Author's Notes:
Written for Challenge 033: Newton's third law of motion at dw100.

Summary: Newton had it mostly right…

Drabble Version

Everything the Doctor does has consequences, every act creates a reaction; the problem is in gauging whether his actions will benefit or harm those he’s trying to help.

Push someone and they’ll inevitably push back, that’s how the universe works. For a human, Newton was pretty smart, but the Doctor knows a few things Newton didn’t. For instance, the reaction doesn’t necessarily follow immediately; it might take years, even centuries. That’s why having a time machine is so handy. If something goes awry, he can simply pop into the future and fix it.

A Time Lord’s work is never done.

The End


Extended Version

The Doctor is well aware that everything he does has consequences, every act creates a reaction; the problem is always in gauging whether the results of his actions will benefit those he’s trying to help, or harm them in ways that he’s failed to predict. Even a Time Lord can’t be expected to get things right every time.

If you push someone, they’ll inevitably push back, that’s just the way the universe works. For a human, Newton was a pretty smart guy, but the Doctor knows a few things that Newton didn’t. For instance, the reaction doesn’t necessarily follow the action immediately; it might take years or even centuries. That’s why having a time machine is so handy. Whenever something goes awry, and that happens more often than you might think, the Doctor can simply pop into the future and fix it again.

A Time Lord’s work is never done.


The End