 Other thematic elements in this episode can be found throughout the series , as well . " The Obsolete Man " takes the episode 's literary subtext — the notion that reading may eventually be considered " obsolete " — to an extreme : The state has declared books obsolete and a librarian ( also played by Meredith ) finds himself on trial for his own obsolescence . This notion , akin to Ray Bradbury 's short story " The Pedestrian " ( 1951 ) , is also alluded to in the episode " Number 12 Looks Just Like You " , in which a perfect and equal world contradictorily considers works like those of Shakespeare " smut " . 
