Fictional World Idea

[stickmaker]

Folks;

For some reason the phrase Thunderbird Zero popped into my head last night. Then I got to thinking about what that would have been, in the canon of the Sixties series, or the Frakes movie or even the revival series. 

My idea was that it was a prototype, a proof-of-concept vehicle, used to test some basic technology all the later vehicles shared, but which was not intended for rescue work and may not even have been given a Thunderbirds designation by Tracy or Hackenbacker. Perhaps it was an aerospace craft which set multiple civilian speed and altitude records and won a bunch of races? (Maybe Tracy got so much money through business sponsorships or bets? :-) For years it's been sitting in storage, neglected, until it is revived by a freak lightning bolt and seeks revenge... (No! No! No! This is not K.A.R.R. from Knight Rider!) 

*AHEM!* 

Actually, it could be found by Alan Tracy (who seems to enjoy refurbishing old aircraft) and put back into operating order as a subplot. Eventually, something he and Brains learn while getting the plane (never officially named, though Brains says "I guess you could call it _Thunderbird Zero_, although at the time the whole International Rescue project was barely started and we hadn't even picked a name for the vehicles") working again later helps them make an emergency repair to one of the actual Thunderbirds. 

So, ideas? (Not restricted to fans of the show.)

The basic idea of the show still makes sense. A VTOL sortie vehicle which can be on scene anywhere on Earth in a very short time; a not-quite-as-fast modular cargo vehicle; etc.

Comments

[kengr]

First thing that popped into my head was a vehicle from Jules Verne's books. Either Robur the Conqueror or Master of the World

It was a combo helicopter (dozens of retractable rotors), high speed land vehicle, boat, and possibly submarine as well. Been a *log* time since I read those.

But I could see Jeff Tracy getting into a friendly argument about whether anything like that was possible and a bet ensuing.

And then he gets into it for the challenge to his skills.

He wins the bet and starts working on a more practical version (Thunderbird Zero). After that, he decides it makes more sense to split off some of the functions to seperate vehicles.