Evolution

Gallifrey #5.2

Released: 16 February 2013

Listened: 4/25/21

The slower, more drawn-out version of the story continues. Romana and Narvin are sponsoring scientific research into time travel, in the hopes of a breakthrough. Leela is trying to help the former slaves forge a new life outside, but she’s drawn into helping one of them investigate a batch of former research subjects who’ve formed a cult of some kind. Of course, this is a crueler alternate Gallifrey, so ethical standards for use of human subjects in research isn’t quite what you’d expect them to be, and that’s what ties the two threads together. There’s a nice reference to “Warrior’s Gate,” which indicates that Romana has seen these sorts of experiments before, and she reacts about as well as you might expect. Although the story is fine by itself, the main plot is a dead end, which makes it seem something like filler.