Instant Karma was the twenty-third story in the Torchwood - Monthly Range by Big Finish Productions. It was written by David Llewellyn, James Goss and Jonathan Morris and featured Naoko Mori as Toshiko Sato.
Publisher's summary
Imagine. All those people. The ones who make each day that little bit harder. That little bit more unbearable.
Imagine if you could silence them. Just by looking at them.
I mean, just imagine. If you could do that. To all the people who annoy you. Would you do it?
Plot
Tosh attends a mindfulness group run by Simon, a bus driver and former soldier, after Carl's head explodes. The group spend the session complaining about things that annoy them, which Tosh finds a draining experience but which Simon tells her will start to make her feel better. He invites her out after her second session, but Janet reminds him that they have plans and he uses a mental power to hurt a waiter whom he believes has been ignoring them.
Tosh visits Daphne, Carl's mother, and finds a scrapbook of newspaper clippings, all of which concern people who have died of organ failure. She engineers an encounter with Simon in the park whilst he is walking his dog, Vera, and witnesses him using his power to force another dog owner to apologise to him. She visits the unconscious dog owner in the hospital and explains to him how an algorithm she designed noticed the deaths by organ failures, leading her to Simon's group due to Carl being a member. The group, she now knows, is having their anger channelled by Simon to kill people.
Simon uses his power to give right-wing politician Jeremy Gooch a heart attack at a protest and hurts Tosh when she tells him that she will stop him from doing it again if she can. As she recovers from the resulting nosebleed, she confirms Janet's belief that the group's anger was responsible and does not attend the group meetings for two weeks, confronting Simon about Carl's death after his shift supervisor dies of a heart attack. He and Janet work together to kill several jeering men in town, but Janet feels guilty afterwards and needs reassurance that they did not do something bad.
Tosh realises that Janet has telepathic powers and, after Simon accidentally kills Vera, Janet invites her to the next meeting to talk to the rest of the group. Simon cancels the meeting, however, and tries to kill Tosh, but Janet uses her own superior power to kill him. Tosh tells her that Torchwood will deal with Simon's body, that the group can never meet again to avoid the power from being discovered and that she will have to leave Cardiff so that her power will fade. Janet refuses to leave the city, but promises that she will be responsible.
Cast
References
- Janet bakes scones.
- Tosh and Simon get burgers at a burger bar next to the bus stop on Ninian Way.
- Simon is a bus driver.
- Simon did three tours in Afghanistan.
- Simon is allergic to seafood.
- Wilf keeps being blocked in by a builder.
- Roger Ness used to be the group's chairperson.
- Vera is named after Vera Duckworth.
- Jeremy Gooch and Ceri Perkins are politicians.
- Carl Brennan had a copy of The Bell Jar next to his bed.
- Nathan Whitfield was shift supervisor at the bus depot.
- Janet mentions the Western Mail.
- Janet quit smoking.
Notes
- This story was recorded on 10 January 2018 at The Soundhouse.
Continuity
- Tosh says she has found out what her colleagues think of her, and that people would never say what they really think deep down. (TV: Greeks Bearing Gifts)
- Cardiff lies on a rift. (TV: Boom Town et al.)
External links
- Official Instant Karma page at bigfinish.com