The Khultan Empire

A Tomorrow People Theory

Introduction	The Kulthan on Peerie
The Kulthan as a Race	A Federation Insight
The Khultan on Earth	A Kulthan Timeline

Introduction

On this page, and the associated discussion of the Khultan Pyramids, I lay out the available data and a possible timeline for the Khultan Empire.

Note - this discussion is entirely based on the events on screen in the 1970s television series The Tomorrow People. It does not claim to represent the views of the writer of those serials, and provides only one possible interpretaion. Be warned of spoilers for 'Worlds Away' (and, less crucially, for 'Revenge of Jedikiah').

The Khultan as a Race

As Timus Irnok Mosta explains to the Tomorrow People, the Khultan are, or perhaps were a mighty space-faring empire. In appearence, they were humanoid with head and shoulders resembling those of an Earth-evolved jackal. However, since we do not at any point encounter a living Khultan, it is unclear to what extent their physical appearence really was the composite creature described, or whether the alien body shape was simply reinterpreted by those who saw it in their own terms. Given that the Khultan subjected worlds such as Peerie and the Earth, consumed the protein derived from their inhabitants, and constructed equipment on the planet's surface which would have been beyond the ability of the locals to maintain, it seems logical to suppose that the conditions on these worlds were similar to their homeworld's. From their jackal-like appearence, they would seem to be predatory in morphology. It is also known that they have no compunction about consuming sentient beings and that they were not themselves discomforted by psi-dampeners. The Khulthan - Jackal-headed oxygen breathers? (image © Freemantle Media)

Hypothesis 1: The Khultan were oxygen-breathing and evolved on an Earth-like World.
Hypothesis 2: The Khultan were not naturally telepathic, but like the Medusa preyed on telepathic lifeforms.

The Khultan on Earth

Ancient Egypt

New Kingdom iconography on the walls of the Khultan Pyramid © Freemantle Media

As Timus indicates to the Tomorrow People, the Khultan spent some time on Earth before being driven away by the Galactic Federation. Timus points to the Great Pyramid as being their work, and suggests that the construction of pyramids is associated with Kulthan rule. If this was the case, then the likeliest date for the start of the Kulthan occupation of Earth is around the time of the 3rd Egyptian Dynasty (around 2600BC). The worship of the Jackal-headed God Anubis, however, is one of the most ancient elements of Egyptian religion and dates from the beggining of the Old Kingdom or earlier - suggesting that Kulthan scout may have surveyed Egypt sometime before they occupied it. From the style of the decorations in the Kulthan Pyramids, there are indications that they were present on Earth well into the New Kingdom. It is unclear at what date the Federation intervened to drive the Kulthan from Earth, but it seems logical to assume that it occured before the end of the Pharoanic epoch since none of the cultures which encountered the Egyptians at that time (Assyrian, Persion, Greek and Roman) made mention of manifesting gods, and since it was at around this time that the ancient religions of Egypt fell into decline. It is also clear (in 'A Rift in Time') that Peter expects to be able to use his special powers around 1AD, suggesting that at this time the damping field was not maintained and was intermittant at best.

Hypothesis 3: The Kulthan arrived on Earth around 2600BC, several centuries after the first scouts visited.
Hypothesis 4: The Khultan left Earth at the end of the New Kingdom around 1000BC. After some centuries of neglect the telepathic damping field begins to fail.

The Amarna Heresy

Although the 'New Series' of the Tomorrow People (produced in the 1990s) might reasonably be presumed to occur in a different timeline to the 'Old Series', the two can be taken as consistent if a peculiar period in Egyptian history is taken into account. For a short period in the 'New Kingdom' of Egypt (circa 1350BC) Egypt, under the guidance of its pharoah Akhenaten, rejected the old gods in favour of a monotheistic religion in honor of the sun-disk or 'Aten'. The capitol city of Egypt was moved from the old temples of Memphis to the newly founded city of Amarna. This 'Amarna Heresy' lasted for a generation. Soon after Akhenaten's death, his successor (and most likely son) Tutankhaten was renamed Tutankhamun, Amarna was abandoned and worship of the old gods returned. Tutankhamun himself died young shortly therafter. In the NS Tomorrow People serial 'The Rameses Connection', it is revealed that the boy-king Tutankhamun was a Tomorrow Person and appeared able to utilise his telepathic abilities, although he was in fear of his life. This suggests that at the time of Tutankhamun, the Khultan's telepathic damping field was not in operation and most likely that the Amarna Heresy was, in fact, a period of rebellion against the Khultan overlords. Presumably, on their return, the Khultan found a rebellious population and a royal family unwilling to obey them. Since the royal family was the subject of veneration they would have to be replaced subtly - it may have been at this time that Jedikiah's shapeshifting abilities were used to replace a rebellious pharoah.

The Sun Disk - or Aten - was the object of veneration replacing the old gods during the Amarna Heresy

Hypothesis 5: The Amarna Heresy was a period of rebellion against Khultan rule, perhaps led by an early family with telepathic potential. During this short period, the telepathic damping field was no longer active. Khultan rule was later reimposed and Tutankhamun did not long survive its return.
Hypothesis 6: It was at this time that Jedikiah masqueraded as a pharoah in the service of the Kulthan.

The Pyramid Cultures of Mesoamerica and Asia

Mayan Glyphs as painted on the walls of the Peerie Pyramid

As the Khultan pyramid on Peerie (see next section and seperate page on Khultan pyramids) makes plain, there appears to be a connection between the Khultan and the pyramid building cultures of Meso-America and also a possible connection to the Khmer culture of South East Asia. Given that some thirteen hundred years seperate ancient Egypt from the height of the Mayan culture and the Khmer Empire that rose as the Maya declined, this presumably occured some time after the Federation first intervened to drive the Khultan from Earth. The absence of Jackal-headed deities from the Mayan pantheon, and from the Buddist religion of the Khmer, suggests that the Khultan of this time were careful not to reproduce their earlier work in Egypt but rather to work within the iconography of the existing cultures - was this an attempt to conceal their presence from the Federation? Certainly Timus makes no mention of this later phase of Kulthan occupation. Why did the Khultan return to this relatively insignificant planet? One possibility is that the promise of telepaths for consumption was too tempting to ignore, although given the scarcity of true telepaths on the planet, that seems unlikely. Another is that the Khultan Empire had become short of resources and returned to a known planet, and one with a telepathic damping field already in place (albeit in need of repair) and a culture which already praticed pyramid building and ritualised human sacrifice, rather than take the risk of settling a new world. In either case, it would seem that the Khultan of this time were far less confident and more wary of revealing their presence.

If the Khultan telepathic damping field equipment has an estimated lifetime of between 500 and 1000 years (as suggested by the failure of the first field before 1AD) then a departure of the Kulthan from Earth around the end of the Khmer civilisation (1300-1500AD) would be consistent with the field failing in the 1900s. Such a date would also be consistent with the spread of European renaissance culture and an increased difficulty for the Khultan in remaining concealed.

Hypothesis 7: The later phases of the Kulthan's presence on Earth occured around 300-1300AD, during a phase when the Khultan were weakened or in decline.

The Khultan on Peerie

The Kulthan's presence on Peerie was both open and brutual. A religious system was imposed on the population becoming so ingrained that even freedom fighters referred to them as 'The Great Kulthan'. This power was secured by the construction of a huge pyramid with a psi-damping field. Assuming the pyramid was decorated at the same time as it was constructed, it can be implies that Peerie was occupied sometime after the Khultan were present on Earth (since the Pyramid is of fundementally Egyptian design, while the interior decorations are South American and South-East Asian - see my pyramids page). It is clear that this occupation has been in place for some centuries, as indicated by the age of the structures, the formalisation of the religion, and the fact that the native Vesh's talents have passed far beyond living memory and into folklore. It is revealed towards the end of 'Worlds Away' that the Khultan are no longer present on the planet, although their automatic systems and the religious structure they put into place are still functioning. A timescale of at least 100 years before present for their departure would seem reasonable - given the number of stored Vesh discovered on their space station, and the fact that the position of Veshtaker had become hereditary and this was no longer commented upon (i.e. at least a few generations had passed since the transition).

A step-pyramid beneath Peerie's yellow sky © Freemantle Media

Given that the Khultan left their equipment in place and running, it would appear that they intended to return. The fact that they had not done so suggests some decline in the Khultan's strength - although whether this was the result of some catastrophe or a gradual decline would seem unclear. Certainly, it seems unlikely that it was the result of interstellar warfare as this would have been remarked upon by Timus or Tikno. A gradual withdrawel to their homeworld, leaving automatic systems behind, might have escaped Federation notice, as might a subtle catastrophe such as some form of disease ravaging the Khulthan. In either case, Peerie - a passive world completely under Kulthan thrall - was unlikely to be the first world in the Empire to be abandoned, but rather allowed to slip when there was no longer any choice but to do so.

Hypothesis 8: The Kulthan moved to Peerie after leaving Earth
Hypothesis 9: The Kulthan most likely abandoned large parts of their Empire at least one century before present

An Insight into Federation History?

The Galactic Federation - a shadow of its former self? © Freemantle Media

On the one hand, the Galactic Federation actively drove the Khultan Empire from Earth at the time of Ancient Egypt. On the other, they allowed the occupation of Peerie to continue unchallenged for centuries. This latter decision seems more in keeping with what we observe of the Federation at the present day. The Trig seems determined to take a non-interventionist stance in 'War of the Empires' and, as Steen asserts (in 'The Vanishing Earth') the Federation is too large for any one planet to warrent special intervention. Further more, the evident lack of respect for the Federation's dictats shown by non-telepathic races such as the Thargons and Sorsons implies that it has been a long time since the Federation showed any teeth to its neighbours. So, is it possible that the Federation's last contact with the Khultan occured when it was a young and vibrant organisation, and before it suffered from the lethargy that results from uncontrolled growth? Does this imply a more active past for the Federation? And does it place a timescale on the Federation's existence? If the Egyptian era represents an early phase of the Federation, then it would seem that it is perhaps a few millenia old. It is tempting to hypothesise that a number of telepathic races have evolved in recent centuries - as the Tomorrow People and the Vesh have - and the Federation has grown lethargic as its energy has been consumed in the attempt to integrate them. Such speculation is really beyond the evidence available!

A Khultan Timeline

Epoch	Date	Kulthan History	Other History
Khultan Egypt	3500BC	First Khultan scouts visit Egypt	Worship of Anubis Begins
	2600BC	Khultan occupation of Earth begins	First Pyramids Built by 3rd Dynasty
	1350BC	The Khultan are briefly expelled by the Egyptians (for about 20 years). Shortly after their return they establish Jedikiah as a phraoah	The Amarna Heresy, Tutankhamun lives and dies. Jedikiah found on Mercury and brought to Earth.
	1000BC	The Khultan forced from Earth by the Galactic Federation	Decline and Fall of the Egyptian New Kingdom
The Interstellar Kulthan Empire	1000BC-300AD	The Kulthan Empire ignores Earth as not worth a confrontation with the Federation.	The Earth damping field becomes intermittant, failing around the Roman period
Kulthan America and Asia	300AD	Declining resources force the Kulthan to return to Earth, this time undercover in Central and South America.	The Mayan nation reaches its height. Earth's damping field restored.
	800AD	The Kulthan abandon South America and move to South East Asia	The Mayan nation collapses, the Khmer civilisation arises.
	1500AD	The Kulthan leave Earth	The rennaisance, age of the conquistadors and enlightment on Earth.
Decline and Fall of the Khultan Empire	1600AD	The Kulthan occupation of Peerie begins	Peerie is conquered and the Vesh lose their abilities
	1800AD	The Kulthan Empire forced to withdraw from Peerie	The position of Veshtaker becomes hereditory.
Post-Kulthan Era	1950AD		The telepathic damping field on Earth fails completely.
	1975AD		Peerie liberated by the Tomorrow People

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The 1970s television series The Tomorrow People, the Khultan and the Galactic Federation were created by Roger Price. The theory laid out above is meant as a logical extrapolation from events in the serials Worlds Away and Revenge of Jedikiah and do not represent the views of the original writer. All screenshots are property of Thames Television and Freemantle Media and are used here for comparison and clarification.

This page created by Elizabeth Stanway (April 2005). Email me here.