Fabula
Object
Object

Clockwork Egg Timer

A brass-geared timer no larger than a clenched fist, its white enamel face lined with Roman numerals and polished brass hands. The Doctor withdraws it from his coat pocket at a critical moment, turning the dial with a sharp click that sounds unnaturally loud in the forest's silence. Its ticking grows louder as unseen entities draw nearer, implying its vibrations can disrupt Xoanon's invisible mechanisms.
3 appearances

Purpose

To generate precise vibrations outside visible spectrum, weaponized to repel invisible or phantom entities by interfering with their signal-locked perception

Significance

Represents the Doctor's pragmatic use of science-as-magic in a primitive setting; marks Leela's first acceptance of outsider technology despite tribal warnings; triggers her permanent exile from the Sevateem

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments
S14E13 · The Face of Evil Part 1
Doctor and Leela flee unseen forest threat

The Doctor's brass-geared egg timer with Roman numerals becomes a crucial distraction tool against vibration-sensitive creatures. Wound and placed on the stone slab, its ticking disrupts the 'phantoms' perception, allowing their escape while demonstrating the Doctor's resourcefulness with non-lethal technology.

Before: Held in the Doctor's coat pocket as an improvised timepiece and potential distraction device.
After: Crushed flat by the egg timer's explosive ending, its mechanism destroyed but having served its purpose.
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S14E13 · The Face of Evil Part 1
Sonde of deception hidden beneath moss

The Doctor pulls out a brass-geared egg timer marked 0 to 4 anticlockwise and winds it to emit vibrations. This simple analog device disrupts the invisible creatures tracking them by rendering the forest’s vibrations irrelevant to their alien senses. Its ticking becomes a counter to Xoanon’s unseen technological dominion.

Before: Housed in the Doctor’s coat pocket; remains inert until deployed as a tactical device at a critical moment.
After: Left running on the altar stone; its alarm sounds when the Doctor trips, triggering vibrations that squash the egg timer flat as the creatures are repelled.
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S14E13 · The Face of Evil Part 1
Leela flees tribe into uncertain exile

The Doctor deploys the clockwork egg timer to neutralize the invisible threats tracking them. Winding it with deliberate precision, he places it on a stone, using its high-frequency vibrations to disrupt the predators’ sense of direction. This technological intervention replaces brute force with clever adaptation, saving the pair from immediate peril.

Before: Resting in the Doctor’s coat pocket, a mundane-looking brass-geared timer with only numbers 0 to 4 on its anticlockwise face.
After: Activated and placed on a stone, its ticking growing louder before being squashed flat by nearby stones after neutralizing the threat.
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