The Prisoner: Cultures: Warders

We want Information.

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

Number 2 is a rotating middle-management position stationed in the Green dome. The person in the Number 2 position is brought in from the outside by Number 1 and given a series of tasks to complete. These tasks may vary, but on the list in every instance is to find out why Number 6 resigned. Number 2 reports directly to Number 1, and is the official leader of the Village for the duration of his or her term, with access to all of its assets, scientists and specialists. If Number 2 fails in his or her tasks, he or she is replaced with a new Number 2.

Clones

No one is sure if the cloning project is real or rumored. There is plenty of evidence that it exists, especially in the General labour pool, but the actual procedure is highly secret.

Delegates

At the underground assembly, the delegates can be singled out by their white robes and their parti-colored comedy/tragedy masks. They each represent a pocket of the community, including pacifists, activists, defectors, security and observers. Even such unexpected groups as unmutuals and archangels are represented.

Infiltrators

Infiltrators are warders who appear to be prisoners, or prisoners coerced into obtaining information from other prisoners for Number 2.

Lackeys

Sometimes a new Number 2 arrives with a sidekick, or obtains one from the Village who has experience with the department he or she chooses to use during the term of office. Sometimes they are loyal, and sometimes….

Observers

Watch over the Village from Control, often assigned to special-case prisoners for the duration of their shift. They report directly to the Supervisor. All they have the authority to do is observe and report, action is reserved for the Supervisor or Number 2.

Remote Assistants

There are people outside the Village working for the Village: the undertakers who gas and carry off the new Arrivals, those who prisoners trusted on the outside brought in to get information inside, and those called in to trick escapees into returning.

Reserve Guards

Sometimes armed with batons, sometimes guns, these soldiers spend much of their time underground. They are almost always bored, out of practice and easily subdued. They are a skeleton crew kept on as more of a formality than anything else, although they are sometimes assigned to hallway guard duty and to subdue difficult prisoners. Their formal uniform is grey and white, but they also appear camouflaged in typical Village wear to reduce alarm.

Specialists

People with special talents, knowledge or skills, including those who may have worked with Number 6 previous to his Arrival in the Village.

Supervisors

Unlike the Observers in Control, Supervisors have the authority to declare an Orange Alert and to authorize use of force. The supervisor reports directly to Number 2.

Race Rating – Wardens
Personality 1 (rancid butter) – 5 (cool dude) 4
Attractiveness 1 (requires paper bag) – 5 (Drop-dead-gorgeous) 3
Humour 1 (stomach-turning) – 5 (sidesplitting) 2
Dress Sense 1 (laughable) – 5 (hip) 3
Aggression 1 (big/little softy) – 5 (hard as nails) 3
Social Standing 1 (scumbag) – 5 (god) 5

Sad Geezer Race Rating   (out of 30)  =  20                        

The sources for this guide to the unique cultures of The Prisoner have come from a combination of the television episodes and unused scripts.

This article is copyright Pet Serrano 2003. Not for reproduction without the authors express permission.

The names, characters, pictures and everything else associated with the Prisoner series are the property of Carlton International – all rights reserved.

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