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Are there any intelligent lifeforms on Gallifrey other than Time Lords?

In the episode The Day of The Doctor, we see that humanoids were being killed on the streets. These humanoids looked like just ordinary civilians. Therefore are all of them Time Lords?

If so, why are they running? Aren't they as smart as The Doctor too? The Doctor usually faces and fights and only runs when he has a plan, but the people in the episode were running in fear, they were being massacred by the Daleks. Therefore weren't they as smart as The Doctor to devise a plan instead of just running pointlessly?

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    You’re a human. Why aren’t you working on unifying general relativity and quantum field theory? Aren’t you as smart as Einstein? Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 15:09
  • First of all even Einstein spent 40 years of his life trying to do that in vain.. Secondly in comparison, I am still receiving my education which the Doctor already has at the Academy. :P
    – user13639
    Commented Dec 6, 2013 at 1:09
  • plus I think it is pretty much obvious that an average Time Lord is smarter than an human..
    – user13639
    Commented Dec 6, 2013 at 1:15
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    Sure, but my point is that humans vary wildly in their abilities, so it’s not unreasonable to expect that Time Lords could too. (And on “an average Time Lord”, since 2005 we’ve only seen The Doctor, The Master and Rassilon, and we haven’t had any confirmation that they’re average Time Lords.) Commented Dec 6, 2013 at 12:54
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    @PaulD.Waite - Why? because I'm too busy answering questions on StackExchange Commented Feb 20, 2014 at 15:47

1 Answer 1

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"Time Lord" is not a race.

The natives of Gallifrey are Gallifreyans. That is their race/species. Gallifreyans are inherently time-sensitive, but they are not Time Lords. Time Lords are a small group of Gallifreyans with access to advanced technology that other Gallifreyans lack (this is muddied by whatever happened to make River Song whatever she is, but that's TARDIS magic and not relevant to a discussion of general Time Lord/Gallifreyan semantics; if you want the lecture, make it a separate question). They have a separate culture and look down on non-Time-Lord Gallifreyans.

Since we don't know anything specific about the events of the Last Great Time War, we can't tell whether the "civilians" in the Gallifreyan streets were Time Lords or ordinary Gallifreyans. It's hardly important, though, since you're asking why they don't behave like the Doctor.

The Doctor is a freak.

The Doctor left Gallifrey because he's nothing like the Time Lords. Time Lord law is strict about passive non-interference with history, and he couldn't stand by while people needed help. His active involvement and improvisational skills are what set him apart from his people. The Doctor is a rebel and a freak in his own society: smarts don't automatically mean courage or quick thinking.

Your average Time Lord doesn't have a sonic screwdriver, or a TARDIS; he's an intellectual philosopher-engineer living in a luxury gated community. When they caught the Doctor the first time, they exiled him to Earth. Later they manipulated him, exploited him, and used him to their own ends when they needed the qualities he has which they don't (or when they needed a scapegoat for their dirty work). Don't expect Time Lords to act like the Doctor. He left because they don't.

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    Also, it's made absolutely clear that the Time Lords have tried everything already. The Omega Vault is empty. The Master and Rassilon were resurrected from the dead to fight. The Master ran like a whipped puppy and Rassilon is preparing to destroy the multiverse rather than lose.
    – BESW
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 14:32
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    note that the Time Lords are also not the only society to arise from native Gallifreyans -- the Sisterhood of Karn are remnants of a pre-Time Lord advanced society of psychics. Note sure I like that being made canon, though, because it leads directly to sterile Gallifreyans and growing new Time Lords in a loom... :\
    – KutuluMike
    Commented Dec 5, 2013 at 19:56
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    @BESW It's worth noting that the Doctor himself contradicts your main statement. From the episode "Planet of the Dead": > The Doctor: I come from a race of people called Time Lords. > Christina: You're an alien? > The Doctor: Yeah, but you don't have to kiss me either. > Christina: You look human. > The Doctor: You look Time Lord. --- Then again: Rule 1: The Doctor lies.
    – onigame
    Commented Dec 9, 2013 at 8:31
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    @onigame Good point, but one flippant remark doesn't outweigh decades of established on-screen plot-relevant canon (I hate Rule 1, but it's a quick way to describe the way DW regularly ignores its own canon). (Also, "you look Time Lord" can be read as a reference to the fact that Rasillon--"creator" of the Time Lords--used time travel to make sure that most sapient races in the universe evolved in his image. In that sense, we look like the first Gallifreyan who became a Time Lord, and thus we "look Time Lord.")
    – BESW
    Commented Dec 9, 2013 at 9:00
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    @Thecafremo It's from the Zagreus audio story, but is better described at the end of this section of Rassilon's entry. Basically, he pre-emptively wiped out a race that would challenge the Time Lords in the future by re-writing the way all intelligent life would evolve so that it would be more Gallifreyan.
    – BESW
    Commented Feb 20, 2014 at 11:09

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