34
Tobias Vaughn shows Jamie and the Doctor into his office at the International Electromatics factory.
“Confusing, isn’t it?” chuckles Vaughn smoothly when he sees Jamie’s astonishment.
“It’s exactly the same as your office in London!” says Jamie.
“In all basic essentials, yes,” replies Vaughn, “That’s the secret of my success. Uniformity. Duplication. The very essence of business efficiency. My whole empire is built on that principle.”
In the script (but not in the televised story) ‘Doctor Who’ comments: “Mass production.”
Mass production of uniform duplicates. From disposable radios to micro-monolithic circuits (tiny things that form a massive slab or wedge of power). From identical offices to endless copies of Watkin’s ‘teaching machines’.
This is why the Cybermen have chosen Vaughn as a business partner. This is why he is going to co-ordinate and distribute their troops. This is why they arrive at his depot in packing crates, waiting to be activated. His company is the perfect delivery system for their virus. The synergy is obvious.