Fans of the classic series of DW will know that the original Cybermen were from Mondas, a planet that was apparently Earth's twin in the distant past before it drifted away. Even Mondas' continental landmasses were the exact same as Earth's, albeit upside-down. In his book Cybermen, David Banks theorises that it was the arrival of the Moon that pushed Mondas out of its orbit (This would put the date of Mondas' departure at the same time as the end of the age of the Silurians on Earth; I discount his given date of c. 10,000 BCE and assume this happened a few million years ago). But does anyone have any theories as to how a planet like Mondas came to exist in the first place, being a near-exact duplicate of Earth, and how its indigenous human population was more advanced than their Earth cousins?
Mondas
- Thread starter EJA
- Start date
Maybe it was Earth, but somehow transferred from another timeline such as the one seen in Rise Of The Cybermen / Age Of Steel; or it could be a duplicate of some kind, created for example by by "block transfer computation as seen in Logopolis.
As regards how Mondas left the solar system, it's already been established that it was a technological rather than natural event. The Mondasians seemingly invented a propulsion system that would enable them to explore space en masse.
As regards how Mondas left the solar system, it's already been established that it was a technological rather than natural event. The Mondasians seemingly invented a propulsion system that would enable them to explore space en masse.
Until proven otherwise, I am laboring under the assumption that "Pete's World" is actually Mondas, and the "Cybusmen" have been "our Cybermen" all along.
Doesn't that mean that the Family Tyler, as well as the Consolation Doctor, are eventually going to die horribly when the Cybermen finally win? Or, at the very least, their descendants will.
Actually, come to think of it, didn't all the Cybermen transition to Earth Proper, and so get sucked back into the Void?
Actually, come to think of it, didn't all the Cybermen transition to Earth Proper, and so get sucked back into the Void?
Doesn't The Doctor say "it's happening again" when he sees the 'rise' of the Cybusmen?
To me, that implies that he'd already seen the birth of the Cybermen ie. somewhere else.
I always thought the backstory of the Cybermen as outlined in The Tenth Planet was ridiculous. It's best not to think about it too much.
The Time Lords already had destroyed the fifth planet in our solar system and time-looped it, hoping to halt the Fendahl in its tracks; if they had already engaged in such large-scale interference, would it be a stretch to imagine that they had plucked an Earth out of a parallel dimension and placed it in a diametrically opposed orbit on the other side of the Sun from us, so that we would know nothing of its existence? With their perspective of future events, and with Earth seeming to be a causal nexus point, the Time Lords could have decided not to put all their eggs in one basket, if you will - being a popular target for alien invasions and attack, better to have a backup Earth handy, in case the original was destroyed. Perhaps it was back in the days when the Time lords didn't have their non-interventionist policy, and had interfered with the development of worlds like Minyos, with disasterous consequences; Mondas too could have been one of these early experiments, but changes in policy and administrations in the High Council could have led to it being forgotten about or swept under the carpet, and left unsupervised, Mondasian society developed up a path that ultimately led to the Cybermen.
The origin of the Mondasian Cybermen is seen in the Fifth Doctor audio adventure Spare Parts, although the 'canon' of it has left to be determined.
Here is a summary of the story:
http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_bf34.htm
Here is a summary of the story:
http://www.drwhoguide.com/who_bf34.htm
Don't forget that the Timelords weren't above shifting the Earth halfway across the universe to cover up their dirty little secrets - c.f The Mysterious Planet.
One of the Who novels (State of Change) suggests that Mondas is an actual duplicate of Earth (parts of it, anyway):
AFAIK, it comes about when the TARDIS lands in ancient Egypt. An alien is given orders to copy the TARDIS but it misinterprets the instruction and duplicates everything *else* for a radius of thousands of miles in every direction. At the end, this duplicated part of Earth is moved to a new planet and heavily implied that it will one day become Mondas.
I always thought that the concept of Mondas with it's identical (albeit upside-down) continental landmasses was pretty stupid. It would have been more plausible to have Mondas be either an alternate universe earth or a just another Earth like (without identical landmasses) planet where things progressed towards the creation of the Cybermen.
So whilst I prefer the Mondas Cybermen and their creation, I prefer the Pete's world explanation of an alternate universe as to where they came from.
So whilst I prefer the Mondas Cybermen and their creation, I prefer the Pete's world explanation of an alternate universe as to where they came from.
Nonetheless, that's what the original series said. But yeah, it is a bit daft.
As much as I love the Mondasian Cybermen (i.e. a race forced to use spare parts in order to survive and eventually becoming the Cybermen), I have to agree that "the concept of Mondas with it's identical (albeit upside-down) continental landmasses" is indeed pretty dumb. That's one aspect of the Mondasian Cybermen I'm willing to ignore.
Actually, we don't know that those two facts are linked. Mondas did have a propulsion system, yes, but we are never told it was developed prior to the departure of the planet from its natural orbit. The Cybermen book goes with the idea that the departure was accidental, the harsh environmental conditions that resulted necessitated cybernisation, and the Mondasian Cybermen came up with the propulsion system only following their "birth".
^The Daleks of course also planned to use planetary propulsion in "The Dalek Invasion of Earth". This is even mentioned in "The Stolen Earth" ("Somebody tried moving a planet once before"). The Daleks of course use a somewhat more efficient way of transporting planets to the Cascade in SE; and of course the Doctor 'tows' Earth back with the TARDIS in Journey's End.
Maybe it's something like Star Wars' Death Star (Which we never really see the 'engine' of, but is obviously capable of FTL/Hyperdrive)
Maybe it's something like Star Wars' Death Star (Which we never really see the 'engine' of, but is obviously capable of FTL/Hyperdrive)