Translation sphere
Translation Spheres, also known as translator balls, were special translation devices carried by Ood who were enslaved by humanity. In order to use it, an Ood pressed a button on the sphere, and spoke into the tube, which had to be in their mouths for the sphere to work. A sphere remained permanently fixed in the mouth of its owner via this tube. The tube was linked to its owners body in the same way as their smaller hind brain once was since only enslaved Ood had translation spheres. (DW: Planet of the Ood)
These translation spheres could be clipped on the Ood's shirt when they were not holding them. (DW: The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit, Planet of the Ood)
The Doctor acquired an Ood translation sphere at some point and kept it in the drawing room of his TARDIS. (VG: TARDIS)
Use as a weapon
Rebellious Ood somehow managed to turn the spheres into deadly weapons. Ood Operations had no idea how this was done, and indeed did not initially notice it, atributing deaths to heart attacks and industrial accidents.
There are two ways the Ood were seen using the sphere as a weapon. Either they threw it at the victim(s), let it spring back
.jpg){kind=spacer}
and caught it, or they could simply place it on someone's forehead. The effect would be the touched area lighting up and crackling with electricity, and the human would drop to the floor, dead. (DW: The Impossible Planet / The Satan Pit, Planet of the Ood)
Whether this was a normal feature or a trait given to the Ood by the Beast is unknown but since the spheres were used as weapons by the Ood on the Ood-Sphere in 4126, as well as the fact that the spheres were connected to the Ood where they once had a smaller brain, it is likely that the Ood always had the ability to use spheres as weapons, possibly using their telepathic powers to damage a victims brain via a sphere. (DW: Planet of the Ood)
When the Doctor, Amy and Rory arrive in the bubble universe, the met an Ood called Nephew with a broken translator sphere. When the Doctor opened it up and repaired it, the voices of the murdered Time Lords used the translator sphere to speak. (DW: The Doctor's Wife)
It is unknown how the murdered Time Lords used the translator sphere to speak, but as far as the episode in concerned, this is the first time that an Ood is known not actually use the sphere itself to speak
Known victims
- Solana Mercurio died attempting to escape the Ood rebellion.
- 2 unnamed guards died on Sanctuary Base 6.
- An unknown number of guards died during the Revolution of the Ood.
- Nearly all the company reps visiting the Oods' home planet were killed.
- Mr. Bartle, the sales manager of Ood Operations was killed by his personal Ood when it was infected with Red Eye.
