The Mystic Seer

"Nick of Time," Episode #43 of The Twilight Zone, features a captivating performance by a young William Shatner exploring the psychology of superstition. At the local diner of a strange, small town in the state of Ohio they find a Mystic Seer who will answer any "yes" or "no" question put to it for the small cost of one penny.



Rod Serling sets the scene with a sophisticated yet eerie serenade:
"The hand belongs to Mr. Don S. Carter, male member of a honeymoon team on route across the Ohio countryside to New York City. In one moment, they will be subjected to a gift most humans never receive in a lifetime. For one penny, they will be able to look into the future. The time is now, the place is a little diner in Ridgeview, Ohio, and what this young couple doesn't realize is that this town happens to lie on the outskirts of the Twilight Zone."

Don asks the mystic seer if he is going to get a promotion at work. The card says that it has been decided in his favor. When Don calls the office, he discovers that the mystic seer was right. Because of this initial success, Don asks the mystic seer even more questions.

Pat realizes that Don is taking the mystic seer too seriously as Don keeps asking it questions. Due to the seer's answers, Don doesn't feel it is safe to leave the diner until after 3:00 p.m. Pat gets him to leave before then, but just after 3:00 p.m. they are almost struck by a car while crossing the street. After they both calm down, Don leads Pat back to the cafe. However, another couple is sitting at their booth, so Don and Pat must wait at the front counter.

Pat wants proof that the mystic seer is legitimate, because she points out that it was Don who had brought up the time of 3:00 p.m. After reclaiming their booth, Don immediately asks the mystic seer more questions. One of the things he wants to know is whether their car will be fixed by the end of the day. The mystic seer says the car has been repaired, and a few moments later the mechanic arrives with that very news.

Pat is disgusted to see Don rely upon the mystic seer so heavily. The breaking point happens when Don asks the mystic seer where they're going to live in the future.



Pat tries to break the spell the mystic seer has over Don by pointing out that he's letting the seer run his life. After a persuasive speech from Pat, Don realizes how foolish he has been acting. He apologized to Pat and then announces directly to the mystic seer that they're leaving to go do what they please.

They are free of the spell! But the twist in this intriguing little plot comes after Don and Pat leave the cafe and another couple immediately enters. Tense and anxious, they deposit their coins and tentatively ask the Mystic Seer if it is ok to ask questions today. They receive a card that gives them an affirmative answer, to which they breathe a sigh of relief. They then proceed to ask questions related to when they can leave the town, etc. as the camera pans out and we all leave The Twilight Zone.

Serling's epilogue reads as follows:
"Counterbalance in the little town of Ridgeview, Ohio. Two people permanently enslaved by the tyranny of fear and superstition, facing the future with a kind of helpless dread. Two others facing the future with confidence, having escaped one of the darker places of the Twilight Zone"

The parallels as well as ramifications for religious belief are plentiful. Is belief in "God" really no more than a grand Mystic Seer? The power of the symbolism in this Twilight Zone episode resides in the trivial and trite trinket that is being revered as a source of wisdom and guidance - a prophetic voice. It is little more than a cheap napkin holder that dispenses cards with random answers to "yes/no" questions.



The power of the Mystic Seer is not in its nature or composition, but it in the psychological investment that gives it currency. Those who believe are held captive by their own belief. This is superstition.

Over and above the Mystic Seer stands the rational soul - reason piercing the darkness of silly, unfounded fear. Reason does not allow its mind to be held hostage by superstition and lives its life on its own steam: Fearlessly determining its own destiny based solely upon its own volition.

Don and Pat found themselves somewhere in the middle. They were taken in by superstition, but they broke the spell before they allowed their destinies to be governed by The Mystic Seer.

Of course, the assumption in all this is that The Mystic Seer is nothing but a napkin holder. That there really is no connection between the cards it dispenses and the future destiny of life. And this is the crux of the issue. It is also the recurring theme in religion: Is there a reality behind "God"?

Paul makes an interesting statement in one of his early letters:
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men. [N]

What did we feel for the couple who entered the cafe after Don and Pat? Who were held hostage by The Mystic Seer?

Pity.

The last couple was engaged by The Mystic Seer. Their lives revolved around the Seer. The Seer captivated their every move. And we pitied them because it was only a napkin holder.

I wonder if the vast majority of American Christians can echo Paul's words: If only for this life I have hope in Christ, I am to be pitied more than all men.

In other words, if there is no reality that is giving currency to the Christian belief then how pitied are we? Or do most of us live lives that are virtually indistinguishable from the other American Dreamers?

Ah, the questions raised by The Mystic Seer! Drop a penny and ask him....if you dare!