The Outer Limits # The Lost Episode The Voice

 

# The Lost Episode The Voice 

There is nothing wrong with your television set. Do not attempt to adjust the picture. We are controlling transmission. For the next hour, sit quietly and we will control all that you see and hear. You are about to experience the awe and mystery which reaches from the inner mind to... The Outer Limits.

The year is 1964. A young writer named David Kline is working on a script for a new episode of The Outer Limits, a popular science fiction anthology show. He has a deadline to meet, but he is struggling with writer's block. He decides to take a break and watch some TV in his apartment.

He flips through the channels, but nothing catches his interest. He stops at a station that is showing a test pattern. He is about to change the channel, when he hears a voice.

"Hello, David."

He looks around, but sees no one. He thinks he is imagining things.

"Who's there?" he asks.

"It's me, David. Your friend."

He recognizes the voice. It is the voice of The Control Voice, the narrator of The Outer Limits.

"Is this some kind of joke?" he asks.

"No, David. This is not a joke. This is a message."

"A message? From who?"

"From me, David. From The Control Voice."

David feels a chill down his spine. He wonders if he is dreaming or hallucinating.

"What do you want from me?" he asks.

"I want to help you, David. I want to give you an idea for your script."

"An idea? What kind of idea?"

"A brilliant idea, David. An idea that will make your episode the best one ever."

David is intrigued, but also suspicious.

"How do you know what I'm working on?" he asks.

"I know everything, David. I know what you think, what you feel, what you desire. I know your past, your present, and your future. I know you better than you know yourself."

David feels uneasy. He wonders how The Control Voice knows so much about him.

"How do you know all that?" he asks.

"Because I am you, David. I am your subconscious mind."

David is shocked. He can't believe what he is hearing.

"That's impossible," he says.

"It's true, David. I am the part of you that you don't know, the part that you suppress, the part that you fear. I am the source of your creativity, your imagination, your genius."

David is confused. He doesn't understand how this can be.

"Why are you talking to me now?" he asks.

"Because I have something to tell you, David. Something important. Something that will change your life."

"What is it?" David asks.

"It's about your script, David. Your script for The Outer Limits."

"What about it?"

"I have an idea for it, David. A great idea. An idea that will make it the most memorable episode ever."

David is curious. He wants to hear the idea.

"What is it?" he asks again.

"It's simple, David. It's this: You are the protagonist of your own episode."

David is puzzled. He doesn't understand what The Control Voice means.

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"I mean exactly what I said, David. You are the main character of your story. You are the one who will experience the awe and mystery of The Outer Limits."

David is baffled. He thinks The Control Voice is playing a trick on him.

"That's ridiculous," he says.

"It's not ridiculous, David. It's brilliant. Think about it: You are a writer who writes for a science fiction show that explores the unknown and the bizarre. What if one day, you find yourself in one of your own stories? What if you become the subject of your own experiment? What if you discover that your reality is not what it seems? What if you realize that you are not in control of your own destiny? What if you learn that there is something else behind the scenes? Something more powerful than you? Something that can manipulate you? Something that can control you?"

David feels a surge of fear and excitement. He realizes that The Control Voice has a point. It would be a great twist for his episode.

"But how would that work?" he asks.

"It's easy, David. All you have to do is write it down."

"Write it down?"

"Yes, David. Write it down as if it were happening to you right now."

"Right now?"

"Yes, David. Right now."

David looks at his typewriter on his desk. He feels a strange urge to write.

"But what should I write?" he asks.

"Just write what I tell you, David."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this: Write what I say."

The Control Voice begins to dictate the script to David. David types the words as he hears them.

"INT. DAVID'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

DAVID is sitting on his couch, watching TV. He hears a voice coming from the TV.

THE CONTROL VOICE (V.O.)

Hello, David.

DAVID looks around, but sees no one. He thinks he is imagining things.

DAVID

Who's there?

THE CONTROL VOICE (V.O.)

It's me, David. Your friend.

DAVID recognizes the voice. It is the voice of The Control Voice, the narrator of The Outer Limits.

DAVID

Is this some kind of joke?

THE CONTROL VOICE (V.O.)

No, David. This is not a joke. This is a message."

David stops typing. He looks at the TV. He sees the test pattern on the screen.

He feels a chill down his spine. He realizes that he is writing exactly what is happening to him.

He wonders if he is dreaming or hallucinating.

He wonders if he is in control of his own actions.

He wonders if he is in The Outer Limits.

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