Department of Visual Records

Orbit 6?

    “Lead us or go” was the President’s offer, to go anywhere. But would it have been as simple as that? Why did they need Number 6 in the first place? Perhaps he was selected to replace Number 1 simply on the grounds of 6’s resemblance to 1. If Number 6 had refused even to meet with Number 1, refused the offer of ultimate power there and then, perhaps the orbit tube pictured above would have had a 6 added to it, “Orbit 6.” After all Number 48 and the late Number 2 were already snug in their Orbit Tubes, for what, to preserve life in a state of suspended animation?
   If there had been no violent retaliation against The Village, and Number 6 had said I want nothing more to do with The Village, take me home and let me go. Would they have simply let him go? It seems highly unlikely, seeing as he’d already reported the existence of The Village twice to the Colonel, different Colonel’s. So that is proof enough that Number 6 could not be trusted to simply go back to his world and be expected to forget all about The Village. No, they’d probably stick him in a vacant orbit tube alongside the other two rejects! But on the other hand, had Number 6 accepted the proposed offer of ultimate power, to replace Number 1, they’d need somewhere to put the ex-Number 1, in Orbit Tube 1!

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