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X Minus One - "Colony" (Old Time Radio, 1956) · X Minus One | Old Time Radio

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Planet Blue appears ready for settlement, inviting air, open terrain,
• 0:05
  Speaker 1: and the resources a colonial expedition needs. But Major Lawrence
• 0:09
  Speaker 1: Hall finds one detail he cannot dismiss, the complete absence
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: of native life even under the microscope. From NBC's X-1,
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: this is Colony, Episode 70, originally broadcast October 10, 1956.
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: Adapted for radio by Ernest Kenoy from Philip K. Dick's
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: 1953 novelette, it places Hall and Commander Stella Morrison with
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: a colonial administration survey team confronting a world that may
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: not be as harmless as it first appears. Here is
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: the original broadcast.
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: Countdown for blastoff.
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: X minus 5, 4, 3, 2... X minus one, fire.
• 1:25
  Speaker 2: From the far horizons of the unknown come transcribed tales
• 1:29
  Speaker 2: of new dimensions in time and space.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: These are stories of the future.
• 1:35
  Speaker 2: Adventures in which you'll live in a million could be
• 1:37
  Speaker 2: years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company,
• 1:42
  Speaker 2: in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, presents X minus 1.
• 2:02
  Speaker 4: Tonight's story, Colony, by Philip K.
• 2:05
  Speaker 3: Dick.
• 2:21
  Speaker 5: The existence of Planet Blue, the fourth in orbit around
• 2:24
  Speaker 5: a G-type sun somewhere in the Aldebaran Sector... was predicted
• 2:28
  Speaker 5: by spectroscopic analysis and spatio-mathematic equations some 50 years before
• 2:33
  Speaker 5: an exploring mission was dispatched to it. The research team,
• 2:37
  Speaker 5: under Commander Stella Morrison of the Colonial Administration, went into
• 2:40
  Speaker 5: orbit around Planet Blue at 0700 standard sidereal time. Authorized
• 2:45
  Speaker 5: procedures were followed.
• 2:50
  Speaker 4: Aerial photography completed, Commander.
• 2:53
  Speaker 6: Anything show on the plates?
• 2:54
  Speaker 4: Well, Masterson was suspicious of these lines towards the poles,
• 2:57
  Speaker 4: but the angles seem to be coincidence.
• 2:59
  Speaker 6: They are not artifacts.
• 3:00
  Speaker 4: Glacial fog. Geological survey reports no volcanism. The launch is back.
• 3:05
  Speaker 4: Dodge has a landing site pinpointed. Preliminary atmospheric tests look good.
• 3:10
  Speaker 4: There's a. 7 bulge in oxygen, but it's just enough
• 3:12
  Speaker 4: to make you feel good. Looks like an open-air job.
• 3:15
  Speaker 4: No pressure suits or condenser, ma'am.
• 3:17
  Speaker 6: Well, that's precisely what they thought on Centauri 1. And
• 3:20
  Speaker 6: the whole expedition was wiped out by spores.
• 3:22
  Speaker 4: Of course, I was assuming a favorable biocheck. Preliminary photographic survey, Mr. Wood.
• 3:27
  Speaker 4: Thank you, Dodds.
• 3:27
  Speaker 7: Do you want them played back here?
• 3:28
  Speaker 4: We haven't transcribed the tape.
• 3:30
  Speaker 6: If you please, Lieutenant. 393.
• 3:34
  Speaker 4: Al, pipe the photo tapes up here on 324.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: Hmm.
• 3:41
  Speaker 6: Looks like a green world, all right. Punch up the tape,
• 3:44
  Speaker 6: if you please, Lieutenant.
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: All orbital checks prove positive.
• 3:57
  Speaker 5: The atmosphere and gravity earth-normal to three places on the
• 4:00
  Speaker 5: Grayson scale. And the exploratory research ship lowered itself by
• 4:03
  Speaker 5: the Meyerson-Leigh atmospheric skip method... came into a stall-tail landing
• 4:07
  Speaker 5: just before sunset on a day marked in the logs
• 4:10
  Speaker 5: as planet fall zero. The hatches remained sealed as a
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: two-mile perimeter was scanned by direct instrumentation. Major Lawrence Hall
• 4:18
  Speaker 5: of biosurvey reported EEG sweeps to the bridge.
• 4:22
  Speaker 7: Of course, it isn't conclusive. We've run into life forms
• 4:25
  Speaker 7: that didn't broadcast a brainwave at all. The Grylodon lizard
• 4:28
  Speaker 7: on Ganymede. Skull acted as an effective shielding due to
• 4:31
  Speaker 7: a heavy lead constituent in the body chemistry.
• 4:33
  Speaker 6: Major Hall, I am not interested in a lecture on
• 4:36
  Speaker 6: extraterrestrial zoology. Is there or is there not life within
• 4:40
  Speaker 6: the range of your instruments?
• 4:42
  Speaker 4: Well, I'm sorry, Stella.
• 4:44
  Speaker 7: The readings show no electrical brain activity whatsoever, and that
• 4:47
  Speaker 7: covers life down to the level of invertebrates. There may
• 4:50
  Speaker 7: be a few worms turning out there, and unless they're
• 4:53
  Speaker 7: thinking awfully hard about something, we wouldn't pick them up.
• 4:56
  Speaker 6: Well, thank you. I want preliminary drones out for sampling.
• 5:00
  Speaker 6: How long do you think that will take?
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: Well, a thorough job would take about two weeks.
• 5:04
  Speaker 6: I have a schedule, Major. How long till you can
• 5:07
  Speaker 6: give me a protective Schedule C clearance?
• 5:09
  Speaker 7: Two days. Then I ought to check airborne spores and microorganisms.
• 5:13
  Speaker 6: Carry on, Major.
• 5:14
  Speaker 7: All right, Stella. I'll let you know if I turn
• 5:17
  Speaker 7: up any, uh.
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: Special diseases.
• 5:20
  Speaker 7: On planet Blue.
• 5:29
  Speaker 5: Drone sample missiles were dispatched at sunrise. Air scoops, ground samplers,
• 5:33
  Speaker 5: and vegetation choppers returned to base, and the bio team
• 5:37
  Speaker 5: instituted full prescribed tests. Immediately identifiable airborne dangers were ruled out.
• 5:43
  Speaker 5: Outside of the possible allergenic action of pollens, Planet Blue
• 5:46
  Speaker 5: was ruled safe for normal exploratory procedures, and the real
• 5:51
  Speaker 5: work of the survey was gotten underway.
• 5:53
  Speaker 4: Here's the morning report, Commander. Foreign sick bay, tree ordered
• 5:56
  Speaker 4: to light duty.
• 5:57
  Speaker 6: What happened?
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: Last night was liquor ration.
• 6:00
  Speaker 3: Oh.
• 6:00
  Speaker 4: Survey team's out in the field. Bio crew under Major Hall. Agronomy, ecological, geological,
• 6:05
  Speaker 4: and deep map team's out.
• 6:06
  Speaker 6: Any reports back?
• 6:07
  Speaker 4: DeepMap seems to think there's petroleum over to the north,
• 6:10
  Speaker 4: and agronomy reports if you dropped a seed in this soil,
• 6:12
  Speaker 4: you'd have to jump back to keep from being knocked
• 6:14
  Speaker 4: over by the plant.
• 6:15
  Speaker 6: Sounds pretty good.
• 6:16
  Speaker 4: Commander, blue is about as likely a spot for colonization
• 6:20
  Speaker 4: as has been turned up since Harvey's planted in 27.
• 6:22
  Speaker 6: Well, they'll be glad to hear that in Central. How
• 6:25
  Speaker 6: long do you think until we can send back a clearance?
• 6:27
  Speaker 4: I've checked with department chiefs. They all estimate about two
• 6:30
  Speaker 4: or three days more until they're satisfied. All except bio.
• 6:33
  Speaker 6: Why is Major Hall dragging his feet?
• 6:35
  Speaker 4: I don't know.
• 6:36
  Speaker 6: Well, find out. And in the meantime, I'm going to
• 6:38
  Speaker 6: call a staff meeting. Every day we can save on
• 6:41
  Speaker 6: our report is important. If blue is suitable for colonization,
• 6:44
  Speaker 6: I don't want to waste a minute.
• 7:00
  Speaker 5: By planet fall, plus three weeks, all departments had reported
• 7:03
  Speaker 5: favorably except biology. Ecological survey pointed out the difficulty involved
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: in the necessity of importing animal life, but this problem
• 7:11
  Speaker 5: had already been met in the colonization of Gamma 2
• 7:13
  Speaker 5: and 3, when an entire ecology had been transported in
• 7:16
  Speaker 5: frozen gene banks and fertilized and incubated on the site. Biology, however,
• 7:21
  Speaker 5: still withheld a favorable report.
• 7:25
  Speaker 6: Look, Larry.
• 7:26
  Speaker 7: What is the secret, Stella? Cold formality on the bridge
• 7:28
  Speaker 7: in Larry when you're in my lab?
• 7:30
  Speaker 6: Well, I'm serious. Well, I've just gotten an official query
• 7:33
  Speaker 6: from Central. They want a Fisher cut bait on Blue.
• 7:36
  Speaker 6: Your department is the only one holding it up. We're
• 7:39
  Speaker 6: two weeks behind schedule.
• 7:40
  Speaker 7: And the first colony on Vishnu was right on schedule
• 7:43
  Speaker 7: and 7,000 died of green spot.
• 7:44
  Speaker 6: That was before the full biocheck technique was worked out.
• 7:47
  Speaker 7: My dear. Do you know how many different microorganisms there
• 7:51
  Speaker 7: are in a cup full of dirt?
• 7:52
  Speaker 6: I'm not a freshman student of biology.
• 7:55
  Speaker 7: Oh, dear. And I was hoping I could tempt you
• 7:58
  Speaker 7: into some field work.
• 8:00
  Speaker 6: Someday, Larry, you're going to make some remark in front
• 8:02
  Speaker 6: of some junior officers or even enlisted personnel, and I'm
• 8:05
  Speaker 6: going to have to call you on it.
• 8:07
  Speaker 7: Afraid for your dignity, my dear?
• 8:09
  Speaker 4: Look.
• 8:10
  Speaker 6: I'm in charge of this expedition. My dignity happens to
• 8:14
  Speaker 6: be a function of command, and as such, it's a
• 8:16
  Speaker 6: survival factor.
• 8:18
  Speaker 7: Ah, well, then you had better take it easy at
• 8:20
  Speaker 7: Officer's Mess. You know, I saw two biomates watching you
• 8:24
  Speaker 7: climbing the ladder to the bridge. Do you know what
• 8:27
  Speaker 7: their affectionate name for you is?
• 8:29
  Speaker 6: Major Hall. I'm serious. I want a bio clearance as
• 8:34
  Speaker 6: soon as possible.
• 8:35
  Speaker 7: And you will get it. As soon as possible.
• 8:37
  Speaker 6: And when will that be?
• 8:38
  Speaker 7: When I'm satisfied.
• 8:39
  Speaker 6: Are the bugs here so dangerous that you're afraid of them?
• 8:42
  Speaker 7: No, on the contrary. We have yet to find the
• 8:44
  Speaker 7: harmful life form.
• 8:45
  Speaker 6: Well, you didn't report that. If there are no harmful
• 8:48
  Speaker 6: life forms.
• 8:49
  Speaker 7: No life. No diseased germs. No malignant virus.
• 8:53
  Speaker 6: Well, then what are you waiting for?
• 8:54
  Speaker 7: There should be. There should be at least one little
• 8:57
  Speaker 7: fellow who could give you a common cold.
• 8:59
  Speaker 6: Look, sociology section found no native narcotic plant life. And
• 9:04
  Speaker 6: inasmuch as there is no humanoid life, there is no bootlegging, gambling, immorality,
• 9:08
  Speaker 6: and pornography either. By analogy, that would be a good
• 9:12
  Speaker 6: reason not to colonize. Is that the idiotic logic you're following?
• 9:16
  Speaker 7: Microbiology is a little different, Stella. Anyway, what is the rush?
• 9:21
  Speaker 7: Blue is something different. There's something peaceful in the air.
• 9:25
  Speaker 7: Why rush to bring picnickers who drop candy wrappers and
• 9:28
  Speaker 7: fill the pools up with empty beer cans?
• 9:30
  Speaker 6: Larry, I have a planned board conference in ten minutes.
• 9:34
  Speaker 6: If you don't bring in some kind of a report
• 9:36
  Speaker 6: by then, I'll have to supersede you under a Section 23.
• 9:38
  Speaker 7: Ah, yes, that's what happened on Vishnu, isn't it? Followed
• 9:42
  Speaker 7: by Greenspot and the wagons who dragged the corpses out
• 9:45
  Speaker 7: of the colony streets.
• 9:46
  Speaker 6: Never mind that, Major. I want a report. The End.
• 9:53
  Speaker 5: In the biology section lab, Major Lawrence Hall continued to
• 9:56
  Speaker 5: examine tissue samples from lower fauna and flora samples.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: brought in from Planet Blue.
• 10:02
  Speaker 5: He settled a container of prepared slides and flipped the
• 10:05
  Speaker 5: switch on the electron microscope. Major Hall slid the first
• 10:13
  Speaker 5: slide on the stage of the microscope and adjusted the
• 10:16
  Speaker 5: focus knob.
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: Come on, come on, come on. There you are.
• 10:23
  Speaker 7: All right, come on, kid, eat something.
• 10:29
  Speaker 5: The microorganisms, a form of rotifer, displayed none of the
• 10:33
  Speaker 5: characteristics of ferocity and aggression which were normal on several
• 10:36
  Speaker 5: dozen other planets. Presently, however, Major Hall stopped whistling. Inasmuch
• 10:44
  Speaker 5: as the two eyepieces of his microscope twisted suddenly around
• 10:48
  Speaker 5: his windpipe and started to strangle him.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: Paul tore at them, but they dug relentlessly into his throat.
• 10:55
  Speaker 5: Steel prongs closing like the claws of a trap. With
• 10:58
  Speaker 5: a convulsive effort, he managed to break free and fling
• 11:00
  Speaker 5: the microscope from him.
• 11:04
  Speaker 7: Oh, that's crazy! Better let go of my leg!
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: He kicked the microscope loose and drew it blasted.
• 11:11
  Speaker 5: As the microscope scuttled away, rolling on its coarse adjustment knob,
• 11:14
  Speaker 5: he fired. The microscope disappeared in a cloud of metallic particles.
• 11:22
  Speaker 5: The plans board of the research team was assembled in
• 11:24
  Speaker 5: the officer's library. Commander Stella Morrison was outlining plans on
• 11:28
  Speaker 5: a detailed aerial survey map.
• 11:32
  Speaker 6: This long flat area is ideal for the actual city.
• 11:35
  Speaker 6: It has an adequate watershed in the hills here, and
• 11:38
  Speaker 6: weather conditions vary sufficiently to give the settlers something to
• 11:41
  Speaker 6: talk about. There are large deposits of various minerals. The
• 11:45
  Speaker 6: colonists can set up their own factories. They won't have
• 11:47
  Speaker 6: to do any importing. Over here is the biggest forest
• 11:52
  Speaker 6: on the planet. If they have any sense, they'll leave us,
• 11:54
  Speaker 6: but if they want to make newspapers out of it,
• 11:56
  Speaker 6: that's not our concern. Now, all reports are in, except bio,
• 12:01
  Speaker 6: and I think that before long, we'll be getting... Stella!
• 12:05
  Speaker 6: Major Hall, may I remind you that when the council
• 12:09
  Speaker 6: is in session, no one is permitted to interrupt.
• 12:11
  Speaker 7: Come to my lab.
• 12:11
  Speaker 4: Look, Hall, if you're not feeling well, you look a
• 12:14
  Speaker 4: little sick.
• 12:14
  Speaker 7: Yes, well, I should be. My microscope just tried to
• 12:18
  Speaker 7: strangle me.
• 12:18
  Speaker 3: Oh?
• 12:21
  Speaker 4: Oh, I see.
• 12:21
  Speaker 7: They almost got me, but I blasted it. Well, that's
• 12:24
  Speaker 7: not the worst. It isn't? No. The microscope is still there.
• 12:30
  Speaker 7: After I blasted it, I found it under the lab bench. Untouched.
• 12:35
  Speaker 4: Look, Major, are you sure you don't need a psych test?
• 12:39
  Speaker 7: I don't know. I suppose it does sound a little.
• 12:41
  Speaker 4: You look post-trauma to me.
• 12:42
  Speaker 7: Huh? Oh.
• 12:46
  Speaker 6: You're right.
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: I'm sorry.
• 12:49
  Speaker 7: I'm sorry.
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: I'm sorry. Uh, Commander.
• 12:54
  Speaker 6: Put Major Hall on psycho report. I think we'll have
• 12:57
  Speaker 6: to proceed to order colonization here without him.
• 13:13
  Speaker 5: Major Hall proceeded to psych center and inserting his ID
• 13:17
  Speaker 5: card in the robot neo-Rorschach machine. He placed his hands
• 13:21
  Speaker 5: on the contacts and activated the search in Gestalt circuits. Presently,
• 13:25
  Speaker 5: the green light flashed, indicating tentative diagnosis. Major Hall hit
• 13:30
  Speaker 5: the response key. Severe disturbance. Instability ratio above ten.
• 13:36
  Speaker 7: And that's over danger, isn't it?
• 13:38
  Speaker 3: Yes.
• 13:38
  Speaker 8: Eight is danger. Ten is unusual, especially for a person
• 13:42
  Speaker 8: of your index. Your norm is four.
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I know.
• 13:46
  Speaker 8: I require more data to determine whether this unusual instability
• 13:50
  Speaker 8: ratio is an aberrant reaction or is normal survival oriented.
• 13:55
  Speaker 7: Well, I can't tell you anymore.
• 13:57
  Speaker 8: It is illegal to hold back information during a robo-psych test.
• 14:01
  Speaker 8: You will deliberately distort diagnosis, which is punishable by six
• 14:05
  Speaker 8: months' forfeiture of pay and allowances, or such other penalty
• 14:09
  Speaker 8: as a court-martial may direct.
• 14:11
  Speaker 7: Thanks a heap. Look, do you record a high degree
• 14:14
  Speaker 7: of unbalance for me?
• 14:15
  Speaker 8: There is a high degree of psychic disorganization. But what
• 14:19
  Speaker 8: it signifies, or its etiology, I am unable to determine
• 14:22
  Speaker 8: without further data.
• 14:24
  Speaker 3: Okay.
• 14:25
  Speaker 7: Well, just take a tip from me. Stay away from
• 14:27
  Speaker 7: homicidal microscopes.
• 14:29
  Speaker 8: That is an interesting Freudian slip. You undoubtedly mean homicidal maniacs,
• 14:34
  Speaker 8: not microscopes. This indicates a possible maladjustment in the area
• 14:39
  Speaker 8: of your specialty.
• 14:41
  Speaker 7: Why don't you go grease your....
• 14:44
  Speaker 8: I will consider that suggestion.
• 14:54
  Speaker 5: Major Hall returned to the biosection lab and tested the
• 14:57
  Speaker 5: atmosphere near the place where he had fired his blast
• 15:00
  Speaker 5: gun at the microscope. The analysis showed a high density
• 15:03
  Speaker 5: of metallic particles colloidally suspended in the air. In a
• 15:07
  Speaker 5: state of confusion, with an emotional distress quotient of at
• 15:09
  Speaker 5: least 0.742... He stripped off his uniform and entered the shower.
• 15:14
  Speaker 3: Oh.
• 15:16
  Speaker 7: Oh, well, you can't expect anybody to believe a story
• 15:24
  Speaker 7: like that.
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: I must be off my rocker.
• 15:35
  Speaker 5: Major Hall stepped out of the shower, reached for one
• 15:40
  Speaker 5: of the towels on the rack. The towel wrapped around
• 15:45
  Speaker 5: his head and yanked him against the wall. Rough cloth
• 15:48
  Speaker 5: pressed over his mouth and nose. He fought wildly, pulling away.
• 15:52
  Speaker 5: All at once, the towel let go. Major Hall crawled
• 15:57
  Speaker 5: out of the shower and proceeded to dress. His belt,
• 16:01
  Speaker 5: heavy canvas with reinforced metal links, tried to get him
• 16:04
  Speaker 5: around the waist and crush him. The belt, being a
• 16:06
  Speaker 5: heavy duty issue, was strong, and they rolled on the
• 16:08
  Speaker 5: floor until Hall was able to reach his blaster.
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: He threw himself down on a chair to regain his breath.
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: The arms of the chair started to close around him,
• 16:19
  Speaker 5: but this time he was ready.
• 16:31
  Speaker 6: Major, I don't believe you were announced.
• 16:33
  Speaker 7: Look, Commander, Stella... You're armed.
• 16:35
  Speaker 6: You know that regulations.
• 16:36
  Speaker 7: I'm sorry, Stella, this is important.
• 16:38
  Speaker 6: Well, what do you want? I have a report here
• 16:40
  Speaker 6: from the robo-psych tester. It says you've hit a ratio
• 16:43
  Speaker 6: of 10 within the last 24-hour period. We've known each
• 16:47
  Speaker 6: other for a long time. Larry, what's happening to you?
• 16:51
  Speaker 7: Bella, I told you. A little while ago, my microscope
• 16:54
  Speaker 7: tried to strangle me. Then when I was getting out
• 16:56
  Speaker 7: of the shower, a bath towel tried to smother me.
• 16:59
  Speaker 7: I got by that. And while I was dressing, my belt.
• 17:03
  Speaker 6: Wood, in here on the double.
• 17:04
  Speaker 7: And I finally blasted that. And then an armchair beside it. Yes, Commander.
• 17:08
  Speaker 6: Stand by a moment.
• 17:09
  Speaker 7: Stella, will you listen to me?
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: This is serious.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: Ordinary objects suddenly turning lethal.
• 17:14
  Speaker 7: Maybe this is what we've been looking for. Maybe this is.
• 17:17
  Speaker 6: Your microscope tried to kill you.
• 17:19
  Speaker 7: I told you, its stems got me here around the windpipe.
• 17:21
  Speaker 6: No one else saw this happen. No.
• 17:23
  Speaker 7: I blasted it, and then I found it again, perfectly
• 17:26
  Speaker 7: all right.
• 17:26
  Speaker 6: I see wood.
• 17:27
  Speaker 7: Yes, ma'am.
• 17:28
  Speaker 6: Get two guards and take Major Hall down to Captain
• 17:30
  Speaker 6: Taylor in sickbay. Have him confined until he can be
• 17:32
  Speaker 6: sent back to Terra for examination.
• 17:34
  Speaker 4: Listen, Stella.
• 17:35
  Speaker 6: Sorry, Major. You can't prove this story, and we'll just
• 17:38
  Speaker 6: have to assume it's a psychotic projection on your part.
• 17:41
  Speaker 6: And we can't afford to have any psychotics running around
• 17:43
  Speaker 6: loose on this planet. Wood, carry on.
• 17:46
  Speaker 3: Good.
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: You'll be all right, huh? Back on Earth, they can
• 18:04
  Speaker 4: clear a thing like this up in a few weeks.
• 18:06
  Speaker 3: Yeah. Maybe you're right.
• 18:09
  Speaker 7: Maybe I'm just out of my mind.
• 18:11
  Speaker 4: Here we are.
• 18:14
  Speaker 6: Captain Taylor.
• 18:17
  Speaker 4: Captain Taylor. He should be in.
• 18:20
  Speaker 7: Captain.
• 18:21
  Speaker 4: The hatch isn't locked.
• 18:26
  Speaker 7: Taylor, what's the matter? That scatter rug is choking him.
• 18:29
  Speaker 6: I'll put a grip.
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: Before he's crushed.
• 18:31
  Speaker 4: Grab that rug.
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: Now hear this.
• 18:41
  Speaker 4: Now hear this.
• 18:43
  Speaker 8: General alarm.
• 18:44
  Speaker 4: General alarm.
• 18:46
  Speaker 5: Emergency stations.
• 18:47
  Speaker 4: Emergency stations. Condition red. Sidearms will be issued to all personnel.
• 18:53
  Speaker 8: General alarm.
• 19:02
  Speaker 6: Captain Taylor tells me the rug came from Tara. His
• 19:05
  Speaker 6: grandmother braided it.
• 19:06
  Speaker 7: That's what I was trying to tell you. It was
• 19:08
  Speaker 7: not the rug that attacked them.
• 19:09
  Speaker 4: Then what was it?
• 19:09
  Speaker 7: Something that looked like this rug. And it was something
• 19:13
  Speaker 7: that looked like a microscope that went for me. And
• 19:15
  Speaker 7: the towel and the belt.
• 19:16
  Speaker 6: You mean there's some life form that can imitate anything?
• 19:20
  Speaker 7: Yes, it seems so. And it's deadly. Hey, Charlie, general alarm.
• 19:36
  Speaker 7: Get up out of that sack. Hey, what'd you do
• 19:38
  Speaker 7: with my gloves? Hey, where'd I get two pair? Well, needy, needy, my.
• 19:45
  Speaker 4: Oh, one pair of gloves is the same as the other.
• 19:48
  Speaker 2: Hey.
• 19:50
  Speaker 4: These gloves are moving. How do you like that?
• 19:53
  Speaker 7: These fool gloves are going for my blast pistol. Charlie,
• 19:56
  Speaker 7: is this one of your crazy electronic gags that you
• 19:58
  Speaker 7: rigged my gloves?
• 20:00
  Speaker 6: Hey, look out for that pistol.
• 20:02
  Speaker 7: Look out!
• 20:10
  Speaker 3: Commander.
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: There's another casualty. Lieutenant Dodge.
• 20:14
  Speaker 6: What happened?
• 20:15
  Speaker 4: I don't know. He seems to have shot himself.
• 20:18
  Speaker 7: Stella. Stella, I think that I have something. Dodge is dead. Look,
• 20:23
  Speaker 7: we know that this thing can camouflage itself. It can
• 20:25
  Speaker 7: imitate any object it leans up against. All right, now,
• 20:28
  Speaker 7: listen to this.
• 20:29
  Speaker 6: Larry, we've got to.
• 20:30
  Speaker 7: This is the answer. It's a tape from Captain Galt.
• 20:34
  Speaker 7: He was out on bio-survey. He had a throat mic on.
• 20:37
  Speaker 7: He was talking to the operator at base.
• 20:40
  Speaker 4: Now, listen to this.
• 20:44
  Speaker 7: Head for home now.
• 20:46
  Speaker 8: What's this emergency about?
• 20:48
  Speaker 7: Hourglass Stella having hysterics?
• 20:52
  Speaker 8: That's funny. I swear I parked my bucket over by
• 20:56
  Speaker 8: those trees. Well, here anyway. Heat up some coffee for me.
• 21:03
  Speaker 8: I'll be in in a couple.
• 21:06
  Speaker 7: Yeah, that's funny. There's another bucket over by the trees.
• 21:13
  Speaker 8: Where'd this one come from?
• 21:17
  Speaker 7: Coming out.
• 21:19
  Speaker 8: The thing's stuck. It's holding up around me.
• 21:23
  Speaker 3: Joe?
• 21:24
  Speaker 8: Joe, get a squad out of here.
• 21:28
  Speaker 7: Joe?
• 21:30
  Speaker 8: That's it.
• 21:32
  Speaker 6: That's it.
• 21:32
  Speaker 8: I can't get out.
• 21:34
  Speaker 6: It's suggestive fluid. Get somebody out of here before.
• 21:43
  Speaker 7: His transmission just stopped. All right, now, we're up against
• 21:48
  Speaker 7: some organic form of life, and there should be some
• 21:50
  Speaker 7: way to destroy it. We've already blasted a few, but
• 21:53
  Speaker 7: we don't know how many more there are. Maybe it's
• 21:56
  Speaker 7: an infinitely divisible substance, some kind of protoplasm.
• 21:58
  Speaker 6: We've had over 12 casualties reported, and there's still five
• 22:01
  Speaker 6: teams out in the field.
• 22:03
  Speaker 7: All right, it's a lethal life form. Now, that explains
• 22:06
  Speaker 7: why we found everything else harmless. Nothing could compete with this.
• 22:10
  Speaker 7: We have mimic plants of our own, the twisty slug
• 22:13
  Speaker 7: on Venus, but nothing that goes this far.
• 22:15
  Speaker 6: It can be killed, though. You said that yourself.
• 22:18
  Speaker 7: If it can be found. You can't tell clothes, rugs, drapes, chairs.
• 22:22
  Speaker 7: We can't tell which is which. We've got to try
• 22:25
  Speaker 7: to find some poison, some spray that will destroy them wholesale.
• 22:28
  Speaker 2: Oh, no.
• 22:29
  Speaker 7: What's the matter?
• 22:30
  Speaker 6: In the corner. I never noticed two briefcases over there before.
• 22:34
  Speaker 6: There was only one, I think. How are we going
• 22:38
  Speaker 6: to know?
• 22:38
  Speaker 3: Oh.
• 22:43
  Speaker 5: Shortly after the final casualty report of 30 dead and
• 22:46
  Speaker 5: 12 wounded, Major Hall sealed off the bio-quarters and moved
• 22:50
  Speaker 5: in with a team from chem section, all dressed in
• 22:52
  Speaker 5: corrosive-resistant suits.
• 22:55
  Speaker 7: Well, I'll make sure that you've got a tight seal
• 22:57
  Speaker 7: on the neck joint.
• 22:58
  Speaker 8: What are you going to do, Major?
• 22:59
  Speaker 7: I've got a combination of hydrogen and arsenic under pressure,
• 23:02
  Speaker 7: barfine gas. That'll give us an idea of how much
• 23:04
  Speaker 7: they've infiltrated. Barfine is deadly to humans, so check your helmets.
• 23:09
  Speaker 8: Now, target.
• 23:12
  Speaker 7: I don't want any panic blasting. Our plan is inflammable.
• 23:20
  Speaker 7: All right. Release the valve.
• 23:35
  Speaker 5: As the gas filled the room, the first to go
• 23:37
  Speaker 5: was a filing cabinet, which melted and oozed to the floor,
• 23:40
  Speaker 5: stars and test tubes. The lab was sealed off and
• 23:44
  Speaker 5: a meeting held in Commander Morrison's quarters.
• 23:48
  Speaker 7: Well, it's protopletum, all right. You could see that from
• 23:50
  Speaker 7: the mimic shape, melted. It was just as big as
• 23:53
  Speaker 7: your hand. May resemble the simple unicellular protozoa. Gigantic in
• 23:58
  Speaker 7: size compared to microorganisms.
• 23:59
  Speaker 6: Can we spray them?
• 24:02
  Speaker 7: Our sign disturbed them. And I suppose enough might kill them.
• 24:06
  Speaker 7: But we haven't got that much. We can't flood the planet.
• 24:09
  Speaker 7: We wouldn't be able to use our blasters, and it's
• 24:12
  Speaker 7: lethal to humans.
• 24:14
  Speaker 6: We'll have to pull out.
• 24:15
  Speaker 7: Stella, I'm afraid you don't quite understand. We can't take
• 24:20
  Speaker 7: the chance of carrying them back to the system disguised
• 24:22
  Speaker 7: as a boot or a towel or anything. And they
• 24:26
  Speaker 7: seem to multiply by binary efficiency. It wouldn't take long
• 24:29
  Speaker 7: to overrun Earth and the rest of the system.
• 24:31
  Speaker 6: If we stay here, they'll pick us off one by one.
• 24:33
  Speaker 7: We could have our sign brought in or some other poison,
• 24:35
  Speaker 7: but that would destroy most of the other life on
• 24:37
  Speaker 7: the planet along with it.
• 24:38
  Speaker 6: Then we'll have to burn the planet clean.
• 24:40
  Speaker 4: Wood.
• 24:41
  Speaker 7: Yes, ma'am.
• 24:42
  Speaker 6: Set up a call to system monitor. I'm going to
• 24:44
  Speaker 6: get the unit off here out of danger. After that,
• 24:47
  Speaker 6: we can work out the best way of cleaning off
• 24:49
  Speaker 6: this planet.
• 24:49
  Speaker 7: You'll run the risk of taking them back to Terra.
• 24:52
  Speaker 6: Can they imitate higher life forms? Can they masquerade as humans?
• 24:56
  Speaker 7: Apparently not. They seem to be limited to inorganic subjects.
• 25:01
  Speaker 6: Then we'll go back without any inorganic material.
• 25:04
  Speaker 4: But our clothes, they can imitate the synthetic fibers, belts, gloves, boots.
• 25:08
  Speaker 6: We're not taking our clothes. We're going back without anything
• 25:12
  Speaker 6: at all.
• 25:14
  Speaker 7: Oh.
• 25:15
  Speaker 4: Oh, I see.
• 25:16
  Speaker 6: Get me a beam to central monitor immediately.
• 25:31
  Speaker 5: The nearest cruiser was two light hours away, Captain Daniel
• 25:34
  Speaker 5: Davis commending. Tight beam communication was established after coordinates were
• 25:38
  Speaker 5: flashed from central monitor.
• 25:39
  Speaker 7: This is Captain Davis.
• 25:44
  Speaker 3: Can you read me?
• 25:46
  Speaker 6: I read you. Commander Morrison here. Captain, you are to
• 25:49
  Speaker 6: make a planetfall as soon as possible at coordinates to
• 25:52
  Speaker 6: be supplied you. We are going to board your ship naked.
• 25:57
  Speaker 1: Naked?
• 25:58
  Speaker 6: That's right.
• 25:58
  Speaker 8: That's, uh....
• 26:02
  Speaker 4: Well.
• 26:04
  Speaker 6: When will you land?
• 26:04
  Speaker 8: At about 1,500 hours, I'd say.
• 26:08
  Speaker 6: Captain, would it be possible for your men to.
• 26:13
  Speaker 8: I'll have my crew below decks.
• 26:15
  Speaker 3: We'll land on rover control.
• 26:17
  Speaker 6: Thank you. Wood, sign off the transmission.
• 26:20
  Speaker 3: Yes, ma'am.
• 26:26
  Speaker 5: There was some objection among the enlisted personnel, particularly in
• 26:29
  Speaker 5: the women's quarters. The ship landed at 1,200 hours, three
• 26:33
  Speaker 5: hours sooner than expected.
• 26:36
  Speaker 7: All hands disrobe immediately.
• 26:38
  Speaker 4: All personnel report to field ready to embark.
• 26:42
  Speaker 3: So soon?
• 26:44
  Speaker 7: I didn't hear the ship land.
• 26:45
  Speaker 6: It's there, all right. We'd better go. Larry.
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: Mm-hmm?
• 26:50
  Speaker 6: Larry, you go ahead. I'd rather get ready alone.
• 27:05
  Speaker 5: Parked in the center of the landing field was a cruiser.
• 27:08
  Speaker 5: Its hull pitted and dented by meteor strikes. It lay motionless.
• 27:13
  Speaker 5: with no sign of life aboard. A crowd of naked
• 27:17
  Speaker 5: people was moving across the field, blinking in the bright sunlight.
• 27:20
  Speaker 5: Commander Stella Morrison, without any sign of rank apparent, paused
• 27:24
  Speaker 5: on the ramp and spoke to Major Lawrence Hall beside her.
• 27:31
  Speaker 6: Larry.
• 27:31
  Speaker 3: Yeah, what is it?
• 27:33
  Speaker 6: I'm scared.
• 27:36
  Speaker 7: Why?
• 27:37
  Speaker 6: I don't know.
• 27:40
  Speaker 7: Psychological reaction.
• 27:41
  Speaker 3: Forget it.
• 27:43
  Speaker 7: It's a reaction to nudity carried over from early childhood.
• 27:49
  Speaker 7: Come on, we're holding up the line.
• 27:50
  Speaker 6: Mary, I want to go back.
• 27:53
  Speaker 3: Stella, look.
• 27:55
  Speaker 7: Now, at least Dave has kept his promise. There are
• 27:57
  Speaker 7: no molested men lining in the hatches to enjoy the view.
• 28:02
  Speaker 3: You see?
• 28:02
  Speaker 7: It's dark in there. There's nothing to worry about.
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: Come on.
• 28:09
  Speaker 3: Up you go. The last of the research team filed
• 28:18
  Speaker 3: into the interior of the ship. The hatch closed behind them.
• 28:26
  Speaker 5: At exactly 1,500 hours, Captain Daniel Davis landed his ship
• 28:29
  Speaker 5: in the center of the field. Automatic relays opened the
• 28:32
  Speaker 5: main lock hatch and lowered the ramp. Davis and his
• 28:36
  Speaker 5: staff sat in the control cabin waiting.
• 28:39
  Speaker 7: Well, how do you like that?
• 28:42
  Speaker 3: Where are they? Maybe the whole fool thing is a joke.
• 28:49
  Speaker 3: We've waited an hour already. They waited. And waited. But
• 28:57
  Speaker 3: no one came.
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: You have just heard X-1 presented by the National Broadcasting
• 29:16
  Speaker 2: Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, which this
• 29:21
  Speaker 2: month features Double Dare by Robert Silverberg, which demonstrates that
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: pride can lead to much worse than a fall. It
• 29:29
  Speaker 2: can put a man out on a limb and keep
• 29:31
  Speaker 2: him there. Galaxy Magazine, on your newsstand today. Tonight by transcription,
• 29:38
  Speaker 2: X-1 has brought you... Colony, a story from the pages
• 29:42
  Speaker 2: of Galaxy written by Philip K. Dick and adapted for
• 29:45
  Speaker 2: radio by Ernest Canoy. Featured in the cast were Frederica Chandler,
• 29:51
  Speaker 2: John Larkin, James Stevens, Larry Robinson, Bill Quinn, and Alan Bergman.
• 29:58
  Speaker 2: Your narrator was Norman Rose. Your announcer, Fred Collins. X-1
• 30:03
  Speaker 2: was directed by Daniel Sutter and is an NBC Radio
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: Network production.
• 30:18
  Speaker 7: Hear music in the Morgan Manor. Russ Morgan, live weekday
• 30:22
  Speaker 7: mornings on NBC Bandstand.
• 30:28
  Speaker 1: You have been listening to X-1 and Colony. Until our
• 30:31
  Speaker 1: next broadcast, good night.