Time-Burst

Purity Unleashed #3

Released: 23 May 2023

Listened: 5/27/23

Patricia is now calling herself “Purity,” has gone full cyborg, and is on to Plan B. Fortunately, that involves staying in one place, so the story isn’t hopping around so much, and it’s actually kind of a historical, set in Sheffield, 1864. Patricia is setting up a factory community there, with lousy pay, but lots of communal amenities to kick off her eugenicist vision. How’s that going to work, when factories are springing up all over Sheffield? Because there’s a great flood that’s going to wipe most of them out, but the Doctor doesn’t remember that right away. Ian Potter creates sympathy in this situation by focusing on a specific family, one who could benefit from a better deal at a factory, but is smart enough to know something’s up. There’s plenty of Sheffield flavor in this one, and lots of authentic history (so they tell me), but also a nice run-around, as the Doctor keeps accidentally finding himself in the 21st century, leading to a rather funny scene as he uses a bystander’s phone to do a bunch of research in seconds that would take hours in 1864. Thing is, the Doctor is a couple of steps behind the entire story, even when he thinks he’s won, which sets up another impressive cliffhanger, so clearly this story isn’t over yet.