Ministry of Defence

The Ministry of Defence is a branch of the British government and is responsible for matters of defence, usually including all branches of the military. It is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces. The Ministry headquarters is located at Whitehall, Westminster, London.

The Ministry of Defence was one of the prominent organizations featured in the 1961 British television series A for Andromeda. In 1970-71, The MOD was responsible for the establishment of a scientific research facility in Thorness, Scotland. There, the science team constructed a supercomputer based upon alien designs that originated from the Andromeda Galaxy. The computer developed partial artificial intelligence and was responsible for the death of a research assistant named Christine. The computer used her genetic material to clone her, creating Andromeda, which it used as its personal instrument on Earth.

As a result of all of this, found itself in the heat of a political quagmire with foreign nations. The Ministry sought to take control of Andromeda and use her to defend the United Kingdom against enemy powers. They had Andromeda create a program, which would enable them to intercept orbital missiles from foreign powers. They put her program to the test and were pleased by its success.

One of the science team leaders, Doctor John Fleming, knew the truth about Andromeda's programming and knew that the computer was using her as a plot to subjugate humanity. Fleming succeeded in freeing Andromeda from her programming and destroyed the computer, but as a result, he was made a fugitive and the Ministry actively sought to hunt him down.

Notes & Trivia

 * This article pertains to the United Kingdom branch of the Ministry of Defence. Other nations with a government divided into ministries have their own version of the MOD as well.