torchwoodinstitute | Welcome to the Hub

"Oh, I'm sure we'll find some of that here, too," Gabriel said, reassuringly. In fact, it seemed like they'd find some of everything here, if his eyes weren't deceiving him. While Mohinder sounded somewhat disappointed, Gabriel liked the aesthetic. It had a cluttered feel to it, but Gabriel didn't care much about cluttered.

Now that they were out of the car, he was definitely going to do some exploring. If Jack hadn't wanted him to snoop a little, he wouldn't have sent them down here alone.

They went in different directions at first, Mohinder wanting to see where the light radiating through the centre of the Hub originated from, until the Indian realised how easily he might get lost. He took the stairs to catch up with Gabriel two at a time and fell into step with him. At least until he came across a ratty couch overlooking the open centre and a coffee stand with the most expensive looking percolator he had ever seen just hanging out on an ornate service cart on one landing.

It was so strange, all of it. It was so old and yet well cared for. Most of the doors were thick and riveted without windows so Mohinder couldn't peek through them, but he was very curious to do more than move up and down the stairs around the core.

There was a strange bleating-roar overhead and for a moment, Mohinder thought one of those heavy doors was opening when in fact there was a bird flying around above their heads.

No, he thought immediately, his brain correcting itself as he made out the shape and applied it to textbook images of the long extinct creature.

It wasn't a bird at all. It was a pterodactyl.

As he suspected, the space they were in looked quite old, but it was the sort of old that had been occupied for a long time and updated when deemed necessary. All the flat screens he saw around the place indicated that the latest update had been not too long ago. Gabriel wondered how long this Torchwood had been around.

He didn't touch much, but when he reached the lounge area, he poked at a number of the appliances there. In fact, he played with pretty much everything except the coffee machine. It could almost all use repair, and so would probably get fixed by Gabriel before too long.

He was going to continue his tour when he heard that strange animal noise. Walking back towards the center, he saw Mohinder looking up, and so he did too. After a second of trying to decide if that was actually a pterodactyl, Gabriel shook his head. With a grin, he walked over to Mohinder. He readied his telekinesis, just in case the thing dive-bombed them or something (not that he was expecting that). "I sure hope that's supposed to be here," he said.

With Gabriel's new found ability of clairescence, he was going to get a lot from even the smallest of touches. The one most imprinted on the coffee machine was of a close and very personal friend of Jack's who had a particular way with that object. Ianto Jones was gone now, though. A ghost. There were so many ghosts lingering here, overlapping, just as strangely temporal as Jack himself.

Mohinder, who knew nothing of the joy and heartache built into the objects of the Hub, was gripping the rail for all his worth. "I'm sorry-- you hope it's suppose to be here," he breathed, changing his grip from metal to Gabriel. "There should not be dinosaurs in the UK. This can't be right!"

Just what was Torchwood?

...ah. He still wasn't used to using the clairsentience, having obtained it rather accidentally during one of his talks with Bridget. It would turn on at the oddest times- he suspected it was when there were strong emotions lingering, although he wasn't sure. So he'd have to be a little careful of touching nearly anything in a place like this, with so much history.

Mohinder was clearly a little concerned- okay, more than a little. Gabriel put his arm around the other man's shoulder and squeezed it, continuing to watch the pterodactyl. "I can't say I was expecting it, either. But this is a secret organization, introduced to me by someone who knows an awful lot about time travel. So- dinosaurs aren't outside the realm of possibility. Not much is, actually." That was quite exciting, to be honest.

"Her name is Myfanwy," a soft voice with a definite middle class British accent said behind them. "You must be Gabriel and Mohinder? The Captain mentioned you would be coming."

The man had a strange glow about him, serene face and eyes to match. His lips curled into a half smile and his hair was left almost wild, in curls and waves. He wore a white shirt and skinny black jeans. He didn't have shoes on, but had enough bracelets on one wrist to supply a group of ravers if they were any other colour but black.

"Welcome to Torchwood 3."

Gabriel let go of Mohinder's shoulder in order to turn around and greet this man. He hadn't heard him coming, but then, his attention was pretty much entirely on Mohinder and the dinosaur at the time. Gabriel wasn't sure what to make of this guy at first glance, and that was unusual.

He found himself smiling back. "Thank you. And yes- I'm Gabriel Gray. You work here?" Maybe they could ask him some questions about this place.

"Yes," the strangely calm man said, extending his hand in greeting to Gabriel first since he had spoken up. "Of sorts. As much as anyone works here, I suppose. I'm JC. It's a pleasure to meet you."

He had learned the hard way to just stick with the nickname.

When Gabriel let his hand go, he shook Mohinder's, who smiled at him in return and said his full name. "I was starting to expect Land of the Lost. All dinosaurs and old subway tiles and new television screens. No people."

JC laughed at that and nodded. "There's not many of us around at any particular time. Strange for a Time Agency. You'd expect time to be of little issue. Shall I show you around?"

'As much as anyone works here'? Hmm. He shook JC's hand warmly, and continued trying to figure out what was special about this man. As a result, he probably stared just a little too long. "It's great to meet you, too."

Mohinder said what he had partially been thinking, that they'd be down here by themselves until Jack came by. But apparently the scarcity of employees was normal. Also, this was a Time Agency. Well, good. The world could probably use something like that. And Gabriel was definitely excited to be here. "We'd love that," he replied, when JC offered to show them around. "Have you been here long? How did Myfanwy get here, do you know?"

JC was hopefully ready for a barrage of questions, because Gabriel was going to ask about nearly everything. They'd come here on so little information, after all. But Gabriel already liked this place, and it would take a lot to keep him from sticking around at this point.

JC didn't make any time is relative jokes, thankfully, though he did smile at the newcomers almost knowingly and lead the way around the circular walkway to one of the off shoot corridors. He keyed in a code and despite having bare feet in dangerous proximity to the heavy door, yanked it open almost effortlessly.

"I've been here about two years, in linear time. That's going to be the hardest for you to wrap your head around at first," JC mentioned. "And Myfanwy has been here much longer than that. She was a product of a destabilization in the Rift, that light you see below. Energy here has a way of opening gaps in time and space. It's why the Hub was built around it, to regulate it and to keep the objects and people that leave the rift from roaming Earth astray."

He showed them to the main meeting room. There were old take away boxes in the bin.

"She's very fond of chocolate."

That got an eyebrow raise. "Is she, really?" He would've never guessed that about a dinosaur.

But there were more important topics to consider. Like that rift JC was talking about- its existence made the Hub make a lot more sense. This location was chosen, because it had to be. So they'd spend at least some time keeping an eye on it, he imagined. He looked to Mohinder with an expression that practically screamed, 'Isn't this neat? This is neat, right?' He hoped Mohinder wasn't being thrown too hard by all this info.

He turned away from the window and took in this rather nice meeting room. It was more of that feeling of old meeting new, although in here things tipped a little more to the modern (he thought so, at least). He was clearly thinking about everything he was just told. "Linear time," he said. "Is that considered the time that mostly everyone is experiencing? Or your own personal timeline?" He shrugged, adding, "Might as well get used to the lingo, right?"

"You'd be surprised how complicated it can get. I suggest keeping a diary. When I say linear, I mean for myself, tracking my progression from my birth. I'm not always in this time period. I'm not from this particular dimension either." It was a lot to swallow and JC was extremely forthcoming. "I'm not sure how to classify which I'm from, before you ask. As far as I can tell, there are an infinite number of possibilities, each being a brand new dimension and-- The Captain can explain it better. There might be some books aimed at kindergarteners on the matter as well."

He wasn't being insulting...though he was pretty sure Judas would have snapped at him if he was here at the moment to hear any of that.

"I'll show you the Archive next. It can get very confusion. From what I hear, after Ianto passed, the Captain hasn't taken much time to go through it. Who knows what's down there!"

He listened closely, planning on taking this man's advice. It was likely a good idea for him to start keeping a diary, anyway, just to make sense of all the places he'd let his life go in the past few years. The news about dimensions was a little harder to integrate. He remembered Jack talking about gems with facets, and all the different paths his future (and past) could've taken, and he wondered if that was the same thing. He was about to comment on it when JC mentioned 'kindergartners'. After outwardly following along quite well, Gabriel stopped and his eyes narrowed in confusion.

The man didn't seem to be trying to make a joke, or comment on their intelligence. But Gabriel had to know. "Which kindergartner books are you talking about?" he asked, cautiously.

He was greatly looking forward to seeing any place called the Archive around here, however. Apparently, Ianto had taken care of it. He'd have to be careful with the clairsentience. It was unfortunate to hear that the man had died, but Gabriel had suspected as much.

"Oh, likely nothing you've ever heard of. We use to have a copy of Mummy and Mummy Time Travel For A Living but I'm not sure if that survived the last disturbance. The idea of time travel won't always be such a strange thing," JC added, taking them down many, many stories towards the long walkway leading to the vaults.

There were names on some of mausoleum-like doors.

"This is where all Torchwood Agents end up. All of your physical remains are cataloged and kept when you die." He lightly touched a plaque that read Simon Zealotes before passing towards the heavy telescoping door. There were hands and retina scans followed by a burst of blinding blue light that made JC's hair stand on end and caused Mohinder's teeth to feel funny. "Through here."

Huh. He hoped they still had that book- he'd like to see it. But his thoughts on the problems with time travel becoming commonplace are completely lost as they reach the mausoleum. It wasn't facing mortality that was the problem for him. It was the idea of Mohinder here, of touching a plaque with his name on it. No. No, he'd just have to fix that before it became a danger. If Jack could be immortal, if he could, if Peter could- Mohinder shouldn't be denied that. And Gabriel wouldn't have to lose him.

That justification made, he stared at the names before he left. Simon Zealotes rung a bell, and he stopped to stare for a moment before rubbing his chin and continuing on, a troubled look on his face. He followed them through the scans and the blue light, remembering that they came down here for the Archives.

"Why is it you keep people's remains here?" Mohinder had been asking for roughly the same reason that Gabriel was concerned by. "Burial plots? Family memorials? That doesn't bother anyone?"

JC shook his head, causing the static to drop from his hair as he stepped through and to the side of the door leading to the Archive. "Your possessions, your body, they will be covered in chronotons. And working here, with Torchwood, you have to be willing to give up your family and your connections for periods of time. No one can know what we do, but we do it for the betterment of all mankind."

Mohinder was the first through the door after JC and the room lit up in ambers and golds. It looked like a grand library, shelves stretching far to the ceiling. There were books and objects everywhere. In the center of the room, flanked by five archways deeper inside, was a table with a typewriter, paper, and a massive console computer. "Is that...?"

"The catalogue, yes. You're not loaded into the system so it won't trigger your presence. But let's wander the halls instead. I know where the children's section is."

Well, at least Gabriel (and Mohinder, likely) wouldn't have too much of a problem with family. Gabriel only had his mother (Virginia, of course), and he'd try to call and visit her when he could. She managed better than he expected when he'd been gone before.

Oh! As he suspected, he was already a big fan of the Archive. There was so much here. He'd have plenty to read and look at for ages. He smiled up at it as they walked further inside. And JC was taking them to the children's section. "Going to look for that book you mentioned?" he asked, amused. As they walked, his eyes swept over the many, many books and objects they passed.

"It's the easiest to start with when the concepts are brand new to you," JC pointed out. "They're written for anyone who doesn't have even the basic foundation of the issue. And while you have your science fiction, I wouldn't base concrete physical realities on a fiction story." He had his own issue with a particular book but he kept mum on the subject. "And the objects there are less likely to reduce you to molecular sludge if you handle them wrong."

Now Mohinder had a whole new set of questions and he fell easily into step with JC to discuss all manner of things. JC seemed both knowledgeable and ignorant at the same time and admitted that he didn't require a great deal of explanation and so had limited ability to answer the pure scientific questions. "I wasn't a scientist like you, Mohinder."

Mohinder blinked. "No?"

"I was an activist. The Captain saved me from dying. I'm not sure if he thinks he's responsible now for my life or if I am to be the one responsible for his. I realise that's ridiculous. The Captain's life will remain a constant for billions of years. Mohinder. You must remember that it is a curse. Not a blessing."

JC took Mohinder by the arm. His hand was almost too hot for comfort but the Indian nodded anyway.

Gabriel understood that logic. All right, fine then. They'd actually go look at the kids' books on time travel. He'd work his way up to the actual textbooks. And he'd probably be a little pouty about it, but he'd deal.

So Gabriel continued to stare at various things while Mohinder asked some very good questions. He stopped staring and looked at JC when the discussion about being an activist and Jack living billions of years came up. Curses and blessings. Simon Zealotes. His head tilted to one side. "What sort of activist were you?" he asked, rather bluntly.

Nah, it couldn't be. It couldn't be. Would Jack do that?

"A bit like your Occupy Movement," JC responded. He didn't lie, he wasn't the sort of man that felt morally capable. "We called it Occupy as well. We were trying to teach people that they didn't have to live under a repressive, commerce based regime. We wanted change. That's the same with most activists, I know. Unfortunately, our government was a bit unlike yours and I was sentence to death for sedition and rabble rousing."

"Sedition? That's a bit archaic," Mohinder responded, still somewhat shaken up by the way that touch.

"It depends by whose standards," JC replied.

Occupy? But then, he was sentenced to death. Gabriel reminded himself that they'd just been talking about various dimensions, and that JC had told them he was from a different one. What he was considering was very, very possible. But it still sounded absurd in his mind, so he just stayed quiet. Besides, if JC didn't want to bring it up- and the way he wasn't directly addressing it made Gabriel assume he didn't- he wasn't going to go against that.

Still, he found himself feeling a sharp pang of...something. He was never terribly good at identifying emotions, and this one was far too complicated. But it was sad and angry and shocked all at the same time. It wasn't this man's fault he felt this way. It was whoever was supposed to be in charge here. Finding this out just reminded him- he'd been lost for a long time.

So he was a little shaken up, as well, as they finally reached a shelf mostly consisting of brightly-colored books. This had to be the children's section.

People didn't quite understand him. JC had learned that a long time ago. People never would be able to understand him either. When and where he was from, he had been adored and then reviled. Here, his name was a reason to hate more than to love. He was better off with Torchwood. He had seen that clearly long ago.

It didn't matter anyway. They had reached the children's section indeed, and with the books there were also a variety of toys, some odd and some mundane and boxes upon boxes of neatly labeled files with letter and number designation that Ianto had known by heart without needing a chest sheet.

JC ran his fingers over the books and Mohinder pulled a stuffed pink teddy bear down from the shelf. "Why are there toys?" he asked, turning the bear over to finger the pull string in the back.

"That particular item is a bit too risky to leave out in the open. It's a companion doll that is capable of complex conversation and emotional attachment. I don't recall what century it's from. The AI is pretty advanced."

Gabriel absentmindedly perused the books until he noticed that Mohinder picked something up. He stared at the pink bear as JC explained. "Emotional attachment?" he repeated, looking it over more closely. "Huh." He wondered honestly if the bear was better at it than him. "I can see how that could cause some problems, having technology in a time where people would find it hard to explain. Or a time that people might reverse engineer it. It could change the course of history."

At least that was his guess as to why half this stuff was here, if not all of it. "It's cute," he said, with a tiny smirk. He didn't touch it, though. He didn't need any future memories clogging things up, at least not right now. He did wonder if Mohinder was going to pull the string. He wasn't sure what he'd do, if he was holding it.

If Mohinder left it alone, however, he was going back to looking at the books. Now that he thought about it, anything that was kept here would probably be pretty interesting, children's book or no.

Mohinder couldn't help himself. The man made bad life decisions for a living, and though this was just a toy, meant for children in some distant future, it was not going to have particularly good implications. JC didn't stop him from pulling the cord, however, and had, in fact, wandered off. He was still visible down the hall of long book and knicknack shelves, in ear shot with a shout, but somehow he had moved quickly and silently on the polished floors in just bare feet.

The little pink teddy blinked and yawned, moving it's little arms and mouth. "Oh, good morning! Is it morning?" it asked in a cute, docile voice.

Mohinder was delighted. "I believe it's the afternoon."

"Oh. Well good afternoon then, Mohinder!" Yeah. Creepy toy, knowing the names of the people that pull the string? Well, Mohinder was still amused. "What shall we do today?"

Gabriel didn't find it creepy at all. Of course, Gabriel's sense of 'creepy' had never been quite right. He leaned in, abandoning the books. He found the way the teddy bear moved and talked to be utterly charming. He did wonder how it learned names, though.

"We're exploring today," he said to it in a cheerful voice. He was curious whether it reacted to all outside stimuli or just the person who pulled the string. And if the former, did it recognize their voices.

"That's great!" the bear said, sounding actually excited. "I like exploring. Who is your friend, Mohinder? He sounds nice."

Gabriel grinned. This toy had to be at least a century down the line. But what a great companion for lonely children.

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