Chapter 2
SCENE #14 – INT – MAIN BRIDGE, SCOTT – N/A
On the bridge of the Earth ship Scott, Captain Stewart and his crew watch the Cyber flagship blow up, as it causes a chain reaction of the remaining Cyber fleet to be destroyed and scattered across space.
COMMANDER JOHN
(amazed) It’s destroyed! The entire Cyber fleet has been destroyed! They’ve done it! That Doctor and his friends have done it!
CAPTAIN STEWART
(anxiously; to Wheaton) Ensign, re-establish contact. Hail the Doctor and his companions on all frequencies. I want to know they survived.
ENSIGN WHEATON
Aye, sir.
Ensign Wheaton attempts to contact the Doctor.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(to Commander John) Have the scanners picked up a trace of a blue box in our vicinity?
Commander John accesses a nearby computer terminal to check the scanners. Eventually, he gives the Captain an answer.
COMMANDER JOHN
Nothing, sir. The scanners have picked up no trace. Sorry, sir.
CAPTAIN STEWART
They must have survived. They can’t have got themselves destroyed in that chain reaction of explosions.
ENSIGN WHEATON
Sir, I’ve attempted to re-establish contact. No response on any channels.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(impatiently) Keep trying, Mr. Wheaton. We’ll scan the area for a few hours before…
ENSIGN WHEATON
(interrupts) Wait, sir, wait!
COMMANDER JOHN
What is it, Ensign?
ENSIGN WHEATON
There’s a signal. It’s coming from the starboard bow. We’re being hailed, sir.
CAPTAIN STEWART
Quick, Mr. Wheaton. Open a channel.
Ensign Wheaton opens a communications channel and the Doctor’s voice crackles through.
DOCTOR (V’O)
Stewart! Captain Stewart, this is the Doctor. Are you receiving me?
Everybody on the bridge cheers with relief.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(through intercom) Doctor, this is Captain Stewart. Are you and your friends alright?
DOCTOR (V’O)
We’re fine, thank you, Captain. We managed to escape by the skin of our teeth.
COMMANDER JOHN
You set the charges in time in their hub then. And disabled the missiles.
NYSSA (V’O)
They’ll carry on drifting through space until they disintegrate. Somewhere off the cluster of the Mutter’s Spiral, we believe.
BILLY (V’O)
I think it’s fair to say we did well today. Saving the Earth and the universe.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(through intercom) We’re very grateful, Doctor. Thank you for coming out to help us.
DOCTOR (V’O)
Please don’t mention it. This was preying on our consciences. We couldn’t leave it unanswered.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(through intercom) You’re more than welcome to return to our ship, you and your friends. To celebrate our victory.
COMMANDER JOHN
(protests) Captain!
CAPTAIN STEWART
We could at least spare them a drink to thank them, Commander.
Just then, a bleep echoes from Ensign Wheaton’s pilot controls.
ENSIGN WHEATON
(checks) Captain, scanners have picked up a faint signal across subspace.
DOCTOR (V’O)
Captain, I think we’d better hold off the celebrations for a while.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(through intercom) What is it? Something wrong?
NYSSA (V’O)
We’ve picked up an energy signal of a small Cyber ship traversing through space. An escape pod.
ENSIGN WHEATON
Confirmed. Cyber space pod detected. Travelling at Warp Five towards Earth.
COMMANDER JOHN
So, not all the Cybermen were destroyed.
Another bleep echoes from Ensign Wheaton’s control console.
ENSIGN WHEATON
We’re being hailed by the Cyber Pod, sir.
CAPTAIN STEWART
On screen.
Ensign Wheaton switches on the viewscreen and the Cyber Leader is revealed.
CYBER LEADER
You cannot oppose us. We are the future. Resistance is useless.
With that, the Cyber Leader breaks off communication.
ENSIGN WHEATON
Transmission broken, sir.
BILLY (V’O)
(anxiously) Doctor, we’ve got to get after them!
DOCTOR (V’O)
Precisely what I had in mind. (Pause) Captain Stewart, we’re going to try and stop that space pod. Pursue them in the TARDIS before they reach Earth.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(through intercom) Understood. We’ll follow.
DOCTOR (V’O)
I don’t think that’s necessary, Captain.
CAPTAIN STEWART
(through intercom) I insist, Doctor. We’ll accompany you to provide protection.
DOCTOR (V’O)
(sighs) Very well. We’re in pursuit now. Over and out.
The Doctor ends the communication and the channel is closed.
CAPTAIN STEWART
Ensign Wheaton, follow that blue box. We’re going after the Cyber ship.
ENSIGN WHEATON
Aye, sir.
Ensign Wheaton sets the controls, and the spaceship Scott follows the TARDIS.
SCENE #15 – INT – TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM – N/A
Inside the TARDIS, the Doctor pilots the controls, as he, Nyssa and Billy watch the Cyber Pod reaching Earth.
NYSSA
It’s getting closer. Doctor. The Cyber Pod is almost approaching Earth’s atmosphere.
DOCTOR
Yes, Nyssa. We’ll get to that pod, don’t worry.
BILLY
(concerned) What’s that?
NYSSA
What’s what, Billy?
BILLY
That there. Looks like a hole in space. Are the Cybermen causing that?
NYSSA
Yes, I believe they are. They’re creating a conduit in space. Some sort of…temporal vortex.
DOCTOR
You’re right, Nyssa. The Cybermen are puncturing a hole above the Earth. Attempting to travel in time.
NYSSA
Travel in time? The Cybermen don’t have that ability.
DOCTOR
Not ordinarily, no. (Pause) This must be a latest acquisition of theirs. Perhaps they stole time-travel technology from the Daleks or something.
BILLY
(realises) Look! The hole in space! It’s getting bigger! The Cybermen are going through!
The TARDIS trio watch, as the Cyber Pod enters the portal. On impact, a shockwave occurs. The TARDIS gets snatched into the time vortex’s mouth, shuddering as it goes. The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy fall to the floor once the shockwave hits them. Eventually, they recover and regain their balance.
DOCTOR
Nyssa, Billy, are you alright?
NYSSA
I think so. Billy, are you…?
BILLY
Yes, Nyssa, I’m fine. (Pause) What just happened? Did we just hit something?
NYSSA
We’ve been caught in the temporal wake of the portal once the Cyber Pod entered.
BILLY
Where’s the Cyber Pod got to then?
DOCTOR
Back in time, I expect. Earth’s time presumably. (Pause) Nyssa, try contacting Captain Stewart and his starship. Check they’re not harmed.
Nyssa acknowledges and switches on the communicator to speak into it.
NYSSA
(through communicator) Captain Stewart? Captain Stewart, can you hear me?
A burst of static occurs. No response.
NYSSA
(through communicator) Captain Stewart? (Pause) Earth ship Scott, this is the TARDIS. Please respond.
Another burst of static echoes. Still no response.
BILLY
(anxiously) What’s happening? Why aren’t they answering?
NYSSA
I don’t know. It’s like they’re no longer there. As if they never existed.
DOCTOR
(grimly) Nyssa, Billy, look at the scanner screen. Look at Earth.
The trio look to the TARDIS scanner screen. They gasp in shock at what they see.
BILLY
(shocked) Doctor, that’s not…
DOCTOR
I’m afraid it is, Billy. (Pause) Completely converted.
NYSSA
Let me check.
Nyssa accesses the TARDIS console’s tracking system to scan the Earth.
NYSSA
(grimly) I’m afraid it’s true, Billy. The planet Earth now contains an atmosphere of methane, chlorine and fluorine. No breathable atmosphere.
BILLY
And the population? What of the humans?
NYSSA
(checks) The population of Earth is now eleven billion. All Cybermen.
BILLY
(disbelievingly) No. It can’t be. It simply can’t be.
DOCTOR
(saddened) The Earth has changed, Billy. Just as your history has changed. Your future history. By the Cybermen.
NYSSA
They went back in time and did this. They changed Earth’s history for the planet’s future to become one vast Cyber society.
DOCTOR
That must have been what happened to Captain Stewart and his ship. They were erased from history once the Cybermen invaded the Earth by travelling back in time. (Pause) Poor captain. Never to be born. Never to command his starship. (Pause) Thus, the battle we’ve had never happened. Relatively speaking.
BILLY
(puzzled) I don’t understand. How come we’re still in one piece if the Cybermen have changed history?
NYSSA
You’re forgetting the temporal wake, Billy. We were caught in it. It shielded us from the changes in the timeline as soon as the Cybermen infiltrated it.
DOCTOR
Just enough to give us a chance to glimpse Earth’s future before…
BILLY
‘Before’ what?
DOCTOR
(gradually) Before we stop it, of course.
A bleep echoes from the console.
NYSSA
(realises; anxiously) Doctor, the vortex is collapsing. We won’t get through if we don’t hurry.
BILLY
We must go through! Yes, we must!
DOCTOR
We must follow them back. We must prevent the Cybermen from causing whatever damage they’ve done. (Pause) Hold tight, you two!
The Doctor immediately sets the controls.
SCENE #16 – EXT – EARTH SPACE – N/A
The TARDIS spirals onward to enter the time vortex, just before it closes, as the trio go off to stop the Cybermen.
SCENE #17 – INT – TADA’S OFFICE, NEPTUNE CONNECT HEADQUARTERS – DAY, MORNING
San Francisco, Earth in the year 2054. Jazz music plays, as Giles Tada, the managing director of Neptune Connect, is in his office, sitting at his desk. Neptune Connect is a computer business company. Tada moves about in his seat, humming softly to the jazz music, before he goes over to switch on the intercom.
TADA
(through intercom) Miss Phillips? Please come into my office a moment.
Tada switches off the intercom and eventually gets up out of his chair. He goes over to the window to look and see the sunlit sky. He’s content as he looks on with admiration. Eventually, Betty Phillips, Tada’s personal secretary, enters, holding a digital clipboard.
BETTY
Yes, Mr. Tada? You wanted to see me?
TADA
Yes, Miss Phillips, thank you. I wondered if you could do me a favor. Those shipment details I made to send out all Neptune Connect stocks across the Atlantic to reach the British Isles and most of Europe.
BETTY
Yes, sir. Our people should be delivering the stock down to the harbours already…
TADA
(interrupts) I want those shipments doubled.
BETTY
(surprised) Excuse me, sir?
TADA
Yes, and I want it done today. People are eager to have the new stock. It’s only fair we should give them the satisfaction.
BETTY
Sir, doubling the shipments – and at such short notice – it takes time, sir. With all the docket sheets, extra finance and hiring of transport. Even by today…
TADA
(interrupts) You don’t have to worry about the paperwork. Let the suppliers worry about that. They can at least double the stock they’re sending across the globe for now. It’s no big issue.
BETTY
Sir, it’ll be hard work for them…
TADA
(interrupts; sharply) That’s what they’re being paid for – hard work. What else is there to do apart from watching TV and sitcoms? (Pause; calmly) Now, please do as I say.
BETTY
(protests) But, sir…
TADA
(interrupts) You know what will happen if you don’t carry out my instructions, my dear.
A moment of tense silence ensues.
BETTY
(reluctantly) Very well, Mr. Tada. Just as you say.
TADA
Remember, I can hear every word you say with those company earphones you wear.
Tada taps Betty’s earphones gently to prove his point.
BETTY
(sighs) I understand, sir.
TADA
Good. You may go.
Reluctantly, Betty exits the room. Tada is alone, as he turns his attention to the desk and switches on the intercom again.
TADA
(through intercom) Snap?
Very soon, a screen switches on at his computer terminal, showing the face of a tough man in slacks.
SNAP (V’O)
Yes, Mr. Tada?
TADA
(through intercom) Are our agents ready to follow Miss Phillips and track her movements?
SNAP (V’O)
Yes, sir. They’ve been tracking Miss Phillips’ movements since this morning. They’re going to follow her out of the building now.
TADA
(through intercom) Do they understand what they have to do?
SNAP (V’O)
Yes, sir. Follow Miss Phillips and if necessary, terminate her.
TADA
(through intercom) See that this is carried out. I don’t want any incompetence.
SNAP (V’O)
Understood. Is that all, sir?
TADA
(through intercom) Yes, that is all. Thank you, Snap.
SNAP (V’O)
Very good, sir.
With that, Snap leaves and the screen at Tada’s computer terminal switches off. Just then, a bleep-bleep echoes from his office desk. He goes over to answer it.
TADA
(delighted) Ah, my friends. They want to speak to me.
Tada presses a button on a panel along a wall, which slides open for him. As the wall slides open, he looks inside to see a gigantic cybernetic tripod standing in the centre. Tada looks at the tripod with increasing wonder. The machine whirs and whines, emanating power from within.
TADA
So, fellas. What do you have for me today?
SCENE #18 – INT – TARDIS CONSOLE ROOM – N/A
Meanwhile, in the TARDIS, the Doctor, Nyssa and Billy have escaped the time vortex in following the Cybermen. They track their bearings as to where they are.
NYSSA
(relieved) We’ve escaped! We got through! And we’ve arrived at where and when the Cybermen are at.
BILLY
I wonder where and when we’re supposed to be. What do the data banks say?
DOCTOR
(checks) Hold on. They’re still gathering data.
A moment of silence ensues.
DOCTOR
Ah! Here we are. According to the chronometers and geometric readings of the planet surface, we’ve arrived in the mid twenty-first century.
NYSSA
Exact year: Twenty Fifty-Four. Anno domini.
DOCTOR
Thank you, Nyssa. Much appreciated.
NYSSA
There’s a problem though. The Cybermen were traversing far ahead into Earth’s past before we followed them into the temporal vortex. We hesitated after we saw that alternative version of Earth’s future.
DOCTOR
Yes, Nyssa, I see your point.
BILLY
I’m afraid I don’t. Could you elaborate please, dear?
NYSSA
It means we may have arrived a few months after the Cybermen infiltrated Earth.
BILLY
What?! Not again!
DOCTOR
What do you mean ‘not again’? This doesn’t usually happen, Billy.
BILLY
It did when you tried to get me home and I was two years out.
DOCTOR
Technically speaking, that’s not quite accurate. We arrived…
NYSSA
Let’s save this discussion for later, shall we? We need to track down the Cybermen and whether they’ve changed Earth’s stratosphere and society at this point in time.
DOCTOR
Quite right, Nyssa. Let’s see what’s on the scanner.
The Doctor switches on the scanner scanner, which rises to show the planet Earth.
BILLY
Well, it looks okay. I mean, the Earth’s intact. And it looks…reasonably familiar and safe.
NYSSA
The Cybermen are probably waiting to rise and convert the entire population. They may have been planning that for some time within two to three months.
DOCTOR
Very possibly. Let’s see what’s down there.
The Doctor uses the instruments on the TARDIS console.
NYSSA
You’re tracking for Cyber technology, aren’t you?
DOCTOR
Yes. Hopefully, we can pick up the trail of the Cyber Pod. It may be faint, but we can still trace it.
BILLY
And follow it in order to stop the Cybermen.
DOCTOR
Precisely. Now let’s see where…
The Doctor presses a few buttons and switches to trace the Cyber Pod’s trail. It takes a while for the information to be processed.
DOCTOR
(impatiently) Come on; come on! It must be out there somewhere.
NYSSA
It’s not working?
DOCTOR
Have patience, Nyssa. And faith.
Just then, a signal emits from the TARDIS console.
DOCTOR
(triumphantly) Aha! There it is!
BILLY
You’ve found the trail?
DOCTOR
Yes! Or a faint resonance of it. (Pause) It’s on the northern hemisphere…northern continent… And it’s North America.
BILLY
North America? Whereabouts?
DOCTOR
In the centre of San Francisco. It’s where the Cybermen’s energy trace is coming from. The TARDIS has picked up a resonance of alien technology that shouldn’t belong to this particular Earth time period.
NYSSA
Let’s hope it’s genuine and not a false signal. (Pause) Hadn’t we better get down to the planet’s surface? Can the TARDIS land in that area?
DOCTOR
Of course she can. No energy barriers to stop us as far I can ascertain. (Pause) Hold tight, you two. We’re going down to land.
The Doctor presses a control and the time rotor oscillates.
BILLY
(anxiously) What else apart from the Cybermen do you think we might find down there?
NYSSA
I don’t know. We need to find out what’s so significant about this Earth time period that has persuaded the Cybermen to travel back in time to change history. There could be many events occurring in the mid twenty-first century that could be changed to cause a disruption to your planet’s future, Billy.
DOCTOR
I suggest you access the TARDIS data banks, Nyssa. Do a search on all temporal activity connected to Twenty Fifty-Four. Then we’ll be able to ascertain what it was that made the Cybermen come here.
NYSSA
Right, I’ll make a start. I’ll also use the new portable digital tablet that I’ve designed to access the TARDIS data banks once we’ve landed and when we’re outside.
BILLY
Do you have an idea what we’re dealing with, Doctor? Or what the Cybermen are attempting to achieve?
DOCTOR
No idea, Billy. It’s certainly more than converting the entire population of Earth into Cybermen.
The Doctor sets more controls, as they make their way to the planet Earth’s surface.
SCENE #19 – EXT – SHOPPING MALL, CITY CENTER – DAY, MORNING
In a shopping mall in San Francisco’s city center, the place is busy with many people shopping. The TARDIS materialises, whooshing and groaning before making a loud thump in an alleyway not far from the shopping mall. The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy step out, as they begin to explore the area.
DOCTOR
Well, here we are. San Francisco in the twenty-first century in the year Twenty Fifty-Four. Impressive, isn’t it?
BILLY
Well, if this is the future, I’m glad to be living in the past.
DOCTOR
Surely you can’t fail to be impressed by the wonders of the future, Billy. This isn’t your classic nineteen thirties New York City type, you know.
BILLY
I don’t like it being so busy here. So many people shopping. It feels too crowded for me. And I don’t like the atmosphere. It makes me feel uneasy.
DOCTOR
And that’s exactly the reaction I was hoping for. You’re right, Billy. The atmosphere is off-putting. And it does feel rather dangerous. Not right at all.
NYSSA
I’ve been able to connect the TARDIS data banks to my digital tablet. It’s continuing to search all the information we require regarding temporal activity in Twenty Fifty-Four.
BILLY
That contraption you’ve got must come in very handy, my dear.
NYSSA
It’s not perfect. But it’s essential for us to access any information we need. Not just from the TARDIS, but also from any external drives and repository wherever and whenever we go.
DOCTOR
I’m very impressed by how your technical skills have fared over the years, Nyssa. May I examine that device of yours?
NYSSA
No, Doctor. I know you. The moment you take this from me, I won’t get it back.
DOCTOR
(protests) That’s not true!
BILLY
(ruefully) You heard what Nyssa said, Doctor. Hands off.
NYSSA
That’s it, Billy, you tell him.
DOCTOR
(sulks) I think you two are jolly well mean.
A ripple of amusement occurs between Nyssa and Billy.
BILLY
Has your device been able to pick up anything significant about this time zone yet, Nyssa?
NYSSA
Not yet. Give it time, Billy. Once the tablet has processed all the information, we’ll be onto something soon.
DOCTOR
(realises) According to that news stand over there, today’s date is May the Eighth, Twenty Fifty-Four.
BILLY
May the eighth? Hey, that’s my birthday. Yippee.
NYSSA
Happy birthday, Billy!
BILLY
(realises) Wait! So, that means… Goodness, I’ll be about…one hundred and eight years old. Wow! That’s incredible!
DOCTOR
(sighs) Yes, Billy.
NYSSA
(slightly frustrated) The digital tablet is rather slow in processing information, I’m afraid. The signal’s not entirely great. It might take a while for the connections to be fully stable and strong as we move through the area.
DOCTOR
(reassuringly) No matter. It’s a first ‘go’ on that delightful device of yours. The search results will finish and come up eventually. In the meantime, we should explore our surroundings and look for anything mysterious and suspicious.
Just then, a bleep-bleep echoes in the city. Everyone stop walking and stands still. Nyssa, Billy and the Doctor are unaffected.
BILLY
(surprised) Hey? What’s going on?
NYSSA
They’re standing still. Everyone is standing still and staring into space.
BILLY
It’s like they’ve stopped. Some are still carrying carrier bags whilst going in and coming out of shops.
NYSSA
It’s unexpected, isn’t it?
DOCTOR
(concerned) Something’s wrong here.
BILLY
(laughs nervously) You’re telling us.
The Doctor goes over to check on everyone who has stood still. He spots something in people’s ears that bleep-bleeps quite frantically.
DOCTOR
Look at this, you two. These people are wearing earphones or something like it. It looks like they’re being fed information through a personalised app service.
NYSSA
Information? And it’s being processed and downloaded into their minds?
DOCTOR
Something like it, yes.
BILLY
I don’t understand. These…earphones are stopping the people from walking?
DOCTOR
By the twenty-first century, technology evolved quite significantly. Everyone decided to have personalised technological items from iPads to iPods to mobile phones with wireless internet access. It’s like having their own little computer device to access information on a daily basis. Information like news or event details or being able to access music, TV channels, films, etc.
BILLY
That’s quite frightening.
DOCTOR
The thing is, I’ve never known information to be processed so directly into people before.
Just then, Nyssa’s digital tablet lights up and she looks at it.
NYSSA
My tablet, Doctor. It’s receiving information.
BILLY
About those temporal events in Twenty Fifty-Four?
NYSSA
No, this is something different. It’s picking up the information that’s being processed and downloaded into everyone using their earphones.
DOCTOR
(intrigued) Really? Let’s see what they’re receiving.
The TARDIS trio look to see, as the information is being downloaded into Nyssa’s tablet.
DOCTOR
News, sports, weather…
NYSSA
…Music updates, lottery numbers, film information…
BILLY
…Hotel offers, television listings, health updates… A joke?
DOCTOR + NYSSA
(in unison; puzzled) Joke?
Just then, everyone laughs out loud, as they wake up from their trance. They continue walking, much to the bewilderment of Nyssa, Billy and the Doctor.
BILLY
(unimpressed) Hmm. Whatever it was, I’m sure it wasn’t as good as one of my jokes.
NYSSA
(teasingly) That’s a matter of opinion, Billy. You will need to improve on your jokes.
BILLY
(ruefully) Thank you very much, Nyssa. (Pause) So, all this information. It was sent into people’s heads via their earphones? Surely that would give them agony, having too much information.
NYSSA
Not necessarily. The information would need to be compressed for any individual’s brain to process it safely and securely. Plus, the receivers would choose and pick the information they require that’s relevant to them. Otherwise, they’d disregard it accordingly via their earphones.
BILLY
(astonished) It’s mind-boggling. I know I shouldn’t say it, but it’s impressive technology.
DOCTOR
It’s technology that shouldn’t exist. This isn’t right. It’s not how it’s supposed to happen. The Cybermen have done something to disrupt humanity in this Earth time period.
NYSSA
You think that could be the focal point in the way Earth’s timeline changed in the future?
DOCTOR
Possibly. Possibly not. (Pause; thinks) Let’s check that download on your tablet, Nyssa. Let’s see where it was sent from.
They check Nyssa’s digital tablet for more information.
NYSSA
(gradually) Here it is. The information sent was part of a daily download, courtesy of Neptune Connect Incorporated. (Pause; muses) Neptune Connect.
BILLY
Does that mean anything to you, Doctor?
DOCTOR
No, I’m afraid it doesn’t. I don’t know what Neptune Connect is. And it worries me terribly.
SCENE #20 – INT – MARKETING DOMAIN, NEPTUNE CONNECT HEADQUARTERS – DAY, MORNING
Back at the Neptune Connect building, workers are busy in the Marketing Domain. They’re using their earphones to communicate with their customers as part of the daily routine. Whilst they’re working, Giles Tada enters with Snap behind him. They observe everything that’s going on.
TADA
This is what I call progress, Snap. The workers communicating worldwide. Getting the world to buy our products. The products we’ve been producing and manufacturing for five years. It has come to this.
SNAP
Yes, sir. Very impressive. You must be very proud of your achievements.
TADA
I can’t deny I take great pride in all I’ve done. With the use of valuable resources, I’ve been acquiring what we set out to do from the beginning.
Snap steps forward and bellows in a loud voice, interrupting everyone in their work.
SNAP
(bellows) Alright! Pay attention, everyone! Pay attention! Mr. Tada has something very important to say!
Snap stands aside to let Tada step forward.
TADA
Thank you, Snap. (Pause; to everyone) Just to say, I approve of what you’ve all done by coming here to work for the greater good of mankind. And believe me, Neptune Connect will bring us a new future. Closer to Neptune itself than we thought possible. (Pause) But the customers demand top quality. That’s what we’ll give them. The customers are always right. And technological progress has to be observed. (Pause) Anyone who fails to meet our quotas is a liability. And I know how to handle liabilities. (Pause) That’s all. Continue your work.
Everyone unsteadily resumes their tasks.
SNAP
Very good, sir. One of your finest speeches. You have such vigour in your words.
TADA
Yes, I know. (Pause) Any word on our agents’ progress on Miss Phillips?
SNAP
Nothing yet, sir. They’re still tracking her movements in the heart of the city.
Just then, they’re interrupted by a young man who is Tada’s son, James – Jamie to his friends.
JAMIE
(flustered) Father! Father, I must speak to you.
TADA
Ah, James, my son! I take it your working day is running smoothly.
JAMIE
You’re mistreating the workers here.
TADA
My dear James, I hardly call it mistreatment.
JAMIE
You’re deliberately putting them on edge. With your high-handed views and disregard for human dignity. Our workers aren’t machines, they’re people. They deserve better respect.
SNAP
Shall I remove him from the premises, sir?
TADA
Now, now, Snap. There’s no need to be rough. (Pause) James is quite right. Perhaps I have been unfair to our workers.
JAMIE
Not just the workers, father. Everyone else! Why, today, I found out you’d asked for stock to be delivered worldwide and for it to be doubled by today.
TADA
You’ve talked to that imaginative secretary of mine, haven’t you?
JAMIE
It’s common knowledge, father. People are bound to talk.
TADA
You keep away from Miss Phillips or else I’ll have to remove some of your privileges. And that may possibly mean me handing you over to Snap. You wouldn’t want that, would you?
JAMIE
Keep away? What’s bugged you about Miss Phillips then?
TADA
(fiercely) I warn you, James. You keep well away from her or I’ll take drastic action.
JAMIE
Oh, come off it. You wouldn’t really do that, would you?
TADA
In all the years we’ve known each other, have you known me to not be serious?
Just then, a bleep-bleep goes off on Snap’s communicator. He picks it up and answers it.
TADA
(through communicator) Snap here. Report.
Meanwhile, tension occurs between Tada and Jamie.
TADA
Now if you’ll excuse me, James, I’m rather busy. I suggest you continue with your work. Don’t give a bad example, will you?
JAMIE
(sighs; glumly) No, sir.
SNAP
(interrupts) Mr. Tada?
TADA
Goodbye, James.
Tada leaves his dejected son and follows Snap, as they head out of the Marketing domain.
TADA
Well?
SNAP
Just received a notification from our allies, Mr. Tada. They say they have located the Doctor and his friends. They’ve arrived in San Francisco. They spotted his ship, the TARDIS.
TADA
(pleased) Excellent! Now we can advance our plans. (Pause) Accompany me to my office. We have much to discuss.
SCENE #21 – EXT – SHOPPING MALL, CITY CENTER – DAY, AFTERNOON
It’s now the afternoon. Back in the San Francisco city center, the Doctor, Nyssa and Billy are sitting at a table in a café and having cups of tea to drink. Nyssa checks her digital tablet to determine more information about Neptune Connect.
BILLY
Sugar, Doctor?
DOCTOR
Ah, yes! Won’t say no. Thank you, Billy. Two lumps please.
As Billy provides the two lumps of sugar for the Doctor’s tea…
BILLY
Nyssa? Any more information on those…web pages you’ve found about Neptune Connect?
NYSSA
Their website contains a wealth of information, Billy. It’s trying to pinpoint which information is vital to us and how it connects to the Cybermen.
DOCTOR
Check the About Us page or History page, Nyssa. Find out when Neptune Connect began.
NYSSA
Just a minute. (checks) Ah, yes! The company started in twenty forty-nine as a small supplier on the outskirts of Ohio, selling computer gadgetry to local civilians.
BILLY
Five years ago? So, that means we have jumped the mark?
NYSSA
(continues) A year and a half later, the company grew and expanded with sophisticated and advanced technology. It appealed to onlooking technological developers.
DOCTOR
No doubt the Cybermen were involved.
NYSSA
(continues) They moved their company from Ohio to the centre of San Francisco where they prospered with increasing user-friendly technology for everyone to have in their homes. They’re considered ‘the champions of daily computer services and products worldwide’. (Pause) Fascinating.
BILLY
It still doesn’t help us with what we want to know about what’s going on in this time period. (Pause) Has that search of yours finished on finding any temporal events that occurred in Twenty Fifty-Four?
NYSSA
Not yet. It’s bound to take an hour. The network connection to the TARDIS’ data banks isn’t as sophisticated as I hoped it would be.
BILLY
It worked well with that download we just had.
NYSSA
That was purely by chance. We must be in close proximity to Neptune Connect where we are.
DOCTOR
Who runs the company, Nyssa? Does the website have a Members of Staff page?
NYSSA
Yes, it does.
Nyssa takes a moment to check the Members of Staff page before reading the information to the Doctor and Billy.
NYSSA
(continues) According to the website, a man called Giles Tada runs the company. He’s a wealthy entrepreneur and a sales merchant that started his little company five years ago. He’s the founder of Neptune Connect.
BILLY
That’s good to know. If he’s in charge, he’s bound to have the Cybermen along for the ride.
NYSSA
It’s possible. The Cybermen are known to condition people with their mind-control techniques.
DOCTOR
Yes, but they must have mind-control techniques that have lasted long enough to surpass hypnotism. We shouldn’t dispute the fact that the Cybermen have managed to upgrade themselves in order to improve and preserve their longevity.
BILLY
You mean, they could be far stronger than before after we entered that portal thing to chase them?
DOCTOR
A possibility I’m not happy with. (muses) I wonder how Neptune Connect has managed to adapt its products with Cyber technology. They must be very sophisticated.
NYSSA
Perhaps we should visit the main Neptune Connect building to find out more about what’s going on. We could perhaps get an appointment with Giles Tada.
DOCTOR
Good idea, Nyssa. You have the Contact Us page containing the building’s address, I presume.
NYSSA
(checks) Here it is. Eighteen-ten Thornhill Avenue, San Francisco, CA One-Four-Five-One-Six-Dash-Three-One-Five-One.
DOCTOR
Good, right. Let’s set off then.
BILLY
Now? Before we finish our teas?
DOCTOR
No time like the present. Come on, Billy. Where’s your sense of adventure?
They get up out of their chairs before the Doctor bumps into Betty Phillips who’s in a rush.
DOCTOR
Oh, I beg your pardon. I’m so sorry.
BETTY
No, it’s my fault. Sorry, pal.
NYSSA
You couldn’t tell us where Neptune Connect is, can you?
BETTY
Of course, it’s back there. I should know. I work there.
BILLY
You work at Neptune Connect?
DOCTOR
(gratified) Brilliant! Then you can help us. I wonder, could you…?
BETTY
I’m sorry, I’m in a rush. If you’ll excuse me…
SCENE #22 – EXT – SHOPPING MALL, CITY CENTER – DAY, AFTERNOON
As the Doctor blocks Betty’s path, two agents watch her from a distance.
AGENT #1
She’s immersed in conversation with that tall fair-haired man wearing strange clothes.
AGENT #2
This is our chance to assassinate her. Let’s buzz her!
AGENT #1
Are you crazy? The boss told us to do this discretely, remember?
AGENT #2
I don’t care. I want my dough. Let’s zap her whilst she’s there. No one will notice.
Agent #2 takes out a remote device, whilst Agent #1 looks on, dismayed. The remote device emits a low hum once switched on.
SCENE #23 – EXT – SHOPPING MALL, CITY CENTER – DAY, AFTERNOON
BETTY
I’m sorry, but you’re wasting my time. I can’t help you.
NYSSA
Please, it’s very important. We need to know about this company you’re working for.
BETTY
I don’t care. I work for Mr Tada. I’m his secretary. I don’t work for his company. Neither do I want to.
BILLY
Oh? A very strange attitude to your work.
DOCTOR
Those earphones don’t bother you, do they, Miss err…?
BETTY
No, they don’t bother me! Why should they? Everyone’s wearing them…
Suddenly, Betty cries out in pain and falls to the ground. The Doctor, Nyssa and Billy see this and kneel to help her.
BETTY
(cries; in pain) Oww! Oww, oww!!!
NYSSA
What’s the matter? What’s wrong? Please, let us help you!
BETTY
(cries; in pain) My ears, my ears! They’re on fire! They’re hurting me!
BILLY
It’s those ear things, isn’t it? They’re causing her pain. We’ve got to get them out!
Billy tries to reach for Betty’s earphones before the Doctor stops him.
DOCTOR
Billy, don’t! You’ll make it worse for her if you try to take her earphones out.
NYSSA
You might give her a brainstorm and fatally wound her.
Eventually, the Doctor spots the two agents in the distance instantly.
DOCTOR
(calls) Hey, you two! Enjoying hurting someone, are you?
Once spotted, the two agents run off. Agent #2 drops his remote device to the ground. The Doctor gets up and chases them.
DOCTOR
Wait! Don’t run off on my account!
The Doctor chases them for a bit before he soon stops. The two would-be-assassins are out of sight.
DOCTOR
(sighs; defeated) Gone. (Pause) Never mind, Doctor. You tried.
The Doctor then spots the remote device that was dropped to the ground. He picks it up and examines it for a bit. It continues to emit a low hum.
DOCTOR
Hmm. Fascinating gadget, aren’t you? (Pause) Let’s switch you off.
With that, he switches off the device and it stops humming.
DOCTOR
There! Done!
He makes his way back to Nyssa and Billy looking after Betty.
DOCTOR
(reassuringly) It’s alright, you two. I’ve found what was hurting our new friend here. I’ve switched it off. Pretty straight-forward this, especially with presumably being an instrument of death.
Betty groans whilst slumped to the ground.
BILLY
She’s fainted, Doctor. The shock must have been too much for her.
NYSSA
She requires medical attention.
DOCTOR
You can take the earphones out now, Billy. I believe it’s safe to do so now.
Acknowledging, Billy takes the earphones out of Betty’s ears whilst she remains unconscious.
BILLY
So, what do we do? Find her a hospital?
NYSSA
I wish we could call her somebody else instead of ‘her’. (Pause) Perhaps we should take her back to the TARDIS. She’ll be safe in the Zero Room. Away from assassins as well as Cybermen.
DOCTOR
Good thinking, Nyssa. Come on, back to the TARDIS. (to Billy) Let me help you with carrying her, Billy.
BILLY
Thanks, Doctor. She’s quite heavy.
NYSSA
(teases) And I thought you were made of stronger stuff, Billy.
A ripple of amusement occurs, as the trio carry Betty back to the TARDIS. They don’t realise they’re being followed by a Cybermat, as it whirs and squeaks slightly.
© Tim Bradley, 2025
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