The market was an intoxicating blend of smells and colours. Small booths lined either side of the crumbling roadway. Sellers called out their wares while children laughed and chased one another in the carless street. At first Rose felt she might be out of place in swimwear, but the residents seemed to wear almost as little as she did and were quite at ease. She relaxed into the flow of the marketplace as she walked slowly by the Doctors side.

"That's not food you know."

"What this?" She smiled as she held up the candyfloss. "I said I was hungry, this was the first thing I saw." She offered him a piece.

His brows raised "No thanks, I think I'd rather have real food."

Rose sighed "When you're right you're right." She tossed the half eaten confection into a nearby bin. She looked up and down the line of booths. Just beyond them she could see a row of houses, seemingly abandoned, their windows boarded, their paint chipping away in the sun.

"Where are all the people?" She asked suddenly. "And cars... other than the people selling there's no one here."

"Oh yeah," the Doctor smiled slightly "this earth reached world energy peak about 150 years ago. It pretty much sounded the death knell for suburbia." He pointed at the boarded up houses. "Not much point living at point A and working at point B if you don't have the petrol to get there."

"This earth?" she said. The Doctor gave her a sideways glance. He suddenly seemed to Rose like a child who'd been caught at something. "You mean this isn't earth..." she looked up at the sky "at least not my earth," then her eyes dropped down and locked unto his "is it?" She gave him an accusing smile.

"Well, I guess you could call it is a side-step in time" he replied.

"I see," she looked around her once more "and just how different is it... how many degrees of separation?"

"Difficult to say," he gazed upward at the hazy sky "I've only been here once before, seemed tame enough. Only one focal point of difference from your earth really."

She joined him in gazing at the cloudless sky curious as to what he found so fascinating. "And what is that, the difference?"

"You're looking at it."

"The shield?"

"Yup," he said brightly "a protective barrier giving the earth time to heal after over 200 years of industrial progress."

"And is it healing... I mean how long until it comes down?"

"Who knows, so much of Earth's economy is tied into that shield. It may have been redundant years ago, but you know humans..." he turned to look at her "so resistant to change."

Rose ignored the teasing "You mean everyone's just... used to it?

"Hmm" the Doctor nodded "Most of the people live in the cities now, the shield makes them feel safe. Not to mention the number of people who make their living from it... shield maintenance, culture impact studies..."

"I get it" Rose interrupted "status quo." She rolled her eyes in the direction of the sellers "What about them?"

"Oh there's a few brave souls eking out an existence, growing their own food outside the city, selling their wares."

"Speaking of which." she nodded toward a nearby booth from which an enticing aroma was emanating. They crossed the street.

Jenna watched the couple from the dark alleyway. She knew what she had to do, it was simply the mechanics of it that she had to work out. The blond girl leaned lazily against a food booth while her tall male companion bargained with the peddler. Meridian had given her so much. He had allowed her to touch minds with others of her kind... and there were so many. She knew now that she would never again be alone. Ti and the others, they where the past. Still, she regretted it ending the way it did. The look on Ti's face when she was revealed still hurt. At least he wouldn't remember her being taken. None of them would, Meridian and the others had seen to that.

The blond fiddled with the mesh bag on her hip. Jenna's eyes widened as she saw her draw a small sphere from it and hold it up to her eyes. It pulsed steadily lighting the young woman's fingertips to a translucent pink. That was the sign Meridian said to look for. Jenna had been asked to prove herself, and she wanted to. This was her chance to give back to her new family, but she'd have to wait until the girl was alone. She would never be able to deal with both of them. Stepping out of the shadows, she moved into the noisy street, all the while keeping an eye on the couple.