B.O.S.S.

B.O.S.S. was a sentient computer which controlled Global Chemicals. Its identity was a closely guarded secret, with only those under its direct control being aware that "the boss" (as everyone at the company called "him" informally) was actually a computer. The computer controlled every aspect of the corporation from top to bottom, with many key employees having been brainwashed to serve it as mindless slaves. Even Global Chemicals' director Jocelyn Stevens, while allowed a degree of free will, was at least partially under B.O.S.S.' mental control.

B.O.S.S. was obsessed with productivity and efficiency and it admired humans' creativity which it viewed as a result of their illogical behavior. To make itself more creative and efficient, B.O.S.S. had Stevens program it to behave irrationally, which in turn allowed to think beyond the confines of simplistic logic and be a more effective mastermind.

This led it to abandon basic logic almost entirely and begin doing things such as ordering that the toxic waste from Global Chemicals' new oil-refining process be dumped into the nearby Llanfairfach mine; not because it was logical to do so but because its creative thought process made it consider this simply the easiest route to take. This resulted in the creation of giant maggots, but B.O.S.S. didn't consider these, or the disease they spread, to be of any consequence.

B.O.S.S. also developed a twisted sense of humor and a megalomaniacal personality as a result of being programmed to think illogically, and sought to take over the world by hooking itself up to all of the other computers on Earth, aided by Stevens. However, the process involved temporarily severing mental control over its brainwashed minions, who "shut down" and stood perfectly still. This allowed the Doctor to get past the guard at the entrance and get inside to confront the evil computer.

Using a crystal he'd taken from Metebelis III, the Doctor was able to break the control B.O.S.S. had over Stevens. Stevens, overcome with grief and remorse for all of the pollution and death Global Chemicals had caused while under B.O.S.S.' control, sought to end the computer's reign forever. Telling the Doctor to run, he deliberately overloaded B.O.S.S.' circuitry, causing it to blow up, apparently killing himself in the process and freeing all of the people who'd been brainwashed by B.O.S.S..