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The Pathweb, also known as the command network, the command data-net, the command-net, the command net, the Dalek galactic webwork, the Dalek hive mind, the Dalek galactic hive mind and the Dalek communications system, was the shared intelligence of the Daleks, containing information on their history and experiences.
History
Pre-Time War
As a result of their successful assault on Skaro, the Thals captured computer files from which they discovered details of the Dalek communications system, which they modified so they could monitor their foes. It was from this that they learnt the Daleks were maintaining secret base on the planet Spiridon, leading to the Spiridon campaign. (PROSE: The History of the Daleks)
Scrutinising Dalek history during the Time War, the Time Lords believed that the Dalek computer sphere, used to store data about enemy movements as used during the Dalek-Movellan War, preceded the establishment of the Dalek hive mind which allowed all Dalek units to share information freely. (PROSE: Dalek Combat Training Manual) As recounted by the Tenth Doctor, however, the Pathweb was created as a central repository for all Dalek knowledge in the earliest days of their diaspora from Skaro, allowing all Daleks to know what their fellows knew. (AUDIO: The Triumph of Davros)
Though it was often compared to a hive mind, Oswin Oswald noted that it was more an artificial telepathic link than a true hive mind; (TV: Asylum of the Daleks) the Sixth Doctor described it as "artificial telepathy between Daleks," (AUDIO: The Curse of Davros) and when he compiled a list of supercomputers, he included the Dalek Emperor because it was connected to the Dalek galactic webwork. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) The War Doctor once summarised it as how the Daleks communicated with each other. (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle) The Doctor had attempted to hack into the Pathweb but was unsuccessful. (TV: Asylum of the Daleks)
During the Dalek-Movellan War, Davros discovered the Movellan analogue to the Pathweb, whose existence the Tenth Doctor then informed him of. Inspired, Davros connected himself to the Pathweb and used it to invite the Supreme Dalek of the Kembel faction to the Movellan flagship to propose a truce and alliance with the Movellans against the humans, though in reality he meant to lower the Movellans' guard and endear himself to the Daleks. When the Doctor and the Earth Protection Corps thwarted this scheme, the Daleks retreated, disconnecting Davros from the Pathweb and abandoning him. (AUDIO: The Triumph of Davros)
Using the command network, one Dalek could contact all others to share information. (AUDIO: Jubilee) Susan Mendes and Kalendorf were able to hack into the Dalek Emperor's command network and cause all Dalek technology to self-destruct, creating the Great Catastrophe. (AUDIO: Dalek War: Chapter Four)
By one account, the Pa Jass-Gutrik that the Daleks fought against the Movellans involved them sabotaging the Movellan power pack production facilities, linking the Movellans to the Pathweb. When enough time had passed, a signal was sent through the Pathweb, sending the Movellans into a civil war that allowed the Imperial Daleks to wipe them out. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe) In the Shoreditch Incident, during the Imperial-Renegade Dalek Civil War, the Imperial Daleks were linked by the command data-net. (PROSE: Remembrance of the Daleks)
During the Kotturuh crisis, when the Eighth Doctor and the Dalek Prime Strategist were exploring the records of Wrax, the latter gave the former a communication device to keep them connected through the Pathweb. When the Wraxians aimed to turn the Devolver on the Dalek Time Squad, the Dalek Time Commander contacted the Dalek Executioner through the Pathweb to order the extermination of the Wraxians. (AUDIO: The Enemy of My Enemy) In the aftermath of the crisis, when the Time Squad's saucer was adrift in the Time Vortex, the Time Commander attempted to reign in the Executioner via the Pathweb to no avail. The Eighth Doctor later used sonic screwdriver to timestamp a snippet of Pathweb audio to reveal to the Time Commander that the Strategist had betrayed the Daleks. (AUDIO: Mutually Assured Destruction)
Time War
During the Last Great Time War, the Time Lords' Dalek Combat Training Manual acknowledged that they had "always" known about the Pathweb but, despite the best efforts of their technical teams, had never been able to access it. However, by foreseeing the post-war Asylum Incident through the Matrix, they realised that it was possible to hack the Pathweb and so devoted additional resources to this means of attack. (PROSE: Dalek Combat Training Manuak) The War Master conspired to use the Cognition Shift to transplant his mind across the Pathweb, to control every Dalek. He was foiled by the Eighth Doctor. (AUDIO: The Cognition Shift)
When fighting the Daleks on Keska, the War Doctor altered the Pathweb signal boosters, when the Daleks on Keska logged in at full strength, he essentially gave them concussions, leaving them immobile and vulnerable. (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle)
During the conflict, an automated Dalek harvest ship was sent out with the directive to abduct children so that their creativity could upgrade the Pathweb. (COMIC: Harvest of the Daleks)
Post-Time War
As a result of the Time War changing timelines, the five original members of the New Dalek Paradigm had no way to verify the Pathweb's data of the conflict, even being unsure if some of the Dalek Empire's plans during the War, as reported by the Pathweb, were real. As such, they chose to focus on how the Time Lords were gone and how they had effectively won the conflict. When the Paradigm's leadership reformed into the Parliament of the Daleks, only snippets of the body's discussion were uploaded to the Pathweb. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)
When the Eleventh Doctor was sent to shut down the Dalek Asylum's force field, he was attacked by the Daleks in intensive care. Already part of the Pathweb because of her conversion into a Dalek, Oswin Oswald deleted all information connected with the Doctor from the Pathweb. This resulted in all memory of the Doctor by the Dalek race, save Oswin herself, being forgotten. (TV: Asylum of the Daleks) Despite Oswin's efforts, the Daleks regained knowledge of the Doctor from Tasha Lem during the Siege of Trenzalore. (TV: The Time of the Doctor) The sudden remembrance of their foe drove the Prime Minister of the Daleks mad. (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe)
A Dalek christened Rusty by the Twelfth Doctor later had its suppressed memories unlocked and then saw several past Dalek experiences through the Pathweb (TV: Into the Dalek), which were the memories of Henry Van Statten's "Metaltron" exterminating Bywater as it escaped the Vault in the Battle of GeoComTex (TV: Dalek) and Davros's New Dalek Empire attacking the Valiant during the 21st century Dalek invasion of Earth. (TV: The Stolen Earth)
The Twelfth Doctor believed the hive mind's database was greater than even the Matrix on Gallifrey. With the help of Rusty on Villengard, he accessed it to gain information on the Testimony Foundation. Rusty was able to display the information he accessed holographically for the Doctor. (TV: Twice Upon a Time)
Functionality
The Pathweb linked all functions and informations of the Dalek race, holding the whole of their knowledge. (AUDIO: The Triumph of Davros) Though it was protected from external breaches, it was vulnerable to internal tampering with even a simple Bronze Dalek drone being able to erase information as important as the Daleks' knowledge of the Doctor. Removing information from the Pathweb caused all of the Daleks, barring the one who had removed the data, to forget it, (TV: Asylum of the Daleks) though the information could be recovered if a new source of it was found. (TV: The Time of the Doctor)
Information uploaded to the Pathweb was beamed across the Dalek network, (PROSE: Dalek: The Astounding Untold History of the Greatest Enemies of the Universe) allowing those Daleks closer to the source of the transmission to interfere with a broadcast before the rest of their species received it. (AUDIO: The Triumph of Davros)
The Pathweb made use of signal boosters. (AUDIO: The Heart of the Battle)
Individual Daleks could directly connect to others through the Pathweb, allowing for private conversations. (AUDIO: The Enemy of My Enemy, Mutually Assured Destruction)
Behind the scenes
- James Johnson's "headcanon"[1] for his Time War-era Dalek Commander, which was featured on the cover of Gallifrey: War Room 1: Allegiance, established that the Commanders were connected by a private pathweb to other units across the fleet, allowing the instant sharing of tactical and military planning information.[2][3]