007: This Never Happened To The Other Fellow

Drax's face was thunderous. 'Damn fool. Always seeing trouble,' he muttered. And then abruptly, as if he wanted to clear his deputy out of his mind, 'Come along to my office. Show you the flight plan. Then we'll go off to bed.'
Moonraker, Ian Fleming.

Really Sir Hugo! That's not the kind of thing Bond was expecting when he became security officer for Sir Hugo Drax ("Hugger" to his friends).

This is the least of the changes made between the book and the film. Drax has built a "...super-atomic rocket[1] with a range that would cover nearly every capital in Europe - the immediate answer to anyone who tried to atom bomb London" and put it at the disposal of Her Majesty. Well of course! A single MRBM would mean the destruction of any enemy who attacked Britain[3], and hence guarantee peace in Europe! Or would it just make the coast of Kent the first target for any pre-emptive attack?

[1] The rocket itself is fueled by fluorine and hydrogen[2]; it's the payload that is an atom bomb
[2] "That's top secret by the way"
[3] I call this doctrine "Single Assured Destruction" or SAD.

Comments

Popular Posts