Information and facts on gallifrey

Gallifrey

The Time Lords home planet, also known as the 'Shining World of the Seven Systems'
It has been located in the constellation of Kasterborous at galactic coordinates ten-zero-eleven-zero-zero by zero-two from galactic zero center, some 250 million light years away from Earth.








The Cult of Pythia

The most well known leader of Gallifrey was the Time Lord Rassilon, but before him, and before the era of the Time Lords, someone known as The Pythia ruled.

The Pythia ruled a Gallifrey which was government by mystery and superstition. She ruled as part of a matriarchy, and because she had powerful psychic powers that enabled her to see the future.

Near the end of the Cult of Pythia's reign, the last Pythia was unable to see into the future. In an attempt to see further she recruited Vael (a skilled Gallifreyan with psy-powers) to work with her and then spy on Rassilon.

But when her idea of her future failed to come, she sent her followers to Karn, and then cursed Gallifrey with sterility and threw herself into an abyss below her temple.

Gallifrey has been described as 'perfect to look at' though The Doctor appears to refrain from speaking about it, particularly in later episodes, after its destruction.

'The second sun would rise in the south, and the mountains would shine. The leaves on the trees were silver, when they caught the light, every morning it looked like a forest on fire. When the autumn came, a brilliant glow came though the branches...'


Within the Citadel of the Time Lords
The Citadel is located on the continent of Wild Endeavour in the mountains of Solace and Solitude. It is within here that the society of Gallifreyans and Time Lords live.

Gallifreyans is the term used to describe those born and living upon Gallifrey. They only become Time Lords after they have looked into the Untempered Skism and been educated in the Academy.

Other places mentioned within the Citadel are:

• The Academy - Where Gallifreyans learn, and can become Time Lords.
• The Matrix - A massive computer system that holds the combined knowledge of the Time Lords.
• The Panopticon - The main room of the Capitol, the Eye of Harmony is kept underneath and provides the energy for time travel.
• The Cruciform - Although unconfirmed as to what it is, The Master reported seeing it destroyed during the Time War
• The Untempered Schism - A gap in the fabric of reality through which could be seen the whole of the vortex. Time Lord novices are initiated by looking into it.

Outside the Citadel
Outside lie the wastelands. This has been explored as where Time Lords, who have dropped out of Time Lord society, live in simpler tribal communities. The wasteland of Gallifrey includes:

• The Death Zone - used as a sort of arena by the first Time Lords. Here they would pitt various species, kidnapped from their respective time zones, against each other for their own amusement.
• The Tomb of Rassilon - Where the founder of Time Lord society is buried.

The Time Lords

"The oldest and most mighty race in the universe. Looking down on the galaxies below... sworn never to interfere, only to watch."

Time Lord society, and indeed possibly Time Lords themselves, were formed through the combined efforts of the Time Lord Founders.

There is a difference between the inhabitants of Gallifrey (the Gallifreyans) and the Time Lords. In order to become a Time Lord, you must be chosen at the age of eight to be enrolled into 'Time Lord Academy'. It is here that a novice will look into the Untempered Schism and see the whole of time and space, as well as taking regular subjects and examinations until graduation.

The Dark Times
This was during the early Time Lord history, when Rassilon lived and ruled.

During this time, the Time Lords would abuse their power and use items, such as the Time Scoop, to abduct other beings from throughout history. Once these beings has been taken, they were made to fight each other for the Time Lords amusement in The Death Zone.

Also during this time, the Time Lords participated in a war, a war so horrific that they forswore violence from that point on and adopted an official policy of neutrality and non-interference.
Only a select few Time Lords, including The Doctor, went against these new customs, and continued to travel through time and space.

The Deca

The Deca were a group of young rebellious Gallifreyans at the Academy.
The group included:

• The Doctor
• Azmael
• Drax
• Ushas (later the Rani)
• Magnus (later the War Chief)
• Koschei (later known as the Master)
• Mortimus (later the Meddling Monk)
  

When the Doctor betrayed the group by leaving Gallifrey, the Deca ended. In time, each member of the group would choose a lifestyle as a renegade across space and time.


The Time War


Gallifrey, and the Time Lords way of life, came to an end because of the Time War. Here, they fought against the Daleks and it was believed that both sides were completely obliterated, with only The Doctor surviving.

However, since then, the Daleks have returned several times with a vengeance, and The Doctor has had to fight them off once again.

As well as this, it was discovered that another Time Lord, The Master, survived by hiding himself in the form of a human. Therefore, its possible to speculate that other Time Lords survived the Time War in a similar way.

The Time Lord Founders

There are known to be six founding Time Lords, though only three have ever been named.
These founders helped to establish Time Lord society and technology.

Rassilon

He is perhaps the single greatest figure in Time Lord history, certainly the most important, and is generally considered the First Time Lord.

The list of what Rassilon has done is extensive, but among these things he has:

• Invented TARDISes
• Mastered time travel
• Battled and defeated the Great Vampires
• Ended the "Dark Times" of Gallifrey's past
• Created the foundations of Time Lord science
  
  
• He may have created Time Lords themselves - the genetic link that lets Time Lords travel through time without ill effects, is known as the Rassilon Imprimatur.
  
  
• He created the Eye of Harmony - a black hole that was captured and contained under the panoction. This harnessed black hole was said to power all of Time Lord civilization, including TARDISes

Many rumours also surround Rassilon's death, but the most persistent say he discovered a form of true immortality beyond regeneration. But he hid this secret with his remains in the Tomb of Rassilon

It was later discovered that Rassilon did indeed discover immortality, but realised it was too dangerous a secret to share so hid it in his tomb. The penance for anyone wishing to live for ever was to be turned into a statue.


Omega
Sometimes called the First Time Lord, though this title is more often given to Rassilon.

In the 'Dark Times' of Gallifrey, Omega created the Hand of Omega - a devise which could "customise stars" Working with Rassilon, Omega harnessed the energy from the stars, and used it to enabled the TARDISes and Time Lords to travel through time.


Both Omega and the Hand were believed lost, but both actually survived Omega was transported through a black hole to a universe of anti-matter, which he was able to shape through his mind.

He stayed there, trapped, for millennia, and still wearing the amour and helmet he designed to protect him from the corrosive effect of the anti-matter.

Twice, Omega has tried to have revenge on the Time Lords for abandoning him:

• The world he was trapped in was unstable, so he tried to capture the Doctor to take his place. Both the 2nd and 3rd Doctor were brought there, but Omega finds that his body has been diminished, and he only exists in mental form.
  
  
• Trying to escape his prison again, Omega merged with the 5th Doctor through the Arc of Infinity, located in Amsterdam, but the Doctor foils his plot.
  

The Other

He was known as one of the three members of the Truimvirate, who founded the Time Lord Society after the cult of pyhtia was ended.

But the birth and origin of The Other is still a mystery among the Time Lords...

As Rassilon's's rule moved closer to despotism and Gallifrey's borders were sealed, the Other attempted to escape the planet by hurling himself into the Looms to await eventual reconstitution.

Some sources imply that he was re-loomed some ten million years later to the House of Lungbarrow as the Time Lord who would become known as the Doctor...

While other people believe that the Other's biodata left in the Looms gave rise to a certain Time Lord characteristic, namely that of discontentment and a rebellious streak. This is widely known as the characteristic that the deacs generation of Time Lords displayed

Govermnent

Time Lord society was governed by the High Council, sometimes called the Supreme Council. It was generally content, owing to their policy of non-intervention, which may have been part of the reason why the Doctor, and certain other Time Lords, decided to leave Gallifrey.

The High Council of Gallifrey consisted of an Inner Council of the Lord or Lady President, the Lord or Lady Chancellor, the Cardinals, the Castellain and the Chancellory Guard.

The President
The President had near absolute authority, and used a link to the Matrix (a computer network containing the knowledge and experiences of all past generations of Time Lords) to set the Time Lord policies and remain alert to potential threats from lesser civilisations.


For much of his life, the Doctor himself has been either considered as a possible next President, or has been given the title and is the official President of Gallifrey. However, although he did occasionally use that title, the Doctor never remained on Gallifrey long enough to take up a permanent mantel. Often he left other Time Lords as acting Presidents while he was away since he did not want the responsibility.

Presidents of Gallifrey included:
Pandad
Borusa
Flavia
Romana
The Inquisiter


The Chancellor
The Chancellor was a high position within the Time Lord Government. They acted as the Presidents second, and also oversaw the Castellan, who were in charge of all security.

Chancellors of Gallifrey included:
Goth
Borusa
Thalia
Valyes
Theora
Flavia - Who then became Lady President.


The Cardinals
The Cardinals represented the colleges of Gallifrey. Out of the three colleges known, the Prydonians, the Arcalians, and the Patrexes, the Prydonians are the more prestigious.


Cardinals of Gallifrey included:
Zorac
Leandi
Irving Braxiatel


The Castellan
The Castellan were were responsible for overseeing the Chancellory Guard and therefore in charge of the security of Gallifrey. The various Commanders of the Chancellory Guard itself acted as the Castellan's subordinates.

The Castellan's of Gallifrey included:
Spandrell
Andred
Kelner
Wynter
Hedin


The Chancellory Guard
Security and law were enforced by the Chancellory Guard, who were under the command of the Castellan. So, they were basically Gallifrey's version of police.

Other offices that were affiliated with the council included the offices of the Gold Usher, the Surgeon General, and The Inquisitor.

The Time War

Time Lords vs Daleks... where Time itself is used as a weapon... The entirety of time and space on the verge of being destroyed, and only one man to stop it.
I think I'll leave this up to The Doctor...

What happened?
'My planet's gone. It's dead. It burned... It's just rocks and dust. Before its time... There was a war. A Time War. The Last Great Time War. My people fought a race called the Daleks, for the sake of all creation. And they lost. We lost. Everyone lost. They're all gone now. My family. My friends. Even that sky...'
~~~~~
The Doctor: Your race is dead! You all burned, all of you! Ten million ships on fire! The entire Dalek race wiped out in one second!
Dalek: You lie!
The Doctor: I watched it happen! I made it happen!
Dalek: You destroyed us?!
The Doctor: ... I had no choice.
Dalek: And what of the Time Lords?
The Doctor: Dead. They burned with you. The end of the Last Great Time War.
~~~~~
'I was the only one who could end it. And I tried, I did; I tried everything.'
~~~~~
Rose: The Dalek survived, maybe one of your people did too?
The Doctor: I'd know in here. Feels like there's no one.
~~~~~
The Master: The Time Lords only resurrected me because they knew I'd be the perfect warrior for a Time War. I was there when the Dalek Emperor took control of the Cruciform. I saw it. I ran. I ran so far... because I was so scared.
~~~~~
'I'm a Time Lord. I'm the last of the Time Lords. They're all gone. I'm the only survivor...You think it'll last forever... But it won't.'

The Aftermath
The war had consequences up and down history. Although the name of the Time Lords lived on in legend and myth, the universe was a changed place....

'...when the Time Lords kept their eye on everything, you could pop between realities and be back in time for tea. Then they died, and took it all with them. The walls of reality closed, the world was sealed, and everything became that bit less kind...'

Although The Doctor contemplates using the TARDIS to travel back to before the war and save his race, he knows that this will create a paradox by crossing his own timestream. He also is tempted by the by the power of the Skasis Paradigm which would give him the ability to reorder the universe... 'I could stop the war'... but, as he frequently comments: there was nothing he can do, and he can't change it now...

Those effected by the war
'The Time War raged, invisible to smaller species but devastating to higher forms..'

• The Nestene Consciousness - it's planet was destoyed in the war.
• The Gelth - their bodies had been destroyed by the war.
• The Time Lords - Destroyed, erased from existence.
  
• The Daleks - Exterminated.
  
• The Doctor - left to live with the consequences of his actions and travel on, the last of his kind...