2. The House.
"Do you think the storm and all that rain affected whatever's draining the power around here?" Devyon asks.
"Yes, that might be so," the Doctor says thoughtfully, as they all stroll along what seems like an interminably long road, following a hunch the Doctor has felt.
It's stopped raining and the sun appears briefly, low near the horizon, from behind the dark clouds.
"What do you think it might be, Doctor?" Chloe asks. She has two or three ideas, but she knows the Doctor's knowledge is far greater than hers.
"I'm sorry, there are so many possibilities."
"What have we learnt?" Chloe goads. "They can drain nearby power sources."
"That brings it down to several hundred possibilities," the Doctor replies.
Devyon emits a groan of despair. "We'll never find out, then."
"Their power drain is adversely affected by water or wind," Chloe continues.
"Narrows it down! But not that much," the Doctor says as they continue walking.
"Do we know anything else?" Devyon asks, desperately.
"We must find a house nearby," the Doctor says as the light fades. "I don't want us spending another night in that hotel!"
They see a chimney through the trees and elect to walk down a forest path in the gathering gloom by torchlight.
They find a modest house by a road and decide to ask if they could have a bed for the night. Alyssa can hardly walk she's so footsore.
Chloe knocks and the lady of the house answers the door. Her son peeps around a doorway.
"We've had a problem with our, erm, transport," Chloe says carefully to avoid seeming too urgent. "It's broken down along the road. We were wondering if we could spend the night here?"
"Oh, you poor things," the lady says. "Of course! Do come in."
Hospitality is so important! How would they manage otherwise?
A minute later, they're all standing in the lounge, unwilling to presume on their hostess by sitting in the comfortable armchairs just yet.
Their hostess introduces herself. "I'm Sheila Cassowary and this is my son, Ben. I've only recently arrived from America where I own a company. I'm managing it remotely from here in Wales. Would you like a meal? I've plenty - I cooked far too much today! You'd be very welcome."
The group all look to the Doctor to reply, in case he thinks there might be a problem.
"Yes, that's great," the Doctor says. "Thank you!" He knows it's a while since they last ate! There surely can't be a problem here?
While their hostess is busying herself in the kitchen, Chloe uses her hand-held device to discover more about their hostess. "Our hostess did own the company she told us about, but it's gone bust."
This doesn't surprise the others but they're extremely tired.
Chloe finds other things out. "Her company went bust, so she can't be actively managing it. There's nothing to manage. It's a bit odd."
"Maybe she's sorting it out with receivers?" Meran suggests.
"On the run from them, more likely," Devyon says mischievously. "I bet she's taken the company's money and scarpered."
"What would that mean for her here?" Meran asks. He hasn't had much experience travelling; and running from justice can't happen nearly so effectively on a colony planet such as his home planet.
"So, she's fugitive from the American Authorities," Devyon says. "I suppose she might get away with it here. Disgusting!"
"Come, now," the Doctor says gently, "this is a lot of supposition. There are far more important things to think about."
Power Drain.
Many times during the meal the lights dim substantially, but return to their previous brightness after a second or so.
After their meal, the group are sitting around the dining table, relaxing.
"I didn't know the power could dim so much," Sheila says. "In America it's more stable."
"You haven't been here long?" the Doctor says. "The power here in this remote valley might be fluctuating this much all the time, mightn't it?" He wants to see how she reacts.
"I've been here three months and it's never had so much of a problem."
"We had occasional problems like this on Gallifrey when it was freshly re-built," Simeon says (ref. 9).
"Where's that?" Sheila asks sharply. She's never heard of a place called Gallifrey.
Simeon recognises he might have let a secret out, but he's no idea how to sort it out for a moment.
The Doctor comes to his rescue. "Oh, erm, a long way away; a very long way away. I wonder how much it's dimming by?"
As a distraction, he reaches into a pocket and retrieves an electric Power measuring device. He doesn't even have to plug it in to see there's a big problem! The displayed digits wobble all over the place.
A few possible causes fly through the Doctor's mind. Dalek interference is the most likely, but still many other reasons may yet be the sole cause.
The Gathering Darkness.
A tap at the window causes everyone to turn hurriedly to look.
"Oh, it's just insects flying towards the light," Sheila says. "It must be a warm evening and no other lights nearby."
"They've probably all been put out with all this flickering!" Devyon surmises. "Maybe we should all just go to bed and put the lights out."
"I'm scared," Alyssa says. She walks across to where Chloe and Simeon are sitting and perches on a dining chair arm.
The Doctor's about to check with their hostess if that's alright when there's a louder bang on the window; just one bang.
The Doctor goes to the window and looks out. "There's no sign of anyone or anything out there." He peers closely at the window glass. He's about to retrieve his sonic screwdriver when their hostess arrives by his side.
"There are bats about nesting not far away," she says. "I'll draw the curtains."
The Doctor steps back to allow her to close the curtains, but then steps up to the curtains again, reaching between the curtains and looking out, now without reflections from the window glass.
Chloe recognises the sound of the sonic screwdriver and guesses the Doctor's verifying the window will stay shut. Not quite accurate, though.
The Doctor returns to the room from the window and goes to Chloe. She's travelled extensively with him, and he would rather keep her updated.
"It wasn't a bat," he whispers.
Simeon overhears and asks quietly, "What was it, then?"
Sheila can tell they're conferring and wants to know what's happening. If she's to have these people staying in the house, she wants them to be up-front with her and tell all.
"What was it, then?" she repeats.
"Likely a bat, that's all," the Doctor tells her. "Do you have any candles?"
"Well, yes, why?"
"If we can reduce the light level in here the creatures outside won't be trying to get in nearly so much."
Candles.
A few candles duly appear from the kitchen and Sheila sets about securing them and lighting them, before putting the light switch off.
"I think I preferred it with the lights on," Alyssa says agitatedly.
"Come and sit on my lap," Chloe offers. She can see her sister is agitated and needs comfort.
Alyssa is very glad of the closer company, allaying her fears a little. But Chloe feels she's less able to leap up if need be.
The Doctor says, "With candles we have the advantage of not being dependent on power from the outside world for the light we have. The candlelight can't suddenly fluctuate like that and go out when the electrical power dips."
"Ah, risk reduction?" Simeon guesses.
"Exactly," the Doctor confirms. There are quite a few other benefits, too, he knows, yet there are some drawbacks - it might simply blow out, but not all the candles at once!
"We can't sit up like this all night," Devyon says. "Is it alright if I go to bed upstairs?" He seems less affected by the lights dimming than anyone else.
"Do take a candle with you," Sheila says.
"I'll go, too," Meran says. It seems an opportune moment to go and try to sleep.
Devyon takes the offered lit candle and he goes upstairs with Meran. Their clunking upstairs stops after a short while.
As nothing further has happened, Sheila decides to retire to bed with a candle. "You're coming too, Ben," she says, encouraging her son to accompany her.
Ben would have liked to stay downstairs with the strangers, but his mother really doesn't want that.
What's Out There?
"Doctor, is it Daleks?" Chloe asks. This is her best guess from the few she knows about.
"I doubt it," the Doctor says. "Their power draining equipment wouldn't be so affected by the storm."
"Or is it a rift extension from Cardiff?" Chloe adds her second idea.
"No, too far away for that, and the geology doesn't suggest it. There's no direct fault line in this direction."
"Why would a geological rift line affect electricity?" Simeon asks.
"It's not the pure geological aspect that matters, it's how it's been used," the Doctor explains. "It only matters if some alien technology has acted on it. The bending and folding of the rocks assists some types of rift activity. Then access through to other places becomes possible."
Identification.
"Are we going to sit up all night?" Chloe asks anxiously. She doesn't want to be awake for yet another night. "Doctor, what's happening out there?"
The Doctor is standing near the curtains, peering through the gap.
"They're called the Chmoo," the Doctor says. "They're small - pea-sized, but persistent creatures. I'm unsure why they're here on Earth. They don't usually bother populated planets."
"Are they causing all this power upset?" Simeon asks.
"Yes, it will just be them," the Doctor replies. "I should be surprised if there's any other alien technology out there, here, in the back of beyond."
Alyssa shudders. "Are we really so far from civilisation here?"
"No," the Doctor reassures her. "It's only an hour's travel by their standard vehicles of the day to the nearest city. The roads here are tortuously winding; very slow for travelling."
"Why do they make the roads like that?"
"They have had to in the past - it's very mountainous just here – the roads follow old sheep tracks, and they can't afford to improve on the roads now."
The Doctor can tell that Alyssa would feel more at ease if the roads were better, maybe so they might all get away faster, but there are more pressing things on his mind.
What are the Chmoo like?