Speaker 1: M HM.
Speaker 2: Contdown for blast off x minus five four three two
x minus one. Fire from the far horizons of the
unknown come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space.
These are stories of the future adventures in which you'll
live in a million, could be years, on a thousand,
maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Street
and Smith, publishers of Astounding Science Fiction, presents he minus minus.
Speaker 3: One on the Night's story The Castaways by Ernest Kiloy.
Speaker 2: In the South Pacific, night comes on rapidly, the sun
dips below the flat horizon. The sea is crimson for
a moment, and then night falls. But on too hani Atoll,
giant arc lights turn night into day.
Speaker 3: Across the waters of the lagoon.
Speaker 2: Within the barrier, reef launches and tugs skitter back and forth,
while on the curving half moon of the island, army
trucks and jeeps scuttle down the rough roads bulldozed by
the seabees. Just six weeks ago, A low quancert hut
stands near the beach, surrounded by tangled wire. This is
the preliminary command post, and inside is General Frank I
think gaydosh Field, Director of the test operation destruction. Everything's
on schedule, general radiological surveys, complete instruments, placement checked. Or
get me Navy and tell him eh Oowers is ordered.
Send a periodic time check to wear force on niney
week talk an observation control on the Missouri. Yes, sir,
I want to complete rush to check on all personnel
before each hour. Yes, sir, oh Nate Cohen wants to
see you. Who the devil's the ap man? He's been
selected by the press radio pool. I haven't got any time.
Tell him to speak to Major Dwight Friedenberg. He's the
pro o. I think perhaps you'd better see him, sir.
The directive on public relations from Washington was very clear.
How on places am I supposed to run a bomb
test and play mother hand to a bunch of reporters.
Washington said, all right, all right, bring him in for RELLI. Yes,
give me some black coffee. Yes, this is mister Cohan,
General gator, how do you do general lousy?
Speaker 3: As a matter of fact? Is that an official statement?
Speaker 4: No?
Speaker 2: You can run some of that. The world is at
the crossroads, Blowning. I wrote that yesterday, General, what effect
you think the new bomb will have in the world situation.
Speaker 3: I can't tell you that even if I knew.
Speaker 2: My job is to set the blasted thing off and
see that nobody gets hurts and collect the data.
Speaker 3: Can I speak to you a moment, Slater Alan, go ahead?
Speaker 2: Con Can you release anything on the scientific principles involved?
I don't even understand to myself. Wait a minute, doctor Muller, Yes,
come over here a minute, will you?
Speaker 3: Cohen?
Speaker 2: This is doctor Fred Muller's Avidian scientific director. He's the
only one who knows what's inside that warhead.
Speaker 1: How are you doing, mister Cohan?
Speaker 3: How about a statement? Doctor? Oh, I'm afraid.
Speaker 1: All I'm allowed to say is that the bomb is new,
it's extremely powerful and off the record.
Speaker 3: It's very tricky and dangerous. What will happen if it
was off prematurely?
Speaker 1: I don't think we have to worry about that. In fact,
we wouldn't even know about it, if you'll excuse me.
Speaker 3: How about the natives? Well, what about him?
Speaker 2: Aren't they going to be evacuated from the island? They
already have been general gators. I saw that the honey
chief outside when I came in, the whole tribe squading
down at the motor pool having a conference. What Alan,
I've been trying to tell you, sir, that honey are
still on the island.
Speaker 3: Well, why the LC teaser ready? Aren't they? Yes, sir,
but they won't go. They review.
Speaker 2: Let's schedule call for their evacuation to by Elani three
hours ago. I realized that, sir, But I hoped we
could still get them off without vile. Look, Allan, they're
either on the island or off. I wait a minute, Cohen,
that's all. What are you gonna do about the natives?
Speaker 3: General? Never mind? All issue a statement later? You're gonna
force them? Go on, get out? I havn't god time,
all right, general facts, facts a lot?
Speaker 2: All right, Alan, let's have it well, sir, that Hani
been kicking up all along.
Speaker 3: They won't leave.
Speaker 2: They won't do they know what's gonna happen to the island.
Do they know that we're gonna blow it higher in
the kite? I told the chief he just said they
won't go, they'll go, all right? If I had Yeah, Hey,
get him in here, the chief.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: And that that lieutenant who interprets Yes, how do you
like that?
Speaker 3: Dr Muller.
Speaker 2: I haven't got enough trouble, you know, I feel rather
sorry for the Honey. Can't make much sense to them.
We arrive and tell them they've got.
Speaker 3: To get up.
Speaker 2: Look, I appreciate your finer feelings, Moller, but I can't
let the Kanakas hold up the bomb t as.
Speaker 1: General Captain Cook discovered the island in seventeen eighty years.
Speaker 2: What's the difference, Gilbert recordings, Sir, I've got time for ceremony.
Gilbert tell the chief he and his tribe, I've got
to get off the island. We're providing homes for them
on my Lani, France. Like Gilbert, the Chief.
Speaker 5: Says, you do not understand. Milani is a bad island.
My people have lived on to Honey from the time
that our ancestors were cast away on the island. The
spirits of our ancestors are buried in the earth. Our
fathers are buried here, our father's fathers.
Speaker 3: If he thinks I'm going to move his graveyard, he
is crazy.
Speaker 5: In our ancestors time that Tahani came in a great
bird canoe, we were cast away on this island.
Speaker 3: We have made it our home. What right have you
now to carry us over the sea to.
Speaker 5: A strange land where we would die weeping for our homes.
Speaker 3: We will not.
Speaker 1: Gory the waters of Babylon. There we sat down and
we wept when we were remember Zion.
Speaker 2: Well, thank you, Dr Muller. You're a great help. Thank Gilbert. Yes, Sir,
tell him I have no choice. He's got till midnight
to get his tribe on board those LCTs peacefully, or
I'll have the marine detachment carry him aboard.
Speaker 1: Yes, sir, I'm rather harsh general. After all, justice on
their side. We're preparing to blow up their island and
we haven't asked them about.
Speaker 3: Dr Muller.
Speaker 2: Will you kind of confine yourself to the scientific aspects
of this operation. I'll take care of administrative matters.
Speaker 3: If you could explain to the more to stake here.
Speaker 2: Any further explaining I've got to do. I'll do with
the marine detachments. I'm not gonna hold up my schedule.
Speaker 3: Well, Gilbert, I told him, Sir, all right, get him
out of here. I've had an no no cola, And
what the devil's at merc I'm kind of a curse, sir.
I can catch some of it.
Speaker 4: Dogs.
Speaker 5: The island will remember the tears of its children and
punish the invaders. The Great Destroyers will not destroy, and
the evil man who is the Chief will travel far
through the blackness of night.
Speaker 2: As the children of the island, And so will he?
All right, kebt take him away, and Colonel Allen get
a detail from the marine detachment with tear gas and
small arms down to the motor pool, and in one
hour have those natives on that transport. And I don't
care how they do it?
Speaker 3: Is that my coffee? VERRELLI?
Speaker 1: Yes, they must know about the bomb. The Great Destroyer
will not destroy.
Speaker 2: You worried about that curse? I should think you might be.
He threatened you personally. Why were you might carry a
pistol till they got off the island. The Chief looked
as if he cheerfully strangle you with his bare hands.
I'm supposed to end the way they do.
Speaker 3: What's that?
Speaker 1: Probably then's saying goodbye to their island. I think I'll
go down to the motor pool. I'll stay out of
the way and get back here in an hour. You've
got to have this wrapped up and headquarters moved out
to the Missouri by.
Speaker 6: Dawn, instrument room checking in.
Speaker 3: So that's the last.
Speaker 2: Have the Missouri, take over control and send for my
g Yes, sir, the LCT standing Bible.
Speaker 1: Those natives, Yes, they're on the beach a bomb you
and it has assembled in place.
Speaker 2: General twenty three point thirty right on the nose, robins
start evacuation procedures with the honey.
Speaker 3: You've start.
Speaker 2: Alan's probably moving him out to the beach. Checking with
Navy and Air Force for Ellie. Yes, sir, what's that
coming from the beach with the honey making trouble? Come on, General, Hey.
Speaker 3: Yo, Jobred?
Speaker 2: What is it?
Speaker 3: Colonel Allen ordered the marine?
Speaker 2: Wow?
Speaker 3: What happened?
Speaker 7: The natives just got up and started march.
Speaker 3: And damn bark. You don't understand, sir.
Speaker 7: They marched up the cliff and right off into the lagoon.
What's all of them? The women and the kids too.
They didn't even try to swing.
Speaker 2: What were you doing all this time? Just standing around
with your thumb in your mouth? Where was a marine detachment?
We couldn't stop.
Speaker 3: Them, sir.
Speaker 7: They just walked over the cliff. They didn't even scream,
not even the kids. We sent the crash boats out,
but we couldn't get them. Any of them are crazy idiots?
Were there any reporters there. Well, go on and a
life photographer. We'll get his film and hold until I
release it. What are you going to do, General, postpone
h hour.
Speaker 3: It's too late for that now.
Speaker 2: Calling eh Hower off isn't going to bring the natives back.
Speaker 1: One hundred men, women and children just walking into the water.
Speaker 3: It's horrible. I know, I'm not happy about it either.
There's nothing we can do now. I gave him a
chance to get off.
Speaker 1: I was just thinking about the curse the chief put
on you, even as the children of the island.
Speaker 3: Then so will he.
Speaker 2: That's what he said to you, General, I know I
heard him.
Speaker 3: You're deep's waiting. General, the great destroyer will not destroy.
That must mean the bomb. Don't worry, doctor Muller.
Speaker 2: It'll take more than a mumbo jumbo curse from a
native witch doctor to stop this operation. At h Hower
that bomb goes off. It is now h.
Speaker 8: Our minus one minute, thirty seconds h minus one.
Speaker 3: Thirty Video screens tucked insert all right. Check control stations.
Speaker 2: Observation station one, observation station one check radiation station. Radiation
control checks the firing circuit doctr moller right general check
damage control station. Also communications communications check, I'll check insert.
Speaker 8: It is h minus one minute h minus one.
Speaker 3: Take a good look at that island on that screen, doctor, mother.
When you throw that key, it just won't be there anymore.
Nothing but an adam mushroom over the lagoon.
Speaker 2: Right at a funeral fire for the ton instub an idiots.
They can't get in the way of progress.
Speaker 3: Progress. I wonder if it is general.
Speaker 8: It is h minus thirty seconds h our minus twenty nine,
twenty eight, twenty seven.
Speaker 3: A great destroyer, that's what he called the bomb.
Speaker 2: Old that mother, Alan report all checking, Sir, camera is
running sound fire warning, stand by for firing, ready moller ready.
Speaker 4: Ten nine eight seven six five four three joe one fire.
Speaker 3: General, it didn't go off.
Speaker 2: The bomb didn't go off? Really signals stand by condition
read Alan check readings at it?
Speaker 3: What's wrong? What happened? I don't know.
Speaker 2: The bomb didn't go off?
Speaker 3: What do you mean why didn't it?
Speaker 1: I don't know, except for one thing that Dhani chief said,
the great destroyer would not destroy it did.
Speaker 3: In general, the bomb didn't go off. How about it? General?
What happened? Have you got a statement?
Speaker 2: Nothing?
Speaker 3: You can use Cohen, not till we find out what
went wrong?
Speaker 4: Hey?
Speaker 3: Who let you come aboard this ship? I walked on.
You don't know why the bomb failed. It didn't fail,
It just didn't go off. What's that tank thing on
the deck?
Speaker 2: General, Undersea Salvage Unit mark four. They call it a
bottom crawler.
Speaker 3: Somebody going down?
Speaker 2: Well, that bomb is down there in the lagoon somewhere,
could go off at any second. Somebody's got to go
down and find it and disarm it.
Speaker 3: That's a lovely job. Who's elected?
Speaker 2: I am Wow? And doctor Muller, he's the only one
who knows how to dis manly? Oh, that's ready, General,
all right, come on, Muller, I'm ready, Allen. As soon
as we hit shallow water, get those gates open, we'll
pull the crawler out and then you get away in
a hurry. If that bomb goes while we're working on it,
I don't want any casualties.
Speaker 3: Yes, inside man, all right.
Speaker 2: I'm in I remember, get this lst out of the
lagoon a hurry. You got that, Alan, You take your
orders from Adam Yancy, Yes, sir, good luck closing the hatch.
Speaker 3: The radar and Geiger counter warmed up. Muller.
Speaker 2: I was just thinking of something general.
Speaker 3: That curse.
Speaker 1: Part of it came true.
Speaker 2: The bomb didn't go up.
Speaker 3: Well.
Speaker 1: The second part of that curse was that you would
end where they ended. That was at the bottom of
the lagoon. Were you trying to do Muller, nothing. I
was just thinking, this scrawler is going to take us
right down there where the Tahani died.
Speaker 2: I'm not worried about a handful of dead natives, Muller,
I'm worried about that bomb.
Speaker 3: Okay, they're opening the gate. Let's go.
Speaker 2: USU four to control depth fifty feet bottom sandy, drop
it off sharp anything on sonar, Muller, School of Fish.
You ever't been down in a crawler before, only in
the tank at New London. Think I've got a guy
you're reading, get ahead, hang on getting something I've sawt
on now left the point. USU four to control over,
us you four to control over. It's a fine note.
Speaker 1: The radios out get ahead, looks too large to be
the bomb.
Speaker 2: Can't see much on the forward vision play. He wait
a minute, that's part of the reef.
Speaker 1: Ahead, that's where the guy you're reading indicated the bomb
must have settled in the hole in the reef.
Speaker 3: We'll have to go after it and diving suits. The
suits are in the locker. Let's get this over with.
Speaker 2: The less time I spend down here waiting for that
bomb to blow, the better I like it. Muller, there
is your helmet clamped tight. You're getting me all right
on your headset. Okay, I'm gonna fill the lock. Here
goes the outer door. Let's go. This isn't like that
diving tank of New London. Look out for that caral.
It can cut you the ribbons. There's a hole.
Speaker 1: Of some sort there.
Speaker 2: Do I get the light up. See if you can
get a Geiger reading out of that hole.
Speaker 5: Just it.
Speaker 2: There. It's down there, all right, careful, I'll drop down first.
See anything down there, Muller, get down here fast. What
is it? Find something at the bottom of this hole.
It's it's metal and the sides what it gets the
caral read? Look well the joints. These are whole plates
of some kind. And look out above us. It's closing
crabbit a metal hatch. It just slid over the top.
This is impossible.
Speaker 3: What's going on.
Speaker 2: It's like an air lock. The water's being popped off.
General to realize what this means, I'm not sure. There's
an inner door opening. Careful, it's a passid way.
Speaker 9: What are we doing now?
Speaker 2: Rather much we can do. We can take off our
helmets though the dial shows good air.
Speaker 3: All right? Come on? What is this an under sea fort?
Speaker 2: What's it doing here?
Speaker 3: What does it mean?
Speaker 2: Whatever it is? Our bomb must be down here.
Speaker 3: Wait, there's someone there. I can't see. There's a shadow.
Who is it? Who's there? Welcome, Doctor Muller, Welcome to
our ship. We've been waiting for you. General. It can't
be you see it.
Speaker 1: It's the honey Chief.
Speaker 3: How long has the bottom crawler been down? Brolly? Four
hours two since we lost contact.
Speaker 2: I'll keep trying, Yes, Sir, I've given him enough time.
I'm gonna send another crawler down.
Speaker 3: What do you figure happened to him? Colonel? Hell? Are
a lot of things. Hey, how did you get in here?
Speaker 2: I walked in? When are you gonna release this, Colonel?
It's the biggest story since the election. Bomber doesn't Doctor
Muller in General gave dead? They're not dead, at least
we don't know they are. As long as that bomb
doesn't go off, there's still a chance.
Speaker 3: What happened bomb burny condition.
Speaker 2: Wrapped, Gilbert, radiation control in the action. Get the hot
squad into the honey lagoon as soon as it's cleared,
and give me a pt boat with radiation screen.
Speaker 3: What is it, Trono, will happened? Bomb must have blown?
Speaker 2: I bot Mueller in the general if they were down
there in that lagoon, you guess.
Speaker 3: Now got out of my way. I'm busy.
Speaker 2: Radiation reading seventy five and steady. Take her in as
close to the beach as you can, steady as she goes.
Speaker 3: Any danger of any more explosions. Oh, when she goes,
she goes radiation eighty two. That's still safe, Colin. Is
that something on the beach?
Speaker 2: Yeah, looks like a body, maybe a blue one of
them to honey back out of the lagoon.
Speaker 3: No, no movie, Gilbert Glass, Yes, sir, it's a man,
all right, head into the beach. Who is it, Colonel,
I can't tell. He's in a diving suit. It's either
Muller or General Gaida. Get his helmet off.
Speaker 2: Easy enough, twists it right, Yeah, it's Muller. Uh, Albert,
help me get him out of this diving suit. We
gotta get him.
Speaker 9: No medics, no radiation, burns, superficial bruises, mile shock.
Speaker 3: He'll be all right, colonel. Can he talk for a while?
Bom go off. It didn't he's still out of his head. Quiet,
con go on. Look him. What did you find the ship?
Speaker 1: The giant metal ship there under the lagon summary No, no,
it was a space ship space sace, camouflaged right next
to the reef. When when we went inside, we found
that the honey chief and all the tribe alive.
Speaker 3: I drowned in the lagoon. I saw them.
Speaker 1: They didn't commit suicide as we thought. They just dived
underwater into the rocket airlock.
Speaker 3: Rocket air locks.
Speaker 2: Now, look, man, I know you've suffered the shot, but
but it's true. Who can't be spaceship built by Polynesian savages.
Speaker 3: They're not savages.
Speaker 1: They're the castaways that from another planet. Don't you understand
Their spaceship was wrecked here four hundred years ago. They've
been waiting ever since for a chance to go home.
Speaker 3: He's out of his mind. Better give him a senative doctor. No, no, no,
wait a minute, colonel.
Speaker 2: Remember their story about the great bird canoe.
Speaker 3: Maybe there's something to the legend. Not the legend, it's true.
Speaker 1: They'd exhausted their fuel, came down out of space. Couldn't
find anything here on Earth to replace their fuel sauce
until we developed atomic.
Speaker 3: Power comic power. You mean they stole our.
Speaker 1: Bot try fished it out of the lagoon, hauled it aboard.
Speaker 2: Yes, but how could they convert it to atomic drive?
Speaker 1: They made me dismantle it for them at the point
of a gun. Then just before they blasted off, they
let me go. But what about the General? Remember that
the honey curse?
Speaker 3: I see you mean they killed him.
Speaker 1: You don't understand. I said, I dismantled that bomb at
the point of a gun. It was General Gaidosh who
was holding the gun. What he was one of them,
one of their spies, sent out to bring back the
rocket fuel they needed. And that the honey curse wasn't
a curse at all.
Speaker 3: It said that when they left the island, so would he.
I mean he's with them now, yes.
Speaker 1: And after four hundred years, the castaways are going home.
Speaker 2: You have just heard X minus one presented by the
National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers
of Astounding science fiction. Your announswer Fred Cowens. X minus
one was an NBC Radio Network, production, oh