The SK79 Formula In Context

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The Music
The Films

Was The SK79 Formula Discovered Or Invented?

It sounds like an invention doesn't it? A "formula" sounds like something you would create

However, it is ambiguous. Einstein deduced (that is, "discovered") his famous formula E=MC2

Of course, it is possible that Professor Busny was trying to invent something and discovered something else by accident

Or he could've invented something and then discovered that this wasn't the first time that it had been invented. If the earlier invention had been associated with dark calamity, that might explain why he ran away.

What Is The SK79 Formula?

"The SK79 Formula". An open and closed case - or is it?

The story that the film would have us believe is:

• That Professor Busby discovers the formula for synthetic fuel and runs away to France to escape enemy spies who wish to steal the formula
• On the very precipice of failure, the formula is passed on to a bunch of kids from Jersey who return home after a day trip to St Malo
• On their return to home, they are going to hand the formula over to authoriies but are prevented from doing so by those pesky enemy agents who kidnap the girl
• However, thanks to the law abiding citizens of Jersey, they're brought to justice and the formula was saved.

Or was it?

You see, there's one awkward problem that isn't addressed by this story: the girl, Diane, still knows the formula. She still has a copy in her head. What's stopping enemy agents from kidnapping her later and obtaining their own copy? True, the Black Shadow and three of his team are captured and stopped but he can't be the only one looking for it. And did we capture the entire team? Why do the spies have three digit number codes if there aren't hundreds of them?

For the safety of the formula, Diane, really needs to be locked away in a secure facility.

But she wasn't - so why not?

Now there are two possibilities:

1. She was hypnotised and given a false formula to recall if she was ever to be captured. That way, she could act as bait to trap any further enemy agents
2. She was locked away and was replaced by a clone or a robot. This one's less likely because Diane knew exactly where to find her fiance Terry at the end of the movie. Although, having said that, it wouldn't take much surveillance for a crack team to have tracked him down and informed her. Replacement by a clone or a robot would've been a little much for 70s technology but a lookalike given emergency cosmetic surgery could've done it. There is no indication of the time period between the capture of the enemy agents and the release of Diane

Either way, the SK79 Formula isn't what it appears to be.

And that means that nothing in the movie is what it appears to be because the nature of the formula defines everything else - the shadowy British Department, Professor Busby, the trip to France, the enemy agents and the ease with which they were defeated.

So the question is "What is the SK79 Formula?"