i'll need complete quiet.
please.
lights, a crowd, a proper atmosphere
and the common coin of desperate belief.
commodities necessary to the life and times
of leonard randall
who may or may not be someone else as well.
(in deep voice): i am delos,
and i am here.
10,000 years ago was i born,
and 9,500 years ago did i die.
i have walked the cobbled streets
of the place men called atlantis
but which we called shumma zamoria.
my master in wisdom was eli ben-zamoran
who studied at the feet of the undying one himself.
to you, i bring what little i can offer
against the darkness.
i am delos,
and i am among you.
speak and you shall be heard.
so david is a nice man, and i think he's a soul mate,
but i'm not sure,
and i don't want to get married again
until i've found that soul mate.
i'm really getting pretty desperate.
my child, in shumma zamoria
there was a rare breed of butterfly
with wings as golden as the morning sun
and very, very fast.
if you would try to catch it, so...
you would never possess it.
and the more you would try,
the more angry and desperate you would become.
but the children knew better.
they would lay down and empty their thoughts
and be calm and soon enough
the golden-winged butterfly of shumma zamoria
would land just so.
do you understand?
yes.
thank you, delos.
this vessel grows weary.
we must not tax the goodwill of our host.
i have time for one last question.
you, the one this vessel calls julia.
thank you, delos.
a question, not for my own benefit.
why have you been silent for so long,
and why have you come back now?
i come through the one called leonard
because he has been chosen to receive wisdom.
the universe has selected him
and through this he shall gain great wisdom.
as for the second question...
5,000 years ago,
shumma zamoria was destroyed,
cast down beneath the waves
a victim of its own decay.
and now, this cycle begins again.
a third change is nearly upon us.
it may bring great good,
or great evil.
and you...
all of you will tilt
the balance.
my time here has ended.
he whose body i inhabit has reached his limit,
and i must go.
remember all i have said here today
and seek the light within each of you.
i am delos,
and i wish you...
well.
ladies and gentlemen, thank you all for coming
but i'm afraid leonard will have to rest for awhile.
we invite you to come next week.
an audio cassette of tonight's session
will be available in the lobby
in about an hour.
thank you.
they're gone.
leonard?
the clippers are actually winning.
can you believe it?
it's about time.
i want you to sign here and here.
how was the take?
the usual.
up from yesterday
which was up from the day before.
numbers?
we're booked solid on a three-day retreat.
crystals, tapes and amulets are up five percent.
book sales are up ten, but holding.
we got the printer standing by
for another run after the tv show.
which reminds me, don't forget
you've got the preinterview tomorrow at 3:00.
should be quite a reaction when delos goes coast to coast.
just a hop, skip and a jump till we have our own show.
one step at a time.
as our friend delos might say,
(speaking as delos): never take anything for granted
in the profit biz.
(in serene voice): words far truer than he suspects.
hey, that's a good one.
yeah, thanks.
get me everything you can on daphne blake.
the more i know, the better i can tailor delos.
shall i also send her your bio?
nothing too spectacular.
just indicate
that i'm a humble tool of the great delos.
(in serene voice): but a worthy tool
can be made from even the basest of metals.
right.
assistant producer: this is just a formality.
miss blake likes first-time guests
to get a feel for the place
tell us what you want to talk about.
assistant producer: formality saves me the trouble of keeping notes.
is there anything in particular
you'd like to mention when you're on the air?
(in serene voice): only that the true meaning in life
is that which we choose to give it
and that the universe is not without mercy
and not so jealous that it cannot allow for
a multitude of visions.
all truths are correct.
all creeds valid.
the only secret is that there is no secret.
(in normal voice:) we're having a rally
at the pacific arts stadium on the 14th.
so perhaps miss blake would want to mention that.
sure.
which part?
you'll have to excuse mr. randall.
he's been working very hard.
sometimes it's hard to keep it all straight.
(in serene voice): i have no trouble
seeing things as they are.
that is indeed my curse.
i see this television
as the greatest time waster
in the history of mankind.
you make sport of people's pain
and sell trinkets to those who cannot afford them.
you do this to increase your wealth.
i see things quite well.
i see that the woman in whose employ you labor
is an adulteress
a user of chemicals...
that will be quite enough.
if you'll excuse me.
what the hell is wrong with you?
where's the guy?
he's gone, and i wouldn't blame him
if he cancelled the appearance after what you said.
i didn't say anything.
leonard, don't play games with me.
i'm not, don.
honest.
you're not, huh?
(on tape): i see that the woman in whose employ you labor
is an adulteress, a user of chemicals...
who's that?
it's you!
so what's the situation?
okay, i talked to the producer
of daphne blake's show.
it took a lot of talking, leonard,
and a lot of favors called in, okay?
we're still due to go on the air.
hey, that's good, at least.
maybe.
leonard,
this can't keep going on.
you're going to have to do something
before we go on the show.
you have to get control of that, uh,
that voice.
well, it can't be delos. there is no delos.
i mean, don, we invented him.
remember?
i said 10,000-year-old warrior
you thought i said a 10,000-year-oldworrier.
i thought you'd never stop laughing.
it's not funny anymore, leonard.
the good times all come to a stop
unless you get this under control.
which is why
i've made an appointment with someone for you.
he's a specialist, and i think he can help.
a psychiatrist?
no way!
not a chance.
leonard, i don't know what's going on here
and neither do you.
all i know is
everything is riding on this show tomorrow.
now mess up, man, and we're finished.
i said "no."
n-o.
i can handle it!
i'm sorry.
can we backtrack a moment?
i think there's something i'm not getting here.
you're a trance channeler, aren't you?
yes.
not to be judgmental,
but you're supposed to hear voices, yes?
yes.
then what's the problem?
well...
it's, uh...
you've got to understand, dr. greenburg,
i'm really getting this voice, see?
and i've got to go on tv tomorrow.
so unless you can help—
ah, television.
now i start to get the picture, so to speak.
mr. randall, i've worked as a psychotherapist for 20 years.
i pride myself on my record.
if it's all the same to you,
i'd rather not be the subject of this little publicity stunt.
you may claim to hear
as many voices as you wish,
but don't ask me to add credibility to your little scam.
(in serene voice): yes, you are a good man.
one of few i have met recently.
that's right, and I...
oh, i see.
and is this the voice?
very nice.
what else do you do?
i speak honestly, that's all.
not unlike what you do, i think.
and who might you be?
napoleon?
aristotle?
napoleon is dead. aristotle is dead.
and you do not look well, yourself.
why do you do that to yourself?
that will be all for today, mr. randall.
you miss her very much, don't you?
what?
i see such pain in you, but there was nothing
you could do.
even if you had arrived sooner
it would have been too late.
your wife misses you as much as you miss her,
but she prefers you not hurry the reunion.
get out!
(in normal voice:) what did i do?
how dare you use my wife!
just get out!
forget my fee.
just go away!
hey. How do i look?
never mind how you look.
how do you feel?
i think it will be okay.
i taped myself last night
and the voice, whatever,
it didn't say a word all night.
maybe it's gone.
well, let's hope so.
three minutes, mr. randall.
look, just keep telling yourself—
get through this, make delos a star,
and we are set up for life.
all right?
come on, let's get out of here.
our next guest has been making quite a splash these days,
and we're pleased to have him on the show.
he's a trance channeler—
a fascinating subject we'll explore in a moment.
but first i'd like to welcome him
to his first television appearance—
mr. leonard randall.
hello, leonard. how are you?
hi.
leonard, could you tell us
what this "trance channeling" is all about?
how would you describe what it is that you do?
(in serene voice): these are sad times, miss blake.
all that is mysterious, all that is magic
has been leeched away.
people who see no magic in themselves
seek it in someone else.
they're desperate for mystery— for something to believe in.
they accept without question
even the most outrageous propositions.
such as?
such as the man sitting in this chair.
and for the honor of being treated like sheep,
for the distinction of being treated like gullible children,
they are willing to sacrifice.
they would give it all for a cent of magic.
mr. randall, do you suppose we could speak with delos—
the 10,000-year-old warrior that you channel?
there is no delos.
there never was.
consider it an investment of innocence
that turned a considerable profit.
and now the game is over.
the masquerade has ended.
to the followers of delos
i can only offer leonard randall's apologies
and one, slightly-used piece of wisdom.
do not seek enlightenment in the proclamations of those
who insist you pay for your own soul.
do not seek it in this box
or in the opinions of others.
seek it in a quiet turning
of your own considered conscience.
thank you.
well, folks, you've heard it here first.
we'll be back right after these messages.
(in normal voice:) i'm almost afraid to ask.
the scandal is killing us.
everyone who's ever given us a dime
is asking for it back.
we've logged 200 angry calls,
the investors are all pulling out.
oh, yeah, and the i.r.s. is nosing around.
we were on shaky financial footing as it was.
now there's enough to get a hotel for the night—
if you're lucky.
what are we going to do?
we?
hey, man, i'm out of here.
it's too bad, really.
i thought you were sharp.
i thought you had it.
anyway, i was wrong.
i got a gig
with a healer down in panama.
folks say he's the best around.
probably make it big in a few years—
with the right lieutenant.
get some serious help, leonard.
and if we should ever cross
in a hallway somewhere,
just pretend you never met me.
i will.
well, leonard, guess it's all over now.
(in serene voice): quite to the contrary.
it is only the beginning.
you. It's you.
yes. I'm pleased that you can hear me at last.
there was so much in the way between us.
that's why i had to get rid of it all.
you couldn't hear me.
angry, mr. randall?
it seems rather pointless, don't you think?
isn't that what you said?
what delos said?
submerge anger— find the center.
where the hell are you?
come on out!
i'll kill you, you lousy...
where are you?
i'm here, mr. randall.
with you.
why are you doing this to me?
why?
look over here, mr. randall.
i'm here at your urging.
you said the universe had chosen you for wisdom.
and you, of all people, should know that sometimes
when you speak to the universe
the universe listens.
you asked for wisdom, and now you will receive it.
it will be a long process
but to that end i'm willing to be your constant companion.
i will be with you every moment
day and night
for as long as it takes.
how long?
how long will it take?
(in serene voice): 20, 30 years, at most.
and now, as you say in your modern world,
let's take it from the top.
critical reviews received
and reluctantly acknowledged by mr. leonard randall,
a case study in showmanship,
who found himself upstaged in the final act
by the twilight zone.