A note on Jack in Transcendence

Jack’s character did not come to me at all once, fully formed. I think his name at first might have been Jake, and at one point his eyes might have been green. What I did know straight away was (a) he was hot, (b) he was madly in love with Alexis and she with him, and (c) he would be my epitome of the perfect man (this is fiction after all and I happen to like dark haired men with light eyes, so sue me). As I wrote, the details that make up Jack just came along until he was this fully formed character in my mind.

Although Jack plays an important role in Transcendence, he is not the main character. He’s a supporting character and is actually a bystander in many ways, if not a victim. So, imagine my surprise when in two different conversations with two very different women, I heard them say things like, “Jack’s obviously not real,” and “I was afraid that he would turn out to be an abuser (in reference to his relationship with Luna).

At first these comments shocked me, until I realized these weren’t really comments about Jack’s character. These were comments about how Jack served as a mirror. Jack was measured up against expectations of what these women had experienced and thus expected from a man.

This stirred up a few complicated emotions in me, first and foremost a kind of tired sadness. I understood where these women were coming from. Let’s be real, there are a lot of men the exact opposite of Jack out there. I’ve met them. Many women have. I intentionally wrote Jack to not be any of those things because we need men like Jack to exist.

I’m convinced that there are men like Jack out there – even if they are the few instead of the many. Masculine and secure. Funny. Loving. Kind. Men who are self-aware, who have processed any trauma they may have experienced in a healthy way. Men who rise above it and help and heal others. Men who love and support in a myriad of ways. Men who are not monsters when the lights go out.

Here’s to all of the Jack’s out there. I see you. Thank you for existing in the world the way that you do. Thank you for being you. And if you have a Jack in your life, tell him thanks. From me. From all of us women who think the world needs more men just like him.

Katrina