Culture War (short story)

Culture War was the eighth short story in the Short Trips anthology Short Trips: 2040. It was written by Kate Orman. It featured the Seventh Doctor and Chris Cwej.

Summary
The Doctor visits his old friend, cheesemaker Mathilde Vignes, in the company of Inspector Toprak. They are searching for missing cheese cultures that were stolen from Mathilde's sister, Victoire, and Mathilde is a suspect. Toprak has a warrant to search Mathilde's stock of cheese. Mathilde allows her to search the laboratory while she talks with the Doctor.

Toprak has found nothing in the lab, so they next search the cheeses. When they again find nothing, the Doctor admits to Mathilde that Victoire's equations were also stolen, and they think Mathilde took them. The Doctor thinks they could be hidden anywhere. Toprak pulls a gun, and demands the equations from Mathilde. The Doctor hasn't been fooled by Toprak, who isn't an inspector but is actually working for the Voltranons, who intend to destroy life on Earth and take a small number of humans back to their home planet. The Doctor hits Toprak with his umbrella, and Chris Cwej bursts out of hiding to tackle Toprak. Victoire appears, and Mathilde thinks she will be sent to prison. Victoire, however, tells her not to be ridiculous. Mathilde tells Victoire that she wanted the equations to make a cheese that would be immune to disease. As the sisters discuss cheese, the Doctor and Chris leave to get some ice cream.

Characters

 * Seventh Doctor
 * Chris Cwej
 * Victoire Vignes
 * Mathilde Vignes
 * Madame Vignes
 * Monsieur Vignes
 * Toprak

Worldbuilding

 * Victoire once helped the Doctor defeat an invasion by the Voltranons.
 * Mathilde needs insulin.
 * The Doctor mentions jelly babies.
 * The Vignes' most famous cheese tastes like champagne.
 * PANs are used.
 * Mathilde and Victoire's parents died of cancer caused by eating engineered apples.

Continuity
to be added