Web of Time

The Web of Time or Spiral Politic was the orderly structure of time, built and maintained by the Time Lords.

Overview
Rather than being a necessary fundamental aspect of the universe, it was a meta-structure created and imposed on history by the Time Lords (AUDIO: Neverland, PROSE: The Book of the War) during the anchoring of the thread, (PROSE: The Book of the War) in which Rassilon used the Eye of Harmony as "the hitching post of chronology". (AUDIO: Neverland) Before this, the universe had no history or defined set of physical laws. (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet)

The Web could become unbalanced by the changing of events that had significant effects. For instance, the Sixth Doctor once explained that the Web of Time would be disrupted if Earth were destroyed in 1985, (TV: Attack of the Cybermen) as Earth was a nexus world linked to the destinies of many major intergalactic powers. The saving of the Titanic would have similarly perturbed the Web by condemning all the later ships that were saved by round-the-clock radio surveillance, lifeboat capacities, or the International Ice Patrol, all of which were developed due to the Titanic's sinking. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird)

Even concerning events that were not fixed points, time could be crystallized along a particular web-way, (PROSE: The Sands of Time) making that event a fixed part of the Web of Time so that it had always happened and would always happen. (PROSE: Attack of the Cybermen) This could occur when a person learned about their personal future. (PROSE: The Sands of Time, TV: The Angels Take Manhattan) This effect was first predicted by Blinovitch. (PROSE: The Sands of Time)

An imbalance in the Web could cause disastrous repercussions in every corner of the universe, killing billions, instantly disappearing major civilisations, and threatening the fabric of the universe itself. (PROSE: Attack of the Cybermen) However, an amaranth could be used to rebuild unstable or discontinuous elements of the universe (PROSE: Christmas on a Rational Planet) along the lines of the established laws of the Spiral Politic. (PROSE: Against Nature)

Specific events could sometimes be removed from the Web, but analogous events would take their place. (PROSE: The Left-Handed Hummingbird) For instance, if Adolf Hitler was prevented from rising to power, a different man would have still taken control of the Nazi party and begun World War II, though the War would've ended differently. (PROSE: Timewyrm: Exodus) The Seventh Doctor once rewrote history so that his friend Remnex died in his sleep rather than being murdered by a dagger through the eye. (AUDIO: The Dark Flame)

Events in the Web of Time
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 race through the Ice Warriors creating an atmosphere on Halcyon more suited to them, (AUDIO: The Resurrection of Mars) Deimos becoming an artificial sun that heated Mars, (AUDIO: The Resurrection of Mars) Gallifrey's Racnoss Wars, (AUDIO: Empire of the Racnoss) the burning of Joan of Arc, 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 humanity's 50-year war with the Eminence. (AUDIO: 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 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 Movellans in 4-X-Alpha-4 in 4949, the 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, and a Dalek time fleet being captured in the Time Vortex. (AUDIO: Neverland) 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, Neverland)