Gallifreyan physiology: Difference between revisions

Even without regeneration, Gallifreyans had considerable lifespans. Within one regeneration, Gallifreyans could live for hundreds of years, yet look much younger than a human of equivalent age. When artificially aged 500 years, the [[Fourth Doctor]] looked like an elderly human, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Leisure Hive]]'') whereas [[Eleventh Doctor|his eleventh incarnation]] looked the same for two centuries, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Impossible Astronaut]]'') though at least three more centuries caused him to age somewhat and six more centuries of further time caused him to age into a very old man. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'') Overall, the Eleventh Doctor's tenure alone comes to roughly 1200 years, as his previous incarnation was 906 when he regenerated ([[TV]]: ''[[The End of Time (TV story)|The End of Time]]''), was 1200 years old during his final adventures with the Ponds <span>(</span>[[TV]]<span>: </span>''[[A Town Called Mercy (TV story)|A Town Called Mercy]]''<span>), and spent a total on 900 years on Trenzalore ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]''), making his total age at the time of his thirteenth regeneration roughly 2100, supporting the Twelfth Doctor's claim that he was "over 2000" shortly after his regeneration. (</span>[[TV]]<span>: </span>''[[Deep Breath (TV story)|Deep Breath]]''<span>)</span>

The [[Second Doctor]] once stated that, barring accidents, Gallifreyans could live forever. ([[TV]]: ''[[The War Games]]'') They considered 750 middle-age for a regeneration. ([[TV]]: ''[[Pyramids of Mars]]'') One Time Lord, [[Quences]], was killed when he was over 7,000 years old. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Lungbarrow]]'') [[Salyavin|Professor Chronotis]] suffered from senility when over 12,000 years old ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Shada (novelisation)|Shada]]''), as did the Doctor on the brink of his thirteenth death at 2100 years old. <span>([[TV]]: ''[[The Time of the Doctor]]'')</span>

As well as the senses shared with humans, Gallifreyans had further senses, with at least a sixth sense, ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Wishing Well]]'') although the Doctor tended to keep his sensory input limited to the human norm to make things more interesting and allow himself to be surprised. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Eye of Heaven]]'') Gallifreyans had time- and spatial-related senses and physical attributes; they were able to resist fields of slow time, ([[TV]]: ''[[The Time Monster]]'', ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'') notice distortions and jumps in time, ([[TV]]: ''[[Invasion of the Dinosaurs]]'', ''[[City of Death]]'', ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'') directly perceive the interstellar motions of cosmological bodies or their inhabitants ([[TV]]: ''[[Rose (TV story)|Rose]]'') — including sensing the "shape" of the world to the extent that they were aware when trapped in pocket dimensions such as [[Lychburg]] ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Heart of TARDIS]]'') — and perceive all possible timelines. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]'', ''[[The Fires of Pompeii]]'') Gallifreyans could sense the presence of others of their own species, with the sense being specific enough to allow identification of one another just by sight, regardless of potential recent regeneration. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'') Due to their time sensitive nature, Gallifreyans could retain memories of negated ([[TV]]:''[[Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS (TV story)|Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS]]'') or alternative <span>(</span>[[TV]]<span>: </span>''[[The Name of the Doctor (TV story)|The Name of the Doctor]], [[The Time of the Doctor (TV story)|The Time of the Doctor]]''<span>) timelines.</span>

The Time Lord [[brain]] was much larger and more complex than the human brain. The size differences effectively ruled out brain transplants from a Gallifreyan to a human ([[TV]]: ''[[The Brain of Morbius]]''), and may explain why the Tenth Doctor once expressed a desire for a bigger head. <span>(</span>[[TV]]<span>: </span>''[[Silence in the Library (TV story)|Silence in the Library]]''<span>)</span> They had a form of [[eidetic memory]], able to recall every detail of even the most insignificant moments in time. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'') The [[Timewyrm]] noticed that on a quantum level, the [[Seventh Doctor]]'s brain could receive information from possible futures, possibly without even realising it consciously. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Revelation]]'') Time Lords could also separate the hemispheres of their brain, allowing them to multitask easily. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Island of Death (novel)|Island of Death]]'') The autonomic functions could be artificially supplanted with a special device, allowing the Gallifreyan to think with their autonomic brain. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Shada (novelisation)|Shada]]'')