Prismatic Reflection

    “Why did you resign? Now that ‘s really all we went to know.” And is that really why a man who had just resigned from his job, was abducted to the Village, to become a prisoner No.6? That the Prisoner had become a recalcitrant agent who could not be left to wander at large, because of all that information he had inside his head. After all No.2 suggested that the Prisoner had become a valuable commodity because of all that knowledge. And in that I believe lies the answer, that the Prisoner was not simply abducted because he had resigned, but because of all the information he had in his head. After all someone had been keeping the Prisoner under the closest possible surveillance. You will recall how this was noted during the debriefing session with No.2 on the day of the Prisoner’s arrival in the Village.
    What is one of the Village Administrations main directive? To gather information. No.2 in ‘Arrival’ told the Prisoner that they like to know everything. What they didn’t know was the reason behind the Prisoner’s resignation. Okay, you might say they didn’t know the Prisoner’s time and date of birth. But that was simply a ruse to get the Prisoner to talk. If he gave away the time of his birth, then all the rest might easily follow. Such as why did the Prisoner resign so prematurely?
   You will also recall how in ‘Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling’ No.2 was using the Seltzman machine to send out agents working for the Village with minds of agents of the Village Administration’s choosing. This to gather information and return with it to the Village. Then the agent has all unpleasant memories of the Village removed from his memory, and then sent out into the world in order to collect yet even more information. You see it’s as No.2 said “We like to know everything.” And is not knowledge power?
    So, is that the reason why the Prisoner was brought to the Village, simply because they didn’t know the reason behind his resignation?
   And what is all this about perpetually changing No.2? Was that really such a good Idea? I know the idea behind it, that fact that if you keep changing No.2, it makes it difficult for No.6 to strike a rapport with No.2. And yet I cannot help but think that in that plan, something is lost. Impetus. If you have a No.2 who has failed in his duty for whatever reason, then he or she must be replaced. One cannot stand for incompetence. And yet why replace a No.2 who has not failed in doing his or her duty? Because for any new No.2 brought to the Village, there must be a settling in period. And this means a loss of impetus, and a break in the ordeal for No.6, and any such Prisoner. I mean to say, what had the newer No.2 at the end of ‘Free For All’ done wrong to see her replaced by No.2 in ‘The Schizoid Man?’ Obviously I’m judging what we see in the actual series, and not what could be imagined to have happened the actual day after ‘Free For All’ with the female No.2 having just taken up office in the Village. And before that, No.2 in ‘The Chimes of Big Ben,’ why was he replaced? After all it wasn’t No.2’s fault that No.6 asked for Post 5’s wrist watch, and that he had his wrist watch set at the wrong time! That is something completely unforeseen! It wasn’t even No.2’s idea behind ‘The Chimes of Big Ben.’
    The question must surely be asked, was any No.2 an improvement on his or her predecessor? Obviously the first No.2 was a gentleman. His apparent remit being to both debrief and brief the Prisoner. He is then replaced by a new No.2, why? Possibly to keep the Prisoner off balance so to speak. He had just got used to dealing with one No.2, but then suddenly he’s faced with a new No.2 and the Prisoner-No.6 has to start all over again. That is a clever ploy, to change No.2 about half-way through his first ordeal. But this new No.2 isn’t any worse or better than the first. His remit seems to be to demonstrate to the Prisoner-No.6 that escape is not possible, soon after which he too is replaced.
    The next No.2 seems to have struck up a rapport with No.6, something which should not be possible. He seems to be of secondary consideration when it comes to the plan behind ‘The Chimes of Big Ben.’ It should not have been possible for No.6 to create a relationship with any No.2, but yet there was a genuine rapport between this No.2 and No.6. No.2 even admitted in ‘Once Upon A Time’ that he was beginning to like No.6!
    So really what was the advantage of changing subsequent No.2’s? In THEPRIS6NER there is but one Two, and he’s pretty nasty all the time. What’s more there is no let up in Six’s ordeal, and that led to Two’s ultimate victory over Six. In that the whole thing about THEPRIS6NER is that it was always Two’s intention to hand over the Village to Six. But this time No.1 does not exist so to get in the way. And yet when Six accepted the Village from Two, he became “the One!” “Six is the one” the people chanted, after taking Two’s lead. So Six became One, the first One. And that means history had been made. Because according to Village history, and Number 1,100, there is no Number 1. That there has never been a Number 1, and there never will be. Well up until the final episode Checkmate.
    So would the Village have been any worse off for having had one No.2 instead of a number of different No.2‘s? Would success have come any quicker that it did? Well No.2 was successful in the end. After all he did get No.6 to give away the reason behind his resignation. And really isn’t that why the Prisoner was brought to the Village in the first place?

I’ll be seeing you