I think the TARDIS crew always materialises on Day Three
The chapters are headed with a time period, starting with Day Three. I think the TARDIS crew always materialises on Day Three, never on Day One or Day Minus One. In this instance it adds to the fatalism that the Doctor cannot save the Seven Planets. The wave of history is also a commonplace going back to The Aztecs, but here it takes on a religious dimension. Not just fatalism, but fate. Not just a plan, but divine. Right from the prologue we see religion versus science. The main scene is set with Priesthood versus Academy…
Though I should point out that the Priesthood are also members of the Academy.
Granted. But in the television series, there would be no question that the scientists within the Academy would triumph, the Priesthood exposed as a sham. The New Adventures had already shown themselves to be friendly towards religion, but in a story with some explicit science/religion conflict, it’s nice to have positive portrayals of faith in Chopra, Spike, and Kopyion. But I see a lot of good Christians suffering in this novel because of science, our heroes doing nothing, and Kopyion, Lord Defender of the Faith prevailing. What does it mean?
Let me tease out some details that I think you’ve glossed over. First of all, Kopyion is Defender of a Faith very different to that of the future Christians of the Seven Planets. Within that Christian faith, we see very different expressions in the Priesthood, in Spike, in Thomas, in Carlson. We know that there is tolerance of religious minorities like the Sikhs, and tolerance of atheism. Yet we also know that the kthons, of a non-human faith, have been enslaved by the humans. And the Priesthood are a major driver of the human conflict that is swept away by the cosmic one. So there is a lot of religious variety there, it isn’t one true path. Meanwhile Rassilon, the Lucifer of the opening quote, is, as Kopyion himself says, more about power than science.
Despair is the theme of this novel. Despair driven by the darkness. The followers of the Yssgaroth are all nihilists. They want nothing but death. They want death and nothing. Rassilon may have wanted power, but it was his science that raised the possibility of meaninglessness. The Doctor and Blake seem lost, without a rudder. The Doctor falls down at the feet of Kopyion, then lets him destroy the Seven Planets just to make a point.
The Doctor is only alive, and Kopyion’s reason is only a gesture, because Kopyion saved the Doctor, and Benny kept Spike alive to seal the doorway to the otherwold, which was Kopyion’s original plan for his bomb. The Doctor lets him destroy the Seven Planets because it is history, which is injustice.
The Doctor falls down at his feet…
I think that is because of the Doctor’s own history, which I want to talk about separately. But it also happens because the Doctor is a seeker of meaning, and he is despairing. He wants Kopyion to give him hope. Significantly, Kopyion cannot offer hope, or love, only faith. Even though the Doctor’s despair is worse in this novel than any other, he is still a hero. He speaks out against Kopyion’s desecration of his fallen enemy. He counsels existential struggle to the Albino. Moments after despairing of any good coming from involvement, the Doctor can’t help stopping a boy from tripping over. And in the epilog, he is not lost to despair. Blake sees something bigger than hope in him. Blake, the Doctor, Benny, they are seekers, doubters, survivors, and I see a lot of beauty in them against a stark backdrop.
Science unleashes nihilism, faith is the only answer. Kopyion has the last word.
Kopyion is the Doctor’s dark side, which requires acknowledgement, as the Doctor does, but he does not give in. He moves on, which Kopyion could never do. He says, well, if the Yssgaroth come again, maybe we’ll find a way, which Kopyion could never do. He is Kopyion’s other side, which requires acknowledgement too.