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Nestene auto-jet

The Doctor and Jo Grant examining an auto-jet. (TV: Terror of the Autons)

The auto-jet was the Master's contribution to the Nestenes.

History[]

Auto-jets took the form of plastic daffodils, the workmanship of which Rex Farrel was impressed. Each cell was imprinted with instructions of a human nose and mouth.

When in contact with signals from a short-wave radio, the auto-jet would seek out a human and spray a thin film of plastic at their face. This plastic would cover the victim's nose and mouth, they would die of asphyxiation and the carbon dioxide of their dying breath would dissolve the plastic — removing evidence of the Nestenes' actions and leaving the victim's cause of death unexplained.

Disguised Daffodil Man Autons handed out hundreds of auto-jets to the public with the aim to cause a mass death and panic. In the chaos, the Master would materialise the Nestenes on Earth fully. This plan was defeated when the Third Doctor convinced the Master that the Nestenes would not let him rule alongside them and would turn against him. (TV: Terror of the Autons)

Behind the scenes[]

  • An early draft of the 2006 television story Love and Monsters would have seen Elton Pope recount how a plastic daffodil (namely the auto-jet) claimed the life of his mother.
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