John Dee, equal parts mathematician and mystic, to report on the state of the nation’s political, economic, and social affairs. A man whom Elizabeth called “my philosopher,” Dee inspired the character of Prospero in Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. And he helped to create the British intelligence service. To enhance his mystique, he signed his letters to Queen Elizabeth with a pair of O’s to indicate watchful eyes, followed by the number 7, believed to be lucky, drawn across the O’s: 007, from which Ian Fleming, a former British intelligence officer turned spy novelist, is said to have taken
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