The Brigadier refers to the [[Primord]]s as "[[werewolf|werepeople]]." ([[DW]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'')
* The Brigadier refers to the [[Primord]]s as "[[werewolf|werepeople]]." ([[TV]]: ''[[Inferno (TV story)|Inferno]]'')
 
* Mark refers to the [[Nuton Power Complex]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Claws of Axos (TV story)|The Claws of Axos]]''), and that the electricity voltage is {{w|Brownout (electricity)|routinely dropped}} to conserve energy as power generation is insufficient to provide for the economy's demands. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[I, Alastair (novel)|I, Alastair]]'')
 
 


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[[Category:Third Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Third Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart short stories]]
[[Category:Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart short stories]]
[[Category:Stories released in 2002]]
[[Category:Short Trips: Zodiac short stories]]
[[Category:ST short stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Stories set in England]]
[[Category:Stories set in parallel universes]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:Stories set in the 1970s]]
[[Category:UNIT short stories]]

Latest revision as of 15:55, 24 March 2024

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Still Lives was the fourth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: Zodiac. It was written by Ian Potter. It featured the Third Doctor and Liz Shaw.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Helen Martin was guarding a time experiment at UNIT when she felt the world lurch. She knew it was the Third Doctor's fault, so she went to his building. Inside she saw the Brigadier and Liz Shaw, unmoving.

She has spent the last five years in what she originally thought was a time loop where it is always 11:15 a.m. on 22 July, and no-one and nothing moves. However, she is able to move from place to place, and time is passing, so she rejects the loop theory. She can sleep and eat, and she can affect small things that are near her. She has worked out a routine whereby she sleeps for eight hours, and goes to UNIT headquarters in the morning to see if the doors have opened. She has noticed that things are starting to change slightly from day to day. One day she sees raindrops falling sideways, up, and down, and realises that she is moving through time sideways, that is, she is experiencing other versions of 22 July.

Meanwhile, Liz is worried about Helen, who is missing, and tries to get the Doctor involved. She thinks the Brigadier suspects that Helen has defected to the Soviet Union.

Mark has spent the last several years caught in time. He had experienced things dimming and had a feeling of nausea. When it passed, the drilling that he had heard constantly had changed pitch. He spends his days watching television or reading the paper, and spends a lot of his time drunk. He has noticed things are starting to change slightly from day to day.

The Doctor and Liz have realised that the Doctor's recent trip sideways in time must have affected Helen, as she was in the area during the experiment.

One day, Mark is making his way down the street when he sees someone — Helen — moving as well. She sees him too. They try to call out to each other and run to each other. Helen tells him they only have five more years of this left, then they fade away from each other. Helen has worked out that she is moving sideways towards his time, and he is moving sideways towards hers. They will be in the wrong realities, but it has to be better than what they are experiencing now.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • By her own reckoning, Helen lived in Maida Vale for around five years.
  • Mark was a Republican Security Forces soldier in the parallel universe.
  • On the Inferno Earth Coca-Cola had a different recipe.
  • As in the real-world, the version of ITV on the Inferno Earth broadcast schools programmes.
  • On the Inferno Earth the BBC carried advertising. Mark notes the four television channels as simultaneously airing Chorley's People (presumably on BBC1), the Playpen Pals (an allusion to Play School, which was broadcast on BBC2), the countdown clock for ITV Schools, and an advert for fish fingers (which by process of elimination must be on BBC3).

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The stories in Short Trips: Zodiac are inspired by the signs of the zodiac. This story's theme is Cancer.
  • Parts of this story are told through Liz's journal.

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]