<span class="SFPTagline"> From SCIFIPEDIA </span>

"What You Need" is a 5000-word story by Henry Kuttner, about a man with a machine that predicts the future. The story was first published in the October, 1945 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

Plot

Carmichael is a reporter who notices a small, affluent shop with a sign outside that says, “We have what you need.” Curious, he goes in and questions the proprietor, Peter Talley. Talley is evasive, but a customer comes in; Talley gives him a package; the customer unwraps it, and finds only an egg inside. The customer leaves, apparently satisfied. Carmichael wonders what the scam is. Talley says that he has a machine that can predict people’s futures, so he can supply them with what they will need for their next crisis. He gives Carmichael a package, and says that when he is satisfied, he can pay five dollars for it, providing he promises never to come back, nor to mention the shop to anyone. Carmichael opens the package, and inside he finds a pair of scissors. Later that day, Carmichael gets his scarf caught in the printing press; he uses the scissors to save himself. He returns to the shop, pays the five dollars, and insists on becoming one of Talley’s regular customers. Talley gives him a package, this time with shoes in them, telling Carmichael to wear the shoes whenever he goes out.

We then see that Talley’s machine has shown him that if left to his own devices, Carmichael will murder him for his machine ten years hence. The shoes have slippery soles on them, and with them, in about a week, the machine has shown that Carmichael will die in a subway accident. Talley uses the machine to guide human history; the “you” in his sign (“We have what you need”) is plural, referring to the world. He uses his machine to determine if people are working for good or evil, and then he gives them an appropriate package.

Additional Notes

This story has been reprinted in, among other places, Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 7 (1945).

What You Need was filmed as an episode of the TV show Tales of Tomorrow, airing on February 8, 1952. William Redfield played Carmichael, and Edgar Stehli played Talley.

What You Need was later filmed as an episode in the first season of The Twilight Zone. It aired on Christmas Day, 1959. The characters' names were changed, and the plot was altered slightly. The writer's credits for this episode (according to imdb) list both Kuttner and his widow, C.L. Moore.