Who or What Is No.1?

    In ‘Arrival’ when the Prisoner is discharged from the hospital he’s given a number of cards. His employment card, his card of identity, a health and welfare card, and a credit card, and he’s wearing a badge denoting the number 6. It obviously doesn’t register that he is actually going to be called Number 6 anymore than any of us would expect to be known by our National Insurance or NHS number. When the Prisoner storms into Number 2’s office he demands he get Number 1. Does the Prisoner actually know there is someone with the name of Number 1 or does he simply mean No.1 as in the first officer onboard a ship. At that point the Prisoner doesn’t know people in The Village are known by numbers until Number 2 calls him Number 6.

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