fanfic: Nowhere Man

[cosmicange]

Inspired by Ep. 1.8 'Foe,' slight spoilers if you haven't seen it, it's going to be on again next week, so you know we're all going to be watching, if only for the gun porn! lol

Title: Nowhere Man
Author: CosmicAnge
Characters: John Reese, Harold Finch
Rating: PG-13
Summary: One-shot, character study
Warnings: None

Comments

[vflick]

Interesting introspective piece!

How long could he and Mr. Reese keep up with the demands of the Machine and the numbers, Finch wondered.

You know what I feel like I should address in fic but I haven't figured out how yet? What about the numbers that must come up outside New York? Numbers must come up in other US cities, if not other places in the world. And Finch must see them. Does he hide them or discard them or has he set up little teams elsewhere? I hope one day the show addresses this, because it's a logical extension of the premise...

But, as has oft been said, this show has many more questions than answers! Nice job, thanks for sharing!

[deadlymistress]

I agree with your premise, but I think some of the reasons the writers have only shown them addressing numbers in New York are:
-the dense population of New York leads to endless possibilities with new numbers
-Finch had mentioned in the beginning of the series that 9/11 changed the way he viewed things and that the government wanted the Machine to help detect acts of terror. I think it would be logical that since 9/11 occurred in NY, it would be a reasonable assumption that one of the main focuses for the Machine (in terms of preventing future attacks) would be NY.
-Finch and Reese have made it a point of "hiding in plain sight", but if they leave NY, there may be a "paper trail" of sorts left behind

Plus, if they left NY, what would become of Carter and Fusco? Would they actually do some of their own police work? ;)

But I do agree, maybe letting them leave NY for an episode or two would be cool. Especially if it involves Reese and Finch being put in a situation where because they are traveling together, certain secrets are

[rigger42]

I wouldn't be surprised to find that the most surveillance just happens to be in New York, based on post-9/11 installation of cameras, etc., so that is where they get the most hits. I don't see Finch creating other teams as it would compromise secrecy - it seems more likely to me that he limits their range much as he used to delete all 'irrelevants' so that they do what they can to save/atone/make a difference, without going crazy over all the people they can't reach.

Maybe we'll eventually learn that he sends anonymous tips on occasion to other cities?

[blacktop50]

Thanks for this moody, melancholic essay on these two shadowed characters. You have captured the dark tone of the show quite well. I like that the show is giving us more layers of complication as we see the network of their relationships, past and present, expand each week. They are nowhere near as isolated or disconnected as they --or we -- believed at the start.