The Fourth Doctor and his companions Sarah Jane Smith and Harry Sullivan have been sent by the Time Lords to ancient Skaro. There they are to reduce the danger of the Daleks or destroy them entirely. Things have not gone to plan.
The Doctor and Harry have been captured by the Kaled’s while Sarah encountered the Mutos in the wastelands. She and one of the Mutos was captured by the opposing army, the Thals and set to work in a highly irradiated rocket room.
Meanwhile, the Kaled’s lead scientist, Davros, has perfected his Mark III Travel Machine, which will very soon be rebranded a Dalek.
The following looks at events mid-way through The Genesis of the Daleks, as Davros plots the replacement of the Kaled people with his bio-engineered mutated Daleks. The story continues…
Davros personal log
The Kaleds and Thals squabble, oblivious to the grand design I have in mind. I am above them all now. They see only the immediate. I see beyond. I see a future where the Daleks reign supreme and the Kaleds and Thals are both no more than a mere memory.
I admit progress has been slow, but it has also been steady. The design of the Mark III Travel Machine is nearly complete. The genetic manipulations are complex. Early in their design, I moved away from the multi-dextrous claw, replacing it with an arm capable of suctioning and magnetic manipulation. This decision ultimately solved a variety of challenges I was struggling to overcome. The prototype is now complete, but upgrades to the optical systems and sensory circuits are still necessary.
Gharman has just helped me to perform a new test on the Mark III Travel Machine as far away from the scientists and the Councillors as possible. They all know that the Mark III contains weaponry, but they are skittish about it, despite our long war. I decided that it was best to carry out the test without their oversight. Gharman was happy to comply. The test was a success.
Meanwhile, Nyder had taken care of two new prisoners who appeared to be a bit of a mystery. They were most definitely not Thals and they were not Kaled either. The fool, Ronson, believed they were Mutos, but that didn’t fit either. My creation saw through them immediately. Upon my return to the laboratory, I brought with me another of the Mark III’s. Nyder fitted the final piece; the gun, to its casing. Now that I had tested its power with another of the Mark III’s it was time to test its reaction to a room full of people, not that I allowed the other scientists to know my true intention.
Interestingly, the Mark III homed in on the strangers, recognising them instantly as non-Kaled and alien. Interesting, indeed. Unfortunately, Ronson switches it off before it can act. I’m furious. The Mark III demonstrated an instinct to destroy those who are different. Fascinating, and exactly what I was hoping. I had wanted to learn if it would go through with its threat to exterminate the strangers. Ronson denied me that opportunity. I calm myself. I will soon be finished with these imbeciles, but they still serve a purpose, for now at least.
The strangers are taken away and I seclude myself to study the data from the two tests that I had just conducted. A little later I order further improvements to the casing systems and announced to the scientists that I am renaming the Mark III to Dalek. I wish I could claim the name as my invention, but in truth, it was devised by a junior assistant who had briefly been assigned to the project. I liked it and took it as my own. History doesn’t need to remember that little detail though. As far as records are concerned everything to do with the Dalek is my invention, and mine alone. I am their master and creator. Me, and me alone.
Time passes. Nyder informs me that the prisoners have escaped, presumably with help, and that they are meeting Mogran, one of the more short-sighted members of the Kaled Council. It seems that the scientists and Councillors are beginning to suspect my true plan or at least a part of it. I order Nyder to find out who is involved in the conspiracy and exactly what they are planning. I will deal with them in my own way.
Soon enough Councillor Mogran plays his hand. He orders an independent inquiry to study the Daleks, especially regarding the alterations that I have made to their base programming. I pretend to acquiesce, like the good obedient servant that I am, but behind his back, I order Nyder to place twenty of the genetically conditioned creatures into the Dalek shells. For once I get some resistance from Nyder, which is unusual for him. He fears that the mutants are still too unstable. I reassure him that we will retain control and that I have a greater plan in mind.
Once he has carried out my orders, we take a little journey into enemy territory. Nyder again objects, but he knows his place and does as I ask. We meet some of the Thals in their dome and tell them that the Kaled dome is impenetrable to their rocket, which I know they have been building and setting all their hopes on. I pretend that I am seeking peace by letting them know a chemical formula which will enable them to weaken the dome enough for the rocket to work. I do not lie to them, but I miss out on some important details, specifically my Dalek creations. They are, naturally, sceptical, but they have little choice but to listen to me. I tell them some nonscience about wanting to be part of the rebuilding effort once the Kaleds are gone as if my intentions were truly to end the war with survivors in place.
My true plan is much more magnificent. I plan conquest, not of Skaro – that’s too limited a vision – but of the universe itself. The day is nearly at hand when my life’s work will become a reality. I have been questioned and doubted. They all fear what they do not understand. They do not understand my brilliance or the wonder that is my creation. I know, though, that fear is a tool, a weapon. I can wield it, control them and destroy all who oppose me.
Notes
This account covers events in Genesis of the Daleks parts 2 and 3.
Davros mentions that the name “Dalek” was not his invention. This was revealed in the Children in Need 2023 Special “Destination: Skaro”, where the newly regenerated Fourteenth Doctor accidentally interrupted the junior assistant, Mr Castavillian, as he mused on a better name for the Mark III Travel Machine.