Object

Gravitron Power Pack

A thermonuclear radiation source tied to the Gravitron machine, identified by Ben as a potential Cybermen weakness but deemed unusable due to its extreme heat (4 million degrees) and inaccessibility. Discussed exclusively in sickbay strategy sessions with Polly and Jamie.

4 appearances

Purpose

Generate thermonuclear radiation to power Gravitron and potentially neutralize Cybermen

Significance

Discarded tactic exposes limits of base resources, forces companions to innovate with acetone solvent, and heightens desperation by contrasting raw power with practical peril

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

4 moments

S4E25 · The Moonbase Part 3

Jamie’s remark sparks solvent solution

The Gravitron power pack is discussed as a potential source of radiation to exploit the Cybermen’s weakness. However, Ben immediately dismisses it as a viable option due to its extreme heat (four million degrees), rendering it unusable in the current context. The power pack serves as a foil to the companions’ creative problem-solving, representing a high-risk, impractical solution that contrasts with Polly’s more feasible acetone hypothesis. Its mention underscores the desperation of the situation and the need for innovative, low-risk alternatives.

Before: The Gravitron power pack is operational on the moonbase but inaccessible due to its extreme heat. It is a theoretical option for exploiting the Cybermen’s radiation vulnerability but is deemed too dangerous to use.

After: The Gravitron power pack remains unused and inaccessible. Its dismissal as a viable solution solidifies the companions’ focus on the acetone-based approach, which is seen as safer and more practical.

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S4E25 · The Moonbase Part 3

Polly deduces Cybermen’s solvent weakness

Ben mentions the Gravitron power pack as a potential source of radiation to target the Cybermen, but immediately dismisses it due to its extreme heat (four million degrees). While this object is not directly used in the event, it serves as a contrast to the acetone solution, highlighting the impracticality of high-tech weapons in favor of simpler, more accessible methods. Its discussion underscores the companions’ need for a feasible and safe countermeasure, reinforcing the importance of Polly’s acetone proposal.

Before: Operational on the moonbase, generating thermonuclear energy for the Cybermen’s plans.

After: Dismissed as a viable weapon due to its extreme danger and inaccessibility.

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S4E25 · The Moonbase Part 3

Cybermen seize moonbase control room

The Gravitron Power Pack is referenced indirectly as the Cybermen direct the converted men to take over the Gravitron power unit. Though not physically present in this scene, its existence looms as the critical infrastructure the Cybermen seek to control. The power pack’s thermonuclear radiation—capable of targeting Cybermen weaknesses—is dismissed by Ben earlier in the sickbay strategy talks, marking it as a tantalizing but forbidden asset in the humans’ desperate struggle against the invaders.

Before: Located in the Gravitron chamber, a thermonuclear radiation source with the potential to target Cybermen weaknesses, but deemed inaccessible due to extreme heat (four million degrees).

After: Unchanged in physical state but now under Cybermen control, its destructive potential repurposed for their weather-control plot.

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S4E25 · The Moonbase Part 3

Benoit challenges Cybermen’s human cost

The Gravitron power unit is the central object of contention in this event, a thermonuclear radiation source capable of controlling Earth's weather—and now, under the Cybermen's control, a weapon of mass destruction. Benoit's warnings about the lethal sonic fields it produces serve as a grim reminder of its dual nature: a tool for human survival, now repurposed for annihilation. The Cybermen's indifference to the human cost of operating it without protective helmets underscores their willingness to sacrifice their own converted pawns for the mission. The power unit's transfer to the converted humans marks a turning point, as it becomes the ticking clock for Earth's doom, its activation the final step in the Cybermen's plan.

Before: Under the control of the moonbase crew, specifically the Power Control Crew, who operate it to maintain Earth's weather systems. It is a critical but stable asset, its destructive potential contained by human oversight and protective protocols.

After: Under the control of the converted humans (Ralph, Evans, and Jules), now acting as Cyberman pawns. The power unit is primed for activation, its sonic fields a death sentence for the operators and a weapon against Earth. Its status is now one of imminent danger, both to the converted humans and the planet they are tasked to destroy.

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