Davros, Dark Lord of Skaro (short story)
Davros, Dark Lord of Skaro was a short story published in Doctor Who The Official Annual 2016. It served as a summary of Davros's life, retelling the story of the creation of the Daleks from a perspective informed by the revelations of The Magician's Apprentice. It also led into said TV story, ending with Davros sending his summons to the Doctor.
Summary
"Davros may have made the Daleks — but who made him?" The answer to this question of the Twelfth Doctor's is, of course, himself. A "Child of War", Davros was rescued in the middle of a thousand-year battle by "a strange man" who was stunned and amazed when Davros told him his name. Inspired, Davros grows up to become a brilliant scientist, and decides to experiment on his own kind to rid them of conscience.
He finds that the mutants he has created are now incapable of surviving outside sophisticated travel machines, and thus, the Daleks are born. They venture away from their home planet to invade other worlds, but soon become embroiled in another endless, hopeless war quite like the Thousand Year War — a Time War against the High Council of the Time Lords. The entire Dalek race is ultimately annihilated, as is Skaro — but Davros, unbeknownst to the Doctor, survived the War.
After regrowing an army of Daleks, Davros arranges to create a Reality Bomb that will transmit a signal through all of Creation to destroy all lifeforms other than the Daleks. However, his plot is foiled by the Doctor and he appears to be blown up.
On "the Last Night" of Davros's life, however, the Doctor is summoned to Davros's side. Although claiming he merely wanted to talk to the Doctor one final time, Davros has actually lured him to the heart of the Dalek City…
Characters
References
- Davros has an artificial eye and a life-support chair. He has a single "metal claw" for a hand.
- He wears a black leather tunic.
- Davros is described as "ancient".
Notes
- This story claims that "all Daleks" were destroyed at the end of the Last Great Time War, with the rebirth of the Dalek race only proceeding from the New Dalek Empire created by the surviving Davros. This elides the post-War survival of such Daleks as the Emperor of the Time War and the Cult of Skaro, as seen on television. Skaro is also described as having been annihilated by the War's end, with its existence by the time of The Magician's Apprentice being described as Skaro having been "reborn". This seemingly conflicts with the events of Asylum of the Daleks, where a ruined, battered Skaro was shown to exist in the post-War universe even prior to its restoration. It is unclear if this was a genuine attempt by Paul Lang to rewrite Dalek continuity or merely a matter of streamlining the narrative of Davros, Dark Lord of Skaro.
Continuity
- The Twelfth Doctor encountered a young Davros in mortal peril. He was "stunned" when Davros told him his name. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice)
- Davros is a Kaled who created the Daleks by experimenting on his own kind during the Thousand Year War. (TV: Genesis of the Daleks)
- Davros's command ship was believed lost by the Doctor during the first year of the Time War. However, Davros actually survived, subsequently recreating an army of Daleks from cells of his own body. (TV: The Stolen Earth)
- Eventually, alive but dying, Davros sends for the Doctor, luring him into the very heart of the Dalek City. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice)
