Her Own Bootstraps

Short Trips #10.9

Released: 29 September 2020

Listened: 9/8/22

It seems like the Ninth Doctor spent most of his early life cleaning up weapons from the Time War, which is certainly kind of him, but it can’t have done his mental state any good. This time, the weapon has ended up in the hands of Althea Bryce, scientist, time traveler, and thief. The Doctor takes it to Krakatoa, just before it erupts, only to find a very young Althea there, possibly looking to steal it, and in any event creating a bootstrap paradox in a decaying loop, which isn’t good for anybody. The Doctor tries to be careful of the web of time, not telling Althea her fate, but eventually breaks down, and at one point unloads on her with the anger and frustration built up from the war. Usually, when he talks about the war, he’s talking to someone he likes, so he evades and euphemizes, but he believes Althea to be a villain, so he can really let her have it. Getting out of a time loop is no mean trick, so kudos to writer Amy Veeres for thinking of a clever way to pull that off. There’s also a short scene set much later on that marks the first appearance of Rose in this project. Plus the ending can be read ambiguously, so that’s fairly interesting. The story is read by Jacob Dudman, most known for his Eleventh Doctor, but he does a pretty decent Ninth as well.