Carter reports Sarah Jane’s theft in the lab

Doctor Carter confronts the Doctor with alarming reports of Sarah Jane’s violent assault and theft of the alien hand from the hospital lab. The Doctor, initially cautious, grasps the severity as Carter reveals the artifact’s dangerous regeneration under the electron microscope. This moment fractures their trust in Sarah Jane and escalates the immediate threat, forcing the Doctor to confront the possibility that the hand itself may have chosen her as its vessel. The exchange lays bare conflicting perspectives—Carter’s clinical detachment versus the Doctor’s dawning understanding of an emerging cosmic peril. key_dialogue: [ CARTER: Tell me, does she normally go around knocking people out? DOCTOR: Eh? What do you mean? CARTER: Well, she was standing over there and when I spoke to her she turned round, said something like somebody must live, then there was a flash and I, I don't remember anything else. But she's stolen the hand. CARTER: Did you find anything at the quarry? DOCTOR: No, no, negative evidence. No fragments, which means whatever it was didn't crash. But we can see from the fracture lines on this sample there was an explosion. CARTER: If there was an explosion it was millions of years ago. DOCTOR: Yes, and probably millions of miles away. Intriguing, isn't it? CARTER: Yes, but it still doesn't explain why your Miss Smith should want it, does it. DOCTOR: Perhaps it wanted Miss Smith. CARTER: What? CARTER: I thought there was a strange type of subatomic structure to the crystal formation. A bit like a double helix, you know. DNA molecule. CARTER: Great Scott! CARTER: It's changed. CARTER: What's happened to the electron charge? CARTER: No. DOCTOR: You mean it didn't look like that before? DOCTOR: You know what I think? CARTER: What? DOCTOR: I think your sample's been quietly absorbing radiation from the machine. CARTER: Absorbing radiation? ]