Chapter 2: A Discman
Toshiko Sato loved puzzles. She looked again at the little silver globe that sat on her desk and considered the past two days well spent as she was now confident she knew the purpose of the object. The scans had revealed it to be almost solid with just a circular disc-like space inside. It was made of a metal unknown on Earth but which Torchwood had encountered before. The Oretullic recording disc found almost 20 years earlier had been made of the same metal and had similar design features. Ianto had retrieved it from the archives for her earlier in the day and it now sat beside the globe.
"So, this new thing is Oretullic too?" queried Ianto, standing by Toshiko's desk looking at the two artefacts.
"Yes and I think they fit together. See," she pointed to a 360 degree scan slowly rotating on one of her computer screens, "there's the opening just here." She pointed to the screen. "That's where the disc is inserted. Then it records whatever you want it to." She looked up triumphantly, pleased with herself. "I'll tell Jack as soon as he gets back."
Jack and Owen had responded to a police report of strange goings-on in a Penarth nursing home but were now on their way back. They had discovered traces of a temporal anomaly and set up recording devices to measure activity. The effect was isolated in one storeroom and this had been secured to prevent anyone entering.
Ianto smiled at Toshiko, happy she had finally solved the puzzle. "Jack'll be pleased."
"About what?" asked Gwen, walking up to them. She had got bored combing accident reports for anything unusual and wanted someone to talk to. She was also hoping Ianto would be making coffee soon.
"Tosh has solved the mystery of the globe," said Ianto.
"Oh, great. What is it then?"
"A Discman," replied Ianto before Toshiko could reply. "Coffee?" he asked, making for the kitchen area.
Toshiko was disgusted. "It is not an Discman!" she exclaimed, frowning at Ianto's retreating back. She turned to Gwen, "It's a Oretullic recording device. Probably used to store business and governmental data."
Gwen could not help smiling, Toshiko got so worked up when anyone played down the importance of what they found; she couldn't resist teasing her a bit more. "An official Discman then? That someone carelessly threw from their spaceship when they came visiting," she responded, laughing at Toshiko's expression. "I mean, these Whitehall bods leave their laptops on trains so I suppose it's not impossible."
"I don't know why I bother with you two," said Toshiko, turning back her computer screens and the laborious task of checking and recording her findings.