Part One

[Trueman's flat]

(An astrologer is giving a reading to a client in his attic rooms.)

TRUEMAN: Mars will enter Capricorn on the seventeenth, but beware, Mercury is moving retrograde through Scorpio, which can mean only one thing. A vital letter will be lost in the post.
CHERYL: I'll look out for that. Can you see anything else? What if I do go ahead and leave the carpet shop? Will I find another job?
TRUEMAN: Yes. Saturn signifies a new occupation in communications. I see a call centre.
CHERYL: With better money?
TRUEMAN: Jupiter, the planet of abundance, is traversing the fifth house. There will be better money for all those born under the sign of Gemini.
CHERYL: Fantastic. Oh, for both of us. You're Gemini too, aren't you?
TRUEMAN: Sign of the twins. Two faces. That's this session over, Cheryl.
CHERYL: Thanks. You're brilliant, Martin. My husband says I'm mad coming to see you. He says none of your predictions come true. Like when I was going to win that holiday, we were going to move to Scotland. But I told him, the stars work in mysterious ways.
TRUEMAN: They do indeed.
CHERYL: I said, So what if we fall behind on the mortgage this month. Martin is worth every penny.
TRUEMAN: No, no, stop. Cheryl, I can't take your mortgage money.
CHERYL: What?
TRUEMAN: I'm a fraud.
CHERYL: Say again?
TRUEMAN: I won't take your money because I was just making it all up. There's no power in the stars. Please, please. I can't take the money.
CHERYL: I can't believe I'm hearing this. The stars guide everything we do.
TRUEMAN: Do you think anything up there has any influence down here, on you and me? Do you really believe there is such a thing as destiny?

(A fireball streaks through space.)

TRUEMAN: If only there was. When I was a kid, I was convinced I was going to do great things. It was fate. But I failed in everything I tried, all my life. And I end up like this, a con artist.

(He stands at the window, and what looked like a fireball whizzes straight into him.)

CHERYL: What was that? Martin? Mister Trueman? You all right?
TRUEMAN: At last.
CHERYL: What just happened there?
TRUEMAN: Gemini, you are going on a long journey. A very long journey.

(Trueman puts his hand on her head, and red energy sizzles. She screams.)

[Street]

(The poster says, East Acton New Theatre presents Secrets of the Stars and a picture of Martin Trueman. It apparently has rave reviews.)

CLYDE: The only reason I'm down here is because this is free. All these horoscopes, signs of the zodiac, it's so sad.

[Theatre]

RANI: Come on, Clyde, everyone checks their stars. I'm Aries. Confident, a great leader. What sign are you?
CLYDE: Look, I'm not getting into this.
LUKE: His birthday is June the fifth.
RANI: Right. Gemini. Funny, popular.
CLYDE: Oh, yeah? Well, maybe there is something in it.
RANI: Lazy, shallow.
CLYDE: There. You see? It's rubbish.
RANI: How about you, then, Luke?
LUKE: Astrology has no scientific basis. It's based on primitive observations and a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the universe works.
RANI: Thanks for that, but I meant what's your sign? When's your birthday?
LUKE: I don't have one.
CHERYL: Good evening. If I could just ask you to write down your names and dates of birth, and put them in the box here.
CLYDE: Do we have to?
CHERYL: Everyone has to. It's part of the show. An essential part of the show.

(Cheryl leaves them.)

LUKE: What do I put? I don't have a star sign. I wasn't born.
RANI: Sorry, I forgot. What about the day you were, er
CLYDE: Switched on.
LUKE: Activated.
CLYDE: Man, what am I doing here? This is no way to spend a Friday night. I should be out there. You know, moving, shaking.
HARESH: Perhaps doing your homework?
RANI: Dad. You weren't coming.
GITA: He's so narrow-minded. I said to him, how can you dismiss something, Haresh, if you don't give it a chance?
LUKE: I wasn't expecting to see you here, Mum.
SARAH JANE: It's nice to spend time with some adults for a change. This Trueman's come from nowhere. Now he's pulling in all these people. Who knows? There might be a story in it.
GITA: You work too hard. I've been telling her, she needs a night out.
TANNOY: Tonight's performance of Secrets Of The Stars with Martin Trueman will begin in five minutes.
GITA: Come on. We want good seats.
RANI: Do you believe in astrology?
SARAH JANE: No, but I'm always willing to be convinced. Just not expecting to be convinced.
STUART: Cheryl, I need to talk to you.
CHERYL: Stuart, how nice to see you. Why not come and see the show?
STUART: No. I don't want to see the show. I want you to come back home.
CHERYL: I've made my decision, Stuart. I'm staying with Mister Trueman.
STUART: He's done something to you. I can see it, Cheryl. It's in your eyes.
CHERYL: Typical Scorpio. Jealous and obsessive. I'm the same as I have always been.
STUART: I'm not leaving here without you.
CHERYL: Go, Stuart. Or should I call the police?
STUART: Maybe it's me that should be calling them. Something's wrong here.
RANI: Hang on, there's your story.
SARAH JANE: I knew it.
RANI: What's wrong?
SARAH JANE: I can't even have one night out without something weird happening. Come on.

[Auditorium]

(Luke is reading the programme notes.)

LUKE: Martin Trueman says, I travelled through life without meaning until suddenly I felt the power of the stars.
GITA: Oh. Sarah, Rani. Over here.
SARAH JANE: Sarah Jane. My name's Sarah Jane.
GITA: That's what I said.
SARAH JANE: Never mind. Budge up.
CLYDE: No. Never sit in the middle seat, or you're trapped.

(Fanfare.)

CHERYL: From the dawn of time, man has looked up to the stars for guidance. Tonight, the secrets of the stars will be revealed to you. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Mister Martin Trueman.
TRUEMAN: Thank you, thank you. How nice to see you all. Welcome, welcome. Oh. Thank you for coming. Ladies, a couple of Golden Girls here.
LUKE: He's a bit milky, isn't he?
CLYDE: Cheesy. For the hundredth time, the word is cheesy.
TRUEMAN: Young man, welcome. Welcome, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, tonight I'd like to share my journey with you. I was a nothing, a nobody, until I learned the secrets of the stars. In some ways, I feel as if I was chosen. There is so much more in the universe than what we can see from here on Earth. There are two hundred billion stars in our galaxy alone. Huge, shifting stellar forces, pulsing with ancient light. You didn't come here for a science lesson, did you? No. So let's try a bit of showbiz, shall we? Now, who in the audience tonight was born on May the twenty ninth?

(A woman stands up.)

TRUEMAN: What about June the sixteenth? How about June the fifth?

(Clyde stands.)

CLYDE: What did I do that for?
TRUEMAN: Down. Down. Down. Up. Down. Up. Down. Up. That's enough, thank you. Down.

(Clyde and the women finally sit.)

CLYDE: Oh, no, no.
TRUEMAN: A round of applause, please, for my three accomplices.
CLYDE: How did he do that?
SARAH JANE: The power of suggestion. It's simple stuff. A parlour trick.
CLYDE: Nobody ever mentions that again, okay?
RANI: Don't worry, you were really funny.
CLYDE: I choose when I'm funny. Not him.
TRUEMAN: Now, on your way in tonight you put your birth date in the mystery box in the foyer. My assistant, the lovely Cheryl, has printed up your birth charts. Thank you, Cheryl. So if we're ready, we'll begin, shall we? I'm looking for a Diane Cope.
DIANE: That's me.
TRUEMAN: Diane, your Pisces moon indicates a love of learning. I think perhaps you've just gone back to college?
DIANE: Yes, that's true.
SARAH JANE: She's a plant.
LUKE: A vegetable life form?
SARAH JANE: It means he knows her. He's planted her in the audience.
TRUEMAN: Believe me, you've done the right thing. Mercury in Virgo. I think you're studying history and sociology.
RANI: She looks genuine to me.
DIANE: Yes.
TRUEMAN: So let's try somebody else, shall we? Where's Rani Chandra?
GITRA: Oh, wow. Here she is.
TRUEMAN: Rani, now please would you confirm that you and I have never met before?
RANI: No, we've never met before.
TRUEMAN: Thank you. Now, in your chart, Rani, Mercury is in conjunction with Neptune. Am I right in thinking that you've just moved house?
RANI: Yes. You're right.
TRUEMAN: In fact, your whole life is changing. You suddenly see the world in a new light. It's exciting, and you love it.
RANI: Yes. Incredible.
TRUEMAN: And there is an anchoring influence in your life is represented by Saturn. A Taurus man, someone very calm and reliable? Is it your dad? A teacher?
GITA: It's my husband. He's here.
TRUEMAN: And there's Mum, a Gemini, of course. Thank you, Rani. Now I'm being strangely drawn to a Sarah Jane Smith.
SARAH JANE: That's me.
TRUEMAN: Ah, Taurus. Strong, determined. Now you were born under a very special star, Neptune in your fifth house. Some years ago you travelled far and wide and oh, the things you have seen. And there was a man. A very special man. No, no. Let me think. It wasn't a romance. No, no, it was something much, much more than that. He taught you so much. There was laughter and adventure, and you prayed that your time with him would never, never end. But then, suddenly, he left you.
GITA: I knew there was a bloke somewhere. What did I say? Broken heart.
TRUEMAN: A man with no name.
HARISH: He's upsetting her.
TRUEMAN: A scientist? No. A doctor. The Doctor.
DOCTOR 10 [memory]: Hello, Sarah Jane.
SARAH [memory]: Doctor. It's you, isn't it?
TRUEMAN: Am I right?
SARAH JANE: Yes, you're right. But you tell me right now, how do you know that?
TRUEMAN: It's all in your stars. And there's Jupiter in your twelth house. You are the keeper of secrets.
SARAH JANE: If you're so clever, tell me about the future.
TRUEMAN: If you want, but oh, I'm afraid Saturn is transiting Taurus. You have fought many battles in your life. You're about to fight another. But this time it will be different. This time, Sarah Jane, you lose.

[Theatre]

HARESH: He probably just looked it all up on the internet.
GITA: He didn't have the time. He got it exactly right for everyone. And as for you, Secret Sarah, woman of mystery. Come on, what are you hiding? And who is this Doctor? He sounds gorgeous.
RANI: Come on, Mum. See you later.
SARAH JANE: Bye.
HARESH: See you on Monday, lads.
LUKE: How could he know so much about you?
CLYDE: And how could he make me bounce up and down like that? It was like I had to. I didn't want to.
LUKE: If he knows about the Doctor, he could be an alien.
SARAH JANE: No, I did a scan. Trueman is human. We'll see what Mister Smith says.

[Dressing room]

CHERYL: Another good show, Martin. Wonderful.
TRUEMAN: A pity it had to be the last performance, but the shows have served their purpose. Tomorrow, I will speak to the entire world.
CHERYL: But how? Only people here know of you, Martin.
TRUEMAN: It is destined. Any moment now.

(Knock, knock.)

LISA: Hey, Mister Trueman. Great show. Lisa Trotter.
CHERYL: I've seen you on TV. Paranormal Planet, on the Psychic Channel?
LISA: Yeah, that's right. Actually, we're doing a live interview tomorrow afternoon, but we've had some bad luck. We had a guest lined up, the Celestial Deirdre. Do you know her?
TRUEMAN: I am familiar with her work.
LISA: Anyways, she's had an accident, had to drop out.
TRUEMAN: Oh, dear. Nothing serious, I hope?
LISA: Well, she says she fell down the stairs at home. Which is a bit strange, actually, because come to think of it, she lives in in a bungalow.
TRUEMAN: How very unfortunate. Is there anything I can do to help?
LISA: Well, I know it's a bit short notice, but I'd really love you to step in as our guest.
TRUEMAN: Of course. That would be wonderful.
LISA: Great. You're a lifesaver.
TRUEMAN: Yes. Well, I want to get my message across to as many people as possible.
CHERYL: What a wonderful surprise.
LISA: Yeah. Surprised you didn't see it coming.

[Attic]

SARAH JANE: Mister Smith. I need you.
MR SMITH: Good evening, Sarah Jane. What can I do for you?
SARAH JANE: Mister Smith, I want you to scan the area around the New Theatre, East Acton. Look for anything unusual or alien.
CLYDE: Psychic energy, yeah? We know that's real. You almost brought the moon crashing down with your almighty brain.
SARAH JANE: No. That is not what Trueman is about. He can see into people's lives, see into their destinies.
CLYDE: Yeah, by mind-reading.
LUKE: No, by calculating the positions of the stars when they were born, which is impossible.
MR SMITH: Sarah Jane, scan completed. I have detected no irregularities in the vicinity.
SARAH JANE: No, there must be something. An atmospheric disturbance, an energy spike.
MR SMITH: There has been no such event.
CLYDE: What if it's real? How could we detect it? We don't even believe in it.
LUKE: Say that again.
CLYDE: Wow. Have I finally done it? Yes! I have confused you.
SARAH JANE: Think, think, think, think, think, think. Of course. He must be using a bio-damper.
CLYDE: What's that? Washing powder?
LUKE: An alien device used for shielding high technology emissions.
SARAH JANE: Mister Smith, I need you to locate a man called Martin Trueman.

[Trueman's flat]

TRUEMAN: I can feel the power of the stars. Not just the ones we can see. Suns, planets, whole galaxies, shifting and turning cogs in the great machine of the universe. The conjunction is perfect. Right now, across that infinite distance, the Ancient Lights are aligned precisely with me.
CHERYL: And tomorrow, the television broadcast.
TRUEMAN: It is destined. Soon the whole world will know my blessing. But I have an opponent, Sarah Jane Smith. Now that Taurus is rising, she will try and prevent the broadcast.
CHERYL: But you will stop her?
TRUEMAN: Oh, yes. She can't interfere. All the forces of destiny are gathered against her.

[Lounge]

(Luke is slumped in front of a cookery programme.)

SARAH JANE: I'm off to see Trueman, then. I've reset the scanner to search for bio-damper interference patterns. It might just work. Hey, what's up?
LUKE: Last night, everyone was talking about their star signs, and I don't have one.
SARAH JANE: I could give you a birthday if you want. The day I found you. That's what I put on the adoption forms.
LUKE: I wasn't born though, Mum. I was activated. Happy Activation Day. It doesn't sound right, does it? It's another strange thing, something else that sets me apart.
SARHA: Whatever particular day it is, that doesn't matter. You're not celebrating the day, you're celebrating the person.
LUKE: But where you come from, a childhood, it makes people who they are. I come from nowhere. I was never a baby.
SARAH JANE: Oh, Luke.
LUKE: I thought it would get easier, but there are always new things coming along, like this, to make me feel different.
SARAH JANE: Just remember, you're strong. I've seen you learn. You're my son and you're brilliant.
LUKE: That's me.
SARAH JANE: What's my brilliant son going to do today?
LUKE: I thought I'd look for some clues. Read up on astrology with Mister Smith.
SARAH JANE: Fantastic. Well, I'd better be off, if you're all right?
LUKE: See you later.

[Outside the house]

(Sarah Jane is just getting into her car.)

RANI: Morning, Sarah Jane.
SARAH JANE: I'm off to see Trueman.
RANI: You made an appointment?
SARAH JANE: Oh, no. This is going to be an old-fashioned foot in the door job.
RANI: Need another pair of feet?

[Attic]

MR SMITH: The origins of astrology are lost in the mists of time.
LUKE: It says in here that the earliest record of astrology was in Babylon, in the sixteenth century BC.
MR SMITH: It is older than that, not just here on Earth. Primitive cultures across the universe charted the patterns of the stars. This is the zodiac of the planet Ventiplex, for example. And this is the zodiac of Draconia.
LUKE: There's astrology in the cultures of other planets?
MR SMITH: Yes, Luke. A similar system operates in the culture of almost every inhabited planet.
LUKE: So it's everywhere.

[Outside Trueman's flat]

SARAH JANE: That's the one.
RANI: What if he tells us to clear off?
SARAH JANE: First rule of journalism. Never take no for an answer. I learnt that lesson a long time ago.
CHERYL: Miss Smith. Please, come in.

[Trueman's flat]

SARAH JANE: So, I've done some research and up until about two months ago, you led a pretty quiet life.
TRUEMAN: Oh, no, no, no, Miss Smith. I made a lot of noise, but nobody ever listened.
RANI: Then two months ago you declare yourself the new Messiah of the zodiac.
TRUEMAN: Oh, she's good. Your prot�g�e, like you when were the Doctor's prot�g�e. Is she your companion?
SARAH JANE: How do you know about the Doctor?
TRUEMAN: We come from two different worlds, Miss Smith. I'm a believer, you are a sceptic. No common ground. How can I explain myself to you?
SARAH JANE: How can you tell I don't believe you?
TRUEMAN: I've read your chart. You're both fighters. Adventure, excitement, battles against the most remarkable things. Oh, scan away, please. You won't find anything. People like you have to scan everything. And where does that get you in the end?
SARAH JANE: There is no end. There doesn't have to be. Learning, finding out about the universe, that's all the wonder and beauty and strangeness I'll ever need. Often it's more than enough.
TRUEMAN: It's such a shame that it has got to end. And I can't have you standing in my way. I've got things to do, such amazing things.
SARAH JANE: Whatever you're planning, Trueman, I'm going to stop it.
TRUEMAN: Oh. Oh, a threat. He taught you well, didn't he, the Doctor? But he's not here. Not this time. And poor little Rani. You've been lying to her mother, haven't you? Oh, dear, Miss Smith. Allowing children into your dangerous world.
SARAH JANE: Come on, Rani, we're leaving.
TRUEMAN: Yes, yes, you are. You see, I have received a special gift. Observe.

(He fires energy from his fingertips at Rani's jacket. It burns a hole.)

TRUEMAN: I can channel all the power of the stars!

[Outside Trueman's flat]

TRUEMAN: Your choice, Sarah Jane. Keep away from us, or (zap) the Ancient Lights will destroy you.
SARAH JANE: Get in.

(Sarah Jane and Rani drive away.)

CHERYL: Now she'll keep away.
TRUEMAN: No, no, she's a Taurus, among other things. Determined, brave. She'll keep interfering.
CHERYL: I'll deal with her.
TRUEMAN: No, no. I need you with me. I shall have to use somebody else. Wait. Last night. That boy sitting on her right.
CHERYL: Clyde Langer.
TRUEMAN: Gemini.

[Street]

(Finishing a call.)

CLYDE: I'll see you then, Finney. Laters.
TRUEMAN: Clyde. We need to talk.
CLYDE: What?
TRUEMAN: About your destiny. Stand still. Turn to me. You won't be needing that.

(Trueman takes Clyde's phone.)

[Attic]

SARAH JANE: Mister Smith, I need
LUKE: Mum? What's happened?
RANI: We nearly got zapped by Trueman.
SRAH: We need to find out where he gets his zapping power.
RANI: He said Ancient Lights, whatever it means. Mister Smith, analyse the damage to this fabric. What caused it?
MR SMITH: The fabric has been burnt.
RANI: By what?
MR SMITH: By nothing.
LUKE: That doesn't make any sense.
MR SMITH: Nothing has burnt the fabric.
SARAH JANE: But it's been burnt.
LUKE: By something Mister Smith can't detect.
RANI: Like Clyde said, how can we detect something we don't believe in? The power of the Ancient Lights. What if it is astrology? What if astrology is true?
SARAH JANE: It can't be true.
LUKE: It's completely contrary to the laws of physics.
RANI: I'll call Clyde. He won't want to miss this.

[Trueman's flat]

CLYDE: Whoa. How did I get here?
TRUEMAN: I made you want to come here. You are one of the lucky ones. It's your destiny.

(Clyde's phone rings.)

TRUEMAN: Oh. Rani calling.
CLYDE: Here, give that back.
TRUEMAN: Down. Not today, thank you.
CLYDE: What are you going to do to me?
TRUEMAN: There's nothing to be afraid of. You have been chosen to join my inner circle. Life is going to be far less complicated for you. Accept the Ancient Lights.

(Trueman puts his hand on Clyde's shoulder, and transfers some energy.)

[Attic]

RANI: No answer. It must be on silent.
LUKE: He never puts it on silent, not even in school. He's probably just got his headphones on.
SARAH JANE: So, this energy. We saw it. It exists.
RANI: Hang on. Astrology breaks the laws of physics.
LUKE: What are you getting at?
RANI: Well, what if the Ancient Lights come from somewhere else? A place where the laws of physics are different, so they can break ours?
LUKE: That's like saying you could break the law of gravity.
RANI: But maybe that's why Mister Smith said nothing burnt my jacket. What if this energy the Ancient Lights use is a different kind of energy to anything we know?
SARAH JANE: No, Rani. The laws of physics, they're are the same across the universe.
LUKE: Our universe. But what if the Ancient Lights are from another one?

[Outside Trueman's flat]

CLYDE: I'll do as you said, Mister Trueman.
TRUEMAN: I know I can rely on you, Clyde. Now we must be on our way. One last performance. It wouldn't do to keep the world waiting.

[Attic]

LUKE: Mister Smith said every galaxy has its own form of astrology, not just Earth. What if astrology is a kind of memory of a time before?
RANI: Explain.
LUKE: Thirteen billion years ago, the universe was created. A massive explosion, the Big Bang. But what was there before?
SARAH JANE: Nobody knows.
LUKE: What if there was another universe?
RANI: Where the physics were different. Where astrology worked.
SARAH JANE: And this energy somehow survived the Big Bang.
RANI: The Ancient Lights. So they're very ancient. What have they done the last thirteen billion years?
SARAH JANE: And why have they picked Trueman?
MR SMITH: May I make a suggestion?
SARAH JANE: Go ahead, Mister Smith.
MR SMITH: If Luke's theory is correct, the energy form has been waiting for exactly the right astrological conditions across the universe. Trueman's birth chart is a vital part of that equation. He is the channel the energy needs.
LUKE: Needs him for what, though? What does it want?
RANI: Yeah, it can't have waited that long just to appear on a stage in Acton.
MR SMITH: Sarah Jane, my media sensor reports that Martin Trueman is about to appear live on the television. Shall I relay the image?
SARAH JANE: Yes, please.
LISA [on screen]: We're here at the New Theatre in East Acton, where astrologer Martin Trueman has been creating a buzz with some amazing live shows.

[Auditorium]

LISA: Hi, Martin.
TRUEMAN: Hello, Lisa.
LISA: Right. Before the show I gave you my date of birth, so what can you tell me about myself?

[Attic]

TRUEMAN [on screen]: Well, Lisa, you are a very trusting person.
SARAH JANE: I don't like this.
RANI: It's only the Psychic Channel. When we switched on, we probably doubled their ratings.
MR SMITH: Information. This television programme is now being broadcast on channels around the world.

[Chandra home]

LISA [OC]: Story of my life.
GITA: Oh, it's him, Martin Trueman. Why are you watching this?
HARESH: I wasn't. Must've sat on the remote.
TRUEMAN [on TV]: Now, I hesitate to use the word gullible, but do you ever get the feeling that people are using you just to get what they want

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: And you find yourself somehow pushed aside?
LISA: Again, that is so true.
TRUEMAN: Yes, and it's very convenient for me. You see, you are not important any more. You've served your purpose.

(He zaps Lisa, and she slumps. Then he and Cheryl take out the camera and sound men.)

TRUEMAN: Remove them.

[Attic]

TRUEMAN [on screen]: That's better. Now we can begin. This is a very important day.

[Chandra home]

TRUEMAN [on TV]: The most important day in all of our lives.
GITA: He can't be on all the channels.
HARESH: Come on.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Just one thing before we get started. I cast a horoscope earlier today for a, a client.

[Attic]

TRUEMAN [on screen]: And I think she might be looking in. She's going to be having quite a difficult time of it right now. Her problem is she can't help asking questions.
RANI: How is he doing it?
SARAH JANE: Mister Smith?
MR SMITH: I can detect no interference with the television signal.
LUKE: How could you? It's the power of the stars, the old universe.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Interfering in other people's affairs. She really should stop, or people could get hurt.

[Attic]

SARAH JANE: We're going there, to the theatre.
RANI: But how are we going to stop Trueman?
CLYDE: You can't stop him.
SARAH JANE: Clyde? Where have you been?
CLYDE: I've turned to the stars.

(A strong wind howls through the attic.)

TRUEMAN [on screen]: Now, ladies and gentlemen, don't be scared.
LUKE: Clyde.
SARAH JANE: Clyde, what's happening? What's Trueman done to you?
CLYDE: He's given me power.
SARAH JANE: No, Clyde, no!
RANI: Mister Smith, what's happening?
MR SMITH: Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening.
LUKE: Clyde!
CLYDE: It's the dawning of a new age. The power of the Ancient Lights is reborn.
MR SMITH: Nothing is happening.
TRUEMAN [on screen]: Welcome to the future.
CLYDE: Sarah Jane, you must be destroyed.
MR SMITH: Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening.

Part Two

[Attic]

MR SMITH: Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening.
SARAH JANE: No! Clyde Langer. I know you're still in there, Clyde. The real you. Listen to me. Remember all we've been through.
MR SMITH: Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening. Nothing is happening.

(Clyde lowers his arms, and the wind dies down.)

SARAH JANE: That's it. You don't want to hurt us.
LUKE: Clyde.
CLYDE: Stay still, all of you.
MARIA: Clyde, come one. What are you doing?
CLYDE: Quiet.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: I have a message for the world. Don't be afraid. Something wonderful is happening. Very soon, every star in the entire universe will be aligned in a perfect conjunction for the first time in thirteen billion years. The way is clear. The Ancient Lights will shine again.

[Chandra home]

TRUEMAN [on TV]: The chosen ones, my children of Gemini
HARESH: Well, he's lost it. If ever he had it.

(Gita is transfixed, while Haresh fiddles with the remote control.)

TRUEMAN [on TV]: It will blossom first
HARESH: I'll phone the cable company. We're not paying to watch any more of this.
TRUEMAN [on TV]: This is your destiny.
GITA: No. No, no.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: The cosmos is shifting. The time is now.

[Chandra home]

TRUEMAN [on TV]: The Ancient lights are shining on you, the first of my children.

(A light plays over Gita's face.)

TRUEMAN [on TV]: All you have to do is let go. You'll feel so happy. There's nothing to be afraid of.
HARESH: What was that, Gita?
TRUEMAN [on TV]: Life will be so much easier for you. So much easier for everyone.
HARESH: Gita? Gita?
TRUEMAN [on TV]: You don't have make any effort. As you listen to my words, just relax and let the Ancient Lights flow inside your mind.
HARESH: Gita.
GITA: Of course. I understand.
TRUEMAN [on TV]: So come, all you Geminis. The time is right.

(On the zodiac behind Trueman, the symbol for Gemini lights up just like a Stargate chevron locking.)

HARESH: Understand what?
GITA: I'm one of the first to be Chosen.
TRUEMAN [on TV]: As you start to accept their power.
GITA: I accept the Ancient Lights.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Walk out, my children. Leave your homes. Gather together. Find your brothers and sisters. Take their hands. Join the circle. Go, now.

[Chandra home]

GITA: I've got to go.
HARESH: I know exactly what you're up to, and I'm not falling for it. You can stop this right now. The wind-up is over.
GITA: I mustn't stop. I've got to go.
HARESH: Okay, and now you're scaring me. Please tell me you're having a laugh. I won't mind. You can tell everyone I believed you. Just say this is you pulling my leg. Gita?
GITA: I've got to go.

[Attic]

SARAH JANE: Clyde, you can reject it. I know you. You say you're a part of my gang. Well, I never saw it like that, but maybe you're right. We are a gang, a team. We rely on each other. We would never hurt each other.
CLYDE: Stay back.

(Clyde sends a bolt of energy into the roof.)

CLYDE: You've been warned, Sarah Jane. I will destroy you.
SARAH JANE: You've got orders from Trueman to deal with me, yes?
CLYDE: You understand that at last.
SARAH JANE: Then you can let Rani and Luke go.
RANI: What? Sarah Jane, I'm not going.
SARAH JANE: Oh yes, you are. Now.
CLYDE: She may pass.
RANI: I'll get help.
SARAH JANE: Now you, Luke.
LUKE: Mum, I'm not leaving you.
SARAH JANE: It's an order.
LUKE: Clyde. Remember what you said last night? Astrology's rubbish.
CLYDE: I was wrong. I didn't understand then.
LUKE: What did Trueman do to you?
CLYDE: I'm sorry you can't feel the way I do. Yet.
SARAH JANE: Luke, go.
MR SMITH: Online. Rebooting.
TRUEMAN [on screen]: The circles are forming. If you can't find one, my children, keep walking. Find a friend, take their hand, form your own circle.

[Bannerman Road]

HARESH: Gita, I'm not letting you go.
RANI: Mum. Not you too.
GITA: Rani, don't be afraid. This is the best thing that's ever happened to me.
HARESH: Gita, stop this now. Gita! Stay here.
GITA: I'm walking to my destiny.
HARESH: You're frightening me. This isn't funny.
GITA: I'm not alone. Look.

(One twelfth of the population are walking out. Two parents follow their young son outside.)

GEORGE: Jon, stop playing up.
LINDA: Jon?

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Children of Gemini, you are only the first to join the Ancient Lights.

[Attic]

TRUEMAN [on screen]: Already it is time for Cancer to join the circle.

(Symbol two lights up.)

TRUEMAN: Go out and join your Gemini brothers.

[Street]

LINDA: I accept the Ancient Lights.

[Attic]

LUKE: What's he talking about?
SARAH JANE: Gemini, then Cancer. He's taking over all the star signs, one by one.

[Street]

GITA: Come on, let's find a circle.
LINDA: Yes, all together.
GEORGE: What are they doing?
HARESH: Go back, Rani. Stay inside and don't let anybody in the house. Promise me.
RANI: I promise.

[Attic]

TRUEMAN [on screen]: Soon all the signs will come under my power. At the Becoming of the Ancient Lights, I will be king of the world.
SARAH JANE: Clyde, this thing that's possessed you, it's alien. More alien than anything we've met before.
LUKE: It comes from before the Big Bang. From another universe.
CLYDE: You don't understand something so you call it alien. Sarah Jane, you always say there's so much more to the world than most people will ever know. Why not this?
SARAH JANE: It's made you Trueman's slave. You want that?
CLYDE: Trueman is the Chosen One and I will follow him forever. And he ordered me to destroy you.
SARAH JANE: Clyde. You know me. I am never going to submit. I am going to fight this thing, and send it back. If I have to, I'll destroy it.
LUKE: Mum, be careful.
SARAH JANE: I know what I'm doing, Luke, so get out of my way. Can you do it? You've got your orders from Trueman. You want to stop me walking out of here? Go ahead. Stop me.
RANI: Sarah Jane, it's got my mum. Loads of people are just walking off.
SARAH JANE: I know you can't do it.
CLYDE: I must stop you.
LUKE: Clyde, no. Think about what you're doing.
SARAH JANE: I'm your friend.
CLYDE: You shouldn't have done this, Sarah Jane. You shouldn't have forced me.
SARAH JANE: You can't hurt me.

(Luke puts his hand on Clyde's shoulder.)

CLYDE: I'm sorry.

(Clyde collapses. Luke hugs Sarah Jane.)

CLYDE: What, What am I doing again?
SARAH JANE: Clyde.
RANI: Yes!

[Street]

HARESH: This is mad. All because of that man on the television.
GEORGE: Linda, I'm calling the police.

[Attic]

SARAH JANE: The power's gone. You're free of it.
RANI: So it's all over then? My Mum, she'll be okay?
MR SMITH: I am afraid that is unlikely, Rani. I am receiving news reports from agencies around the world.
NEWS: Since the broadcast, some people seem to have been hypnotised and have walked out of their homes and places of work.
RNF7: Le situation est tres confuse.
AMNN: And we've just had that story confirmed. The President has walked out of the White House and is apparently holding hands with the wife of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan.
TRUEMAN [on screen]: It is time. Children of Leo, join the circle.

(Another symbol lights and locks.)

AMNN: I accept the Ancient Lights.
RANI: He started with Gemini, now it's spreading, taking over everybody.
SARAH JANE: Well, that's what he wants. A world of slaves.
LUKE: Perhaps the Ancient Lights controlled people in the old universe. Now they want to control us through Trueman.
RANI: My mum's out there. She's one of them, so what are we going to do? I mean, the government can't do anything and the whole world's going under, so what on Earth can the four of us do?
SARAH JANE: We saved Clyde, we can save Gita. We can save them all.
LUKE: But how did we save Clyde? The Ancient Lights survived the Big Bang. How could Clyde stop them?
CLYDE: Don't look at me.
RANI: You must know something.
CLYDE: It's like a dream. I can't believe I was saying all that stuff.
SARAH JANE: How did you feel, when the power left you?
CLYDE: Like I was hypnotised, I suppose, and then suddenly the real me was back. It was like the hypnotised me just got switched off. I'm sorry, Sarah Jane.
SARAH JANE: Oh no, you couldn't help yourself. Believe me, I know what it's like to be taken over.
RANI: We don't know how we saved you, so how can we do it again? It's hopeless.
SARAH JANE: There's always hope, Rani.
SARAH JANE: Wait. Now, I pushed you. I knew you couldn't harm me. That must be it.
CLYDE: Lost again. What do you mean?
SARAH JANE: I forced you to do something you could never normally do. Your real self fought against the Ancient Lights and broke free of that influence. And I need to try the same thing with Trueman. Force him into a corner, make him confront what this thing is making him do. Well, that's it! Come on.

[Outside Sarah Jane's home]

RANI: But Clyde's your friend, Trueman isn't. How can you get through to him?
SARAH JANE: I can try.
RANI: But he's taking over all the signs. How long before he takes all of us over?
LUKE: Wait. Trueman's broadcast, he must be using it to transmit his energy around the world.
CLYDE: How? He's got control of the world's TV.
LUKE: Yes, controlled from the theatre.
RANI: We cut off the electricity in the theatre. If he hasn't got a camera he can't transmit anything. Is that a stupid idea?
SARAH JANE: That is a brilliant idea. Come on.

[Outside the theatre]

HARESH: Any joy?
GEORGE: Still no signal.
GITA: The Children of Gemini must join the Chosen One. We are the Inner Circle.
HARESH: I don't believe this.
LINDA: Let's make the circle here to protect Mister Trueman.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Children of Libra, join the circle.

[Outside the theatre]

GEORGE: Where are the police? They should be down here, I. I accept the Ancient Lights.

(He goes and stands between his wife and son, holding their hands.)

HARESH: This is insane. I'm going to get help.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Children of Scorpio, join me. The Inner Circle. My first subjects, Children of Gemini. Don't be afraid. Our lives have been leading to this moment. We never had any choice. My life brought me here. All the wasted years leading to this moment, but somehow I always knew I was different. Special. Chosen.

[Behind the theatre]

(Having parked up.)

LUKE: How do we get past them?
RANI: We've got to do something.
CLYDE: I can get us in.
SARAH JANE: No, Clyde.
CLYDE: I'm a Gemini, one of Trueman's inner circle. It's got to be me.
SARAH JANE: I can't ask you to take that risk.
CLYDE: You didn't ask. I offered.
RANI: Let's go.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Children of Sagittarius, join the circle.

[Outside the theatre]

SARAH JANE: There are so many of them now. We haven't got long.
CLYDE: I can do this.
RANI: You've got to look sort of dopey. Blissed out. Mmm, make it creepy.
CLYDE: Right. Let's roll.
SARAH JANE: Clyde, you don't have to do this. I can find another way in.
CLYDE: There is no another way in.
SARAH JANE: It's too dangerous. One slip, they could blast you down.
CLYDE: If you were in my shoes, you'd do it.
LUKE: Your face is wrong. Copy them.
CLYDE: Be quiet, boy.
LINDA: Have you come to join the circle?
GEORGE: Why have you brought these people? They're not among the Chosen.
CLYDE: I'm one of Mister Trueman's Inner Circle. He sent me out to bring these people to him. They are my prisoners.
LINDA: But nobody can go in. We have orders to stop anybody that tries.
CLYDE: But you can't harm me. I am one of the children of Gemini.
LINDA: But they aren't. They're not chosen. I think you are lying.
CLYDE: And I am one of the Inner Circle. I know all the mysteries of the stars. Mars has entered the Milky Way and Aero is in conjunction with the Galaxy. Step aside.
LINDA: We did not know.
GEORGE: Pass through, quickly.
CLYDE: May the Ancient Lights shine upon you.

(Clyde leads Sarah Jane, Luke and Rani into the theatre.)

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Join me, children of Capricorn. There's an intruder. The boy Clyde. He's somewhere here. I don't understand. This was not destined.
CHERYL: He's one of us.
TRUEMAN: No. There is something wrong. He's nearby, but I can't reach his mind. Quickly. Find him. Bring him to me.

[Theatre]

CLYDE: Wasn't bad, was I?
SARAH JANE: You were magnificent.
CLYDE: And I'm expecting a Ripple of applause.
SARAH JANE: You three, get backstage, find the power supply. Switch it off.
RANI: Right.
CLYDE: And you're going back to Trueman?
SARAH JANE: I've got to try and reach him, his true self, like I did with you.
CLYDE: On your own? No way, Sarah Jane.
CHERYL: Mister Trueman would like to see you, Clyde. And I'm sure he'll be delighted to see you, Miss Smith.

[Stairs]

RANI: Come on. He's moving through the Zodiac. When he gets to Aries, I'll be taken over.
LUKE: There must be a switching room. It's a public building. Health and safety regulations say there must be an emergency cut-off switch in case of a fire or flood.
RANI: How do you know?
LUKE: It's on a notice board at school. I remember everything I read.

[Auditorium]

CLYDE: Rani's mum!
SARAH JANE: There's nothing we can do.
TRUEMAN: What happened to you, Clyde? My influence is gone. How could you leave my Inner Circle?
CLYDE: I was too strong. I fought it and I got free.
TRUEMAN: That's not possible.
SARAH JANE: I saw it happen.
TRUEMAN: It doesn't matter. Perhaps it was fate that you should be here to witness my apotheosis.
CLYDE: Your what?
TRUEMAN: One step further. You know what I can do. Now, kneel before me.
SARAH JANE: Do as he says.

[Lighting gallery]

RANI: Oh, no. He's got Sarah Jane and Clyde. I don't even know what we're looking for.
LUKE: The emergency main switch.
RANI: What does that look like?
LUKE: I'm not entirely sure.
RANI: Oh, great.
LUKE: I don't think it's in here. Come on.

[Auditorium]

CLYDE: Can I just ask, what are you actually going to do when you rule the world?
TRUEMAN: The Ancient Lights will use Earth as a starting point, and I will teach my people how to use their minds and the power of the stars to go out into space until every mind in creation belongs to me.
CLYDE: But why? What do the Ancient Lights get out of bossing people around?
TRUEMAN: Control is the purpose of the Ancient Lights.
SARAH JANE: Trueman, listen to me. There must still be something human inside you. Think of your life before this happened.
TRUEMAN: My life before? Which part of my life? The part when I was selling vacuum cleaners? When I was rounding up shopping trolleys? When I was cleaning toilets? I was a nobody.
SARAH JANE: And this is your way of becoming a somebody? Yesterday nobody cared, today, everybody knows your name. What do you want to be known for, enslaving millions of people?
TRUEMAN: Do you really think that is going to work? Making an appeal to my better nature? Don't you see, the human part of me is loving every moment of this.
SARAH JANE: It's cruel, it's senseless. You're just a puppet of these Ancient Lights.
TRUEMAN: No, Sarah Jane, I am unique. The Ancient Lights have been waiting thirteen billion years for me. I was born at exactly the right moment, at exactly the right time. I am the most important person on the planet. On any planet. People used to say, Martin, you are not the centre of the universe. It turns out I am, and I never even knew it.
SARAH JANE: Listen to him. He's going to make all of us his slaves.
CHERYL I want it to happen. The Ancient Lights are shining. The conjunction, it's starting. Form the Inner Circle. I must speak to the world. My world. The time has nearly come. Children of Pisces, prepare yourselves.
CLYDE: Our big plan. Talk him out of it. It didn't work. So that can't be how you got the Ancient Lights out of me.
SARAH JANE: It must be something else. Something we missed.
CLYDE: What was it? What's so special about me?
SARAH JANE: Oh, so many things.
CLYDE: He said we were going to lose, didn't he? But we can't lose, Sarah Jane. We always win. We're the team. We're the nuts.
SARAH JANE: Hold on. The others can still stop this.

[Outside the theatre]

(A column of light beams down from space into the theatre.)

ALL: The Ancient Lights.

[Auditorium]

(Trueman and his Inner Circle of Geminids are in the beam.)

TRUEMAN: Yes!

[Switching room]

RANI: Luke, down here. Come on. Now.

(She starts pulling plugs out of racks of power sockets while Luke throws breaker switches.)

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: My destiny is now.

[Switching room]

RANI: I'm not letting this happen. Not to my mum.

[Auditorium]

CLYDE: It's too late.
TRUEMAN: The zodiac is nearly complete.

[Switching room]

LUKE: The emergency mains switch.
RANI: Ow.
LUKE: He's put a shield around it.
RANI: No. Mum.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Children of Aries, join me.

[Switching room]

RANI: I accept the Ancient Lights.
LUKE: No. Rani.

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: Yes! The Ancient Lights. All around the world, the Ancient Lights are reborn.

[Switching room]

(Unlike Rani, Luke is able to take hold of the mains switch.)

LUKE: Nothing there.

[Auditorium]

(The power goes out.)

SARAH JANE: They did it.
CLYDE: Yes! The team.
TRUEMAN: You flicked a switch. Flicked a switch? The Ancient Lights survived the big bang, and you think you can stop them by flicking a switch?
RANI: I have been chosen.
CLYDE: No. Rani!
TRUEMAN: I only needed the signal to broadcast my instructions. I can find another signal. Right now it doesn't matter. Don't you understand? The Zodiac is almost complete. Only the Children of Taurus to claim, and then even you will know my power, Sarah Jane Smith.
LUKE: Mum, I did it.
TRUEMAN: Nothing can stop it now.
SARAH JANE: Luke!
LUKE: That's it. Of course.
CLYDE [memory]: I must stop you.
LUKE [memory]: Clyde, no. Think about what you're doing.
CLYDE [memory]: You shouldn't have forced me.

(And Luke put his hand on Clyde's shoulder.)

LUKE: I know what happened. I touched Clyde. It's me.
SARAH JANE: Luke, what are you doing?
LUKE: Watch.

(Luke joins the Inner Circle, between Cheryl and Gita. After a few moments, the whole circle collapses.)

RANI: What?
LUKE: Yes!
TRUEMAN: No.
RANI: What happened?
TRUEMAN: No! No!

[Outside the theatre]

(The circle breaks up here, too.)

LINDA: What's going on, George? Jon?
WOMAN: What's going on?

[Auditorium]

TRUEMAN: How have you done this?
LUKE: I wasn't born. I have no birthday, no star sign, so astrology doesn't work on me. The circle was like an electrical circuit. I broke it.
RANI: Like you did before. You touched Clyde. It shorted the power.
TRUEMAN: What are you?
SARAH JANE: He's my son, and he's the centre of my universe.
TRUEMAN: Everything, everybody is born.
LUKE: I wasn't. And I thought it was a bad thing, till now.
SARAH JANE: You had everything planned. All mapped out in the stars. But Luke's got no stars, no star sign. You didn't even knew he was there.
TRUEMAN: It was the only chance. The perfect conjunction. They're already moving. The old knowledge of the Ancient Lights will be lost forever. And I'll be lost without them.
CLYDE: We've got to help him.
SARAH JANE: Let the power go, Trueman.
TRUEMAN: No. It is foretold.
SARAH JANE: Come on, Martin. Step out of the light, Martin.
TRUEMAN: I was born for this, my destiny. There's nothing left for me here. I can't go back to being nobody. Let me go. Let me go to the stars.

(The Ancient Lights burn him up and zoom back into space.)

SARAH JANE: Even at the end he wouldn't let it go. He must have wanted it so much.
CLYDE: What happened to him?
SARAH JANE: Perhaps it destroyed him. Or perhaps he went to join the Ancient Lights.
RANI: Mum. She's waking up.
SARAH JANE: She'll be fine. Won't remember a thing.
CLYDE: We'd better get out of here.
SARAH JANE: Unless you fancy explaining it all to her. And explaining about me, and aliens, and everything.
RANI: Come on, quick.
CLYDE: Best part of being in this team? Running away afterwards.

[Chandra home]

RANI: Dad? Dad?
NEWS: And an urgent investigation is underway to find out exactly how the television signal was hijacked as part of Martin Trueman's publicity stunt, with foreign governments demanding an explanation from the Prime Minister. But what about the people at the centre of what is already being described as Trueman's Hypnotic Circle? Earlier Cheryl Farley, formerly one of Trueman's followers, spoke to Joanna O'Brien.
CHERYL [on TV]: I was completely under his power. I gave him all my money, left my husband.
STUART [on TV]: I couldn't break his hypnotic spell over, over my poor Cheryl.
HARESH: Rani?
RANI: Dad?
HARESH: Da da.
GITA: Don't worry, love. Everything's all right.

[Attic]

(Reading the Ealing Echo - headline TV Hypnosis Stunt Full Story.)

CLYDE: Look. My stars. Gemini. You will find love in a launderette. Ha, wrong. Today I saved the world.
SARAH JANE: You did? Single-handed?
CLYDE: Well, I helped to save it. I'm part of the world-saving team. Great cover story, eh?
LUKE: Up. Down. Up.
CLYDE: What are you doing?
LUKE: I just wondered if you were under my control now.
SARAH JANE: Good idea. We could get him to clean the car.
CLYDE: Very funny. I thought we agreed never to mention that up down thingy ever again.
LUKE: We never agreed to anything.
CLYDE: Okay, time to go. I said I'd meet Finney. Wait. Oh, no, no, no.
LUKE: What is it?
CLYDE: Trueman's nicked my mobile. I've got no mobile. I'm nobody. I'm no one. I don't exist. It's a social disaster.

[Chandra home]

RANI: They're saying we got hypnotised through the telly. It's been on the news. It was a publicity stunt that went wrong.
HARESH: When they find this man Martin Trueman, I hope they throw the book at him.
GITA: I can't remember a thing about it. What was I doing at the theatre?
RANI: Don't worry about it, Mum. It's over. We can go back to normal.
GITA: I'm so sorry, love. You must have been worried sick, sat here all on your own.
RANI: I was fine.
GITA: Look at you, Rani. Cool as a cucumber.
HARESH: Right. If someone lays the table, I'll get some tea together.
GITA: Oh, okay. Just so long as you're not going to make macaroni cheese again.
HARESH: And what's wrong with my macaroni cheese?
GITA: What's right with it? Well, it's sticky, it's heavy. It should be light.
HARESH: Rani?
RANI: I think your cooking's great, Dad.
HARESH: Thank you.
GITA: Right. Come on, I'll show you. You don't always have to go mad, you know, putting cornflour into everything.
RANI: Like nothing happened.

[Attic]

LUKE: He waited so long to achieve something and we just stopped it from happening.
SARAH JANE: Well, perhaps us stopping it was destiny.
LUKE: I don't think I believe in destiny.
SARAH JANE: You still miss not having a birthday?
LUKE: No, thanks. Why should I want to be like everyone else? Today, me being different was a good thing.
SARAH JANE: Today, you being different saved the world.
LUKE: Why don't we celebrate this day then?
SARAH JANE: That's a great idea.
LUKE: Every year, this could be my special day.
SARAH JANE: Deal.
LUKE: Can I have presents?
SARAH JANE: Oh, whatever you want. Plus cards. Cakes. Lots and lots of attention. And a party. Oh, how about a party?

Transcript originally provided by Chrissie. Adapted by TARDIS.guide. The transcripts are for educational and entertainment purposes only. All other copyrights property of their respective holders.