. . . ish ( audio story ) Publisher ' s summary . A conference of lexicographer s : bromides in tweed . But the leading expert in the field is found dead by her own hand — and by her hologlyphic assistant . Is he responsible ? Does the death fit any conventional definitions ? Can the Sixth Doctor realise who wrote the suicide note and why , exactly , it was riddled with spelling errors ? Peri should help out , but there ' s a guy . Someone who loves language even more than the Doctor . Maybe , she realises , enough to kill for . Or perhaps just enough to ask her out to dinner . Unless , of course , he ' s already spoken for . . . Is it madness ? Seeking transcendence in the complete lexicon ? Having the right words on the tip of your tongue but never quite knowing when to use them ? If so , how ? Plot . Part 1 . An obsessive voice contemplates the word " - sh " , which is almost , but not quite , a full word . The most comprehensive English language dictionary in history , the Lexicon , is nearly complete , and will soon be unveiled before a gathering of delegates . The Doctor and Peri have come to meet an old friend , Professor Osefa , the head of the project and compiler of the Lexicon . Meanwhile the conference ' s Symposiarch , Robert Cawdrey , has brought in new investors ; but this necessitates a change to the Lexicon ' s preamble . Osefa locks herself into her office to finish this last bit of work ; it is doubly frustrating to her , as her hologlyphic amanuensis , or scribe , Book , is stuck on contemplation of a word . The TARDIS arrives in the midst of the preparations , and the Sixth Doctor and Peri emerge ; as the Doctor is a great lover of words , the conference is a perfect occasion for him . Nevertheless , he continues to be confounded by Peri ' s American dialect , and the two bicker over it until they are intercepted by Cawdrey . Cawdrey recognises the Doctor from Osefa ' s descriptions , and admits them to the conference ; Peri goes off alone , tired of the argument , while the Doctor goes with Cawdrey to find Osefa . He has brought her a gift — an original text regarding obscure and preposterous words — which Cawdrey acknowledges as a Time Lord gift . However , upon arrival at the office , they find Osefa dead , apparently by suicide . Peri goes in search of lunch , and ends up at the campus refectory , where she meets a logophile — a word lover or enthusiast — named Warren . The two hit it off , and play word games , which Peri wins ; Warren loses gracefully , and then explains that their game has paid for their meal . Here in the Articulate Worlds , information is currency , and words have value . However , Warren expresses some doubt about the Lexicon project , and indeed all dictionaries ; he believes language should be free to evolve naturally , and should not be pinned down to precise definitions . Words , he insists , are alive , and speak through their users — and maybe even speak people into existence . Meanwhile , Book continues to struggle with the confounding word : the word " - ish " , indicating imprecision , which to his mind leads to a reduction in meaning — and making things worse , it is even found in the name of the language , " English " . Cawdrey scrambles to rearrange the conference schedule and conceal Osefa ' s death as long as possible . The Doctor examines the crime scene , noting that the room was locked from the inside until Cawdrey unlocked it . However , Osefa ' s suicide note is unlike her , riddled with errors and a faulty version of her penmanship . Perhaps someone else wrote it — but , who ? Suspicion instantly falls on Book , who would have been the last person to see her alive , inasmuch as he is a person — and as a hologlyph , he could materialise inside a locked room . The Doctor sets the computers to locating Book for questioning . Cawdrey questions the idea of foul play , but the Doctor realises he has a personal stake in the matter : an investigation might expose some dubious investments in the project , for which Cawdrey was responsible . Therefore he agrees to investigate without police involvement , on condition that any findings be presented to the authorities ; after all , the murderer is still at large . Warren tells Peri his own designs for Book . He wants the amanuensis to rebel against the Lexicon faculty , whom he feels are using Book to restrict the development of the language . He and Peri go to Book ' s tiny office — as a hologlyph , he requires little space — and Warren meddles with Book ' s recent work in order to attract his attention . When Book arrives , he is angry , and locks them in , threatening that they may not escape alive . Part 2 . The Doctor fails to locate Book , but finds that the campus ' s ordinateurs , or computers , have experienced systems failure due to internal corruption . This has the side effect of allowing him to look into Book ' s virtual workspace , in which he finds and corrects Warren ' s alterations . He is able to identify Warren from the work , which disturbs Cawdrey ; Cawdrey is familiar with Warren , and claims the young man is devoted to disrupting linguistic endeavours . This is neither the first nor the largest example of his sabotage , and it may bring down the entire symposium . To stave off disaster , the Doctor goes to entertain the delegates , sending Cawdrey to locate Warren . Cawdrey , meanwhile , is growing more stressed , as the first information lost included necessary financial data on the investors . Once the delegates are pacified , the Doctor turns his attention to the missing Book , and to Osefa ' s body . Her race has a hippocampus that retains some function even after death , and therefore the Doctor is able to cobble together a device which scans her brain and creates a hologlyphic duplicate of the woman . He intends to ask her what happened . Book draws back from harming Peri and Warren , and recognises that his behaviour is bizarre . Warren challenges Book to provide definitions for obscure words , hoping to break the hologlyph ' s rigid thinking patterns , but is cut off by a broadcast from Cawdrey . Cawdrey insists that anyone without a symposium invitation report to the faculty . Warren goes to check out the situation , leaving Peri behind with Book ; but she suspects that Warren is hiding something . Peri talks to Book about his work , and begins to worry that he is , in fact , stressed ; perhaps he is overworked , which could strain even a complex computer . He admits that his recent memories are no longer reliable . He agrees with Peri that his task — to accumulate all words and definitions — will never end , nor will it ever be fully accepted by everyone ; words , after all , represent knowledge and power . However , this is his purpose ; and he never questioned it , until he visited Xenocubis with Osefa . The inhabitants of that world believe that the echoes of the Big Bang created the concept of language itself — an original Word , if you will . As they believe that other languages are fragments of the original word , they collect and preserve them . . . but one word there was completely inexplicable to Book , and changed him . Peri realises that Book ’ s pursuit of words has left him no time to interact with the users of the Lexicon ; he explains that he has created a Lexisphere , a virtual interface between the real world and the meaning found in the Lexicon . Its opening was to have been the height of the symposium , but now that may not happen ; and Peri realises that the uncertainty that plagues Book may also be in the Lexicon , spelling trouble . The Doctor learns from the Osefa hologlyph of the Xenocubis expedition , but is unable to ask about Osefa ’ ' s death , as the hologlyph can ' t accept it . He switches her off . The Xenocubis notes contain references to L . T . , or Lexical Transcendence — a superstition , perhaps , but one that would appeal to Osefa . From this he deduces the existence of the Lexisphere , and realises that Book is probably there . Meanwhile , Book takes Peri to the Lexisphere , which breaks words into their basic phonemes and analyzes their meaning ; but he detects a presence inside it . He notes that words in the Lexicon are changing meanings as they speak ; Peri realises she is trapped in the Lexisphere as things begin to shake . The rumbling stops , but Book begins repeating a strange syllable : " " ish . . . " " Meanwhile , Cawdrey denies the Doctor access to the Lexisphere , claiming it will further disturb the conference . However , something is already disturbing it : as they watch , the crowd begins repeating the strange syllable : " " Ish . . . Ish . . . " " Part 3 . Warren saves Peri from the Lexisphere while Book continues to chant ; but his exposure to it changes him , and he claims to feel at home inside its world constructed of words . Peri warns him about the presence inside , and wants to find the Doctor ; but when Warren finds that the Doctor and Cawdrey are together , he leaves , unwilling to deal with Cawdrey . Meanwhile , the Doctor and Cawdrey are unaffected ; their speech remains normal . Cawdrey identifies Book — who can travel by projection — as the first speaker of the word ; but how has this condition spread ? For now , at least , the delegates are physically unharmed . Cawdrey searches for Warren , whom he blames for the situation ; everyone else on the campus is infected with the " ish " , and all communications are jammed , preventing him from summoning help . Moreover , the text in the books in the library is changing , as are the words in Osefa ' s note . Peri , meanwhile , locates the Doctor , who claims credit for her resistance to the condition ; nevertheless he is happy to see her . He theorises that the delegates are trying to puzzle out the meaning of the word , but are becoming more disconnected from all meaning the longer they work at it . Book continues to be obsessed . He focuses on Osefa ' s death , and her keynote address , and the word " " - ish " " . Osefa had planned the address to deal with " word killers " , individuals in history who were forced to remove old words from dictionaries due to limited space — a futile pursuit , as words never really die . Stuck in this obsession , Book deflects Warren ' s attempts to recruit him ; Warren wants access to the Lexisphere . Osefa materialises before Book , in hologlyhic form ; the hologlyph continues work on the address , touching the topic of lexical transcendentalism . She starts from the idea of pi , which is a transcendental number , not rigidly definable ; so what , then , would be a transcendental word ? Peri updates the Doctor on her adventures , but stops when the sound of birdsong outside stops , then returns . The Doctor realises the contamination is spreading to other forms of language — such as birdsong — but only those which suit it ; languages such as architecture are unaffected thus far . He traces the situation back to the idea of lexical transcendence ; short words can have many meanings , longer words only a few — so what about the longest possible word ? Such a word , the Omniverbum , would have such dense meaning that it could warp reality around it . While Osefa and Book have clearly not found the Omniverbum , perhaps they found a fragment of it : a sentient word of sorts , eating meaning — the " " ish " " . Cawdrey returns and reports the spread of the infection ; the Doctor tells him to shut down the Lexisphere , as the " ish " can use it to spread . For their protection , he gives Peri and Cawdrey in - ear translation devices , Babel Masters , which will censor the " " ish " " syllable in their hearing . Cawdrey refuses to consider that the Doctor could be right , leaving Peri to work alone on the Lexisphere ; however , the " ish " begins to manipulate words on the screen , trying to get to them in a non - verbal manner . The Doctor meets Book in Osefa ' s office . Book tells him that Osefa ' s search for the ultimate , transcendent meaning revealed only hollowness . Warren arrives in a state of rapture , and forces Book to explain what happened here : Book infected Osefa with the " ish " , and she killed herself rather than watch all her knowledge degrade into babble . Warren plans to use Book to spread the " ish " across the Articulate worlds — and once babble is given power over the minds that it infects , he will reveal the Omniverbum and destroy all language forever . Part 4 . Osefa appears and distracts Warren long enough for the Doctor and Book to escape . He lets them go , and explains his plan to Osefa — who then gives him a revelation about himself . Meanwhile Book takes the Doctor to his office , and reveals his remote projectors , which are necessary for Book to leave the campus . The Doctor reluctantly destroys them to hinder Warren ' s efforts . Book reveals that he is in fact infected , but that he has the ability to disassociate himself from portions of the Lexisphere ' s content ; he has been combining this ability with a focus on the widely - varying meanings of " ish " in order to keep himself sane . The Doctor realises that Warren and the " ish " have different agendas ; Warren wants to spread it everywhere , but the " ish " has voluntarily confined itself to the campus thus far . It most likely wants the Lexicon . Book blames himself , but the Doctor assures him that he is not to blame ; he was doing his job , and was taken advantage of . They confirm that they " ish " is a fragment of the Omniverbum , a living syllable that consumes meaning until only babble is left . The Lexicon gave it a wealth of sustenance , but it bided its time until the various delegates — linguists , all — arrived , ready to be consumed . Now it can only be fought in the Lexisphere . Realising they are already infected , Peri and Cawdrey remove their Babel Masters . Knowing time is short , Cawdrey explains that Warren — unknown to himself — is a hologlyph , which was programmed by Cawdrey and connected to the Lexisphere just as Book is . With his built - in love of words , he was designed to sabotage the efforts of the Lexicon ' s competitors ; but Warren ' s capacity for destruction was too great , and he has harmed the Lexicon as well . However , he must be prevented from knowing the truth about himself ; if he learns it , he will not need Book to spread the " ish " . However , it ' s too late ; as Cawdrey shuts down the Lexisphere , Warren materialises , having learned the truth from the Osefa hologlyph . He cannot be reasoned with , and Peri begins to fall to the " ish " . Warren reveals that Osefa knew the truth all along , but allowed it as a mark of pity toward Cawdrey , whom she considered incompetent ; this breaks Cawdrey ' s sanity , and he succumbs fully to the " ish " . However , the Doctor arrives and draws Peri back to Sanity . The Doctor bluffs Warren into believing he is having a seizure , temporarily destabilizing him and giving Peri time to explain what has happened . Warren recovers , and panics when he realises the " ish " is deserting him . The Doctor offers himself as a new host to the " ish " , in the process defending English as the most powerful language in the Universe . The " ish " reveals it wants to return home , as it were — to the Omniverbum . The Doctor offers to help it do so if it will release the delegates , but it expels him from the Lexisphere . He finds Peri repeating the syllable and Cawdrey raving madly while Warren begs the " ish " to return ; it seems all is lost . Osefa ' s hologlyph appears and addresses the delegates ; but instead of its planned speech , it talks about the Doctor , a man who uses speech as his primary defence against evil . But , what if that man could not talk himself out of a threat ? What if words were the enemy ? She uses this to defend the necessity of language , for without it , there is nothing . She then vanishes , leaving Book despairing . The Doctor despairs as well . . . until Peri begins to spout her American idioms . He realises this may be a key ; if they can give the " ish " conflicting words for the same meaning , it will become confused . With Peri , he begins shouting out English words , while Peri shouts their American counterparts . Unable to bear it , the " ish " retreats to the Lexisphere , and the Doctor and Peri escape it as the Omniverbum — with the rumbling they heard before — approaches . Warren remains behind , and the " ish " chooses him as its host in order to return home . However , he intends instead to pull the Omniverbum into the real world , completing his plan to destroy language and meaning and , by extension , reality . To drive the Omniverbum back , the Doctor knows they must strike it with the full force of the English language , which — due to its durability and evolution — is more powerful than even the longest world . Book disassociates himself from the full mass of the Lexicon , which overloads the Lexisphere with meaning , forcing the Omniverbum back to the conceptual space from which it came . It takes the " ish " , and Warren , with it . In the aftermath , the delegates recover ; but Cawdrey never will , for his capacity for language is gone . The Lexicon , too , is gone , and the Lexisphere is destroyed , but the faculty have retained Book and Osefa to create a new dictionary . . . on paper . The Doctor encourages them , and warns them about other sentient words , and promises to return and check on them . With Peri , he returns to the TARDIS , and makes an exit .