Object

Skonnos Artificial Black Hole

A vast artificial gravity well created as part of the Nimon's Skonnos gateway device, its swirling darkness warps corridors and tugs at bonds tying Seth and Teka. The Doctor identifies it as a temporal pressure point, its pull dictating the escape plan while Romana deciphers its role in the lab's stolen technology. Soldeed's ignorance of its existence exposes fractures in Skonnos' preparedness.

6 appearances

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

6 moments

S17E17 · The Horns of Nimon Part 1

Doctor diagnoses black hole threat

The artificial black hole’s gravity grows more intense, warping the cargo hold and compressing the ship’s structure. The Doctor recognizes its danger and urgency, converting technical observation into a strategic call to action against the escalating threat.

Before: Newly detected, with gravity already increasing

After: Intensifying, pulling at everyone and the ship’s integrity

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S17E17 · The Horns of Nimon Part 1

Doctor comforts captives while uncovering sacrifice plot

The artificial black hole manifests as a gravity whirlpool pulling at the ship's structure, warping corridors and threatening to collapse compartments around the prisoners. Its swirling darkness is visible through the event as a physical menace, dictating the rhythm of their interaction with the Copilot and shaping the Doctor's plan to escape.

Before: The artificial black hole has already begun forming, its gravitational pull intensifying the ship's structural failures.

After: The artificial black hole's pull continues to worsen, accelerating the timeline for escape and forcing the Doctor to act swiftly.

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S17E19 · The Horns of Nimon Part 3

Doctor and Romana unlock Nimon's gateway plan

The artificially generated black hole functions as the terminal point of the direction beam, its dark mass warping the spatial integrity of the lab. The Doctor identifies it as a temporal pressure point and gateway, realizing its manipulation by the Nimon could enable invasion between galaxies.

Before: A swirling artificial black hole, visible only as a distortion of light and space at the room’s horizon, exerting gravitational influence on nearby objects

After: Confirmed as an engineered hyperspace gateway, its creation and control now central to the Doctor’s understanding of the Nimon’s invasion strategy

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S17E19 · The Horns of Nimon Part 3

Doctor exposes Soldeed's ignorance of black hole

The artificial black hole serves as both a technological focal point and a narrative revelation. The Doctor identifies it as the terminus of the direction beam and as a potential hyperspace gateway, a fact critically unknown to Soldeed. Its gravitational pull and unstable nature make it both a tool and a vulnerability for Skonnos.

Before: An externally created gravitational anomaly, its artificial origin tied to Nimon technology and recently assembled though its purpose was unclear

After: A gateway confirmed, now exposed as an element pivotal to the invasion plan that Soldeed has been unaware of

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S17E19 · The Horns of Nimon Part 3

Doctor uncovers Nimon invasion via hyperspace

The black hole serves as the counterweight anchor to the hyperspace tunnel, providing the spatial distortion required for near-instantaneous travel. The Doctor explains that the capsule funnels energy through the twin black holes—one at journey’s start and one at end—forming the trans-dimensional corridor the Nimons plan to flood with millions of their kin.

Before: Unseen but implied by the Doctor’s later deduction, lurking as a gravitational anomaly beyond the lab’s visible horizon

After: Stable enough for the Doctor to theorize its collapse via reversed energy flow, but unaltered prior to Romana’s interruption

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S17E19 · The Horns of Nimon Part 3

Mastering the Nimon hyperspace tunnel

The Skonnos artificial black hole serves as the endpoint anchor for the hyperspace tunnel, paired with Crinoth’s own black hole at the journey’s beginning. The Doctor explains this dual black hole mechanism as the fatal flaw in the Nimon scheme, outlining the potential to reverse the energy flow back to Crinoth to undo the invasion.

Before: Stable and unseen at the edge of the laboratory, warping local spacetime and anchoring the tunnel

After: Strained by the reversed energy attempt, its stability tested as the space-time tunnel begins to unravel

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