Web of Time: Difference between revisions

Rather than being a necessary fundamental aspect of the universe, the Spiral Politic was a meta-structure created and imposed on [[history]] by the [[Great Houses]] during the [[anchoring of the thread]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Neverland (audio story)|Neverland]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'') in which [[Rassilon]] used the [[Eye of Harmony]] as "the hitching post of chronology". ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Neverland (audio story)|Neverland]]'') Before this, the universe had no history or defined set of laws. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Christmas on a Rational Planet (novel)|Christmas on a Rational Planet]]'')

The Web was not invulnerable, and it could become unbalanced; for instance, the [[Sixth Doctor]] once explained that to destroy the [[planet]] [[Earth]] in [[1985]] would disrupt the Web of Time. Additionally, [[Lytton]] spoke of the destruction of [[Mondas]] in [[1986]] as "now" being a part of the Web, implying its destruction wasn't necessarily [[Fixed points in time|fixed]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen (TV story)|Attack of the Cybermen]]'') As a part of the Web, Mondas had always been destroyed and always will be. For it to not happen would wreck the Web and cause disastrous repercussions in every corner of the universe. Billions would die, major civilisations would instantly disappear, and even the Doctor wasn't certain the fabric of the universe could withstand such upheaval. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen (novelisation)|Attack of the Cybermen]]'') [[Charley Pollard]] was added to the Web when she saved it, not having died in the crash of the ''[[R101]]'' as had been recorded. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Storm Warning (audio story)|Storm Warning]]'', ''[[Neverland (audio story)|Neverland]]'')

When encountering people who knew them because of their ''personal'' future, which happened in the past, the [[Fifth Doctor]] told [[Tegan]] they shouldn't upset the Web of Time by not going along, during which they discovered a mummified [[Nyssa]]. The Doctor later explained that they probably couldn't prevent what happened to her, as time was already set in its course, [[crystallized time|crystallized]] along a particular web-way; since Nyssa had been mummified before they travelled back in time to prevent it, the Web of Time had already crystallised at that node, meaning "it might as well [have been] set in stone." He followed this by commenting that [[Blinovitch]] was right. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Sands of Time]]'')

Unwillingly travelling back to [[Gallifrey]]'s [[Racnoss Wars]], the Fifth Doctor took steps to ensure it ran its proper course to avoid disturbing the Web of Time. When the [[Empress of the Racnoss (Empire of the Racnoss)|Empress of the Racnoss]] boarded [[The Doctor's TARDIS|his TARDIS]], he refused to exploit the opportunity to deliver her to the [[Time Lords]] and thus shortening the course of the conflict. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Empire of the Racnoss (audio story)|Empire of the Racnoss]]'')

Additionally, preventing disasters could cause others to take their place. Because of the ''[[Titanic]]'' sinking, all later ships would have round-the-clock [[radio]] surveillance, enough [[lifeboat]]s, and the [[International Ice Patrol]] would be formed. Saving the ''Titanic'' would condemn the other ships to follow. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Left-Handed Hummingbird]]'') If [[Adolf Hitler]] was prevented from rising to power, a more competent man would have taken control of the [[Nazi]] party and [[World War II]] would've ended differently. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[Timewyrm: Exodus]]'')

The [[Celestial Intervention Agency]]-operated [[Klyst Institute]] arranged to recruit their test subjects at the end of their lives in order to preserve the Web of Time. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Unregenerate! (audio story)|Unregenerate!]]'')

[[The Doctor]] could interfere with the Web in some situations. When his friend [[Remnex]] was murdered by a dagger through the eye, the [[Seventh Doctor]] rewrote history so that he died peacefully in his sleep instead and was never possessed by [[Vilus Krull]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Dark Flame (audio story)|The Dark Flame]]'')

A backup of the Spiral Politic was stored in the [[Great Houses]]' [[Shada (prison)|prison]], which stood outside of time so that it could be remapped onto the universe if time was ever altered. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[A Labyrinth of Histories (audio story)|A Labyrinth of Histories]]'')

During the first battle of [[the War]] on [[Dronid]], the [[Great Houses]] discovered that [[the enemy]] had constructed their own meta-structure of the universe to replace the Spiral Politic. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Book of the War (novel)|The Book of the War]]'')

Events the Doctor stated as being part of the Web included the destruction of [[Mondas]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Attack of the Cybermen]]'') the sinking of the ''[[Titanic]]'', ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Left-Handed Hummingbird]]''), the destruction of the [[Halcyon (species)|Halcyon race]] through the [[Ice Warrior]]s creating an [[atmosphere]] on [[Halcyon (planet)|Halcyon]] more suited to them, ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Resurrection of Mars (audio story)|The Resurrection of Mars]]''), [[Deimos]] becoming an [[artificial sun]] that heated [[Mars]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Resurrection of Mars (audio story)|The Resurrection of Mars]]'') the burning of [[Joan of Arc]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Cobwebs]]'') the assassination of [[Francis Ferdinand]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Cobwebs]]'') the [[Manussan Empire]] overthrown in [[Manussan year]] [[2326]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Cradle of the Snake]]'') [[Magnus Greel]] dying in the [[1800s]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Butcher of Brisbane]]'') and [[Human]]ity's 50-year war with [[the Eminence]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Death of Hope (audio story)|The Death of Hope]]'')

Events in the Web that were explicitly recorded in [[the Matrix]] included the ''[[R101]]'' crashing and all passengers dying, [[Adolf Hitler]] becoming [[Chancellor of Germany]] (and being alive to continue [[World War II]]), [[Edward VIII]] abdicating the [[British monarchy|British throne]], [[German]] forces invading [[Poland]], the [[evacuation of Dunkirk]], [[Peladon]] entering the [[Galactic Federation]], [[Zephon]] overthrowing the [[Embodiment of Gris]], [[Mavic Chen]] being elected [[Guardian of the Solar System]], [[Dalek]] forces assembling on [[Kembel]] and being engaged with the [[Movellan]]s in [[4-X-Alpha-4]] in [[4949]], the [[Cult of Morbius|Cult]] of [[Morbius]] being established, plans for the [[Doomsday Weapon]] being stolen by [[the Master]], Chancellor [[Goth]] visiting [[Tersurus]], President [[Romana]] and [[Etra Prime]] being taken by the Daleks and the subsequent Dalek invasion of [[Gallifrey]] being repelled by Romana, a Dalek time fleet being captured in the [[Time Vortex]], and the paradox of Charley Pollard surviving the ''R101'' leading to [[anti-time]] infecting the Universe, thereby allowing Charley to save the Web of Time. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Neverland (audio story)|Neverland]]'')

The [[Sixth Doctor]] believed summoning a [[Chronovore]] onto [[21st century]] [[Earth]] threatened the Web of Time. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Quantum Archangel]]'')

Ancient Gallifreyan prophecies recorded in [[the Matrix]] forewarned that [[the Hybrid]], standing in the ruins of Gallifrey, would proceed to unravel the Web of Time. ([[TV]]: ''[[Hell Bent (TV story)|Hell Bent]]'')