The Also People (novel)

The Also People
Doctor:	[[doctor::Seventh Doctor]]
Companion(s):	Benny, Roz, Chris
Main enemy:	feLixi
Main setting:	The Worldsphere
Key crew
Publisher:	[[publisher::Virgin Books]]
Writer:	Ben Aaronovitch
Release details
Release number:	44
Release date:	November 1995
Format:	Paperback Book, 289 Pages
ISBN:	ISBN 0-426-20456-5

The Also People is the forty-fourth Virgin New Adventures novel. It features the Seventh Doctor, Bernice Summerfield, Chris Cwej and Roz Forrester. It also features the return of Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart who last appeared in Set Piece and the debut of The People and their home, the Worldsphere; they would return in several Virgin Bernice Summerfield New Adventures.

This novel features uniquely named characters, with upper and lower cases and punctuation within the names and a pronunciation guide printed at the start of the novel explaining how to pronounce those letters and punctuation marks.

Publisher's summary

'Just how technologically advanced are they?' The Doctor frowned. 'Let me put it this way: they have a non-aggression pact with the Time Lords.'

The Doctor has taken his companions to paradise, or at least the closest thing he can find. A sun enclosed by an artificial sphere where there is no want, poverty or violence.

While Chris learns to surf, meets a girl and falls in love with a biplane, Roz suspects an alien plot and Bernice considers that a Dyson Sphere needs an archaeologist like a fish needs a five-speed gear box.

Then the peace is shattered by murder. As the suspects proliferate, Bernice realises that even an artificial world has its buried secrets and Roz discovers what she's always suspected -- that every paradise has its snake.

Plot

to be added

Characters

• The Doctor
• Bernice Summerfield
• Roz Forrester
• Chris Cwej
• saRa!qava
• Dep
• aM!xitsa
• feLixi
• God
• kiKhali
• agRaven
• !C-Mel
• vi!Cari
• beRut
• Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart
• S-Lioness
• R-Vene

References

Anatomy and physiology

• Roz decided in her youth that messy sex didn't offer anything a three-pack of Martian ale and a long shower couldn't.
• Dep has sex with Chris and impregnates herself with his sperm.

Astronomical objects

• Bernice Summerfield has visited a Dyson Sphere before, albeit one that was already fragmented.

Conflicts

• The Doctor mentions World War IV.
• feLixi was a secret agent in the Proxy Wars.

Crime

• feLixi was the accomplice in the murder of vi!Cari.
• !C-Mel was the murderer of vi!Cari, who is avenged by the Doctor in this story.
• R-Vene murdered two hundred thousand beings in a moment of combat panic.

The Doctor

• The Doctor once broke the Galactic record for continuous spoon playing… sixty-seven hours' worth.
• The Doctor most likely would have killed Kadiatu had Benny not saved her.
• The Doctor gets rescued by a parachute that designs apple trees in its spare time.
• The Doctor can think faster then he can talk (obviously) and is capable of keeping up with (and confusing) a ship that thinks picoseconds is a long time.

Individuals

• God lives in Whynot, where the continents constantly change on God's whim. This includes drowning a city (slowly and with due forewarning to the locals) because he heard about Atlantis.
• The Doctor trusts God as much as God trusts him.
• God insists he/it is not a computer.
• Despite everything, Benny still trusts the Doctor.
• Roz's middle name is revealed here to be 'Inyathi' meaning 'buffalo'. She has a sister; Leabie.
• Chris's grandfather was colour blind.
• saRa!qava has a daughter, Dep. saRa!qava also fancies Benny.
• aM!xitsa is a long time friend of the Doctor. Has also been 'looking after'/watching over Kadiatu for the Doctor.
• feLixi has a relationship with Roz.
• vi!Cari is a gossip and rather disliked even by other ships.
• Kadiatu loses an arm wrestling contest with the Doctor, much to everyone's surprise.
• R-Vene is a ship. It got combat psychosis some years ago.

Fashion and clothing

• The Doctor goes to a fancy dress party as himself.

Foods and beverages

• Flashback is a drink that makes you relive the past (the more you drink, the clearer it is).
• saRa!qava spends her time baking bread.
• God brings a weird yellow dip to parties that no one ever eats.

Games

• Kadiatu plays chess with the Doctor, and as a sign of her improved mental prowess begins to play it in her head against him in his. She wins some of the games.

Literature

• The Lament of the Non-Operational is a one- hundred twenty-eight stanza long piece of Dalek poetry. Roz's father collected it and made her memorise all the stanzas.

Locations

• iSanti Jeni is the town closest to where the Doctor and co are staying.

Organisations

• feLixi volunteered in the Xeno Relations (Normalisation) Interest Group (XR(N)IG) as a secret agent.
• The Doctor mercilessly mocks a member of the Time Lord Interest Group over the inconsistencies in his Time Lord costume.
• God is a member of the Anti-Machine Interest Group.

Politics

• The Time Lords and The People have a non-aggression treaty, part of which stops the People from developing time travel and interferring in the affairs of the Mutter's Spiral.
• Bernice realises that there isn't enough alcohol in the universe to allow her to cope with the idea that the People are on par with the Time Lords and have a non-aggression treaty with them.

Power sources

• The Windmills in the Worldsphere are real and do generate power.

Species

• The People built and live in the Worldsphere.

Spacecraft

• The ships are scared of the Doctor.

Theories and concepts

• Benny has a pretty surreal dream involving drinking and discussing evil with: a Dalek, a Cyberman, and a Sontaran (named Grinx). Davros also gets a mention. (see page 222)

Weapons

• The Doctor whistles "anything you can do, I can do better" with a small bomb in his mouth.

Notes

• In the introduction Ben Aaronovitch details how to pronounce the names of the People.
• The image on the cover of this novel actually happens in the novel.

Continuity

• saRa!qava attends Benny's wedding reception in NA: Happy Endings Kadiatu is also present.

• The People / elements of the People's (or God itself) culture appear in BNA: Oh No It Isn't!, Down, Ghost Devices, Walking to Babylon and Where Angels Fear (in which the final fate of !C-Mel is revealed) and The Quantum Archangel, where the People and God are involved in the Millennial Wars that the Doctor learns about.

Timeline

• This story takes place after NA: Head Games
• This story takes place before NA: Shakedown

External links

• The Also People at the Doctor Who Reference Guide
• The Discontinuity Guide to: The Also People at The Whoniverse
• Pronunciation in The Also People via Internet Archive: Wayback Machine