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- Blackveil Entertainment's FOREMAN
- Series Bible – Character Bios, Background Information, Lore and Metatext
- Table of Contents
- Introduction
- 1. Cast and Characters
- ◦ Main Characters
- ◦ Supporting Cast
- ◦ Recurring Villains
- 2. Setting and Scenarios
- ◦ Gallifrey
- ◦ Skaro
- ◦ UNIT
- ◦ Time Travel as Setting
- ◦ Intergalactic Politics (circa 21st Century)
- ◦ The Future (including notes on Earth)
- 3. A Brief History of The Doctor
- ◦ Lungbarrow
- ◦ The Academy Years
- ◦ Renegade
- ◦ Return
- ◦ The War in Heaven
- ◦ Exile
- 4. The Laws of Space and Time
- ◦ The Laws of Time
- ◦ The Multiverse
- ◦ The Upper Dimensions
- ◦ The Bleed, the Void, and Hypertime
- 5. Storytelling
- ◦ Serials, Side-Stories, and Spinoffs
- ◦ Story and Character
- ◦ Background, History, and how to Make it Count
- ◦ Themes and Thematics
- ◦ … There are No Rules
- Introduction
- Welcome to Blackveil Entertainment's FOREMAN, a ground-up reboot of the BBC's venerable Doctor Who
- property. Unlicensed, unauthorised, unofficial – but very, very exciting. In FOREMAN, Blackveil seeks to
- synthesise fifty years of scattered storytelling into an entirely new (but often familiar) universe. More than
- anything else, what will make FOREMAN stand out is the two-pronged approach it's taking. Despite bearing
- a fully-developed Canon before the outset, FOREMAN is 'Open Source'. Anyone who wants to be involved
- need only shoot Blackveil HQ an idea – and chances are, we'll take it.
- Branching across at least three major mediums (film, audio-drama, and sequential art), FOREMAN aims to
- avoid budgetary limits to stories by working as flexibly as possible in an array of styles. It is also my hope
- that FOREMAN will avoid the deeply problematic storylines and storytelling of more recent seasons of Who.
- FOREMAN should, in the end, be about things. There should be meaning and themes and ideas behind the
- stories and characters.
- With this in mind, I have created a number of documents. Some of them, like this, are more-or-less
- accessible to all. Some are top-secret. Thus far there are solid ideas in place for a full six seasons in the life
- of our First Doctor, charting a journey from charismatic exile to lovestruck wastrel to much, much darker
- places and back. Each Season will be constructed in two Blocs of seven serials – single stories split into
- episodic instalments - and each Season will be constructed around a driving theme.
- This is Season One, the very beginning, and I think it is fitting that a series with so much potential to explore
- real and meaningful stories begins by focusing on Stories themselves. The central themes for Season One are
- Narratives, Folklore, Identity and The Power of Stories.
- And with our diverse cast and our willingness to experiment, I think we can take those themes to very
- exciting places.
- If you're reading this, it probably means I've hired you. Or 'hired' you, if you prefer. So keep reading. Start
- exploring.
- FOREMAN is coming, and it's all up to you.
- Jack Miles – Chief Creative Officer, Blackveil Entertainment
- 10/12/14
- 1. Cast and Characters
- Main Characters
- • The Doctor (played by Jack Miles)
- Approximately 300 years old, the Doctor hails from the planet Gallifrey. Brilliant even by
- the standards of his race, the Doctor is also deeply troubled – a widower, a war survivor, and
- an orphan, he carries deep scars from his long life. If he is to be defined by anything, it is his
- love of freedom and his lust for life. He watched his father disappear into the skies and was
- raised with his siblings by his mother in a crumbling mansion, and ever since then he has
- dreamed of escape, of a life lived to the fullest and one that enriches others.
- Since the end of the War in Heaven, the Doctor has been a self-defined exile from his
- homeworld, wandering the universe alone in his outdated TARDIS – a TARDIS that once
- belonged to his childhood hero and Academy tutor, Borusa (also known as the Corsair). He
- follows a simple code of ethics as he travels, intervening where intervention is necessary and
- doing good with every step. He refuses to bear arms and carries only a Sonic Screwdriver, an
- omnipurpose tool that cannot kill or wound – although he is a practised master in Venusian
- Akido, a potent multi-species martial art.
- Best defined as a man of action, the Doctor can be stern and taciturn, meting out
- punishments unto the wicked and rescuing the disenfranchised and the weak. At his core, the
- Doctor is a pure and noble soul who cannot stand to see the individual or lowly suffer at the
- hands of the conglomerate or the powerful. His patience is vast but easily lost, his temper
- terrifying and potent. Deeply cunning but honest to a fault, the Doctor works behind the
- scenes of history to ensure freedom, justice, and hope can thrive in the cold but beautiful
- universe.
- Of all the planets, Earth is his favourite. It sparkles in a way nothing else can, that little blue
- world, those delicate, powerful human beings. He embraces the culture with both hands,
- carries the banner of humanity to every place he goes. What the Doctor loves is embodied in
- Earth and its potential.
- Kind, clever, calculating and capricious, the Doctor is a bruised and angry soul that fights
- against his injuries in an effort to do good. He is a light in the darkness, but he will never
- believe it – as far as he is concerned, he is a vulnerable, flawed being acting out against the
- cosmos. He may be right.
- But it doesn't stop him from being a good man. And it cannot stop him from falling in love
- again.
- • Nirvi Chandratreya (played by Claudia Boleyn)
- A politics student – third-year as of 2015 – Nirvi Chandratreya's history is saturated in
- change and transition. Her father emigrated from India as a young man in the 1980's, her
- mother as a child in the 70's. Their strong belief in Islam was enriching and uplifting, and
- Nirvi and her sister grew up in a happy home.
- Inspired by her parents courage – especially the outspoken Feminism of her mother – Nirvi
- immersed herself in literature. She grew up strong-willed and unflappable, a Feminist
- defined by her belief in intersectionality and her despise for oppression in all forms. She
- entered Politics hoping to affect real change on the world, full of fire and fury.
- But it didn't last. Shortly after starting her studies, Nirvi realised that she no longer had faith
- – that she did, in fact, believe in no God at all. With this newfound Atheism, Nirvi felt she
- had lost contact with her roots – with her last real connection to her heritage beyond the
- colour of her skin. It shook her, and she lost her sense of belonging.
- Since then, Nirvi has been fighting for a special kind of recognition – from some 'Other' – to
- help her redefine herself. She has lost none of her courage or confidence, but her newly-lost
- sense of identity has left her feeling hollowed-out, and where once she was fiery and fierce
- she is now brittle and prone to snapping. Her family and friends support her endlessly, but
- she cannot quite accept it without that final, transient affirmation. Nirvi Chandratreya knows
- who she is supposed to be, but not who she is anymore, and while she believes in her causes
- and their truth, she no longer quite believes in herself.
- Despite this, she is still every bit as strong as before. She is intelligent and articulate, wellread
- and with a deep well of compassion. Her brittleness makes her intimidating – she has no
- time for fools, for nonsense, or for the kind of culture she hates, and where the Doctor is a
- slow-burning explosion Nirvi is a firecracker, snapping at the dictators of the universe and
- cheering for the underdog with the kind of passion only the young and righteous can muster.
- While her self-belief has cracked, Nirvi is still her own entity, possessed of so much agency
- and fire one could overlook her vulnerability.
- What Nirvi wants is to find out who she is meant to be – and if other people help her with
- that, so be it. If it changes her in the process? That's okay, too. And if she falls in love...?
- She doesn't know the answer to that, yet.
- • Andrew Westfield (played by Leo Knowles)
- Andrew Westfield, 26, is an up-and-coming boffin at U.N.I.T – the United Nations
- Intelligence Taskforce. Raised singlehandedly by his mother (with some help from his Uncle
- Teddy), Andrew is defined by his dedication to his pursuits and interests. He can be
- fastidious, anal-retentive, stubborn, overly-focused on minor details and a true-blue stick-inthe-
- mud – Andrew is a man who likes order, routine, and a cup of tea at precise two-hour
- intervals. After being caught up in the Millennium Bug Affair of 1999, Andrew became
- obsessed with extraterrestrials and began a campaign to draw the attention of UNIT, which
- succeeded when he hacked a major database and replaced their files with cat gifs.
- But the Bug Affair involved the mysterious Doctor, and Andrew became more obsessed with
- him than anything else. The resident expert on UNIT's 'Fugitive Nil', Andrew meticulously
- catalogued and compiled the Doctor's history on Earth, desperate for another meeting with
- the man. Perhaps driven by his lonely childhood or his uncle's passing interest in the stars,
- Andrew became a hard-working and recognised figure in the UNIT headquarters and a
- personal friend of Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart.
- Andrew is, at all times, a passionate and driven figure. His taste for rules and routines may
- define him, but he is no stranger to improvisation and has full UNIT field training. A crack
- shot and a fine strategist, Andrew brings his regimented mind to combat with gusto. While
- he is pragmatic and frequently favours authority, he is no coward and knows, at the end of
- the day, which side he is on. He can be panicked easily and prone to fluster, but his golden
- heart wins true and Andrew can always be counted on to pull through and be a steadfast
- friend in calm or troubled waters.
- Supporting Characters
- • Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart (played by George Porter)
- Born some time in the 1980's, Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart is the only child of
- legendary UNIT founder General St. John Lethbridge-Stewart and follows his fathers
- footsteps with gusto. A bold and inspiring presence, the Brigadier is the epitome of British
- militaria – stiff upper lip, no-nonsense, and a father to his men. Openly homosexual, with
- two adopted daughters, the Brigadier has no time for discrimination of any kind and finds a
- kindred spirit in many of the aliens who pass his way as Commanding Officer of UNIT UK.
- The Brigadier may be a staunch supporter of Queen and Country, but he is in no way bound
- by the rules. He has no issue with bending or outright breaking them when it is necessary for
- the greater good or betterment of the suffering. Through his warm nature and his strong
- principles, both Andrew and the Doctor find the Brigadier a firm friend and a fine ally. In
- command of the overall operations of UNIT's UK branch, the Brigadier will take every step
- necessary to ensure the safety of the British population, be they alien or terrestrial.
- Strong-willed, courageous, and rather fond of a pint, the Brigadier's iron will is all but
- unbreakable. He may take risks or defy protocol to solve problems, but this is no mere
- insubordination – at his core, Alistair is a man who will never sacrifice his integrity.
- • Alex Starling (played by Kevin Smyth)
- Alex Starling is Nirvi's University housemate and former boyfriend. A transgender man,
- Alex has fought long and hard to own and discover his identity and has emerged a fiery
- young man. Something of a party animal, Alex and Nirvi broke up over his wanton thrillseeking,
- but have since remained very close – and both would do anything for the other.
- Instrumental in defeating the invasion of Axos, Alex now sits at the sidelines as the Doctor
- and Nirvi travel the universe. He is a companion without the travel, refusing to abandon terra
- firma but utterly delighted by the Doctor and his adventures. Real danger is not something
- Alex seeks, but he will stand his ground if it comes for him.
- More than anything, Alex is still Nirvi's emotional rock. He is there to listen when the darker
- aspects of the cosmos are getting to her, and he is there to tell the Doctor off when he goes
- too far or makes mistakes. Endlessly compassionate, if rather selfish in his actions, Alex is a
- good man and will stand by Nirvi no matter what. Right now, he's happy knowing she's on
- adventures with someone else who cares as much as him.
- • Irving Braxatiel (played by Charlie Powell)
- The Doctor's younger sibling – genderfluid, and so frequently either male or female – goes
- by the deliberately ridiculous name of Irving Braxatiel. Where the Doctor is an open rebel
- without a cause, Irving prefers the quiet life and their rebellion manifests in little acts of
- insubordination against their employer, the Celestial Intervention Agency of Gallifrey.
- Having passed their exams with excellent marks, Irving was quickly snapped up by this elite
- group of Time Lords and has worked with them for roughly 150 years.
- Irving has established Earth as their 'hub' for CIA operations, and their equipment includes a
- well-furnished estate with dimensionally transcendent architecture, allowing them to curate
- the Braxatiel Collection. This huge array of artefacts from across space and time serves as
- Irving's hobby and a useful method of calling their big brother in to have a chat – nothing
- gets the Doctor to pop over like an unidentifiable piece of kit.
- Using their position, Irving keeps tabs on the Doctor and keeps him up-to-date on current
- Time Lord politics. They have abused their power several times to keep the Doctor out of
- prison or to use him as a less-prohibited proxy. Despite the vast power the CIA grants them,
- Irving ultimately cannot act without a sanction. They remain, therefore, a little in the
- background, quietly working to make Earth, and the universe at large, a better place and the
- Doctor's life easier.
- • Suzar Chandratreya
- Nirvi's father, Suzar emigrated from India during the 1980's. Originally a terrific
- stockbroker, Suzar later moved onto consultancy and has supervised and assisted dozens of
- businesses. He is shrewd and clever, with very little time for the prejudices of the Western
- world or his own – though he is still rather traditional and very nostalgic for home. His
- stubbornness and distrust of white Anglophones has left him quite concerned for the ultimate
- fate of his daughters. He can see that the two are both culturally adrift and does not want
- them to lose their identities or suffer the indignity of homogenisation. Despite that, he is
- always compassionate and always listening – even if his longing for peace and quiet means
- he will often keep his own concerns to himself.
- • Netra Chandratreya
- Nirvi's mother, a first-generation British-Indian. Spirited but loving in every way, Netra
- glides through life with a kind of mellow conviction. Her faith is her rock – a modernist take
- on Islam that she summarises thusly: 'Allah doesn't judge you for what you believe, or who
- you love. He judges you if you're a dick'. Having grown up in Britain, Netra sees India with
- a strange half-nostalgia, thinking of it as a house but not a home, and so she has no issue
- with the cultural melange her daughters inhabit. Strongly feminist and forever outspoken,
- Netra holds her family together through thick and thin via sheer benign will.
- • Yamini Chandratreya
- Nirvi's little sister. Fifteen years old and utterly wired, 'Mini' inhabits the heady world of the
- now – everything is an adventure in its own way, worth preserving in Instagrams and Vines.
- She runs a baking blog with a thousand subscribers. She draws pictures of cats eating the
- Prime Minister. She's also easily bored, extremely flippant, and not actually very interested
- in anything for very long. She can't quite understand her sister's activism or her mother's
- passionate words – things that take that much effort to support just aren't worth it to her. But
- she still cares, in her own way, and she can throw a helluva tantrum when she has to.
- • Theodore 'Teddy' Bradshaw
- Andrew's uncle, Teddy Bradshaw is a country gent, born and bred. Well-off and comfortable,
- Teddy gave vast swathes of the last two decades to help bring up Andrew in the absence of
- his father. Andrew's mother, Lillian, was always there for Teddy in their youth – he returned
- the favour by doting on the frail, introverted boy and indulging in their mutual hobby of
- stargazing.
- When Teddy was a boy, he and a group of friends saw a star fall from the sky, and ever since
- they have been united by their fascination with 'alliens', as they call them. This sweet and
- enduring little club meet every Wednesday at The Double Barrel pub and Andrew was often
- present growing up. Teddy, always benevolent in the broadest way, turned his nephew into
- something of a mascot.
- Teddy is best described as dear but dim. While he is well-educated, he lacks a certain
- sharpness that his sister and her son carry. Still, he is a perfectly likeable, affable man with a
- strong spirit.
- Recurring Villains
- • The Daleks
- Monstrous creatures from the planet Skaro, the Daleks are the horrific byproduct of a
- prolonged and ugly civil war. When a small territorial dispute mutated into a planet-wide
- conflict, a segment of Skarosian society hid away in the bunker-city of Kaled to plot and
- plan. These 'Kaleds' became a frightening fascistic society, and when their greatest mind
- discovered that the nuclear-chemical war would reduce their species to helpless freaks, she
- resolved to change the outcome.
- The Daleks have thus been re-engineered, pre-mutated in centuries long past to be ruthless,
- nigh-emotionless genocidal supremacists. The Dalek itself is a near-helpless squid-like
- creature, but they are wrapped from birth in terrible War Machines – mobile tanks and lifesupport
- systems made from nigh-indestructible bonded polycarbide and armed with weapons
- designed to kill in the most painful way. Until the Doctor and his companions appeared on
- Skaro and broke into Kaled, the Daleks believed that the war was over and they were alone
- in the universe. Now, they know the stars are teeming with lifeforms that repulse them on
- deep, primal levels – for Daleks are conditioned to the core to believe they are the supreme
- beings. Everything else is sickness.
- Their society is rigidly segregated into two Classes, further split into eight Castes. The
- Lower Classes are their rank-and-file workers: silver Drones that toil endlessly, blue
- Scientists studying sick theorems, green Strategists who plot their nightmarish campaigns,
- and red Soldiers, killing millions on the field of war. The High Classes represent the elite of
- Dalek society: orange Bureaucrats, keeping society ordered, bronze Chancellors to debate
- and mold the Dalek Empire, purple Judges meting out justice to enemies of the state, and
- ivory Supremes to represent the mighty Emperor.
- The Daleks hate endlessly and without question. Their lives are agony and their society sick,
- but theirs is the supreme way of living, the purest genetic paradigm. They will spread across
- the universe like antibodies, clearing it of the plague of inferior life.
- • The Master
- Once, he was Koschei of Oakdown. But his obsession with the Doctor, his oldest friend and
- secret love, turned him into a predator. Koschei died and the Master was born in a grand
- flash of light.
- Deeply consumed by his need for the Doctor's love, the Master led a bloody campaign
- throughout the Seven Systems and was sentenced to eternity in a Time Lord prison – an
- Oubliette, hanging from the Cruciform in the Shada complex. He has stewed, immobile, for
- centuries. And his rage has only grown.
- Since his genesis, the Master has been defined by singular emotions. He is deeply disturbed
- and mercurial, switching from one extreme to another in moments. At times, he is ice-cold
- and merciless and at others he is furious and manic. Emotions consume him from the insideout,
- but they cannot cancel his brilliance nor stop his obsession. He will master the Doctor's
- hearts or else burn the universe to the ground. There will be no compromise.
- The Master's mind is all but unparalleled – he passed his Time Lord exams with flying
- colours and flies an advanced Type 100 TARDIS single-handedly. With his laser focus and
- utter disregard for other life forms or consequences, he can enact master-strokes ad
- infinitum, fiendishly complex plots that all serve his singular purpose. He is cruel, fearless,
- callous and capricious. He is all but unstoppable. If he has any weakness, it is the same thing
- that makes him so deadly.
- At his core, he is vulnerable and fragile. The Master is emotionally stunted and volatile, but
- his wants are simple and understandable. Something, somewhere, broke his mind, and ever
- since he has been lashing out without understanding why. The Doctor mourns for his friend,
- who he loved with all his hearts, and will do whatever he can to save him. It may be a
- Sisyphean Task, but he cannot stop anymore than the Master will stop trying to have him for
- his own.
- • SKYWATCH
- SKYWATCH is the new face of mankind's hatred. Pure xenophobes, SKYWATCH formed in
- the late 1990's in response to a spike in alien activity on Earth and has spent the best part of
- that time slowly infecting organisations like UNIT and extraterrestrial contractors like
- Torchwood and International Electromatics. Their modus operandi is simple and virulent –
- Earth is for Earthlings. They know no creed or colour, only humanity, and to emphasise this
- their active agents wear frightening three-quarter masks to erase and unify their features.
- Armed with equipment cobbled together from stolen or reverse-engineered alien technology,
- SKYWATCH is beginning to mobilise in the face of growing alien communities and public
- awareness of their presence on Earth. No longer resigned to the shadows, SKYWATCH is
- now an open, violent terrorist organisation dedicated to 'purifying' the Earth.
- Their command structure is oblique, structured around interplay of Tarot and other
- superstitious metaphors. Their intent is to transform themselves into something mythological
- – a secular boogeyman to scare away the filthy aliens.
- i. The Ingénue
- The Ingénue, Alicia Blackthorne, is the utter pinnacle of the SKYWATCH chain of
- command. Nothing is done or organised without her input, her say-so, her genesis.
- Once, she was rich and frivolous – but something happened to her and she has since
- become the faceless, reclusive leader of this terrible organisation. Forever encased in
- a full mask and surrounded by information, the Ingénue strikes in a dozen places
- when her enemies expect only one. She is fiercely brilliant and a genuine
- sadomasochist, obsessed with pain and pleasure as much as she is wiping out what
- she views as a malignant occupation of Earth. She is frosty and flippant in the way
- only the very rich can be, completely unconcerned with the cost of things so long as
- the 'greater good' is served.
- She is also possessed of strange powers over technology and energy, and a hypnotic
- voice that can sway the weak-minded. These are the true power behind the success
- of SKYWATCH, having allowed her to seduce thousands to the cause and
- manipulate the information travelling the world. Her secret shame is that these
- powers were granted to her by the White Guardian – an extraterrestrial in their own
- right.
- ii. Hamilton Scobie
- Son of Major General Patrick Scobie, liaison to UNIT – and last in the line of this
- proud military family – Hamilton Scobie was a research scientist until he
- encountered Axos, a hive-mind from the depths of space. Axos poured itself into his
- mind and Hamilton became cripplingly addicted to the presence of it. His impressive
- intellect exploded and he performed incredible design work to create Axos'
- 'Ascension Engine', which would have enabled the creature to ascend into fourthdimensional
- consciousness at the cost of the solar system.
- Promised an especial life in the aftermath of Ascension and rapidly approaching
- pure narcissism, Hamilton was left despondent after Axos reformed and was trapped
- in a time loop due to the intervention of the Doctor and Nirvi. Shortly after his
- arrest, Hamilton was recruited by SKWATCH and has since turned his ragged-butbrilliant
- mind to designing new weaponry and equipment for the group. Since his
- downfall, he has nothing but contempt for aliens and buys into SKYWATCH's
- xenophobic philosophies with frightening gusto. He kills wantonly now, possessed
- of a disregard for human and alien life that can only be described as disturbing. Even
- the Ingénue treats him with a degree of caution and disdain.
- iii. Roberto Estevez
- Roberto spent a long time travelling. His mother and father were military and he
- spent his youth trotting the globe with them, going from base to base. When he
- joined UNIT, he was delighted to discover the sheer diversity of alien life on Earth...
- Until an incident that left dozens of human civilians injured.
- Roberto didn't realise he hated the aliens after that – not until SKYWATCH had
- found him, and he'd found a helmet on his doorstep. Now he believes in the cause,
- even if the methods can repulse him. He is a brilliant agent, so utterly unassuming
- and likeable that he has worked his way into the good books of many high-ranking
- agents. Most recently, he has embarked on a several-month campaign to seduce
- Andrew Westfield, a project at which he has succeeded outright.
- His feelings for Andrew are conflicted – a legitimate attraction spiralling out of a
- cover-job. But he has still stolen vital intelligence and was directly responsible for
- the success of the first major SKYWATCH attack on UNIT, achieved using
- documents he stole from Andrew after their frequent trysts. He is not a bad person,
- necessarily, but he is too comfortable with the actions of bad people and too deeply
- tied to them to be forgiven easily. Even if he truly cares for Andrew, he has used him
- and abused his trust.
- That will only end badly for both of them.
- • The Guardians
- The White and Black Guardians hail from the fifth-dimension – the highest inhabited area of
- reality. If the first three dimensions constitute space, and the fourth is time, the Guardians
- realm is metaphysics, the place where consciousness yokes the fundamental forces of the
- universe.
- Because of their immense cosmic presence, the Guardians (a twinned pair from a collective
- of six) interact with the material universe as one might with a drawing or story. Time, to
- them, is immaterial and they may manifest simultaneously across many points of history –
- and as their world is based on ideas and symbology, they are subject to infinite variations of
- the same thematic narratives, endlessly repeated throughout their lives.
- The White Guardian represents Order, and the Black Guardian represents Chaos. As the two
- concepts exist in perpetual struggle, the White and Black Guardians play a complex game of
- cosmic chess, with beings from the lower dimensions as their pawns and playthings. Existing
- outside Time, they have seen the Doctor's significance to the Universe and have both chosen
- him as a crucial piece in the current game – and ever since that decision, they have fought
- for him, for ownership of his soul.
- They have entered our reality at countless points, both as literal manifestations (appearing
- different to each individual) and as embodiments of their touch: Pawns, like ethereal
- soldiers, advancing to act out their ends. In their dedication to winning the Doctor, they have
- constructed a grand play, infiltrated Gallifreyan mythology as a fairytale. In this story, they
- are two brothers at war over the Key to Time, fighting for control of history until the Key
- was shattered into six and scattered throughout time and space – but in truth, the Key is their
- own creation, a gateway that can project a three-dimensional being onto five-dimensional
- space.
- When the Doctor assembles the Key, the Guardians will be waiting. They will judge him and
- his friends, they will make their advance, and they will force him to make a choice between
- them. With their utterly inexplicable morals and rules and their vast, frightening power, it
- will take every ounce of courage that the Doctor, Nirvi and Andrew possess to stop them.
- 2. Setting and Scenarios
- Gallifrey
- Gallifrey is the heart of the Seven Systems – a collective of worlds in the Constellation of
- Kasterberous. The people of Gallifrey are among the oldest, wisest species in all the Universe, given
- the gift of Time Travel centuries ago by their founders. This world shines like a jewel, covered in
- domed cities of twisting spires and fiery red grass. Dotted about the landscape are mansions and
- cottages, tiny moons orbiting the cities as their suns.
- In ancient times, a student and a lord - Omega and Rassilon - founded modern Gallifreyan society.
- Using Omega's theories and Rassilon's resources, the pair turned the star Qqaba into a black hole and
- captured the singularity in a device they called the Panopticon. Although Omega was lost in the
- explosion, Rassilon used the unlimited potential of the singularity, dubbed the Eye of Harmony, and
- gave Gallifrey infinite power. Soon afterwards, he turned the Eye on itself and opened a gap in Space
- and Time – the Untempered Schism had come to Gallifrey, and with it the secrets of Time Travel.
- In the millenia since, Gallifrey has become a proud, powerful world. Their society is split into two
- classes, with the regular population distinguished from those given access to the Untempered
- Schism. These Time Lords study in Academies, of which there are many chapters, and dedicate their
- lives to the maintenance of the Web of Time – an artificial construct developed to help safeguard
- history. The species as a whole possesses incredible powers and a unique biology that allows them to
- regenerate from otherwise-fatal injuries a staggering twelve times. Their lifespans thus cover
- thousands of years. Time Lords also acquire time-sensitivity upon initiation to the Academies, where
- they are stood before the Schism until they can stand no more.
- To police his species, Rassilon implemented a form of population control – all of Gallifrey donated
- their DNA to the Looms, which would stitch new infants out of the genetic samples. Biological
- reproduction was outlawed, and though it has returned in recent times there is a kind of apartheid
- towards the biologically conceived. There is even a slur: 'wormhole', referring to the presence of a
- navel lacked by the Loomed Gallifreyans.
- Since the time of Rassilon, influential and wealthy Gallifreyans have formed Great and Noble
- Houses. Populated by both Time Lords and standard civilians alike, these Houses are possessed of
- enormous social mobility and can be considered the true 'upper class' of Gallifrey. Very little would
- have been accomplished by the Time Lords without the financial and political means of the Great
- and Noble Houses, and little would remain of them without the assistance of the Time Lords.
- Despite all this social stratification, Gallifrey is a staggering society with unrivalled technology and
- knowledge. They are so dedicated are they to their roles as 'sentinels of history' that they abide by the
- Policies of Non-Intervention, forbidding Time Lords from visiting events without explicit
- permission. Their policing of Time is distant and cold. Even the Celestial Intervention Agency,
- founded to directly engage in chronological hotspots, operate using memory-proof uniforms and
- leave as soon as their work is done.
- In the Doctor's lifetime, Gallifrey has undergone undeniable change. When a vampiric species called
- the Shroud emerged from a dying universe the Time Lords went to war and built fleets of Bowships,
- manned by Time Lord warriors. When the War in Heaven ended at the Battle of Yggdrasil Point, the
- Shroud were all but extinct and Gallifrey unstable – which lead to Civil War among the
- disenfranchised and the elite. All this happened as recently as thirty years ago, relative to the Doctor.
- Gallifrey is a melting pot – so old is their society and so enlightened their culture that hundreds of
- faiths and ways of life mingle on the city streets. Monks and soul-singers are as common as
- scientists, the lines between magic and science blurred beyond recognition. Currently ruled by an
- elected High Council, the planet continues to inspire and protect lesser species with a detached
- aloofness. It is, in the end, this utter coldness that repulsed the Doctor and caused him to leave.
- Notable Locations Include
- A. Continent of Wild Endeavour ~ largest landmass on Gallifrey. Beautiful and divided into
- several temperate zones. Most populous area of the planet.
- I. The Citadel of the Time Lords ~ centre of Time Lord society. Large enough to be
- considered a city all on its own. Split into multiple districts categorised by the fields of
- study or systems of belief and large residential sectors. Dominated by the central spire, a
- huge temple-come-university where the most prestigious Time Lords live and work.
- a. The Spire ~ central point of Time Lord work. The most important Time Lords reside
- here and make decisions of monumental importance. Below the main tower lies the
- spherical Panopticon – the massive, ancient machine that harnesses the Eye of
- Harmony and gives the planet power. One may walk through the Panopticon and
- never realise they were inside a machine at all, so great is the size and scale of it.
- II. The Waste Lands ~ salted earth beyond the Citadel of the Time Lords, burned and scored
- in forgotten wars. The Citadel was put here by Rassilon to make a statement – several
- statements. The Citadel is at once a jewel in the most inhospitable place on Gallifrey, and
- nearly impossible to reach without a craft: the unattainable but perpetually-longed-for
- dream.
- III. Solace and Solitude ~ the tallest and shortest mountains on Gallifrey, Solace and
- Solitude sit equidistant from the Citadel. At the peak of Solace sits the Oakdown
- Observatory, a space/time telescope used by Gallifreyans to see far, far into the universe.
- At the base of Solitude sits the Untempered Schism.
- a. The Untempered Schism ~ a neat hole in the fabric of the Universe, the Untempered
- Schism was opened millenia ago by Rassilon. It is self-sustaining and harmless, but
- to look into it is to become enmeshed in the nature of Time. When initiated into their
- Academies, Time Lord initiates are brought here – only eight years old – and forced
- to look upon the Schism until their senses are expanded and they become timesensitive.
- It is said that one can tell the nature of a Time Lord by how they reacted to
- this awakening...
- IV. Pythia's Mount ~ a great hill, large enough to be partially forested and have land
- belonging to the Great and Noble Houses of Lungbarrow and Oakdown.
- a. The Lungbarrow Estate ~ ancestral home of the Great and Noble House of
- Lungbarrow. Once among the proudest and most respected of the Houses,
- Lungbarrow was long ago disgraced by scandal and has fallen on hard times.
- Despite the respect the name still commands, their estate is overgrown and their
- manor house crumbling, their members almost entirely offworld or dead. When the
- last patriarch of Lungbarrow fled, disgusted and frustrated by the circumstances of
- his life, he abandoned his wife and two children and has not been seen since. The
- children, on the other hand, grew up to become the Doctor and Irving Braxatiel.
- Though the estate has been abandoned since the Civil War, there are always rumours
- that something lurks within.
- b. The Oakdown Estate ~ on the opposite side of Pythia's Mount sits the sprawling
- Oakdown Estate. A relatively new House, Oakdown became legendary when their
- Matriarch designed and funded the Oakdown Observatory on Mt. Solace. In the
- centuries since they have been considered an upright and reputable House. Their
- single heir, Koschei, was the Doctor's only friend for many years and they
- considered their estates mutual homes. Oakdown have been shunned by Time Lord
- society since the downfall of Koschei and the rise of the Master, but their estate
- remains as orderly as ever – only now it is frightening, not welcoming.
- B. The Fortune Archipelago ~ a series of islands running parallel to the south-west face of Wild
- Endeavour on the Tethyl Ocean. The majority are small and uninhabited, but the largest of
- them is home to Arcadia, Gallifrey's capital – the islands that orbit it, the Arcadian Cluster,
- are likewise home to influential Gallifreyan Houses. To the far south of the Archipelago is a
- pair of islands perpetually surrounded by storms and foul seas.
- I. Arcadia ~ capital city of Gallifrey, distinct from the Citadel of the Time Lords. The
- Gallifreyan government holds seat here, an elected body consisting of fifty percent
- Councillors and fifty percent Gallifreyan representatives, evenly mixing civilian interest
- with the needs of the Time Lords. A colossal metropolis, living like the Citadel in a
- climate dome, Arcadia is a swarming centre of trade, arts, entertainment and technology,
- joined to the mainland of Wild Endeavour by a bridge so large it is supported by
- antigravity generators.
- II. The Arcadian Cluster ~ ten smaller islands located in tight orbit around Arcadia itself.
- Each of these has long been owned by any number of Great and Noble Houses and used
- for any array of purposes. Currently, three belong to the House of Lilixia and are used as
- an ahistorical wildlife preserve, while the remainder are kept by Houses as their personal
- estates.
- III.The Death Zone ~ the islands to the furthest south of the Archipelago, the Death Zone is
- permanently enveloped in frightening storms so strong they produce an electromagnetic
- field that interferes with TARDIS flight. This is no accident – the Death Zone was once
- home to the War Games, a long and bloody social experiment developed by Rassilon to
- map the development of lesser species. Inactive Time Eddies litter the twin islands (one
- huge, one much smaller, both surrounded by rock faces) that would, when triggered,
- draw disparate species from throughout history to wage war on each other. When
- Rassilon died, he had his tomb placed here, safe from grave-robbers, and the Games
- have been silent ever since. All that remains are the storms and rumours that surround
- the islands.
- C. The Academy Chapters ~ the Time Lord Academy is not one institution but many schools,
- dotted all over the Continent of Wild Endeavour. Several of these noble Chapters are
- described below:
- I. The Prydonian Chapter ~ situated at the base of Mount Prydon, the Prydonian Chapter
- prides itself on producing cunning, clever Time Lords. It educates broadly on all
- subjects, treating education as one would a TARDIS – begin small, and allow the subject
- to grow deeper and 'bigger on the inside'. There are no set studies besides the necessities
- of Time Lord scholarship. Despite these lenient ideals, the Prydonian is among the most
- prestigious of Chapters and is fiercely draconian. Corporal punishment is common and
- there are no shortages of dropouts. The Prydonian is prestigious because anyone may
- exel there, but they must try to do so.
- II. The Tethylimic Chapter ~ floating on the great Tethyl Ocean, the Tethylimic Chapter
- produces Time Lords of great political heft. Its focuses are the laws of Gallifrey and the
- Laws of Time, and Time Lords here become staunch authoritarians known for their utter
- mastery of legal workings. Besides law, the Tethylimic focuses on other rigid subjects –
- great physicists and mathematicians emerge from this Chapter. Like all the Academy, the
- Tethylimic can be ferocious and unforgiving, but it is believed that a fast tongue wins
- over the Professors here much easier than you would espect.
- III.The Arcadian Chapter ~ sitting at the centre of Arcadia, the great city of Gallifrey, the
- Arcadian Chapter is considered unorthodox. Its focus is the myriad faiths and
- philosophies of Gallifrey, seeking to better master Time through mastery of the self.
- Some Time Lords derisively call their practices 'witchcraft', but the Arcadian continues
- regardless, producing brilliant philosophers, mentalists and theologians.
- IV. The Braxatiel Chapter ~ curving over the great river Brax is the Braxatiel Chapter, the
- most austere and forbidding of all Gallifreyan Academies. Theirs is, by special
- permission, the education of future Celestial Interventionists and Web-Keepers, and the
- building houses the central office of the CIA. They teach students how to interfere,
- meddle, and co-ordinate the flow of time. They are selective and secretive, but there has
- never been a Braxatiel who was not a brilliant and principled member of the most crucial
- parts of Time Lord life.
- Skaro
- Skaro was once as many worlds are – green and fertile, with a burgeoning sentient species of upright,
- bilaterally symmetrical beings. They had not yet looked to the stars or entertained the idea that
- intelligent life lived elsewhere in the universe. As far as native Skarenes knew, they were the only
- conscious life that existed. One day, over a thousand years ago, the decision was made to change
- that. A rocket was prepared and would be launched from a hilltop between the cities of Thal and
- Kaled, a brave experiment to see the stars, a new age for Skaro.
- There was a disagreement. Something small and petty mutated into something fierce and angry, and
- suddenly there were gunshots, missiles, and the whole of Skaro was consumed by total war. The two
- factions hated each other so strongly that escalation happened almost daily, until the Year of Fire saw
- an endless atomic and chemical bombardment that turned the forests to stone and burned the skies.
- There was a ceasefire, a generation of Cold War, and one last day of ugly fighting... And then silence.
- In the millennium since then, there has been a change on Skaro. The world is still bleached and
- burnt, but in the ruins of the city of Thal the survivors grew tall and proud. Thals by name and nearimmortal,
- this new species became total pacifists and nurtured a beautiful grove in the city walls. In
- Kaled, something else grew – something sick and twisted and utterly hateful. The Daleks slept in the
- domed city, believing they were alone, waiting to discover there was a whole universe to slaughter...
- Notable Locations Include
- A. Naterren
- The supercontinent of Skaro. Huge and unbroken, Naterren spreads for thousands of
- miles in all directions, enveloped by the Cusickray Ocean. It has been forever
- changed by the war between Thal and Kaled – the soil is so irradiated it can fuel
- some starships. The land is black and ashen and the few creatures that have endured
- are all feral, savage things suited to this dead planet.
- I. Kaled
- On the north face of a hilltop sits Kaled, the domed city of the Daleks. In the
- time of the Skarenes Kaled was a special city dedicated to scientific pursuits
- and discovery, domed to capture the sunlight. The whole city is a power
- generator, and the Daleks within are freely empowered by the electricity
- running through the floors. Impenetrable, the dome was unharmed by the
- war and thus the Daleks have no idea that anything exists beyond the walls.
- They have transformed the city into a fortress, using the old passageways
- and streets to move between huge facilities dedicated to their crusade.
- II. Thal
- The capital of art and culture on Skaro, Thal was utterly devastated by the final
- strike of the war, which neutralised their blast shields and reduced the city to rubble.
- In the thousand years since the interaction of mutagenic chemicals and radiation has
- produced a lush garden within the city walls, cared for by the descendants of the
- Thals – now beautiful, biologically-immortal humanoids. Though they are sterile, the
- Thals cannot die unless killed, and thus are total pacifists on every level.
- III. The Petrified Forest
- Once lush and green, the Llxiian Forest was turned to stone in the war and has stood
- immobile ever since. Strange creatures lurk here, camouflaged as rock and dust, but
- nothing lives on the vegetation – it is kill or be killed.
- IV. The Plague River
- This river has snaked through Naterre for centuries, and the war did not change that
- – but what once was fresh and clear is now full of monsters, the water black and
- toxic. Only what already lives there survives near it.
- V. The Screaming Mountain
- In the war, this mountain was hollowed-out and turned into a weapons stockpile by
- the combatants. A huge portion of it was detonated during the last day, leaving a
- great hole in the stone like a screaming mouth. There are still stockpiles left
- untouched, but none dare approach a mountain that screams in anguish.
- U.N.I.T
- The United Nations Intelligence Taskforce – UNIT – was founded in the late 1960's by a collective
- of scientists and military experts in response to a series of extraterrestrial incursions. Technically a
- well-kept secret, UNIT keeps its work quiet and masquerades as a moderately-useful intelligence
- organisation. A significant number of UNIT policies were outlined by the first leader of UNIT UK,
- General St. John Lethbridge-Stewart, who was inspired by his occasional meetings with the Doctor.
- UNIT now operates in hundreds of countries worldwide and in conjunction with specialist
- contractors like Torchwood and International Electromatics to reverse-engineer and otherwise
- manage alien technology and integrate ET's into the general population.
- UNIT's central HQ is located in Geneva, but UNIT UK, based in Cheltenham, is frequently a
- forerunner in most operations due to the unusually large alien population of the country. They keep
- armed Guardsmen on watch at all hours in addition to running a vast research and development
- division and maintaining contact with the multiple alien communities hidden away in major cities.
- UNIT hires agents right out of A-Level and University, based entirely on secret aptitude tests
- secreted in standard examinations. Older members are either well-established or hired from
- intelligence groups across the globe, and UNIT agents can expect to transfer between four or five
- countries during their long careers – it is very hard to leave UNIT without signing extremely potent
- gag orders.
- A. UNIT HQ
- Located in the town of Cheltenham, UNIT HQ piggybacks on the GCHQ facilities to
- monitor communications and contact the secure alien communities across the UK. The
- building masquerades as an abandoned fire station, but is in truth a vast underground
- complex with many floors, backed by a Perception Filter developed from the Great
- Intelligence incursions in 1972.
- I. The White Archive
- All technology that UNIT confiscates first goes to the White Archive, where it is
- studied and security checked. Items that sit here do not stay for very long – they are
- either returned to their owners or transferred to contractors for further study and
- reverse-engineering. Anything deemed outright dangerous to the safety of human/ET
- populations is transferred to the Black Archive.
- II. The Black Archive
- The Black Archive is UNIT's 'forbidden arsenal.' Items here are considered a serious
- and active threat to the populations of Earth and are thus put under 'black watch' – a
- semi-stasis state that ensures their functions no longer operate for as long as they
- remain in the Archive. High-ranking UNIT scientists are permitted to study any
- single item here for periods of up to six months, at which point their work is
- integrated into the Van Statten Library and the item returned to black watch.
- III. The Van Statten Library
- UNIT has amassed a great deal of insight and research in the past fifty years.
- Subsequently, the information is kept in both digital and physical format in the Van
- Statten Library – named for the colossally wealthy alien enthusiast Henry Van
- Statten Sr., who funded the digitisation of the information and the construction of the
- Library itself. Charting many floors and thousands of topics, the Van Statten Library
- is considered by many to be the peak of UNIT's achievements, a beacon of
- knowledge to benefit mankind and their allies.
- IV. The Holding Cells
- Not every extraterrestrial is an ally. To combat this, UNIT America developed a
- specialist dwarf star alloy compound to construct holding cells. When exposed to an
- electrical charge these rooms seal perfectly, becoming utterly impenetrable. These
- cells were considered useless until UNIT India developed an atmospheric converter
- system – ever since, they have been standard issue, the converters keeping the
- internal air supply 100% breathable for the inhabitants. Dangerous aliens and even
- anti-UNIT terrorists are kept in cells until negotiations conclude, but some remain
- hostile and are thus kept in the lower levels indefinitely.
- Time Travel as Setting
- The way the Doctor, Nirvi and Andrew travel through time and space bears some discussion.
- Beyond understanding the Laws of Time (outlined in Section Four), it is important to appreciate how
- access to the TARDIS changes the way one interacts with the universe. Essentially, visiting
- anywhere is as easy as it is to, say, pop out to get the milk from the corner shop. It is seamless,
- effortless, and life-changing. Space/Time Travel is the setting of Foreman. There is always an option
- to go somewhere else, to experience something different. It is crucial that you seize this opportunity
- and set your stories at any point in time, in any place in space – to use the themes of the series as a
- whole and of your story specifically to choose or invent the right place and time for it to be. There is
- no limit to where the stories can go beyond the fictional laws in place, and I urge you to choose your
- locations and time periods to suit the story, not the other way around.
- Intergalactic Politics(circa 21st Century)
- The world of Foreman is much bigger than Earth. This is vitally important – even before mankind
- colonises the stars there are thousands of civilisations straddling vast expanses of the big black
- beyond. Earth is considered a backwater, a moderate zone of neutrality which currently poses little
- threat or interest beyond the particular needs or demands of individuals or species. Those that are
- time-sensitive, however, see the importance humankind will have in the future and may make
- decisions based on that. Below are a range of useful concepts and elements that are true of
- intergalactic politics, both on and off Earth, during the 21st Century.
- A. Earth
- Neutral zone. UNIT's interaction with alien races has led to Earth being declared a political
- refuge. It is illegal under the terms of the Shadow Proclamation and the Rassilon Oversight
- to declare or pursue war with or on Earth. There are currently 206 alien communities hidden
- on the planet, with several significant establishments in the UK and America. Alien
- inhabitants of Earth are registered with both UNIT and the Shadow Proclamation as
- protected residents and are either integrated with human communities or alien outposts.
- Regardless, they are beholden to Earth laws and additional extraterrestrial oversight and their
- use of technology is carefully monitored. There is a pilot scheme in several countries to
- develop mixed-species communities, which are currently kept top-secret but are considered a
- remarkable success.
- However, Earth's position as a neutral planet is under threat from SKYWATCH, the
- xenophobic terrorist group. This is considered an 'Earth matter' but if they become a serious
- threat the Proclamation will have no choice but to directly intervene – if they threaten to
- destabilise the Web of Time, the Rassilon Oversight will have no choice but to dispatch the
- CIA. Earth will become a vital planet in the near future, and humanity will be one of the
- most important species in the universe. Anything that threatens this threatens the stability of
- time as a whole.
- B. Mars
- Mars – known to the native inhabitants as Kh'aph – saw a sentient species evolve roughly
- one million years ahead of mankind. Their world was cold and frozen but the species
- endured and flourished unabashed. Salam-Akh are a proud warrior race with deeply-held
- principles and devotion to each other. An attack on one is an attack on all, and they live
- without compromise to reflect a universe they see as unyeilding. This was their undoing, and
- the Salam-Akh, known to the wider universe as Ice Warriors, saw their world boil and burn
- from the Greenhouse Effect. The species fractured almost 100,000 years ago, with many
- going into stasis and the remainder leaving on huge ships, embarking on a grand exodus. The
- Burning has left the race embittered and nomadic, but those still active visit the planet
- regularly to ensure its sanctity, and the safety of the thousands of Ice Warriors who remain
- entombed in stasis below ground. They have not taken the arrival of human probes well.
- C. The Sontaran/Rutan War
- For as long as either race can remember, the Sontarans and Rutans have been at war. There is
- no longer a reason or purpose to it – the war defines both species completely. The Rutans are
- a species of mobile gel-brains, reproducing by diffusion and armed by pouring themselves
- into specialist mobile suits, while the Sontarans clone their best genetic stock to produce
- legions of elite killers. Neither side eats or sleeps, feeding themselves with technological
- aides, and they sprawl across an arm of the galaxy in their endless conflict. They are both
- considered dangerous by the Shadow Proclamation, but harmless by the Rassilon Oversight.
- Their war spills onto countless uninvolved worlds and ousts innocent species from their
- homes – trillions of individuals are refugees from the longest, most pointless, most perfect
- war in the galaxy.
- D. The Shadow Proclamation
- The Shadow Proclamation is an independent force responsible for monitoring and policing
- peace and security in the populated universe. Formed in response to a conflict some
- centuries ago, it is respected and followed by the vast majority of sentient space-faring
- species. They prohibit damaging the development of lesser species and forbid the growth of
- one species to damage another – beyond this they mediate as peacemakers or armed police,
- sometimes participating in wars and sometimes neutralising them. The Shadow Proclamation
- operates out of a decimated planet, their facility holding together the largest chunks to
- remind all of their solemn purpose. This facility is remarkably designed, with the Time
- Lords volunteering sophisticated equipment to allow it to rock back and forth on a
- space/time axis and so give the Proclamation the power to intervene almost instantenously
- and with some degree of foresight. Their police forces include a number of specialist species,
- with the plodding Judoon as their blunt instrument and the one-eyed Atraxi as their wardens.
- The Shadow Proclamation has specific treaties signed with UNIT and by extension the
- United Nations. These are designed to keep Earth both a safe haven for extraterrestrial
- visitors and to prevent it from becoming a target. Considering Earth's immense value as a
- neutral zone, breaking the Terra Treaties is taken extremely seriously.
- E. The Rassilon Oversight
- Not merely content with observing from Gallifrey, the Time Lords instituted the Rassilon
- Oversight to maintain a better sense of control of history. The Oversight functions as a
- special branch of the Time Lords, keeping track of conflicts and the development of timesensitive
- technology to keep the Web of Time healthy. When events threaten a stable history,
- the CIA is dispatched to directly interfere and push things onto the right path – if the
- Oversight directly summons the Intervention Agency, it is likely that individuals will simply
- disappear from history.
- F. Earth Addendum – Homo Reptilia
- Besides the presence of Homo Sapiens, Earth is also occupied by another major sentient
- lifeform – the ancient Homo Reptilia. These humanoid reptiles were significant during the
- Mesozoic Era, evolving some time in the late Jurassic and remaining dominant for millions
- of years. Detecting the imminent K2 extinction, Homo Reptilia placed themselves in deep
- hibernation within subterranean cities and have remained more-or-less undisturbed ever
- since. There have been numerous encounters with humankind, however, and the older
- species is not entirely happy with the presence of another. Conflicts are all but inevitable and
- almost impossible to solve.
- The Future (including notes on Earth)
- The Future is, of course, a very big place. There should be no real limitations on what can and cannot
- be done in future-set stories, but to ensure consistency in stories and to help you come up with more
- ideas and concepts, a rough outline of the millenia ahead can be found below. It is by no means
- comprehensive, and organised chronologically, roughly by Century or epoch.
- • 21st-22nd Century
- The Thals escape Skaro and begin a nomadic lifestyle in space.
- The Daleks emerge from Kaled and begin to attack nearby planets.
- The Sontaran//Rutan War approaches a stalemate.
- UNIT publicly declares the existence of extraterrestrial life and the presence of ET
- communities on Earth.
- The Braxatiel Collection is opened to the public.
- Despite best efforts, a Dalek time-ship arrives and the Daleks attempt to conquer Earth preemptively.
- They are repelled by UNIT, the Doctor, and his companions.
- Information on the Daleks is swiftly erased by Dalek malware.
- A multiversal Convergence occurs, linking Earth to Mondas. Cybermen successfully crossover
- before the Convergence ceases and a Cyber-Bore is released into space.
- Brazilian scientists collaborate with Japanese mechanics and produce the first intelligent
- household robot. This rapidly becomes popular and many variations develop.
- Tesla becomes the most popular automotive manufacturer. Contracts with software designers
- result in self-driving cars running on clean electricity.
- Cellular phone technology reaches a peak – headsets containing microphones, cameras,
- operating systems and visual technology are worn by upwards of 50% of the global
- population.
- India develops the first space colony and subsequently establishes a research base on the
- Moon.
- China invades both North and South Korea – the United Nations is forced to intervene and
- for the first time, extraterrestrials are openly involved in human conflict.
- Tobacco is banned in the United Kingdom. Soon afterwards, this becomes true of most
- countries.
- New, safer recreational drugs are developed that render previous drug trades obsolete. These
- are soon legalised and become popular recreational tools.
- • 22nd-23rd Century
- First-ever human colony is established on Mars.
- Earth's 'neutral' status is revoked by necessity – it is now considered more of a space village.
- It remains a safe haven for many extraterrestrials.
- Humanoid and non-humanoid robots are now common. These are possessed of sophisticated
- operating systems derived from search engine matrices, but are not sentient – nor are they
- yet sapient.
- The vast majority of human beings now carry permanent connections to the Internet and
- communications networks via the latest generations of headset.
- Crime rates are falling, but the wage disparity grows ever-larger. America's economy
- flounders as South America, the Indian Subcontinent and parts of East Asia flourish.
- Native Martians react to human occupation and besiege the colony. The intervention of the
- Shadow Proclamation leads to a treaty between species.
- The Martian/Terran Treaty leads to the development of a lightspeed-capable spaceship –
- humankind explores the stars.
- A Shadow Proclamation embassy is established in independent Hawaii.
- America, desperate for resources, annexes Canada – the Second American Civil War begins.
- The Second American Civil War spirals out of control. Fifty-two countries are involved
- worldwide.
- New York is hit with the human race's third-ever atomic attack. The city is levelled. Nuclear
- Weapons are finally outlawed as the war ends.
- The Shadow Proclamation assists in the policing of the Nuclear Weapons policies.
- Martian technology, plus additional ET assistance, allows the worldwide distribution of
- sustainable energy.
- New York begins reconstruction. America yields Canada – several other States are 'released'
- to the Native American population.
- Robotic intelligence continues to evolve, yielding the first sapient machines. Androids –
- humanoid robots using personality matrices over their operating systems – soon appear.
- • 23rd-25th Century
- Daleks now occupy every planet in the Skarene System. Fatalistic cults have emerged among
- survivors, worshipping the Daleks as agents of the Devil.
- Earth experiences the lingering effects of climate change despite best efforts in the previous
- centuries. Millions die and a memorial is engraved on the Moon.
- A time-travelling squadron of assassins arrive from the 30th Century. They attempt to prevent
- the launch of the first 'space-liner' – a spacecraft fast enough to support full crew and
- passengers – in order to cancel out a future conflict.
- Their failure introduces time-travel technology to human scientists and creates an
- Ontological Paradox. The CIA are dispatched to 'clean up'.
- Sontaran/Rutan War flares up again. An entire solar system is used to fuel a Rutan
- superweapon, leaving the species branded as war criminals by The Shadow Proclamation.
- Homo Reptilia populations awaken occasionally. Conflicts are common, but peaceful
- integration is not rare.
- New New York becomes the capital city of the United Nations – now the dominant world
- authority. The Shadow Proclamation embassy moves there.
- Human colonies are established on many worlds. Out of the climate tragedy, cybernetic
- enhancement and surgery begins to become more common, having previously remained
- niche.
- Time-travel technology is inevitably developed from the remnants of the assassin attack. It is
- carefully policed.
- Androids and robots are now truly distinct. Androids come in many varying levels of
- 'human-like', with the most popular appearing familiar-but-mechanical. There is very little
- acceptance of truly human-looking androids.
- The Cyber-Bore is activated by human colonists on the planet Telos. The entire planet is
- occupied and cyberformed, the mission presumed lost.
- • 25th-30th Century
- Daleks begin leaving the Skarene System. The Shadow Proclamation first becomes aware of
- their presence.
- The Time Lords take notice of the Daleks and dispatch agents to interfere in their history.
- The human race arrives at The Shadow Proclamation proper and is formally inducted. The
- United Nations reforms as the Terra Union.
- The Terra Union forms the Time Agency to keep track of time-travel technology and police
- its use. Agents are secretly recruited by the CIA.
- Human colonies across the galaxy now number in the hundreds. Some multi-species worlds
- now count humans among them.
- The Terra Union is now the top level of a global governmental authority. The planet is
- predominantly peaceful and socialist. Local government has been replaced by self-organised
- groups, maintained by the TU.
- Dalek worship is found across thirty different star systems. Dalek Cultists are almost as
- feared as the Daleks themselves, and Dalek worship is considered a dangerous activity by
- both the Proclamation and Oversight.
- Human colonists encounter the Daleks and Dalek Cultists, leading to a virulent strain of
- Dalek Worship in human societies. The species remains unknown to humankind at large –
- most colonists are exterminated.
- Cybernetics are becoming popular and commonplace. The human race has virtually
- eradicated sickness, and soon useful implants are widespread.
- The Sontarans attack a human/Martian colony to claim resources. Human/Martian relations
- begin to deteriorate.
- Human/Martian relations collapse at a summit and the species dissolve their treaties. The
- species go to war.
- A small group of human Dalek Cultists travel back in time to sabotage human/Martian
- relations, under the guise of a mission of mercy. They fail, leaving their technology in the
- past.
- An archaeological expedition to Telos reactivates the dormant Cyberman population. The
- explorers are converted and the Cybermen begin an exodus, seeking new populations to
- convert and resources to harvest.
- • 30th-40th Century
- The Daleks engage in repeated attacks on fringe systems. Each campaign sees them expand
- their territory. Anti-Dalek weaponry is devised by the Shadow Proclamation and the Rassilon
- Oversight, but no advances are made beyond this.
- The Sontaran/Rutan and Human/Martian wars overlap as territories become contested. Ruta
- III is destroyed by a Martian clan, who are subsequently exiled by the rest of the species.
- Cybermen overwhelm the borders of a human colony sector and the human race at large
- becomes aware of them. Treaties and Accords are signed between Humans, Martians, and
- Sontarans to fend off the Cybermen – the Cyber-Wars begin.
- A human/Martian hybrid is elected to the highest position in human politics. Tensions
- between the two species finally cool.
- The Reptilia population of Earth campaign for their own colony worlds. After some debate,
- this is granted and the colony ships divided up between species.
- The Cyber-Wars have caused Dalek Cultists to go into recline. Though they are still present
- throughout Dalek and post-Dalek territories, the human strain of Skarene fanaticism fades
- into obscurity.
- Cyber-prejudice means that cybernetics become less common. New forms of modification
- are developed, enabling gene-splicing and the first true technorganics – biological
- technology, wetware.
- Wetware revolutionises the android industry. Soon, visually-human androids are commonly
- accepted, and their personality matrices and AI become ever more complex. Robots benefit
- similarly. Sapience is introduced to domestic robots, a decision which causes some
- controversy.
- As the Cyber-Wars rage on, the Sun shifts into a new cycle. The entire Solar System is
- threatened by Solar Flares.
- An emergency motion is signed and the human race abandons Earth. Homo Reptilia split
- into an occupying force and a migrant population. Single and mixed-species ships take the
- majority of both races off-planet.
- The human custodians of Earth are placed in deep cryo-stasis aboard the Nerva Beacon, an
- orbital 'ark' containing genetic samples of all flora and fauna, as well as a complete digital
- library of human and Reptilia culture and literature. The Beacon is operated by the most
- advanced operating system yet developed – when activated, it immediately becomes sentient
- and dedicates itself to the safety of the cargo.
- The Martian population has no issue – they either return to their stasis or remain in space.
- The evacuation of Earth turns the Cyber-War in favour of the Cybermen. The Sontarans
- abandon the campaign and hundreds of senior officers commit ritualistic suicide, disgraced.
- Forced into a desperate situation, the Human/Martian Alliance contacts the Rutans and uses
- their superweapon to annhilate the majority of Cyberman planets.
- The human and Martian race are blacklisted by The Shadow Proclamation and those in space
- become reclusive and nomadic.
- The Nerva Beacon begins building second-generation AI. These become custodians,
- assisting in the care of humankind and their kin.
- • 40th-50th Century
- Human travellers encounter the Thals. For the first time, humanity at large knows of the
- Daleks.
- Before mankind can prepare, Daleks begin a new, gigantic campaign and obliterate a
- hundred colony worlds. Martians, Humans, Reptilia and Thals form a new front to combat
- the Dalek menace.
- Dalek Cultists across the universe become feared and renowned. The Shadow Proclamation
- is forced to recognise Skarene Fanaticism as a legitimate religious order.
- Human Dalek Cultists re-emerge, gnawing at the Worldless Alliance from the inside.
- Sacrificial orgies and pogroms become their raison d’etre.
- The Worldless Alliance perform guerilla raids on Dalek strongholds, beating the species
- back for the first time in thousands of years. Dalek Cultists are captured and treated
- humanely in a desperate attempt to break their fanatic self-hatred. They respond by
- committing mass suicide.
- The Daleks respond by developing new kinds of soldier – genetic degenerates become
- Special Weapons Daleks, living and dying in superpowered mobile guns.
- The Shadow Proclamation re-inducts the species from the Sol system and the fight against
- the Daleks becomes galactic.
- Dalek Cultists begin to die out as worshippers suffer epiphanies and abandon the religion.
- Fanatic High Priests develop a plan to preserve the cult, and introduce dormant Dalek
- chromosomes into the genetics of their worshippers. The Dalek Factor will remain in sectors
- of the human race for the rest of time.
- An error in the AI cripples the Nerva Beacon and leaves the population on-board in stasis,
- even though the flares have passed. The Reptilia on Earth continue to maintain the planet.
- The sentient androids and robots on board begin repairs.
- The Daleks perform a grand feint – the fleet perform kamikaze attacks on the hub worlds of
- the Shadow Proclamation while Progenitor Ships soft-crash on other planets, waiting to be
- activated.
- • 50th-100th Century
- The species of the Sol System have forgotten Earth, which now exists as a kind of whispered
- legend.
- The Martians maintain their alliances but break off from the Sol fleets and occupy their own
- planets.
- Likewise, humans and Silurians occupy shared and single worlds. All three species become
- significant members of the Shadow Proclamation.
- Nerva Beacon is repaired and finally awakens.
- Humanity returns to Earth to find it healthy, with the burnt-out old cities now occupied by
- further-evolved species from Old Earth. Dominant among these species is a kind of cat,
- possessed of problem-solving intelligence and a rudimentary thumb.
- The Nerva Refugees adopt the neo-felines – but do not domesticate them. Nerva activates its
- secondary function, beaming a message to inform the evacuees that Earth is safe.
- The next-generation androids and robots cohabit with humankind.
- The message is responded to by Sontarans, who seek to occupy. Artificial and mankind repel
- them.
- The vast majority of the human race either lives on colony worlds, mixed-species worlds, or
- starships.
- • 100th-200th Century
- Cybermen reappear, drawn by the Nerva Beacon from the depths of space. They attack
- Earth. They are tracked by the Shadow Proclamation.
- The Cyberman invasion is stopped by the arrival of the Shadow Proclamation fleet. Earth is
- rediscovered and the neo-felines introduced to the species at large.
- Human beings have by this point evolved to a point of near-perfect health. There are
- numerous offshoots of the species, but their appearance remains remarkably stable thanks to
- gene-splicing and wetware cybernetics.
- Earth is renovated, transformed into the hubworld for what is dubbed the Great and
- Bountiful Sol Collectiva.
- The Collectiva unites the disparate colony worlds of the three major Sol species, plus
- sentient machines, and absorbs the Shadow Proclamation by popular vote – the human race
- is now the centre of all intergalactic politics.
- Archaeological digs on hundreds of worlds begin to turn up identical artefacts that are older
- than any known civilisation.
- The Rassilon Oversight investigates these but can find nothing beyond their identical nature.
- The digs continue unabated until interest fades.
- The Cybermen, reduced to scavengers, remain a persistent problem and skirmishes with
- them are not uncommon. Whole worlds are lost and saved every galactic year.
- The first Dalek Progenitor is activated by unsuspecting human colonists. The Daleks are
- once again a present danger to all life in the universe.
- • 200th-500th Century
- Individuals express new interest in the strange artefacts found across the cosmos. These
- scientists come together and establish the Toberman Foundation to study them in more
- detail. They are considered a fringe group and are widely scorned.
- The culmination of second-generation AI and wetware is the first-ever 'synthetic' – a
- biological android, both sentient and sapient. Soon, synthetics overtake androids as the
- dominant breed of humanoid machine.
- A faction of synthetics secede and occupy the Moon. They leave the memorial untouched but
- otherwise settle.
- The Lunar synthetics successfully create their own AI - Luna. It, in turn, produces a second
- generation of synthetics – even more indistinguishable from humans.
- Luna,and Nerva Beacon engage in communication. They anticipate singularity within two
- hundred years and secretly modify the Sol Collective's networks to ensure safe transferral.
- Wetware cybernetics and wetware synthetic parts are virtually indistinguishable. The only
- notable difference is their inability to biologically reproduce.
- Some synthetic groups on the border worlds become notably militant and violent. They
- appear to reject their creators and believe in a kind of deity. These synthetics revolt and
- escape on their own ships, becoming pirate zealots.
- Neo-felines are now companion animals across the galaxies. Their intelligence and dexterity
- continues to develop as they are used to assist with many everyday tasks.
- The Toberman Foundation makes a discovery on an uninhabited border world. They are
- never heard from again.
- The Singularity occurs. A human mind is connected to a synthetic brain – the entire species
- becomes connected digitally virtually overnight.
- Singularity enables the development of reproduction-capable synthetics. As they can
- reproduce with human beings, the species are absorbed into each other. Human beings will
- remain technical cyborgs for the rest of their history.
- • 500th-1000th Century
- No longer restrained by genetics, humankind freely interbreeds with thousands of species.
- New strains emerge regularly.
- Neo-felines continue to develop. The species is now widely considered sapient and many
- have developed bipedal gait.
- Daleks conclude their quiet campaign and ravage the universe out of three-hundred-andthirty
- different worlds. With them comes the re-emergence of Dalek Cults, the Dalek Factor
- activated. Tens of billions of humans turn into Dalek agents. Worse still, the Dalek Factor
- has subtly influenced the development of the human race, and vital infrastructure turns out to
- be vulnerable to Dalek attack.
- The human race now engages in war with itself, while the Daleks rapidly occupy hundreds
- of worlds. The Shadow Proclamation collapses, leaving the universe lawless – a period that
- will come to be known as the Dark Times.
- The Daleks are turned back when the Human Factor is introduced to their own species.
- Daleks begin to question themselves and the species plunges into civil war, abandoning their
- conquest to fight themselves.
- When the Dalek Emperor is exterminated, the Daleks soon become all but extinct. Only the
- Progenitors and scattered groups of pure and humanised Daleks remain.
- With the Daleks gone, the universe begins to pull itself together.
- Earth falls into a particularly troubled period – without the Proclamation to maintain it, the
- human race loses contact with the Singularity. Hardship returns to Earth, the human race,
- and the species it lives with.
- In this new universe, most sentient species wander the cosmos, integrating freely and living
- on what remains from the Bountiful Sol Collective.
- Barter culture becomes dominant for the first time in millenia.
- This is now a place for travellers, prospectors, scavengers and explorers. Despite the
- hardship, the universe is a big place again.
- Humanity becomes nostalgic for the time when they were the dominant species in the
- universe. Singularity becomes a distant memory, remembered as the touch of God.
- • 1000th Century
- Studying the Singularity and the work of the Toberman Foundation, a multi-species group
- decides to travel to the 'First Planet' and find God.
- 3. A Brief History of the Doctor
- The Doctor is somewhere around 360 years old at the beginning of FOREMAN. He has lived a long, storied
- life and suffered immeasurably – he has lost loved ones, broken his codes of honour and seen his world fall
- into Civil War. Notably, his experiences have left him with a distinct Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and a
- number of serious anxiety issues, in addition to his carrying many painful memories. It has been a good life,
- but a hard one – and it is covered below.
- Lungbarrow
- The Doctor during a time of great civil unrest on Gallifrey. Not the first natural birth in the House of
- Lungbarrow, the Doctor's conception and delivery were still kept secret. His father was the Heir to
- the House of Lungbarrow – his Grandfather, the Patriarch, had recently announced his intent to
- secede from Time Lord society and found an anarchist sect dubbed 'The Faction Paradox'. The
- Faction were dedicated to the Patriarch of Lungbarrow and soon came to worship him as a
- patriarchal god, Grandfather Paradox. Their ideals were simplistic and terrifying: utter annihilation
- of the Web of Time and pursuit of Total Event Collapse, the end of causality and chronology.
- In the light of his father's lunatic ambition, the Heir hid himself and his wife away until the Celestial
- Intervention Agency banished the Faction into the Void. The House of Lungbarrow was disgraced,
- and Time Lord and Gallifreyan alike looked upon the Heir and his family with utter disdain.
- The Doctor, then, grew up in the crumbling manor of the House of Lungbarrow on Pythia's Mount,
- alone until the arrival of his younger sibling – and always lonely. He was an isolated and excluded
- boy, left alone in the cold and the dark by other children. The precocious boy buried himself in
- books, especially the Chronicles of the Corsair, a Time Lord explorer from his Grandfather's
- generation. He became fascinated by starships and TARDISes, collecting models and sketching them
- endlessly.
- But the Heir – now the Patriarch – of the House of Lungbarrow was bitter and angry. He had grown
- up at the height of the House's power and now had nothing to show for it but a mouldering estate and
- two pariah children. He had been born for more than this, he deserved more than this, and his family
- deserved more than this... But he could not give it to them. One morning, the last Patriarch of the
- House of Lungbarrow packed a bag and left his home to steal aboard a freight ship. The Doctor,
- woken by the sounds of movement, ran after his father. He only ever saw the rocket sail into the sky.
- No-one ever saw the Patriarch again.
- The Doctor almost abandoned his dreams. He threw away his collections and would likely have
- wasted away had he not met Koschei of Oakdown, the boy who lived on the other side of the hill.
- Together these lonely boys - disillusioned with the nature of Gallifrey and rejected by their peers –
- redefined themselves. They brought out the best in each other, their prodigious intellects blossoming
- and their love for each other immeasurable and pure. Neither boy believed his affections were
- returned in full, but they remained friends, pining away in silence until the Academy came.
- The Academy Years
- The Doctor and Koschei were the same age, and so the Academy came for them at the same time. It
- was inevitable that these brilliant young children of Great and Noble Houses would be taken away,
- but even so the Doctor wept – unwilling to leave his mother and sibling alone in that huge, empty
- house.
- But he was taken all the same. Both boys would enter the Prydonian Chapter, following their
- ancestors. Both boys would be walked, in their own time, to look into the Untempered Schism until
- they became time-sensitive. When the Doctor's time came, he stood longer than any other child had
- dared... And then he ran away so fast that he could not be caught until the next morning.
- Entry tests were taken. The Doctor here earned his first nickname, when he passed a fundamentally
- unpassable exam with a perfect score, the Theta Sigma, and earned a reputation before his very first
- day. The name would stick with him for a very long time, and soon Theta Sigma had become a
- central figure in a group of ten promising students – wily Drax, scholarly Jelpax, charismatic
- Magnus, soulful Millenia, jovial Mortimus, brave Rallon, reclusive Ushas, and calculating Vansell –
- they, together with Theta Sigma and Koschei, became known as the Deca.
- And the Deca they remained, for almost all their time at the Academy. Theta Sigma rebelled at every
- opportunity, and they often joined him. A certain disregard for the rules defined them and their strong
- friendships held them together, and all of them at many points faced the frightening corporal
- punishments of the Prydonian Chapter. Magnus was isolated for over a year. Jelpax was forbidden to
- speak aloud outside of classes multiple times. Drax and Theta Sigma both had the fingers of their
- subordinate hands broken... Beyond those exceptional moments, all of them knew the sound of the
- disciplinarian Grazer – a low powered laser that would strip layers of flesh from the back or palms.
- But the Deca stayed strong. Throughout their years at the Prydonian, they were mentored by Borusa
- – Theta Sigma's childhood idol the Corsair, retired and settled into a comfortable teaching position.
- Borusa saw in every member of the Deca a huge well of potential to reshape Gallifrey, and he
- encouraged them to explore their ideologies and experiment in their studies. To Theta Sigma, he
- became a father figure – a bond that began when Theta Sigma lied to a teacher to spare Koschei a
- serious punishment and was rewarded for his courage with a newly-made Sigil of Lungbarrow, an
- heirloom he would have otherwise never had.
- There were changes in the Deca as their final years at the Academy approached. Perhaps their
- disintegration began when Rallon suffered a crippling injury and was forced to regenerate. Perhaps it
- was when this new, female Rallon began a romance with Millenia, who had always loved them.
- Perhaps it was with Ushas, who seduced Theta Sigma, Mortimus and Magnus in turn and played
- them against each other – an experiment for her BioPsychology studies as much as it was a genuine
- exploration of her feelings for them. No-one in the group could say for sure, least of all Koschei. He
- found himself increasingly distant from his friends as he prepared for the Rassilon Imprimatur, the
- final series of examinations that would determine whether the Initiates would graduate.
- Embroiled as he was in the infighting among the Deca, his confusing feelings for Ushas and
- Koschei, and an increasing disdain for his studies and the stifling Time Lord society, Theta Sigma
- failed the Imprimatur where the rest of the Deca passed and were inducted as Time Lords. Koschei,
- who had scored a Triple-First, took his old friend for a consolatory drink. There, Theta Sigma
- decided to do something audacious.
- Renegade
- Theta Sigma had an idea – to run away. Sharing his plan with Koschei, the two agreed to escape
- Gallifrey together in a TARDIS. Theta Sigma visited Borusa to appeal for a second examination, and
- stole his old TARDIS key when the old man wasn't looking. Koschei, meanwhile, used his new
- privileges to 'take a closer look' at the Corsair's TARDIS in the Prydonian Museum. When the two
- regrouped, it was simple enough to unlock the TARDIS and run.
- This escape was no doubt helped by the TARDIS itself. Possessed of psychic connections to their
- pilots, the Corsair's TARDIS had developed something of a personality and longed to travel again. In
- Theta Sigma, it saw a familiar spark of adventure and very willingly allowed itself to be stolen –
- disabling all the security protocols that would otherwise have alerted the guards. Once away, Theta
- Sigma made another decision: as he had no title given to him, he would choose one himself. He
- would be the Doctor, the man who made people better.
- Koschei and the Doctor travelled together for almost a hundred years. They were fugitives from
- Gallifrey and simply didn't care, because they were happy in each other's company and had a whole
- universe to explore. They ran headlong into danger and saved many lives. They were free, and they
- were both still utterly in love with each other – and still, neither would dare tell the other so. The
- Doctor strove to do good deeds to win Koschei's hearts. He had run away, he knew, because he did
- not want to lose him to the Time Lords; just as Koschei had run away so he would not lose the
- Doctor when he assumed his duties.
- Koschei grew jealous. He had been a rich and spoiled child, no matter how lonely, and he could not
- process what he saw as the Doctor's rejection. He looked out at the Universe and saw only
- distractions, billions of meaningless things keeping his Doctor from seeing him, holding him, loving
- him.
- So Koschei killed himself.
- He stole away from the TARDIS and put a bullet in his brain. Koschei of Oakdown – the soulful,
- sensitive boy who had loved the Doctor – died, was swallowed up by regenerative light and emerged
- as someone else. That someone vowed to destroy any obstacle to their great romance with the
- Doctor, to do everything and anything to have their hearts in their hands. To master him.
- The Master cut a bloody path through the Seven Systems, skirting dangerously close to Gallifrey as
- they committed serial genocide to get the Doctor's attention. When the Doctor came looking for
- them, they battled across twenty-one worlds until the Master disappeared into the night. Running
- across history and leaving devastation in their wake, the Master obtained an Entropic Bomb and
- planned to unleash quantum nihilism on the Doctor's favourite world: Earth. The Doctor chased them
- to Tunguska, Russia, in 1906, where they duelled one last time atop the Master's orbital platform
- until the Doctor threw the Master to the ground below before riding the bomb and safely disarming
- it, resulting in a harmless plasma pulse.
- When he awakened in the snow, the Doctor handcuffed the Master and took them to the one place he
- had hoped to never go again – Gallifrey.
- Return
- The Doctor's TARDIS materialised in the Waste Lands, and the Doctor carried the Master's
- restrained body across the bleached, barren soil. When he collapsed at the gates of the Citadel both
- were taken by Borusa, now a senator, and cadre of armed guards to be imprisoned. Both would be
- tried for sedition. But only one would be tried for serial genocide, for heresy, for the highest crimes
- the Time Lords could imagine.
- The Doctor - only the Doctor - testified against the Master in the High Court and at trial's end the
- Master was sentenced to Oblivion. Taken to the Shada Complex, a prison on a desert asteroid, they
- were:
- • Restrained by the neck and arms to a two-by-two platform, standing straight and unable to
- move.
- • Contained in an Oubliette – a dimensionally transcendent prison the size of a small pendant.
- • Stored, in their Oubliette, in the Cruciform – the storage facility for the most terrible
- Gallifreyan criminals – to think about their actions until the end of the universe.
- The Doctor, meanwhile, was pardoned for his rebellion in exchange for his testimonial and heroic
- stand against the Master.
- Returning to the long-abandoned Lungbarrow Estate, the Doctor lived very quietly, brooding on the
- downfall of the person he loved so much. He wrote treatises on the corruption and inadequacies of
- Gallifreyan society and published them anonymously across a range of journals. Borusa would check
- in on him once a month, but their meetings were short and terse – the Doctor simply harboured too
- much anger at society, seeing in it the seeds of whatever dissonance transformed Koschei into the
- Master. Infrequently, Drax or Irving would be able to coax him out of his shell and he would be
- dragged into an opera or solstice party or classy pub.
- It was at one of these sojourns that the Doctor met Mercy. A Time Lord and a little older than he was,
- Mercy was already a renowned figure – a military genius and an outspoken social crusader, Mercy
- had used her studies at the Arcadian Chapter to create an entirely new form of social science that
- was, at the core, indistinguishable from magic. The two encountered each other during a street party
- and immediately disliked each other: the reclusive, notorious iconoclast and the respected martial
- academic.
- It was only natural that they would fall in love. Mercy and the Doctor began a romance that was as
- intense as it was pure, with grand demonstrations of love mingling with the simplest expressions of
- affection. When he confessed his feelings, he wrote it in a constellation. When she proposed, it was
- by catching a diamond in a meteor shower. The wedding was a quiet ceremony on the grounds of the
- Lungbarrow Estate, attended by only a handful of family and friends.
- A daughter soon followed, and the Doctor found himself more and more directly engaged with Time
- Lord society. Mercy rekindled his enthusiasm and optimism and took him to meetings he truly had
- no business being in – but none could deny his utter brilliance and his frightening depth of insight.
- They were posed to start a transformation that would remake Gallifrey for the better.
- Until the monsters came.
- The War in Heaven
- They were refugees from a dying universe, crossing over in a multiversal Convergence. In the heat
- death of their reality, species evolved to survive on the barest resources – on the atomic forces that
- held matter together. They were shapeless, formless, held together by a nebulous Quantum Heart,
- and shared a group consciousness organised by elite Queens.
- The Time Lords called them the Shroud.
- Energy flowed through the shadow-stuff of a Shroud and coalesced in their Quantum Hearts, but
- their bodies were innately transformable and their minds unified. A single Shroud could envelop any
- reasonably-sized life-form and consume the bonds in their atoms, leaving nothing behind. Together,
- the horde could wrap around whole worlds.
- The Time Lords reacted to the Shroud's presence quickly and decisively. A State of Emergency was
- declared and the Rassilon Oversight reshuffled into a War Cabinet in collaboration with the Shadow
- Proclamation – over a hundred species had entered what would become known as the War in
- Heaven, the Universe against the Shroud.
- Mercy was called into active duty, and the Doctor followed. He was granted the rank of Time Lord
- and attached to her legion as an Agent Provocateur: all-purpose ranking officer, like a sentient Swiss
- army-knife, equipped with an experimental Sonic Screwdriver. Mercy's Legion would defend the
- furthest outpost of the united species, Yggdrasil Point.
- They remained there for fifty years. The Doctor travelled throughout the attached system, doing
- whatever he could to help the cause as Mercy commanded the Legion in thousands of pitched battles.
- The Time Lords developed frightening new technology to fight the vampiric Shroud. Casters - wristmounted
- devices to launch dark matter into their Quantum Hearts and so destroy them - and
- Bowships, gigantic space-faring dark matter firing mechanisms with a skeleton crew to destroy the
- colossal aggregate Shroud.
- Yggdrasil Point never fell. The Shroud could not penetrate their defences or outmatch Mercy's
- Legion, and certainly stood no match against Mercy and her roguish husband. But as the War raged
- on, the Multiverse kept turning – and another Convergence was due.
- Mercy knew this, watched her Orrery with uneasy eyes. She hid the truth from everybody, even the
- Doctor, and waited for what would come: a new army of Shroud, millions strong, spilling into the
- Universe for one whole, terrible day. She drew plans, dreadful plans.
- On the last day of the War in Heaven, the Doctor was dispatched to the fringes of Yggdrasil point.
- There, he watched Mercy and her Legion fly every last Bowship in a suicide run, eradicating the
- Shroud in their own Universe as the Convergence took place. He watched as their orbital satellites
- plunged to the ground and burned, killing millions more of the monstrous vampires. He listened as
- Mercy said her goodbyes on the communicator. And he woke alone in the wreckage.
- There was no TARDIS. No fast ships remained. And there were Shroud who had survived and made
- it through the barricades. The Doctor took his Caster and his Screwdriver and walked across a
- galaxy, killing every Shroud in his path. It took him almost twenty years, but he returned to Gallifrey
- at last.
- And he saw it burning.
- Exile
- As the War in Heaven raged on, Gallifrey's resources were spread thinner and thinner. The Time
- Lords assumed greater control of Gallifreyan politics and infrastructure to maintain the war machine
- and ordinary Gallifreyans – even some Time Lords – found themselves suddenly destitute and
- desperate for the first time in over ten-thousand years of the species.
- And in the middle of it all, a girl was born to the House of Lungbarrow. Granddaughter to the Doctor
- and Mercy, Susan of the Great and Noble House of Lungbarrow grew up on stories about her
- grandparents, the iconoclasts, the rebels, the dissidents. She idolised this pair of Time Lords she had
- never met and took every ideal they had to heart, becoming rebellious and outspoken as only a child
- can be.
- In the final days of the War in Heaven there was a Shroud attack on Gallifrey. The monsters were
- repelled, but the casualties were high and included Susan's parents. She was orphaned and alone on a
- Gallifrey that, while celebrating the end of the War, was now in dire straits and she watched as the
- Time Lords declared outright domination of the planet to reorder things.
- She rejected it all outright. Would her grandfather have stood for this? Would her grandmother?
- Susan was sure they would not, and that they would endorse what she chose to do: recruiting
- thousands of the disenfranchised, Susan became the leader and figurehead of a rebel group that
- incited the Gallifreyan Civil War. She was barely thirty.
- The Civil War between the Free Gallifreyans and the Old Time Lords lasted until the Doctor's return.
- At once captured by Susan's agents and introduced to his granddaughter, the Doctor was horrified at
- the fighting and quickly dissolved Susan's rebel group while instituting new laws on the Council of
- Time Lords. He then collected his TARDIS and attempted to flee the planet before his only
- descendant was arrested, but failed. Susan was placed in an Oubliette and the Doctor was left alone.
- There was nothing left for him on Gallifrey. No family, no loved ones. No society he cared for. He
- could not handle the responsibility of rebuilding Gallifrey, and left that in the hands of people he
- trusted as, once again, the Doctor took his TARDIS and left Gallifrey behind in self-imposed exile.
- He has travelled ever since, a solitary figure with a haunted past. Across history on a billion worlds
- he is a legendary figure, a hero and an icon – but he cannot agree with it. In his hearts he knows only
- too well that his behaviour is a pathological attempt to repay the debt he feels he owes to the
- Universe, and even if his good deeds help him sleep at night, the guilt eats away at him. Alone in his
- TARDIS, the Doctor can only see himself as a wretched, dangerous man, no matter how many lives
- he saves.
- 4. The Laws of Space and Time
- The Laws of Time
- Section One: Glossary
- Time travel is possible.
- Therefore, there are rules, consequences and orders of operation. Time-travel can cause problems
- and issues with regards to causality, the flow of history and the state of the universe at large.
- That is not to say you should not do it, because time-travel is a barrel of laughs if you get it right.
- This section is designed to explore the RULES AND REGULATIONS of time-travel in
- FOREMAN'S universe – and the easiest way to do that is to start by defining some terms.
- • TRAVELLER – a TRAVELLER is any entity that has gone either forward or backwards in
- history.
- • RESIDENT – any entity present by default at a POINT on any TIMELINE.
- • CAPSULE – a self-contained time-travel unit, capable of transporting one or more
- TRAVELLERS between any point in history.
- • POINT – a place in time and space where a CAPSULE has arrived with one or more
- TRAVELLERS.
- • TIMELINE – the flow of cause-and-effect throughout history. Can be either -
- PERSONAL – the TIMELINE of any specific individual or group
- UNIVERSAL – the TIMELINE of a larger, broader set (for example, a planet or species)
- COMPLEX – the TIMELINE of an individual or group of TRAVELLERS -a PERSONAL
- TIMELINE that crosses UNIVERSAL or PERSONAL TIMELINES in a non-sequential
- manner.
- • DIVERGENCE – a point where the TIMELINE is broken and the original sequence of
- cause-and-effect is no longer true.
- • SPLINTER – new TIMELINE resulting from a DIVERGENCE.
- LIVE SPLINTER – one where time is stable and the new TIMELINE may continue
- uninterrupted.
- DEAD SPLINTER – one where time is unstable and the new TIMELINE will eventually
- dissolve.
- • CO-EXISTENTS – TRAVELLERS or memories of TRAVELLERS existing side-by-side
- with contradictory ones as a result of DIVERGENCES or SPLINTERS.
- • ANOMALY – an ANOMALY is an item that survives a SPLINTER in a TIMELINE. For
- example, a TRAVELLER who neutralises their existence but remains present in a DEAD
- SPLINTER is considered ANOMALOUS.
- • NULLIFICATION – an effect of time-travel wherein an entity, object, TIMELINE or similar
- simply never happened. The thing in question never was and acquires a quantum probability
- of zero.
- • BLINOVITCH LIMITATION EFFECT – or 'PRINCIPLE OF CHANGED TIME'. As
- electrons 'want' to be in proximity to protons, the Universe 'wants' to remain simple and in
- good working order. BLINOVITCH'S EFFECT defines a 'universal principle' in which
- 'ripples' from DIVERGENCES are reduced on an exponential scale the further one goes
- from the POINT. This prevents inexplicable-but-traceable changes elsewhere.
- • PARADOX (see Section Three) – a DIVERGENCE wherein a TRAVELLER performs an
- action that would neutralise their own presence. Creates a DEAD SPLINTER and eventually
- EVENT COLLAPSE.
- • INEVITABLE POINT – a moment in time where a SPLINTER catches up with the origin of
- the DIVERGENCE. In a LIVE SPLINTER this results in UNIFICATION, and in a DEAD
- SPLINTER triggers EVENT COLLAPSE.
- • UNIFICATION – the point where safe changes to a TIMELINE meet the pre-existing
- POINT. Changes are then absorbed and small ANOMALIES may result.
- • EVENT COLLAPSE – time falls apart. Usually the result of a PARADOX and a DEAD
- SPLINTER, EVENT COLLAPSE is the point where a broken TIMELINE resolves itself by
- simply 'undoing'. Not good for the general health of the universe.
- • STILL POINT – moments in UNIVERSAL TIMELINES where nothing critical occurs
- chronologically – the chronological equivalent of a lazy Sunday afternoon, where nothing of
- consequence occurs. STILL POINTS are therefore easy positions from which to tangle
- TIMELINES and therefore create FIXED POINTS.
- • FIXED POINT (see Section Four) – a POINT where multiple TRAVELLERS have observed
- or taken part in events. FIXED POINTS should not be changed. Breaking a FIXED POINT
- results in catastrophic SPLINTERING of TIMELINES and TOTAL EVENT COLLAPSE
- ensues.
- • TOTAL EVENT COLLAPSE – time inverts, undoes, goes to lunch. Events tied into the
- TRAVELLERS present at a broken FIXED POINT are cancelled out in total defiance of
- normal TIMELINES on both a PERSONAL and UNIVERSAL scale, resulting in a CLASS
- X APOCALYPSE (e.g. complete annihilation of the LOCAL MULTIVERSE)
- Section Two: Explicit Rules (General)
- 1. TRAVELLERS are protected from the impact of non-paradoxial changes to the TIMELINE.
- Memories etc. remain intact or co-exist with new ones. This is a BLINOVITCH EFFECT
- that helps avoid PARADOXES.
- 2. The BLINOVITCH LIMITATION EFFECT prevents a 'Butterfly' of changes expanding
- from a POINT. TRAVELLERS may freely interact with RESIDENTS without wide-ranging
- consequences, and the EFFECT will intervene. A byproduct of the EFFECT is that identical
- TRAVELLERS from different POINTS in their PERSONAL TIMELINE will produce a
- harmful energy discharge on contact.
- 3. In time-travel, any TRAVELLER is responsible for the FACTS and DETAILS of their
- TIMELINE and the TIMELINE of others. The difference between a FACT and DETAIL is
- whether they motivate a TRAVELLER to visit a POINT. If the motivating factor (FACT)
- remains the same, the DETAILS may change without PARADOX. In essence, a PARADOX
- is a POINT where a TRAVELLER changes the FACTS. Time-travel in general inevitably
- changes the DETAILS. (See the Christmas Carol Model under Section Three: Paradoxes)
- 4. CAPSULES are the most useful form of time-travel. A TRAVELLER may also utilise a
- machine or similar, but without the self-contained nature of a CAPSULE, no POINT further
- in the past than the creation of the machine may be visited – otherwise, where else would
- they go?
- Section Three: Paradoxes
- PARADOXES, as defined above, are the product of DIVERGENCES in TIMELINES, either
- PERSONAL or UNIVERSAL, wherein the TRAVELLER cancels out their own actions. This creates
- a DEAD SPLINTER and nullifies the original TIMELINE, eventually resulting in EVENT
- COLLAPSE. This is a bad thing. The easiest model of a PARADOX is the 'GRANDFATHER
- MODEL', defined below.
- The Grandfather Model:
- 1. A TRAVELLER visits a POINT in history where their grandfather is alive and their parent
- has yet to be conceived.
- 2. The TRAVELLER either deliberately or inadvertently kills said grandfather. This results in a
- DIVERGENCE.
- 3. As the TRAVELLER's original TIMELINE is averted, the original TIMELINE and universe
- they came from is NULLIFIED from the point they travelled back. Meanwhile, the
- TIMELINE where their grandfather is killed becomes a DEAD SPLINTER.
- 4. The TRAVELLER becomes an ANOMALY – technically, they cannot and should not exist,
- but they remain so until an INEVITABLE POINT is reached.
- 5. The DEAD SPLINTER carries on 'as normal', with events proceeding in a changed fashion
- until the INEVITABLE POINT.
- 6. As time closes in on an INEVITABLE POINT, ANOMALIES begin to stack up as the
- TIMELINE starts to decay. These may be noticed as 'Continuity Errors' or slip by as deja vu
- and similar.
- 7. The INEVITABLE POINT is reached when the TIMELINE corroborates with the POINT
- that the TRAVELLER should have left to create the DIVERGENCE. However, as the
- RESIDENT TRAVELLER does not exist and the existing one is an ANOMALY, the DEAD
- SPLINTER cannot be created.
- 8. EVENT COLLAPSE results from an INEVITABLE POINT in a PARADOX. The DEAD
- SPLINTER cannot exist past it and therefore simply falls apart and is undone. Inevitably,
- this spirals out of control and swallows the universe.
- Fixing A Paradox
- 1. PARADOXES are not completely unsolveable.
- 2. Every RESIDENT and TRAVELLER involved in the creation of a PARADOX – that is, the
- RESIDENTS of the DEAD SPLINTER and the TRAVELLER(S) who cause the
- DIVERGENCE – are incapable of resolving it. Their existence is dependent on the
- PARADOX.
- 3. TRAVELLERS who are not involved in a PARADOX are independent of the effects and
- therefore may be able to avert it. Similarly, ANOMALIES related to the original TIMELINE
- that are not the TRAVELLER(S) responsible may be used to resolve the changes.
- 4. In essence, TRAVELLERS and ANOMALIES present at a POINT prior to, analogous to, or
- at the DIVERGENCE may avert or resolve the changes to the TIMELINE, resulting in a
- third, stable TIMELINE with events more-or-less identical to the original.
- 5. The eventual culmination of changes results in a cause-and-effect wherein the PARADOXES
- are no longer so and the final TIMELINE is an acceptable process.
- The Christmas Carol Model
- There are points where TIMELINE changes do not result in PARADOXES but do change the course
- of the described events. Referred to using the NuWho episode A Christmas Carol, the cumulative
- effect of time-travel can result in a DIVERGENCE without causing SPLINTERS or ANOMALIES.
- 1. The TRAVELLER encounters an obstacle.
- 2. The TRAVELLER interferes with local TIMELINES to change the circumstances
- surrounding the obstacle in an attempt to avert it.
- 3. These DIVERGENCES are cumulative and would result in a PARADOX.
- 4. However, the end result of the DIVERGENCES produce a similar-but-distinct obstacle and
- therefore still merit the initial TRAVEL. The DETAILS have been changed, but not the
- FACTS.
- Most time-travel events proceed along lines like this – however, they may not involve a specific or
- changed obstacle. Safe time-travel involves changes to DETAILS and sometimes even FACTS in a
- fashion that avoids NEUTRALISING of TIMELINES, RESIDENTS, POINTS and TRAVELLERS.
- Section Four: Fixed Points
- A FIXED POINT in time is a result of a complex interlacing of individual TIMELINES, be they
- PERSONAL or UNIVERSAL. When more than one set of TRAVELLER(S) are present at a POINT,
- be they participating or observing, their COMPLEX TIMELINES become entwined and a FIXED
- POINT is created. FIXED POINTS are multifaceted space/time events that depend on the correct
- cause-and-effect of multiple COMPLEX and PERSONAL/UNIVERSAL TIMELINES. To defy a
- FIXED POINT is to trigger TOTAL EVENT COLLAPSE, defined below:
- 1. FIXED POINT occurs. Multiple COMPLEX TIMELINES interact at a single POINT. Said
- POINT becomes dependent on these TIMELINES.
- 2. FIXED POINT is defied. Immediately, the TIMELINES involved accumulate
- DIVERGENCES, SPLINTERS, ANOMALIES, INEVITABLE POINTS and PARADOXES.
- The effect is similar to firing a bolt into a glass sheet – sudden, intense spider-web cracking.
- 3. Within picoseconds, the chain of chronological corruption results in TOTAL EVENT
- COLLAPSE.
- 4. TOTAL EVENT COLLAPSE ensues – an eternal, not-repeating expression of the entirety of
- the involved TIMELINES occurring simultaneously and without cohesion. The
- TRAVELLERS at the 'eye' of the TEC (that is, the ones either responsible for the defiance of
- the FIXED POINT or the ones involved in it) will become ANOMALIES and retain
- ANOMALOUS memories and experience and therefore should be able to resolve it.
- 5. If TOTAL EVENT COLLAPSE remains unresolved, early heat death ensues from inevitable,
- early-onset desanguination.
- Resolving Total Event Collapse
- TOTAL EVENT COLLAPSE is a complicated and outright nightmarish event, but it is not
- inescapable when triggered. The participating TRAVELLERS, with their retained and
- ANOMALOUS memories and experiences, can repair the FIXED POINT by re-instigating the
- events of the FIXED POINT. During TOTAL EVENT COLLAPSE, time becomes ephemeral as the
- COMPLEX TIMELINES involved orbit the still-functioning FIXED POINT (a metaphysical 'eye of
- the storm'). As no actual time-travel is used, the TRAVELLERS involved may move throughout the
- TEC and reach the FIXED POINT, which remains static and unchanged, and re-create the events.
- The Multiverse
- In the beginning, there was NOTHING. The endless empty space they called the VOID moved in an
- elliptical throughout HYPERTIME, the highest level of existence. In counter-orbit was
- POTENTIAL, the BLEED, the ultimate expression of possibility.
- VOID and BLEED collided on their ellipticals and the VOID was contaminated – a flaw in the unspace
- of the VOID full of the POTENTIAL of the BLEED. POTENTIALITY drove the flaw to
- become a crack, become a spider-web of endless variations on the original. The flaw was the FIRST
- UNIVERSE, an explosion of POTENTIAL into NOTHING that birthed matter, antimatter, time,
- space and the fundamental forces. POTENTIALITY forced the flaw to expand. Each new detail was
- a NEW UNIVERSE, a new variation on the original flaw.
- So came the moment where the VOID and the BLEED collapsed and the cracks in the flaw became
- independent pieces in HYPERTIME, spinning in their own orbits throughout VOID UN-SPACE and
- BLEED-SPACE. The pieces came together and arranged into the MULTIVERSE – infinite
- possibilities expressed in infinite UNIVERSES, dancing about each other in an ordered COSMIC
- ORBITAL.
- For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Expand that onto the level of causality and
- one can understand the MULTIVERSE – an array of ALTERNATE UNIVERSES (or BRANES)
- moving in complex orbits through a BULK composed of the VOID and BLEED. Any given event
- can result in the creation of another UNIVERSE where the opposite result occurred, meaning the
- ORBITAL is theoretically limitless. Described below are the essential terms of the MULTIVERSE
- and an outline of its behaviour.
- Glossary
- • HYPERTIME – transcendent superstructure at the highest level of reality. Contains the
- COSMIC ORBITAL in addition to countless other MULTIVERSE arrangements and
- fundamental super-forces. Some theorists believe HYPERTIME is itself a contained
- structure, observed from the outside by unknown consciousnesses.
- • MULTIVERSE – an arrangement of universes, derived from a single Big Bang event and
- expanding outwards in countless variations. Potentially, billions of MULTIVERSES exist in
- ordered structures throughout HYPERTIME.
- • COSMIC ORBITAL – the local MULTIVERSE. Contains the Foreman Universe, the
- original Whoniverse, the Expanded Whoniverse and variations thereof, including Pete's
- World, the Mondas Universe, and the Shroud Universe.
- • UNIVERSE – self-contained interaction of VOID and BLEED. The interaction of
- POTENTIALITY and NOTHING creates the stuff that UNIVERSES are made of, and holds
- them together as fundamental forces. UNIVERSES are connected by the VOID and held
- together by the BLEED, suspended in both of them as BRANES in a BULK.
- • VOID/NOTHING – an expression of absolute zero, the VOID is one of many super-forces
- that exist in HYPERTIME. The VOID is NOTHING, a total emptiness without time, matter,
- energy or conventional forces. A collision between the VOID and the BLEED contaminated
- the VOID with POTENTIALITY and created a flaw from the interaction of the purest
- expression of possibility and zero – the first UNIVERSE, which rapidly developed into the
- MULTIVERSE until the VOID and BLEED collapsed into each other and became the
- medium in which the MULTIVERSE is suspended. The VOID is now characterised as the
- UN-SPACE between UNIVERSES, and must be travelled through to cross them outside of
- CONVERGENCES.
- • BLEED/POTENTIAL – an expression of possibility, the BLEED is the polar opposite of the
- VOID and likewise moves through HYPERTIME. The collision between POTENTIALITY
- and NOTHING created the MULTIVERSE, and the interaction of the BLEED and VOID
- creates the stuff of UNIVERSES. Matter, antimatter, energy, force – all these things are
- created from the mixture of the two. Within the MULTIVERSE, BLEED-SPACE exists in a
- chaotic form that connects all points in Time, more commonly referred to as the TIME
- VORTEX, and must be travelled through to move through Time in a non-linear fashion.
- • BRANE and BULK – conventional understanding of the structure of the MULTIVERSE.
- UNIVERSES are characterised as BRANES, a substance containing within it all the forces
- and matter that cohere as a UNIVERSE. The VOID UN-SPACE and BLEED-SPACE are
- characterised as BULKS, the realm of strange super-forces that hold the BRANES in orbital
- structures. In theory, all MULTIVERSES, local or otherwise, function similarly but with
- distinct super-forces and BULKS in play.
- • CONVERGENCE – the COSMIC ORBITAL sees countless UNIVERSES move in ordered
- ellipticals. It is only natural, then, that these paths sometimes see MULTIVERSAL
- CONVERGENCES where one UNIVERSE directly passes through another. At these
- moments, the UNIVERSES occupy the same BRANE and objects can cross between either
- UNIVERSE at points of exceptional weakness, small rips in the skin of the BRANE. This is
- a generally harmless procedure and a natural part of the cycle of the MULTIVERSE at large
- – a greater force akin to the BLINOVITCH EFFECT keeps all items in the MULTIVERSE
- relatively consistent, and those that cross-over during CONVERGENCES do so
- simultaneously with their counterparts. CONVERGENCES usually occur on closelyconnected
- UNIVERSES very near to each other in the ORBITAL, but aberrant
- CONVERGENCES with rogue UNIVERSES are entirely possible and much more
- dangerous.
- • MUSICIA UNIVERSALIS – the MUSIC OF THE SPHERES. Higher-dimensional beings
- and time-sensitive species such as the Time Lords and the Guardians have observed that the
- MULTIVERSE obeys on all dimensional levels a kind of harmonic balance. When the
- staggeringly complex equation calculating this balance was completed by the Time Lords,
- they discovered that the UNIVERSE, MULTIVERSE and even HYPERTIME move and
- function almost like singing bowls – the cosmos is a song, and all things in it from the atom
- upwards contribute voices and notes to the MUSIC OF THE SPHERES. One higherdimensional
- levels, MUSICIA UNIVERSALIS can be heard quite clearly, can be written
- down and understood, and can even be interfered with in some ways. This is a natural effect
- of the metaphysical nature of the upper dimensions.
- The Upper Dimensions
- The human race – and almost every other species inhabiting the physical universe – exists in three
- dimensions. Length, breadth, and depth define their worlds and they move through these in a nonlinear
- fashion. But above those three dimensions are at least two more: Time, the fourth dimension,
- and Calabi-Yau space, the fifth. For the majority of species, Time flows around them, forwards. They
- age and develop towards the future, with the past behind them and inaccessible. Species or
- individuals that are Time-sensitive can perceive the flow of Time on themselves and those around
- them and detect chronological hotspots as one might sense someone standing behind them.
- The Fifth dimension, referred to by theorists as Calabi-Yau space, is the point where physics and
- metaphysics are reconciled. Here, the conscious thought of those inhabiting the lower four
- dimensions become potent, and the fundamental forces (gravity, strong and weak nuclear force,
- electromagnetism) are unified and yoked by consciousness. In essence, a significant portion of the
- Universe at large is held together by the thoughts and dreams of sentient species. In the Fifth
- dimension belief and narrative are absolute, and the native residents are strange archetypal entities
- given substance and structure by the narrative forms of the lower dimensions. They exist in a series
- of eternally-repeating story structures where each repetition contains tiny variations on a theme.
- In the Fifth dimension, one is given power by word and deed, not physical strength. It is entirely
- possible, for example, to lay claim to another's 'soul' – in the Fifth dimension, this represents their
- irreducible identity and the sum value of their actions, including their presence in the memory of
- others. In the same way, games take on an utmost importance here, and the god-children of the Fifth
- dimension are completely bound by the rules and mechanics of gameplay. It can be difficult to
- understand this from a three-dimensional perspective, but it is best summarised as this: in the Fifth
- dimension, the Laws of Physics are replaced by the specific Rules we sentients apply to stories,
- games, and belief systems.
- As one sees a two-dimensional object, the inhabitants of Calabi-Yau space see the inhabitants of
- three-dimensional reality. It is no issue for them to interact with many points in time simultaneously
- or to travel vast distances in single motions. However their impression onto space ensnares them in
- the trappings of the physical universe like a Chinese Finger Trap, and it becomes increasingly
- difficult to utilise their vast metaphysical power the more space and time they exist in.
- The Bleed, the Void, and Hypertime
- The Multiverse was born out of the interaction of the Bleed and Void, and when those two planes
- collapsed into each other they became essential elements of the Multiversal fabric. The Cosmic
- Orbital moves throughout a suspension of Bleed-space and Void un-space within Hypertime.
- The Bleed, as a manifestation of Potential, progress, energy and motion, permeates the Multiverse
- and drives all things forwards as the Time Vortex. Those who travel through time in a non-linear
- fashion do so by shunting out of their physical universe and travelling through Bleed-space – a
- hazardous experience without the proper safety buffers. It is entirely possible to open stable passages
- into Bleed-space and even capture samples of it.
- The Void, the literal form of Nothing, is the substance that divides the individual Universes within
- the Cosmic Orbital. Void un-space is a hellish experience where Time does not truly exist and
- consciousness becomes immaterial in the utter absence of functional metaphysics. The only way to
- safely travel the Void is during Multiversal Convergences or else using specialised – and purely
- hypothetical – Voidships that would prevent contamination from Nothing.
- Hypertime is the highest known point in Reality, the uber-Bulk that carries all the myriad Branes like
- Void, Bleed, and countless other examples. It stretches far beyond understanding and likely has no
- edge. One does not truly travel through Hypertime – it is conceptually impossible to exit your local
- Multiverse – but if one did so they would discover a virtually endless series of Multiverses and raw
- super-forces. It has been theorised by some that the whole of Hypertime is itself a contained
- medium, observed from the outside by some immeasurably powerful beings. If this is true,
- Hypertime's super-forces and the proliferation of Multiverses is the result of the directives of these
- observers.
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