fandomhigh | History in Living Colour - Friday, Period 3 (Week 2)

"Okay!" the Doctor said, bounding into the room when the students had gathered. "No time for chatting, let's get to it. Get to what you might ask? If you are, you didn't read your syllabus! Ask Peyton or Dick for one if you missed out. They're you're TAs and in case you've forgotten, I'm the Doctor."

There were three doors in the room. "Pick a door, any door! Well, except the one leading out of the Danger Shop. One of these three doors, which will lead you to a turning point in history. This week is all about not messing with the turning points, the important stuff, the moments in history that make today the way it is. We're going to learn by doing the wrong thing. Do whatever comes naturally to you once you're on the other side of the door. When you're done, we'll talk about what happened as a result of your actions.

We're all a part of history in some way, shape or form, and there's a lot you can get away with when you're outside of your home time period - by the way, time travel happens, get used to it - but there are some things you should never tamper with. You'll see why. Or, if you read a lot of alternate history fiction, you'll already know. Go on, pick a door." He nodded towards the doors, then commented quietly to himself, "guess we did have time for chatting after all."

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If it had been his eyes he looked through, he'd have closed them. "Neither do you," he said earnestly. "You don't--" He stopped himself, because he knew Guy Fawkes did most earnestly want to do this. "You mustn't do this. There are better ways, ways that won't risk so many people's lives. Please, don't do this." He didn't expect it to work, but he had to try. "I know it seems intolerable, but this is not the way."

In the back of his mind, the thought drifted that maybe there weren't better ways, not here, not now. Not everyone had a god to hurl lightning bolts and change the world.

He pushed it away. Altra, stand ready.

"They won't back down without a stand. They can't be allowed to keep doing this to us," he said desperately. And here Guy had thought he'd been utterly convinced he was doing the right thing.

If he hadn't known Evey, he'd have condemned his plan without hesitation. But then, if he hadn't known Evey, he wouldn't have known what the plan was. "I'm sorry," Karal said softly. "I truly am, more than you could possibly know." He moved closer, as did Altra. "But I cannot let you do this. Will you come with me? I swear I have a way to get you safely away from here. I know you can find a different way to help your people."

"No," Guy said firmly. "I have my task. I agreed to it. This will change everything. It's the only way to do what needs to be done." He didn't move away, since he had nowhere else to go with the wheelbarrow behind him.

"I'm sorry to hear that." And he was, and it was clear in his voice. "Altra."

The Firecat leapt at Fawkes, trying to slap one paw down on his foot and lean against his legs as Karal lunged forward to try and touch him.

Guy didn't have anywhere to stumble, but his hand did fall onto the wheelbarrow handle as Altra touched him.

There was a quiet pop of displaced air, and the three of them were gone, leaving the tunnel empty but for a wheelbarrow.

They materialised in what seemed to be an alley, and Karal let go, taking deep breaths as he stumbled away from Fawkes, stomach roiling with nausea from the effects of the Jump. "I'm sorry," he said again. "Too many people could have been hurt."

Edited 2008-09-12 09:47 (UTC)

As he wasn't real, the effects of the Jump didn't weigh Guy down. With a grim face, Guy took flight, not wanting to be in the open when there were guards coming.

It wasn't guards though, it was the Doctor. "You just saved Guy Fawkes from the hangman."

Karal watched him go through Altra's eyes. "Yes," he said quietly, as Altra turned to face the Doctor.

"On the up side, the Gunpowder Plot didn't succeed and the House of Lords wasn't destroyed when parliament opened. He wasn't discovered or convicted and people today don't celebrate Bonfire Night, otherwise known as Guy Fawkes Night. All good. Except for the part where he lived to fight another day. The other plotters pooled their resources, waited a little longer since they didn't want to be hung for their efforts, and ended up taking over the government and killing the monarch and any would-be heirs. England became an isolationist nation under the new republic that the government became, the era of colonisation didn't happen, which means that Oceania, Australia and the Americas weren't colonised by England. I could go on, but you get the idea. You've just changed the course of history of the entire planet all because of one man." His tone was conversational, not accusatory.

Karal smiled a tiny smile, but his thoughts were somewhere else entirely. With someone else entirely. "Isn't that how the world always changes? Because of one man or one woman? Because one person did or failed to do one thing?" he asked. "Though that is not why I did it. I did it because I could not let him be taken and die, and I could not let him suceed. And maybe," he added quietly, "maybe this future would be better."

Edited 2008-09-12 10:44 (UTC)

"A noble sentiment," the Doctor admitted, "and one easy to make as an outsider. But some things can't be tampered with. Some things, bad things, have to happen for good to come later. If you had saved him, for real I mean, all of your friends from this universe would be gone. Actually, none of the people currently on the planet would exist. The shift of people because of war or migration would be completely different. Families wouldn't meet. People who were meant to be born wouldn't be born. It may well have been better in the long run for the species or the universe, but while you brought to life billions of new people, you ended the lives of billions more before they had a chance to begin."

"No," Karal replied respectfully, "I didn't. I changed one thing, but that didn't change the capacity of those who come after to choose." He bowed his head, folding his hands, while Altra sat by his feet, tail curled around his paws. "I am not saying what I did was right. I am quite sure it was the wrong thing to do, but to say that my one act caused all those things, I can't agree with that. Everyone has free will, everyone, and each of those people will go on from this point, choosing and acting as they see fit, and creating the future. I took away Guy Fawkes' free will tonight, but no one else's."

Edited 2008-09-12 10:56 (UTC)

"That's all it takes," the Doctor said patiently. "One man can change everything. It's all cause and effect. In most situations, history can deal with a bit of a nudge. You can muddy your feet and it'll flow around you. It works itself out in the end. But some events, vital points in time and space, should never be changed. You saved Fawkes instead of condemning him. Was it the right thing to do morally? Yes. Was it the right thing to do practically? No. One man - you - changed the course of history. Now instead of turning left, the timeline has turned right. It's all about cause and effect. This one little change sets of a chain of events that drastically alters the existence of this planet, and later the rest of the universe, all because of one small decision. That's the point I'm trying to make."

Karal was quiet, turning it over in his head, and his shoulders slumped a little. "I understand," he finally said. "Those who live here still have the free will to choose, but I have taken away," he hesitated, because the very idea of travelling in time made his head ache, "the choices they have already made."

The Doctor nodded. "It's complicated, but you've got it down to as simple as it can be. What is has already happened, and must happen. Some things you can change without affecting the overall way of things, but history is living and being there requires tact and judgement. Be aware. Be careful."

"I will remember," he promised.

History in Living Colour - Friday, Period 3 (Week 2)

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