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

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Wayne Crowder, head of Crowder Industries, is determined to be
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: the first man to conquer space, but his engineers have
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: yet to solve the problem of propulsion. From NBC Radio's
• 0:11
  Speaker 1: X-1 comes Episode 27, The Vital Factor, first broadcast November 30, 1955.
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: When the enigmatic Mr. Wilkins demonstrates a counter-gravity principle, Crowder
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: supplies the facilities, money, and manpower the inventor requests. Wilkins,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: in turn, wants to know what drives the industrialist's pursuit
• 0:35
  Speaker 1: of the stars. Adapted for radio by Howard Rodman from
• 0:39
  Speaker 1: Nelson Bond's Esquire story and directed by Daniel Sutter, the
• 0:43
  Speaker 1: cast includes Joe DeSantis, Guy Sorrell, and Louis Van Rooten.
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: And now, we return to the original broadcast.
• 0:55
  Speaker 2: Countdown for blastoff.
• 0:57
  Speaker 3: X minus 5, 4, 3, 2, X minus.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: 1, fire.
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales
• 1:33
  Speaker 3: of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories
• 1:37
  Speaker 3: of the future, adventures in which you'll live in a
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: million could-be years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Street & Smith, publishers of
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: astounding science fiction, presents X-Minus-One. Tonight's story, The Vital Factor
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: by Nelson Bond. I doubt that anywhere on earth there's
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: a man or woman or a child who doesn't know
• 2:22
  Speaker 3: the name Wayne Crowder. I doubt whether there's a human
• 2:25
  Speaker 3: being who hasn't at one time or another used one
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: of the Crowder products. The can opener or the razor
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: blade or the patented tooth powder dispenser. or the Crowder
• 2:33
  Speaker 3: Improved Slide-less Fastener. In the magazines which write about men
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: of business, Crowder was described as a man of ice.
• 2:40
  Speaker 2: And stone and ink and steel. No warmth to his blood.
• 2:45
  Speaker 3: And a heart to pump, not feel human emotion. And
• 2:48
  Speaker 3: he built a battery of buttons into his desk so
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: that when he wanted something, all he ever had to
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: do was press a button. And like genies springing out
• 2:55
  Speaker 3: of the bottle, the proper personnel would come running.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: Yes, Mr.
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Crowder? Get me my engine. Yes, sir. Right away, Mr.
• 3:03
  Speaker 5: Crowder.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Here are your engineers, sir.
• 3:16
  Speaker 5: All right.
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: Close the door and get out. Now, gentlemen, sit down. Gentlemen,
• 3:21
  Speaker 2: I want you to build me a spaceship. A spaceship, sir?
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: That's right. I've decided that I'm going to be the
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: man who gives spaceflight to mankind. Any questions?
• 3:31
  Speaker 6: Yes.
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: Sir, we can design such a ship. That part isn't
• 3:34
  Speaker 2: too hard.
• 3:35
  Speaker 6: Yes?
• 3:36
  Speaker 2: But we've no way of providing the motor to power
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: such a ship. When the ship's ready to fly, there'll
• 3:40
  Speaker 2: be a motor.
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: Sir, I don't like to contradict you, but you can't
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: go ahead of the total technology of a historical period.
• 3:49
  Speaker 3: It's like asking somebody in 1600 to build the internal
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: combustion engine. You see, scientists have been searching for a
• 3:57
  Speaker 3: motive power for spaceships for decades now without success. You'll
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: have a ship, but we can't lift that ship from
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: the Earth's surface. That is, not to the point of
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: free flight at any rate.
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: Mr.
• 4:09
  Speaker 5: Crowder, you see you'll be spending millions of dollars, hundreds
• 4:15
  Speaker 5: of millions perhaps, for nothing.
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: What's your name? Phillips, sir. You're fired. Go down to
• 4:21
  Speaker 2: the cashier and draw your pay and get out. What, sir?
• 4:24
  Speaker 2: Get out! Nobody who works for me thinks of how
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: much something costs. We use money. We don't let expense
• 4:30
  Speaker 2: provide a rationalization for not beginning a project. All right, Phillips.
• 4:35
  Speaker 2: I give you permission to leave. Right now. Any other comments?
• 4:45
  Speaker 2: The ship will be built, of course, Mr. Crowder. The
• 4:48
  Speaker 2: fact still remains, we can't power it. You design the ship,
• 4:51
  Speaker 2: I'll find the motor for you. Where, sir? I don't know.
• 4:55
  Speaker 2: But somewhere in the world, there's a man who does
• 4:57
  Speaker 2: know the secrets. I want that motor, and I'll root
• 5:00
  Speaker 2: out the man who has the theory which will let
• 5:02
  Speaker 2: us build it. How quickly do you want this done, sir? Yesterday.
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 5:09
  Speaker 2: Is there anything you need?
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: We'll need a construction yard, sir, and certain machinery, and
• 5:13
  Speaker 3: a great many materials, of course.
• 5:15
  Speaker 2: Labor force. Get them. Send me the bills. I don't
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: want to be bothered with minor details.
• 5:19
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: And one more thing, sir. Phillips. Yes? We need him, sir.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: He's a top man on electronics. He's a vital cog
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: in our team. I don't want Phillips working for me.
• 5:32
  Speaker 2: That's clear, I hope. Who else in the country knows
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: what he does? No one in this country, sir. There's
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: a man in India, though. Get him. We've tried before, Mr. Crowder.
• 5:42
  Speaker 2: He's working on an important project in his country. I'm
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: not concerned with details. Get that man, pay him what
• 5:47
  Speaker 2: he wants, but get him.
• 5:49
  Speaker 3: Sir, you don't understand. If this man quits his job,
• 5:52
  Speaker 3: that whole project will collapse. It means the welfare of
• 5:55
  Speaker 3: many people, millions of people in his country. He has
• 5:58
  Speaker 3: a high sense of patriotism.
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: By that sense of patriotism. That's all. I don't want
• 6:04
  Speaker 2: to see any of you again until you have a
• 6:05
  Speaker 2: report of work in progress.
• 6:08
  Speaker 6: Yes, sir.
• 6:14
  Speaker 2: Miss Holmes, there's a man named Phillips going to draw
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: his pay. I want two company policemen to meet him
• 6:20
  Speaker 2: at the cashier's office and escort him from there directly
• 6:22
  Speaker 2: off the premises, and I want them to be emphatic
• 6:25
  Speaker 2: about it.
• 6:25
  Speaker 7: Yes, Mr.
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: And notify the newspapers, the television, and the radio networks,
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: the periodicals, and the scientific journals that I'll receive the
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: press in my office this afternoon at 3.30. I have
• 6:36
  Speaker 2: an important announcement to make. Anyone not here at 3.30
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: will be barred, and the publication or company he represents
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: will not be given any further information. Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha. Gentlemen,
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: you can finish your drinks later. Gentlemen of the press
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: and ladies, it's my pleasure to be able to tell
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: you that I'm in the process of constructing a spaceship.
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: Any questions?
• 7:16
  Speaker 7: Did you say spaceship?
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 7:20
  Speaker 7: That's what I thought you said.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: I knew the drinks weren't that strong. Mr.
• 7:26
  Speaker 7: Crowder, is this spaceship under construction now?
• 7:29
  Speaker 6: It is.
• 7:30
  Speaker 7: You've solved the problem of motive force, then?
• 7:32
  Speaker 2: No, sir.
• 7:33
  Speaker 7: Well, what sort of... You mean you have no means
• 7:36
  Speaker 7: of propulsion for this spaceship?
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: That problem is not solved as yet.
• 7:41
  Speaker 6: Oh!
• 7:41
  Speaker 2: It will be! That's why I called you in this afternoon.
• 7:49
  Speaker 2: I want you to announce that I have $ 100, 000 in cash...
• 7:53
  Speaker 2: waiting for the man or woman... who first brings me
• 7:55
  Speaker 2: the basic idea for such a motor. I'll supply all
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: equipment for research and construction, and I'll see that the
• 8:01
  Speaker 2: rights of the inventor are protected, and more than adequate
• 8:04
  Speaker 2: royalties will be paid him.
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: Or her. That's all I have to say now. Mr.
• 8:12
  Speaker 7: Crowder, one more question, please.
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 8:13
  Speaker 7: Do you have a name for this spaceship yet?
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: No, not yet.
• 8:17
  Speaker 7: Well, then let me suggest one.
• 8:18
  Speaker 2: Yes?
• 8:19
  Speaker 7: Crowder's Folly.
• 8:21
  Speaker 2: Quiet! All of you, quiet! What is your paper?
• 8:29
  Speaker 7: The Daily Times, sir.
• 8:31
  Speaker 2: Miss Holmes, inform the company police that under no circumstances
• 8:35
  Speaker 2: is any representative of the Daily Times ever to be
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: allowed on company property again. Strike that paper from the
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: list of those to be invited to future conferences.
• 9:02
  Speaker 3: It was Crowder's folly. But the word of what he
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: wanted circulated to the far corners of the globe. It
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: was known in the white ice block huts of the
• 9:11
  Speaker 3: Eskimos and in the grass-thatched villages of Central Africa, as
• 9:14
  Speaker 3: well as places less remote. And the Crowder office became
• 9:17
  Speaker 3: the mecca and the heaven for the lunatic fringe of humanity.
• 9:21
  Speaker 3: Their blueprints and scale models clogged its corridors.
• 9:25
  Speaker 2: I told you I don't want these people in my
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: office till they're screened. Now get out. Get out. Every
• 9:34
  Speaker 2: time I open that door, they surge in like a
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: tidal wave.
• 9:37
  Speaker 3: I have a progress report for you, sir. The ship
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: is finished as far as we can go, Mr.
• 9:41
  Speaker 6: Crowder.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: Certain additional construction can't be done now because it depends
• 9:45
  Speaker 3: on the shape and mass of the engine, on the
• 9:48
  Speaker 3: type of fuel, on the weight of that fuel.
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: I see.
• 9:50
  Speaker 6: All right.
• 9:51
  Speaker 2: Lay off everybody we don't need. I've ordered that. Uh, Mr.
• 9:56
  Speaker 3: Crowder, is it possible that no one will turn up
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: with a motor? That's the one thing that's not possible.
• 10:02
  Speaker 2: He will come. Money and determination will buy anything. Close
• 10:07
  Speaker 2: the door on your way out.
• 10:08
  Speaker 1: Yes, sir.
• 10:13
  Speaker 2: Miss Holmes, order the proper department to put a name
• 10:16
  Speaker 2: on the forward end of the ship. I want letters
• 10:19
  Speaker 2: in pure gold one foot high. The name of the
• 10:22
  Speaker 2: ship is Crowder's Folly. Get it done today.
• 10:27
  Speaker 6: The sun came up in the morning and the sun
• 10:35
  Speaker 6: set at night.
• 10:44
  Speaker 3: Glinting rose on the silver sheen of the hollow ship's
• 10:47
  Speaker 3: skin as it lay in the yard. The golden letters
• 10:50
  Speaker 3: on the prow spelled out the fury of Crowder for
• 10:53
  Speaker 3: the world to see. A staff of fifty were employed
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: as time went on in taking rust preventative measures to
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: ensure the ship's well-being. The staff of fifty worked in
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: three shifts around the clock, armed with oil cans and
• 11:05
  Speaker 3: grease cans and other containers.
• 11:06
  Speaker 2: And sprayers of preservatives.
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: In a year, the first experiment seemed ready to bear fruit,
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: and a test was held.
• 11:14
  Speaker 2: The atomic fission motor. In exactly 45 seconds now, we'll
• 11:26
  Speaker 2: hold the test, Mr. Crowder.
• 11:28
  Speaker 3: The sound you hear is our generators here, building up
• 11:31
  Speaker 3: power to supply the motor by remote control. If this
• 11:35
  Speaker 3: needle goes round to the part of the dial marked
• 11:37
  Speaker 3: in red, there'll be an explosion. Are there any questions, sir?
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: Receive the test. Watch the needle, sir.
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: 8,000.
• 11:53
  Speaker 6: 8,500.
• 11:53
  Speaker 3: 9,000.
• 11:53
  Speaker 5: 10. 11. 12.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: 15. That's an overload now, sir.
• 11:58
  Speaker 6: 18.
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: 20.
• 11:58
  Speaker 3: Don't know how much more.
• 12:06
  Speaker 6: It can.
• 12:06
  Speaker 2: What happened? The generator blew out. What kind of incompetency?
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: I beg your pardon, sir. The motor blew up. What
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: are you talking about? I would have heard....
• 12:30
  Speaker 3: You see, sir, it takes a while for the vibrations
• 12:33
  Speaker 3: of an explosion to travel three miles and.
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: Then reach through 15 feet of concrete. I see. Well,
• 12:40
  Speaker 2: there are other experiments in progress. Let me know when
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: they're ready for testing. Yes, sir.
• 12:46
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: Crowder.
• 12:47
  Speaker 3: The inventor of that motor had to be right with it,
• 12:50
  Speaker 3: of course, during the tests.
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: He had a family. The fool knew what he was doing.
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: He understood the danger. He was paid enough to be
• 12:58
  Speaker 2: able to afford insurance. The cost of insurance on such
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: a project was prohibitive, sir. Well, if his wife was thrifty,
• 13:03
  Speaker 2: she saved out of what he earned this last year.
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: His salary was relatively small, sir. Most of the money
• 13:09
  Speaker 2: went for the research. He should have demanded an adequate salary.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: I haven't stated on money. The fool failed. I have
• 13:14
  Speaker 2: no further responsibility. Yes, sir. You want us to continue
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: screening applicants? Of course. All right. Make a settlement on
• 13:27
  Speaker 2: the widow. And don't turn anyone away if he seems
• 13:30
  Speaker 2: to have the remotest possibility of success. I'm telling you,
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: my man will come. Money and determination will buy anything.
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: And strangely enough, Crowder was right. because one day there
• 13:48
  Speaker 3: came to his office a stranger, a small man. He
• 13:51
  Speaker 3: looked even smaller in that tremendous room. He was an
• 13:54
  Speaker 3: unusual visitor in that he carried no briefcase fat with
• 13:58
  Speaker 3: blueprints or formulae. He was unusual in that he neither blustered, cowered,
• 14:03
  Speaker 3: nor deferred to his host. He was a pleasant little stranger,
• 14:07
  Speaker 3: bird-like of eye and movement, bright and smiling.
• 14:09
  Speaker 5: Mr. Crowder, my name is Wilkins. I can power that
• 14:13
  Speaker 5: ship you want. So? Of course, what I have in
• 14:15
  Speaker 5: mind won't be anything like that meaningless, huge bullet your
• 14:19
  Speaker 5: engineers built for you. Rockets are a foolish waste of time, sir.
• 14:23
  Speaker 5: My motor requires a different sort of vessel.
• 14:25
  Speaker 2: Where are your plans?
• 14:26
  Speaker 5: Right here in my head.
• 14:28
  Speaker 2: It so happens that I am presently supporting half a
• 14:30
  Speaker 2: dozen people who make the same claims. None of them
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: have been successful. What makes you think your idea will work?
• 14:36
  Speaker 5: Simple enough, sir. A common magnet.
• 14:38
  Speaker 2: Huh?
• 14:39
  Speaker 5: Electromagnetism. Utilization of the force of gravity, or its opposite,
• 14:44
  Speaker 5: in this case, counter-gravity.
• 14:46
  Speaker 3: Oh, no.
• 14:47
  Speaker 2: Thank you very much. Now, if you'll forgive me now, I.
• 14:49
  Speaker 5: Now, just one moment, Mr. Crowder. There's one thing more.
• 14:54
  Speaker 6: This.
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: Now, I've seen pieces of metal before. Thank you.
• 14:58
  Speaker 5: How high from your desk would you say that I'm
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: holding it?
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: I'm very sorry, Mr. Wilkes. Now, do you want to
• 15:02
  Speaker 2: leave or do you want to be escorted out?
• 15:04
  Speaker 5: Now, this will only take a second, sir. How high
• 15:06
  Speaker 5: from your desk would you say that I'm holding this
• 15:08
  Speaker 5: piece of metal?
• 15:09
  Speaker 2: A foot and a half, I'd say.
• 15:10
  Speaker 5: And if I let go, then in less than a second,
• 15:12
  Speaker 5: a fraction of a second, it should fall to your desk.
• 15:15
  Speaker 2: Now, look, I don't want the surface of that desk marred.
• 15:19
  Speaker 5: But will it be? You see, I have let go
• 15:22
  Speaker 5: of the metal, is that right? Many seconds ago, it
• 15:30
  Speaker 5: should have crashed to the desk. Am I right?
• 15:33
  Speaker 2: This is incredible.
• 15:34
  Speaker 5: Well, if you want to speak to me anymore, I'll
• 15:37
  Speaker 5: be right outside.
• 15:39
  Speaker 2: But it hasn't fallen.
• 15:41
  Speaker 5: That's right, sir.
• 15:42
  Speaker 7: It hasn't fallen.
• 15:42
  Speaker 2: It floats in the air.
• 15:44
  Speaker 5: That's right, sir.
• 15:45
  Speaker 6: It floats in the air.
• 15:46
  Speaker 2: How do you do it?
• 15:47
  Speaker 5: Why don't you call your engineers and ask them? I'll
• 15:51
  Speaker 5: wait outside.
• 15:53
  Speaker 2: Miss Holmes, get me my engineers. Immediately. All right, Mr. Wilkins,
• 16:05
  Speaker 2: you're quite right. The piece of metal is apparently counter-gravity.
• 16:09
  Speaker 2: And my engineers can give me no explanation.
• 16:11
  Speaker 5: Thank you, sir.
• 16:12
  Speaker 2: Now, what do you want?
• 16:14
  Speaker 5: For my services?
• 16:15
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: You've already set the price. To build a pilot model
• 16:19
  Speaker 5: based on this sample, no great expenditure. A hundredth of
• 16:23
  Speaker 5: the cost of your behemoth sitting out there in your
• 16:26
  Speaker 5: building yard. Three other things. A workshop, expert mechanical assistants...
• 16:32
  Speaker 5: And an answer to one question.
• 16:35
  Speaker 2: What is your question?
• 16:37
  Speaker 5: Why do you want so much to build this ship?
• 16:41
  Speaker 2: Frankly, because I love power. Because I'm ambitious. I want
• 16:51
  Speaker 2: to be the first to conquer space, because if I
• 16:54
  Speaker 2: can do it, it'll make me greater, richer, stronger than
• 16:59
  Speaker 2: any man has ever been. I want to be the master,
• 17:04
  Speaker 2: not only of one world, but of worlds.
• 17:08
  Speaker 5: That's an honest answer, but is it the only one?
• 17:11
  Speaker 2: You see those letters in gold on the prow of
• 17:13
  Speaker 2: my ship? Crowder's Folly, that's what they named it. That's
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: what they think of me. I want to cram those
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: words down their petty little throats and let them eat mud.
• 17:25
  Speaker 2: That's another answer.
• 17:26
  Speaker 5: And that's all? That is as far as your thinking goes.
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: What other answer is there to your question?
• 17:31
  Speaker 5: There's my own answer. I want to leave this planet
• 17:34
  Speaker 5: and go elsewhere, to Mars, perhaps, because there are strange
• 17:38
  Speaker 5: wonders yet to be found, because there will be scarlet
• 17:41
  Speaker 5: sunsets over barren wastes, and in the star-strewn night the thin,
• 17:46
  Speaker 5: cold air of a dying world is stirring in restless
• 17:50
  Speaker 5: sighs across the valleys of the dry canals.
• 17:55
  Speaker 2: Oh, hello.
• 17:56
  Speaker 5: You may laugh out loud if you wish, Mr. Crowder.
• 18:00
  Speaker 5: I would prefer that to the peculiar repressed smile you
• 18:04
  Speaker 5: are now exhibiting.
• 18:07
  Speaker 2: You're a very lucky man, Mr. Wilkins, in that you
• 18:09
  Speaker 2: have scientific talent. Because your talents as a poet are
• 18:13
  Speaker 2: inferior and very sentimental. All right. You're a sentimentalist and
• 18:18
  Speaker 2: I'm a man of action. No matter. We can work together,
• 18:21
  Speaker 2: you and I. Your workshop will be ready by morning.
• 18:25
  Speaker 2: I don't need to hear from you again till you
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: have something to show me. If you need to see me,
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: call me day or night. I'll be available. But don't
• 18:31
  Speaker 2: bother me with details because I probably won't understand what
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: you're talking about anyhow. If you need money or materials
• 18:35
  Speaker 2: or personnel, just tell my engineers. You'll get it, or
• 18:39
  Speaker 2: I'll know the reason why. That's all.
• 18:41
  Speaker 5: Thank you, sir.
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: Miss Holmes, get me my engineers.
• 18:59
  Speaker 6: Yes, Mr.
• 19:00
  Speaker 2: Crowder? We have 50 men working on preserving that useless
• 19:03
  Speaker 2: hulk out there in the construction yards. Lay them off.
• 19:06
  Speaker 2: The ship will deteriorate if we do that, sir. Let
• 19:08
  Speaker 2: it rot. Lay them off. Yes, sir. How many other
• 19:11
  Speaker 2: employees are still working for us on the project? About 3,000, sir,
• 19:16
  Speaker 2: including the people working on experimental motors. Get rid of them. Sir?
• 19:19
  Speaker 2: Get rid of them.
• 19:21
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 19:21
  Speaker 2: Crowder, I... I never thought you'd drop this project. You
• 19:24
  Speaker 2: were so adamant on... I'm not dropping anything but Deadwood.
• 19:27
  Speaker 2: You saw what Wilkins had to offer. He's my man.
• 19:31
  Speaker 2: And the rest is junk and nonsense.
• 19:32
  Speaker 5: Mr.
• 19:33
  Speaker 2: Crowder, he might fail. We ought to have a minimum
• 19:36
  Speaker 2: of protection against... I say he won't fail. I know
• 19:39
  Speaker 2: the goods when I see it. The rest is nonsense.
• 19:42
  Speaker 3: Several of the experimenters were making much greater progress than
• 19:44
  Speaker 3: I thought was possible.
• 19:46
  Speaker 2: There are great opportunities there. I'm not interested. Not only
• 19:49
  Speaker 2: in the field of space.
• 19:51
  Speaker 3: One man has a motor no bigger than a football,
• 19:54
  Speaker 3: which will drive an automobile 24 hours on four cents
• 19:56
  Speaker 3: worth of fuel.
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: It's almost finished, sir. Not interested.
• 19:59
  Speaker 3: It will be of great benefit to mankind, sir. Your
• 20:02
  Speaker 3: name will go down in.
• 20:03
  Speaker 2: My name will go down in history for this spaceship.
• 20:06
  Speaker 2: The profits in such a motor, sir. I have more
• 20:08
  Speaker 2: money now than I even know how to count. And
• 20:10
  Speaker 2: when I make my space flight, I'll have more than that.
• 20:15
  Speaker 5: Yes, sir.
• 20:15
  Speaker 2: You just lay everybody off that is needed. Give them
• 20:18
  Speaker 2: two weeks' pay and... My thanks for a thankless job
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: well done. And that's all. Yes, sir. I'll get it done, sir. Oh,
• 20:26
  Speaker 2: one more thing. There's no need to let the folly rot.
• 20:29
  Speaker 2: Dismantle it. Sell the basic materials we don't need. Salvage
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: whatever will be useful to us. That's all.
• 20:35
  Speaker 5: A year's work.
• 20:36
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: In 10 years or 20 years, then I'd do the
• 20:40
  Speaker 2: same thing. That's why you're an engineer and I'm an executive.
• 20:45
  Speaker 2: That's why you work for me. Because when I have to...
• 20:49
  Speaker 2: I can be ruthless with my own mistakes. When a
• 20:52
  Speaker 2: thing has lost its usefulness to me, I get rid
• 20:55
  Speaker 2: of it.
• 20:58
  Speaker 5: Well?
• 21:00
  Speaker 2: I was just thinking, Mr. Crowder.
• 21:03
  Speaker 3: What would happen to me if my usefulness to you
• 21:05
  Speaker 3: were over? I've worked for you 20 years now.
• 21:09
  Speaker 2: Just don't give me any occasion to consider your usefulness terminated.
• 21:14
  Speaker 2: That oughtn't to be too hard.
• 21:17
  Speaker 6: What?
• 21:18
  Speaker 2: Nothing, sir. I'll make the arrangements at once.
• 21:21
  Speaker 6: Who are you?
• 21:36
  Speaker 3: What do you want?
• 21:37
  Speaker 7: I tried to stop him, sir.
• 21:38
  Speaker 2: Well, speak up, man.
• 21:39
  Speaker 4: My name is Jarvis Ustuli. I'm an electronics expert.
• 21:43
  Speaker 2: Oh, yes, I remember. You're the Indian. Come in, come in.
• 21:45
  Speaker 7: Do you want me, sir?
• 21:47
  Speaker 2: I can never... Never mind, Miss Holmes. Just stay outside.
• 21:49
  Speaker 2: Close the door behind you. Sit down, Mrs.
• 21:52
  Speaker 5: Lee.
• 21:53
  Speaker 2: Thank you, no.
• 21:55
  Speaker 4: I want to give you a gift before I leave.
• 21:57
  Speaker 2: Oh, you're leaving? I thought we still needed you. I resigned.
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: Sorry to hear that. I'm told you're a good man.
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: I want you to understand what's behind this gift. I
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: was working on a power project in my country which
• 22:12
  Speaker 4: would have meant a tremendous rise in the standard of
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: living for millions of my people. I was unable to
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: resist the money you offered.
• 22:19
  Speaker 2: Well, had you resisted, even more money would have been forthcoming.
• 22:22
  Speaker 2: I place no limit on your worth to me.
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: I understand. But you see, I did not come without
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: a sense of guilt because there was no one in
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: my country who could take my place.
• 22:33
  Speaker 2: I would assume that.
• 22:34
  Speaker 4: And now I discover that what I did was for nothing.
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: The spaceship on which I worked is being dismantled.
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: That's right.
• 22:43
  Speaker 4: So I have been corrupted by you At a whim.
• 22:48
  Speaker 4: I think you have too much power, sir. I think
• 22:52
  Speaker 4: you use your power for evil, selfish purposes.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: Selfish, yes.
• 22:57
  Speaker 6: Evil, no.
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: Only sentimentality is evil.
• 23:00
  Speaker 4: I think otherwise. And so, in order that you shall
• 23:04
  Speaker 4: not corrupt anyone else, I have this gift for you.
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: Here you are, sir.
• 23:09
  Speaker 6: Oh!
• 23:12
  Speaker 4: And just one more shot for good measure to make
• 23:15
  Speaker 4: sure you're really dead.
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: Good. Miss Holmes, there's a man on his way out
• 23:35
  Speaker 2: by the name of Job. He's used to be an engineer.
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: He's not to be molested. He probably won't stop at
• 23:41
  Speaker 2: the cashier, so I want a check for six months'
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: salary in advance, mailed to his home address. The man
• 23:47
  Speaker 2: showed a certain quality of ruthlessness, which is deserving of recognition. Oh,
• 23:52
  Speaker 2: and have the chief of the company police bring me
• 23:55
  Speaker 2: a new bulletproof vest. This one seems to have been
• 23:59
  Speaker 2: dented in a couple of places.
• 24:08
  Speaker 3: The new spaceship, according to Wilkins' plans, as executed by
• 24:11
  Speaker 3: Crowder's engineers, was finished within four months.
• 24:15
  Speaker 2: It was small. It was shaped like a disc.
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: It gleamed brightly even in the smoky haze of an
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: October sunset.
• 24:21
  Speaker 5: Inside, Crowder and Mr.
• 24:23
  Speaker 3: Wilkins, in a small cubicle at the heart of the machine,
• 24:25
  Speaker 3: sat surrounded by many instruments of a complicated nature. Outside,
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: huge crowds gathered to witness the test. They stirred and murmured,
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: waiting restlessly, as inside the control room of the craft,
• 24:37
  Speaker 3: Wilkins installed the final secret part he had not revealed
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: to those who built his driving apparatus.
• 24:48
  Speaker 2: Well, Wilkins, what's holding us up?
• 24:49
  Speaker 5: Nothing new. Oh, sentiment, perhaps. A wish to look once
• 24:53
  Speaker 5: more on Earth's familiar scenes. There. Now the screening is removed. Look.
• 24:59
  Speaker 5: Look at the people out there.
• 25:01
  Speaker 2: Never mind looking out there. Let's leave that thing closed.
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: You're a sentimental fool. Or are you afraid? Or did
• 25:11
  Speaker 2: you decide at the last minute that your invention would work?
• 25:13
  Speaker 5: It will work. Sit down, Mr. Crowder. Thank you. Do
• 25:18
  Speaker 5: me a favor. When I press this button, will you
• 25:21
  Speaker 5: please press the button on the arm of the chair
• 25:24
  Speaker 5: in which you're seated? I'll tell you when.
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: Turn on your motor. I want to hear its roar
• 25:29
  Speaker 2: and feel its tug as we cut loose from Earth's
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: gravity and fly outward into space. Ha, ha, ha, ha.
• 25:35
  Speaker 2: That might be a moment in which I'd share your sentimentality.
• 25:38
  Speaker 5: Press your button now, sir. Thank you.
• 25:45
  Speaker 2: Wilkins, I'm beginning to distrust you. If this is all
• 25:48
  Speaker 2: a hoax, when are we going to take off? You
• 25:51
  Speaker 2: said at five sharp, and it's two minutes after five now. Well,
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: do we move or don't we?
• 25:56
  Speaker 5: Mr. Crowder, we're already moving. The button you pushed was
• 26:01
  Speaker 5: to nullify the effects of acceleration. If you don't mind, sir,
• 26:04
  Speaker 5: I'd like to open the screen again. Now, if you
• 26:08
  Speaker 5: care to look, see for yourself.
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: Wilkins, we're in space. Look down at the Earth, how
• 26:19
  Speaker 2: far we've come. Why, it's no bigger than a toy balloon. No,
• 26:24
  Speaker 2: a dime. No, a firefly. Man, man, Wilkins, you've done it.
• 26:32
  Speaker 5: Yes.
• 26:33
  Speaker 2: I swore to be the first man to conquer space,
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: and I've done it.
• 26:38
  Speaker 7: It's a triumph of power and ambition.
• 26:41
  Speaker 5: And sentiment.
• 26:41
  Speaker 7: Blast sentiment.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: Your modern dreaming would have died unborn except for me.
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: I made this possible, Wilkins. Don't you ever forget that.
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: My capital, my forcefulness, my will. Look out there.
• 26:58
  Speaker 3: Space.
• 26:59
  Speaker 2: Stars that never were seen from Earth. This is only
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: the beginning. We'll build a larger model. One great enough
• 27:06
  Speaker 2: to hold a hundred men, a thousand, and cargo besides.
• 27:10
  Speaker 2: Whoever wants to leave Earth this moment must come to me.
• 27:14
  Speaker 2: I am the master of the planets. All right, Wilkins.
• 27:24
  Speaker 2: Turn back now.
• 27:26
  Speaker 5: No. What?
• 27:30
  Speaker 2: I said turn back.
• 27:33
  Speaker 5: No.
• 27:34
  Speaker 2: Well, we've proved the ship can fly now. Now turn back.
• 27:37
  Speaker 2: I want to start working once in preparation for the
• 27:39
  Speaker 2: long flights to come.
• 27:40
  Speaker 5: Not so. We will go on.
• 27:42
  Speaker 2: What are you doing, defying me? I'll break your puny
• 27:46
  Speaker 2: little body into pieces.
• 27:47
  Speaker 5: Can you control this ship, Mr.
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: Crowder?
• 27:49
  Speaker 5: Would you like to be stranded out here in space,
• 27:51
  Speaker 5: just adrift in space without control? Would you like that?
• 27:55
  Speaker 3: Turn back.
• 27:58
  Speaker 5: No.
• 27:59
  Speaker 2: What's the matter with you? Are you out of your mind?
• 28:03
  Speaker 5: Oh, I am a sentimentalist, Mr.
• 28:05
  Speaker 3: Crowder.
• 28:06
  Speaker 5: Your money and ambition paved the way, that's true. But
• 28:09
  Speaker 5: sentiment was the vital factor that sent me to you. Sentiment, sir.
• 28:14
  Speaker 2: You see, Mr.
• 28:15
  Speaker 5: Crowder, I wanted to go home.
• 28:18
  Speaker 2: Home? Home? You are out of your mind.
• 28:25
  Speaker 5: You will forgive me if I remove these primitive clothes?
• 28:33
  Speaker 2: Who are you?
• 28:35
  Speaker 5: Oh, it's all right, Mr. Crowder. I hold no special
• 28:39
  Speaker 5: malice toward you. There's no need to be so terrified
• 28:43
  Speaker 5: because you've had your first close look at a Martian.
• 29:04
  Speaker 3: You have just heard X-1 presented by the National Broadcasting
• 29:08
  Speaker 3: Company in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of astounding
• 29:11
  Speaker 3: science fiction. Tonight by transcription, X-1 has brought you The
• 29:16
  Speaker 3: Vital Factor by Nelson Bond, as adapted for radio by
• 29:20
  Speaker 3: Howard Rodman. Featured in the cast were Joe DeSantis, Guy Sorrell,
• 29:25
  Speaker 3: John McGovern, Grant Richards, Louis Van Rooten, Richard Hamilton, and
• 29:30
  Speaker 3: Florence Williams.
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: Your announcer, Fred Collins.
• 29:33
  Speaker 3: X-1 was directed by Daniel Sutter and is an NBC
• 29:37
  Speaker 3: Radio Network production.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: X minus ones, the vital factor, now concludes. Thank you
• 30:00
  Speaker 1: for joining us this evening, and good night.