"I of Newton" is the second segment of the twelfth episode from the first season (1985–86) of the

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed be ...

The Twilight Zone ''The Twilight Zone'' is an American media franchise based on the anthology television series created by Rod Serling. The episodes are in various genres, including fantasy, science fiction, absurdism, dystopian fiction, suspense, horror, sup ...

''. The teleplay was based on a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

Joe Haldeman Joe William Haldeman (born June 9, 1943) is an American science fiction author. He is best known for his novel '' The Forever War'' (1974). That novel and other works, including '' The Hemingway Hoax'' (1991) and '' Forever Peace'' (1997), have ...

which first appeared in the June 1970 issue of ''

Fantastic Stories ''Fantastic Stories'' (russian: Фантастические повести, translit=Fantasticheskiye povesti) is a collection of six short stories written by Soviet author Andrei Sinyavsky under the pseudonym Abram Tertz between 1955 and 1961, ...

'' magazine (Volume 19, no. 5). It is a play on the

deal with the Devil A deal with the Devil (also called a Faustian bargain or Mephistophelian bargain) is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to ...

motif, in which a

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, structure, space, models, and change. History On ...

completely involuntarily makes a pact to sell his soul and must win a battle of wits with a

demon A demon is a malevolent supernatural entity. Historically, belief in demons, or stories about demons, occurs in religion, occultism, literature, fiction, mythology, and folklore; as well as in Media (communication), media such as comics, video ...

in order to get out of it.

Plot

Sam is a

college professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

frustrated at his multiple failures to solve a complex mathematical equation, angrily exclaiming, "I'd sell my soul to get this thing right!" A

appears and says that despite being an idle remark in a

conditional mood The conditional mood ( abbreviated ) is a grammatical mood used in conditional sentences to express a proposition whose validity is dependent on some condition, possibly counterfactual. It may refer to a distinct verb form that expresses the condit ...

, Sam's statement still constitutes a binding contract. He intends to sell Sam's soul to otherworldly bidders. The demon says the terms are as follows: Sam is permitted to ask three questions about how the process works or of demonic powers. Sam then may ask a fourth question or make a request of the demon. If the demon fails to perform the task or to answer the question, the deal is off and Sam's soul is spared. When Sam incredulously says "Really?" the demon responds "Yes, really," using up Sam's first question. Sam asks if there are any physical limitations to the demon's powers, and for his third question, if there is any place from which the demon cannot find his way back. The demon denies any limitation in either regard. The demon says his powers are so great that he can see the world in ways such as "

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

lived to a ripe old age" or "Berlin if the Nazis won". Sam then delivers the demon's task: "Get lost." Realizing too late that if he could not return that it meant defeat, the demon screams and melts away, leaving only his sunglasses. Sam throws them away and turns back to his math problem with a rueful smile, noting, "Well, that guy wasn't any help at all."

Closing narration

Differences from the original short story

In the original short story, the exclamation that is tacked onto a string of math to summon the demon is "no, goddammit". The writer of the teleplay,

Alan Brennert Alan Brennert (born May 30, 1954 in Englewood, New Jersey) is an American author, television producer, and screenwriter. Brennert has lived in Southern California since 1973 and completed graduate work in screenwriting at the University of Calif ...

, devised the demon's screen characterization as a sort of demonic Hollywood agent who wants to sell Sam's soul. In the short story, the demon plans to eat Sam's soul rather than sell it; he observes, "Unfortunately the loss of your soul will drop your intelligence to that of a vegetable — I am also a vegetarian." When the demon has been banished (his final words being "You and

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

!"), Sam plays with the Fermat's Theorem disproof fragment the demon left behind and thinks about summoning the demon and tricking him again. The final sentence is fashioned after

Aesop Aesop ( or ; , ; c. 620–564 BCE) was a Greek fabulist and storyteller credited with a number of fables now collectively known as ''Aesop's Fables''. Although his existence remains unclear and no writings by him survive, numerous tales c ...

and suggests that if there was a devil there must also be a God, "watching his language."

References

External links

* {{The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series) episodes 1985 American television episodes The Twilight Zone (1985 TV series season 1) episodes Fiction about the Devil Television episodes about demons Television shows based on short fiction fr:Mon âme au diable

Plot

Closing narration

Differences from the original short story

See also

References

External links