The latest episode of Doctor Who has revealed the truth behind the Lone Cyberman. The Lone Cyberman was first mentioned in “Fugitive of the Judoon,” when Captain Jack attempted to give the Doctor a warning. He foretold an encounter with a mysterious “Lone Cyberman” and a crisis in which the Doctor would be tempted to bow to this being’s demands.
Jack Harkness’s warning was typically ambiguous, not least because he was teleported away partway through the conversation. He spoke of a war in the future and an Alliance of races who had desperately fought against the Cyber Army. The Alliance left the Cyber Empire in ruins, but they feared the return of the Cybermen. In order to prevent that, they sent something back in time and across space, but Jack believed it was being pursued by one last, Lone Cyberman. According to Jack, under no account was the Doctor to give the Lone Cyberman what it wanted.
“The Haunting of Villa Diodati” saw the Doctor and her fam travel back to 1816 to discover the truth behind Mary Shelley’s writing of Frankenstein. To their surprise, they were plunged into a haunted house mystery. They soon found themselves confronted by the Lone Cyberman itself - and learned the shocking truth.
The Lone Cyberman Was The Last Of His Race
The Cybermen usually claim unwilling subjects for conversion, but the Lone Cyberman was different. He was originally a man named Ashad, who venerated the Cybermen and believed conversion was a blessing, not a curse. As such, this fanatic was appalled when he learned his own children had joined the resistance movement against the Cybermen, and he slit their throats. Given his devotion, it’s no surprise Ashad eventually found his way to the Cybermen, and they subjected him to the conversion process.
Unfortunately for Ashad, he had found the Cybermen too late, and conversion was only partially complete when the Alliance struck a decisive blow against the Cyber Army. According to the Doctor Who season 7 episode “Nightmare in Silver,” the Alliance destroyed an entire galaxy in order to wipe out the Cybermen. The hive mind at the heart of the Cyber Army - known as the Cyberiad - was shut down. This should have left any remaining Cybermen reeling, unable to process, and easy to destroy; but it now seems that Ashad’s conversion was incomplete, and he had never been connected to the Cyberiad at all. As a result, he remained active - and fanatically devoted to the restoration of the Cyber Empire.
The Cybermium Is The Key To Bringing Back The Cybermen
The Cybermen had created an insurance policy against their eventual defeat, a substance known as the Cyberium. This appears to have been some sort of nanotechnology, and it’s essentially a vast repository of data; according to the Doctor, the Cyberium contained “the knowledge and future history of all Cybermen.” The Cyberium was designed to bond with a Cyberman, allowing it to become the center of a new hive mind, instantly granting it access to all the secret of Cyberman science. Fortunately for the future, the Alliance acquired the Cyberium, and they realized they couldn’t destroy it. Instead, they chose to hide it, using rudimentary time travel technology to blast it into the past. The Lone Cyberman eventually learned what they had done and pursued the Cyberium back to Earth in the year 1816.
The Cyberium originally possessed the body of Percy Shelley, husband of Mary Shelley, and instituted its defense mechanisms - such as a perception filter - which appear to have been installed by the Alliance to make it harder for the Lone Cyberman to track it down. When the Doctor freed the Cyberium from Percy, it was initially drawn to the largest processor nearby - the Doctor’s mind - which dovetails perfectly with the technology seen in “Nightmare in Silver.” Unfortunately, the Lone Cyberman threatened to destroy humanity in 1816, and the Doctor couldn’t afford to call its bluff; she released the Cyberium, giving it back to the Lone Cyberman. Ashad has now returned to his own time, armed with all the knowledge he needs to reboot the entire Cyber race.
The Lone Cyberman Will Now Relaunch The Cyber Army
The BBC has already confirmed the future will pay a terrible price for the Doctor’s decision. According to showrunner Chris Chibnall, the next two episodes will see the Doctor travel to the distant future, where they find the galaxy ravaged once again by the Cyber War. “This is a conflict that’s reduced both the Cybermen and humanity to barely anything,” Chibnall explained. “It’s the last remnants of the Cybermen against the last refugees of humanity in this corner of the universe. These refugees are on the run from the particularly relentless and ruthless Cybermen who are on their trail.”
The Cybermen of this era are easily the most dangerous the Doctor has ever encountered. By this point, they’ve upgraded themselves to remove every past weakness, including their old allergy to gold. “Nightmare in Silver” proved they’ve mastered nanotechnology, and they’ve enhanced their own physical capabilities to the point where they can move at frightening speed. Worse still, the Cybermen essentially use their enemies’ own armies as spare parts; there are no prisoners of war in a battle with the Cybermen, just future converts. Ironically, though, Chibnall’s comment suggests the Cybermen may have been a little too effective. The Cybermen need living beings to convert, and it sounds as though there aren’t many left.
Only one question remains: why did Jack Harkness know the Doctor had to be warned not to give the Lone Cyberman what it wants? Jack is an immortal being, and it’s possible he’s still alive in this distant, war-torn future. If that is the case, he could have been sent back in time in a last-ditch attempt to rewrite history once again. Unfortunately, the Doctor made the same choice and gave the Lone Cyberman the Cyberium it needed. Jack failed in his mission - and it remains to be seen whether the Doctor can put matters right.
More: Doctor Who: Ruth Origin, Timeline & Future Explained
