Voyager's star charts, unfolded and studied byAstrolabus. (COMIC:Voyager^[+]Loading...["Voyager (comic story)"])

The Book of the Old Time was an ancientbook of great import, kept onGallifrey.

TheBook contained sacredstar-charts belonging toVoyager, a timelessLord of Life, which had been stolen from him by "theTime Lords". TheSixth Doctor speculated that Voyager and hisDeath-ship had visited the dreams ofRassilon inpast aeons. At any rate, the Book was stolen byAstrolabus, a Time Lord who had once been a greatexplorer (having mapped out the firstmeridians of Time), for which crime Astrolabus was banished from Gallifrey. However, he took the charts with him. (COMIC:Voyager^[+]Loading...["Voyager (comic story)"])

The Book's contents remained known; it spoke ofRassilon's retrieval of the nakedsingularity later known as theEye of Harmony. Bythe Doctor's time it had acquired the status of an ancient, cryptic text, the meaning of which no one understood. (TV:The Deadly Assassin^[+]Loading...["The Deadly Assassin (TV story)"]) It was his encounter with the book that had first nudged the Doctor's thoughts towardsGallifrey's ancient history. He began to suspect that beforeregeneration, there had beenreincarnation. (PROSE:Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible^[+]Loading...["Cat's Cradle: Time's Crucible (novel)"])

Meanwhile, Voyager pursued Astrolabus for the star-charts to the veryedge of the universe. After Astrolabus managed to escape one more time in the presence of the Sixth Doctor,Voyager told the Doctor to hunt down Astrolabus on his behalf, as he held all Time Lords responsible for the theft. (COMIC:Voyager^[+]Loading...["Voyager (comic story)"]) To secure his permanent ownership of the charts, Astrolabus ultimately had them tattooed on his skin, only for Voyager to flay him alive with asandstorm he summoned, thus taking back the forbidden knowledge. (COMIC:Once Upon a Time-Lord^[+]Loading...["Once Upon a Time-Lord (comic story)"])

ATime Lord author remarked in his studies ofGallifreyan history that no one was quite sure when the book was written while suspecting that it was only written as a way for Rassilon to ensure he would be remembered. (PROSE:A Brief History of Time Lords^[+]Loading...["A Brief History of Time Lords (novel)"])