Hive mind
A hive mind, group mind or gestalt consciousness was a collection of separate, distinct organisms with a shared consciousness, which may or may not have meant that the creatures were without individuality.
In the case of a hive mind, though, the general idea was that the same mind existed in multiple, separate beings or that each being's mind was linked with the others, allowing all organisms to know what was happening to any one organism of the hive. It was also a trait of a hive mind that each individual of the hive referred to itself as "we" or "us" rather than "I", showing that it spoke for the entire hive mind.
Hive minds often had a shared memory. (DW: Last of the Time Lords)
The Ood, the Bane and the Family of Blood were psychically linked but still retained their individualism. Some hive minds even had leaders. The Amaryll were led by the Alvega Controller; the Wirrn had a leader; the Rutans had a Queen; and the Shalka were led by Shalka Prime.
Because of their abilities and similaritesto known hive minds, both the Vespiforms and the Hervoken may have been hive minds as well. (DW: The Unicorn and the Wasp, NSA: Forever Autumn)
Torchwood theorised that Weevils had a low level telepathic ability to share emotions. (TW: Combat)
Richard Harries speculated that all beings had a collective memory that could be accessed. He experimented on rats to test this hypothesis. (EDA: The Banquo Legacy)
The Psionovores had an undefined natural energy existence, but could coalesce into a gestalt physical form, given enough will. (BFA: Minuet in Hell)
Known hive minds
- The Axos (DW: The Claws of Axos)
- The Chronomites (VG: TARDIS)
- The Darkness (MA: The Well-Mannered War)
- The Fendahl (DW: Image of the Fendahl)
- The Gappa (NSA: Snowglobe 7)
- The Isolus (DW: Fear Her)
- The Jixen (K9TV: Hound of the Korven)
- The Nestenes and Autons (DW: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons, Rose)
- The Rutans (DW: Horror of Fang Rock)
- The Skorpius Flies (DW: Dreamland)
- The Toclafane (DW: The Sound of Drums / Last of the Time Lords)
- The Tractators (DW: Frontios)
- The Vashta Nerada (DW: Silence in the Library / Forest of the Dead)
- The Wirrn (DW: The Ark in Space)
- The Xaranti (PDA: Deep Blue)
