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In Season 11, Episode 10, when

Tzim-Sha appeared,

the Ux apparently decided he was the Creator.

But he was hardly the only person to land on the planet, and the Ux seem to be knowledgeable about Doctor Who "technology" (they recognized the TARDIS as "dimensionally transcendental," for instance). It also seems like they wouldn't assume that anyone who could move from one place in space to another was divine (give that themselves had the same power, to start with). Now, clearly the Ux are, as the Doctor says, "faith-based," but they're not unintelligent.

The one piece of information we have is that:

ANDINIO: The Ux have been waiting for him for generations.

But then, here on Earth many religions have been waiting for their saviors and messiahs for a long time, and they don't accept just anyone who claims to fit the description.

What made the Ux think that he was their god? Was it an effect of the planet? Was there some prophecy he fulfilled?

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  • "dimensionally transcendental" could just be the Ux phrasing for "bigger on the inside". Or, given their creative power, they're just not surprised by the TARDIS like us humans are. Doesn't mean they're familiar with the technology, though
    – HorusKol
    Commented Dec 10, 2018 at 13:29
  • "dimensionally transcendental" is the exact phrase used to describe the interior of the TARDIS for decade. This was supposed to be a script-flip of the reaction that most people have when entering the ship. It really needed the other half of the joke, that of The Doctor being surprised or disappointed at the (lack of) reaction. Indeed, they've done script flips on the joke so often in past years, it's been years since someone actually had the "it's bigger on the inside" reaction. I think it may have been Canton Everett Delaware.
    – VBartilucci
    Commented Dec 10, 2018 at 15:08
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    Please edit to mention which episode you're talking about. Spoilertags are no use if it's not clear which episode they're spoiling, for those who are only partway through.
    – Rand al'Thor ♦
    Commented Dec 10, 2018 at 15:34
  • @VTBartilucci - Exactly. They're familiar with teleportation technology jargon; they're not about to assume it's a sign of divinity.
    – Adamant
    Commented Dec 10, 2018 at 17:22

2 Answers 2

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The Doctor had heard of the Ux, but never actually met one. If one of the most prolific travellers of the universe who has lived for thousands of years has never been to their planet, that doesn't suggest that they have had many visitors.

Also, while the Ux did recognise that the TARDIS was "dimensionally transcendental" (a description used by the 4th Doctor to explain to Leela how the TARDIS had a larger interior) they did not recognise it as a TARDIS. There was nothing to suggest that they had seen a TARDIS before or had any dealings with the Timelords.

It seemed to me that the point of this exchange was to show that the Ux had a far greater understanding of science than The Doctor gave them credit for:

The Doctor: I know this'll be way beyond your comprehension...
Delph: Dimensionally transcendental.

Delph's recognition and understanding of dimensional transcendentalism seemed to come from their inherent knowledge of design and ability to create and manipulate matter, not from any previous encounters with other "advanced" races. Therefore it is quite possible that the Ux never had any previous visitors, and were completely taken in by Tzim-Sha's claim to be the creator.

Also, perhaps the main reason why the believed him to be "the creator" was that he appeared as they were building a shrine for him.

The dialogue in the first scene seems to indicate that they had selected a place to build a shrine. The "shrine" structure that we see later on somewhat resembles a finished version of what Delph began to build in the first scene but abandoned when Tzim-Sha arrived.

"Do this, Delph, and you shape our world in worship."

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  • But the Doctor also said the Ux had been seen on 3 planets, so they've been to at least two other worlds, though the mechanism is unspecified.
    – jeffronicus
    Commented Dec 19, 2018 at 17:26
  • @jeffronicus Actually she said that their species was only found on 3 planets. As a "duo-species" their numbers are limited to two, so they couldn't have spread to other worlds. I assume it means they just happen to exist on 3 planets.
    – Astralbee
    Commented Dec 19, 2018 at 21:00
  • Well, it may be a fool's errand to parse a throwaway line, but presumably at some point the two Ux then in existence went to a second planet, then they or two descendants went to a third. So unless their powers include some sort of world-hopping (unlikely, since this couple spent 17 years walking around on this world looking for their shrine site) they presumably encountered someone with the capacity for interstellar travel.
    – jeffronicus
    Commented Dec 19, 2018 at 22:09
  • @jeffronicus If you say one line is "throwaway" then you might as well disregard the entire script and make up your own story. I can only base my answer on what was said, not what wasn't, or what you choose to be canonical. They called the planet "our world". Andinio said "The Creator would contend that the world (not the universe) is not to be understood". Everything suggests that the two Ux we met inhabited the planet of Ranskoor Av Kolos.
    – Astralbee
    Commented Dec 19, 2018 at 22:25
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The most likely reason would be his rather unique way of arriving. He didn't come in a ship, he quite literally descended from the heavens.

And it's quite possible that their knowledge of technology came FROM Tim Shaw, in the 3,407 years that he held them in his sway. When we first meet the pair, the apprentice is trying to make something out or stone - three millennia later they were crafting physics-bending technology, all based on the blueprint Tim Shaw had with him.

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