"Doctor, where are we?"
Rose was exhausted and normally would 'ooh' and 'ahh' over the brightly colored scenery, oversized flowers and cotton candy skies, but right now she wanted to be in her bed, in her room in the TARDIS, with nothing but a thick comforter and her own dreams. Although, she was getting worse and worse at telling what was a creation of her mind and what was tangible, as reality frequently surpassed her imagination nowadays.
"What, you don't recognize it?"
Her Doctor had seemed so eager to take her here, refusing to explain anything, just promising that it would be worth her missed sleep. She still didn't understand why they couldn't have parked the time ship and just recuperate from their last adventure for a while, maybe get some quality time cuddling in front of the telly, but for some reason that just wasn't going to happen. She tried to shake her head to clear away the sleepiness as he continued speaking.
"Oh I'm sure it was before your time, you have movies with colors in them so you must have seen the film version, must have heard the songs a billion times."
"What songs? Doctor, you're being vague and acting as if I know everything you do again, when you know full well I don't and you know it's obnoxious" and quite honestly she was just not feeling awake enough to put up with it right now. However, she took pity at the hurt, puppy-that-was-just-told-it's-wrong-to-chew-on-sneakers-look he wore. He used that one on her all the time, and she sometimes questioned if he only did it because he knew it worked, but that didn't stop it from being effective.
"I'm sorry," she amended, "But you know I'm tired and you know I hate when you make me think when I'm tired. Where are we? And why would there ever be a film on Earth about it?"
"Think about it Rose," he began, and then paused at her withering glare. He backpedaled and said, "I mean, that is, let me explain, don't think about it, just, um, just listen for a minute." She rolled her eyes and he still looked a little put out at displeasing her, so she signaled it was okay by giving him just a small grin, only a tiny flash of tongue poking through her teeth. He visibly brightened and launched into explanation.
"Alright, so we've been over that the universe is infinite, right? Right. Now most people don't really stop to consider what that means, but infinite is the same as limitless, infinity, innumerous, everything! But why do we pronounce infinite and infinity how we do, yet we say finite like 'fine, aight'? Never mind. Everything that can ever possibly be thought up does indeed exist, right? Right. Well, to an extent, but you know what I mean, you always do, you're smart like that. Now, think about every incredible book you've ever read." He paused, waiting for her to really consider.
"Doctor, even if I were up to thinking right now, I don't read much, not really my thing."
"Oh I'm not talking about any literary monstrosities! I mean consider those fantasy series everyone knows of, Lord of the Rings, or, or, oh what's that one I really, really love?"
"Harry Potter?" she offered.
"Yes! Yes, that one with the, the" he made a waving motion with his hand and she didn't even bother covering her laugh and instead corrected him, moving next to him and lightly placing her hand on top of his, guiding it in a sweeping motion up and over.
"No, no, no, you're doing it all wrong!" she giggled, "See, it's swish, and then flick!" He laughed with her and resumed his explanation, growing more excited as he went.
"Well, yes, just like Harry Potter! Now, you know that every time a decision is made, an alternate universe comes into existence where the opposite decision was made, although you know it's really not that simple but that is not the point of this conversation right now. All those wonderful stories and books and novels and films and the like are in the minds of so many people that they exist!" Rose nodded, having no clue what he meant, and he continued, "It's an immensely different thing from the whole decision making… thing, but, well I just thought that would make it clearer to understand, do you see what I mean?"
"What exactly is it that I'm 'sposed to be seeing now? That every book I've read is real?" she scoffed, making sure to seem unimpressed.
"Real is such a non-descriptive term, I mean technically there's really nothing that isn't real, even nothingness in itself is real because it exists, how could anything actually be not real? That's a complete paradox because as soon as you think about something, it exists in your mind, so of course it's real, so it's impossible to think about something that isn't real, so even when you were just, well you know, hadn't met me, everything you had ever read or watched was real, because it existed in your mind, but even more than that, it's real because the universe is infinite." He finished somewhat lamely, noticing her bemused stare.
"Wait, so you mean that somewhere, in some pocket of time, there really is a Christian Grey, with all his bells and whistles?"
"A who?"
"Um, never mind, it's an Earth thing, you wouldn't want to know"
"Well, I'm sure there is! If that would make you happy, we could go meet him!" The Doctor was now bouncing, happy to have found something she might be excited about.
"Oh god no!" Rose's face was bright red and she burst out laughing at the idea of her Doctor's expression when he discovered the world of Christian Grey, though come to think of it, she was sure he had experienced far more, interesting, things in his travels.
"Well whatever you want. But right now, have you figured out where we are yet?"
She began to wander in their immediate area, taking in the brilliant foliage in a kaleidoscope of colors, and as she reached out to touch a leaf that appeared to be glistening with dew, she gasped, finding that it all had a plastic feel. "Why is it fake, if we're in the actual world of the story?"
"That's a little bit weird to explain, but you were right when you said the story exists in its own pocket of time. It's not really a separate universe, just a little hidden space where the universe is different, taking up only an instance in time, though of course time here progresses however it does in the story. The interesting thing is, the story-world exists however it exists in the mind of the most people who know the story. That is, this world is obviously based off of a movie version of it, so it's almost as if we're on the set for the movie. Everything is real, but if, when thinking of the story, people imagine plastic looking plants, that's what we'll experience."
Rose was fully awake now, and managed to follow at least most of what he had said. Using this information, she took in the scenery anew and began putting the pieces together. It was a movie based off of a book, it was in color, but the plants were very fake looking, meaning it must be an old movie. She searched through her memories, recalling sitting on the floor in front of the couch, while her mom sat behind her and brushed her hair while singing along to the films that they had watched over and over again. "Wait, are we in the chocolate factory? The one from Willy Wonka?"
"Oh I love that movie! And the Oompa-Loompas, they're fantastic! Now their country, THAT is someplace we've got to visit one of these days. Oh Rose, you'd love it, cocoa beans are the most precious commodity they have, a whole civilization built upon the foundation of chocolate, how about that? However, no, that's not quite right." He was smiling at her now, smug as usual to have stumped her.
"Alright, so is there magic involved?"
"Plenty! Magic galore! There are even witches!"
"Doctor, I do not want to be somewhere that there are witches! Witches are evil!"
"Only the bad witches are evil! And well, that's actually debatable, whether they are indeed evil or if really they're just misunderstood." Rose gasped as realization flooded her.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she half whispered and half screamed as she hit his arm excitedly. "Are we really in Oz? I haven't seen this movie since I was a kid! I want to see everything, I want to go to Emerald City, can we please, Doctor?"
"Rose, why would I take you somewhere and then not show you everything there is to see, plus more?" He was grinning openly now, elated at her enthusiasm when just a few moments prior she was ready to murder him for robbing her of sleep. "And I can't imagine many ways we could really get in trouble here, I mean if a silly teenage girl can make it through unscathed, how could we not?" There he paused, taking in Rose's wide eyes and slightly gaping mouth. "Rose?"
"Doctor," she said slowly and quietly, staring at a point directly over his shoulder, "I don't think we're in London anymore."