Henderson confronts the patient’s alien blood
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Doctor Henderson receives a call from Doctor Lomax in the path lab, who reveals that the blood sample Henderson sent for cross-matching is not human. This revelation baffles Henderson and raises serious questions about the patient's true nature.
Despite Lomax's claim about the blood sample being non-human, Henderson insists it was taken from a male patient and asserts his responsibility to care for him, regardless of the unusual circumstances. He dismisses the conversation and leaves, troubled by the implications.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Surface: Defensive and irritated (initially, at Lomax’s accusation and Mullins’ vacuuming), then stunned and unmoored (as the non-human blood revelation sinks in). Internal: Deeply unsettled, verging on existential dread—his identity as a doctor is suddenly called into question, and his ethical compass (to ‘look after him’) becomes his only anchor in a sea of impossibility.
Henderson pushes past Mullins with urgency, his bleeper’s shrill alert cutting through the hum of the vacuum cleaner. He snatches the phone handset, dials zero, and signals Mullins to silence the machine with a sharp, impatient gesture—his body language a mix of professional authority and creeping unease. As Lomax’s voice crackles through the receiver, Henderson’s posture stiffens; his grip on the phone tightens as the conversation unfolds, his initial defensiveness (‘Me playing tricks?’) giving way to a stunned silence. The revelation about the non-human blood leaves him visibly shaken, his muttered resolve to ‘look after him’ spoken almost to himself as he replaces the receiver and walks away, his usual clinical composure replaced by a man grappling with the collapse of his medical worldview.
- • To defend his professional integrity against Lomax’s accusation of unprofessionalism (initial goal).
- • To reconcile the impossible bloodwork results with his duty to care for the patient (emergent goal).
- • Medical science should provide answers, and anomalies are resolvable through rigorous analysis.
- • A doctor’s primary responsibility is to the patient, regardless of the circumstances or personal discomfort.
Frustrated and dismissive—his primary emotion is irritation at what he perceives as Henderson’s incompetence or pranksterism. There’s no curiosity, only impatience, and his abrupt ending of the call suggests he sees the conversation as a waste of time. His emotional range is limited to professional exasperation, with no acknowledgment of the existential implications of the bloodwork.
Lomax’s voice, thick with a Scottish accent, dominates the phone call from the pathology lab. He opens with accusatory bluntness (‘stupid tricks’), his tone dismissive and unyielding as he rejects Henderson’s blood sample outright. His clinical certainty (‘The platelet stickiness shows that’) is delivered with the finality of a verdict, leaving no room for debate. The call ends abruptly after Henderson’s silence, with Lomax’s frustration palpable even through the receiver. His role in this event is that of the uncompromising skeptic, the voice of institutional science rejecting the impossible—until Henderson’s stunned silence forces him to withdraw, his power dynamic momentarily disrupted.
- • To shut down what he believes is Henderson’s unprofessional behavior (accusation of ‘stupid tricks’).
- • To assert the authority of the pathology lab’s findings as definitive and unassailable.
- • Medical anomalies are either errors or pranks and should be dismissed without investigation.
- • His role as a pathologist is to uphold scientific rigor, even at the expense of collegiality.
Neutral and detached—Mullins is neither alarmed nor curious about the phone call’s content. His emotional state is one of routine compliance, with no indication that he grasps the significance of what’s happening. He’s a functional presence, not an active participant in the drama.
Mullins is vacuuming the corridor carpet when Henderson pushes past him, the vacuum’s hum a mundane counterpoint to the mounting tension. Henderson’s sharp signal to turn it off is obeyed immediately, Mullins’ compliance silent and efficient. He stands nearby during the phone call, a passive observer to Henderson’s unraveling, his presence a reminder of the hospital’s mundane operations continuing even as the extraordinary intrudes. His role is that of the everyman—uninvolved in the medical crisis but physically present, a grounding contrast to the supernatural revelation unfolding.
- • To complete his assigned task (vacuuming the corridor) without disruption.
- • To avoid drawing attention to himself in a moment of institutional tension.
- • His job is to maintain the hospital’s operations, regardless of what’s happening around him.
- • Medical staff (like Henderson) have authority that should not be questioned.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The internal telephone handset is the catalyst for the event’s crisis. Henderson snatches it from its wall-mounted cradle with urgency, his fingers dialing zero to connect with the pathology lab. The handset becomes a conduit for Lomax’s devastating revelation, its black plastic surface a stark contrast to the sterile white of the corridor. Henderson’s grip tightens as the call progresses, his knuckles whitening—a physical manifestation of his growing distress. When he replaces the receiver, the handset is no longer just a communication device; it’s a symbol of the institutional system that has just failed to provide answers, leaving Henderson adrift. Its role is functional (enabling the call) and narrative (delivering the inciting incident that unravels Henderson’s worldview).
Henderson’s bleeper activates with a shrill alert as he nears the telephone, its sound cutting through the corridor’s ambient noise. The device is a physical manifestation of the hospital’s urgency, pulling Henderson toward the call that will upend his understanding of his patient. Its activation is a narrative beat—signaling that something is wrong and demanding immediate attention. While the bleeper itself plays no further role in the event, its alert is the inciting action that sets the scene in motion, linking Henderson’s professional duties to the supernatural crisis unfolding around him.
Mullins’ vacuum cleaner is initially a source of irritation, its motor humming loudly as Henderson tries to take the call. The machine’s noise is a literal and metaphorical barrier to clarity—both auditory (drowning out Lomax’s voice) and thematic (representing the mundane routines that continue even as the extraordinary intrudes). Henderson’s sharp signal to turn it off is a microcosm of his frustration with the day’s disruptions. Once silenced, the vacuum cleaner sits dormant nearby, its presence a reminder of the hospital’s operational normalcy, now juxtaposed against the supernatural revelation unfolding. Its role is to underscore the contrast between the ordinary and the extraordinary, and to heighten the tension of the moment.
The non-human blood sample is the linchpin of the event, though it is referenced rather than seen. Lomax’s revelation about its ‘platelet stickiness’ and non-human origin is the inciting incident that shatters Henderson’s professional certainty. The sample, drawn from the unconscious patient, becomes a MacGuffin of sorts—its existence forces Henderson to confront the impossible, challenging his medical training and ethical foundations. While the sample itself is not physically present in the scene, its absence is palpable; it haunts the conversation, an unseen force that reshapes Henderson’s understanding of his role as a doctor. Its narrative function is to serve as the catalyst for the event’s central conflict: science vs. the supernatural, and the ethical duty to care regardless of the circumstances.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The Ashbridge Cottage Hospital corridor is the neutral ground where the event’s tension unfolds. Its fluorescent lighting casts a sterile, clinical glow over the scene, emphasizing the contrast between the mundane (Mullins vacuuming, Henderson’s professional routine) and the extraordinary (the non-human blood revelation). The corridor’s carpet deadens footsteps, creating a sense of isolation despite the hospital’s bustling activity. The space is transitional—neither a private room nor a public area—making it the perfect setting for a conversation that bridges the ordinary and the inexplicable. The corridor’s institutional neutrality is disrupted by the phone call, turning it into a pressure cooker where Henderson’s professional identity is tested and found wanting.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Ashbridge Cottage Hospital is the institutional backdrop against which the event unfolds, its protocols and hierarchies shaping the interaction between Henderson and Lomax. The hospital’s pathology lab (represented by Lomax) operates as the authority on medical anomalies, while Henderson, as a doctor, is bound by its ethical and professional standards. The organization’s influence is felt in the phone call’s brusque tone (Lomax’s dismissal of Henderson’s sample as a ‘stupid trick’) and the expectation that medical staff will uphold institutional rigor. However, the hospital’s systems are also revealed as inadequate when faced with the supernatural—Henderson’s ethical duty to care for the patient (‘look after him’) clashes with the hospital’s scientific framework, exposing a fracture in its ability to handle the unknown.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"The Doctor's presence in the hospital leads to a blood test, which reveals his blood as non-human, further fueling the mystery."
UNIT delivers the unconscious strangerThemes This Exemplifies
Thematic resonance and meaning
Key Dialogue
"LOMAX: Look here, Henderson, what's the idea of playing stupid tricks?"
"HENDERSON: Me playing tricks? Who is that?"
"LOMAX: Doctor Lomax, path lab. You just sent up a blood sample for cross matching. Listen, Henderson, I will not tolerate stupid practical jokes. It wasn't human blood and you know it."
"HENDERSON: What do you mean, not human blood? I took it from the patient myself."
"LOMAX: It is not a human blood type. The platelet stickiness shows that. Henderson, are you there? Hello?"
"HENDERSON: Doctor Lomax, I took that blood sample from an adult male patient. Now you tell me it's not human blood. I don't know if that makes me a doctor or a vet, but it's still my job to look after him."