Cold War

"I dreamed the war was over, and I could finally allow you to be born."

Writer: Rebecca Levene

Format: Short Story

Released: December 2003

Printed in: Short Trips: Steel Skies 13

Featuring: Seventh Doctor, Ace, Benny

Synopsis

There are many places that most of us can never see: places that are sheltered, locked away, cordoned off from the outside world. But to the Doctor, and those who travel with him in his TARDIS, there is no such thing as a locked door. Anywhere in space and time is open to them to visit – even if sometimes it might be better to leave such places well alone.

Steel Skies is a collection of stories based in enclosed and artificial environments: places constructed to keep the dangers of the universe outside, perhaps, or to keep their inhabitants locked in. It is divided into four sections, each exploring a different kind of confinement:

Section One, Flight, comprises four tales of travellers who left their homes for far-away destinations – to explore, to start a new life, or to fight for the survival of their species.

Section Two, Frontiers, explores the corridors, living quarters and ventilation shafts of four futuristic environments – designed to shelter men, women and children from harsh natural forces, or from the threat of nuclear war.

Section Three, Incarceration, tells four stories of punishment and imprisonment, from San Francisco's infamous Alcatraz, to the cage of a flightless angel in the dilapidated ruins of Heaven. 

Section Four, Isolation, deals with the loneliness and despair of being cut off from the world outside, by physical or mental incapacity, by the ravages of war, or caught between destinations aboard the TARDIS itself. 

A recurring theme in all four sections is the effect of the Doctor's arrival in these enclosed environments – sometimes positive, sometimes less so.

Verdict

Cold War was an outstanding story to continue my way through the Steel Skies edition of Short Trips. This kicked off the Solitude section of this book in incredible style by easily being the best adventure in the collection so far. I’m always intrigued by a title and this one obviously shares the same one as an Eleventh Doctor televised episode, but this came much earlier so I think it’s quite fun to ponder on what might have been. Imagine Steven Moffat saying no to the episode title because of a Short Trip! The stories were very different and this didn’t relate to the historical period on Earth between USA and Russia at all. This was taking things into space and a very different war indeed which was fascinating. I thought Jen was such a strong character and considering the story was only fourteen pages long, there were a lot of twists! I think it would even benefit from a reread as I realised later why Carl reacted so shocked when seeing Jen after his vision was cured. I think the story was perfect for the Seventh Doctor and his manipulative nature. He’s not one to shy from interference and that was the case here as he jumped right into action. It was also lovely to have both Ace and Benny alongside him as companions as that’s still a story in prose I’m yet to fully delve into with my limited and stop-start experience of the New Adventures books. Both are really good together and I liked Benny’s reaction to what she described as an embryo in the third trimester being stated as Jen’s daughter. The quote I have taken for this story is something that resonates massively. The idea of a mother not wanting to bring her daughter into a world of war is pretty admirable, but just delaying that birth seems incomprehensible. Her patience and willpower must be extraordinary but clearly she had a lot going on! Five years of solitude will do that to you. I can’t imagine going that long without any kind of human contact! A blind android was all she had for company and I’m just not sure how well that would suffice. The situation surrounding the war between the human colony and the Reptiles was presented really well and I actually enjoyed the ambiguity. Initially I thought they might be the Draconians but then with the description of the third eye opening, might these be some kind of Silurians? Or more likely they’re just something different altogether which is equally fine. The Doctor using Jen’s baby to threaten her and push her back into realising who and what she was made for an incredible moment. I just don’t think any other incarnation of the Doctor could have pulled off that threat. I would firmly believe that the Seventh Doctor would drop the case containing the unborn child. That’s a scary thought but Jen then realising that she was a Reptile was powerful stuff. I did not see that coming so it was a sublime twist! It made sense too and fitted in very nicely with the war. The threat of the weapon was very strong as well and it made sense in hindsight why Ace was disconnecting it. That was a big threat to Jen and she quickly assumed they were traitors. I liked that a lot as it really sent her into quite the spiral! Getting the little flashback of the true Jen and how Qurro as she was truly known took her identity was excellent. It was emotional stuff and there was just so much going on! The Doctor taking her child as an orphan to grow up and give the message was another pull on the emotional strings and I firmly believe that anything with children now in the Whoniverse is heightened after having my own.  Overall, just brilliance. Even if the Doctor’s name wasn’t capitalised! 

Rating: 10/10