So… what is it, exactly?” Clara pushed a lock of hair out of her face as she leaned in.
“It’s a sonic based neural reader.” The Doctor turned the device over in his slender hands.
“CORRECT.” The tinny, mechanical voice obviously emanated from the box and he peered closer at it, frowning.
“Oh right, I knew that.” Clara’s mouth quirked.
“INCORRECT”
The Doctor smirked down at her. “Obviously not.”
She rolled her eyes, grinning. “So, it’s basically a lie detector?”
He shook his head and placed the box back on the console, rounding to the other side to fiddle with some switch or other. He spoke rapidly as his hands flew “No, it’s vastly more complex. It detects minute vocal inflections and flaws but then also distills from the essence of existing fact to produce results that are objectively able to indicate usage of the imagination or storytelling or –“
“Or lying. Basically, it detects lies. Where I’m from, we call that a lie detector.” Clara grabbed the box and ran a finger along one smooth edge.