Nestene Consciousness
From WhoniverseWiki
| The Nestene Consciousness | |
|---|---|
| |
| Character | |
| Created by | Robert Holmes (writer) |
| Gender | Unknown, probably inapplicable |
| Species | inapplicable |
| First Appearance | Spearhead from Space |
| Native Place | Polymos |
| Native Time | The Nestene existed from billions of years BC into the far future |
| Alias | no known aliases |
| Occupation | Conqueror of worlds |
| Member of | none |
| Known Friends | The Nestene Consciousness is in direct control of the Autons |
| Known Enemies | The Doctor |
| Known Relatives | Shub-Niggurath (mother) |
| Base of Operations | Polymos |
The Nestene Consciousness is a collective consciousness[1] made of "living plastic"[2]
Contents |
Description
The Nestene is a being of pure psionic energy[3] that adapts its form to the form most suited for life on a particular planet. On Earth it adapted a tentacled form.[4] Its natural form has been described as analogous to a cephalopod.[5] The portion of the Nestene that escaped to Earth after its protein planets had been destroyed looked like a pool of molten plastic.[6] The Nestene feeds on biological life and psionic energy,[7] and maintains a stock of protein planets for the purpose of feeding[8]
Abilities
The Nestene Consciousness is a telepathic gestalt entity. It travels through space in hollow spheres known as energy units. These units make planetfall in formation, appearing like normal meteorites to indigenous lifeforms. Once the consiousness within those spheres is recombined and placed in an environment tank the Nestene will take on a form that it believes to be perfectly adapted to the planet on which it has landed.[9] The key part of a group of energy spheres is the Swarm Leader, which is able to create a facsimile of a native, or create an original native-form from scratch.[10]
On some worlds its takeover strategy is as follows: The first spheres to arrive will attempt to place a local being under some form of mental control. It will then take over a plastics company and fashion plastic automatons known as Autons. These Autons may include replicas of key authority figures as well as simpler automatons. The Nestene will then use the Autons as an army to conquer the planet.[11]] Autons are controlled on the astral plane, and sub-etheric beams can disrupt this telepathic control.[12] In some cases, the Nestene requires a relay station or transmitter to control Autons. This only seems to be necessary to control large numbers at once.[13]
History
| Timeline |
| Spearhead from Space |
| Terror of the Autons |
| Synthespians(TM) |
| Rose[14] |
The Nestene Consciousness was the offspring of the Great Old One called Shub-Niggurath, created on the world of Polymos[15]. The Nestene grew into a creature of pure psionic energy, which saturated its birthplace, absorbing the life essence of everything that lived there, causing the entire planet Polymos to become the Consciousness.[16]
By the time of the UNIT era, the Nestene claimed to have been conquering planets for a thousand million years[17] Planets and species that it has conquered include Cramodar, Plovak 6, and the Reverent Pentiarchs of Looorn.[18] It attacked Earth twice during the UNIT era. Its first attempt was co-ordinated by a Swarm Leader who took the identity of Channing. The second attack was in alliance with The Master. Both times these invasion attempts were defeated by the Third Doctor and the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce[19]
At some unknown point, the Time Lords launched an attack on Polymos using Type 70 War TARDISes. They destroyed any swarms of energy units launched from the planet. The Consciousness, however, found a way to escape to an isolated human society known as the New Earth Republic in the 11th Millennium. Its invasion of this society was foiled by the Sixth Doctor, who trapped the Consciousness in a dormant Auton facsimile.
At some point the Nestene was involved in a war[20] in which its protein planets were destroyed. It fled to Earth using Warp Shunt Technology, and established a base underneath the London Eye. It planted a transmitter on the roof of Henrik's department store, but this was blown up by the Ninth Doctor. The same incarnation of the Doctor used a chemical called Anti-Plastic to destroy it the next day.[21] It is unclear whether the ninth Doctor destroyed the entire Nestene Consciousness or merely a part of it.
References
- ↑ This was first established in Spearhead from Space
- ↑ The Doctor mentions this in Rose
- ↑ According to Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ As seen in Spearhead from Space
- ↑ By the Doctor in Terror of the Autons, and this seems to be supported by Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ As seen in Rose
- ↑ According to Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ The Doctor mentions these in Rose, by which point they have apparently all been destroyed
- ↑ All this is established in Spearhead from Space.
- ↑ The Swarm Leader is mentioned in Spearhead from Space, further detail is provided in Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ This is a brief summary of its strategy in Spearhead from Space - it is uncertain whether this is the standard strategy or not.
- ↑ As seen in Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ As seen in Rose. The lack of any transmitters in other stories may mean that they were there but unseen, or that the Nestene is less capable than it used to be.
- ↑ The Nestene in Rose could be contemporary with the humans, but references to the Time War suggest that the Nestene is from after that point, in which case it must be outside of its native timezone. If the Nestene is contemporary with Earth, then Rose happens before Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ According to Millennial Rites
- ↑ According to Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ Channing says this in Spearhead from Space
- ↑ These are all mentioned in Synthespians(TM)
- ↑ These two invasion attempts were seen in Spearhead from Space and Terror of the Autons
- ↑ The implication is that this is The Time War, although this is never explicitly confirmed
- ↑ These events were chronicled in Rose
