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Rassilon is a fictional character in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. In the backstory of the programme, he was the founder of Time Lord society on the planet Gallifrey.
There are many contradictory legends about Rassilon. It is known that he developed the technology for time travel that made his people lords of time in the distant past together with his colleague Omega. Omega, a solar engineer, was presumed killed by the supernova that created the black hole later known as the Eye of Harmony, and Rassilon harnessed the nucleus of the black hole to provide the energy that powers time travel. Rassilon then took control of Gallifrey and became the first Lord President. The official history is that he was a benevolent ruler who ruled his people wisely. However, there are other accounts which paint Rassilon as an opportunistic, ambitious and cruel dictator who seized power in the wake of his friend's death.
Rassilon's contributions to Time Lord culture and society were immense, and his name both reverberates and is honoured throughout Time Lord history. The Rassilon Imprimatur is the name given to the symbiotic nuclei of a Time Lord that allows them to withstand the molecular stresses of time travel and grants them a link to their TARDIS time machines. Other Time Lord artifacts named for him include the Sash of Rassilon, the Rod or Great Key of Rassilon, the Crown of Rassilon, the Coronet of Rassilon and the Harp of Rassilon. These artifacts are not mere relics, but are also technological devices that have uses beyond the ceremonial. For example, the Sash allows the wearer to control the Eye of Harmony and the Crown of Rassilon gives full access to the Matrix, the computer network that is the respository of all Time Lord knowledge. The Key of Rassilon (not to be confused with the Great Key), also allows access to the Matrix.
(In Doctor Who fandom, the remarkable number of artifacts attributed to Rassilon is often parodied, especially in unofficial merchandising. Convention goers have seen memorabilia ranging anywhere from the Coffee Mug of Rassilon to the Shopping Bag of Rassilon.)
The Tomb, or Tower of Rassilon, also known as the Dark Tower, stands in the middle of the Death Zone on Gallifrey. The Death Zone – a blasted, barren plain – was used, in a period of Gallifrey's history known as the Dark Time, as an arena that pitted time-displaced warriors of various alien species against each other in gladiatorial games. It was rumored that Rassilon, who lived during this time, had been deposed by Time Lords rebelling against his rule. It was also claimed Rassilon had discovered the secret of immortality and was still alive in the Tower, sleeping.
In the 20th Anniversary special The Five Doctors, Time Lord President Borusa wanted Rassilon's secret for himself. Borusa used the Time Scoop to transport the Doctor in all his regenerations (along with various companions) to the Death Zone, using them to clear the way to the Tower. However, Rassilon's promise to share immortality with whoever overcame the obstacles in the Tower was actually a trap designed for would-be dictators. Borusa was granted immortality by being transformed into a living statue. In that story, Rassilon (played by Richard Mathews) appeared as a disembodied image floating above his own sepulchre, but whether this was a telepathic projection or an interactive recording of some sort is unclear.
In the Doctor Who audio plays produced by Big Finish Productions, Rassilon appears (off-stage) in Seasons of Fear, and is voiced by Don Warrington in Neverland and Zagreus. In those plays, he is shown to continue to exist in the Matrix. He is also portrayed, not as a benevolent figure, but a master manipulator willing to preserve Time Lord history and society as he knew it at all costs.
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