The Ancestor Cell (novel): Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Story
{{Infobox Story SMW
|image=The Ancestor Cell.jpg
|image = The Ancestor Cell.jpg
|series=[[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]]  
|range= BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures
|number in range = 36
|series = [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]]  
|number= 36  
|number= 36  
|doctor=Eighth Doctor  
|doctor = Eighth Doctor  
|companions= [[Fitz Kreiner|Fitz]], [[Compassion]]  
|companions= [[Fitz Kreiner|Fitz]], [[Compassion]]  
|setting= [[Gallifrey]], the [[Rassilon Era]]
|setting= [[Romana III's Gallifrey|Gallifrey]], the [[Rassilon Era]]
|enemy= [[Faction Paradox]], [[Grandfather Paradox]]  
|enemy= [[Faction Paradox]], [[Grandfather Paradox]]  
|writer= [[Peter Anghelides]] and [[Stephen Cole]]
|writer= Peter Anghelides, Stephen Cole
|publisher= BBC Books  
|publisher= BBC Books  
|release date= [[3 July (releases)|3 July]] [[2000 (releases)|2000]]
|release date= 3 July 2000
|format= Paperback Book; 51 Chapters, 288 Pages  
|format= Paperback Book; 51 Chapters, 288 Pages  
|isbn= ISBN 0-563-53809-0
|isbn= ISBN 0-563-53809-0
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|next= The Burning (novel)
|next= The Burning (novel)
}}{{prose stub}}
}}{{prose stub}}
'''''The Ancestor Cell''''' was the thirty-sixth novel in the [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]] series. It was written by [[Peter Anghelides]] and [[Stephen Cole]], released [[3 July (releases)|3 July]] [[2000 (releases)|2000]] and featured the [[Eighth Doctor]], [[Fitz Kreiner]] and [[Compassion]]. It marked the end of Stephen Cole's role as editor of the [[BBC Books]] ranges.  
'''''The Ancestor Cell''''' was the thirty-sixth novel in the [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]] series. It was written by [[Peter Anghelides]] and [[Stephen Cole]], released [[3 July (releases)|3 July]] [[2000 (releases)|2000]] and featured the [[Eighth Doctor]], [[Fitz Kreiner]] and [[Compassion]]. It marked the end of Stephen Cole's role as editor of the [[BBC Books]] ranges.


== Publisher's summary ==
== Publisher's summary ==
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* [[Fitz Kreiner]]
* [[Fitz Kreiner]]
* [[Compassion]]
* [[Compassion]]
* [[Romana III|Lady President Romana]]
* [[Romana III (The Shadows of Avalon)|Lady President Romana]]
* [[Withycombe]]
* [[Ostler]]
* [[Mali]]
* [[Mali]]
* [[Nivet|Technician Nivet]]
* [[Nivet|Technician Nivet]]
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* [[Kaufima]]
* [[Kaufima]]
* [[Eton]]
* [[Eton]]
* [[Kristeva]]
* [[Kristeva (The Ancestor Cell)|Kristeva]]
* [[Ressadriand]]
* [[Ressadriand]]
* [[Timon (The Ancestor Cell)|Timon]]
* [[Timon (The Ancestor Cell)|Timon]]
* [[Vozarti]]
* [[Vozarti]]
* [[Third Doctor]] ('ghost')
* [[Third Doctor]] ('ghost')
* [[Trantres]]
* [[Ditrec]]
* [[Fremest]]
* [[Branastigert]]
* [[Djarshar]]
* [[Tragdorvigan]]
* [[Klenchron]]
* [[Samax]]
* [[Ryssal]]


== References ==
== Worldbuilding ==
* The [[Faction Virus]] which infected the Doctor during his paradoxical regeneration on [[Dust (planet)|Dust]] continues to affect him.
* The [[Biodata virus|Faction virus]] which infected the Doctor during his paradoxical regeneration on [[Dust (planet)|Dust]] continues to affect him.
* Fitz knows of the [[Faction Paradox]] either from his encounter on Earth in [[San Francisco]] [[2002]] or on Earth in [[1996]], or when he was part of [[the Remote]] prior to his re-remembering by [[the TARDIS]].
* Fitz knows of the [[Faction Paradox]] either from his encounter on Earth in [[San Francisco]] [[2002]] or on Earth in [[1996]], or when he was part of [[the Remote]] prior to his re-remembering by [[the TARDIS]].
* The [[Edifice (TARDIS)|Edifice]] which hangs over [[Gallifrey]] is revealed to be the Doctor's TARDIS, which he thought was destroyed. It exists in the form of a [[Gallifreyan Flower of Remembrance]].
* The [[Edifice (TARDIS)|Edifice]] which hangs over [[Gallifrey]] is revealed to be the Doctor's TARDIS, which he thought was destroyed. It exists in the form of a [[Gallifreyan Flower of Remembrance]].
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* The founders of Time Lord society include [[Rassilon]], [[Omega]], [[Pandak]], [[Apeiron]] and [[the Other]].
* The founders of Time Lord society include [[Rassilon]], [[Omega]], [[Pandak]], [[Apeiron]] and [[the Other]].
* The [[Penansulix Structure]] is a building on Gallifrey.
* The [[Penansulix Structure]] is a building on Gallifrey.
* Greyjan was president for three days, between [[2 September]] and [[14 September]] [[1752]].
* Greyjan was president for three [[year]]s.
* Greyjan is "remembered" into existence by the [[Faction Paradox]].
* When [[Chancellor of Time Future]] [[Djarshar]] said he needed to consult the [[Black Book of Gallifrey]] for information, the Doctor jokingly recommended he also check the [[Red Book of Gallifrey|Little Red Book of Gallifrey]], [[the Bones of the Dead]], [[the Scrolls of Antiquity]] and the [[Runes of Rassilon]].
* After the TARDIS transforms into the Edifice, the 'ghost' of the [[Third Doctor]] manifests in the console room, generating bone spiders to protect the ship, he and the Eighth Doctor admitting that spiders are important to them in a manner that they cannot define, referencing the Third Doctor's original regeneration ([[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]'') before history was changed.


== Notes ==
== Notes ==
* This is the ''first'' time Gallifrey is destroyed (but not the last).
* Both the "current version" of [[Fitz Kreiner|Fitz]] ([[Kode]]) and the original ([[Father Kreiner]]) appear in this novel. Father Kreiner is killed during the novel.
* Both versions of Fitz appear in this novel, the "current version" and the original who became [[Father Kreiner]]; Father Kreiner is killed during the novel.
* This novel's version of Gallifrey has been twisted by the [[Edifice (TARDIS)|Edifice]]'s temporal damage into a parody of the Gallifrey glimpsed in ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'' and ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]''.
* This novel's version of Gallifrey is notably parodic of the glimpses seen in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'' and [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]''; it is mentioned that the Edifice's temporal damage is affecting and twisting not only Gallifrey's history, but its culture as well.
* ''The Ancestor Cell'' saw the culmination of [[War in Heaven|the War]] arc, which had begun in ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'', although the way in which it resolves some of these issues have made it very unpopular amongst many fans of the arc. That novel's author, [[Lawrence Miles]], criticised ''The Ancestor Cell'' for its revelations about [[the enemy]] (suggested to be primordial [[ancestor cell|cells]] irradiated by temporal interference and energised by a leaking [[bottle universe]]) and [[Grandfather Paradox]] (a future version of the Eighth Doctor).<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20050127140324/http://www.planeteleven.co.uk/features/lmia/ancestorcell.php Lawrence Miles' ''The Ancestor Cell'' review]</ref> In ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)|The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'', [[Lance Parkin]] retconned Grandfather Paradox to appear as everyone's potential future, rather than a specific future version of the Eighth Doctor. ''[[The Book of the Enemy (anthology)|The Book of the Enemy]]'' would later establish that [[the enemy]] had more than one "true" answer for its identity.
 
* This novel marked the "end" of the [[War in Heaven]] for the [[BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures]]. However, after leaving the Eighth Doctor, Compassion became a recurring participant in the War in the [[Faction Paradox (series)|''Faction Paradox'' series]].
=== Criticisms ===
''The Ancestor Cell'' saw the culmination of [[the War]] arc, which had begun in ''[[Alien Bodies]]''. That novel's author, [[Lawrence Miles]], had already begun plans for the ''[[Faction Paradox (series)|Faction Paradox]]'' series, which continued the storyline; independently, he criticised ''The Ancestor Cell'' for its revelations about [[the enemy]] (suggested to be primordial [[ancestor cell|cell]]s irradiated by temporal interference and energised by a leaking [[bottle universe]]) and [[Grandfather Paradox]] (a future version of the Eighth Doctor). According to Miles, Stephen Cole claimed that both revelations were not definite answers.  
 
=== Other recontexualizations ===
* Despite this novel being the "end" of the War for the Eighth Doctor, Compassion, specifically following her travels with the Doctor, would become a recurring character in the ''Faction Paradox'' series.
* Lawrence Miles' ''[[The Adventuress of Henrietta Street (novel)|The Adventuress of Henrietta Street]]'' and the ''Faction Paradox'' comic series would subtly imply the War truly ending differently than ''The Ancestor Cell'' suggests.
* [[Lance Parkin]]'s novel ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)|The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'' later specified that ''The Ancestor Cell''<nowiki/>'s Faction Paradox fleet is a devolved and militaristic sect, come to the [[Eleven-Day Empire]] and invading Romana's Gallifrey from 292 years into the War. Parkin also retconned Grandfather Paradox to be everyone's potential future.
* Though ''The Ancestor Cell'' states Romana is [[War Queen]] of the [[Nine Gallifreys]] (with hers being the original and sire of the eight cloneworlds) and asserts all nine are destroyed, ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'' implies "nine" is actually a misnomer, with every cloneworld believing itself to be the original and creating even more tertiary worlds of their own. ''The Book of the War'' mentions some of the cloneworlds having a "War Queen."
* Previous novels ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'' and ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'' had both mentioned a Gallifrey being destroyed early in the War. [[Obverse Books|Obverse Books']] ''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]'' carries this assumption forward, mentioning several being destroyed throughout the course of the conflict.
* According to Obverse Books' ''[[Head of State (novel)|Head of State]]'' and ''[[Spinning Jenny (novel)|Spinning Jenny]],'' there are multiple versions or splinters of Faction Paradox at one time, frequently operating independently of each other. ''Spinning Jenny'', set after ''[[The True History of Faction Paradox]]'', also asserts there are different versions and conflicting accounts of Faction Paradox's destruction.
* The idea of [[the enemy]] having more than one "true" answer for its identity is a major recurring theme of Obverse Books' ''[[The Book of the Enemy (anthology)|The Book of the Enemy]]''.  


== Continuity ==
== Continuity ==
* The 'ghost' of the [[Third Doctor]] who features here is intended to be a manifestation of the Doctor who would have existed before the Doctor's unintentional interference in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Interference - Book One]]'' erased the events of ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]''.
* Each of the [[Nine Gallifreys|duplicate Homeworlds]] created during the War believed themselves to be the original, had their own [[War Queen]]s, and created their own duplicates. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'')
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies]]'' was the first novel to feature both the Faction Paradox and the first mention of the future War, the Enemy and sentient TARDISes similar to Compassion.
* [[Nine Gallifreys|A Gallifrey]] was destroyed early in the War. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'', ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'', ''[[The Brakespeare Voyage (novel)|The Brakespeare Voyage]]'')
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5]]'' debuted the war-TARDISes.
* The 'ghost' of the [[Third Doctor]] who features here is intended to be a manifestation of the Doctor who would have existed before the Doctor's unintentional interference in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Interference - Book One (novel)|Interference - Book One]]'' erased the events of [[TV]]: ''[[Planet of the Spiders (TV story)|Planet of the Spiders]]''.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadows of Avalon]]'' started the Time Lords chasing the Doctor, Compassion and Fitz.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Alien Bodies (novel)|Alien Bodies]]'' was the first novel to feature both the Faction Paradox and the first mention of the future War, the Enemy, and [[103-form|sentient TARDISes]].
* Fitz knows who the Faction Paradox are from his encounter with them in either/both [[PROSE]]: ''[[Unnatural History]]'' and ''[[Interference - Book One]]''.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Taking of Planet 5 (novel)|The Taking of Planet 5]]'' debuted the [[War TARDIS]]es.
* Compassion drops the Doctor on Earth which leads into [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Burning]]''.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Shadows of Avalon (novel)|The Shadows of Avalon]]'' started the Time Lords chasing the Doctor, Compassion and Fitz.
* Compassion also delivers Fitz on Earth a hundred years later in time to meet the Doctor, which he does in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Escape Velocity]]''.
* Fitz knows who the Faction Paradox are from his encounters with them in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Unnatural History (novel)|Unnatural History]]'' and ''[[Interference - Book One (novel)|Interference - Book One]]''.
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)|The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'' sorts out and re-interprets many of the events seen in this novel.
* Compassion drops the Doctor on Earth, leading into [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Burning (novel)|The Burning]]''.
* Romana mentions the Dalek incident. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Apocalypse Element]]'')
* Compassion also delivers Fitz on Earth a hundred years later in time to meet the Doctor, which he does in [[PROSE]]: ''[[Escape Velocity (novel)|Escape Velocity]]''.
* Romana remembers challenging [[Flavia]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Goth Opera]]'')
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Gallifrey Chronicles (novel)|The Gallifrey Chronicles]]'' sorts out and re-interprets many of the events seen in this novel. For instance, it specifies that ''The Ancestor Cell''{{'}}s Faction Paradox fleet was a devolved and militaristic sect, come to the [[Eleven-Day Empire]] and invading Romana's Gallifrey from 292 years into the War.
* Father Kreiner mentions the [[T'hiili]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dominion (novel)|Dominion]]'') and [[Vega Station]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Demontage]]'') Fitz retaliates with tales of [[Drebnar]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Frontier Worlds]]'')
* Romana mentions the [[Etra Prime incident|Dalek incident]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Apocalypse Element (audio story)|The Apocalypse Element]]'')
* Romana remembers challenging [[Flavia]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Goth Opera (novel)|Goth Opera]]'')
* Father Kreiner mentions the [[T'hiili]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Dominion (novel)|Dominion]]'') and [[Vega Station (Demontage)|Vega Station]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Demontage (novel)|Demontage]]'') Fitz retaliates with tales of [[Drebnar]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Frontier Worlds (novel)|Frontier Worlds]]'')
* [[PROSE]]: ''[[Spinning Jenny (novel)|Spinning Jenny]]'' states that there are different conflicting accounts of Faction Paradox's destruction.
* In the aftermath of Gallifrey's destruction, time travel became essentially unregulated leading to various new methods of time travel popping up. In turn this led to the creation of (one version of) the Time Agency, time travel experiments on Isolation Station Forty, the Blithe Pinking Shears, the timeship Jonah ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Trading Futures (novel)|Trading Futures]]''), and the Book of the Still along with the rise of non-linear anthropology ([[PROSE]]: (''[[The Book of the Still (novel)|The Book of the Still]]'').


== External links ==
== External links ==
{{fpx}}
{{fpx}}{{dwrefguide|whobbc36.htm|The Ancestor Cell}}
 
*{{dwrefguide|whobbc36.htm|The Ancestor Cell}}
* {{whoniverse|ed36|The Ancestor Cell}}
* {{whoniverse|ed36|The Ancestor Cell}}
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/ance.htm The Cloister Library: '''The Ancestor Cell''']
* [http://mysite.science.uottawa.ca/rsmith43/cloister/ance.htm The Cloister Library: '''The Ancestor Cell''']
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20081201193651/http://home2.btconnect.com/anghelides/PDF_versions/Ancestor_unused.pdf Unused Chapter 10 of '''The Ancestor Cell''' (PDF) from Peter Anghelides website]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20081201193651/http://home2.btconnect.com/anghelides/PDF_versions/Ancestor_unused.pdf Unused Chapter 10 of '''The Ancestor Cell''' (PDF) from Peter Anghelides website]
* [http://www.curufea.com/Wikka/wikka.php?wakka=FactionAncestor&show_comments=1 My Review of '''THE ANCESTOR CELL''', by Lawrence Miles.]
* [https://peteranghelides.wordpress.com/category/novels/ancestor-cell/ Ancestor Cell | The Red Lines Page - Peter Anghelides - WordPress.com]


*{{EDA}}
== Footnotes ==
{{Reflist}}
 
{{EDA}}
{{TitleSort}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:EDA novels]]
[[Category:EDA novels]]
[[Category:2000 novels]]
[[Category:2000 novels]]

Latest revision as of 17:45, 13 May 2024

RealWorld.png

prose stub

The Ancestor Cell was the thirty-sixth novel in the BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures series. It was written by Peter Anghelides and Stephen Cole, released 3 July 2000 and featured the Eighth Doctor, Fitz Kreiner and Compassion. It marked the end of Stephen Cole's role as editor of the BBC Books ranges.

Publisher's summary[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Doctor's not the man he was. But what has he become? An old enemy — Faction Paradox, a cult of time-travelling voodoo terrorists — is finally making him one of its own. These rebels have a mission for him, one that will deliver him into the hands of his own people, who have decreed that he must die. Except now, it seems, the Time Lords have a mission for him too...

A gargantuan structure, hewn from solid bone, has appeared in the skies over Gallifrey. Its origin and purpose are unknown, but its powers threaten to tear apart the web of time and the universe with it. Only the Doctor can get inside... but soon he will learn that nothing is safe and nothing sacred.

Shot by both sides, confronted by past sins and future crimes, the Doctor finds himself a prisoner of his own actions. With options finally running out, he must face his most crushing defeat or take one last, desperate chance for salvation...

Plot[[edit] | [edit source]]

to be added

Characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Worldbuilding[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Continuity[[edit] | [edit source]]

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ Lawrence Miles' The Ancestor Cell review
v • e
BBC Eighth Doctor Adventures
Sam
Susan
Sam
Fitz, Sam
Sam, Fitz, Compassion
Third Doctor, Sarah
Fitz, Compassion
Solo travels
Anji, Fitz
Anji, Fitz, Trix
Fitz, Trix
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