The Dark Scrolls of Rassilon

 

 

 

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1,678,231,565 TL
[Note, TL is the year after I captured the Eye of Harmony.]
 

These notes were brought to me from my future self from my tomb in the dark
tower, concerning the future of my home world, Gallifrey, and edited by me
in the present, 1,123 years since I captured the eye of harmony.

Part 1: Known History

 

Gallifrey was a technological civilization with little recorded history.
Therefore, little is known of our past, save for accounts from various time
historian expedition.  It is known that we evolved from tribal people over a
two million year period.  Most believe that this evolution was so slow due
to the lack of a true written language until about 10,000, with the
invention of the computer.  (I am reminded of a story my great grandfather
once told me, of the days when the radio was the most prevalent form of
communication.  Memories of when I was young, and in my first incarnation.)
Having been a child of the computer revolution, I can hardly imagine life
without the written word.  I also remember when I was at the Prydonian
academy, taking the history of our people.  How we had learned to adapt to
our harsh planet's environment by developing the ability to regenerate.  I
remember studying the effects of Lyndos on inferior life forms, and being
fascinated at the regenerate forms each creature took [Lyndos is the
hormone of regeneration.], some of them dying from the shock of their new
body.  This was the beginnings of my development of the Symbiotic Nuclei.  I
knew that if I could put the chemical Lyndos into any animal's body, I could
do so with a Gallifreyan too.  Of course, the high council would not agree
to my experiments, until my closest friend, Omega, was killed in a
Time Related accident.  After my entombment, my experiments were abandoned,
only to be continued again in the Singolnian War, by a young Patrex woman
known as the Rani.

Part 2: Omega

 

I first met Omega at the Tarknet meeting center on the Flasnaeos colony.
Both our parents were members of the High Council (his mother and my
father.), and we, being a mere 50 and 63 years old, were sent to play in the
anti-gravity playground.  I remember he had a matter transmitter and was
creating all types of metal fortresses for us to play in.  After the meeting
was over, our parents and we went to eat at the Gallifreyan Coffee House,
back on Gallifrey.  There Omega and I talked about school and I told him
about my experiments in the use of Lyndos.  He was fascinated.  I remember I
dared him to regenerate into a woman for his second incarnation when the
time came.  Omega, being the dare devil that he was excepted, and sure
enough, after a faulty anti-matter experiment, he took me up on that bet.
Of course Galkik, his wife wasn't to pleased.  Although when her time came
to take her third form, she had her revenge.  I must say, they were one of
the cutest couples in Gallifreyan history.
Omega, being the older among us, Graduated from the later disrupted
Kalhosnian academy.  Fortunately, when Omega graduated, Kalhosnia was still
the most reputable and hardest to get into of all the academies.  I always
was jealous.  He even graduated with a triple alpha, the highest mark
available.  At the Prydonian, I only received a double gamma; still in the
top third of my class, but I have always felt I could do better.  I think,
most of all, my grade had to do with what I did to the Dean's pet cat.  You
think he'd appreciate the increased senses of the animal.  Ah, well.  Kind
of reminds me of my one greatest fan, the Rani.  In any case, after I
graduated, I joined Omega in the Ministry of Astro-Physical research.  (The
only way I got into that prestigious establishment was due to the coaxing of
Omega, who had already been there 9 years.)  There we centered our research
on time and gravitational anomalies.  That was when I had my first
experience with time travel.  Two voyagers from the future came to visit us,
from the time of the Singolnian war.  One, known as the Doctor, worked with
Omega on the development of what we later called the Hand of Omega, while I
worked with the other, known as the Master on a Bio-morphic living metal
which I called Vallidium.  It was to be Gallifrey's ultimate defense in it's
greatest time of crisis.  I had traveled with the pair to the future, to
help them implement the Vallidium, however, as I have already made notes of
this in the section entitled "The Singolnian War," I shall not repeat myself
here.  When I returned, 2 regenerations, and many years of future knowledge
later, I found Omega had completed the Stellar Manipulator and was ready to
stage a test.  After years of pleading, I still could not convince the High
Council to allow me to research into the Symbiotic Nuclei.  I became
worried for my dear friend's safety, knowing that this trial run could be
his death.  I tried to convince him to wait, at east until I could convince
the High Council to allow me to develop the Nuclei, so that he would not be
drawn into the ensuing Black Hole by the Stellar Time Wind.  But he was
adamant.  We had been working on the problem of developing a time vehicle
for almost 7,000 years now, and he wasn't about to stop now.  Without his
death, I could never have convinced the High Council to allow my biological
research.  I would never have been able to capture the eye of harmony to run
our Temporal Generators.  He faded quickly.  He went through all seven of
his remaining regenerations in a matter of seconds, just to stop the
unbearable pain.  Officially, he was declared dead.  About a week later, I
received an anti-matter beam from the star which had captured him.  He WAS
alive.  I tried to convince the High Council to help me mount a rescue
mission, but they said the risk was to great, and the weren't going to make
any more concessions after my Symbiotic Nuclei.  They refused to believe my
message from him, and decreed that all such matters concerning Stellar
Engineer Omega Kalhosnia [all Gallifreyan's take the last name from the
academy from which they graduated.] are closed!  Galkik commit regenerate
suicide 3 months later.  I shall miss you, Omega.

Part 3: The High Council

 

My father was one of the reasons I went into politics after I developed time
travel.  One of the decrees he made during his 100 year reign as Lord
President was that all Time Lords ar equal in the face of the law, and
guilty until proven innocent.  He was a staunch conservative, and when I
asked him if he could convince the High Council to allow my experiments into
the Symbiotic Nuclei, he outright refused.  After Omega died, I had to
continue both of our research into the biological and physical side of
regeneration.  Unfortunately, my work was interrupted by the Great Vampire
invasion.  Al research was stopped ad redirected to destroying these evil
invaders.  The Sisterhood of Karn, an ancient, but self sufficient
Gallifreyan colony of all women, were attacked first.  Many died, but the
High Council chose to do nothing!  It wasn't until they attacked Gallifrey
itself that anything was decided to be done.  I headed one of the research
teams developing projectile weapons to destroy the invaders by piercing them
through the heart.  Of course my plan was successful, and the deaths of all
but one Vampire, the leader, was accounted for.  I was made a public hero,
and was promoted to castillan, during which time, I developed the
transduction barrier, to protect our planet against further invasion.  I
tried to convince the High Council to use our powers to help other
civilizations in need, but unfortunately, they would not.  I decided to
retire because of that and continue my research onto the physics of time.
In the 57 years that I had been gone, my research team had accomplished next
to no advancements in temporal manipulation.  Due to the instability of
Omega's experiment, we could not use his star, an no one was brave enough to
try again.  By this time I had perfected my Symbiotic Nuclei, and it was
just a matter of testing it.  I decided it was time to take a risk.  I
installed the Nuclei in my brain and used the Hand of Omega to manipulate
Harmony, the star nearest to the Kasturburosian system [the stellar system
of Gallifrey.].  It was a success!  I captured the Eye of Harmony using a
protective Sash which I had developed, and placed it in perfect
gravitational balance at the center of out planet.  Finally, we had the
power requirements necessary for our time experiments.  Two years later, I
made the first time jump in Gallifreyan history!  Four minutes into the
future.  It was a complete success!  Soon, the Symbiotic Nuclei was a part
of every Gallifreyan's DNA, save the Shobogians, who left the citadel during
the Vampire war, sick of Gallifrey's noninterference policy.  Because of
these new, awesome powers, for the first time in Gallifreyan history, a
written Constitution was drawn up.  The High Council was made more
responsible to the people, and a President was to be chosen to lead our new
race, the Time Lords, into the beginnings of a new civilization.  Following
in my now late father's foot steps, I ran for Lord President, and won by a
landslide against the incumbent.  I was Lord President of Gallifrey!  My
first decree was to create the Celestial Intervention Agency, or CIA.
Although they were OFFICIALLY disband by my predecessor, I know that to this
day, over 1,000,000,000 years since then, they are still operating,
covertly.  However, power corrupts.  12,000 years of ultimate power, and
nearing the end of my 12th regeneration, I refused to die.  I began research
into synthesizing my own Lyndos, secretly.  I had my birth records changed.
When I made my 13th regeneration, no one knew that I had changed the
records, they thought it was my 6th.  I developed a game area.  Recreation
for other Time Lords.  I created the Death Zone, an arena to the death, and
the Time Scoop, hidden behind the High Council Conference Chambers, access
to which I had encoded in a tune in a Harp, my favorite instrument, which I
had placed in the Conference chambers as a diversion.  I always won.  I used
another of my inventions, the D-Mat gun, to eliminate all competition,
everything from the pitiful and unimaginative Rutans, to the Daleks and the
Borg.  Then, some in the High Council began to oppose me.  They felt I had
become to powerful.  Even my wife, to whom I had been married for just over
9,300 years, began to feel a change.  I became fed up with competition.  I
developed a Coronet to enforce my will upon others.  I tried to convince
Faltsia, my wife, to become immortal with me, to take my Lyndos supplements.
She refused.  I tried to use the Coronet to make her, but she used the only
defense possible, regenerate suicide.  As she slipped away and out of her
13th, and final incarnation, she muttered to me.  "You've changed, Rassilon."
I had.  But I still could not let her just disappear into nothingness.  I
had her dying body cryogenically frozen.  Then, I entered into the
Gallifreyan internal Computer system.  I took a 5 year leave of absence, as
I tried to develop some was of transferring the memories of my wife into the
computer.  I created the Amplified Panotropic Computer Network, or APC net,
a repository of all Time Lord information.  To test, I transferred my
knowledge into the computer.  It worked.  I used the Coronet as a feed.  I
then linked the computer into the well being of all living Time Lords.  I
installed a program to monitor the life signs of all Time Lords, and when
one approached death, all his/her knowledge and experience would be
transferred into the APC net.  I revived Faltsia.  As her body finally passed
into inertia, her mind was absorbed.  I could feel her, through my Coronet.
She was alive.  I then decided I had to go.  I knew I had become too
powerful, so I decided to stage my own death.  A Death Zone accident.  I had
a tremendous mausoleum built to house me.  The Dark Tower.  There I remained
while the other Time Lords tried to pick up the pieces of what I had left of
our civilization.  With the help of the APC net, it was decided that the
Death Zone would be closed form all contact.  The new President used the APC
net to protect the rights of the people, and not to oppress them.  He also
outlawed all outside contact.  It was decided that Gallifrey would be moved
outside of Time.  Thus bloomed the universe's most stagnant civilization.

Part 4: The Gallifreyan Renaissance

 

In the year 561,236,191 TL, one of the most evil Gallifreyans in all
our history was born.  Morbius.  The Gallifrey of this era was much as I had left it after my entombment.  A stagnant society, clutching on to the remnants of it's
ancient glory.  The planetary guard became indolent from lack of crime.  The
death penalty had not been used since the trials of the Pentosian
Conspiracy, in the year 7,871 TL, during my reign as president. Even the
High Council became merely a figure-head.  Free will had been totally lost,
for the good of the society.  One was born, educated, assigned a profession,
and lived out ones 12 regenerations in complete complacency until one died.
It was to this world that Morbius was born.  Morbius attended the Kalhosnian
Academy, which at the time was still the most reputable  on Gallifrey. He
graduated Triple Alpha, and top of his class.  In his graduation speech [It
is traditional for ALL Academy graduates to give a speech upon their
graduation from the academy, in all 7 academy.  Usually these speeches last
for days.], instead of talking about the traditional topic of ones studies
and experiences, Morbius chose to attack the establishment, mocking all the
traditional, introverted values of Gallifrey.  This was later to be coined
"The Blue Address," the color blue being the symbol of Kalhosnian Academy.
Morbius' parents were both members of the High Council, and Morbius had
since childhood intended to follow in their footsteps.  5 years after his
graduation, Morbius was elected to the Junior Council, the local legislative
house of his home province, the Yulna Peninsula.  There, he reformed the
government, and shifted policies to extraterrestrial studies using automated
survey SIDRATs.  During his 12th term, Chief Council Morbius decided
automated exploration of the Universe was not enough.  Deciding to break
Gallifreyan law, he, with a minimal crew of Anthropological researchers
decided to visit a planet which Morbius had drawn a fancy to in the Orion
arm of Galaxus Mutter's Spiral, planet Sol 3, also know as Earth of a time
period between the 42nd and 52nd centuries.  There he made contact with
certain natives, including the infamous Weng Chiang, as he was later to be
known in the latter half of the 19th century, to whom he secretly leaked
certain aspects of Time Lord technology.  At first, Morbius admired the guile
of Chiang, but when Chiang tried to have him killed, Morbius plotted his
revenge by keeping secret the necessity of the Symbiotic Nuclei for all
time travelers.  Another contact he made was with a brain surgeon named
Solon.  This relationship prospered, sadistically similar to the friendship
between Benito Mussolini and Adolph Hitler of the mid Earth 20th century.
Another member of this unprecedented mission was Professor Salyavin, an
anthropologist who seemed to have an incredible knack for prediction the
actions of others.  Morbius had written to Salyavin, who was teaching at the
Patrex Academy at the time, and asked him to come all the way to Yulna to
help Morbius on his unique mission, due to Salyavin's interesting power.
When the research team returned to Gallifrey, Morbius was put on trial for
breaking the one of the High Council Doctrine, that of noninterference.
During the hearing, he spoke valiantly for his cause of universal exploration,
but in the end, it was his new friend Salyavin who obtained for him a verdict
of Not Guilty.  When Morbius realized Salyavin's power, he was quick to gain
Salyavin's favor.  Morbius put up a facade of being sympathetic to the
causes and desires of Salyavin, becoming a pacifist.  He used Salyavin to
gain a seat on the High Council, and later to become Lord President.
President Morbius opened the time ports of Gallifrey and started trade
between other advanced civilizations, including the sisterhood of Karn, the
Iconians, and the Singolnians.  Gallifrey became a cultural center, with it's
own unique form of arts and society.  In some places, the computer music and
paintings of Gallifrey became all the rage.  As the years passed, Morbius
became more and more accustomed to his power.  He sough, and found the Dark
Scrolls, and learned of the dark secrets of Gallifrey.  He learned of my
trap of Immortality, and out guessed it.  He started to become a menace to
the people of Gallifrey.  That's when he started to build his army.  He
first visited his old Earth friend, Solon, who indicated to him which of the
known societies of the explored universe would make the finest army.  They
visited Sontara, a large planet with high gravity.  There they met General
Sontara, for whom the planet was named, and persuaded him to help them in
return for a way to conquer his [Sontara's] own people.  Using a cloning
replicator, designed by Solon, Sontara cloned an army of himself and
committed racial genocide of all his fellow Sontarans. Morbius also visited
the Minyan people to give them what they most desired, technology, in return
for an armed regiment.  Likewise with the Narvanians.  Finally, Morbius had
an army with which to finally conquer Gallifrey, and then, the Universe!
But first, Morbius needed one final incentive to sway all those who might
follow him, the Elixir of Life on the planet Karn.  By this time, the rest
of the High Council was suspicious of Morbius's activities.  But it was too
late, Morbius had already begun the onslaught of his forces on Karn.  It
took the combined force of the Time Lords, the Singolnians, the Iconians,
and the decimated population of Karn to defeat Morbius, but this time, the
High Council was helped, not hindered by professor Salyavin.  Morbius was
brought to trial, and was sentenced to complete dematerialization, the first
capital punishment in eons.  Salyavin, because of his original support of
Morbius was also tried, but his sentence was diminish to mearly imprisonment
at Shada due to his eventual co-operation with the High Council.  Solon was
also given a sentence at Shada, but was able to escape with the Brain of
Morbius before his dematerialization.  The Sontarans abandoned the battle
when Morbius began to lose, and no charges were brought against them.
However, the technology given to the Minyans by Morbius was used by the
people of that planet in a great civil war.  When the High Council had
realized the kind of destruction caused by Morbius to alien civilizations,
even the Narvanians were at the brink of destruction, and were only able to
re-unify in a war against the Dominators, a race of sadistic conquers from
Ptolia 7, who ruled much of the Halonad Galaxy before the Dalek invasion
destoryed them in the Halonadi Push one million years later, they adopted
the First Law of Time, the law of non-intervention, as the cardinal rule of
Time Lord civilization.  [Before then it had just been a doctrine, and was
considered to be of minimal importance or necessity.]  However, the trials
also caused a resurgence of the Celestial Intervention Agency, and fortified
contacts with Gallifrey's closest allies, the Sisterhood, the Iconians, and
the Singolnians.  As for Salyavin, he eventually escaped his prison and
impersonated a member of the Capital Guard to obtain the record book of
Shada, so that no one would realize he was missing, and soon caused everyone
to forget his role in the life of Morbius.  He returned to Earth to atone
for his sins.

Addendum:  The Matrix

 

Actually the Matrix was created before my [Rassilon] time, but then it was
only the National Security Data Matrix, used only for data storage and
governmental records.  While I was Castellan, I was able to modify the
Matrix to incorporate the general functioning of much of the more important
aspects of the Citadel and Capital City (Known simply as the Capital City.),
including security, ad of course the newly created Transduction Barrier.
Later, just before my entombment, I created the APC net as a sub branch of
the Matrix Computer, as the repository of all Time Lord knowledge.  The first
mind I deposited in the net was my own, to use as a core memory (The RAM, if
you will, although this is rather a poor analogy.).  Because the core was of
my mind, the output was of the same wave pattern as my own mind.  This allowed
for a permanent Telepathic Link between myself and the net, which was for a
long time, the only internet address on Gallifrey.  Fortunately, because I
knew I would need convenient access to the news for posting my Scrolls, I
had a terminal installed in the Dark Tower, but that's another story.
 
 

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