A/N: I do not own Doctor Who, much as I admire it. The Tinker is a product of my imagination. I welcome reviews, especially since this is my first fanfic here.
Enjoy!
Excerpt from a report filed by the Tinker for review by the High Council of Time Lords and the Lord President of Gallifrey:
The Type 40 Time Travel Capsules, while a tremendous innovation when initially developed, have grown increasingly unreliable, especially among the earliest. For instance, although the 40s were designed to accommodate 6 pilots working in tandem, it was quickly discovered that the telepathic matrices (the governing intelligence of a TARDIS) had a tendency to bond with a single dominant mind to the exclusion of the other five. Unfortunately, given the physical component to piloting this model, this would result in highly unstable flight through the time vortex.
Furthermore, the older matrices have shown signs of what appears to be either rebelliousness or senility, both equally undesirable traits in an intelligence of a TT capsule. Pilots have reported instances of arrival in space/time locations vastly different from their intended destinations, despite checks and rechecks of the coordinate input. As far as can be determined, the matrices are convinced that they are arriving at the correct destinations. Examinations of the mechanical components have been inconclusive. It is the consensus that the fault lays with the TARDIS matrices themselves.
Since any form of communication with the 11-dimensional intelligence of a TARDIS is at best extremely difficult, determination of the cause of the apparent mental breakdown is virtually impossible. Absent a breakthrough in this regard, it is the recommendation that the Type 40 be retired completely as soon as a more reliable design can be realized, and any travel using a Type 40 should be undertaken only with extreme caution.