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Caretaker

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Caretakers are special individuals that are chosen to bond with each Warehouse.

History[]

TBA

Relationship with the Warehouse[]

TBA

Role and Duties[]

Their link allows them to actively search through inventory, sense if the Warehouse is in trouble, and above all be a living body for the Warehouse's soul to share. A Caretaker has access to the restricted files on the current and past Warehouse secrets, although the role is separate from that of the Keeper. Should a Warehouse fail to properly deactivate and later reawaken after the death of its original Caretaker, then it will attempt to form a relationship with the Caretaker of the current Warehouse. This can be harmful to the Caretaker, as he or she will not be able keep up with the information of both Warehouses and their brain will be overloaded. If the reawakened Warehouse can be deactivated, then the Caretaker's flow of information will revert to its original state. The same situation occurs when a past Caretaker is revived. The Caretaker is organically connected to the Warehouse, as such as long the Warehouse lives they will live, but if the Warehouse dies they will die.

In "The Truth Hurts", Paracelsus used the Philosopher's Stone on himself to make his connection to the Warehouse stronger than any other previous Caretaker's connection. Paracelsus' connection was so strong he could control every nut, bolt, and artifact inside the Warehouse with just a thought. In the Warehouse's Eldunari, now there was a large rapidly spinning ring of fire. Artie was able to disconnect Paracelsus from the Warehouse by using Sargon the Great's Mirrors to reflect the fire of the ring back into its alcoves. 

Although Agents must be replaced with each relocation of the Warehouse, the Caretaker does not necessarily have to come from the country that hosts the Warehouse. Warehouse 2 attempted to bond with Mrs. Frederic, who is from America rather than Egypt; Paracelsus hails from what is now Switzerland, and Warehouse 9 was located in Turkey; the Valda from Paracelsus' alternate timeline attempted to utilize both Claire and himself as Caretakers for Warehouse 14, which would have been situated in China, despite neither of them being born in that country. Additionally, the fact that Paracelsus was able to be Caretaker of multiple Warehouses implies that the Caretaker need not necessarily change whenever the Warehouse moves.  

As shown in No Pain, No Gain, the Caretaker, as well as Caretakers destined for the Warehouse's future, are able to sense the birth of new artifacts before their creation event occurs, through unknown means or specifications. From a distance of a few yards, Claudia was able to locate the future creator of the Silver Bracelet, sensing something "about her"; whether Claudia was sensing something about the woman or the bracelet itself, is unclear. Since Mrs. Frederic seemed to know in advance where and when a new artifact would be created well before Claudia did, it's possible that this ability can be trained and enhanced over time (if it does not do so automatically), or through becoming an official Caretaker.  

Another benefit and ability given to the Caretaker of the Warehouse is the fact that once a Caretaker has bonded with the given warehouse they effectively stop aging,rendering them immortal and impervious to aging and sickness. As seen where the current Warehouse Caretaker, Mrs.Fredrick had literally outlived her Husband and Son who both died of old age and her grandson who is now a aged old man, while she retained the physical and biological age of when she first became Caretaker.

Abilities[]

  • Symbiotic Warehouse Bond: A Caretaker is organically bonded with the Warehouse.[1][2] In the event one dies, the other will too; should a Caretaker of significant age die, their body will take on their true physical age in an instant.[3][2] If this bond is strained, various afflictions might occur, such as uncontrollably speaking unknown languages, mental overload,[1] loss of memory, and unconsciousness.[4]
    • Agelessness: While connected to the Warehouse, the Caretaker ceases to age entirely. However, in the event that time is significantly altered (possibly in the specific instance of the Caretaker dying), they have been shown to display some physical signs of aging, such as graying hair.
    • Remote Inventory Viewing: The Caretaker is capable of accurately viewing the physical interior of the Warehouse they are bonded to in their mind, giving them knowledge of its exact inventory and where its contents are stored in real space.[5][6]
    • Teleportation: The Caretaker is capable of teleporting anywhere at will, inside or outside of the Warehouse.
      • In episode commentaries, Jack Kenny has stated that the original idea was that the teleportation was facilitated by the pearl necklace Mrs. Frederic wore, but never explained the specifics of how. However, when an unconnected Paracelsus is straining Mrs. Frederic's connection with Warehouse 13, she is shown confined to walking instead of teleporting, and once Claudia became Caretaker, she is seen teleporting while wearing a different necklace, indicating that teleportation as depicted in the show is intended to be part of a Caretaker's connection to the Warehouse.
    • Enhanced Strength: When strained by the simultaneous connections to Warehouses 2 and 13, Mrs. Frederic was shown to bend the metal arms of a chair she was sitting in. [1]
    • Warehouse Manipulation: When their connection is empowered by the Philosopher's Stone, the Caretaker is capable of physically manipulating all artifacts within the Warehouse because they are "a part of the Warehouse". This extends to people, such as future Caretaker candidates, as Paracelsus was able to control Claudia's body for this same reason.[7]
  • Artifact Sense: Those with Caretaker potential are able to sense artifacts, their creation, and their effects. As a child, Claudia was able to innately sense that Frances Farmer's Music Box was an artifact, that it had a significant negative effect, and that it had affected her sister,[8] and was later able to innately understand Francis Borgia's Dagger's ability despite never having encountered it before.[9] Caretakers can also sense the impending creation of an artifact and the person or people involved.[10]
    • Although it is never clarified that Claudia's ability to sense artifacts and their properties are explicitly Caretaker abilities (Mrs. Frederic merely remarks that it is "rare"),[8] she and Mrs. Frederic are the only ones shown capable of this power.
  • Telepathic Communication: Those with Caretaker potential have the ability to telepathically communicate with others to an extent. When rendered unconscious, a sleeping Mrs. Frederic was able to warn Arthur Nielsen of James MacPherson's plan to infiltrate the Warehouse while the latter was also asleep.[11] Later, the consciousness of the real Artie was able to beg Claudia to use Francis Borgia's Dagger to save him while the evil personality created by Ferdinand Magellan's Astrolabe was in control.[12]

Known Caretakers[]

Official[]

  • Paracelsus: Former Caretaker of Warehouse 9,[13] temporary Caretaker of Warehouse 13,[4] and Caretaker of Warehouses 10, 11, and 12 in an alternate timeline.[7]
  • Irene Frederic's Sister: Original Caretaker of Warehouse 13; perished in the fire that destroyed its first iteration in 1898.[14]
  • Irene Frederic: Current Caretaker of Warehouse 13, retired by 2063.[15]
  • Claudia Donovan: Future Caretaker of Warehouse 13 by 2063.[15]

Attempted[]

  • Claudia Donovan: Potential/attempted Caretaker of Warehouse 14 (intended to be used as a puppet Caretaker by an alternate Benedict Valda)[14]
  • Benedict Valda (from Paracelsus' timeline): Attempted Caretaker of Warehouse 14[14]

Trivia[]

  • Vanessa Calder and Mrs. Frederic intended for Claudia to be the next Warehouse Caretaker when Mrs. Frederic's connection to Warehouse 2 nearly shut down her brain. Afterward, she was still the favored candidate to take over should anything happen to Mrs. Frederic, as Vanessa told her that "she will be ready" when the time comes.[1]
  • However, it may may possible that Claudia and the Warehouse already had a bond comparable to a Warehouse and its Caretaker, as immediately after Claudia was de-bronzed, she sensed something was wrong with the Warehouse. When it was suggested that maybe Claudia's mind was clashing with Mrs Fredric's:
    • Artie: "But...you and Claudia have always co-existed in harmony..."
  • Interestingly, all known Caretakers have had siblings:
    • Paracelsus & Bennett Sutton
    • Irene Frederick & her sister
    • Claudia Donovan & Claire and Joshua Donovan
      • Whether or not Alexander the Great, the founder of Warehouse 1, was a Caretaker himself, he had 5 half-siblings and one true sibling.

References[]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Buried
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 A New Hope
  3. ↑ Stand
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 The Truth Hurts
  5. ↑ Claudia
  6. ↑ Reset
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Endless Terror
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Secret Services
  9. ↑ The Living and the Dead
  10. ↑ No Pain, No Gain
  11. ↑ Time Will Tell
  12. ↑ We All Fall Down
  13. ↑ All the Time in the World
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Cangku Shisi
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Endless (see this image)
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