Background (DWPM 8 short story)

Background was one of the two short stories printed in Issue 8 of Doctor Who Poster Magazine, which was dedicated to the story Pyramids of Mars.

Presented as a page torn from an in-universe Egyptology treatise, the story elaborated on Sutekh's place in Egyptian mythology, purporting to present the story of his struggle of Horus and Osiris as it was told in the 20th century on Earth in the Doctor Who universe, rather than what "really" happened.

Summary
Extinct Civilisations of the East reports that cults of Horus worshippers, still active in modern Egypt, tell themselves a version of the Legend of Sutekh surprisingly similar to that found on a First Dynasty papyrus.

According to the Legend, Sutekh was originally one of the gods who lived in "the great star-groves" alongside the other gods of the Earth and the Sky. He was "disorder incarnate", destroying crops with fire and hail. He was the son of Osiris and murdered his father, wanting to claim the universe. Osiris's other son Horus claimed the crown instead, and Sutekh threatened to slay one god a day so long as Horus persisted in his claim.

War is waged in many battles between Sutekh and Horus, until one day, on the twenty-sixth day of the month of Akhit, Sutekh tears out Osiris's eye only to be captured and tried by his peers. He is condemned to support Osiris's body on his shoulders for all time. However, even from within his imprisonment, Sutekh amasses evil followers. The Legend ends on a plea for the followers of Horus's legacy to beware, for Sutekh might one day return.

Characters

 * Sutekh
 * Re
 * Horus
 * Osiris

Worldbuilding

 * Extinct Civilisations of the East's account of Sutekh and Horus's struggle is illustrated with a copy of an ancient drawing showing Sutekh and Horus binding the lily of Upper Egypt and the papyrus of Lower Egypt.
 * The earliest recorded form of the Legend of Sutekh is from a First Dynasty papyrus (dating back to c. 3000 BC) found at the "ancient site" of Nebet, on the banks of the River Nile not far from Luxor.
 * The British Museum authorised the book's use of a translation of this papyrus.
 * Before betraying his superiors, Sutekh was already "disorder incarnate" and the God of Thunder and Violence; he was also "the enemy god and the God of Enemies".
 * Animals associated with Sutekh included the pig, the hippopotamus, the crocodile and the donkey.
 * During his imprisonment, Sutekh was immortal. He became known as "the Red God" after his judgment.

Continuity

 * Sutekh is said to have eventually been captured by Horus alongside 740 of their peers. (TV: Pyramids of Mars)