The History of the Daleks (short story)
The History of the Daleks was a narrative retelling of the Daleks' history published in The Official Doctor Who & the Daleks Book, which was written by John Peel and Terry Nation. It detailed the Daleks' history in an in-universe, chronological order using all major TV appearances from 1963 to 1988, linking every story in the classic run of Doctor Who with the exception of Remembrance of the Daleks (as it was presumably written before it aired, despite being published after).
Summary
The home planet of the Daleks, Skaro, was originally home to a humanoid race that split into two groups: the Thals and the Dals. After the Dals crossed the Drammankin Mountains, the two tribes had no contact for centuries though they knew of the others. The Dals eventually renamed themselves the Kaleds, and as both groups began to develop agriculture and civilization, the Kaleds began to believe their ancestors were persecuted by the Thals, while the Thals believed the Kaleds splintered as a result of being outvoted on tribal policy. The Thals were willing to reaccept the Kaleds if they admitted they were right, which they would never do. Both civilizations developed cities and eventually atomic weapons at the same times, and tensions grew as they spied on each other.
As war seemed imminent, a Kaled scientist named Davros came to prominence and was built a bunker to conduct his studies in secret with other scientists. Finally secrets were kept from the Thals, who too built a bunker. But one Thal spy managed to enter the Kaled bunker and learned of the advanced genetic and cybernetic process Davros was creating that would no doubt defeat them. The spy attempted to assassinate Davros but was apprehended, finally starting the war. Both sides used neutron bombs to destroy the cities and petrify Skaro's forests, until the last survivors remained in two domes.
Davros was badly wounded and required cybernetic enhancements such as a mobility unit, and began to lose his sanity. He trusted only his closest allies, such as Nyder. He determined the Kaled race had to be reborn. He found several surviving Kaleds in the destroyed cities, heavily mutated from radiation. After experimenting upon them, he found a way to control these mutations, and created a casing for them based on his own chair, and termed them the Daleks, the ultimate life form. These early Daleks depended on static electricity, but later could use solar power. Davros created more Dalek mutants from embryos, and removed emotions that he saw as weaknesses, so they were only capable of loyalty to their own species and contempt for any other (including the Kaleds). Although the Kaled rulers approved of the new weapon to win the war, certain members of the scientific elite such as Ronson disagreed.
At this time, the Time Lords of Gallifrey saw Davros' creations and with a time scanner saw the havoc they would wreak in the future. They sent their agent, the Doctor, who had already encountered the Daleks many times due to frequent time travelling, to either avert the creation of the Daleks or alter them so they would be less aggressive.
to be continued
References
- Skaro has one continental mainland and many small islands.
- The Dals renamed themselves the Kaleds after the first letter in their alphabet to show supremacy. Davros used the name Dalek since it was the final letter in the alphabet, and he saw the Daleks as the final stage of the Kaled race.
- The so-called Thousand Year War actually lasted around 250 years.
- Davros' chair is the Mark 1 casing, his initial Dalek designs were Mark 2s, and the final Dalek casings were Mark 3 casings.
- During the creation of the Daleks, Ravon was in his early twenties.
Notes
- This story is notable for explicitly stating the Thals' counterpart tribe and ancestors to the Daleks, the Dals, renamed themselves as the Kaleds.
- The Dalek City's destruction as seen in The Evil of the Daleks is placed as the final end of the Dalek race— something Remembrance of the Daleks, the only story not referenced in the history, contradicts by featuring the destruction of Skaro. John Peel's later novel War of the Daleks provided a possible explanation that it was not actually Skaro destroyed, but a decoy planet called Antalin.
Continuity
- Skaro is the twelfth planet in its solar system. (TV: "The Ambush")
External links
to be added
