A \u201cdirty\u201d rip in time and a Nean\u00adderthal in 21st<\/sup> Cen\u00adtu\u00adry Lon\u00addon. That\u2019s enough to draw the Doc\u00adtor\u2019s atten\u00adtion. How\u00adev\u00ader, when\u00adev\u00ader and wher\u00adev\u00ader he came from, the Doc\u00adtor can\u2019t get Das the Nean\u00adderthal back to his own time with\u00adout the effects of time trav\u00adel killing him, so the Doc\u00adtor enlists Cap\u00adtain Jack Hark\u00adness to mind him for a month to accli\u00admate him to the 21st<\/sup> Cen\u00adtu\u00adry while the Doc\u00adtor and Rose inves\u00adti\u00adgate the past, only to find a par\u00adty of sci\u00aden\u00adtists from the future exper\u00adi\u00adment\u00ading on human\u00adi\u00adty\u2019s ancestors.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n It starts with just a sim\u00adple home exper\u00adi\u00adment: all Chan\u00adtal want\u00aded to do was make a few improve\u00adments to the fam\u00adi\u00adly\u2019s pet cat to keep it from pee\u00ading on the car\u00adpet. That, and maybe make it a lit\u00adtle more effi\u00adcient in catch\u00ading mice. And maybe improve its inter\u00adnal biol\u00ado\u00adgy. And pos\u00adsi\u00adbly make it a lit\u00adtle smarter, too. Per\u00adhaps being able to pass these traits on to its descen\u00addents also would be a good idea. It was a nice after\u00adnoon\u2019s work, and Chan\u00adtal, a very bright pre-teen, was very suc\u00adcess\u00adful, because the mice were soon gone, but her par\u00adents were very cross with her for using her Mom\u2019s lab\u00ado\u00adra\u00adto\u00adry for her exper\u00adi\u00adment with\u00adout their per\u00admis\u00adsion. It was a les\u00adson Chan\u00adtal would not for\u00adget: when doing things like this, do them where they won\u2019t be eas\u00adi\u00adly seen. And just in case, edit her\u00adself to remove those pesky lit\u00adtle human traits like com\u00adpas\u00adsion and empa\u00adthy which only get in her way.<\/p>\n That\u2019s what she\u2019s doing in the dis\u00adtant past: mak\u00ading improve\u00adments on ear\u00adly man, to make them bet\u00adter hunters. Which, if allowed to con\u00adtin\u00adue, would com\u00adplete\u00adly change human his\u00adto\u00adry by wip\u00ading out Homo Sapi\u00adens<\/em>\u2019s ances\u00adtors and com\u00adplete\u00adly negate her own time\u00adline, but she does\u00adn\u2019t care about that. Nor does she care about her asso\u00adciates, using them as handy meals for her exper\u00adi\u00adments. And to keep her asso\u00adciates from dis\u00adcov\u00ader\u00ading the truth, she manip\u00adu\u00adlates their \u201cpop\u00adpers\u201d to dope them with mood-enhanc\u00ading drugs, keep\u00ading them docile. Except for one, who eschews the \u201cpop\u00adpers\u201d but he does\u00adn\u2019t count.<\/p>\n This is where (and when) the Doc\u00adtor and Rose come barg\u00ading in. The Doc\u00adtor is quick to real\u00adize that some\u00adthing is very wrong, many<\/em> some\u00adthings. But Chan\u00adtal is maybe just as smart as a Time Lord, although cer\u00adtain\u00adly not as expe\u00adri\u00adenced, but its enough to cap\u00adture the Doc\u00adtor and Rose and slap the Doc\u00adtor with a \u201cpop\u00adper\u201d pack to manip\u00adu\u00adlate him. For\u00adtu\u00adnate\u00adly his Time Lord phys\u00adi\u00adol\u00ado\u00adgy is capa\u00adble of final\u00adly over\u00adcom\u00ading their effects. But because Chan\u00adtal still has Rose, he is forced to coop\u00ader\u00adate until Chan\u00adtal makes the mis\u00adtake the Doc\u00adtor near\u00adly did with Das: when Chan\u00adtal fool\u00adish\u00adly attempt\u00aded to return to the future, the unshield\u00aded effects of time trav\u00adel destroyed her.<\/p>\n Mean\u00adwhile, Das is find\u00ading the 21st<\/sup> Cen\u00adtu\u00adry to be a host of mar\u00advels, although his cul\u00adtur\u00adal skills need some work, but he is capa\u00adble of learn\u00ading. He finds tele\u00advi\u00adsion mys\u00adti\u00adfy\u00ading (he likes watch\u00ading \u201cAre You Being Served\u201d<\/em> so there\u2019s no account\u00ading for taste) and the food mar\u00advelous. He even finds friends and affec\u00adtion. Cap\u00adtain Jack, along with a psy\u00adchic cred\u00adit card sup\u00adplied by the Doc\u00adtor, helps him find a place to stay until he is able to live on his own.<\/p>\n What is the def\u00adi\u00adn\u00adi\u00adtion of human, and just who<\/em> is human? That\u2019s the ulti\u00admate ques\u00adtion here, with the two con\u00adtes\u00adtants in the human\u00adi\u00adty con\u00adtest being Das the Nean\u00adderthal from the dis\u00adtant past and Chan\u00adtal the sci\u00aden\u00adtist from the dis\u00adtant future.<\/p>\n Das cer\u00adtain\u00adly does\u00adn\u2019t look quite human. In fact, when the Doc\u00adtor first encoun\u00adters him in a hos\u00adpi\u00adtal, he assures the nurse that his appear\u00adance is the result of acromegaly. Chan\u00adtal on the oth\u00ader hand is human\u00adi\u00adty per\u00adfect\u00aded in the looks depart\u00adment. Every human of her time peri\u00adod was the recip\u00adi\u00adent of gen\u00ader\u00ada\u00adtions of genet\u00adic manip\u00adu\u00adla\u00adtion and are as phys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly per\u00adfect as possible.<\/p>\n Das is a hunter from a prim\u00adi\u00adtive hunter \/ gath\u00ader\u00ader soci\u00adety but that does\u00adn\u2019t mean he\u2019s stu\u00adpid. In fact, while he is very tak\u00aden with the 21st Cen\u00adtu\u00adry, he is not over\u00adwhelmed by it, although he does\u00adn\u2019t under\u00adstand much of it, or applies his own lim\u00adit\u00aded expe\u00adri\u00adences to it. He does make friends, start\u00ading with Cap\u00adtain Jack and sev\u00ader\u00adal oth\u00aders, and even gets a job and a wife.<\/p>\n Chan\u00adtal, on the oth\u00ader hand, while being extreme\u00adly smart from a very advanced civ\u00adi\u00adliza\u00adtion, is com\u00adplete\u00adly devoid of any feel\u00adings toward any\u00adone else, pos\u00adsi\u00adbly even toward her\u00adself. She made sure of that, edit\u00ading them out of her brain and mind as eas\u00adi\u00adly as she edits chro\u00admo\u00adsomes. She\u2019s all alone with exper\u00adi\u00adments, on whom she dotes as their cre\u00adator and as the finest exam\u00adple of her genius, one that will live on as a liv\u00ading tes\u00adta\u00adment to her.<\/p>\n And it all comes down to this: human isn\u2019t so much as how one looks as how one acts to oth\u00aders. In this case, Das wins hands down because Das is a nice per\u00adson under\u00adneath his pre\u00adhis\u00adtoric appear\u00adance, while the phys\u00adi\u00adcal\u00adly attrac\u00adtive Chan\u00adtal does not<\/em> play nice with her toys, which is about what her com\u00adpan\u00adions and assis\u00adtants are to her, if not lunch for her pets.<\/p>\nCommentary<\/h1>\n
Appearance<\/h2>\n
Actions<\/h2>\n
Final Results<\/h2>\n
Summary<\/h1>\n
Mind Control:<\/h2>\n
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\u00c2 Bad Stuff:<\/h2>\n