Vortex manipulator: Difference between revisions

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{{Infobox Object
{{Infobox Object
|object name = Vortex manipulator
|image      = Cloaked Figure Vortex Malipunator.jpg
|image = [[Image:4771416913a10035880933l.jpg|290px]]
|type        = [[Time travel]]
|type = [[Time travel]]
|made by    = [[Topher Si-William]], [[Time Agency]]
|origin = Probably the [[Time Agency]]
|used by    = [[Jack Harkness]], [[Family of Blood]], [[John Hart]], [[Martha Jones]], [[River Song]], [[Eleventh Doctor]], [[Adam Mitchell]], [[Clara Oswald]], [[Missy]], [[Harrison Crane]], [[Abslom Daak]], [[Jenny]], [[Krasko]], [[Doom]]
|appearances =[[Vortex manipulator - List of Appearances|Full List of Appearances]]  
|first      = The Empty Child (TV story)
}}
|appearances = {{appears}}
}}{{ImageLink}}
A '''vortex manipulator''' was a form of basic [[time travel]] used by the [[Time Agency]] of the [[51st century]]. The [[Tenth Doctor]] took a dismal view of it, claiming that it was a "space hopper" compared to his "sports car," his [[The Doctor's TARDIS|TARDIS]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') Unlike safer time travel options, vortex manipulators took a major toll on organic beings, through direct exposure to the [[Time Vortex]]. Enough successive [[time hop]]s could [[Death|kill]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Kings of Infinite Space (audio story)|Kings of Infinite Space]]'') It was invented by [[Harvey Grey]]. ([[AUDIO]]: {{cs|Archipelago (audio story)}})


A '''vortex manipulator''' was a form of basic [[time travel]] used by the [[Time Agency]] of the [[51st century]]. It is a part of [[Time Agency wrist strap]].
== Usage ==
[[Time Agent]]s were each given a vortex manipulator. ([[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'', ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') Vortex manipulators used and issued by the Time Agency were housed in [[leather]] wrist-straps with a covering flap, enabling the device to be worn conveniently by the Time Agent without drawing attention to the device itself. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'')


==Functions and abilities==
Early models of vortex manipulators left an echo, which was traceable by other users. This flaw was rectified in later models. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Shrouded (comic story)|Shrouded]]'')
The vortex manipulator allowed the user to [[time travel|travel through time]] using the [[Time Vortex]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'', ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'') Under normal circumstances, it can allow travel of a distance of nearly 200,000 years. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Parting of the Ways]]'', [[TW]]: ''[[Everything Changes]]'') Following modifications with a [[sonic screwdriver]], it could allow travel from the [[End of the Universe]] to the [[21st century]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'') The Doctor considered it very primitive compared to a [[TARDIS]], describing [[the Doctor's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] as a "sports car" to [[Jack Harkness]]'s "space hopper".


Presumably the vortex manipulator created some sort of shield to protect an Agent from the side effects of an unprotected journey through the vortex. This did not, however, prevent some considerable discomfort for the user, as shown by the Doctor, Jack and Martha's responses upon arriving in London. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'' )
According to the [[Eleventh Doctor]], vortex manipulators could cause an [[addiction]]. In particular, he used to be "40-a-day" in his [[First Doctor|youth]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Space in Dimension Relative and Time (comic story)|Space in Dimension Relative and Time]]'')


Jack's admission that he was unable to reach his intended destination ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'' ) when returning to Earth's past would seem to imply that vortex manipulators are not reliable forms of exact time travel, certainly when compared to a TARDIS. This appears to be backed up by his surprise that the trip back from Utopia via the manipulator brings them back so close to when they left, which something the Doctor takes credit for. This may be due to the Doctor's time related abilities or the Doctor's repairs to it with his sonic screwdriver. However, when [[River Song]] and the [[Eleventh Doctor]] used one to travel through time and space, they seemed to experience no trouble, although it's possible that it was a more recent moddel compared to the one Jack Harkness has. ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'', ''[[The Pandorica Opens]]'', ''[[The Big Bang]]'')
Although it was generally used by the Agency, the [[Family of Blood]] stole [[Family of Blood's vortex manipulator|one]] to follow the [[Tenth Doctor]] around the universe. ([[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'')


The vortex manipulators were very resilient, and one was able to survive a bomb that would destroy a Human. ([[TW]]: ''[[Children of Earth: Day Five]]'')
[[Adam Mitchell]] stole [[Neal Shaw's vortex manipulator]] in order to kidnap several [[companion]]s of the Doctor and plot against his first eleven incarnations. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Choice (comic story)|The Choice]]'')


Time Agents were given a vortex manipulator. Jack Harkness had his manipulator housed in a [[Time Agency wrist strap]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') Although it was generally used by the Agency, the [[Family of Blood]] stole one to follow [[Tenth Doctor|the Doctor]] around the [[universe]]. ([[DW]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'' / ''[[The Family of Blood]]'') The TARDIS controls include a vortex manipulator. ([[DW]]: ''[[Attack of the Graske]]'')
[[Harrison Crane]] stole [[Harrison Crane's vortex manipulator|a vortex manipulator]] from a Time Agent during his arrest in the [[Lunar Penal Colony]]. The vortex manipulator was damaged in Crane's escape and took him to [[London]] in the [[19th century]]. He attempted to use [[Strax]]'s [[Sontaran]] technology to repair the device, but the technologies were incompatible and resulted in Crane's death. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Case of the Dissolving Man (short story)|The Case of the Dissolving Man]]'')


When [[Gray]] invaded the [[Torchwood Hub]] he used his manipulator and it seemed to have a function where all [[Weevil]]s in Cardiff go rabid. ([[TW]]: ''[[Exit Wounds]]'')
[[File:Krasko's vortex manipulator.jpg|thumb|[[Krasko's vortex manipulator]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rosa (TV story)|Rosa]]'')]]
[[Krasko]] used [[Krasko's vortex manipulator|one]] to time travel back to [[1955]] in [[Alabama]] to prevent [[Rosa Parks]] from causing the [[Montgomery Bus Boycott]] but was stopped by the [[Thirteenth Doctor|Doctor]], [[Graham O'Brien|Graham]], [[Ryan Sinclair|Ryan]] and [[Yasmin Khan|Yaz]]. The Doctor also took and destroyed his vortex manipulator by stomping on it. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rosa (TV story)|Rosa]]'')


Jack used information from the [[UNIT]] [[Project Indigo]] to teleporter (based on [[Sontaran]] [[teleport pod]] technology) to reactivate the teleport function on his vortex manipulator in {{DW|The Stolen Earth}}; this suggests that vortex manipulator technology may derive its origins from earlier Earth-based projects such as Project Indigo.
== Abilities ==
{{Section cleanup|Bulleted list should be converted to prose text}}
The main function of a vortex manipulator was to [[Time travel|transport]] the user through [[time]] and [[space]] via the [[Time Vortex]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'', et al) The device was fuelled by [[Chronoplasm]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Stuff of Nightmares (JL audio story)|The Stuff of Nightmares]]'')


When traveling through time with a vortex manipulator, the traveler seems to use both the teleport function and time travel function depending on where they want to go. For example, when the Doctor, Martha and Jack traveled from the End of the Universe, they left from an alien planet and ended up on Earth. This indicates that the manipulator likely has a long teleport range. ({{DW|The Sound of Drums}})
Vortex manipulators were [[temporal anomaly|temporal anomalies]] and, hence, were not affected by local [[time distortion]]s. In particular, when the [[Time Vortex leech]] caused the time inside [[the Doctor's TARDIS]] to jump backwards at regular intervals, the only object that the [[Eleventh Doctor]] could retain from jump to jump was [[Eleventh Doctor's vortex manipulator|a vortex manipulator]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Space in Dimension Relative and Time (comic story)|Space in Dimension Relative and Time]]'')
===Other uses===
* Communication between users, listening to radio broadcasts, including storage of messages ([[TW]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'', [[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'')
* Projection of [[hologram]]s ([[DW]]: ''[[The Empty Child]]'', [[TW]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'', ''[[Fragments]]'')
* [[Teleportation]] ([[DW]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums]]'', ''[[Last of the Time Lords]]'', ''[[The Stolen Earth]]'' ''[[Children of Earth]]'')
* Tracking of life signs ([[DW]]: ''[[Journey's End]]'', ''[[Bad Wolf (TV story)|Bad Wolf]]'')
* Remote control of electronic devices ([[TW]]: ''[[Everything Changes]]'', ''[[Exit Wounds]]'')


==Owners==
The exact range of a vortex manipulator was uncertain. One model did allow [[Jack Harkness]] to travel nearly 200,000 years (although in this instance, said manipulator burned out after doing so). ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') Following the Doctor's repairs and adjustments using [[the Doctor's sonic screwdriver|his sonic screwdriver]], the manipulator was able to travel 100 trillion years. It could transport multiple people if necessary, so long as they had some sort of physical contact with it (or the person wearing it). ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'') [[Missy]] used vortex manipulators to transport herself and Clara through time. She stated that Clara's was slaved to her own and indeed Clara's didn't seem to have a control panel. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'')
* Captain [[Jack Harkness]]
* Captain [[John Hart]]
* [[Gray]] (possibly stolen)
* The [[Family of Blood]] (stolen)
* [[Mairwyn]] ([[Mexico]] [[time rift]] flotsam)
* [[Dorium]] (from dead [[Time Agent]])
* [[River Song]] (acquired from Dorium)
* The Doctor (used after the TARDIS had been destroyed, gotten from River Song)


==Gallery==
Manipulators could be seen as an extremely precise form of time travel when properly used. [[River Song]] was able to reach her intended destinations quite regularly using vortex manipulators.{{facts}} When the universe was a fraction of its former size, a vortex manipulator was able to facilitate multiple precise jumps with no apparent difficulty and extreme precision. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'')
<gallery>
 
File:Vortex_Manipulator.jpg|Jack's Vortex Manipulator.
The vortex manipulator protected its user from the journey through the [[Time Vortex|Vortex]] and was able to transport two people without difficulty or discomfort for those travelling. However, transporting three people appeared to result in discomfort for the users, possibly slightly overloading the manipulator's capabilities. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'')
File:800px-Vortex_Manipulator_Gray.jpg|Grey's Vortex Manipulator.  
 
File:CaptainJohnHart2.jpg|John's Vortex Manipulator.
In addition to transportation, vortex manipulators had several other functions. These included:
</gallery>
 
[[Category:Time technology]]
* Communication between users, including storage of messages, and listening to radio broadcasts. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)|Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'', ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'', [[GAME]]: ''[[Lost in Time (video game)|Lost in Time]]'')
* Projection of [[hologram]]s. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'', ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)|Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'', ''[[Fragments (TV story)|Fragments]]'')
* Tracking of life signs. This feature was specific enough to recognise [[Binary vascular system|a two-hearted]] [[Ninth Doctor|person]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Bad Wolf (TV story)|Bad Wolf]]'', ''[[Journey's End (TV story)|Journey's End]]'')
* Remote control of electronic devices. ([[TV]]: ''[[Everything Changes (TV story)|Everything Changes]]'', ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)|Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'', ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'')
* Muting [[Torchwood Three]]'s comm system. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)|Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'')
* As a "front door key" to the [[The Hub|Torchwood Three Hub]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)|Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'')
* Playing music. ([[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'')
* Sending a signal to enrage [[Weevil]]s and to bring them back to the [[Cardiff]] sewers. ([[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'')
* Detection of low [[salt|sodium]] levels. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rendition (TV story)|Rendition]]'')
* Scanning and alteration of printed texts. ([[TV]]: ''[[Immortal Sins (TV story)|Immortal Sins]]'')
* Unlocking combination-locked vaults. ([[TV]]: ''[[Immortal Sins (TV story)|Immortal Sins]]'')
* Scanning a body for life, specifically Angelo Calasanto. ([[TV]]: ''[[End of the Road (TV story)|End of the Road]]'')
* Acting as a beacon. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'')
* Remote teleportation ([[TV]]: ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'')
* Cancelling the [[Blinovitch Limitation Effect]], allowing Jack to interact with his past self. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Month 25 (audio story)|Month 25]]'')
 
Vortex manipulators were constructed from an extremely durable [[metal]]. One was easily able to survive the detonation of a [[bomb]] which obliterated the [[human]] wearing it, albeit at the cost of the [[leather]] wrist-strap housing the vortex manipulator itself. That vortex manipulator was later recovered and installed in a new, identical wrist strap. ([[TV]]: ''[[Children of Earth: Day Five (TV story)|Children of Earth: Day Five]]'') Another vortex manipulator also survived the explosion caused by [[Big Bang Two]] by being "re-booted" from its original form. However, its wearer (the [[Eleventh Doctor]]) was being erased temporarily from time, which would leave the device unharmed when he returned. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') The only time one has been destroyed was when the [[Thirteenth Doctor]] ripped [[Krasko's vortex manipulator]] off his wrist and stomped on it. Although most of his other gear was "knackered" it's possible so was his vortex manipulator, this could explain how it was so easily destroyed.
 
The [[Tenth Doctor]] considered the vortex manipulator as very primitive compared to a [[TARDIS]], describing [[The Doctor's TARDIS|his TARDIS]] as a "sports car" to [[Jack Harkness]]' "space hopper". ([[TV]]: ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]'') His eleventh incarnation described it as "cheap and nasty time travel, very bad for you", and stated that he was "trying to give it up". ([[TV]]: ''[[The Big Bang (TV story)|The Big Bang]]'') The Thirteenth Doctor later echoed these sentiments. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rosa (TV story)|Rosa]]'') [[River Song]] described it as "less bulky" and considered it like a "[[motorbike]] through [[road traffic|traffic]]." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'') [[Missy]] similarly displayed a dislike for vortex manipulators, though she relied on them for time travel. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'')
 
Travel through time with a vortex manipulator was not as safe as in a capsule, for instance in a TARDIS, even taking into account the manipulator's protection systems. ([[TV]]: ''[[Blink (TV story)|Blink]]'')
 
Vortex manipulators were able to travel to places with time distortions where a TARDIS could not easily do so. For example, River Song travelled to [[1938]] [[New York City]] when the TARDIS couldn't until it had "landing lights". Unlike a TARDIS, going to such an area with a vortex manipulator would not risk the total destruction of the area. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'')
 
Missy was able to modify [[Missy's vortex manipulator|her vortex manipulator]] to be recharged by absorbing [[energy blast]]s fired at her. She modified this off a trick the Doctor once used and was able to use this trick ([[TV]]: ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'') to escape [[the Brigadier]] ([[TV]]: ''[[Death in Heaven (TV story)|Death in Heaven]]'') and the [[Dalek]]s. When Clara was fired upon as well, her vortex manipulator, which was slaved to Missy's, similarly teleported her to safety. However, both vortex manipulators were destroyed in the process. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Witch's Familiar (TV story)|The Witch's Familiar]]'')
 
Vortex manipulators could also be used as a way to allow regular spaceships to travel in time. The [[Family of Blood]] fitted a stolen manipulator to their [[Family of Blood's ship|ship]] and used it to follow the Doctor through time and space. ([[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature]]'')
 
== Known owners ==
[[File:Vortex manipulator.jpg|thumb|[[Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Sound of Drums (TV story)|The Sound of Drums]]'')]]
[[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]] ([[TV]]: ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'') owned [[Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator|one]]. The [[Eleventh Doctor]] and [[Clara Oswald]] took it from the [[Black Archive]] after Jack bequeathed it to [[UNIT]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Day of the Doctor (TV story)|The Day of the Doctor]]'') Jack later reacquired it somehow or got his hands on another one. ([[TV]]: ''[[Revolution of the Daleks (TV story)|Revolution of the Daleks]]'')
 
The [[Family of Blood]] stole [[Family of Blood's vortex manipulator|one vortex manipulator]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'')
 
[[Dorium Maldovar]] had acquired [[River Song's vortex manipulator|one]] "off the wrist of a handsome [[Time Agent]]." ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'') [[River Song]] purchased it from him. ([[TV]]: ''[[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|The Pandorica Opens]]'', ''[[The Angels Take Manhattan (TV story)|The Angels Take Manhattan]]'', [[GAME]]: ''[[The Eternity Clock (video game)|The Eternity Clock]]'')
 
[[Neal Shaw]] [[Neal Shaw's vortex manipulator|had one]], which was stolen by [[Adam Mitchell]]. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Choice (comic story)|The Choice]]'')
 
[[Abslom Daak]] also [[Abslom Daak's vortex manipulator|acquired one]] off the wrist of a Time Agent. ([[COMIC]]: ''[[The Then and the Now (comic story)|The Then and the Now]]'')
 
[[Harrison Crane]] stole [[Harrison Crane's vortex manipulator|one]] from a Time Agent. ([[PROSE]]: ''[[The Case of the Dissolving Man (short story)|The Case of the Dissolving Man]]'')
 
[[Krasko]] obtained [[Krasko's vortex manipulator|one]] along with some other "knackered" Time Agent gear after his release from [[Stormcage Containment Facility]]. He used it to travel to [[1955]], [[Montgomery]], [[Alabama]] and attempted to stop the [[Montgomery Bus Boycott]]. His vortex manipulator was destroyed by the [[Thirteenth Doctor]]. ([[TV]]: ''[[Rosa (TV story)|Rosa]]'')
 
Other owners included [[Missy]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[Dr. Twelfth (novel)|Dr. Twelfth]]'') [[Clara Oswald]], ([[TV]]: ''[[The Magician's Apprentice (TV story)|The Magician's Apprentice]]'') [[Cara (The Stuff of Nightmares)|Cara]], ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[The Stuff of Nightmares (JL audio story)|The Stuff of Nightmares]]'') the Eleventh Doctor, ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Space in Dimension Relative and Time (comic story)|Space in Dimension Relative and Time]]'', [[PROSE]]: ''[[A Gamble with Time (short story)|A Gamble with Time]]'') [[Mairwyn]], ([[COMIC]]: ''[[Shrouded (comic story)|Shrouded]]'') [[John Hart|Captain John Hart]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang (TV story)|Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang]]'') [[Gray (Fragments)|Gray]], ([[TV]]: ''[[Exit Wounds (TV story)|Exit Wounds]]'') and [[Jenny]]. ([[AUDIO]]: ''[[Prisoner of the Ood (audio story)|Prisoner of the Ood]]'')
 
At some point, [[K9 Mark IV]] was fitted with an internal [[vortex manipulator circuit]]. ([[GAME]]: ''[[Lost in Time (video game)|Lost in Time]]'')
 
[[Doom]], an [[assassin]] who worked for the [[Lesser Order of Oberon]], owned [[Doom's vortex manipulator|a vortex manipulator]] to which her employers transmitted a large number of coordinates per day. Every hour, she could select one of those sets of coordinates at her discretion and travel there. ([[WC]]: ''[[Meet Doom - the Universe's Greatest Assassin! (webcast)|Meet Doom - the Universe's Greatest Assassin!]]'')
 
== Behind the scenes ==
Although a vortex manipulator first appeared in the TV story ''[[The Empty Child (TV story)|The Empty Child]]'', "vortex manipulator" was not identified as the name of the time agents' time travel device until the TV story ''[[Human Nature (TV story)|Human Nature]]'' (where it was described, but not shown), and [[Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator|Jack's portable wrist strap]] was not directly described as one until the TV story ''[[Utopia (TV story)|Utopia]]''. Indeed, throughout the whole of the first three series of ''[[Torchwood (series)|Torchwood]]'', the device is not named at all outside of John Hart referring to [[John Hart's vortex manipulator|his own device]] twice as a wrist strap.
 
=== Information from invalid sources ===
Vortex manipulators could imbue the user(s) with [[artron energy]].
 
A group of humans led by [[British Army|the army]] used a [[vortex manipulator (The Crash of the Elysium)|vortex manipulator]] left by the [[Eleventh Doctor]] to return to the [[21st century]] after having been sent back to [[fairground (The Crash of the Elysium)|a fairground]] in [[1888]] by [[Weeping Angel]]s. ([[STAGE]]: ''[[The Crash of the Elysium (stage play)|The Crash of the Elysium]]'')
 
[[Category:Vortex manipulators| *]]

Latest revision as of 01:08, 22 October 2024

A vortex manipulator was a form of basic time travel used by the Time Agency of the 51st century. The Tenth Doctor took a dismal view of it, claiming that it was a "space hopper" compared to his "sports car," his TARDIS. (TV: Utopia) Unlike safer time travel options, vortex manipulators took a major toll on organic beings, through direct exposure to the Time Vortex. Enough successive time hops could kill. (AUDIO: Kings of Infinite Space) It was invented by Harvey Grey. (AUDIO: Archipelago [+]Loading...["Archipelago (audio story)"])

Usage[[edit] | [edit source]]

Time Agents were each given a vortex manipulator. (TV: Human Nature, Utopia) Vortex manipulators used and issued by the Time Agency were housed in leather wrist-straps with a covering flap, enabling the device to be worn conveniently by the Time Agent without drawing attention to the device itself. (TV: The Empty Child)

Early models of vortex manipulators left an echo, which was traceable by other users. This flaw was rectified in later models. (COMIC: Shrouded)

According to the Eleventh Doctor, vortex manipulators could cause an addiction. In particular, he used to be "40-a-day" in his youth. (COMIC: Space in Dimension Relative and Time)

Although it was generally used by the Agency, the Family of Blood stole one to follow the Tenth Doctor around the universe. (TV: Human Nature)

Adam Mitchell stole Neal Shaw's vortex manipulator in order to kidnap several companions of the Doctor and plot against his first eleven incarnations. (COMIC: The Choice)

Harrison Crane stole a vortex manipulator from a Time Agent during his arrest in the Lunar Penal Colony. The vortex manipulator was damaged in Crane's escape and took him to London in the 19th century. He attempted to use Strax's Sontaran technology to repair the device, but the technologies were incompatible and resulted in Crane's death. (PROSE: The Case of the Dissolving Man)

Krasko's vortex manipulator. (TV: Rosa)

Krasko used one to time travel back to 1955 in Alabama to prevent Rosa Parks from causing the Montgomery Bus Boycott but was stopped by the Doctor, Graham, Ryan and Yaz. The Doctor also took and destroyed his vortex manipulator by stomping on it. (TV: Rosa)

Abilities[[edit] | [edit source]]

This section needs a cleanup.

Bulleted list should be converted to prose text

The main function of a vortex manipulator was to transport the user through time and space via the Time Vortex. (TV: The Empty Child, et al) The device was fuelled by Chronoplasm. (AUDIO: The Stuff of Nightmares)

Vortex manipulators were temporal anomalies and, hence, were not affected by local time distortions. In particular, when the Time Vortex leech caused the time inside the Doctor's TARDIS to jump backwards at regular intervals, the only object that the Eleventh Doctor could retain from jump to jump was a vortex manipulator. (COMIC: Space in Dimension Relative and Time)

The exact range of a vortex manipulator was uncertain. One model did allow Jack Harkness to travel nearly 200,000 years (although in this instance, said manipulator burned out after doing so). (TV: Utopia) Following the Doctor's repairs and adjustments using his sonic screwdriver, the manipulator was able to travel 100 trillion years. It could transport multiple people if necessary, so long as they had some sort of physical contact with it (or the person wearing it). (TV: The Sound of Drums) Missy used vortex manipulators to transport herself and Clara through time. She stated that Clara's was slaved to her own and indeed Clara's didn't seem to have a control panel. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice)

Manipulators could be seen as an extremely precise form of time travel when properly used. River Song was able to reach her intended destinations quite regularly using vortex manipulators.[additional sources needed] When the universe was a fraction of its former size, a vortex manipulator was able to facilitate multiple precise jumps with no apparent difficulty and extreme precision. (TV: The Big Bang)

The vortex manipulator protected its user from the journey through the Vortex and was able to transport two people without difficulty or discomfort for those travelling. However, transporting three people appeared to result in discomfort for the users, possibly slightly overloading the manipulator's capabilities. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

In addition to transportation, vortex manipulators had several other functions. These included:

Vortex manipulators were constructed from an extremely durable metal. One was easily able to survive the detonation of a bomb which obliterated the human wearing it, albeit at the cost of the leather wrist-strap housing the vortex manipulator itself. That vortex manipulator was later recovered and installed in a new, identical wrist strap. (TV: Children of Earth: Day Five) Another vortex manipulator also survived the explosion caused by Big Bang Two by being "re-booted" from its original form. However, its wearer (the Eleventh Doctor) was being erased temporarily from time, which would leave the device unharmed when he returned. (TV: The Big Bang) The only time one has been destroyed was when the Thirteenth Doctor ripped Krasko's vortex manipulator off his wrist and stomped on it. Although most of his other gear was "knackered" it's possible so was his vortex manipulator, this could explain how it was so easily destroyed.

The Tenth Doctor considered the vortex manipulator as very primitive compared to a TARDIS, describing his TARDIS as a "sports car" to Jack Harkness' "space hopper". (TV: Utopia) His eleventh incarnation described it as "cheap and nasty time travel, very bad for you", and stated that he was "trying to give it up". (TV: The Big Bang) The Thirteenth Doctor later echoed these sentiments. (TV: Rosa) River Song described it as "less bulky" and considered it like a "motorbike through traffic." (TV: The Angels Take Manhattan) Missy similarly displayed a dislike for vortex manipulators, though she relied on them for time travel. (TV: The Magician's Apprentice)

Travel through time with a vortex manipulator was not as safe as in a capsule, for instance in a TARDIS, even taking into account the manipulator's protection systems. (TV: Blink)

Vortex manipulators were able to travel to places with time distortions where a TARDIS could not easily do so. For example, River Song travelled to 1938 New York City when the TARDIS couldn't until it had "landing lights". Unlike a TARDIS, going to such an area with a vortex manipulator would not risk the total destruction of the area. (TV: The Angels Take Manhattan)

Missy was able to modify her vortex manipulator to be recharged by absorbing energy blasts fired at her. She modified this off a trick the Doctor once used and was able to use this trick (TV: The Witch's Familiar) to escape the Brigadier (TV: Death in Heaven) and the Daleks. When Clara was fired upon as well, her vortex manipulator, which was slaved to Missy's, similarly teleported her to safety. However, both vortex manipulators were destroyed in the process. (TV: The Witch's Familiar)

Vortex manipulators could also be used as a way to allow regular spaceships to travel in time. The Family of Blood fitted a stolen manipulator to their ship and used it to follow the Doctor through time and space. (TV: Human Nature)

Known owners[[edit] | [edit source]]

Jack Harkness' vortex manipulator. (TV: The Sound of Drums)

Captain Jack Harkness (TV: The Empty Child) owned one. The Eleventh Doctor and Clara Oswald took it from the Black Archive after Jack bequeathed it to UNIT. (TV: The Day of the Doctor) Jack later reacquired it somehow or got his hands on another one. (TV: Revolution of the Daleks)

The Family of Blood stole one vortex manipulator. (TV: Human Nature)

Dorium Maldovar had acquired one "off the wrist of a handsome Time Agent." (TV: The Pandorica Opens) River Song purchased it from him. (TV: The Pandorica Opens, The Angels Take Manhattan, GAME: The Eternity Clock)

Neal Shaw had one, which was stolen by Adam Mitchell. (COMIC: The Choice)

Abslom Daak also acquired one off the wrist of a Time Agent. (COMIC: The Then and the Now)

Harrison Crane stole one from a Time Agent. (PROSE: The Case of the Dissolving Man)

Krasko obtained one along with some other "knackered" Time Agent gear after his release from Stormcage Containment Facility. He used it to travel to 1955, Montgomery, Alabama and attempted to stop the Montgomery Bus Boycott. His vortex manipulator was destroyed by the Thirteenth Doctor. (TV: Rosa)

Other owners included Missy, (TV: The Magician's Apprentice, PROSE: Dr. Twelfth) Clara Oswald, (TV: The Magician's Apprentice) Cara, (AUDIO: The Stuff of Nightmares) the Eleventh Doctor, (COMIC: Space in Dimension Relative and Time, PROSE: A Gamble with Time) Mairwyn, (COMIC: Shrouded) Captain John Hart, (TV: Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang) Gray, (TV: Exit Wounds) and Jenny. (AUDIO: Prisoner of the Ood)

At some point, K9 Mark IV was fitted with an internal vortex manipulator circuit. (GAME: Lost in Time)

Doom, an assassin who worked for the Lesser Order of Oberon, owned a vortex manipulator to which her employers transmitted a large number of coordinates per day. Every hour, she could select one of those sets of coordinates at her discretion and travel there. (WC: Meet Doom - the Universe's Greatest Assassin!)

Behind the scenes[[edit] | [edit source]]

Although a vortex manipulator first appeared in the TV story The Empty Child, "vortex manipulator" was not identified as the name of the time agents' time travel device until the TV story Human Nature (where it was described, but not shown), and Jack's portable wrist strap was not directly described as one until the TV story Utopia. Indeed, throughout the whole of the first three series of Torchwood, the device is not named at all outside of John Hart referring to his own device twice as a wrist strap.

Information from invalid sources[[edit] | [edit source]]

Vortex manipulators could imbue the user(s) with artron energy.

A group of humans led by the army used a vortex manipulator left by the Eleventh Doctor to return to the 21st century after having been sent back to a fairground in 1888 by Weeping Angels. (STAGE: The Crash of the Elysium)

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