Kim Fortune was a conspiracy-theory nut who hosted his own podcast – Kim Fortune’s Mysterious World. How the hell had he managed to get himself a broadcast slot, even on one of the less reputable cable channels? Ordinarily, Dorothy wouldn’t have given him the time of day, but Kim had proved himself to be a better investigative journalist than even he suspected, and several months ago one of his podcasts had got worryingly close to the truth. He’d suggested that there might be a connection between several unexplained events and herself – the elusive CEO of A Charitable Earth – and so Dorothy had agreed to be interviewed, figuring that if he was going to broadcast stories about her, then she might as well have some level of control over their contents.

To a certain extent that strategy had worked, and so far she had managed to steer his research away from the events of her past that might prove complicated to explain and into areas that were far less contentious. The downside was that he now took her willingness to be interviewed as a taciturn approval of him and his journalism, and barely a week went by when he wasn’t trying to contact her to present his latest theory about aliens, or government projects, or the Loch Ness monster … He’d even turned up at reception last month before security had politely and firmly informed him that Dorothy wasn’t available to meet him and escorted him from the premises. Even then he’d hung about on the street for nearly an hour before leaving. Dorothy was tempted to let him know about the former UNIT base under the Tower; that might divert his attention for a while …

Kim’s TV show appeared to be much the same as his podcast – with schlocky music and added dodgy CGI. He was presenting an exposé about alien abductions in the UK. There were interviews with parents claiming that their children had been abducted, and teenagers telling the stories of their lucky escapes. Dorothy was about to change the channel but then stopped as one of the interviews caught her attention.

The girl that Kim was interviewing must have been about 13 or 14. Flanked by her grim-faced parents, she described how aliens came to her house and tried to abduct her. Ordinarily Dorothy would have dismissed the claims as pure fantasy but, as the girl continued to relate what had happened to her, Dorothy began to realise that it was uncannily similar to her own dream.

Fascinated now, Dorothy turned up the volume and sat on one of the breakfast bar stools, sipping her coffee and listening intently to the girl describe her experience. It was extraordinary. The out-of-body experience, the sensation of flight, the hostile, searing desert … It was all exactly the same.