“Timber!” yelled The Doctor, as the tree fell right in front of them. Silence.

“Doctor,” asked Amy, slightly turning, shuffling her feet in her curiosity, “why didn't it make a sound?”

“Ah, I am so very glad you asked,” he responded, spinning around and pointing behind Amy with his sonic screwdriver. “Watch again. And listen again.”

She turned around just as another tree fell silently.

“When you said you wanted to show me something, I was expecting more than some falling trees.”

“No, no, pay attention,” retorted The Doctor. “What is happening? What isn't happening?”

“Oh, I don't know. We're standing in a forest of falling trees, but they aren't making sounds?” Amy furrowed her head in frustration.

“Right! Exactly!” The Doctor lifted his hands partially in excitement. “Why?”

“Doctor. We are standing in a forest, why can't I hear the falling trees?”

“Where did I take you? We went into a booth, put in the coins, and then what?”

“You said we were going to the Silent Forests on the Fifth Moon of Prodea,” retorted Amy. “You pressed the button and next thing I know we're standing here. No TARDIS, but we are clearly somewhere else.”

“Or are we?” said The Doctor. He turned on his screwdriver and a tint of blue shimmered around them, clearly encircling and shielding them from the wilderness.

Amy turned to watch the glowing field fade away, just in time to see another tree fall right towards them. “Doctor, watch out!” she cried, but they were suddenly back in the booth, various blinking dials confirming their trip was over. They stepped out.

“What was that?” snapped Amy.

“You didn't really think we were in a whole new place, now did you?” The Doctor acted almost as if a youngling Saldewian from Qitar had asked that, of all things.

“Well with you, why not?” Amy was not finding the situation funny anymore.

“We're at a carnival, with anti-gravity roller coasters and sideways teeter-totters. They really can't just transport their customers off-world.”

Amy was eying some sort of caramelized fruit, or at least she hoped it was fruit, so let The Doctor finish.

“Look, you know the saying 'If a tree falls in the forest and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?'?”

“Yes,” said Amy, rolling her eyes.

“A decade ago the Prodeans added a fifth moon to orbit their planet, containing automatically falling trees. Then, using devices such as this one,” The Doctor tapped the booth, “they were seemingly transported to observe their creation without physically being there. They weren't really around to hear it, and neither were we.

"Although..." thought The Doctor, "if I recall, their results might have been a tad different..."

“Well, it's very clever of them. C'mon, let's go see what food they're selling,” said Amy.

She got a strangely wide cone with some purple ooze foaming at the top and dripping onto her hands.

“Oh, jelly-babies,” The Doctor noticed, buying a bag. “Now then, to the unfun house. Come along, Pond.”

(Before you ask, the BBC code is termed "extract" to make that happen. I first used it 2.5 years ago. Experiment. Now, comment on the story.)

-CF