17
Blackness, and stars. In the stars, a lump of rock and ice, moving through space, leaving a trail of dust and ice crystals. Locked deep inside the ice, blue-green iridescence. Rotate around the meteor, to reveal - the Moon. Float past the bone-white orb, over the Sea Of Tranquillity, to reveal - Earth. Blue-green jewel. Race towards the planet. Start to blaze as it hits the atmosphere. Lighting up like phosphorus the meteor is burning in the outer atmosphere of Earth. The integrity of the rock and ice suddenly gives way. The body fragments.
The meteor fragments separating, drifting away. Most pieces burn away to nothing. Until there is only one. Racing down towards the ocean. On which we find a coast line. And then a lighthouse. An island in the middle of a bay … Flat Holm.
The meteor has almost burned to nothing before it impacts. What was a vast lump of extraterrestrial rock is now barely an ember.
A SPARK.
Then it hits the ground by the Lighthouse... ... drilling into the earth like a bullet hole.
An alien form. A creature from another world. It has tendrils. It shimmers with iridescent colour. It has immense fractal complexity in its shape. And it's moving. Gently, like a sea anemone in a swell. Beats pass.
As we watch, the alien creature starts to divide. The creature is now half-way through the division, separating into a mirror of itself. The creature completes its division. Immediately its two halves start the same process again
.
.
.
.
"This is a cell. Like all cells, it derived from an existing cell. By extension, all cells were ultimately derived from one cell. A single organism, alone on planet Earth, perhaps alone in the universe, about four billion years ago. . One became two. Two became four. Then eight. Sixteen. Thirty two." Martha Jones stops talking as Ianto enters the meeting room and freezes, staring at her before he straightens up and shoots his cuffs, then starts to back out.
"Ianto! Come join in … Martha Jones here… hey. Are you related?" Jack asks, then frowns "No, of course not. She's a London girl, not Welsh like you right?"
"Jack. She's black" Gwen points out "Ianto is not. I go … not related."
"Right" Ianto agrees, nodding to her as she starts talking again, Owen waiting to ask her something while tapping his pencil.
"In the last thirty years we have had one arrive each year at this time and although NASA was tracking the vessel they lost it when it entered atmo." She turns to them "You remember that movie the Blob? The big jelly thing absorbing everything? Sort of like that but … it also splits and replicates like Tribbles as well."
"Tribbles" Jack shudders with horror "Hate those"
"So how do we kill it?" Owen finally sees an opening and goes for it, ignoring the 'Bird Man' who will get a wedgie or something later.
"Where is it?" Ianto asks "You must have an estimated location of touch down."
"51.37564°N by 3.11871°W" she answers as she watches his face "Ianto, we think it's close."
"Close. That's Flat Holm. Are you telling me that … Blob … is on the island?" he sighs. "Shit. The live stock alone will feed it ..never mind the inmates."
"Inmates" Owen repeats "What inmates? There's a prison there?"
Jack is staring at Ianto like he has grown an extra head then he asks softly "How did you know about that?"
"Who does the budget?" Ianto rolls his eyes "The supplies alone tell me what's over there. No Owen .. not a prison .. a ..well … hospice. For those affected by the Rift, I am assuming."
"Ianto…" Jack struggles "You … how long have you known?"
"Long enough to have added somethings to the inventory that were needed." Ianto replies calmly, Owen sitting bolt upright as he looks from Jack to Ianto, waiting hopefully for it to happen. Finally.
"Right. Fire?" Toshiko breaks it and Owen slumps as he sees Jack now has something new to focus on and Ianto lives another day in the shadows. Fuck.
"I would find that the best choice" Martha agrees "Flamethrowers or …"
Now Owen is invested in this new conversation, his desire to 'out' Ianto pushed aside as he learns over the meeting table "I have one of those ya know. It's like napalm, thick and runny and really…really big!"
"Owen! I told you not to play with the Barvikollian Sprayer" Jack growls "You did, didn't you."
"Hence one less firing range on level three" Ianto says softly to Toshiko and she giggles as Ianto keeps the bland expression, blinking slowly as Jack points a finger now.
"Bad Owen. Bad, bad Owen. I told you no!" Jack scolds "I'll get a rolled up newspaper to you, see if I don't."
"But it's what we need, right?" Owen is excited now.
"Owen …"
"Actually… we have three" Ianto finally admits, "I hid the other two from him but they are fully charged."
"YESSSSSS!" Owen punches the air as Jack looks excited too.
Martha looks at her second cousin and grimaces as he frowns at her then mouths something she really didn't want to know.
Ianto mouthed "Grandy knows."
