Post by armadillozenith on May 5, 2006 2:54:15 GMT
Seen in many shots nestled on the TARDIS console, it is that silver-studded sphere handled by Margaret Slitheen before she requested dinner with the Doctor in 'Boom Town'.
And I ALREADY had one, before series one aired! How pleased was I! It has sat in my lounge alongside the fossilised wood and mini-celestial-sphere for years. (Bought from Au Natural... but, WHO knows how it got there, or where it ORIGINALLY came from??!!)
And it played a vital role in a recent youth-group skit where I played the Doctor...
What is this device? I have concluded it has the following properties and uses:
It is a noetic enhancer (mind-assisting device). Particularly, it facilitates teamwork amongst those on board the TARDIS. It continually operates automatically and remotely (telepathically), in the background, but can be deliberately triggered more intensively by one or more individuals placing their hands directly on any of its numerous 'contact nodes'.
(Thus, enhancing what Timelords can achieve -unaided- by the hand-on-each-other's-head pose and verbalised decision 'Contact!' as seen in The Three Doctors).
(This is also reminiscent of the 'telepathic terminals' that featured on earlier-style TARDIS consoles, as a pair of dark, round plates the Doctor would place his hands on to commune with the TARDIS... or some such.)
The Orb would normally serve to facilitate cooperation in a shared purpose by the 6 TimeLords normally required to operate a TARDIS. (They are notoriously cantankerous and erratic... as seen in The Three Doctors, where ONE Timelord even struggled to work with HIMSELF...).
Serendipitously, it also enables humans and Timelords to tolerate, accept and work effectively with one another (hence, very different companions can join usefully in the TARDIS crew). (Perhaps it is also involved as a link in the TARDIS-mediated translation process that enables Doctor and companions to understand and speak the local language wherever they go?)
Possibly it also serves as a link or 'hub' between various TARDIS sub-systems, such as may use different technologies or communication protocols. (The TARDIS seems to be a very 'gestalt' sort of creation... the console, or even a part of it, can be used in its own right, as in The Web Planet; or in the Pertwee era when the console was seen OUTSIDE the TARDIS in the laboratory, was it not? Did the Orb play a part in mediating the weird events of Inside the Spaceship aka The Edge of Destruction, eg clock melting, various systems ‘failing’… in a desperate effort to communicate with the crew… and to harmonise their colliding personalities?)
It further enables the crew to understand and almost symbiotically relate to the TARDIS itself... and vice-versa.
(Thus, by handling the orb Margaret Slitheen was inadvertently opening herself up to the TARDIS's scrutiny and eventual solution of her disharmonious -troublesome and troubled- presence on board. The TARDIS perceived and amplified one positive aspect of her personality: a wistful longing for a second chance, the wish that her life could have been different. Note too how the TARDIS crew were instrumental in debating the issue: a solution was what they all wanted; and note how they were both surprised but delighted when they saw it, and realised:'She's an egg!' ie the solution was optimal for all concerned, but none of them alone had envisaged it beforehand).
Thus, I have called this device the 'Orb of Unity' for the role that it plays in fostering harmony among TARDIS and crew. (We may surmise that it occasionally breaks down or malfunctions, like other TARDIS systems, where the storyline reveals disharmony on board. Or maybe it just takes time to work things around to a solution, where differences are deep-rooted).
We may also infer that it is fundamental to the Doctor's travels in the TARDIS, as his/its function is frequently to find the optimal solution for the various individuals and tangled situations he encounters.
I offer this suggestion freely for consideration and for other fans to write into their fiction if they wish! (that includes the scriptwriters at the BBC...)
Graham
And I ALREADY had one, before series one aired! How pleased was I! It has sat in my lounge alongside the fossilised wood and mini-celestial-sphere for years. (Bought from Au Natural... but, WHO knows how it got there, or where it ORIGINALLY came from??!!)
And it played a vital role in a recent youth-group skit where I played the Doctor...
What is this device? I have concluded it has the following properties and uses:
It is a noetic enhancer (mind-assisting device). Particularly, it facilitates teamwork amongst those on board the TARDIS. It continually operates automatically and remotely (telepathically), in the background, but can be deliberately triggered more intensively by one or more individuals placing their hands directly on any of its numerous 'contact nodes'.
(Thus, enhancing what Timelords can achieve -unaided- by the hand-on-each-other's-head pose and verbalised decision 'Contact!' as seen in The Three Doctors).
(This is also reminiscent of the 'telepathic terminals' that featured on earlier-style TARDIS consoles, as a pair of dark, round plates the Doctor would place his hands on to commune with the TARDIS... or some such.)
The Orb would normally serve to facilitate cooperation in a shared purpose by the 6 TimeLords normally required to operate a TARDIS. (They are notoriously cantankerous and erratic... as seen in The Three Doctors, where ONE Timelord even struggled to work with HIMSELF...).
Serendipitously, it also enables humans and Timelords to tolerate, accept and work effectively with one another (hence, very different companions can join usefully in the TARDIS crew). (Perhaps it is also involved as a link in the TARDIS-mediated translation process that enables Doctor and companions to understand and speak the local language wherever they go?)
Possibly it also serves as a link or 'hub' between various TARDIS sub-systems, such as may use different technologies or communication protocols. (The TARDIS seems to be a very 'gestalt' sort of creation... the console, or even a part of it, can be used in its own right, as in The Web Planet; or in the Pertwee era when the console was seen OUTSIDE the TARDIS in the laboratory, was it not? Did the Orb play a part in mediating the weird events of Inside the Spaceship aka The Edge of Destruction, eg clock melting, various systems ‘failing’… in a desperate effort to communicate with the crew… and to harmonise their colliding personalities?)
It further enables the crew to understand and almost symbiotically relate to the TARDIS itself... and vice-versa.
(Thus, by handling the orb Margaret Slitheen was inadvertently opening herself up to the TARDIS's scrutiny and eventual solution of her disharmonious -troublesome and troubled- presence on board. The TARDIS perceived and amplified one positive aspect of her personality: a wistful longing for a second chance, the wish that her life could have been different. Note too how the TARDIS crew were instrumental in debating the issue: a solution was what they all wanted; and note how they were both surprised but delighted when they saw it, and realised:'She's an egg!' ie the solution was optimal for all concerned, but none of them alone had envisaged it beforehand).
Thus, I have called this device the 'Orb of Unity' for the role that it plays in fostering harmony among TARDIS and crew. (We may surmise that it occasionally breaks down or malfunctions, like other TARDIS systems, where the storyline reveals disharmony on board. Or maybe it just takes time to work things around to a solution, where differences are deep-rooted).
We may also infer that it is fundamental to the Doctor's travels in the TARDIS, as his/its function is frequently to find the optimal solution for the various individuals and tangled situations he encounters.
I offer this suggestion freely for consideration and for other fans to write into their fiction if they wish! (that includes the scriptwriters at the BBC...)
Graham
