The Cyber Files was the third and final in the series of three short DWU books published by FASA to tie in with The Doctor Who Role Playing Game. Like the other two, it contained no interactive elements, instead being presented as an in-universe history of its subjects, one of the Doctor's enemies: the Cybermen.
Publisher's summary
Hundreds upon hundreds of metallic bodies lined the walls of the cold, dark tomb. They were silent, completely still, and must have been frozen for centuries. They rested patiently, waiting…
Gradually, a green light intensified inside the chambers. At first, nothing happened. Then, one after another, they stirred and plunged through the doorsof their cryogenic crypts. Mechanical voices shattered the stillness of the long-dead tomb. The Cybermen were on the move again!
The Cyber Files is intended for players and contains CIA reports and APC data files concerning the planet Mondas, the Galactic Cyberwars, foes of the Cybermen, Cyber-logic, Cyber-technology, Cyberman anatomy, and the history of the Cyber-race. The Cybermen book is for the gamemaster's eyes only and provides detailed information concerning Cybermen and hints for creating adventures.
Plot
Determining that the Cybermen pose a threat to the universe, the High Council order "governmental field researchers" to watch over Mondas, only to realise that the planet emits a mysterious temporal field, which seemingly prevents observation of it except for agents with their feet on the ground. Opinions are divided on whether this is a natural phenomenon, or the work of a malicious entity who intends to allow the Cybermen to grow beyond what the Time Lords can prepare for. Lending credence to the latter possibility, the Celestial Intervention Agency discover that an unknown individual accessed the APC Matrix Net at some point, and deleted several key files about the Cybermen.
Jolennon and Palmac respond by gathering what data they can in one set of Cyber Files. Palmac draws particular attention to two files which had not previously been examined together: a report from Lord Torana's Council for Temporal Research on the peculiar temporal effects surrounding Mondas, and an extract from the logs of the Doctor's famous trial where he argued against the prosecutors' accusation that his repeated travels to Earth had deformed the planet's time-stream, centring on the 1986 Cyberman invasion of Earth, which the Time Lords considered a temporal anomaly.
They also piece together the following history of the Cybermen from what data they can collect. Centuries after being dislodged from its spot in the solar system by a "rogue planet"'s gravitational wake, Mondas is ruled by a powerful dictator called Halvlad, with the help of a force of early Cybermen. Halvlad leads these primitive Cybermen through a fierce war with Fareah, a warlike planet located "on the outer arm of the galaxy". A hundred and nine years later, the Time Lord Kelly and his human companions Phillip and Gwendolyn are forced by a TARDIS malfunction to land on a Mondas where almost the entire population has been cyber-converted, helping a small nomadic band of Mondasians to evade capture and conversion. Kelly writes a report and sends it to the High Council, the first the Time Lords learned of the Cybermen.
Over the following millennia, the Cybermen expand their space empire, carefully only colonising out-of-the-way planets such that most galactic powers do not realise what vast stocks of dormant colonies full of fighting-ready Cybermen are being created. Concerned, the Time Lords eventually send two Time Lords directly to Mondas to investigate. However, as the power of Mondas's core weakens, the Cybermen slow down their expansionist activities, and the Time Lords have let down their guard completely by the time Mondas "wanders back" into the solar system and get ready to attack the Earth, a temporal nexus point. A year after the Sixth Doctor and Peri Brown foil what the Time Lords believe to be an early plot involving Halley's Comet, a direct attempt to drain the planet's energy is foiled by the First Doctor and his companions Ben Jackson and Polly, precipitating the Doctor's regeneration. Eighty-six years later, the regenerated Doctor and his companions foil a fallback plan involving the Gravitron. Four years later, their final push to gain control of the Earth through the "Wheel in Space" is foiled.
Centuries later, the Galactic Cyberwars begin, lasting over a century before the Earth/Voga alliance succeeds inr eaching and dstroying remaining Cyberman home-colonies. Fourteen years after the end of the Wars, the Second Doctor and his companions Jamie McCrimmon and Victoria Waterfield witness the accidental awakening of a "previously-unknown" Cyberman colony on Telos, whom they are unable to wipe out completely. Four years later, a space-time vessel crashlands on Telos and the CyberTelosians attempt to use it to undo the destruction of Mondas, but they are unsuccessful and the colony is finally destroyed.
After being "reborn" by unknown means, the Cybermen attempt to sabotage a diplomatic conference between Earth and its former temporary Cyberwar allies, with whom the Earth Empire wishes to establish more permanent bonds. They are stopped by the Fifth Doctor, Nyssa, Tegan and Adric, with the latter almost losing his life only to be rescued by the Tremas Master, who "uses him in one of his attempts to gain revenge on the Doctor". Sixty years later, the Cybermen attempt to take over the planet Ionia but are foiled by Kelly and his companions once again. Centuries later, surviving Cybermen make an attempt to destroy Voga in revenge for its role in the Cyber-Wars, but are foiled by the Fourth Doctor, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan. This seems to be their final end, although the Time Lords fear they may yet resurface, as they previously did after the destruction of the Telos colony.
Palmac and Jolennon top off the report with brief biodata file extracts on enemies of the Cybermen who may be questioned for further information including Adric, Peri Brown, the Doctor, Phillip DuLake, Zoe Herriot, Ben Jackson, Tegan Jovanka, Kellalphaludner, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart, Jamie McCrimmon, Nyssa of Traaken, Polly, Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan — and finally, technical data on the Cybermen.
Characters
Worldbuilding
to be added
Story notes
- This story holds that the Cybermen conquered Telos prior to the destruction of Mondas, in contrast to the implication in Attack of the Cybermen (made explicit in various other non-TV works) that Telos was conquered to replace Mondas after its loss, and also to the suggestion in The Tomb of the Cybermen and several early Target novelisations that the Cybermen of Telos were in fact native to the planet and not Mondasian colonists at all.
- This story presents an unorthodox Cyberman timeline according to which The Invasion took place before The Tenth Planet from the Cybermen's perspective, representing an early attempt by the Cybermen to invade Earth after Mondas entered the solar system; and Revenge of the Cybermen is presented as the last-known event in the Cyberman timeline, postdating such stories as Earthshock.
- This story alludes to Adric being rescued from his televised death at the end of Earthshock by the Master. This idea was also explored in the FASA gamebook The Lords of Destiny, which is not considered a valid source on this Wiki.
- In this story, Zoe's last name is spelled "Herriot" instead of the more common "Heriot". Traken is spelled "Traaken". The matter of Polly's controversial last name is avoided altogether, with her biodata extract simply stating her name as "Polly".
- The Cyberman history given here matches details of the more thorough version given in The Cybermen, including a mention of Halvlad.
Continuity
- The Time Lords are aware of at least two renegade Time Lords who've frequently interfered with Earth's time-stream: the Doctor and the Monk. (TV: The Time Meddler)