The Whispering Gallery (comic story)

The Whispering Gallery was the first in a series of one-shot Tenth Doctor comic stories from IDW Publishing.

Publisher's summary
The TARDIS has landed in a maze-like gallery filled with thousands of talking pictures, and the Doctor and his companion Martha discover they've come across a planet where showing emotion has been outlawed. The inhabitants have good reason for their suppression, but it wouldn't be like the Doctor to leave them in fear of truly living.

Summary
When Martha complains that they're out of milk, the Tenth Doctor aims the TARDIS for a grocery shop, but instead it lands at the Whispering Gallery on Grått. The gallery is filled with pictures of the deceased, and each picture contains a small fragment of the dead person's consciousness, specifically their final thoughts before death.

The Doctor recalls having once met a young female Gråttite named Grayla, and having briefly travelled with her, giving her a taste of the universe beyond her home planet, where any display of emotion is outlawed. The Doctor is saddened to find Grayla's picture among the displays, with her final thought being a warning to the Doctor about displaying emotion on Grått. The Doctor leaves the gallery in search of Grayla's grave, leaving Martha alone in the gallery.

The Doctor soon learns the monsterous secret behind the Gråttites' lack of emotion, and of the consequences of having taken Grayla on her single jouney in the TARDIS. Martha, meanwhile, finds herself compelled to rearrange the gallery to fulfil the last wishes of some of its exhibits.

Characters

 * Tenth Doctor
 * Martha Jones
 * Empathivore
 * Grayla

Worldbuilding

 * The Doctor tried to decide which nebula it was that he had taken Grayla to on her travels, the Crab Nebula or the Horsehead Nebula.
 * When the Doctor leaves to find Grayla's grave, he carries a multi-coloured umbrella similar to the one carried by the Sixth Doctor.

Continuity

 * The concept of the Whispering Gallery is similar to that of the "data ghosting" in the Library. (TV: Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead)

Cover gallery
The Whispering Gallery