Tens of thousands of years ago the Kaleds and the Thals were trapped in an endless conflict
for the control of Skaro, their mutual homeworld.
Biological and nuclear weapons left the planet a contaminated wasteland and both sides were
reduced to living within domed cities, working tirelessly to finally break the stalemate
and end their Thousand Year War.
In their desperation, the Kaleds turned to their most brilliant scientific mind, a man
named Davros who promised to create a new weapon that would destroy the Thals and bring
peace to Skaro once and for all.
Thousands of children, mutated beyond recognition by the effects of the war were brought to
Davros for genetic and psychological engineering, encased in an armoured shell, and transformed
into pitiless weapons of war.
When the Thals finally breached the last domed city of the Kaleds, they were met by this
new race of determined exterminators, who would quickly annihilate not only the Thals,
but the remaining Kaleds and perhaps even Davros himself.
Peace had come to Skaro, but it would be merely the first in a in a string of worlds across
time and space whose peoples would be destroyed and brought under the dominion of the Dalek
Empire.
Above all, the Daleks held the unquestioned belief in their own superiority and seemed
dedicated to the extermination or enslavement of all life in the galaxy.
This was accomplished through their formidable cybernetic technology.
Their armoured casings were near impenetrable and provided a life support system and battle
computer for the Kaled mutant within.
A specialized “cortex vault” kept the Dalek’s hatred “pure,” extinguishing
even the tiniest glimmer of compassion or kindness.
Consequently, individual Daleks showed little personality and were organized into a strict,
unyielding hierarchy.
A complex system of commanders, generals, councils, color-coded ranks, and dozens of
other ranks defined this structure, with even a Dalek Prime Minister and Parliament of the
Daleks assembled over their chaotic history.
Individually, Daleks were conditioned to obey a superior’s orders without question, ignoring
any sense of self preservation.
In the absence of higher orders, Daleks reverted to their default directive, the destruction
of all non-Dalek lifeforms.
Various supreme rulers have held authority over the Dalek race in its entirety, but the
most powerful have been the various incarnations of the Dalek Emperor.
Individuals in this role were the embodiment of the Dalek psyche, arrogant and degrading,
but also capable of immense delusions.
At least one Emperor came to think of itself as an immortal god, invulnerable to harm and
deserving of worship.
Despite this, they were still immensely intelligent, and Emperors displayed the most individual
character of any Dalek, going so far as even to use humor, a concept unfathomable to most
other Daleks.
During times of crisis, specialized Daleks were occasionally created rivalling the capabilities
and intelligence of the Emperor.
These included the Cult of Skaro, a secret cabal designed to formulate imaginative strategies,
the black guard of the Emperor, and the Eternity Circle, a group of Daleks designed to research
temporal weapons during the Last Great Time War.
The Dalek’s liberal use of time travel throughout the expansion of their Empire has made their
history impossible to determine, constantly changing and threatening to collapse under
of the weight of its own paradoxes.
It is said the Daleks annihilated entire galaxies, remaking them according to their own designs.
The Empire has fallen into civil war, been transformed into new paradigms, united under
the leadership of a revived Davros, destroyed entirely and restored to greatness.
Much of this has been due to the interference of an individual known as the Doctor, whose
triumphs over the Dalek race has led to them becoming an almost legendary figure within
what constitutes their culture and mythology.
They are known to the Daleks as the Bringer of Darkness and Destroyer of Worlds and perhaps
the only thing they truly fear.
Yet whether the Daleks have been reduced to just a few survivors or their rule still stretches
across entire galaxies, one thing remains constant.
The shrill battlecry of…
EXTERMINATE!
The Templin Institute investigates alternate worlds and realities.
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