Future Rose gives away a secret

"Boy, are my feet tired," said the woman who used to be Marcie Ross. "It seems like I walked for hours and hours on this last trip. I tell you, Empress, this walking up and down in the earth routine is starting to get old."

"Any luck on this last trip?" asked the lady in red as she casually scratched behind the ears of a naked future Rose.

"No," said Marcie. "Torchwood still won't bite, MI-6 doesn't trust me, UNIT refuses to see me even though I'm visible now and the Watchers' Council only laughed at me. I'm beginning to wonder if we should forget about recruiting allies. Or better yet, use your magic typewriter to change their minds."

"I prefer to use the typewriter only as a last resort," said the lady in red. "I'm saving it for a big project. A very big project. Anyway, you've earned your rest, Marcie. Do you want to take Rose out for a walk later on when you're more energetic?"

"Yes, that should be fun," said Marcie. "Right, Rose?"

"Right, Marcie -- or is it Cordelia now?" asked future Rose.

"It's Cordelia to outsiders, Rose," said Marcie. "But you're not an outsider, Rose, so you can call me Marcie, provided you don't do so in front of strangers."

"Of course, Marcie," said Rose. "Anyway, it's a shame you're so tired. Maybe next time you go on a trip, you can take the TARDIS and then you'll be less tired."

"TARDIS?" asked the lady in red. "What's a TARDIS?"

"This thing we're in," said future Rose. "It's a TARDIS."

"Why would I want to take that with me?" asked Marcie. "I can't move this thing by myself."

"You don't have to, silly," said present Rose. "It's a time machine. It will move by itself. You just have to push the right buttons and it will take you anywhere in time and space that you want to go."

"Anywhere?" asked the lady in red. "Do you mean it's like a magic carpet?"

"No," said future Rose. "It's more like a magic box."

"Oh, really?" asked the lady in red.

She and Marcie glanced at each other and grinned.

Then the lady in red turned back toward future Rose and asked, "I don't suppose you know how to operate this TARDIS, do you, my beloved Rose?"

"Of course I do," said future Rose. "I've seen Clara do it many times."

"Can you show Marcie how to operate it?" asked the lady in red.

"Sure," said future Rose. "But Marcie's tired right now. Maybe later."

"Hey, no time like the present," said Marcie. "Suddenly I don't feel so tired any more. So how about some lessons, Professor Rose?"

"Sure thing," said Rose. "Just follow me."

The lady in red watched Rose and Marcie leave the room, then turned toward the largest painting on the wall and said, "At last. I can bring you back. I can bring you all back. And I don't even need the typewriter to do it because I can see to it that you never get killed. I always suspected my damnation had some purpose to it. Now I know what it is."