Brave New Town ( audio story ) Publisher ' s summary . " It ' s like The Village That Time Forgot ! " The inhabitants of the quiet seaside town of Thorington in Suffolk are living the same day over and over again . What ' s so special about the 1st of September 1991 ? Why haven ' t the villagers noticed that the same song has been number one for years ? And just where on Earth has the sea disappeared to ? The Doctor and Lucie must solve the mystery before the ' visitors ' return . . . Plot . For once , the Doctor manages to land by the ocean as planned ; but it ’ s not Blackpool , as Lucie was hoping . Instead , some nearby ruins loom by the shore — and where is the sea ? The Doctor assumes the tide is out , but Lucie is not so sure . Nearby , local newspaper shop owner Jason Taylor hears movement , and thinks it is his daughter Sally , who has been missing since yesterday ; but it is a customer , Margaret . She buys a paper , and comments that the radios are all on the blink . The Doctor assures Lucie that despite the sandy , dusty , post - apocalyptic atmosphere , it is actually 2008 . He tells her that the area is safe , with no unusual radiation or diseases . They encounter a group of people headed to church ; the Doctor avoids contact , thinking there is something strange about them . Lucie comments that their clothes are outdated ; she calls the village “ the village that time forgot ” . This is supported by 1990s - era movie posters on a nearby wall . They check the newspaper shop and find it empty and without power ; there are empty drink cans on a shelf , dated “ best by October 1991 ” . Outside he encounters a police constable , who asks about the police box on the beach . He suggests that the Doctor is Sally Taylor ’ s “ replacement ” , as she has been missing since yesterday , which was Saturday . . . and so is today . The Doctor comments on the oddities of the town , and asks to accompany the constable on his rounds . Meanwhile , Lucie , still in the shop , knocks over some items in the gloom , unintentionally summoning Jason from upstairs . He realises she is new in town . He tells her it is 1 September , and that Sally left because he had a go at her for singing “ that wretched song ” — Bryan Adams ’ “ Everything I Do ” . She returns to the Doctor before he leaves with constable Sharp ; the Doctor asks her to stay with Jason and find more information ; and if possible , any diaries left by the mysterious Sally . Jason shows Lucie Sally ’ s bedroom , which he has begun to clean up . She jokes about Sally ’ s outdated CD collection , which dates back as far as 1988 , when Lucie claims to have been born ; Jason is puzzled , as he says that 1988 was only three years ago . Meanwhile Sharp takes the Doctor to a nearby fallout shelter , but Sally is not there ; the constable reveals that there are two dozen public shelters in town , with most homes having private shelters as well . However , the Doctor notes that there is no food in the shelter ; and he realises that no one has been seen to eat or drink yet , despite hours of searching . Jason takes Lucie out on Sally ’ s paper route , which he is completing in her absence ; but it is far from normal . Instead of delivering papers , he collects them from each doorstep , and returns the money ; it is clear he will sell the same papers back tomorrow , which will also be Sunday , 1 September . When Lucie points this out , he laughs it off . Meanwhile , the Doctor and the PC arrive back at the beach , near the TARDIS , as the sun sets ; the Doctor questions him about the town , and admits that he has seen no road out of town . Sharp says the town is Thorington in Suffolk , and suggests the sea is just out with the tide . They are interrupted by a tank with a thermal imager ; to escape , the Doctor pulls Sharp into the TARDIS . Aboard the tank , a soldier named Vitas radios Captain McCarthy at headquarters and says that they have found the town , but there are no signs of life . McCarthy orders Vitas and her subordinate , Andropov , to take a proper scan with no shortcuts . Inside the TARDIS , the Doctor realises from Sharp ’ s reaction that he has no idea what the interior of a police box should look like . He explains that they can ’ t be detected here , and uses the scanner to watch the tank head into town . Jason and Lucie see the tank coming , and Jason insists on finding a shelter despite the tank ’ s Union Jack flag , which Lucie thinks indicates it may be friendly . He says that they have always been told to go to a shelter in these circumstances , but he can ’ t recall who told them to do so . Lucie approaches the tank , but Vitas comes out and shoots her with a tranquilliser dart . She calls HQ and reaches a contact named Karimov , and speaks to him in Russian , but Karimov insists on English for McCarthy ’ s benefit . Vitas reports that they are bringing in Lucie as a suspect , and that there were no other life signs in the village . McCarthy insists Lucie could have been up to no good . Meanwhile the Doctor approaches the shelter and knocks , and when Sharp declares it safe , Jason emerges and tells them that Lucie left voluntarily . The Doctor wonders why the tank did not detect Jason ; Jason attributes it to luck . Sharp leaves to see if anyone else was taken , and the Doctor follows the tank ’ s tracks in the sand . Lucie recovers , by way of a dream about white rabbits . She finds herself in a hospital bed , watched by Karimov , who thinks she is American , but she tells him that she comes from Blackpool . He says it is 24 October 2008 . He brings in McCarthy , who explains that she was brought from a ruined village ten miles away , which used to be an island . He says the area is restricted and under martial law , with its oil wells under military guard . He suspects she is an engineer , a mercenary , or simply a troublemaker . With Jason , the Doctor has realised some things about the town — its island nature , and that no one eats or drinks . In fact , there is no food , drink , or electricity , and no petrol in the vehicles . He suspects that Sally , who was predisposed to leave , waded out as soon as the water was shallow enough . Jason confirms that there was a ferry in the old days , leading across to New Town . Soon Jason becomes able to see the ferry , which is not far away , though beached on the sand . The Doctor explains that it has been there all along ; Jason simply couldn ’ t see it . Scratched in the side are the words “ Sally was here ” , but the ferry has been abandoned for years . Inside it , the Doctor finds some charts , which are written in Cyrillic ! The town , it seems , is not in England ; it ’ s in what was the Aral Sea , in Uzbekistan ! While the Doctor tries to dredge up his knowledge of Uzbekistan , Jason says he can hear a voice in his head , calling him . Karimov tells Lucie that during the Soviet Union ’ s rule , this area was a combination of a beach resort and a spy training centre . Thus the village : it was built to allow spies to practice behaving like the English . However , Karimov says it all came to an end in 1991 . On 1 September 1991 , Uzbekistan gained its independence ; shortly thereafter , most of the water of the Aral Sea was diverted for agriculture and recreation . On the bright side , this allows drilling for oil in the area . However , Karimov can ’ t explain why there are British mercenaries guarding the oilfields . Meanwhile , Vitas tells McCarthy that a teenaged girl is by the oil derricks to the southwest ; McCarthy orders that she be shot . The Doctor and Jason reach the oil derricks , just in time for gunshots to ring out . They take cover , but it isn ’ t them that the soldiers are shooting at ; it ’ s Sally . As soon as they can get clear , they approach her , but she insists that Jason is not her father , but a part of “ the Mind ” . She insists that “ the essence ” must be preserved at all costs , and she runs off . The wells are now on fire , and he drags Jason away . Jason realises that Sally must have set the fires ; suddenly there is a great explosion . The explosion triggers an alarm at HQ , and McCarthy tells Lucie that Vitas found another saboteur , but failed to stop her . He warns Karimov not to get too cosy with Lucie , who may also be “ one of them ” . He locks her into the infirmary and posts guards , and takes Karimov to check things out . Jason is struck with a headache , and a voice in his head says that “ contact has been restored ” . It calls him back to his “ place of origin ” , to the “ Mother Consciousness ” . When he tells the Doctor , the Doctor realises that the voice is coming from somewhere near the wells , and approaching would be unsafe for Jason ; also , Sally is probably hearing the voice as well . The voice seems to get stronger as they approach New Town . Meanwhile , in the village , Margaret meets with Sharp , and finds that they both are hearing the voice . Sharp rounds up everyone in the village and brings them to the sea bed to hear the voice . In the infirmary , Lucie begs to use the restroom , and the guards grudgingly agree , threatening to shoot her if she tries to escape . The Doctor and Jason are met by Vitas in another tank ; she holds them at gunpoint and summons McCarthy . As he arrives , Jason ’ s headache returns , and he cries out in pain , saying he can hear the voice again . While Lucie is in the restroom , she hears the guards outside being gunned down , and hears a strange weapon . Outside the restroom door , she finds Sally waiting , but the girl tells Lucie that she will be dead if she makes a move . Meanwhile , Jason apologises to the Doctor for what he is about to do , but the voice ’ s instructions are clear . His hand opens to reveal an Auton weapon , and he fires on the Doctor , but misses . The Doctor laments that he should have expected this . Vitas returns fire as Jason runs off . Lucie tells Sally she is a friend of her father , but Sally says that her father should be focusing on the people destroying the planet . She has an Auton gun in her wrist ; and she says she came to the base to steal grenades . She is wounded , but there is no blood . The voice warns her that Lucie is not one of them , and tells her to leave ; she leaves Lucie alive as she goes . At the oil field , McCarthy suggests the Doctor may be bulletproof like Jason , but the Doctor says he has just become sure that Jason is not human . Lucie is heard on the radio , and she reveals that Sally killed the guards . She compares notes with the Doctor regarding their encounters . The voice is the Nestene Consciousness , and it tells the Auton villagers that the humans are against them , and plan to destroy the essence of the Auton race . It will stop the humans at any cost . Soon , Sally and Jason are reunited , and make up . However , they both hear the voice of the Nestene Consciousness . McCarthy sends Vitas to secure the base . Lucie reunites with the Doctor . The Doctor explains the Autons to McCarthy , but the man is sceptical . Lucie explains about the former spy training centre ; the Doctor suspects the spies were mostly Autons . It sounds laughable , but makes sense ; they have no physical needs , and don ’ t show up on thermal scanners . What humans existed in the village would have left on 1 September 1991 , leaving behind only the Autons . The Autons kept up the illusion for years , until the water dropped and access to the mainland became possible . Still , something is missing from their understanding . . . he asks to see the thermal recording of Jason ’ s escape . Meanwhile , the Auton residents have gathered by the former shore , and await orders . The voice calls them closer , and tells them they must be united against the humans . The Autons retain enough independence to question this briefly ; they thought they were humans . Sharp has no answer for this . The thermal scan reveals that Jason is mostly invisible to heat scanning , but that a tiny bit of heat is in his chest . The Doctor states that this is a bit of the Nestene Consciousness . If all the Autons have it , it makes them something new — autonomous Autons , which don ’ t rely on contact with the Consciousness in one central location . He suggests that Nestene meteorites must have fallen in the Soviet days , and been experimented upon . There should be records ; McCarthy says he thinks he may know where they are — and leads them to a dump . They find the documents , which are unfortunately — but predictably — written in Russian . Vitas contacts McCarthy , and tells him that thirty to forty villagers have been sighted , approaching on the sea bed . He orders her to dispatch a mortar team ; these are no ordinary civilians , after all . . . Lucy finds the Nestene ’ s energy unit inside an old urn at the dump . Prior to this , it was shielded by the bunker from which McCarthy tossed out the rubbish , which is why the villagers never before heard the voice . Now , it is broadcasting , and calling them to arms . He explains that their first act — via Sally — was to destroy the wells , not because they are environmentalists , but because they want the oil for themselves ; oil is the source material for plastics , and they can use it to make more Autons . McCarthy plans to destroy the villagers , but the Doctor insists that they are innocent if separated from the voice ; he wants to seal the energy unit back inside the bunker permanently , freeing the Auton villagers . McCarthy sends Karimov for explosives to seal the bunker , but promises to stop the Autons himself if the Doctor fails . The Doctor sends Lucie to safety via radio , and puts the unit in the bunker . He is confronted by Jason and Sally , who now have trouble hearing the voice . Jason is persuaded to let it go , but Sally threatens the Doctor with her gun , and orders him to re - open the bunker . Meanwhile the Auton villagers are confused , having lost the voice ; however , Sharp suggests continuing toward New Town in case they catch the voice again . Jason and the Doctor try to talk Sally down , and the Doctor tells her he can stop the voice forever ; but she threatens to kill him if he does so . The Doctor carefully eases them away from the bunker , and surreptitiously activates the radio so that Lucie and Karimov can hear them . The two Autons conclude they no longer know who or what they are ; the Doctor promises them that they can decide , and don ’ t need the voice to do it for them . With no option , he reveals that they each contain a fragment of the Consciousness inside them . He lets out a coded message to Karimov , telling him to activate the explosives , as he has reached a safe distance . However , nothing happens , and Karimov suspects the wiring to the dynamite is damaged . Lucie goes to check . With the villagers still approaching , and no explosion as yet , McCarthy orders Vitas to prepare to fire . At Karimov ’ s direction , Lucie finds the break in the wiring , and reconnects it , setting off the explosion . On the seabed , the villagers are suddenly returned to normal , and can ’ t remember why Sharp led them out here ; he can ’ t recall either , and they begin to head back home . McCarthy tells Vitas to stand down . A little later , the Doctor pulls up on the sea bed in a bus and collects the villagers for a ride home . Meanwhile , McCarthy and Karimov discuss the Autons , and conclude — as others did before them — that these people would be unsafe if unleashed on the world , but could make very lucrative spies and soldiers . In fact , the Doctor should stay on as their scientific advisor . . . he sends Vitas to collect the Doctor for the good news . The Doctor speaks with Jason and the others about their future , and tells them to stick together at all costs ; there is safety in numbers . In the meantime , he may be able to persuade McCarthy to restore the power and make repairs to the village . They see Vitas ’ armoured personnel carrier approaching in a hurry , and so the Doctor and Lucie say goodbye and head for the TARDIS . Vitas sees them enter it , and then sees it dematerialise ; reluctantly she reports back to McCarthy . Aboard the TARDIS , the Doctor and Lucie discuss the Autons . He doesn ’ t know what will happen to them , but at least now they have a chance .