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X Minus One - "Early Model" (Old Time Radio, 1957) · X Minus One | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: During humanity's first scouting mission to an alien planet, Bentley
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: wears a bulky experimental protective device intended to make first
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: contact safe. The equipment provides extraordinary protection, but its practical
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: limitations complicate his encounter with the planet's indigenous inhabitants. That
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: is the situation in X-1, Episode 102, Early Model, broadcast
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: by NBC Radio on July 11, 1957. Ernest Kenoy adapted
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: Robert Sheckley's short story for radio with Bob Hastings, Joseph Bell,
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: Anthony Campbell, and Alistair Duncan in the cast under the
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: direction of Daniel Sutter. And now we return to the
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: original broadcast.
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: This is Walter O'Keefe inviting you to listen in on
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: the Nightline. Tonight, live the incredible life of ages yet
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: to come in a time that might be a million
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: years from now on X-1. Now, an incredible story of
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: the world beyond.
• 1:12
  Speaker 3: Countdown for blastoff.
• 1:18
  Speaker 4: X-5, 4, 3, 2, X-1, fire.
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: From the far horizons of the unknown come tales of
• 1:54
  Speaker 3: new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of
• 1:58
  Speaker 3: the future. Adventures in which you'll live in a million
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: could be years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, presents
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: X minus 1. Tonight, early model by Robert Sheckley. But first,
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: hear this.
• 2:31
  Speaker 5: When you swing and sway to.
• 2:33
  Speaker 6: A Latin beat, life is lovely, life is sweet.
• 2:38
  Speaker 7: You make it Pabst, cause Pabst makes it perfect.
• 2:43
  Speaker 6: Yes, Pabst.
• 2:45
  Speaker 8: Makes it perfect, just as we always have ever since 1844.
• 2:49
  Speaker 8: So next time, you make it Pabst, because Pabst makes
• 2:52
  Speaker 8: it perfect. America's blue-ribbon beer from the Pabst Brewing Company, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
• 2:56
  Speaker 9: Yes, Pabst makes it perfect.
• 3:06
  Speaker 4: Now, X-1.
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: And the Robert Sheckley story, Early Model.
• 3:14
  Speaker 7: Of course, Professor Sliget claimed the trouble was that the
• 3:16
  Speaker 7: Pro-Tech was an early model.
• 3:18
  Speaker 5: Then he invented it.
• 3:19
  Speaker 7: He sprung the thing on me just before I took
• 3:21
  Speaker 7: off for my scouting contact mission to Telsfor in the
• 3:24
  Speaker 7: Betelgeuse sector.
• 3:26
  Speaker 4: Here, Bentley, put this on.
• 3:27
  Speaker 6: What is it?
• 3:28
  Speaker 5: A new model.
• 3:29
  Speaker 4: It's called a Pro-Tech.
• 3:31
  Speaker 5: What's it for? You'll wear it on your mission.
• 3:33
  Speaker 7: Now look, Sliget, I already have to carry enough equipment
• 3:36
  Speaker 7: to give varicose veins to an elephant. Linguine, that's 22 pounds.
• 3:39
  Speaker 7: I can't do without it or I can't translate native languages.
• 3:42
  Speaker 7: Concentrated food, water, subspace radio, weapons, medical kit.
• 3:46
  Speaker 5: Now, how much does this thing weigh? 72 pounds.
• 3:49
  Speaker 6: Try it on.
• 3:49
  Speaker 10: Look, I won't promise to take... It fits right on
• 3:51
  Speaker 10: your back. Here, I'll snap the harness.
• 3:55
  Speaker 6: It's fine.
• 3:56
  Speaker 4: It digs into my back. There's a sharp thing back there.
• 3:58
  Speaker 6: That's the sensory link. It has to be at that angle.
• 4:01
  Speaker 5: But my back.
• 4:01
  Speaker 4: We're working on the problem. Now, don't worry.
• 4:04
  Speaker 5: What does it do?
• 4:05
  Speaker 10: ProTech is the perfect protection for initial planet contact. There
• 4:09
  Speaker 10: are pseudo-protein computer banks and an Anderson-Woodward force field projector.
• 4:13
  Speaker 10: Wherever the pro-tech senses danger... Look, I'll show you. I
• 4:17
  Speaker 10: take this slide rule and swing at you.
• 4:22
  Speaker 5: Hey, where did everybody go? Who turned off the lights? Hey, Sliget,
• 4:26
  Speaker 5: where am I? Sliget, get me out of here.
• 4:28
  Speaker 6: Sliget!
• 4:30
  Speaker 5: What happened?
• 4:31
  Speaker 6: The pro-tech went on. It encased you in the A.W.
• 4:35
  Speaker 6: force field.
• 4:35
  Speaker 4: I released by master controls.
• 4:37
  Speaker 6: You can turn it off with this button on your chest. Perfect.
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: Perfect.
• 4:41
  Speaker 5: Yeah, but 73 pounds.
• 4:43
  Speaker 6: Well, this is an early model.
• 4:45
  Speaker 10: I've used every weight-saving device possible, but unfortunately, early models
• 4:50
  Speaker 10: are always a little bulky.
• 4:51
  Speaker 3: All right, all right.
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: How do I take it off?
• 4:53
  Speaker 4: I'm not going to tell you. Huh?
• 4:56
  Speaker 10: We're not going to take chances of having valuable equipment
• 4:59
  Speaker 10: discarded just because it might be a little uncomfortable.
• 5:02
  Speaker 6: Bentley, you're going to an alien planet.
• 5:05
  Speaker 4: It's necessary that you be protected at all times.
• 5:07
  Speaker 10: Look, I've got enough sense to figure out when to
• 5:09
  Speaker 10: wear this thing. Yeah, suppose you find the natives seemingly friendly.
• 5:13
  Speaker 10: You'd want to take off this heavy, uncomfortable protest. But
• 5:16
  Speaker 10: suppose you misjudge their attitude. Sliggart, I can take care
• 5:19
  Speaker 10: of myself. That's what Atwood said before he left for
• 5:22
  Speaker 10: a topaz three. We never heard from him. Bentley, can
• 5:26
  Speaker 10: you turn a knife thrust from the rear? Have you
• 5:28
  Speaker 10: got eyes in the back of your head?
• 5:29
  Speaker 6: Okay, can.
• 5:32
  Speaker 10: We're not going to risk $ 8 million worth of equipment
• 5:34
  Speaker 10: just because you might be uncomfortable. Suppose it blows a
• 5:37
  Speaker 10: fuse or pops a wire. We've got triple everything. We're
• 5:41
  Speaker 10: the power supply good for a century. Bentley, after this
• 5:44
  Speaker 10: field test, the Pro-Tech will be standard equipment for all explorers.
• 5:49
  Speaker 4: Well, all right.
• 5:50
  Speaker 6: I'll try to get used to it.
• 5:52
  Speaker 7: But it feels like I'm carrying a 72-pound monkey on
• 5:55
  Speaker 7: my back. I carried it for six weeks on the
• 6:01
  Speaker 7: way to TELS 4, and the added weight loused up
• 6:03
  Speaker 7: my coordination and landing, so I burned out about seven
• 6:06
  Speaker 7: acres with backlash from the braking tube.
• 6:08
  Speaker 4: The radio receiver buried in my ear itched, and.
• 6:11
  Speaker 5: My back was rubbed raw from the carrying straps.
• 6:14
  Speaker 7: I piled on my linguine and the other equipment and
• 6:16
  Speaker 7: staggered out. My instructions were to fraternize with the Aborigines
• 6:21
  Speaker 7: and establish a trade pact, if possible. I found two
• 6:25
  Speaker 7: of them standing outside the tail fins when the hull
• 6:27
  Speaker 7: had cooled enough to get out. They were bipeds, orange-skinned
• 6:31
  Speaker 7: with thick, short tails, and they were armed with stone
• 6:34
  Speaker 7: axes and clubs.
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: I stepped out of the lock, and they started talking fast.
• 6:37
  Speaker 7: I realized I hadn't turned on my linguine, so I
• 6:41
  Speaker 7: tuned it in and threw the switch.
• 6:44
  Speaker 9: I dare say it's a manifestation of some supernatural quality, eh, Wassilo, chaps?
• 6:48
  Speaker 7: Without a doubt, old man. You know how the linguine works.
• 6:56
  Speaker 7: Instantaneous semantic translation. Well, mine was made by the Gorley
• 7:00
  Speaker 7: Laboratories just outside London, and naturally they had the word
• 7:03
  Speaker 7: tapes recorded by BBC announcers. It takes a little getting
• 7:07
  Speaker 7: used to when you hear some walking vegetable from the
• 7:09
  Speaker 7: Canopa system talking like the Home Service.
• 7:12
  Speaker 5: Well, the Tellians were pretty excited by my arrival.
• 7:15
  Speaker 6: How strange.
• 7:17
  Speaker 11: Unbelievable.
• 7:18
  Speaker 4: Most improper, you know.
• 7:19
  Speaker 6: I suppose it can talk. I.
• 7:22
  Speaker 5: I come as a friend. A friend.
• 7:25
  Speaker 6: Well, it does talk.
• 7:28
  Speaker 4: Dreadful accent. But what can you expect, eh?
• 7:31
  Speaker 6: Foreigners, you know.
• 7:32
  Speaker 4: You know, old boy? I definitely sense an evil.
• 7:35
  Speaker 6: Oh, now, come. We're both ghost doctors. Surely if there
• 7:39
  Speaker 6: was an evil, we'd both sense it.
• 7:40
  Speaker 4: Well, let's ask, shall we? Let's. I say, are you evil?
• 7:47
  Speaker 5: Me?
• 7:48
  Speaker 6: Why, yes.
• 7:49
  Speaker 9: You see, we're the village ghost doctors. It's our job
• 7:51
  Speaker 9: to ferret out evil, so to speak. It's our cup
• 7:54
  Speaker 9: of fuel, so to speak.
• 7:56
  Speaker 6: Are you evil?
• 7:58
  Speaker 3: Oh, no.
• 7:58
  Speaker 6: No. He says he's not evil.
• 8:01
  Speaker 4: How would he know?
• 8:01
  Speaker 6: If he doesn't, who does?
• 8:03
  Speaker 4: My dear fellow, appearances aren't everything.
• 8:06
  Speaker 12: Surely you recall the legend of Hatape, the gods tempted
• 8:09
  Speaker 12: the chief.
• 8:09
  Speaker 9: Please, my dear chap, I'm as well aware of religious
• 8:12
  Speaker 9: precedent as you are.
• 8:18
  Speaker 7: The two of them stood there, lashing their orange tails,
• 8:21
  Speaker 7: accusing each other of heresy. The linguine finally couldn't handle
• 8:24
  Speaker 7: the theological discussion and cut out before overload blew a circuit. Eventually,
• 8:28
  Speaker 7: they must have decided something because the short one carrying
• 8:31
  Speaker 7: the stone axe turned to me.
• 8:33
  Speaker 6: Stranger, we've decided not to kill you.
• 8:36
  Speaker 5: Not yet, anyway.
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: We'll go to the village and purify ourselves, then we'll
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: initiate you into the club.
• 8:41
  Speaker 5: The club?
• 8:42
  Speaker 9: The Society of Ghost Doctors. You see, no evil thing
• 8:46
  Speaker 9: can become a ghost doctor... It just isn't done, you know.
• 8:49
  Speaker 9: We'll find out the truth that way.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: Clever, eh?
• 8:54
  Speaker 5: I'm deeply grateful.
• 8:55
  Speaker 6: But if you're evil, we'll destroy you. Have to. Our job,
• 9:00
  Speaker 6: you know.
• 9:09
  Speaker 3: You are listening to Early Model, tonight's attraction on X-1.
• 9:15
  Speaker 3: For the big things in your life, Be ready with
• 9:18
  Speaker 3: United States savings bonds. That's the new savings bond with
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: the higher interest rate. The improved Series E savings bonds
• 9:26
  Speaker 3: that now mature faster to pay you back extra dollars faster. Yes,
• 9:32
  Speaker 3: when you think of saving, think of savings bonds. They
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: offer you the safe, easy way to save regularly. Safe
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: because each bond is backed by the United States government itself.
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: Easy because you can buy bonds either where you bank
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: or through the payroll savings plan where you work. And
• 9:50
  Speaker 3: you get back $ 4 at maturity for every three invested,
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: so you earn extra dollars. But the big news is
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: that the maturity period is shortened to only eight years
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: and 11 months. So join the bond wagon. Start a
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: family savings program. Invest in improved Series E bonds today
• 10:08
  Speaker 3: and hold the bonds you already own.
• 10:11
  Speaker 1: ¶ ¶.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: Now, back to X-1 and tonight's story, Early Model.
• 10:32
  Speaker 6: Sligert.
• 10:33
  Speaker 5: Calling Professor Sligert at home base. Come in.
• 10:36
  Speaker 6: Go ahead, Bentley. Report.
• 10:37
  Speaker 7: I'm in the village now. They're about to initiate me
• 10:40
  Speaker 7: as some kind of priest. All I have to do
• 10:42
  Speaker 7: is pass some kind of test. And, by the way,
• 10:44
  Speaker 7: if I don't pass, they're going to kill me.
• 10:48
  Speaker 6: Ah, that's good.
• 10:48
  Speaker 5: What's funny?
• 10:49
  Speaker 10: They can't hurt a hair on your head, not with
• 10:52
  Speaker 10: Protag on the job.
• 10:53
  Speaker 5: They seem awfully confident that they can.
• 10:55
  Speaker 10: Primitive cultures always overestimate the power of their weapons.
• 10:59
  Speaker 6: Don't worry. Just let Protag take care of you. Go ahead,
• 11:09
  Speaker 6: old boy. It's purified ceremonial food.
• 11:12
  Speaker 5: But I can't.
• 11:13
  Speaker 2: Why not?
• 11:14
  Speaker 4: We purified with seven sprinklings of strychnine, according to rituals.
• 11:18
  Speaker 7: It's a taboo. I'm only allowed to eat my own supplies.
• 11:21
  Speaker 7: A tribal taboo, you know.
• 11:23
  Speaker 6: How primitive.
• 11:24
  Speaker 4: Positively pagan.
• 11:26
  Speaker 9: Well, shall we get on with it? We'll dispense with
• 11:29
  Speaker 9: the written exam and get right down to the oral.
• 11:32
  Speaker 4: Tell me, what do you think of evil?
• 11:36
  Speaker 5: Well, it isn't good.
• 11:40
  Speaker 9: Ah.
• 11:40
  Speaker 4: Well put.
• 11:42
  Speaker 9: Well, in that case, you have no objection to receiving
• 11:45
  Speaker 9: the sacred and very holy spear... that Cranclue brought down
• 11:48
  Speaker 9: from the abode of the small gods... the brandishing of
• 11:51
  Speaker 9: which brings good on a man?
• 11:52
  Speaker 4: Oh, I would be honored to receive it.
• 11:54
  Speaker 3: Very well, then.
• 11:55
  Speaker 4: The ceremony can commence.
• 12:01
  Speaker 12: Oh, stranger from the skies, accept from us this spear
• 12:05
  Speaker 12: of sanctity. Evil cannot abide the presence of this spear...
• 12:10
  Speaker 12: Take then our blessings with it. Here, here, oh stranger,
• 12:14
  Speaker 12: take the spear.
• 12:16
  Speaker 5: Confounded pro-tech. Where's that release button? Sliggart, Sliggart, come in.
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: He's probably out to lunch.
• 12:23
  Speaker 5: Got to get that force field off.
• 12:25
  Speaker 9: There.
• 12:28
  Speaker 5: Listen, listen, I'm terribly sorry.
• 12:30
  Speaker 6: But I.
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: Begin the purification, Dodge.
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: We are in the presence of the evil spirit.
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: Oh, no, no, no, I can explain.
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: You cannot accept the sacred spear. Well, you see.
• 12:39
  Speaker 7: I've got this protective device. It's sort of like a shield,
• 12:42
  Speaker 7: you know? It doesn't like spears. It doesn't trust them.
• 12:47
  Speaker 7: You couldn't give me a sacred gourd?
• 12:50
  Speaker 5: Nonsense.
• 12:50
  Speaker 6: Who ever heard of a sacred gourd?
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: Poppycock!
• 12:53
  Speaker 5: Look, you'll just have to take my word for it.
• 12:55
  Speaker 5: I'm not evil.
• 12:56
  Speaker 3: Really.
• 12:56
  Speaker 5: Scouts on her. Our course is clear.
• 12:58
  Speaker 6: Transparent.
• 13:00
  Speaker 4: We won't kill you at once. We'll pray for you
• 13:03
  Speaker 4: through the night. And perhaps in the morning, things will
• 13:06
  Speaker 4: turn out better.
• 13:07
  Speaker 9: If not, sorry, old boy, but you understand our position.
• 13:10
  Speaker 9: We'll just have to kill you.
• 13:11
  Speaker 6: Can't be helped. Regulations, you know. Yes, yes, Bentley, I understand. Well,
• 13:25
  Speaker 6: primitive people are notoriously treacherous. They might have stabbed you
• 13:29
  Speaker 6: with the spear.
• 13:30
  Speaker 7: Look, Sliggett, I'm positive there was no such intent. After all,
• 13:33
  Speaker 7: you have to start trusting people sometimes.
• 13:35
  Speaker 6: Not with a billion dollars worth Don't you understand?
• 13:39
  Speaker 7: The pro-tech wouldn't let me accept their sacred spear. That
• 13:42
  Speaker 7: means I might be evil. Now, what if I can't
• 13:44
  Speaker 7: pass the initiation test tomorrow? Look, tell me how to
• 13:47
  Speaker 7: take it off.
• 13:48
  Speaker 6: Oh, no. We want you back alive. There's no way
• 13:51
  Speaker 6: they can hurt you through the pro-tech field. Now, try
• 13:54
  Speaker 6: to have a little faith.
• 14:01
  Speaker 4: The campfire's burned all night, and I could hear the
• 14:03
  Speaker 4: chants of the ghost doctors.
• 14:05
  Speaker 7: At least three or four times during that night, the
• 14:07
  Speaker 7: pro-tech force field howled on and off, but I was
• 14:10
  Speaker 7: too tired to care. In the morning, the two Tellians
• 14:14
  Speaker 7: came to see me and stood switching their fat orange
• 14:16
  Speaker 7: tails politely while the linguine translated for me.
• 14:20
  Speaker 9: There were great sounds from your hut last night, sounds
• 14:23
  Speaker 9: of torment, as if you were wrestling with the devil.
• 14:27
  Speaker 6: So to speak.
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: I'm a restless sleeper, yes.
• 14:30
  Speaker 6: Yes, of course.
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: Quiet.
• 14:31
  Speaker 8: Quiet.
• 14:32
  Speaker 6: By the way, Elting, did you pray for purification last night?
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: Oh, yes, yes, yes, I did. And was your prayer granted? Yes, oh, yes, sure, certainly.
• 14:41
  Speaker 5: Not a bit of evil around me.
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: Well, if you can't be initiated, we'll have to destroy you.
• 14:47
  Speaker 6: We made that clear, didn't we?
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: Oh, yes, quite clear. The initiation ritual took the whole day.
• 15:01
  Speaker 7: It was sort of a cross between a Shriner's Convention
• 15:03
  Speaker 7: and a performance of Das Rheingold at the Met. Luckily,
• 15:06
  Speaker 7: no one tried to hand me a ceremonial spear or
• 15:09
  Speaker 7: point a club in my direction, so the Protech kept
• 15:11
  Speaker 7: its grimy force field to itself. Finally, around supper time,
• 15:15
  Speaker 7: the Tellians pounded the last tail on the ground, and
• 15:18
  Speaker 7: everyone stopped and paid close attention.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: Oh, brother, this alien has come across the vast emptiness
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: to be our brother.
• 15:26
  Speaker 5: With this initiation, we purge him of evil and make
• 15:29
  Speaker 5: him one of us.
• 15:30
  Speaker 3: Brother, now you are a ghost doctor with all the
• 15:33
  Speaker 3: privileges and perquisites pertaining thereto.
• 15:36
  Speaker 4: And in friendship, I extend to you the claw of friendship.
• 15:39
  Speaker 5: Well, thanks.
• 15:40
  Speaker 4: You have only to shake claws, and the ceremony is concluded.
• 15:44
  Speaker 5: All right, brother. Give me some skin. Slip me seven.
• 15:49
  Speaker 6: No, no, listen.
• 15:50
  Speaker 5: Turn it off. He just wants to shake hands. You're
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: spoiling everything.
• 15:54
  Speaker 3: Off, off.
• 15:55
  Speaker 5: Now, where's that button?
• 15:56
  Speaker 10: Off!
• 16:00
  Speaker 6: Evil, evil, evil.
• 16:04
  Speaker 4: Well, there it is, you know. We hoped we could
• 16:06
  Speaker 4: muddle through, but you can't win them all, you know.
• 16:10
  Speaker 4: There's only one thing left. Kill the devil!
• 16:20
  Speaker 7: About 30 of the Tellians heaved stone spears at me,
• 16:22
  Speaker 7: and naturally I disappeared inside the Anderson Woodward force field,
• 16:25
  Speaker 7: and the spears rattled off the whining, coruscating power sphere.
• 16:28
  Speaker 4: I tried to walk back to the ship.
• 16:29
  Speaker 7: But the pro-tech went on about every half-step, and at
• 16:31
  Speaker 7: that rate, it would take me about a month to
• 16:33
  Speaker 7: cover the ground. I figured I'd wait him out. And
• 16:36
  Speaker 7: then I noticed that the air inside the field began
• 16:38
  Speaker 7: to go stale. I came out of the field. The
• 16:41
  Speaker 7: Talians were sitting around. Rennick picked up a spear.
• 16:44
  Speaker 2: Evil.
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: Wait, wait.
• 16:47
  Speaker 5: Hold off. Fins. Fair play.
• 16:51
  Speaker 6: Fair play?
• 16:51
  Speaker 4: I say, Rennick, he's due a three-minute sanctuary under the
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: sacred law of his hippo.
• 16:55
  Speaker 6: You really think so?
• 16:57
  Speaker 4: He invoked fair play. True.
• 16:59
  Speaker 11: True.
• 17:01
  Speaker 6: All right, monster. You have three minutes.
• 17:03
  Speaker 5: Thanks.
• 17:05
  Speaker 4: Hello.
• 17:06
  Speaker 5: Hello, Sliggart. Come in, Sliggart.
• 17:09
  Speaker 6: Ah, there you are, Bentley.
• 17:10
  Speaker 5: Listen, you've got to get me out of this. They're
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: trapping me in the pro-tech.
• 17:13
  Speaker 9: You mean the pro-tech is saving you from harm?
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: No, no.
• 17:16
  Speaker 5: They keep activating it. They'll starve me out.
• 17:18
  Speaker 6: Now, don't get panicky.
• 17:20
  Speaker 10: Just sit tight in the pro-tech field until they see
• 17:22
  Speaker 10: they can't harm you.
• 17:23
  Speaker 5: You confounded idiot. There's no air in there. The force
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: field cuts it off. I'll choke.
• 17:27
  Speaker 4: Oh.
• 17:28
  Speaker 11: Oh, dear.
• 17:28
  Speaker 6: That's true, isn't it?
• 17:30
  Speaker 4: Ah, don't worry.
• 17:31
  Speaker 6: We'll correct that in future marvels.
• 17:33
  Speaker 5: Oh, thanks a lot, but what am I going to
• 17:34
  Speaker 5: do right now? How do I get this thing off?
• 17:36
  Speaker 3: Well, now I am sorry.
• 17:38
  Speaker 11: To tell the truth, I designed the harness so that
• 17:40
  Speaker 11: you couldn't get out under any circumstances.
• 17:42
  Speaker 5: You lousy... Please, please.
• 17:44
  Speaker 6: Let's keep our heads. You can hold out for a
• 17:47
  Speaker 6: couple of months.
• 17:48
  Speaker 4: We might be able to.
• 17:49
  Speaker 6: I can't.
• 17:49
  Speaker 5: The air, the water. I hate to mention it, but
• 17:52
  Speaker 5: they seem to be building fires around me.
• 17:54
  Speaker 6: I'm sorry. Your three minutes are up. We are going
• 17:57
  Speaker 6: to destroy you with fire.
• 17:58
  Speaker 5: Well, it's traditional that way.
• 18:00
  Speaker 4: My dear chap, would you like to kindle the first blaze?
• 18:03
  Speaker 6: Oh, after you, old fellow. Remember I burned the last
• 18:06
  Speaker 6: evil monster?
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: True, true. Oh, uh, monster?
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: Yes?
• 18:13
  Speaker 4: Do you have a light?
• 18:19
  Speaker 5: I knew I was cooked, one way or the other.
• 18:22
  Speaker 7: They started to light fires around me in a circle,
• 18:24
  Speaker 7: and the pro-tech snapped on.
• 18:26
  Speaker 5: I had to get out.
• 18:27
  Speaker 7: Of course, when I did, the Tellians would cheerfully spear
• 18:29
  Speaker 7: me to death. But at least I had a chance
• 18:30
  Speaker 7: of running. The field snapped on again. I grabbed my
• 18:33
  Speaker 7: knife from the tool chest and hacked at the thick,
• 18:34
  Speaker 7: duro plastic.
• 18:35
  Speaker 5: Webbing of the harness.
• 18:36
  Speaker 7: I came out of the field long enough to hear
• 18:38
  Speaker 7: sliggets shouting in my ear.
• 18:40
  Speaker 5: What are you doing? Cutting my way out of this
• 18:42
  Speaker 5: fire trap.
• 18:43
  Speaker 4: You don't dare destroy government equipment. This will go down
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: on your 201 file.
• 18:48
  Speaker 7: Look, I'm trapped inside the field as long as they
• 18:51
  Speaker 7: feed the fire. And considering how they feel about devils,
• 18:53
  Speaker 7: they'll probably keep it up a couple of hundred years.
• 18:55
  Speaker 4: Uh-oh.
• 18:56
  Speaker 5: They're pushing the fire closer. Goodbye.
• 19:06
  Speaker 7: I tore at the straps with my wire cutters and knife.
• 19:08
  Speaker 7: I could only work when the field was off. The
• 19:09
  Speaker 7: pro-tech protected itself. Finally, I ripped the harness off just
• 19:12
  Speaker 7: as the field went on, and I was thrown 20
• 19:14
  Speaker 7: feet into the fire. But I landed on my feet
• 19:16
  Speaker 7: and was off and running. It took the Tellians just
• 19:23
  Speaker 7: 100 yards to catch up and gently lay a stone
• 19:26
  Speaker 7: club along the side of my head.
• 19:29
  Speaker 4: Oh, well, let's.
• 19:33
  Speaker 5: Get it over with.
• 19:33
  Speaker 4: You're going to kill me. Let's not make a production
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: out of it. Oh, but my dear fellow, we don't
• 19:37
  Speaker 4: want to kill you.
• 19:38
  Speaker 3: Dear me, no.
• 19:39
  Speaker 6: We knew you were a good man. It was the
• 19:42
  Speaker 6: devil we wanted.
• 19:43
  Speaker 9: I don't mean to be tactless, but you do know
• 19:46
  Speaker 9: you had a devil riding on your back. We tried
• 19:48
  Speaker 9: to purify him, but he was too strong. The fire
• 19:51
  Speaker 9: took the starch out of him, though.
• 19:53
  Speaker 11: Devil?
• 19:55
  Speaker 5: Devil on my back?
• 19:55
  Speaker 4: Oh, yeah, yeah, I guess so, yes.
• 19:58
  Speaker 10: You know, our village is very proud to have such
• 20:00
  Speaker 10: a powerful devil chained up inside a fire ring.
• 20:03
  Speaker 9: Tell me, my dear chap, you haven't by any chance
• 20:06
  Speaker 9: any more devils like that in your homeland?
• 20:08
  Speaker 5: No, that's the only one.
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: Pity.
• 20:11
  Speaker 3: We'd really be tickled orange if we could have a
• 20:13
  Speaker 3: few more to worship, you know.
• 20:16
  Speaker 5: You mean trade for them?
• 20:18
  Speaker 6: Why, yes.
• 20:19
  Speaker 9: I'm sure every village would want one.
• 20:22
  Speaker 7: Well, I think that can be arranged. And you haven't
• 20:24
  Speaker 7: seen anything. We'll sell you devils that really are devils.
• 20:28
  Speaker 7: After all, this one is just an early model.
• 20:44
  Speaker 5: Fred Collins again.
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: And I'll be back to tell you a word about
• 20:47
  Speaker 3: tonight's X-1 in a moment.
• 20:51
  Speaker 11: Bob!
• 20:56
  Speaker 3: Bob Barker!
• 20:57
  Speaker 4: Yes, Ralph?
• 20:58
  Speaker 1: Ah, Bob.
• 20:59
  Speaker 11: I just want to say that I heard you emceeing
• 21:01
  Speaker 11: the Truth or Consequences program on NBC radio.
• 21:04
  Speaker 6: And I thought you were great, boy. Well, that's quite
• 21:06
  Speaker 6: a compliment.
• 21:06
  Speaker 4: Real, real great. I mean it.
• 21:08
  Speaker 11: Coming from none other than Ralph Edwards, the creator of
• 21:11
  Speaker 11: and original Truth or Consequences emcee, You really liked the show, Ralph?
• 21:15
  Speaker 6: Oh, I'll say I did.
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: It was wonderful hearing it on radio again.
• 21:18
  Speaker 11: It sounded better than ever. Well, no one should know
• 21:20
  Speaker 11: better than you, Ralph. But really, we just can't miss.
• 21:22
  Speaker 11: Our contestants are wonderful.
• 21:23
  Speaker 6: Yes, I know.
• 21:24
  Speaker 3: The ducks are out of this world.
• 21:26
  Speaker 11: Surprise family reunions, the gigantic whisper contest.
• 21:29
  Speaker 10: Yes.
• 21:29
  Speaker 11: A dream world of jackpot prizes, especially for NBC radio listeners.
• 21:33
  Speaker 10: Really?
• 21:34
  Speaker 11: And not just once a week, Ralph, but every weekday morning.
• 21:37
  Speaker 6: No kidding.
• 21:37
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 21:38
  Speaker 6: Monday through Friday.
• 21:39
  Speaker 1: Can you beat it?
• 21:40
  Speaker 6: I'm going to right now, Bob.
• 21:41
  Speaker 4: So long, folks.
• 21:49
  Speaker 3: You have just heard X-1, presented by the National Broadcasting
• 21:53
  Speaker 3: Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, which this
• 21:57
  Speaker 3: month features Make Me an Offer by Con Blomberg. Galaxy Magazine,
• 22:03
  Speaker 3: on your newsstand today. Tonight, X-1 has brought you Early Model,
• 22:09
  Speaker 3: a story from the pages of Galaxy written by Robert
• 22:11
  Speaker 3: Sheckley and adapted for radio by Ernest Canoy. Featured in
• 22:15
  Speaker 3: our cast were Bob Hastings, Joseph Bell, Anthony Kemble Cooper,
• 22:20
  Speaker 3: and Alistair Duncan.
• 22:22
  Speaker 5: This is Fred Collins speaking.
• 22:25
  Speaker 3: X-1 was directed by Daniel Sutter and is an NBC
• 22:29
  Speaker 3: Radio Network production. There's excitement in the air at night,
• 22:39
  Speaker 3: and Nightline brings it to you. Here in Nightline with
• 22:42
  Speaker 3: Walter O'Keefe. next on most of these NBC stations.
• 22:49
  Speaker 1: Our visit with X-1's early model concludes here. Follow X-1
• 22:54
  Speaker 1: for more classic broadcasts.