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You unlock this door with the key of imagination.
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 shadow and substance,
of things and ideas.
You've just crossed over into the twilight zone.
Good evening, happy family members and stockholders
of the w.v. Whipple manufacturing corporation.
This year, as you've already perceived,
we are bringing you the story of your company's progress
via the motion picture screen.
This is our main operating plant in the midwest.
You will note the number of employees
attending the assembly line.
In this one plant, your company employs 34,827 men.
Added to 13 other major whipple plants
across the country,
we employ a total of close to 283,000 personnel.
And now, to the stunning and exciting news
which i believe you'll agree shows, once again,
that at whipple's, we only take forward steps.
Now, family members, and stockholders
of the whipple corporation,
thisis the x109b14
modified transistorized totally automatic
assembly machine which eliminates
61,000 jobs,
73 bulky, inefficient machines,
81,000 needless man hours per 11 working days
and $4 million in expenditures each year
for employee hospitalization, employee insurance,
employee welfare and employee profit participation.
Even as you stockholders are watching this film,
the first model of the x109b14 modified transistorized machine
is being placed into operations
here in our midwestern main plant.
Within six months, our entire production facilities
will be totally automated.
Ladies and gentlemen, from now on
whipple will operate from a brain center
with machines such as this one.
Ladies and gentlemen of the whipple family,
this ends our 1967 year-end report.
Well, hanley,
will that bring the stockholders
to their feet cheering?
Not that i need encouragement.
The movie speaks for itself.
It does, indeed.
You didn't like it, hanley?
I'm a chief engineer, mr. Whipple.
My duties consist of plant management.
I'm not a film critic.
Look, i didn't expect four stars, hanley.
But as plant manager, i wanted your point of view
on the film's content.
I thought you'd have some enthusiasm
for the changes we're planning.
Doesn't it give you the lay of the land?
Can't you answer that?
Oh, yes.
It gives me the lay of the land.
Tell me
do you really expect to automate in six months?
Four months is a better guess.
Lots of things are going
in the trash heap.
Time clocks, for instance.
There won't be anybody to punch in or out.
I'll donate them to a museum.
Something, hanley?
Yes, something.
Something like
a lot of men out of work!
That, unfortunately, is progress, hanley.
You're a solid man on assembly line planning.
But when it comes to progress
you're a foot-dragger.
Sweetheart, you and i are going to spend
a lot of time together.
Indeed, we are.
Indeed, indeed, indeed we are.
These are the players, with or without a scorecard:
In one corner, a machine;
in the other, one wallace v. Whipple, man.
And the game?
It happens to be the historical battle
between flesh and steel,
between the brain of man
and the product of man's brain.
We don't make book on this one, and predict no winner
but we can tell you that for this particular contest,
there is standing room only
in the twilight zone.
You know what your trouble is?
You're holding on tight to this 19th century.
I'm holding tight to some principles-
principles that have to do with firing.
The regret for the wholesale firings
of men who've worked here from 20 to 30 years.
Regret, indeed, it's come to regret?
I'll let you handle the regrets.
That'll be your responsibility.
Have a sign made for your desk.
"Mr. Walter hanley,
plant manager in charge of regrets."
Tell me, why are you so eager
to replace men with machines?
Did it ever occur to you
that you're trading efficiency for pride?
Pride?
Yes, pride!
Craftsmanship.
What a man feels when he makes something.
What does your machine feel?
Anything?
Anything at all?
What the devil can i do with pride?
Can it, bottle it, wrap it, produce it?
I'm not selling pride, i'm selling product.
Your father... what about my father?
He ran this plant for 40 years.
He had an eye for profit.
He was never inefficient, but...
but what?
He had something else on his mind.
What else did my father have on his mind?
Good will.
And the welfare of the people who worked for him.
Good will and the welfare of the people
that worked for him, indeed.
In 40 years, my father doubled the size of his plant
while his competitors quadrupled theirs.
His competitors, who were less concerned
with the good will and welfare
of the people that worked for them.
They paid a fair wage and got a fair day's work.
But, if they could find a machine to replace a man
they did it.
But they didn't have
plant managers like yourself
who went off into a crying jag
every time a pink slip
was attached to a time clock.
What's the name of the plant foreman?
Dickerson, dickerson, that's his name.
Get him up here for me, will you?
I'm going to indulge in
that heartfelt compassion you hunger for.
I'm going to give him and his staff four months' notice.
Now, hanley, is that compassionate or isn't it?
Now, go get him, please, get him up here
hold his hand, dry his eyes, pat him on the head
but get him up here.
So that's about the size of it, mr. Dickerson,
you may tell the entire day shift
that they'll be pink-slipped as of the first of july.
We're here to set it up, mr. Whipple.
Oh, fine, i've checked the machine over.
Just put it downstairs, but treat it gently.
Handle it with care.
Now, you realize that this somewhat wholesale discharge
has nothing to do with dissatisfaction
on your part or that of the men.
It's merely progress, mr. Dickerson.
Out with the old, in with the new- automation.
That'll be all.
Yes, mr. Whipple.
That will be all.
Did you ever notice, mr. Hanley,
ever notice how it looks like it had a face?
An ugly face.
A miserable, ugly face.
Whipple, he thinks it's a machine.
It's not a machine, it's an enemy.
It's an opponent.
I swear, we've got to hate a thing like this.
Getting awful late, dick.
Should have closed half an hour ago.
You know what these are?
Pair of hands?
Yeah, pair of hands.
You know what else they are?
They're obsolete, they're off the market.
They're like wooden wagons trying to roll down a freeway.
Flesh and bone and muscle and nerve
but that don't cut mustard anymore.
I want to tell you some...
i'm going to tell you something.
There isn't amachine made
that can beat a man.
Isn't one...
i'll prove it to you!
I'm going over there right now
and i'm going to prove it to you.
I'm going to take that new machine of whipple's
and i'm going to turn it
into nuts and bolts.
And if that slob with the key chain gets in my way
i'm going to strangle him with it.
Dickerson!
The watchman called.
He said you're drunk
and barged right past him.
And he's right, mr. Whipple.
Iamdrunk.
And i did barge right in.
I've worked here for 30 years!
And i've been foreman for 17 of them.
In my book, that gives me some rights, mr. Whipple.
Well, you've got the wrong book, dickerson.
You're drunk, disorderly
and trespassing on private property
and subject to arrest.
Tell me something, mr. Whipple.
When you're dead and buried, who will mourn for you?
Shall i tell you the difference, mr. Dickerson,
between you and it?
That machine costs two cents an hour for current.
It lasts indefinitely.
It gets no wrinkles, no arthritis,
no hardening of the arteries.
That one machine is a lathe operator, a press operator.
Two machines replace 114 men
that take no coffee breaks, no sick leaves,
no vacations with pay.
And that, in my book,
is worth considerably more than you are.
They should have stopped you a year ago!
Somebody ought to held you down
and put a bit in your head
and poured in some reminders
that men have to eat and work.
And you can't pack them in cosmoline
like surplus tanks!
Or put them out to pasture like old bulls!
I'm a man, mr. Whipple!
You hear me? I'm a man!
And that makes me better than that...
hunk of metal, you hear me?!
Better!
What should i do?
Stop him, stop him!
He has a crow bar!
I don't care!
No, you can't do that!
You see, machine?
It... took more than... you to beat me.
It... it took a man.
Oh, hanley, i've been expecting you.
No doubt.
They told me you were at the hospital.
I just came from the hospital.
Fortunately for you, mr. Whipple,
dickerson's going to live.
Fortunately, other than protecting my property
i have no involvement in that.
Are the technicians downstairs?
I asked you a question.
Are the technicians repairing that machine?
It appears so.
Ah, good.
Oh, hanley, this should interest you.
This is a tape-controlled seven axis.
It's called a sentry.
Know what it does?
It keeps an eye on every operation
in the entire plant.
It keeps absolutely accurate data
on man hours, cost hours, product rejects,
just everything!
The most sophisticated machine i've ever seen.
I just bought it.
How many men doesitreplace?
This should please you-
only one, just one!
As a matter of fact, it replaces you.
That's only right, mr. Whipple,
since the point of my coming today
was to give you my notice.
Oh, good, good.
I suspected as much.
You're a sensible man
and i'm sure you know that an industrial team
has to be a compatible team.
And when two men rub each other the wrong way,
well, it's unrealistic and impractical
that they try to stay on the same team.
In spite of the fact you think i'm kind of an ogre,
some sort of a heartless scrooge,
i'm not going to forget the many years
of hard work you put in for me and my father.
I'm going to see that you get an extremely liberal severance pay
and what i'm sure you'll agree
is a far better than average pension.
That's very generous of you.
There's something i'd like to give you,
if you don't mind.
No, what is that?
That's for you from me.
For your lack of sensitivity, compassion.
Your heartless manipulation of men and metals.
You can take my severance pay,
my pension, and your good-bye speeches
and feed them into your machine.
Because when i walk away from you,
i walk awayclean.
And that, mr. Whipple, is one hell of a trick!
A new watchman device.
Take out your i.d. Card
and hold it in front of the door.
There are built-in electric eyes.
Yes, mr. Whipple?
Oh, run a control check, please.
I already have, two hours ago.
I did it right after lunch, too.
And if you recall, sir,
i did it this morning, as well.
Ever heard of preventative maintenance?
It's my job, mr. Whipple.
What you're asking of me isn't maintenance.
It's not preventing a thing.
Oh, indeed, and i suppose
you know what's needed in this plant and what isn't needed.
I know that running equipment checks
ten times a day is a waste of time,
a waste of effort,
and it's becoming an idiotic ritual around here.
Young man, your presence is
a necessity of the moment.
Notice i stress "of the moment."
Uh, a case in point.
Case in point.
Now, stay here, observe this.
Dear sir
yours of the 14th received and acknowledged.
Now is the time for all good men
to come to the aid of their country
etc., etc., etc., etc.
A perfect letter.
Not one error or erasure.
Typed at conception.
Am i getting through, young man?
You mean secretaries are obsolete now.
Precisely, obsolete.
And do you know what else it means?
It means no more powder rooms, no more coffee breaks.
No more work stoppages
due to sundry inconveniences
such as maternity and all that.
Inconveniences like maternity?
You'll have to forgive me, mr. Whipple.
But if we keep this up
we'll have wonderful products
but mighty few people to buy them.
Happily that is not my concern.
Providing efficiency- that is my only concern.
Mr. Whipple?
Have you looked
around this place, lately?
Looked around?
The cafeteria, for example.
It's like a cave.
Not a soul in there.
Just a few vending machines
and music through a loudspeaker.
Have you seen the parking lot?
It's a desert.
No cars, no people.
How very enlightening.
This place has everything now
for efficiency.
Do you know what it lacks?
No, tell me.
Voices.
Laughter.
Whatever makes people feel for people.
That's what it lacks.
This is a lousy place to work.
Then i'll spare you further suffering.
You're discharged.
I've been expecting that.
Actually, i've been wanting it.
I can't work here anymore.
It's too darn lonely.
And another thing, mr. Whipple,
to do with equipment checks
and preventative maintenance?
It might be a good idea if you ran
an equipment check on yourself!
Equipment check on myself!
What insufferable rot!
Equipment check on myself!
Did it occur to you
that you're trading efficiency for pride?
When you're dead and buried
who will mourn for you?
I think it might be a good idea
if you ran an equipment check... on yourself!
Did it occur to you that you're trading efficiency for pride?
When you're dead and buried who will mourn for you?
I think it might be a good idea
if you ran an equipment check... on yourself!
I think it might be a good idea
if you ran an equipment check... on yourself!
Did it occur to you that you're trading efficiency for pride?
When you're dead and buried who will mourn for you?
What'll it be mr. Whipple?
Beer, please.
To other days, mr. Hanley.
And to other toasts.
I'll drink to that, mr. Whipple.
How are you finding retirement?
Oh, tolerable, mr. Whipple, tolerable.
I manage to... i manage to keep busy
not as much as i'd like...
my wife says i'm underfoot, but i do all right.
But you know, it's kind of nice to sleep late in the mornings.
It's important. Uh... this retirement, i mean.
Very important.
A man should have time for leisure when he grows older.
It's important he have time for leisure.
That's so, mr. Whipple.
You know, when the board of directors
first indicated to me
that they thought i was somewhat overtired,
should relinquish some of my responsibilities,
well, if the truth were known, mr. Hanley,
i did feel some sort of antipathy for them,
but, uh, they were right.
They were quite right, you know.
But with the perspective of time,
i realized they'd moved me out of there.
I'm not married, you know,
and things get a little dull.
Well, no, not, not dull, really.
I, uh, i manage to keep myself busy
but there are times
when i wish... when i...
it's not right, hanley.
It's-it's not right.
Cold, dispassionate, impersonal...
they-they chuck a man out right in his prime.
Chuck him out like he was some kind of a part.
Said i was neurotic about things.
Said that being alone
with the machines had warped me.
That was the expression they used- "warped."
It's not fair, hanley.
It's not fair.
A man has value.
A man has worth.
They just snap their fingers, and they bring in a replacement.
They just bring in a replacement.
It, it isn't fair, hanley.
It, it isn't fair, the way they diminish us.
There are many bromides applicable here-
too much of a good thing,
tiger by the tail,
as you sow, so shall ye reap.
The point is that too often
man becomes clever instead of becoming wise,
he becomes inventive, but not thoughtful.
And sometimes, as in the case of mr. Whipple,
he can create himself right out of existence.
Tonight's tale of oddness and obsolescence
from the twilight zone.
And now, mr. Serling.
Onthe twilight zonenext trip,
we move into the area of authentic folk singing.
But this is folk singing
like you've probably never heard before.
The words and the music in this item are haunting indeed
and this one provides one of the more odd excursions
into the places of shadow.
Gary crosby and bonnie beecher
star in a most unusual tale by anthony wilson.
It's called "come wander with me."
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