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X Minus One - "Nightfall" (Old Time Radio, 1955) · X Minus One | Old Time Radio

0:00
Speaker 1: On a distant world illuminated by six suns, Theramon of
0:04
Speaker 1: the Sorrow City Chronicle investigates predictions from an observatory and
0:09
Speaker 1: warnings from the cult of the Book of Revelations. This
0:12
Speaker 1: is X-1, Nightfall, Episode 28, heard on NBC, December 7th, 1955.
0:21
Speaker 1: Adapted by Ernest Kenoy from Isaac Asimov's 1941 short story.
0:26
Speaker 1: It brings Theramon to Dr. Aton's observatory as astronomers and
0:30
Speaker 1: psychologist Dr. Sheeran prepare for a rare celestial event tied
0:35
Speaker 1: to a long-forgotten cycle. John Larkin plays Theramon with Wendell
0:40
Speaker 1: Holmes as Dr. Aton, Mercer MacLeod as Dr. Sheeran, and
0:44
Speaker 1: Santos Ortega as Saw. And now, our story begins. Countdown
0:54
Speaker 1: for blastoff. X minus 5... Four.
0:57
Speaker 3: Three.
0:59
Speaker 2: Two. X minus one. Fire.
1:28
Speaker 3: From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales
1:31
Speaker 3: of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories
1:35
Speaker 3: of the future, adventures in which you'll live in a
1:37
Speaker 3: million could-be years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National
1:41
Speaker 3: Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Street & Smith, publishers of
1:45
Speaker 3: astounding science fiction, presents X-Minus-One.
2:02
Speaker 2: Tonight's story, Nightfall by Isaac Asimov.
2:17
Speaker 4: Ralph Waldo Emerson speculated, if the stars should appear one
2:21
Speaker 4: night in a thousand years, how would man believe and
2:25
Speaker 4: adore and perceive for many generations the remembrance of the
2:29
Speaker 4: city of God? This was philosophically interesting. But on the
2:33
Speaker 4: edge of the galaxy, a planet swings on its orbit
2:36
Speaker 4: in a cluster of six suns. These suns hang in
2:40
Speaker 4: the sky above. Never less than two shine down through
2:43
Speaker 4: the entire 23.8 hours of the planet's day. The yellow
2:48
Speaker 4: light has burned down on the planet continuously into the
2:52
Speaker 4: past till the mind of man runneth not to the contrary.
3:07
Speaker 4: Theremon was a reporter for the Saro City Chronicle. He
3:11
Speaker 4: covered them all, from the night police beat to politics
3:14
Speaker 4: to the sports pages, and the city editor wanted him
3:17
Speaker 4: to cover the biggest story of the year, perhaps of
3:19
Speaker 4: all time.
3:21
Speaker 2: It was an interview, a particularly difficult interview.
3:24
Speaker 4: But then, since his first days as a cub, Theremon
3:27
Speaker 4: had specialized in difficult interviews. It cost him bruises, black eyes,
3:31
Speaker 4: and broken bones, but it had gotten him an ample
3:34
Speaker 4: supply of coolness and self-confidence. He didn't expect violence, though,
3:39
Speaker 4: from an astronomer.
3:40
Speaker 5: You're from that newspaper? Well, you've got a lot of
3:43
Speaker 5: gall coming here.
3:44
Speaker 2: Now, look, Dr. Eitan, it's only a job.
3:46
Speaker 5: I've read your paper. You've been writing this observatory for
3:49
Speaker 5: two months now. You've attacked me personally. I have nothing
3:52
Speaker 5: to say to you. Well, this is your chance to
3:54
Speaker 5: get your side into the paper.
3:56
Speaker 2: Look, Dr.
3:56
Speaker 6: Eitan, I'll give it to you straight. Two months ago,
3:59
Speaker 6: the observatory issued a press statement that the world was
4:02
Speaker 6: coming to an end. Now, that's the same story the
4:05
Speaker 6: cult of the Book of Revelations had been preaching. Now,
4:08
Speaker 6: when a scientist backs that up, it's news.
4:10
Speaker 5: Our conclusions have nothing to do with the cult. The
4:13
Speaker 5: cult is full of superstition and mysticism. We're scientists.
4:15
Speaker 2: You've got the people pretty angry. It doesn't matter. If
4:18
Speaker 2: I can't get the story from you, I'll have to
4:20
Speaker 2: go somewhere else. Go ahead.
4:23
Speaker 6: The paper can be pretty rough on someone who doesn't cooperate, Dr.
4:26
Speaker 2: Rayton.
4:26
Speaker 5: Young man, if you're not out of the observatory within
4:28
Speaker 5: five minutes, I shall call the police.
4:30
Speaker 2: Now get out.
4:39
Speaker 4: The reporter walks down the long hall from the observatory.
4:44
Speaker 4: The light filters through the high, clear story windows. The
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Speaker 4: yellow light of Gamma, the brightest of the six suns
4:50
Speaker 4: in the planet's sky. Beta is almost at zenith. Its
4:54
Speaker 4: red light floods the landscape to an unusual orange. The
4:58
Speaker 4: planet's sun, Alpha, is at the Antipodes. But now as
5:01
Speaker 4: Gamma sinks below the horizon, the red dwarf sun, Beta,
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Speaker 4: is alone, grimly alone. It's a short drive from the
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Speaker 4: observatory to Saro City, and the red light glares from
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Speaker 4: the highway. The temple of the cult stands hewn from
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Speaker 4: the solid rock of the Dormite Mountains outside the city,
5:19
Speaker 4: and in the inner courtyard stands Sor, the priest of
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Speaker 4: the cult.
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Speaker 7: Woe to the unbelievers! Their souls will rot with the
5:33
Speaker 7: absence of light.
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Speaker 2: Tell me, Your Reverence, what will happen? What are you
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Speaker 2: waiting for here?
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Speaker 7: The day. The day of the coming. It is written
5:43
Speaker 7: in the Book of Revelations. It came to pass the
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Speaker 7: sun beta was alone in the sky. And the world
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Speaker 7: was shrunken and cold. And men did assemble in the
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Speaker 7: public squares and highways. Their minds were troubled and their
5:57
Speaker 7: speech confused. But the souls of men awaited the coming
6:00
Speaker 7: of the stars... And the lip of the cave of
6:03
Speaker 7: darkness passed the edge of beta. And loud were the
6:07
Speaker 7: cries of men. And there was no light on the
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Speaker 7: surface of the world. And in this blackness, there appeared
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Speaker 7: the stars in countless numbers. And in that moment, the
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Speaker 7: souls of men departed from them. And their abandoned bodies
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Speaker 7: became even as beasts. From the stars then reached down
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Speaker 7: the heaven's flame. And where it touched... The cities of
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Speaker 7: the world flamed to destruction so that of man and
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Speaker 7: all the works of man not remained. So it is written.
6:51
Speaker 2: Dr. Sharon, you're the only scientist I could find in
6:53
Speaker 2: the city. Where is everybody? In the hideout. The hideout? Yes,
6:58
Speaker 2: but the place bored me. I wanted to be out
7:00
Speaker 2: here where things are getting hot. I want to see
7:03
Speaker 2: the stars the cultists are talking about. Besides, they don't
7:07
Speaker 2: want me at the hideout. I'm too scrawny to survive.
7:10
Speaker 2: What is the hideout? Well, we professors have managed to
7:13
Speaker 2: convince a few people that our prophecy of doom is valid.
7:16
Speaker 2: We've got about 3,000 people. They're supposed to hide where
7:20
Speaker 2: the darkness and the stars can't get at them. We
7:23
Speaker 2: hope they'll survive and leave the records. Survive? Survive what? Well,
7:27
Speaker 2: how true it is, I can't say, but the The
7:30
Speaker 2: cultists say that every 2,050 years, all the suns disappear,
7:35
Speaker 2: and there is a total darkness, and then they say
7:38
Speaker 2: things called stars appear. Of course, men go mad. They
7:42
Speaker 2: mix all this up with a lot of religio-mystic notions,
7:46
Speaker 2: but that's the central idea. But that's impossible, isn't it?
7:49
Speaker 6: I mean, there are always at least two suns in
7:51
Speaker 6: the sky, most of the time four or five.
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Speaker 2: There aren't now. Only beta.
7:57
Speaker 6: You mean that there is going to be worldwide darkness tomorrow,
8:00
Speaker 6: that all mankind will go violently insane?
8:04
Speaker 2: What's behind that? Well, for one thing, the history of
8:08
Speaker 2: civilization of the world. We have located a series of
8:12
Speaker 2: cycles of civilizations comparable to our own, all of which,
8:15
Speaker 2: without exception, were destroyed by fire at the very height
8:19
Speaker 2: of their culture.
8:20
Speaker 6: But is there any scientific theory behind this which would
8:23
Speaker 6: explain it?
8:24
Speaker 2: Well, the University Observatory finished their calculations two months ago.
8:28
Speaker 2: And tomorrow there will be an eclipse of beta so
8:31
Speaker 2: that the planet will become dark. That eclipse comes every
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Speaker 2: 2049 years. Darkness. And maybe those mysterious stars that no
8:42
Speaker 2: man has seen. And then madness. And the end of civilization.
8:49
Speaker 6: And you expect to live through this at the hideout?
8:52
Speaker 2: They plan to photograph the eclipse and leave the records.
8:55
Speaker 2: And then the rest of mankind will know what to expect.
8:59
Speaker 2: What is there in darkness to drive men mad? Have
9:03
Speaker 2: you ever experienced darkness, young man? Well, no, but I
9:07
Speaker 2: know what it is. It's just no light. Oh. Draw
9:12
Speaker 2: the curtain. Why, what for?
9:15
Speaker 6: If we had four or five suns out there, we
9:17
Speaker 6: might want to cut the light down for comfort.
9:19
Speaker 2: But with only beta... Ah, that's the point. Just draw
9:24
Speaker 2: the curtain and then come here and sit down. All right.
9:34
Speaker 2: I can't see you. Feel your way. But I can't
9:38
Speaker 2: see you. I can't see anything. Do you like it? Oh,
9:43
Speaker 2: it's awful. The walls seem... They seem to be closing
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Speaker 2: in on me. I... Keep wanting to push them away.
9:50
Speaker 2: All right, all right. Draw the curtain back again. Oh,
9:57
Speaker 2: the light. the light. Do you have a drink? Right here.
10:03
Speaker 2: Now that was just a dark room. Yes, but it
10:11
Speaker 2: wasn't really so bad. You're afraid? Just darkness could do that.
10:18
Speaker 2: This isn't just a metaphysical theory, young man. It's promulgated
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Speaker 2: from observed data. Well, come with me. Where? The locked
10:27
Speaker 2: wall down the corridor. Um, were you at the Cerro
10:37
Speaker 2: City Centennial Exposition two years ago? I was overseas on assignment. Well,
10:41
Speaker 2: you remember hearing about the tunnel of mystery that broke
10:44
Speaker 2: all records in the Amusement area? Oh, yes.
10:48
Speaker 6: Wasn't there some fuss about that? The Anti-Vice Society had
10:51
Speaker 6: it shut down. Oh, it was shut down, all right.
10:54
Speaker 6: But the Blue Noses had nothing to do with it.
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Speaker 6: That tunnel was nothing but a mile-long passage through darkness.
11:01
Speaker 6: You rode in a little car, and it took 15
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Speaker 6: minutes to get through.
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Speaker 2: Oh, it was very popular while it lasted. Popular? Well,
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Speaker 2: there's a fascination to be frightened when it's part of
11:15
Speaker 2: a game. Absence of light is one of the instinctive
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Speaker 2: human fears. People came out of that 15 minutes of
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Speaker 2: darkness shaking and half dead with fear. Weren't there some deaths? Oh,
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Speaker 2: bad hearts, but that wasn't the big danger. Now, which
11:35
Speaker 2: key is this? Ah. Where are we going? You'll see. No,
11:48
Speaker 2: the heart attacks were actually good for business, but there
11:52
Speaker 2: was something else. Here, I'll show you. I want you
12:00
Speaker 2: to see somebody. Latimer. Latimer. Go away. Latimer, I want
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Speaker 2: you to meet somebody. This is Mr. Theremon. No. No,
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Speaker 2: go away. Hello? He's pushing me. Make him stop pushing me.
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Speaker 7: Go away.
12:21
Speaker 2: I'm not touching him. What's wrong? Latimer is afraid. Aren't you?
12:27
Speaker 2: The walls. They're falling in on me. The walls. I've
12:31
Speaker 2: got to get out. I've got to get out. Let
12:33
Speaker 2: me out. You can't go out, Latimer. It's all right.
12:36
Speaker 2: I've got to get out. Let me out. Let me out.
12:39
Speaker 2: Let me out. At sleeping period, we have to give
12:44
Speaker 2: him a shot of morphine. Otherwise, he'd bat his brains
12:48
Speaker 2: against the wall. What's wrong with him? Nothing. Nothing but
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Speaker 2: 15 minutes in the darkness of the tunnel of mystery? Oh,
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Speaker 2: that's impossible. One person out of ten came out of
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Speaker 2: the tunnel that way. That's why we had it shut down.
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Speaker 2: But why should darkness do that? It's obvious men cannot
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Speaker 2: exist without light. Longer periods of darkness would obviously be fatal.
13:13
Speaker 2: The scientific theory is that the consciousness of light is
13:17
Speaker 2: necessary for mental activity. Please, doctor, let me outside. Let
13:22
Speaker 2: me out, please. I can't breathe. They're pushing me. They're
13:26
Speaker 2: always pushing me. I can't stand here. Well, there you are, theremin.
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Speaker 2: That's what 15 minutes of darkness will do. Man just
13:40
Speaker 2: wasn't built to operate without light. There are always at
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Speaker 2: least two suns in the sky, most of the time more.
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Speaker 2: Just 15 minutes of darkness. Now, look out of that window.
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Speaker 2: Imagine darkness everywhere. No light as far as you can see. Black.
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Speaker 2: Everything black. And, uh, Stars, whatever they are. Can you
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Speaker 2: conceive it? No. Your mind wasn't built for that conception.
14:18
Speaker 2: When the real thing comes, you will go mad. Completely
14:22
Speaker 2: and permanently. There is no question of it. Tomorrow, there
14:26
Speaker 2: won't be a city left standing in the world. Why
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Speaker 2: should the cities be destroyed? If you were in darkness,
14:34
Speaker 2: what would you want more than anything else? What would
14:37
Speaker 2: it be that every instinct would call for? Light. And
14:42
Speaker 2: how would you get light? I don't know. You'd burn something.
14:47
Speaker 2: They've got to have light. They've got to burn something.
14:50
Speaker 2: And every city in the world will go up in flames. Well,
14:55
Speaker 2: shall we go back to my office, Mr. Ferryman, and
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Speaker 2: have another drink?
15:00
Speaker 4: No. Through the skies, the red sun beta shines alone.
15:08
Speaker 4: The wind howls across the city. It is cold, colder.
15:13
Speaker 2: Than man can remember.
15:15
Speaker 4: And as the hour approaches, the reporter goes out and
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Speaker 4: speaks to the man in the street.
15:21
Speaker 2: Excuse me, where are you going now? Home for supper.
15:24
Speaker 2: How about, well, I mean, what are you going to
15:27
Speaker 2: do tonight?
15:28
Speaker 8: You mean about this star stuff? Look, I'll tell you, mister,
15:32
Speaker 8: I got nothing against religion, see. But it don't stand
15:35
Speaker 8: to reason that the end of the world is going
15:36
Speaker 8: to come boom like that.
15:38
Speaker 2: It just don't stand to reason. Have you read what
15:40
Speaker 2: the scientists say? I don't read stuff like that. Only
15:43
Speaker 2: the headlines. Well, how about the cult? Well, now, like
15:46
Speaker 2: I say, I've got nothing against religion. You don't believe
15:50
Speaker 2: them either?
15:50
Speaker 8: They've always been shouting about doom and sin. Listen, when
15:53
Speaker 8: you've been around as long as I have, you get
15:55
Speaker 8: to know the score. It's all right to preach judgment
15:58
Speaker 8: day is coming and all that, but just the same,
16:00
Speaker 8: I'm putting money in the bank.
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Speaker 2: How about darkness? About what? How would you feel if
16:07
Speaker 2: there were no light? You crazy. How could there be
16:10
Speaker 2: no light? Well, suppose all the suns went down at once.
16:13
Speaker 2: Suppose everything was black. That's crazy. What's the use of
16:17
Speaker 2: supposing something like that? It couldn't happen. It's crazy. That's all.
16:22
Speaker 2: Thank you. Sure, sure. Oh, look, mister, remember. Pallet with
16:25
Speaker 2: two L's.
16:36
Speaker 9: All this talk of scientific explanation.
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Speaker 2: It's sinful, that's what it is. Are you a member
16:41
Speaker 2: of the cult, sir? Sure I am.
16:43
Speaker 9: Been a member since I was a boy. My daddy
16:45
Speaker 9: was a member, too. I've seen the books. It's all
16:48
Speaker 9: written down in the books.
16:49
Speaker 2: Don't you believe the scientist's explanation? Don't need it.
16:52
Speaker 9: I'm going to save my immortal soul. I'm going to
16:55
Speaker 9: stay on the mountaintop in a white robe while the
16:57
Speaker 9: stars carry me away to glory.
16:59
Speaker 2: Blessed be the stars. Amen. What are the stars?
17:04
Speaker 9: The glory, the breath of the heavens, the spirit of
17:07
Speaker 9: the ultimate.
17:08
Speaker 2: That's what they are.
17:09
Speaker 6: The observatory has announced that it intends to take pictures
17:12
Speaker 6: of the stars.
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Speaker 2: Blasphemy. I sold my house. I gave all my money
17:16
Speaker 2: to the poor. Won't need it anymore.
17:18
Speaker 9: I'm going to heaven with the stars.
17:20
Speaker 2: Glory, glory, going with the stars.
17:33
Speaker 4: The reporter checks the stock exchange, the stores, business at
17:37
Speaker 4: a standstill. Doesn't pay to buy anything today, not if
17:40
Speaker 4: the world is going to end tomorrow. There are predictions
17:44
Speaker 4: of economic collapse in the financial section, layoffs at the
17:47
Speaker 4: factories on the edge of the city, and through the
17:49
Speaker 4: streets the people will mill and turn, unsure, crying in
17:54
Speaker 4: fear or shouting with bravado.
17:57
Speaker 2: The story isn't here in the city.
18:00
Speaker 4: And so, as the hour approaches, the reporter goes again
18:03
Speaker 4: to the observatory, high in the hills.
18:04
Speaker 2: Now, look, Dr.
18:06
Speaker 6: Eitan, if you are right, if the world is going
18:09
Speaker 6: to be destroyed, what is the difference if I stay
18:11
Speaker 6: here and observe and take notes?
18:13
Speaker 2: Nothing, I suppose. You will be in the way. We
18:15
Speaker 2: have work to do. If I stay out of the way? Hello, hello. Oh,
18:18
Speaker 2: this place is like a morgue. It's freezing outside. The
18:22
Speaker 2: wind is enough to hang icicles on your nose. Beta
18:25
Speaker 2: doesn't seem to give any heat at all, the distance
18:27
Speaker 2: it is. Why aren't you in the hideout, Sharon? Me?
18:28
Speaker 1: Me?
18:30
Speaker 2: I'm part of the race that isn't worth perpetuating. Who's
18:35
Speaker 2: got a bottle?
18:35
Speaker 5: We know alcohol today. It'd be too easy to get
18:38
Speaker 5: my men drunk. I can't afford to tempt them. All right, there,
18:41
Speaker 5: I mean, you can stay. By the time we took
18:42
Speaker 5: our positions, the observatory dome is up these stairs.
18:46
Speaker 2: After you. What is that? Up in the dome, quick!
18:52
Speaker 2: What is it? The plates. The photographic plates. They're all smashed.
18:56
Speaker 10: Ha, ha, ha, ha!
18:58
Speaker 2: There he is. The cultist. He's going for the telescope.
19:02
Speaker 2: After him. All right, I've got it.
19:04
Speaker 4: Let go.
19:05
Speaker 2: Let go. It must be destroyed. It must be. It's
19:09
Speaker 2: all right. He didn't harm anything. Let him up. That's
19:13
Speaker 2: the high priest. I was talking to him yesterday. All right.
19:16
Speaker 2: What do you want? Nothing that you would give me
19:18
Speaker 2: of your own free will.
19:20
Speaker 5: I made a bargain with the cult to give me
19:22
Speaker 5: certain data that you had. In return, I promised to
19:25
Speaker 5: prove the essential truth of the creed. There was no
19:27
Speaker 5: need to prove that.
19:29
Speaker 2: It stands proven by the book of Revelations. I offered
19:32
Speaker 2: scientific backing for you believers.
19:33
Speaker 7: You made of the darkness and the stars a natural
19:36
Speaker 7: phenomenon and removed all its real significance.
19:39
Speaker 2: That was blasphemy. The facts exist.
19:42
Speaker 7: The facts are a fraud and a delusion.
19:44
Speaker 2: How do you know? I know.
19:45
Speaker 5: I suppose you think in trying to warn the world
19:47
Speaker 5: against the menace of madness, we are playing... souls in jeopardy, huh? Well,
19:53
Speaker 5: we haven't succeeded. If that makes you feel better.
19:56
Speaker 2: Your devilish instruments must be destroyed. We obey the will
20:00
Speaker 2: of the stars. Someone call the police in Saro City.
20:02
Speaker 2: There's no time for that. Let me handle this. The
20:05
Speaker 2: eclipse is only a few minutes away. Look, you. Will
20:09
Speaker 2: you give your word of honor to cause no trouble?
20:12
Speaker 2: I will not. Listen. Just as soon as the eclipse starts,
20:16
Speaker 2: we're going to take you and put you in a
20:18
Speaker 2: closet with the door closed, and you will stay there.
20:21
Speaker 2: Then you won't see the darkness, and you won't see
20:23
Speaker 2: the stars. And that means the loss of your immortal soul,
20:27
Speaker 2: according to the cult. All right. Will you give your
20:32
Speaker 2: word of honor? You have it. You will all be
20:35
Speaker 2: damned for your deeds of today. Look! Look at Beta!
20:38
Speaker 7: The eclipse has started. You can see the blackness against Beta.
20:41
Speaker 7: Get busy on those cameras. Check the exposures very carefully.
20:46
Speaker 2: You're shaking, Mr. Ferryman. Yes, I don't feel very well.
20:49
Speaker 2: You're not losing your nerve. No, no, I'm just not
20:52
Speaker 2: used to it. You could probably make the hideout.
20:55
Speaker 6: I have been assigned to cover a story.
20:56
Speaker 2: I intend to cover it. Oh, professional honor? Yes. Yes.
21:02
Speaker 2: I'll also fan it to a drop. What is that?
21:06
Speaker 2: The cultist. That's the Book of Revelations. I don't understand it.
21:11
Speaker 2: He is chanting some old cycle language. The Book of
21:15
Speaker 2: Revelations was originally written in it. There are probably two
21:18
Speaker 2: million people in Cerro City who are trying to join
21:21
Speaker 2: the cult. One gigantic revival.
21:24
Speaker 6: How do the cultists manage to keep the Book of
21:27
Speaker 6: Revelations going from cycle to cycle if everyone goes mad?
21:30
Speaker 2: Who wrote the book? There are some people who don't
21:34
Speaker 2: see the stars, the blind, those who drink themselves into
21:39
Speaker 2: a stupor, and children, to whom the world as a
21:44
Speaker 2: whole is too new and too strange for them to
21:47
Speaker 2: be frightened at stars and darkness. They would have memories,
21:52
Speaker 2: and that, combined with the confused, incoherent babbling of the mad,
21:57
Speaker 2: formed the basis for the Book of Revelations. Oh, the
22:00
Speaker 2: cult will be riding high down there in the city.
22:04
Speaker 2: I hope they make the most of it. Dr. Sharon,
22:06
Speaker 2: I just heard from the hideout on the private line. Oh,
22:09
Speaker 2: they're in trouble? They are safe, but the city is
22:12
Speaker 2: a shambles. You have no idea. Well, it'll get worse.
22:18
Speaker 2: What are you shaking about, Dr. Aiton? How do you feel?
22:21
Speaker 5: You don't understand. The cultists are rousing the people to
22:24
Speaker 5: storm the observatory. Promising them immediate entrance into grace. Promising
22:28
Speaker 5: them salvation. Promising them anything.
22:31
Speaker 2: How long till the total eclipse? An hour. Well, it's
22:36
Speaker 2: a gamble. It will take time to get a mob
22:39
Speaker 2: out here. If the darkness comes first, we're all right. Oh,
22:45
Speaker 2: look at Beta. It's cut in half. Half of it
22:50
Speaker 2: is black. Yes, it's getting darker. An interesting phenomenon. My
22:59
Speaker 2: collar is suddenly tight. Are you having any difficulty in breathing? No. No, why?
23:06
Speaker 2: Difficulty in breathing is one of the first symptoms. We
23:11
Speaker 2: have experimented. I'm cold. Seems to be getting colder. Yes,
23:18
Speaker 2: so we'd better keep our minds on something else. One
23:21
Speaker 2: of the astronomers has a theory about the stars far
23:25
Speaker 2: away to see in the light. He developed a fantasy
23:29
Speaker 2: about a planet revolving around one sun. It's a mathematical possibility.
23:35
Speaker 2: Of course, there couldn't be any life. Part of the
23:38
Speaker 2: planet would always be dark and without light.
23:42
Speaker 6: Well, it's obvious.
23:45
Speaker 2: Without light, there can't be any life. It's time for
23:48
Speaker 2: the artificial light. We can't read the instruments. Artificial light?
23:53
Speaker 2: One of the researchers at the university worked it out.
23:55
Speaker 2: It's beautiful. Yellow light after four hours of red. It's beautiful. Light. Light.
24:15
Speaker 4: The dome is quiet. The priest in his yellow robe
24:19
Speaker 4: sways slowly as his lips move in the ancient tongue.
24:23
Speaker 4: Over and over he whispers the invocation to the stars.
24:28
Speaker 4: The technicians hunch over the instruments, and the sky gradually
24:32
Speaker 4: turns a horrible deep purple-red, and the air grows denser. Dusk,
24:38
Speaker 4: like a palpable entity, enters the room, and the dancing
24:41
Speaker 4: circle of yellow light about the torches etches itself into
24:44
Speaker 4: ever sharper distinction against the ever-gathering grayness beyond. Outside, Beta
24:50
Speaker 4: is a mere smoldering splendor, taking.
24:53
Speaker 2: A last look at the world.
24:56
Speaker 4: The western horizon in the direction of the city is
24:59
Speaker 4: lost in darkness, and along the highway to the observatory
25:02
Speaker 4: surges a menacing, shadowy mass.
25:08
Speaker 2: Bob from the city, they're coming. How long till total eclipse?
25:12
Speaker 2: Fifteen minutes, but they'll be here in five. We'll hold
25:15
Speaker 2: them off. Come on, Perriman, downstairs. But there's no light
25:19
Speaker 2: down there. We have to block the door.
25:21
Speaker 8: Come on.
25:22
Speaker 2: I can't. I can't breathe. I can't go down there.
25:25
Speaker 2: Take a torch. We'll take light with us. Come on.
25:40
Speaker 4: Aiden.
25:41
Speaker 10: Aiden.
25:41
Speaker 2: I'm here. Did you bar the door? They won't get in.
25:44
Speaker 2: All right now, everybody. One minute till totality. One minute.
25:50
Speaker 7: Just before totality, I'm changing the plate. That will leave
25:53
Speaker 7: one of you for each camera. You know all about
25:56
Speaker 7: times of exposure. Now, remember, don't try to look for
26:00
Speaker 7: good shots. And if you feel yourself going, get away
26:04
Speaker 7: from the camera.
26:05
Speaker 1: It's dark.
26:06
Speaker 2: It's getting dark. Sharon. Sharon, where are you? I can't
26:09
Speaker 2: see you, Sharon. I'm right here. 30 seconds. Look out.
26:13
Speaker 2: The priest... I can't see him.
26:16
Speaker 7: And the wicked shall perish and the souls of the
26:19
Speaker 7: true believers shall be transported in glory to the stars.
26:22
Speaker 2: You can see him against the torch. Don't let him
26:24
Speaker 2: get to the telescope. And the stars, they'll reach down
26:26
Speaker 2: to heavenly flames.
26:27
Speaker 7: And where it touched the cities of the world, flame
26:30
Speaker 7: toward a destruction.
26:31
Speaker 10: Grab him.
26:32
Speaker 2: You shall not last for him. The world must be
26:34
Speaker 2: destroyed by the stars. It must be. Let me go.
26:38
Speaker 2: I'll take care of him. Five seconds to totality. Four, three, two, one.
27:07
Speaker 4: The sky is black, and through it shine the stars. 30,000
27:13
Speaker 4: minute suns shine down in a soul-searing splendor. It is
27:17
Speaker 4: more frightening in its awful indifference than the bitter wind
27:21
Speaker 4: that shivers across the horrible, cold, bleak world.
27:24
Speaker 2: The stars. The stars. The stars. Arnold! It's dark. Dark. Dark.
27:39
Speaker 2: The walls. The walls are coming in on me. They're
27:45
Speaker 2: coming in. Light. Light.
27:50
Speaker 7: Light.
27:51
Speaker 2: Darkness. Forever. Light. And ever. And ever. And the walls
27:57
Speaker 2: are breaking in. We did not know. We did not know.
28:02
Speaker 2: We did.
28:08
Speaker 8: Not know.
28:14
Speaker 4: On the horizon in the direction of the city... A
28:17
Speaker 4: crimson glow begins growing. A thousand fires strengthen in brightness
28:21
Speaker 4: that is not the glow of the sun. A million
28:24
Speaker 4: fires as a world mad in the darkness screams in
28:28
Speaker 4: terror for the light.
28:31
Speaker 2: The night has come again.
28:42
Speaker 10: You have just heard X-1 presented by the National Broadcasting
28:45
Speaker 10: Company in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of astounding
28:50
Speaker 10: science fiction. Tonight by transcription, X-1 has brought you Nightfall
28:55
Speaker 10: by Isaac Asimov, adapted for radio by Ernest Kenoy. Featured
28:59
Speaker 10: in the cast were Wendell Holmes, John Larkin, Santos Ortega,
29:03
Speaker 10: Mercer McLeod, Alan Collins, Bob Hastings, and Roy Fant.
29:08
Speaker 2: Your narrator was Floyd Mack. Fred Collins speaking.
29:11
Speaker 10: X-1 was directed by Daniel Sutter and is an NBC
29:16
Speaker 10: Radio Network production.
29:31
Speaker 2: It's groomed for your interests. Weekday NBC Radio. X-1's Nightfall
29:43
Speaker 2: has reached its close.
29:45
Speaker 1: Follow X-1 for more classic broadcasts.