“Good evening, this is Jim Power reporting by satellite link from Sandhurst on the island. On my right is my colleague...”
“Silas Paine, good evening from me.”
“On my left is Sirwin, the chief of the Sandhurst group. We are the guests of the Sandhurst group, they are all around us.” Silas swings the camera slowly all round to show all the young people and back to Jim.
“I want to remind you of the situation on the island. About five years ago there were strange reports of green monsters, but no one got close and lived to tell us more about them. The green monsters, or greenies as we call them now, have a strange hunger for metal – especially steel, aluminium and lead.”
“Today we are not much wiser. We know that they are green, they float about, they like metals, they are deadly to human beings. However they do have their “green kryptonite” – sea water and the alkaline earth metals beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, and radium are deadly for the greenies – they avoid plaster, concrete, chalk and limestone which contain calcium and of course the sea.”
“These video clips show greenies gobbling live power cables, can you imagine over 100,000 volts; and here in a nuclear reactor. These greenies are weird.”
‘Them rods, Them rods, Demmm...fuel rods, Now eat dat uranium down!’
“We don't know who or what they are, if they are intelligent or not, or how they kill humans. Why do they like metals? Do they eat it? Where do they come from? What do they want? We are unable to communicate with them.”
“Two thirds of the island's population have left, mostly in ferry ships; a quarter have been killed by the greenies, trying to escape in a car made of metal was not a good idea. What happened to the rest of the people?”
“That's why the two of us are here. We landed this morning in Farnborough; a plasticopter brought us, that's a helicopter made mostly of plastic, uninteresting for the greenies. We walked here with a satellite telephone, a laptop computer, some medical supplies, some food, some lead-barium pellets and two guns in plasterboard suitcases.”
“We want to discover more about the greenies and more about the survivors. Silas is a qualified medic and can help with health problems. We want to stay for a week. hopefully a plasticopter will pick us up, otherwise we will have to walk to Southampton, the nearest evacuation port.”
“We are sitting in the Sandhurst group's compound, in the activity hall. It's the remains of the Tescos superstore surrounded by a sea of boulders. Anything that's metal and useful is kept underground. There is electricity, food and satellite TV.”
“There are currently about two hundred members, the oldest is 25, most of them are little children. There is an elected committee and chief. They have made Silas and me very welcome. We want to help.”
“Many of you will know about my special power which can force greenies to leave the planet. I hope to find other people here who have the power. I want them to use it. If we can't communicate with the monsters, we will have to destroy them or drive them away.”
“But now Sirwin has something special to say to his people and also to all of you who escaped the island. Here's the mic, Sirwin.”
“Tomorrow morning everybody in the Sandhurst group is invited to present themselves on TV. I want you each to stand by yourself in front of the camera and say your name and the names of your mum and dad, and anything else you want to say. Many of us have been separated from our families by the great evacuation – it's our chance to get in touch – don't forget – tomorrow at nine.”