The Twilight Zone 2x29

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2. You're traveling through another dimension

3. a dimension not only of sight and sound, but of mind

4. a journey into a wondrous land

5. whose boundaries are that of imagination.

6. That's the signpost up ahead.

7. Your next stop, the twilight zone.

8. Wordsworth. Romney. Obsolescence.

9. He's waiting, chancellor.

10. Order him in.

11. Wordsworth.

12. Romney.

13. Obsolescence.

14. You walk into this room at your own risk

15. because it leads to the future,

16. not a future that will be, but one that might be.

17. This is not a new world.

18. It is simply an extension of what began in the old one.

19. It has patterned itself after every dictator

20. who has ever planted the ripping imprint of a boot

21. on the pages of history since the beginning of time.

22. It has refinements, technological advances

23. and a more sophisticated approach

24. to the destruction of human freedom,

25. but like every one of the superstates that preceded it,

26. it has one iron rule:

27. Logic is an enemy, and truth is a menace.

28. This is mr. Romney wordsworth in his last 48 hours on earth.

29. He's a citizen of the state

30. but will soon have to be eliminated

31. because he's built out of flesh and because he has a mind.

32. Mr. Romney wordsworth, who will draw his last breaths

33. in the twilight zone.

34. Wordsworth, romney-

35. field investigation obsolescence.

36. Do you know why you're here, mr. Wordsworth?

37. Yes, sir.

38. I'd ask you to speak up a little, if you will.

39. Yes, sir, I know why I'm here.

40. You've been under investigation, mr. Wordsworth,

41. for the mandatory period of one year and 11 months.

42. You're found to be obsolete.

43. The purpose of this hearing is to make a finding

44. in the matter and make a sentence accordingly.

45. Do you understand that?

46. I understand that.

47. Your occupation, mr. Wordsworth?

48. A librarian, sir.

49. A what?

50. A librarian, sir.

51. Has this man had counsel? Yes, sir, he has.

52. Are you sure he knows his rights? He's been given

53. orientation, sir.

54. Mr. Wordsworth, I'm told that you've had coun...

55. stand back

56. in the light, mr. Wordsworth!

57. I'm told you've had counsel

58. and been given orientation, mr. Wordsworth,

59. but I'm still not sure in my own mind

60. that you understand the purpose of this hearing.

61. The field investigators in your sector

62. have classified you as obsolete.

63. This finding carries with it serious implications.

64. Do you understand that, mr. Wordsworth?

65. Now I'll ask you again your occupation.

66. Iama librarian, sir.

67. Thatismy occupation. That is my profession.

68. If you people choose to call that "obsolete"...

69. request clarification of the term...

70. yes, the term, mr. Wordsworth, "you people"-

71. you make reference to the state?

72. I make reference to the state.

73. And you persist in declaring

74. your occupation as being a librarian.

75. That is correct, sir.

76. A librarian-

77. having to do...

78. with books.

79. Yes, sir, books.

80. But since there are no more books, mr. Wordsworth,

81. there are no more libraries.

82. And, of course, it follows that there is very little call

83. for the services of a librarian.

84. Case in point:

85. A minister.

86. A minister would tell us

87. that his function

88. is that of preaching the word of god.

89. And, of course, it follows

90. that since the state has proven

91. that there is no god, that would make

92. the function of a minister

93. somewhat academic, as well.

94. There is a god.

95. You are in error, mr. Wordsworth.

96. There is no god!

97. The state

98. has proven that there is no god!

99. You cannot erase god with an edict!

100. You are obsolete, mr. Wordsworth.

101. A lie. No man is obsolete.

102. You have no function, mr. Wordsworth.

103. You're an anachronism, like a ghost from another time.

104. I am nothing more than a reminder to you

105. that you cannot destroy truth by burning pages.

106. You're a bug, mr. Wordsworth, a crawling insect;

107. an ugly, misformed little creature

108. who has no purpose here,

109. no meaning.

110. I am a human being.

111. You're a librarian, mr. Wordsworth.

112. You're a dealer in books

113. and two-cent fines and pamphlets and closed stacks

114. and the musty insides of a language factory

115. that spews out meaningless words

116. on an assembly line-

117. words, mr. Wordsworth,

118. that have no substance and no dimension.

119. Like air, like the wind,

120. like a vacuum that you make believe has an existence

121. by scribbling index numbers on little cards.

122. I don't care.

123. I tell you I don't care.

124. I'm a human being. I exist!

125. And if I speak one thought aloud,

126. that thought lives,

127. even after I'm shoveled into my grave!

128. Delusions, mr. Wordsworth,

129. delusions that you inject into your veins with printer's ink;

130. the narcotics that you call literature-

131. the bible, poetry, essays- all kind, all of it an opiate

132. to make you think you have a strength

133. when you have no strength at all.

134. You have nothing but spindly limbs and a dream

135. and the state has no use for your kind!

136. You waste our time, mr. Wordsworth,

137. and you're not worth the waste.

138. Instruct him.

139. Romney wordsworth, step back

140. to await the finding of this board.

141. Yes, sir.

142. How do you find, ladies and gentlemen?

143. Obsolete.

144. I concur.

145. Romney wordsworth, step forward.

146. The board finds you obsolete.

147. Your rights are as follows, mr.

148. You are to be liquidated within a period of 48 hours,

149. but you have an option as to method and precise time.

150. There are several prescribed methods,

151. pills, gas, electrocution-

152. and it can be done immediately, or an hour from now

153. or any specific time

154. that you request.

155. I am a very rich man.

156. Louder.

157. I merely said that I was a very rich man.

158. I have such a luxury of choices

159. that I choose the following:

160. To be given an assassin

161. to whom I shall tell the method of my execution.

162. This is unheard-of.

163. Mr. Wordsworth, we don't understand

164. the nature of the request.

165. Simply that you are to assign me my assassin,

166. but only he and I will know the way that I'm to die.

167. That will be acceptable, mr. Wordsworth,

168. provided your liquidation is accomplished

169. within the 48-hour period.

170. Just one final request.

171. I should like to die with an audience.

172. Ah, mr. Wordsworth, that can be arranged, indeed.

173. It's not unusual that we televise executions.

174. It has an educative effect on the population.

175. I have no doubt.

176. Now, as to the time of the liquidation, mr. Wordsworth...

177. midnight, tomorrow.

178. And the place?

179. In my room.

180. Agreed, mr. Wordsworth.

181. We will choose your liquidator and send him over to you.

182. He will be duty bound, just as you prescribed,

183. not to divulge the method you've decided upon.

184. That will be all, mr. Wordsworth.

185. You may leave and return to your room.

186. An odd one, and with very bizarre requests.

187. Bizarre, yes, but to our advantage.

188. We'll show the people how this obsolete man,

189. this librarian, dies.

190. Come in, chancellor.

191. Thank you for coming.

192. Very irregular, mr. Wordsworth.

193. Do you know why I've come?

194. Do you?

195. Well, I invited you.

196. By all means, you invited me,

197. but why would I honor such an invitation?

198. A cryptic note from a condemned man

199. asking me to visit him

200. in the last hours of his life.

201. Hardly the norm, mr. Wordsworth,

202. hardly what I'm accustomed to...

203. and somewhat suspect, too.

204. How do I know I wasn't invited here

205. for that last pitiful gesture of vengeance

206. on the part of the condemned?

207. Vengeance?

208. Yes, I'm somewhat responsible

209. for the finding in your case.

210. Your demise in less than an hour

211. can be attributed at least in part to my decision.

212. I'll tell you why I came, mr. Wordsworth-

213. perhaps to prove something to you.

214. And that is?

215. To prove to you

216. that the state has no fears, none at all.

217. No, you will forgive me, chancellor.

218. That has all the elements of a joke.

219. I mean, you come to my room to prove that the state

220. isn't afraid of me?

221. Oh, what an incredible burden I must be,

222. to have to prove that the state isn't afraid

223. of an obsolete librarian like myself.

224. No, I'll tell you the reason you came.

225. I'll tell you the reason,

226. though you won't admit it to yourself.

227. What might that be?

228. I don't fit your formulae.

229. Somewhere along the line,

230. there's been a deviation from the norm.

231. Your state has everything categorized, indexed, tagged.

232. You are the strength.

233. People like me are the weakness.

234. You control and order and dictate,

235. and my kind merely follow and obey.

236. But something's gone wrong, hasn't it?

237. I don't fit, do I?

238. Oh, yes, you fit, mr. Wordsworth.

239. In a few moments, you'll be cringing and pleading

240. just like they all do.

241. Oh, yes, indeed, you fit.

242. You've got a worthless, miserable little life,

243. but you've got an instinct for survival,

244. and in a few minutes, when you feel life slipping away,

245. when you feel your survival is just a question of minutes,

246. we'll see then which is the stronger-

247. the state

248. or the librarian.

249. I take it you've had a talk

250. with whoever is assigned to your liquidation.

251. Yes, I have, indeed.

252. Midnight, isn't it?

253. Yes, in about 40 minutes.

254. See, they brought

255. this equipment here early this afternoon.

256. These two men put that up in less than 15 minutes.

257. It's remote control. Very efficient.

258. Well, we're being televised now.

259. It's not unusual that we televise executions.

260. Last year, in the mass executions,

261. we televised around the clock.

262. 1,300 people were put to death in less than six hours.

263. You never learn, do you?

264. History teaches you nothing.

265. On the contrary,

266. history teaches us a great deal.

267. We had predecessors who had the right idea.

268. Yes, hitler.

269. Hitler, of course.

270. Stalin. Stalin, too-

271. but their error was not one of excess.

272. It was simply not going far enough.

273. Too many undesirables were left around,

274. and undesirables eventually form a core of resistance.

275. Old people clutch at the past and won't accept the new.

276. The sick, the maimed, the deformed,

277. they fasten onto the healthy body

278. and damage it, so we eliminate them.

279. And people like yourself-

280. they can perform

281. no useful function for the state

282. so we put an end to them.

283. What a charming room you have, mr. Wordsworth.

284. Have you lived here long?

285. Over 20 years.

286. I built that furniture myself.

287. Yes, so I understand, mr. Wordsworth.

288. That, incidentally, has kept you alive,

289. that particular talent.

290. Carpentry, you see, is a skill,

291. and the state provides considerable leeway

292. for people who possess certain skills.

293. Unfortunately, you went as far as you could go,

294. which was insufficient.

295. So in a few moments, it will be the end

296. of a rather fruitless life

297. and mr. Romney wordsworth,

298. librarian, goes to his own nirvana.

299. That's what they call it in your books,

300. isn't it, mr. Wordsworth?

301. You aren't facing the camera, mr. Wordsworth.

302. You're cheating your audience.

303. They want to see how you die.

304. Please, mr. Wordsworth,

305. turn around, face the camera.

306. That's right.

307. And don't stifle your emotions.

308. If you feel like crying, go ahead and cry.

309. Or if you want to plead, plead, by all means.

310. Some high state official might take pity on you.

311. Yes, that would please you, would it?

312. A little abject hand-wringing,

313. chest pounding, falling down on my hands and knees.

314. Suit yourself, mr. Wordsworth.

315. Unfortunately, I don't have time

316. to be entertained by them when they do come.

317. I have another appointment this evening.

318. Chancellor...

319. make it brief, mr. Wordsworth.

320. You have plenty of time. You're not going anywhere.

321. How's that?

322. I'm afraid I haven't been very fair with you.

323. I invited you here for a very special reason.

324. Would you like to know the method that I've chosen

325. for my liquidation?

326. Well, in a very few moments,

327. here in this room, a bomb is going off.

328. Very thoughtful, mr.

329. Relatively quick and painless death.

330. Yes, isn't it?

331. However, knowing that you're going to be

332. blown to smithereens

333. in a few moments

334. isn't the happiest thought in the world, is it? Is it?

335. That depends on the individual, mr. Wordsworth.

336. Indeed it does.

337. What kind of idiocy is this, mr. Wordsworth?

338. You've locked the door.

339. Oh, yes, yes, I've locked the door.

340. Now, question:

341. How does a man react to the knowledge

342. that he's going to be blown to bits

343. within a half an hour?

344. That depends on the individual.

345. So for myself...

346. I'm going to sit down

347. and read my bible.

348. It's been hidden here for over 20 years.

349. It's a crime punishable by death,

350. so it's the only possession that I have

351. that has any value at all to me.

352. So I'm going to just sit down and read it

353. until the moment of my death.

354. How will you spend

355. your last moments, chancellor?

356. This is insane, wordsworth. Let me out of here.

357. Let me out of here, someone!

358. Guards, someone, anyone!

359. You're cheating the audience.

360. You're not facing the cameras.

361. Guards, somebody down there!

362. There is no sense in wasting your breath.

363. There's nobody there.

364. That's one of the rules you made up yourself:

365. Isolate the persons to be liquidated.

366. That's what you said.

367. Oh, no, no, no, no.

368. I think that there's no one there,

369. so why don't you face the camera?

370. It's very important. You said so yourself.

371. I'm beginning to understand, wordsworth.

372. Shoe on the other foot- that's the idea?

373. It's one thing for you

374. to do a little cringing, pleading,

375. but what a choice opportunity

376. to show a member of the state doing likewise.

377. But you're insane if you think

378. they'll let me stay here.

379. "They"? I ask clarification of the term "they."

380. Ah, you mean the state!

381. Oh, I think they'll sit on their hands for awhile.

382. They wouldn't want to miss this scene.

383. Besides, the act of rescue

384. would be very demeaning to them;

385. to have to break in here and rescue

386. a high-ranking member of the state,

387. to snatch him out of the soup, so to speak.

388. No, I think they won't help you.

389. I misjudged you, wordsworth.

390. You underestimated me.

391. You wanted the whole country

392. to see the way that a librarian dies.

393. Well, let the country see

394. the way an official of the state dies, too.

395. Face the cameras, step into the light.

396. Let the whole country see

397. the strength of the state,

398. the resilience of the state,

399. the courage of the state.

400. Let the whole country see the way

401. a valiant man of steel faces his death.

402. You have a nirvana coming up, too.

403. Why don't you sit down,

404. we'll have a little chat.

405. Just you and me... and the great equalizer,

406. 'cause death is a great equalizer.

407. So here you have...

408. you have this strong, handsome, uniformed,

409. bemedaled symbol of giant authority,

410. and this insignificant librarian,

411. and suddenly, in the eyes of god,

412. there is precious little to distinguish us.

413. We shall see, wordsworth, we shall see.

414. "The lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

415. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.

416. "He leadeth me beside the still waters.

417. "He restoreth my soul.

418. "He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness

419. "for his namesake.

420. "Yea, though I walk through the valley

421. "of the shadow of death, I will fear

422. "no evil, for thou art with me.

423. "Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

424. "Thou preparest a table before me

425. "in the presence of mine enemies.

426. "Thou anointest my head with oil.

427. "My cup runneth over.

428. "Surely goodness and mercy

429. shall follow me all the days of my life."

430. "Defend me from them that rise up against me.

431. "Deliver me from the workers of inequity

432. "and save me from the bloody men.

433. "For, lo, they lie in wait for my soul.

434. "The mighty are gathered against me,

435. "not for my transgression,

436. "not for my sins, o god.

437. "They run and prepare themselves

438. "without my fault.

439. "Awake to help me, and behold.

440. Then, therefore, o lord, god of hosts..."

441. "the fool hath said in his heart:

442. "'There is no god.'

443. "The lord looked down from heaven

444. "upon the children of men

445. "to see if there were any that did understand

446. and seek god."

447. "Out of the depths have I called unto thee, o, lord.

448. "Lord, hear my voice.

449. "Let thine ears be attentive

450. to the voice of my supplications..."

451. please, please, let me out.

452. In the name of god, let me out!

453. Let me out! Let me out!

454. Yes, chancellor, in the name of god,

455. I will let you out.

456. Stand where you are.

457. No further.

458. You have been removed from office.

459. The field investigators have declared you obsolete.

460. Obsolete?

461. You have disgraced the state.

462. You have proven yourself a coward.

463. You have therefore no function.

464. You are obsolete!

465. But I'm not. I'm not obsolete.

466. You are obsolete.

467. Obsolete, obsolete.

468. You are obsolete.

469. Obsolete...

470. you're making a terrible mistake, a tragic mistake.

471. I'm not obsolete.

472. I've worked for the state.

473. I've helped the state.

474. I helped give the state strength.

475. How can you call me obsolete?

476. How can you?

477. Please, I'm not obsolete.

478. I...

479. please, I... please, I'm not obsolete.

480. L-I have a function, I have a purpose.

481. Please, I...

482. please.

483. I want to serve the state, please.

484. Please, no, I'm...

485. I'm not obsolete.

486. No, no, I... I... please, please.

487. I'm not obsolete, no!

488. I want to serve the state.

489. Please, please!

490. No!

491. I want to serve the state.

492. Please, I'm... I'm not obsolete.

493. The chancellor- the late chancellor-

494. was only partly correct.

495. He was obsolete,

496. but so is the state, the entity he worshipped.

497. Any state, any entity, any ideology that fails to recognize

498. the worth, the dignity, the rights of man-

499. that state is obsolete.

500. A case to be filed under "m" for mankind

501. in the twilight zone.

502. Rod serling, creator of the twilight zone,

503. will tell you about next week's story

504. after this word from our alternate sponsor.

505. And now, mr. Serling.

506. I'm about to show you a picture of something

507. that isn't what it looks like.

508. Pleasant little town, it isn't this at all-

509. it's a nightmare.

510. It's a chilling, frightening journey

511. of one man into a mystifying unknown.

512. You're invited to join that man in a most unique experience.

513. Next week, earl holliman asks, and you'll ask with him,

514. "where is everybody?"

515. Here's an item we forgot-

516. a moment for the people who pay the tab.

517. It's often said that a picture is worth a thousand words,

518. case in point.

519. Before we meet again,

520. try oasis- you'll know what I mean.

521. Be sure and watchgunsmoke, starring james arness,

522. saturday nights over most of these same stations.