Fabula
Object
Object

DN6 Insecticide Formula Notepad

A massive laboratory notepad resting on a bench in the DN6 insecticide lab, its pages displaying the detailed chemical formula for DN6 insecticide, a deadly and persistent poison. The Doctor and companions (Ian, Susan, Barbara) analyze its composition—phosphoric acid, organic esters, and mineral nitrate—revealing its ability to seep into soil, contaminate water, and penetrate skin. The notepad's immense size (too heavy for the shrunken group to lift) forces them to map its contents section by section, uncovering the formula's catastrophic risks to food, water, and human life. Barbara's dizziness serves as a stark warning of its toxic reach. Authorized by Forrester, it serves as both a lab development record and a regulatory review document, documenting the precise chemical composition of DN6, including a key modification that makes the poison persistent in the environment. The notepad's contents shift the group's focus from escape to halting production, heightening personal stakes and urgency in their miniaturized crisis.
3 appearances

Purpose

Documents the chemical composition and modifications of DN6 insecticide for laboratory development and analysis

Significance

Exposes DN6's systemic lethality beyond insects, shifting the travelers' goal from sabotage to halting production; Barbara's symptoms underscore immediate human peril, heightening urgency amid Forrester's authorization

Appearances in the Narrative

When this object appears and how it's used

3 moments
S2E3 · Crisis
The Doctor deciphers the poison's deadly design

The massive notepad contains the formula for DN6, the insecticide at the heart of the crisis. The group clusters around it, analyzing its contents to understand the chemical composition and the 'everlasting' properties that make it so dangerous. The notepad serves as both a clue and a catalyst, revealing the systemic threat posed by DN6 and prompting the group to shift their priorities from sabotage to survival. Barbara’s dizziness, which emerges during the analysis, underscores the formula’s immediate and personal threat.

Before: Stationary on the laboratory bench, containing detailed notes on the DN6 formula, including molecular structures and chemical components.
After: Remains on the bench but is now fully analyzed, with its contents mapped and understood by the group. Its role as a critical piece of evidence is solidified, driving the group’s urgent need to act.
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S2E3 · Crisis
The insecticide’s lethal potential revealed

The DN6 Formula Notepad is the centerpiece of this event, discovered by the group and analyzed in detail. Initially dismissed as unimportant, it is revealed to contain the deadly insecticide formula, which the Doctor deciphers as 'everlasting'—capable of seeping into soil, water, and human skin. The notepad’s scale and weight make it nearly impossible to move, forcing the group to map its contents from below. Barbara’s giddiness, revealed during the analysis, hints at her poisoning, turning the notepad from a passive object into a ticking clock. Its formula becomes the blueprint for catastrophe, driving the group’s urgent shift to sabotage.

Before: Lying on the laboratory bench, overlooked until discovered by the group.
After: Physically unchanged but now a critical piece of evidence, its contents driving the group’s next steps.
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S2E3 · Crisis
The Doctor shifts from water to telephone

The giant notepad, containing the DN6 insecticide formula, is the group’s primary clue and threat. They huddle beneath it, decoding its components (phosphoric acid, organic esters, mineral nitrate) to understand the poison’s 'everlasting' nature and its capacity to seep into soil, water, and human skin. Barbara’s dizziness serves as a visceral reminder of the formula’s danger, while the Doctor’s mapping of its structure reveals the scale of the crisis. The notepad is both a puzzle to solve and a ticking time bomb, its contents driving the group’s urgency and strategic shifts.

Before: Stationary on the laboratory bench, its pages spread open to reveal the formula, too heavy for the group to move.
After: Unchanged in physical state but now fully decoded, its revelations propelling the group toward the telephone.
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