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Post by mhopcroft on Apr 20, 2013 2:56:24 GMT
In the year 4013, the greatest museum in the Humanic Imperium collects art from the far corners of the Galaxy. Naturally they have an extensive collection of art from "ancient" Earth. The adventurers come for a visit, because who doesn't love great art?
But they notice something odd -- many of these pieces of art shouldn't exist. At least not anymore. Some were destroyed in the 16th century Sack of Rome and plundering of the Vatican. Others were presumed lost to bombing during the Second World War. There is even the painting Botticelli threw into the fire during Savonarola's "Bonfire of the Vanities".
But these are not forgeries -- they are perfectly genuine!
A little investigation leads to a dealer who, years ago, purchased a Time Corridor Generator that was out of repair. He managed to fix it and now sends a group of "retrieval specialists" into the past to save lost artwork. He believes he is on the side of the angels, retrieving great works previously though to be irretrievably lost.
The adventurers might agree with him, at least in part, but that level of tampering with time is full of potential for unintended consequences. And the retrieval specialists are becoming increasingly ruthless in obtaining their prizes, and aren't keen on dealing with other time travelers.....
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Post by Marnal on Apr 20, 2013 15:58:53 GMT
According to the Big Finish audios, the Doctor also does the same thing with works of art that strike his fancy.
His "brother", the Time Lord Braxiatial, made a full time career of collecting works of art right before they were destroyed.
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Post by starkllr on Apr 21, 2013 21:52:10 GMT
A couple of twists to this idea...
It's not just art that was presumed destroyed, but art that was presumed never to have existed (Beethoven's 10th Symphony, which the retrieval specialists forced him to write at gunpoint, etc).
It's not just art, but other things presumed lost (the last Dodo Bird, etc.)
To put a much nastier spin on it, what if the retrieval specialists are actually causing some of the disasters that resulted in famous works being lost. Maybe the tragic Louvre fire of April, 2014 that destroyed the Mona Lisa wasn't an accident at all, but was set by one of the retrieval teams, so that history would record the Mona Lisa as being lost, while in fact they were stealing it and bringing it forward...
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