Torchwood: Children of Earth, Day Four-Part 1
Torchwood, Children of Earth: Day Four
Written by: John Fay
Directed by: Euros Lyn
Transcribed by: thepyromanical1
Disclaimer: This transcript is made without the permission of the BBC and is intended for non-profit purposes only.
Note: This is the first of what will probably be a three-part transcript, and covers the first twenty minutes of Day Four. I don't have time to finish the rest this weekend, but it should be done by the end of the month. This is my first time doing a transcript, so please let me know if there are any glaring errors/issues. Hope the style I used is okay with everyone! (It's the same one that's used at who-transcripts.atspace.com/) :)
Previously…
EXT. SCHOOLYARD
CHILDREN: We are coming. We are coming.
INT. LONDON CAFÉ
Shot of Lois through the spy contacts.
LOIS: Where’s the camera?
Close-up on Gwen.
GWEN: In my eyes. When you wear these, they’ll transmit a picture back to us and we’ll see what’s going on. More than that, we’ve got lip-reading software.
LOIS: If anybody finds out what I’m doing, it’s treason.
INT. ALICE’S HOUSE
STEVEN: Grandma always said there’d be trouble.
Alice pulls out a massive butcher knife from a knife block.
INT. AGENT JOHNSON’S HQ
Johnson is on the phone, speaker to Frobisher.
JOHNSON: Do you know he’s got a daughter?
INT. FROBISHER’S OFFICE
JOHNSON: And now, Alice Carter’s got a child of her own. His grandson.
FROBISHER: Bring her in.
EXT. ALICE’S HOUSE
Soldiers rush towards Alice and Steven, she knocks one of them out with a cutting board.
EXT. LONDON STREET
Clem stands frozen, pointing at the column of fire descending from the sky.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Frobisher and Mr. Dekker shield their eyes as the fiery column descends through the ceiling and into the glass tank.
INT. RHIANNON’S HOUSE
A group of children pointing together in one direction, speaking in unison.
CHILDREN: We are here.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: But what do you want?
456: We want ten percent of the children of this world.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: They want to take them, like they did before, like the man did.
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
The orphans walk into the light, Jack visible behind them in his greatcoat.
INT. HUB 2
Gwen looks horrified, Clem looks frightened and disgusted.
GWEN: You were there?
JACK: 1965…I gave them twelve children.
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
Clem, left alone, turns around and disappears in the glaring lights.
OPENING CREDITS.
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
A dark night, a car comes up a lonely road to meet a military convoy. A woman wearing a scarf around her head (Venessa) stands away from the other groups of soldiers. Jack stops the truck, climbs out, and walks over to meet her.
VENESSA: This is the location they specified. A set of instructions coming through on the wavelength combination designated “456.”
JACK: Did the give a name?
VENESSA: All we’ve got is that number, 456.
INT. TRUCK, SCOTLAND, 1965
VENESSA: According to our alien friends, in four months’ time, the virus will mutate. It’s a brand-new strain of Indonesian Flu. They claim it could kill up to 25 million people. All our research seems to back up their figures. In 1918, the Spanish Flu outbreak killed something like 5 percent of the human race.
JACK: I know, I was there.
VENESSA: Well, this time we’re being offered a cure.
It starts to rain outside.
VENESSA: They’ll send the anti-virus, in exchange…
JACK: How many children do they want?
VENESSA: Twelve. It’s like a sacrifice to the ancient gods. Twelve virgins.
JACK: Just twelve…it sounds like a good deal. What do they want them for?
VENESSA: They say they’ll live forever.
Jack laughs harshly.
JACK: Sure. Why do you need me?
VENESSA: Assuming twelve children can be found, we need someone to deliver them.
JACK: What, in case the aliens are hostile, you need someone who can’t die?
VENESSA: Actually, we need someone who doesn’t care.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
JACK: 1965, I gave them twelve children.
Gwen looks horrified, wide-eyed. Clem cowers.
GWEN: You just…handed them over and hoped for the best?
Quick cut to Clem, who flashes back to:
EXT. SCOTLAND 1965
Jack, with 1960s slicked-back hair, is smiling charmingly.
JACK: You just come with Uncle Jack.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
Close-up on Clem, who is seeing the subject of all of his nightmares in the flesh.
EXT. SCOTLAND 1965
The bus of children is winding its way through hills during the night.
JACK: We’re…we’re going to go on an adventure, yeah?
We see young Clem, looking out a rain-spattered window.
INT. BUS, SCOTLAND, 1965
Shots of young Scottish children, chattering excitedly. Clem does not talk to anyone.
The bus stops in the middle of nowhere, a bunch of tiny pinpricks of light in the pitch-black hills.
Shot of Jack, who is driving the bus.
JACK: Everyone off.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
A shot of Clem’s face. He looks horrified, remembering the laughter of his doomed friends.
EXT. BUS, SCOTLAND, 1965
The children file off the bus. Soldiers gesture at them to stand in front of it. A few of them exchange uncertain, frightened looks. Jack stands in front of them, still smiling reassuringly.
JACK: Here we go. All right, children, you follow me. Adventure.
A shot of a few of the children, looking up at Jack admiringly. They follow him away from the bus obediently. A huge light appears in the sky. The children’s faces go blank and they stop walking.
JACK: Okay, children, walk into the light. Do as I say.
Looking hypnotized, the children process forward into the light. Clem stays behind, and Jack puts his arm around Clem’s shoulder. He looks up at Jack questioningly.
YOUNG CLEM: What’s it do? What is it?
JACK: Just go.
YOUNG CLEM: It’s safe though, isn’t it?
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
Close-up on Clem.
CLEM: Isn’t it? Isn’t it?
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
Jack runs his hand comfortingly through Clem’s hair.
JACK: Yeah. It’s safe.
He pushes Clem towards the light. Clem turns back after a few steps.
JACK: Keep going. You don’t want to be left out, do you?
Clem continues into the light, disappearing. Jack finally drops the unconvincingly charming façade, looking stricken.
The children march in a group towards the light, Clem behind them. The light flares. Jack and the soldiers in the background all flinch.
Cut to Clem running through a field alone, having escaped his friends’ fate. He stumbles and falls.
Jack standing in front of the bus, the lights now off, turns around.
JACK: Everyone okay?
SOLDIER: Yes, sir!
Jack stares at the road, now empty and dark, before turning and walking away.
He meets up with Venessa again. She is listening to a radio.
VENESSA: The information’s coming through now on the 456. It’s the anti-virus, just as they promised.
JACK: Good night’s work.
VENESSA: Maybe the gods were kind. maybe they are in paradise.
JACK: No such thing.
Cut to Clem, still running through the dark field, terrified.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
CLEM: You are in every nightmare I’ve ever had.
JACK: I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I-
Clem surges forward, grabbing Gwen’s gun. He shoots Jack in the chest, and then looks horrified by what he’s done. Ianto rushes towards Jack, pulling his body into his arms, while Gwen tries to calm Clem down.
GWEN: Okay, so-
Clem brandishes the gun at her.
CLEM: Stay away!
GWEN: Give me the gun, Clem. Come on.
CLEM: You’re on his side.
GWEN: Give it to me.
CLEM: And he’s on their side. You’re all involved!!
RHYS: Gwen, get away from him, he’s dangerous!
CLEM: I’m not dangerous!
GWEN: We know! We know you’re not. We know that.
CLEM: But that’s a lie. Isn’t it? Isn’t it? We both know. I…killed a man. I am dangerous.
GWEN: Can I take that?
Clem surrenders the gun to her, and she passes it off to Rhys before hugging Clem. Clem stares at Jack’s body.
CLEM: But it wasn’t my fault… there is something up there. They want children. That man held my hand and took me to them.
Jack gasps back to life, gripping Ianto tightly.
GWEN: This is normal, this is what he does. Ianto knew it was going to be okay.
CLEM: No!
Clem flees the scene, running to a different part of the warehouse. Gwen chases after him.
GWEN: Clem! Clem, it’s all right!
INT. HUB 2, AWAY FROM MAIN AREA
CLEM: Oh, it’s too much. Too much, isn’t it?
GWEN: You get to shoot first, and ask questions later. How good is that?
CLEM: This is too much. Isn’t it-isn’t it?
Gwen holds her hand out to Clem. He takes it, and she leads him away from the shelf he’d been standing behind.
GWEN: Watch your head.
INT. HUB 2, MAIN AREA
Jack sits down next to Ianto.
IANTO: I can’t believe you didn’t mention this before.
JACK: They didn’t speak through kids back then. I didn’t recognize the signs at first.
IANTO: That’s not what I meant.
Rhys comes into the area.
RHYS: They’re coming back.
Clem and Gwen enter, Gwen with an arm around Clem.
CLEM: The man who sent me and my friends to die can’t die himself!
INT. MILITARY PRISON
Agent Johnson strides in, followed by Alice and Steven, followed by two armed guards.
STEVEN: This is to do with Uncle Jack, isn’t it?
ALICE: It’s a mistake. We’ll get us out soon.
STEVEN: Will he get us out?
ALICE: Yeah.
Steven is lead into a cell. Alice and Johnson hover just outside.
JOHNSON: He doesn’t think Harkness is his grandfather?
ALICE: No.
JOHNSON: I suppose it would take some explaining, when mum looks older than granddad.
ALICE: I can only assume you’re holding me here as insurance against my father. But let me warn you, if you’ve angered him, God help you.
JOHNSON: This from the woman who spent her life running away from him?
ALICE: And why do you think I did that? A man who can’t die has got nothing to fear. So you watch it. And you keep watching.
Alice goes into the cell. Johnson closes and locks the door.
INT. HUB 2
GWEN: It was a protection, right? You knew they’d be back.
JACK: I knew it was a possibility.
GWEN: But you still gave them the payoff.
JACK: We had no choice.
CLEM: Why us?
JACK: You wouldn’t be missed.
Everybody looks uncomfortable.
CLEM: I can see that.
JACK: All of this time, the one consolation I had was that…the deal seemed to work.
Gwen shakes her head in disbelief.
RHYS: It worked for forty-four years. That’s not bad for breathing space.
CLEM: Why was I left behind? What’s wrong with me?
GWEN: We know they only want pre-pubescent kids. Maybe it’s got something to do with that. Maybe you were just on the cusp of puberty, not quite adult, not quite child…
RHYS: Saved by your hormones.
Noise starts to come from the laptop, still hooked up to the special contacts Lois is wearing.
GWEN: Is this still recording, Ianto? I need every second of this.
IANTO: Yeah.
INT. THAMES HOUSE, FLOOR 13
Office personnel and officials file into the room, casting nervous glances at the 456’s tank. Frobisher, Bridget Spears, and Lois are in the lead. A cameraman films the tank. Frobisher steps forward to address the 456. Throughout Frobisher’s talk, we are shown shots of different members of team Torchwood, looking onto the scene from the makeshift Hub.
FROBISHER: Hello again. Before we consider your request, I’ve been asked for a point of clarification. Before we even discuss your-your request, we need to know exactly what it is you intend to do with the children.
456: Somebody is watching. Some remnant.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: It knows I’m here.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
The 456 spits goo and bangs against the walls of the tank, making an eerie shrieking noise. Everyone in the room takes a step back from the tank.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: It knows!
INT. THAMES HOUSE
The 456 has quieted. Lois begins to write in shorthand on her notepad.
INT. HUB 2
Ianto reads what Lois writes.
IANTO: Somebody is watching.
CLEM: I told you it knows, turn it off!
GWEN: It’s talking about the other camera, it doesn’t know about us. Shush.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: The Prime Minister, the leader of this country, of the United Kingdom, is watching through this camera here. And he needs to know what would happen to our children if we were to hand them over to you.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The various government officials are gathered around a table, watching the dialogue between Frobisher and the alien.
456: It is “off the record.”
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Frobisher looks shocked by what the 456 revealed. He approaches the tank.
FROBISHER: Yes.
456: Come in.
INT. HUB 2
IANTO: Come in.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: In there?
456: With the camera. Come in.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The officials all looked shocked.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: It’s hiding something.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
One man (Cameraman) is being prepared to be sent into the tank by being put into a red jumpsuit. He is being helped by Mr. Dekker and some doctors.
MR. DEKKER: Right, is that okay?
CAMERAMAN: Yeah.
MR. DEKKER: Okay, you’ll be able to hear us, and we can hear anything you say. Okay, I need a mouthpiece. There you go. Don’t take it off until the light in the airlock goes green.
CAMERAMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. DEKKER: Camera.
The Cameraman is handed a camera.
MR. DEKKER: I’ll be monitering you throughout.
BRIDGET SPEARS: Good luck.
CAMERAMAN: Thank you, ma’am.
He proceeds into the tank.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The officials continue to watch in silence.
INT. AIRLOCK
The airlock is closed and flooded with the same thick fog that fills the 456’s tank.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Mr. Dekker monitor’s the Cameraman’s heart rate and blood pressure from outside the tank.
INT. AIRLOCK
MR. DEKKER: Air contact stabilized.
The cameraman proceeds into the main part of the 456’s tank.
INT. 456 TANK
It is blue and foggy. Nothing is visible.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The officials continue to watch, the broadcast from inside the tank dissolving into static every now and then.
INT. 456 TANK
The cameraman aims the camera at the 456. It is dripping with green snot-like goo. We do not see the alien clearly, and can only make out that it has three vulture-like heads.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
MR. DEKKER: I’m getting three heartbeats.
FROBISHER: It’s got three heads.
MR. DEKKER: No, listen, there’s three distinct forms of life in there.
Frobisher moves to speak into the communicator to the cameraman.
FROBISHER: Get closer.
INT. 456 TANK
The cameraman is on the verge of panic, breathing heavily and quickly, while aiming the camera at one of the 456’s heads. He finally discovers the child hooked up to the 456, and lowers the camera in horror.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Close up on Frobisher, who looks alarmed.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
Shot of Prime Minister Green, who looks shocked.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: No, no, no, no!
Clem is sobbing. Gwen covers her mouth in horror.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
AMERICAN GENERAL: Is that a child? Where did it get him from?
Prime Minister Green looks very nervous.
INT. HUB 2
GWEN: It’s all of the kids from 1965.
Cut to shot of Ianto and Rhys. Ianto starts to sniffle, looking away from the screen, while Rhys closes his eyes.
Gwen makes a face of pure disgust.
JACK: He’s still just a child.
Jack walks away, sitting down apart from the rest of the group.
RHYS: Do you think he knows? Is he conscious?
INT. 456 TANK
Close up of the child, who is bald, grimy, and staring blindly with overly-huge eyes. He has something almost like a gasmask over the lower half of his face, a tube protruding from where his mouth should be.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Lois has tears streaming down her face.
INT. HUB 2
The picture from the contacts starts to blur.
CLEM: Wh-what’s happening?
GWEN: It’s Lois. She’s crying.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: What have you done to him?!
INT. 456 TANK
The 456 spits snot at the walls and bangs against them. The cameraman gets covered in snot and starts trying to escape.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Frobisher runs towards the tank.
FROBISHER: Get him out of there! Get him out of there!
The 456 begins to repeat the bargain Frobisher struck with it earlier in the series. It comes out in Frobisher’s voice, but garbled, as if it’s playing on a scratched CD.
456: You will ensure the diplomatic relations between Earth and the 456. That previous encounter will be kept off the record.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
AMERICAN GENERAL: That’s John Frobisher’s voice. What’s off the record?
INT. THAMES HOUSE
The cameraman has escaped the tank and is pulling off the snot-covered jumpsuit. Frobisher stares at the tank. The cameraman continues to pull off his clothes in panic.
FROBISHER: This is unacceptable.
456: We do not harm the children. They feel no pain.
Lois records this on her notepad.
INT. HUB 2
Ianto reads Lois’s notes again.
IANTO: We do not harm the children. They feel no pain. They live long beyond their years.
Gwen seems numb.
GWEN: Well, that’s okay then.
JACK: But we still don’t know. What does it do with them? What does it want them for?
RHYS: Bit late to ask now.
IANTO: We have answered your question. You have one day to select and deliver the ten percent.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: And if we refuse?
456: We will wipe out your entire species.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
Everyone blinks in disbelief, taking a few deeps breaths in an attempt to settle themselves. The American General looks at Prime Minister Green accusingly, speaking coldly and furiously.
AMERICAN GENERAL: Am I to understand that this country has had dealings with these creatures before?
PRIME MINISTER GREEN: Apparently so. I would point out that I was only a child myself in 1965.
AMERICAN GENERAL: Nonetheless, you made the decision only this week, sir, to keep those previous negotiations secret?!
PRIME MINISTER GREEN: It could be said that perhaps it was…convenient for the moment…until further consideration.
The general looks at him in utter disbelief, and then stands up from the table.
AMERICAN GENERAL: You’ll give us all files on 1965 immediately. And the United Nations will decide what measures to take against you, Mr. Green.
The American general exits the room.
INT. HUB 2, IN FRONT OF SOME WINDOWS
Jack is standing alone, looking pensive. Ianto approaches, looking serious, but he addresses Jack sympathetically. Jack doesn’t look at him or show any emotion throughout much of this scene.
IANTO: This must have been eating away at you.
Jack is silent.
IANTO: Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped.
Jack shakes his head.
JACK: No, you couldn’t.
IANTO: I tell you everything.
Jack finally looks at him.
JACK: Ianto, tell me, what should I have done?
IANTO: Stood up to them.
Jack looks away again.
IANTO: The Jack I know would’ve stood up to them. I’ve only just scraped the surface, haven’t I?
JACK: Ianto, that’s all there is.
IANTO: No. You pretend that’s all there is.
JACK: I have lived a long time-I have done a lot of things.
Ianto regards him sadly, rolling his eyes a little bit when Jack starts to charge off again.
JACK: I’ve got to go, I won’t be long.
Ianto turns around towards Jack.
IANTO: You’re doing it again. Speak to me, Jack. Where are you going?
Jack turns around to face him again, getting angry.
JACK: To call Frobisher. I can’t call him from here, cause they’d be able to trace it. Is that okay?
IANTO: You’re the boss.
JACK: And just so you know, I have a daughter called Alice and a grandson called Steven, and Frobisher took them hostage yesterday.
Jack turns and exits, leaving Ianto alone by the windows.
EXT. HUB 2
Jack walks toward a car alone, pulling on his coat and putting his hands in his pockets.
Written by: John Fay
Directed by: Euros Lyn
Transcribed by: thepyromanical1
Disclaimer: This transcript is made without the permission of the BBC and is intended for non-profit purposes only.
Note: This is the first of what will probably be a three-part transcript, and covers the first twenty minutes of Day Four. I don't have time to finish the rest this weekend, but it should be done by the end of the month. This is my first time doing a transcript, so please let me know if there are any glaring errors/issues. Hope the style I used is okay with everyone! (It's the same one that's used at who-transcripts.atspace.com/) :)
Previously…
EXT. SCHOOLYARD
CHILDREN: We are coming. We are coming.
INT. LONDON CAFÉ
Shot of Lois through the spy contacts.
LOIS: Where’s the camera?
Close-up on Gwen.
GWEN: In my eyes. When you wear these, they’ll transmit a picture back to us and we’ll see what’s going on. More than that, we’ve got lip-reading software.
LOIS: If anybody finds out what I’m doing, it’s treason.
INT. ALICE’S HOUSE
STEVEN: Grandma always said there’d be trouble.
Alice pulls out a massive butcher knife from a knife block.
INT. AGENT JOHNSON’S HQ
Johnson is on the phone, speaker to Frobisher.
JOHNSON: Do you know he’s got a daughter?
INT. FROBISHER’S OFFICE
JOHNSON: And now, Alice Carter’s got a child of her own. His grandson.
FROBISHER: Bring her in.
EXT. ALICE’S HOUSE
Soldiers rush towards Alice and Steven, she knocks one of them out with a cutting board.
EXT. LONDON STREET
Clem stands frozen, pointing at the column of fire descending from the sky.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Frobisher and Mr. Dekker shield their eyes as the fiery column descends through the ceiling and into the glass tank.
INT. RHIANNON’S HOUSE
A group of children pointing together in one direction, speaking in unison.
CHILDREN: We are here.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: But what do you want?
456: We want ten percent of the children of this world.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: They want to take them, like they did before, like the man did.
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
The orphans walk into the light, Jack visible behind them in his greatcoat.
INT. HUB 2
Gwen looks horrified, Clem looks frightened and disgusted.
GWEN: You were there?
JACK: 1965…I gave them twelve children.
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
Clem, left alone, turns around and disappears in the glaring lights.
OPENING CREDITS.
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
A dark night, a car comes up a lonely road to meet a military convoy. A woman wearing a scarf around her head (Venessa) stands away from the other groups of soldiers. Jack stops the truck, climbs out, and walks over to meet her.
VENESSA: This is the location they specified. A set of instructions coming through on the wavelength combination designated “456.”
JACK: Did the give a name?
VENESSA: All we’ve got is that number, 456.
INT. TRUCK, SCOTLAND, 1965
VENESSA: According to our alien friends, in four months’ time, the virus will mutate. It’s a brand-new strain of Indonesian Flu. They claim it could kill up to 25 million people. All our research seems to back up their figures. In 1918, the Spanish Flu outbreak killed something like 5 percent of the human race.
JACK: I know, I was there.
VENESSA: Well, this time we’re being offered a cure.
It starts to rain outside.
VENESSA: They’ll send the anti-virus, in exchange…
JACK: How many children do they want?
VENESSA: Twelve. It’s like a sacrifice to the ancient gods. Twelve virgins.
JACK: Just twelve…it sounds like a good deal. What do they want them for?
VENESSA: They say they’ll live forever.
Jack laughs harshly.
JACK: Sure. Why do you need me?
VENESSA: Assuming twelve children can be found, we need someone to deliver them.
JACK: What, in case the aliens are hostile, you need someone who can’t die?
VENESSA: Actually, we need someone who doesn’t care.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
JACK: 1965, I gave them twelve children.
Gwen looks horrified, wide-eyed. Clem cowers.
GWEN: You just…handed them over and hoped for the best?
Quick cut to Clem, who flashes back to:
EXT. SCOTLAND 1965
Jack, with 1960s slicked-back hair, is smiling charmingly.
JACK: You just come with Uncle Jack.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
Close-up on Clem, who is seeing the subject of all of his nightmares in the flesh.
EXT. SCOTLAND 1965
The bus of children is winding its way through hills during the night.
JACK: We’re…we’re going to go on an adventure, yeah?
We see young Clem, looking out a rain-spattered window.
INT. BUS, SCOTLAND, 1965
Shots of young Scottish children, chattering excitedly. Clem does not talk to anyone.
The bus stops in the middle of nowhere, a bunch of tiny pinpricks of light in the pitch-black hills.
Shot of Jack, who is driving the bus.
JACK: Everyone off.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
A shot of Clem’s face. He looks horrified, remembering the laughter of his doomed friends.
EXT. BUS, SCOTLAND, 1965
The children file off the bus. Soldiers gesture at them to stand in front of it. A few of them exchange uncertain, frightened looks. Jack stands in front of them, still smiling reassuringly.
JACK: Here we go. All right, children, you follow me. Adventure.
A shot of a few of the children, looking up at Jack admiringly. They follow him away from the bus obediently. A huge light appears in the sky. The children’s faces go blank and they stop walking.
JACK: Okay, children, walk into the light. Do as I say.
Looking hypnotized, the children process forward into the light. Clem stays behind, and Jack puts his arm around Clem’s shoulder. He looks up at Jack questioningly.
YOUNG CLEM: What’s it do? What is it?
JACK: Just go.
YOUNG CLEM: It’s safe though, isn’t it?
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
Close-up on Clem.
CLEM: Isn’t it? Isn’t it?
EXT. SCOTLAND, 1965
Jack runs his hand comfortingly through Clem’s hair.
JACK: Yeah. It’s safe.
He pushes Clem towards the light. Clem turns back after a few steps.
JACK: Keep going. You don’t want to be left out, do you?
Clem continues into the light, disappearing. Jack finally drops the unconvincingly charming façade, looking stricken.
The children march in a group towards the light, Clem behind them. The light flares. Jack and the soldiers in the background all flinch.
Cut to Clem running through a field alone, having escaped his friends’ fate. He stumbles and falls.
Jack standing in front of the bus, the lights now off, turns around.
JACK: Everyone okay?
SOLDIER: Yes, sir!
Jack stares at the road, now empty and dark, before turning and walking away.
He meets up with Venessa again. She is listening to a radio.
VENESSA: The information’s coming through now on the 456. It’s the anti-virus, just as they promised.
JACK: Good night’s work.
VENESSA: Maybe the gods were kind. maybe they are in paradise.
JACK: No such thing.
Cut to Clem, still running through the dark field, terrified.
INT. HUB 2, PRESENT DAY
CLEM: You are in every nightmare I’ve ever had.
JACK: I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. I-
Clem surges forward, grabbing Gwen’s gun. He shoots Jack in the chest, and then looks horrified by what he’s done. Ianto rushes towards Jack, pulling his body into his arms, while Gwen tries to calm Clem down.
GWEN: Okay, so-
Clem brandishes the gun at her.
CLEM: Stay away!
GWEN: Give me the gun, Clem. Come on.
CLEM: You’re on his side.
GWEN: Give it to me.
CLEM: And he’s on their side. You’re all involved!!
RHYS: Gwen, get away from him, he’s dangerous!
CLEM: I’m not dangerous!
GWEN: We know! We know you’re not. We know that.
CLEM: But that’s a lie. Isn’t it? Isn’t it? We both know. I…killed a man. I am dangerous.
GWEN: Can I take that?
Clem surrenders the gun to her, and she passes it off to Rhys before hugging Clem. Clem stares at Jack’s body.
CLEM: But it wasn’t my fault… there is something up there. They want children. That man held my hand and took me to them.
Jack gasps back to life, gripping Ianto tightly.
GWEN: This is normal, this is what he does. Ianto knew it was going to be okay.
CLEM: No!
Clem flees the scene, running to a different part of the warehouse. Gwen chases after him.
GWEN: Clem! Clem, it’s all right!
INT. HUB 2, AWAY FROM MAIN AREA
CLEM: Oh, it’s too much. Too much, isn’t it?
GWEN: You get to shoot first, and ask questions later. How good is that?
CLEM: This is too much. Isn’t it-isn’t it?
Gwen holds her hand out to Clem. He takes it, and she leads him away from the shelf he’d been standing behind.
GWEN: Watch your head.
INT. HUB 2, MAIN AREA
Jack sits down next to Ianto.
IANTO: I can’t believe you didn’t mention this before.
JACK: They didn’t speak through kids back then. I didn’t recognize the signs at first.
IANTO: That’s not what I meant.
Rhys comes into the area.
RHYS: They’re coming back.
Clem and Gwen enter, Gwen with an arm around Clem.
CLEM: The man who sent me and my friends to die can’t die himself!
INT. MILITARY PRISON
Agent Johnson strides in, followed by Alice and Steven, followed by two armed guards.
STEVEN: This is to do with Uncle Jack, isn’t it?
ALICE: It’s a mistake. We’ll get us out soon.
STEVEN: Will he get us out?
ALICE: Yeah.
Steven is lead into a cell. Alice and Johnson hover just outside.
JOHNSON: He doesn’t think Harkness is his grandfather?
ALICE: No.
JOHNSON: I suppose it would take some explaining, when mum looks older than granddad.
ALICE: I can only assume you’re holding me here as insurance against my father. But let me warn you, if you’ve angered him, God help you.
JOHNSON: This from the woman who spent her life running away from him?
ALICE: And why do you think I did that? A man who can’t die has got nothing to fear. So you watch it. And you keep watching.
Alice goes into the cell. Johnson closes and locks the door.
INT. HUB 2
GWEN: It was a protection, right? You knew they’d be back.
JACK: I knew it was a possibility.
GWEN: But you still gave them the payoff.
JACK: We had no choice.
CLEM: Why us?
JACK: You wouldn’t be missed.
Everybody looks uncomfortable.
CLEM: I can see that.
JACK: All of this time, the one consolation I had was that…the deal seemed to work.
Gwen shakes her head in disbelief.
RHYS: It worked for forty-four years. That’s not bad for breathing space.
CLEM: Why was I left behind? What’s wrong with me?
GWEN: We know they only want pre-pubescent kids. Maybe it’s got something to do with that. Maybe you were just on the cusp of puberty, not quite adult, not quite child…
RHYS: Saved by your hormones.
Noise starts to come from the laptop, still hooked up to the special contacts Lois is wearing.
GWEN: Is this still recording, Ianto? I need every second of this.
IANTO: Yeah.
INT. THAMES HOUSE, FLOOR 13
Office personnel and officials file into the room, casting nervous glances at the 456’s tank. Frobisher, Bridget Spears, and Lois are in the lead. A cameraman films the tank. Frobisher steps forward to address the 456. Throughout Frobisher’s talk, we are shown shots of different members of team Torchwood, looking onto the scene from the makeshift Hub.
FROBISHER: Hello again. Before we consider your request, I’ve been asked for a point of clarification. Before we even discuss your-your request, we need to know exactly what it is you intend to do with the children.
456: Somebody is watching. Some remnant.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: It knows I’m here.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
The 456 spits goo and bangs against the walls of the tank, making an eerie shrieking noise. Everyone in the room takes a step back from the tank.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: It knows!
INT. THAMES HOUSE
The 456 has quieted. Lois begins to write in shorthand on her notepad.
INT. HUB 2
Ianto reads what Lois writes.
IANTO: Somebody is watching.
CLEM: I told you it knows, turn it off!
GWEN: It’s talking about the other camera, it doesn’t know about us. Shush.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: The Prime Minister, the leader of this country, of the United Kingdom, is watching through this camera here. And he needs to know what would happen to our children if we were to hand them over to you.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The various government officials are gathered around a table, watching the dialogue between Frobisher and the alien.
456: It is “off the record.”
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Frobisher looks shocked by what the 456 revealed. He approaches the tank.
FROBISHER: Yes.
456: Come in.
INT. HUB 2
IANTO: Come in.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: In there?
456: With the camera. Come in.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The officials all looked shocked.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: It’s hiding something.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
One man (Cameraman) is being prepared to be sent into the tank by being put into a red jumpsuit. He is being helped by Mr. Dekker and some doctors.
MR. DEKKER: Right, is that okay?
CAMERAMAN: Yeah.
MR. DEKKER: Okay, you’ll be able to hear us, and we can hear anything you say. Okay, I need a mouthpiece. There you go. Don’t take it off until the light in the airlock goes green.
CAMERAMAN: Yes, sir.
MR. DEKKER: Camera.
The Cameraman is handed a camera.
MR. DEKKER: I’ll be monitering you throughout.
BRIDGET SPEARS: Good luck.
CAMERAMAN: Thank you, ma’am.
He proceeds into the tank.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The officials continue to watch in silence.
INT. AIRLOCK
The airlock is closed and flooded with the same thick fog that fills the 456’s tank.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Mr. Dekker monitor’s the Cameraman’s heart rate and blood pressure from outside the tank.
INT. AIRLOCK
MR. DEKKER: Air contact stabilized.
The cameraman proceeds into the main part of the 456’s tank.
INT. 456 TANK
It is blue and foggy. Nothing is visible.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
The officials continue to watch, the broadcast from inside the tank dissolving into static every now and then.
INT. 456 TANK
The cameraman aims the camera at the 456. It is dripping with green snot-like goo. We do not see the alien clearly, and can only make out that it has three vulture-like heads.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
MR. DEKKER: I’m getting three heartbeats.
FROBISHER: It’s got three heads.
MR. DEKKER: No, listen, there’s three distinct forms of life in there.
Frobisher moves to speak into the communicator to the cameraman.
FROBISHER: Get closer.
INT. 456 TANK
The cameraman is on the verge of panic, breathing heavily and quickly, while aiming the camera at one of the 456’s heads. He finally discovers the child hooked up to the 456, and lowers the camera in horror.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Close up on Frobisher, who looks alarmed.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
Shot of Prime Minister Green, who looks shocked.
INT. HUB 2
CLEM: No, no, no, no!
Clem is sobbing. Gwen covers her mouth in horror.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
AMERICAN GENERAL: Is that a child? Where did it get him from?
Prime Minister Green looks very nervous.
INT. HUB 2
GWEN: It’s all of the kids from 1965.
Cut to shot of Ianto and Rhys. Ianto starts to sniffle, looking away from the screen, while Rhys closes his eyes.
Gwen makes a face of pure disgust.
JACK: He’s still just a child.
Jack walks away, sitting down apart from the rest of the group.
RHYS: Do you think he knows? Is he conscious?
INT. 456 TANK
Close up of the child, who is bald, grimy, and staring blindly with overly-huge eyes. He has something almost like a gasmask over the lower half of his face, a tube protruding from where his mouth should be.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Lois has tears streaming down her face.
INT. HUB 2
The picture from the contacts starts to blur.
CLEM: Wh-what’s happening?
GWEN: It’s Lois. She’s crying.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: What have you done to him?!
INT. 456 TANK
The 456 spits snot at the walls and bangs against them. The cameraman gets covered in snot and starts trying to escape.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
Frobisher runs towards the tank.
FROBISHER: Get him out of there! Get him out of there!
The 456 begins to repeat the bargain Frobisher struck with it earlier in the series. It comes out in Frobisher’s voice, but garbled, as if it’s playing on a scratched CD.
456: You will ensure the diplomatic relations between Earth and the 456. That previous encounter will be kept off the record.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
AMERICAN GENERAL: That’s John Frobisher’s voice. What’s off the record?
INT. THAMES HOUSE
The cameraman has escaped the tank and is pulling off the snot-covered jumpsuit. Frobisher stares at the tank. The cameraman continues to pull off his clothes in panic.
FROBISHER: This is unacceptable.
456: We do not harm the children. They feel no pain.
Lois records this on her notepad.
INT. HUB 2
Ianto reads Lois’s notes again.
IANTO: We do not harm the children. They feel no pain. They live long beyond their years.
Gwen seems numb.
GWEN: Well, that’s okay then.
JACK: But we still don’t know. What does it do with them? What does it want them for?
RHYS: Bit late to ask now.
IANTO: We have answered your question. You have one day to select and deliver the ten percent.
INT. THAMES HOUSE
FROBISHER: And if we refuse?
456: We will wipe out your entire species.
INT. GOVERNMENT BOARD ROOM
Everyone blinks in disbelief, taking a few deeps breaths in an attempt to settle themselves. The American General looks at Prime Minister Green accusingly, speaking coldly and furiously.
AMERICAN GENERAL: Am I to understand that this country has had dealings with these creatures before?
PRIME MINISTER GREEN: Apparently so. I would point out that I was only a child myself in 1965.
AMERICAN GENERAL: Nonetheless, you made the decision only this week, sir, to keep those previous negotiations secret?!
PRIME MINISTER GREEN: It could be said that perhaps it was…convenient for the moment…until further consideration.
The general looks at him in utter disbelief, and then stands up from the table.
AMERICAN GENERAL: You’ll give us all files on 1965 immediately. And the United Nations will decide what measures to take against you, Mr. Green.
The American general exits the room.
INT. HUB 2, IN FRONT OF SOME WINDOWS
Jack is standing alone, looking pensive. Ianto approaches, looking serious, but he addresses Jack sympathetically. Jack doesn’t look at him or show any emotion throughout much of this scene.
IANTO: This must have been eating away at you.
Jack is silent.
IANTO: Why didn’t you tell me? I could’ve helped.
Jack shakes his head.
JACK: No, you couldn’t.
IANTO: I tell you everything.
Jack finally looks at him.
JACK: Ianto, tell me, what should I have done?
IANTO: Stood up to them.
Jack looks away again.
IANTO: The Jack I know would’ve stood up to them. I’ve only just scraped the surface, haven’t I?
JACK: Ianto, that’s all there is.
IANTO: No. You pretend that’s all there is.
JACK: I have lived a long time-I have done a lot of things.
Ianto regards him sadly, rolling his eyes a little bit when Jack starts to charge off again.
JACK: I’ve got to go, I won’t be long.
Ianto turns around towards Jack.
IANTO: You’re doing it again. Speak to me, Jack. Where are you going?
Jack turns around to face him again, getting angry.
JACK: To call Frobisher. I can’t call him from here, cause they’d be able to trace it. Is that okay?
IANTO: You’re the boss.
JACK: And just so you know, I have a daughter called Alice and a grandson called Steven, and Frobisher took them hostage yesterday.
Jack turns and exits, leaving Ianto alone by the windows.
EXT. HUB 2
Jack walks toward a car alone, pulling on his coat and putting his hands in his pockets.