[Scenario Seed] Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.....in Spaaace

[Catsmate]

So, while slumped on the sofa this afternoon with my SOs and the cat, contemplating the discomforts of over-eating and the eternal truth of 57 Channels (And Nothin' On) I was watching the adaption of Fleming's other work.

• BTW if you ever read the book there are two versions (original novel and film novelisation) and they are utterly different. Though Fleming's book seems to have inspired the Whomobile....
  

Anyway, it struck me (blame the mince pies) that the film could make an interesting basis for a Who scenario¹. Let's take a look....
Comments and ideas are very welcome.


The Setting.
I picture 'Vulgaria' as a decayed Terran colony world, settled long ago, sparsely populated by a group trying to get away from Earth (or an earlier colonised world) due to religion/politics/overcrowding or something else that inspired them to head out Into The Black.
It has definite shades of Tara, and the vampire planet of State of Decay; a semi-feudal society ruled by the Mad Baron and his wife, the somewhat madder Baroness. But with limited high technology.

• Is she smarter than she seems? Hmmm....
  

Most people live in a fairly compact region, a mountainous spot with fertile plains, bearing a suspicious resemblance to Switzerland or Bavaria, but without the beer or chocolate. For some reason there was little movement by the colonists away from the First Landing site.
The area is ruled by the Baron thanks to his access to high technology and the birthing machines; he has a force of semi-competent troops, armed with swords and blasters, who ride horses. Though the have access to flying vehicles.

The Vulgarians retain some elements of technology, including a few semi-operational starships; these include a couple of scout ships (fast and discreet, used for covert/clandestine operations), a trio of corvettes (planetary defense) and a small yacht (used by the Baron and his entourage when visiting other worlds). There are also a few small transport/merchant ships used for trading, raiding, scouting and piracy².

• Shades of The Horns of Nimon.

The Baron's source of wealth is <macguffinite> a reasonably valuable mineral which the Baron claims to mine in the mountains of the capital city of Vulgaria, the unimaginatively named Landing³.

• What is <macguffinite>? Dilithium? Zeiton-7 perhaps? It's a rare and useful mineral, sufficiently valuable for the Baron's trade to be usefully lucrative, but not enough to build an empire or inspire a serious invasion.
  

Landing is built on and in a mountain; on the peak the Baron's castle perches, glaring balefully down at the town. There are a number of planetary defense stations, with sufficient weaponry to deter raiders but not stop a serious military operation.

• But there is no-one in the region sufficiently motivated to mount an invasion who also possesses the resources.
  

The Baron, through his chancellor, also deters raiders claiming the mines are rigged to be destroyed.

In fact the mineral is synthesised; early on (perhaps before the planet was settled) the Baron's ancestor found an alien Precursor machine found that makes the stuff, unfortunately in smallish quantities.


The Children.
Reproduction isn't forbidden, per se, that would be a recipe for disaster in the longer term, given human reproductive urges.
However a disease plagued the colony shortly after the first settlement and made unaided reproduction difficult and dangerous. So the then Baron stepped in and offered a solution; children are 'decanted' rather than birthed; created using uterine replicators, a technology which the Baron controls through his head of reproduction <Bettany>, who decides who get ton have their genetic material used.

• Bits borrowed liberally from Chandler's Spartan Planet, Weber's Grayson/Zion and Perry's Brother Death.
  

Children are not heard and not seen either; they're educated in a pair of (sex segregated) boarding schools some distance from Landing to be good little citizens. This works, even aided by ultra-tech methods, as well as one would expect.


Visitors.
Are generally not welcome, and certainly not encouraged. Visiting ships land at the starport, on a peak some distance from the town, and their crews (even if they were so-inclined) are not encouraged to visit Landing. Though who do often fall prey to accidents and violent muggings.
The Baron's secret police (who are not particularly secret, they don't need to be with an unarmed and cowed populace and access to advanced technology) are ubiquitous. As are informers....


Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
The Banger, as her owner's not-quite-wife refers to her, is a small starship, but an advanced one. Her creator, Caradog Crock, was a commander in the small navy of the planet Chovis, serving for twenty years in the engineering/science division.
He's not-exactly married to Prudence, the mother of his three children and has an elderly and rather eccentric father (a formewr NCO in the local army)
In his time Crock travelled quite widely and saw the new Warp drive ships that are beginning to replace the older Hyperjump craft that are still common in this region of space. He was inspired and, assisted by a Precursor artefact he found (and didn't turn in to the authorities) turned a small cutter he bought for scrap value into a warp-shuttle, faster and vastly more capable than anything of its size in the region. If it does posses a few....oddities. Perhaps that Hiver computer that Caradog picked up cheap? And then there are the 'bangs' from the FTL drive.

Unfortunately one of his test flights was spotted by the Baron, who really wants the ship (and Prudence)


Personalities.
Caradog: former navy officer, excellent engineer, reasonable scientist (he's no theoretician), determined and adaptable but not really great at dealing with people.
Prudence: former navy officer, a logistics specialist and later starship purser; organised, efficient and cautious. And somewhat mercenary. They're not married due to a legal formality regarding local laws and the vehement opposition of her rich industrialist/politician father. The operational brains of their little courier business⁴.
The couple have two children; twins Gerard and Geraldine (aged ten).




OK, that's part one. Should I continue? Or abandon this as a festive nightmare?



1. Though I tend to think that about far too many things.
2. In Traveller terms, two Type S modified with stealth, three Type C, a custom Yacht/Safari hybrid and four to six A, A2 and R types. Plus a few fighters.
3. Which will cause any seasoned spacer to sigh, "not another one".
4. Just as any spacer will understand what "small packet trade" means...

[markrand]

Please continue.

[Catsmate]

OK, part two tomorrow. In the meantime, f anyone has ideas/suggestions/requests please post them.

[Catsmate]

Ah, the Stephen's Day brunch.....

OK back to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang.
I'm going to sketch out the scenario as I see it, in the form of acts and scenes.

Act 1.
This should probably happen ‘offstage’ and be retold to the PCs when the encounter the Potts. Then again you could play it out using the Potts as PCs.
Caradog and Prudence are in trouble, their once flourishing courier business is on trouble due to a combination of unexpected expenses, legal attention deterring customers and a downturn in business due to competition. Caradog continues tinkering and completes his development of a compact, power efficient, warp-drive using a chunk of Precursor tech. As Prudence is unwilling to let him rebuild their starship's engines with the gadget, he fits to The Banger, an old infra-system (no FTL) cutter that he’d bought for scrap.

Surprisingly it works; the ship is several times faster than hyperdrive vessels, needs no separate STL drive for maneuvering in real-space and requires no bulky fuel so it can carry as much as their larger courier

• OK, I’m, probably getting a bit into the Traveller setting, few Whoniverse ships are bothered by fuel requirements.
  

The act finishes (Scene X) with the pair taking it for a test run into a nearby star-system making three discoveries.

• The kids have stowed away.
• The ship works but is a little flaky and needs plenty of hand-on fiddling to operate (i.e. Story Points)
• There's another ship in the system, one they don't recognise (the Baron’s armed yacht). The Baron’s ship attempts a spot of piracy but is hopelessly outclassed by the modified (though unarmed) cutter and is easily evaded.
  

Off-screen the Baron has a tantrum and becomes obsessive about the new ship. The kids name the ship Chitty, Chitty, Bang, Bang from the odd noises it's warp-drive makes.


Act 2.
Scene 1:
The Baron dispatches his team of crack (or perhaps cracked) agents to steal the Bang. Their attempts fail (and are sometimes not even noticed) but interest the planetary law enforcement agency, who was vaguely interested in the Potts’ business anyway.

• After all everyone knows what “small packet trade” means.

Scene 2:
The Baron’s agents succeed in kidnapping the person they think is Commander Potts, but is actually his grandmother Bunji; this is managed by means of a tractor beam with which they lift her hut into their scout-ship’s cargo bay and gas her.
When she awakens Bunji (who had returned from a reunion and is in her old uniform and not obviously female) is smart enough to play along; though her experiments are likely to “accidentally” kill a few of the Baron’s minions.

• I've retconned her; Bunji Crock is Caradog’s elderly and formidable grandmother, a former recon commando and explorer. Still very good at infiltration, survival and violence though she projects the 'ditzy old lady' image well. Attached to her grandson, likes Prudence and adores their children. Has quite a few contacts from “the old days”, and quite a few souvenirs of the kind that most governments frown upon being in private hands.
• She lives in a modular shelter that she erected on the Potts homestead (to keep and eye on them) after her children (Caradog mother and father) died; it's a rather rural spot with landing pad and hanger for their ship and Caradog's workshop and scrap heap.
  

Scene 3:
Returning to their somewhat rural home/base the Potts find the local law enforcement in possession, having noticed the unauthorised scout-ship's departure and been informed of the kidnapping. Naturally they jump to the wrong conclusion and think it’s a criminal response to smuggling operation gone wrong. The Potts are interrogated (politely) by the police, who show them video of the kidnapping and tell they their ship is grounded. In fact it's under guard.

• The Bang is not guarded, because, frankly, it looks like a piece of junk that no sane person would try to fly.
  

The Potts, ably assisted by the kids, evade the constabulary and take the Bang to pursue Bunji’s captors.

• This is a good point to drop in the PCs, in media res, with their TARDIS/ship/Vortex Manipulator arriving in the Potts homestead and getting them mixed into events. After all they have no obvious transport, none of those identification papers so beloved of bureaucracy, almost certainly look out of place and are behaving suspiciously.
• They could have been pulled here by the Precursor tech or maybe Bunji is an old friend of the Doctor/Time Lord/Time Agent and has a distress beacon. Their transport will of course be impounded, and they can either spend some time in detention or join the Potts and their rescue mission¹.
  

Act 3.

Scene 1:
If the PCs are along then this should include a spot of necessary exposition of the events of Act 1 and the background. Maybe the PCs have heard of Vulgaria?
Thanks to the Hiver computer system, the assistance of the PCs and the expenditure of SPs, Caradog manages to detect and interpret the residue of the Scout ship’s hyperjump and pursue them., following the real-space echo of their vector through hyperspace. They cannot intercept the ship and, despite their superior speed, will arrive at their destination after them

• The Hivers are from Traveller; an alien race of the “Real Weirdie” variety with somewhat more advanced technology than is mainstream. They're somewhat analogous to the Pierson's Puppeteers.
  

Scene 2:
Much worried discussion about the plans of the kidnappers, their destination and the wisdom of bringing pre-teenagers along. The PCs should bond with the Potts and will want to examine the Chitty Chitty Bang Bang; if the Doctor is along he'll be very curious about Potts' miniature warp-drive. Others will be interested in what supplies and equipment are along.

• Alternatively the pursuit, added to the Precuror tech that powers the warp-drive, attracts the TARDIS or other time vessel, causing it to materialise inside, or merge into, the Bang. Shades of the Empress and Hecate in Nightmare of Eden.
  

Scene 3:
The Bang arrives in the star-system of Olvides (a G5V yellow star, somewhat larger, hotter and a tinge bluer than Sol); it's sole (human) habitable planet is Olivides VI² which has a small-ish and infrequently visited colony called Vulgaria whose principal export is Macguffinite. That's all Future Wikipedia has, though some further research (i.e. browsing the deleted bits and Talk pages) suggests the planet is weird and unfriendly and ruled by a tyrannical Baron of dubious sanity. It also mentions the plague that disrupted early settlement.
The Bang's sensors reveal a few starships in orbit, at least one of which is a corvette. Some caution is therefore suggested in selecting a landing spot. Simply dropping in to the starport won't work as they're not expected and the Bang would be recognised. Also there are fairly obvious weapons emplacements and the Bang is unarmed and possesses only rudimentary defensive shielding

• If the PCs have a TARDIS or similar craft they may wish to use that, though the GM may have the Bang's Precursor tech disable it, in the manner so common in the series.
  

Some tinkering (by the PCs, the Doctor or a suitable expert, or by Potts and suitable SP expenditure) will allow the conversion of the warp-drive and the shield generator into a rather basic sensor cape, allowing them to land discreetly some distance away from the city/town of Landing. Though this means they're staying until the systems are rebuilt.
This is where sensible people (i.e. few Who companions) will look at disguises, transport and useful gear. There isn't much.
Here is a list of the survival supplies in the Bang'c emergency locker (which pre-dates Potts buying the ship).

• 300 person-days of 'food paste' tubes. These are exactly as appetising as you'd expect but contain all necessary nutrients.
  
• A fairly comprehensive first aid kit (of TL7) with most of the supplies only slightly beyond their use by date
  
• One hundred chemical light sticks, white
  
• Eight survival jumpsuits; warm, easy to clean and possessed of many pockets. In bright orange.
  
• Four (three working) heavy duty torches.
  
• Eight small radio comm units.
  
• A pair of binoculars, with light amplification capability
  
• A laser cutting/welding torch
  
• A fairly comprehensive tool kit, missing only a few items.
  

There are no weapons aboard, and the Potts have none on them. Likewise there is no transport.


Act 4.

Scene 1.
Unless you want to play out the walk from their landing site (lots of stereotypically 'Alpine' scenery) the next scene starts when the party arrive in the town of Landing.

• A merciful GM might allow them to encounter a few locals before this, but the matter of children is likely to come up.
  

The town looks, well, medieval. Lots of seemingly primitive homes built of cut stone blocks and wood. All painted and decorated rather garishly. The party arrive in the town square, where a market is in progress.
Very rapidly the presence of Gerald and Geraldine gets a lot of attention. Then the cry goes up, the Baron's troops are coming, invaders have been detected....
Chaos erupts.

Scene 2.
One of the locals, whom the party will hear referred to as 'artificer' by the others, grabs one of the PCs and drags him/her into his establishment and signals the others to follow. He tells them that they are obviously not locals (any attempt at disguise has failed) and are in great danger. He pushes them down a flight of stairs into his basement workshop and hides them inside large crates

• The workshop looks like the proverbial explosion in a laboratory, there are benches, tools and partially completed devices, most of which seem to elaborate amusements of various kinds.
  

They have thirty seconds to ask questions.
Hidden in the crates they don't hear much or see what's going on around them, and miss the search. Except by GM fiat they manage to avoid detection (deduct some SPs). They do hear voices including a rather loud and somewhat metallic one.

Scene 3.
More exposition. The artificer tells the PCs the background. The Mad Baron, his wife, the ban on 'natural' children (he won't mention that there are in fact a number of such children hidden away) and the Baroness's Catcher. He refuses to go into detail about the latter

• The 'Catcher' is a cyborg, created by the Head of Reproduction an offworlder named Bettany who works for the Baroness
  

End of Part Two.


Comments? Ideas? Suggestions? Requests?



1. Unless one of the PCs is wring A Guidebook to Prisons, Dungeons and Detention Centres of the Universe of course. The Chovis detention facility is reasonably pleasant, easily 4.5 Slop Buckets.

2. The inner system is unusually full of smallish, rocky planets.

[Catsmate]

Part Three.

When we left our heroes they were engaged in a spot of plot exposition in the Artificer's workshop. Learning about how bad things were in Vulgaria.


Act 5.

Scene 1 (well really A4S3 continued)
The Artificer tells the party that the Baron's troops have captured their ship; if necessary they can head upstairs and watch as a scout-ship carries the Bang through the air, tethered by tractor beam, towards the castle.
So they're stuck. This is something most Who fans will have been expecting. Hopefully they ready.

• Did anyone stay behind in the ship? Maybe the kids (if so Act 4 will need a bit of editing) or one of the PCs?
  

At this point the players need to figure out their objectives, resources and plans. They all (presumably) want off this planet, the Potts want their ship back (Prudence will probably be looking for compensation) and to rescue Benji; if the PCs transport was on the Bang they'll want it back. Hopefully they're willing to engage in a spot of 'regime change' and topple the Baron.

• If necessary you could have them find the body of one (or more) of the locals in the square outside, brutally murdered.
• One potential derail is the possibility that the PCs have a 'Get Out of Jail Card' such as a Vortex Manipulator. This can be handled in several ways; it could have been damaged by encounter with the Bang's weird warp-engine, fallen off a wrist and been pocketed by one of the Baron's troopers et cetera. Or (if the players are suitably inclined) they could remain voluntarily to help their new friends and fight a clear evil.
  

So, it's time to make a plan.


Scene 2.
(I'm assuming the children were with party; if not, alter as needed)
During their discussion/argument the kids have disappeared (they are only ten), wandered off. Even the Artificer hadn't noticed, so involved was he in pouring out his sorrows.
Cue a sudden panic as Caradog and Prudence realise their children have gone.
In fact they haven't gone far. They got bored and wandered off (I'm sure someone was keeping an eye on them but watching the Bag being carried off and the conversation distracted them).
But  they're not far, they only went a few metres into the square (maybe they looking at the dangling corpse) and can be seen, looking somewhat distracted. If the PCs venture out they notice an odd, sickly sweet smell; the Artificer certainly notices it and tries to crowd them back inside, looking the door.

They watch as the children sniff the air; an anti-grav wagon moves silently out of one of the alleys (think pickup sans wheels; it floats with eerie silence). Standing on it is a large humanoid figure; his right arm is visibly augmented by cybernetics (shining chrome) while his left has been replaced by twin arms, each terminating in a claw-like hand; his head lacks hair but has shining metal elements visible and a metal skullcap). This is the Catcher.

• A Time Lord or someone experienced with advanced/alien tech may recognise the smell as being traontine, a narcotic gas that induces suggestibility and while generally ineffective on adults (due to changes in the vomeronasal organ at puberty) works very well on children.
  

There are now to plot lines. Either the party run out to fight the Catcher (and they don't have much time) or teh Artificer keeps them safely inside and they watch as the kids willingly climb into the open cage on the wagon's bed and are locked inside. After that the Catcher drives off...
If they choose to fight then they're probably screwed. The almost certainly don't have weapons (except Prudence) or the time to improvise some, attempts to use a Gadget such as the sonic to disable the Catcher fail until they have more time to tune it.

The Catcher

Awareness	Coordination	Ingenuity	Presence	Resolve	Strength
4	4	3	4	6	6
Athletics    3	Convince 3 [Intimidation]	Craft 2	Fighting 4	Knowledge 2	Marksman 3
Medicine    0	Science 3	Subterfuge 2	Survival 0	Technology 3	Transport 3

Traits:
Alien Appearance, Alien Senses [thermal vision], Armour [5], Cyborg, Fear Factor [2/4¹], Fire Rounds Rapid, Indomitable, Keen Senses [all], Natural Weapons [several], Obsession [serve Bethany and the Baroness], Quick Reflexes, Voice of Authority.

TL: 7         SP: 8

The Catcher has numerous built-in weapons.

• A simple energy blaster (3/6/9) with stun capability
  
• A whip-like tentacle that can be released from his lower left arm, extending up to three metres and doing (3/6/9) physical damage and, optionally, a stun charge
• He can extend a short sword-blade from his right arm (STR+2)
• His upper left arm can deliver an energy charge (it develops a blue 'static' effect when charged) capable of inflicting severe pain, stunning or killing (4/8/12)
• Just in case, there are storage compartments in his thighs; each holds four grenades (sleep gas and stun for subdual, explosive or incendiary for property damage, irritating smoke for escape)
  

From now on I'll assume that the children were successfully captured. If the party decided to fight they probably lost and hopefully managed to avoid having too many people captured. The locals will not get involved to help them. If they managed to defeat the Catcher (or even fight him) then the Baron's troops are likely to arrive soon, and in numbers.


Scene 3 - Entering the castle.
There are basically three ways to get into the castle.
1. A stealthy infiltration, perhaps through the network of tunnels that connect the castle, the village and the catacombs.

• They're not actually catacombs, they're a network of fusion cut tunnels created in the early days of the settlement as emergency shelters and storage space. They were cut through metal rich rock (loaded with heavy metals) and are very resistant to sensors. The Baron knows about them, but the access from the castle to the town has supposedly been sealed off.
  

To use this option they'll need to befriend the Artificer;  this is where the townsfolk bring up and hide a few 'natural' children and a few of the decanted that were resistant to the training regime and due to be culled. There are maybe thirty kids there.

2. Being captured, surrendering or marching up to the gate.
This ends with the party being locked up after being inspected by the Baron (chains optional). But they inside the castle at least, though the dungeons barely rate three Slop Buckets for quality. Hopefully they stashed away a few small items to help their escape, though frankly the guards aren't up to much.

Generic guard

Awareness	Coordination	Ingenuity	Presence	Resolve	Strength
3	3	2	3	4	3
Athletics    2	Convince 0	Craft 1	Fighting 3	Knowledge 2	Marksman 2
Medicine    1	Science 1	Subterfuge 1	Survival 1	Technology 2	Transport 2

Traits:
By The Book, Brave, Code of Conduct, Obligation,

Equipment.
Rather gaudy uniform in red and blue, with lots of shiny buttons. The large Shako style hat (resembling the Bearskin) can give a -1 to Awareness from behind.
Sword (STR+2)
Blaster pistol (2/5/7) and/or carbine (3/6/9) both have stun settings
Communicator

These are not elite troops but the Baron doesn't need such. Knocking one out and taking his uniform is a standard gambit for adventures like this but all the troops are from a half-dozen clone batches and will notice strange faces (though the large hat may help).

If they can't manage to escape on their own then perhaps Bunji rescues them.

3. Running a bluff.
This is a variation on option 2 but instead of saying "arrest us" the party tries to run a con; perhaps they're from Galactic Heritage here to inspect the castle? Or a survey group from the Lonely Galaxy Guidebook? Anyone purporting to be from any type of human rights organisation is likely to get short shrift; if they're allowed in then a terrible accident and/or a stay in the dungeon is likely.
For this option a plausible story, good Convince ratings and some props (suitable clothes perhaps, faked documents, Psychic Paper or a faked Galactapedia entry will be helpful).
They could try the 'distressed spacefarer' option and seek hospitality; the Baron will be suspicious (no ships have been detected but they'll probably get an invite to dinner before being locked up.




End of Part Three.






1. Fear Factor 4against the locals, who've seen him in action many times.

[Catsmate]

Part Four.

When we left our heroes they were (depending on how things panned out) infiltrating the Baron's castle or else in durance vile. They have, one hope for the progression of the scenario, decided to end the reign of the Mad Baron, whether this is down to a sense of justice, trying to free the imprisoned children or recover their transport.

Act 6.


Scene 1.
In most who stories the characters are probably separated and operating independently (no-one seems to think of acquiring comms). The prisoners need to free themselves, either by overpowering or outsmarting their guards, using an overlooked gadget, or if really necessary by the deux-ex-machina intervention of Benji.


Scene 2.
Those who infiltrated the castle and any escaped prisoners, plus Benji, meet and plan. They explore the castle and find it's secrets, examine the uterine replicators by which controlled procreation occurs, learn the secret of the nanovirus by which the Baron prevents (most) natural reproduction and find the cloning chamber which is used to force-grow the guards. A visit to the armoury is also strongly suggested, if only to prevent the guards arming themselves, and perhaps discovering a weakness in the weapons.

• A lair must have a single central armoury, it seems to be traditional.
  

That weakness might be a remote disable circuit that a previous Baron developed to prevent the use of stolen weapons; some careful jiggery-pokery should yield a way to disable the guards' energy weapons, relegating them to swords.

• Given that this is an xmas type scenario I suggest watching The Prisoner of Zenda or similar for inspiration.
  

Scene 3.
The climactic battle scene!! Beloved of every film from Spartacus to You Only Live Twice. Hordes of extras, armed with blunt instruments (flaming torches optional) lay into the outnumbered guards; with assistance from the PCs and maybe some specials (fireworks, sleep gas) plus a few automata built by the Artificer.
In Who tradition there should be minimal fatalities (except the Catcher) and the bad guys should be exiled on a small starship.
Everyone lives happily ever after.
Until the inevitable problems of an inexperienced revolutionary government manifest themselves.



Comments? Ideas? Suggestions?

[grinch]

The funny thing is, looking at the sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang published in recent years they apparently turn the car into basically a TARDIS!

[Catsmate]

Aug 14, 2022 10:18:52 GMT grinch said:

The funny thing is, looking at the sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang published in recent years they apparently turn the car into basically a TARDIS!

Fascinating. I was aware of sequels but never looked at them. Very TARDIS-like as you say. 
There's a campaign in there.

[grinch]

Aug 14, 2022 10:50:16 GMT Catsmate said:

Aug 14, 2022 10:18:52 GMT grinch said:

The funny thing is, looking at the sequels to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang published in recent years they apparently turn the car into basically a TARDIS!

Fascinating. I was aware of sequels but never looked at them. Very TARDIS-like as you say. 
There's a campaign in there.

Perhaps in the alternate universe of the Amicus Earth (God, I really need to get back to that one of these days...) someone tried to create their own time machine using spare parts from Dr. Who’s TARDIS? And of course decided to use an Edwardian motor car for the basis of their machine?

[grinch]

Just finished reading the original novel and you were right Catsmate, it’s a very different beast from the film. More a Boys Own style adventure than your straight adventure piece.

Personally, I’m rather drawn to the idea that was presented that Chitty grew some of its own internal mechanics. Could it have something to do with the metal it was constructed from? Or did Caractacus Potts accidentally add some alien element to the mix when restoring her?

[Catsmate]

Jun 26, 2023 19:06:50 GMT grinch said:

Just finished reading the original novel and you were right Catsmate, it’s a very different beast from the film. More a Boys Own style adventure than your straight adventure piece.

Personally, I’m rather drawn to the idea that was presented that Chitty grew some of its own internal mechanics. Could it have something to do with the metal it was constructed from? Or did Caractacus Potts accidentally add some alien element to the mix when restoring her?

Well in the book the car was a unique Paragon Panther (shades of the Tucker Talisman from King's books?) so maybe it had been constructed using something odd, a chunk of shape-shifting alien metal salvaged from a starship crash perhaps? Something that retains a rudimentary intelligence and reacts to the needs of the car's owner.

• Actually, now I'm reminded of the Gay Deceiver from Heinlein's The Number of the Beast.  Which couldn't change shape but did acquire a pair of extra-dimensional annexes and an always-full food hamper.....
  

I agree that the plot of Fleming's book was rather juvenile, very much in the vein of Sapper and similar.