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David
The antagonist of the novel. She’s a Special who works for Special Circumstances, a secret police force of sorts that monitors uglies’ antics within the city and also tries to infiltrate the Smoke. Though Dr. Cable is inarguably beautiful, she looks cruel and terrible to Tally: she’s too tall, too strong, has flat gray eyes, and seems incapable of flashing a genuine smile. As Dr. Cable’s primary goal is to infiltrate and put an end to the Smoke, she’s willing to blackmail young people like Tally into helping her; Dr. Cable is a cunning individual who understands how to manipulate others’ desires and fears to get what she wants, so it doesn’t take long for Dr. Cable to convince Tally to help out Special Circumstances. Interestingly, however, Dr. Cable suggests that Tally did have a legitimate choice in whether or not to help, suggesting that as a Special who’s fully in control of her mind (she doesn’t have the brain lesions most pretties do), Dr. Cable may have a greater awareness of how society works than an ugly like Tally does. However, without the perks and features of her office that allow Dr. Cable to detect when people are lying, she is susceptible to being tricked: Tally is able to trick Dr. Cable into letting Tally go outside, which allows Tally to escape and eventually rescue her friends from Dr. Cable at Special Circumstances. Dr. Cable is a fundamentally unethical person. She forces Shay to undergo pretty surgery to stop Shay from fighting, and she also subjects Az to a medical experiment that kills him. Her goal was to keep Maddy and Az from talking about the brain lesions that result from the pretty operation, so she attempted a procedure that would alter Az’s memory. Her overarching goal, in other words, is to do anything necessary to preserve life in the city as it is and stamp out anything different, individualistic, or that might complicate how life in the city is “supposed” to be.
Dr. Cable Quotes in Uglies
The Uglies quotes below are all either spoken by Dr. Cable or refer to Dr. Cable. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Hippocratic Oath Quotes
“Why did we even have to ask? They didn’t get her permission when they did this to her!”
“That’s the difference between us and them,” Maddy said. “After Az and I found out what the operation really meant, we realized we’d been party to something horrible. People had their minds changed without their knowledge. As doctors, we took an ancient oath never to do anything like that.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Uglies LitChart as a printable PDF.
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Dr. Cable Character Timeline in Uglies
The timeline below shows where the character Dr. Cable appears in Uglies. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Special Circumstances
Inside is a cruel-looking woman who introduces herself as Dr. Cable . Dr. Cable says that Tally has a problem and asks Tally to call her...
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When Dr. Cable asks if they ever met anyone at the ruins, Tally asks what Special Circumstances is...
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Dr. Cable seems to check that Tally is telling the truth, and her voice gets even icier....
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Ugly For Life
...with “fire-bug eyes.” None of it makes any sense, but Tally thinks that after meeting Dr. Cable , Shay’s paranoia and David’s desire to keep his camp a secret make more sense....
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...asks Tally to consider Shay’s safety. Tally thinks that this makes sense, but thinking of Dr. Cable makes Tally wince.
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Peris
...cheeks. Tally knows that her doubts will resurface if she waits, so she immediately sends Dr. Cable a message agreeing to cooperate. Tally falls back onto the bed as Dr. Cable’s reply...
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Infiltrator
...look even stranger. She tries to forget why she’s at Special Circumstances and notes that Dr. Cable looks alert and refreshed. Dr. Cable asks if Tally is going to answer their questions...
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Dr. Cable says that Special Circumstances doesn’t understand the note. Her eyes narrow when Tally says she...
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Dr. Cable pulls out a heart pendant as Tally holds back tears. Dr. Cable opens the pendant...
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Leaving
Tally leaves at midnight. She finds a long-range hoverboard that Dr. Cable left for her under the dam. Tally rides as fast as she can, simultaneously nervous...
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Spagbol
...the packets and realizes that all 41 of them are SpagBol. Exhausted, Tally sarcastically thanks Dr. Cable and falls asleep.
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The Model
...that Shay is still too skinny. Tally realizes that now is her chance to call Dr. Cable . She thinks that these people might be having fun camping, but they’ve forgotten that...
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David
...poked just right. Tally understands—she knows now that the Smoke is threatening to people like Dr. Cable . She asks why the cities care about the Smoke. David deliberates and then says...
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Heartthrob
...say in the library, before the Boss interrupted them. Tally freezes up and wonders if Dr. Cable would take pity on her if she returned to the city in a month without...
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Bravery
...rabbit stew suits her mood. Tally hasn’t spoken to Shay or Croy since lunch, and Dr. Cable ’s pendant seems to get heavier and tighter around her neck. She fears that it’s...
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Burning Bridges
...She knows that she’ll have to face Shay tomorrow, but she feels free knowing that Dr. Cable won’t ruin the Smoke. Crying, Tally walks to her bunkhouse. David kisses her and says...
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The Rabbit Pen
...scans her eye. The Special confirms Tally’s name and then lifts her to go see Dr. Cable . The Special releases Tally’s hands, comforts her, and praises Tally for her good work.
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In Case of Damage
The Specials take Tally to the library, where Dr. Cable greets her with an odd smile. Tally decides to play along and tells Dr. Cable...
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Accomplices
...now. Tally knows that if she tells the truth, it’ll seem far-fetched and eventually benefit Dr. Cable , so instead she says that the Smoke moves around and is scattered right now....
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Inside
...one room with the powerjack, but they give up and move on. Suddenly, Tally hears Dr. Cable . A door slides open and Dr. Cable walks out. Tally catches Dr. Cable’s attention,...
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Rescue
...the worst fight, but she’s relieved to be pretty. Shay says she’s only here because Dr. Cable wanted her to talk to the Smokies; Shay lives in New Pretty Town now, and...
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...betraying Shay, and Shay promises to keep it a secret that Tally betrayed the Smoke. Dr. Cable ’s tablet blinks as a call comes in. Tally shoves it at Shay to answer...
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...leads everyone to the elevator, dragging Shay by the wrist. She yells that they need Dr. Cable , so Tally and Croy drag Dr. Cable by the wrists in order to scan...
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Night Alone
...others, doesn’t seem to see Shay’s beauty. Turning to Tally, David shares that they got Dr. Cable ’s tablet to work, and that it has all the notes about turning pretties into...
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Hippocratic Oath
...them understand, but she looks confused when Maddy asks if she’s “helping” like she helped Dr. Cable .
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...that she has no interest in being jealous and self-important. She suggests that Maddy and Dr. Cable are alike in that they both think they need to change the world. Maddy gets...
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...argues that they have to change Shay back, but Maddy says that Az died because Dr. Cable thought like that. David explains that Dr. Cable was concerned that Maddy and Az would...
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Confessions
...Maddy says they won’t since they didn’t bother doing so with Shay. Maddy reason that Dr. Cable won’t hurt Tally, and Tally reiterates that she has to do this because she’s the...
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