The Mind of Simon Foster
"The Mind of Simon Foster" is the fifty-seventh episode (the twenty-second episode of the third season (1988–89)) of the television series The Twilight Zone.
| "The Mind of Simon Foster" | |
|---|---|
| The New Twilight Zone episode | |
| Episode no. | Season 3 Episode 57 |
| Directed by | Douglas Jackson |
| Written by | J. Michael Straczynski |
| Original air date | February 18, 1989 |
| Guest appearance(s) | |
Bruce Weitz: Simon Foster | |
Opening narration
The year is nineteen hundred and ninety-nine. Within the box, evidence that some things do not change with the passage of time; its contents, the collected debris of a shattered life, now valuable only for the dimes and nickels they can solicit from a third party. A familiar process and a familiar long walk that is about to lead into the unfamiliar terrain...of the Twilight Zone.
Plot
In the near future (the year 1999), a man named Simon Foster comes home to find a message from the unemployment agency: no more unemployment money for him. He then decides to pawn what little valuables he owns, but the broker offers very little for what he has. The broker asks if he might have something else to offer, and Simon looks puzzled but is intrigued. The broker says that perhaps there is something else Simon has that he might want. He questions Simon about what he knows about "memory-dipping" which involves renting people's copied memories.
A champion skier can copy the memory of his best race and one can feel what he felt—the exhilaration, the snow under the skis, etc. But copied memories aren't quite as intense as real ones, and it would be similar to watching a video that's been dubbed too many times. Now, for a select few, the demand for actual memories cut from a person's mind is enticing. The unfortunate side effect is the person loses those memories; however, he is reimbursed financially. Simon is hesitant and decides to think about it, but after a threat to be evicted he returns to the pawn shop and lets the broker take his high school graduation. Simon gets enough to pay his rent but discovers he needs even more, as his landlord threatens to evict him anyway if he doesn't pay him next month in advance. Later, Simon is looking at a picture of his graduation; he closes his eyes and is disturbed that he can no longer remember it at all. He soon runs out of money and returns to the pawn shop. This time he gives up his fifth birthday. This snowball effect continues as Simon gives up his first steps, his first time at the circus, and numerous others.
The unemployment agency eventually gives him a call to inform him that they have a job for him, but they just need to ask a few questions. He soon realizes that much of his college years have been taken, and he can't remember what he needs to get the job. He returns to the pawn shop and gives up the first time he made love. After the procedure, Simon demands his life back and pulls the broker's gun on him, demanding to have all the memories that he had sold restored to him, not caring which other person's life they may come from. The broker tries to comply, but he says it won't be easy.
Simon has another appointment with the unemployment agency, and when he is questioned about his typing experience, the counselor wonders how a man graduated from what was a women's college at the time. Simon goes on to speak about his many and varied experiences, which seem to contradict each other.
Closing narration
Exit: Simon Foster; a patchwork collection of lost dreams held together by the stolen memories of strangers. A man who discovered that we truly are the sum of our parts. Mr. Simon Foster, a very special resident... of the Twilight Zone.