“The Time War,” I repeated.
“Yes,” the Doctor said with an anguished frown on his face, “My people, the Time Lords, had a bitter enemy. The entire universe had that same enemy. They are called the Daleks. They are an artificial cybernetic species designed to hate and destroy anything that isn’t exactly like them. Our races fought for the entirety of the universe. The War itself took place outside of time, but it seemed to last forever. Finally, I was given a way to end the war, once and for all.”
“What did you do?”
“I ended the war, but at an enormous price. I wiped out the majority of the Dalek race,” he paused, “At the cost of my entire species.”
I felt numb. I couldn’t believe it. This man was a creator of genocide; both to another race and his own. I immediately began to feel pity for him, but still I tried to push my argument, like the selfish man that I was, “But then you should feel just like I do. Don’t you just—“
“No Adam, you’re not listening!” the Doctor angrily replied. I was stunned to silence, which he took full advantage of, “I don’t like war, but I fought because you, your whole race, and every other race in the universe needed me! They needed us! If the Time Lords had simply stayed on our home planet Gallifrey, the Daleks would have wiped out all other life, every last permutation of it! We rose to the call, because while we may not have been able to protect everyone, we had to fight to protect all that was good. We had to fight the worst evil ever known, and we could at least try to save some of those who were dying. That’s what you need to learn, Adam; try to make a difference, even if things seem hopeless.”
“But there’s so much that can’t be changed about humanity—“
“Adam, humanity is all about change! Even in your lifetime, there have been humans who have done fantastically good things, some of them are never seen by the public eye, but the fact that they happened matters! You’re not bound by your parents’ actions, grandparents’ actions, or anyone else’s actions! Your actions are your own. You may never see how you helped a person, and they may not even know of or remember it, but the fact that you can make their life a little brighter makes the world a little brighter too. The instant the human race just hopelessly accepts its fate and gives in to the darkness and evil things of your world, that is the day you as a race seal your fate to only being able of doing evil.”
His words were true; I was sober to that fact now. But he continued, “Like I said, the human race is all about change, but that includes you, Adam! You can change too! You can move past what has happened to you and try to help other people in their lives as well. Edmund Burke was attributed as saying, ‘The only thing needed for evil to triumph, is that good men do nothing.’”
He pointed to my heart, and lightly touched my chest, “You are a good man at heart, Adam. Just don’t let yourself fall like you have again. I felt similar to you immediately after the War, but I found someone who helped me change for the better. Find someone who can help you carry on; someone who can inspire you to hope even when things seem hopeless.”
I had a lot to think about, and I knew I needed to change. With all the sincerity in my heart, I took the Doctor’s hand in mine and shook it, “Thank you, Doctor”.
“It’s what I’m here for..That, and being the guardian of the whole of space and time.” I laughed a single little laugh, and the Doctor smiled to me.
Then it hit me, “You know Doctor, I think I’ve found that someone who can help me hope when it’s hopeless. I need to find Lyra.”
“I saw Bon Bon head after her. Since the soil is pretty damp here, you should be able to follow them easily enough.”
I jogged out of the kitchenette and back towards the Control Room. I ran past the group of assembled ponies, and Rainbow Dash called out to me with “Wait!”
I barely heard her; I had to reconcile with Lyra first. I hope she’s alright.