SPACE
We see the stars explode as AMY does a voice-over.
AMY: (V.O.) Life with the Doctor was like this --
We are bombarded with scenes of AMY and RORY'S travels with the DOCTOR.
AMY: (V.O.) Real life? Was like this --
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, KITCHEN, JULY, DAY
RORY is sorting laundry as AMY goes through the refrigerator. The answer machine clicks on.
ANSWER MACHINE: It's Lens Opticians. Just to remind you your reading glasses are ready for collection. Bye!
AMY: Milk, two months out of date. Yogurt. (takes container out and opens it) Aah! (drops it to the floor) Don't ask.
RORY: (sniffs shirt before standing) We've run out of washing tablets. (tosses box over his shoulder)
EXT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, BACK GARDEN, JULY, DAY
AMY and RORY are sitting in the garden having tea.
RORY: We have two lives: Real life and Doctor life. It doesn't feel like real life gets much of a look-in.
AMY: What do we do?
RORY: Choose.
The TARDIS engines sound and AMY and RORY turn around.
AMY: Not today, though.
RORY: Nah, not today.
We get more flashbacks to their travels with the DOCTOR, some of the slower, more emotional times.
AMY: (V.O.) Every time we flew away with the Doctor, we'd just become part of his life, but he never stood still long enough to become part of ours. Except, once...
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, MASTER BEDROOM, NIGHT
AMY and RORY are asleep in bed. A small, black cube appears in midair and floats over to rest on a side-table.
AMY: (V.O.) The year of the slow invasion. The time the Doctor came to stay.
[SCENE_BREAK]
Matt Smith
[SCENE_BREAK]
Karen Gillan
[SCENE_BREAK]
Arthur Darvill
"The Power of Three" By Chris Chibnall
PRODUCER Marcus Wilson
DIRECTOR Saul Metzstein
[SCENE_BREAK]
EXT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, FRONT, JULY, DAY
BRIAN is ringing the doorbell incessantly. RORY opens the window and he and AMY look out
RORY: Dad, it's half-past 6:00 in the morning.
BRIAN: What are you doing lying around? (holds up one of the cubes) Haven't you seen them?
BRIAN turns around, arms open. RORY and AMY see there are cubes everywhere: on the street, cars, window ledges and the park. AMY and RORY quickly join BRIAN outside on the street.
RORY: What are they?
BRIAN: Nobody knows. But they're everywhere.
AMY: Well, where have they come from? Wait. (sees something across the street in the park)
The DOCTOR is sitting on the top of a children's jungle gym examining a cube with a magnifying glass.
AMY: Doctor.
DOCTOR: (turns around) Invasion of the very small cubes. That's new.
TV
A variety of reporters talk on the appearance of the cubes.
REPORTER 1: World leaders are appealing for calm.
REPORTER 2: The global appearance of millions of small cubes. (reporters overlap) Despite official warnings, people have been taking the cubes from the streets, into offices and homes.
REPORTER 1: What are they?
REPORTER 2: Where did they come from?
REPORTER 1: And why are they here?
BRIAN COX: (holding a cube) Well, they're certainly not random space debris. They're too perfectly formed for that. Are they extraterrestrial in origin? Well, you'll have to ask a better man than me.
INT. TARDIS
AMY, RORY and BRIAN are at the console as the DOCTOR examines a cube.
DOCTOR: All absolutely identical. Not a single molecule's difference between them. No blemishes, imperfections, individualities.
BRIAN: What if they're bombs? Billions of tiny bombs. Or transport capsules, maybe, with a minirobot inside. Or deadly hard drives. Or alien eggs. Or messages needing decoding. Or they're all parts of a bigger whole. Jigsaw puzzles that need fitting together.
DOCTOR: Very thorough, Brian. Very, very thorough. Well done. Stay here. Watch these. (gives BRIAN his cube) Yell if anything happens. (walks away)
RORY pats his dad on the arm and follows the DOCTOR.
AMY: Doctor, is this an alien invasion? Because that's what it feels like.
AMY and RORY help the DOCTOR carry equipment.
RORY: There couldn't be life forms in every cube, could there?
DOCTOR: I don't know. And I really don't like not knowing.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, PARLOR, JULY, DAY
The DOCTOR steps out of the TARDIS, followed by AMY and RORY and walks through to the kitchen.
DOCTOR: Right, I need to use your kitchen as a lab...
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, KITCHEN, JULY, DAY
RORY sets down equipment as the DOCTOR fills a pot with water.
DOCTOR: ...cook up some cubes, see what happens.
RORY: Right. I'm due at work.
DOCTOR: What? You've got a job?
RORY: Yeah, of course I've got a job. What do you think we do when we're not with you?
DOCTOR: I imagine mostly kissing.
RORY shrugs.
AMY: I write travel articles for magazines and Rory heals the sick.
RORY: My shift starts in an hour. You don't know where my scrubs are?
AMY: In the lounge, where you left them.
The DOCTOR looks at AMY, unused to the domesticity.
EXT. STREET, DAY
Black Land Rovers drive up the alley and armed men surround the house.
MAN: (over radio) Approach each side. Nonterrestrial life form detected. Target unconfirmed. May be hostile.
EXT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, FRONT, JULY, DAY
Soldiers prepare to storm the house through the front door.
SOLDIER: (into radio) Approaching source now. Area will be secure in 60 seconds. Ultimate force available.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, KITCHEN, JULY, DAY
The DOCTOR is setting up equipment with help from AMY.
DOCTOR: Ehh, the Ponds. With their house and their jobs and their everyday lives. The journalist and the nurse. Long way from Leadworth.
AMY: We think it's been 10 years. Not for you or Earth, but for us. 10 years older, 10 years of you. On and off.
DOCTOR: Look at you now. All grown up.
The front door bursts open and soldiers rush into the house.
SOLDIER: (over radio) Block the rear entrances.
SOLDIER: Clear!
SOLDIER: (over radio) Cut -- power line.
SOLDIER: (holds gun on AMY and the DOCTOR) Trap One. Kitchen secured.
AMY and the DOCTOR turn around to see armed soldiers at the kitchen door.
SOLDIER: (over radio) Trap three. Back garden secured.
They turn back as RORY is marched back into the kitchen. He has his hands up and is wearing no trousers.
RORY: There are soldiers all over my house and I'm in my pants.
AMY: My whole life, I've dreamed of saying that, and I miss it by being someone else.
A WOMAN in her late-forties enters the house, strolling casually between the armed soldiers towards the kitchen.
WOMAN: All these muscles, and they still don't know how to knock. Sorry about the raucous entrance. Spike in artron energy reading at this address. In the light of the last 24 hours, we had to check it out and, uh, the dogs do love a runout. Hello. Kate Stewart, head of scientific research at UNIT. And, with dress sense like that... (holds a scanner in front of the DOCTOR'S chest) You must be the Doctor. I hoped it'd be you.
DOCTOR: Tell me, since when did science run the military, Kate?
KATE: Since me. UNIT's been adapting. Well, I dragged them along, kicking and screaming, which made it sound like more fun than it actually was.
DOCTOR: What do we know about these cubes?
KATE: (walks further into the kitchen) Far less than we need to. We've been freighting them in from around the world for testing. So far, we've subjected them to temperatures of +/-200° Celsius, simulated a water depth of 5 miles, dropped one out of a helicopter at 10,000 feet and rolled our best tank over it. Always intact.
DOCTOR: That's impressive. I don't want them to be impressive. I want them vulnerable, with a nice Achilles's heel.
KATE: We don't know how they got here, what they're made of, or why they're here.
DOCTOR: And all around the world, people are picking them up and taking them home.
KATE: Like iPads have dropped out of the sky. Taking them to work, taking pictures, making films, posting them on Flickr and YouTube. Within 3 hours, the cubes had 1,000 separate Twitter accounts.
DOCTOR: (disgusted) Twitter!
KATE: I've recommended we treat this as a hostile incursion. Gather them all up and lock them in a secure facility, but that would take massive international agreement and cooperation.
DOCTOR: We need evidence. The cubes arrived in plain sight, in vast quantities, as the sun rose. So what does that tell us? (puts his arms over AMY and RORY'S shoulders)
AMY: Maybe they wanted to be seen, noticed.
DOCTOR: Well, more than that. They want to be observed. So we observe them. Stay with them, round the clock. Watch the cubes. (tosses a cube in the air and catches it) Day and night. Record absolutely everything about them. Team cube, in it together. (kisses the cube)
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, LOUNGE, DAY
The DOCTOR is lying upside-down on the sofa between RORY and AMY staring at the cubes.
DOCTOR: (V.O.) Four days. Nothing! (grabs a cube) Nothing! Not a single change in any cube, (slaps cube) anywhere in the world. (puts cube back on the table a sits up) Four days! And I'm still in your lounge!
AMY: You were the one who wanted to observe them.
DOCTOR: Yes, well, I thought they'd do something, didn't I? Not just sit there while everyone eats endless cereal! (gets up and paces)
RORY: You said we had to be patient.
DOCTOR: Yes, you, you! Not me! I hate being patient! Patience is for wimps! (sits back down) I can't live like this. Don't make me. I need to be busy.
AMY: Fine! Be busy! We'll watch the cubes!
The DOCTOR gets up and hurries from the house.
DOCTOR: Yes.
EXT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, DAY
The DOCTOR rushes through painting a fence and kicking a football.
DOCTOR: (kicking football) 98, 99, 100.
He moves on to mowing the lawn, working on the car engine and vacuuming the house.
DOCTOR: (kicking football) 4,999,000, 5 million. (ends by cradling the ball on his back)
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, LOUNGE, DAY
The DOCTOR leaps over the back of the sofa and slips into place between RORY and AMY.
DOCTOR: That's better. Nothing like a bit of activity to pass the time. How long was I gone?
RORY: (checks watch) Uh, about an hour.
DOCTOR: I can't do it. No.(gets up and jumps over the back of the sofa and heads for the TARDIS)
AMY and RORY follow.
AMY: Where are you going?
INT. TARDIS
BRIAN is still sitting in a folding chair watching the cubes.
DOCTOR: Brian! You're still here.
BRIAN: You told me to watch the cubes.
DOCTOR: Four days ago.
BRIAN: Oh! Doesn't time fly when you're alone with your thoughts.
RORY: You can't just leave, Doctor.
Brian stands up.
DOCTOR: Yes, course I can. Quick jaunt. Restore sanity. Ooh! (snaps fingers) Hey! (drapes his arms over RORY and AMY) Come, if you like.
BRIAN: They can't just go off like that.
DOCTOR: Can't they? Can't you? That's how it goes, isn't it?
RORY: I've got my job.
DOCTOR: Oh, yes, Rory, the universe is awaiting, but you have a little job to go to.
RORY: It's not little. It's important to me. Look, what you do isn't all there is.
DOCTOR: I never said it was. All right, fine. I'll be back, soon. Monitor the cubes. Call me. (snaps fingers) I'll have the TARDIS set to every Earth newsfeed.
AMY, RORY and BRIAN leave the TARDIS.
TV
REPORTER 2: The end of a week of cubic questions and theories, but no answers. Could this be the greatest stealth marketing campaign in business history? And, if it is, will those behind it ever come forward and explain exactly what it's for?
INT. CLUB, NIGHT, OCTOBER
AMY is out with her girlfriend, LAURA.
AMY: I'm so pleased for you two. It's about time you made an honest woman of her.
LAURA: Amy. About bridesmaids. You've missed quite a few things the last year or two.
AMY: I'm so totally there. Whatever you need.
INT. HOSPITAL, CORRIDOR, NIGHT
RORY and another nurse, RANJIT, are walking down the corridor with a patient on a gurney.
RANJIT: Everyone here loves you -- the nurses, the doctors. You're a lifesaver, mate, literally.
RORY: Ha ha! Well, thanks.
RANJIT: But there are months when we don't see you. We can't do without you. I want you to go full-time.
RORY: Full-time? Blimey. Uh --
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, MASTER BEDROOM, NIGHT
AMY and RORY are sitting up against the headboard drinking tea.
RORY: I said yes. I committed.
AMY: And I committed to being a bridesmaid, months in advance, like I know I'm going to be here.
RORY: So the Doctor's God knows where, the cubes aren't doing anything at all. Did real life just get started?
AMY: I like it.
RORY: So do I. (sips tea)
INT. BRIAN'S HOUSE, PARLOR, DAY
BRIAN is setting up a video camera. RORY comes in with tea.
BRIAN: (over camera) Brian's log. Day 67.
RORY: You can't call it that. "Brian's log"? (sits)
BRIAN: Brian's log. Day 67. Cube was quiet all night, once again. Cube was quiet all day. As per previously, no movement, no change in measurements. End of entry. (switches off camera)
RORY: You stay up and watch it all the time?
BRIAN: I film it while I'm asleep. When I wake up, I watch the footage on fast-forward. I email the result to UNIT. My middle name is diligence.
RORY: (sarcastic) Wow! I can't wait to see day 68.
BRIAN: Don't mock my log. I'm doing what the Doctor asked.
INT. HOSPITAL, WAITING ROOM, DAY, DECEMBER
RORY enters the room with a file and calls on the next patient. Slade's "Merry Xmas Everybody" plays over the speakers.
RORY: Uh, Mr. Ryan, please.
MR RYAN is a young man with his foot stuck in a toilet.
RORY: Again?
RORY wheels MR. RYAN out of the room. Sitting on the last chair in the row is a young girl. Her eyes briefly glow blue as does the cube she is holding on her lap.
INT. HOSPITAL, EXAM ROOM, DAY, DECEMBER
A MAN is lying on the bed reading a book. He checks his watch with a sigh. An NURSE enters the room, mask over his nose and mouth, and closes the curtain behind him.
MAN: I'm fine. I've been done.
There is a cube on the side table.
NURSE: What seems to be the matter?
MAN: I'm just waiting for a prescription.
NURSE: Where does it hurt?
A second nurse enters.
MAN: I said, "I'm fine." Will you tell your colleague here that I -- stop!
The second nurse leans over the man, hand on his shoulder. The MAN pulls off the mask to reveal a snout-shaped opening in place of a nose and mouth. He pulls the mask off the first nurse who looks the same as the second. He screams. The GIRL from the waiting room stands there impassively and watches. The cube on the side table swirls blue.
INT. HOSPITAL, CORRIDOR, DAY
The two nurses run the gurney down an empty corridor towards a lift.
INT. MISC. WORKPLACES, DAY
The cubes are used in various ways from golf hazards to paperweights
EXT. STREET, DAY
The cubes pile up beside recycle bins and overflow garbage bins.
EXT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, BACK GARDEN, JUNE, DAY
AMY and RORY have friends over for a cookout. RORY and BRIAN are at the grill. AMY is on her mobile as she walks around the yard.
AMY: (into phone) Hey! Doctor, it's me. Hello. So, the U.N. classified the cubes as "provisionally safe," whatever that means, and Banksy and Damien Hirst put out a statement saying the cubes are nothing to do with them. And the cubes? Well, they're just...here, still. What's it been,9 months? People are just taking them for granted. Maybe we'll never know why they came, but, anyway, I got to Laura's wedding. It was great. She's here tonight. Being as it's our wedding anniversary, we thought you might've dropped by. I left you messages.
The DOCTOR walks up behind AMY, a large bouquet of flowers in front of him.
DOCTOR: I know! (hands AMY flowers) Happy anniversary! (turns back into the house) Come with me. And bring your husband. (claps hands)
AMY looks at RORY and they follow the DOCTOR.
INT. HOTEL ROOM, DAY
The DOCTOR steps out of the TARDIS followed by AMY and RORY in period evening dress.
DOCTOR: 26th of June 1819. The recently opened Savoy Hotel. Dinner, bed, and breakfast for two. (a chef walks by with covered plate) Bonjour, bonjour, merci, Auguste. You'll be back before the party's over. They won't even notice you went. No complications, I promise.
RORY takes the DOCTOR'S face in both hands and kisses him resoundingly on the cheek.
DOCTOR: Ooh!
The DOCTOR enters the TARDIS. RORY laughs and AMY squeals in excitement.
EXT. STREET, DAY
The DOCTOR, AMY and RORY are sitting on the edge of the road. It's snowing and AMY and RORY are all disheveled.
DOCTOR: Bit of a shock, Zygon ship under the Savoy, half the staff imposters. Still! It's all fixed now, eh?
INT. ROOM, DAY
The DOCTOR, AMY and RORY run into a wood-paneled room covered with rich draperies. The DOCTOR leaps on the bed.
AMY: (cross) I thought we were going home!
DOCTOR: You can't miss a good wedding. Under the bed. Under the bed!
The DOCTOR and RORY crawl under the bed followed by AMY. Outside the room we hear a walking stick and a muffled
voice.
MAN: ... King of England!
The DOCTOR shushes with a finger to his lips.
AMY: It wasn't my fault.
RORY: It was totally your fault,
AMY: Somebody was talking and I just said "yes."
RORY: To wedding vows. You just married Henry VIII on our anniversary.
We see the feet and legs of Henry VIII as he enters the room. The DOCTOR sneezes and RORY buries his head in his hands.
DOCTOR: Sorry.
EXT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, BACK GARDEN, JUNE, NIGHT
RORY and AMY are home in time for the anniversary toast. As other cheer, BRIAN walks over to the DOCTOR.
AMY: (hugs RORY) Hey! Hey!
BRIAN: How long were they away?
DOCTOR: I don't know what you're talking about, Brian.
BRIAN: Because they're wearing totally different clothes from earlier.
DOCTOR: Seven weeks. I got sidetracked. A lot.
BRIAN: What happened to the other people who traveled with you?
DOCTOR: Uh, some left me, some got left behind, and some -- not many, but -- some died. Not them. Not them, Brian. Never them.
The DOCTOR and BRIAN look over at RORY and AMY who are laughing and chatting with friends.
LATER
The party is over and it's just the DOCTOR, AMY and RORY. AMY is turning a cube over in her hand.
DOCTOR: (hesitantly) Can I... stay here? With you. And Rory. For a bit. Keep an eye on the cubes. However long that takes.
AMY: I thought it would drive you mad.
DOCTOR: No. No no. I mean, I'll be better at it this time. I... (fingers shrub) miss you.
INT. BRIAN'S HOUSE, PARLOR, DAY, JULY
BRIAN is working on his log.
BRIAN: Brian's log. Day 361. (checks watch) 8:50 pm. No movement. (switches off camera and yawns) And I am cream crackered.
BRIAN leans back in his chair and stares at the cube. He soon nods off.
TV
"The Apprentice" is on.
LORD SUGAR: I sent you out to sell as many cubes as you could in 24 hours and look at you, you've made a right hash of it, haven't you? Well, Craig, you're fired.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, LOUNGE, DAY
AMY, the DOCTOR and RORY are sitting on the couch, eating fish fingers and custard while watching TV.
DOCTOR: (mouthful) If I had a restaurant, this would be all I'd serve.
AMY: Yeah, right. You, running a restaurant.
DOCTOR: I've run restaurants. Who do you think invented the Yorkshire pudding?
RORY: (chuckles) You didn't.
DOCTOR: Pudding, yet savory. Sound familiar?
INT. BRIAN'S HOUSE, PARLOR, DAY
The cube on BRIAN'S table vibrates and he wakes with a jerk. He stares at the cube before dozing off again. The cube spins and BRIAN just catches it before it stops. He reaches forward to switch on the camera.
BRIAN: Do it again.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, KITCHEN, DAY
RORY wipes the kitchen table, lifting a cube out of the way. He walks back to the sink as AMY enters the room and gives him a huge hug from behind.
AMY: Good job, mister. Civilization saved, surfaces wiped. What more could any woman ask for? (chuckles) I mean it. (kisses RORY)
RORY: Where's the Doctor?
AMY: On the Wii again. I'm going for a bath.
AMY leaves and RORY turns back to the sink. On the table, the cube opens for a few seconds. RORY looks over and it's closed.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, LOUNGE, DAY
The DOCTOR is playing a very exciting tennis match on the Wii.
DOCTOR: Oh! (hands up in the air and climbs on the sofa) That's second set: Doctor! Ha ha! Oh, if Fred Perry could see me now, eh? He'd probably ask for his shorts back.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, MASTER BEDROOM, DAY
AMY enters the room and prepares for her bath. On her bureau, a cube glows blue. AMY walks over and looks at it from the same level as the top of the bureau. She reaches her hand out to pick it up but pulls back. The top of the cube shows a square of rows of small needles. AMY looks at her palm that now shows marks from the needles. The needles retract into the cube and then the sides of the cube display her heartbeat.
[SCENE_BREAK]
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, KITCHEN, DAY
RORY turns away from the sink in time to see the cube on the table open. He rushes over to look and it closes. He pulls back and it opens. He looks forward and it closes again.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, LOUNGE, DAY
As the DOCTOR continues to play, a cube hovers about him.
AMY: Third set, decider. Come on, then. Out of the way, dear, I'm trying to - (sees the cube) Whatever you are, this planet, these people, are precious to me. And I will defend them to my last breath. Is that all you can do, hover? I had a metal dog could do that. (the cube opens showing the muzzle of a gun) Ooh! Ooh, that's clever. What's that? (the cube fires) Whew!
The DOCTOR ducks behind the sofa. He peers underneath the sofa and sees the cube which fires at him again. He runs out of the room. The cube hovers in front of the tea, uploading all the information.
DOCTOR: (peers around the corner) Ooh, you really have woken up.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, HALL, DAY
RORY comes running from the kitchen.
RORY: Doctor! Hi. The cube in there, it just opened?
AMY: (runs down the stairs) The cube upstairs just spiked me and took my pulse!
DOCTOR: (laughs) Really?! Mine fired laser bolts and, now, it's surfing the net!
BRIAN enters the house and closes the door.
BRIAN: You're never going to believe this. My cube just moved. It rattled.
The DOCTOR laughs and goes back to watch the cube as RORY'S mobile rings.
RORY: Hello?
INT. HOSPITAL, WAITING ROOM, DAY
RANJIT is on the other end of the call.
RANJIT: Rory, mate, I'm desperate for help. People are saying they've been attacked by the cubes. It's going to be a long night.
RORY: (over phone) Okay. I'm on my way.
The girl is still sitting on her chair, the cube on her lap glowing blue.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, HALL, DAY
RORY: (ends call and puts phone in his pocket) I have to get to work. They need all the help they can get.
BRIAN: Let me come help out.
RORY: Take your dad to work night, brilliant! (to AMY) Okay, are you going to be all right here?
AMY: (kisses RORY) Keep away from the cubes.
RORY: All right.
RORY and BRIAN leave. The DOCTOR steps out - now wearing his jacket - from the lounge smiling as he looks at the psychic paper.
AMY: What are you grinning about?
DOCTOR: We're wanted at the Tower of London. (puts psychic paper in jacket pocket and heads for door)
EXT. TOWER OF LONDON, NIGHT
A BEEFEATER opens the car door for the DOCTOR.
BEEFEATER: Sir. (salutes)
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, HALL, NIGHT
KATE is walking with the DOCTOR, explaining the summons while AMY walks behind them.
KATE: Every cube across the whole world activated at the same moment.
DOCTOR: Now we're in business. You sent me a message to my psychic paper. You know, I'm almost impressed.
AMY: Secret base beneath the Tower? I hope we're not here because we know too much.
KATE: Yes, I've got officers trained in beheading. Also, ravens of death. (walks away)
AMY: I like her.
DOCTOR: Yeah.
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, LARGE HALL, NIGHT
KATE brings AMY and the DOCTOR into a room where the cubes are being monitored in sealed rooms.
KATE: There are 50 being monitored and more coming in all the time. I don't know how useful it is. Every cube is behaving individually. There's no meaningful pattern. Some respond to proximity, some create mood swings.
AMY: What's this one?
KATE: Try the door.
AMY opens the door to the chamber only to hear "The Chicken Dance". The DOCTOR plugs his ears.
KATE: On a loop!
AMY closes the door quickly.
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, COMPUTER ROOM, NIGHT
They enter a large room lined with banks of computer screens.
KATE: This is the latest.
DOCTOR: Oh, dear. (types on keyboard) Systems breach at the Pentagon, China, every African nation, the Middle East.
KATE: I've got governments screaming for explanations and no idea what to tell them. I'm lost, Doctor. We all are.
DOCTOR: Don't despair, Kate. Your dad never did. (KATE stares at him) Kate Stewart. Heading up UNIT, changing the way they work. How could you not be? Why did you drop "Lethbridge"?
KATE: I didn't want any favors. Though he guided me, even to the end. "Science leads," he always told me, said he'd learnt that from an old friend.
DOCTOR: We don't let him down. We don't let this planet down.
An alert beeps.
TECH: They've stopped. The cubes. Across the world. They just shut down.
KATE: Active for 47 minutes and then they just die?
DOCTOR: Not dead. Dormant, maybe.
AMY: Then why shut down?
DOCTOR: I don't know. I don't know. I need to think. I need some air. Who has an underground base? Terrible ventilation!
The DOCTOR strides out of the room and AMY runs to catch up.
EXT. TOWER OF LONDON, NIGHT
AMY and the DOCTOR are sitting shoulder-to-shoulder on a wall overlooking the Thames.
DOCTOR: The moment they arrived, I should've made sure they were collected and burned. That is what I should've done.
AMY: How? Nobody would've listened.
DOCTOR: You're thinking of stopping, aren't you? You and Rory.
AMY: No, no, I mean, we haven't made a decision.
DOCTOR: But you're considering it.
AMY: Maybe. I don't know. We don't know. Well, our lives have changed so much. There was a time -- there were years -- when I couldn't live without you. (chuckles) Um, when just the whole everyday thing would drive me crazy. But since you dropped us back here, since you gave us this house, you know, we've built a life. But I don't know if I can have both.
DOCTOR: Why?
AMY: Because they pull at each other. Because they pull at me and because the traveling is starting to feel like running away.
DOCTOR: That's not what it is.
AMY: Oh, come on, look at you. Four days in a lounge and you go crazy.
DOCTOR: I'm not running away. This is one corner of one country, in one continent on one planet that's a corner of a galaxy, that's a corner of a universe that is forever growing and shrinking and creating and destroying and never remaining the same for a single millisecond and there is so much, so much, to see, Amy. Because it goes so fast. I'm not running away from things. I'm running to them, before they flare and fade forever. It's all right. Our lives won't run the same. They can't. One day, soon, maybe, you'll stop. I've known for a while.
AMY: Then why do you keep coming back for us?
DOCTOR: Because you were the first. The first face this face saw. And you were seared onto my hearts. Amelia Pond. You always will be. I'm running to you and Rory before you fade from me.
AMY: (puts head on his shoulder) Don't be nice to me. (cries) I don't want you to be nice to me.
DOCTOR: Yeah, you do, Pond. (leans his head on AMY's head) And you always get what you want. (suddenly realizes what's happening) They got what they wanted.
AMY: What? (sits up) Who did?
DOCTOR: (slaps cheeks) The cubes. That's why they stopped. Come on.
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, HALL, NIGHT
The DOCTOR and AMY catch up with KATE.
DOCTOR: Kate? Before they shut down, they scanned everything, from your medical limits to your military response patterns. They made a complete assessment (the lights go out) of planet Earth (scans with sonic) and its inhabitants. That's what the surge of activity was. Problem with the power?
KATE: (holds lit torch) Not possible. We've got backups.
DOCTOR: Hmm. (uses sonic and walks away)
AMY and KATE follow.
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, LARGE HALL, NIGHT
The cubes in their individual chambers each bear the number 7 in blue light.
AMY: Doctor. Look.
DOCTOR: What? (walks over to AMY)
AMY: Why do they all say "7"?
DOCTOR: Seven. What's important about seven? Seven wonders of the world. Seven streams of the River Ota. Seven sides of a cube.
AMY: A cube has 6 sides.
DOCTOR: (scans the cube) Not if you count the inside.
The cube changes to "6".
INT. MISC. WORKPLACES, DAY
The cubes have changed to "6"
EXT. STREET, DAY
The cubes have changed to "6"
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, COMPUTER ROOM, DAY
DOCTOR: It has to be a countdown.
KATE: Not in minutes.
DOCTOR: Why would it be minutes, Kate? We have to get humanity away from those cubes. God knows what they'll do, if they hit zero. Get the information out any way you can: news channels, web sites, radio, text messages. People have to know that the cubes are dangerous.
AMY: Okay, but why is it starting now? I mean, the cubes arrived months ago. Why wait this long?
DOCTOR: Because they're clever. Allow people enough time to collect them, take them in to their homes, their lives. Humans, the great early adopters. And then wham! Profile every inch of Earth's existence.
KATE: Discover how best to attack us.
DOCTOR: Get that information out any way you can. Go. (goes to tech station) Right, every cube was activated. There must be signals, energy fluctuations on a colossal scale. There must be some trace. There can't not be. (turns to look at AMY and KATE) We need to think of all the variables, all the possibilities, okay? Go go go go go!
KATE and AMY rush off.
TV
KATE has done her job and the news is getting the word out about the cubes.
REPORTER 1: This is a national security alert. The government advises that members of the public dispose of all cubes. If there are cubes inside your house, remove them immediately.
The cubes count down to "4"
INT. HOSPITAL, CORRIDOR, DAY
A nurse is gathering cubes from a tray. RORY walks by, his arm on the shoulder of another nurse.
RORY: Right, get them out of the building. Just away from here, as far as you can. And get back here before it hits zero. (walks over to BRIAN who is looking at an IV) Dad, could you go and get me a box of tape for dressings? It's just the cupboard round the corner.
BRIAN: Yes, boss.
BRIAN moves to another corridor that is completely empty. He looks back and is nearly run over by two nurses pushing a gurney. They have masks covering their faces.
BRIAN: Sorry, excuse me. (the men stop) I'm looking for the supplies cupboard. I said, "I'm looking for the supplies cupboard."
The two nurses slowly turn around and approach BRIAN.
INT. HOSPITAL, WAITING ROOM, DAY
The GIRL still sits in the chair. The cube in her lap changes to "3".
INT. HOSPITAL, CORRIDOR, DAY
RORY is looking for BRIAN.
RORY: Have you seen my dad?
NURSE: No, sorry.
RORY finds himself in the same corridor. He looks one way and sees no one. He looks the other way and sees BRIAN on the gurney being pushed by the two men.
RORY: Hey. Dad. (runs after the men) Hey! Hey!
The men run for the lift as RORY chases after them. They enter the lift and one presses a button. The doors are closed when RORY arrives. They are lined with tape that reads "Do Not Use". He presses the call button. The doors open and the lift is empty.
INT. HOSPITAL, LIFT, DAY
The doors close as RORY pounds on the side walls. He then faces the back wall and tentatively reaches out a hand and touches the back wall. It shimmers and ripples. Knowing his father is on the other side, RORY walks through.
SPACE
There is a large ship in orbit above the Earth.
INT. SHIP
RORY enters through the portal and finds himself in a room that has patients from the hospital lying on plinths around the edge.
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, LARGE HALL, DAY
The DOCTOR is looking through the window into one of the chambers. The cube inside reads "3".
AMY: Doctor, please, you don't have to do this.
KATE: She's right. You don't have to be in there. We can do this remotely.
The DOCTOR turns around to face AMY and KATE.
DOCTOR: Remotely isn't my style. See you after.
The DOCTOR kisses his fingertips and taps AMY on the head before opening the door to the chamber. He sits in the chair and gives the cube a spin as he waits. He looks at AMY and KATE who put on fake, hopeful smiles.
INT. MISC. WORKPLACES, DAY
The cubes have changed to "2"
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, LARGE HALL, DAY
The DOCTOR leans back against the wall. The cube changes to "1".
INT. HOSPITAL, WAITING ROOM, DAY
The GIRL still sits in the chair with the cube in her lap.
INT. MISC. WORKPLACES, DAY
The cubes have changed to "1"
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, LARGE HALL, DAY
The cube hits "0" and then goes dark. The DOCTOR looks over at AMY and KATE. The lid to the cube slides open.
DOCTOR: Geronimo.
AMY and KATE lean forward
KATE: What's happening?
The DOCTOR leans forward and looks inside the cube. It's empty.
AMY: Well, what's in there?
DOCTOR: There is nothing in here.
AMY: Well, that's good? You know, it's not bombs, it's not aliens.
DOCTOR: Why? Why is there nothing inside? Why? It doesn't make any sense! (leaves the chamber)
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, COMPUTER ROOM, DAY
The DOCTOR strides into the room where the TECH is watching a variety of screens with views from street cameras. People are just walking past the cubes on the ground, ignoring them.
DOCTOR: Glasses, is it the same? Is it the same all around the world?
KATE: They're empty. We're safe. Right?
DOCTOR: No. No no no no. We are very far from safe. All along, every action has been deliberate. Why draw attention to the cubes, if they don't contain anything?
AMY: Doctor, look.
The monitors are showing people on the streets gripping their chests and collapsing to the ground.
TECH: They're CCTV feeds from across the world, showing the same.
KATE: People are dying.
DOCTOR: No. What? They can't be dying. How? How are they dying?
KATE: I want information on how people are being affected.
DOCTOR: The cubes brought people close together. They opened and - (grabs chest and falls into chair with cry of pain)
AMY: Doctor, what's the matter?
DOCTOR: Uh! Ah! I don't know!
TECH: Posters are logging a global surge in heart failure, cardiac arrest.
DOCTOR: That's it. Ah! Ah! Oh. Only one heart. Other one's not working. (pounds chest)
AMY: Okay! I'm going to get you to the hospital. (spins the chair)
DOCTOR: No no no no no! Just a second. Turn around, turn around, turn around. (pushes the chair back to the desk) Come, show me 10 seconds after the cubes opened. Show me the patterns in their electrical current. See?
KATE: No!
DOCTOR: Yes, the power cut. They sucked the power and then -- aah! They're signal boxes! People -- wham! Pure electrical surge out of the cube, targeted at the nearest human heart. The heart!(slaps the TECH'S chest) An organ powered by electrical current, short-circuited. How to destroy a human? Go for the heart. Ow! Crikey Moses!
KATE: Doctor, the scan you set running. The transmitter locations. It's found them.
DOCTOR: (still fighting the pain) Oh, look at them all, pulsing, bold as brass. Seven of them, all across the world. (pounds chest) Ow! Seven stations, seven minutes. Why is that important? Ah-aaah! Ha ha ha ow! Ow! (looks at AMY) How do you people manage one heart? It is pitiful! The wormhole. Bridging two dimensions. Seven of them, hitched on to this planet. But -- but - but where's the closest one? Glasses, zoom in.
The TECH zooms in on London and further in on a building.
AMY: That's the hospital where Rory works.
INT. SHIP
RORY looks around and spots the gurney bearing BRIAN.
RORY: Dad. Dad! (runs towards BRIAN but stops when he sees the two "nurses) Just get away from him.
The "nurses" pull hypodermics like weapons and advance on RORY.
INT. HOSPITAL, HALL, DAY
The DOCTOR, AMY and KATE enter the hospital. The DOCTOR has a hand over his chest.
DOCTOR: How many deaths have been recorded?
KATE: We don't know. We think it could be a third of the population.
DOCTOR: Kate, I have to find the wormhole. But the attacks could still happen. Tell the world. Tell them how to deal this. The world needs your leadership right now.
KATE: I'll do my best.
DOCTOR: Yeah, of course you will. Good luck. Kate.
KATE leaves.
DOCTOR: Ahh! Agh! (falls against a wall)
AMY: Okay, how long are you going to last with only one heart? (puts his arm over her shoulder and helps)
DOCTOR: Not much longer. (scans with sonic) I need to locate the wormhole portal. Hello. Hello! (turns it towards the GIRL) Oh. Hello. (walks over to GIRL) You are giving off some very strange signals.
The GIRL'S face and eyes glow blue.
AMY: Oh, my God.
DOCTOR: Outlier droid monitoring everything. If I shut her down, I can (aims the sonic at her neck) -- Ah. It's all right. It's all right. (the girl sways and he tries to gently lower her to the floor) Amy, I can't, Amy! (slides to the floor) I can't do it. I need both hearts. Ah! Aah!
AMY looks around in desperation and finds a defibrillator on the other side of the hall. She grabs it.
AMY: All right, desperate measures.
DOCTOR: (now lying on the floor) What? No! No no no no. That won't work. I'm a Time Lord! Ah, Amy!
AMY opens the DOCTOR'S shirt.
AMY: All right, clear! (applies the charge)
DOCTOR: (sits up quickly) Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! (stands invigorated) Welcome back, Lefty. Whoa-hoa! Two hearts. (dances) Whoo! (strikes "Saturday Night Fever" pose) Back in the game. (kisses AMY'S forehead) Never do that to me again. (walks down the hall)
INT. HOSPITAL, HALL NEAR LIFT, DAY
The lift doors open and the DOCTOR and AMY peer inside.
AMY: (disappointed) Oh, portal to another dimension in a goods lift?
DOCTOR: (checks sonic) The energy signals converge here. Does seem a bit cramped, though.
INT. HOSPITAL, LIFT, DAY
They step into the lift. The back wall ripples. The DOCTOR pokes it with his finger. AMY and the DOCTOR share a smile.
DOCTOR: Through the looking-glass, Amelia.
They hold hands and step through the portal.
INT. SHIP
AMY and the DOCTOR arrive in the same room.
AMY: Where are we?
DOCTOR: We're in orbit. One dimension to the left.
RORY is lying unconscious on a table at the end of the row. BRIAN is on the gurney next to him.
AMY: Rory!
The DOCTOR reaches into his pocket and tosses a small jar to AMY as he crosses to RORY'S other side.
DOCTOR: Seborean smelling salts. Outlawed in seven galaxies.
AMY holds the smelling salts under RORY'S nose. RORY sits up at the very moment they are shot at. They duck behind the table.
DOCTOR: Whoa-hoa! Whoa! What kind of a welcome do you call that? (to AMY) Get them out of here. You too. Now.
AMY: What are you going to do?!
The DOCTOR pushes the gurney towards AMY. She uses the salts on BRIAN and he sits up.
DOCTOR: Absolutely no idea. Get him through the portal.
The DOCTOR helps push the gurney until they are fired at again. The DOCTOR sees a lone bald figure dressed in a black cloak. Its skin is heavily cracked and wrinkled.
BEING: So many of them, crawling the planet, seeping into every corner.
AMY and RORY pull the gurney out of the room as BRIAN sits up, stunned. The BEING disappears in a flash of light only to reappear at the computer screen. It is only a hologram. The DOCTOR stands on the other side of the screen and looks at the BEING.
DOCTOR: It's not possible. I thought the Shakri were a myth. A myth to keep the young of Gallifrey in their place.
SHAKRI: The Shakri exist in all of time and none. We travel alone and together. The Seven.
DOCTOR: The Shakri craft, connected to Earth through 7 portals in 7 minutes. Ah, but why?
SHAKRI: Serving the word of the Tally.
DOCTOR: Why the cubes? Why Earth?
SHAKRI: Not Earth -- Humanity. The Shakri will halt the human plague before the spread.
DOCTOR: Erase humanity before it colonizes space. (walks to the same side of the screen) We thought the cubes were an invasion, the start of war.
SHAKRI: The human contagion only! Must be eliminated.
AMY and RORY come back and stand on either side of the DOCTOR.
AMY: Who are you calling a contagion?
DOCTOR: Oi! Didn't I tell you two to go?
RORY: You should've learnt, by now.
AMY: Yeah, and what is this "Tally," anyway?
DOCTOR: Some people call it "Judgment Day" or "the Reckoning."
AMY: Don't you know?
DOCTOR: I've never wanted to find out.
SHAKRI: Before the Closure, there is the Tally. The Shakri serves the Tally!
DOCTOR: The pest controllers of the universe. That's how the tales went, isn't it?
AMY: Wow, that's a seriously weird bedtime story.
DOCTOR: You can talk -- wolf in your grandmother's nightdress? So! (claps hands) Here you are, depositing slug pellets all over the Earth, (walks back to the other side of the screen to face the SHAKRI) made attractive so humans will collect them, hoping to find something beautiful inside. Because that's what they are. Not pests or plague -- creatures of hope, forever building and reaching. Making mistakes, of course, every life form does, but -- but -- they learn. And they strive for greater and they achieve it. (walks back to AMY and RORY) You want a tally? Put their achievements against their failings, through the whole of time. I will back humanity against the Shakri every time.
SHAKRI: The Tally must be met. The second wave will be released. (taps on the keypad)
AMY: What does that mean?
DOCTOR: It's going to release more cubes to kill more people.
INT. HOSPITAL, CORRIDOR, DAY
KATE is on her mobile.
KATE: Tell the Secretary General it's not just hospitals and equipment, it's people. Our best hope now is each other.
INT. SHIP
SHAKRI: The human plague, breeding and fighting. And, when cornered, their rage to destroy. You're too late, Doctor. The Tally shall be met. (disappears)
AMY: He's gone?
DOCTOR: He was never really here. Just the ship's automated interface. Like a talking propaganda poster. (runs over to the computer) I can stop the second wave. (uses the sonic on the computer) I can disconnect all the Shakri craft from their portals, leave them drifting in the dark space. Ah, but all those people who were near the cubes, so many of them will have died.
AMY: I restarted one of your hearts.
RORY: You'd need mass defibrillation.
DOCTOR: Of course. Ah, beautiful. But, Ponds, Ponds, we're going to go one better than that. The Shakri used the cubes to turn people's hearts off. Bingo! (claps) We're going to use them to turn them back on again. (uses sonic)
AMY: Will that work?
DOCTOR: Well, creatures of hope. Has to.
The readout on the screen changes as the DOCTOR continues to use the sonic.
DOCTOR: 30 seconds. Don't let me down, cubes. You're working for me, now.
The ship begins to shake violently.
DOCTOR: Oh, dear. All those cubes. There's going to be a terrible wave of energy ricocheting around here, any second. Run. (runs)
RORY: (looks at AMY) I'm going to miss this.
AMY squeals and the two of them run after the DOCTOR.
SPACE
The ship explodes.
INT. HOSPITAL, LIFT, DAY
The DOCTOR, AMY and RORY fall to the floor of the lift as they are forced through the portal.
INT. TOWER OF LONDON, COMPUTER ROOM, DAY
On the computer screens, we see the people getting up slowly. Different techs are standing around watching.
REPORTER 2: Emergency hospitals and field units are working at full capacity around the world as millions of survivors of cardiac arrest are nursed back to health after an unprecedented night across the globe.
EXT. TOWER OF LONDON, DAY
KATE and the DOCTOR walk towards the car.
KATE: You -- you really are as remarkable as Dad said. (kisses him on the cheek) Thank you.
DOCTOR: My! A kiss from a Lethbridge-Stewart. That is new. (laughs and checks watch) Oh, dear. I'm late for dinner.
The DOCTOR holds out his hand and KATE reaches for it. He pulls away before she can shake it and laughs. Before getting in the car, he salutes her. KATE waves goodbye.
INT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, KITCHEN, NIGHT
The DOCTOR, AMY, RORY and BRIAN are seated at the table having Chinese by candlelight. They are laughing over a
story.
DOCTOR: (mouthful) Mmm, dear me. I'd better get going. Things to do. Worlds to save, swings to... swing on.
The DOCTOR grabs a fortune cookie, stands and heads for the door. AMY looks over at RORY. The DOCTOR turns back and leans over the couple, arms over their shoulders.
DOCTOR: Look, I know, you both have lives here, beautiful, messy lives. That is what makes you so fabulously human. You don't want to give them up. I understand.
BRIAN: Actually, it's you they can't give up, Doctor. And I don't think they should. Go with him. Go save every world you can find. Who else has that chance? Life will still be here.
DOCTOR: You can come, Brian.
BRIAN: Somebody's got to water the plants. Just bring them back safe.
AMY: (V.O.) So that was the year of the slow invasion, when the Earth got cubed and the Doctor came to stay.
EXT. POND/WILLIAMS HOUSE, NIGHT
The DOCTOR, RORY and AMY pause outside the TARDIS and look back at BRIAN.
AMY: (V.O.) It was also when we realized something the Shakri never understood, what "cubed" actually means: the power of three.
RORY and AMY enter the TARDIS. The DOCTOR nods at BRIAN, who waves goodbye, before entering the TARDIS.
Plan: A: the Doctor; Q: Who takes Amy and Rory back as full-time companions? A: the Ponds; Q: Who does the Doctor stay with to investigate the black cubes? A: UNIT; Q: Who does the Doctor leave in charge of the cubes? A: A year; Q: How long does it take for the cubes to start activating? A: random features; Q: What do the cubes suddenly begin activating? A: The Doctor; Q: Who tracks the cubes to the Shakri? A: Shakri; Q: Who wants to eliminate humanity before they can colonize in space? A: an infestation; Q: What do the Shakri believe humanity is? A: the electric pulse; Q: What does the Doctor reverse to destroy the Shakri ship? A: people's hearts; Q: What does the Doctor reverse the electric pulse used to stop? A: Brian; Q: Who urged the Doctor to take Amy and Rory back as full-time companions? Summary: Amy and Rory begin to wonder whether they should choose between normal life and "Doctor life". Many black cubes appear around the world and the Doctor stays with the Ponds to investigate but the cubes are inactive and the Doctor leaves UNIT in charge. A year goes by and the cubes suddenly begin activating random features before stopping the hearts of one third of humanity. The Doctor eventually tracks the cubes to the Shakri, who plan to eliminate humanity before they can colonise in space, believing them to be an infestation. The Doctor reverses the electric pulse used to stop people's hearts and destroys the Shakri ship. At Brian's urging the Doctor takes Amy and Rory back as full-time companions.