In message 001801c0f185$26b340c0$da8049d5@marian-de-haan, Marian de Haan maya@multiweb.nl writes
Jacqui asked:
So who was the 'best computer person' & what became of him/her?<
In Space Fall, Vila introduces Avon to Blake as the number two man in all the Federated worlds when it comes to computers. To the inevitable question who the number one is, Vila jokes: "Well, the man who caught him, of course."
Like most of Vila's statements, I don't think we should take this one too seriously. If Avon really was that kind of genius, it would have been more profitable for the Federation to *pay* him the 5 million Credits to retain his services.
Only if the Federation recognised that he was worth paying. The writers' notes for the third series suggest that he was an unrecognised genius (not unknown in the Federation, to judge by Coser).
As to the original concept of Avon, from the rehearsal script for Space Fall, at Avon's first line:
AVON: Simple enough. All authorised personnel have their palm prints filed on the computer. The blue sensor plate reads the print. If they conform, the computer opens the door.
(BLAKE LOOKS AT AVON.
HE IS IN HIS MID THIRTIES. INTELLECT- UALLY SUPERIOR, AND KNOWS IT. HE IS A GENIUS WITH COMPUTERS AND ELECTRONICS)
BLAKE: Neat.
AVON: Most computer-based functions are.
VILA: Blake Kerr Avon. When it comes to computers, he's the number two man in all the federated worlds.
BLAKE: Who's number one?
VILA: The guy who caught him.
(AVON GIVES VILA A WITHERING STARE. VILA IS IN NO WAY PUT DOWN)
You've got nothing to be ashamed of. (TO BLAKE) He came close to stealing five million credits out of the Federation banking system.