2030 (early autumn) - Warchild [84]
Computer technology enabled cars to practically drive themselves and computers that understood straightforward voice commands. Instead of passports, people had implants on the back of their necks. Three-dimensional television now existed. Passenger airliners were still in use. A cure had been found for Alzheimer’s disease, and few people smoked thanks to health-awareness campaigns.
Vincent Wheaton had secretly inserted himself into the life of his son, Ricky McIlveen, in the guise of a history teacher. Vincent suspected that Ricky possessed immense mind-control abilities... enough to make Ricky president of America, with Vincent pulling his strings. Ricky was potentially the greatest alpha male who ever lived, and so Vincent experimented with the concept of pack behaviour. The dog Vincent owned, which contained the mind of a human, Jack, accordingly became the White King - an old dog that caused packs of dogs to display remarkable intelligence and murder people. The seventh Doctor, travelling with Benny, Roz and Chris, reunited Jack’s mind with his human body.
Creed McIlveen now worked for a secretive crimefighting force, the Agency, but started an affair with his associate Amy Cowan - who was secretly in Vincent’s employ. Vincent wanted revenge on Creed and Justine, and invaded their home. In the resulting confrontation, Amy had a change of heart and killed Vincent to save Justine. Creed and Justine’s marriage ended. The Doctor and his friends pledged to help Ricky learn control of his abilities.
c 2032 (Tuesday, 30th November) - Singularity [85]
Houses were now equipped with computer attendants that responded to voice recognition; phones also recognised voice command.
In Russia, the Somnus Foundation had been created to study sleep disorders and neuro-science, but some descendents of humanity - originating from near the end of the universe - usurped the organisation. The descendents hoped to modify the brain chemistry and “wave forms” of several humans, inducing telepathy and achieving a group consciousness. If successful, the effect would cascade through Earth’s electro-magnetic signature and turn the whole of humanity into a single entity. The resultant Singularity would allow the descendants to bring their fellows through en masse from the future, and let them exact vengeance against the Time Lords.
On 30th November, Moscow witnessed its worst storm in fifty years. The fifth Doctor arrived to investigate matters at a Somnus clinic, but the Somnus test subjects started an electrical fire, hoping to end their suffering. The clinic burned down as the Doctor escaped.
In 2032, Yuri Kerenski began work for the Russia Federal Space Agency. He would end up specialising in treating long-term cosmonauts after they returned home. In the same year, Mia Bennett was born in Houston. Her mother was killed in a car accident, and her father relinquished a career in space exploration to raise her. [86] Earth picked up an Arcturan signal that included enough information to build a transmat device. [87] Iris owned a martini glass signed by actor Leonard Rossiter, which was said to contain the soul of TV presenter Noel Edmonds. [88]
Lethbridge-Stewart returned to Earth in 2032, having spent twenty years in the realm of Avalon. [89] By 2034, a young man called Craig would either be a drunk living under Hammersmith Bridge or a successful carpenter with children - depending on the choices he made in 2006. [90]
Ed Gold earned his doctorate in 2034 - the same year Roman Groom, a future child genius, was born. [91] Starkey, Jorjie Turner and Darius Pike - future friends of K9 - were born in the mid-2030s. [92] The Experts, featuring lead singer Alex Marlow, became the biggest band in the world. Marlow eventually abandoned performing in favour of being a charity worker and environmental activist, working to save endangered animals. [93]
c 2035 - Benny: The Vampire Curse: “Possum Kingdom” [94]
Benny and the Yesterways Ltd. tour group arrived at Forks, Washington, and disrupted the Edward and Bella Players’ re-creation of a battle between vampires and werewolves.
On Earth, there was a period of technological progress. Hypersonic aircraft were built, and mankind discovered how to synthesise carbohydrates and protein, which helped to feed the planet’s ever-increasing population. Computers were now advanced enough to give spoken responses to sophisticated verbal instructions. Most energy now came from solar power, and compact solar batteries became available. Petrol cars were confined to museums. There were further advances in robotics and weather control technology.
Regular passenger modules were travelling between the Earth and its moonbases. Most people thought the moon would provide a stepping stone to the other planets of the solar system, and eventually to the stars. At this time Professor Daniel Eldred, the son of the man who designed the lunar passenger modules, invented an ion jet rocket with a compact generator. This vehicle promised to revolutionise space travel, paving the way for mankind’s rapid exploration of the solar system.
Then the Travel-Mat Relay, an instantaneous form of travel, was invented. The massive capital investment required, and the promise of easy movement of all resources around the world, meant that after some debate the government ended all funding for space travel. All but a skeleton staff on the moon were recalled. Man had travelled no further than the moon. For years, all space travel halted.
Travel-Mat revolutionised the distribution of people and materials around the world. A T-Mat brochure boasted that:
“The Travel-Mat is the ultimate form of travel. Control centre of the present system is the moon, serving receptions in all major cities on Earth. Travel-Mat provides an instantaneous means of public travel, transporting raw materials and vital food supplies to all parts of the world. Travel-Mat supersedes all conventional forms of travel, using the principal of dematerialisation at the point of departure and rematerialisation at the point of arrival in special cubicles. Departure and arrival are almost instantaneous. Although the system is still in its early stages, it is completely automated and foolproof against power failure.” [95]
The development of hyperlogarithms allowed the development of a new generation of technology, including artificial intelligence. [96] Alistair Gryffen was involved in the development of the Thought Matrix, a revolutionary robot brain. [97]
In 2038, the World Zones Accord was signed. Around this time, Colonel Kortez fought the Cyber breaches for the ISC. He joined UNISYC in 2039 and fought lemur people at some point before 2069. [98] Ace told Henry Noone that bees would recover from a malady afflicting them by 2040, and also that “you’re going to get new pandas!” [99]
Hazel Bright joined the League of Nature after witnessing ten thousand people perish in the Ganges during a flood. She worked undercover for Alex Marlowe at the World Ecology Bureau, and stole the Krynoid cuttings saved by Sir Colin Thackeray. [100]
It was predicted that Sarah Jane Smith would die around 2040, and that members of UNIT and Black Seed, possibly including Sam Jones, would attend her funeral. In 2043, Black Seed published their third manifesto. [101] There were anti-weather control demonstrations. [102]
The Doctor on Draconia
A race of reptilian humanoids had evolved on the planet Draconia. Although technologically advanced, they retained a feudal system. The Doctor visited Draconia at the time of the Fifteenth Emperor, around 2040, and cured a great space plague. [103] The Emperor was known as the Red Emperor, and by the Draconian calendar, it was the 68th Year of the Serpent. The Doctor became the only person to beat the Emperor at Sazou - a Draconian game akin to chess - and not lose his head. The Doctor implored the Emperor to seal Draconia’s borders to contain the plague, and insisted that the plague-antidote be given to commoners and royals alike. The Emperor agreed, but the quarantine made Draconia lose contact with its Imperial domains, and its empire collapsed. [104]
The Doctor was given the rank of High Earl of the Imperial House. [105] The Draconians took to referring to the Doctor as “the Oncoming Storm”. [106] Draconian society had changed from the days of its Tribal Epoch; historical records suggested that it was only when it entered its Industrial Epoch th
at Draconian females had become subservient to males. [107]
The Draconian tradition of the nikhol vakarshta - a retreat for mothers and daughters - dated back to the great space plague. A legend held that the Karshtakavarr, “The Oncoming Storm”, tried to depart with the Empress’ daughter, but that she drove him off empty-handed - a symbol of female empowerment and the importance of motherhood. [108]
c 2040 (early in the year, winter) - The Seeds of Death [109]
Thanks to Travel-Mat, humanity had become dangerously insular. The Ice Warriors remained confined to Mars during all this time, limited by the lack of resources their home planet had to offer. The Grand Marshall of the Martians ordered an invasion of Earth. A small squad led by Lord Slarr took Seed Pods - oxygen-fixing plants native to Mars - to the moonbase that controlled T-Mat. The plan was to cripple Earth by disabling the T-Mat, then use the Seeds to alter Earth’s atmosphere until it more closely resembled that of Mars. The Pods were sent to Earth via Travel-Mat and preparations were made to guide the Martian invasion fleet to Earth. As killer foam spread through London, the second Doctor, Zoe and Jamie travelled to the moon and defeated the Ice Warriors, directing the Martian fleet into the Sun. [110]
The global teleportation system lead to disastrous UN aid decisions. [111]
The Conquest of the Solar System
Space travel was readopted and co-ordinated by International Space Command in Geneva. Ion jet rockets explored the solar system. [112]
Ed Gold became a US citizen in 2040 so that he could join NASA’s astronaut program. The same year saw unprecedented storms; Andrew Stone’s Iowa commune developed new farming techniques to cope. [113]
Temperatures in Britain were three degrees higher than they were in the Middle Ages, pollution levels were much higher and every oak tree and silver birch tree had now died out. [114] Many scientists were involved the efforts to develop artificial methods of cooling the planet. [115] As part of a team of scientists conducting experiments to that end, Alistair Gryffen almost single-handedly caused The Great Cataclysm: an event that included massive hurricanes and a sudden, massive rise in sea levels. [116]
Around 2040, Alistair Gryffen’s family - his wife Eleanor and children Mina and Jacob - went for a walk without him while on holiday, and disappeared. He would never forgive himself for their loss, and the trauma of it made him agoraphobic. [117] Around 2041, Darius Pike’s father arranged for a clown to provide the entertainment at his son’s sixth birthday party, which gave Darius a permanent phobia. [118]
NASA undertook Project Pit Stop around 2041 - a refuelling base was set up on the moon, as a stepping stone to Mars. Adelaide Brooke met Ed Gold when they both worked on the project. Brooke became the first female Briton to land on the moon. Following this, unmanned shuttles flew to Neptune and Jupiter.
In 2042, Adelaide Brooke became the first woman to land on Mars, part of a three-person team. On her return, she campaigned to colonise Mars before the moon. Steffi Ehrlich was studying at the Bundeswehr and Aachen University at this time. [119]
c 2043 - Singularity [120]
Led by Natalia Pushkin - a.k.a. Qel, the High Priestess of the New Consciousness - the Somnus Foundation had emerged as a quasi-religious organisation dedicated to awakening mankind’s potential. The Somnus Tower had been built behind the Kremlin, employing a Bygellian style that humans wouldn’t create for another six hundred years.
Qel and her colleagues proceeded with their plan to turn all of humanity into a Singularity gestalt, and snared the inhabitants of Moscow in such a network. The fifth Doctor and Turlough intervened, and consequently the Singularity didn’t hold, the Somnus Tower exploded, Qel was killed and the other conspirators were catapulted back to the far-flung future. Authorities claimed the incident was a terrorist attack against the Somnus cult, one that resulted in a hallucinogenic compound being released.
The Doctor believed that dozens of nonterrestrials were operating on Earth in this period. A Russian Public Security Directorate was in service.
Tarak Ital won gold medals in sprinting and the high jump in the Havana Olympics of 2044. He angered many of his countrymen by giving up athletics for a career in medicine. Ed Gold lobbied for an Australian space programme, and this led to a space elevator being built off the coast of Western Australia. [121]
c 2044 - The Great Space Elevator [122]
Engineers on Earth had developed super conducted carbon micro-tubing that solved various stress-weight problems, and had used it to construct the Space Elevator: a giant lift going from a base station in Sumatra to a Sky Station 22,500 miles above the ground. A creature that had been drifting in space for thousands of years - one that existed as a kind of electromagnetic field - invaded the Sky Station and possessed some of its crew. The second Doctor, Victoria and Jamie stopped the creature from using the station’s weather-control systems to direct a massive electrical storm against the Elevator’s base, which would have made the creature immensely powerful but killed millions. The Doctor grounded the creature into the Earth’s crust.
(=) 2044 - The Architects of History [123]
Elizabeth Klein, having stolen the seventh Doctor’s TARDIS, made enough historical alterations to bring about the Terran Galactic Reich. She attained the rank of Oberst, and oversaw the Reich’s temporal affairs. The Doctor of this timeline aided the Selachians in developing time-travel, which enabled their warfleet to travel from the future and lay waste to Earth in 2044. The Reich’s moonbase was also destroyed, and the casualties included Rachel Cooper, the alternate Doctor’s companion.
The consciousness of the Doctor from the proper timeline supplanted that of his alternate self, and he and Klein agreed to undo Earth’s devastation by using the alternate Doctor’s TARDIS to erase her - i.e. the version of her who travelled back to Colditz - from history. This undid Klein’s historical revisions, and retroactively erased the Galactic Reich.
Professor Otterbland of the Dubrovnik Institute of New Sciences discovered psychotronic conditioning in 2045. [124] Borneo became a ReVit Zone in 2049. The rainforests were replanted and stocked with genetically engineered plants and animals. [125] The United States fell in the mid-twenty-first century. [126]
c 2045 - Hothouse [127]
Earth’s population now stood at ten billion. The last five years had seen the extinction in the wild of the cheetah and the white rhino. Half of the Amazon rain forest was now a dust bowl. Britain had experienced drought for twenty weeks, and the government prosecuted people violating standpipe rations. In London, one hundred thousand protestors called for increased efforts to combat global warming. The previous year had seen a refugee crisis - millions had tried to flee North Africa and the Black Sea states, but borders were shut to avoid the Eurozone being overwhelmed. The St. Petersburg Bio-Protection Treaty enabled the World Ecology Bureau to inspect any facility used for agricultural research.
The activist Alex Marlowe had formed the ecomilitant League of Nature, which advocated mandatory population reduction and the abolition of private capital. The group had eight hundred and nine million paid members. Marlowe constructed the Hothouse as a top-secret research facility, and - using the Krynoid cuttings stolen from the World Ecology Bureau - had hundreds of people smuggled in from outside the Eastern Eurozone and forcibly turned into Krynoids. He hoped to develop a Krynoid variant that retained a human consciousness but could exert control over nature. If successful, he envisioned a mass sterilisation that would bring Earth’s population down to about one hundred million.
One of Marlowe’s agents, Hazel Bright, was forced to become a Krynoid and retained enough of her identity to kill him. With Bright’s help, the eighth Doctor and Lucie destroyed the Hothouse’s main biodome - killing Bright and all of Marlowe’s Krynoids.
2045 - Forty-Five: “The Word Lord” [128]
During the Second Cold War, the Ranulph Fiennes Bunker was constructed in Antarctica. It was located four hundred and fifty miles from civilisation, and housed top-secret peace talks
. The seventh Doctor, Ace and Hex arrived at the bunker pursued by the Word Lord, a.k.a. Nobody No One. The engines of Nobody’s CORDIS had repeated instances of “45” in the Doctor’s recent adventures. Nobody failed to capture the Doctor’s party and claim several bounties on them. At this time, only thirty-four people had access to UN files on the Doctor.
Andrew Stone left his commune in Iowa in 2045, and had the desire to help the world survive the effects of global warming with new farming techniques. Despite Stone’s lack of formal training, Peter Bennett recruited him for the Mars colonisation programme. Steffi Ehrlich gained her degree in solid state physics in 2046. She joined the German astronaut team of the European Space Agency in 2048. Tarak Ital was working on space medicine, and developed a transdermal dimenhydrinate patch to solve the problem of space sickness. That year, the Olympics were held in Paris. Margaret Cain beat twenty-five thousand candidates to become one of four astronauts on the Russian mission Midas. She spent eighteen months training at the Yuri Gagarin cosmonaut training centre. [129]
In 2048, the police force dishonourably discharged Harry Pike after he protested the Department’s decision to replace human police officers with Cybernetic Civic Pacification troops: cyborgs built from cloned humans. [130]
The Krotons first evolved as a predatory, quasi-organic tellurium-based crystal (later called the “Kroton Absolute”) on the planet Krosi-Apsai-Core. The Absolute generated “slaved” sub-beings capable of mimicking their prey’s abilities, but didn’t develop a true consciousness until human capitalists arrived to expand their territory and find mineral wealth. The humans’ servo-robots proved easy to copy, and so the Absolute created millions, perhaps billions, of Krotons: semi-sentient, armoured crystalline entities that were linked through mental vibrations. [131]
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