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Starship UK was a huge ship built to house the population of the United Kingdom after the Earth was threatened by solar flares in the 29th century.
Geography and society
The whole of the United kingdom of England, Wales and Northern Ireland (but not Scotland; they wanted their own ship) was converted from an island nation into Starship UK. Starship UK was divided into large blocks and sections named after the nation's counties, such as Surrey and Devon. Transport was provided by "Vators" (elevators), modelled on the old London Underground, while citizens made their way around on bikes. Markets and schools existed. Order was maintained by the Smilers and Winders. (DW: The Beast Below)
History
When the Earth was threatened by solar flares, the United Kingdom was unable to create a ship to escape. When the last Star Whale came to help, the humans captured it and built a ship around it. While the creature had volunteered for this, the humans were unaware and enslaved it unnecessarily, torturing it with an electrical device in the "Tower of London" dungeon to keep it moving. (DW: The Beast Below)
The government had suspended democratic elections in "this time of upheaval" and continued dictatorial rule for centuries after. However, the citizens were allowed to vote every five years (REF: The Brilliant Book 2011) on whether to protest at the treatment of the Star Whale, or forget about it; those who protested were fed to the Star Whale. The Star Whale wouldn't eat children, so they were sent to work in the Tower of London.
The head of state was Queen Elizabeth X, or "Liz Ten" as she was known, reigning for three hundred years due to a halted body clock. The Doctor found this out by noticing that her ancient, cracked mask was perfectly shaped to her face. While the Queen believed she was being marginalized by her government and was unaware of things, she had instigated the capture of the Star Whale and continually chose to forget - having her mind wiped - every time she found out; the government were still following her original orders.
Starship UK used to trade with other Nations starships, when it suddenly and mysterioulsy closed its borders This information was originaly meant to be said in a scene in The Beast Below but was cut.
The Doctor and Amy Pond arrived, deduced there was no engine powering the ship; no vibrations came through the floor and the power tubes weren't connected. They eventually uncovered the whole conspiracy. The Doctor's companion, Amy Pond, resolved everything by making the Queen press the button marked "Abdicate" rather than "Forget", which released the Star Whale and revealed that the Star Whale would not abandon the Starship UK, because it had volunteered to move the ship. In fact, with the Star Whale not being tortured anymore, the ship moved faster than it ever had before. As the Doctor and Amy left, a crack in time was seen on the hull of Starship UK. (DW: The Beast Below)