Articles Episode Breakdown Children of Earth: Day Three by DJ Forrest

Written by Russell T Davies

and James Moran

Original Airdate: 8 Jul, 2009

The padlock is cracked open and Ianto steps into the empty and expansive warehouse. Behind him, Gwen, Rhys and Jack follow, and stare into the vastness of the building.

   ‘This is us,’ Ianto smiles triumphantly. ‘This is Torchwood. This is home.’

Louise Minchin reports on the news so far, informing the viewers of the impending doom at the arrival of something yet unknown arriving that day. Correspondents from across the globe report on the same thing, all completely unsure what tomorrow brings them today.

Rhys having recovered dry materials lights a fire inside a metal barrel and almost takes off his eyebrows. Jack and Ianto sit on an old sofa, Jack in an attire less like his usual self, his face still grubby from his earlier state.

Gwen complains of the cold. Rhys concerns himself over whether anyone can see them inside, with fires ablaze, but Ianto assures him, that the building had been abandoned in the nineties and had been a Torchwood holding facility.

   ‘Torchwood One.’

   ‘Rusting away for years.’ Jack laments. As Gwen ponders on what they’re going to do, other than idly sitting about waiting for the next big thing, Jack is more concerned about his attire, knowing that it does little for his street cred as Captain Jack Harkness, fearless Immortal…

Gwen points out that the alien threat is arriving today and they were helpless to do anything without any proper equipment. Jack casually points out that in her condition, ideally she shouldn’t be doing much fighting, letting it slip to Rhys that he knew about the pregnancy long before he did.

   ‘All together.’ Ianto reminds him. ‘The whole team.’

   ‘Tension is mounting as the population of the entire planet waits for the next incident.’ Minchin reports.

   ‘Le Parlement European semble fige au regard de ces.’ Reports another.

   ‘We’ve been given no answers, no hope, no assurance that our children will come first.’ Trinity Wells broadcasts.

   ‘The Government has refused to speculate about the origin of the voice or the importance of the word tomorrow. Let’s take you Live now to Downing Street.’ Minchin broadcasts.

Live in the Prime Minister’s office, surrounded by rich trappings, Mr Green sits in front of the camera, an air of calm yet, patronising look as he addresses his constituents, and the country alike.

   ‘In light of what's happening with our children, we've temporarily closed the schools. As a further precaution, we have introduced a temporary curfew for everyone under the age of eighteen. Keep your children at home where they'll be safe. The curfew takes effect immediately and will continue until further notice. But rest assured, we're doing everything in our power to find out what's going on, to safeguard our children and all the people of this nation. In the meantime, we are asking everyone to stay calm, and to go about your lives as normal. There's nothing to suggest we are in any danger, and as soon as we find out anything more, the public will be informed. And as always, I thank you, for your trust, and for your faith.’

Bridget Spears looks less than convinced by the words of the Prime Minister.

At the warehouse, Ianto takes a seat against the yellow railings and makes a phone call.

   ‘Yeah, it’s me. Listen. I can’t talk. Just give her the thumbs up. She’ll know what it means.’

At the housing estate, Mac a friend of the family pops out of his house and gives the thumbs up to Johnny as he passes. He immediately returns to his house and relays the message. Rhiannon wonders if there was more information and wonders what her brother is up to, as Johnny introduces another child into her already ‘fit to bursting’ house, full of children to childmind for the day.

At the Carter’s, Alice continuously tries to make contact with her Dad to no avail.

At the warehouse, the team pool their resources, which doesn’t amount to very much.

   ‘So, we've got guns, OK. And a pen knife, laptop, now dead. Credit cards and a phone which they can trace.’ Jack informs them. ‘Lemsip, book of stamps, pair of contact lenses, and fifteen quid.’

   ‘Plus 25p. With some bloody alien thing turning up today.’

   ‘We’ve got some of the Torchwood software though. We’ve lost the Hub, but the software still exists on the server. Trouble is,’ ponders Ianto. ‘We’re gonna need some more equipment, not to mention electricity.’

   Rhys asks them how they’re going to manage that, hidden away like criminals.

    ‘Well that's it. Brilliant.’ Gwen looks up, a plan formulating in her head. Rhys frowns. ‘Criminals.’ She points out. ‘Thieves. Us. Well, they’re treating us like criminals. Let’s be criminals. Listen, I trained with the Police. I know every trick in the book. I’ve seen the lot. Come on boys, you’re gonna learn some tricks.’ She smiles, exciting them all in their new quest.

 On the streets, masquerading as a waiter, Ianto visits a customer and enquires after their meal.

   ‘That’ll be fifteen pounds fifty, please.’ He announces. The customer unwittingly hands over his credit card. Ianto makes off with it.

Rhys lifts a laptop in its bag while Gwen chats to the owner on a park bench. Jack takes a credit card from another customer at the X:It bar and restaurant. Rhys and Ianto stage a mock fight distracting other ‘victims of crime’ while Gwen lifts another case containing another laptop. While a Porsche Boxster sits idly, with its driver’s door open, while the owner takes a phone call, Jack takes the opportunity to hop in and steal it, leaving the owner with the long walk home.

Alice, after another pointless phone call, tells her son she’s popping out for a moment and asks a passing young woman for the use of her phone. Obliging, Alice calls the Cardiff Police station enquiring after her Dad. It’s a call that will bring her into the attention of the Special Ops team working for the government.

   ‘Name's Alice Carter. Maiden name Alice Sangster. Parents James and Mary Sangster, which is significant because James and Mary Sangster never really existed. They were placeholder names used in the early seventies for personnel that went into deep cover or witness relocation. In other words, the whole ID's a fake.’ The Operative tells Johnson as she studies the details on the screen at Ashton Down.

   ‘Can you find out who she is?’

   ‘I’m on to it.’

Fresh from their haul, Jack, a whiz on the computer declares the new Hub open.

   ‘Let there be light.’

   ‘Oh yes.’ Gwen declares. ‘Britain’s most wanted.’

Rhys shows off his creative skills on the wall after writing in the dirty copper, the new title of their home. HUB2.

   ‘Guess that makes you an official member of the team.’ Jack tells him. But Rhys wants nothing to do with Torchwood. ‘You can stick it mate. Get on those computers and get me home, yeah?’ he winks.

Ianto eventually arrives back, to the worry of Jack and the team who thought he’d been arrested. He’s clutching several bags, and hands them out to one and all. Gwen and Rhys are over the moon with their fresh togs, and Jack, well Jack is truly impressed, and a whole lot cleaner, as he walks back into view, fully kitted out with his Army surplus special, complete with great coat and new boots.

   ‘I’m back.’

Rhys slides Gwen in her chair towards Jack who high fives him. The team are back and there’s much work to be done.

At the Hastings Arms, Clem is emptying a purse taken earlier from a woman’s bag at the pedestrian crossing. He is lost in his own world of paranoia and fear that the creatures that took him will come back. As he mutters to himself, the barmaid makes a quick phone call to the local police station after spotting a family photograph in the purse, that definitely doesn’t belong to Clem McDonald. As the nightmares begin to re-emerge in Clem’s head, a handful of police officers arrive and after a short struggle, Clem is arrested.

With a few toggles on the stolen laptops, the familiar alien tech is restored on the machines and it’s as if they had never been away.

   ‘I’ll patch into the news channels, see what’s happening.’ Gwen announces. Rhys becomes the new coffee boy.

   ‘Black, no sugar, yeah?’ he checks.

   ‘That’s the one.’ Jack replies.

Gwen finds little in the way of news that they haven’t already heard. Ianto contemplates where to search.

   ‘Run a check on that Clement MacDonald, see if there’s any change. And those names Lois said. Captain Andrew Staines. What was it, Ellen Hunt? Michael something. All assassinated the same time they tried to kill Jack.’ Gwen informs him.

Ianto wondered if the names meant anything to Jack, but he shook his head.

   ‘We need to get inside Whitehall.’ Gwen tells them, much to Jack’s disgust. His issues with Whitehall were well known with the team. ‘Have you got the Eye 5 software, Ianto?’

   ‘Yeah, it’s still on the site, why?’ He asks.

   ‘Download it onto the laptop, because these are not just contact lenses,’ she smiles. ‘These are Torchwood contact lenses.’

   ‘But what do we use them for? Who’s going to wear them?’

   ‘Well, there’s only one person still talking to us.’ Gwen replies.

A phone rings out back in the sandwich shop and is answered by a harassed shop worker. He calls out for Lois Habiba and when answered reminds her that it’s not a call centre and to hurry up. Taking the call, Lois is curious until she turns around and sees Gwen across the road, desperate that she doesn’t hang up.

Lois is adamant that she doesn’t want to risk losing not only her job but her freedom, if she helps Gwen one more time. Gwen is determined however that Lois is their last hope of learning what is in Thames House, and of the alien threat that is arriving that day.

Having already applied the contact lenses, Gwen shows Habiba how good the lenses are. But still the young civil servant is less than convinced that she can pull it off without getting caught.

   ‘But I can't. What if they, I don't know, scan for bugs or something?’

   ‘Yeah, they will, but they won't register, I promise.’

   ‘I can't, though. Giving you information's one thing, but that's putting me right on the front line.’

   ‘You're the only friend we've got left.’

   ‘Even if I get into Thames House, I can't get on to floor thirteen. That's where they're building this thing. But Frobisher only takes Miss Spears with him, I'm just the office girl.’

   ‘Well, you’ll have to find a way inside.’ Gwen insists.

Lois is less than convinced and gets up to leave as Gwen grips her arm pleadingly and presses the contact lens case into her hand. Lois leaves with them.

 Back at the warehouse while Rhys cooked up a thrilling pan of beans, Ianto broaches the question about Jack and the exploding bomb in the stomach, while Jack himself tries to fathom why Frobisher is the key to the whole thing.

   ‘What did it feel like, I mean, getting blown up?’ Ianto asks.

   ‘It wasn’t the best of days.’ Jack replies, pausing from his work.

   ‘No, but did you feel it? Or, did everything just go black?’

   ‘I felt it.’

   ‘Shit.’ Ianto turns back in his seat, shock evident.

   ‘Yeah.’ Jack continued typing.

   ‘Do you ever think that one day your luck will run out? That you won’t come back.’

Jack stopped and turned to face his partner. ‘I’m a fixed point in time and space. That’s what the Doctor says. I think that means it’s forever.’

   ‘So, one day you’ll see me die, of old age, and just keep going.’

   ‘Yeah.’ Jack replies before returning to his work.

After a pause, Ianto replies. ‘We’d better make the most of it then.’

   ‘I suppose.’

   ‘Like right now?’

Jack smiled. Ianto’s timing was impeccable. ‘Ianto, the world could be ending.’

   ‘The world’s always ending. And I have missed that coat.’

Jack turns in his seat and calls to Rhys that maybe he would like to visit the stores and pick up more disks for the laptops, estimating the time to be about 20-30 minutes, but Rhys knocks him back.

   ‘I’ll go later; the beans are almost done.’

   ‘Bloody beans.’ Mutters Ianto.

Returning to the keyboard and screen, Ianto finds Clem’s records, and marvels at the face recognition software, reporting that the man had been arrested two hours ago in London. Although the man wouldn’t give his name, the ID is definitely a familiar face to both him, Jack and Gwen.

   ‘That’s the man from the hospital.’ Jack declares after Frobisher’s face and MacDonald’s sit side by side on the screen. Ianto calls Gwen. Insisting she get him out of jail.

Jack is curious about Clement MacDonald, but as Ianto relays the story about where the man came from, memories begin to flood Jack’s mind. Scrambling from his seat he bounds over to Ianto’s laptop screen and insists Ianto brings up the photos of Andrew Staines, Ellen Hunt and Michael Sanders again.

Ianto brings up their recent photographs of retired officers. Jack insists he bring up their photos from 40 years ago. When he does, Jack is startled.

   ‘I never knew their names.’

   ‘Who were they? Jack tell me. Did you know them?’

But Jack grabs his greatcoat off the stand and races from the building, leaving Ianto with Rhys and a pan of cooked beans!

At Ashton Down monitoring station details of Alice Carter have come to the surface and Johnson can’t wait to relay the news to Frobisher at the Home Office.

   ‘Alice Carter. She was put into deep cover way back in 1977 at the request of her mother, seeking to distance herself from the life of Captain Jack. Can hardly blame her.’

   ‘Who was her mother?’

   ‘Woman called Lucia Moretti. Italian. Torchwood staff from 1968 to 1977. Deceased, heart disease, 2006. Natural causes. That’s rare for Torchwood. And now, Alice Carter’s got a child of her own, his grandson. Could be useful. What do you want me to do?’

   ‘Bring her in.’

   ‘Just the answer I wanted.’ Johnson replies.

As Frobisher prepares to move to Thames House, Lois asks Spears what she should do now. When Bridget tells her that she continues what she’s doing, answering phones, Lois drops the bomb that Frobisher requests her at Thames House, by his side. Bridget can feel it happening again. Accepting that this is true, after Frobisher blanks her in the office, she haughtily snaps at Habiba.

   ‘You’re not the first you know. Don’t go thinking you’re the first.’

   ‘Then I can come?’

   ‘Apparently so.’

It’s been a while since Andy had heard anything from Gwen and is over the moon that she’s still alive. He takes down the particulars regarding Clem MacDonald and notifies Camden station that Lynda is coming to bail him out.

At Camden Police Station, Clem is reunited with Gwen Cooper and for a short time, feels completely safe with her.

At the Carter’s home, Alice senses danger after an Alsatian is muted from barking ferociously. She steps out into the front of the house and hears nothing, the roads are quiet, too quiet. Quickly she grabs both hers and Steven’s coat and instructs he does exactly what she tells him.

   ‘Just like the games your gran used to teach you, do you remember?’

   ‘Are we in trouble? Gran always said there’d be trouble.’

Alice lifts a carving knife from the rack and slides it into the belt of her coat. She lifts a hard wood chopping board and slides it under her arm.

   ‘Then do exactly what she said. Just like the games. Nice and quiet, and don’t let me out of your sight. Come on.’

Within seconds of leaving the back of the house, soldiers burst in through the front door and checked each and every room as they continued to swarm into the building, safety gear on, weapons at the ready.

Seeing the fleeing woman and child, and operative chases after her into the alleyway and is floored by a hard wood chopping board. Taking his side arm, Alice pulls her son along the alleyway and away from the house, the soldiers in hot pursuit.

There’s no escape, around another corner and Johnson and her team lie in wait. Alice points the pistol at Johnson. Not afraid to use it, but keeps it merely aloft and pointed directly at the female soldier.

   ‘Get out of the way.’

   ‘Go on then, shoot, let’s see what happens. Are you as immortal as your father? Is the boy? We can put it to the test.’

   ‘Take me. Let him go.’

   ‘No.’

   ‘He’s only a child.’

   ‘So? Alice, if we wanted you dead, we’d have opened fire by now. Just put down the gun.’

   ‘Who are you?’

   ‘Put down the gun.’

   ‘If you harm him, I will kill you.’

   ‘Understood.’

Alice puts down the gun slowly, her eyes fixed on Johnson and her team.

   ‘And the knife. You’re certainly your father’s daughter, I’ll give you that.’

   ‘Come on sweetheart.’ Alice says to her son. But Steven is less than co-operative. His finger is pointing to the sky and his focus is purely on that. Johnson is concerned as the boy shows no response to the voice of his mother.

Across the world, the internet goes wild as every child points towards London, and those within the capital point to Thames House.

   ‘Steven, stop it. Please stop it. Steven, look at me. Steven, stop it.’

   ‘It’s them.’

Clem MacDonald stands out in the road with Gwen as the pressure of the memories flood back, and she finds him pointing out towards Thames House, as blank an expression as the kids before her.

The screens flash at the warehouse, signifying another bout of kids with blank expressions. Ianto stares at the screen.

   ‘It’s them, it’s all of them, the kids.’

   ‘What are they saying?’ asks Rhys.

   ‘They’re not. Just pointing.’

   ‘Yet again, every child has stopped. Every single child in the world. There seems to be no reports of speech, only that they seem to be indicating something in the sky.’ Reports Louise Minchin.

   ‘It’s on the news. They’re pointing.’ Johnny says rushing to meet his wife, who comes running from the house.

   ‘I know, but they’re pointing over there. What’s over there?’ she asks staring towards the distance.

   ‘It says all the children in America are pointing east and all the children in Europe are pointing west.’

As Rhys stares at the screen the arrows are pointing directly at the UK.

   ‘It’s us. They’re pointing at us.’

   ‘If you go far enough in that direction, that’s London. They’re pointing at London.’ Rhiannon says, worriedly.

As the news reports continue, Ianto and Rhys head to the top of the warehouse and look out across the city beyond and the position that the children of the world are pointing to.

A circular opening in the clouds from another dimension opens up and the alien fires its way through the roof of the Thames House building, into the glass case prepared in advance.

Frobisher is alerted that it’s time to go up to Floor 13 and heads upstairs in the lift, jamming the door preventing others from following him. Dekker is already there, and is as surprised as Frobisher when the alien creature finally breaks through the roof and settles in its new surroundings, shrouded in a fog of chemicals.

In the Davies’ home, the children announce in unison: We are here – before resuming their play.

A terrified Clem is hastened back to the car with Gwen, who is concerned that he is connected to the aliens and she needs to find out how.

In the Contact room where the alien gas chamber is situated, Frobisher stares in horror at the creature barely visible inside the smog. A screeching noise comes from within as the creature assumes a human voice in which to communicate.

   ‘Speak.’

   ‘My name is John Frobisher, Permanent Secretary to the Home Office of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland. Earth.’ He says. ‘On behalf of the Human race, I…’ He’s distracted by a sudden splattering of green mucus against the containment glass. The creature begins to flail it’s body, slapping it against the glass several times.

   ‘Is there something wrong?’ Frobisher asks, curiously. ‘Do you want me to continue?  Then, if I could request, for the purpose of communication, we’ve no name for your species. What are you called?’

   ‘You call us 456.’

   ‘That’s correct.’

   ‘Then that is our name.’ The creature begins once again to scream and splatter. Frobisher waits till it’s once again calm. He wants to know what the 456 wants before he approaches his superiors. The 456 want to speak with the world. Frobisher explains the roles with which the creature could speak, and at no point would it be able to speak with the public. All talk would be kept within the confines of the building, and only elected representatives would be privy to any conversations.

Frobisher goes on to ask about a condition. He asks that a previous encounter with the 456 be kept off the record – a private, between them kind of condition. The 456 agree. As soon as the meeting has reached an end, Frobisher quickly leaves the room and slumps against the opposite wall, overwhelmed by the fact he’s just spoken to an alien creature. Dekker comes out to find him sat on the floor, white as a sheet.

Louise Minchin continues to report on the goings on outside Downing Street, while Ianto and Rhys watch from the laptop. Military personnel have entered the Prime Minister’s building, Colonel Oduya of UNIT and General Austin Pierce of the American Armed Forces.

In the Cabinet Office Briefing Room A, General Pierce conveys his anger at the Prime Minister for keeping this quiet.

   ‘I have been asked to convey, from the President of the United States, his absolute fury. Is that understood?’

   ‘Very much so.’ Green accepts.

   ‘That landing wasn’t spontaneous. It was planned. It was prepared by you. And don’t go calling this diplomacy, Mr Green. You’ve established a court. The sovereign court of Great Britain, in direct contradiction of the statutes of the United Nations.’

   ‘We were acting under orders.’ Green defends.

   ‘Did they threaten you?’

   ‘I think we can say the mere existence of the 456 is a threat.’

   ‘Nevertheless, you have an alien ambassador on British soil.’

The lady Home Secretary, Riley interjects, defending the state.

   ‘It has to be said that Britain has claimed no rights of territory or ownership over species 456.’

   ‘But it’s here. You’ve damned well got it right here.’

   ‘And at every stage of these negotiations you have excluded UNIT when we’re specially trained to deal with these situations.’

   ‘And I apologise. But the President’s welcome to enter Floor 13, as is every other leader of the free world. I’d be honoured.’ Green concludes.

   ‘Except that’s impossible.’ Reminds Oduya.

   ‘And you know it. We will not move the President into a location that’s had no security screening. That’ll take days to organise. Weeks.’

   ‘Then I offer to withdraw.’

   ‘What does that mean?’ Enquires Pierce.

   ‘I won’t usurp the United States or any other nation. I suggest that dialogue with the 456 is taken out of my hands, and conducted by the civil service.’

   ‘They’re still British.’

   ‘But not elected, with no authority of State. And that’s exactly what we need. Middle men. John Frobisher’s already spoken to the 456. I suggest he continues.’ Green adds, clearly wishing to have no further communication with the alien ambassador.

   ‘I’d suggest that UNIT steps in.’ Oduya adds.

   ‘I wish it were so, but the 456 chose Britain. They designated the location. It’s out of my control. What do you want to do, anger them? Look, John Frobisher’s a good man. And better than that, he’s expendable. So, what do you say?’

   ‘Do we have your absolute guarantee that you won’t enter the room?’ Pierce asks.

Green is defiant in his response, wishing to have absolutely no intention of entering that room between now and doomsday. Those at the meeting, fully accept his guarantee.

At Thames House, Frobisher receives a phone call directly from the Prime Minister. The Buck stops with him.

   ‘Shit.’

Anna Frobisher talks on her phone to a friend, as Captain Jack hides in the recess of her kitchen. Oblivious to him, she continues with her phone call as she walks around her kitchen, eventually calling to her daughter Lilly after she ends the call, insisting she stay where she can be seen. Jack takes the opportunity and leaves, after lifting Anna’s phone.

  

   ‘The so-called pillar of fire has brought central London to a halt. All roads leading to the river have been closed off. As a result, all major thoroughfares have ground to a standstill. Motorists are being asked to stay out of the city centre except for emergencies.’ Louise Minchin reports.

Stuck in traffic Gwen can only curse. On her phone she curses Jack, who once again leaves the scene without a word to anyone.

   ‘It’s gridlock. Bloody London.’ Gwen curses. ‘Half the people are panicking, trying to get out, the other half are trying to get in.’  Clem shuts his eyes blocking the noise, and the visions in his head, becoming stronger.

   ‘I keep remembering more. It’s not just them up there. It’s the man. He’s come back. After all these years. I can smell him.’

   ‘What man? Who is he?’ Gwen presses.

   ‘It’s the same man. I knew he’d come back for me.’

   ‘Alright. Time I got you a nice cup of tea. And a hot dog. Do you like hot dogs? I bloody love ‘em.’ Gwen replies, as she takes the car up onto the pavement and away from the traffic.

At Thames house Simon briefs Frobisher on protocols while Bridget and Lois sit together waiting. Bridget, still jealous of Lois’ supposed liaison with Frobisher snipes about the creature on Floor 13.

   ‘I bet you’re glad to be trotting after John Frobisher now.’

While Simon continues, Frobisher’s phone rings.

   ‘Oh, excuse me, I’d better take this.’ He answers the call from his wife. ‘I was gonna phone you. God, I wish I was home right now. Look, just tell the girls that’s there’s nothing to worry about.’

   ‘Oh, I'll tell them that, Johnny boy. I'll tell them that their father tried to have me killed, how about that?’ Jack replies on the other end of the phone taking Frobisher completely by surprise, and not only that, wondering what Harkness may have done to his wife. ‘This is 1965, isn’t it? All of this because of 1965. Frobisher, tell me, is it them? Have they come back?’

   ‘Yes.’ Frobisher confirms.

   ‘That’s why you tried to have me killed. Along with Andrew Staines and Ellen Hunt and Michael Sanders. All of us dead so no one could say anything, is that it?’

   ‘I had no choice.’

   ‘Well, I've got a choice. Do you want to hear my choice? I could blow this thing sky high. I could tell the world, unless you get me into Thames House. I demand to talk to the 456 myself. Think about it. The fact that they've come back proves that they can't be trusted. You need me.’

   ‘Captain, we have your daughter and grandson. Alice and Steven Carter in our custody.’

   ‘You what?’

   ‘I promise, nothing will happen to them. I absolutely promise. So long as you agree to say nothing.’

   ‘Yeah? Well, how about I go back into that house right now and get your wife? And your children?’

   ‘Except you won't, because you're a better man than me. I'm sorry, Jack.’

   ‘The world is still waiting for any news from Thames House. So far, the British Government is maintaining a policy of absolute silence, and the waiting continues.’ Louise Minchin reports.

Evening has drawn in and Clem sits eating his hot dogs. Gwen kisses Rhys and brings over a mug of tea for Clem.

   ‘Here you go.’ She says.

   ‘Save some for the rest of us, mate.’ Rhys teases as Clem tucks in.

   ‘He’s your husband?’ Gwen nods.

   ‘My beloved.’

   ‘Nice house, isn’t it?’

   ‘We do our best.’ Gwen replies.

   ‘It’s got shower facilities. Just stand under the skylight.’ Rhys jokes.

   ‘I’ve stayed in worse. And who’s the queer?’

Ianto snaps.

   ‘Oi. It’s not 1965 anymore.’

Undeterred, Clem replies. ‘He’s queer. I can smell it.’

At Thames House, Simon wishes Frobisher good luck as John and his staff get ready to enter Floor 13. In Downing Street, the Prime Minister and representatives of UNIT and the United Nations wait in anticipation for the meeting to begin.

The team in the warehouse wait knowing everything rests on Lois, yet so far, her lenses are reported as inactive on the screen.

As time fast approaches at Thames House, Lois decides to pay a visit to the bathroom. Once in and cubicles checked, she puts in the contact lenses. In the warehouse, smiles of jubilation.

   ‘Online. She’s doing it.’ Says Ianto.

   ‘Oh good girl.’ Gwen replies smiling. She types Thank U which is picked up in the lenses.

   ‘Oh God, don’t do too much of that.’ Lois replies.

The computer relays the message back. Gwen apologises.

   ‘She can’t hear you.’ Rhys points out.

After a few pauses, Lois is ready to return to the party heading up to Floor 13.

In the lift, Frobisher contemplates his role, and sees it as an honour. Bridget sees it only for what it is.

   ‘The Prime Minister has guaranteed that diplomatically he can’t enter Floor 13, so whatever happens in there, whatever goes wrong, history will say that it wasn’t his fault.

   ‘Do you mean he’s using me?’ Frobisher replies a little concerned.

   ‘You don’t get to be Prime Minister by accident.’

Dekker leads the group into the Contact room, and takes up his position.

Rhys and Ianto have a slight conversation about using the lenses for ‘fun’ as the party make their way into the room and prepare for the meeting.

As they enter, the team are surprised by the large glass tank containing the alien creature. Gwen beckons Clem over. Having never seen a laptop before, he’s unsure why he can’t smell the danger. The glass cell terrifies him.

Frobisher walks forwards and nods to the cameraman relaying the scene back to the Cabinet room.

   ‘Seen anything like it before?’ Green asks of Oduya.

   ‘Never.’ The man replies.

As Lois is made to stand at the back of the room, it suddenly becomes clear that unless she scribbles a lot of shorthanded messages, nobody at the Hub2 is going to hear anything that Frobisher says.

   ‘He’s got his back to us.’ Announces Ianto.

   ‘Yeah I can see that.’ Gwen replies, quickly typing that she needs to see Frobisher’s mouth, but misspells it.

   ‘Need his moth?’ Rhys frowns.

   ‘Shut up.’

Frobisher begins. ‘From the Holy See of Vatican City, from the Russian Federation and associated. Of Australia, from the provinces and territories and Japan, and the Hellenic Republic, from the Islamic Republic of Iran and Republic of Iraq, from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. And it must be stated on the record that any country not named herein does not indicate their withdrawal from this.’

Bridget Spears and the Hub team watches as Lois Habiba slowly moves closer to the front in order to read the lips of John Frobisher. In seconds the software picks up the dialect and relays it back through the lenses to the team in the warehouse.

It takes a while before the 456 responds to questioning by Frobisher, and at one point mimics his question.

Clem still unable to fathom the technology laughs when he hears that the 456 doesn’t have a mouth, which means that any correspondence from the alien is in the form of shorthand by Lois.

The 456 suddenly lashes out as Frobisher grows tired of addressing the entire world in his speech. An aid rushes from the room, hand clamped to her mouth.

   ‘What’s it doing?’ Pierce asks Oduya.

   ‘I don’t know.’

Communication breaks down for a short while, as the creature thrashes spewing green spray against the glass. When it is quiet, Frobisher presses to know if everything is alright, and if they could make a formal request, such as not using the children for communication purposes. After much deliberating, the 456 agrees.

Pierce presses the intercom and asks why the creature came to Britain. Green reacts that it’s hardly top of the agenda but Pierce insists the question be asked. While Frobisher continues his long speech, the slip of paper is passed to him from an aide. He contemplates the question.

   ‘I have been given a request for specific information. It has been asked why the 456 chose Great Britain as its chosen point of embarkation.’

   ‘We came here.’

Ianto relays the replies through the shorthand scribbled by Lois.

   ‘You have no significance.’ States the 456. ‘You are middle men.’

   ‘That's a lie, because it's been here before.’ Gwen spits angrily. ‘That's why it's here now. Why's it lying?’

 ‘It's Frobisher. He's got that thing to lie. They're on the same side. Whatever happened in the past, they're hiding it?’ Ianto replies.

   ‘We have a request.’ The 456 says after some time.

   ‘By all means.’

   ‘We want a gift.’

   ‘Of course, but what nature of gift?’ Pressing again after a considerable pause by the 456. ‘A gift? Gladly. But what do you want?’

   ‘We want your children. We will take your children.’

   ‘What does it mean, children?’ Oduya asks.

In the warehouse, questions are asked about the need for children. Frobisher wonders if there’s an issue with the translation. Clem is certain that the creature is meaning him. They didn’t get him before, they’ll not make the same mistakes again.

   ‘They want to take them, like they did before.’ Says Clem, pacing the floor. ‘Like the man did. He’s coming back. He’s coming back.’

Jack’s new car pulls up outside the warehouse. Gwen tries to calm Clem down but the man is beside himself with fear.

   ‘He’s coming. He’s coming. He’s coming…’ he repeats over and over, as Jack’s footsteps grow increasingly closer and Clem’s memories become as clear as day. Jack enters the warehouse and Clem is petrified.

In the contact room, the 456 make their demands known.

   ‘We want ten percent of the children of this world.’

Clem stares at the man standing before him dressed in military attire. He hasn’t changed. Not in all those years. Gwen comes to Clem’s aid and questions Jack.

   ‘Clement MacDonald. Just another name. It was easier if you didn’t know the names.’ Jack explains.

   ‘You were there in 1965?’

   ‘Walk into the light. Go on.’ Jack recalls, urging the young Clem on with the others.

   ‘He was the man.’ Clem states. Sure of his facts, despite Gwen disbelieving him. She tries to make sense of it, tries to explain that Jack fights aliens and wants Jack to confirm this. But when he doesn’t confirm it, she demands to know what he was doing there.

   ‘I gave them the kids. 1965, I gave them twelve children.’

The team are horrified. Their leader. Doing the most unbelievable act.

   ‘What for?’ Gwen asks horrified.

   ‘As a gift.’

End of Day Three.

Day 4 – May 1^st.