#it was in the post talking about the faction paradox and oxbow realities i think

[seveneyesoup]

can’t remember who said it, but i saw a theory somewhere saying that The Enemy was an abstract thing that the time lords chose to make manifest with the daleks? turning something abstract and powerful into something concrete and therefore less dangerous. what are your thoughts on that theory?

I dare you to make one whole post about Time War without mentioning your unconditional love for EAD and without using the word "Doctor" (or referring directly towards him)

Hehehe I woke up and chose mean behavior towards my favorite page *hit the button* hehe

i'll use this opportunity to talk about "the enemy."

"the enemy" is one of the unsolved mysteries of the time war that will always linger in the back of my mind. first mentioned in Alien Bodies, they go on to be mentioned elsewhere, mostly in the Faction Paradox books and The Ancestor Cell. their form and nature is very unpredictable, usually in flux. a lot of the accounts of them come from visions and premonitions, rather than first-hand experience. they were supposed to cause Ths Event, aka the destruction of Gallifrey, but the war began on Dro(r)nid instead.

they were basically the first draft of what many nuwho fans think of as the Time War! most people think that the TW was just between the Time Lords and the Daleks, with maybe a few other groups having a major impact, but it started with "the enemy." not many people seem to know about this.

[rassilon-imprimatur]

One of the things I’m currently working on is my working theory (and subsequent revision to my Eighth Doctor Timeline) that the Faction Paradox virus was doing a lot more than threatening an Eldritch Abomination Ninth Doctor, or creating an alternate Eighth Doctor Grandpa Paradox. 

I think the Faction Paradox Virus was, in its path from the Dust regeneration to The Ancestor Cell, causing an entire plethora of impossible, contradictory things tumble into the Doctor’s “past.” In The Ancestor Cell, the TARDIS was preventing the timeline of Dust from actually interacting with her thief’s life by taking the brunt of the virus’ fury, mutating her into the Edifice. However, the Grandfather Paradox Doctor was still able to tumble back and cause some drama, so... how many other contradictions or changes did the virus cause? 

I like saving bits and pieces of the various short story anthologies I get a hold of for rainy days, and I finally read Lance Parkin’s Fishy Business from Perfect Timing 2. In it, Benny Summerfield is conducting a business deal with Danny the Fish (related to Jim the Fish?), a galactic information broker in a bowl. Throughout the very brief story, we learn that... this is not our Benny. This Benny is forty-five and has been traveling with the Doctor for ten years after The Dying Days, and is in a very close and romantic relationship with the Doctor (which sort of adds to this post...). Immediately, Danny freaks out (he’s something of a collector of information about Benny and the Doctor), and once Benny leaves, he contacts an individual in San Fransisco to discuss the apparent paradox... 

Once Danny was sure the sound had faded into the distance, he tapped a control on the base of his bowl.

A fuzzy image, a bald man with sharp teeth. The picture was poor, monochromatic, but the Golden Gate bridges were clearly visible in the background.

'The line is secure,' Danny assured him, before he said another word.

'Nothing is secure,' the calm reply came.

'This line is secure. I would know if it wasn't.' Danny snapped. 'I need to talk to the Leader.'

A reproachful glare. 'He is busy. Tell me instead.'

'Damn it, Mister Saldaamir, this is urgent. Tell him the Doctor has been compromised. There must have been Contact.'

'Impossible.'

'Summerfield was just here, and there were clearly discrepancies. I don't know when, a long time back if I know anything, but - '

The hologram snapped out of existence.

The “Contact” is also mentioned in The Gallifrey Chronicles by Lady Larna as the final act which signals both Gallifrey’s destruction and the beckoning of the Grey Universe of The Infinity Doctors, Unnatural History, and Father Time. As I’ve talked about before, and with my buddy @doctornolonger, it’s not only easy but also joy to combine Lance Parkin’s mythology with the War in Heaven. 

So, I’m not making Fishy Business a technical sequel to Interference, but I totally am.

And this all leads into how I’m reworking my Eighth Doctor timeline... where yet another thing to “slip” through the TARDIS’ attempts to hold the Doctor’s life stable and safe from the Paradox virus was the salvation of a certain Charlotte Pollard, an event which would create an entire Oxbow Reality Gallifrey...