Cybus Industries | |
Continuity: | Doctor Who |
Type: | Business |
Leaders: | John Lumic |
Members: | Doctor Kendrick; Mister Crane |
Allies: | Pete Tyler |
Enemies: | Tenth Doctor; Rose Tyler; Mickey Smith; Ricky Smith; Jake Simmonds; Angela Price |
1st appearance: | "Rise of the Cybermen" |
Cybus Industries is a fictional corporate entity featured in the 2005 science fiction revival series Doctor Who. It first appeared in the series two episode, "Rise of the Cybermen" and also appeared in the second chapter of the storyline, which was in "The Age of Steel".
Overview[]
Cybus Industries was a major corporate business that existed in a parallel world, separate from that of the mainstream timeline. It was founded by a disabled inventor named John Lumic and based out of Battersea in the district of Wandsworth, England.
Cybus Industries had it's fingers in many different projects including commercial development, cybernetic enhancements and telecommunications. They also had a large number of subsidiary companies such as the Vitex health drink company, which was headed up by Pete Tyler. By the mid-2000s, Cybus Industries had plants all across the world, with strong influences in Great Britain and South America. They owned, partially owned or controlled a major majority of the global corporate environment.
History[]
In 2006, John Lumic discovered that he was dying. He believed the key towards safeguarding his own future lied within his advancements in cyber-technology. He developed a process that would effectively combine brain matter with synthetic components, converting an individual into a cybernetic organism, or Cyberman. Part of this process however, involved inhibiting emotional responses and the surrendering of free will. Even some of his closest advisors like Mister Crane and Doctor Kendrick grew concerned with the ethics involved in such a project. Lumic addressed the President of Great Britain with his ideas, who immediately cast a vote of disapproval on continuance of the project, calling it "obscene". Lumic however, was not about to let this setback hold him down.
Lumic had his men abduct various homeless people from the London area where they were brought back to the Battersea plant to undergo cybernetic conversion. With their emotions and willpower stripped away, Lumic's army of Cybermen were ready to do his bidding. He sent them to the home of Pete and Jacqueline Tyler, who were hosting a birthday party in honor of Jackie's 40th birthday, knowing that the President would be in attendance. Also in attendance at the party was the time-traveling Tenth Doctor and his companion Rose Tyler. The Doctor recognized the Cybermen, for he had fought them before in his own timeline. A Cybermen approached the President, who stood defiant against it despite the Doctor's protestations. The Cyberman killed the President and the rest of the sentries began rounding up the other party guests. [1]
Back at Cybus Industries, John Lumic prided himself on the army he had created and began taking control of everyone wearing his CybusNet ear pods, which included practically the whole of London. His henchman Mister Crane understood that everyone was destined for conversion, including himself, and took action against his former friend. He tried to destroy Lumic's life-support equipment, but the Cybermen sentries killed him before he could finish the job. However, the damage was done and the Cybermen took Lumic to the processing factory for emergency cyber-conversion. He became the Cyber-Controller. Unlike the other Cybermen, Lumic maintained his personality and emotions.
His brain housed in a metallic body, Lumic announced that his Cybermen would take control of London before overthrowing the world. Due to the efforts of another companion of the Doctor, Mickey Smith, the processing station was destroyed, and all of the Cybermen regained their capacity for human emotion, which ultimately drove them mad. As explosions ripped through the facility, the Doctor, Rose Tyler, Pete Tyler, Mickey Smith and a freedom fighter named Jake Simmonds went to the roof to escape in a zeppelin. The Cyber-Controller began climbing up the rope ladder after them. The Doctor handed Pete Tyler his sonic screwdriver, which Pete used to cut the ladder, sending Lumic plummeting into the burning wreckage below where he was engulfed by the fire and explosions from the factory below. [2]
Although Lumic was gone, Cybus Industries was still a viable force to be reckoned with. Mickey Smith elected to stay behind and help the freedom fighter group known as the Preachers take down other Cybus facilities, beginning with a plant in Paris, France. [3]
CybusNet[]
CybusNet was the telecommunications arm of Cybus Industries. By wearing small ear pods, subscribers would receive daily downloads of various information at predetermined time intervals. Such information included news feeds, weather reports, stock tips, lottery picks and even the joke-of-the-day. John Lumic had a zeppelin situated on top of the Battersea facility, which served as a transmission tower, broadcasting radio waves that would brainwash all those wearing CybusNet ear pod devices. This facilitated the ease through which he could amass his Cybermen recruits. By activating a simple subroutine into the downloads, Lumic hypnotized anyone wearing the ear pods into walking to the processing plant to await conversion into a Cyberman.
Vitex[]
Vitex was a subsidiary of Cybus Industries that specialized in the manufacturing of health drinks. It was headed up by Pete Tyler, who also appeared in all of the advertising for Vitex. The advertising slogan for the product involved a moving holographic image of Pete Tyler giving the thumbs up sign while intoning, "You can trust me on this." One of the popular brands was Vitex Lite, which came in a variety of flavors, such as cherry. Pete Tyler presented some Vitex to the President of Great Britain, who commented that it tasted like pop.
Notes & Trivia[]
- One of the dummy corporation set up by Cybus Industries was International Electromatics. [4]