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X Minus One - "Stars Are the Styx" (Old Time Radio, 1956) · X Minus One | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: At Curbstone, an Earth-orbiting way station, would-be colonists are screened
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: before taking one-way passage to the stars. The long-time release officer,
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: known as Karen, must weigh each applicant against the hazards
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: of departure, while his assistant, Tween, hopes to qualify for
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: the journey herself. A new shuttle brings Karen's old friend
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: Judson and other prospective travelers, and the station's routine becomes
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: entangled with old loyalties and new attachments. From NBC's X-1,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: this is Stars Are the Sticks, Episode 61. Broadcast July 24th, 1956.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Ernest Canoy's radio adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon's 1950 galaxy science
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: fiction novelette. Craig MacDonald, Patsy O'Shea, Richard Hamilton, Charlotte Manson,
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: Bob Hastings, and Wendell Holmes are featured. Here is the
• 0:55
  Speaker 1: original broadcast.
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: In just a moment, X. Minus one, but first....
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: A familiar theme that introduces some of the sweetest music
• 1:06
  Speaker 3: this side of heaven.
• 1:07
  Speaker 4: The music of.
• 1:08
  Speaker 3: Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian. And beginning Monday, July 30th,
• 1:11
  Speaker 3: NBC Bandstand brings you live two full hours of your
• 1:14
  Speaker 3: favorite tunes by Guy Lombardo, Tommy Dorsey, plus wonderful arrangements
• 1:19
  Speaker 3: by Freddie Martin and Wayne King. It's four top bands
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: in person joined by sparkling personalities like Burt Parks and
• 1:25
  Speaker 3: Johnny Mercer. Your Mr.
• 1:26
  Speaker 5: Music.
• 1:27
  Speaker 3: Remember July 30th for the premiere of NBC Bandstand.
• 1:32
  Speaker 2: And now stay tuned for X-1 on NBC.
• 1:41
  Speaker 6: Countdown for blastoff. X-5, 4, 3, 2, X-1, fire.
• 2:15
  Speaker 3: From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: of new dimensions in time and space.
• 2:22
  Speaker 6: These are stories of the future.
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: Adventures in which you'll live in a million could be
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company,
• 2:32
  Speaker 3: in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, presents X-Minus-One.
• 2:51
  Speaker 2: Tonight, The Stars Are the Sticks by Theodore Sturgeon.
• 3:06
  Speaker 6: They call me Karen. It isn't my real name, but
• 3:10
  Speaker 6: it suits my job. Karen, you may remember, ferried dead
• 3:14
  Speaker 6: souls across the river Styx of Greek mythology. I ferry
• 3:17
  Speaker 6: dead souls from the planet Earth out into the unknown
• 3:20
  Speaker 6: of space. My little satellite station is known as Curbstone.
• 3:25
  Speaker 6: I've been here for 20 years.
• 3:30
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 3:32
  Speaker 7: Karen?
• 3:33
  Speaker 6: Oh, Tween. What is it?
• 3:35
  Speaker 7: There's a ship landing from Earth.
• 3:37
  Speaker 6: Is it the regular shuttle?
• 3:38
  Speaker 7: Yes.
• 3:39
  Speaker 6: Okay, we'll check the candidates as soon as they're in.
• 3:41
  Speaker 7: I'll fill out the reports for you.
• 3:43
  Speaker 6: Thank you. Oh, Tween.
• 3:44
  Speaker 7: Yes?
• 3:45
  Speaker 6: Close the door a minute, will you? I want to
• 3:49
  Speaker 6: talk to you.
• 3:50
  Speaker 4: Yes?
• 3:51
  Speaker 6: How long have you been here on Curbstone?
• 3:53
  Speaker 7: Oh, I don't know. I think two years.
• 3:57
  Speaker 6: Approximately. And you've been helping me here in the office
• 4:00
  Speaker 6: for almost a year and a half. Have you thought
• 4:03
  Speaker 6: about going back to Earth?
• 4:05
  Speaker 7: Well, yes, I thought about it.
• 4:08
  Speaker 8: And?
• 4:09
  Speaker 7: Well, I couldn't. I'd rather die. I just don't seem
• 4:13
  Speaker 7: to belong there.
• 4:15
  Speaker 6: You'd rather stay here and wait?
• 4:17
  Speaker 7: Yes.
• 4:18
  Speaker 6: Even though you may never become certified for space?
• 4:21
  Speaker 7: One day it will happen.
• 4:23
  Speaker 6: Perhaps. I almost hope it won't.
• 4:26
  Speaker 7: Don't say that.
• 4:27
  Speaker 6: Well, the shuttle should be coming in soon. Maybe this
• 4:30
  Speaker 6: trip there'll be somebody aboard for you.
• 4:32
  Speaker 7: I have a feeling there will be.
• 4:42
  Speaker 6: I suppose I ought to explain a little about Curbstone
• 4:45
  Speaker 6: at this point. We're a stopping point. Well, a jumping-off
• 4:49
  Speaker 6: place would be more accurate. We get people from Earth who,
• 4:52
  Speaker 6: for many reasons, cannot remain there. Some are antisocial, criminals
• 4:57
  Speaker 6: of a sort. Some are misfits, individualists who cannot adjust
• 5:01
  Speaker 6: to the rigid standardization. Some are just different, people who
• 5:06
  Speaker 6: are physically different and who have been ostracized as a result.
• 5:11
  Speaker 6: And a few are poets. Those who have souls too
• 5:15
  Speaker 6: big for the confines of Earth They come to Curbstone
• 5:19
  Speaker 6: and wait to be certified for space. And it's my
• 5:22
  Speaker 6: job to send them out.
• 5:26
  Speaker 7: They're waiting.
• 5:27
  Speaker 6: How many of the strip?
• 5:28
  Speaker 7: Two men and a woman. One of the men.
• 5:32
  Speaker 6: Yes?
• 5:33
  Speaker 7: Nothing.
• 5:34
  Speaker 6: Oh, I've known you too well to be fooled. Why,
• 5:37
  Speaker 6: you're practically glowing. Did you speak to him?
• 5:40
  Speaker 7: No.
• 5:41
  Speaker 6: But do you think perhaps he'll be the one to
• 5:43
  Speaker 6: choose you?
• 5:44
  Speaker 7: Well, I think perhaps... The way he looked at me.
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: How?
• 5:49
  Speaker 7: He didn't think there was anything funny about me. He
• 5:53
  Speaker 7: just looked.
• 5:54
  Speaker 6: There is nothing funny about you.
• 5:56
  Speaker 7: You're trying to be kind.
• 5:58
  Speaker 6: You should know me better. I'm the original Billy Goat Griff.
• 6:02
  Speaker 7: I do know you better. You have a kind heart.
• 6:05
  Speaker 6: Enough of that. Ask him to come in. One at
• 6:07
  Speaker 6: a time. I watched her walk to the door, and
• 6:15
  Speaker 6: I thought she was beautiful. She was, but not in
• 6:19
  Speaker 6: a way acceptable to the eugenics department back on Earth.
• 6:22
  Speaker 6: Tween was an albino. She had silver skin and hair
• 6:27
  Speaker 6: and ruby-colored eyes. If I hadn't been such an old
• 6:31
  Speaker 6: fat fool.
• 6:32
  Speaker 7: This way, please.
• 6:34
  Speaker 6: Thank you.
• 6:34
  Speaker 7: This is the senior release officer. He'll check you in.
• 6:37
  Speaker 6: Thank you, miss. Your name, please. Well, don't you know it? No,
• 6:42
  Speaker 6: I'm afraid I... Judd! Good Lord. Hello, friend. Judson, after
• 6:47
  Speaker 6: all these years.
• 6:48
  Speaker 5: I understand they call you Karen.
• 6:50
  Speaker 7: Yes.
• 6:51
  Speaker 6: Good, I'll call you Karen. Well, what in the name
• 6:53
  Speaker 6: of misery brings you to Curbstone?
• 6:55
  Speaker 5: Oh, I'm a candidate.
• 6:57
  Speaker 6: But you, of all people, you had a good position
• 6:59
  Speaker 6: and enough money. You didn't get into trouble, did you?
• 7:02
  Speaker 5: Oh, of a sort.
• 7:04
  Speaker 6: Of what sort?
• 7:05
  Speaker 8: When I was your student at the university many years ago,
• 7:08
  Speaker 8: you taught me to enjoy my individuality.
• 7:11
  Speaker 9: Huh.
• 7:12
  Speaker 8: I tried to teach my students the same thing. The
• 7:15
  Speaker 8: authorities wouldn't stand for it.
• 7:17
  Speaker 6: I see.
• 7:18
  Speaker 5: So I decided to take my chances in space.
• 7:21
  Speaker 6: Are you aware of the risk?
• 7:23
  Speaker 5: Not fully, or I probably wouldn't be here.
• 7:25
  Speaker 6: Then let me acquaint you with the procedure here on Curbstone.
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: Look out that window. What do you see?
• 7:32
  Speaker 5: It looks like a spaceship on a launching platform.
• 7:34
  Speaker 6: Exactly. That ship is aimed at the outer galaxies. It
• 7:39
  Speaker 6: has enough fuel to reach its destination and land, but
• 7:43
  Speaker 6: not enough to come back.
• 7:44
  Speaker 5: I see.
• 7:45
  Speaker 6: The people who come here to Curbstone have to be
• 7:47
  Speaker 6: certified before they can take off in one of those ships.
• 7:50
  Speaker 6: How does one go about being certified? There are three requirements.
• 7:55
  Speaker 6: You must pass a physical examination and a mental examination.
• 7:59
  Speaker 6: And the third? You must find an agreeable partner for
• 8:01
  Speaker 6: the trip. A partner? A partner of the opposite sex
• 8:05
  Speaker 6: who is willing to share her life or death. With
• 8:09
  Speaker 6: you from now until eternity. That could be rather difficult.
• 8:13
  Speaker 6: When the Earth authorities agreed to Operation Curbstone, it was
• 8:16
  Speaker 6: decided that it would be a method of colonizing the
• 8:19
  Speaker 6: outer galaxies with Earth people. Therefore, these ships are built
• 8:23
  Speaker 6: to carry two people. I see.
• 8:26
  Speaker 8: Well, suppose I choose somebody and she doesn't want me.
• 8:30
  Speaker 6: You wait.
• 8:31
  Speaker 8: Suppose, now just suppose I pass the physical and the
• 8:35
  Speaker 8: mental test and I even find a partner. Suppose we
• 8:38
  Speaker 8: get into the ship and are launched into space. What
• 8:42
  Speaker 8: are our chances?
• 8:43
  Speaker 6: Come here. This board shows a light for each ship
• 8:51
  Speaker 6: that is en route in space. There, you see that one?
• 8:54
  Speaker 6: That's a couple named Port and Mary Ellen. They went
• 8:58
  Speaker 6: out together last week, headed for the Denham systems. As
• 9:01
  Speaker 6: long as the light shows, they're all right. They haven't
• 9:05
  Speaker 6: been destroyed by radiation or piled up on some asteroid
• 9:08
  Speaker 6: or gotten into a time warp. We know from our
• 9:11
  Speaker 6: years of launching couples here on Curbstone that 46% of
• 9:15
  Speaker 6: them never make it. And of those that make it?
• 9:18
  Speaker 6: We don't know. They have the equipment for survival, of course,
• 9:21
  Speaker 6: but who knows what they'll meet on some strange planet.
• 9:24
  Speaker 6: And still they go out, huh? Still they go out.
• 9:27
  Speaker 5: When do I take the examinations?
• 9:28
  Speaker 6: Well, you can start tomorrow if you like. I'd like
• 9:31
  Speaker 6: to talk over old times with you right now, but
• 9:33
  Speaker 6: I have to check the other two passengers you came
• 9:34
  Speaker 6: up with. Certainly. Twain, would you come in, please? Twain
• 9:39
  Speaker 6: assists me here. She, too, is waiting to find a
• 9:42
  Speaker 6: partner for the trip.
• 9:43
  Speaker 7: Yes?
• 9:44
  Speaker 6: Twain, this is Judson. Judson's an old friend. He was
• 9:48
  Speaker 6: a student of mine many years ago.
• 9:49
  Speaker 5: Very happy to meet you.
• 9:50
  Speaker 7: Yes, I know you are.
• 9:53
  Speaker 6: Twain, tell the others to come in, please.
• 9:56
  Speaker 7: Yes, sir.
• 9:58
  Speaker 6: A remarkable girl. Remarkable looking, at any rate. Well, uh,
• 10:02
  Speaker 6: Tween will tell you where your quarters are. I hope
• 10:04
  Speaker 6: we'll talk soon.
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: Well, I hope so. Oh, by the way, that light
• 10:08
  Speaker 5: on the board, Fort and Mary Ellen?
• 10:10
  Speaker 6: What about it?
• 10:11
  Speaker 5: Well, it just went out.
• 10:19
  Speaker 6: I was happy to see Judson. My memories of our
• 10:22
  Speaker 6: association were pleasant ones. As he left, the other two
• 10:26
  Speaker 6: passengers came in. The man was young, dark-haired, and slick-looking.
• 10:31
  Speaker 6: His name was Wald. The woman, well, she takes some describing.
• 10:36
  Speaker 6: Her name was Flower. Her voice was like a shallow.
• 10:41
  Speaker 6: And her figure was a walking demand for the revival
• 10:43
  Speaker 6: of the now extinct profession of peeping Tom. Let me
• 10:47
  Speaker 6: be honest. I didn't like either of them. That takes
• 10:53
  Speaker 6: care of your documents.
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: How long will it take us to be certified?
• 10:56
  Speaker 6: Well, that depends. If you pass your test, it can
• 10:58
  Speaker 6: happen in a week.
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: And suppose we don't pass our tests?
• 11:00
  Speaker 6: You might be here a year, two years. There's no limit.
• 11:04
  Speaker 6: You can keep taking the test or you can return
• 11:06
  Speaker 6: to Earth.
• 11:07
  Speaker 4: Earth? Well, is there anything to do up here? I'm
• 11:12
  Speaker 4: in excitement.
• 11:13
  Speaker 6: That depends on what you consider excitement.
• 11:16
  Speaker 4: Anything we haven't already tried. Isn't that right, Wald?
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: We decided to come up here, Mr.
• 11:22
  Speaker 6: Call me Karen.
• 11:23
  Speaker 4: Karen. How quaint.
• 11:25
  Speaker 9: Anyway, we decided to come up here because we were
• 11:27
  Speaker 9: bored with the routine on Earth.
• 11:29
  Speaker 6: You're aware of the risk involved?
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: You mean we might not make it? Well, that's life,
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: isn't it?
• 11:34
  Speaker 6: Well, for some. For others, it's death.
• 11:37
  Speaker 4: I don't like that kind of talk.
• 11:39
  Speaker 6: You'll attend an orientation session tomorrow. I'll have my assistant
• 11:42
  Speaker 6: show you to your quarters. Dwayne? Yes? Come in, Dwayne.
• 11:48
  Speaker 6: I want you to meet Flower.
• 11:49
  Speaker 7: How do you do?
• 11:50
  Speaker 6: And Wald.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: Well, Curbstone is exciting already.
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: Something different, darling?
• 11:56
  Speaker 6: Oh, shut up. This is Tween. She'll show you where
• 12:00
  Speaker 6: you live. Oh, a pleasure. A distinct pleasure. There was
• 12:12
  Speaker 6: something decadent about Wald and Flower. Something almost reptilian. I
• 12:17
  Speaker 6: couldn't believe that these two would ever step into a
• 12:20
  Speaker 6: ship and risk the trip to space. Of course, I
• 12:22
  Speaker 6: could be wrong. Boredom drives people to risk many things.
• 12:28
  Speaker 6: At the session the next day, I watched my three
• 12:30
  Speaker 6: new arrivals. When it was over, I stood talking to Judson. Well,
• 12:36
  Speaker 6: still want to go out?
• 12:37
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 12:38
  Speaker 6: You got a companion yet? Oh, yes. Really? You haven't
• 12:42
  Speaker 6: met anybody yet.
• 12:43
  Speaker 5: I've met the person I'd like to go with.
• 12:46
  Speaker 6: Mind if I ask who? Your assistant, Tween. You don't
• 12:53
  Speaker 6: disappoint me, Judge. I fell in love with her the
• 12:56
  Speaker 6: first time I met her, too.
• 12:57
  Speaker 8: I haven't even talked to her yet, except to say
• 12:59
  Speaker 8: hello and where's the commissary, but there's a quality about her.
• 13:04
  Speaker 6: Like, well... Like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. Well,
• 13:09
  Speaker 6: you are smitten. At my age, I can afford to
• 13:11
  Speaker 6: be romantic.
• 13:13
  Speaker 4: Excuse me, am I interrupting?
• 13:16
  Speaker 6: Not at all. Judson, you know Flora? Yes, we met
• 13:19
  Speaker 6: on the ship coming to Curbstone.
• 13:20
  Speaker 4: I wondered if you were busy.
• 13:22
  Speaker 6: Me?
• 13:23
  Speaker 4: You.
• 13:24
  Speaker 5: Well, not really.
• 13:25
  Speaker 4: Good.
• 13:26
  Speaker 10: Then you can take me down to the recreation room
• 13:27
  Speaker 10: for some methyl caffeine.
• 13:29
  Speaker 6: Well, I don't use it.
• 13:30
  Speaker 4: That doesn't mean you can't take me.
• 13:32
  Speaker 6: Well, you're Mr. Wald. I mean.
• 13:33
  Speaker 10: Oh, Wald and I are just very good friends. Besides,
• 13:37
  Speaker 10: he's busy right now. He's being shown around the satellite
• 13:40
  Speaker 10: by this gentleman's assistant.
• 13:42
  Speaker 6: Twain?
• 13:43
  Speaker 4: That's her name. The peculiar one. Coming, Judson?
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: I guess so.
• 13:49
  Speaker 5: You excuse us?
• 13:51
  Speaker 6: Certainly. When I saw Tween the next day, there were
• 14:01
  Speaker 6: stars in her eyes. Good morning.
• 14:06
  Speaker 7: Good morning.
• 14:07
  Speaker 6: You're laughing. Am I? Your eyes are.
• 14:10
  Speaker 7: I'm happy.
• 14:11
  Speaker 6: Good.
• 14:13
  Speaker 7: I think it won't be long now.
• 14:14
  Speaker 6: Before what?
• 14:15
  Speaker 7: Before I'm certified. Oh? I've met someone who really likes me.
• 14:21
  Speaker 6: I see.
• 14:22
  Speaker 7: Can you guess?
• 14:24
  Speaker 6: No, who is it?
• 14:25
  Speaker 7: Well, you know the dark-haired young man who came in
• 14:28
  Speaker 7: yesterday with your friend Judson?
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: Wald? Mm-hmm.
• 14:31
  Speaker 7: We went down to the ship together, and he asked
• 14:34
  Speaker 7: a lot of questions about it, and then we started
• 14:37
  Speaker 7: to talk about us. He says he's wasted his whole
• 14:40
  Speaker 7: life flitting from one diversion to another.
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: Really?
• 14:43
  Speaker 7: Now he says he's looking for something with some meaning.
• 14:47
  Speaker 6: You like him?
• 14:49
  Speaker 7: He isn't afraid of me. He doesn't see anything wrong
• 14:53
  Speaker 7: with my being different.
• 14:55
  Speaker 6: I thought he was with Flower.
• 14:57
  Speaker 7: Oh, he says he and Flower travel together because of habit.
• 15:00
  Speaker 7: They're both bored and looking for something. Or someone.
• 15:06
  Speaker 6: Well, as long as it makes you happy. Pete.
• 15:10
  Speaker 7: He kissed me. Do you know that no man has
• 15:14
  Speaker 7: ever kissed me like that?
• 15:16
  Speaker 6: You enjoyed it?
• 15:17
  Speaker 7: Oh, yes.
• 15:19
  Speaker 6: Did he say anything about going out into space with you?
• 15:22
  Speaker 7: He said he could think of no one he'd rather
• 15:26
  Speaker 7: go with.
• 15:27
  Speaker 6: And when is he going to sign the certification?
• 15:30
  Speaker 7: Well, he felt we ought to get to know each
• 15:33
  Speaker 7: other better. For a while, anyway. He's right, don't you think?
• 15:38
  Speaker 6: Yes, I think it would be better. Karen. Yes? I.
• 15:44
  Speaker 7: I love you very much.
• 15:46
  Speaker 6: Why did you say that?
• 15:48
  Speaker 7: Because it's true. I mean, there's something so kind and
• 15:52
  Speaker 7: understanding about you.
• 15:53
  Speaker 6: Don't let it fool you. Underneath, I'm the same as
• 15:56
  Speaker 6: anybody else.
• 15:57
  Speaker 7: No, I don't believe it. But I picked you for
• 15:59
  Speaker 7: this job because you have such compassion. You could never hate.
• 16:05
  Speaker 6: Could you? I don't know.
• 16:09
  Speaker 7: I never have, but... Now I don't know.
• 16:13
  Speaker 6: That's because you're in love. You can't love really unless
• 16:17
  Speaker 6: you can hate.
• 16:18
  Speaker 7: I don't believe that.
• 16:21
  Speaker 6: I just invented it to sound as if I knew
• 16:22
  Speaker 6: the answers. Come on, I'll buy you a drink to
• 16:25
  Speaker 6: celebrate the big event. I watched her sip the drink.
• 16:40
  Speaker 6: The tones of her skin coming and going with the
• 16:42
  Speaker 6: pulse of her blood. I thought to myself, you're going
• 16:46
  Speaker 6: to be hurt, Tween. You're going to be terribly, terribly hurt.
• 16:50
  Speaker 6: And I wondered if perhaps she didn't know it. Well, Tween,
• 16:57
  Speaker 6: another couple out into space. Maria and Clint. Will you
• 17:01
  Speaker 6: record it and have another ship brought up to the launching? Uh, Tween.
• 17:05
  Speaker 7: What?
• 17:06
  Speaker 6: Oh.
• 17:08
  Speaker 7: Sorry, I was thinking of something else.
• 17:10
  Speaker 6: Wald?
• 17:11
  Speaker 7: Sort of.
• 17:12
  Speaker 6: How long has it been now?
• 17:14
  Speaker 7: Three months.
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: Long time, huh?
• 17:16
  Speaker 7: Well, I... He wants to be sure.
• 17:19
  Speaker 6: And you? Are you sure?
• 17:21
  Speaker 4: Oh, yes.
• 17:23
  Speaker 6: Nothing to do but wait, then. I have to go
• 17:26
  Speaker 6: over to the Hull Division. Will you take over? Yes.
• 17:35
  Speaker 7: Sometime I, too, will be speeding through space. And I'll
• 17:39
  Speaker 7: be a tiny light on this board.
• 17:42
  Speaker 6: Hello there.
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: Mind if I come in?
• 17:44
  Speaker 7: Not at all.
• 17:47
  Speaker 2: Where's Fatso?
• 17:48
  Speaker 7: Karen? He isn't that fat.
• 17:50
  Speaker 2: He's fat enough.
• 17:52
  Speaker 6: Where is he?
• 17:53
  Speaker 7: He went over to the Hull Division.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: This is a nice layout.
• 17:56
  Speaker 7: Did you come to see me or the layout?
• 17:59
  Speaker 2: You know I came to see you. Matter of fact,
• 18:02
  Speaker 2: I wanted to talk to you about something.
• 18:04
  Speaker 7: Well?
• 18:05
  Speaker 2: The party tonight at the rec center.
• 18:07
  Speaker 7: Well, what about it? We're going, aren't we?
• 18:10
  Speaker 2: I can't make it.
• 18:11
  Speaker 7: Is something wrong?
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: I'm meeting somebody else.
• 18:16
  Speaker 9: Oh.
• 18:16
  Speaker 6: Flower.
• 18:18
  Speaker 7: I see.
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: Oh, come on. I don't look so hurt. Flower and
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: I have bummed around together for years.
• 18:23
  Speaker 4: I thought she and Judson.
• 18:24
  Speaker 2: Oh, don't be ridiculous.
• 18:25
  Speaker 7: Well, they spend all their time together.
• 18:27
  Speaker 9: Oh, you don't know Flower. She likes to experience new things.
• 18:31
  Speaker 9: When they get to be old, she tosses them away.
• 18:35
  Speaker 9: All except me.
• 18:37
  Speaker 7: And you? Do you like to experience new things and
• 18:40
  Speaker 7: toss them away?
• 18:41
  Speaker 9: Look, I'm sorry, Tween, but it's just the way I am.
• 18:44
  Speaker 7: Like flowers.
• 18:45
  Speaker 5: Like flowers.
• 18:46
  Speaker 2: We're two of a kind.
• 18:48
  Speaker 7: Would you do me a favor?
• 18:50
  Speaker 2: Why not?
• 18:51
  Speaker 7: Make it a clean break. Don't try to see me
• 18:54
  Speaker 7: again or tell me any more lies. Even though I
• 18:58
  Speaker 7: want to hear them.
• 19:00
  Speaker 6: Okay.
• 19:01
  Speaker 7: And thanks.
• 19:03
  Speaker 6: Thanks?
• 19:04
  Speaker 7: For these three months. Even though they've been make-believe. At
• 19:09
  Speaker 7: least I've had them.
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: Well, I'll see you around.
• 19:13
  Speaker 6: Yeah.
• 19:15
  Speaker 7: I'll see you around.
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: Hey.
• 19:25
  Speaker 4: Oh, Karen. Karen.
• 19:28
  Speaker 6: Oh, no. Just let them float.
• 19:31
  Speaker 4: He doesn't care about me. He never has.
• 19:34
  Speaker 6: I know.
• 19:35
  Speaker 7: And he's going back to Flower.
• 19:37
  Speaker 6: I know. I saw him leaving.
• 19:39
  Speaker 4: What will I do?
• 19:39
  Speaker 7: He's the only one who ever wanted me.
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: No, not the only one. Now there are two of us.
• 19:53
  Speaker 6: The question that kept going through my mind was, what next?
• 19:56
  Speaker 6: How long was Wal going to hang around Curbstone before
• 19:59
  Speaker 6: he decided to go back to Earth? I couldn't believe
• 20:01
  Speaker 6: he'd have the guts to go out into space. But
• 20:04
  Speaker 6: I had underestimated Flower.
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: Well, well, the prodigal returns.
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: Don't make funny remarks.
• 20:12
  Speaker 10: Tell me, darling, what brings you to my room at
• 20:13
  Speaker 10: this late hour? Could it be that you miss me?
• 20:15
  Speaker 10: Or has little Miss Tween given you the huge.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Shut up and give me a drink. And don't act
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: so self-righteous. You've been having your fling with this Judson character.
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: My, my.
• 20:26
  Speaker 4: Jealous, too.
• 20:29
  Speaker 10: I thought you and I agreed a long time ago
• 20:30
  Speaker 10: we'd never make any claims on each other.
• 20:32
  Speaker 2: That was a long time ago. Frankly, I'm getting bored
• 20:36
  Speaker 2: with this satellite. Let's go back to Earth.
• 20:39
  Speaker 4: I'm bored with Earth.
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: Well, we'll go someplace else, then.
• 20:43
  Speaker 4: I am going someplace else.
• 20:45
  Speaker 7: Where?
• 20:46
  Speaker 9: Out.
• 20:47
  Speaker 6: Space.
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: Oh, come on now, don't be ridiculous.
• 20:50
  Speaker 4: Oh, I am not being ridiculous.
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: Do you know that only 46% arrive?
• 20:55
  Speaker 9: And if you get there, heaven only knows what kind
• 20:57
  Speaker 9: of monsters or poison atmospheres get you.
• 21:00
  Speaker 4: I know, but there's a certain thrill in the risking.
• 21:02
  Speaker 2: Oh, and when did you start feeling poetic?
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: Since I started talking to Judson.
• 21:08
  Speaker 2: Listen, Flower, don't try to trick me. I know you
• 21:11
  Speaker 2: too well.
• 21:12
  Speaker 9: You're 100% too selfish to risk your pretty skin for
• 21:15
  Speaker 9: some poetic feeling.
• 21:16
  Speaker 10: Well, listen to me. You and I have been together
• 21:19
  Speaker 10: for years. We're very much alike. Now, I'm telling you
• 21:22
  Speaker 10: that I intend to go out.
• 21:24
  Speaker 4: I want you to sign my certification and come with me.
• 21:27
  Speaker 6: You're mad.
• 21:27
  Speaker 9: No, no.
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: I think maybe if we get away from everything out there...
• 21:33
  Speaker 4: We'll find each other.
• 21:35
  Speaker 10: We'll have a chance to love and be decent like
• 21:37
  Speaker 10: ordinary human beings. Oh, well, don't you see? We've been
• 21:40
  Speaker 10: destroying ourselves for years. We're getting older now.
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: Oh, please. Please try to see it. A clean start.
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: A new life, huh?
• 21:49
  Speaker 7: Well.
• 21:49
  Speaker 9: This fellow Judson has really been filling your ear, hasn't he?
• 21:53
  Speaker 4: He's a kind person. He doesn't think I'm a.
• 21:59
  Speaker 6: Well.
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: Worthless.
• 22:03
  Speaker 2: You kill me, girl.
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: Walt, will you come with me?
• 22:05
  Speaker 5: No, no.
• 22:07
  Speaker 2: If you want to wreck yourself, go ahead.
• 22:10
  Speaker 9: And who, pray tell, thinks enough of a cheap character
• 22:12
  Speaker 9: like you to sign her certification?
• 22:15
  Speaker 4: Judson.
• 22:15
  Speaker 6: What?
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: He said he would go out with me. And I
• 22:20
  Speaker 4: intend to go.
• 22:27
  Speaker 6: I certified Judson and Flower that same evening. They're going
• 22:31
  Speaker 6: to leave at midnight. I was working late. Come in. Well, Flower,
• 22:39
  Speaker 6: I thought you and Judson.
• 22:40
  Speaker 4: We're not going. At least, I'm not.
• 22:44
  Speaker 7: Oh?
• 22:45
  Speaker 4: Judson decided he didn't want me along.
• 22:47
  Speaker 6: He did? Here.
• 22:49
  Speaker 4: He left this note for me. The story of my life.
• 22:54
  Speaker 4: Nice girl, but who wants to marry anybody like that?
• 22:57
  Speaker 6: Let me see. I'm going alone. Don't try to stop me.
• 23:01
  Speaker 6: It wouldn't work. I'd always look down on you. Judson?
• 23:05
  Speaker 6: That doesn't sound like him.
• 23:07
  Speaker 10: Sounds like every man I've ever known. Except Wald.
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: Wald doesn't judge me.
• 23:14
  Speaker 6: Except Wald? Where's Judson now?
• 23:17
  Speaker 4: Locked in the ship. He's leaving at midnight.
• 23:19
  Speaker 6: Three minutes. Listen, you wait here.
• 23:22
  Speaker 4: Where are you going?
• 23:22
  Speaker 6: To see if I can reach that ship before it's
• 23:24
  Speaker 6: too late. A man of my size and age shouldn't run,
• 23:33
  Speaker 6: especially when he has a bad valve in his heart.
• 23:35
  Speaker 6: But I covered the distance of the takeoff ramp like
• 23:37
  Speaker 6: a track star. As I hit the edge of the ramp,
• 23:41
  Speaker 6: I heard Tween's voice screaming at me from the control tower.
• 23:43
  Speaker 7: Karen, look out!
• 23:45
  Speaker 4: You'll burn!
• 23:46
  Speaker 6: Karen! Look out! Karen! I reached the door. Just as
• 23:53
  Speaker 6: the rockets were beginning to warm up inside the ship,
• 23:56
  Speaker 6: there wasn't any way to get in except to blast.
• 24:02
  Speaker 6: There's only one way to stop a ship from taking
• 24:05
  Speaker 6: off once the combustion chambers are operating. You have to
• 24:07
  Speaker 6: get the dampening rods into the chambers and stop the
• 24:10
  Speaker 6: chain reaction. It took a lot of beef, but I've
• 24:20
  Speaker 6: got a lot. I looked around the control room of
• 24:28
  Speaker 6: the ship. Judging was strapped into the pilot's chair. The
• 24:35
  Speaker 6: controls were preset for automatic takeoff. I went over to him.
• 24:44
  Speaker 6: He was dead. His head cracked like an eggshell. Judd,
• 24:52
  Speaker 6: I know you can't hear me, but I swear to you,
• 24:59
  Speaker 6: I'll get the one who did this. Really?
• 25:02
  Speaker 7: Don't move.
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: I have a gun on you.
• 25:05
  Speaker 6: Wald, you're a pig. You're a living human pig.
• 25:10
  Speaker 2: Thanks for the compliment.
• 25:11
  Speaker 6: To take the life of a man who's only act
• 25:13
  Speaker 6: against you? Was it he wanted to help Flower?
• 25:16
  Speaker 2: I can't afford to lose Flower.
• 25:18
  Speaker 6: Don't you think you've lost her already?
• 25:19
  Speaker 2: Not at all. She thinks Judson is going out into
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: space without her.
• 25:23
  Speaker 6: I knew he wasn't capable of writing a note like that.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: It doesn't matter.
• 25:27
  Speaker 6: Just how do you expect to get away with this?
• 25:28
  Speaker 7: Quite easily.
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: Judson isn't going out alone after all.
• 25:33
  Speaker 6: Meaning?
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: He's going to have a companion.
• 25:38
  Speaker 6: You. It won't work, Walt.
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: Once this ship is headed for the stars, there won't
• 25:43
  Speaker 2: be a shred of evidence.
• 25:45
  Speaker 6: Okay. You've got it all figured out.
• 25:48
  Speaker 5: That's right.
• 25:50
  Speaker 2: Now turn around.
• 25:52
  Speaker 6: You have the gun. All I've got is this.
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: Stop it!
• 25:57
  Speaker 6: Stop it! Fat men can move amazingly fast, Wald.
• 26:04
  Speaker 4: What are you going to do?
• 26:06
  Speaker 6: Do? Nothing much. I'm just going to certify you, Wald... What?
• 26:12
  Speaker 6: for a flight into space. There are things you can
• 26:23
  Speaker 6: do to a man if you know enough physiology... Pressures
• 26:27
  Speaker 6: on the nerve system that can immobilize him for hours.
• 26:31
  Speaker 6: I did them to Wald. Then I set the controls
• 26:34
  Speaker 6: of the ship again and went out. I was breathing hard.
• 26:38
  Speaker 6: It took me a long time to make it up
• 26:41
  Speaker 6: the steps of the control tower where Tween was waiting.
• 26:49
  Speaker 7: Karen!
• 26:50
  Speaker 4: Oh, Karen, I was so worried.
• 26:52
  Speaker 7: I thought you'd be burned. And then when Walwin.
• 26:55
  Speaker 4: I'm okay.
• 26:55
  Speaker 6: I'm okay. Let's let me sit down a minute.
• 27:01
  Speaker 7: What happened?
• 27:04
  Speaker 6: Pretty much, I had to stop Judson from leaving alone,
• 27:06
  Speaker 6: that's all.
• 27:07
  Speaker 7: But why?
• 27:09
  Speaker 6: Well, Walt decided to leave with him.
• 27:13
  Speaker 7: What?
• 27:13
  Speaker 6: That's right. He finally repented. He knew that if he
• 27:18
  Speaker 6: stayed around, he'd just make you unhappy again. So he
• 27:21
  Speaker 6: asked me to stop Judson until he could join him.
• 27:24
  Speaker 7: You mean he did.
• 27:25
  Speaker 6: Any second now. There go the engines.
• 27:31
  Speaker 7: He had a spark of decency in him after all.
• 27:34
  Speaker 7: I knew it.
• 27:35
  Speaker 6: Yes. In a way, he's a sort of hero.
• 27:40
  Speaker 7: The ship is trembling now. There they go.
• 27:55
  Speaker 6: Maybe she knew. Maybe not. Anyway, she had loved a man,
• 27:59
  Speaker 6: and now she could love another. She came over to
• 28:04
  Speaker 6: me and leaned over and kissed my mouth. Her lips
• 28:08
  Speaker 6: were cool. Then I knew that I could live with
• 28:14
  Speaker 6: the viciousness of what I had done. When you're old
• 28:18
  Speaker 6: and fat as I am, the kiss of a young
• 28:22
  Speaker 6: girl can make you human again. They call me Karen.
• 28:28
  Speaker 6: They forget what it feels like to be denied two
• 28:31
  Speaker 6: worlds instead of one. And they forget something else, too.
• 28:37
  Speaker 6: Karen was more than a boat pilot. He was an executioner.
• 28:56
  Speaker 3: You have just heard X-1 presented by the National Broadcasting
• 28:59
  Speaker 3: Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, which this
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: month features a story by Theodore Sturgeon, The Other Man,
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: which tells of the hardest decision a man could face,
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: to do his job well and thereby aid his bitterest enemy.
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Galaxy Magazine, on your newsstand today. Tonight by transcription, X-1
• 29:21
  Speaker 3: has brought you The Stars are the Stick, A story
• 29:24
  Speaker 3: from the pages of Galaxy written by H.L. Gold and
• 29:27
  Speaker 3: adapted for radio by Ernest Kenoy. Featured in the cast
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: were Craig McDonald, Patsy O'Shea, Dick.
• 29:34
  Speaker 6: Hamilton, Charlotte Manson, and Bob Hastings.
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: Your announcer, Fred Collins.
• 29:40
  Speaker 3: X-1 was directed by Bob Maurer and is an NBC
• 29:43
  Speaker 3: Radio Network production. The music of Freddie Martin, live, weekday morning,
• 29:57
  Speaker 3: starting Monday on NBC Radio.
• 30:04
  Speaker 1: X-1's Stars Are the Sticks, first broadcast July 24th, 1956,
• 30:10
  Speaker 1: has concluded. Good night, and thank you for joining us.