Torchwood London; London, England
Rex Matheson stepped into the botany lab, the closest London had to a garden. He needed fresh air, but it was February and London. The plants reminded him that botanicals were the one common thread they had so far. He rubbed the back of his neck wishing he could shut it off. But taking more than a few minutes risked lives.
An alarm sounded. The computer intercom clicked. "Medical emergency. Securing affected areas until contained."

Rex hoped that announcement was limited to the medical and science department. He tapped his ear com. "What's happening."

Tosh sounded worried. "Dr. Stone tried releasing the American Owen's using to develop a parasite treatment."

Why? Chloe was the one patient not willing to leave.

"The computer automatically did an intensive scan of Dr. Stone and found a parasite. Owen thinks the difference is long-term exposure."

How did they miss that?

"She's contained," Owen declared. "The girl is the best chance I have at a treatment. Removing the parasites is more complicated than surgery. The hosts need antibodies similar to Chloe's. It's why she has any independent thoughts at all."

One of theories of the parasites was a larger organism. Dr. Stone's actions supported it. "I need a copy of the security footage. Is the girl or the doctor hurt?"

"No." Tosh sounded distracted. "I'm looking at CCTV. Based on behavior, I think Chloe sensed the other parasite. She pushed her emergency button before Dr. Stone said anything."

"Owen," Jack said, "There could be a psychological component to resistance. That could affect brain chemistry."

"You think her religious conviction is helping her fight the parasite?" Owen found that unlikely.

"Not what she believes but the strength of her beliefs," Jack said. "The nurse in Chicago resisted Zeke in a similar way. Chris was flirting with everyone he was remotely attracted to. But not me because of my ring."

"Say for a moment that's not your vanity. That means the parasite has to fight the host for control…" Owen trailed off. "A woman determined to be celibate in an openly sexual culture would have to resist herd behavior." Pause. "Based on interviews, Zeke Delaney is the complete opposite. He needs to conform."

"How did the parasite get established in Chloe?" Tosh asked. "If it's a larger organism, why would it want her?"

Jack said, "Ego, control or selfishness."

Rex didn't like the sound of that. "The parasites are not only connected to a larger organism, it's sentient?"

Tosh said, "That could explain why someone created the parasites. A hive mind capable of controlling it's drones over large distances and completely overriding individuality would be very useful for a military. Like compliance devices but contagious."

Rex pinched the bridge of his nose wishing that didn't sound plausible. "Why expose college students? Soldiers dedicated to god and country would be more effective."

Owen replied. "They may not have anticipated the sexual component of the transition. Dr. Stone is stable. Zeke went from homophobic to flirting with anyone he could potentially expose."

Tosh added, "Having sex with another woman is what pushed Chloe to the edge. She's suicidal because she's morally opposed to her own behavior." Her tone said she understood. "If she's gay or bisexual, the fear of family rejection would make it worse." Pause. "We need to check for suicide clusters. If the parasites infected a community with a strict traditional cultural, it could be devastating."

Rex did not look forward to the conversation he needed to have with the US representative. That part of the situation sounded more and more like a military research project. An affected DARPA doctor fit with the theory. If Dr. Stone was an example of long-term exposure, it was possible other government employees or even soldiers had parasites and were potentially contagious. That could explain why the US was trying to hide it.

"Why did the CDC contact Torchwood?"

"Ego," Owen said. "The organism underestimated us or wanted to infect our investigator. It could explain the attack on John."
Rex released, "The same type of scan that found Dr. Stone's parasite needs to be used on all the other patients, and the homeless people John requested transported. One of them has psychological problems."

"We need to scan all Americans," Owen said.

"Start with the building. Scan everyone. I need to discuss setting up a scanner at Heathrow." Rex realized they needed them in airports in general. Between the parasites and what happened in Auckland, scanning passengers sounded like a solid idea. Considering objections to the TSA, he doubted they could get formal approval in most countries. Keara on the station would have to set something up through the network.

Privacy versus public safety was a dangerous topic. Depending on how plausible it was, they might have to scan other mass transit as well. But that could be easily abused. Tracking fugitives was the least of it. Different groups, ranging from activists to politicians, needed to be able to move freely.

After the conversation wound down, Rex left the botany lab and headed for his office. He needed to deal with the US. Unless the government cooperated and the source of the parasites was immediately identified, he needed to recommend quarantining the US. Anyone leaving needed to be scanned. As well as the planes and cargo. The US would probably cancel international flights instead of cooperate. Mexico and Canada might be more agreeable. It would cause a panic and international incidents as countries wanted to get their people out of the US.

Life was simpler with the CIA.

Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales
Standing in the garden, John Hart wondered about his life some days. Anwen, both of them, were in a mood. The younger one was mad at her mom. He couldn't get a coherent explanation of why. Disrupting the computer search program and trying to reconfigure the network was a joint project. The essence wanted to expand scan capability but the current system was not the same as the one in the original time line. Predictably, she wanted it upgraded. They didn't have the people or expertise.
Convincing his Anwen to return to his wrist-strap had been an experience. It made him think twice about transferring her.

Ettie and Luc can upgrade it, the essence argued. They built the network.

Explaining it had already failed. Keara on the station is from the original time line. She said it can't be expanded yet.

"What's wrong with my wrist-strap?" Anwen demanded.

"Keara and the general shut you out of the network. To keep you from disrupting it." John wasn't even sure how they managed it.
Listening to the nearly identical tantrum reminded him the universe had a perverse sense of humor.

"Anwen," he said to the younger one, "Do your homework."

"You sound like my mother."

It was going to be that kind of day. He tried reasoning with Trefor earlier and the boy said something similar. John could at least pass that argument off to Jack. Or Ianto.

I want to see what you saw in Chicago, the essence said.

I can't sleep right now. Odds are, I will be needed to investigate. He was the only one with an immunity to the various illnesses thanks to the alchemy and alien antibodies.

Anwen growled in frustration. "With my wrist-strap disabled, mum cut off my access to the hub."

Fix it.

"Do you homework."

We are in the middle of a global crisis.

Darling, you can't control everything. The entire network is working on solving the problem. Even if you were physically here, there's nothing you could do that isn't being done.

"I need the computer to do my homework."

"Your mother can download it for you."

Hands on, the essence said. We should go to the island as soon as it's daylight there.

John wondered briefly if he could leave them both in the maintenance room with the 3D holograph projectors and elf porn.