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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: On September 15th, 1955, NBC broadcast episode 18 of X-1,
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: The Castaways. The script by Ernest Kenoy and directed by
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Daniel Sutter returns to a story first heard on NBC's
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: Dimension X in 1950. At Tahani Atoll in the South Pacific,
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: General Frank Gadosh is directing Operation Destruction, an atomic bomb
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: test that requires the evacuation of the island's residents. The
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Tahani people refuse to leave the land they hold sacred,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: and as the deadline nears, the command post faces their resistance.
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: Stats Cotsworth, Carl Weber, Bob Hastings, Joseph Julian, Louis Van Rooten,
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: Stan Early, and Reese Taylor are heard in the cast.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: Ladies and gentlemen, X-1 presents The Castaways. We now take
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: you back to the original broadcast.
• 0:58
  Speaker 2: Countdown for blastoff. X minus 5, 4, 3, 2, X
• 1:01
  Speaker 2: minus 1, fire.
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: of new dimensions in time and space.
• 1:39
  Speaker 2: These are stories of the future.
• 1:41
  Speaker 3: Adventures in which you'll live in a million could be
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company,
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of astounding science fiction, presents.
• 1:52
  Speaker 2: X minus 1.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: Tonight's story, The Castaways by Ernest Kenoy. In the South Pacific,
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: night comes on rapidly. The sun dips below the flat horizon,
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: the sea is crimson for a moment, and then night falls.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: But on Tahani Atoll, giant arc lights turn night into day.
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: Across the waters of the lagoon, within the barrier reef,
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: launches and tugs skitter back and forth. While on the
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: curving half-moon of the island, army trucks and jeeps scuttle
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: down the rough roads bulldozed by the Seabees just six
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: weeks ago. A low Quonset hut stands near the beach,
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: surrounded by tangled wire. This is the preliminary command post.
• 2:53
  Speaker 3: And inside is General Frank Gaydash, field director of the test.
• 2:58
  Speaker 3: Operation Destruction. Everything's on schedule, General. Radiological surveys complete. Instruments
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: placement checked. Well, get me Navy and tell them H.R.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: Is as ordered.
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: Send a periodic time check to Air Force on 90-week
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: talk and observation control on the Missouri.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: I want a complete roster check on all personnel before H.R.
• 3:19
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Oh, Nate Cohen wants to see you. Who
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: the devil's he? AP man.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: He's been selected by the press radio pool to interview...
• 3:25
  Speaker 3: I haven't got any time. Tell him to speak to
• 3:27
  Speaker 3: Major Dwight Riedenberg. He's the PRO. I think perhaps you'd
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: better see him, sir. The directive on public relations from
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: Washington was very clear. How in blazes am I supposed
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: to run a bomb test and play motherhand to a
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: bunch of reporters?
• 3:37
  Speaker 2: Washington said... All right, all right. Bring him in. Borelli? Yes?
• 3:41
  Speaker 2: Give me some black coffee, will you? Yes. This is Mr. Cohen,
• 3:44
  Speaker 2: General Gaydar. How do you do, General? Lousy, as a
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: matter of fact. Is that an official statement?
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: No.
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: No? You can run some of that the world is
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: at the crossroads baloney.
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: I wrote that yesterday. General, what effect do you think
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: the new bomb will have on the world situation?
• 3:57
  Speaker 2: I can't tell you that, even if I knew.
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: My job is to set the blasted thing off and
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: see that nobody gets hurt and collect the data.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: Can I speak to you a moment, sir? Later, Alan.
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: Go ahead, Cohen.
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: Can you release anything on the scientific principles involved?
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: I don't even understand it myself. Wait a minute. Dr. Muller?
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: Come over here a minute, will you?
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: Cohen, this is Dr. Fred Muller, civilian scientific director. He's
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: the only one who knows what's inside that warhead.
• 4:22
  Speaker 4: How do you do, Mr.
• 4:23
  Speaker 2: Cohen? How about a statement, doctor?
• 4:25
  Speaker 5: Oh, I'm afraid all I'm allowed to say is that
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: the bomb is new, it's extremely powerful, and off the record,
• 4:30
  Speaker 5: it's very tricky and dangerous.
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: What'll happen if it goes off prematurely?
• 4:35
  Speaker 5: I don't think we have to worry about that. In fact,
• 4:37
  Speaker 5: we wouldn't even know about it. If you'll excuse me now.
• 4:40
  Speaker 2: How about the natives? Well, what about them?
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: Aren't they going to be evacuated from the island? They
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: already have been. General Gaydash.
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: I saw the.
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: Tahani chief outside when I came in. The whole tribe
• 4:49
  Speaker 3: squatting down at the motor pool, having a conference.
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: What? Alan, I've been trying to tell you, sir, the
• 4:54
  Speaker 2: Tahani are still on the island. Why? The LCTs are ready,
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: aren't they? Yes, sir, but they won't go. They refuse.
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: The schedule called for their evacuation to Bailani three hours ago.
• 5:03
  Speaker 3: I realize that, sir, but I hoped we could still
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: get them off without violence. Look, Alan, they're either on
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: the island or off.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: Now, wait a minute. Cohen, that's all. What are you
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: going to do about the natives, General? Never mind. I'll
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: issue a statement later. You're going to force them? Go on.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: Get out. I haven't got time. All right, General. Thanks.
• 5:18
  Speaker 2: Thanks a lot. All right, Alan. Let's have it.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: Well, sir, that honey's been kicking up all along.
• 5:22
  Speaker 2: They won't leave.
• 5:23
  Speaker 5: They won't.
• 5:24
  Speaker 3: Do they know what's going to happen to the island?
• 5:27
  Speaker 3: Do they know that we're going to blow it higher
• 5:28
  Speaker 3: than a kite?
• 5:29
  Speaker 2: I told the chief. He just said they won't go.
• 5:31
  Speaker 2: They'll go, all right, if I had to.
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah.
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: Hey, get him in here. The chief? Yeah. And that
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: lieutenant who interprets. Yes, sir. How do you like that, Dr.
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: Muller?
• 5:40
  Speaker 2: I haven't got enough trouble.
• 5:41
  Speaker 5: You know, I feel rather sorry for the Tahani. Can't
• 5:45
  Speaker 5: make much sense to them. We arrive and tell them
• 5:48
  Speaker 5: they've got to get up.
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: Look, I appreciate your finer feelings, Muller, but I can't
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: let the Kanakas hold up the bomb test.
• 5:54
  Speaker 5: They're not Kanakas, General. Captain Cook discovered the island in 1788.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Well, what's the difference? Lieutenant Gilbert reporting, sir. Aloha. Hey, look,
• 6:02
  Speaker 2: I haven't got time for ceremony, Gilbert.
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: Tell the chief he and his tribe have got to
• 6:05
  Speaker 3: get off the island.
• 6:07
  Speaker 2: We're providing homes for them on Mailani. Translate, Gilbert.
• 6:12
  Speaker 6: The chief says you do not understand. Mailani is a
• 6:16
  Speaker 6: bad island. My people have lived on Tehani from the
• 6:19
  Speaker 6: time that our ancestors were cast away on the island.
• 6:22
  Speaker 6: The spirits of our ancestors are buried in the earth.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: Our fathers are buried here. Our father's father. If he
• 6:29
  Speaker 2: thinks I'm going to move his graveyard, he's crazy.
• 6:31
  Speaker 6: In our ancestors' time, the Tehani came in a great
• 6:35
  Speaker 6: bird canoe. We were cast away on this island. We
• 6:39
  Speaker 6: have made it our home. What right have you now
• 6:42
  Speaker 6: to carry us over the sea to a strange land
• 6:45
  Speaker 6: where we would die weeping for our homes?
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: We will not go.
• 6:50
  Speaker 5: By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and
• 6:54
  Speaker 5: we wept when we remembered Zion.
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: Well, thank you, Dr.
• 6:57
  Speaker 3: Muller.
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: You're a great help. Say, Gilbert. Yes, sir. Tell him
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: I have no choice. He's got till.
• 7:01
  Speaker 3: Midnight to get his tribe on board those LCTs peacefully...
• 7:05
  Speaker 3: Or I'll have the Marine Detachment carry him aboard.
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: Isn't that rather harsh, General? After all, justice is on
• 7:11
  Speaker 5: their side. We're preparing to blow up their island, and
• 7:14
  Speaker 5: we haven't.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: Asked them about it. Dr.
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: Muller, will you kindly confine yourself to the scientific aspects
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: of this operation?
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: I'll take care of administrative matters.
• 7:21
  Speaker 4: If you could explain to them what's at stake here.
• 7:23
  Speaker 3: Any further explaining I've got to do, I'll do with
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: the Marine Detachment. I'm not going to hold up my schedule.
• 7:29
  Speaker 2: Well, Gilbert? I told him, sir. All right, get him
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: out of here.
• 7:32
  Speaker 3: I've had enough.
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: Oh, no, no, Koala. What the devil's that? Some kind
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: of a curse, sir.
• 7:38
  Speaker 6: I can catch some of it. The island will remember
• 7:41
  Speaker 6: the tears of its children and punish the invaders. The
• 7:45
  Speaker 6: great destroyers will not destroy. And the evil man who
• 7:49
  Speaker 6: is the chief will travel far through the blackness of night.
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: Even as the children of the island end, so will he.
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: All right, Gilbert, take him away. Colonel Allen.
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: Get a detail from the Marine Detachment with tear gas
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: and small arms.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Down to the motor pool. And in one hour, have
• 8:10
  Speaker 2: those natives on that transport, and I don't care how
• 8:12
  Speaker 2: they do it. Is that my coffee, Varelli? Yes, sir.
• 8:15
  Speaker 5: They must know about the bomb. The Great Destroyer will
• 8:19
  Speaker 5: not destroy. You worried about that curse? I should think
• 8:23
  Speaker 5: you might be. He threatened you personally. If I were you,
• 8:27
  Speaker 5: I'd carry a pistol till they got off the island.
• 8:30
  Speaker 5: The chief looked as if he'd cheerfully strangle you with
• 8:32
  Speaker 5: his bare hands. I'm supposed to end the way they do.
• 8:37
  Speaker 2: What's that?
• 8:39
  Speaker 5: Probably the Tahani saying goodbye to their island. I think
• 8:43
  Speaker 5: I'll go down to the motor pool.
• 8:44
  Speaker 2: Well, stay out of the way.
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: And get back here in an hour. We've got to
• 8:48
  Speaker 3: have this wrapped up and headquarters moved out to the
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: Missouri by dawn. Instrument room checking in, sir.
• 9:04
  Speaker 2: That's the last. Have the Missouri take over control and
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: send for my jeep. Yes, sir.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: Are the LCTs standing by for those natives?
• 9:10
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir.
• 9:10
  Speaker 5: They're on the beach.
• 9:11
  Speaker 2: The bomb unit is assembled in place, General. 2330. Right
• 9:14
  Speaker 2: on the nose.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: Robin, start evacuation procedures. But, honey, you've stopped. Alan's probably
• 9:19
  Speaker 3: moving them out to the beach. Check in with Navy
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: and Air Force, Borelli.
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. What's that?
• 9:26
  Speaker 4: Coming to the beach.
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: But, honey, making trouble. Come on. General. Hey, you. Gilbert,
• 9:33
  Speaker 2: what is it? Colonel Allen ordered the Marines. Well, what happened?
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: The natives just got up and started marching.
• 9:38
  Speaker 4: Did they embark?
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: You don't understand, sir. They marched up the cliff and
• 9:42
  Speaker 2: right off into the lagoon. What? All of them.
• 9:44
  Speaker 7: The women and the kids, too. They didn't even try
• 9:46
  Speaker 7: to swim. What were you doing all this time, just
• 9:48
  Speaker 7: standing around with your thumb in your mouth? There was
• 9:49
  Speaker 7: a Marine detachment. We couldn't stop them, sir. They just
• 9:52
  Speaker 7: walked over the cliff. They didn't even scream. Not even
• 9:55
  Speaker 7: the kids.
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: We sent the crash boats out, but we couldn't get
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: them any of them. The crazy idiots. Were there any
• 10:00
  Speaker 2: reporters there? Well, Cohen and a live photographer. Well, get
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: his film and hold it till I release it.
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: What are you going to do, General? Respond to H-Hour?
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: It's too late for that now. Calling H-Hour off isn't
• 10:11
  Speaker 3: going to bring the natives back.
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: But 100 men, women, and children just walking into the water.
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: It's horrible. I know. I'm not happy about it either.
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: There's nothing we can do now. I gave him a
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: chance to get off.
• 10:22
  Speaker 5: I was just thinking about the curse the chief put
• 10:25
  Speaker 5: on you. Even as the children of the island end,
• 10:28
  Speaker 5: so will he.
• 10:30
  Speaker 2: That's what he said to you, General. I know. I
• 10:31
  Speaker 2: heard him. Your chief's waiting, General.
• 10:33
  Speaker 4: The great destroyer will not destroy. That must mean the bomb.
• 10:36
  Speaker 2: Don't worry, Dr.
• 10:37
  Speaker 5: Muller.
• 10:38
  Speaker 3: It'll take more than a mumbo-jumbo curse from a native
• 10:40
  Speaker 3: witch doctor to stop this operation. At each hour, that
• 10:43
  Speaker 3: bomb goes off.
• 10:57
  Speaker 8: It is now H hour minus one minute, 30 seconds.
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: H minus one, 30. Video screens hooked in, sir. All right,
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: check control stations. Observation station one. Observation station one, check.
• 11:10
  Speaker 2: Radiation station. Radiation control, check. Test the firing circuit, Dr. Muller.
• 11:15
  Speaker 4: Right, General.
• 11:16
  Speaker 2: Damage control station. Damage control, check. All set. Communication. Communication
• 11:20
  Speaker 2: is checked. I'll check in, sir. It is H minus
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: one minute. H minus one. Take a good look at
• 11:29
  Speaker 2: that island on that screen, Dr.
• 11:31
  Speaker 4: Muller.
• 11:31
  Speaker 2: When you throw that key, it just won't be there anymore.
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: Nothing but an atom mushroom over the lagoon. Quite a
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: funeral pyre for the Tahanis. Stubborn idiots. They can't get
• 11:40
  Speaker 2: in the way of progress.
• 11:41
  Speaker 5: Progress?
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: I wonder if it is, General.
• 11:44
  Speaker 8: It is H minus 30 seconds. H hour minus 29, 28, 27, 26.
• 11:52
  Speaker 5: The Great Destroyer.
• 11:59
  Speaker 2: That's what he called the bomb. Hold it, Muller. Allen, report.
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: All checked in, sir. Camera's running. Sound fire warning. Stand
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: by for firing. Ready, Muller? Ready.
• 12:09
  Speaker 8: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5... Four.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: Three, two, one, fire. General, it didn't go off.
• 12:30
  Speaker 4: The bomb didn't go off.
• 12:31
  Speaker 2: Borelli, signal standby, condition red.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 12:34
  Speaker 2: Allen, check readings. What's wrong? What happened?
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: I don't know. The bomb didn't go off.
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: What do you mean? Why didn't it?
• 12:41
  Speaker 5: I don't know, except for one thing. The Tahani chief
• 12:44
  Speaker 5: said the great destroyer would not destroy.
• 12:46
  Speaker 4: It didn't, General.
• 12:49
  Speaker 2: The bomb didn't go off.
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: How about it, General?
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: What happened? Have you got a statement? Nothing you can use, Cohen.
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: Not till we find out what went wrong. Hey, who
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: let you come aboard this ship?
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: I walked on. You don't know why the bomb failed?
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: It didn't fail.
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: It just didn't go off. What's that tank thing on
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: the deck, General? Undersea salvage unit, Mark 4. They call
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: it a bottom crawler.
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: Somebody going down?
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: Well, that bomb is down there in the lagoon somewhere.
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: Could go off at any second. Somebody's got to go
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: down and find it and disarm it.
• 13:22
  Speaker 2: That's a lovely job. Who's elected? I am. Wow. And Dr. Muller.
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: He's the only one who knows how to dismantle it.
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: All is ready, General.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 13:32
  Speaker 2: Come on, Muller. I'm ready. Allen, as soon as we
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: hit shallow water, get those gates open. We'll pull the
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: crawler out.
• 13:39
  Speaker 3: And then you get away in a hurry. If that
• 13:41
  Speaker 3: bomb goes while we're working on it, I don't want
• 13:43
  Speaker 3: any casualties.
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: Yes, sir. Inside, Muller.
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 13:49
  Speaker 2: I'm in. Now, remember, get this LST out of the
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: lagoon in a hurry. You got that, Alan? You take
• 13:54
  Speaker 2: your orders from Admiral Yancey. Yes, sir. Good luck. Closing
• 13:57
  Speaker 2: the hatch. The radar and Geiger counter warmed up, Muller.
• 14:07
  Speaker 5: I was just thinking of something, General. That curse, part
• 14:11
  Speaker 5: of it came true. The bomb didn't go off. Well,
• 14:15
  Speaker 5: the second part of that curse was that you would
• 14:17
  Speaker 5: end where they ended.
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: That was at the bottom of the lagoon. What are
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: you trying to do, Muller? Nothing.
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: I was just thinking this crawler is going to take
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: us right down there where the Tahani died.
• 14:29
  Speaker 2: I'm not worried about a handful of dead natives, Muller.
• 14:32
  Speaker 2: I'm worried about that bomb. Okay, they're opening the gate.
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: Let's go.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: USU-4 to control. Depth 50 feet. Bottom sandy. Dropping off sharp.
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: Anything on sonar, Muller? School of fish. You ever been
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: down in a crawler before?
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: Only in the tank at New London. Think I've got
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: a Geiger reading dead ahead.
• 15:10
  Speaker 2: Hang on.
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: Getting something on sonar now. Left the point.
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: USU-4 to control.
• 15:16
  Speaker 5: Over.
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: USU-4 to control.
• 15:22
  Speaker 3: Over. That's a fine note the radio's out.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Dead ahead.
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: Looks too large to be the bomb.
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: Can't see much on the forward vision plate. Hey, wait
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: a minute. That's part of the reef ahead.
• 15:35
  Speaker 4: That's where the Geiger reading indicated.
• 15:36
  Speaker 5: The bomb must have settled in a hole in the reef.
• 15:38
  Speaker 2: We'll have to go after it in diving suits. The
• 15:41
  Speaker 2: suits are in the locker.
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: Let's get this over with. The less time I spend
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: down here waiting for that bomb to blow, the better
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: I like it. Muller, is your helmet clamped tight? You
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: getting me all right on your headset?
• 16:04
  Speaker 2: Okay. I'm going to fill the lock. Here goes the
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: outer door. Let's go.
• 16:15
  Speaker 5: This isn't like that diving tank in New London.
• 16:19
  Speaker 2: Look out for that coral. It can cut you to ribbons.
• 16:21
  Speaker 4: There's a hole of some sort there.
• 16:24
  Speaker 2: Wait till I get the light up. See if you
• 16:26
  Speaker 2: can get a Geiger reading out of that hole.
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: Just it.
• 16:30
  Speaker 2: There. It's down there, all right. Careful. I'll drop down first.
• 16:37
  Speaker 4: See anything down there?
• 16:39
  Speaker 2: Muller, get down here fast.
• 16:41
  Speaker 6: What is it?
• 16:42
  Speaker 4: Find something?
• 16:42
  Speaker 2: The bottom of this hole. It's metal. And the sides.
• 16:45
  Speaker 2: But it's the coral reef. Look, welded joints. These are
• 16:49
  Speaker 2: hull plates of some kind. Look out, above us.
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: It's closing.
• 16:53
  Speaker 2: Grab it. Too late. A metal hatch. It just slid
• 16:57
  Speaker 2: over the top. This is impossible. What's going on? It's
• 17:00
  Speaker 2: like an airlock. The water's being pumped out. General, do
• 17:07
  Speaker 2: you realize what this means? I'm not sure. There's an
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: inner door opening.
• 17:13
  Speaker 3: Careful.
• 17:14
  Speaker 2: It's a passageway. What do we do now? There isn't
• 17:18
  Speaker 2: much we can do. We can take off our helmets, though.
• 17:21
  Speaker 2: The dial shows good air. All right. Come on.
• 17:29
  Speaker 4: What is this? An undersea fort? What's it doing here?
• 17:32
  Speaker 2: What does it mean? Whatever it is, our bomb must
• 17:35
  Speaker 2: be down here.
• 17:37
  Speaker 4: Wait.
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: There's someone there.
• 17:39
  Speaker 4: I can't see.
• 17:40
  Speaker 2: There's a shadow.
• 17:41
  Speaker 4: Who is it?
• 17:43
  Speaker 2: Who's there? Welcome, Dr. Muller. Welcome to our ship. We've
• 17:49
  Speaker 2: been waiting for you.
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: General, it can't be. Do you see it? It's the
• 17:58
  Speaker 4: Tahani chief.
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: How long has the bottom crawler been down, Borelli? Four hours, sir.
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: Two since we lost contact. Now, keep trying. Yes, sir.
• 18:17
  Speaker 2: I've given him enough time. I'm going to send another
• 18:20
  Speaker 2: crawler down. What do you figure happened to him, Colonel? Well,
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: a lot of things. Hey, how did you get in here?
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: I walked in.
• 18:25
  Speaker 3: When are you going to release this, Colonel? It's the
• 18:27
  Speaker 3: biggest story since the election. Bomb are dead and Dr.
• 18:29
  Speaker 3: Muller and General Gaydash dead.
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: They're not dead. At least we don't know they are.
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: As long as that bomb doesn't go off, there's still
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: a chance.
• 18:35
  Speaker 5: What happened?
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: Well, early condition wrecked. Gilbert, radiation control into action. Get
• 18:43
  Speaker 2: the hot squad into Tahani Lagoon as soon as it's cleared.
• 18:45
  Speaker 2: And get me a PT boat with radiation screens. What
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: is it, Colonel?
• 18:48
  Speaker 3: What happened?
• 18:48
  Speaker 2: Bomb must have blown.
• 18:50
  Speaker 3: How about Muller and the General?
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: If they were down there in that lagoon, you guessed it.
• 18:54
  Speaker 2: Now get out of my way. I'm busy. Radiation reading
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: 75 and steady. Take her in as close to the
• 19:05
  Speaker 2: beach as you can. Steady as she goes.
• 19:07
  Speaker 3: Any danger of any more explosions?
• 19:09
  Speaker 8: No.
• 19:09
  Speaker 2: When she goes, she goes. Radiation 82. That's still safe. Cohen,
• 19:14
  Speaker 2: is that something on the beach? Yeah. Looks like a body.
• 19:18
  Speaker 2: Maybe you blew one of the Tahani back out of
• 19:20
  Speaker 2: the lagoon. No, no. It's moving. Gilbert, glasses. Yes, sir. Man,
• 19:25
  Speaker 2: all right. Head into the beach.
• 19:27
  Speaker 3: Who is it, Colonel?
• 19:29
  Speaker 2: I can't tell. He's in a diving suit. It's either
• 19:32
  Speaker 2: Muller or General Gadoff. Get his helmet off.
• 19:46
  Speaker 5: Easy now.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: Twist to the right. There. It's Muller. Gilbert, help me
• 19:56
  Speaker 2: get him out of this diving suit. We've got to
• 19:58
  Speaker 2: get him to the medics.
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 20:13
  Speaker 2: No radiation burns, superficial bruises, mild shock. He'll be all right, Colonel.
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: Can he talk for a while? I'll let him go off.
• 20:21
  Speaker 5: It didn't.
• 20:22
  Speaker 2: He's still out of his head. Quiet, Cohen. Go on, Dr. Muller.
• 20:25
  Speaker 2: What did you find? A ship.
• 20:27
  Speaker 5: A giant metal ship there under the lagoon.
• 20:29
  Speaker 4: Submarine? No, no.
• 20:30
  Speaker 2: It was a spaceship. Spaceship?
• 20:34
  Speaker 5: Camouflaged right next to the reef. When we went inside,
• 20:40
  Speaker 5: we found the Tahani chief and all the tribe.
• 20:42
  Speaker 4: Alive.
• 20:42
  Speaker 2: What? They drowned in the lagoon. I saw them.
• 20:45
  Speaker 5: No, they didn't commit suicide as we thought. They just
• 20:47
  Speaker 5: dived underwater into the rocket airlock.
• 20:50
  Speaker 2: Rocket? Airlock? Now, look, Mother, I know you've suffered a shock, but...
• 20:54
  Speaker 2: But it's true. Can't be. Spaceship built by Polynesian savages.
• 20:59
  Speaker 4: But they're not savages.
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: They're the castaways. They're from another planet.
• 21:03
  Speaker 4: Don't you understand?
• 21:04
  Speaker 5: Their spaceship was wrecked here 400 years ago. They've been
• 21:07
  Speaker 5: waiting ever since for a chance to go home.
• 21:10
  Speaker 2: He's out of his mind. Better give him a sedative, Doctor. No, no.
• 21:12
  Speaker 2: Wait a minute, Colonel.
• 21:14
  Speaker 6: Remember their story about the great bird canoe? Maybe there's
• 21:18
  Speaker 6: something to the legend.
• 21:19
  Speaker 4: Not the legend. It's true.
• 21:21
  Speaker 5: They'd exhausted their fuel, came down out of space, couldn't
• 21:24
  Speaker 5: find anything here on Earth to replace their fuel source
• 21:27
  Speaker 5: until we developed atomic power.
• 21:29
  Speaker 2: Atomic power? You mean they stole our bomb? That's right.
• 21:33
  Speaker 5: Fished it out of the lagoon, hauled it aboard.
• 21:35
  Speaker 2: Yes, but how could they convert it to atomic drive?
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: They made me dismantle it for them at the point
• 21:40
  Speaker 4: of a gun.
• 21:41
  Speaker 5: Then just before they blasted off, they let me go.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: But what about the general?
• 21:45
  Speaker 4: Remember the Tahani curse?
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: I see it. You mean they killed him?
• 21:50
  Speaker 5: You don't understand. I said I dismantled that bomb at
• 21:53
  Speaker 5: the point of a gun. It was General Gaydash who
• 21:56
  Speaker 5: was holding the gun.
• 21:58
  Speaker 2: What?
• 21:59
  Speaker 4: He was one of them, one of.
• 22:00
  Speaker 5: Their spies, sent out to bring back the rocket fuel
• 22:03
  Speaker 5: they needed. And the Tahani curse wasn't a curse at all.
• 22:06
  Speaker 5: It said that when they left the island, so would he.
• 22:09
  Speaker 2: I mean, he's with them now. Yes.
• 22:15
  Speaker 5: And after 400 years, The castaways are going home.
• 22:32
  Speaker 3: You have just heard X-1 presented by the National Broadcasting
• 22:36
  Speaker 3: Company in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of astounding
• 22:40
  Speaker 3: science fiction.
• 22:43
  Speaker 2: Your announcer, Fred Collins.
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: X-1 was an NBC Radio Network production.
• 23:01
  Speaker 1: You have been listening to X-1's The Castaways. Follow X-1
• 23:05
  Speaker 1: for more classic broadcasts.