There is a fifth dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area we call the Twilight Zone.
âR
OD
S
ERLING

Welcome to our second collection of stories celebrating the
Twilight Zone
television program, which recently celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of its first broadcast. As with our previous collection,
Twilight Zone: 19 Original Stories on the 50th Anniversary,
we've assembled a stellar assortment of writers, each of whom have given us their unique take on a story that, in another time, might have just come from that fertile realm of the imagination.

When Rod Serling created his visionary television series, he had done so with a goal in mind beyond simply supplying entertainment to the viewing public. He felt that television had the potential to be a real art form .Â .Â . to entertain, yes, but also to educate and illuminate the human condition, not to just rehash formulaic comedies and westerns. But he was repeatedly frustrated by the endless censoring from the networks and sponsors, who insisted on removing all controversial political and social commentary. Fed up with fighting this process, he knew that the only way to express himself and deal with these issues of the times would be to create and control his own show. But how to prevent the censors from watering down the themes of his new series?

It was here that Rod came up with his brilliant idea to circumvent network control; he would create a show that existed in a world of “what if” .Â .Â . a shadow land that existed just beyond the limits of imagination. Call it science fiction, imaginative fiction, fairy talesâwhatever it was, it worked beautifully. Powerful episodes like “The Monsters Are Due on Maple Street,” “A World of His Own,” “Time Enough at Last,” and “Walking Distance” were among the first of many, many celebrated episodes written by Rod, garnering critical acclaim and awards for excellenceâRod's fourth of six Emmy Awards for dramatic writing, a Producers Guild Award for his creative partner, Buck Houghton, and the first of three Hugo Awards for best dramatic presentation. Most important, it was a show that told the stories Rod wanted to tell, in the style he wanted to tell them.

Of course,
The Twilight Zone
has grown from that modest beginning to become a part of American culture for the past fifty years. Whether in syndication across the country, or in the two revivals of the television series, the title itself has entered our consciousness as a label for anything that is strange, weird, or inexplicable. And his original tales have inspired many writers to create their own storiesâsome of whom are showcased in this volume.

The following eighteen stories range from the unusual to the bizarreâand each would fit very nicely in that realm beyond sight and sound that is the Twilight Zone. From bestselling author John Farris comes a cautionary tale about how mankind might be its own destroyer. Kristine Kathryn Rusch gives us a moving tale of a family that still receives correspondence from a long-lost relative at the holidays. David Gerrold explores a future society where everyday men and women are given the ultimate power over the rest of humanity. From the glitter of Hollywood, M. Tara Crowl tells of a woman who wished for her heart's desireâand not only got it, but everything that came with it. We've even included a
rare gem from Rod himself, about a man who is unstoppable in his own mind.

Each of these stories epitomizes everything the Twilight Zone representedâa journey into the unknowable to confront the strange and unique, which can be found everywhere, from the world around us to the deepest recesses of the human heart. I hope you'll enjoy reading these stories as much as I did assembling them.

C
AROL
S
ERLING

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