Torchwood Information

[Captain John Hart]

The Torchwood Institute, which is usually just referred to as bloody Torchwood, is a secret organization established by HM Queen Victoria in 1879. Its prime purpose is to defend the earth against extraterrestrial threats; however, the Torchwood began to use their findings to restore the British Empire to its former glory. To those ends, the organization acquires and reverse engineers alien technology by any means deemed necessary. While described as "beyond the United Nations", the Torchwood Institute is known to cooperate with UNIT (the Unified Intelligence Taskforce, formerly known as the United Nations Intelligence Taskforce) to some extent. There appears to have been some rapport with the Prime Minister although this may not always be the case. To those that have come in contact with Torchwood, they are primarily believed to be a special forces team. They appear to maintain this illusion by using false witnesses, or by sectioning any journalists who threaten to expose the truth, and via the use of memory altering drugs called Retcon. Following a major incident involving the Institute (The Daleks, the Cybermen and Torchwood battle in Canary Warf), the stance of the organization becomes much less confrontational and secretive.

The Doctor's name was written into the Torchwood Foundation's charter as an enemy of the Crown. Her Majesty also states in the Torchwood Charter Dec 31st 1879 that "Torchwood is also to administer to the Government thereof in our name, and generally to act in our name and on our behalf, subject to such orders and regulations as Torchwood shall, from time to time, receive from us through one of our Principal Secretaries of State." In 1882, Victoria expanded Torchwood's role to include the acquisition of alien technology, creating the policy that "if it's alien, it's ours". In 1888, Victoria reiterated the secrecy policy of the Torchwood Institute, protecting her subjects from the "evils that [Torchwood] fight". Not long after the foundation of the Institute, a spacetime rift was identified in Cardiff and as a result, a smaller branch of the Institute (Torchwood Three) was formed there to monitor and exploit the Rift.

Jack Harkness came to the attention of Torchwood Three in 1899, due to visiting the rift and talking about the Doctor. He was forced into working for the organization. Captured by two female Torchwood agents -- Alice Guppy and Emily Holroyd, Jack was subjected to torture and interrogation regarding the Doctor before being put to work for the Institute as a freelance agent for over a century. In 1901, whilst this Harkness was in Torchwood's employ, Guppy and Charles Gaskell found and disinterred another Harkness on a different timeline, who instructs them to immediately cryofreeze and store him for 107 years to avoid him meeting his other self - they comply with his request.

The activities of the Torchwood Institute during the 20th century have, for the most part, yet to be revealed. It is known that the organization "flourished down the decades, becoming stronger" and grew "more arrogant." Other events in the twentieth century have attributable dates. At the time of the British Raj, Torchwood also maintained a branch in Delhi. This was shut down in 1924, Torchwood anticipating Indian independence; agent Jack Harkness was sent to recover all their artifacts. In 1965, agent Jack Harkness was elected on behalf of the Institute (along with representatives of different government agencies) to facilitate the sacrifice of twelve children to aliens known as the 456 to save the planet at large. In 1983, Torchwood became the sole proprietor of H.C. Clements, a security firm. Torchwood One owned a holding facility which was then abandoned in the 1995. In 1996 a "Jathar Sunglider" flew into British airspace and was shot down by Torchwood. From its remains, an energy weapon was installed in London. On New Year's Eve 1999, the then-leader of Torchwood Three (named "Alex Hopkins") killed all the staff apart from Jack, ending with himself. He claimed that he was "saving" them, as the twenty-first century was when it all changed and humanity was not ready. Left in charge of Torchwood Three, Jack began severing the links with Torchwood One and their more aggressive policy on extraterrestrial life. Over the next few years, Jack recruited his own team; Suzie Costello, Toshiko Sato, and Dr Owen Harper.

By 2006, the existence of Torchwood was apparently a secret known only to the British military and police. Torchwood's activities during the time the Third Doctor was exiled to earth (during either the 1970s or 1980s depending upon one's point of view) have yet to be revealed. Knowledge of Torchwood was supposedly kept even from Prime Minister Harriet Jones and the United Nations. However, Jones did know about its existence anyway, and ordered Major Richard Blake of UNIT to prepare Torchwood for the impending arrival of the Sycorax on Christmas Day. On the command of Prime Minister Harriet Jones, Torchwood used the Jathar Sunglider weapon to destroy a Sycorax ship on Christmas Day 2006.

The Doctor discovered the existence of Torchwood in 2007. At this time, Torchwood operated software which blocked access to Internet searches about UFO activity. Torchwood agents even abducted a journalist who was investigating the Institute and arranging to admit him to a psychiatric institution. While investigating the manifestation of "ghosts" on Earth, the Doctor traced their origin back to Torchwood Tower, known publicly as One Canada Square, where Yvonne Hartman placed the Doctor in custody and confiscated the TARDIS. To Torchwood, the Doctor was a source of vast information and familiarity with alien technology which they could exploit to further the organisation's aims.

Torchwood Tower had been built to reach a spatial breach 660 feet above sea level. Unbeknownst to Torchwood, the breach had been caused by the entrance into the universe of a "void ship", a vessel designed to travel through the void between parallel universes. Torchwood had been conducting experiments on the breach, in an attempt to harness its energy and reduce Britain's reliance on Middle Eastern oil, but these experiments had caused the breach to widen. The "ghosts" turned out to be Cybermen from an alternate universe, which were using the widening breach to travel between universes. A small advance force of Cybermen infiltrated Torchwood, upgrading or subverting Torchwood personnel, before eventually seizing control and opening the breach wide enough for ghost-like creatures around the world to manifest fully as millions of Cybermen.

However, the void ship was nothing to do with the Cybermen, and had in fact been created by the Daleks, four of whom had used it to escape the Time War. Caught between warring Daleks and Cybermen, many Torchwood workers were either killed, or "upgraded" by the Cybermen. It is known that in the wake of these events, referred to as the "Battle of Canary Wharf", the Institute feels it must "learn by heart" a lesson about its own arrogance. It was later revealed that the London branch of Torchwood, referred to as Torchwood One, lost 796 members of staff and was ultimately ordered to close by Queen Elizabeth II.

The London-based security firm "H. C. Clements" was a front company for the Torchwood Institute. On a restricted basement level of the company situated beneath the Thames Barrier was a secret laboratory which the Institute used to recreate ancient "Huon particles". Over a period of months, H. C. Clements' Human Resources Manager, Lance Bennett, had courted and poisoned Donna Noble with Huon particles, intending to sacrifice her to the Empress of the Racnoss. It would appear that Lance was not acting on behalf of the Institute, and the lab was in disuse since the Battle of Canary Wharf and the Queen's official closure of Torchwood One.

In 2007, following Torchwood One's closure, Torchwood Three leader Captain Jack Harkness allows former Torchwood One researcher Ianto Jones to his team, and is no longer working under the authority of the headquarters in London; he is the de facto leader of the entire organisation. This team would work together until later the same year, when the hiring of policewoman Gwen Cooper coincided with the suicide of second-in-command Suzie Costello.

Jack Harkness indicates to the Doctor that with Torchwood One gone, fewer than ten staff remain (between Wales and Scotland). He mentions that he rebuilt the Institute "in the Doctor's honour", with a new regime and a less aggressive stance. Outside the Institute's small workforce, journalists such as Vivien Rook of The Sunday Mirror investigate controversial figures such as Harold Saxon on behalf of the Institute. Saxon sent Torchwood Three on a 'wild goose chase' to the Himalayas to prevent them from helping Jack or the Doctor.

Torchwood Three later fought against the Daleks in their second invasion of Earth. Torchwood used the rift to make contact with the Doctor. Although they were incapacitated in the main battle, thanks to a time lock created by Toshiko Sato that prevented them from escaping the Hub, Torchwood Three made a contribution to the Earth's return to the solar system by putting a lasso of temporal energy around the Earth with the help of K-9 and Mr Smith, allowing the planet to be towed by the TARDIS. Sometime prior to the 456 incident, Torchwood Two had closed down. Torchwood Three was the only force on Earth posed to combat the threat of the 456 invasion. However, Home Office Permanent Secretary John Frobisher ordered the assassination of remaining Torchwood agents Harkness, Cooper and Jones to cover up the UK's history with the aliens. On receiving communication from the 456, the government orders the assassination of all Torchwood Three staff to stop them interfering with the operation. While they evade assassination, Ianto Jones dies in the line of duty (classified merely as a "causality of the 456") and Harkness abandons the planet after having to kill his grandson, son of his daughter Alice Carter.

- - - - (Through The Rift's Alternative Universe History begins) - - - -

Institute was thought by the Doctor to have fallen. It was therefore assumed that Torchwood Three disbanded following Jack Harkness' departure, But after her son's birth, Gwen Cooper started to rebuild. Cooper had lost all of her former team members either by their death or decision, so she began to recruit a new team using what resources she had. With the connections established by the Institute, she purchased a new base; having the work of technological genius and former UNIT Fiver Rye (who had worked to salvage technology and even the team's pterodactyl Myfanwy before his interest in Torchwood, more than impressive skills and his continuing care for Myfanwy led to his recruitment) to help improve the Rift monitor software and the surveillance system. Cooper continued to search carefully but desperately (since Rye informed her that the Rift seemed to be expanding at a tremendous and dangerous rate) for new team members, even turning to her work at the police department to bring in another genius (but of psychological and astrological sciences, as Mr. Rye would like to remind you; not of 'real' science) and former close friend Avis Ives. Ives had worked with Torchwood on a more personal basis when her brother was discovered to be buying and highly addicted to an alien drug sold on Earth by Elithereans (see the species archive information for more data) that contained alien blood.

Gwen Cooper was contacted by a former Torchwood employee and also a former test subject being of half alien decent named Orlando Hoover. Being also a former Time Agent, and being in need of rehabilitation (see Elitherean-Human genetic information), he offered to start working for Torchwood again. Cooper was obviously not overjoyed about working with a cannibalistic alien, but she could not run Torchwood just with her, Rye, Ives the occasional help of her husband Rhys Williams; especially with her child being so young. Torchwood continues to be reciting, and discovering new aliens such as Designate NH-003 'Mihira' (a biological 'robot' of sorts, who was programed by Torchwood India and continues to protect Torchwood Institute), Ria Bao (a Paxi alien who is being helped by Torchwood and a possible potential team member), and "Captain John Hart" (Jack Harkness' former Time Agency partner who has had run-ins with Torchwood before, and now being 'employed', if not babysat by the team). Future employees are potentially Lieutenant and Doctor Clark Baxter (a former UNIT medical specialist who had a more personal history with Torchwood because of his ex wife, a wanted alien convict), Ophelia Potter ( works with Torchwood as an alien language and customs specialist) of course Captain Jack Harkness (who has, unknowingly to Torchwood, returned to Earth), among others.