Chaos

You may wish to consult Chaos (disambiguation) for other, similarly-named pages.

Chaos, or simply disorder, was the opposite of order. By some accounts, the balance between order and chaos was a central structure of reality, (TV: The Ribos Operation ^[+]Loading...["The Ribos Operation (TV story)"], The Giggle ^[+]Loading...["The Giggle (TV story)"], et al.) with the capitalized Chaos being one of the foundations of the multiverse relating to the Realm of Chaos. (PROSE: The Coming of the Terraphiles ^[+]Loading...["The Coming of the Terraphiles (novel)"])

Nature

Chaos usually held a negative or evil connotation, but it also represented creativity. (PROSE: The Coming of the Terraphiles ^[+]Loading...["The Coming of the Terraphiles (novel)"]) The Black Guardian, a being of chaos, was not an entirely evil being, as chaos also represented freedom; too much law, which the White Guardian represented, could also be bad. (AUDIO: The Destroyer of Delights ^[+]Loading...["The Destroyer of Delights (audio story)"])

Chaos entities

A primordial entity in Greek mythology was known as Chaos. (PROSE: Wandering Stars ^[+]Loading...["Wandering Stars (short story)"])

The Archangels of Chaos were forces associated with the Realm of Chaos. (PROSE: The Coming of the Terraphiles ^[+]Loading...["The Coming of the Terraphiles (novel)"])

The Fourth Doctor described chaos as the "first love" of the Black Guardian, (AUDIO: Casualties of Time ^[+]Loading...["Casualties of Time (audio story)"]) who represented chaos. He wanted to take control of the Key to Time so that chaos would "break across the universe," (TV: The Armageddon Factor ^[+]Loading...["The Armageddon Factor (TV story)"]) and later wanted to give enlightenment to the Eternals so that they would "invade Time itself, chaos would come again, and the universe [would] dissolve." (TV: Enlightenment ^[+]Loading...["Enlightenment (TV story)"]) The Actuary described the Black Guardian as a god of chaos. (AUDIO: The Institute of Forgotten Souls ^[+]Loading...["The Institute of Forgotten Souls (audio story)"])

The Mara was a spirit of chaos, which puzzled Nyssa as it created the Sumaran Empire, an empire implying order. (AUDIO: The Cradle of the Snake ^[+]Loading...["The Cradle of the Snake (audio story)"])

Megron was the High Lord of Chaos and Chief of the Carions, Lords of Chaos. He described Earth in the distant past as a "hot mass of chaos" and a "kingdom" of chaos. He became angry when the Fourth Doctor predicted that order would arise out of the chaos, which it eventually did. (AUDIO: Exploration Earth ^[+]Loading...["Exploration Earth (audio story)"])

Moloch was a god of chaos. (AUDIO: Protect and Survive ^[+]Loading...["Protect and Survive (audio story)"])

Sutekh, as "Set", was known as the Egyptian god of chaos. (PROSE: Set Piece ^[+]Loading...["Set Piece (novel)"])

Chaos-oriented individuals

In the structure of the Million Spheres, the Doctor was identified by Frank/Freddie Force as being among the forces of Chaos due to his tendency to spread creativity. Unlike most agents of Chaos, he was of a multiversal archetype who, in various instances both lawful and chaotic, maintained the Cosmic Balance. More straightforward agents of Chaos included the Chaos Engineers. (PROSE: The Coming of the Terraphiles ^[+]Loading...["The Coming of the Terraphiles (novel)"])

Ashildr described the Master as a "lover of chaos." (TV: Hell Bent ^[+]Loading...["Hell Bent (TV story)"])

Other information

The Time of Chaos was an era of ancient Gallifreyan history. (TV: Silver Nemesis ^[+]Loading...["Silver Nemesis (TV story)"], et al.)

Behind the scenes

• Chaos was a central part of the cosmology of the Michael Moorcock Multiverse, having been introduced in the 1961 Elric of Melniboné story While the Gods Laugh. This version of Chaos was officially integrated into the Doctor Who universe with The Coming of the Terraphiles ^[+]Loading...["The Coming of the Terraphiles (novel)"], but Doctor Who essayists such as Elizabeth Sandifer in TARDIS Eruditorum have argued for Moorcockian Chaos being a key inspiration for the duality of the White and Black Guardians in Season 16.
  • The Archangels of Chaos were originally named the "Lords of Chaos" in the Elric stories. The "Lords of Chaos" in AUDIO: Exploration Earth ^[+]Loading...["Exploration Earth (audio story)"] therefore may also be inspired by Moorcock.