"Silence in the Library"/"Forest of the Dead" Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Once upon a time a little girl was sitting in her living room with her father during a therapy session with Doctor Moon. Every time she closed her eyes, she would enter into the endless Library within her mind. She had done this many times, but this time two people came bursting into her Library. It was the Doctor and Donna! What did the little girl look like to them?

Answer: A security camera

No one had ever been in the Library before. She had always been alone. As she opened her eyes, she was still haunted by the intruders. The Doctor's sonic screwdriver pierced her ears as the Doctor in the Library attempted to open up the security camera. Fortunately the girl's cries for help appeared on the camera's read outs, and the Doctor realized that it was alive.

Then came the ominous message from the little girl, "Others are coming. The Library is breached."

2. At this juncture, we must go back to when the Doctor and Donna first arrived at the Library in the time-traveling machine known as the TARDIS. The Library was a manufactured planet that was nothing but books with a massive computer hard drive at the core. However not all was right in the Library. It was silent. No one else was there. Donna wondered why they were even there as they were supposed to be going to the beach. Why did the Doctor travel to the Library?

Answer: The Doctor had received a message on the psychic paper.

The psychic paper could show anyone what the Doctor wanted them to see, but it also could transmit messages. The Doctor didn't know who had sent the message that had asked him to come. Donna cheekily noted that it was a cry for help with a kiss. The two travelers consulted one of the many information nodes with realistically human faces for more information. Enigmatically, the node told them to "count the shadows" if they wanted to live.

Then the lights started to go out, and they had to run. They took sanctuary in the room with the security camera.

The Doctor assured Donna they were safe, because there was a little shop. However, a shadow appeared in the room, but nothing was casting it. It left, but then the others came.

3. Strackman Lux's family had built the Library, but the computer had sealed it a hundred years ago. Now he had commissioned an expedition after being able to break through the seals. The expedition was led by Professor River Song, an archaeologist, along with Proper Dave, Other Dave, Anita, and Miss Evangelista. The team was able to explain the history to the Doctor and Donna. What was the last message the Library had sent out a hundred years prior?

Answer: 4022 saved. No survivors.

Strackman Lux was not at all pleased to find the Doctor and Donna in his Library, and they even refused to sign contracts that their experiences belonged to the Lux Corporation. He was angered by River Song's cooperation with the Doctor, but it was soon uncovered that she knew the Doctor.

She had a diary containing their adventures together. Unfortunately the Doctor had never met her. "Life with a time traveler," she remarked in exasperation. She refused to tell him more. Those would be spoilers. The Doctor quickly put the team to work, lighting up the room as their retreat to their ship was blocked by the shadows. Miss Evangelista was intentionally excluded for being clumsy and more in need of help than helpful.

4. Proper Dave, the pilot, was ordered to call up the data core, a system called CAL. Yet it was not responding. He only got a noise that sounded like a telephone. The Doctor came over to help and got a strange response. What appeared on the monitor?

Answer: The little girl

In the little girl's world, her living room, she actually heard the telephone ringing as Proper Dave attempted to call up the data core, but Doctor Moon and her father did not hear it. When the Doctor broke through, he and the expedition appeared on the girl's television.

They were only able to talk for a short time as she explained that they were in her Library when they lost the connection. The girl with no name attempted to bring them back by pressing buttons on her remote. When she discovered the buttons behind the remote's sliding cover, she started to throw books about the Library. One button opened a mysterious door that only Miss Evangelista noticed.

5. The fear of the dark is not irrational as told by the Doctor. It's Vashta Nerada. As the others busily discussed the situation, Miss Evangelista wandered through a newly opened door and became a victim. All that was left of her was a skeleton in her spacesuit. Yet, she was able to talk with them when they found her through her data ghost. What piece of technology captured her neural relay allowing her to speak beyond the grave?

Answer: The suit's communicator

This unique quirk of technology allowed a consciousness to have some final words. Donna took this situation especially hard, and the Doctor explained that Miss Evangelista was "footsteps on a beach" with the tide coming in. Miss Evangelista had been excluded by the group for her dimness and clumsy behavior, but she had bonded with Donna, as the lady who had been kind to her.

She pleaded to not tell the others about her early comments of being stupid. "They'll only laugh," she remarked pitifully as her data ghost failed. Spurred on by the death of Miss Evangelista, the Doctor introduced the survivors to the Vashta Nerada, piranhas of the air or shadows that melt the flesh. Most planets had them, and you could sometimes see them as dust in sunbeams.

They were a swarm of microscopic creatures. They were not in every shadow but any shadow.

6. The only way to deal with the Vashta Nerada was to run. The Doctor became increasingly concerned for Donna's safety and utilized the teleport in the shop to send her back to the TARDIS. Yet the others were also increasingly in danger, but the TARDIS wouldn't know them. The Vashta Nerada began to stalk Proper Dave. Why did the Doctor realize that Proper Dave in particular was in danger?

Answer: Proper Dave had two shadows.

Shadows was how the swarm hunted, latching onto its prey and keeping the food source fresh. One shadow was benign, but the other was the Vashta Nerada, recalling the warning to "count the shadows." The Doctor put Proper Dave's helmet on to protect him. Even increasing the helmet's locking mechanism with the sonic screwdriver. River Song revealed that she had a sonic screwdriver too that the Doctor had given her. Later Proper Dave rejoiced as he only had one shadow, but then he ominously asked, "Hey, who turned out the lights?" The swarm had entered his suit and killed him.

They then took over his suit and began to stalk the rest of the survivors. His data ghost warned the others of his presence as he kept asking, "Who turned out the lights?" Using a squareness gun, River Song opened a new door.

They had to run. Meanwhile, Doctor Moon had one last chat with the little girl before he left. He told her that the Library was real and the real world was a lie. The shadows were moving again and only she could save the people trapped in the Library.

7. Racing down the Library stacks, the Doctor attempted to boost the power of the lights to slow down the Vashta Nerada. Discussing Donna with River Song, the Doctor realized that he never got a signal that Donna had arrived in the TARDIS. He raced over to an information node to ask about Donna's whereabouts. Frightened he found Donna's face on the node. What cryptic message did she give the Doctor?

Answer: Donna Noble has left the Library. Donna Noble has been saved.

"Sweetie, dinner's ready," the father told his little girl. "Donna Noble has been saved," she mysteriously replied in a monotone. As soon as Donna arrived in the TARDIS, she was whisked away by some other force. The TARDIS console never sent the signal to the Doctor about the teleport breach.

The Doctor stood motionless in front of the Donna node even with Proper Dave's warning that the swarm was approaching came closer and closer. Finally, River Song grabbed the Doctor as the few survivors raced for their lives with Donna's message echoing in the corridor.

8. The Library appeared on television in the little girl's living room. She flipped through the channels until she found a show set at a hospital. Donna was being treated by Doctor Moon. What strange happenings did Donna find odd in this new world?

Answer: Time kept skipping in jumps.

Donna noted that they seemed to jump about in place and time, but Doctor Moon ever so helpfully filled in the jumps. He told her that she forgot but then she remembered. Time kept jumping as she met the handsome Liam McAvoy who had a bit of a stutter.

She soon found herself married with two small children. She was convinced that the Doctor and the Library were nothing but a dream. Doctor Moon pronounced her adjusted and happily left her to her life. For one moment, the Doctor broke through, taking over Doctor Moon's space. Doctor Moon quickly made her forget again.

9. Back in the Library, the remainder of crew and the Doctor found a room safe from the swarm that took over Proper Dave. The Doctor went to work trying to see if the Vashta Nerada were in that room as well. Yet he was having trouble using the sonic screwdriver. A signal was interfering with its ability. Where was the source of that signal?

Answer: The moon

The Doctor knew that it was a new signal and powerful. Very few things could interfere with his sonic screwdriver except for possibly hair dryers. Other Dave pointed out that it was getting dark, and the moonlight was now coming through which clued them into the moon.

The moon, Mr. Lux explained, was manufactured with the planet. It was a doctor moon that was a virus checker for the main computer at the planet's core. The Doctor was surprised to discover that the moon and the computer were still actively communicating or possibly someone was drying their hair.

When he attempted to block it, he saw Donna for a moment as she had been when she saw him.

10. The relationship between River Song and the Doctor came to the forefront as his mistrust of her erupted as she tried to calm him down. She knew that the Doctor would be useless unless he could in some way believe in her. What did she do to earn his trust?

Answer: Whispered something in his ear

Only reluctantly did she whisper this into his ear, and no one in the room knew what she whispered. Then he admitted they were good. He was upset that Donna was gone. River Song pointed out that there five people still alive to worry about. The whole situation was trying for her as the Doctor was somehow incomplete, not really the person she knew him to be. "You're hard work young," she shouted in frustration. Someday the Doctor would be able to open the TARDIS with a snap of his fingers.

The Doctor would not believe that anyone could do that. Only later did the Doctor reveal that River Song spoke his true name into his ear.

She would not spoil the mystery by telling him why she knew it.

11. The situation became increasingly dire as Anita discovered that she had two shadows. What additional precaution did the Doctor take to protect Anita?

Answer: He tinted her visor with his sonic screwdriver.

Proper Dave's visor had appeared tinted when the swarm entered his suit. The Doctor hoped that the Vashta Nerada would be fooled that they were already inside. Anita morosely commented that no one would ever see her face again. Even though facing death, Anita bravely carried on.

She only cried, saying "it's not an overreaction." She later asked the Doctor what the professor has whispered into his ear. Her words had affected him so, and she needed some encouragement. "Your secret's safe with me," she noted.

This gave the Doctor the epiphany that the word 'saved' in the computer's message meant that the survivors had been uploaded to the computer's hard drive.

12. Back in Donna's world, Doctor Moon had already left when Liam returned home from work. As the world still jumped through time, Donna found herself filling in the gaps. Late at night, she received a note, "The world is wrong," from a mysterious personage. What would best describe this person?

Answer: Dressed all in black

The note asked Donna for a meeting at the children's playground, and Donna instantly found herself the next day there with her children. After sending the children off to play, she talked with the person all in black with a heavy black veil. This mysterious figure pointed out the time jumps and how people moved about in this world was like in a dream, hopping from one important moment to another.

She soon revealed that she was what was left of Miss Evangelista and hoped to return Donna's kindness.

She attempted to open Donna's eyes that the world was not real, and that her children were not real. All the children in the world were exactly the same. When Donna snagged the veil off, Miss Evangelista was revealed to be horribly disfigured. She had been copied imperfectly since all that remained of her was a data ghost trapped in the wi-fi.

Her IQ had also shifted and she was now brilliant but unloved. This gave her the capacity to see absolute truth.

13. The swarm in Proper Dave's suit continued its pursuit. The Doctor asked for five minutes to reason with the carnivorous swarm. River told Other Dave to drag the Doctor away in two minutes when he became too stupid to live. He taught the Vashta Nerada to use the neural relay to communicate. The Doctor questioned the swarm, "You hunt in forests. What are you doing in a Library? You came to a Library to hunt. Why? Tell me why?" How did the Vashta Nerada respond?

Answer: We did not come here.

The Vashta Nerada continued to explain that they came from the Library. Yet the Doctor pressed the swarm since the microscopic spores were hatched out of trees. At first, he informed them that there were no trees in the Library until he remembered that books were made from trees.

The Vashta Nerada claimed the Library as their forest and the people as their meat. While the Doctor worked out how the Vashta Nerada came to be in the Library, he suddenly noticed that Other Dave was only repeating what he had previously said.

Other Dave was the latest victim of the swarm.

14. Angry at Miss Evangelista for spoiling the perfect world for Donna, the little girl initiated the auto-destruct for the Library. She refused help from her father and Doctor Moon. Mr. Lux insisted they must save CAL. The survivors traveled to the core of the planet via a gravity platform. What did they discover that the computer was doing?

Answer: Dreaming

"Computers don't dream," Anita remarked.
"No, but little girls do," Mr. Lux responded.
In another room, Mr. Lux introduced the Doctor, River Song and Anita to the main command node, the little girl. Her name was Charlotte Abigail Lux, aka CAL. She was the computer, the youngest daughter of Mr. Lux's grandfather. He had refused to tell the Doctor, because he had not signed the contract. His loyalty was not to the patent but to keep the girl safe and in peace. Charlotte had been dying, so she was installed here to have at least half a life living in the stories of the books. Then the shadows came. She had to save them, but she forgot. With all the minds of the people in her head, she had forgotten.

15. With the little girl's memory space already full, Charlotte was unable to make the transfer by herself. The Doctor decided to borrow his memory space, but River Song knew that it would kill anyone. She ended up punching the Doctor and took his place. If the Doctor died there, she would never have the memories she did. Handcuffed to the piping, the Doctor was unable to stop her. What words did she console him with?

Answer: You watch us run.

All 4,022 people were saved, but not without cost. The Vashta Nerada ate Anita but gave the Doctor 24 hours for the others to leave. Donna missed Liam, her perfect man, as he was teleported away. Yet the Doctor was not able to concede defeat in the case of River Song.

He madly wondered why he gave her his sonic screwdriver until he found her consciousness in a neural relay in the device. He frantically raced to the core of the planet and directly uploaded her to the hard drive under Charlotte's approving eye. Uploaded she assured River Song that this world was now a good place.

She was reunited with those that had died from the expedition. Even Miss Evangelista had her face corrected. In the end, River Song told her children the story of the Doctor. "When you run with the Doctor, it feels like it will never end no matter how hard you try. Everybody knows that everybody dies. And nobody knows it like the doctor.

But I do think that all the skies in all the worlds might just turn dark, if he ever accepts it.

Some days are special. Some days are so, so blessed. Some days, nobody dies at all. Now and then, every once in a very long while, every day in a million days, when the wind stands fair and the doctor comes to call everybody lives."

Source: Author albinerhawk

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor ladymacb29 before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

Sit down comfortably, for there is a "Doctor Who" tale to tell. This is a story about the time-traveling Doctor, his companion noble Donna, the adventurous professor, and a businessman, but it all started with a little girl who forgot.

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