Peter (Tomorrow People)
Encyclopedia
Peter is a fictional character
from the British
television
series The Tomorrow People
. His first appearance is in "The Medusa Strain: Part 1", and last appears in A Rift in Time, Part 4: Rise of the Roman Empire. Peter is portrayed by Richard Speight, son of Johnny Speight
.
Peter is a member of the Eternal Order, and is a Guardian of the Time Lanes. The Time Lanes access hyperspace
allowing time travel
possible. The Time Lanes can only be activated by a Telepath. Peter was captured by a space pirate named Rabowski. Rabowski plans on using Peter's telepathic powers to open the Time Lanes and go back into the past to steal treasure. Peter has been locked up in a cell with a creature called a Medusa, which has the power to nullify his telepathic powers. When Carol is also captured by Rabowski, Peter discovers that she too is a Telepath. When Peter refuses to help, Rabowski puts Carol in an airlock
, and begins venting the air. To save Carol Peter agrees to use the Time Key to open the Time Lanes, but he places a trap. When Jedikiah and Rabowski activate the Key they are transported to the surface of Mercury
. Peter then uses the Key to send the Tomorrow People back to their own time period.
", the ability to instantaneously transport oneself from one place to another, telepathy
, the ability to read the minds of other Tomorrow People and telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the power of the mind. Telepaths can also use their teleportation abilities to teleport other inanimate objects. A barrier which exists in the minds of all Telepaths, The Prime Barrier, prevents them from deliberately killing any living organism. Peter is the first Telepath to be seen re-animating another human.
Fictional character
A character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
series The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People
The Tomorrow People is a British children's science fiction television series, devised by Roger Price. Produced by Thames Television for the ITV Network, the series first ran between 1973 and 1979. The series was re-imagined in 1992, Roger Price acting as executive producer...
. His first appearance is in "The Medusa Strain: Part 1", and last appears in A Rift in Time, Part 4: Rise of the Roman Empire. Peter is portrayed by Richard Speight, son of Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight
Johnny Speight , was a British television scriptwriter of many classic British sitcoms.He emerged in the mid 1950s. He wrote for the radio comics; Frankie Howerd, Vic Oliver, Arthur Askey, and Cyril Fletcher. For television he wrote for the Arthur Haynes Show, Morecambe & Wise, and Peter Sellers...
.
Character summary
Peter is a Telepath from the 26th century, and the species called the Tomorrow People in the 1970s is called Homo novus (New man), in that time. Although he only looks like a boy of about 15 years of age, it is later revealed that he is 163 years old.Peter is a member of the Eternal Order, and is a Guardian of the Time Lanes. The Time Lanes access hyperspace
Hyperspace (science fiction)
Hyperspace is a plot device sometimes used in science fiction. It is typically described as an alternative region of space co-existing with our own universe which may be entered using an energy field or other device...
allowing time travel
Time travel
Time travel is the concept of moving between different points in time in a manner analogous to moving between different points in space. Time travel could hypothetically involve moving backward in time to a moment earlier than the starting point, or forward to the future of that point without the...
possible. The Time Lanes can only be activated by a Telepath. Peter was captured by a space pirate named Rabowski. Rabowski plans on using Peter's telepathic powers to open the Time Lanes and go back into the past to steal treasure. Peter has been locked up in a cell with a creature called a Medusa, which has the power to nullify his telepathic powers. When Carol is also captured by Rabowski, Peter discovers that she too is a Telepath. When Peter refuses to help, Rabowski puts Carol in an airlock
Airlock
An airlock is a device which permits the passage of people and objects between a pressure vessel and its surroundings while minimizing the change of pressure in the vessel and loss of air from it...
, and begins venting the air. To save Carol Peter agrees to use the Time Key to open the Time Lanes, but he places a trap. When Jedikiah and Rabowski activate the Key they are transported to the surface of Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
. Peter then uses the Key to send the Tomorrow People back to their own time period.
Powers and abilities
Like other Tomorrow People, or Telepaths, Peter possesses various psychic abilities. The primary powers of all Telepaths are "jauntingTeleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
", the ability to instantaneously transport oneself from one place to another, telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
, the ability to read the minds of other Tomorrow People and telekinesis, the ability to move objects with the power of the mind. Telepaths can also use their teleportation abilities to teleport other inanimate objects. A barrier which exists in the minds of all Telepaths, The Prime Barrier, prevents them from deliberately killing any living organism. Peter is the first Telepath to be seen re-animating another human.