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{{Infobox Object
{{Infobox Organisation
|image            = Papal Mainframe.jpg
|name              = The Papal Mainframe
|aka              =  
|image            = Papal_Mainframe.jpg
|used by          = [[The Church]]
|leader            = [[Tasha Lem]]
|aka              = The Church of the Silence
|affiliation      = [[The Church]]
|bases            =
|bases            =
|only              = The Time of the Doctor
|first mention      = A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)
|members          =Colonel [[Meme]], Colonel [[Albero]]
|only              = The Time of the Doctor (TV story)
|size          =
}}
}}
The '''Papal Mainframe''' was a [[Spacecraft|space]] [[church]], led by the Mother Superious [[Tasha Lem]], leader of [[the Church]]. It had its own military force and weaponry. One of the Papal Mainframe's customs was that visitors to the church would have to arrive without clothing, or at least it was appreciated to do so. Holographic clothes were acceptable, however all employees of the Papal Mainframe were trained to see through these.
The '''Papal Mainframe''' was the headquarters of [[the Church]]: the militarised, syncretic religious order headed by the [[Mother Superious]] [[Tasha Lem]], which later reformed into [[the Silence]] during the [[Siege of Trenzalore]].


When a mysterious message that filled the higher species with fear spread to every corner of space and time, the Papal Mainframe was the first ship to arrive at [[Trenzalore]], the source of the message, and shielded it so that nobody could land. However, unknown to the church, the [[Weeping Angel]]s had already arrived on planet.
Due to its being the Mother Superious's headquarters, the Church was sometimes referred to as "the Church of the Papal Mainframe", even after it became the Church of the Silence, ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}}) and [[Colonel]] [[Manton]] once spoke by {{w|metonymy}} of "the Papal Mainfraime herself" to refer to the Mother Superious. ([[TV]]: {{cs|A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)}})


Tasha Lem at some point summoned the [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald]] to the Mainframe in response to the message. Feigning ignorance as to its contents, she sent them down to the planet to discover the truth themselves.
When [[The Question|a message]] was broadcast from the planet [[Trenzalore]], the Papal Mainframe arrived before any other [[space fleet]] and erected a [[Trenzalore force field|force field]] to prevent [[orbital bombardment]] of the [[human]] [[colony]] below, unaware that a group of [[Weeping Angel]]s had made planetfall. When the [[Eleventh Doctor]] arrived, he and [[Clara Oswald]] were dispatched to the town of [[Christmas (town)|Christmas]] below to investigate, leading to the [[Siege of Trenzalore]] when the Doctor discovered that the message was a call from the [[Time Lord]]s, seeking to return to the universe.


After she discovered that the message was the [[First Question]], sent by the Time Lords from their pocket universe, Tasha Lem communicated to the Doctor that if he took action to save the Time Lords, he would cause the fleets above to destroy them. The Doctor refused to allow The Mainframe to destroy the planet and spent the next 300 years defending it. The Papal Mainframe also busied themselves with keeping the peace amongst the various species that remained in orbit.
Three centuries later, the [[New Dalek Paradigm]] had grown tired of the holding action and attacked the Mainframe directly, converting its populace into [[Dalek puppet]]s. Doing so on [[Tasha Lem]] allowed the [[Dalek]] [[pathweb]] to restore its [[memory]] of the Doctor. Still unable to lower the force field, the Daleks engineered a [[trap]] for the Doctor, bringing him aboard the Mainframe to exterminate him and ensure the Time Lords would remain lost. Before the Daleks could exterminate them, the Doctor praised Clara's fearlessness when faced with them, denouncing Tasha as spineless and unreliable. The anger allowed Tasha to overcome the Dalek programming, regaining her [[free will]] and exterminating the [[Dalek drone]]s. Before the programming could take over once again, Tasha teleported the Doctor and Clara back to [[the Doctor's TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: {{cs|The Time of the Doctor (TV story)}})
Tasha Lem officially changed the core tenets of the Papal Mainframe's constituent chapters so that they became dedicated to ensuring that silence would fall in response to the question, turning the Papal Mainframe into Church of [[the Silence]].


By the time of the Doctor and Clara's next visit to the Mainframe, it had been largely overrun by the [[Dalek]]s, who converted most of the crew, including Lem herself, into puppets. However, with the Doctor's assistance, Tasha managed to resist the Daleks' control and take back the Church, and spend the remainder of conflict coordinating the Papal Mainframe and the Silence against the Daleks. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'')
== Behind the scenes ==
* In ''[[A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)|A Good Man Goes to War]]'', Manton refers to "the Papal Mainframe herself", suggesting it is a title or office. ''[[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]'' reveals that the term properly refers to the Church's spacefaring headquarters, while the title of the religious leader is actually Mother Superious. Manton's phrasing would therefore be analogous a person referring to an order from the real-world Pope of the Catholic Church as coming from "Rome himself" or "the Vatican himself"; the correct phrasing would be "the Mother Superious of the Papal Mainframe herself." However, Manton's remark remains problematic in another respect: ''Time of the Doctor'' revealed that the [[Kovarian Chapter|branch of the Silence]] led by [[Kovarian]], which was the one featured in ''A Good Man Goes to War'', had seceded from the authority of [[Tasha Lem]] and the Mainframe. It is thus unclear why its permission would be relevant to Manton's actions.


Colonel [[Manton]] lowered the hoods of the [[Order of the Headless|headless monks]] on the authority of the Papal Mainframe — an act that was otherwise a [[Level One Heresy]]. When Manton took the action at [[Demons Run]], the Papal Mainframe was also commanded by a woman. ([[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'')
[[Category:Church of the Papal Mainframe]]
[[Category:Individual spacecraft]]


== Behind the scenes ==
[[fr:Complexe Papal]]
* In non-narrative sources, the Papal Mainframe was said to be the leader of the [[Order of the Headless|Headless Monks]] ([[REF]]: ''[[Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia]]'') or [[the Church]]. ([[REF]]: ''[[The Brilliant Book 2012]]'')
[[Category:Military vehicles]]
* Following their return to their own time, [[Vastra]] and Jenny were added to the Papal Mainframe's "most wanted" list. ([[REF]]: ''[[The Brilliant Book 2012]]'')
* In [[TV]]: ''[[A Good Man Goes to War]]'', Manton refers to "the Papal Mainframe herself", suggesting it is a title or office. [[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'' reveals that the term properly refers to the church's spacefaring headquarters. Manton's phrasing would therefore be analogous a person referring to the real-world Pope and the Catholic Church as "Rome" or "the Vatican".
[[Category:Religions]]
[[Category:Individual spacecraft]]
[[Category:Vehicles]]

Latest revision as of 09:07, 18 May 2024

The Papal Mainframe was the headquarters of the Church: the militarised, syncretic religious order headed by the Mother Superious Tasha Lem, which later reformed into the Silence during the Siege of Trenzalore.

Due to its being the Mother Superious's headquarters, the Church was sometimes referred to as "the Church of the Papal Mainframe", even after it became the Church of the Silence, (TV: The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"]) and Colonel Manton once spoke by metonymy of "the Papal Mainfraime herself" to refer to the Mother Superious. (TV: A Good Man Goes to War [+]Loading...["A Good Man Goes to War (TV story)"])

When a message was broadcast from the planet Trenzalore, the Papal Mainframe arrived before any other space fleet and erected a force field to prevent orbital bombardment of the human colony below, unaware that a group of Weeping Angels had made planetfall. When the Eleventh Doctor arrived, he and Clara Oswald were dispatched to the town of Christmas below to investigate, leading to the Siege of Trenzalore when the Doctor discovered that the message was a call from the Time Lords, seeking to return to the universe.

Three centuries later, the New Dalek Paradigm had grown tired of the holding action and attacked the Mainframe directly, converting its populace into Dalek puppets. Doing so on Tasha Lem allowed the Dalek pathweb to restore its memory of the Doctor. Still unable to lower the force field, the Daleks engineered a trap for the Doctor, bringing him aboard the Mainframe to exterminate him and ensure the Time Lords would remain lost. Before the Daleks could exterminate them, the Doctor praised Clara's fearlessness when faced with them, denouncing Tasha as spineless and unreliable. The anger allowed Tasha to overcome the Dalek programming, regaining her free will and exterminating the Dalek drones. Before the programming could take over once again, Tasha teleported the Doctor and Clara back to the Doctor's TARDIS. (TV: The Time of the Doctor [+]Loading...["The Time of the Doctor (TV story)"])

Behind the scenes[[edit]]

  • In A Good Man Goes to War, Manton refers to "the Papal Mainframe herself", suggesting it is a title or office. The Time of the Doctor reveals that the term properly refers to the Church's spacefaring headquarters, while the title of the religious leader is actually Mother Superious. Manton's phrasing would therefore be analogous a person referring to an order from the real-world Pope of the Catholic Church as coming from "Rome himself" or "the Vatican himself"; the correct phrasing would be "the Mother Superious of the Papal Mainframe herself." However, Manton's remark remains problematic in another respect: Time of the Doctor revealed that the branch of the Silence led by Kovarian, which was the one featured in A Good Man Goes to War, had seceded from the authority of Tasha Lem and the Mainframe. It is thus unclear why its permission would be relevant to Manton's actions.
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