Common Knowledge

Very little is known about Jack to his fellow commonwealth citizens, aside from the fact that he still, somehow, has all his teeth.

His only notoriety stems from his work as a guard for a caravan in his youth. As a surprisingly strong, intelligent tween he held his own in the commonwealth against everyone’s initial doubts. As such he became a common topic of conversation and interest. Nothing particularly fancy, just the occasional "Hey, you hear about that caravan with the kid bodyguard?"

Jack spent years in the caravan route, and slowly became a much less interesting adult body-guard, quickly falling out of the lime-light. Word was only sparked up again when, one day, the trader and Jack both suddenly disappeared from their usual route and bunker hill. Several of the caravan's members turned up dead, and survivors rapidly spread rumors about another institute abduction and a synth being in their midst.

When Jack resurfaced there was initially a lot of controversy over whether or not he had been replaced himself-- but Jack adopted the role of a drifter, and slowly suspicion and care died down until he was no longer a thought in anyone's mind.

Now he spends much of his time meandering in and out of Goodneighbor, waiting for his Geiger counter to get out of the shop.

Spoiler infos for OOC information! Jack doesn't share any of the following information.

Origin

Jack was essentially conceived in a petri dish; one of many kids in of a long line of genetic experiments performed in Vault 75. Though the information has since been lost, Jack and his peers estimated that they were either the tenth or eleventh generations of experimental prodigies. The mission of Vault 75, above all, was the refinement of human genetics.

Located underneath Malden Middle School, Vault 75 was presented to the public as a safe place for children in the school to take cover in the event of a nuclear war. When the bombs eventually fell in 2077, every designated family with a student attending the school, along with the teachers, made it to the vault in time. Upon entering, the children were separated from their families and escorted to the atrium, while the adults were executed by security staff, under the guise they were receiving "orientation." This act of murder coincided with the purpose of the vault, which was to enhance the gene pool of its selected residents to create stronger and more intelligent subjects. The surviving children were harshly tested mentally and physically - bordering on torture, and without regard for the survival of weaker individuals - as part of the experiment.

Children were raised learning about the horrors of "Uptopland," a nickname for the wasteland, and were told that they would be strong enough to venture out into the wastes and help the suffering people upon graduation at 18 years of age. However, instead of actually leaving the vault after graduation, the young adults would be "harvested" and killed for their good genes if they were intelligent and physically well build, or recruited to the vault's science team if they displayed good intelligent and obedience. The others who were deemed insufficient to the vault's standards were killed upon reaching the age of eighteen after a ceremony "celebrating" their graduation.

By 2273 the experiments backfired, however. Over time the very traits the science team was selecting for ultimately lead to their downfall. Kids began suspecting the intentions and purposes of those who were "graduated" and left the vault to go to "uptopland" and never return. The main protagonists of the revolution were Rohit and James, with the help of their trusted companion Alma watching the younger kids. They stashed away ammo, hacked and corrupted centuries of digital data and set a fire in the archives. They overwhelmed the science team and took control of Vault 75... Jack was only 10 when the rebellion occurred, but he was old enough to be considered a part of the rebellion's forces. None of them were quite prepared for what they had to do that day, facing friends that had "graduated" now turned enemy.

Childhood

With the worst of the carnage over Rohit and James took leadership of the vault, directing it's purposes and continuing the training with much kinder parameters than the near-torture they had been inflicted with previously. It took another 4 years before the all-clear came through and released the vault's doors... Some of the residents chose to leave to "uptopland" to continue the indoctrinated ideal of protecting and changing the Commonwealth, others stayed behind... Alma spearheaded the group that took over caring for the younger vault members until they were old enough to head out on their own. Jack chose to leave with 3 other boys, exploring the 'wealth and all it's virtues and vices.

The surface world was vast and unforgiving, but Jack took to the lifestyle quickly. When he and the other boys parted ways, Jack chose to join up with a caravan on the road to bunker hill. Despite his small stature and youth he managed to prove his worth by winning a scuffle with another caravan guard. (And a couple of caps on the bet that he could.) The caravan life was rough, but close knit-- his group was like family, and they lived and traveled together both through the Commonwealth, beyond it's borders, and back again.

The Railroad

Jack was 17 when his relatively mundane lifestyle came to an abrupt end. His group was attacked by Gen 1 synths led by one of the institute's dreaded coursers. They had targeted one of the caravan members, outing them as a synth in disguise... Though their recovery mission was unsuccessful, and they were unable to get their recall code out before the Jack and his fellow guards disrupted the attempt, it was not without it's losses. Several of the members of the caravan were left wounded, and a couple deceased... But the worst thing left within them was distrust, it spread like an infected wound slowly rotting away the group's adhesion from the inside out. Things turned violent as accusations flew, leading the actual synth to confide in her closest friend; Jack.

Being a product of science and experiment himself Jack empathized with the story of the synths, sneaking away with her in the dead of night to escape. Together they sought out the aid of the railroad, an secret organization whispered about between the people of bunker hill. They were eventually successful in their search and, like many others, were offered the full package deal: facial reconstruction and a memory wipe, promise of a new life far beyond the borders of the Commowealth where few coursers dared to travel. Not wanting to live the rest of her life in fear she accepted.

Jack was left without a purpose or a companion in the world, but given his sympathy for his friend he was quickly offered a position in the railroad's ranks and adopted the code-name "The Professor" given his inclination towards science. He spent a lot of his time assisting P.A.M. with her upgrades and maintenance. It wasn't until years later, when Jack's notoriety as a guard had dissipated and his new role of "drifter" was fully established that he worked outside of the switchboard's headquarters.

v His first mission was to re-establish connections with the Memory Den after Vic's unceremonious impeachment.