Time before this

The Book of the Old Time described a "time before this", (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet, The Quantum Archangel) also called the time before time, (PROSE: Cobweb and Ivory) "old time", (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet, The Parliament of Rats, Weapons Grade Snake Oil) or literally Pre-History, (PROSE: The Book of the War) which was the state of infinite magical possibility N-Space possessed before it was diluted by the Rational imposition of history and physics. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet) While this state of reality was often believed to be a previous universe, it was actually the early universe; (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet) from a chronological perspective, the Gallifreyan periods of the Old Time, Dark Times, and Time of Chaos all aligned with the magical "time before time", with Gallifrey as a beacon of rationality in a fantastical universe. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet, Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible, So Vile a Sin)

Luke Smith speculated that the Ancient Lights originated in "a time before". When Sarah Jane Smith asked him to elaborate, he theorised about a time before the Big Bang, "another universe". Rani Chandra completed the thought, proposing that this was a time and place "where the physics were different. Where astrology worked". (TV: Secrets of the Stars ^[+]Loading...["Secrets of the Stars (TV story)"])

Though weakened when it was replaced by the Web of Time, this state of existence survived into history as magic and psychic power. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet, Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible, So Vile a Sin)

A related account described a similar golden age before time travel which was instead wholly linear. (AUDIO: Mr Saldaamir)