Interlude :

Time War,

Rassillion.

CHAPTER:

Rassillon, alongside his mate Omega, were once simple engineers... well... perhaps "Simple" wasn't the right word to describe them. They had never been simple, nor ordinary, but they hadn't been born kings.

They were once mere Gallifreyans. Though, like all of their species, they already had two hearts and other such redundant organs. This all but guaranteed them a life expectancy of 3000 years, which could be extended further with proper medical care. Still this was long before the discovery of the regeneration process.

She, as Rassillion had started life as a she, was initially regarded as a superior engineer and architect. Known as a solar engineer, one of a small number of the elite Gallifreyan Scientists. Her mate, the Omega, had a similar title.

Before these two were even born, the Gallifreyans had been exploring space for millenniums... though they had grown stagnant. Purely due to the lack of things to explore.

Most of what they found, outside their own binary solar system, was still developing space dust. Maybe the occasional star, with planets beginning to form around it... but no other true worlds, and certainly not life.

Gallifrey, was the first world to manifest. And the only known world to support life.

It was of particular shock, when Rassillion stumbled on a lost child... an alien, that had fallen from a crack in the universe... a child from another dimension... With no way to return the child, Rassillion decided to adopt him... The unexpected parents, spent years in happy ignorance... until the child had an accident... and died... only to get right back up, with a brand new body.

Through the child, Rassillion discovered the nature of regeneration energy. And graphed it to herself.

Later the child, with the aid of Rassillion and Omega, led their planet into a golden age. Uniting the warring countries, through the promise of regeneration. Limiting the extra lives to just 12, while giving the ruling class an infinite supply. That way their planet wouldn't suffer from a truly immortal race, while still maintaining the same ruling council of honorable individuals.

There was additional genetic engineering done to each citizen. Such as preventing those with infinite regeneration energy, from passing it down to their children, or it reemerging in their descendants. It was a hard choice, but besides the global leaders, their planet couldn't support immortals.

Children of Gallifrey :

This eventually became a moot point, with the invention of Looms. Which created genetically engineered babies, a million at a time. These babies were designed, to never develop a sex drive, not even when they reached their prime. This was done, to completely control breeding, as a near immortal race would require, to prevent dangerous levels of over-population.

These children were divided into "Clutches", where they are trained for a specific trade, which they were created for.

Around the time the child turns 42, when they usually finish schooling, they are taken under the wing of a "Sensei", to learn a specialization in their trade.

Or, they join the Time Lord Institute, where they work towards earning a title of nobility. As Nobility must be earned, on Gallifrey, not inherited.

Government of Gallifrey :

The only naturally born leaders, are the original heads of each clutch. Whom have infinite regeneration energy, and Rassillion, ruling over them all.

While this council rules, the Time Lords act as their advisors. Keeping the head of their clutch in check, with rights to both propose, and veto bills. While travelling the universe, as historians, and occasionally acting as commanding officers.

The child that inadvertently caused all this, simply by existing, came to call herself "The Other", and ruled in her own right. As Princess of Gallifrey. As a Spiritual Symbol.

As Rassillion ruled over the planet, acting as the guiding voice to the council, as "Lord President". Essentially a "God King Emperor", with a less provocative title.

The Omega ruled over their clutch, in the science division.

Time Travel :

Eventually, this trinity made another discovery... Time Travel. Which they largely determined to be impossible.

The only way to truly travel to the past, was to create Paradoxes. Where individuals from the future, must fulfill a specific Time Loop, in the past, or an Alternate Reality is created.

At first, the Time Lords found a way around this, by sending their conciousness back in time, to merge with a younger version of themselves... but they weren't happy with that limitation.

There were plans to create a "Time Vortex", to allow for greater levels of Time Travel, that would self correct most Paradoxes, without fear of creating separate dimensions.

Now this is where things start to differ, as in this reality, higher beings found out what the Time Lords were up to, and stopped them from meddling with the Physics of their reality.

The "gods", calling themselves the "Q", then explained that manipulating such laws of nature, would do more harm then good. Instead, advising the Time Lords to look into traveling to the future. As that was always changing and shifting, with little risk of harming reality.

The Q Continuum :

The Time Lords eventually learned these "Higher Beings" were in reality Time Lords from another universe. That had ascended into beings of pure consciousness alone. They weren't even made up of energy, just thoughts.

• The Time Lords, of the Prime Universe, were the first Lifeforms to ascend into deities. For this Cosmos anyway. However, they did so by destroying their reality, in order to end their Time War. Which triggered a cascade effect, destroying all universes that came from their's... meaning they destroyed all life in the cosmos.

However, as floating around in an empty void, got boring. They triggered a new big bang, and constructed a new reality from there, which they called the "Main Universe". Which sparked an infinity of multiverses, and pocket dimensions, throughout the Cosmos. Resurrecting it.

• These Time Lord "Gods" can exist in multiple places at once. As, if you split Infinity in half, it's still infinity. They have such an enormous over mind, that each aspect of their personality was, in of themselves, separate individuals. While Simultaneously being part of the same whole.

• The Q might not need to, but they enjoy taking physical form. Often appearing as the same species they choose to speak with.

The Main Universe :

• The Q created all life, and even the planets they evolved on, by guiding and shaping them into what they are now. They triggered the big bang in order to create matter through energy. Then acted more as gardeners over the universe, then truly creator gods. Shaping and pruning, but not directly conjuring lifeforms into existence.

Known Q:

Ascended Time Lords, which only call themselves by their chosen name, among other higher beings. Normally just introducing themselves as "Q."

• Rassillion.

The first Time Lord to have Regeneration energy, which they got by analyzing The Timeless Child. Later made the Leader of Time Lords. Until they were deposed by the Doctor.

• The Doctor.

The Timeless Child, and a version of the Doctor that stopped trying. Allowing their universe to be destroyed. Something they deeply regret doing.

One personality, in their over-mind, is constantly testing Humans, to prove to themselves it was really them.

While others realize how unhealthy that is. Even detrimental to this new breed of humanoids, to constantly compare them to what came before.

• This Q based on "A Captain and A Madman", by "RazielLordofSquirrels". as well as "Demiurge" by "Alara Rogers". Having first met Doctor Manhattan, from DC Comic's "Watchmen" in a separate universe, and bringing him back to the Main Universe.

• Doctor Manhattan actually met a different incarnation of the Doctor, the one native to his original universe, and had a meaningful, and unusually domestic talk with him. Such as, in the fic, "Life on Mars" by "War Journalist". Which later helped Doctor Manhattan trust this Q.

• Doctor Manhattan, in gratitude to his own Doctor, assigned himself the task of looking after Midgard, in the Styx Leyline. As that solar system will one day be used as a Refugee camp, for some of the races, the main universe's Doctor, will save in the war against the Daleks.

• Romana

An old companion of the Doctor. At one point, during a time of peace, and after her adventures with the Doctor, this version was Lord President to the Time Lords. However, that ended, when the Time War started, and Rassillion was brought back.

They are the other Q, from the episode "Deja Q", who not only insisted the Doctor Q be stripped of his powers. But later restored them.

• The Master.

The Female Q, from Star Trek Voyager. They mellowed out, and re-kindled their relationship with the Doctor. Although they remain a jealous entity.

Gallifreyians of the Main Universe :

The Gallifreyans had always had a special connection with time. Due to a temporal rift on their planet. They could perceive the 4th dimension of time, greater then any race of psychics that would ever develop.

Though their perception merely allowed them a compression of history, as if out of a children's text book. They saw everything that had happened, was happening, could happen... and must never happen. However, they knew only the key events, as the finer details were a mystery to them.

The Gallifreyans, instinctually wanted to explore time, to learn these finer details. However, like disobedient children after a scolding, they were mindful to listen to the "gods" of their Reality. Allowing the limitations to stand.

These Gallifreyians never achieved the ability to craft their own universe, nor to rule over it as their own gods.

Nor did they need to, as their universe was relatively peaceful. The Q designed the universe, to not have Galactic threats.

There were no Daleks, Mass Effect Reapers, Halo Flood, nor zombie apocalypses. None of these threats are native to the Main Universe...

Unfortunately, the Q learned, the cosmos always balances itself out... as these threats manifested elsewhere in the multiverse... and found there way to the Main Universe. Now, as a result of attempting to keep them contained, they had become Cosmic Level Threats, with powers that could actually kill a Q.

Dimensional Engineering :

Still not satisfied, the Gallifreyians of the Main Universe, made to explore other realities.

First creating "Bigger on the inside" houses, by crafting a pocket dimension at the edge of "Subspace" and linking it to a physical anchor, in their dimension. Later developing ships that could do the same... and later still, allowing these ships to travel the void of space.

Through the Multiverse, Time Lords discovered incomprehensible dangers. And eventually chose to lock all portals away, for fear of them following them back to their own reality.

But unfortunately, The Other never gave up her experiments with Interdimensional Travel... and as the Time Lords feared... something followed her return. Notably, Daleks, whom had been trapped in the void between universes, thanks to a different universe's solution to contain them.

The Daleks proved themselves a ferocious enemy to all life. Slaughtering everything not in itself Dalek... Including The Other.

The Various Rassillions :

Rassillion had always been fascinated by his interdimensional counterparts. As they were so unlike himself.

Creating the Time Vortex, which did exist in other realities, would have resulted in the death of Omega. Which, in turn, would have made Rassillion have to grieve the later loss of their adopted child... alone.

But in this reality, limitless Time Travel was never attempted, so Omega lived... and so Rassillion had someone to share his grief with.

It's remarkable, that one little thing resulted in so much good for all of Gallifrey.

While the other universes suffered their Rassillion's callus rule, The Main Universe experienced a billion year Golden Age, even while fighting a war with the Daleks. Through the help of the Q, the Interdimensional Daleks proved more an annoyance, then a threat... at first.

Mostly because, despite their power, they couldn't figure out how to travel in this universe's Time Vortex, to gain any true advantage over the Time Lords.