Hello! Welcome to the cultural index series where we look into the lore, history and specialties
that make up various species in science fiction, this time, the oogly Ood or Oodkind from Doctor
Who. I will be drawing from the shows as the main source, but probably tying in some extended
apocrypha here and there to flesh them out a bit. Let’s get started .
To begin with, we’ll start with their planet of origin, Oodsphere. This planet is a terrestrial
world located in the same systems as alien race from classic who; the Sensorites, from
the neighbouring planet simply known the Sense Sphere. Humans first entered this system in
the 28th century and met the Sensorites, but apparently overlooked the neighbouring Oodsphere
until the 39th century, although let’s be fair, time travel could have altered these
dates anyway. The system is located within the horsehead
nebula and the Oodsphere itself is a moon that orbits a ringed gas giant. The moon does
have a breathable oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and near-standard gravity but its atmosphere
is notably colder than Earth’s. Rocky terrain encrusted with ice and snow is the most common
sight, from towering spires and arches eroded by centuries of windshear to pinnacles formed
of the very ice itself. The constant snow covering and reflective ice gives the planet
a very bright look to it, and to the north and south are glaciers. Caverns lace the planet’s
crust and it is within these that the Ood dwell, with communities built around their
telepathy. From the unique Ood biology, we can assume
that the Oodsphere had relatively few predatory species, (if any at all )which led the Ood
to evolve to became a rather docile and trusting people, so let’s move on to their biology.
The Ood, like the Sensorites, are relatively homogenous in appearance in terms of physical
features, possess bulbous heads, and are strongly telepathic. Ood have a number of feeding tendrils
that hang from their lower head. It is not mentioned what exactly they eat, but considering
they have no visible jaw muscles, it’s probably a liquid diet, using the tendrils to slurp
up substances. The Ood have two brains, a forebrain and hindbrain. The Forebrain was
located in the skull, as with most other humanoids, and held sway over the body and telepathic
abilities of the Ood. The hindbrain was actually external and attached via a durable nervous
cord which hung from the tendrils. This required the Ood to hold the hindbrain in their palm,
which is why I suspect that Oodsphere had no natural predators. Such as vulnerability
meant that the Ood were a harmless and benign species, as any violent act risked literal
brain damage to the exposed mind. This has evolved with time into a philosophy that the
Ood must never kill. The hindbrain stored the Ood’s memories, emotion and in effect,
personality and sense of self. Naturally they exist in a telepathic communion
with one another that they call the “song” and when perceived by other telepaths, it
does indeed sound like a harmonious choir, and when in proximity even non telepathic
races can overhear the song. The individual Ood, are just that, individual, so long as
their hindbrain remains intact, but also are part of this telepathic network. At the centre
of the Ood is a form simply known as the Ood Brain, a giant mind that is the hub for their
telepathic contact that amplified the individual’s telepathy and mental power. This brain is
equally exposed to the elements and immobile, although it was originally found under the
Northern Glacier, its range was said to cover three galaxies and reach every Ood out there,
making it one of the most powerful telepaths in the Whoniverse. (approx. 10mx15m)
Their telepathic field was measured in levels known as Basic, and at Basic 0, or complete
silence, an Ood would effectively collapse into a dormant state, so necessary to their
existence was this form of communication. When the Song, or other telepathy was particularly
intense, their eyes would glow red, which unfortunately for most other species, is seen
as sign of malevolence and unnerving. If left to naturally adapt, it seems that
certain Ood will appear known as Elder Ood. They function as leaders among the others
and seem to have a greater affinity with the Song, able to direct certain endeavours, such
as perceiving through time and telepathically transmitting visions across both time and
space. Additionally, the Ood brain could single out and focus its intent through an individual
Ood, such as Ood Sigma, which personified its patience and mercy for a time.
The Oodsphere was encountered in the 39th century by the Second Great and Bountiful
Human Empire, which would prove to be detrimental to the humble species. As the species had
no ability to resist, some nefarious people decided to exploit them and set up Ood Operations.
Until the 42nd century, this company enslaved the Ood, by limiting their telepathy in several
ways. Firstly, they dampened the Ood Brain’s reach, which had the immediate effect of diminishing
the Ood’s mental capacity and isolating them from one another. Without their Song,
the Ood were still telepathic, but only over a short range and with one another. Then they
lobotomised them. By removing the hindbrain, they cut away an Ood’s sense of self, leaving
it a highly suggestable husk, without purpose. To enable others to communicate with them
now that their telepathy was so diminished, they then grafted a translation orb to them
in its place. They then began to sell these slaves throughout
the Second Human Empire and perpetuated the myth that Ood were naturally this way, and
that you needed to give them orders, to give them purpose. To public perception, this indeed
seemed to be the case, as Ood that were not put to task simply crawled away and died,
unable to function without direct supervision, but not many questioned why they acted this
way, so dominant was this propaganda, and convenient the Ood. Some did, such as the
“Friends of the Ood” organisation, but these were in the minority.
However, when it all came to light due to the intervention of the Doctor, most of the
Human Empire was rightly horrified at the truth, and by the 42nd century every Ood had
been returned to the Ood Sphere and species left to pursue its own goals, with its Song
restored in full. By 4226, they had developed their own advanced
culture including the ability to mentally time travel, prophesise and they developed
their own trade deals with their Sensorites neighbours. They had a ruling council headed
by the Elder, although the Doctor noted that this advancement was accelerated because of
the fear of the impending return of the Time War.
Before the Ood were returned to their natural state however, the Ood were exploited in other
ways by other powers too. Without the Ood Brain, their elders or their Song, the Ood’s
telepathic network was vulnerable to outside influence. You see, they Ood’s minds were
still there, so they still had all the equipment for strong telepathic networks, just without
direction, leaving such a role to be usurped by malevolent forces.
This has happened several times, such as when the Beast trapped on Krop-Tor manifested its
will through the Ood, turning them hostile with its own telepathy. Additionally, the
powerful being known as House dominated the psyche of an Ood called Nephew and the Master
has been able to influence Ood with his own psychic proficiency. In these cases, the Ood
seemed to be able to channel their mental energies back down the Translator orb, delivering
shocks though it that proved lethal to the nervous system. It would seem this is an oversight
in the design of these devices, but the Ood never exhibited any hostile intent before,
so why would people think to look for a form of psychic shock delivered through a device
they created? In all, the Ood are a tragic species. When
left alone to develop, they are a humble, benign and social species where compassion
is an evolutionary necessity, and violence near-impossible because of their fragility.
Their reliance on telepathy was their strength and their weakness as it only took the actions
of a few to enslave them all. Even worse, while in this state, they were taken over
by other powers and used as tools by even these and so complete was the cover up of
their true origin, that even the Doctor was unaware of an Ood’s true nature, for a time
even he was as ignorant as everyone else. Left to their own devices, it seems that the
Ood are content to simply exist among themselves, although it’s hard to say where they’ll
go next, as even the development witnessed by the Doctor was technically an aberration
due to Temporal meddling from the Master and the Time Lords. For now though, they are rebuilding
their culture, although because of the wide spread acts of Ood Operations, some serving
Ood remain displaced in time and space. With their tentacled faces, telepathic abilities,
and reliance on a central giant brain, basically the Ood are hippie mind flayers. Thanks for
watching this video on the Ood, and let me know what species the Index should look towards
next. The choices this week are either the strange Hanar of Mass Effect, or perhaps the
Tzenkethi of Star Trek Online (specifically). Votes are over on the community tab so thanks
again for watching, I’ve been Ric. Goodbye!