Elizabeth Klein: Difference between revisions

{{Infobox Individual

|individual name = Elizabeth Klein

|species=[[Human]]

Dr. '''Elizabeth Klein''' was an inhabitant of a now-defunct alternative timeline, accidentally created when the [[Seventh Doctor]] and [[Ace]] left a piece of laser technology in the hands of the [[Nazi]]s, leading to their victory in [[World War II]]. She was the sole remnant of that timeline and later a companion-in-adversity of the Seventh Doctor.

Klein was a favourite of [[Adolf Hitler|the Fuhrer]], and was assigned many duties on behalf of the Reich. In the early 1950s of her timeline, she was commissioned to investigate the outbreak of a deadly virus in [[Kenya]]. She was unable to trace its source, and was called off the mission before she could investigate further. This failure would continue to haunt her as the years went by.

Klein attempted to use the TARDIS to restore her exact timeline, but was unsuccessful in the end. She instead created what she described as a far better one. The details of the exact changes she made to history are unknown, except that the new Reich began in 1944. She avoided trying to bring back her lost love, Jonas Faber, because she inwardly realised that she would never be able to perfectly restore the past they had lost. By 2044, Klein had used time travel to engineer the defeat of numerous formidable alien threats, including the [[Sontaran]]s and even the [[Dalek]]s. However, although the Doctor’s past had been completely rewritten, the memories of his experiences with Klein resurfaced in 2044, replacing those of his alternative self. Prior to this, he had arranged for an attack by [[Selachian]]s from the future on Earth's moonbase in order to lure Klein and the TARDIS there. The Selachians used future technology to destroy the TARDIS, separating its internal and external dimensions and stranding Klein in the middle of the invasion before she could prevent it by equipping the past with knowledge from the future. The Doctor told Klein that she had been tried (presumably by the Time Lords, though he did not mention them by name) and took her out of the timeline using another TARDIS specially equipped to carry out her sentence. She willingly submitted to her punishment – total obliteration from time – in the hope that it might possibly restore her original timeline in the end by preventing her from ever meeting the Doctor. The actual outcome was quite different. The prime reality was restored, and another Dr. Elizabeth Klein came to be – a Klein known for her triumphs working for UNIT. Her personality appeared to be the same, except that this new Klein devoted her talents to the protection of Earth. Upon meeting the Doctor in 1962, she did recognise him slightly despite the fact that her experiences with him had been erased. ([[BFA]]: ''[[The Architects of History]]'')

Klein is a fervent believer in National Socialism, and the benefits to society of fascism in general. Despite holding the view that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, she does form close, compassionate relationships with the people under her care, as evidenced by the impact Lucy's death had on her ([[BFA]]: ''[[A Thousand Tiny Wings]]''), and her concern for the Vrill ([[BFA]]: ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''). Despite knowing the atrocities which Nazis like Mengele committed, she draws a differentiation between their actions and their ideals, saying that Mengele went too far. However, she is not beyond coolly executing an enemy or torturing them for information should that be necessary. She is not intimidated by the Doctor or his reputation. She is not a hypocrite, in so far as she is willing to die in order for the greater number of people to survive, although she does admit that she would prefer not to die. Rather like [[Liz Shaw]], Klein was recruited from university, and showed an interest in and knowledge of the more esoteric and experimental aspects of science (such as time travel). She was described by Faber as being unlike many of her contemporaries, in so far as having an open, questioning, mind. Before her removal from history, she did come to agree with the Doctor on some points, particularly with his observation that no matter how much she changed history, it would never feel completely "right".