ANALYTICAL: GOING BEYOND - A GUIDED TOUR OUTSIDE OUR UNIVERSE

After a deliberate attempt to boost my new POINTS OF DEBATE topic (which seemed to do quite well as it sparked quite a bit of discussion - which is the whole point of the topic!), I've decided to do a two-part ANALYTICAL essay for the month of October. This is a topic I've been meaning to tackle for a while, now. It's something we've seen in both the Classic and New Series so it will enable me to do a lot of cross-comparison and other tasks of that nature that geeks so love to do! 


OUTSIDE OF OUR UNIVERSE

The Universe is truly a mystery. It's meant to be infinite. We're told it's still expanding even as I write this. It seems to have a very definite beginning (Castrovalva) and a final end (Utopia). It's also come very close to being completely destroyed on several occasions (Logopolis, Terminus, Stolen Earth/Journey's End just to name a few). On those occasions, it's often been the Doctor that stopped the cataclysm from happening.

Part of what makes the Universe such a mystery (or more a conundrum) is the fact that such an infinite space also seems to have boundaries. It is possible to go beyond the Universe to places that exist past its confines. How it's able to be infinite but you're still able to go to places outside of it seems like a pretty big contradiction of terms. And yet, that seems to be the way the Universe works. At least, that's how it goes in Doctor Who reality.

According to various stories we have seen throughout the entire series, there are several different places lurking beyond the Universe's boundaries. Let's actually look at all of those different things that are out there and even quantify them a bit by cross-comparing them to each other.


PART ONE - SOME OF THE MORE NATURAL STUFF

Let's look at some things floating around just outside of our Universe that we've encountered in several stories over the years. The frequency of these encounters leads me to believe that they are a bit more "natural". They happen more often so they're less unusual.

In order to make categorization more easy, we'll analyze certain traits each of these places possess. We'll give a general description of these places and then analyze their more specific qualities.


THE ANTI-MATTER UNIVERSE

The Chancellor on Gallifrey probably described the Anti-Matter Universe best by stating it is "equal and opposite to our own". Which creates a very dangerous rule about the nature of anti-matter. Should it come into contact with anything in our universe, it results in a violent explosion. We see the best example of this with the second Doctor's recorder at the end of The Three Doctors. There seems to be a way of shielding anti-matter, though. Q-star alloy is one of the more popular materials that can do this - but it decays rapidly.

It also appears that the Anti-Matter Universe has a guardian of sorts that will protect its material should people from our universe try to steal energy from it. Having said this, though, we do seem to find a way to develop anti-matter generators. In stories like Earthshock and Tsuranga Conundrum, we see ships being powered by the substance.


Size: Since it is equal and opposite to our own universe, we can assume the Anti-Matter Universe is the same size as ours 

General Aesthetics: Things appear very different in the Anti-Matter Universe. And yet, the same. Everything looks like it's been shot through an old fashioned film camera and we're looking at the negatives. Where things would be white, we see black. Which makes this particular reality a pretty dark-looking place.

Entry Points: For a place that is lethal to our own universe, it is surprisingly easy to enter. In fact, entrances seem to appear almost naturally. Certain types of Black Holes or Super Novas can take you into the Anti-Matter Universe. We even saw a portal that seemed to form naturally on the planet Zeta Minor. Although the fact that Zeta Minor seems to be located in the far reaches of the cosmos might have something to do with it. Perhaps because the planet is on the edge of our own universe, this might create a sort of instability which causes these sort of breaches to occur. 

Level of Incursion: We've actually not seen much of the Anti-Matter Universe. More often than not, creatures from that reality come into out own. It's difficult to determine if we've actually seen anyone from our end fully enter anti-matter. The Singularity Point in The Three Doctors seems to be at the edge of the Anti-Matter Universe. I'm also lead to believe that when the Doctor falls into that pit and confronts the Guardian Creature during Planet of Evil , he's standing at the threshold of the universe rather than properly entering it. It's also interesting to note that we've yet to venture in or near the Anti-Matter Universe in the New Series. It's only been featured in Classic Who stories.


PARALLEL REALITIES

In some ways, it almost doesn't feel like we've left our universe when we step into a parallel reality. Everything looks so much the same as our own. But this is a completely separate universe. Somehow created by a choice someone in that reality made that was different from the option the same person in our universe took.. Which means there are an infinite number of parallel realities out there stacked up against our own version of things.

Like the Anti-Matter Universe, there is a certain level of danger involved with crossing over to parallel realities. During Inferno, the Doctor states it's catastrophic for the same person from two separate realities to encounter each other. We almost get the impression it's the same sort of scenario as a person from two different timelines meeting themselves (ie: the Brigadier from Mawdryn Undead). However, in Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel, we do see Mickey cross paths with Rickey - the alternative reality version of himself. Nothing particularly nasty seems to happen when they do come together. Nor does the Doctor make a big fuss about the matter when he sees that the two of them have met

It should be noted that there is a difference between a parallel reality and an aborted timeline. Parallel realities are fully formed places that are distinct from our universe. When you venture into an aborted timeline, I think you are still here. When the timeline, at last, resets itself - things return to normal. A parallel reality can be destroyed, of course.But when it does, it doesn't change back to our reality. It is just gone from existence. The two should not be confused.

Size:  Since it is just a different version of our reality, a parallel universe is relatively the same size as our own.

General Aesthetics: As mentioned previously, a parallel universe looks very similar to our own. However, it is not a perfect copy. The schism created by the choice someone made in this different reality seems to have social implications that alter things. In Inferno, Britain appears to have become some sort fascist republic. In the reality the Doctor has nicknamed Pete's World, Britain has also appeared to have moved in more conservative directions. Technology seems different from ours, too. People use earbuds rather than cell phones to communicate. The Super Rich also appear to live in zeppelins. The wealth gap seems to be a bigger problem in Pete's World than in ours.

This seems the common trait in parallel realities. Society has evolved in a different way, but it is still very close to being identical to our own. Again, because this is a reality created out of choices, certain events can happen at a quicker or slower pace. In both Inverno and Pete's World, things seem to be moving a bit ahead of time to our own reality.

Entry Points: While these universes are near identical, passing from one to another does not seem that easy. Or, at the very least, it has consequences every time you do.  TARDIS technology can facilitate this process. In both Inferno and Rise of the Cybermen, it's a malfunction of some sort in the Doctor's ship that transports him to this other universe. It is interesting to note that the Doctor claims in Rise that when the Time Lords were still around, crossing to these universes was a simpler thing. We've never seen any kind of evidence of that nature during the Classic Series so it's difficult to understand what that statement means.

We do start seeing other types of technology that make travelling between the two universes possible, but they seem to actually do damage to the realities when you use them. Denizens of Pete's World use dimension jumpers and Rose mentions a dimension canon during the Series Four finale.  But crossing through parallel universes does not seem like an easy thing to accomplish. So far, it has only been done through technological means. There aren't natural portals like we see for anti-matter.

Of course, the Daleks' attempt to use their Reality Bomb caused the walls between all dimensions to dissolve for a bit and passing between parallel realities became much easier.

Level of Incursion: Unlike the anti-matter universe, quite a bit of any story involving parallel universes spends a considerable amount of time in them. There is usually some crossing back and forth between both realities, but we are exposed to the alternate one for an extended period of time. Particularly in Inferno and Rise of the Cybermen/Age of Steel. Other ventures into Pete's World in stories like Army of Ghosts/Doomsday and Stolen Earth/Journey's End are considerably shorter. But, again, this isn't like the Anti-Matter Universe, we still get considerable exposure to these other universes. 


THE VOID (OR BUFFERS OF THAT NATURE)

Little is known of the Void. We've been given a few vague-but-eerie descriptions of it in a select number of stories in the New Series. It seems to act as a sort of natural boundary between what's in our Universe and what's beyond it. A sort of border crossing, if you will. In  the process of passing through to what's out there, you have to also go through the Void. Which might be what makes leaving our reality so difficult. The Void seems to work as a bit of a shield - protecting us from what's out there. But that could go both ways. What's out there might be protected from us by the Void, as well.

If we go by dialogue alone, we've only heard of the Void in the New Series. It seems to only act as a shield between parallel realities. But, if we're willing to postulate a bit, we've seen the Void on several occasions during the Classic Series - it just wasn't given a name. It has also worked as a buffer for other things besides parallel dimensions.

Possible Void Examples In the Classic Series: 

The Mind Robber: The white space the TARDIS crew are trapped in during all of Part One is,very much, in keeping with the descriptions given of the Void in New Who. In this case it is a very powerful buffer between our Universe and the Land of Fiction - which is probably a Pocket Universe (more about them in Part Two of this essay). It is such a strong buffer in this instance that it causes the TARDIS to, temporarily, break apart before it can pass through to the Land of Fiction.

Inferno: That brief moment in Part One where the Doctor goes all stretchy in that weird shadowy set is, most obviously, the Void. New Who already indicates that the Void exists between parallel realities and the Doctor was very close to crossing over to one in that instance. He obviously got stuck in the Void, instead.

Planet of Evil: Near the beginning of Part Three, the Doctor briefly visits a very dark shadowy place to speak with the Anti-Matter Monster. I think this is also the Void. Especially since matter and anti-matter can't really enter each others' universe. They used the Void as neutral territory. 

Warrior's Gate: The entire story seems to take place in the Void. The Tharils have built portals from them to cross through to other universes.  But this is, essentially, Void Land. It helps that it resembles the set of Mind Robber so much. It creates a nice sense of consistency. In this case, the Void acts as a buffer between our reality and E-Space (more about that place in Part Two of this essay, too!). 

There might be one or two more examples of the Void in Classic Who - but these are the most prominent ones. 

Size: The dimensions of the Void are a bit tricky. Width-wise, I imagine it's quite narrow. You could probably walk from one side of the Void to the other in about twenty minutes or so if you're only crossing the width. It's a bit of a hike - but not much. However, it is also my belief that the Void acts as a sort of envelope around our entire Universe. So, if you try to walk the length of the Void, it would take you forever. The Universe, after all, is meant to be infinite. So walking along its skin would take an eternity.

General Aesthetics: If we go by it's Classic Who appearances, the Void seems to take on two different forms. It is either a very dark shadowy dimension or a white-washed place of nothingness. It could be that different parts of the Void look different. Perhaps, where the Void needs to be stronger, it takes on a lighter tone. Or there might even be some sort of night and day in the Void. 

Entry Points:  Portals into Void seem to occur both naturally and artificially. Although, in most cases, some sort of technology is needed to cross through . TARDISes can access it but it seems like a fairly bumpy ride for them. Void ships have also been created - they might be powered by something known as a dimension vault (since the Cybermen stole a dimension vault from the Daleks when they were all trapped in the Void after Doomsday, I assume that was the Void ship's engine). The Tharils seemed to use a technology that resembles magic to enter the Void. Their ability to ride the Time Winds must grant them all sorts of special powers which they used to access the Void. 

Level of Incursion: If we go by New Who alone, we never see inside the Void. It only gets talked about. But if we include the Classic Who references that never actually name the Void - we spend a whole lot more time there. In some stories, it's still quite brief. But then we also have Warrior's Gate - which, pretty much, spends its entire time there.




*A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT ANTI-ZONES

In some instances, the natural protection the Void provides is not enough against certain outside threats. On these occasions, the Universe will actually create something known as an anti-zone. The Solitract was, obviously one of those dangers that merited such action

An anti-zone seems to come with it's own terrain and eco-system. It is a very dark labyrinthine cave network that can even get a bity misty.. Living creatures also dwell there. We saw rats, birds and flesh-moths. And, of course, there was Ribbons of the Seven Stomachs. An actual sentient being that appears to have just been created when the anti-zone sprang into existence.

Regardless of the strength of the anti-zone, the Solitract was still able to create portals in it. The portals weren't actually big enough for the Solitract to pass through - but it still used them to lure other sentient beings into its reality and keep it company. 



And so concludes Part One of our study into Things We Find Outside Our Universe. I purposely stuck to the dimensions that seem to occur more frequently or "naturally". In Part Two, we'll look at slightly rarer places....