Infinity Doctor's reality

In one parallel universe or alternate timeline, a version of the Doctor — unlike any particular incarnation known in the mainstream universe — spent decades or centuries living on that universe's Gallifrey. There, he organised a peace conference between the Sontaran Empire and the Rutan Host living in that universe. (PROSE: The Infinity Doctors)

Behind the scenes
Writer Lance Parkin has been consistently ambiguous about the setting of The Infinity Doctors. On his website he categorises the novel as both a First Doctor and Eighth Doctor novel. Many readers considered the story either as a tale of the First Doctor before he left Gallifrey, or of the Eighth Doctor having returned to Gallifrey (presumably after its restoration before the Last Great Time War). However, the truth may be more complicated than either of these possibilities.

Parkin told an interviewer that the Doctor in the novel is "clearly not the eighth Doctor of mainstream continuity. He does look like Paul McGann."

In 2004, Parkin told the BBC's Doctor Who website that the novel was originally intended to be part of a two-novel series, with the other half written by Kate Orman and Jonathan Blum. However, Orman and Blum were unable to write their novel (they later used elements of it in Unnatural History), and The Infinity Doctors was published alone. Said Parkin, "I realised this was a unique chance to do a story that could be outside the normal 'continuity' — about continuity. Which I found quite a fun idea. And I also realised that most of the readers would be expecting the bit where the universe goes all wobbly and turns back into the 'real' Doctor Who universe, and once I decided not to do that, it was very liberating."

In light of this, this wiki has decided to treat The Infinity Doctors as a universe parallel to the "main" Doctor Who universe, akin to Pete's World. Some details of this universe may also be found in the "main" universe, but it's not possible to determine which ones. A full discussion of the topic may be found here.