Lost in the Universe

xxviii

Jack looked at his beeping Vortex Manipulator. "Encrypted channel with files attached," he told them. "Don't recognize it."

"Patch it through the laptop," the Doctor told him, sitting back up straight. Before he could do so, Jack looked down and cleared his throat.

"Since we're telling stories, there's something I haven't told you guys," he admitted, looking at the Doctor.

♧♧♧

"You work for Torchwood," the Doctor stated in disbelief. Nina didn't know what to say. She also didn't know what Torchwood was.

"I swear to you, it's different, it's changed," Jack promised. Nina and Martha shared a look and it was clear that neither of them knew what was going on. "There's only half a dozen of us, now."

"Everything Torchwood did, and you're part of it?" The Doctor asked through gritted teeth. Although she didn't know what this thing was, she got the message that they had done something pretty bad. Terrible enough that it enraged the Doctor. Nina placed a hand on his arm on an attempt to calm him down.

"The old regime was destroyed at Canary Warf," Jack told him. The Doctor almost flinched at the name. Nina still didn't know what that was, but she squeezed his arm in reassurance. "I rebuilt it, I changed. And when I did that, I did it for you. In your honour." Jack finally looked up to lock his eyes with the Doctor, and Nina could see how honest he was being. The Doctor sighed and turned his attention back to the laptop, that was now showing the Torchwood logo. He pressed some buttons and the face of a woman showed up in some sort of recording.

"If I haven't returned to my desk by 2200 hours, this file will be emailed to Torchwood. Which means, if you're watching this, then I'm..." Nina dropped her head down and sighed softly.

Another one.

That makes 13.

"Anyway, the Saxon files are attached. But take a look at the Archangel document. That's when it all started. When Harry Saxon became Minister in charge of launching the Archangel Network."

"What's the Archangel Network?" The Doctor asked out loud.

"I've got Archangel, everyone's got it," Martha said, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

"It's a mobile phone network. 'Cause look, it's gone worldwide," Jack explained, pointing at the screen.

"They've got 15 satellites in orbit," Nina realised.

"Yeah, but even the other networks, they're all carried by Archangel," Jack explained. The Doctor pulled out his sonic and took Martha's phone from her hand.

"It's in the phones!" The Doctor exclaimed. "Oh, I said he was a hypnotist."

"Oh," Nina finally realised what he was going on about. The drums. Everyone had the exact same rhythm playing in their heads, and this is why. The Doctor slammed Martha's phone on the concrete table and held it up. The rhythm immediately started to play.

"There it is!" He exclaimed. "That rhythm. It's everywhere. Ticking away in the subconscious."

"What is it, mind control?" Martha asked him.

"No, no, no, no, it's subtler than that," Nina said, a smirk on her face. This was wrong, very wrong, but at the same time, it was fascinating. "Any strong-willed people would question it. But contained in that rhythm, layers of code, 'Vote Saxon. Believe in me.' Whispering to the world," Nina whispered.

"Oh!" The Doctor suddenly yelled out, startling everyone. "Yes! That's how he hid himself from us!" He pointed at Nina. "'Cause we should've sensed there was another Time Lord on Earth."

"Well, technically, I was off about three hundred years into your future," Nina argued. "So no, that's on you."

"Okay, okay," he nodded. Touché, spaceman. "But still, I should have known way back, but the signal cancelled him out."

"Any way you can stop it?" Jack asked the two.

"Definitely not from down here," Nina told them, shaking her head gravely.

"Yeah, but now we know how he's doing it," the Doctor agreed. Nina smiled.

"So we can fight back," she finished.

"Oh, yes!" The Doctor said, a big grin on his face.