The Therapy Zone

    What’s it all about? “Our prize prisoner, the one we call Number Six. The toughest case I’ve ever handled. I could crack him of course, but I can’t use the normal techniques. He’s too valuable, mustn’t damage him permanently say our masters.” Well that’s according to Number 2 of ‘The Schizoid Man.’ But what exactly are the “Usual methods?” After all Number 6 is put through a number of extraordinary, and elaborate ordeals during his confinement in The Village. The first being fooled into thinking he’s escaped The Village, and is back in an office he knows very well in London, the Colonel’s. But of course he’s nothing of the kind.

   The following episode they get into Number 6’s dreams, and manipulate them from within, thanks to a new drug developed by the doctor and bio-chemist Number 14.

   Its one thing to face oneself in the mirror, but to actually come face to face with yourself. At the outset they took away his identity and replaced it with a Number, 6, and then they even took that away from him, and made him out to be someone else!

    The Village was deserted, so instead of sitting on his backside Number 6 built himself a sea-going raft, and set out on a voyage of discovery. And Number 2 let him go, just like that. Didn’t’t they realize the dangers? They might have really lost him in an accident at sea. What prize then their prize prisoner Number 6?
    ‘Dance of the Dead,’ perhaps the darkest of all the 17 episodes. Put on trial for the trivial matter of possessing a radio, the Prisoner is found guilty and sentenced to death for a breach of the rules! But it could not be believed, not seeing as how Number 6 is seen to have a future with The Village, and so must be handled very differently. ’Dance of The Dead, that’s handling the Prisoner differently is it, and to what end?

   It may be supposed that the mind transference which Number 6 underwent with the Colonel was the most outlandish and elaborate of Number 6’s ordeals. After the mind transference wiped his mind of all unpleasant memories of the Village. Regress his memory back to the morning he was supposed to hand in his letter of resignation, then take him back to London, back in his house, and let him wake up. After that his own situation will make him find Seltzman, and lead them to him! What’s more, just for once ZM73 needed The Village, as that’s where his body lay in order to rectify his current situation, and that of the Colonel’s of course.

    As for ‘Living In Harmony’ children do like to play Cowboys and Indians, however Number 8 had taken the game a few steps further, in a style of virtual reality. There was no real danger to Number 6, only it took him time to come to realize that. But there was no real reason to beat himself up over it!

    Telling tales! Number 6 is good at that, especially fairytales. ‘The Girl Who Was Death’ seemed not to be a last desperate throw of the dice, but a nothing really. Scraping the bottom of the barrel it might be said. Whatever gave Number 2 the idea that Number 6 would drop his guard with children? If the three children were born in The Village, the whole story would have been a fantasy to them, as they would have no concept of the outside world unless they were taught about it in school. Either that or through Speedlearn!

    ‘Once Upon A Time’ two men were locked in a room where they could enact any part of a man’s life from the cradle to the grave. Degree Absolute, it’s a recognized method in psychoanalyses. The patient must come to trust his doctor. Sometimes they change places, is extreme cases!  This seemed to be the last throw of the dice, but the last resort was yet to come, to try and get Number 6 to give the reason behind his resignation. And it cost Number 2 his life. Had it been any other man other than Number 6, Number 2 may well have succeeded in the endeavour. But Number 6 is not like other men, he doesn’t wear down easily. He may have said he resigned for peace of mind, because too many people know too much, certainly the administration behind The Village knew too much, or too little because they didnt know why the Prisoner resigned. Is that what the Prisoner meant by people knowing too much? He said he knew too much about Number 2, and Number 2 was surprised to hear that.

    ‘Fall Out,’ and what I see as the real last resort to bend Number 6 to their will. Bribe him, or give him compensation for all that had happened to him. Offer him ultimate power, together with the opportunity to lead them or go! But Number 6 didn’t know, he couldn’t make up his mind. Give him the opportunity to address the delegates of the Assembly, but don’t listen to a word he has to say for himself. And then let him meet with Number 1, and when he’s faced with the fact that he’s responsible for his own incarceration in The Village, well he’ll want to put that right! Which he did. The only trouble with that was, he could escape The Village, but no matter how far he ran, he can never escape himself!

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