Speaker 1: Mm hmm.
Speaker 2: Come down 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 and cooperation
with Street and Smith, publishers of Astounding science fiction, presents.
Speaker 3: He He Minus the Night story Almost Human by Robert Block.
Speaker 2: Have you heard of the new science called cybernetics. It
concerns man's efforts to develop a perfect thinking machine, a
robot electronic brain that will not only do man's work,
but even do his thinking for him, a robot that
is almost human.
Speaker 4: No, it's not impossible at all. In fact, one day
something like this may happen. A tall, suave gentleman in
a black raincoat will walk down the street until he
reaches a shuttered, isolated house, and then he will slowly
mounted the front steps, push the doorbell.
Speaker 5: Just a minute, I said, just a minute, Hold your horses.
Speaker 6: What do you think you'd good living?
Speaker 7: My dear duke, Why did you come here?
Speaker 8: Curiosity, darling? I've been thinking of what you told me
at our chance meeting.
Speaker 7: Less to meek, duke, you promised me.
Speaker 8: I decided to come and take a look for myself.
Where is the professor in his study? Where's in the nursery?
The nursery?
Speaker 6: How quaint? And do I take it?
Speaker 8: A junior's nurse mate? I helped the professor, telling me
as a guest.
Speaker 7: Dukie's a nice otlt guy.
Speaker 9: Don't all right, yurse?
Speaker 6: What is it? Miss Williams?
Speaker 10: Professor?
Speaker 7: Last minute?
Speaker 8: A gentleman here, I don't understand. I gave orders no
one was to be admitted.
Speaker 6: To the house.
Speaker 7: He insisted, very well, wait here, I'll get rid of.
Speaker 8: Him, Sir Professor Blossom and I have come to see Jr.
Speaker 6: Junior.
Speaker 8: There must be some mistake. There are no children in
this house. I don't professor. What you feel pressing against
your belly is the muzzle of a forty five caliber pistol.
Speaker 6: How shall we visit, Junior? How what do you know about?
I know everything? Shall we go inside? I warn you
on the contrary, I warn you very well.
Speaker 11: This way this is.
Speaker 8: The nursery, whereas Junior in the next room behind the
door with a panel in it, very considerately furnished ane
of the ghost figures on the walls, blocks and.
Speaker 6: A funny rabbit touching. All right, let's say him. You
can look through the panel.
Speaker 12: Very hard.
Speaker 8: Oh, he would have believed, Junior isn't very pretty, is he?
Speaker 6: I was not concerned with esthetics. Why do you hire him?
Speaker 8: Is a dangerous The world is not yet ready for
such a thing. Besides, I must study. As you can
see by his play, he is very young, hardly out
of the cradle. I am educating him with the nursery rhymes.
The brain is undeveloped. It must learn its behavior patterns
like any infant. You call that out, But monster an
infant physically, of course, he'll never change. He is built
of chrome stealing glass. But his brain, that is my
wonderful instrument. Unlike a human, he has no heritage, no
basic in stints such as love or heat. These he
has yet to learn. In some respects, he is like
a blank tablet. What is written upon the tablet will remain.
You mean he has no feelings. He will learn quickly.
And now, if your curiosity is satisfied, I trust you
will keep my secret. If anyone discovered open the door,
I beg your pardon the door. Professor, Very well, Junior,
come here? What a monster?
Speaker 12: Wah?
Speaker 6: He talks, yes mentally. He is about six years old.
Now what is it?
Speaker 11: Son?
Speaker 12: Who is that man?
Speaker 6: Let me handle this. You may call me duke. Son.
I've come to see you.
Speaker 12: That's nice.
Speaker 13: Nobody ever comes to see me except Lola.
Speaker 6: Play with me, Duke, certainly, or or and professor.
Speaker 8: Yes, while we're playing, you can have Lola and Miss
Williams prepare my room.
Speaker 6: Your room. I forgot to tell you.
Speaker 8: I've decided to stay until the climate changes and I
can go out again. Meanwhile, I'll have a chance to
play blocks with Junior. Understand, I begin to understand you
are hiding from the law as you wish.
Speaker 6: All right, Junior, your move.
Speaker 12: Let's build a bridge.
Speaker 6: I have a better idea, Jr. What Let's build a coffin?
Speaker 12: A coffin? I don't know that word.
Speaker 6: Then I'll teach you, Junior.
Speaker 8: I can see the professor has been neglecting the moral
side of your education.
Speaker 10: Very sadly, you shouldn't have come here, Duke.
Speaker 6: Why not, my dear afraid of me?
Speaker 7: No, afraid of myself?
Speaker 12: You know?
Speaker 10: Good for me?
Speaker 7: You've always brought me trouble.
Speaker 8: Except this time. This time it will be different, Darling.
This time, I'll bring you diamonds.
Speaker 7: Duke, what have you been teaching that scene?
Speaker 8: Nothing, honey, I've just been playing with him very education.
Speaker 7: I don't believe you.
Speaker 6: What's bothering you today?
Speaker 5: When I walked in there, he said to me, I
know how to kill people.
Speaker 14: Laura.
Speaker 10: I'll kill you.
Speaker 7: If you want me to.
Speaker 6: He's learning very quickly, Duke.
Speaker 5: I'm scared of that thing. It's unholy, a machine that
acts like a human with a voice, grinding act, just
saying things you'd expect from a child.
Speaker 6: You dislike them so much. Why did you take this
job as his nurse man?
Speaker 5: Because I wanted to start over again, I answered, nad
The professor didn't ask questions.
Speaker 7: I would have been all right too if you hadn't
come along.
Speaker 8: I'm very glad you did tell me, Darling, because Junior
is going to make us two very successful people. Like
any child, Junior listens to what he's told.
Speaker 10: Duke.
Speaker 5: I don't know what you're teaching, Junior, but I can guess,
and it isn't right.
Speaker 7: It's evil.
Speaker 6: Now right on the blackboard, Junior, my name is Junior.
Speaker 12: My name is Junior.
Speaker 6: People are evil, Evil are evil. Evil must be destroyed.
Speaker 12: Evil must be destroyed.
Speaker 8: The professor is evil, is evil, The professor.
Speaker 6: Must What are you doing? I want you to keep
out of the nursery.
Speaker 12: Professor, go away.
Speaker 11: You you don't even remember me.
Speaker 13: I know you. You are the professor.
Speaker 12: You want to keep me as your slave. You didn't
tell me that people are evil.
Speaker 6: People are not evil.
Speaker 12: People are evil. They must be destroyed. It I am
not a child any long.
Speaker 8: No, you're not a child. You're amongst j Yes, Duke,
the time is now, jor yes. Do keep away from me, Junior,
don't do it.
Speaker 10: Listen to me, Junior, listen to me.
Speaker 13: I did it too, and we go away now, Duke,
I don't like it here anymore?
Speaker 7: Why did you do it?
Speaker 8: Professor? You have to move very quickly in Alola. You
don't plan to come along?
Speaker 10: Just say so?
Speaker 6: I can have jo write your name and is blackboard?
Speaker 7: Where are we going?
Speaker 8: We'll go to Charlie's with Junior with or you can't.
I'm relax, my dear. The Duke has great plans for
you too. Wouldn't you like to be independently wealthy for
the rest of your life. No cares, no worries, just
good times and fine clothes all the time.
Speaker 5: The only way you get that way is by inheriting.
Speaker 6: A million, not when you have a fellow like Junior around.
Speaker 7: I'm still afraid of you.
Speaker 6: Junior wouldn't hurt you. You wouldn't hurt Lola, would your junior?
Speaker 12: I like Lola. She's plenty.
Speaker 6: Yeah, you say he thinks you're pretty. Junior's growing.
Speaker 15: Ah.
Speaker 8: So now, Charlie, sure, Duke, Paul and I are gonna
hide out here for a while.
Speaker 6: We need some help.
Speaker 16: Listen, Duke, I'm I'm trying to keep the cops away.
Speaker 8: Sure, and I listen to me. I need a casing
job done.
Speaker 6: Oh sure, Sure, Duke. You know the Armor Truck Service. Sure.
Speaker 8: I want to know when they take the ACME deposits
from Boston to Worcester.
Speaker 6: Duke, you ain't thinking of a payroll truck, are you.
They got cannons on those trucks.
Speaker 7: They travel in pairs.
Speaker 17: You couldn't get near one.
Speaker 8: I asked you to do a casing job, Charlie, Sure, Duke,
anything you say, find out what time they passed an
hour Western Moster's added stretch abroad.
Speaker 16: Well, if you're gonna pull a job like that, you'll
need fifty men.
Speaker 6: You want me to get some of the boys.
Speaker 8: I won't need anybody. I've got somebody where. He's out
in the car.
Speaker 6: Oh, what's his name, Duke? Anybody I know? His name
is Junior? Junior.
Speaker 18: I don't know any junior. You will, Charlie, you will,
I smoke, Sam.
Speaker 17: Well, thanks hel who. It sure gets hot in these
armored trucks. You get used to it. How much we
haul in this time?
Speaker 6: About two hundred and fifty dollars? Brother?
Speaker 17: Could I use a hunk of that?
Speaker 6: Oh? Couldn't.
Speaker 17: What's the first stop?
Speaker 14: Acme National Bank? And we unload a payroll of the
bronze and watch plant. Hey, what's that up ahead?
Speaker 17: It looks like something shiny on the road.
Speaker 6: Drow up your spotlight?
Speaker 17: All right, he smokes. You see what I see? It
looks like a mechanical.
Speaker 8: Traffic cop about eight feet so, standing right in the
middle of the highway.
Speaker 17: Maybe it's a Halloween gang.
Speaker 8: Huh, that's they're trying out robot traffic cops.
Speaker 17: Can you get pasting, No, we'll have to slow down.
Speaker 6: Get on that gun.
Speaker 14: Sand let's take no chances, right, I'll give it that horn.
Speaker 17: Don't budge.
Speaker 6: Where's our rest? Card?
Speaker 17: Truck prolled up right behind us?
Speaker 6: Thing won't move.
Speaker 17: It looks like something on a buck Rodger's doing it.
Speaker 14: That's a heck of an note blocking traffic like that.
I'll have to try and get it past it. There
it goes.
Speaker 17: Well, they smokes is moving. Hell, it's coming Towardlets get
on that gun. Give it a blast. Bullets are bouncing
right off and it's still coming. He'll back up. I can't.
The other trucks right behind it.
Speaker 6: Now it's lifting its arm.
Speaker 10: It's good to stretch over.
Speaker 16: Jeez, if I didn't have seen it with my own eyes, Duke,
we gotta quit this.
Speaker 6: I't Charlie getting shaky.
Speaker 16: The papers say he killed all four drivers. Listen, Duke,
that rope and it's hot. We gotta get rid of it.
Speaker 6: One more good robbery. You ain't gonna pull another one.
Why not count me out?
Speaker 13: Duke.
Speaker 6: The law's gonna track that baby. Are you quite finished? Charlie?
You got no.
Speaker 9: Heart, Duke.
Speaker 6: You're like Junior, all steel inside. I just a beg
warm hearted slob. I suppose flowing with the milk of
human kindness.
Speaker 11: So I got nerves.
Speaker 16: I can't stand that thing, the way it looks at you,
with that that iron face and clanking around all the time.
Speaker 6: Listen, here it comes.
Speaker 8: Hello, Junior, Hello, Duke, I've been talking to Charlie. Yes, Duke,
do you know what I think, Junior? I think Charlie's yellow.
You know what happens to people who turn yellow, don't you, Yes.
Speaker 12: Duke, tell him they're evil. We have to describe them.
Speaker 8: You see, Charlie Junior doesn't like people who sing to
the police.
Speaker 16: Duke, Wait a minute. You know I never turned Stooley
or anything like that. I never sang to the coppers
of my life.
Speaker 15: You can carry me.
Speaker 16: I don't want no trouble with you.
Speaker 6: Stop him.
Speaker 9: I wouldn't, Duke. I stopped him too.
Speaker 6: All right.
Speaker 8: Take him down to the cellar, Charlie down, Take him
down to the cellar Jr.
Speaker 6: Yes, Duke, we're next, Darling. Stop shirking, Duke.
Speaker 7: We can't stay here. Charlie's going to be Missy Scott friends. Now,
I'll have the games after its.
Speaker 8: Oh, come on, I don't worry, Darling. The Duke will
take care of everything. Where are you going to a
travel agency to get some tickets. You and I are
going to take a trip.
Speaker 5: You're leaving me alone here, Junior, shit too, It's just
it alone with that thing.
Speaker 8: Now, don't you worry. In forty eight hours, you and
I will be on our way to Switzerland with five
hundred thousand dollars worth of loot.
Speaker 7: What about Junior?
Speaker 6: Junior will be taking care?
Speaker 7: How can you get rid of him?
Speaker 8: Julian will do anything I say, so I really have
him get into the furnace and sit there while I
fill up with oil and said fire to it. Too
bad the Professor couldn't have stayed around to see him
growing up. He's almost a man now, Junior has, but
not quite as clever as a man.
Speaker 6: You find that out. Have to hesteps into the furnace.
Speaker 7: Get rid of Junior. Naw, Duke before you leave.
Speaker 8: There's no time. I'll be back about eight. Please and
be nice to Junior while I'm gone. Don't show him
you're afraid of him. Good Bye, Darling, Goodbye to.
Speaker 12: Lola.
Speaker 10: What Junior oil me?
Speaker 5: Can't you wait till Duke gets back? He always oils you.
Speaker 1: I want you to oil me, Lola, all right? I
like you to oil me, Lola.
Speaker 7: Yes, ju.
Speaker 12: Lola.
Speaker 10: Do you like Duke certainly?
Speaker 13: Do you like me?
Speaker 7: What you know I do?
Speaker 12: Junor Lola? What who do you like best? Me or Duke?
Speaker 5: I like you both, Junior, Yes?
Speaker 12: But who do you love?
Speaker 5: What do you know about love?
Speaker 7: Junior?
Speaker 12: In the books Man and Woman love lo love? What
do you think anyone will ever love me?
Speaker 5: Maybe some women can fall in love with anything, Junior,
even with something like Duke.
Speaker 12: Why low love?
Speaker 7: I don't know? Maybe because.
Speaker 5: Well, as long as you think, Sir Man is the
smartest and the strongest.
Speaker 12: I see, where are you going to wait for Duke?
Speaker 7: He won't be home for a while.
Speaker 12: I'll sit in the hall and.
Speaker 7: Wait for him, all right, Junior.
Speaker 12: I want to be alone and think.
Speaker 7: About what.
Speaker 13: I read in a book today. It was bad to
kill people. What does that mean?
Speaker 12: Bad?
Speaker 7: Bad?
Speaker 5: I don't know, Junior.
Speaker 7: I guess it's just a word.
Speaker 6: Hollah.
Speaker 8: Hello, Duke, Oh see you, Junior? Whilere you sitting in
the dark, I.
Speaker 12: Was waiting for you. Duke.
Speaker 8: Well, that's a good boy, Jor Lola, old me, that's nice.
I'll tell you what, Junior. I've got a little job
that's down on the cellar. Let's go down there now, Duke,
right now, Junior?
Speaker 12: All right, Duke. Are we going away soon? Duke?
Speaker 6: Yes, Junior, we're going away.
Speaker 12: What's in the cello, Duke?
Speaker 6: A little surprise for here, Junior. You'll find out.
Speaker 12: Thank June for the latest news.
Speaker 4: And now I'll brief in the dude. I recorded dance music.
Speaker 7: Duke, Is that you?
Speaker 10: Duke?
Speaker 12: Hello, Lola, I thought.
Speaker 7: I heard Duke come in.
Speaker 12: He came in. Where is he down in the cellar?
Speaker 7: What's he doing?
Speaker 12: Nothing?
Speaker 5: Did he say he'd be up soon? No, maybe you
better go down and get him.
Speaker 12: He's dead.
Speaker 5: Oh no, no, he isn't dead.
Speaker 12: You said. The woman loves the strongest and the smartest. Well,
I'm stronger and smarter.
Speaker 7: But you want human.
Speaker 12: I'm almost human, Lola.
Speaker 5: No, no, stay away, don't touch me those middle parks.
I love you, No, no, I love you.
Speaker 12: I love you.
Speaker 4: The last thing she heard was the robot's harsh voice,
droning it over and over again, I.
Speaker 12: Love you, I love you, I love.
Speaker 4: You, And strangely enough, it did sound almost human.
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. Tonight by Transcription X minus one
has brought You Almost Human, a story by Robert Block
adapted for radio by George Leffards. Featured in the cast
were Sattos Ortega as Duke, Joan Allison as Lola, Jackie
Grimes as Junior, Guy Repp as the Professor, Nat Pollen
as Charlie, Joseph Julian as Al Lynn Cook as Sam,
and Merrill Jowels as the radio voice your announcer, Fred Collins.
X minus one was directed by Ken MacGregor and is
an NBC Radio Network production. And Now next week, when
the mighty earth Men arrive in their ships of space,
courtesy and proper humility on the part of the.
Speaker 17: Natives is expected, but some native inhabitants.
Speaker 2: Are too small to be impressed. We'll see what happens
to such an expedition marooned on a far planet next
week at x X minus minus one one