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Mm hmm contdown for blast off x
minus five for three two x minus one

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fire From the far horizons of the
unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in

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time and space. These are stories
of the future adventures in which you'll live

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in a million, could be years, on a thousand, maybe worlds.

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The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation
with Street and Smith, publishers of Astounding

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Science Fiction, presents he he minus
minus minus one one one Woe to Night's

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story zero Hour by Ray Bradbury.
It was a perfect summer day in the

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year nineteen eighty five. Sunlight illumined
the suburbs, and the town drowsed on

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the tide of warm, sunlit air
on the lawns. The children played,

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and in the homes, busy mothers
prepared for the evening arrival of their husbands.

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Excuse me, mom, good heavens
man, what's all excitement. We're

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playing a game, mommy, the
most exciting game ever. What are you

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doing in that cabinet? I need
some tools from daddy's kit. Your father

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may not take good care of the
mom, I promise very well, dear,

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don't lose anything. Or what's the
name of the game. Mink invasion,

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invasion? What will they think of
next? This and this and this

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and this? Put that over there
and bring that over here? No,

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uniny, now get back while I
fix this. They want it this way.

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See sure, just let me fix
this. We'd better talk to Drill

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and get some more instructions. Are
where is Drill? Drill? Hey,

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Drill, Drill, he's in the
rose bush. I think I'll talk t

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myself and you write it down on
the pad. Okay, Drill, Drill,

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Okay, Drill wants you to write
down triangle? What's a triangle?

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Never mind? Drill will tell us
when he wants us to know. It

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helps the invasion. Well, how
do you spell it, Drill? How

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do your sush mink? Here's your
mother looking out the window. Man,

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Who are you talking to the rose
bush? Mom? Only it's not really

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a rose bush. That's Drill.
Who's Drill? He's planning the invasion?

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What an imagination. You'd better come
India and clean up for supper in just

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a second, mom, Art,
did you write down what Drill just said?

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Yup? Four nine seven and A
and B and X and the fork

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and the string and the hex hex
agony hexagonal droopy. Oh I'm in mink

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suffers in ten minutes. Okay,
Mom, just a minute. I have

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to tell Drill. I wish we
didn't have to eat though it holds up

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the invasion. Man, for heaven's
sake, slow down, you'll choke on

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that soup. I can't, Mom, it's a matter of life and death.

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What's a matter of life and death? The invasion? What invasion is

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that? Oh? Just some silly
game the children have been playing. Well,

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whatever it is, make it'll wait
until you finish your supper, I'm

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sure. But Drill is waiting for
me, Daddy. Oh, who's drilled?

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You? Boy in the neighborhood.
He's new, all right, Only

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you can't see him, not yet. He hasn't come through yet. What

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do you mean you can't see him? He lives in a rose bush in

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our backyard imagination, Henry. Well, while you're at it, tell me

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more about this new game. It's
Martians in vas eating Earth, Dad,

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Well, not exactly martians, Dad, they're from I don't know, from

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up and from the inside of that
little head of yours. You're laughing,

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Drill said you would. You're killed
Drill and and everybody, Well, I

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didn't know you could kill a Martian
not really a Martian, ma'am. Maybe

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he's from Jupiter or Venus. Even
imagine they couldn't figure out a way to

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attack the Earth. So the kids
are helping the Martians. Pretty slick,

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those Martians using the kids for a
fifth column they're Drill says after the invasion,

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we can stay up as late as
we want, no more baths either,

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Oh is that so? And we
can watch all the grown up televisor

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shows. Well, I don't wonder
this invasion is caught on among the kids.

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Some of the kids are giving us
trouble, like Dale Britt's and Pade

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Jerrick. They're growing up so they
won't believe in the invasion. They make

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fun worsh than parents. Even I
hate them worst. We'll kill them first.

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I hope you're saving your father and
me for last. Drill says,

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you're dangerous. Know why why?
Because you don't believe the Martians ought to

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let us kids run the world.
But I think they'll let me keep you

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because I'm helping so much. I'll
talk to Drill. Maybe we won't have

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to kill you, eh, Mary. I think this nonsense is going far

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enough. Can I go out now? Please run along, dear, don't

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worry dad, I won't let them
hurt you. Televisor oh, would you

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please connect me with missus Helen Rogerson
on channel seven two Z, Pittsburgh,

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Pennsylvania. What is your channel?
Please? Eight seventeen X New Rochelle,

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New York. Thank you just a
moment, go ahead, you can see

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your now, I says, how
are things in New York? Fine?

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Helen? How are things in Pittsburgh? You look tired? Oh, I've

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been having a terrible time with the
children. Sick, No, just underfoot.

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They've got a new game that's got
me just about crazy. It's called

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Invasion. Did you say Invasion?
Isn't it strange? My Mike is playing

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it too. My boy Tim is
all involved with some imaginary fellow named Drill

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who's running the Invasion must be a
new password Manke likes him too. How

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do you suppose these games start?
My backyard looks like a scrap drive.

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They've got every conceivable kind of macmachanical
gadget out there. I talked to Josephine

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Schiller in Boston. She says her
kids are wild about it too. It's

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sweeping the country. I can't understand
it, Helen. Do you suppose what?

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Oh? Nothing, just a wild
thought that crossed my mind. Oh

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say, the reason I call is
that black and white cake recipe? What

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was that? I don't know.
One of the children might have hurt himself.

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I'll have to run and see deer. Call me back tonight, will

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you'd marry by men? What is
it? Who is that who screamed Peggy

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Ann? What happened? She got
scared and ran home? Did you hit

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her? Nope, she just got
scared. She's a scared baby. Anyway,

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Now, miing, tell me why
she screamed. No, I can't

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mink you'll answer me or come inside
this instant. I've had enough nonsense.

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I can't quit now. Mom,
it's almost zero. Then tell me what

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frightened Peggy Ann. Okay, she
saw drill. He almost came through through

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what those pipes and things we set
up. She looked into one of the

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pipes and screamed. I guess she
saw drill and no one hit her?

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No, Mom, very well,
min I'll call Peggyann's mother and see how

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she is. If we could only
get drilled through, it would be easy.

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Then all the others could come through
after him. I'm going in now,

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ming. I'll call you in for
your bath in half an hour.

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Your father and I want to go
out tonight. You won't be able to

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go out, Mom, Why not? Zero? It's five o'clock mark,

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Hello, dear, Oh you're home
early, Henry. I thought i'd relax

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a little before we went to the
theater. Where's the little one out back?

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Same game? Same game. They've
got a stack of pipes and hammers

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and spoons them out high out there? Children? Why do we have them?

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They are strange creatures. Aren't they
even mink? She's a part of

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us. Yep? Yeah, Look, dear, I like to discuss this

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with you, but we do have
a theater date. And it's almost five

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o'clock. Now, Say what's happened
to the kids? They're so quiet.

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When children are quiet, you know
there's some mischief. Say what's that sound?

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I don't know. Those kids aren't
playing with anything electrical, are they?

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I'm sure they aren't. At least
Henry ask them to put off the

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invasion? Good lord, what's that? Mary? Look out the window,

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Henry? What is it? Where
the children? Mary? Why are you

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shaking? What did you see?
Henry? Quick up to the attic.

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In the attic, Yes, yes, the attic. Quick, Mary,

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come back here, Mary, don't
go up They aren't up there, Harry,

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are you one of your mind?
There's no one up here. Wait,

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shut the door, lock it,
lock it. There's nothing up here.

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What is wrong with you? Now? Mary, come to your senses,

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Henry, and we've got to stay
here and hide. Are you talking

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about it? I saw it through
the window, Henry. It was horrible.

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They weren't making believe it is an
invasion. Oh, Mary, for

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heaven's sake, let's get down out
of this attic and talk this over.

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So. I want to find out
if make us all right? She's all

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right. I saw she was leading
them around the corner of the house,

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leading the kids. Listen, there's
nothing. Listen the front door. They're

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coming. Good Lord, those kids
sound like fifty men with boats. Hun

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No, not then, Oh,
please God, to let them find us,

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don't let them, Please God.
I don't understand this. Who's there?

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Don't shut there here? Who's down
there? I demanded to answer me.

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They're coming. The whole house is
shaking. Who's there? Please be

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quiet? They might go away,
Henry, Henry, Yeah, are you

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in the attic? Henry. Listen, let's make We've got to save her,

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Henry. Don't you understand she's leading
them, She's leading them. She's

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on their side. Henry. Oh, please, God forgive them. On

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their side, she told us,
but we wouldn't believe her. Listen,

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coming up. Oh God, mam, Dad, we know you're in there.

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I guess you better mount the lock. Drill Henry, the lock.

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It's molting the door. Oh you
God, mom, Dad, Oh I

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see you. Now take a book
you have just heard. X minus one

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presented by the National Broadcasting Company in
cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of

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astounding science fiction. Tonight by transcription, X minus one has Brought You Zero

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r by Ray Bradberry, as adapted
for radio by George Lefferts. Featured in

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the cast were Nina Reader, David
Feffer, Peggy Lubin, Les Damon Raleigh

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Bester, Bob Hastings, and John
Lockin. X minus one was directed by

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Daniel Sutter and as an NBC Radio
Network production, and now next week,

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The Vital Factor by Nelson Bond,
the story of a man who sought to

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rule the universe and then discovered that
this formula for gaining that power was minus

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one. Precious ingredient. You'll hear
it on X minus one. It's groomed

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for your interests. Weekday NBC Radio