A History of the Whoniverse

The Twenty-sixth Century (2501-2600)

[At the beginning of the 26th Century, human politics had shifted significantly. Over time, the majority of colonies had been brought under the umbrella of Earth. The Adjudicators now served as enforcers of an imperial law. Although the colonies still enjoyed a large degree of independence, they had definitely become part of a larger human empire, with Earth at the centre.]

2501

THE MONSTERS INSIDE

On the prison system of Justicia, the Blathereen family from Raxacoricofallapatorius have been infiltrating the command structure, posing as humans. Their plot is revealed when the core of the family are killed, and a warder called Flowers takes control of the system, implementing widespread reforms.

Dennel tells Rose the year on page 32.

2502

A peace conference is held in the New Washington system.

This is due to happen a year after The Monsters Inside page 237.

June 2503

The Collected Works of Gustaf Heinrich Urnst is reprinted in London. It strikes a chord with the people of that time.

The Highest Science pages 47-48, this is implied to be after Benny's time - as seeing this date, she seems surprised that Urnst suffered a revival.

c. 2510

DECALOG 4: C₉H₁₃NO₃

The paraplegic Jack Forrester is involved in a Synthhuman/virus project to eliminate the 'Sons of Earth' movement. The movement, based in the frontier worlds, aims to throw off the domination of Frontworld Corporation.

There is no date to this story. Following the pattern of the book, it should be set during the 26th century. I suggest that the Cyberwars, Dragon wars and Dalek wars later in the century would stop the 'Sons of Earth' protests - as the threat of alien invasion would be uppermost in their minds.

2514

PARASITE

The Artefact in the Elysium System becomes dormant, killing all those inside it at the time.

The colony was established soon after the American food riots (which are dated 2146 in Lucifer Rising). This was 367 years ago (page 73). Earth also has an empire by this point (page 137). Two references suggest an earlier date. Alex Bannon (from Lucifer Rising - 2157) died "more than two centuries ago" (page 165), making it the late 24th century. 1706 is said to have been "more than seven hundred years ago," making it the early 25th century.

2520

An incident during peace negotiations between the Human and Draconian Empires led to a brief, but very bloody, war between the two empires. The war ended with a peace treaty establishing a formal border between the two empires. Two decades of cold war ensued.

Twenty years before Frontier in Space.

During these Dragon Wars, a deep-space incursion squadron led by Shirankha Hall shelters from a pursuing Draconian fleet on a world halfway between the growing Earth and Draconian Protectorates. The world is pleasant with no large predators, and he names it Heaven.

Love and War page 10.

2526

EARTHSHOCK

The resurgent Cybermen attempt to disrupt an interplanetary peace conference to be held on Earth. They plant a bomb on Earth and plan to use a captured freighter to sneak an army into the conference. Their bomb is discovered and defused, and then the freighter disappears.

The Doctor says it is the 26th century, and Adric calculates the year. There are two problems with this story. One is that the cyber-scanner shows the events of Revenge of the Cybermen, which happens in the 29th or 30th century. It could be that the Cyber-scanner is similar in design to the Time-Space Visualiser that we see in The Chase, or (more likely), that it has probed the Doctor's memories of fighting the Cybermen.

The other problem is that the Cyber-leader believes the conference will create an alliance against the Cybermen whilst Scott hasn't even heard of the Cybermen. Perhaps only the top generals and politicians know about the Cybermen. Alternatively, peace between those at the conference could create an alliance that would become hostile to the Cybermen when it encountered them. If the Cyberscanner can show the future, it may have shown the Cybermen what would result from the conference.

Learning of the Cyberman plot caused the peace negotiations to end in an alliance. This new alliance fought a genocidal war against the Cybermen. The Cybermen were, in the end, defeated when the humans discovered Voga, a planet with vast amounts of gold. Aided by INITEC's glittergun technology, the Empire was able to defeat the Cybermen with ease.

This is the logical outcome of Earthshock. I suggest that the Draconians were not part of this alliance, because of the situation in Frontier in Space. Perhaps the conference was an attempt to unite the Earth Empire with independent colonies in case of the peace with the Draconians breaking down. The CyberWar here is the CyberWar referred to in Revenge of the Cybermen. INITEC's role is mentioned in Original Sin.

2529

MORE SHORT TRIPS: ONE BAD APPLE

The Mithran Fusiliers, a religion of humans partly converted into Cybermen, arrive on the planet Paradise. Their leader commits suicide, and the rest of them decide to stay on the planet and protect its natives.

The date is unspecified. Humanity is engaged in a war with the Cybermen (page 80), and is referred to as Imperial (page 74). Therefore, I've chosen to set the story during this CyberWar.

c. 2530

ATTACK OF THE CYBERMEN

[During the course of the Cyberwar,] the Cybermen stole a [prototype] time machine. They sent an invasion force back to Earth in the year 1985. Their plan was to divert Halley's comet and cause a crisis on Earth that would prevent the destruction of Mondas in the following year. Their plan was defeated.

There is no date to this story, but pretty much every chronology places this here. The only clue is that it is some time after Tomb of the Cybermen. The situation - that the Cybermen are desperate enough to try this kind of scheme - fits the period of the end of the CyberWar started in Earthshock. Furthermore, the Cybermen's design clearly suggests that the two stories are not too distant from each other.

Soon after this, the Cybermen launched a final, desperate, attack on Voga. They blew the planet out of its orbit, and its remains slowly drifted towards Earth's Solar System. The few remaining CyberNeomorphs then disappeared from history for thousands of years.

This is the background to Revenge of the Cybermen. In that story, we see Cybermen who have a different design to the CyberNeomorphs we first saw in Earthshock. I agree with David Banks' Cybermen that these are a rogue group of CyberNomads, rather than descendants of the CyberNeomorphs. However, as we see Cybermen in The Crystal Bucephalus, several thousand years after this, some Cybermen must have survived after this time.

2539

Professor Dale is jailed for activities on behalf of the pro-Draconian Peace Party.

A year before Frontier in Space.

The Bell Jar is banned.

Trench says that this was "decades" before Love and War page 87.

2540

FRONTIER IN SPACE

There are a number of incidents on the Earth-Draconia border. These almost force the two powers into a full-scale war. War is averted when these incidents are found to have been the work of the Daleks, who had long been forgotten. This discovery leads to an alliance between Earth and Draconia, who unite in a war against the Daleks.

The date and time are given as 22.09.72.2540, presumably meaning 10.09 pm on the 12th of March 2540, though the President cancels a meeting for the 10th of January. Shadowmind dates this as 130 years ago from 2673 - so about 2543 - (page 71) and as 2540 (page 74).

PLANET OF THE DALEKS

The Daleks had hidden a vast army on the planet Spiridon, ready to move into action when the planned Earth-Draconia war had left both empires sufficiently vulnerable. This army was destroyed by the Thals, [who didn't know who the Daleks were planning to conquer].

This is set at the same time as Frontier in Space. The Thals seem ignorant of Earth's existence, so they cannot possibly know the details of the Daleks' plans. They still have no contact with humanity by War of the Daleks. One of the Daleks says that the Thal ship is from Skaro, but we learn in War of The Daleks that the Thals were forced off Skaro by the Daleks not that long after The Daleks. The Dalek must therefore be referring to the design rather than the actual ship.

Soon after these events, Shirankha Hall tells the Draconian Ambassador about the world of Heaven, which he had discovered during the Dragon Wars. He contacts the Earth President, and suggests that the two empires take joint possession, and bury their dead there. Two years later, during a lull in the fighting, the leaders of the two powers sign several agreements on Heaven. Soon after this, "every human in space" is sent to Heaven for burial.

Love and War pages 10-11. Bodies have been sent there for three decades by page 92.

25th June 2540

Bernice Surprise Summerfield is born to Isaac and Claire Summerfield on the colony Beta Caprisis.

This date first appeared in Just War (page 135-136), and has now been universally adopted. However, Love and War places her birthday in autumn [perhaps only according to the seasons on Heaven]. In The Dimension Riders, Benny celebrates her birthday on 20th November 1993 - perhaps referring to her personal timeline, rather than her chronological birthday. Beta Caprisis is mentioned in Love and War (page 75) and The Left-Handed Hummingbird (page 75). Some earlier New Adventures place Benny in the 25th Century, though this would contradict Frontier in Space. The Highest Science and The Pit both say she comes from about 2450. This would make her year of birth a bit before 2420. Falls the Shadow places her birthday as 2422.

The Dalek War affected a huge number of planets. Capella, Antonius and Procyon were just three of the planets on the front line. The Daleks used plague warfare on numerous worlds. On one such world, Yalmur, tens of thousands were killed by plague. Space Fleet, based on worlds such as Garaman, managed to keep the Daleks away from Earth's Core Worlds. Thus, the Empire shipyards on worlds such as Harato were able to keep pace with the demand from Human and Earth Reptile forces. Troops allowed shore leave flocked to leisure planets such as Ellanon and Bacchanalia 2.

Space Fleet was not alone in the war. [In addition to the Draconian Alliance,] there were [independent] Earth Reptile forces as well as Corporate Forces. The Corporate shock troops of the 22nd Century had evolved into extra military resources. Ellerycorp, Peggcorp, Spinward, and IMC all had sizeable battlefleets.

Earth's most determined force, however, were the Dalek Killers. These were hardened criminals given the choice between the death penalty and a life spent fighting Daleks. DKs who survived their first mission usually went on to become battle-hardened veterans. The most famous of the DKs, Abslom Daak, killed hundreds, if not thousands, of Daleks. He was so good that Spacefleet made several clones.

Earth's military technology was given a huge boost by the War, as civilian scientists were co-opted into the war effort. Intelligent weapons systems were now standard issue. Dart guns, data corrupting missiles, spikes, clusters and forceshells, random field devices, self-locating mines and drones were all part of planetary forces' armour. Nanotechnology research was diverted to healing war wounds and fighting alien infections, rather than cosmetic surgery.

Spacecraft too were adapted to military purposes. X-Ships now ferried personnel, supplies, and communications. They used warp engines and ion drives. Although it took only a few weeks to travel human space, Deep Sleep was resurrected to conserve supplies. [This was, in many ways, a contingency measure rather than because of severe shortages - several weeks extra supplies at the front could make the difference between victory and defeat - especially if the Daleks mounted a siege.] Battleships now had a complement of 1000 and were easily a match for Dalek Battlesaucers.

[The biggest technological problem Spacefleet faced was communications. Although FTL interstellar communications had been achieved long ago, it was not fast enough for effective strategy - by the time Space Fleet command received an update, the situation had totally changed. This made allocating combat resources incredibly difficult, even with the Space Fleet Datanet system.] By the end of the war, this problem had been overcome with the invention of the fastline system. This allowed interstellar communications to take place almost in real-time.

This is the background to Love and War and Deceit.

2547

The Daleks raid Vandor Prime. One of the many casualties is Claire Summerfield. At about the same time, Isaac Summerfield's Dalekbuster spacecraft breaks formation and flees the battle. Isaac and Claire's daughter, Bernice, is sent to a military boarding school.

These events are mentioned in numerous New Adventures, the disappearance of Isaac Summerfield is the official version, rather than the true account seen in Return of the Living Dad.

2550

DECALOG 2: LONELY DAYS

Base XL-7, located on a planet on the edge of the Magellanis system is abandoned when it is discovered that the planet is a sentient life form about to die.

The Doctor says that he acquired the planet in the 25th Century, so this has to be in or after that century. As Sebastian's girlfriend, Tarla, was killed by the Daleks, I have chosen to set the story during the 26th Century Dalek Wars.

2555

Bernice Summerfield visits Earth, [including] Stuttgart.

Love and War.

2556

Bernice Summerfield leaves Spacefleet Academy and camps in the woodland outside. She became a guru to other students. Her boyfriend kept tortoises, had freckles and a wicked laugh.

This is mentioned in several New Adventures. According to The Dying Days, Benny was 16 at the time, and the story became legendary amongst travellers and traders of her time.

2565

Bernice Summerfield excavates the tombs of the Mare Sirenum on Mars. She spends some time rolling around in the egg chambers with a colleague named Tim.

According to Benny in The Dying Days chapter 2 page 11 this happened when she was 24, and made her reputation. She says that she arrived in 2565 in chapter 5 (page 10), so it's early in the year.

2566

Bernice Summerfield publishes Down Among the Dead Men, a study of Archaeology. She includes a lot of material on the Ice Warriors, who have had no contact with humanity since the Thousand Day War. [This material mostly came from her dig on Mars, and the information she gathered for that.]

This is first mentioned in Theatre of War (page 36), though the date is also given as 2466 (page 135). Down Among the Dead Men gets a mention in many other stories.

2567

During the battle of Alpha Centurai, an small squadron of Earth Reptile vessels sees off the main Dalek force. A whole fleet of Dalek ships is rumoured to vanish into hyperspace.

Love and War page 6. Given that the Core Worlds are said to have been kept safe from the war, I suspect that this battle was a Dalek gamble to bring their fleet as close to Earth as possible. Presumably, they had attempted to divert Earth's main forces elsewhere. This is not dated, but as the war is pretty much won by the late 2560s (Deceit), I suggest that this was the decisive battle.

2568

The Spinward Corporation's computer predicts that Earth Government will begin to show an interest in their Arcadia project when the Dalek Wars end.

Deceit. The computer probably worked out that Earth Government suspected that something underhand is happening at the project. However, the Dalek Wars (and Spinward's contribution to them) meant that they couldn't afford the time or resources to investigate, or to risk undermining Spinward Corporation and its contribution to the war effort.

2568

The Deltherons miraculously repelled a Drakoid invasion.

Decalog 3: Continuity Errors.

2569

A group of about 30 Travellers, including 6 children, arrive on the planet Heaven.

They've been there for about a year by Love and War page 48.

2570

By this time there are still some records of things seen by Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart that are classified.

According to Benny in The Dying Days chapter 5 (page 11).

LOVE AND WAR

An archaeological expedition obtained an ElleryCorp grant to investigate the remnants of civilisation on the planet Heaven. Whilst they were there, Earth forces were worried about random interceptions in nearby space and a mysterious object that turned up on tracking systems and then disappeared. Then, overnight, there are attacks across the planet. Isolated farms lost contact and isolated military outposts were attacked, with no casualties. When day broke, an army of the dead attacked everything on the planet. The headquarters of the Vacuum Church is destroyed by a blazing meteor. The attacks stop after there is a fireball over Joycetown. The casualties in Joycetown numbered 100 civilians, 15 troopers, and 300 injuries. Soon after this, the Vacuum Church, who were implicated in the attacks (caused by an alien race called the Hoothi) was dissolved, and its assets seized. Plans were put in place to evacuate Heaven for a few centuries, leaving the various imported species to achieve a natural ecological balance. There were plans to rename the planet as well.

Benny was 30 yesterday (page 13), thus it's June 2570 - though it is clearly autumn on Heaven (or at least the part where the action happens). It is about 3 decades since Frontier in Space (page 92), and so 2570ish. It is, however stated to be the 25th century (page 46) and five centuries since Ace's time (page 26) - thus the late 25th century. As Benny is eventually established to be from the 26th century, I go with those dates.

Other stories give possible dates - The Highest Science gives 230 years before 2680 - so 2450 - (page 35), The Pit gives 50 years after 2400 (page 9) - so 2550. Deceit (page 216), The Dimension Riders (page 22), The Left-Handed Hummingbird (page 153) and Conundrum (page 10) give the 25th Century. White Darkness gives 600 years after 1915 - so 2515, and the 26th Century (both on page 108). Blood Heat (page 2) also gives the 26th Century, and Just War (page 136) gives the late 26th Century.

At the end, Heaven is evacuated until the native and imported species have reached an ecological balance. By the time of Original Sin, Heaven is inhabited again.

Following these events, a woman named Ace joined Space Fleet. Over the next three years she spent some time fighting for IMC, before joining the Irregular Auxiliaries, a group of soldiers more feared than the Dalek Killers. She spent six days with a starship trooper on Crocarou Station before leaving on a mission. When she returned, the Daleks had blown up the base. She threw up in someone else's kitbag, and never told anyone about it.

Deceit. Numerous incidents from this time are mentioned in subsequent New Adventures. Those cited are from Lungbarrow (page 39 / Chapter 3 page 4).

2573

DECEIT

By this point, the Dalek wars were finally drawing to a close. The troopship Admiral Raistruck was sent to Arcadia. The ship was destroyed. The four survivors, including Ace and a clone of Absalom Daak, uncovered Spinward's secret project: the Pool. This was a massive artificial brain, which had been driven mad. The survivors are able to destroy Pool.

It is stated that this is the 25th century. It's two or three years since Love and War (page 85, 216, 268). It's also 379 years since Arcadia was colonised (page 115), which has to be after 2112 (page 27) - so it's at least 2491. The figure of three years is confirmed in White Darkness (page 98), Shadowmind (page 25), Birthright (page 112), Conundrum (page 177), First Frontier (page 169), and St Anthony's Fire (page 29).

DEATH TO THE DALEKS

In a final attempt to defeat the Earth Empire, the Daleks fired plague missiles at the Outer Planets. It took the humans very little time to identify a cure. Unfortunately, the cure was the rare mineral parrinium, which was only known in minute quantities. Earth was saved when a standard planetary survey satellite discovered vast quantities on the planet Exxilon. The Marine Space Corps sent a mission to the planet to secure a supply. They came into conflict with a force of Daleks. The situation was complicated by the activities of the Exxilon City, which had destroyed its creators' civilisation. The humans were able to defeat the Daleks, destroy the city, and escape with the parrinium.

The date for this story is unknown. Hamilton's father died in "the last Dalek War", so there has been more than one such war. It has been suggested that the Dalek War(s) of the 26th Century comprise several distinct wars, starting after Frontier in Space. This means that the story must be set in or after the 26th Century (Vicki - from 2493 - has only heard of the Daleks from their invasion of Earth). On the other hand, we could assume that the Marine Space Corps are in some way related to the Space Corps of Nightmare of Eden or the Interstellar Space Corps of The Space Pirates. The dominance of Space Fleet and the Adjudicators by this time would seem to have made the Space Corps obsolete. Perhaps an elite squadron retained the historic name until this time period.

Following the Dalek wars, the Earth Empire had a remarkable period of consolidation. [During the war,] the President was replaced with an Empress, who was [held by some to be] a goddess. The Colonial Office was superseded by Earth Central. Earth was now able to break some of the power of the big corporations. After the war, Space Fleet was downsized.

This is a summary of political changes between Frontier in Space and Cold Fusion, where the imperial system we see in Original Sin is well established.

SHORT TRIPS AND SIDE STEPS: REVENANTS

The temporal-quantum-research scientist Tasdevin had been trying to create a perpetual motion device to solve his homeworld's energy crisis. He also hoped to put Galextricity Corp out of business in the same way that the Brilliant Corporation did. His experiment created a time echo, and failed to give him the immortality he believed he could create.

According to the Doctor on page 98, it's the 26th Century.

2590

By this time, radiation on Argolis had dropped to a level that made the planet habitable.

Three centuries after The Leisure Hive.

March 2593

Professor Bernice Surprise Kane-Summerfield is offered the chair of Archaeology at St Oscar's University on Dellah.

She receives the offer in The Dying Days (page 5) - in 1997.

8^th May 2593

THE DYING DAYS: EPILOGUE

Professor Bernice Summerfield arrives to take up the chair of Archaeology at St Oscar's University on Dellah.

The date is given at the start of the epilogue.

2596

The Racial Data Act requires all records of genetic relevance to be logged with the African Government.

Decalog 4: Secrets of the Black Planet (page 231).

2600

October-November

COLD FUSION

One of the Core Worlds, ruled by the Scientifica, was involved in a research project on the Machine, a vast device of unknown origins. There was a large contingent of Adjudicators on the planet, ostensibly to deal with terrorist activity. The Adjudicators were involved in action against an invasion of the ghost-like Ferutu. At the same time, the Imperial Third Fleet was destroyed, and its remains found in orbit around the Scientifica's planet.

The date (but not the year) is stated on page 9. It's nearly 400 years before Chris & Roz's time (page 165), so not long after 2575. The Adjudicators have been around for half a millennium (page 247), so it's in the 27th Century. My date is an attempt to reconcile these two facts.