Author's Note for "You Can't Be Here."
I know, been absent again. However, I've got something to show for the missing time. Here's the Author's Note for the new story You Can't Be Here.
Author’s Note:
Okay, so I got the feeling that this story might need a lot more explanation. Honestly, this next section is bound to be full of spoilers, so if you’d prefer to learn this information through the story, then stick to that. I’ll explain all, in it, eventually. However, for the eager minds that won’t be at rest without knowing a bit beforehand, here goes.
You Can’t Be Here is NOT a Fix-It Fic. I don’t believe in fix-it fics. Now, fics that try to fix plot holes, different idea, I believe. That is what this story is-a Fill-in Fic, to provide a story of how things could come around, how to fill the plot hole, and gaps in the RTD Whoniverse.
You Can’t Be Here does NOT remove the fact that Ianto died. You find that one out in Part 1. The end of Children of Earth HAPPENED. I’m not going to undo the actors’ work by changing that.
The brainstorming for You Can’t Be Here started, in fact, by the existence of fix-it fics. The goal of this fic is in fact to move on from the end of CoE. In a lot of ways, there will be ‘moving on’ plots. Jack needs to move on from the tragedies of CoE. He’s grieving, more than he admits sometimes, and the plot, this process, is meant to help him heal.
At the time frame I’m placing this, Jack isn’t the only one who needs to move on. I’ve included the Tenth Doctor because he needs to face his upcoming death. Towards the end of the Tenth era, he becomes increasingly assured of his own powers, his own abilities, and he doesn’t want to give them up when his death is foretold. He selfishly starts travelling the galaxy to avoid his impending doom. This adventure with Jack is meant to show him that he should, in fact, face his death.
The decision to post to longliveianto was one I went back and forth on, but I’m arguing in this that Ianto’s death was a physical one. He didn’t cease to exist, so did not have a true and complete death, but he was transformed by his body’s death. I also decided to post to jantolution because this does have happy endings for Jack and Ianto, bear through the angst. And yes, there will be their happy ending. Unfortunately, I can’t post to classic torchwood communities because this very much steps outside the realm of post-season 3.
This story is still a work in progress. I have my goals in mind, but a few things could slip here and there.
As of Part 3, you still don’t learn Jack’s mission in this adventure. For extreme spoilers, continue reading here. If not, just hold out. I promise to get to it in Part 4.
Several factors went into the brainstorming on this one. Fix-it fics, as stated, and then several lines/ideas from both Torchwood and Doctor Who.
In the old Doctor Who (pre-2005), travelling between dimensions was possible. During “Trail of the Time Lord” we get an encounter in an alternate Earth, and the Doctor states in the new series that dimensional travel happened. So, one question in the brainstorming, Why can’t they do it anymore?
The simple answer, the one I’m running with, the Time Lords sealed the dimensions off during the Time War to prevent problems. I think something to that effect was said in “The End of Time,” but I have a hard time remembering specifics about the episode. Mind-melting horror threatens my sanity when I think too hard about it. But this also means that something is holding the universes apart.
From the beginning of Torchwood, we learn humans live past death. They go someplace cold and dark, and are alone. Thanks to Susie’s explanations in “They Keep Killing Susie,” we can assume that they do go somewhere, since there’s “something moving in the dark.” Now, argue the soul all you want. I’m an atheist, I don’t believe in this possibility myself, but it’s a possibility in a world setting I’m using. I’m not likely to use ‘soul’ too often. Torchwood doesn’t exactly argue for a soul, but for a continued consciousness, yes. I’m more likely to refer to it as a ‘spirit.’
Back to Doctor Who, where the power of latent human psychics are often used. After all, the Doctor defeats the Master at the end of season 3 because Apostle Martha goes around telling the good people of Earth to believe in her god the Doctor and he will give them salvation. The power of human thought wins the day. Yes, other factors-the satellite network-made the connection completely possible, but the point being, that apparently as a group we’ve got the ability to alter reality if we’re all hooked in together.
Piercing the void was a big part of Canary Wharf. No need to go into that getting out of the Void is possible, when it happens several times in Doctor Who.
So, at this point, we’ve got the fact that dimensions are possible, that human consciousness exists after death, that human thoughts on a concentrated level can shape things in the world around them, and you can escape the void. There’s just one more thing I feel like referencing, and it’s very very very old.
During the First Doctor’s era, there’s a little adventure that has the Doctor running from the Daleks. He and his companions go through quite a few places as they try to keep the TARDIS away from the Daleks, and in one point, they land in a place the Doctor believes is created from human thought. Okay, the Doctor is wrong in his thinking, and only the audience knows this, but the idea led me to conjure up Well, what if we do create such places?
Human thought being so powerful and existing after death, certainly all that power should be able to create small thought-dimensions. Different variations of heaven, hell, and afterlife.
So here’s the problem for the story, and an explanation of all this mentioned data: The Time Lords sealed off the dimensions during the Time War, unknowingly severing the ability for beings’ consciousness (xenophobic to limit it to humans only)to move onto their afterlife. Instead they become trapped in the Void, but the events of Canary Wharf and “End of Time” (hey, time is meaningless in the Void, sounds like a good place to go back and forth)tell the beings that it’s possible to get out and end this lonely torment. But they need help.
Looks like the ‘dead’ need some dashing heroes. Enter Ianto, Jack, and the Doctor.
After all, there’s more to heaven and hell than dreamt of in philosophy (had to be a wanker and do a Hamlet plug).
And of course…
Death is only a beginning.