The Conscript

The Time War #1.3

Released: 26 October 2017

Listened: 1/18/22

This story is probably the toughest listen of this boxed set, possibly of the entire range. Basically, the Doctor gets drafted and sent to basic training, which goes about as well as you’d think. Cardinal Ollistra knows that the best way to control the Doctor is to threaten his friends, so the refugees from the last story are held in “protective custody” for a while. That keeps the Doctor around, but can’t make him follow orders. The camp commandant has a “tough but fair” reputation, and seems to be quite skilled at the “break them down to build them up as a unit” strategy. Objectively, he appears to be reasonable, and good at his job. However, the Doctor questions the premise of the entire war, and is determined to undermine discipline at every opportunity. It doesn’t really start to bite until the Doctor is sent to solitary, and we see what happens to the recruits who’ve decided to follow the Doctor’s example. Basically, the Doctor’s normal tactics have no place in a war, and yet he’s opposed to the very idea of fighting in a war on the Time Lords’ terms, which leaves him stuck. The last conversation between the Doctor and the Commandant is very revealing, with each side trying to do what they believe to be right, but having no middle ground. Knowing what happens to the Doctor not very long from now puts a sad cast over the whole thing. Fortunately, we can be pretty sure Ollistra is in the wrong, and the story isn’t that long, so there’s not as much time for examination as might be warranted. Still, this is the story that sticks with me from this set.