The Wire

***The Wire*** was a being of pure energy with no physical form. Its physical form destroyed by its own kind, the Wire vowed to return to its home world to take revenge.

## Background

*The Wire's history prior to their appearance in* The Game of Rassilon *can be found on the TARDIS Data Core.*
### Nest Online

The Wire manifested within the computer system of the Sheffield Public Library in the Autumn of 1998 where it was discovered by Head Librarian Jennifer Gale. Together, they partnered to form Nest Online, a company providing free internet to the people of Sheffield, NJ. However, this was a ruse allowing the Wire to both feed on the essences of the populous of the town while also providing her control over them.

Together, the Wire and Jennifer intended to expand their operation across the East Coast, allowing the Wire to feed on more people. However they were defeated by the Doctor and Travis. Nest Online was shut down, and the Wire was permanently destroyed. (*Hard-Wired*)

### A parallel world and the Other Travis

Events played out differently in a parallel universe where an alternate Travis was the one who discovered the Wire, not Jennifer. In this version of reality, the Wire's plans for expansion were successful, with the American East Coast turned into "a sea of wires, cables, junction boxes and machinery." Together, they built a mighty satellite dish in the heart of New York City with the intent of sending the Wire back to her homeworld to seek revenge, leaving Travis in charge of his technological empire.

Their plan was briefly interrupted, however, by the arrival of the prime universe Travis, who took the place of his alternate self. However the Wire, who had set itself up inside of her Travis' mind, still had control over his body. The Wire downloaded itself to the dish and began the transmission process, only to find that the collapse of reality had caused the universe to shrink in on itself. The Wire hit the edge of what remained of its universe and was destroyed in the process. Free of the Wire's influence, Travis was able to use the dish to return to his own universe. (*Getaway*,

### Legacy

The work that the Wire had done on the Other Travis' mind was carried over to the prime universe Travis, digitally augmenting and upgrading his mind. This additionally allowed the essence of the Other Travis to exist within Travis' own mind. Travis unknowingly carried the Other Travis back with him when he returned to his home universe. When Travis was detained on Gallifrey, the other Travis escaped into the Matrix where it was able to give itself physical form. Still seeking power and control, the Other Travis eventually formed an alliance with Rassilon that would see the construction of the Perfector.

The Other Travis was eventually stopped and brought to his senses by Travis himself. Later, he took the name Parker and enrolled in the newly-formed Doctorate Program, where Time Lords would be trained to go out into the universe and do good. (*The Enemy of the Good*)

## Non-Canonical Appearances

The Wire was one of the participants in an alliance of the Doctor's enemies who attempted to stop him on New Year's Eve in New York, NY. The Wire took the form of a TV-VCR cart. (*Time Squared*)

## Behind the Scenes

* The Wire originally appeared in the 2006 *Doctor Who* episode *The Idiot's Lantern*, written by Mark Gatiss. At the end of the episode, the Wire is implied to be trapped on a Betamax cassette - the Tenth Doctor intends to tape over it. Whether this actually occurs is left ambiguous, allowing for the possibility of an escape.
	+ The short story *Loose Wire* suggests that the Wire did indeed escape as the Tenth Doctor forgot to tape over the cassett.
* The Wire is the fourth preexisting *Doctor Who* monster to appear in the podcast, after the Weeping Angels, the Time Lords and the Sea Devils, and is the second monster from the revival series after the Weeping Angels.