Torchwood Three; Cardiff, Wales

Monday, November 16, 2020

Dmitri Petrescu stood between two medical cots. The talismans were a gift from ancients that had proven their intentions were selfish but not malicious. Gwen had already shared a dream. Not simply with Morpheus but with Rhys over a great distance. It worked. There were no obvious side effects. He didn't like the idea.

"I have the computer set-up for continual medical scans. The sedation will provide specific sleep conditions. Breaking the connection requires waking you. I don't know what that would do."

"It's safe," Gwen argued.

Jack shared some of his concerns. They were testing them in the infirmary for various reasons. Both Ianto and Rhys agreed to dream-sharing. The goal as Dmitri understood it was to help Jack and Gwen resolve past conflicts, primarily the mutual trauma of what happened when they were drugged. While he agreed to monitor the talisman use, he couldn't help but wonder at the logic. When he talked to Ianto, it sounded almost like the therapy sessions were suppose to prevent infidelity. Dmitri opted to keep the obvious to himself. Dream-sharing would make cheating easier.

Dmitri administer the drug by IV. If he had to wake them, he would try it simultaneously. That wasn't possible with injections. It would be difficult with IVs, but could work. The screens had been moved side-by-side on a small bedside table between the cots. If the devices worked as expected, their brain waves would change. Jack set the system up to record the results.

Dreamscape

Gwen Cooper opened her eyes. The dreamscape was different than Morpheus'. The color of light and smells told her it was a different planet. The grass was an odd shade of green. Trees on the other side of the clearing were similar to earth but the texture was different. Greenish stone ruins towered over her, seeming to reach for a bluish sky.

"Where are we?"

"I don't know." Jack sounded confused.

Gwen chuckled. "How can you not know? It's your memory."

"Yeah."

Gwen turned and looked at him. "Where are we suppose to be?"

"A carnival."

Gwen walked over to him. "We're here."

Jack hesitated. "Without knowing where we are, I don't know why I was here."

"It's just a memory, Jack." Gwen looked around. "Maybe intent affects how the talismans work. This is calmer."

"Except an unfamiliar memory wouldn't calm me."

"You're wearing your wrist-strap. Scan the area. Make your mind tell you where we are."

Jack flipped it open and programmed a scan. "Nothing. There was a small ship in the area, but no obvious technology or intact structures." He hesitated. "I can guess I landed here for some reason."

Gwen nodded. "Dream therapy session one. Investigating unknown memory."

"That's not a good idea."

"What were you working on about before the infirmary?"

"Drone reports. Luc's been testing the drones. He's mapping and scanning the planet using a grid search similar to Atmore. The results have been strange."

Gwen motioned to their surroundings. "This has to be connected."

"I hope not. The island in Southeast Asia is showing new energy readings." He reprogrammed his wrist-strap. "The same as the ruins here."

"And?"

"There is a chamber under these ruins."

"You remember?"

"Yeah."

Gwen nodded. "Is there anything here you don't want me to see?"

Jack closed his wrist-strap. "No."

"Tell me about the carnival." Gwen held out her hand.

St. David's Mall

An uneasiness settled over John Hart as he waited for Ken on a bench near the Disney store. Nothing looked out-of-place. After several minutes, he had chills. John stepped into the hallway by the private toilet and used his wrist-strap to scan the area. Nothing stood out.

John found his ear com in his pocket and placed it in his ear. He tapped it on. "Is anyone there?"

"Yep," Ianto said. "Problem?"

"I don't know." John felt ridiculous. "Are there any police reports or 999 calls around the mall?"

Ianto paused. "Shoplifting. Domestic ended by retail clerks. Three people went to A&E." Another minute passed. "There is a security alarm sounding in an employee only area."

"Check the security cameras."

"Checking." Ianto paused. "Employee theft. I'll notify mall security."

"There is something."

"When does Ken's shift end?"

John checked the time on his phone. "Ten minutes."

"I'll monitor reports."

"Thanks."

That did little for John's nerves. He headed back to the bench as the feeling increased. The only idea that made any sense was his connection to Anwen. Anwen could sense Rift energy and chronons. Given the shared telekinesis, it was possible he gained access to her other abilities. The effect Dmitri's device had when it healed them was unknown. The fused Nanogenes were another problem. There was the possibility that blowing up the house and the lamp affected him. The alchemy had to have some effect on the Nanogenes. The unanswerable questions didn't help.

Part way back, John noticed a man staring at him. From Anwen's description of the man from Christmas Market, John suspected he was the same person. If it was then the man bypassed the shielding on his wrist-strap. That increased his uneasiness.

John made a show of finding his phone and checking something. Instead, he photographed the man. After sending the image to Ianto, John sat and looked at the picture. The man looked familiar somehow. Rather than his face, it was something about the way he stood.

"I'm running facial rec," Ianto said over the ear com.

John replied by text. "Show the pic to Jack."

"Can't right now."

John had forgotten about the dream-sharing. Anwen mentioned it. After finding out what happened between her mum and Jack, she suggested it. He thought it was counterproductive, but couldn't very well explain why to an eleven-year-old.

The uneasiness was shifting to paranoia when Ken approached. He held up a colorful shopping bag. "The store had one CD left. You're lucky they had it. I got the rest of the list."

"Thanks." John stood.

"What is your connection to the kid?"

That was not a conversation John wanted to have. "Torchwood problem." Which was somewhat true. He met Anwen in the future when she was thirty-five. The adult saved him from himself. They were together for five years before the time change killed her. Even if it wasn't dangerous, there was no part of that conversation that wasn't easily misunderstood. Even Jack outright asked his intentions toward the child.

"Yeah. You're not going to tell me?"

John had no idea what to tell him. "Later." That gave him some time to think of something.