door and it is ultimately revealed that in reality, the townsfolk have been using information from a computer the whole time. French rallies the townspeople into a frothing frenzy into destroying the machine, after which French leads the people into celebrating their newfound freedom from this "tyranny". However, as Goldsmith had insisted, the "old man" was correct; without an authority figure to tell them which foods are safe, the entire human population of the town (including French and the soldiers) die—except for the lone survivor, Goldsmith, who somberly walks out of the now dead town. Closing narration Cast James Coburn as French John Anderson as Goldsmith Josie Lloyd as Evie, townswoman who says, "We already took chances. The old man told us not to plant on the north acreage." John Craven as townsman who asks, "Been to the cave, Jason?" John Marley as Jason Uncredited (in order of appearance): Natalie Masters as townswoman who asks,"Did you see Goldsmith? Did he talk to the old man?" Don Wilbanks as Furman, one of the three soldiers with Major French, "That last part, put it on top... No trouble." This was the last of John Anderson's four appearances on the original series. The first was as Angel Gabriel in "A Passage for Trumpet" (May 1960), the second was as the airplane captain in "The Odyssey of Flight 33" (February 1961) and the third was as Deitrich, the businessman with a conscience, who is bankrupted by the ruthless tycoon Feathersmith in "Of Late I Think of Cliffordville" (April 1963). The other cast member who appeared in more than one episode was John Marley who played the superintendent of the old-age home in "Kick the Can" (February 1962). Episode notes In the post-apocalyptic world presented in the episode, humanity has destroyed itself, but does so through "greed, desire and faithlessness". It is thus a warning not to ignore faith, which often serves an important purpose in society. The events in the episode show that myths and beliefs are often based on fact or necessity, as is the case with the "old man" who, despite being a computer, was ultimately keeping his "followers" alive. According to Valerie Barr of Hofstra University, it also "turns the usual notion of overreliance on technology on its head" by suggesting an interdependence with machines when it is revealed that a man-made computer has been keeping the townspeople alive. A suggested