Chapter Seven
The TARDIS door opened and Rose stepped out onto the surface of Parabelcio. She looked around and noticed that the planet resembled Earth. Green grass, blue sky, yellow sun. It was a bright sunny day.
"Doctor, this planet is just like Earth," she said.
At least, that's what she intended to say. She moved her mouth and her tongue and teeth and lips formed the words, but to her horror no sound came out. Panicked, she spoke trying desperately to make sound come from her lips. As she kept moving her mouth, she suddenly felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned and looked at the Doctor. He was pointing up above her head. She stared up at a big white bubble floating in space above her head. In the center of it in big, black, bold letters was…
OH,
MY GOD, WHAT'S HAPPENED TO MY VOICE? I CAN'T HEAR MYSELF. DOCTOR!
DOCTOR! WHAT'S HAPPENED TO ME?
She
watched while the bubble faded away. She looked at the Doctor,
confused. She moved her mouth and no sound came out. She let out a
silent yell of frustration. The Doctor pointed up to the spot above
her head and she looked up to see another bubble above her
head.
WHAT'S
GOING ON? WHY CAN I SEE MY WORDS AND--ARRRRGH! WHY CAN'T I HEAR
MYSELF?
The
Doctor tapped Rose's shoulder while she watched the bubble fade
away. He pointed to the spot above his head and began to speak. As
soon as he moved his lips, a bubble appeared over his head. Rose read
the big, bold letters in it.
THIS
IS THE ONLY WAY YOU CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT I'M SAYING. PARABELCIO IS A
WORLD WITHOUT SOUND. WITH ONE SPECIAL EXCEPTION, EVERYONE ON THIS
PLANET SPEAKS WITH SPEECH BUBBLES. YOU HAVE TO READ WHAT THEY SAY.
THAT IS WHY WE CAN'T HEAR OURSELVES; THE PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE HAS
MUTED OUR VOICES.
Rose
watched while the bubble faded away.
THAT ISN'T ALL YOU CAN DO HERE, the Doctor added. WATCH!
The Doctor paused a moment and then he feigned open-mouthed shock. Rose watched while a big, red exclamation mark appeared over his head. He smiled and pointed to it. It hovered for a moment over his head and then it disappeared.
AND YOU CAN ALSO DO THIS.
He paused a moment and then scratched his head while he gave Rose a confused look. Rose watched as a big, blue question mark appeared over his head.
BRILLIANT! Rose said.
The Doctor read her word and nodded.
YES, IT'S A FASCINATING PLANET TO SAY THE LEAST, AND HERE, YOU REALLY DO SAY THE LEAST. ANYWAY, LET'S GO EXPLORING AND SEE WHAT WE CAN SEE.Rose nodded. They took each other's hands and walked off in search of adventure.
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Rose and the Doctor walked through the grassy field. A light summer breeze was blowing and Rose smiled taking in the sights of Parabelcio. The planet resembled Earth so much that she would have sworn they had landed there if not for the absence of speech. Rose had walked ahead of the Doctor and was now strolling a few feet in front of him enjoying the pleasant day.
Rose turned her head to ask the Doctor about something. She frowned when she noticed a speech bubble hovering over his head. Her eyebrow rose when she read…
WOW, LOOK AT ROSE'S BUM. SO DELECTIBLE. BOY, WHAT I WOULDN'T GIVE TO THROW HER DOWN ON THE GROUND AND SHAG HER, RIGHT NOW!He gave her a sheepish grin when she eyed him.
WHAT? A GUY CAN'T THINK OUT LOUD? he said.
He gave her an innocent look when she rolled her eyes and turned her head back around.
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After about twenty minutes, they finally came upon two people standing several feet away. Both of them seemed to be in a heated argument. The speech bubbles were alternating between the two of them while they silently yelled at each other. A little dog sat nearby. When they neared, the dog noticed them and ran over barking silently at them. The Doctor and Rose looked at the tiny speech bubble above its head.
ARF ARF!
The Doctor smiled and bent down to scratch behind the dog's left ear. The Dog wagged its tail, and licked the Doctor's hand. The Doctor and Rose resumed walking towards the men while the dog trailed along behind them. They got a few feet away from the pair and stopped. Both men looked like they were in their mid-twenties. One man was dressed in a royal blue tunic with brown hair and a bushy beard. The other was blonde, clean shaven and dressed in an orange tunic. Both of them were gesturing wildly as they kept their eyes on the speech bubbles above their heads.
YOU MUST BE CRAZY IF YOU THINK ZANIA LIKES YOU! the man in the blue tunic said. SHE'S IN LOVE WITH ME!
NO, I THINK YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S MISTAKEN, the man in the orange tunic replied. ZANIA IS IN LOVE WITH ME!
OH
YEAH, WHEN DID YOU REACH THAT CONCLUSION? WHEN SHE KISSED ME
ON THE LIPS! P'EH, YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DREAMING THAT, MATE.
ZANIA WOULDN'T KISS SOMEONE AS UGLY AS YOU!
While
the two men argued, the dog ran around their legs barking furiously.
Rose smiled as she watched little speech bubbles appear above its
head with ARF
ARF and
BOW
WOW
inside them.
I'M NOT THE UGLY ONE HERE! the man in the orange tunic said.
OH NO, YOU EVER LOOK IN A MIRROR? YOU'D HAVE MORE LUCK SLEEPING WITH DRAX HERE THAN YOU WOULD WITH ZANIA, the man in the blue tunic said pointing down to the dog.
I WOULDN'T TALK! YOU--
The man in the orange tunic noticed the Doctor and Rose for the first time. He stared at them for a moment while a big, blue question mark appeared over his head and then he glared at them.
OI! WHAT'S THE MEANING OF THIS? WHAT ARE YOU TWO DOING STANDING THERE? THIS IS A PRIVATE CONVERSATION! he said as the man in the blue tunic turned and glared at them.
YEAH, PISS OFF! the man in the blue tunic said.
I'M
SORRY,
the Doctor said. MY
FRIEND AND I WERE JUST WALKING ALONG AND NOTICED YOU TWO OUT HERE AND
WE WERE WONDERING WHAT YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT SO WE WANDERED OVER
HERE. IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS WHAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT! OI,
NOW WAIT A MOMENT. WE DIDN'T MEAN ANY HARM WELL, NOW YOU KNOW WHAT WE'VE BEEN
ARGUING ABOUT,
Rose looked at the Doctor.
COME ON, ROSE, LET'S LEAVE THEM TO THEIR ARGUMENT, he said.
Rose nodded. She followed the Doctor while the two men glared at them. Once they were far enough away, the two men resumed arguing with one another while the dog ran around them barking.
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After about a half hour, they reached a fairly large city. The Doctor and Rose walked into it and looked around as masses of people stood around them yelling and talking silently. Rose read some of the speech bubbles of the people as they passed by. One man was hailing a taxi; one woman was chastising her daughter for wandering off. A man stood on the street corner in front of a small cart selling something he called Picsalatis. One man seemed to be telling a police officer he had just been mugged. Rose was fascinated by it all. She had grown so used to the silence that it came as a shock to her when she actually heard someone yelling nearby.
"LOOK, I'M TRAPPED IN A BOX!" the man was screaming.
She stopped short and stared up at the Doctor as a big, blue question mark appeared over her head. The Doctor smiled at her.
THAT'S
THE EXCEPTION I WAS TELLING YOU ABOUT,
he said to her. COME
WITH ME AND I'LL SHOW YOU.
Rose
nodded and followed him down a side street. Rose heard the man's
voice growing louder and louder while they came closer. A lone voice
floating along in a sea of silence.
"LOOK AT THIS BOX! IT'S HUGE! THERE DOESN'T SEEM TO BE ANY WAY OUT! WHAT AM I GOING TO DO?" the man was saying.
They came out of an alley and saw the man standing in the midst of a huge crowd of people. He was dressed in a black spandex body suit, wearing a black bowler hat and had white makeup on his face. He had his hands out in front of him as if he was feeling something. Rose stared at him as he walked along feeling the air in front of him. She looked up at the Doctor who was grinning.
THIS IS THE ONLY EXCEPTION TO THE NO TALKING RULE HERE. ROSE, THIS IS THIS PLANET'S VERSION OF A MIME! he said to her.
The mime turned to his left and felt the air.
"OH MY, THERE IS A WALL ON THIS SIDE TOO. IS THERE NO WAY OUT?" he yelled while he mimed feeling the box.
Rose laughed.
HA, HA, HA, HA, her bubble said.
The Doctor grinned and put his arm around her. They watched while the mime pressed an imaginary button.
"NOW I'M WAITING FOR THE LIFT!" the mime announced.
He folded his arms over his chest and tapped his foot impatiently while the crowd took pictures and threw coins at his feet.
"OH! HERE IS THE LIFT! NOW I AM GOING IN!" he said taking a few paces.
He pushed an imaginary button and stood in the "lift" as the crowd watched him.
"OH NO, THE LIFT CABLE IS SNAPPING! he announced while he threw his arms up, panicked. "NOW IT'S FALLING! I'M GOING TO DIE!
He screamed and waved his arms around. Then, he jumped up and fell down to the ground.
"NOW I AM DEAD!" he said, lying there.
The crowd applauded silently and threw more coins at him while the mime stood up and bowed.
BLIMEY, THEY MUST BE STARVING FOR ENTERTAINMENT HERE, Rose said to the Doctor.
The Doctor laughed and nodded.
COME ON, ROSE, LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND SOMETHING TO EAT, he said to her.
Rose nodded. Taking his hand, they walked off as the mime cried out...
"NOW I AM WALKING AGAINST THE WIND. MY, IT SURE IS WINDY OUT HERE!"