The Prisoner Versus The Guardian!

   Have you observed that when confronted by the white membranic mass of the Guardian, Number 6 nearly always throws himself out of something! First it was a Mini-Moke when the Prisoner was attempting an escape by driving along the beach. Suddenly ahead of him appeared the amorphous mass of the Guardian. The Prisoner could see there was going to be a collision, so he hurled himself out of the vehicle. He didn’t even attempt to drive round the Guardian. Mind you there was a bit of an impact with something on the beach, not the Guardian, but something in the sand. Don’t know what.
    Then there was that time when Number 6 and Nadia had escaped The Village by boat. Everything was going fine, they only had another two miles to go, around the next headland. But then Nadia spotted the Guardian skimming across the waves towards them. There was only one thing for it, abandon the boat. So Number 6 and Nadia jumped out of the boat, into the water and swam for it. Well that boat was rather slow, and wouldn’t have afforded any protection against the Guardian.
   Another time was during the local elections. Number 6 was standing for public office, for the position of Number 2 in fact. But something happened to make Number 6 throw off his rosette. It was when he was trying to teach Number 58 to day “Be seeing you “ in English, but he ended up saying “Ly ezeet azoon” in her language! It was as though something suddenly clicked inside him. So having discarded the rosette, he rushed out of his cottage and drove off in his official transport, a Mini-Moke. But with the road blocked outside the Town Hall Number 6 abandons the vehicle and goes running off. Eventually he finds himself by the slipway, and steals the boat which two mechanics are busy working on. He does manage to overpower the two mechanics, as he once did on land, the two men in the Mini-Moke when he attempted to escape The Village on the day of his arrival. And like the eventual encounter, Number 6 at the helm of the jet boat sees the white membranic mass of the Guardian heading towards him. However unlike on land he does attempt to steer the boat around the approaching Guardian, except the helm does not answer. So once more Number 6 is forced to jump overboard and abandon the boat.
   There is one further occasion when Number 6 abandons a vehicle in order to evade the Guardian, although it might be stretching a point. When on the evening in ‘The Schizoid Man’ Number 6 has made his way to the cottage of ‘6 Private,’ and sees a Guardian on guard outside. In order to distract Rover, Number 6 jumps into a nearby Mini-Moke and drives it off. Then he jumps out of the taxi and into the bushes leaving the Guardian to follow an unmanned vehicle, such is its slow wittedness. On the other hand perhaps Number 6’s action would be akin to setting Rover after the Mini-Moke as throwing a stick for a dog to chase!

Be seeing you