Talk:Vortex manipulator

Doesn't Jack Harkness where this all the time. If so it has appeared in every Torchwood episode.


 * I think this refers to plot-relevant appearances. --Stardizzy2 21:26, 29 June 2009 (UTC)

But he did use it in Exit Wounds and Everything Changes properly from what I can remember. SuperHeroChaos 18:36 30th June 2009

Correction??
"is able to enhance the accuracy of the travel path, as the Doctor is able to use it to guide Jack and Martha from the future back to when they had last left"- It is used to "hook" onto the tardis so this does not mean that it is working accurately but just working as a "lasso" 86.169.203.76 19:43, 11 July 2009 (UTC)

Cleanup
I've put this page in for a cleanup. Really, what it is in dire need of is separation and simplifying of what is history, and what is an ability. There shouldn't be an abilities section and a functions section as that basically means the same thing. The Thirteenth Doctor 20:27, September 15, 2010 (UTC)

Removal of speculation
When I encountered it article contained these two lines:
 * Jack immediately shooting the Dalek after teleporting suggests that he saw it coming, meaning the manipulator may show you where you teleport before you arrive.


 * Jack's method of reactivating the manipulator suggests that vortex manipulator technology may derive its origins from earlier Earth-based programs such as Project Indigo.

These are both totally speculative and easily countered with other ideas. Just to take the second one, it's possible that Project Indigo turns into vortex manipulators many years hence. It's also possible that Jack, or another Time Agent, had an encounter with Sontarans in which they stole the VM tech and put it into their transport tech. Thus, when UNIT scavenged the tech, they were actually, unknowingly, taking tech from Time Agents, once removed. Plenty of reason to doubt these lines as just one possibility.

'''Unnecessary removal of edits...I made some significante revisions to this article, only to have them removed. Why? Other than one speculatory suggestion, everything else was observable facts from screened episodes. This is supposed to be an informatory service, not just one person's narrow understanding of what an episode has shown or inferred, hence the 'edit' option being available to anyone. '''
 * Were there specific changes you wanted to discuss here? (I notice that instead you've chosen to make rather extensive use of the "Undo" feature of the history...) For example, you seem to wish to re-add a note speculating on why the Ninth Doctor had no issue with Jack being in posession (sic) of a fully functional vortex manipulator, never once attempting to disable it during their travels. Well, firstly, we don't know that. Even if we do accept that to be the case, one could certainly put forth various hypotheses on why. However, any such theories would be simple speculation. For example, maybe it was because Jack was supervised and travelling with the Ninth Doctor in the TARDIS at that point, not hopping around unsupervised on 21st century Earth? There's one on the page now citing the Jack's fixed point nature being the reason. Seems odd given that the Tenth Doctor invited jack to go travelling with him again at the end of Last of the Time Lords... For that matter, one could speculate that perhaps the Ninth Doctor *did* attempt to disable Jack's VM, and we just didn't know about it? These kind of speculations don't really belong on this page, plus they're really more speculations about Jack than the VM itself. They don't add anything to the description of the device or its usage. I welcome your thoughts, and those of others. Spreee 21:18, September 21, 2011 (UTC)Spreee

These are elements I feel require retaining, as they support the validity of a VM as a piece of equipment worthy of issue by the Time Agency:

-Statement that Time Agency VMs were issued in Wrist-Straps to each agent (evidenced by Captain Jack, Captain John and the 'Handsome Time Agent''s wrist) Also, that Time Agency issued VMs were issued housed in wrist-straps (all examples so far have used the same props.  John's VM could have been totally different, but instead, was just black with yellow LEDs (same prop was clearly used as Gray's VM just as Jack's VM was used without the cover flap as River's VM) the design of the strap itself would allow the VM to be worn in most any time period without looking out of place.  Vikings wore wrist straps, cowboys wore wrist straps, pirates wore wrist straps...  It is just logical that the strap design is for anonymity and inconspicuousness.

- Removal of statements suggesting that Jack's VM was inaccurate or unreliable. Run any car at maximum speed on a test track for 48 hours and the thing will likely break down. Not due to 'unreliability', but by being pushed to (and possibly beyond) its factory specs or usage expectations. With the exception of the 200,000 year time jump which caused the VM to burn out (just as many things can wear out through extensive use) all other examples of VM use have shown to be extremely precise and accurate.

- Given that there were no on-screen examples of the 9th Doctor attempting to remove or disable Jack's VM, it cannot be assumed that there would have been any off-screen instances of him doing so. It does not hurt to mention that the 9th Doctor had no issues with Jack having a functional VM, yet the 10th Doctor seemed to take it upon himself to disable the teleporter at any opportunity when it failed to meet his personal needs...

- It cannot hurt to say that the Doctor repaired the VM on Malcassairo with his sonic screwdriver, rather than saying that he re-activated it. As I stated in italic example: All Jack needed to do to reactivate the teleporter was to input the code from Project Indigo. That showed that the VM itself had not been damaged/rendered inoperable by the Doctor after he disabled it. Instead, it showed that the VM simply needed 'operating codes' entered, like erasing the message center number from a cell phone will prevent the phone sending SMS messages, but it will not stop the other functions of the phone from working.

- The description of the VM as being from an unidentified yet near indestructible metal is nothing less than a statement of fact. Jack's VM survived the explosion with no issue.

I don't feel these are unreasonable edits and additions to expand on the subject of VMs, and would certainly be happy to discuss further refinement of those suggestions, as I feel they can only enhance the original article into a more coherent description of the VM, rather than simply repeating what was said verbatim onscreen.

Additionally, the highlighted uses of the VM by the Master and the Doctor showed that the VM could transport two people without them experiencing discomfort. It was only when it was transporting 3 people, that the ride started getting bumpy... I just feel that it needs to be made clear that at times when the VM has *appeared* unreliable,  it was because it was functioning 'above and beyond', rather than being an unreliable 'space hopper'. John and Gray were both able to use their Ms with perfect function and precision, as was River and the 11th Doctor (using her VM) so it is not a stretch to say that the VM is an effective device *when properly used*.

STOP AMMENDING LEGITIMATE EDITS!!! As the last author to ammend this article into what became an 'accepted version', I find it incredibly tedious to see irrelevent speculation added as fact. In Mircale Day (I believe Immortal Sins) when Gwen had Jack tied up in the car, he told her that the vortex manipulator was currently keyed to his biology, and said that if he was able to reset it to Gwen, it could be used to track her child. This was simply a ruse to try and escape. The text Gwen received stated that "Jack lies..." The fact that the Doctor, the Master and Martha all used the teleport function clearly show that the device is not specifically keyed to Jack. The fact that it detected low sodium levels in Rex, who was simply HOLDING IT, clearly show that the device is NOT user sensitive at all. RESTORE MY EDIT TO REFLECT THAT FACT! In Sound of Drums, when the Doctor and the Master used the vortex manipulator to leave the Valiant, neither of them had to 'shake it off' when they landed, which Jack, the Doctor and Marther all did when they landed. Equally, when Jack transported to the Doctor's location to shoot the Dalek, he didn't have to 'shake it off' either. It is CLEAR AND OBVIOUS from these examples that the vortex manipulator can transport a single person, and a second person riding 'piggyback' without disconfort to the users, but a third person means they ALL experience discomfort, ergo, the manipulator is being stressed beyond it's basic capability. Once more, RESTORE MY EDIT TO REFLECT THAT FACT and stop restoring edits which are nothing more than fanfiction speculation!