The Silent War of the Worlds
By Angel Pallet
Chapter 1
The Mysterious Hobo
It was October 30, 1938 when the Tardis landed in a quaint little town of Grover's Mill, New Jersey. During the late afternoon when the Tardis landed behind a barber shop in a back ally, a little debris created somewhat of a dust cloud.
The Doctor pushed his usual levers when he and Clara braced themselves for impact. He then pressed on a few buttons with puzzling results. It was bad enough that he could not understand why Clara was the impossible girl let alone understand why the Tardis was landing when it was not supposed to.
"Why are we landing!"
Upon examining his monitor, he added, "We were supposed to land on the planet Arcadia, what happened?"
Clara was used to the usual sights and sounds of the Tardis. In this particular instance, the Tardis gave its low moan.
The relationship between the Doctor and the Tardis had become so interconnected he could usually sense her various moods. However, the Tardis never ceased to surprise him. Since when was she ever predictable? The Tardis wanted to land at this particular place and at this particular time because the Tardis knew that this little town was going to need a Doctor.
At first the screen above him became hazy then it began to make a nonsensical humming sound. After a light tap from the Doctor's hand, the screen became nothing but static. The only information he could discern was where they landed and what year.
The Doctor shook Clara's shoulders lightly with excitement in his voice.
"If this is what I think it is, this is an important day in human history!"
Peering over the Doctor's shoulder, Clara shared his excitement. The Doctor let go of Clara to straighten his dashing blue bow tie.
Clara examined her outfit.
"I will go and change. A girl needs to blend in yes?"
She couldn't resist a tease at the Doctor.
"I'm sure you won't have to change a bit."
The Doctor seemed mildly irritated but delighted of the new prospect to come.
Clara had her own room with a queen-sized canopy bed. Upon her bed the right dress was laid out as if the Tardis knew exactly what she would need. How the dress got there was a mystery to Clara. Then again, the Tardis was full of mysteries she could not comprehend.
Entering the main floor of the Tardis, in her midnight blue dress with tiny white polka dots, Clara joined the Doctor. Her dress fit the style of the times of 1938 with exaggerated shoulder pads since that era required ladies to draw attention to their shoulders. To match her simple outfit she wore a dark blue felt hat with a satin white ribbon. The appearance of her hat gave an appearance of a shadow over Clara's already dark brown eyes with smoky eye shadow. Normally, she would never consider carrying a silk white purse, but women of this time period rarely went to town without their purse. Comfortable dark blue pumps with part white on the toe of the shoe made her ensemble complete.
The Doctor peeked at his inside coat pocket to make sure he had his sonic screwdriver. He opened the door to allow Clara to go out the door first.
Casually, the Doctor and Clara walked the sidewalks of the town. Mannequins with women's apparel were the dominant window displays. A young boy with a spotless clean complexion carried a wooden case. He pulled on the Doctor's suit coat.
"Sir, your shoes are dirty. I can shine your shoes until they dazzle!"
Clara chuckled. Thumbing through her purse she pulled out some money.
"He's right, your shoes need cleaning."
The Doctor not as amused as Clara gave in. Sitting upon the rusty bench closest to him, he extended his right leg for the young man to begin his job. The young man was no more than eight years old with cotton top hair beneath his flat brown cap that matched his brown knickers and high knee socks. The boy pulls out his small cans and cloths out of his cluttered box. Clara sits beside the Doctor to watch this amusing sight.
Placing his hands casually in his pocket the Doctor asked, "So, young man with the box, what is your name?"
Opening up a small round can, the boy with glistening blue eyes placed some brown polish on the Doctor's shoes.
"You are not from around here are you mister? My name is Edwin. My family call me 'Buzz'."
The Doctor teased him, "Fine name, Edwin. But, why would your family call you "Buzz?" Did you land in some bees?"
Clara nudged the Doctor.
"Don't mind him. He's just jealous because he never tells anyone his name."
Using his cloth to wipe the Doctor's shoes clean, Buzz grinned.
"The reason I am called Buzz is because my sister was trying to say brother but she could only say Buzzer. So, it stuck. Your name must be too hard to pronounce too right mister?"
Before the Doctor could retort, down the street a woman screamed. The Doctor leaped.
"Thank you Buzz for the shoe shining, they have never been cleaner. If ever I need more shoe shining I'll look you up."
After ringing his hands, he said, "Gotta run."
The wind picked up causing Clara to keep her hat on her head. "What he said." In a frenzy, she ran beside the Doctor weaving through heavy enough traffic of 1938 Hudson cars, and Ford sedans.
Edwin did not seem to mind after all he earned enough money to buy his favorite comic book, Superman.
A middle aged woman had fainted on a sidewalk after she screamed. People gathered around her.
Kneeling beside her friend, a woman wearing a hat with lots of flowers started to fan her with a newspaper.
With a frantic tone she yelled, "Someone get a doctor!"
In his timely fashion, the Doctor said, "That would be me."
Straightening his tie then offering his reassuring smile.
"I'm the Doctor."
The woman who had fainted sat up, smoothing her mildly gray and black hair with both hands. The Doctor offered his hand to help her to stand on her own two feet.
"Why did you scream?"
The woman opened her brown purse to see if anything was missing.
Puzzled she replied, "Did I scream? Whatever for?"
Her friend with a gaudy hat took her by the arm.
"Perhaps you saw a mouse."
Gazing at the doctor she continued, "She is always squeamish about mice."
The two women walked slowly away from the spot where the woman fainted.
The Doctor tugged at Clara's arm.
"That was no mouse. She definitely saw something. She forgot what she saw. Now why would she do that?"
A hobo bumped into the doctor.
"Sorry, sir," he said with a slur.
He took a drink from his whiskey bottle. The poor man had not shaved in weeks. His clothing appeared tattered and worn as if he had not changed clothes in years.
"You might not want to stay in this town. There is something wrong with our water tower!"
Other men near him scoffed.
One particular man stood in front of the hobo. Clara observed his peculiar eye patch with string around his ear to hold it. She assumed he must be blind in one eye. His cap gave him shade for his forehead.
After dipping some tobacco the man said, "Yeah, yeah. He keeps saying that he has seen Martians."
Waving his arm franticly, the hobo said "I'm tellin' you! Something is coming!"
Breathing a foul odor in the Doctor's face the hobo continued, "There is something here my friend that is not of this world, mark my words!"
Chapter 2
The Water Tower
A man with a mustache intervened.
Confronting the hobo with his thick Irish accent he said, "Now, Harold, let's leave the nice stranger alone shall we?"
Holding onto his suspenders the man with the mustache turned toward the Doctor and Clara.
"I'd be honored if you and your girl-friend would join my wife and me for dinner. She always makes extra, since I'm always taking strangers home with me."
He winked.
"My name is Joseph O'Malley. Glad to make your acquaintence."
He held out his hand to shake the Doctor's hand.
The Doctor exchanged the hand shake.
"Glad to meet you Joseph. Actually, this is not my girl-friend. She's my sister…see."
Clara chimed in, "Yeah."
After giving the Doctor a poke she said, "This is my brother…much older brother, the Doctor!"
Joseph nodded.
"We always need a Doctor around these parts."
Motioning for the Doctor and Clara to follow him they did. In the back of the Doctor's mind, he wondered what the hobo meant by there is something wrong with the water tower. Filing that thought in the back of his mind, the doctor motioned for Clara to enter Mr. O'Malley's Ford car. The sounds of motor cars became eminent through the streets with a few honks from car horns. Moments later, Mr. O'Malley took the Doctor and Clara to his modest wooden-framed home that had a creaky porch with a porch swing.
The wind picked up causing the chains of the porch swing to squeak back and forth. Neighborhood children could be heard yelling this and that as they played a bit of baseball.
The home of Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley was the typical American home with a RCA Console radio in the living room. Mrs. O'Malley entered the living room with a smile. She wiped her flour stained hands on her apron before welcoming the Doctor and Clara to the kitchen.
"Joseph likes to welcome strangers to our town. When we were new to America from Ireland, we remembered who showed us with kindness."
Using the pot holders, she placed a pan with meatloaf on another pot holder on a modest square kitchen table with a red checkered table cloth. Next, she placed green beans, mashed potatoes, cream gravy and oven toasted bread around the pan of meatloaf. For dessert Mrs. O'Malley kept the spice cake with custard sauce in a cake cover. The spice cake with custard sauce appealed to the Doctor though he missed the fish fingers.
This meal was an Irish meal and also common in the era of the Great Depression. Clara took off her hat momentarily and placed it on the post of her chair.
Mr. O'Malley said a few words of grace then passed the pan of meatloaf to the Doctor.
After the Doctor took a modest portion of meatloaf on his plate, Clara decided to initiate some conversation.
"Do you have relatives nearby?"
Mr. O'Malley wasn't shy of filling his plate with mashed potatoes.
"After leaving Ireland when we were first married, it was just us. We had a son not long afterwards."
Clara preferred lots of vegetables on her dinner plate.
"Oh, really. What is his name?"
Mr. O'Malley pulled a photo from his shirt pocket to show Clara.
"We call him T.J. It stands for Thomas Joseph of course."
Placing his photo back into his pocket, he said, "My boy T.J. has his head in the stars but, at least he has his bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering."
Spooning cream gravy onto his plate, he added, "By the way, tonight should be a good show from the Columbia Broadcasting System. I hope you both can join us."
After savoring the taste of the bread, the Doctor said, "I wouldn't miss it."
After the meal, Mrs. O'Malley gathered the dishes to place in the sink. She stayed in the kitchen to wash the dishes while Clara dried them to place in a rack. The Doctor became amazed at the clanking of the dishes until the clanking stopped. In fact, the smallest fly did not make a sound. What was once the creaking of the wooden floor became quiet. It was then that the Doctor knew, a phenomenon was happening, but why? Clara ran to the living room.
"Doctor, Mrs. O'Malley isn't moving! What is wrong with her?"
Both Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley stood motionless like mannequins.
At least Clara could hear herself speak.
The Doctor waved hands over Mr. O'Malley's face. There was no response from Mr. O'Malley.
"Come with me Clara, this may be happening to the whole town!"
Without hesitation she ran after the doctor.
"Where are we going?"
The door slammed shut behind them without as much as a sound of it doing so.
Out of curiosity, the Doctor used his sonic screwdriver. It was working as usual, with the sonic sound it makes as usual.
"Interesting."
Clara asked wide eyed, "What is happening Doctor?"
The Doctor observed the neighborhood as if some of it stood still in time. There was no laughter from children, no barking from dogs, no squeaking from porch swings, and no sound from the wind or the rustling of the leaves.
"I think the answer lies in the water tower. Let's go shall we?"
The two borrowed the Ford to drive to the water tower. The Doctor found the keys on a hook in the kitchen. Since Clara wanted to drive she swiped the keys from the Doctor. There was no jingling of the car keys. Everything to the Doctor seemed quite odd.
Pointing at Clara he said, "Okay, fine. However, you are not driving my Tardis."
Clara decided to keep her hat inside Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley's house. She did however take her white purse instead.
Once, inside the car Clara had to turn on the lights because the sun had become quite low in the horizon. It was an unusual sensation to hear no sound in the motor.
When they got to their destination, the Doctor pulled out a flashlight from the glove compartment, pushed the button on it then rushed to the tower. After shutting the car door it made no sound whatsoever leaving Clara feeling quite unsettled.
The Doctor pulled out his sonic screwdriver to observe why the hobo would become so concerned over a water tower. Of course, it looked like a space ship.
The more he used his screwdriver the more puzzled the Doctor became. He walked closer only to bump into an invisible force field. A shadow of a form with brilliant light the form walked through a doorway. The unusually tall form disappeared in the shadows.
The Doctor placed carefully his sonic screwdriver in his coat pocket when a rifle poked the Doctor in the back.
"You are trespassing mister!"
Both the Doctor and Clara turned around slowly to face the man with the eye patch who made fun of the hobo.
"Come with me, we've been expecting you."
The Doctor said, "What do you mean by 'we'?"
"The Silence, Doctor!"
Chapter 3
The Silent Weapon
The man motioned toward the entrance. Once the door opened, the Doctor and Clara entered into a spaceship clearly unseen by outsiders. It was cloaked in front of the water tower. The Doctor realized the hobo did see something!
The man with the eye patch was pleased with himself.
"What do you think of my new home?"
At first the door seemed bright with light. The further the Doctor and Clara walked into the ship the darker the ship became.
Tall beings with elongated hands and heads stood before the Doctor and Clara. Clara clung closer to the Doctor.
"They are called the Silence. Up until now they have been upon the earth for a long time. I had an encounter with them in 1969 and they were defeated."
The man with the eye patch pushed a button that enabled a force field to surround the Doctor and Clara.
The Doctor asked, "Who are you?"
"Me? The next ruler in the new world where I do the talking, and everyone else will do the listening."
The strange man removed some tarp. What appeared before them was an ordinary looking radar. The Doctor could not comprehend why such a radar would be a threat.
The man explained, "This is not just any radar. With the technology of the Silence, this radar absorbs sound. It takes days to absorb the sound from one town. The experiment worked."
A revelation hit the Doctor. He slapped his head with the palm of his hand.
"Of course! That would explain why there is sound coming from Clara and me but, none from the town. Why would you do all of this?"
Another revelation hit the Doctor. He motioned his hands as if he were about to give a lecture, "If you take away sound you take away something so important, The War of the Worlds!"
The Doctor analyzed every crevice of his surroundings.
"If you take away all sound, you take away a fundamental freedom!"
He straightened his tie.
The Doctor concluded, "You would take away the freedom of speech!"
The man smiled. He caressed the radar as if it were a personal pet.
"One more sweep of the earth and there will be total silence."
Clara glared at the man.
"Who are you? What gives you the right?"
The Doctor looked closely at the man. There was nothing that stood out as to why the Silence would choose this human being for their plan.
"My name is Joe Bergi. Heard of Al Capone?"
The Doctor rung his hands and started to pace.
"Al Capone was a criminal in the 1930's in human history."
Mr. Bergi smiled.
"Let's just say, I was his mechanic, but I just got a higher offer."
Out of rage the Doctor began to pound the force field.
"Listen to me, the Silence is only using you as a pawn! Once they are through with you, they will dispose of you."
Mr. Bergi even waxed part of the weapon as if he were waxing a car.
"It can't be any worse than working for Al Capone. When he is not pleased with how his car drives…I am as good as dead anyway."
Mr. Bergi took off his outside patch to reveal another patch. The Doctor realized he would have to wear such a devise to remember that he saw the Silence. After placing his patch in his shirt pocket, Mr. Bergi picked up his weapon.
Raising his hand to tilt his hand pretending he had some polite manners, Mr. Bergi said, "If you will excuse me ma'am, I've got an appointment with destiny."
When Mr. Bergi left, so did the Silence.
The Doctor felt some vibrations beneath his feet. This is where a lady's purse comes in handy. Clara pulled out a sharp nail filer. The Doctor used it to pull up a panel. He went through the hole. Clara followed through corridors of pipes and steam.
Instinctively, he used his sonic screwdriver to assist him in directions. Since the Doctor and Clara arrived after the weapon was launched they were able to speak and the sonic screwdriver could make its sound.
What was the most important discovery were the links underground to the radar. If the Doctor could dismantle it, he could prevent a horrific event of the elimination of a radio show.
He found the currents Mr. Bergi was using.
The Doctor analyzed the mechanical tubes.
Clara tried to be still but managed to whisper, "Why would Mr. Bergi want to take away a radio show?"
After clipping a few wires and rerouting some tubes, the Doctor replied, "If he takes away the medium of radio the most influential medium in America, then other technologies would become extinct. That would include the extinction of television. The message I left on Neil Armstrong's foot would not be heard. If it is not heard, then these aliens can take this planet!"
With the last clip, the Doctor added, "That should do it."
The next quest was to escape. It would not take long for Mr. Bergi to discover that they had escaped.
They ran through corridors until the Doctor found a panel leading to the outside. Inside the Ford motorcar, Clara sped back to town. Mr. Bergi pursued with his car that caught up to Clara's car easily. The Doctor remembered, this man was a car mechanic that could make his car do amazing feats, with more speed than their modest car could handle.
Chapter 4
That Sounds Great!
Mr. Bergi on the other hand wrecked to avoid a cow grazing in the middle of the road. Soon, all the cattle gathered together in front of Mr. Bergi causing him to become quite stuck. Clara managed to reach Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley's house and parked the car where Mr. O'Malley had left it. She ran to place the keys back to its original place. Then the Doctor returned to his spot in the house before Mr. O'Malley stood so still. Moments later, Mr. O'Malley resumed lighting his pipe.
What the Doctor did to the radar did the trick. Once the Silence realized the Doctor sabotaged the radar, they took their space craft and left toward the heavens. One could only speculate that Mr. Bergi went back to work for Al Capone.
After lighting his pipe, Mr. O'Malley turned on the button of his RCA radio. The sound of static could be heard over the radio.
The Doctor of course was elated.
"That sounds great!"
Mrs. O'Malley cleaned the last dish then washed her hands on her apron. She became more than eager to put off her apron and walk briskly to the living room. With a sigh of relief, she picked up her knitting material and sat in her favorite spot on the couch.
The Doctor found a chair to sit in, while Clara sat a few inches from Mrs. O'Malley.
Mr. O'Malley sat in his comfortable chair.
The famous words came over the radio:
"The Columbia Broadcasting System and its affiliated stations present Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the air in a radio play by Howard Koch suggested by the H. G. Wells novel, The War of the Worlds."
Orson Welles began his story which began something like this:
"This just in, a spaceship had landed near a farm in the village of Grover's Mill New Jersey. Martians had emerged from the ship. Forty people had been killed!"
Needless to say, after the story many people became panicked. The Doctor and Mr. O'Malley did what they could to ease people's fears.
That did not stop the poor hobo from borrowing a gun and shooting at the water tower.
Chapter 5
Another Shoe Shine
After a full night of consoling people that their town was indeed safe, Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley convinced the Doctor and Clara to stay in guest rooms for the night. After breakfast, the Doctor thanked Mrs. O'Malley for her kindness.
Mr. O'Malley drove the Doctor and his companion Clara back to town. To the Doctor's relief, Grovers Mill, New Jersey was still in one piece.
As the Doctor opened the car door Mr. O'Malley said, "If you are ever back to our humble town come and see us. We always have room to spare."
The Doctor felt touched by the jester. Some things human beings did moved his two hearts. One of them is that Mr. and Mrs. O'Malley had the gift of hospitality which the Doctor would always remember.
"I will do just that Joseph! Thank you!"
Clara managed to give Mr. O'Malley a kiss on the cheek. Of course the poor man blushed.
"You are a good man Mr. O'Malley and I shall never forget you!"
Clara then got out of the car while Mr. O'Malley wished the Doctor and Clara a safe journey home.
Clara waved goodbye as Mr. O'Malley drove toward his house.
When the Doctor and Clara crossed the street, a familiar little boy came to greet the Doctor.
Giving his infectious smile, Buzz asked, "Mister, your shoes are dirty. I think you need another shoe shine."
Clara poked the Doctor to indulge him.
The Doctor sat on the same bench he did when he came into town.
"Yes, well I had a rather busy night."
Clara gave Buzz more money.
"Mr. Buzz what would you like to be when you grow up?"
The boy opened his box and pulled out all the equipment he would need for his job.
"I want to fly to outer space like Superman!"
Buzz briefly displayed his favorite comic book.
The Doctor chuckled.
"Ha, ha, just maybe you will, Buzz"
Just then one of those sinking feelings came over the Doctor
"By the way, Buzz, what is your last name?"
Smearing the brown polish on the Doctor's shoes, Buzz replied, "Aldrin. My name is Buzz Aldrin."
This story is written in memory of the 75th anniversary of the War of the Worlds. (I'm a little late I realize). I thought it would be fun to tie the Doctor into this time period. Buzz Aldrin was from New Jersey and grew up to be an astronaut for NASA. Furthermore, T. J. O'Malley became the Irish American aerospace engineer who pushed the button on February 20, 1962 launching the Mercury-Atlas 6 space flight carrying astronaut John Glenn the first American in orbit. Technically, T. J. O'Malley was not from Grovers Mill, New Jersey. He was raised in Montclair, New Jersey. I just thought it would be fun to mention a few names in history. Al Capone by the way really did have a mechanic by the name of Joe Bergi. I hope you enjoy this story because I had a blast writing it!