James Bond always went to Q to keep one step ahead of the enemy with the latest smart gadgets, and now the real-life British spies of MI5 are to get their own technology mastermind.
Britain’s domestic intelligence agency, commonly called MI5, is seeking a chief scientific adviser “to lead and co-ordinate the scientific work of the Security Service so that the service continues to be supported by excellent science and technology advice,” its Web site said.
Applicants must have “world-class scientific expertise and credibility in relevant scientific and technology disciplines,” their advertisement read.
PHOTO: REUTERS
“I think it’s unlikely that the person will be required to develop a weapons system for the latest Aston Martin,” Professor John Beddington, the British government’s chief scientific adviser, told the BBC.
However, the successful candidate will help protect Britain against threats to national security by keeping on top of the latest moves in science and technology.
“It will involve a sort of future-gazing to see where technology will be taking us in a year or so,” Beddington said.
“There is a really important role in providing scientific and technological advice on addressing problems agents in the field will face.”
MI5’s chief science adviser would help “to frustrate terrorism, to prevent espionage hurting the UK, protect our critical national infrastructure and to frustrate the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
“There’s an enormous amount of scientific content in this role.”
Q’s hi-tech know-how saw fictional spy Bond out of several scrapes thanks to his wealth of new-fangled gadgets.
They included a wrist-mounted dart gun, a leg plaster cast that fires missiles and numerous wacky modifications to 007’s Aston Martin cars.(AFP)
詹姆士．龐德總是以Q先生最新的精巧裝備制敵機先，現在現實生活中的英國軍情五處情報員，也將有專屬的科技總教頭了。
英國國內情報處（俗稱軍情五處）正在招募一位首席科學顧問，該單位網站上說，這份工作「要負責領導及協調單位的科學任務，以便持續掌握傑出科技諮詢」。
廣告中說明，應徵者必須具備「世界級的科學專長及相關科技方面的信譽」。
英國政府首席科學顧問約翰．貝丁頓教授對英國廣播公司表示：「我想這份工作不至於要赴任者研發出最新奧斯頓馬丁跑車的武器系統。」
然而，赴任者將藉由掌握全球科技的最新技術，協助英國保衛國家安全。
貝丁頓說：「這份工作的內容將包含預測未來一年左右的科技發展趨勢。」
「這個角色所提供的科技諮詢非常重要，可以讓出任務的情報員了解他們可能面臨的狀況。」
軍情五處的首席科學顧問將協助「打擊恐怖主義、防止間諜活動危害英國安全、保護國內重要公共建設，以及阻止大規模毀滅性武器擴散」。
「這個角色要使用非常大量的科學技術。」
在ＯＯ七電影中，多虧了Q的大量新奇配備，主角龐德多次靠著他的高科技技術從險境中脫困。
其中包括腕帶式鏢槍、可發射導彈的腿部石膏，還有ＯＯ七的御用跑車（奧斯頓馬丁）上許多稀奇古怪的改裝配備。
（法新社╱翻譯：袁星塵）
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