Series 1, Episode 2 - Day One
SEXUAL ENERGY
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SEXUAL ENERGY
Report by Owen
Sex is power. This is not news.
Carys was harvesting sexual energy from her victims, and she was a girl with a big appetite - but our own (human) history and culture is awash with myths of sexual potency. And OK, Carys was an alien, but stories where women somehow 'steal' power or even life itself from their male sexual partner seem to exist all over the world.
(Sounds dramatic, but think how some athletes today - footballers and boxers most notoriously - will admit to abstaining from sexual intercourse before a match, in case it saps their energy. No medical evidence for this, btw.)
The ability of some aliens in human form to 'map' themselves onto existing mythologies is what makes them so hard to spot. The Carys alien got lucky in that it arrived into our highly sexualised culture, and not into Victorian Britain, say. Imagine some pale chaste maiden being possessed by a sex-mad alien - it'd be like Emily Bronte on Viagra.
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TANTRIC SEX
Report by Owen
Don't get me started. Who wants to know about ageing rockers who spend 18 hours of the day having sex, and then the remaining 6 smugly telling the world about it.
But - and here's the bit I'm paid for - Tantric Sex is founded on the belief that sexual intercourse can allow you to experience the divine energy of the cosmos. And delaying the finish increases the power - say you're doing it on a nylon carpet, just imagine18 hours of pent-up static shag energy.
Now, the theory grows that if you get really good at sustaining Tantric sex, you'll generate so much energy that it'll spread until you give the entire universe an orgasm.
Shagnami.
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DOOVARI
Report by Owen
Then there's the Doovari. They power their starships on the sex energy of their incredibly potent crew. That's correct - they've invented sex drive.
It's tempting to make jokes, but they're so damned happy. They've been so busy making love, they never got around to making war.
This, naturally, would have made Wilhelm Reich happy. The psychoanalyst believed that sex energy was part of the universal organic energy, that he called the Orgone. He thought that spacecraft were shag powered. Poor bloke used to hang around fields at night, looking for lust-fuelled UFOs whizzing by.
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WILHELM REICH
Report added by Toshiko
Owen's being flippant here. Wilhelm Reich was taken seriously by Sigmund Freud at the time, if not by the wider scientific community. And as a Jew and a Communist working in the 30s and 40s, his work was often unfairly dismissed and ridiculed. OK, I'm not saying I AGREE with him - I think science is fairly clear on the non-existence of orgone these days - but Reich thought he'd discovered something that would benefit the human race. He wanted to cure diseases, make us happier. Instead, he died in prison, labelled a quack because of his 'orgone-gathering' machines.
Random fact: Reich is also the hero of the Kate Bush song, 'Cloudbusting.' And Donald Sutherland plays him in the video, which is pretty cool!
Another thought on sexual energy myths - a lot of these 'energy stealing' female figures have very animal characteristics. I mean, literally - like 'snake women'. They crop up in Ancient Greek and Indian mythology - so I'm guessing we can't just write it off as a giant cultural hangover from the Biblical 'Adam and Eve' story.
Do you think there's any possibility that these stories actually describe aliens who got things a bit wrong? Okay, I know it sounds crazy - but think of the times we've only spotted shape shifting or 'morphing' aliens when they've made a basic error. Like walking through doors instead of opening them - or adding features like gills, or cats' eyes, to a human form.
(There's a poem by Keats, called 'Lamia', which is about a beautiful woman with a serpent's head - he also describes her as being: - 'Striped like a Zebra, freckled like a pard, / Eyed like a peacock'. Sounds to me like a classic case of alien morphic confusion.)
All of which reminds me, we're all behind with the Werewolf file - eek!
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CARYS
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CARYS FLETCHER
Notes by Gwen
Carys Fletcher. Born 13 November 1987.
School reports, personnel files from her temping agency, swimming badges from when she was six, reports of her mother's death in a car crash when she was ten, and last year's emails discussing the relative merits of Orlando Bloom and Heath Ledger.
This isn't about meteorites or gases. We have a trapped girl. And we need to rescue her. When I was with her in the cell, Carys told me she was losing.
We have to find a way to keep her fighting until we know how to free her.
We have to find something that'll connect with her. Make her fight back. We should be helping her.
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ORLANDO EMAIL
From: Fletcher, Carys
To: Sambagirl
Sambagirl wrote:
>>well i'm sending another email to the Pirates people!!! don't you just
>> love me?
i still can't get over Orlandos last scene, that was sooo sad, all my friends reckon Pirates is gay, so i had a little talk with them the bums lol PIRATES RULES!!! once again, the acting was superb!!! i love Orlando, but i'm not like all those girls who go " omg Orlando is sooo hot, i wanna marry him!!!" i mean, don't get me wrong, he's hot, but i love him cause he's such a great actor. in the final scene when he yelled out "NOOOOOO!!!!" he did it soooo brillantly! and he ALWAYS plays heroes soooo well, it's just brillant!!! and this next sentance i'm going to write isn't mean or anything... but he is waaaaaaay better than Heath thing lol i don't even know his name, but i didn't like him at all. i still can't get over the last Pirates, omg it was soooo sad, i cried every time i watched it, which mind you was like 4 times!!! i think it's a great fulm with EXCELLENT acting.
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Alien Possession
Notes by Gwen
Obviously this is the 1st case of alien possession I've worked on, so I'm hardly an expert. However, it's worth noting how much Carys's behaviour reminded me of people in the grip of serious drug addiction (Obviously the 'addict' here wasn't Carys, it was the alien inside her).
The Carys/alien's behaviour 'escalated' as her need for more energy increased - drug users often start with petty crime to fund their habit, but their crimes become more serious and frequent as they become more addicted. Understanding that Carys might progress along similar lines was a help, allowing us to predict what she might do next - something we could use in the future.
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TOSHIKO LOOKS FOR CARYS
Before I even get to sex clubs and lapdancing parlours there's pubs, clubs and bars, there's taxi ranks, bus stops and kebab shops.
I've found one street where there's 34 different places where a young girl can throw herself at a man without missing.
And that's without the internet. A friend of mine once said any technology will catch on if it helps you get laid. The only exception to the rule is the iPod. The proof is the Segway.
I've never explored the aspect of the internet, but I could have sex right now at my desk. If I wanted to.
But Carys needs to make physical contact - and I can't narrow it down. About the only place she couldn't have sex in Cardiff is Techniquest Science Museum in the Bay.
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TOSHIKO: INSTANT MESSENGER TRANSCRIPT
..VrgnSrgn: Hey gorgeous!!!! :)
..VrgnSrgn: Hey? Any1 ther?
TOSHIKO: Hi. I'm busy.
..VrgnSrgn: 'k :)
..VrgnSrgn: What u doin?
TOSHIKO: Can't talk now. Busy.
..VrgnSrgn: lol. I'm working 2. so much in common, sexy :) :) :)
TOSHIKO: Not really. I'm looking for a woman.
..VrgnSrgn: !!!lol!!!
..VrgnSrgn: You bi?
[conversation terminated]
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ALIEN BABY DIARY
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CAPTAIN'S BLOG (BBC AMERICA)
Ongoing Archive Notes
Torchwood 3
Volume 72, Week 35
Alien activity: Twelve confirmed Weevil sightings. Meteorite cleanup complicated when a gaseous alien being escaped from the stone, infecting a civilian, Carys Fletcher. Nine civilian deaths - standard cleanup, although the Conway Clinic required a more in-depth cover story. Infected civilian successfully purged of the gas (standard amnesia protocol to follow). Alien being terminated during capture.
Alien technology: Portable prison cell employed in capture of alien being. Performed well, but battery life almost entirely depleted. Researching ways to recharge cell, if at all possible.
Rift activity: Within acceptable levels and tolerances.
Security: Monitoring of Gwen Cooper's communication continues - no breaches yet, partner Rhys Williams still unaware of TW or Gwen's new role. Portable prison cell taken out of Hub despite strict instructions to the contrary.
Other security issues: Will need to replenish cryo-chamber, as we are running low on replacement corpses. Ianto to source some from the usual supplier.
Staff: In her first day on the job, Gwen Cooper's carelessness caused the escape of the gaseous alien, which led to many deaths across the city. In summary: perhaps not ideal. However, it was her focus on the human aspect of the case, and research into the civilian's background, that helped us track down the alien. She was prepared to offer her life to correct her mistake, and coped extremely well under pressure. She could prove to be a valuable member of the team.
Other staff issues: Owen Harper not to be left alone with female prisoners in future. Especially if they have ultra-powerful alien pheromones.
Upcoming issues: Gwen Cooper to receive advanced weapons training. Energy surges in the lower areas of the hub still unexplained.
Capt. Jack Harness.