The Astronomer's Apprentice (short story)

The Astronomer's Apprentice
Doctor:	Second Doctor
Companion(s):	Jamie, Victoria
Main setting:	Caslandir and Drakendir, Traken
Key crew
Writer:	Simon A. Forward
Release details
Part of:	Short Trips: The Muses
Release date:	September 2003
Short Trips
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Next →	Katarina in the Underworld

The Astronomer's Apprentice was the seventh short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: The Muses. It was written by Simon A. Forward. It featured the Second Doctor, Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield.

Summary

The Doctor, Jamie and Victoria are on Traken for a holiday. They arrive the day before the Feast of Melkur. They meet alien astronomer Neverglade and his companion, the Trakenite Viola. Viola strikes up a friendship with Jamie, while the Doctor accompanies Neverglade to his observatory, where he is making a scale model of the universe.

The next evening, they attend the festival, at which several people, including the Doctor and Jamie, perform for the Melkur. Viola reads a poem. Later, Jamie and Viola are enjoying each other's company while Victoria searches for the Doctor. She finds him at the observatory with Neverglade.

The Doctor and Neverglade are working with Neverglade's books and equipment, which uses telepathy. They are mapping the stars. Victoria watches for a while. Neverglade becomes frustrated with the work, thinking he will not be able to finish it in his lifetime. The Doctor convinces him to keep at it. Later, Neverglade retires to bed, and the Doctor continues working. Victoria, though nervous about the Doctor using Neverglade's equipment, heads to bed.

The next day, Jamie and Viola are riding the Trakenite equivalent of horses. Jamie sees a tower in the distance, and they head for it.

Meanwhile, Victoria wanders in the Grove, looking for flowers. She is surprised by the appearance of a tall, dark handsome man. She is unnerved by the fact that he knows who she is. She hurriedly leaves.

Consul Symia arrives at the observatory to discuss with the Doctor and Neverglade some strange things that are happening on Traken. People are behaving unusually, and she wonders if the presence of aliens on Traken is affecting the biomatrix of the planet. Neverglade sarcastically says that his companion Viola is the disturbance, and describes how her presence in the observatory disrupts the balance of his model universe. The Doctor becomes alarmed at hearing this.

At the tower, Viola tells him of the Traken legend of Araken. She thinks that the setting needs a knight, so she conjures up a rainbow knight that she knows cannot hurt Jamie. Jamie is surprised to see she can conjure up illusions, but Viola is surprised when her illusion destroys part of the nearby cliff face with its sword.

Victoria is in her rooms when the handsome man returns. He brings her a flower and tells her he is the Keeper. He wants her to stay with him on Traken. Frightened, Victoria runs out to the balcony.

Jamie and Viola destroy the knight, and Viola realises something is wrong with the biomatrix. They head back to find the Doctor.

Victoria finds the Doctor and tells him about the Keeper. Symia and the nearby Trakenites are interested in what she has to say, but the Doctor fears that the Keeper is being affected by whatever is disturbing the biomatrix. Suddenly, they see that the Melkur has come to life and is heading for them.

Meanwhile, Jamie and Viola are being chased by creatures from Viola's poem. The Doctor hurries everyone inside their villas, while the Melkur climbs the balcony of one of the buildings. Jamie and Viola arrive, chased by the Jabberwock. Jamie turns to fight it, and the Doctor throws a fireplace poker to him and tells him to imagine it's a blade.

Later, when the Doctor and his friends are congratulating themselves for their victory, Symia approaches and asks them to leave Traken. The Doctor tells Neverglade that his miniature universe was responsible for disturbing the biomatrix. Victoria apologises to the Keeper for her behaviour.

The TARDIS crew makes their farewells to Viola. She admits to conjuring up Neverglade as a companion who can take her travelling in time and space.

Some time later, Victoria attends a play with Mr and Mrs Harris. She misses the Doctor and Jamie, and the Harrises hope the play will cheer her up. Unknown to Victoria, the Keeper has given her a piece of his mind, a part of Traken, that becomes Viola. At this, the moment of her creation, Viola is ready for her future adventures.

Characters

• Second Doctor
• Jamie
• Victoria Waterfield
• Neverglade
• Viola
• Consul Symia
• The Keeper

Worldbuilding

• Jamie plays the bagpipes at the Feast of Melkur.
• The Doctor plays "Three Blind Mice" on his recorder at the festival.
• The Doctor recalls building sandcastles on Ostermede Six ("Or was it Seven?"), where the monarchy was still using one he built as their summer palace on his last visit.
• Viola describes the Doctor as like Stan Laurel with gravitas.
• Consul Kerana left the feast early.
• Consul Jarvaran led the torchlight procession down to the beach.
• Jamie and Viola drink lachanium-bud liqueur together.
• Neverglade's observatory overlooks the grand estuary.
• Shortly after the Feast of Melkur is the Gardenship Festival.
• The native equivalent of a horse is, according to Viola, close enough to an Earth horse to be called a horse.
• Viola takes Jamie to the Drakendir waterfall.
• Flowers in the Grove are reminiscent of, though of no actual relation to, angelica, hyacinth, sweet william and the rose family.

Notes

• The stories in Short Trips: The Muses are inspired by the Muses of Greek mythology. This story is based on Urania, the Muse of Astronomy.
• This story is littered with references to works by Lewis Carroll.
  • Viola reads Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky" at the festival, later accidentally summoning a supposed Frumious Bandersnatch and Jabberwock.
  • The Doctor claims that "There’s far too many impossible things happening and I haven’t even had breakfast yet!", referencing Alice in Wonderland.
  • Viola's stream-of-consciousness narration mentions a "magic rabbit-hole" and compares the Doctor's smile to that of the Cheshire Cat, both also from Wonderland.
  • The Doctor gives Jamie what he terms a "vorpal blade", actually a fireside poker, referencing "Jabberwocky" again.

Continuity

• The phrase, "Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue," is used by Viola as a reference to the TARDIS. This phrase was used again in TV: The Big Bang.
• The First Doctor had always wanted to visit Traken. (AUDIO: The Toy) During his fourth incarnation, the Doctor would again visit Traken in 1981 in the company of Adric and met his future companion Nyssa for the first time. On that occasion, he encountered what he initially believed was another Melkur. However, it was, in actuality, the Decayed Master. (TV: The Keeper of Traken) Following his regeneration into his fifth incarnation, he and Nyssa returned to Traken in circa 1000 BC. (AUDIO: Primeval)
• Victoria, Jamie and Viola visit the Grove, which was an important location in TV: The Keeper of Traken ^[+]Loading...["The Keeper of Traken (TV story)"].
• The Doctor says: "There's far too many impossible things happening and I haven't even had breakfast yet," a reference to a later statement by him in TV: The Five Doctors: "Like Alice, I try to believe in three impossible things before breakfast."
• Victoria attends a play with Frank and Maggie Harris. (TV: Fury from the Deep)
• Viola, being at least partially a product of Victoria's mind, makes several references to Lewis Carroll works throughout the story. Indeed, Victoria's favourite book was said to be Alice in Wonderland in PROSE: Death to Mufl ^[+]Loading...["Death to Mufl (short story)"].