History[]
The Time Lords are the ruling elite of the planet Gallifrey (a.k.a. 'space Glasgow'). Although they look human on the outside, they are in fact a race of extremely powerful beings who have a unique relationship with time, thanks to one of their founding fathers, Rassilon. They rarely use their great powers though, preferring to simply observe the universe from the safety of their Citadel on Gallifrey. Their non-interventionist policy came about partly because early in their history they made mistakes which caused chaos on other worlds, and partly through institutionalised aloofness and inertia. They do, however, jealously guard the secrets of time travel, sometimes acting to stop others from using it, regardless of whether they have any right to. There is apparently a secretive organisation called the Celestial Intervention Agency which exists to take any action needed to safeguard the Time Lords' interests in the wider universe. Whether or not this Agency is answerable to the Time Lords' ruling High Council and its President is unclear.
The Time Lords eventually fought the Last Great Time War against the Daleks, another race which had discovered the secrets of time travel. The war devastated much of the universe, and ended with the apparent destruction of both races by the renegade Time Lord known as The Doctor. However, both races ultimately proved to have survived. The Time Lords moved Gallifrey from its original location in the constellation of Kasterborus to an undisclosed location at the very end of the universe in the far future, for its own protection.
Powers and abilities[]
Powers
Various, not all catalogued, including telepathy and in some cases the ability to influence the minds of lesser species.
Abilities
The Time Lords' most useful ability is bodily regeneration; they can literally rebuild themselves in a totally new form if fatally injured. This appears to be an artificially acquired ability, and in theory can only be done twelve times (giving each Time Lord a total of thirteen lives) although it is possible for a Time Lord to be granted additional regenerations by the High Council. They also have various built-in advantages including two hearts and a respiratory bypass system which enables them to survive for lengthy periods without oxygen. They are capable of surviving exposure to the vacuum of space for brief periods. A piece of genetic manipulation called the Rassilon Imprimature gives them the ability to travel in time.
Strength level
Seemingly greater than human normal.
Paraphernalia[]
Transportation
TARDIS time capsules.
Notes[]
When a Time Lord dies (at least, if he or she does so at home under medical care) an imprint of their mind and memories is saved in the Matrix, the repository of all Time Lord knowledge.
Trivia[]
According to Twice upon a Time, the Daleks' database (the Dalek hive mind) is bigger than the Time Lords' database (the Matrix).
Links[]
- Appearances of Time Lords
- Character Gallery: Time Lords
- Images that feature Time Lords
- Fan-Art Gallery: Time Lords
- Time Lords quotations
Discover and Discuss[]
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