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locker_monsterTitle: A Selection of Flags (1/1)
Rating: G
Word Count: 543
Characters: River
Timeline: Set pre-"Under the Lake"
Summary: How did sign language get deleted from the TARDIS' language database?
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC.
A/N: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
who_contest's "Future Shock" challenge. The line from "Under the Lake" is "Someone get me a selection of flags", but I always hear the line as "Someone gave me a selection of flags" which is infinitely funnier in my mind. And thus, this plot bunny was born.
"Hello, old girl."
The doors to the TARDIS opened at the snap of River's fingers and she boldly strode in as if the time machine belonged to her. She got one foot over the threshold before she had to pause on the spot. A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"You let him redecorate again."
The console room was awash in cool hues, granting a cold and clinical look to everything. It was a far cry from the warm and inviting space that River so loved. That other room compelled you to take a seat and put up your feet; this room merely existed so you could fly the ship.
"Is he in one of his moods?" asked River. She pushed aside her distaste and made her way over to the console. She wasn't quite sure where she was in the Doctor's timeline, so it was best not to linger just in case this version of the Doctor wasn't aware of her true identity. "He always makes the worst decorating decisions when he's upset."
The console hummed beneath her touch and River absently patted some of the controls as she surveyed the new layout. Even the console had lost some of its whimsy. Where were the hot and cold taps and the old typewriter and Magpie Electronics TV screen? Everything was far too serious.
"He should bring back the steampunk design. I quite liked that one. I quite liked that Doctor, too. Who can resist a man in a cravat?"
She quickly found the section of the console now housing computer access and swung around the sleek new scanner so that the screen faced her. "I need to make a change to your core database, my love, if that's all right."
There was a moment's pause and then the default image on the scanner switched over to display the system directory of the TARDIS' vast database. River zeroed in on the language archive. There were millions upon millions of records in the archive, but she knew what she was looking for. "This will be a deletion, but I know you'll be able to restore the data from one of your back-up modules."
River encountered no resistance as she brought up any and all data related to sign language. The selection was impressive. The archaeologist in her was thrilled to see sign languages that had died out centuries ago from her chronological perspective. It was almost a shame to erase them all, but River had no choice.
With one keystroke, any trace of the sign language data was removed from the TARDIS' database.
"The Doctor will thank me," River insisted. She pulled out her handheld scanner and uploaded a new data set into the language archive. "He's going to need this more when he runs into the Vacillier. He'll get nowhere by merely flapping his lips." The new data easily filled the gap that she had created from the mass deletion. The Doctor wouldn't notice anything was amiss until he tried to access sign language via the TARDIS' telepathic circuits.
"Semaphore is immensely more entertaining, anyway." River smiled at the thought of the Doctor waving around his gangly arms in order to communicate with the alien race. She hoped she was around when it happened.
Rating: G
Word Count: 543
Characters: River
Timeline: Set pre-"Under the Lake"
Summary: How did sign language get deleted from the TARDIS' language database?
Disclaimer: Doctor Who belongs to the BBC.
A/N: Written for
who_contest's "Future Shock" challenge. The line from "Under the Lake" is "Someone get me a selection of flags", but I always hear the line as "Someone gave me a selection of flags" which is infinitely funnier in my mind. And thus, this plot bunny was born."Hello, old girl."
The doors to the TARDIS opened at the snap of River's fingers and she boldly strode in as if the time machine belonged to her. She got one foot over the threshold before she had to pause on the spot. A soft sigh escaped her lips.
"You let him redecorate again."
The console room was awash in cool hues, granting a cold and clinical look to everything. It was a far cry from the warm and inviting space that River so loved. That other room compelled you to take a seat and put up your feet; this room merely existed so you could fly the ship.
"Is he in one of his moods?" asked River. She pushed aside her distaste and made her way over to the console. She wasn't quite sure where she was in the Doctor's timeline, so it was best not to linger just in case this version of the Doctor wasn't aware of her true identity. "He always makes the worst decorating decisions when he's upset."
The console hummed beneath her touch and River absently patted some of the controls as she surveyed the new layout. Even the console had lost some of its whimsy. Where were the hot and cold taps and the old typewriter and Magpie Electronics TV screen? Everything was far too serious.
"He should bring back the steampunk design. I quite liked that one. I quite liked that Doctor, too. Who can resist a man in a cravat?"
She quickly found the section of the console now housing computer access and swung around the sleek new scanner so that the screen faced her. "I need to make a change to your core database, my love, if that's all right."
There was a moment's pause and then the default image on the scanner switched over to display the system directory of the TARDIS' vast database. River zeroed in on the language archive. There were millions upon millions of records in the archive, but she knew what she was looking for. "This will be a deletion, but I know you'll be able to restore the data from one of your back-up modules."
River encountered no resistance as she brought up any and all data related to sign language. The selection was impressive. The archaeologist in her was thrilled to see sign languages that had died out centuries ago from her chronological perspective. It was almost a shame to erase them all, but River had no choice.
With one keystroke, any trace of the sign language data was removed from the TARDIS' database.
"The Doctor will thank me," River insisted. She pulled out her handheld scanner and uploaded a new data set into the language archive. "He's going to need this more when he runs into the Vacillier. He'll get nowhere by merely flapping his lips." The new data easily filled the gap that she had created from the mass deletion. The Doctor wouldn't notice anything was amiss until he tried to access sign language via the TARDIS' telepathic circuits.
"Semaphore is immensely more entertaining, anyway." River smiled at the thought of the Doctor waving around his gangly arms in order to communicate with the alien race. She hoped she was around when it happened.
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