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Space Patrol - "The Iron Eaters of Planet X" (1953) · Old Time Sci-Fi Radio | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Ed Kemmer stars as Commander Buzz Corey, joined by Bella
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Kovach and Ken Mayer. This is Space Patrol, Episode 57,
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: The Iron Eaters of Planet X, first heard on ABC
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: October 31st, 1953. Corey and Cadet Happy are pursuing intelligence
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: tied to Prince Baccarati's installations on Planet X when sabotage
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: strikes their ship en route to Venus. Before long, they
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: face organisms that feed on metal and a spacecraft becoming
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: increasingly hazardous from within. Larry Robertson produced and directed. And now,
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: the original broadcast.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: Instant Ralston and Regina Ralston.
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: The hot whole wheat cereals in the red and white
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: checkerboard packages presents Space Patrol!
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: Space Patrol!
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: I adventure in the wild, vast reaches of space. Missions
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: of daring in the name of interplanetary justice. Travel into
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: the future with Buzz Corey, Commander-in-Chief of Space Patrol. In
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: today's transcribed Space Patrol adventure, Buzz and Happy are in
• 1:17
  Speaker 3: the refrigeration control compartment of their spaceship on a flight
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: to Venus. The air is rapidly leaking from their ship,
• 1:24
  Speaker 3: and then they discover a giant worm clinging to the
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: wall of the ship.
• 1:27
  Speaker 4: Take this bar and knock it loose, Hap. Yes, sir.
• 1:32
  Speaker 4: It won't come loose.
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: It's as hard as metal.
• 1:34
  Speaker 4: You're right. That's what it eats.
• 1:36
  Speaker 2: It's feeding on the endurium bulkhead. That's how the air
• 1:38
  Speaker 2: is escaping.
• 1:39
  Speaker 4: Smoking rockets, Commander.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: It's eating clear through the hull.
• 1:41
  Speaker 4: We'll suffocate.
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: We'll return in just a moment with today's exciting Space
• 1:48
  Speaker 3: Patrol adventure.
• 1:49
  Speaker 2: The Iron Eaters of Planet X.
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: Space Patrollers, have you entered the sensational Name the Planet
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: contest yet? Well, you better hurry. Time's going fast, and
• 2:03
  Speaker 3: you don't want to be left out. So hurry up
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: and go with Mom or Dad to your Weatherbird shoe
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: store for your free coin album and contest entry blank.
• 2:12
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 2:12
  Speaker 3: The Weatherbird Shoe Man will give you a swell coin
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: album with three super-colored space coins inside, plus the entry
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: blank on which you write your name for Planet X. Yes,
• 2:23
  Speaker 3: you just name that tremendous new planet 5,000 times bigger
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: than Earth. And your name for Planet X can win
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: you the giant rocket clubhouse on wheels or one of
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: the 1,750 other big prizes.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: Now, just imagine, gang.
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: A 35-foot-long, 10,000-pound rocket clubhouse on wheels with a big,
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: honest-to-goodness motor truck to pull it. And inside the rocket
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: clubhouse are built-in bunks, lockers, electric lights, cooking equipment, all
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: sorts of things for real Space Patrol living for you
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: and your pals.
• 2:56
  Speaker 4: And don't forget.
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: The space patroller who wins the Rocket Clubhouse will also
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: win the big motor truck and.
• 3:04
  Speaker 2: $ 1, 500 cash. But don't wait, gang.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: Get started now on winning the Rocket Clubhouse or one
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: of the 1,750 other swell prizes. Hurry to your Weatherbird
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: shoe store now and enter the Name the Planet contest today.
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: How do you do that?
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: And now, today's Space Patrol adventure, The Iron Eaters of
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: Planet X. For weeks now, there has been no major
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: crime along the space lanes. Days have passed since a
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: Space Patrol ship has reported even so much as the
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: sighting of spacecraft approaching or leaving Planet X. Patrol ships
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: ordered in close to the giant planet have made swift,
• 3:44
  Speaker 3: daring scanning flights over known installations and have returned with
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: identical reports.
• 3:49
  Speaker 4: No new or suspicious activities.
• 3:51
  Speaker 3: But still, Commander Corey holds firmly to his policy of
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: constant vigilance. And then one day, a patrol ship's face
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: phones a report that justifies the commander's alertness. In his
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: central office on the planet Terra, Buzz hands a copy
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: of the report to Cadet Hacker.
• 4:08
  Speaker 5: Atomic radiations traced to Sector J-14, Planet X. Nuclear reactor
• 4:13
  Speaker 5: in full operation. Two power radiation towers focused south, east,
• 4:17
  Speaker 5: and south.
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: Wow. That's why things have been so quiet, Happy. Yeah,
• 4:21
  Speaker 4: Baccarati's in his own backyard cooking up trouble. With that
• 4:23
  Speaker 4: nuclear reactor, he can cook up plenty. I wonder what
• 4:25
  Speaker 4: he's using it for. Take a look at this map
• 4:27
  Speaker 4: of Planet X. Those thin green lines show where Baccarati's
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: beaming the power from his reactor. One beam goes toward
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: his biggest spaceship plant. The other is aimed toward a
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: mining region. You see what that means? He can speed
• 4:39
  Speaker 4: up production of spaceships and war materials. Exactly. Well, then
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: we'd better put that reactor out of operation quick. That
• 4:44
  Speaker 4: part is fairly simple. A cosmic bomb would take care
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: of that, but We have reasonably the eight of the
• 4:49
  Speaker 4: most brilliant nuclear scientists of the United Planets are at
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: that plant. Captured by Baccarati, huh? Yes. Even an attempt
• 4:55
  Speaker 4: to capture that plant by a land attack would endanger them.
• 4:57
  Speaker 4: That's right. He sure got us stymied. For the present.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: What we need is a way of creating a panic
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: at that reactor plant. A panic that will completely disorganize
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: Baccarati's men, and yet won't appear to be caused by
• 5:08
  Speaker 4: the space patrol. That's a big order. There's a man
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: on Venus who may be able to help us. An
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: expert on mass psychology named Professor Bullough. He's unable to
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: come to Terra because of an illness, so we're going
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: to Venus. Well, why couldn't you just... Why couldn't I
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: space-phone him? This is a matter I want to keep
• 5:25
  Speaker 4: completely secret. Yeah, with Baccarati's spies still around, he might
• 5:28
  Speaker 4: intercept a space-phone message.
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: Right.
• 5:30
  Speaker 4: Let's get over to the Spaceport Supply Depot, Ham. Oh,
• 5:32
  Speaker 4: your appointment with Bert Gant. He's a new civilian supervisor
• 5:35
  Speaker 4: in the ship's supplies section. It's just a courtesy call,
• 5:38
  Speaker 4: but it might help him to let them know that
• 5:40
  Speaker 4: Space Patrol understands his problems. Well, he'll probably have plenty.
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: The last man in that job couldn't take it after
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: this trouble with Baccarati started.
• 5:46
  Speaker 4: Bert Gant's a younger man, Hap. Let's hope he's a
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: capable one.
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: On the monster Planet X, Prince Baccarati glares at a
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: control panel. The chair in which he sits looks strangely
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: out of place. Massive and gaudy, it looks more like
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: the throne of an oriental potentate who ruled on Earth
• 6:07
  Speaker 3: 15 centuries ago. Wrigley, Baccarati turns as his chief advisor, Dr. Malengro,
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: enters the tower room and bows before him.
• 6:17
  Speaker 6: Good news, your highness. Two more power relay towers are
• 6:20
  Speaker 6: in operation. At this rate, your excellency's castle will soon
• 6:23
  Speaker 6: be lighted by your reactor plant thousands of miles away.
• 6:26
  Speaker 7: That's not important right now. That power is for factories
• 6:30
  Speaker 7: and mines. I must have spaceships, hundreds of them, enough
• 6:34
  Speaker 7: to conquer Commander Corey's space patrol.
• 6:36
  Speaker 4: Of course, your highness.
• 6:37
  Speaker 6: But perhaps Corey won't be alive to witness your glorious
• 6:40
  Speaker 6: victory over his ships.
• 6:42
  Speaker 7: Oh, then our little presents from the Iron Mountain are
• 6:47
  Speaker 7: on their way.
• 6:47
  Speaker 4: Well on their way.
• 6:49
  Speaker 6: They were routed to Terra by way of Neptune. By
• 6:52
  Speaker 6: the time they reach Terra, it will look like a
• 6:54
  Speaker 6: routine shipment of supplies.
• 6:56
  Speaker 7: Oh, the ships they're carried in, they have adequate refrigeration?
• 7:00
  Speaker 4: Yes, sire. Your agent on Terra has arranged every detail.
• 7:03
  Speaker 4: There must be no mistake.
• 7:05
  Speaker 7: Our little surprise must be in Corey's ship the next
• 7:08
  Speaker 7: time he blasts off.
• 7:10
  Speaker 4: Oh, uh, the agent on Terra. Tell him to contact
• 7:13
  Speaker 4: me my space-a-phone. What's his name? Gant, Your Highness. Bert Gant.
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: In an office of the Spaceport Supply Depot on Terra,
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: Buzz Corey and Cadet Happy are having a friendly chat
• 7:28
  Speaker 3: with the new civilian supervisor.
• 7:30
  Speaker 4: I'm the.
• 7:30
  Speaker 3: Murmur of a battery of auditing machines.
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: I'll be blasting off for Venus in a few hours.
• 7:34
  Speaker 4: You'll be working closely with the supervisor at Venus City Spaceport.
• 7:37
  Speaker 4: I'd like to have you come along and meet him.
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: Go with you?
• 7:41
  Speaker 4: Yes, I don't intend to be away long, but... I'm
• 7:45
  Speaker 4: just getting into the swing of things here.
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: To leave now.
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: I know how you feel, but from past experience, I
• 7:50
  Speaker 4: know that first-hand knowledge of the situation on Venus will
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: make your work much easier here. Commander, this is wonderful.
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: I'd like nothing better... But the fact is my doctor
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: has cautioned me about space flights while I'm under treatment. Well,
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: that's different. Nothing serious, I hope. A temporary condition. I
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: had a minor operation a few weeks ago. Some other time, then.
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: If that happens, I will get out of here now, Mr. Gant,
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: and let you get back to work.
• 8:18
  Speaker 3: Several hours later in his private living quarters, Bert Gant
• 8:21
  Speaker 3: tunes a space phone transmitter to a rarely used frequency,
• 8:25
  Speaker 3: then clicks on a scrambler circuit Using a code name
• 8:31
  Speaker 3: for even greater secrecy, he finally makes contact with a
• 8:34
  Speaker 3: man who sits in a throne-like chair on a planet
• 8:37
  Speaker 3: billions of miles away.
• 8:40
  Speaker 4: Triangle reporting to your highness. Make it quick, Triangle.
• 8:43
  Speaker 7: I don't want them getting a fix.
• 8:44
  Speaker 4: On your location. Corey has blasted off. Where, to crates
• 8:47
  Speaker 4: from Iron Mountain aboard? Yes, your highness. The refrigeration system
• 8:52
  Speaker 4: will fail an hour after blast-off, and then the contents
• 8:55
  Speaker 4: of those crates will go to work. He'll never reach Venus.
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: triangle out.
• 9:04
  Speaker 3: Nearly two hours out of Terra, Commander Corey and Cadet
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: Happy are working their way out with the ship on
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: automatic control. Happy, stripped to the waist and covered with grease,
• 9:13
  Speaker 3: is wiping the perspiration from his forehead with the back
• 9:16
  Speaker 3: of his hand.
• 9:19
  Speaker 4: It's not just in.
• 9:19
  Speaker 5: Supply compartment three, sir. Refrigeration's cutting out all over the ship.
• 9:23
  Speaker 4: You're telling me. The hull is reflecting back quite a
• 9:25
  Speaker 4: bit of the heat into space, but It's pouring through
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: the viewports.
• 9:28
  Speaker 5: I thought I could fix it in a jiffy, but
• 9:29
  Speaker 5: it's a lot more serious than a blown fuse or
• 9:31
  Speaker 5: a stuck relay.
• 9:32
  Speaker 4: Let's take a look at the connections in the terminal box. Say,
• 9:35
  Speaker 4: the trouble might be in there at that. The cover's
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: bolted on. Now, hand me a wrench. Yes, sir. Let's see.
• 9:41
  Speaker 5: I left it lying right there on the floor near... Well,
• 9:44
  Speaker 5: put rings around my head and call me Saturn.
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: Look at this. You call that a wrench? What's the
• 9:49
  Speaker 4: handle of it? Or part of the handle? Don't tell
• 9:51
  Speaker 4: me you broke an endurium wrench. Who, me? Let me
• 9:54
  Speaker 4: see that. Yes, sir. Looks as though it had been
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: cut with an atomo torch. But who'd cut a wrench? Besides,
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: there's nobody else aboard.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: To cut it.
• 10:02
  Speaker 4: We'll worry about it later. Get me a wrench out
• 10:04
  Speaker 4: of the tool kit. Is that around here? Yes, sir.
• 10:06
  Speaker 4: I had it right over here. The tool kit's gone. Hey, Commander,
• 10:12
  Speaker 4: I know you think I'm space happy, but it's true.
• 10:14
  Speaker 4: I lugged it in here and set it down. Somebody
• 10:17
  Speaker 4: must be aboard. A stowaway. Hey, we'd better search... Hold it, Happy.
• 10:21
  Speaker 4: Look down there. Aren't those the plastic handles of some
• 10:25
  Speaker 4: of the tools?
• 10:26
  Speaker 5: Smoking rockets. That's what they are, all right. I think
• 10:29
  Speaker 5: you're right about a stowaway. Then he made the reefer
• 10:31
  Speaker 5: system conk out. Wait till I get my hands on him.
• 10:35
  Speaker 4: Commander, what's that under the bulkhead? It looks like a
• 10:38
  Speaker 4: big welt in the middle. But, Commander, it's moving. I
• 10:42
  Speaker 4: think I saw it move. You're right. It's crawling along
• 10:46
  Speaker 4: like a... Like a worm. A gigantic worm. Where did
• 10:50
  Speaker 4: that thing come from? A worm as long as your arm.
• 10:52
  Speaker 4: There's another one. Lower down on the other bulkhead. I know. Hey,
• 10:57
  Speaker 4: our stowaway brought them aboard to keep us interested while
• 11:00
  Speaker 4: he wrecked the ship.
• 11:00
  Speaker 3: No, Hap.
• 11:02
  Speaker 4: These are the stowaways.
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: Huh?
• 11:04
  Speaker 4: Look at the metal bulkhead. It's pitted where they crawled. But, sir,
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: that's endurium. How could a worm make any impression on
• 11:09
  Speaker 4: a sheet of endurium? Because that's what they eat. What?
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: That and other metals. That's what's happened to the tools. Hap,
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: get that rod.
• 11:16
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir.
• 11:19
  Speaker 4: Here it is, sir. We can knock them off with that.
• 11:20
  Speaker 4: It's coming loose, sir. There, now get the other one.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: It won't come loose.
• 11:35
  Speaker 4: It's stuck tight. Wait, Hap. Lean close to it and listen.
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: It's feeding. Feeding on the metal bucket. We've got to
• 11:48
  Speaker 4: shut this compartment off in a hurry before this thing
• 11:50
  Speaker 4: eats a bigger hole.
• 11:51
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 11:51
  Speaker 4: Now let's get forward and boost the oxygen supply.
• 11:56
  Speaker 5: Commander, look.
• 11:57
  Speaker 4: Out there in the corridor. There are dozens of them.
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: All our air is escaping.
• 12:02
  Speaker 4: We're too late. They've eaten through the hull.
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: We'll return to Space Patrol in just a moment.
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: You have 1,750 chances to win in the Name the
• 12:19
  Speaker 3: Planet contest.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: Right, space patrollers.
• 12:23
  Speaker 3: 1,750 chances to win a wonderful prize, like a Schwinn bicycle,
• 12:28
  Speaker 3: for example. 750 Schwinn varsity bicycles are being given away.
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: Schwinn, the lightweight bike.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: Plenty sharp-looking, plenty rugged, with three-speed gear shift and two-wheel handbrakes.
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: And listen.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: You have a thousand chances to win a beautiful Space
• 12:43
  Speaker 3: Patrol wristwatch or a super-powered autosonic rifle, a streamlined outer
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: space helmet, or a valuable Space Patrol emergency kit. And remember,
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: every Space Patroller can get a free prize. Just have
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: mom or dad go with you to your Weatherbird shoe
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: store for your free space coin albums. Now, inside it,
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: you'll find your Name the Planet contest entry blank and
• 13:06
  Speaker 3: free space coins.
• 13:08
  Speaker 4: Terrific coins.
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: Big as a half dollar with designs of planets on
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: them in starlight silver. So good looking, you'll want to
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: get more and build a real space coin collection.
• 13:17
  Speaker 4: And here's how.
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: Inside every new package of good hot Ralston, you'll find
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: another swell space coin to add to your album. And
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: outside of every new hot Ralston package, directions for entering
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: the contest in case there's no Weatherbird shoe store near you.
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: Look for the package with a picture of the commander
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: or Cadet Happy on the front. So go to your
• 13:36
  Speaker 3: Weatherbird shoe store for your free coin album, get a
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: package of good hot Ralston with a free space coin,
• 13:42
  Speaker 3: and enter the Name the Planet contest now. And now
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: back to our space patrol adventure, the Iron Eaters of
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: Planet X. While Buzz and Happy are on a trip
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: to Venus, their refrigeration system fails. The interior of the
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: spaceship rapidly becomes stifling because of the sun's heat absorbed
• 14:04
  Speaker 3: by the hull. As they attempt to locate the cause
• 14:06
  Speaker 3: of the trouble in their ship's cooling system, they discover
• 14:09
  Speaker 3: two enormous worm-like creatures, literally.
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: Feeding on the endurium bulkhead of the ship.
• 14:14
  Speaker 4: They seal off that compartment, but find dozens more of
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: the metal-devouring worms in the corridor. Now, with air rapidly
• 14:20
  Speaker 4: escaping into space, they stagger toward the forward end of
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: the ship, gasping for breath. Seal off this section, Hap.
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: Help me with the door.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: There's another worm on the bulkhead over your head. Here's
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: the spacesuit locker. We'd better get into our spacesuits before
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: that one eats through the hull. Here, Hap, get into
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: it quick.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: The worm dropped to the deck. Hey, look at that hole.
• 14:44
  Speaker 4: All the air will be gone before we can get
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: our suits on. I'll press my spacesuit tight against the hole.
• 14:48
  Speaker 4: That'll stop the leak till you get into your suit.
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: Then you do the same for me.
• 14:51
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 14:57
  Speaker 3: Fighting against blacking out from lack of oxygen, Happy struggles
• 15:00
  Speaker 3: into his spacesuit. Then revived by the air supply within
• 15:03
  Speaker 3: the suit, he holds his gloved hand over the hole
• 15:05
  Speaker 3: in the ship while Buzz dons his suit. A few
• 15:07
  Speaker 3: moments later, Buzz is at the controls of the ship,
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: correcting their vector toward Venus. Happy returns from an inspection
• 15:13
  Speaker 3: back at, smiling through the faceplate of his spacesuit.
• 15:16
  Speaker 4: Commander, I got great news. What do you think? Those
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: worms are all dead. We can seal up the holes
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: in the ship and cut on the air supply. All right, Hap.
• 15:23
  Speaker 4: We'll seal up the holes, but we'll keep the air
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: turned off until just before entering the beast's atmosphere. Yes, sir.
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: But why? For two reasons. With no air in the ship,
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: the interior is now as cold as outer space. That's
• 15:33
  Speaker 4: a bonus with our refrigeration system out of order. Yes, sir.
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: But what's the second reason? The worms. How do you
• 15:39
  Speaker 4: know they're dead? Well, they died when the air left
• 15:42
  Speaker 4: the ship. Perhaps it was the cold that affected them.
• 15:45
  Speaker 4: If we make the ship warm again by bringing the
• 15:47
  Speaker 4: air up to normal pressure, they might thaw out. Let's
• 15:49
  Speaker 4: keep it cold. But, sir, what makes you think it's
• 15:52
  Speaker 4: low temperature rather than lack of air that stopped them?
• 15:54
  Speaker 4: It may be a coincidence, but isn't it strange that...
• 15:57
  Speaker 4: We should have this mysterious trouble with our cooling system
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: on the very same trip that those weird, metal-eating monsters
• 16:02
  Speaker 4: show up.
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: Wow.
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: How did they get aboard the ship? And what did
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: happen to our cooling system that wouldn't register on our
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: electronic trouble indicator? Then you think they were already frozen
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: when they were put aboard? Someone planned the failure of
• 16:14
  Speaker 4: our refrigeration system to revive the worms. But who could
• 16:17
  Speaker 4: have done it? We might have a clue after Professor
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: Erskine examines these creatures. Professor Erskine of Venus University. He's
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: an authority on planetary zoology. He can examine the worms
• 16:27
  Speaker 4: while I'm at the hospital talking to Professor Bullough.
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: Hours later, Happy sits in an office at Venus City
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: Space Patrol headquarters, anxiously awaiting the commander's return from his
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: conference with Professor Bullough, the expert on mass psychology.
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: At last, the door opens.
• 16:44
  Speaker 5: Commander, did the professor come up with an idea? Can
• 16:48
  Speaker 5: he tell us how to disorganize that reactor plant?
• 16:50
  Speaker 4: We can't expect miracles, Happy. Before he can come up
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: with a practical plan, he's got to know about conditions
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: on Planet X. I had better luck with the other professor, though.
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: The zoologist. Oh, you talked to him, too? Yes. Professor
• 17:01
  Speaker 4: Erskine examined our metal-eating pets.
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: He had to dissect them with an atomo torch.
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: I'm not surprised. Their systems are designed to transform metallic
• 17:08
  Speaker 4: substances into nourishing chemical compounds. They're not like the living
• 17:12
  Speaker 4: creatures we're familiar with. They aren't dependent on plants to
• 17:15
  Speaker 4: transform minerals into food. Are any of the worms still alive? Yes,
• 17:19
  Speaker 4: they've revived They're safely sealed in old-fashioned wooden boxes They
• 17:24
  Speaker 4: won't eat anything that was once alive in the sense
• 17:26
  Speaker 4: that we know it No meat, fish, plants or trees
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: Just nice juicy endurium wrenches and tender spaceships The professor
• 17:33
  Speaker 4: is sure their basic food is iron ore They can
• 17:36
  Speaker 4: be lifted with a magnet But where do they come from?
• 17:38
  Speaker 4: He doesn't know He refuses even to guess Well, if
• 17:42
  Speaker 4: he doesn't know, who does? We do The professor eliminated
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: all the planets but one Planet X. Right. But how
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: did they get in the ship? Who put them there?
• 17:51
  Speaker 4: We're blasting off for Terra immediately, Happy. There's someone there
• 17:54
  Speaker 4: I want to talk to. Someone, I think, can answer
• 17:56
  Speaker 4: those questions.
• 18:02
  Speaker 3: Meantime, in Prince Baccarati's castle, His Highness is receiving an urgent.
• 18:06
  Speaker 4: Space-avon message from Terra.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: Unscrambled, a frantic voice is earnestly pleading, Something went wrong,
• 18:12
  Speaker 3: Your Highness.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: Cory is still alive.
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: He's coming back to Terra.
• 18:15
  Speaker 7: I've already heard the news triangle from my agents on Venus.
• 18:18
  Speaker 4: He questioned me. He probably suspects me as it is.
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: If he gives me a brainograph test, he'll know everything.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: You've got to protect me.
• 18:25
  Speaker 4: Ah, don't worry. Corey will never question you.
• 18:28
  Speaker 7: I'll order one of my other agents on Terra to
• 18:31
  Speaker 7: take care of you.
• 18:32
  Speaker 2: His name is Brugger.
• 18:34
  Speaker 4: Now, don't worry. Thank you, Your Highness. Thank you. Baccarati out.
• 18:39
  Speaker 7: Yes. Brugger will take good care of Bird Gent.
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: The incompetent bungler.
• 18:49
  Speaker 3: Back on Terra in his private quarters, Bert Gant paces
• 18:52
  Speaker 3: the floor nervously.
• 18:54
  Speaker 4: In the corner is a bag packed with a few belongings.
• 18:57
  Speaker 3: At the sound of footsteps outside his room, he stops pacing,
• 19:00
  Speaker 3: eyes staring wildly at the door.
• 19:02
  Speaker 4: And then.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: Who is it?
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: Broker. Open up. Oh, you've come. Wonderful. I've been worried.
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: My bags are all packed. I'm ready to go. Put
• 19:21
  Speaker 4: it down, Gant. You aren't going anywhere. But His Highness
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: said you would take care of me. That's right. With this.
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: No. No, don't shoot me. This is all a mistake.
• 19:32
  Speaker 4: Yeah. You made it. His Highness doesn't like bunglers.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: You can't.
• 19:38
  Speaker 4: There are other people in the building. They'll hear the gun.
• 19:41
  Speaker 4: It's silent.
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: Now lie down so you won't bounce.
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: No.
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: No, Bruger, Bruger, please. Drop it, Bruger. I said drop it.
• 19:53
  Speaker 4: You came just in time. You came just in time.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: Do you know what he was going to do? Yes,
• 19:57
  Speaker 4: I know. And I know why he was going to
• 19:59
  Speaker 4: do it.
• 19:59
  Speaker 8: What?
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: What do you mean?
• 20:02
  Speaker 4: Don't play innocent, Gant. You supervised the loading of my ship.
• 20:05
  Speaker 4: You saw to it that those metal-eating worms were loaded
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: into the refrigeration compartment in metal boxes. Oh. Really, I...
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: You fixed the solenoids in the magnetic heating exchange pump
• 20:13
  Speaker 4: so they conked out. As the ship warmed up inside,
• 20:16
  Speaker 4: the worms thawed and ate their way out. I didn't
• 20:19
  Speaker 4: do it.
• 20:20
  Speaker 2: Honestly, Commander.
• 20:20
  Speaker 4: You had it done then, at Baccarati's orders. That's why
• 20:23
  Speaker 4: you were afraid to come to Venus with me. You
• 20:25
  Speaker 4: never had a minor operation. I had your record checked.
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: I had to do it. Baccarati had something on me.
• 20:31
  Speaker 4: Something that happened years ago. If it had come out,
• 20:34
  Speaker 4: I could never have held a good job with the government.
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: So you helped the man who's trying to destroy the
• 20:37
  Speaker 4: government you work for. That's great logic, Gand. Now give
• 20:41
  Speaker 4: it to me straight and fast. I'm in a hurry.
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: Those worms came from Planet X, didn't they?
• 20:44
  Speaker 2: Yes.
• 20:45
  Speaker 4: Where on Planet X? From the Iron Mountain. It has
• 20:48
  Speaker 4: a high percentage of iron ore. The worms are thick
• 20:52
  Speaker 4: on it and in it. It's like an anthill. X
• 20:55
  Speaker 4: is a big planet. Where is Iron Mountain?
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: In sector L-15, about 100 miles east of the Colossus River.
• 21:02
  Speaker 4: Happy? Yes, sir. We'll see that Gant and Brugger are
• 21:04
  Speaker 4: locked up. I'm a blast off for Planet X. First,
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: we'll pick up some fishing tackle. Fishing tackle, sir? Yes,
• 21:09
  Speaker 4: several tons of steel netting. Let's get these fellows to headquarters.
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: Many hours later, the Terra V soars over the surface
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: of gigantic Planet X. No enemy ships challenge them because
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: Baccarati's warning system... destroyed by Buzz and Happy on a
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: previous foray, is still virtually useless.
• 21:31
  Speaker 4: Mile after mile of a vast planet rolls under them.
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: And then, finally, a barren peak looms blackly ahead against
• 21:38
  Speaker 3: the sink's sun.
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: That must be Iron Mountain, sir. It checks with the
• 21:42
  Speaker 4: grid coordinates. Notice it's not a growing thing for hundreds
• 21:44
  Speaker 4: of miles, not even a weed. The metal-eating worms have
• 21:47
  Speaker 4: this area all to themselves. They can have it. All right, Hatton,
• 21:50
  Speaker 4: we're going to cut our velocity and get ready to
• 21:51
  Speaker 4: land at the base of the mountains. Open the bomb bay.
• 21:59
  Speaker 4: Bomb bay open, sir. Lower the net. Cut on the
• 22:01
  Speaker 4: cargo winches. That's enough. Now when we land, that tangle
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: of steel netting will be stretched out on the ground
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: several feet behind the ship. Stand by to cut rockets.
• 22:16
  Speaker 4: Standing by, sir. Cut rockets. Full rappel array. What's to
• 22:31
  Speaker 4: keep them from attacking the ship? A repeller ray. A
• 22:33
  Speaker 4: half unit ought to keep them away. It won't lift
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: the ship. I'm worried about the cables holding the net
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: to the ship. Those are steel, too. They're covered with
• 22:41
  Speaker 4: thick plastic. It's organic material, not mineral. The worms won't
• 22:44
  Speaker 4: touch those cables. Commander, they're crawling to the net already.
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: It's almost as though they could smell it. We'll wait
• 22:50
  Speaker 4: till they get a good haul. Then we'll blast off.
• 22:58
  Speaker 3: Within a few minutes, the heavy steel net is a
• 23:01
  Speaker 3: mass of giant crawling creatures, eagerly devouring what to them
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: is a rare delicacy. Finally, Buzz turns to Happy.
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: You blast off now before they do much damage to
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: the net. Cut on the rear magnetic beam. That'll hold
• 23:13
  Speaker 4: them to the net and also keep chewed up pieces
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: of the net from falling.
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: You'll rise up several feet with the repeller ray hat
• 23:19
  Speaker 4: so the rocket blast won't ruin our dinner party. Fire rockets,
• 23:25
  Speaker 4: cut repeller ray. We'll go up several miles where it's
• 23:39
  Speaker 4: good and cold. That'll put the worms quietly to sleep
• 23:41
  Speaker 4: the way it did in our ship. I don't think
• 23:42
  Speaker 4: we've lost any of them, sir. We'll keep our velocity
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: down fairly low so the net won't trail back into
• 23:47
  Speaker 4: the rocket blast. That means we won't reach the reactor
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: plant until long after dark. That's fine. Baccarati's men won't
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: be able to identify the ship. When it flies over
• 23:54
  Speaker 4: and nothing happens, they'll assume it's a Planet X ship.
• 24:02
  Speaker 3: High above Planet X, the Terra V, with its strange
• 24:05
  Speaker 3: cargo dangling beneath it, roars toward the nuclear reactor plant
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: through the utter blackness. Then through the infrared viewscope, Happy
• 24:13
  Speaker 3: sights two tall metal towers, icing several hundred yards from
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: a group of massive buildings.
• 24:19
  Speaker 4: There it is, sir. I'm going to fly as close
• 24:20
  Speaker 4: to those towers as I can so the net won't
• 24:22
  Speaker 4: have to fall far. Professor Eskin assures me that the
• 24:25
  Speaker 4: worms are practically indestructible and have absolutely no sense of pain. Still,
• 24:29
  Speaker 4: I'm going to make it as easy as possible. The
• 24:31
  Speaker 4: net's just a few feet off the ground, sir. All right, Half.
• 24:33
  Speaker 4: I'm going to fire nose rockets and apply the repeller ray.
• 24:36
  Speaker 4: For a couple of seconds, we'll be hovering right next
• 24:38
  Speaker 4: to the towers. Be ready to release the net. Yes, sir.
• 24:43
  Speaker 4: Cut it loose.
• 24:45
  Speaker 6: All clear, sir.
• 24:46
  Speaker 4: Let's get away from here.
• 24:54
  Speaker 3: And so, with a burst of speed, the spaceship leaves
• 24:56
  Speaker 3: the reactor plant far behind. Then, using a row of
• 24:59
  Speaker 3: hills to the east as a shield, returns and lands
• 25:02
  Speaker 3: to wait developments. If the ship has alarmed the personnel
• 25:06
  Speaker 3: at the reactor plant, there's no sign. Hours pass. Then,
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: in the dim light of dawn, black lumps on the
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: ground begin to move.
• 25:14
  Speaker 4: The chill of outer space is leaving their bodies, and
• 25:16
  Speaker 4: they awake.
• 25:17
  Speaker 3: They munch contentedly on strands of the steel net, as
• 25:20
  Speaker 3: though it were soft spaghetti.
• 25:22
  Speaker 4: Soon, the net is gone, and they crawl toward the
• 25:25
  Speaker 4: Endurium Towers.
• 25:26
  Speaker 3: There is no hurry, no greedy scrambling.
• 25:29
  Speaker 4: There is food for all, tons of it.
• 25:32
  Speaker 3: The towers continue to radiate their tremendous invisible energy across
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: Planet X. And in the growing light on top of
• 25:37
  Speaker 3: the hill, Buzz and Happy watch. Then suddenly, Happy exclaims.
• 25:43
  Speaker 6: What?
• 25:44
  Speaker 4: See that flash of light? The worms have not acrossed
• 25:46
  Speaker 4: race in one of the towers. It fell and cut
• 25:48
  Speaker 4: through a heavy power line from the generators. Hey, the
• 25:50
  Speaker 4: crew is coming out of the buildings now. Yeah, streaming out. Hey,
• 25:53
  Speaker 4: look at them scatter. And no wonder the towers are buckled.
• 25:56
  Speaker 4: The men are in no danger, but they don't know it.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: There go the towers.
• 26:05
  Speaker 5: That mob doesn't know what to make of it. But, sir,
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: a few of them are running toward this hill. They
• 26:10
  Speaker 5: must have seen us.
• 26:11
  Speaker 4: Yes, and so did the rest of them. They're heading
• 26:13
  Speaker 4: the other way toward the river. Scared to death, I guess. Happy,
• 26:16
  Speaker 4: how many men do you count running toward the hill? Well,
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: let's see. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
• 26:23
  Speaker 4: That's what I got. Those are the men we came for, Happy.
• 26:25
  Speaker 4: The atomic experts, Baccarati abducted. Let's go down and meet them, Hap. Yes, sir.
• 26:31
  Speaker 5: You know, Commander, I've always heard that a worm turns,
• 26:33
  Speaker 5: but I never expected to see a worm do anybody
• 26:35
  Speaker 5: a good turn.
• 26:37
  Speaker 2: That's my cadet.
• 26:43
  Speaker 3: An action preview of next week's exciting Space Patrol adventure
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: in just a moment.
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: Space Patrolers, this is Commander Corey. I don't want you
• 26:52
  Speaker 4: to miss the opportunity to win the giant rocket clubhouse
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: or one of the other big prizes. But you'll have
• 26:57
  Speaker 4: to hurry. Go with mother or dad to your Weatherbird
• 27:00
  Speaker 4: shoe store for your free space coin album and contest
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: entry blank. If the Weatherbird man has run out of albums,
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: ask him to get you one. Then you get a
• 27:10
  Speaker 4: package of hot Ralston with the free space coin inside. Remember,
• 27:14
  Speaker 4: see your Weatherbird shoe dealer, get some hot Ralston, and
• 27:18
  Speaker 4: enter the Name the Planet contest today.
• 27:24
  Speaker 3: And now, a preview of next week's exciting Space Patrol adventure.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: Buzz and Happy are at a scientist's laboratory on the
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: planet Venus, bound hand and foot by Prince Baccarati. As
• 27:34
  Speaker 3: they struggle to free themselves, a vacuum pump steadily draws
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: air from a chamber containing a powerful chemical.
• 27:42
  Speaker 4: Keep struggling, Happy. You've got to cut off that pump
• 27:44
  Speaker 4: before the chemical explodes. The cord is digging into my wrists.
• 27:47
  Speaker 4: How much time have we got? It'll blow up when
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: the indicator reaches one hundredth of an atmosphere pressure.
• 27:51
  Speaker 2: A hundredth?
• 27:53
  Speaker 4: Smoking rockets is almost that right now. And the ropes
• 27:55
  Speaker 4: are so tight.
• 27:56
  Speaker 2: I can hardly move.
• 28:01
  Speaker 3: Be sure to join us again next week for the
• 28:03
  Speaker 3: thrilling story, Cyclone in Outer Space, when Instant Ralston and
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: Regular Ralston again present Space Patrol!
• 28:11
  Speaker 2: Space Patrol!
• 28:15
  Speaker 3: Space Patrol, created by Mike Moser, starring Ed Kemmerer as
• 28:17
  Speaker 3: Commander Corey, and Len Osborne as Cadet Happy, was written
• 28:20
  Speaker 3: by Lou Houston, produced and directed by Larry Robertson, executive
• 28:24
  Speaker 3: producer Mike Devery.
• 28:28
  Speaker 2: Other players were Bela Kovach, Ken Mayer, and Norman Jolly.
• 28:31
  Speaker 2: Dick Tufel speaking.
• 28:36
  Speaker 3: Now, don't forget to tune in next Saturday and every
• 28:38
  Speaker 3: Saturday when Instant Ralston and Regular Ralston again present Space Patrol!
• 28:50
  Speaker 4: This is Dick Tufel in St.
• 28:51
  Speaker 3: Louis reporting on the twin-jet Air Force fighter, the McDonnell
• 28:54
  Speaker 3: Voodoo XF-88A. In a moment, we'll hear from the noted
• 28:58
  Speaker 3: test pilot who flies this plane, Phil Houghton. Speed of
• 29:01
  Speaker 3: the Voodoo is a military secret, but it's plenty fast.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: Span is 40 feet, length 55, weight 10 tons. And now,
• 29:09
  Speaker 3: Phil Houghton, recorded this morning at Lambert Airfield.
• 29:13
  Speaker 8: After seeing the voodoo, I guess you know why I
• 29:15
  Speaker 8: like my job. There's one thing about it, though. A
• 29:18
  Speaker 8: test pilot has to stay in good condition, get lots
• 29:21
  Speaker 8: of sleep, and eat good, healthy food. That's why I
• 29:24
  Speaker 8: like rice checks and wheat checks for breakfast.
• 29:27
  Speaker 4: They've got plenty of energy in them, and they really
• 29:29
  Speaker 4: taste swell. I think you'll like them, too.
• 29:32
  Speaker 3: No other cereal, puffed or flaked, contains so much nourishment
• 29:36
  Speaker 3: in such concentrated bite-sized form. Do as Phil Houghton. J.
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: Ray Donahue, Jr., and other top test pilots do. Make
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: your cereals rice checks and wheat checks. Be sure to
• 29:51
  Speaker 3: see another exciting Space Patrol program on your local ABC
• 29:54
  Speaker 3: television station.
• 29:55
  Speaker 2: Consult your local paper for time and channel.
• 29:58
  Speaker 3: This program is broadcast to our armed forces overseas through
• 30:00
  Speaker 3: the worldwide facilities of the Armed Forces Radio Service. Space
• 30:04
  Speaker 3: Patrol came to you transcribed from Hollywood. This is ABC
• 30:08
  Speaker 3: Radio Network.
• 30:11
  Speaker 1: Our visit with Space Patrol, Episode 57, The Iron Eaters
• 30:15
  Speaker 1: of Planet X, is complete. Until the next transmission, good night.
• 30:21
  Speaker 1: Follow old-time sci-fi radio for more classic science fiction broadcasts.