The Cradle of the Snake ( audio story ) Publisher ' s summary . " The Mara is in all of us , deep in our minds . In our darkest thoughts , that ' s where it started . Some people call it a demon , but that ' s too simple . It ' s about temptation . " Tegan ' s nightmares have returned . Seeking to banish the snake - like Mara from his companion ' s psyche , the Doctor sets course for Manussa , the creature ' s point of origin . But the TARDIS arrives instead in the heyday of the Manussan Empire , where infotainment impresario Rick ausGarten is preparing to turn dreams into reality . The sun is setting on the Manussan Empire . . . and it ' s all the Doctor ' s fault . Plot . Part one . Tegan has locked herself in her room , and the Doctor is worried . He tries to speak with her , but with no luck . Nyssa wants to try , so she sends the Doctor and Turlough away so she can talk to Tegan in private . They discuss the possibility of the Mara having come back into her . Tegan shows Nyssa the mark of the Mara on her arm , so Nyssa tells the Doctor . The Doctor believes that the Mara has come back into Tegan , so he uses the Mind ' s Eye to delve into the depths of her mind with the intention of driving out the Mara . He gives Nyssa and Turlough orders not to wake him while he is sleeping . Just as the Doctor is at the climax of drawing the Mara from Tegan into himself , Nyssa wakes the Doctor , scared at the fitfulness of his sleep . He reprimands her and goes with her and Turlough for breakfast while Tegan gets some more sleep . He plans to go to Manussa , the once - great planet before the Mara took hold of it , to see if he really succeeded at driving the Mara from Tegan . The four of them step out onto the planet , and discover that it is not the Manussa they remember : there are high - rise buildings and a more advanced society from the last time . Nyssa comments that they must be in the future , but the Doctor rebuffs this , noting that this is past , before the Mara took over . The Doctor asks which of them had touched the controls ; they all deny it . He takes Tegan to a specialist to run some tests , leaving Nyssa and Turlough to wait for them in a park . Meanwhile , an officer is set to come and inspect Sunset Studios , the broadcasting studio of one Rick AusGarten , a scientist who uses crystals to make dreams a reality . He tells his assistant Baarlaka - Barla , for short - to stop feeding the livestock and get on with cleaning the studio for them to pass inspection . He returns that it upsets the animals when their schedules are disturbed . AusGarten takes the officer - a woman by the name of - on a tour around the studio , to show her that everything is in order , for the demonstration later tonight . She nods and tells him that the people he uses for the demonstration will need thorough background and medical checks . He tells her that it is impossible ; the people are chosen live . He offers to let her try it out , let her mind fixate on an object , and the crystals will make the vision a reality - " think into existence " AusGarten calls it . As she images , the figure of a rose forms in the dream tank . " But that ' s not what I was imagining , " she tells AusGarten . She then notices something in the petals , writhing , trying to get free . It ' s a tall , fair - haired man , she whispers . Tegan gets settled in the chair and the specialist runs his tests , using crystals that Tegan notes are " like the Minds ' Eye . " He calls the Doctor back into the room - who had been sitting in a corner , muttering to himself - and tells them that Tegan ' s scans had come back clean . There was some scarring on the hypocampus , but that should be of no bother . The Doctor tells Tegan to wait outside , while he settles with the specialist . " You have money ? " Tegan asks , bemused . " I ' m sure we can come to some agreement , " he says . Tegan leaves . The Doctor begins rooting around in the specialist ' s desk , all the while talking about having a recent affliction of his checked out . He then shows the specialist something on his arm : the mark of the Mara ! Part two . " to be added " Part three . " to be added " Part four . " to be added "