Categorical Imperative

Short Trips: Monsters = #7:
--- "Categorical Imperative" by Simon Guerrier

Plot:
At a destructive dictator's christening, eight incarnations of the Doctor have gathered with one goal in mind: kill the child. But can any one of them really take an innocent life?

(CONTAINS SPOILERS)

In every short trip I've read before this, I was yet to find any story that truly felt deeper than its premise. Robert Shearman's The Death of Me in A Universe of Terrors was close but it still felt more focused on the concept than character study. Simon Guerrier, a writer I'm a pretty big fan of, has managed to write the first of these short stories I genuinely consider to be something special. Categorical Imperative is simple in idea; take the classic dilemma of killing Hitler as a baby, and use it to explore the nature of the Doctor. Though it's another carbon copy stand-in for the Austrian, you can tell where this story's inspiration came from, and the execution is nothing short of brilliant.

This is an excellent exploration of the Doctor's character and his philosophy of ends not always justifying the means. The simple fact the Doctor kept giving up and ended up returning eight times is a great showcase of how he thinks and how his moral compass operates, plus the fact that he becomes a little more confident each time really sells his attitude towards the dilemma he has to choose. There are tons of other little quality of life details you can find throughout this relatively short text: like how in every attempt, the Doctor sends whatever companion he's with to distract the baby's mother, excellently portraying the relationship between Doctor and companion, or the fact that the life of this child isn't sugar coated, through interactions with the infant's parents, one a wreck and the other neglectful, you can tell why this person did what they did, it all feels very grounded and real.

My one nitpick is the final note that the simple act of trying to kill the child "changed the future" and he'll never do any of the actions that lead the Doctor there. I feel the workaround cheapens the otherwise darkly constructed dilemma.

10/10

Pros:
+ Flawless execution of the Doctor's character and one of the best examples of his unsteady moral compass
+ The distinction between Doctors 1-8 and the varying levels of confidence or reaction the plan feels very natural and in character for every single one
+ The detail of the companion being sent up to assist in the same way every time is a brilliant detail
+ The character work for this random baby is surprisingly deep in this pretty brief short story.

Cons:
- The final note of the future being changed anyway made the fact the Doctor elected to spare the child a little less interesting

Monsters | Ranked:
11.
10.
9.
8.
7. These Things Take Time by Samantha Baker - 4/10
6. Last Rites by Marc Platt - 6/10
5. The Touch of the Nurazh by Stephen Hatcher - 7/10
4. From Eternity by Jim Mortimore - 8/10
3. Best Seller by Ian Mond and Danny Oz - 8/10
2. Flashpoint by Matt Grady - 8/10
1. Categorical Imperative by Simon Guerrier - 10/10

Overall - 7.3/10