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X Minus One - "Open Warfare" (Old Time Radio, 1957) · X Minus One | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Jim Pearson has one year to earn $ 50, 000 through golf
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: if he is to win Sam Hatcher's approval to marry Alice.
• 0:09
  Speaker 2: At the U.S.
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Open, Pearson meets a remarkably precise new competitor backed by Hatcher,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: while Pete, his caddy, watches events from close at hand.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: From NBC Radio, this is X-1, Open Warfare, Episode 85,
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: originally broadcast January 23, 1957. Ernest Kenoy adapted James E.
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Gunn's novelette, first published in Galaxy Science Fiction, and Daniel
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: Sutter directed. NBC made the broadcast in cooperation with Galaxy
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Science Fiction magazine, with Larry Haynes as Jim Pearson, Jack
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: Grimes as Pete, and Wendell Holmes as Mr.
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: Hatcher.
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: And now, the original broadcast.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: Countdown for blastoff. X minus 5, 4, 3, 2, X
• 1:01
  Speaker 3: minus 1, fire. From the far horizons of the unknown
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: come transcribed tales of new dimensions in time and space.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: These are stories of the future. Adventures in which you'll
• 1:44
  Speaker 3: live in a million could be years on a thousand
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Galaxy
• 1:51
  Speaker 3: Science Fiction Magazine, presents.
• 1:54
  Speaker 4: X minus 1.
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: Tonight, the time is 1965. The place, a golf course.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: The story, open warfare.
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: You wouldn't believe it, but there are some people that
• 2:29
  Speaker 5: think that Caddy is a pet name for a big car.
• 2:32
  Speaker 6: No, I mean it.
• 2:34
  Speaker 5: Over those little wagons you pull around the course or
• 2:36
  Speaker 5: carry in their own clubs, there were people actually playing
• 2:38
  Speaker 5: golf for years, never seen a caddy. As far as
• 2:41
  Speaker 5: I'm concerned, you take the human element out of golf
• 2:43
  Speaker 5: or any.
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: Sport, and what do you got left? Nothing.
• 2:46
  Speaker 5: I mean, you could say I'm prejudiced on account of
• 2:47
  Speaker 5: my being a caddy, but that's the way I feel
• 2:50
  Speaker 5: about it. Besides which, a caddy is a perfect observer
• 2:53
  Speaker 5: of the passing parade of human experience.
• 2:55
  Speaker 6: I'll give you a for instance. Now you take Jim Pearson.
• 2:58
  Speaker 6: He won the U.S.
• 2:58
  Speaker 5: Open in 1960, 61, and 64. Well, let me tell
• 3:01
  Speaker 5: you about Jim Pearson. He was the pro at the
• 3:04
  Speaker 5: club here, and I remember when it all started. He
• 3:06
  Speaker 5: was out playing with Mr.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: Hatcher.
• 3:08
  Speaker 5: That Sam Hatcher. He couldn't break 90 if the ball
• 3:11
  Speaker 5: had wings. And in the locker room, he looked like
• 3:13
  Speaker 5: a sack of flour that had been set down hard.
• 3:15
  Speaker 6: But he was loaded with money.
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: Anyway, they were waiting for a foursome at Dame's, who
• 3:20
  Speaker 5: he shouldn't have been wearing slacks. When Hatcher turned the gym,
• 3:23
  Speaker 5: and with a real sweet smile, he lowered the boom.
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: Jim, you're a good golfer.
• 3:28
  Speaker 6: Thank you, Mr.
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: Hatcher.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: You're a good golfer, even if you can't teach me anything.
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: Oh, you're coming along fine, Mr.
• 3:34
  Speaker 6: Hatcher.
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: We've been good to you at the country club, haven't we?
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes.
• 3:37
  Speaker 4: I want you to do something for me.
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: Yes, sir.
• 3:40
  Speaker 4: Stay away from my daughter.
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: Oh, Mr.
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: Hatcher.
• 3:42
  Speaker 4: I won't have Alice marrying a man who has nothing
• 3:44
  Speaker 4: but coordination and muscles.
• 3:45
  Speaker 6: What?
• 3:46
  Speaker 4: When I was only your age, I was making $ 50, 000
• 3:48
  Speaker 4: a year. It takes brains to do that. Brains get
• 3:51
  Speaker 4: more valuable. Muscles deteriorate. There's nothing muscles can do that
• 3:55
  Speaker 4: a machine can't do better. You don't think I could
• 3:58
  Speaker 4: make $ 50, 000? I know you can't. You haven't got the guts.
• 4:00
  Speaker 2: Now, listen, Mr. Hatcher.
• 4:02
  Speaker 4: I'm just quoting history, Jim. Take the tournament in St.
• 4:04
  Speaker 6: Louis.
• 4:04
  Speaker 4: You blew up. And the good old in the Palm Beach.
• 4:06
  Speaker 4: You could have won all those. But you blew. You
• 4:09
  Speaker 4: chickened out. That's not exactly fair, Mr.
• 4:11
  Speaker 2: Hatcher.
• 4:12
  Speaker 6: But it's true.
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: I can make $ 50, 000.
• 4:13
  Speaker 4: Yes, in your whole life.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: No, no, no. In one year.
• 4:16
  Speaker 6: Oh, you can? Yes, sir.
• 4:17
  Speaker 4: All right, Jim.
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: You're a sportsman.
• 4:19
  Speaker 4: I'll tell you what I'll do. If you can make $ 50, 000
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: in one year at this infantile pastime that you call golf,
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: you can have Alice.
• 4:28
  Speaker 2: That's the most arrogant thing.
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: What's the matter, Jim? Don't you think you can do it?
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: I know I can do it.
• 4:32
  Speaker 4: All right, then. Is it a bet?
• 4:35
  Speaker 6: All right. All right, it's a bet.
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: Very well, then. I believe the ladies are finished. Shall
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: we drive?
• 4:49
  Speaker 5: Naturally, old man Hatcher set a trap for him. And
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: I guess it worked pretty good, too. Jim knew I
• 4:56
  Speaker 5: heard the whole thing, so he used to talk it
• 4:58
  Speaker 5: over with me. You've been doing real good this season, Mr.
• 5:01
  Speaker 6: Pearson. Sure.
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: Been away on the whole circuit. I haven't seen Alice
• 5:04
  Speaker 2: more than one day at a time in the last
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: six months.
• 5:06
  Speaker 6: You hear from Miss Hatcher? Oh, yes.
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: Yes, I got a telegram right after I won the
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: first tournament. It said, and I quote, I won't be
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: bought and sold, signed, Alice. Oh, she found out about
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: that bet, huh? Yeah, I'm sure her father made sure
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: she did.
• 5:20
  Speaker 6: Wouldn't I trust you? It did, it did. It cost
• 5:23
  Speaker 6: me $.
• 5:23
  Speaker 2: 5, 000 in tournament money, and then I just got mad.
• 5:26
  Speaker 2: You know, the cold mad, the kind of mad that
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: puts 20 yards on your drive?
• 5:30
  Speaker 5: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know what you mean. Sometimes when
• 5:32
  Speaker 5: I get sore at the caddy master, I go out
• 5:34
  Speaker 5: to the driving range.
• 5:35
  Speaker 6: Bingo! Every time you hit it, you got it right
• 5:37
  Speaker 6: between his eyes.
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that's the idea. Every time I slam a
• 5:41
  Speaker 2: ball down the fairway, I feel as if I've just
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: belted Hatcher right behind the ears.
• 5:45
  Speaker 6: You still figure you got a chance?
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: Oh, I'm going to.
• 5:47
  Speaker 6: Get that $ 50, 000 this year, all right.
• 5:49
  Speaker 2: I'm going to win the U.S. Open, and that's worth $ 25, 000
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: in cash plus vaudeville appearances or Ed Sullivan's television show
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: or something. And I'm going to take the money, and
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: I'm going to lay it in front of Alice, and
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: I'm going to say, I wasn't buying you. I was
• 6:01
  Speaker 2: buying the right to tell you I love you.
• 6:03
  Speaker 6: Ah, gee, that's pretty.
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: All right, never mind. Give me a number seven, I ask.
• 6:18
  Speaker 6: Jim Pearson sure was burning up the circuit. He came
• 6:21
  Speaker 6: into the U.S.
• 6:21
  Speaker 5: Open the man to watch. The day the tournament opened,
• 6:24
  Speaker 5: Jimmy Cannon had in his column, you are Jim Pearson,
• 6:27
  Speaker 5: the hard luck boy with the velvet swing. It was
• 6:29
  Speaker 5: real philosophical. All the sports writers picked him to win.
• 6:33
  Speaker 5: And then Saul showed up. We was on a practice team.
• 6:38
  Speaker 5: Jim had been sharpening up his number one wood when
• 6:40
  Speaker 5: all of a sudden a gallery took off like a
• 6:42
  Speaker 5: batch of big birds. They were around another tee about
• 6:45
  Speaker 5: a hundred feet away. Jim knocked off and the two
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: of us strolled over.
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: Hey, that's some swing. Who is that, Pete?
• 6:55
  Speaker 6: I've never seen him before. His name's Saul. That's some swing.
• 7:01
  Speaker 2: Hey, he's no amateur. I've never seen him on the
• 7:03
  Speaker 2: pro circuit. Hey, Mr.
• 7:05
  Speaker 6: Pearson, look at the caddy. 280 yards down there. That
• 7:09
  Speaker 6: ain't what I mean. Look, he's got a ball bag
• 7:10
  Speaker 6: in his hands. Now watch. Oh, that's a good catch.
• 7:15
  Speaker 6: He caught that ball right in the bag. Mr.
• 7:16
  Speaker 5: Pearson, that caddy didn't move that sack. That ball dropped
• 7:19
  Speaker 5: right in 280 yards away.
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: Oh, it's an accident.
• 7:22
  Speaker 6: Yeah, look, it happened again.
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: He's a trick shot artist. Wait till he gets into competition.
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: I don't know. He just hit another one dead center.
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: Oh, there isn't anybody that good. Not even old Joe Kirkwood.
• 7:35
  Speaker 4: Quite a spectacle, eh, Jim?
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: Oh, hello, Hatcher.
• 7:38
  Speaker 4: Must be unnerving to watch something like that.
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: I can stand it.
• 7:42
  Speaker 4: But will you be able to stand it when the
• 7:43
  Speaker 4: going gets rough? Will you blow up like you always do?
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: It'll be too bad just when you're so close.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: Don't worry about me. I'm not.
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: I imagine Saul will take care of that.
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: Oh, you know him?
• 7:56
  Speaker 4: I brought him here. My own personal entry. He's going
• 7:59
  Speaker 4: to beat you out of the open. But he's got
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: something to learn. Look at him. Just a dumb country
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: boy who never saw a golf club do a few
• 8:08
  Speaker 4: months ago. I think he might teach you something, Jim.
• 8:20
  Speaker 6: I could tell Jim was going to have a good
• 8:22
  Speaker 6: day the minute he took his driver out of the bag.
• 8:24
  Speaker 6: He took his practice wings and they went around clean,
• 8:27
  Speaker 6: grooved and loose. I would have bet my shirt on him.
• 8:30
  Speaker 6: As a matter of fact, I did. The crowd was sympathetic.
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: They wanted to see him burn up the course. Well, Pete,
• 8:35
  Speaker 6: we all ready? Yeah. Uh, what's this? New kind of
• 8:38
  Speaker 6: golf ball? Oh, yeah. A young fella from the A.B.
• 8:41
  Speaker 6: Wells Sporting Goods Company. He slipped me a fin to
• 8:43
  Speaker 6: talk you into using these balls. Well, I don't know.
• 8:45
  Speaker 2: Any good?
• 8:46
  Speaker 6: Yeah, I figure. They guaranteed they had 20 yards to
• 8:49
  Speaker 6: every drive.
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: I sure could use 20 yards.
• 8:50
  Speaker 5: Well, he's going to come around to see you later.
• 8:52
  Speaker 5: He wanted to sign you up for testimonials and advertising
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: and things. You know, the golf ball used by Jim
• 8:57
  Speaker 5: Pearson when he won the U.S.
• 8:58
  Speaker 6: Open. That kind of thing. A lot of dough in it.
• 9:00
  Speaker 2: Well, we'll give it a try. Let's tee up.
• 9:10
  Speaker 6: Oh, he started off real good. A long, straight drive
• 9:13
  Speaker 6: right down the fairway. It was a birdie four. Jim
• 9:15
  Speaker 6: was clicking them off that day.
• 9:17
  Speaker 2: There you are, Pete.
• 9:17
  Speaker 6: 34 and a 32 for 66 on the 18.
• 9:19
  Speaker 2: Six birdies, 12 for you.
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: Yeah, three more rounds like that should win easy. Hey,
• 9:23
  Speaker 6: how are the new golf balls, huh? Oh, fine, fine.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: You know, they aren't kitten. It does average out about
• 9:28
  Speaker 2: 20 yards longer on the drive. I'll have to get
• 9:30
  Speaker 2: a couple more dozen.
• 9:37
  Speaker 5: We went around to watch Jim's score being posted on
• 9:39
  Speaker 5: the big board... Most of the field was still out,
• 9:41
  Speaker 5: but he was ahead of the closest competitor.
• 9:43
  Speaker 6: By three strokes. Who's that? Somebody coming down the 18th.
• 9:49
  Speaker 6: It must be a hot round. I'll be posting it
• 9:52
  Speaker 6: in a minute.
• 9:53
  Speaker 2: Saw. Yeah, you see, there he is, walking through the crowd. Well,
• 9:57
  Speaker 2: here comes the secretary with a score.
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: Hey, Mr.
• 10:03
  Speaker 6: Pearson, look at it. 32 and 32, 64. 64, that's
• 10:09
  Speaker 6: a new course record.
• 10:10
  Speaker 2: Yeah, well, it's only the first round. New course record.
• 10:14
  Speaker 6: Look at that. Threes and fours, threes and fours. He
• 10:17
  Speaker 6: ain't over four for the whole day.
• 10:18
  Speaker 4: What's the matter, Jim? You don't look well.
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: One round is not a tournament.
• 10:23
  Speaker 4: Now, comfort yourself while you can. Saul's just getting warmed up.
• 10:26
  Speaker 4: He's that mythical thing, the perfect golfer. But he's dumb.
• 10:30
  Speaker 6: No brains, Jim.
• 10:31
  Speaker 4: No brains at all.
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: The End.
• 10:41
  Speaker 6: Naturally, in the sports broadcasts and the newspapers, Jim could
• 10:43
  Speaker 6: have been playing on a miniature golf course at Asbury Park,
• 10:46
  Speaker 6: New Jersey. The big news was Saul. They all called
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: him Silent Saul.
• 10:51
  Speaker 5: The odds the boys in the shower room played around
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: with on Pearson took a dive, and you couldn't get
• 10:54
  Speaker 5: even money for Saul. The next morning, Jim's gallery was
• 10:58
  Speaker 5: pretty small. When he stepped up to the ball, it
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: was a smattering of applause like a matinee just before
• 11:03
  Speaker 5: they closed the show. But his drive was as straight
• 11:07
  Speaker 5: as the day before and longer by about 20 yards
• 11:09
  Speaker 5: on the average.
• 11:12
  Speaker 6: That's a nice putt, Mr. Pearson.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: Who's that?
• 11:16
  Speaker 6: That's Saul, I'm afraid. He's coming around behind you. Well,
• 11:19
  Speaker 6: he's going to have a big fight.
• 11:26
  Speaker 5: Jim's second nine was a duplicate of the day before.
• 11:28
  Speaker 5: Another 32. He equals Saul's record-tying score of yesterday. Then
• 11:33
  Speaker 5: when we came in to read it on the big board,
• 11:34
  Speaker 5: he looked like somebody hit him on the head with
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: the driver.
• 11:36
  Speaker 6: Look at that, Pete.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: 31 out, 31 back for a 62. He's got me
• 11:41
  Speaker 2: by two strokes today.
• 11:43
  Speaker 4: And four strokes in all. What do you got to say, Jim?
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: Oh, nothing, Mr. Hatcher.
• 12:02
  Speaker 6: Throw me the soap, will you, Pete? Yeah, sure, Mr. Pearson. Thanks. Thanks.
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: You know, there's something wrong, Pete.
• 12:08
  Speaker 6: It just doesn't happen this way. That's tough luck, Mr. Pearson. No, no, no,
• 12:12
  Speaker 6: it's not that. People don't just pop out of nowhere
• 12:15
  Speaker 6: and break all records at the open. Men don't take
• 12:18
  Speaker 6: up golf and become perfect golfers in a month.
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: He's got to have some weakness.
• 12:21
  Speaker 6: Well, if he has, he ain't shown it yet.
• 12:22
  Speaker 2: Well, I've got to find it.
• 12:30
  Speaker 5: Jim was out the next morning, and he came in
• 12:31
  Speaker 5: with a classy 32. On the back nine, he slipped
• 12:34
  Speaker 5: a stroke to 33. He was still four dimes.
• 12:37
  Speaker 6: He shook off a.
• 12:38
  Speaker 5: Couple of reporters who were trying to egg him into
• 12:39
  Speaker 5: a feud with this Saul, and the two of us
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: just hung around in the crowd watching Silent Saul. His
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: first drive went a clean 300 yards down the fairway
• 12:48
  Speaker 5: straight as a rule.
• 12:48
  Speaker 2: Pete, there's something about his swing. There's something about it.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: I've seen it before.
• 12:53
  Speaker 6: Oh, you never saw that Silent Saul before, Mr. Pearson.
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: Still, there's something about his swing.
• 13:05
  Speaker 6: On a follow-up shot, Saul had about 240 to go.
• 13:08
  Speaker 5: He took a club from his bag and took a
• 13:09
  Speaker 5: few wiggling gestures, set his driver behind the ball, and swung.
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: Pete?
• 13:14
  Speaker 6: Hmm?
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: Did you see that swing? Those wiggles?
• 13:17
  Speaker 6: Yeah. Yeah, well, a lot of guys do that.
• 13:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah, but it's unnecessary. I mean, you don't have to
• 13:21
  Speaker 2: make those wiggles before you address the ball.
• 13:23
  Speaker 6: Yeah, sure, and you don't have to spit three times
• 13:25
  Speaker 6: every time you get a tough putt, but you do.
• 13:26
  Speaker 2: But there's still something strange about him. Everything about him
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: is perfection except those wiggles. And he doesn't talk. Look
• 13:34
  Speaker 2: at him putting.
• 13:35
  Speaker 6: That could be Todd Winters, couldn't it? He does look
• 13:39
  Speaker 6: something like Winters. Yeah, Emily Putt. But that iron shot.
• 13:43
  Speaker 6: Who wiggles like that? Who does those wiggles? George Potter. Yeah,
• 13:47
  Speaker 6: I guess he does.
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and the approach shot, Pete. That's Gordon Brown. Nobody
• 13:51
  Speaker 2: else bends the knee that way.
• 13:52
  Speaker 6: He really gave it a lot of study, huh? And
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: the drive. That group swing on the drive.
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: Pete, come on.
• 13:59
  Speaker 4: I've watched enough. Ah, Pearson, a 63, I see. You're
• 14:10
  Speaker 4: six strokes behind with one round to go. You want
• 14:13
  Speaker 4: to give up now?
• 14:13
  Speaker 2: I don't think I will. I think we'd better talk
• 14:16
  Speaker 2: about it privately.
• 14:17
  Speaker 4: Well, that won't be necessary.
• 14:18
  Speaker 2: Well, it doesn't matter to me, but I know that
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Saul is a robot.
• 14:23
  Speaker 4: So you think he's a robot?
• 14:24
  Speaker 2: Isn't he?
• 14:25
  Speaker 4: Of course he is. How does it feel to be
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: beaten at your own game by a mindless machine?
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: Oh, you haven't won yet. The golf ball takes some
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: funny bounces.
• 14:33
  Speaker 4: How did you find out about Saul?
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: Oh, Saul is a lot of things, but none of
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: them is Saul. He's Todd Winters, George Potter, Gordon Brown,
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: and his drive, that's me. You copied it after me.
• 14:43
  Speaker 2: Take us away and there's nothing left. Tell me, how'd
• 14:46
  Speaker 2: you do it?
• 14:47
  Speaker 4: Money can do anything. All it needs is a purpose.
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: We've been working on colloidal brains up at our place.
• 14:53
  Speaker 4: Our new miniature atomic power plant is ideal. You throw
• 14:55
  Speaker 4: in some sensory mechanisms, some relays, feed in analysis of
• 14:59
  Speaker 4: a slow-motion pictorial study.
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: You have a golf machine. It must have cost hundreds
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: of thousands of dollars.
• 15:04
  Speaker 4: Closer to a million.
• 15:06
  Speaker 6: A million?
• 15:07
  Speaker 2: A million dollars to keep me from winning $ 25, 000? Don't
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: you think that's unfair?
• 15:11
  Speaker 6: Unfair?
• 15:12
  Speaker 4: You listen to me. Nothing is unfair that doesn't break
• 15:14
  Speaker 4: the rules. And the only rule worth remembering is this,
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: that the best man always wins. You mean the best machine?
• 15:20
  Speaker 4: A machine is only an extension of a man, like
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: your golf club. I don't happen to be endowed with
• 15:25
  Speaker 4: golfing muscles and responses.
• 15:27
  Speaker 6: You do.
• 15:28
  Speaker 4: Those in your golf clubs let you hit a ball
• 15:30
  Speaker 4: farther and straighter than anybody else. Saul lets me hit
• 15:34
  Speaker 4: a ball farther and straighter than you do. It's as
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: simple as that.
• 15:37
  Speaker 2: No, no, wait a minute. That wasn't the bet. The
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: bet was that I couldn't make $ 50, 000 in a year.
• 15:41
  Speaker 4: Maybe it was your bet. It wasn't mine. I bet
• 15:44
  Speaker 4: that I could beat you at your own game. I
• 15:46
  Speaker 4: don't think that you're good enough for Alice. You're not
• 15:48
  Speaker 4: smart enough, not man enough. Should I let a few well-distributed,
• 15:53
  Speaker 4: well-trained muscles blind her to what you really are?
• 15:55
  Speaker 6: And what's that?
• 15:56
  Speaker 4: You're a quitter. You can't stand pressure. You're no competitor.
• 15:59
  Speaker 4: If you can't win at your own game, you can't
• 16:01
  Speaker 4: win at anything else. Suppose I win tomorrow. Six strokes back,
• 16:05
  Speaker 4: playing against the perfect golfer?
• 16:07
  Speaker 6: Suppose.
• 16:08
  Speaker 4: Then I'd have to admit I was wrong. You have
• 16:11
  Speaker 4: my word on that. And you could also have Alice,
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: if she wants you.
• 16:28
  Speaker 2: Somewhere, Saul must have an Achilles heel. Pete, the prime
• 16:32
  Speaker 2: fact about man is his adaptability.
• 16:34
  Speaker 6: Yeah, sure. I mean, yeah.
• 16:37
  Speaker 2: They've got to build in at least one constant, if
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: not more. How about judgment?
• 16:42
  Speaker 6: I don't think so. I mean, they could tell whether
• 16:45
  Speaker 6: he'd have wind or rain or sun or slow greens
• 16:48
  Speaker 6: or something. They've got to take care of that.
• 16:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I suppose so.
• 16:52
  Speaker 6: Hey, maybe you could jimmy him. You know, drop sugar
• 16:56
  Speaker 6: on his gas tank or something, smash him.
• 16:58
  Speaker 2: Oh, no, no, no. That isn't fair.
• 17:00
  Speaker 6: It's always fair. Well, I mean, Mr.
• 17:01
  Speaker 2: Hatcher, he's playing fair according to his lights. He could
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: have had me crippled or poisoned or something, but he didn't. Well,
• 17:08
  Speaker 2: I'll just have to beat him on our own ground
• 17:10
  Speaker 2: on the golf course.
• 17:11
  Speaker 6: Oh, I don't know, Mr. Pearson. You'll have to shoot
• 17:12
  Speaker 6: in the 50s.
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: Well, a golf ball takes some funny bounces.
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: Yeah, it sure does.
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: Wait a minute. There is a constant.
• 17:19
  Speaker 6: Hmm? Listen, Pete.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: You know Saul's caddy?
• 17:22
  Speaker 6: Yeah, yeah, yeah. I know him. An illiterate type of guy.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 17:25
  Speaker 6: Could he use $ 10 or maybe $ 20 or $ 50? He's
• 17:28
  Speaker 6: a caddy, isn't he? All right.
• 17:30
  Speaker 2: Pete, I want you to talk to him. Uh, you'll
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: do better than I can.
• 17:41
  Speaker 6: The management of the tournament is no fool. They know
• 17:44
  Speaker 6: which side their television rights are butted on, and they
• 17:46
  Speaker 6: had Saul and Jim paired for.
• 17:47
  Speaker 5: The final round. Jim's drive took a tail-end hook. It
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: dived into the rough behind a clump of trees. It
• 17:53
  Speaker 5: wasn't a very happy start. Saul took a ball from
• 17:56
  Speaker 5: his caddy, teed it up, and settled himself.
• 18:00
  Speaker 6: Gee, that's some drive, Mr. Pearson.
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, that was some drive. It's about 340 yards,
• 18:04
  Speaker 2: isn't it? Some drive.
• 18:05
  Speaker 6: You've got a tough lie there on your ball, Mr. Pearson.
• 18:07
  Speaker 6: You going to play it safe out on the fairway? Uh, no.
• 18:09
  Speaker 6: You see that hole between those two trees? Mr. Pearson,
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: that ain't sensible golf. Pete, sensible golf would win.
• 18:23
  Speaker 5: Well, he made it. The ball went through the opening
• 18:25
  Speaker 5: and rolled to a stop just in front of the green.
• 18:27
  Speaker 5: Saul's easy four iron shot was dead on the pin
• 18:30
  Speaker 5: all the way. But it hit the back edge of
• 18:33
  Speaker 5: the green and hopped into the rough. Jim took an
• 18:36
  Speaker 5: easy putt for a birdie and Saul's recovery was long
• 18:38
  Speaker 5: and two putts.
• 18:39
  Speaker 6: Gave him a par.
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: Well, that's one of the strokes I need.
• 18:42
  Speaker 6: And that's the way it went.
• 18:43
  Speaker 5: Jim's game sparkled and Saul's game kept finding trouble. For
• 18:47
  Speaker 5: the first nine, Jim came in with a scorching 30
• 18:49
  Speaker 5: while Saul came in with a 33.
• 18:52
  Speaker 6: Kept on like that. Saul kept overshooting the green. They
• 18:55
  Speaker 6: came into the 18th hole with Saul still two strokes up. Now, look,
• 18:59
  Speaker 6: don't you worry, Mr. Pearson. You're going to tie him
• 19:01
  Speaker 6: for sure.
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: That's no good, Pete. By tomorrow, his game will be
• 19:04
  Speaker 2: on again perfectly.
• 19:06
  Speaker 6: Jim's drive sliced behind a fringe of trees. He had
• 19:08
  Speaker 6: to shoot blind. He made it on.
• 19:12
  Speaker 5: The green about 25 feet from the cup.
• 19:15
  Speaker 2: Okay, Pete, this is it. Saul's in for a five.
• 19:18
  Speaker 6: Don't you worry, Mr. Pearson. Don't you worry. Okay, okay,
• 19:21
  Speaker 6: I won't. He lined it up. He studied the green.
• 19:26
  Speaker 6: He noted the slope and the lay of the grass.
• 19:28
  Speaker 6: Then he stroked the ball.
• 19:32
  Speaker 7: We did it, Mr. Pearson, we did it! You're the
• 19:35
  Speaker 7: new U.S. Open champion!
• 19:48
  Speaker 5: We finally brushed it loose from the television and the
• 19:50
  Speaker 5: movies and all those hangers-on, and we ducked around the
• 19:52
  Speaker 5: back to the pro shop, where we run into Mr.
• 19:54
  Speaker 6: Hatcher.
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: How did you do it? How did you do it?
• 19:56
  Speaker 6: Well, Mr.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: Hatcher, under extremely restricted sets of circumstances, a machine is
• 20:01
  Speaker 2: better than a man, but over the long run, over
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: the gamut of situations, a machine doesn't have a chance.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: Just can't compete.
• 20:07
  Speaker 4: I still don't understand. It cost a million dollars. A
• 20:09
  Speaker 4: million dollars.
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: Here.
• 20:11
  Speaker 2: Got a souvenir.
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: You can take this golf ball.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: No, no, no.
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: Oh, no. Look at it.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: That's the ball Saul was using.
• 20:16
  Speaker 6: What? Mm-hmm.
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: Well, that's... That's another brand. That isn't Saul's regular ball.
• 20:22
  Speaker 6: That's right. It's a new one.
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: Guaranteed to add 20 yards to the average drive.
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: But that's unfair.
• 20:27
  Speaker 2: Well, your robot was built in with one concept. It
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: had to be a golf ball. Well, it just couldn't
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: adapt to a better ball. But that's not fair.
• 20:35
  Speaker 4: Why, that's... Well, well. How about that?
• 20:41
  Speaker 2: There are no perfect golfers, Mr.
• 20:43
  Speaker 6: Hatcher.
• 20:43
  Speaker 2: There are only good ones and better ones. But, uh, well,
• 20:47
  Speaker 2: I've been thinking about this robot of yours, and I'll
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: be around in a few days to talk to you
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: at your office.
• 20:52
  Speaker 6: Huh?
• 20:53
  Speaker 4: About what?
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: Well, I'm sure you don't want to support your son-in-law
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: for the rest of his life, and I have $ 50, 000
• 20:58
  Speaker 2: to invest in business-making robots. Useful robots. And, uh, leave
• 21:03
  Speaker 2: golf to the men.
• 21:04
  Speaker 6: They're better competitors.
• 21:06
  Speaker 2: Now, if you'll excuse me, Mr. Hatcher, I've got a
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: telephone call to make to your daughter.
• 21:20
  Speaker 3: You have just heard X-1 presented by the National Broadcasting
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, which this
• 21:28
  Speaker 3: month features The Other Celia, a story which proves that
• 21:32
  Speaker 3: something drastic should happen to all snoopers. But nothing as
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: shocking and frightful as this. Galaxy Magazine, on your newsstand today. Tonight,
• 21:43
  Speaker 3: by transcription, X-1 has brought you Open Warfare, a story
• 21:47
  Speaker 3: from the pages of Galaxy written by James E. Gunn
• 21:50
  Speaker 3: and adapted for radio by Ernest Canoy. Featured in our
• 21:54
  Speaker 3: cast were Jack Grimes as Pete, Larry Haynes as Jim,
• 21:58
  Speaker 3: and Wendell Holmes as Mr.
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: Hatcher. This is Fred Collins.
• 22:02
  Speaker 3: X-1 was directed by Daniel Sutter and is an NBC
• 22:05
  Speaker 3: Radio Network production.
• 22:06
  Speaker 6: That concludes X-1's open warfare.
• 22:12
  Speaker 3: It was heard on NBC Radio January 23, 1957.