Ficlet: New Doesn’t Mean Better
Title: New Doesn’t Mean Better
Author: badly_knitted
Characters: Jack
Rating: G
Spoilers: Nada.
Summary: Jack’s a little old-fashioned when it comes to some things.
Word Count: 356
Written For: My own prompt ‘Torchwood, Jack, he prefers his Webley to modern guns.,’ at
fic_promptly.
Disclaimer: I don’t own Torchwood, or the characters. They belong to the BBC.
For a man from the 51st century, Jack’s aware that he tends to be a bit old fashioned in some respects. His attitudes to sex and sexuality are light years ahead of earth, but his taste in music is stuck firmly in the big band era and his dress sense never got past World War Two. Well, that’s not entirely true; he was bang up-to-date from the sixties through to the end of the eighties, but he’ll deny it to his dying breath. He’s pretty sure he found and destroyed all the photographs.
Then there’s the matter of weapons. He’s used all kinds, from muzzle-loading muskets to ray guns, plasma cannons and sonic blasters. Here in the 21st century, he makes sure his team is equipped with the latest automatic pistols, augmented with alien tech of course. He loves it when he has a reason to break out the Big Gun, who wouldn’t? But for everyday use, he favours a six-shot Webley revolver. It doesn’t have the stopping power of an automatic, never mind the magazine capacity, but he’s had it a long time and it just… fits his hand. It’s familiar and reliable, unlike the automatics it’s never jammed up on him, and anyway, it goes with the rest of his outfit. It even has a custom-made leather belt holster, a gift from a long ago lover.
Progress can be good, a lot of things have been improved over time, but there’s a lot to be said for the classics too. The old adage is true: If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Jack could add to that another adage that’s equally true: If you’ve got something that works for you and suits your needs, don’t bother trading it in for a more advanced version. Nine times out of ten, you’ll just be disappointed. New isn’t automatically better, that’s a lesson he’s learned the hard way, so while he strives to keep Torchwood at the cutting edge of technology, or even a few years ahead, for personal use, he’ll stick with what he knows he can trust. Besides, the retro look is in, isn’t it?
The End