Probably the most critical and seminal sci fi TV show in television history. Ex 'Danger Man' star Patrick McGoohan was the British spy who resigned abruptly and without explanation from his job, only to be kidnapped and transported by persons unknown to 'The Village', where everyone was known by number - and names were never used. It was the task of Number Two (a different actor each week), to discover why McGoohan (Number Six), resigned in the first place, and whilst Number Six remained persistently tight secretive about his reasons for resignation, so his interrogators would remain silent when asked the question "Who is Number One?"

The Cultures of The Prisoner: PrisonersI am not a Number. I am a person.


Like most prisons, the citizens of the Village come in many categories, some are chosen for what they know, and some for whom.


Agents

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>The Cultures of The Prisoner: Warders <
>We want Information.The Cultures of The Prisoner: Warders We want Information... Information... Information... The stated purpose of the Village is to obtain information for Number 1; only Number 1 knows its true purpose. The Warders are those who make sure the Village runs smoothly and that the Prisoners volunteer the required information. As it is often nearly impossible to tell the Warders from the Prisoners, it is useful to be able to classify them into categories.

The Number 2's

Some of the water bourne craft made use of by The Prisoner...

The Stone Boat is a landlocked Village fixture. There is no escape in this boat, except in one's mind.

"She's great in any weather. Sailed her many a time. Have a good trip" (The Admiral in Arrival).

Rovers, the Village Guardians, roam the Village and its outskirts as a constant reminder that there is no escape. There is also a Rover guarding the helicopter platform at all times, one designed for high-pressure areas which roams the ocean floor, and at least one held in reserve for special cases, activated only at the request of Number 2 or when a Supervisor declares Orange Alert.

Standard meprobamate, developed by F.M. Berger and B.J. Ludwig under the name Miltown, is an anti-anxiety drug which balances the chemistry in the limbic system and thalamus. In the initial tests, aggressive monkeys which were unapproachable without gloves became calm and manageable. On human subjects it was found to only affect the behavior of subjects already suffering from anxiety disorders. Test subjects who were not anxious were unaffected and unable to tell the difference between the drug and a placebo.

Mytol is the trade name of one of over 1500 drugs synthesized from the benzodiazepine group after the discovery of substance Ro-5-0690, later known as chlordiazepoxide (Librium), and its sister medications diazepam (Valium) and oxazepam (Serax). Its scientific name is unavailable-- that would be telling!

This procedure is used only in the most extreme cases of Cult of the Individual. It requires a combination of isolation, remote influence, actors, sets, props, microphones and a specially designed cocktail of hallucinatory drugs. Once the Virtual Reality Scenario has begun, it must run its course. Everyone actually involved in the story becomes absorbed by the scenario and will react as they would normally.
 

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>Speedlearn is a revolutionary educational technique involving a combination of courses designed by a mass education computer known as the General and a sublimator which allows transmission of the General’s courses through any form of visual mass communication.

The underground control and administrative areas of the Village house many large computers which our staff rely on to interpret events and analyze Village behavior. They are extremely large and efficient machines which evaluate all information from past and present events, even including a quantum permutation of all cause and effects of supplementary elements. When the report parameters are properly defined, our technicians can provide Number 2 and the Observers with accurate predictions of even the most unpredictable of Villagers, allowing the Warders to remain one step ahead of the Prisoners on nearly every occasion.

An electropass is a device which allows high-ranking Village personnel freedom of movement while Rovers are present. It is synchronized with the alarm system and may emit a high-frequency sound which quiets the Rovers. Number 2’s umbrella and the Chessmaster’s walking stick each contain an electropass which is silent to the human ear. They are unavailable to general Village personnel.
 

Clones appear throughout the Village in different areas, from general laborers to special-case Prisoners and even as a Number 2. It is unclear what the procedure is for clone design. As the clones sometimes have different personalities than their outer twins, it is possible that the cloning procedure also could involve the Saltzman Machine, a mind-swap device the effects of which are irreversible without intervention from its creator.

The Village is equipped throughout with different methods of stunning and temporary paralysis. Using electromagnetic waves and ultrasound, a properly aimed paralyzer will interrupt the activity of neurotransmitters and electrical impluses in the brain and Central Nervous System.

After years of study of Yogis in India, neurologist Jacob Saltzman (sometimes spelled "Seltzman") developed a machine which allows the transference of consciousness from one body to another. The Village wishes to use this process to create loyal spies out of captured spies from the other side. Unfortunately, the process is irreversible without Saltzman’s intervention, and the esteemed Professor is missing.

Reserved for disharmonious Villagers who have overstepped their bounds into unmutuality, the ultrasonic Social Conversion procedure was developed by formerly disharmonious Number 86 to quickly and efficiently modify the antisocial behavior of Unmutuals to conform to our normal standards of social operation, allowing them to become peaceful, cooperative members of the Village.

A reaction transmitter is small device used in conjunction with hypnosis to create a human tracking system. The original reaction transmitters were implanted in the brains of dolphins in an attempt to create organic submarine detectors. The human version of this is housed in a locket.

Standard procedure developed by Psychiatrist Number 23 uses hypnosis to convince subjects they are in love with other Prisoners. Only general hypnosis is recommended as the drugs involved in enhanced hypnosis may cause unpredictable changes in pulse rate and respiratory function. All physical reactions must be natural in order to properly calibrate the alarm system.

Neuropharmacologist Number 14 invented and developed a machine which translates electrical impulses from REM sleep in sedated individuals into visual and audio signals, thus allowing observation of their dreams on a screen.

More importantly, she also developed a neuroelectric facilitator, a drug which allows reversal of the process. Using this medication, the operator of the machine is able to influence the dreams of the subject with video and audio, but as the NEF does not involve heightened suggestibility, he or she will react in the dream with their own personality.

At times it is necessary to provide security to certain areas of the Village while maintaining the illusion of freedom of movement. For this reason, the forcefields were installed at the Town Hall and Administration. Only authorized personnel can pass through, either with an electropass or with a key coin, depending on the level of security.

As they consume energy exponentially relative to size, they are only installed over small areas such as doorways or archways.

Forcefields stun only on the first attempt of unauthorized penetration. The second attempt is fatal.

A man furiously tenders his resignation, is drugged , and wakes up in a strange and sinister place simply known as The Village. The man is numbered 6, and he is The Prisoner! *cue thunder and lightning*

Using hallucinogens, psychological conditioning, thought control, and a bevy of other coercive and experimental techniques, his “keepers” try to learn why he resigned. But while they devise schemes to break him, Number 6 plans his escape. But escape from what exactly?