THINGS THE DOCTOR DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT THE BAH-SOKHAR

THE BAH-SOKHAR CAME INTO being at such an early stage of the universe’s development that its true nature remained mysterious, even in the far-distant age when it was first identified. It was a creature capable of surviving in the depths of space, of withstanding the monumental forces which eventually created solar systems, sent comets speeding into flight, or ripped open the space-time continuum.

Early legends associate it most with a planet known on Earth as Kepler-22b and in some other places as Prax.

When the first generations of interplanetary explorers reached Prax they simply never returned. But, as the centuries passed, and the Lords of Carnage emerged – pillaging civilisations, melting asteroids, enslaving multitudes, murdering entire populations – rumours spread that some of their monstrous power was supplied by a secret weapon. Sagas were written, songs and poems were created to describe how dreadful the weapon was and each description was horrifying and completely different from every other description. The only thing which remained was the weapon’s name – Bah-Sokhar.

This caused later readers and academics to believe that the Bah-Sokhar was an invention – a way for beings to express the fear they felt when they were faced by the size and wonder of the universe. Others assumed that tales of the Bah-Sokhar referred to some forgotten god.

According to one remaining text, thousands died in order to finally discover the secret of the weapon and bring it back to less powerful beings and allow them to control or imprison it. The Lords of Carnage – who may also have been mythical – were said to have destroyed themselves at around the same time the Legion of Seekers – possibly mythical – discovered the Bah-Sokhar’s true nature. Other sources suggest they were destroyed in some dreadful star-threatening apocalypse.

The Bah-Sokhar was said to have been lost, or also to have been destroyed.

And yet its name echoed from system to system and age to age. There were – if someone wanted to look – always a few stories about the Bah-Sokhar in most cultures. These were sometimes used by more advanced civilisations to threaten less advanced ones. ‘Obey us, or we will unleash the Bah-Sokhar.’ There were no verifiable records of the Bah-Sokhar ever having been deployed.

Its threat slowly softened over the vast expanses of time. At some points, it was used by parents to frighten their offspring into behaving. ‘Be quiet, or the Bah-Sokhar will get you. Go to sleep, or the Bah-Sokhar will make you go to sleep. Eat your Maillindian Fever Beans, or the Bah-Sokhar will make you.’ And so on. It was also celebrated in a cycle of song-theatre. Although this period was brief, affected only four planets and ceased abruptly.

By the time Earth had reached 2 June 1978 in the Common Era, almost no beings had ever heard of the Bah-Sokhar and, if they had, it was a thing of legend – a lie that adults told to naughty children.