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{{First pic|HallwayRift1.jpg|[[Coal Hill Space-Time Rift|A time rift]] in the hallway of [[Coal Hill School|Coal Hill Academy]] opens to [[The Underneath|another world]], and a shadow floods out. ([[TV]]: ''[[For Tonight We Might Die (TV story)|For Tonight We Might Die]]'')}}
{{you may|Cardiff Space-Time Rift|n1=the time rift located in Cardiff|time fissure|n2=time fissures}}
{{you may|Cardiff Space-Time Rift|n1=the time rift located in Cardiff|time fissure|n2=time fissures}}
'''Time rifts''', also known as '''temporal rifts''', were weaknesses in [[space]] and [[time]] through which people or objects could pass from one location and time to another. The [[Seventh Doctor]] once explained that "rift" wasn't quite the same word, and that a rift per se was a fracture running through a four-dimensional area of [[space-time]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'')
'''Rifts''', variously described as '''time rifts''','''temporal rifts''', '''space-time rifts''' or '''spatio-temporal rifts''', ([[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'') were weaknesses in [[space]] and [[time]] through which people or objects could pass from one location and time to another. Some connected different times and places, while others even connected to other [[Parallel universe|universe]]s.
 
== Terminology ==
The [[Seventh Doctor]] once explained that "rift" wasn't quite the same word, and that a rift per se was a fracture running through a four-dimensional area of [[space-time]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'')


== Effects ==
== Effects ==
Certain rifts could transport living or non-living matter through space and time from one end to another. ([[TV]]: ''[[Adrift]]'') The exit points of a rift could change their temporal coordinates, or move trough space but not time, while other exit points could move through both space and time. An exit point could be anchored and could also emit [[time storm]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'')
Certain rifts could transport living or non-living matter through space and time from one end to another. ([[TV]]: ''[[Adrift (TV story)|Adrift]]'') The exit points of a rift could change their temporal coordinates, or move through space but not time, while other exit points could move through both space and time. An exit point could be anchored and could also emit [[time storm]]s. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'')


Individuals ([[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl]]'', ''[[The Unquiet Dead]]'') or even whole species, such as the [[Owse]] developed a degree of [[time sensitivity]] or other [[psychic power]]s from developing or growing up near a time rift. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Quantum Archangel (novel)|The Quantum Archangel]]'') On some occasions, the leakage from a rift would cause things to either age or de-age, sometimes both at the same time. On other occasions, it would simply freeze time. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[...And Eternity in an Hour]]'')
Individuals ([[TV]]: ''[[Image of the Fendahl (TV story)|Image of the Fendahl]]'', ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]'') or even whole species, such as the [[Owse]] developed a degree of [[time sensitivity]] or other [[psychic power]]s from developing or growing up near a time rift. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Quantum Archangel (novel)|The Quantum Archangel]]'') On some occasions, the leakage from a rift would cause things to either age or de-age, sometimes both at the same time. On other occasions, it would simply freeze time. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[...And Eternity in an Hour (short story)|...And Eternity in an Hour]]'')
 
The [[Eleventh Doctor]] once referred to the [[Time field|cracks in time]] as a time rift. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song]]'')


== Interactions with technology ==
== Interactions with technology ==
Technology such as the [[Torchwood Institute]]'s [[Rift Manipulator]] could, to a limited degree, control time rifts, but this was inexact. ([[TV]]: ''[[Captain Jack Harkness (TV story)|Captain Jack Harkness]]'', ''[[End of Days]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[Rift War! (comic story)|Rift War!]]'') After the [[Last Great Time War]], [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] could use time rifts to power up. ([[TV]]: ''[[Boom Town]]'')
Technology such as the [[Torchwood Institute]]'s [[Rift Manipulator]] could, to a limited degree, control time rifts, but this was inexact. ([[TV]]: ''[[Captain Jack Harkness (TV story)|Captain Jack Harkness]]'', ''[[End of Days (TV story)|End of Days]]'', [[COMIC]]: ''[[Rift War! (comic story)|Rift War!]]'') After the [[Last Great Time War]], [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] could use time rifts to power up. ([[TV]]: ''[[Boom Town (TV story)|Boom Town]]'')


== Known locations of temporal rifts ==
== Known locations of temporal rifts ==
=== On Earth ===
=== On Earth ===
[[Cardiff]] possessed [[Cardiff Space-Time Rift|one major time rift]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead]]'', ''[[Boom Town]]'', ''[[Everything Changes]]'' et al) A time rift called the [[Dreadful Flap]] opened above [[Darlington]] in [[1965]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dreadful Flap]]'') A small rift was located in [[Mexico]], where [[John Hart (Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang)|John Hart]] collected alien artefacts. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Shrouded]]'') [[Washington DC]] was once about to disappear up a time rift, until it was prevented by the [[Seventh Doctor]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Vampire Science]]'')
[[Cardiff]] possessed [[Cardiff Space-Time Rift|one major time rift]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Unquiet Dead (TV story)|The Unquiet Dead]]'', ''[[Boom Town (TV story)|Boom Town]]'', ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'' et al.) A time rift called the [[Dreadful Flap]] opened above [[Darlington]] in [[1965]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Dreadful Flap (short story)|The Dreadful Flap]]'') A small rift was located in [[Mexico]], where [[John Hart]] collected alien artefacts. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Shrouded (comic story)|Shrouded]]'') [[Washington DC]] was once about to disappear up a time rift, until this was prevented by the [[Seventh Doctor]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Vampire Science (novel)|Vampire Science]]'')


A rift in [[Coal Hill Academy]] ([[TV]]: ''[[For Tonight We Might Die (TV story)|For Tonight We Might Die]]'', ''[[The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo (TV story)|The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo]]'', ''[[Nightvisiting (TV story)|Nightvisiting]]'') was opened by the [[Shadow Kin]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart (TV story)|Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart]]'') and mostly closed by the [[Twelfth Doctor]]. He explained he couldn't close it entirely because the excess [[artron energy]] around the school made [[time]] itself weak there. ([[TV]]: ''[[For Tonight We Might Die (TV story)|For Tonight We Might Die]]'') [[April MacLean]] also made a temporary rift to the [[the Underneath]] in her own backyard with a [[Shadow Kin scimitar]], through which she and [[Ram Singh]] entered. ([[TV]]: ''[[Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart (TV story)|Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart]]'')
A rift in [[Coal Hill Academy]] ([[TV]]: ''[[For Tonight We Might Die (TV story)|For Tonight We Might Die]]'', ''[[The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo (TV story)|The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo]]'', ''[[Nightvisiting (TV story)|Nightvisiting]]'') was opened by the [[Shadow Kin]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart (TV story)|Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart]]'') and was mostly closed by the [[Twelfth Doctor]]. He explained that he couldn't close it entirely because the excess [[artron energy]] around the school made [[time]] itself weak there. ([[TV]]: ''[[For Tonight We Might Die (TV story)|For Tonight We Might Die]]'') [[April MacLean]] also made a temporary rift to the [[the Underneath]] in her own backyard with a [[Shadow Kin scimitar]], through which she and [[Ram Singh]] entered. ([[TV]]: ''[[Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart (TV story)|Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart]]'')


The eruption of the [[Vesuvius]] in [[79]] [[AD]] briefly created a rift, echoing back in time and giving some inhabitants of the city of [[Pompeii]] [[psychic|precognitive]] powers. This rift was created because of the immense power of Vesuvius' eruption, but it opened for only a second. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]'')
The eruption of [[Vesuvius]] in [[79]] [[AD]] briefly created a rift, echoing back in time and giving some inhabitants of the city of [[Pompeii]] [[psychic|precognitive]] powers. This rift was created because of the immense power of Vesuvius' eruption, but it opened for only a second. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Fires of Pompeii (TV story)|The Fires of Pompeii]]'')


Two time rifts existed on Earth in ancient [[Egypt]] and [[1871]] [[Paris]], being two of several fractures created by [[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]]'s [[time travel]]ling. The Seventh Doctor explained that these fractures could not be mended, and that they damaged the [[space-time]] they passed through. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'')
Two time rifts existed on Earth in ancient [[Egypt]] and [[1871]] [[Paris]], being two of several fractures created by [[Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart]]'s [[time travel]]ling. The Seventh Doctor explained that these fractures could not be mended, and that they damaged the [[space-time]] they passed through. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Set Piece (novel)|Set Piece]]'')


The [[Eleventh Doctor]] described the [[Time field|crack in time]] in [[Amelia Pond]]'s wall as a time rift. ([[TV]]: [[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|''The Wedding of River Song'']])
The [[Eleventh Doctor]] described the [[Time field|crack in time]] in [[Amelia Pond]]'s wall as a time rift. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Wedding of River Song (TV story)|The Wedding of River Song]]'')
 
The [[Pict]]s knew of an inter-dimensional temporal rift in [[Aberdeen]] that could allow the [[Eater of Light|Eaters of Light]] to enter [[Earth]], albeit only one at a time. They built a cairn around it and had a "[[Keeper of the Gate]]" periodically open the portal to prevent it from widening. Whilst the portal was open, a single warrior would enter and fight the creatures back. As time passed much more slowly in the creatures' dimension, a few minutes of battle there equated to six or seven decades of peace outside. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eaters of Light (TV story)|The Eaters of Light]]'')
 
[[Little Caldwell]] had a time-rift in which [[Isaac Summerfield II]] and his fellow [[Spacefleet]] operatives fell through. They were transported from the [[26th century]] to the town on [[November]], [[1963]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Return of the Living Dad (novel)|Return of the Living Dad]]'')


=== Elsewhere ===
=== Elsewhere ===
A mobile time rift travelled through [[Mutter's Spiral]], likely from an accident on [[Heracletus]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Zeitgeist (short story)|Zeitgeist]]'') The [[Third Doctor]] was eventually able to stop it on [[Alrakis]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[...And Eternity in an Hour]]'') Another time rift was located in a region of space near the planet [[Kaesov]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Quantum Archangel (novel)|The Quantum Archangel]]'')
A mobile time rift travelled through [[Mutter's Spiral]], likely from an accident on [[Heracletus]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Zeitgeist (short story)|Zeitgeist]]'') The [[Third Doctor]] was eventually able to stop it on [[Alrakis]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[...And Eternity in an Hour (short story)|...And Eternity in an Hour]]'') Another time rift was located in a region of space near the planet [[Kaesov]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Quantum Archangel (novel)|The Quantum Archangel]]'')


The [[Medusa Cascade]] once had a time rift, which was healed at some point by [[the Doctor]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'') after the [[Eighth Doctor]] had previously intended to use [[the Great Key]] to seal this rift in the [[Last Great Time War]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Forgotten (comic story)|The Forgotten]]'')
The [[Medusa Cascade]] once had a time rift, which was healed at some point by [[the Doctor]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Last of the Time Lords (TV story)|Last of the Time Lords]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth (TV story)|The Stolen Earth]]'') after the [[Eighth Doctor]] had previously intended to use [[the Great Key]] to seal this rift in the [[Last Great Time War]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Forgotten (comic story)|The Forgotten]]'')


The [[Arkheon Threshold]] was a time rift in the core of the planet [[Arkheon]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Prisoner of the Daleks]]'')
The [[Arkheon Threshold]] was a time rift in the core of the planet [[Arkheon]]. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Prisoner of the Daleks (novel)|Prisoner of the Daleks]]'')


A time rift opened in [[the TARDIS]] itself when it was caught in a salvage ship's [[magnetic hobble-field]]. This rift bore a physical resemblance to a [[Time field|crack in time.]] This caused the near past and the near future to start leaking inside the TARDIS. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] was able to use the rift to change things by travelling back in time to the moment the TARDIS was caught by the salvage ship and instruct his past counterpart on how to break free. ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (TV story)|Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS]]'')
A time rift opened in [[the TARDIS]] itself when it was caught in a salvage ship's [[magnetic hobble-field]]. This rift bore a physical resemblance to a [[Time field|crack in time.]] This caused the near past and the near future to start leaking inside the TARDIS. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] was able to use the rift to [[Alternate timeline (Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)|change the timeline]] by [[Time travel|travelling back in time]] to the moment the TARDIS was caught by the salvage ship and instruct his past counterpart on how to break free. ([[TV]]: ''[[Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (TV story)|Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS]]'')


In [[E-Space]], near [[the Gateway]], there was a time rift connecting a past where the [[Tharil]]s had enslaved a humanoid species and a future when their roles were the opposite. The [[Fourth Doctor]] crossed it back and forth. ([[TV]]: ''[[Warriors' Gate (TV story)|Warriors' Gate]]'')
In [[E-Space]], near [[the Gateway]], there was a time rift connecting a past where the [[Tharil]]s had enslaved a humanoid species and a future when their roles were the opposite. The [[Fourth Doctor]] crossed it back and forth. ([[TV]]: ''[[Warriors' Gate (TV story)|Warriors' Gate]]'')
[[Category:Time travel]]
 
[[Category:Space-time anomalies]]
[[Category:Time rifts]]

Latest revision as of 15:15, 16 July 2024

A time rift in the hallway of Coal Hill Academy opens to another world, and a shadow floods out. (TV: For Tonight We Might Die)

Rifts, variously described as time rifts,temporal rifts, space-time rifts or spatio-temporal rifts, (TV: Everything Changes) were weaknesses in space and time through which people or objects could pass from one location and time to another. Some connected different times and places, while others even connected to other universes.

Terminology[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Seventh Doctor once explained that "rift" wasn't quite the same word, and that a rift per se was a fracture running through a four-dimensional area of space-time. (PROSE: Set Piece)

Effects[[edit] | [edit source]]

Certain rifts could transport living or non-living matter through space and time from one end to another. (TV: Adrift) The exit points of a rift could change their temporal coordinates, or move through space but not time, while other exit points could move through both space and time. An exit point could be anchored and could also emit time storms. (PROSE: Set Piece)

Individuals (TV: Image of the Fendahl, The Unquiet Dead) or even whole species, such as the Owse developed a degree of time sensitivity or other psychic powers from developing or growing up near a time rift. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel) On some occasions, the leakage from a rift would cause things to either age or de-age, sometimes both at the same time. On other occasions, it would simply freeze time. (PROSE: ...And Eternity in an Hour)

Interactions with technology[[edit] | [edit source]]

Technology such as the Torchwood Institute's Rift Manipulator could, to a limited degree, control time rifts, but this was inexact. (TV: Captain Jack Harkness, End of Days, COMIC: Rift War!) After the Last Great Time War, the Doctor's TARDIS could use time rifts to power up. (TV: Boom Town)

Known locations of temporal rifts[[edit] | [edit source]]

On Earth[[edit] | [edit source]]

Cardiff possessed one major time rift. (TV: The Unquiet Dead, Boom Town, Everything Changes et al.) A time rift called the Dreadful Flap opened above Darlington in 1965. (PROSE: The Dreadful Flap) A small rift was located in Mexico, where John Hart collected alien artefacts. (COMIC: Shrouded) Washington DC was once about to disappear up a time rift, until this was prevented by the Seventh Doctor. (PROSE: Vampire Science)

A rift in Coal Hill Academy (TV: For Tonight We Might Die, The Coach with the Dragon Tattoo, Nightvisiting) was opened by the Shadow Kin (TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart) and was mostly closed by the Twelfth Doctor. He explained that he couldn't close it entirely because the excess artron energy around the school made time itself weak there. (TV: For Tonight We Might Die) April MacLean also made a temporary rift to the the Underneath in her own backyard with a Shadow Kin scimitar, through which she and Ram Singh entered. (TV: Co-Owner of a Lonely Heart)

The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD briefly created a rift, echoing back in time and giving some inhabitants of the city of Pompeii precognitive powers. This rift was created because of the immense power of Vesuvius' eruption, but it opened for only a second. (TV: The Fires of Pompeii)

Two time rifts existed on Earth in ancient Egypt and 1871 Paris, being two of several fractures created by Kadiatu Lethbridge-Stewart's time travelling. The Seventh Doctor explained that these fractures could not be mended, and that they damaged the space-time they passed through. (PROSE: Set Piece)

The Eleventh Doctor described the crack in time in Amelia Pond's wall as a time rift. (TV: The Wedding of River Song)

The Picts knew of an inter-dimensional temporal rift in Aberdeen that could allow the Eaters of Light to enter Earth, albeit only one at a time. They built a cairn around it and had a "Keeper of the Gate" periodically open the portal to prevent it from widening. Whilst the portal was open, a single warrior would enter and fight the creatures back. As time passed much more slowly in the creatures' dimension, a few minutes of battle there equated to six or seven decades of peace outside. (TVThe Eaters of Light)

Little Caldwell had a time-rift in which Isaac Summerfield II and his fellow Spacefleet operatives fell through. They were transported from the 26th century to the town on November, 1963. (PROSE: Return of the Living Dad)

Elsewhere[[edit] | [edit source]]

A mobile time rift travelled through Mutter's Spiral, likely from an accident on Heracletus. (PROSE: Zeitgeist) The Third Doctor was eventually able to stop it on Alrakis. (PROSE: ...And Eternity in an Hour) Another time rift was located in a region of space near the planet Kaesov. (PROSE: The Quantum Archangel)

The Medusa Cascade once had a time rift, which was healed at some point by the Doctor, (TV: Last of the Time Lords, The Stolen Earth) after the Eighth Doctor had previously intended to use the Great Key to seal this rift in the Last Great Time War. (COMIC: The Forgotten)

The Arkheon Threshold was a time rift in the core of the planet Arkheon. (PROSE: Prisoner of the Daleks)

A time rift opened in the TARDIS itself when it was caught in a salvage ship's magnetic hobble-field. This rift bore a physical resemblance to a crack in time. This caused the near past and the near future to start leaking inside the TARDIS. The Eleventh Doctor was able to use the rift to change the timeline by travelling back in time to the moment the TARDIS was caught by the salvage ship and instruct his past counterpart on how to break free. (TV: Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS)

In E-Space, near the Gateway, there was a time rift connecting a past where the Tharils had enslaved a humanoid species and a future when their roles were the opposite. The Fourth Doctor crossed it back and forth. (TV: Warriors' Gate)