Thursday, October 11, 2007

Jumper Mythology

Here's the mythology of Doug Liman's Jumper, as written up and shared by the PR teams marketing the film. I'll give you it verbatim. If you haven't read the book, this gives some pretty good background and might actually get you hooked on the premise.

JUMPING – The Phenomenon

Throughout time, there have been individuals who possess the power to teleport (or Jump). They have used their abilities for personal gain, to escape from their enemies and to change the course of history.

The ability to Jump is a genetic anomaly that has existed for centuries and those who possess this gift have a freedom that most people can’t begin to comprehend. They can transport themselves anywhere in the world at any time, for any reason.

Experience and emotion play a key role in the affect of a Jump and depending on the Jumpers state of mind at the time, it can cause significant damage. Jumpers Jump for the first time at age 5. As they refine their gift, the Jump becomes more fluid. However, even the most skilled Jumper will cause environmental damage when in danger, angry or in a heightened emotional state during a Jump.

When a Jumper teleports between two places he/she opens up a rift in the fabric of space-time. The visible result of this process is a Jumpscar, an otherworldly “scar” that hangs in the air for several seconds, like smoke from a cigarette.

Jumpscars are dangerous and will shred anything or anyone who tries to touch one. A bullet fired near a Jumpscar will behave unpredictably, which is why Paladins do no use conventional weapons around Jumpers. However, it is possible for one Jumper to follow another Jumper through his Jumpscar. They can transport themselves anywhere in the world at any time, for any reason.

Rules of Jumping

1) A jumper can only jump to a place that he has been before or a place that he can see

2) A jumper can take with him objects he is gripping that are not anchored to the earth

3) A jumper cannot jump if he is tethered to the earth or tethered to something that is anchored to the earth

4) There are four main factors that affect the nature of a jump:

• Skill level – novice to master. Skill level affects mainly the precision of the jump. The more precise the jump, the less unintentional the side effects there will be. A novice jumper is a sloppy jumper causing a great deal of side effects and leaving apparent scars.

• Emotional state – calm to freaked out. A jumper’s emotional state will affect the intensity of the jump. The more freaked out a jumper is the more side effects there will be. If a jumper is calm, the side effects will be minimal and will not leave an apparent scar.

• Intent – stealthy to destructive. A skillful jumper can control the side effects of a jump. He can also cause harmful side effects if that is his intent and if he has the skill to do so

• Difficulty – easy to hard. The harder the jump, the greater the side effects. For example, jumping a car for the first time would be a hard jump.

PALADINS

For almost as long as there have been “Jumpers” there have been those that hunt them. These people are called Paladins -- an ancient sect that has long recognized the threat that Jumpers pose to the world, the Paladins have evolved into an elite organization of warrior-like individuals who find and kill Jumpers around the globe.

Paladins believe Jumpers are simply too powerful to be allowed to exist and also believe that Jumping is bad for the planet. Generally, new Paladins are recruited by family members and the awesome responsibility is handed down through generations.

Over the years, the Paladins have cultivated a special skill – the ability to sense when a Jumper is about to Jump in the vicinity. This heightened awareness gives the Paladins a much needed tool to use when battling the Jumpers. Today, Paladins are so good at killing Jumpers that few make it to adulthood. When Jumpers start Jumping around age 5, their youth and inexperience makes it easy for Paladins to track them.

PALADIN WEAPONS

Over time, the Paladins have also created special weapons that help in the capture and extermination of Jumpers. Primary among these are tether weapons, which are shot out of a special kind of gun. The tethers have the ability to harness Jumpers and an electrical charge running through the tethers prevents the Jumper from jumping while the Paladin moves in the for the kill. Paladins also use special electrified nets to contain jumpers.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

If you replace 'jump' and 'jumper' with 'wank' and 'wanker' it becomes a far more entertaining read.

Anonymous said...

Like the Paladins, I too hate jumpers. My nan got me this green and red one for Christmas and everytime I see her she asks me to go put it on. Since then I've grown to hate all jumpers.

Henry said...

I've read the book and most of this stuff isn't in the book. It's unique to the film.