Osiran

The Osirians (also known as Osirans) were a race of powerful and intelligent humanoids.

Biology
Osirians, despite their name, looked somewhat like the traditional depictions of Set. They had grey skin, jackal or donkey-like heads with large, square ears and bright green eyes. (DW: Pyramids of Mars) However, those of high status in the Osirian Court were able to change their appearance, adopting a series of different animal heads according to whichever was in fashion. (FP: The Ship of a Billion Years) They had expanded brain-cases and a cerebrum like "a spiral staircase", which means they particularly liked puzzles. Osirians also had a wide variety of advanced psychic powers, including mental and physical projection, mind control and telepathy. (DW: Pyramids of Mars, MA: The Sands of Time)

Osirians could live for thousands of years, even without sufficient food or water. (DW: Pyramids of Mars) Despite this, they did need air to survive and could suffocate. (MA: The Sands of Time) Osirian curry was best served close to absolute zero, which suggests an especially resilient digestive system. (ST: UNIT Christmas Parties: First Christmas)

At least one member of the Osirian Court was of an entirely different species to the others: Thoth, who has dominion over time. (FP: The Ship of a Billion Years)

Culture
Osirian culture was similar to those of the Ancient Egyptians, though it was actually the other way around. Their technology was very stylised, taking the appearance of such things as sarcophagi, canopic jars and mummies. After they came to Earth, the Egyptians picked up many of these influences, which was used in their architecture and culture.

The Osirians placed great importance on the star Orion. (MA: The Sands of Time)

Although spread across the cosmos, Osirian culture was principally focused on two sites; the Throneworld and the Ship of a Billion Years, the immense vessel which carried Ra, Nut and their attendant pantheon through the heavens. (FP: The Ship of a Billion Years)



Technology
Osirian technology was based off mathematically based topography, positioning and shapes. They would be specially aligned to the stars in order to work. For example, the Osirians set up the Pyramids on Mars and Earth to be used as receivers of power, which would then be directed towards the Sphinx, which would power all the Osirian technology on the planets. When moving away from the Pyramids, these buildings would need to be rebuilt or smaller collectors would have to be brought there. The Osirians also relied heavily on psi-projectors, which would allow them to travel in space using only the power of their mind. These too required precise mathematical skills, as well as a powerful mind to control the ships. (MA: The Sands of Time) The basis of Osirian science also stemmed from the fact that their homeworld lacked a magnetic field. This led to the species developing their technology on the principles of monopolar magnetic fields. (NA: GodEngine) Despite the unusual design, the Osirians are thought to have technology that rivals that of the Time Lords. (DW: Pyramids of Mars)

Lodestones were a type of time travel technology used by the Osirians, generally embedded into a sarcophagus. These lodestones created a Time Tunnel, allowing the Osirians to travel backwards and forwards in time. Unlike Time Lord technology, these lodestone produced a lot of time spillage, which would be absorbed by the traveler. If someone went backwards in time or forwards in time by a 1,000 years, the traveller would also age 1,000 years. This was not an obstacle for the Osirians, due to their long lifespans. These lodestones would draw in vortex energy, which could pull in TARDISes. (DW: Pyramids of Mars, MA: The Sands of Time)

Another example of Osirian technology were the Osirian service robots. They were thin robots with a wire-framework to give them a more humanoid shape and were powered by a cytronic particle accelerator in the shape of pyramids. They had immense strength and could be controlled by a special ring. These robots were wrapped up in specially treated wrappings which gave them the appearances of mummies. (DW: Pyramids of Mars, MA: The Sands of Time)

Other Osirian technology includes Osirian generator loops in the shape of canopic jars, the ability to increase a Human's lifespan by thousands of years, a rocket in the shape of a pyramid, traps using mobile Shabti and psychic typhoons and technology activated by certain signs. (DW: Pyramids of Mars)

At least one Osirian, Anubis, was an excellent medic and cloner, and relished more the challenge than actually saving lives due to his extreme cynicism and ego (having lived for countless centuries, he had become bitterly tired with the Osirians' long lives); he successfully converted the broken fragments of Osiris' biodata cache into a viable lifeform, more for the fact a full resurrection had never been tried before and thus would make him the best Osirian scientist ever than for that Osiris' revival could stop a massive civil war between the Osirians. (FP: Words from Nine Divinities)

History
When Osiris founded the Court he removed it from history (FP: Words from Nine Divinities), causing it to sometimes exist, like Gallifrey, in a special relationship to the timeline of the wider universe. Its past sometimes overlaps with Gallifrey's future (FP: Coming to Dust, DW: Pyramids of Mars) and Earth's ancient myths sometimes record events which have yet to transpire for the Court (FP: The Ship of a Billion Years).

Some areas were left 'unchronoformed' however and prone to multiple timelines. (FP: Body Politic)


 * This may explain why two different accounts exist of the birth of Horus.

Early History
The Osirians were evidently an ancient species, having been a major power since at least 150 million BC.. They were involved in the Millennium War, in which they were able to stop the creation of a wormhole in the Horsehead Nebula which would have caused massive damage. They were also involved in the final attack against the Mad Mind of Bophemeral. (DW: The Quantum Archangel) The Osirians were noted for having taken a special interest in the quadrant where the planets Earth and Mars were located with the later serving as a bridgehead for their activities in the area. During that time, they used the Native Martians as labourers for their construction efforts. The Ice Warriors and others noted them for being callous beings that cared little for the creatures that worshipped them. Despite this being the case, around seven thousand years before the 22nd century, it was known that the Ice Warriors crafted a religion around the beings but retooled aspects of it from their race memory and legends in order to create a religion that practiced peace and compassion that led to the founding of the Order of Oras. (NA: GodEngine)

Around 6100 BC, Sekhmet, the lioness, was banished in a salt spacecraft, landing on the planet Peladon where she lay for 10,000 years. (BFA: The Bride of Peladon)

The Rise of Horus
At some point in their history, Phaester Osiris was governed by Osiris himself and his brother Sutekh. Eventually, Osiris was killed by Sutekh. (DW: Pyramids of Mars) There are at least two different accounts of these events and the later birth of Horus.

The First Account
One account stated that Sutekh lured Osiris into a space capsule. Sutekh and his sister/wife Nephthys were able to both propel the capsule into space and stop Osiris from mentally projecting himself. He was suffocated in the vacuum of space and was unable to project his mind due to the great distances. While Isis was searching for Osiris, he was eventually able to project part of his mind into the pilot of her ship, giving birth to his psi-child Horus. (MA: The Sands of Time)

After the death of Osiris, Sutekh and Nephthys both escaped to Earth, destroying Phaester Osiris along the way. The 740 remaining Osirians were led by Horus in battle against Sutekh, finally defeating him in Egypt. Feeling that they could not stoop to Sutekh's level by killing him, they trapped Sutekh in a Egypt, having a pyramid on Mars relay a beam to paralyse him, stopping him from moving or projecting his mind. They also set the methods to free himself just out of his reach in order to make the punishment that much more tortuous. (DW: Pyramids of Mars, MA: The Sands of Time)

Nephthys was also captured, but was thought to be more dangerous than Sutekh. Because of this, her mind was split up for safety. Her instincts were stored in a woman who was mummified alive, while her reasoning was stored in a Canopic jar. Both of these were then sealed up inside another Pyramid.

In order to stop the criminals from escaping, the Osirians modified the civilization of Ancient Egypt. Between 6 and 8000 BC, the Sphinx was built as a dispersal unit. They made the Humans make the Pyramids, precisely made so that they could be used to power the Osirian technology. The Pharaohs were changed, making them smarter and taller, so that they would follow the plan and build the proper Pyramids. They also set up similar pyramids on Mars as receivers. They even convinced the Jagaroth Scaroth to help design the Pyramids, convincing him that it was needed to develop Humanity. (MA: The Sands of Time)

Unfortunately, in 2000 BC., grave robbers broke into Nephthys' tomb. The Canopic jar was broken, though her reasoning wasn't able to escape. It was decided that a new place was needed, so Nyssa was chosen as a host for Nephthys' mind, since she was of a pure mind and was incapable of being bent to Nephthys' will. She then put into hibernation for 4,000 years. (MA: The Sands of Time)

The Second Account
Another account states that Sutekh killed Osiris and buried his corpse underneath a cache of Faction Paradox reproductive technology. The ruined technology interacted with Osiris' biomass and caused it to be remade in fractured and partial forms.(FP: The Ship of a Billion Years)

With Osiris gone, Sutekh laid claim to the Court. His opponents, including Anubis and agents of Faction Paradox, attempted to reconstitute Osiris, but lacked one vital piece of his biodata. Cousin Eliza of the Faction offered herself as an alternative donor (FP: The Ship of a Billion Years) and became the entity known as Horus (FP: Words from Nine Divinities).

The Court divided between those who still trusted Sutekh and those who accepted Horus' divinity. In the resulting war, agents of both House Lolita and the War King influenced the various factions, as the struggle for control of the Osirian Court had become the lynchpin of their own power struggle for control of Gallifrey. (FP: Words from Nine Divinities)

The Last of the Osirians
By 1911, Sutekh was finally discovered by Marcus Scarman and Sutekh was able to control him. He used Marcus Scarman and several Service Robots to construct a missile, with which he would destroy the pyramid on Mars, freeing him to destroy all life in the universe. He was stopped by the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith. (DW: Pyramids of Mars)

In 1996, Nyssa was set to awaken Nepthys from her hibernation. Luckily, she had been switched with Lady Ann Cranleigh, making it seem like the reasoning had dissapated. The instinct then attempted to go back in time to when the instinct had left, but the time differential eventually killed her. (MA: The Sands of Time)

Around the 40th century, Sekhmet was awoken by trisilicate mining works. She was held in her tomb by four blood locks, which could only be broken by the blood of four royal women. She killed Prince Pelleas's mother, Pricess Pandora of Earth and the twin sister of Prince Zixlyr of Mars and attempted to kill Erimem, however was halted when Ermimem poisoned her blood. Sekhmet was destroyed by Zixlyr. (BFA: The Bride of Peladon)