[Eerie music]
(Narrator) You unlock this door with the k e y of ima Gina t/on.
Beyond it is another dimension...
A dimension of sound,
a dimension of sight,
a dimension of mind.
You're moving into a land of both shadowand substance,
of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
"The undersigned,
"having accepted the following propositions:
"A, that prior to the inception of language,
"man communicated by telepathic means;
"and b, that this ability not only still exists
"but can be redeveloped to its former effectiveness;
"do hereby agree to the following precepts.
"One, tha t we shall henceforth dedica te
"our professional and private lives
"to the study of mental telepa thy
"and what? tever extrasensory functions
"ma y be supplemental to it.
"Two, tha t the findings of the studyshall be applied
"not onl y to oursel ves, but to all our children.
"Three, tha t ea ch fam/I y unit
"shall res/de in a loca t/on
"Cal cula Ted to prevent
"the interference of society.
"Four, tha t monthl y correspondence
"shall be exchanged
"until such time as they will establish
"a joint colony
"in which communication of every sort
shall be exclusively mental."
There are sure to be other details, of course,
but for now, this should suffice to get us started.
Comments?
More than sufficient, ithink.
Most specific.
Karl?
It is what we agreed upon.
That sounds very much like disapproval.
No, no, no. Not at all.
I will be pleased to sign.
You are certain now?
This should not be entered into
unless with absolute assurance.
He is assured, holger.
His apparent uncertainty is only...
A sympathetic reflection of my own.
You are still uncertain?
Not in the general concept, holger.
I agree with it, believe in it.
It is yet that iwonder,
do we have the right to impose
this study on our children,
even those unborn?
You speak as if we plan to harm our children.
Isn't it rather that we hope
to bestow upon them a gift beyond price?
Of course that is our hope, but...
We offer them no choice in the matter.
Is that just?
I too am a mother, Maria,
devoted to the welfare of my child,
yet I am convinced it is just.
It is more than just.
It's inevitable.
Destiny demands it.
Did you and holger decide
definitely not to stay in Europe?
Yes.
There's a house in Pennsylvania
which was left to holger by an uncle.
We plan to live in it.
Oh, excellent.
What town is this?
German corners.
(Narrator) Wha t you 're witness/n6 is the curtain-raise?
To a most extra ordinar y pla y:
To w/t the signing of a pact, the commencement of a project.
The play itself will be performed
almost entirely offstage.
The final scenes are to be enacted a decade hence
and with a different cast.
The main character of these final scenes is ilse,
the daughter of professor and Mrs. Nielsen, age two.
At the moment, she lies sleeping in her crib,
unaware of the singular drama in which she is to be involved.
Ten years from this moment, ilse Nielsen is to know
the desolating terror of living simultaneously
in the world and in the twilight zone.
[Phone rings]
[Continues ringing]
[Phone rings]
Yeah?
(Tom) Sheriff Wheeler?
This is Tom Poul ter.
The Nielsen house is burning.
What?
There's a fire a t the Nielsen house.
Big fire... hurry.
(Sheriff) R/gh t.
Wha... what is it?
Fire at the Nielsen house.
Did it just start?
I hope so. If it didn't...
Max, it's Harry.
There's a fire out at the Nielsen house.
Call the vol unteers.
Get the truck out there.
I'll be there in 70 minutes.
Got it?
I told them when they first came here
they shouldn't live so far out of town,
but they wanted their privacy.
That girl...
That lovely girl...
[Sirens blaring]
[Bell clangs]
We'll never put that out.
Never mind the house. Keep the woods from catching.
Come on, let's check out back.
They're done for.
Poor kid.
(Pou/z'er) Harry, over here, quick!
Do you think she's...
Is she burned?
(Wheeler) She's alive.
Are you all right?
She's in shock, Harry.
Get a blanket on her.
Bad off.
Can't talk, can't cry, can't do nothing.
She's not burned, though.
How could she get out of that house without being burned?
I don't know.
Is she hurt?
Not physically.
I think she's in shock.
We'd better get her to bed.
We'll have to use Sally's...
The other bedroom, Cora.
All right.
Cora.
Oh, I'm sorry.
She's beautiful.
She looks just like Sally.
Doesn't she?
You want something to eat?
No, I haven't got time.
Thought I'd take some coffee to the boys.
Are her parents...?
No way of kno wing.
Can't get close to the house yet.
It's burning too hard.
Well, how...?
Tom poulter found her outside.
Outside?
We don't know how she got there.
I expect her parents are dead, though.
It's an awful fire.
Poor child.
There's something wrong with her.
I know she's not deaf or dumb or retarded or anything.
Before she fell asleep, I tried to get her to talk.
She didn't say a word. Not a word.
Even in shock,
the powers of speech aren't completel y gone.
It's as though she doesn't know how to talk.
Be careful.
Oh!
(Ilse, mental/ y) M 0 ther?
Mother?
Mother!
Where are you, mother?
Are you near me, father?
Mother!
Fa ther!
Where are you?
(Ilse, mental/ y) N 0... n 0!
They're dead!
[Loud thud]
Ilse!
Ilse, what is it?
[Gasps]
I'm not going to hurt you, ilse.
What's the matter, darling?
(I/se, mentally) The y're dead.
They're dead!
They're dead! They're dead!
And there's no way of getting in touch with her relatives?
Everything burned.
Tom poulter said the nielsens get
three letters from Europe the end of each month.
Maybe they're from relatives.
We can wait till the next batch arrives
and write to the three addresses.
What'll we do with the girl until then?
Well, we'll have to keep her here.
Only be for a week or so, Cora.
Unless the girl can tell us something.
Nope.
You don't think she can talk, either?
I tried everything I could to get her to, but...
That explains it.
What?
The times miss frank and I tried
to talk the nielsens into putting the girl in school,
the answer was always no.
M... maybe there's something physically wrong with her.
Well, we'll have doc steiger check her over.
I don't think he'll find anything.
I just can't understand it.
They were... educated people.
They didn't even teach their own daughter how to talk.
They were strange people, too, Cora.
They hardly ever spoke themselves.
Might not be a bad idea to put the girl in school
while we're waiting for those letters...
Teach her how to talk, anyway.
Well, not right away.
Why not? She has to start sooner or later, doesn't she?
Harry, she just lost her parents.
I didn't mean tomorrow or the next da y.
[Deep sigh]
You know, it's a crime,
a girl that age not being educated,
not even knowing how to talk.
Her father a professor, too...
Keeping his own child in ignorance.
Well, something's got to be done.
Somebody's got to undo
what her parents did to her.
[Garbled voice]
I suppose I shouldn't surprised...
Their decision to live so far out of town.
[Garbled voices]
Why wouldn't they teach her how to talk?
[Garbled voice]
And there's no reason why she can't talk.
That's the part that I don't understand.
[Garbled voice]
He says he just can't understand it.
There's nothing wrong with her.
He... he checked everything.
[Garbled voices]
[Garbled voices stop]
[Sighs]
What is it, ilse?
You can tell us, darling.
Nobody's going to be angry with you.
(Cora, mentally) Don't be afra/d of us, ilse.
Don't be afra/d of us.
[Garbled voice]
Cora, leave her alone!
Well, I can't just ignore her.
She's been here over a week now.
What's the use?
There's just no way of getting through to her.
[Door closes]
Well, I have to keep on trying.
Ilse.
Didn't they ever talk to you?
I wish I could make you understand.
[Knocking]
She was swimming in the lake...
[Screaming]
It's... it's almost as if you understand.
Bye, hon.
Bye-bye. See you at lunch.
[Phone rings]
Hello?
Yes, he is.
Harry.
Yeah?
Yea h, Tom.
All right, I'll be right over.
The letters from Europe are in.
I'll see you in a little while.
(I/se) No w the y'll come and get me.
Take me to the other children who are the way/ am.
Did you get them?
What?
The letters.
Tom Poul ter couldn't let me ha ve them.
It's against the law. He's got to send them back.
All he could do was let me copy off the return addresses.
I'm going to write to them now.
It's all right.
You run along now.
I suppose you have to write them.
What do you mean?
Thanks.
Nothing.
Wha... what are you saying to them?
Oh, about the fire, the nielsens dying,
asking them if they're related to the girl
or know where any of her relatives are.
Well...
What if her relatives aren't any better for her
than her parents were?
What are you talking about?
It's my duty to find her relatives.
Who they are or what they are is none of my business.
The welfare of a child is everybody's business!
We are not in a position to decide for her.
Oh, no, of course not.
We're in a position just to send her away,
just get rid of her.
Then maybe she won't ever talk.
Maybe she'll go through life
just being afraid of shadows!
Cora... I understand.
Sall y gone and another child in the house...
But she's not our child, Cora.
We have no rights where she's concerned.
There's something wrong with her.
Our job is to make every effort to try...
Is that why you want to get rid of her?
[Clears throat]
I don't have to answer that, do I, Cora?
(I/se, menz'a/I y) No w the y'll come and get me.
[Engine starts]
Ilse!
[Car horn honks]
[Tires screeoh]
[Car horns honking]
[Z'ires screeoh]
(I/se) The y'll never f/nd me no w.
Never! Never!
Oh, please, help me!
I'm here, ilse Nielsen!
Help me, pl ea se!
[Crowd murmuring]
[Softly] Leave her alone.
Leave her alone.
[Loudly] Leave her alone!
[Sobbing]
(Male presenter) Twilight zone w/ll cont/nue after sta t/on /dent/f/ca t/on.
[Doorbell buzzes]
Now, who could that be?
Probably miss frank.
Well, aren't you gonna let her in?
Yes, Cora, I asked her to come.
[Doorbell buzzes]
Hello, miss frank.
Mrs. Wheeler.
Won't you come in?
Thank you.
(Harry) Afternoon, miss frank.
Glad you could come.
I thought it was my duty.
(I/se) Don't put me in school, please.
Won't you sit down?
Cora!
As I told you a few days ago, miss frank,
I've written to these people in Europe
four or five weeks ago.
We just haven't had any answer.
We don't know what we're going to do with the girl.
While we're deciding,
I feel she ought to start getting an education.
She most certainly should.
It was positively criminal of her parents
not to have started her education years ago.
The smugness of them.
The insufferable disdain.
"We do not wish our daughter to go to your school."
Just like that.
In many ways,
the fire was a blessing of her life.
What?
I'm not referring
just to her lack of education, Mrs. Wheeler.
But to call such a hideous thing
a blessing!
I'm sure I didn't mean it that way, Mrs. Wheeler.
The first thing she must learn
to do, of course, is talk.
If I may see her now?
I'll get her.
She's a very shy little girl, miss frank.
She'll... need understanding.
She shall receive it, Mrs. Wheeler.
Come here, ilse.
Well,
I think we're going to get along just fine,
you and I.
(I/se) Don't let her touch me.
Please.
No, not her.
It'll be fun, darling.
Don't be afraid.
Come on.
(Miss frank) Good morning, Mrs. Wheeler.
We were just about to start.
Good morning, miss frank.
I do hope everything will be all right.
Ilse's...
Oh, darling, don't be afraid.
Now, you just leave her here, Mrs. Wheeler.
She'll feel at home in no time.
Well, I was wondering if I just couldn't stay
for a little while.
As long as you're here, she'll be upset.
She can't begin to adjust until she's alone with us.
Believe me, it's the only way.
All right.
Goodbye, dear.
I'll pick you up after school.
Don't be afraid.
She's going to be just fine, Mrs. Wheeler.
We'll take good care of her.
[Breathes in sharply]
Right up front, now, ilse.
Class...
This is ilse Nielsen.
We're going to have to be
very patient with her,
because her parents never taught her
how to speak.
She doesn't understand one word of English.
But we're going to help her learn, aren't we?
(Children) Yes.
We are going to work with her
until she's exactly like everybody else.
Aren't we, class?
Yes, miss frank.
Now, ilse,
can you say your name, ilse?
Try to say it.
Your name, child.
Ilse.
Try to say it, child.
Your name.
You'll learn.
(Boy) "This /3 a boa r.
[Slowly] A... a boat sails on the ocean."
Ocean.
"The men who men...
"Who live... and work on the boat
are called s-sa/I ors."
(I/se) He's trying to tell about the boa t,
but the boat isn't words.
It isn't words.
Why don't they learn the wayfa ther taught me?
[Sound of surf]
You must pay attention, ilse.
(Miss Franks, mentally) If you do not pa ya ttent/on, you will never learn.
[Garbled voice]
I said, "get up, ilse."
Now, we'll try again.
Say your name... ilse.
Uoudefl your name... ilse.
Ilse Nielsen.
Do you understand?
I will help you to understand.
I will say your name for you.
[Garbled] Ilse, ilse.
Class, tell ilse her name.
On the count of three.
One, two, three.
(Children) Ilse.
[Reverberating] Ilse, ilse, ilse...
[Bell rings loudly]
Don't push, children.
Be careful, be careful.
I want you to know
you're not fooling me for one moment.
I know exactly what you are.
I know, because my father tried to force me
into the same thing when I was your age,
and after many years of concentrated effort,
I overcame that sickness
which my father had forced on me
as I am going to help you overcome it, ilse.
It's true, isn't it?
They've been training you to be a medium,
trying to distort your innocent mind
to communicate with the dead.
You've been trained to bea med/um, ha ven't you?
Ha ven't you?
(I/se) No, /t /sn't true!
Tha t's not what? t they were training me for.
You understand me.
You know what I think.
Don't you see, ilse?
You've proven my point.
You've proven it to me.
You are a med/um.
No, I'm not. You're wrong.
I'm nota med/um.
[Footsteps]
I was wondering...
Mrs. Wheeler...
Oh, ilse, was it so bad?
No, she's coming along nicel y.
Oh, she was a little timid at first,
but she's learning.
She's most definitely learning.
I'm so glad.
We'll see her tomorrow morning, then.
Yes.
Goodbye, miss frank.
Come along, dear.
The next da yand the next da y and the next da y.
[Horn honking]
[Foreign accent] Please, sir.
Where could we find authority?
Authority?
[Chuckles]
Yes, uh... how do you say it?
The constable, the...
Sheriff.
Oh, yes, yes. The sheriff.
Turn around.
Bitte?
Turn around.
It's that building.
Danke.
Uh... thank you.
Constable.
[Chuckles]
I feel so guilty, Karl.
What else could we do?
We simply could not get away any sooner.
We have our own responsibility
to the project.
I know, but almost three months
since we last heard from holger and Fanny.
If they only hadn't chosen
such a far-removed location for their work.
They are Americans, Karl.
We could not have expected them to reside in Europe.
Ja, ja.
Do you still think that...
Something bad has happened to them?
Why else would they have failed to write?
I hope you are wrong.
That lovely child.
And such a talent.
Their progress with her has been phenomenal.
It is almost as if...
As if she was born telepathic.
I think that of all the children,
she had the most potential.
Yuck.
[Phone rings]
Hello?
(Harry, over phone) It's me, Cora.
Yes, dear?
[Laughs]
Well, what is it, Harry?
[Laughs]
Harry.
The ones from Europe are here, Cora.
Did you hear me?
[Weakly] Yeah.
I'm going to ha ve to bring them over to the house.
We'll be over ina little while.
[Phone clicks]
[Vehicle approaching]
If we'd only heard from you...
But not a word.
Under the circumstances, you can understand why we felt free
to start adoption proceedings.
We understand completely, sheriff.
However, as I've said, we received no letters.
Just don't understand it.
Well...
[Menta/I y] H ol ger and fa nn y DEA d.
I still can't bel/eve it.
Ho w horrible.
Even more horrible, the thought of ilse exposed
to people who do not understand.
Cora, this is professor Werner, Mrs. Werner.
My wife.
(Both) Mrs. Wheeler.
H... how do you do?
W... won't you come in?
(Wife) Than k you.
(Harry) They say they never received
those letters I wrote to them.
(Cora) Oh?
That's odd.
Won't you sit down?
Thank you.
(Man) She burned those letters, mar/a.
(Wife) Yes, / kno w.
How terr/bl y she suffers.
[Trembling] Frau Werner, you came a long way.
Yes, we did.
Are we going to tell them anything about ilse?
Not unless we have to.
May we see ilse?
Well, I'm going to pick her up
at school in a little while.
School?
[Mentally] They should never ha ve sent her to school.
(Miss Franks) Ilse?
[Harshly] Ilse Nielsen.
Stand up.
Stand up, ilse.
Come forward.
Face the class.
Straighten up.
Shoulders back.
Now, what is your name?
Your name.
What is your name?
Class...
We will do again
what we've been doing for the past week.
On the count of three, think ilse's name.
Don't say it aloud.
Ready?
(Miss Franks) One, two, three.
(Children) /I se, /I se, /I se, /I se,
[distorted] /I se, /I se, /I se, /I se...
(Harry) Here they come.
Ilse...
This is professor and frau Werner.
Hello, young lady.
Ilse, you must concentra te.
Your father was in contact with us.
Karl [garbled ] Our ch/ldren once were be/ng trained just like you.
They're in Germany.
Ilse, you remember the pact, the elkenbergs...
Us, the kalders, your fa ther and your mother.
Karl [garbled] Dusseldorf, ten yea rs a go.
The pact, the project about mental telepa thy.
Germany, ten years ago.
The pact... telepa thy.
The werners are from Europe, ilse.
They were friends of your parents.
Ilse... think!
Ilse, where is your mind?
Karl [garbled] Your mind, /I se.
Concentra te!
My... name...
Is ilse.
My name...
Is ilse.
Myname...
Is ilse.
My name...
Is ilse.
My name is ilse!
Don't cry, baby.
Don't cry.
I'm here, I'm here.
My name is Ilsa.
Don't cry, darling, I'm with you.
You can't take her away from me!
Cora!
No!
I won't let them.
I love her.
And she loves me, and she needs me.
[Cora and use crying heart-wrenching! Y]
You ha ve no right.
You have no right.
You have no right!
I want to apologize again
for my wife and myself.
We thought...
We understand.
Naturally, you would think
that we have come
to take ilse back with us.
However, as I've said,
we have no legal power to demand her...
Being no relation.
Goodbye, sheriff.
Goodbye. Good luck.
And thanks again.
Your bus ought to be along
in five or ten minutes.
I hope we have made no mistake
letting them keep her,
even though the nielsens did give us
the legal right to...
I don't think so, Karl.
To take her to the other children now
it would be too terrible for her.
The facility is gone.
Even with work, it might not return.
I suppose.
But all those years holger and Fanny spent on her...
Wasted.
Wasted?
If they had not made her mind so receptive,
how could they have led her out from the burning house,
even though they themselves were trapped?
But the loss, the loss... it isn't right.
There is no right or wrong to it, Karl.
They all meant well.
No one wanted anything but to help her.
But to lose everything?
Hm. She has not lost everything.
She has gained something, Karl.
Gained?
We always knew that holger and Fanny
did not really care for her.
Ma r/a!
They were not unkind.
They gave her what affection
they had in them to give.
But the project always came first.
You know that, Karl.
For them, ilse was less a daughter
than she was an experiment in flesh.
She's going to be all right.
For now, she's loved,
and that is so much more important than telepathy.
Isn't it?
Yes, I/ebchen.
Much more important.
(Narrator) It has been noted In a book of proven w/sdom
tha t perfect love casteth out fear.
Well, it's unl/kely tha t this obser va t/on
was meant to include tha t specific fear
which follows the loss of extrasensory perception.
The principle remains, as al wa ys, beautifull y intact.
Case in point: Tha t of ilse Nielsen,
former res/dent of the twilight zone.
Mr. Richard Matheson lets his typewriter
pay us a return visit next time out on twilightzone
with a story called DEA th ship.
Now this one is for science fiction aficionados,
ghost story buffs,
and any and all who file away clues
with an eye toward outguessing the writer.
Next on twilight zone, messrs Jack klugman,
Ross mart/n and Fred be/r take an extended trip
through space ona DEA th ship.
Captain.
Something glittered down there.
What is it?
Something down there?
Mason thinks so.
There was something.
We stay together.
No one takes any risks.
That's an order, Mason.