Helix Intelligence Helix Intelligences were sentient astral forces that resided in / existed as spirals of pure energy . The only known Helix was the Mandragora Helix , ( TV : " The Masque of Mandragora " ) also called the Mandragora constellation , ( COMIC : " The Mark of Mandragora " ) though one account claimed there were multiple Intelligences within Mandragora . ( PROSE : " Doctor Who and the Masque of Mandragora " ) Helixes possessed archetypal memories , able to absorb the emotions , consciousness , and genetic cells of others . ( PROSE : " Exodus Code " ) They had great manipulative power that could recreate stone structures or destroy beings , making their skin appear blue and crystallised . Their energies could be spread out , but this would exhaust their being , and their energy could become grounded by metal , rendering them harmless . ( TV : " The Masque of Mandragora " ) The Tenth Doctor explained that Mandragora originated during the Dark Times , commenting that it should never have been released from its dimension , ( PROSE : " Beautiful Chaos " ) implying the Helixes originated from outside the universe , since Mandragora was " old even when this universe was born . " ( COMIC : " The Mark of Mandragora " ) They existed everywhere in the galaxies before any life forms , and may have been responsible for the first life forms . In the 1960s , a cadre of physicists , which some said were a cult that experimented with LSD too much , posited a theory that a " powerful sentient astral force " was caught in the Big Bang , part of the force breaking off and fusing with the centre of Earth while the solar system was forming . They believed the energy force gave Earth its organic nature and that all life evolved from the force and was protected by it . Helixes were neutral , impassive energy forces , ( PROSE : " Exodus Code " ) having no need for human beings , although they could possess them and transform them . ( TV : " The Masque of Mandragora " ) The Greek s called the Helixes Titan s , " the god s of the gods . " ( PROSE : " Exodus Code " ) Apart from the Helix trapped within the Earth , Mandragora manifested on the planet in the 15th century , ( TV : " The Masque of Mandragora " ) possibly 1863 , ( PROSE : " The Eleventh Tiger " ) the 1990s , ( COMIC : " The Mark of Mandragora " ) and in 2009 . ( PROSE : " Beautiful Chaos " ) Helixes were bound by the alignment of star s , only having access to the universe at certain times , ( TV : " The Masque of Mandragora " ) similarly to the Great Old One s who also existed in the previous universe . ( PROSE : " White Darkness " ) Behind the scenes . The Mandragora Helix is presented in " Masque " as " non - physical , " a place called the Helix containing a living intelligence called the Helix , and the Doctor makes reference to " Helix Intelligences " implying more than one , while the novelisation refers to multiple intelligences within the Mandragora Helix . It has never been explained if Mandragora is its own race or hive mind or entity , since no other Helix was referenced until " Exodus Code " , and even there Jack Harkness says his friend witnessed " the Helix splitting , " implying the Helix trapped in the Earth is also Mandragora . So it is possible that the Helix Intelligences and Mandragora may very well be the same , as opposed to Mandragora being one of several Helixes .