Echoes (ST short story): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story SMW
{{Infobox Story
|series=[[Short Trips (series)#In print|Short Trips]] short stories
|name=Echoes
|doctor = Third Doctor
|series=[[Short Trips (series)#In print|ST short stories]]
|doctor=Third Doctor
|featuring = [[Edward Grainger]]
|featuring = [[Edward Grainger]]
|enemy=[[Ahnji]]
|enemy =  
|year=[[London]], [[December]] [[1911]]
|setting = [[London]], [[December]] [[1911]]
|writer=[[Gary Russell]]
|writer = Gary Russell
|anthology=''[[Short Trips: The Centenarian]]''
|anthology= Short Trips: The Centenarian
|prev=Prologue (short story)
|release date = 18 September 2006
|next=Direct Action (short story)
|prev = Prologue to The Centenarian (short story)
}}
|next = Direct Action (short story)
{{you may|Echoes (novel)|n1=the Time Hunter story}}
}}{{dab page|Echoes}}
'''''Echoes''''' was the second short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: The Centenarian]]''. It was written by [[Gary Russell]]. It featured the [[Third Doctor]].
'''''Echoes''''' was the second short story in the [[Short Trips (series)|Short Trips]] anthology ''[[Short Trips: The Centenarian]]''. It was written by [[Gary Russell]]. It featured the [[Third Doctor]].
== Summary ==
== Summary ==
At Christmas, 1911, Peggy Grainger and her five-year old brother Edward encounter a strange man called the Doctor, who has inexplicably appeared outside the room of their cousin, Helen. After explaining that he is tracking alien anomalies, the Doctor is concerned to learn that Helen has been hearing strange voices in her head, which the girl believes to belong to her imaginary friend, Ahnji. The Doctor realises that Ahnji is in fact an extraterrestrial life form composed entirely of sound, who has come to Earth to rescue his people after they inadvertently became trapped in the wax surface of a graphaphone record in Helen’s possession. The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to play the record backwards, freeing Ahnji’s people and enabling them to return to their rightful home. After instructing Edward to destroy the record, the Doctor leaves Peggy to look after Helen.
[[Margaret Pollard|Peggy]] and her family are staying at the Grainger house for [[Christmas]]. While she is enjoying a snack in the kitchen, she is summoned to join [[Louisa Pollard|her mother]] in the drawing room. On the way, she encounters a stranger in the house who calls himself the Doctor. He says he's here to see [[Helen Fitzmaurice]], the orphaned niece of [[Lawrence Grainger]]. A five-year-old [[Edward Grainger]] joins them, after having opened a cupboard to reveal a [[The Doctor's TARDIS|blue police box]] from which he says he saw the Doctor emerge.
 
The Doctor is confronted by Lawrence and his house guests. Lawrence sends the butler, [[Peake (Prologue to The Centenarian)|Peake]], for the police. The Doctor drops a few names and goes to Helen's room, locking it behind him. As the adults disperse, Peggy and Eddie go to Helen's room. The Doctor lets them in.
 
Helen is sitting on her bed, but she seems to see something that isn't there. While the Doctor investigates the room, Peggy talks to Helen. Helen tells about her friend, [[Ahnji]], that no one else can see. Because of him, the adults think she is unbalanced. She describes Ahnji, and the Doctor [[deduce]]s that he is an alien. He tells Peggy of his conclusions, that Ahnji's people exist as sound waves, and that his people have been trapped in one of Helen's [[graphaphone]] records. The Doctor is impressed by Peggy's ability to understand what he is saying.
 
The Doctor uses his [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|sonic screwdriver]] to play the record backwards. This frees Ahnji's people, and he wishes Helen one last goodbye before he and his people leave.
 
The Doctor gives Eddie the record to smash and throw away. He gives Peggy the task of being a sensible friend to Helen.


== Characters ==
== Characters ==
* [[Third Doctor]]
* [[Third Doctor]]
* [[Edward Grainger]]
* [[Edward Grainger]]
* [[Peggy Grainger]]
* [[Margaret Pollard|Peggy]]
* [[Lawrence Grainger]]
* [[Lawrence Grainger]]
* [[Helen]]
* [[Helen Fitzmaurice]]
* [[Ahnji]]
* [[Ahnji]]
* [[Peake (Prologue to The Centenarian)|Mr Peake]]
* [[Best (Prologue to The Centenarian)|Mrs Best]]
* [[Alice (Echoes)|Alice]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
''to be added''
* Peggy reads [[Jules Verne]].
* The Doctor mentions [[Jo Grant|Jo]].
* Mrs Best makes a [[plum pudding]] for [[Christmas]].
* Mr Grainger works for [[Dickie Bellamy]].
* Peggy's mother [[Louisa Pollard]] is [[Pregnancy|pregnant]]. The child will be the [[Eighth Doctor]]'s companion [[Charlotte Pollard]], who was born on [[15 April]] [[1912]].


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
''to be added''
* The stories in ''[[The Centenarian (anthology)|The Centenarian]]'' revolve around [[Edward Grainger]], a man who met the Doctor more than a dozen times over his life.
* [[Richard Bellamy|"Dickie Bellamy"]] and his wife [[Marjorie Bellamy|Lady Marjorie]] are references to the 1970s [[ITV]] {{wi|Upstairs, Downstairs (1971 TV series)|Upstairs, Downstairs}}.


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
''to be added''
* Peggy knows something happened to [[Violet (Prologue to The Centenarian)|Violet]], though no one will tell her what. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Prologue to The Centenarian (short story)|Prologue]]'', ''[[Forgotten (short story)|Forgotten]]'')
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{{ST prose}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}


[[Category:Third Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:Third Doctor short stories]]
[[Category:2006 short stories]]
[[Category:Short Trips: The Centenarian short stories]]
[[Category:ST short stories]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1911]]
[[Category:Stories set in 1911]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set in London]]
[[Category:Stories set at Christmas]]
[[Category:Stories set at Christmas]]

Latest revision as of 18:56, 1 March 2024

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You may wish to consult Echoes for other, similarly-named pages.

Echoes was the second short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: The Centenarian. It was written by Gary Russell. It featured the Third Doctor.

Summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

Peggy and her family are staying at the Grainger house for Christmas. While she is enjoying a snack in the kitchen, she is summoned to join her mother in the drawing room. On the way, she encounters a stranger in the house who calls himself the Doctor. He says he's here to see Helen Fitzmaurice, the orphaned niece of Lawrence Grainger. A five-year-old Edward Grainger joins them, after having opened a cupboard to reveal a blue police box from which he says he saw the Doctor emerge.

The Doctor is confronted by Lawrence and his house guests. Lawrence sends the butler, Peake, for the police. The Doctor drops a few names and goes to Helen's room, locking it behind him. As the adults disperse, Peggy and Eddie go to Helen's room. The Doctor lets them in.

Helen is sitting on her bed, but she seems to see something that isn't there. While the Doctor investigates the room, Peggy talks to Helen. Helen tells about her friend, Ahnji, that no one else can see. Because of him, the adults think she is unbalanced. She describes Ahnji, and the Doctor deduces that he is an alien. He tells Peggy of his conclusions, that Ahnji's people exist as sound waves, and that his people have been trapped in one of Helen's graphaphone records. The Doctor is impressed by Peggy's ability to understand what he is saying.

The Doctor uses his sonic screwdriver to play the record backwards. This frees Ahnji's people, and he wishes Helen one last goodbye before he and his people leave.

The Doctor gives Eddie the record to smash and throw away. He gives Peggy the task of being a sensible friend to Helen.

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]