Torchwood: Captain Jack's childhood...

[fajrdrako]

I was thinking about what we do know and what we don't know about Captain Jack. He appears to be in his thirties and American, but we know that's largely an illusion - he's an immortal of unknown age, presumably from the 51st century - even that leaves room for fudging, since he might have gone to the 51st century from another time.

So do any Torchwood fans here have any theories as to his original background? We know from his comments to the other Jack in "Captain Jack Harkness" that he went to war when young - though we don't know exactly how young. Are there any other clues?

Would would you speculate? Did he choose to appear as an American just to cover the Captain Jack Harkness identity? What kind of a family do you think he came from? A nuclear family? Or something more futuristic and outre? Two parents, or more? Fewer? None? Siblings? Schooling? Was he born on a poverty-stricken post-holocaust world, or did he come from a comfortable middle-class background, or was he a scion of a wealthy ruling class?

Any ideas?

Cross-posted to torch_wood.

Comments

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

Jack's a mongrel when it comes to species identification, but ticks the human checkbook on forms since he's at least 70% human, and that's what counts on the forms. Do to his non-human heritage, he doesn't have a fixed sex, but can regulate his/her hormones to be either male or female. But to some sketchy genetics, he would have more luck carrying a child than fathering one.

The parenting structure norm was three adults, and than he's in the middle of an unknown number of siblings - but by the time the war rolled around, he was the oldest child still at home. He has at least two older siblings, and one that was six or younger when he left home.

Jack's not from Earth, but from a former human settlement that intermingled extensively with the original inhabiter's of the planet. I'm not sure what implications would be, other than what Jack grew up with was a base-eight counting system that for a very long time was the only system he could do higher maths in, and the writing system that he still keeps his datebooks in is a curcioutus-looking script that runs right to left.

One of Jack's first exposures to 20th century English was Glen Miller, specifically, "This is the Army, Mr. Jones." He learned to sing it before he learned the language, and even now when he sings the tune, a trace of his original accent shows up.

One of his parents died during the war when the munitions factory they were working at got bombed. One his older siblings died fighting, or so everyone hopes as they were MIA and the family prefers that they were killed in action instead of being tortured to death in the camps. Another one of his other older siblings was a medic in the war.

I'm a bit fuzzy on the war, so I don't have any ideas of what Jack did before his capture - but afterwards, when there wasn't so much as a peace but a cessation of active hostilities, he was a professional torturer after learning a lot watching others being tortured in the camps.

More fuzziness when it comes to transitioning from the military to the Time Agency! Other than being a slight thing for history and swing music and that it got him far away from his home.

His partner at the Time Agency gave him the name James Harper on a job.

The Agency ate up a lot of his time, but he began settling down with someone he met at a 51st century version of a bar. It was a little tense, as Jack was a workaholic and the Agency ate up a lot of his personal life. This experience is one of the reasons that Jack tells his co-workers not to let they're partners drift away. Jack isn't quite sure what put the nail in the coffin of that relationship, as the two years that got stolen from him contained the end - he only figured that out after he saw ex at the bar with someone new, and a passer-by said that his ex had been with that person for over a year. ( I'm fiddling with the idea that time Jack got pregent was with this partner, and the baby didn't live longer than six months, and Jack "delt" by throwing himself further into his work. )

Jack found out that his memories had been stolen after falling asleep on the couch in the lounge of the Time Agency and waking up two centuries in the past with a new haircut, a bit more masculine looking, and his wristband registering that Jack was two years older by his relative time line. I think that he left the agency, and they tried to wipe his mind of his entire time there - but only got those two years.

Jack hasn't seen his family since he's left the Time Agency. Which he's still wanted by.

I think that's it. And I have really, really over thought this to the point of insanity, haven't I?

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Jack's a mongrel when it comes to species identification

What a beautiful way to start! I like that.

he doesn't have a fixed sex, but can regulate his/her hormones to be either male or female.

And currently chooses male because - why? Because it makes it easier to function as a cover warrior in 21st century Wales?

he would have more luck carrying a child than fathering one

If we judge by canon, on the face of it, he's been a mother but not a father.

and the writing system that he still keeps his datebooks in is a curcioutus-looking script that runs right to left.

I love that. I love arcane scripts. Alien scripts. Interlac, Kryptonian, the writing in The Impossible Planet that not even the TARDIS could read. When Jack's using this script, does he write with his left hand?

His partner at the Time Agency gave him the name James Harper on a job.

I like that idea. No relation to Owen, hmm?

Jack was a workaholic

Sounds right. Sounds inevitable.

falling asleep on the couch in the lounge of the Time Agency and waking up two centuries in the past with a new haircut,

Yes! Wonderful!

his wristband registering that Jack was two years older by his relative time line

I like the idea that his wristband keeps track of his personal chronology.

I have really, really over thought this to the point of insanity, haven't I?

Not at all. You've simply looked at the situation intelligently and sanely and rationally. After all, an obsession with Captain Jack is a sign of good taste and good mental health. Isn't it?

[msp-hacker.livejournal.com]

And currently chooses male because - why? Because it makes it easier to function as a cover warrior in 21st century Wales?

Mostly, for something that beccaelizabeth wrote: He's also currently believed to be a he, but given that that's the most advantageous option in the last few thousand years that could be more of a professional choice. And given the fact that I don't recall ever seeing in cannon that the women-shaped people are ever in charge ( though my Who cannon is spotty ): it's either misogynistic or egalitarian. Mostly the latter, but it's helpful to be man-shaped in the former. Plus, adding in the places that Jack mentioned conducting his cons in ( WWII London, and 79 CE Pompeii ) both places were more advantageous being male. After that, it's what the Doctor and Rose would recognize him.


When Jack's using this script, does he write with his left hand?

I'm not sure - it depends on whether or not Jack's ambidextrous or not, because John Barroman is right-handed ( at least, I'm pretty sure he is ) so Jack's been writing ( in English ) with his right and doing things right handed. But hey, Jack's a flexible guy, so I'll say that he does write left-handed with that system, at least.

His partner at the Time Agency gave him the name James Harper on a job.

I like that idea. No relation to Owen, hmm?

No, but I'm playing about with the idea that Owen's grandmother - who someone's fannon taught Owen about lay lines - knew Estelle, and the American that she was going with.

I like the idea that his wristband keeps track of his personal chronology.

It's the only way I can figure that you can have agents returning to a fix time without meeting themselves - and making it so much easier to pay them for jobs that start and end before the agency exists.

After all, an obsession with Captain Jack is a sign of good taste and good mental health. Isn't it?

Very much so! I was just worried because a lot of this is has absolutely no groundings in cannon - though most of it is a distillation of fannon that I've seen about.

[fajrdrako.livejournal.com]

Your scenario is logical and I like it. I'm not entirely sold on it - other scenarios are fun too - but it's imaginative and smart and it fits what we know. Especially about the wristband keeping track of agents' chronology. Now, since Jack doesn't want to be tracked by the Agency, he has probably dismantled some of it - but kept all the useful bits.

In fact, tangentially, you've just given me a story idea. Hmm. Add that to the list. Thank you!

I don't think there's any evidence of it at all, but it seems to me that Jack should be ambidextrous.