Introduction
Well we have reached
issue 12 and the world of fight club, sorry I mean “Combat” and we’re not
allowed to talk about it. Nobody talks about “Combat” or is that Fight Club?
Anywhoo, in this issue we will be looking at the Hacking Device, Jacks Vortex
Manipulator/Wrist-strap and also Anti-weevil Spray.
I have used the term
‘Hacking Device’ simply because there is no information anywhere about this.
Not in Gary Russell’s encyclopedia or the wiki site that looks at the various
things found in Torchwood. So this part is completely through observation and
personal knowledge gained over more years than I care to mention, hence the
‘Tosh’ nickname at Project: Torchwood.
Oh and remember, we
don’t talk about Fight Club!
Hacking
Device
Jack needed to find out
what Lynch Frost Cardiff Estate Agents
were all about and their connection to the Weevil kidnappings and the death of
a man called Dan Hodges. In order to do this Jack sends Owen undercover,
claiming to be a business man who sells Jellied Eels (yummy, my mouth is
watering as I speak.....not!).
One of the ways to find
out as much as they can is to hack into Mark Lynch’s office computer. And how
do they do this? They use a device, that looks a little like a mini version of
the Lockbreaker/Reader (could they be from the same alien planet?). Owen
applies this to the rear of the monitor (sounds familiar?) and Tosh is then
able to access his computer by establishing a routing protocol.
Routing protocols are
used to establish how the routers communicate with each other, distributes the
information that enables them to select the routes between two nodes on a
computer. (if you wish to learn more about Routing Protocols and Nodes etc,
just google it and you will find yourself inundated with a tsunami of
information.) SO basically using routing protocols allowed the Hub computer to
communicate with Mark Lynch’s computer. Tosh was able to access his drive and
see what was there, files, address books and so forth.
What
Do We Have On Earth?
Well what we have is
much like what I mentioned above, only there’s no little gizmo to attach to
monitors. Hacking peoples computers really is a big fat no no, but is something
that is done every second of the day, hence the precaution of such things as
fire-walls and anti-virus software. People hack computers for various reasons.
Some are simply malicious, but most are purely to gain money or information
that can be sold.
Where Torchwood uses a
gizmo, hackers on our world use various means to get into computer systems like
back doors (which are created when a programme is written). Or specially
written viruses/mal-ware that once activated will ‘create’ that back door and
allow the hack in and so allowing them to gain the information they seek. Some
viruses/mal-ware once activated do all the hackers work for them by sending
everything they seek, such as address books.
But there are also legal
programs that allow the user to remotely access another computer from a
distance. Both parties must have the same software and agree on a password that
allows both computers to connect. So if ‘A’ wishes to connect to ‘Bs’ computer,
then ‘B’ needs to pass a specially set up password to ‘A’ who then uses that to
access, via the software, to ‘Bs’ computer. Once there ‘A’ can see everything
on ‘Bs’ computer and thus allowing ‘A’ to see any problems with regards to the
operation of ‘Bs’ computer. Many computer companies, such as Curry’s, use such
a system so they can remotely repair a customers computer, as long as it’s a
software based problem that is.
Anti
Weevil Spray
We first saw this spray
used in the episode “Everything Changes”. This spray causes short term pain to
the Weevil which subdues them when used, along with Anti-Weevil Handclamps (I
shall be looking at these in a future issue) and allows the Torchwood operative
to capture them.
By the time we get to
“Combat” the Weevils have started to develope an immunity to the spray, though
it seems that has been known for a while or at least, this has happened before,
as noted by A.Hopwood (I assume a past
team leader). This was discovered in a document by Warren Martyn (see “The
Torchwood Archives). It was reported that a Dr Lawson was working on a new
version of this spray. What is unclear is if the spray the present team is
using is the new spray version and the Weevils have once again started to
become immune to it.
What
Do We Have On Earth?
The closest we have to
this would be pepper spray, which is also known as OC Spray, OC Gas and
Capsicum Spray. This spray irritates the
eyes causing tears, is also painful and will cause temporary blindness and so,
much like Ant-Weevil Spray will subdue those that it is used on. It has been
used by the police and armies in riot control, capturing criminals and crowd
control. Can also be used for personal defence against attackers, dogs and in
the USA, bears.
It causes the eyes to
close and so taking away the vision. This allows officers to restrain criminals
more easily, and for those who use it in
self-defence, it gives them a chance to escape.
Though it has been
deemed a safer way of stopping people/animals, there have been some concerns
that it may have been a contributor in a number of deaths and so in some
countries, such as the United Kingdom, it’s use has been banned. In the USA it
depends on the State you are in on whether or not it is used or how it is used.
The
Vortex Manipulator/Wrist-Strap (VM)
The Vortex Manipulator
or VM, is a time traveling device (though it was damaged when he left the Game
Station in the Doctor Who episode “Parting of Ways” and arrived in Cardiff in
1869) with numerous extra’s and was issued to Time Agents in the 51st century.
Between Torchwood and Doctor Who we have seen three such devices. The one owned
by Captain Jack Harkness of course, Jack’s former Time agency partner, Captain
John Hart and one obtained by the Doctor’s wife, Melody Pond aka River Song.
Most recently we saw Jack’s VM in the 50th Anniversary Doctor Who story, “The
Day of the Doctor” used by Clara Oswald to locate the two, no three Doctors.
So what is a VM? With
the exception of being able to use it for time travel (when it works), it is
not unlike the Doctor’s Sonic Screwdriver.
It can be used to
Teleport in time and space (Though it broke in 1869 after Jack arrived in
Cardiff) The Sonic Screwdriver doesn’t do that. In the Doctor Who episode,
“Utopia” the Doctor fixed the VM and so allowing himself, Jack and Martha to
Time Travel from the year 200,100 on the planet Malcassairo to 21st century
London and in “The Sound of Drums” it
was used to teleport the Doctor, Jack and Martha onto the Valliant craft that
was 700 miles away in the sky. Before Jack left the Doctor and Martha, the
Doctor undid the repair work, once again stopping Jack from travelling in time
and space.
He can also use to
communicate via the coms and also send and receive holographic messages. He can
access computers and override electrical locks (does it do wood?). It can track
objects be they living or inanimate, such as cars and as we saw in the Doctor
Who episode “The Empty Child” it can perform medical diagnostics. Jack can also
use it as a remote control device, such as operating the Invisible Lift.
And much like it’s
owner, it cannot be destroyed as we discovered in the Torchwood 5 part serial
“The Children of Earth”, as it survived the explosion of the Torchwood three
base.
What
Do We Have On Earth?
Sadly there is no one
single device that does all these wonderful things. There is also no device
that allows us to travel in time, at THIS moment in time. But if you break its
individual functions down, there are numerous objects on this earth that can do
what the VM does.
Travelling
in space - well we
have cars, buses, planes, trains, boats, roller skates, space rockets...need I
say more
Communication - Walkie talkies. Blue-tooth coms,
mobile/cell phones
Medical
Diagnostics -
Doctors, medical equipment such as MRI scanners
Remote
Control - TV Remotes,
DVD Remotes, PVR Remotes, Hi-fi Stereo Remotes, radio remotes for model cars
etc
Tracking
Device - Sat Nav,
Satellites, remote tracking devices attached to objects such as peoples and
cars
There’s probably a lot
more than what I have listed, but ‘we’d
be here until the sun explodes’ (Day One) if I typed them all up.
Jikai made, sayōnara
(Japanese for “Until next time, goodbye”)
Mickie
Bibliography
Books
Torchwood:
The Encyclopedia by Gary Russell
The
Torchwood Archives by Warren Martyn aka Gary Russell
Wikipedia
Routing
Protocols
Pepper
Spray
