Nestene Consciousness

The Nestene Consciousness was a disembodied life force which could inhabit plastic.

Biology
The Nestene was a being of pure psychic energy, somewhat cephalopod-like in appearance. (DWN: Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons, PDA: Synthespians™) The Nestenes were a race able to manifest in many forms, and whose biology was similar to the molecular structure of Earth plastics. (NSA: Autonomy) The Consciousness had the ability to possess plastic, shunting some of its consciousness into the plastic and allowing it to control it. Over the course of its invasions it possessed the Autons (DW: Spearhead from Space), inflatable chairs, dolls, telephone cords, plastic daffodils, (DWN: Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons) and garbage bins (DW: Rose). The Nestene could transport sections of its mind through radio waves. (DWN: Doctor Who and the Terror of the Autons) It could also create a body out of the plastic for itself, allowing it to manipulate its surroundings. (DW: Spearhead from Space)

The body created by the Nestene out of plastic was generally similar to its real appearance, being somewhat like a giant octopus. (DW: Spearhead from Space, Terror of the Autons) After the stresses of the Last Great Time War, it manifested as a more liquid form, which had a humanoid face. (DWA: Doctor Who Annual 2006, DW: Rose)

Abilities
The Nestene Consciousness was a telepathic gestalt entity. It travelled through space in hollow spheres known as energy units. These units made planetfall in formation, appearing like normal meteorites to indigenous lifeforms. Once the consiousness within those spheres was recombined and placed in an environment tank, the Nestene would take on a form that it believes to be perfectly adapted to the planet on which it has landed. (DW: Spearhead from Space) The key part of a group of energy spheres was the Swarm Leader, which was able to create a facsimile of a native, or create an original native-form from scratch. (PDA: Synthespians™)

On some worlds its takeover strategy was as follows: The first spheres to arrive would attempt to place a local being under some form of mental control. It would then take over a plastics company and fashion plastic automatons known as Autons. These Autons may include replicas of key authority figures as well as simpler automatons. The Nestene would then use the Autons as an army to conquer the planet. (DW: Spearhead from Space) Autons were controlled on the astral plane, and sub-etheric beams could disrupt this telepathic control. (PDA: Synthespians™) In some cases, the Nestene required a relay station or transmitter to control Autons. This only seems to be necessary to control large numbers at once. (DW: Rose)

Creation
At the beginning of the universe, Shub-Niggurath came into this universe from the previous universe pregnant. She was able to deliver her child on Polymos, who infused into the entire planet. This Nestene Consciousness created Swarm Leaders, which it sent out to other planets. (PDA: Synthespians™)

Invasions
The Nestene had been invading planets for billions of years, which they use for sources of plastic and protein. At first they sent several plastic meteors to the planet. These asteroids could telepathically control specially created plastics, but are more effective when combined together. The Nestene would then control people to create Auton forces to help with the next waves of invaders. Some of the planets which the Nestene Consciousness took over includes Cramodar and Plovak 6. (PDA: Synthespians™)

In 102 A.D., the Nestene were among the factions who joined the Alliance. They came to Stonehenge and helped imprison the Eleventh Doctor in the Pandorica in order to save the Universe. As well as the obvious spaceships, they also created a legion of Autons disguised as Roman soldiers. These Autons, believing themselves to be genuine Roman soldiers, tricked the Doctor, who realized too late what they were, and imprisoned him in the Pandorica. (DW: The Pandorica Opens) When the plan failed, the Autons and the Nestene were turned to dust and removed from the universe along with the rest of creation, except for an Auton copy of Rory Williams, who rebelled against his nature and tried to help the Doctor. They were returned when the Doctor managed to "reset" the universe. (DW: The Big Bang)

The Nestene's first attempted to invade the Earth in the 20th century, using human-looking Autons to replace key government figures, was thwarted by UNIT with the help of the Third Doctor. (DW: Spearhead from Space)

In their next attempt, the Master obtained one of the Nestene meteors and took over a plastic company. Using the plastic company to create fake daffodils, disguised Autons would hand out these flowers for free. Eventually, once millions had been distributed, the Nestene would activate them by remote radio signals, causing them to suffocate and kill millions of people. The Master also created dolls, inflatable chairs and telephone chords to kill difficult individuals. The Third Doctor was able to figure out this plan and convinced the Master that the Nestenes were too dangerous to be reliable allies, and they reversed the radio beam the invasion force was coming in on, sending it back into space. (DW: Terror of the Autons)

The Sixth Doctor helped UNIT to defeat another Nestene invasion. This did not appear to tax him overly, as he found time to take dance lessons during a lull in the crisis. (ST: Teach Yourself Ballroom Dancing)

In 1989, the Nestene Consciousness tried to take over Earth using the computer company SenéNet. The Sixth Doctor, Mel and The Brigadier prevented the Consciousness from taking over the Earth. (PDA: Business Unusual) At the same time, it established a front operation called Galaxy Plastics Inc, and was still operational and undiscovered in August 1990. (DWM: Business As Usual)

Circa the 1990s an Auton replica known as Alisha Hammerson set up the Hammerson Plastic PLC company. On New Year's Eve, 1999, she planned to replace several key figures in the plastic industry with Auton replicas, in order that the Earth could be dominated and absorbed. The Seventh Doctor and Mel, gate-crashing the party, broke the Nestene link which de-activated her. (DWM: Plastic Millennium)

In the late 1990s, staff in a UNIT warehouse accidentally reactivated an Auton from the Nestene's first invasion attempt. This started a series of events leading to a new Nestene invasion that was stopped the cybernetically enhanced UNIT agent Lockwood and his team. (BBV: Auton Trilogy)

In 2005, the Nestenes infiltrated Earth once more, using warp shunt technology. The Nestenes had lost their food planets in the Last Great Time War, so their intent was to overthrow and destroy the human race, as Earth was ideal for their consumption needs, being filled with smoke, oil and various pollutants. The Ninth Doctor eventually defeated them by spilling a vial of anti-plastic solution into the vat of molten plastic which housed the main bulk of the Consciousness, causing it to explode. (DW: Rose)

The Nestene Consiousness resurfaced barely eight years later, but was once again foiled by the Tenth Doctor. (NSA: Autonomy)

In the 101st century, the Nestene Consciousness was attempting to completely leave Polymos after an invasion of the Time Lords. It chose the New Earth Republic and attempted to transport its entire body to Reef Station One with the help of Walter J. Matheson. It was stopped by the Sixth Doctor, who trapped it in the body of an advanced Auton. (PDA: Synthespians™)