Doctor's Proposed Ox Hide Strips

The Doctor’s proposed ox-hide strips are the linchpin of his catapult design, a desperate attempt to ground his flying machine in tangible, testable science. He describes stretching them like bowstrings, drying them in the sun to create tension, and using them to launch soldiers into Troy. Odysseus’ dismissive quip about the strips ‘smelling’ underscores the gulf between the Doctor’s theoretical ingenuity and the grim realities of war. The ox hides, though never materialized, become a symbol of the Doctor’s fading hope—his last grasp at a solution that might save him from Odysseus’ wrath.