WEBVTT
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In the year 2060, nuclear physicist John Rhodes leaves a
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psychiatric hospital and returns to Nuclear City, where laboratories and
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avenues that should be busy stand deserted. This is 2000
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Plus from Mutual's adult science fiction anthology series, In Alone,
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broadcast November 15, 1950. Ralph Bell stars as Rhodes, with
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Joan Shea as Volta, Nat Polin appears as Dr. Drainoff
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and Carl Eastman as Davis. As Rhodes searches for an
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explanation and assurance that he has not relapsed, Volta is
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the only other person he can find. The script is
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by Judith and David Bublik for Dreyer and Wienolsen Productions. Now,
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back to the golden age of radio. Follow old-time sci-fi
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radio for more classic science fiction broadcasts 2,000.
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Plus.
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2,000 plus.
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Adventures in the world of tomorrow.
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Dramatic stories of the years beyond 2000 A.D. Today, a
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story of the world of 2000 plus 60.
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A story called Alone. Alone.
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I listened to my footsteps as I walked down the
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long corridor. Just my footsteps. For the first time in
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so many months. No nurses, no doctors, no burly attendants.
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At my side.
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I was walking alone.
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I was welled.
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I knew who I was and where I was and
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what I was going to do. I walked past the
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photoelectric cell that operates the huge bronze doors.
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Out into the brilliant sunshine.
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And down the road leading toward my laboratory in the
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heart of Nuclear City.
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I passed up the hospital limousine service. I wanted to walk.
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To breathe in the air of freedom. To drink in
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the sunshine. the peace of the quiet countryside. I walked
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slowly because I realized that all too soon I would
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be engulfed by the noise and the tumult of the
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Earth's top research center. And finally, I reached the city proper.
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I started up the broad avenue lined with laboratories. And
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then suddenly....
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Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. I stopped a moment and listened...
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And then I realized what was wrong. Not a sound.
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On this avenue, normally bursting with activity, with the whine
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and groan of machinery and the roar and rumble of nuclear.
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Bombardment, there was nothing. Not a sound. Not a voice.
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Not a soul. Not a single, solitary human being.
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The End.
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For a moment, a wave of panic swept over me.
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How would you feel in my place? They had taught
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me well at the hospital. I fought it off in
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my mind. But my feet hadn't been psychoanalyzed. They began
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to go faster and faster... through the streets and down
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the alleys... looking, searching for some sign of life.
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A cat. I stumbled up the two steps and flung
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open the door.
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Hey.
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Hey, anybody here? There was nobody in the shop.
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It was empty.
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Only the sound of that cat yowling in the back room.
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I stepped over to the door separating us. All right.
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All right, Kitty, take it easy. I'll let you out.
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Just let me slide this bolt. Ah, here we are. Now,
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let's see what you look like. Hey, Kitty. Kitty, where
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are you? Where are you? It was gone. Vanished.
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One moment it was scratching furiously and yowling its full
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head off. The next it had disappeared. All that was
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left after that strange hissing noise was a small dark
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stain on the floor. When something suddenly happens to your
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nervous system, when you find yourself with trembling fingers and
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a racing pulse, it's a good idea to do something physical,
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some familiar mechanical act. There was a pack of cigarettes
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on the counter of that deserted shop right behind the
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cash register. I pounced on it eagerly, put a cigarette
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between my lips, took a quick puff to light it,
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and then drew in a deep breathful of the comforting smoke.
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and then I heard it. The sound of a motor,
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a big motor. I dashed to the door, and it
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seemed to me that the bus must be terribly close,
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but it wasn't. It was fully two blocks away. Only
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the unearthly quiet of Nuclear City made it seem so near.
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I sprang to the middle of the street, waving my
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arms wildly, shouting with relief, Hey, driver, driver, this way!
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A bus, a 300-seater that would be bringing people, voices, news,
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news about this terrible silence that had fallen over Nuclear City.
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It was 150 yards from me now, and my skin
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began to crawl.
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There was something wrong.
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Now it was 100 yards from me, 50, and still
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the juggernaut hadn't slowed down or honked or swerved or
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given any indication that I was blocking its path.
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At the last split second, I jumped.
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And then turned to watch its thunder past me, catapult
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over the pedestrian ramp and smash into the concrete walls
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of the deep space observation chamber.
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Ah!
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The bus was a tangled mass of twisted steel and lucite.
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That was all that was left of it. And the people?
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I forced my way in, threw a gaping hole in
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the side and thrashed through the wreckage looking for some survivor,
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straining to hear a cry, a faint moan.
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There was nothing.
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From the rear straight through to the driver's seat, there
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was not a sign of any human being, dead or alive.
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It was a phantom bus. And the passengers and driver...
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who had sat in it when it started its journey,
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had vanished into thin air. I staggered away from the
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incredible spectacle, my senses reeling. It would take more than
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a cigarette, more than a familiar mechanical act to quiet
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the rising terror that was beginning to grip me. I
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had to find someone quickly or my mind would give
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way again as it had once before.
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You!
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You down there in the street!
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I shook my head to clear it. Voices. Hallucinations. This
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was one of the first signs of insanity. I remember... Please!
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You!
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Down there in the street!
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Look up here!
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I'm up here at the window!
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Slowly, I raised my head and looked up. She was there.
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Framed in the window, a frightened woman with red hair
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and a desperate urgency in her voice.
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You, you're real, aren't you?
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Thank God.
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I thought I was going mad. What's happened? What's happened
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to Nuclear City? You are real. You talked.
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Come in.
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Quickly.
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Quickly.
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I bounded for the front door, tried the knob.
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I'm coming down.
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Don't go away.
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Please don't go away.
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I heard her fumbling with the bolt, and at last
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I had found someone, someone to talk to. In another moment,
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I would stand face to face with the first human
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being I'd seen in three hours.
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The door swung open. I caught a fleeting glimpse of
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red hair, and then.
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That soft, sibilant sound. And after that, nothing. No voice,
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no red hair, no woman....
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Nothing.
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All at once it dawned on me.
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I knew now with a dreadful certainty exactly what had happened.
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My mind had snapped again. No, no, no, not snapped.
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Swerved.
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Swerved into that strange, rare condition doctors call Duval's phenomena.
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There were people on the street. There were voices and
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sounds in the air. But my sick mind shut them out.
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Refused to acknowledge their existence. A mind that blotted out
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all living things might lead to anything.
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I was dangerous. I had to get away while I
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still had some control of my movements. I began to run. Run, run, run, run, run, run.
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Back to one place where I knew I could do
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no harm. Back to the safe, calm, composed climate of
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the psychiatric hospital. Once more, the big bronze doors that
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I thought I would never see again clanged shut behind me,
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and I walked slowly down the corridor with a feeling
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of relief as though a heavy weight had been lifted
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from me. The elevator operator was not at his post,
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but I knew how to operate the pressure lift. I
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pressed the button that would take me to my own
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pavilion on the 36th floor. The therapy room where, just
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a few short hours ago, I had been playing a
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four-handed game of galaxies with my fellow patients. I took
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three eager steps into the room.
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And then I stopped. For the room was empty. With
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a strange emptiness as though time had stood still. There
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was the table with the cards still laid out, the
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cigarettes still smoldering into ash. As I snuffed them out,
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I noticed a chess game in the corner. The same
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game I had watched Phillips and Maxim start three hours ago.
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Queen's Gambit declined. Phillips was still a pawn ahead. But
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Phillips wasn't there.
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And neither was Maxim.
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Where were Marquand? And Lester? And Rosen? And Tien Chung?
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And Ferrer?
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Yeah.
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I stepped out into the hall, plugged in the PA relay,
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and frantically tried to get someone.
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Dr. Frankel.
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Calling Dr. Frankel. Please acknowledge.
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Nurse.
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Nurse.
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Nurse!
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Hello, hello! Does anyone hear me?
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Emergency!
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This is emergency!
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In the name of heaven, if anyone hears me, please acknowledge!
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Nurse!
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In all that vast space which was the Regional Psychiatric Hospital,
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in all the miles of corridors and acres of wards
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and pavilions, there was no one. No one to hear
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my voice and acknowledge it. I fled down to the
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main floor along the silent corridor and out into the open.
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I jumped into the nearest vehicle, a turbojet that must
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have dated back to the year 2100. and made for
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Nuclear City. Something kept nagging at my mind, tugging at
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the strings of my consciousness, but I shook it off.
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I was afraid to think. I could only keep moving, moving, moving, moving,
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hoping for... I.
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Have no idea what. In the city, nothing had changed.
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I wandered through the streets slowly, searching for some sign
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of life, some... I jumped at the six o'clock whistle.
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In a moment now, tens of thousands of workers should
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come pouring out of the tall buildings. Shouts, cries, laughter
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should fill the air. But the whistle only echoed through.
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The empty streets and the traffic lights clicked on and
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off idiotically in a mad cycle.
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Red, green, cross. Red, green, cross. Red, green, cross.
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Suddenly, a sharp stab of fear knifed through me. I
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thought of my laboratory, the project. The project I'd been
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working on when I became ill. Internal organic dispersion. A
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method of activating the energy within a mass, causing it
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to burst outward. Something must have gone wrong. My assistants
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had misread the formula and let the force get out
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of control. Of course, of course, that could have done it.
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I must get to the lab at once. A burst
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of speed brought me to my intersection. I leaped to
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the escalator onto the high-speed pedestrian ramp.
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Slidewalk, the kids had called it when there were kids.
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And a minute later, I was racing through the familiar
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twists and turns of the fishing building, pushing through the.
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Doors to my own laboratory. Hunting. I looked about. Everything
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appeared to be in order.
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From far below, I could hear the throbbing of the
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giant cyclotron. and the hum of the huge electromagnetic dynamos,
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the sharp smell of ozone filled the air. I took
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a quick glance at the control panel. It showed every machine,
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every piece of apparatus working perfectly. There was nothing wrong,
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except the fact that they were working. It was after
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hours and machines should have been turned off. I switched
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off the main control, and then... a cold shiver ran
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down my spine. There was a new sound. A sound
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I hadn't expected to hear. Someone was coming up the
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pressure lift. The private lift leading from the cyclotron to
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my own laboratory.
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I stood facing the cage.
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Watching.
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Waiting.
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A man stood there. A live man clad in the
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Usual anti-radiation suit. I peered through the glass panel on
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the headpiece, and then... I had to fight to keep
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a stare out of my voice.
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Davis!
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Davis, it's you! It's really you! Sure it's me, Chief.
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How are you, John?
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Welcome back. We missed you. Davis, you're all right. You're alive.
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Of course I'm alive, John. You're the one who's been sick, remember?
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Davis, how long have you been down there in the
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cyclotron housing?
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00:15:31.610 --> 00:15:32.169
Two days.
251
00:15:32.470 --> 00:15:35.919
Special inspection tour. I'm glad it's over. Help me out
252
00:15:35.960 --> 00:15:36.659
of this suit, will you?
253
00:15:36.679 --> 00:15:40.559
The buckle's caught. Yes, of course. Of course, that explains it.
254
00:15:40.580 --> 00:15:43.740
Explains what? You were shielded when it happened. Hold tight
255
00:15:43.779 --> 00:15:45.950
now while I yank. There you are.
256
00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:46.830
Thanks.
257
00:15:47.490 --> 00:15:48.210
I can manage now.
258
00:15:48.230 --> 00:15:50.590
What do you mean that explains it?
259
00:15:50.669 --> 00:15:55.200
Explains what? I watched him unbuckle the anti-radiation suit. I
260
00:15:55.220 --> 00:15:58.899
felt I should say something. I tried to, but nothing
261
00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:03.169
would come. Finally, the suit was undone. Davis started to
262
00:16:03.190 --> 00:16:05.889
step out of the suit, and finally the words came
263
00:16:05.929 --> 00:16:06.830
past my lips.
264
00:16:06.970 --> 00:16:11.350
No, no, Davis! Get back! Get back in the suit!
265
00:16:14.490 --> 00:16:20.860
It was too late. Before my very eyes, Davis disappeared.
266
00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:43.019
And his anti-radiation suit crumpled to the floor. My legs
267
00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:46.259
buckled and I began to tremble all over. I knew
268
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:49.240
my hours were numbered. No mind could stand up under
269
00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:52.570
repeated explosive shocks such as I had been through. I
270
00:16:52.629 --> 00:16:56.429
staggered to the first aid cabinet for a plasma capsule.
271
00:16:56.470 --> 00:16:58.370
As I tilted my head back to swallow the capsule,
272
00:16:58.389 --> 00:17:00.909
the building across the street caught my eye and my
273
00:17:01.350 --> 00:17:07.819
pulses leaped. Communications building. Communications, Visiphone, long-range tele-sonic broadcasting.
274
00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:08.299
This was it.
275
00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.640
My opportunity to establish contact with the outside world. I
276
00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:13.519
dropped the glass and bottle and capsule and rushed out.
277
00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:20.180
Two minutes later, I was in the main studio. I
278
00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:23.160
plugged in the lines. World ascending and receiving controls to
279
00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:27.220
maximum range. Focused the electronic visiscope camera and switched on
280
00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:33.640
the power. Nuclear City calling all stations. Nuclear City to
281
00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:36.500
all stations. Clear wires for disaster report.
282
00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:37.500
Emergency.
283
00:17:38.089 --> 00:17:43.190
Nuclear City calling all stations. Please acknowledge. I shifted the
284
00:17:43.250 --> 00:17:46.069
directional beam. Nuclear City calling St.
285
00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:46.210
Louis.
286
00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:46.529
St. Louis.
287
00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:50.029
Omaha. San Francisco.
288
00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:51.490
Guam.
289
00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:52.890
Tokyo.
290
00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:54.279
Come in, St.
291
00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:54.619
Louis.
292
00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:02.359
Guam. Tokyo. Come in. Nothing. Not the slightest sign that
293
00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:04.480
there was anyone anywhere who could hear the sound of
294
00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:07.789
my voice or see my image. I turned off the
295
00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:09.490
power and swung away.
296
00:18:09.509 --> 00:18:12.549
And a slight movement, a tiny flash of light caught
297
00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:12.970
my eye.
298
00:18:13.450 --> 00:18:14.430
The turntables.
299
00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:18.240
The turntables that recorded every program sent out were still going,
300
00:18:18.970 --> 00:18:22.869
turning round and round and round, wearing deep, meaningless grooves
301
00:18:22.910 --> 00:18:26.309
in the wax platter. I stepped over to the first table,
302
00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:28.089
moved the pickup arm to the start of the record,
303
00:18:28.109 --> 00:18:31.049
and switched on the playback control. In another moment, I
304
00:18:31.089 --> 00:18:33.420
would hear the last sounds that it issued from Nuclear
305
00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:37.339
City's communication center. Two days later, Rama and I reached
306
00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.079
the great spaceport of New Terra.
307
00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:41.700
We had spent a month in the steaming jungles of
308
00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:42.480
Venus and.
309
00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:43.299
Had learned many things.
310
00:18:43.910 --> 00:18:46.480
We have learned that the flora and fauna... Oh, shut up,
311
00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:50.420
shut up, shut up! I'll try the next table. Maybe
312
00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:51.200
I'll have better luck.
313
00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.019
And dispatchers pouring in from all parts of this sector
314
00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:57.460
have confirmed earlier reports that the disaster which has struck
315
00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:58.119
Nuclear City is.
316
00:18:59.339 --> 00:19:00.119
The disaster is due.
317
00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.319
That is, the condition.
318
00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:04.940
Is caused by a wave... A wave of.
319
00:19:07.369 --> 00:19:12.190
Once again, I heard it. Recorded for posterity. The quick,
320
00:19:12.309 --> 00:19:14.839
seething hiss. And the silence.
321
00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:19.400
I couldn't stand it any longer. I suddenly went berserk.
322
00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:21.500
I began smashing everything in sight.
323
00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:22.059
The records.
324
00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:24.700
Piles and piles of them. The machines. The tubes.
325
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:25.779
Everything. Stop.
326
00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.200
Stop it. You'll hurt yourself.
327
00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.220
I hardly knew what I was doing. For hours and hours,
328
00:19:30.269 --> 00:19:32.269
an explosive force had been building up inside of me.
329
00:19:32.289 --> 00:19:33.369
And now it burst loose.
330
00:19:33.490 --> 00:19:40.170
And finally, finally, it spent itself. I calmed down. And
331
00:19:40.210 --> 00:19:40.809
heard her voice.
332
00:19:41.269 --> 00:19:41.809
That's better.
333
00:19:42.630 --> 00:19:43.369
Much better.
334
00:19:44.970 --> 00:19:48.500
My name is Walter. Well, turn around.
335
00:19:49.450 --> 00:19:55.619
Look at me. No. No, I'm afraid so. You'll vanish.
336
00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:57.420
Like the others.
337
00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:03.920
Nonsense. I haven't vanished yet. Turn around. You see?
338
00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:05.819
You....
339
00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:08.200
You're beautiful.
340
00:20:09.289 --> 00:20:14.599
Anyone would look beautiful to you now. Anyone alive and real.
341
00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:18.579
How did you escape it, Walter? Why are we here,
342
00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:19.579
we two alone?
343
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.920
We must go. We can't remain here any longer.
344
00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:22.200
Go.
345
00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:24.950
Yes, yes, yes, you're right. We've got to get away
346
00:20:24.970 --> 00:20:26.910
from Nuclear City, away from this whole stricken area.
347
00:20:27.130 --> 00:20:27.589
But how?
348
00:20:27.910 --> 00:20:29.009
There is no transportation.
349
00:20:29.029 --> 00:20:30.390
Now, wait, wait. My plane.
350
00:20:30.750 --> 00:20:31.069
Plane?
351
00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:33.450
Yes, six months ago, before I went into the hospital,
352
00:20:33.549 --> 00:20:35.579
I put it up in a small hangar at the spaceport.
353
00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:39.150
Six months ago? It wouldn't be any good now. You
354
00:20:39.170 --> 00:20:40.670
couldn't possibly get it into the air.
355
00:20:40.710 --> 00:20:41.349
We can try.
356
00:20:41.369 --> 00:20:44.329
It's our only chance, Walter. Come on, there's no time
357
00:20:44.349 --> 00:20:54.960
to lose. Do you see anything, Walter?
358
00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:56.000
No, John.
359
00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:57.680
It's pitch dark out there.
360
00:20:58.039 --> 00:20:59.809
No beacon. No clusters of light.
361
00:20:59.869 --> 00:21:01.890
Keep trying the audio box. I'll see if I can
362
00:21:02.009 --> 00:21:03.069
pick up the landing beam.
363
00:21:04.009 --> 00:21:04.930
Calling Chicago.
364
00:21:05.730 --> 00:21:12.269
Calling Chicago. Landing instructions requested. I've got the beam. No. No,
365
00:21:12.289 --> 00:21:15.589
it's gone now. Probably a radar reflection. Move over quickly.
366
00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:24.720
Let me try that scanner. Chicago. The skyscrapers. The lakefront.
367
00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:30.019
The bullet parts. What's... What's happened to the lights? What's
368
00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:30.900
happened to the airport?
369
00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:32.059
It's no use, John.
370
00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:33.140
It's reached here, too.
371
00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:35.730
We might just as well have stayed in Nuclear City.
372
00:21:35.750 --> 00:21:37.589
No, no, no, no. We've got to go on. We've
373
00:21:37.609 --> 00:21:40.509
got to find someone. I won't believe. I can't believe
374
00:21:40.529 --> 00:21:41.529
there's no one left but us.
375
00:21:47.710 --> 00:21:51.859
Calling Detroit. Calling Detroit. This is John Rhodes of Nuclear City.
376
00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:56.200
John Rhodes calling Detroit. Channel 407. Respond.
377
00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:57.900
You're wasting your breath, John.
378
00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:58.960
Turn back.
379
00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:05.250
I'll never turn back. John Rhodes to Harb City. John
380
00:22:05.309 --> 00:22:06.650
Rhodes to Harb City.
381
00:22:06.750 --> 00:22:10.259
Come in, please. Come in, please. Can you hear me?
382
00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:17.000
Are you convinced now?
383
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:17.980
Sure, I'm convinced.
384
00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:20.160
I'm convinced the stricken area is larger than I thought,
385
00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:20.920
but I'm not quitting.
386
00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:21.579
Not quitting?
387
00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:22.200
What are you doing?
388
00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:24.380
Strap on your safety belt and switch on the oxygen control.
389
00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:25.869
I'm shifting into nuclear overdrive.
390
00:22:26.049 --> 00:22:26.670
Where are we going?
391
00:22:26.710 --> 00:22:28.950
The other side of the Earth. The spaceport at Rio.
392
00:22:29.490 --> 00:22:34.880
Steady now. In less than 40 minutes now.
393
00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:35.460
We'll be.
394
00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:39.240
What is it? What's wrong? I don't know. Something's happening.
395
00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:45.000
We're swerving. We're swinging around. Some tremendous magnetic force has
396
00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:48.660
caught us in its toe. Turn back, John. Turn back
397
00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:52.420
before the ship flies apart. I can't, Bolter. I can't
398
00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.220
do anything with a plane. She's out of control.
399
00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:58.910
I lay there....
400
00:23:12.430 --> 00:23:13.390
Looking at the clock.
401
00:23:15.230 --> 00:23:17.769
I couldn't bring it into sharp focus, but I knew
402
00:23:17.849 --> 00:23:21.670
that the number three was slightly chipped, and that when
403
00:23:21.710 --> 00:23:26.299
it chimed, there was distinct hesitation between the second and
404
00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:34.720
third notes. I knew these things because that clock was
405
00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:38.240
on the wall of the therapy pavilion on the 36th
406
00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:41.099
floor of the psychiatric hospital.
407
00:23:42.890 --> 00:23:48.329
Yes, I remember the clock. But how had I gotten here?
408
00:23:49.730 --> 00:23:52.589
What had happened to my plane? Where was Walter? Or
409
00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:55.900
was any of it real?
410
00:23:57.700 --> 00:24:01.759
Had I ever gone down the long corridor? Had I
411
00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:06.440
ever really left the hospital? Was the awful experience I
412
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:09.509
had lived through anything more than a very vivid nightmare?
413
00:24:09.529 --> 00:24:16.460
And if I screamed now. Would a nurse come running?
414
00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:18.640
Help!
415
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.200
Help!
416
00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:23.380
Nurse!
417
00:24:26.730 --> 00:24:34.890
It's true, then. Everything really happened. I'm not dreaming. And Walter.
418
00:24:36.650 --> 00:24:42.309
What about Walter? I've lost her, too. There's no one
419
00:24:42.609 --> 00:24:47.470
left on earth but me. I'll never see another face
420
00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:49.980
or hear another voice.
421
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:56.759
I know that now. I will sit here in the
422
00:24:56.839 --> 00:25:07.890
silence and wait for the end. Footsteps. Footsteps.
423
00:25:10.750 --> 00:25:13.829
Good evening, Mr. Rhodes. I'm Dr. Brenner.
424
00:25:15.150 --> 00:25:16.589
Dr. Brenner.
425
00:25:17.450 --> 00:25:17.710
Do.
426
00:25:18.710 --> 00:25:19.549
Do I know you?
427
00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:21.619
No, Mr. Rhodes.
428
00:25:22.210 --> 00:25:26.720
Not yet. But you will. You will be in my
429
00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:29.819
charge from now on. You've been very ill and you're
430
00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:33.200
going on a little journey. Here, take this capsule.
431
00:25:33.740 --> 00:25:37.299
But I... Take it, Mr. Rhodes. The trip you're about
432
00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:43.289
to make is long and difficult... There, that's it. I'll
433
00:25:43.309 --> 00:25:44.390
look in again presently.
434
00:25:50.450 --> 00:25:51.089
Dr. Drennis.
435
00:25:51.309 --> 00:25:55.309
He took it, Voltaire. Yes, I believe we chose wisely.
436
00:25:55.910 --> 00:25:59.339
John Rhodes is the greatest nuclear physicist on Earth. He
437
00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:01.759
will be of inestimable value to us and our people.
438
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.740
I think our work here is about finished, Doctor. The
439
00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:08.339
final reports have just come in. The molecular diffusion cloud
440
00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:09.000
worked perfectly.
441
00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:09.920
And according to plan.
442
00:26:10.970 --> 00:26:13.230
Those who were not directly affected by the cloud itself
443
00:26:13.269 --> 00:26:15.329
were disintegrated by contact with their fellow men.
444
00:26:16.130 --> 00:26:19.529
Some died immediately. Some seemed to have a temporary immunity.
445
00:26:19.750 --> 00:26:22.049
Like that woman, Nina, who called to Rhodes from the window.
446
00:26:22.950 --> 00:26:23.470
Poor man.
447
00:26:24.470 --> 00:26:27.569
Even though we protected him from the disintegration mist, he
448
00:26:27.609 --> 00:26:29.630
apparently was still capable of killing others.
449
00:26:29.829 --> 00:26:32.519
But now the chain reaction is complete. There's not a
450
00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:35.460
living human being left on Earth, except Rhodes.
451
00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:39.240
Perhaps it was wrong, Dr. Drannith, to destroy these humans.
452
00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:39.539
Wrong.
453
00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:42.000
They were different from what I had expected.
454
00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:45.859
As I guarded John Rhodes, I found him kind and
455
00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:49.900
intelligent and courageous. Now I'm beginning to think the whole
456
00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:51.279
experiment was cruel.
457
00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:55.390
Cruel? I do not understand you, Volta.
458
00:26:55.869 --> 00:26:57.910
You're familiar with the history of the planet Earth from
459
00:26:57.930 --> 00:27:00.930
the very first pages of recorded time. These Earth men
460
00:27:00.970 --> 00:27:03.750
have bent every effort to kill each other off, to
461
00:27:03.789 --> 00:27:05.910
create new and more efficient weapons of death.
462
00:27:06.769 --> 00:27:10.390
We merely fulfilled their destinies. but we did it mercifully.
463
00:27:10.410 --> 00:27:13.549
The new inhabitants we bring here will be kind, as
464
00:27:13.609 --> 00:27:13.970
we are.
465
00:27:14.490 --> 00:27:15.490
I suppose you're right.
466
00:27:17.190 --> 00:27:19.690
Well, here are my notes on the six hours I
467
00:27:19.750 --> 00:27:24.430
spent observing John Rhodes' psychological reactions. You will find them
468
00:27:24.529 --> 00:27:28.509
very illuminating. And now, what do we do with him,
469
00:27:29.250 --> 00:27:31.589
this last human being left on Earth?
470
00:27:31.609 --> 00:27:33.289
What we planned from the beginning, Volta.
471
00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:37.349
You may notify our spaceship anchored beyond the magnetic field
472
00:27:37.390 --> 00:27:38.509
to send a tender for us.
473
00:27:39.140 --> 00:27:39.880
Yes, Dr.
474
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:40.079
Drenner.
475
00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:43.039
We and our specially selected Earth specimen are ready for
476
00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:44.039
the long journey home.
477
00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:46.240
Home to Mars.
478
00:27:46.240 --> 00:28:08.869
2000 Plus is produced by Dreyer and Winn-Olson Productions, Incorporated.
479
00:28:09.529 --> 00:28:12.819
In tonight's cast, Ralph Bell played John Rhodes, Joan Shea
480
00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:16.200
was Volta, Nat Poland was Dr. Dranath, and Carl Eastman
481
00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:26.710
was Davis. The script was written by Judith and David Bubling.
482
00:28:28.670 --> 00:28:31.910
The orchestra was conducted by Emerson Buckley. Music composed by
483
00:28:31.990 --> 00:28:36.619
Elliot Jacoby. Sound, Walt Shaver and Adrian Penner. Engineer, Bob Albrecht.
484
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.480
THE END.
485
00:28:59.609 --> 00:29:00.349
Thank you.
486
00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:42.880
THE END © BF-WATCH TV 2021.
487
00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:03.220
Adventures into the world of tomorrow. Tune in again next
488
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:05.579
week at this same time for another thrilling story.
489
00:30:06.660 --> 00:30:09.400
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
490
00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:12.400
¶ ¶.
491
00:30:37.009 --> 00:31:36.349
THE END That was 2000 Plus Alone. Good night, and
492
00:31:36.390 --> 00:31:40.779
thank you for joining this radio theater presentation. Follow old-time
493
00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:44.880
sci-fi radio for more classic science fiction broadcasts.
1
00:00:00.210 --> 00:00:04.250
In the year 2060, nuclear physicist John Rhodes leaves a
2
00:00:04.290 --> 00:00:08.800
psychiatric hospital and returns to Nuclear City, where laboratories and
3
00:00:08.919 --> 00:00:13.500
avenues that should be busy stand deserted. This is 2000
4
00:00:13.500 --> 00:00:18.679
Plus from Mutual's adult science fiction anthology series, In Alone,
5
00:00:19.039 --> 00:00:25.309
broadcast November 15, 1950. Ralph Bell stars as Rhodes, with
6
00:00:25.390 --> 00:00:29.579
Joan Shea as Volta, Nat Polin appears as Dr. Drainoff
7
00:00:29.960 --> 00:00:33.869
and Carl Eastman as Davis. As Rhodes searches for an
8
00:00:33.950 --> 00:00:37.890
explanation and assurance that he has not relapsed, Volta is
9
00:00:37.929 --> 00:00:41.490
the only other person he can find. The script is
10
00:00:41.549 --> 00:00:47.329
by Judith and David Bublik for Dreyer and Wienolsen Productions. Now,
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back to the golden age of radio. Follow old-time sci-fi
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radio for more classic science fiction broadcasts 2,000.
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Plus.
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2,000 plus.
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Adventures in the world of tomorrow.
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Dramatic stories of the years beyond 2000 A.D. Today, a
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story of the world of 2000 plus 60.
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A story called Alone. Alone.
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I listened to my footsteps as I walked down the
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long corridor. Just my footsteps. For the first time in
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so many months. No nurses, no doctors, no burly attendants.
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At my side.
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I was walking alone.
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I was welled.
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I knew who I was and where I was and
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what I was going to do. I walked past the
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photoelectric cell that operates the huge bronze doors.
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Out into the brilliant sunshine.
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And down the road leading toward my laboratory in the
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heart of Nuclear City.
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I passed up the hospital limousine service. I wanted to walk.
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To breathe in the air of freedom. To drink in
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the sunshine. the peace of the quiet countryside. I walked
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slowly because I realized that all too soon I would
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be engulfed by the noise and the tumult of the
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Earth's top research center. And finally, I reached the city proper.
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I started up the broad avenue lined with laboratories. And
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then suddenly....
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Something was wrong. Terribly wrong. I stopped a moment and listened...
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And then I realized what was wrong. Not a sound.
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On this avenue, normally bursting with activity, with the whine
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and groan of machinery and the roar and rumble of nuclear.
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Bombardment, there was nothing. Not a sound. Not a voice.
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Not a soul. Not a single, solitary human being.
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The End.
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For a moment, a wave of panic swept over me.
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How would you feel in my place? They had taught
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me well at the hospital. I fought it off in
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my mind. But my feet hadn't been psychoanalyzed. They began
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to go faster and faster... through the streets and down
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the alleys... looking, searching for some sign of life.
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A cat. I stumbled up the two steps and flung
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open the door.
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Hey.
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Hey, anybody here? There was nobody in the shop.
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It was empty.
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Only the sound of that cat yowling in the back room.
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I stepped over to the door separating us. All right.
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All right, Kitty, take it easy. I'll let you out.
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Just let me slide this bolt. Ah, here we are. Now,
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let's see what you look like. Hey, Kitty. Kitty, where
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are you? Where are you? It was gone. Vanished.
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One moment it was scratching furiously and yowling its full
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head off. The next it had disappeared. All that was
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left after that strange hissing noise was a small dark
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stain on the floor. When something suddenly happens to your
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nervous system, when you find yourself with trembling fingers and
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a racing pulse, it's a good idea to do something physical,
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some familiar mechanical act. There was a pack of cigarettes
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on the counter of that deserted shop right behind the
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cash register. I pounced on it eagerly, put a cigarette
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between my lips, took a quick puff to light it,
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and then drew in a deep breathful of the comforting smoke.
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and then I heard it. The sound of a motor,
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a big motor. I dashed to the door, and it
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seemed to me that the bus must be terribly close,
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but it wasn't. It was fully two blocks away. Only
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the unearthly quiet of Nuclear City made it seem so near.
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I sprang to the middle of the street, waving my
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arms wildly, shouting with relief, Hey, driver, driver, this way!
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A bus, a 300-seater that would be bringing people, voices, news,
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news about this terrible silence that had fallen over Nuclear City.
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It was 150 yards from me now, and my skin
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began to crawl.
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There was something wrong.
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Now it was 100 yards from me, 50, and still
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the juggernaut hadn't slowed down or honked or swerved or
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given any indication that I was blocking its path.
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At the last split second, I jumped.
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And then turned to watch its thunder past me, catapult
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over the pedestrian ramp and smash into the concrete walls
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of the deep space observation chamber.
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Ah!
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The bus was a tangled mass of twisted steel and lucite.
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That was all that was left of it. And the people?
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I forced my way in, threw a gaping hole in
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the side and thrashed through the wreckage looking for some survivor,
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straining to hear a cry, a faint moan.
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There was nothing.
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From the rear straight through to the driver's seat, there
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was not a sign of any human being, dead or alive.
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It was a phantom bus. And the passengers and driver...
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who had sat in it when it started its journey,
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had vanished into thin air. I staggered away from the
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incredible spectacle, my senses reeling. It would take more than
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a cigarette, more than a familiar mechanical act to quiet
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the rising terror that was beginning to grip me. I
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had to find someone quickly or my mind would give
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way again as it had once before.
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You!
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You down there in the street!
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I shook my head to clear it. Voices. Hallucinations. This
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was one of the first signs of insanity. I remember... Please!
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You!
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Down there in the street!
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Look up here!
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I'm up here at the window!
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Slowly, I raised my head and looked up. She was there.
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Framed in the window, a frightened woman with red hair
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and a desperate urgency in her voice.
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You, you're real, aren't you?
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Thank God.
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I thought I was going mad. What's happened? What's happened
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to Nuclear City? You are real. You talked.
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Come in.
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Quickly.
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Quickly.
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I bounded for the front door, tried the knob.
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I'm coming down.
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Don't go away.
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Please don't go away.
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I heard her fumbling with the bolt, and at last
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I had found someone, someone to talk to. In another moment,
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I would stand face to face with the first human
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being I'd seen in three hours.
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The door swung open. I caught a fleeting glimpse of
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red hair, and then.
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That soft, sibilant sound. And after that, nothing. No voice,
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no red hair, no woman....
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Nothing.
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All at once it dawned on me.
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I knew now with a dreadful certainty exactly what had happened.
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My mind had snapped again. No, no, no, not snapped.
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Swerved.
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Swerved into that strange, rare condition doctors call Duval's phenomena.
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There were people on the street. There were voices and
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sounds in the air. But my sick mind shut them out.
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Refused to acknowledge their existence. A mind that blotted out
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all living things might lead to anything.
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I was dangerous. I had to get away while I
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still had some control of my movements. I began to run. Run, run, run, run, run, run.
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Back to one place where I knew I could do
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no harm. Back to the safe, calm, composed climate of
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the psychiatric hospital. Once more, the big bronze doors that
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I thought I would never see again clanged shut behind me,
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and I walked slowly down the corridor with a feeling
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of relief as though a heavy weight had been lifted
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from me. The elevator operator was not at his post,
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but I knew how to operate the pressure lift. I
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pressed the button that would take me to my own
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pavilion on the 36th floor. The therapy room where, just
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a few short hours ago, I had been playing a
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four-handed game of galaxies with my fellow patients. I took
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three eager steps into the room.
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And then I stopped. For the room was empty. With
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a strange emptiness as though time had stood still. There
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was the table with the cards still laid out, the
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cigarettes still smoldering into ash. As I snuffed them out,
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I noticed a chess game in the corner. The same
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game I had watched Phillips and Maxim start three hours ago.
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Queen's Gambit declined. Phillips was still a pawn ahead. But
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Phillips wasn't there.
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And neither was Maxim.
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Where were Marquand? And Lester? And Rosen? And Tien Chung?
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And Ferrer?
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Yeah.
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I stepped out into the hall, plugged in the PA relay,
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and frantically tried to get someone.
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Dr. Frankel.
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Calling Dr. Frankel. Please acknowledge.
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Nurse.
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Nurse.
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Nurse!
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Hello, hello! Does anyone hear me?
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Emergency!
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This is emergency!
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In the name of heaven, if anyone hears me, please acknowledge!
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Nurse!
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In all that vast space which was the Regional Psychiatric Hospital,
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in all the miles of corridors and acres of wards
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and pavilions, there was no one. No one to hear
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my voice and acknowledge it. I fled down to the
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main floor along the silent corridor and out into the open.
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I jumped into the nearest vehicle, a turbojet that must
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have dated back to the year 2100. and made for
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Nuclear City. Something kept nagging at my mind, tugging at
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the strings of my consciousness, but I shook it off.
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I was afraid to think. I could only keep moving, moving, moving, moving,
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hoping for... I.
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Have no idea what. In the city, nothing had changed.
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I wandered through the streets slowly, searching for some sign
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of life, some... I jumped at the six o'clock whistle.
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In a moment now, tens of thousands of workers should
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come pouring out of the tall buildings. Shouts, cries, laughter
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should fill the air. But the whistle only echoed through.
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The empty streets and the traffic lights clicked on and
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off idiotically in a mad cycle.
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Red, green, cross. Red, green, cross. Red, green, cross.
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Suddenly, a sharp stab of fear knifed through me. I
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thought of my laboratory, the project. The project I'd been
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working on when I became ill. Internal organic dispersion. A
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method of activating the energy within a mass, causing it
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to burst outward. Something must have gone wrong. My assistants
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had misread the formula and let the force get out
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of control. Of course, of course, that could have done it.
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I must get to the lab at once. A burst
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of speed brought me to my intersection. I leaped to
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the escalator onto the high-speed pedestrian ramp.
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Slidewalk, the kids had called it when there were kids.
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And a minute later, I was racing through the familiar
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twists and turns of the fishing building, pushing through the.
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Doors to my own laboratory. Hunting. I looked about. Everything
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appeared to be in order.
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From far below, I could hear the throbbing of the
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giant cyclotron. and the hum of the huge electromagnetic dynamos,
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the sharp smell of ozone filled the air. I took
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a quick glance at the control panel. It showed every machine,
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every piece of apparatus working perfectly. There was nothing wrong,
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except the fact that they were working. It was after
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hours and machines should have been turned off. I switched
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off the main control, and then... a cold shiver ran
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down my spine. There was a new sound. A sound
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I hadn't expected to hear. Someone was coming up the
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pressure lift. The private lift leading from the cyclotron to
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my own laboratory.
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I stood facing the cage.
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Watching.
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Waiting.
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A man stood there. A live man clad in the
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Usual anti-radiation suit. I peered through the glass panel on
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the headpiece, and then... I had to fight to keep
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a stare out of my voice.
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Davis!
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Davis, it's you! It's really you! Sure it's me, Chief.
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How are you, John?
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Welcome back. We missed you. Davis, you're all right. You're alive.
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Of course I'm alive, John. You're the one who's been sick, remember?
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Davis, how long have you been down there in the
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cyclotron housing?
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Two days.
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Special inspection tour. I'm glad it's over. Help me out
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of this suit, will you?
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The buckle's caught. Yes, of course. Of course, that explains it.
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Explains what? You were shielded when it happened. Hold tight
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now while I yank. There you are.
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Thanks.
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I can manage now.
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What do you mean that explains it?
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Explains what? I watched him unbuckle the anti-radiation suit. I
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felt I should say something. I tried to, but nothing
261
00:15:58.919 --> 00:16:03.169
would come. Finally, the suit was undone. Davis started to
262
00:16:03.190 --> 00:16:05.889
step out of the suit, and finally the words came
263
00:16:05.929 --> 00:16:06.830
past my lips.
264
00:16:06.970 --> 00:16:11.350
No, no, Davis! Get back! Get back in the suit!
265
00:16:14.490 --> 00:16:20.860
It was too late. Before my very eyes, Davis disappeared.
266
00:16:22.220 --> 00:16:43.019
And his anti-radiation suit crumpled to the floor. My legs
267
00:16:43.139 --> 00:16:46.259
buckled and I began to tremble all over. I knew
268
00:16:46.399 --> 00:16:49.240
my hours were numbered. No mind could stand up under
269
00:16:49.279 --> 00:16:52.570
repeated explosive shocks such as I had been through. I
270
00:16:52.629 --> 00:16:56.429
staggered to the first aid cabinet for a plasma capsule.
271
00:16:56.470 --> 00:16:58.370
As I tilted my head back to swallow the capsule,
272
00:16:58.389 --> 00:17:00.909
the building across the street caught my eye and my
273
00:17:01.350 --> 00:17:07.819
pulses leaped. Communications building. Communications, Visiphone, long-range tele-sonic broadcasting.
274
00:17:07.859 --> 00:17:08.299
This was it.
275
00:17:08.640 --> 00:17:11.640
My opportunity to establish contact with the outside world. I
276
00:17:11.680 --> 00:17:13.519
dropped the glass and bottle and capsule and rushed out.
277
00:17:18.259 --> 00:17:20.180
Two minutes later, I was in the main studio. I
278
00:17:20.220 --> 00:17:23.160
plugged in the lines. World ascending and receiving controls to
279
00:17:23.200 --> 00:17:27.220
maximum range. Focused the electronic visiscope camera and switched on
280
00:17:27.240 --> 00:17:33.640
the power. Nuclear City calling all stations. Nuclear City to
281
00:17:33.700 --> 00:17:36.500
all stations. Clear wires for disaster report.
282
00:17:36.900 --> 00:17:37.500
Emergency.
283
00:17:38.089 --> 00:17:43.190
Nuclear City calling all stations. Please acknowledge. I shifted the
284
00:17:43.250 --> 00:17:46.069
directional beam. Nuclear City calling St.
285
00:17:46.089 --> 00:17:46.210
Louis.
286
00:17:46.230 --> 00:17:46.529
St. Louis.
287
00:17:47.730 --> 00:17:50.029
Omaha. San Francisco.
288
00:17:50.049 --> 00:17:51.490
Guam.
289
00:17:52.369 --> 00:17:52.890
Tokyo.
290
00:17:53.880 --> 00:17:54.279
Come in, St.
291
00:17:54.299 --> 00:17:54.619
Louis.
292
00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:02.359
Guam. Tokyo. Come in. Nothing. Not the slightest sign that
293
00:18:02.380 --> 00:18:04.480
there was anyone anywhere who could hear the sound of
294
00:18:04.500 --> 00:18:07.789
my voice or see my image. I turned off the
295
00:18:07.809 --> 00:18:09.490
power and swung away.
296
00:18:09.509 --> 00:18:12.549
And a slight movement, a tiny flash of light caught
297
00:18:12.589 --> 00:18:12.970
my eye.
298
00:18:13.450 --> 00:18:14.430
The turntables.
299
00:18:14.900 --> 00:18:18.240
The turntables that recorded every program sent out were still going,
300
00:18:18.970 --> 00:18:22.869
turning round and round and round, wearing deep, meaningless grooves
301
00:18:22.910 --> 00:18:26.309
in the wax platter. I stepped over to the first table,
302
00:18:26.329 --> 00:18:28.089
moved the pickup arm to the start of the record,
303
00:18:28.109 --> 00:18:31.049
and switched on the playback control. In another moment, I
304
00:18:31.089 --> 00:18:33.420
would hear the last sounds that it issued from Nuclear
305
00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:37.339
City's communication center. Two days later, Rama and I reached
306
00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:39.079
the great spaceport of New Terra.
307
00:18:39.599 --> 00:18:41.700
We had spent a month in the steaming jungles of
308
00:18:41.740 --> 00:18:42.480
Venus and.
309
00:18:42.460 --> 00:18:43.299
Had learned many things.
310
00:18:43.910 --> 00:18:46.480
We have learned that the flora and fauna... Oh, shut up,
311
00:18:46.559 --> 00:18:50.420
shut up, shut up! I'll try the next table. Maybe
312
00:18:50.440 --> 00:18:51.200
I'll have better luck.
313
00:18:52.779 --> 00:18:55.019
And dispatchers pouring in from all parts of this sector
314
00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:57.460
have confirmed earlier reports that the disaster which has struck
315
00:18:57.480 --> 00:18:58.119
Nuclear City is.
316
00:18:59.339 --> 00:19:00.119
The disaster is due.
317
00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:02.319
That is, the condition.
318
00:19:02.039 --> 00:19:04.940
Is caused by a wave... A wave of.
319
00:19:07.369 --> 00:19:12.190
Once again, I heard it. Recorded for posterity. The quick,
320
00:19:12.309 --> 00:19:14.839
seething hiss. And the silence.
321
00:19:16.420 --> 00:19:19.400
I couldn't stand it any longer. I suddenly went berserk.
322
00:19:19.880 --> 00:19:21.500
I began smashing everything in sight.
323
00:19:21.539 --> 00:19:22.059
The records.
324
00:19:22.200 --> 00:19:24.700
Piles and piles of them. The machines. The tubes.
325
00:19:24.799 --> 00:19:25.779
Everything. Stop.
326
00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:28.200
Stop it. You'll hurt yourself.
327
00:19:28.220 --> 00:19:30.220
I hardly knew what I was doing. For hours and hours,
328
00:19:30.269 --> 00:19:32.269
an explosive force had been building up inside of me.
329
00:19:32.289 --> 00:19:33.369
And now it burst loose.
330
00:19:33.490 --> 00:19:40.170
And finally, finally, it spent itself. I calmed down. And
331
00:19:40.210 --> 00:19:40.809
heard her voice.
332
00:19:41.269 --> 00:19:41.809
That's better.
333
00:19:42.630 --> 00:19:43.369
Much better.
334
00:19:44.970 --> 00:19:48.500
My name is Walter. Well, turn around.
335
00:19:49.450 --> 00:19:55.619
Look at me. No. No, I'm afraid so. You'll vanish.
336
00:19:56.519 --> 00:19:57.420
Like the others.
337
00:19:57.480 --> 00:20:03.920
Nonsense. I haven't vanished yet. Turn around. You see?
338
00:20:05.319 --> 00:20:05.819
You....
339
00:20:07.640 --> 00:20:08.200
You're beautiful.
340
00:20:09.289 --> 00:20:14.599
Anyone would look beautiful to you now. Anyone alive and real.
341
00:20:15.460 --> 00:20:18.579
How did you escape it, Walter? Why are we here,
342
00:20:18.640 --> 00:20:19.579
we two alone?
343
00:20:19.680 --> 00:20:21.920
We must go. We can't remain here any longer.
344
00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:22.200
Go.
345
00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:24.950
Yes, yes, yes, you're right. We've got to get away
346
00:20:24.970 --> 00:20:26.910
from Nuclear City, away from this whole stricken area.
347
00:20:27.130 --> 00:20:27.589
But how?
348
00:20:27.910 --> 00:20:29.009
There is no transportation.
349
00:20:29.029 --> 00:20:30.390
Now, wait, wait. My plane.
350
00:20:30.750 --> 00:20:31.069
Plane?
351
00:20:31.210 --> 00:20:33.450
Yes, six months ago, before I went into the hospital,
352
00:20:33.549 --> 00:20:35.579
I put it up in a small hangar at the spaceport.
353
00:20:35.680 --> 00:20:39.150
Six months ago? It wouldn't be any good now. You
354
00:20:39.170 --> 00:20:40.670
couldn't possibly get it into the air.
355
00:20:40.710 --> 00:20:41.349
We can try.
356
00:20:41.369 --> 00:20:44.329
It's our only chance, Walter. Come on, there's no time
357
00:20:44.349 --> 00:20:54.960
to lose. Do you see anything, Walter?
358
00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:56.000
No, John.
359
00:20:56.559 --> 00:20:57.680
It's pitch dark out there.
360
00:20:58.039 --> 00:20:59.809
No beacon. No clusters of light.
361
00:20:59.869 --> 00:21:01.890
Keep trying the audio box. I'll see if I can
362
00:21:02.009 --> 00:21:03.069
pick up the landing beam.
363
00:21:04.009 --> 00:21:04.930
Calling Chicago.
364
00:21:05.730 --> 00:21:12.269
Calling Chicago. Landing instructions requested. I've got the beam. No. No,
365
00:21:12.289 --> 00:21:15.589
it's gone now. Probably a radar reflection. Move over quickly.
366
00:21:15.630 --> 00:21:24.720
Let me try that scanner. Chicago. The skyscrapers. The lakefront.
367
00:21:26.039 --> 00:21:30.019
The bullet parts. What's... What's happened to the lights? What's
368
00:21:30.039 --> 00:21:30.900
happened to the airport?
369
00:21:31.019 --> 00:21:32.059
It's no use, John.
370
00:21:32.359 --> 00:21:33.140
It's reached here, too.
371
00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:35.730
We might just as well have stayed in Nuclear City.
372
00:21:35.750 --> 00:21:37.589
No, no, no, no. We've got to go on. We've
373
00:21:37.609 --> 00:21:40.509
got to find someone. I won't believe. I can't believe
374
00:21:40.529 --> 00:21:41.529
there's no one left but us.
375
00:21:47.710 --> 00:21:51.859
Calling Detroit. Calling Detroit. This is John Rhodes of Nuclear City.
376
00:21:51.920 --> 00:21:56.200
John Rhodes calling Detroit. Channel 407. Respond.
377
00:21:56.339 --> 00:21:57.900
You're wasting your breath, John.
378
00:21:58.440 --> 00:21:58.960
Turn back.
379
00:21:58.980 --> 00:22:05.250
I'll never turn back. John Rhodes to Harb City. John
380
00:22:05.309 --> 00:22:06.650
Rhodes to Harb City.
381
00:22:06.750 --> 00:22:10.259
Come in, please. Come in, please. Can you hear me?
382
00:22:15.880 --> 00:22:17.000
Are you convinced now?
383
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:17.980
Sure, I'm convinced.
384
00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:20.160
I'm convinced the stricken area is larger than I thought,
385
00:22:20.180 --> 00:22:20.920
but I'm not quitting.
386
00:22:21.019 --> 00:22:21.579
Not quitting?
387
00:22:21.779 --> 00:22:22.200
What are you doing?
388
00:22:22.220 --> 00:22:24.380
Strap on your safety belt and switch on the oxygen control.
389
00:22:24.400 --> 00:22:25.869
I'm shifting into nuclear overdrive.
390
00:22:26.049 --> 00:22:26.670
Where are we going?
391
00:22:26.710 --> 00:22:28.950
The other side of the Earth. The spaceport at Rio.
392
00:22:29.490 --> 00:22:34.880
Steady now. In less than 40 minutes now.
393
00:22:35.200 --> 00:22:35.460
We'll be.
394
00:22:35.500 --> 00:22:39.240
What is it? What's wrong? I don't know. Something's happening.
395
00:22:40.400 --> 00:22:45.000
We're swerving. We're swinging around. Some tremendous magnetic force has
396
00:22:45.079 --> 00:22:48.660
caught us in its toe. Turn back, John. Turn back
397
00:22:48.680 --> 00:22:52.420
before the ship flies apart. I can't, Bolter. I can't
398
00:22:52.519 --> 00:22:55.220
do anything with a plane. She's out of control.
399
00:22:55.259 --> 00:22:58.910
I lay there....
400
00:23:12.430 --> 00:23:13.390
Looking at the clock.
401
00:23:15.230 --> 00:23:17.769
I couldn't bring it into sharp focus, but I knew
402
00:23:17.849 --> 00:23:21.670
that the number three was slightly chipped, and that when
403
00:23:21.710 --> 00:23:26.299
it chimed, there was distinct hesitation between the second and
404
00:23:26.400 --> 00:23:34.720
third notes. I knew these things because that clock was
405
00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:38.240
on the wall of the therapy pavilion on the 36th
406
00:23:38.700 --> 00:23:41.099
floor of the psychiatric hospital.
407
00:23:42.890 --> 00:23:48.329
Yes, I remember the clock. But how had I gotten here?
408
00:23:49.730 --> 00:23:52.589
What had happened to my plane? Where was Walter? Or
409
00:23:54.779 --> 00:23:55.900
was any of it real?
410
00:23:57.700 --> 00:24:01.759
Had I ever gone down the long corridor? Had I
411
00:24:01.900 --> 00:24:06.440
ever really left the hospital? Was the awful experience I
412
00:24:06.480 --> 00:24:09.509
had lived through anything more than a very vivid nightmare?
413
00:24:09.529 --> 00:24:16.460
And if I screamed now. Would a nurse come running?
414
00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:18.640
Help!
415
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:21.200
Help!
416
00:24:21.880 --> 00:24:23.380
Nurse!
417
00:24:26.730 --> 00:24:34.890
It's true, then. Everything really happened. I'm not dreaming. And Walter.
418
00:24:36.650 --> 00:24:42.309
What about Walter? I've lost her, too. There's no one
419
00:24:42.609 --> 00:24:47.470
left on earth but me. I'll never see another face
420
00:24:48.900 --> 00:24:49.980
or hear another voice.
421
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:56.759
I know that now. I will sit here in the
422
00:24:56.839 --> 00:25:07.890
silence and wait for the end. Footsteps. Footsteps.
423
00:25:10.750 --> 00:25:13.829
Good evening, Mr. Rhodes. I'm Dr. Brenner.
424
00:25:15.150 --> 00:25:16.589
Dr. Brenner.
425
00:25:17.450 --> 00:25:17.710
Do.
426
00:25:18.710 --> 00:25:19.549
Do I know you?
427
00:25:20.730 --> 00:25:21.619
No, Mr. Rhodes.
428
00:25:22.210 --> 00:25:26.720
Not yet. But you will. You will be in my
429
00:25:26.759 --> 00:25:29.819
charge from now on. You've been very ill and you're
430
00:25:29.839 --> 00:25:33.200
going on a little journey. Here, take this capsule.
431
00:25:33.740 --> 00:25:37.299
But I... Take it, Mr. Rhodes. The trip you're about
432
00:25:37.339 --> 00:25:43.289
to make is long and difficult... There, that's it. I'll
433
00:25:43.309 --> 00:25:44.390
look in again presently.
434
00:25:50.450 --> 00:25:51.089
Dr. Drennis.
435
00:25:51.309 --> 00:25:55.309
He took it, Voltaire. Yes, I believe we chose wisely.
436
00:25:55.910 --> 00:25:59.339
John Rhodes is the greatest nuclear physicist on Earth. He
437
00:25:59.359 --> 00:26:01.759
will be of inestimable value to us and our people.
438
00:26:02.160 --> 00:26:04.740
I think our work here is about finished, Doctor. The
439
00:26:04.779 --> 00:26:08.339
final reports have just come in. The molecular diffusion cloud
440
00:26:08.380 --> 00:26:09.000
worked perfectly.
441
00:26:09.019 --> 00:26:09.920
And according to plan.
442
00:26:10.970 --> 00:26:13.230
Those who were not directly affected by the cloud itself
443
00:26:13.269 --> 00:26:15.329
were disintegrated by contact with their fellow men.
444
00:26:16.130 --> 00:26:19.529
Some died immediately. Some seemed to have a temporary immunity.
445
00:26:19.750 --> 00:26:22.049
Like that woman, Nina, who called to Rhodes from the window.
446
00:26:22.950 --> 00:26:23.470
Poor man.
447
00:26:24.470 --> 00:26:27.569
Even though we protected him from the disintegration mist, he
448
00:26:27.609 --> 00:26:29.630
apparently was still capable of killing others.
449
00:26:29.829 --> 00:26:32.519
But now the chain reaction is complete. There's not a
450
00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:35.460
living human being left on Earth, except Rhodes.
451
00:26:35.960 --> 00:26:39.240
Perhaps it was wrong, Dr. Drannith, to destroy these humans.
452
00:26:39.319 --> 00:26:39.539
Wrong.
453
00:26:40.279 --> 00:26:42.000
They were different from what I had expected.
454
00:26:43.079 --> 00:26:45.859
As I guarded John Rhodes, I found him kind and
455
00:26:45.920 --> 00:26:49.900
intelligent and courageous. Now I'm beginning to think the whole
456
00:26:49.960 --> 00:26:51.279
experiment was cruel.
457
00:26:51.940 --> 00:26:55.390
Cruel? I do not understand you, Volta.
458
00:26:55.869 --> 00:26:57.910
You're familiar with the history of the planet Earth from
459
00:26:57.930 --> 00:27:00.930
the very first pages of recorded time. These Earth men
460
00:27:00.970 --> 00:27:03.750
have bent every effort to kill each other off, to
461
00:27:03.789 --> 00:27:05.910
create new and more efficient weapons of death.
462
00:27:06.769 --> 00:27:10.390
We merely fulfilled their destinies. but we did it mercifully.
463
00:27:10.410 --> 00:27:13.549
The new inhabitants we bring here will be kind, as
464
00:27:13.609 --> 00:27:13.970
we are.
465
00:27:14.490 --> 00:27:15.490
I suppose you're right.
466
00:27:17.190 --> 00:27:19.690
Well, here are my notes on the six hours I
467
00:27:19.750 --> 00:27:24.430
spent observing John Rhodes' psychological reactions. You will find them
468
00:27:24.529 --> 00:27:28.509
very illuminating. And now, what do we do with him,
469
00:27:29.250 --> 00:27:31.589
this last human being left on Earth?
470
00:27:31.609 --> 00:27:33.289
What we planned from the beginning, Volta.
471
00:27:34.269 --> 00:27:37.349
You may notify our spaceship anchored beyond the magnetic field
472
00:27:37.390 --> 00:27:38.509
to send a tender for us.
473
00:27:39.140 --> 00:27:39.880
Yes, Dr.
474
00:27:39.920 --> 00:27:40.079
Drenner.
475
00:27:40.200 --> 00:27:43.039
We and our specially selected Earth specimen are ready for
476
00:27:43.059 --> 00:27:44.039
the long journey home.
477
00:27:45.319 --> 00:27:46.240
Home to Mars.
478
00:27:46.240 --> 00:28:08.869
2000 Plus is produced by Dreyer and Winn-Olson Productions, Incorporated.
479
00:28:09.529 --> 00:28:12.819
In tonight's cast, Ralph Bell played John Rhodes, Joan Shea
480
00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:16.200
was Volta, Nat Poland was Dr. Dranath, and Carl Eastman
481
00:28:16.220 --> 00:28:26.710
was Davis. The script was written by Judith and David Bubling.
482
00:28:28.670 --> 00:28:31.910
The orchestra was conducted by Emerson Buckley. Music composed by
483
00:28:31.990 --> 00:28:36.619
Elliot Jacoby. Sound, Walt Shaver and Adrian Penner. Engineer, Bob Albrecht.
484
00:28:37.759 --> 00:28:38.480
THE END.
485
00:28:59.609 --> 00:29:00.349
Thank you.
486
00:29:28.539 --> 00:29:42.880
THE END © BF-WATCH TV 2021.
487
00:29:59.619 --> 00:30:03.220
Adventures into the world of tomorrow. Tune in again next
488
00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:05.579
week at this same time for another thrilling story.
489
00:30:06.660 --> 00:30:09.400
This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.
490
00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:12.400
¶ ¶.
491
00:30:37.009 --> 00:31:36.349
THE END That was 2000 Plus Alone. Good night, and
492
00:31:36.390 --> 00:31:40.779
thank you for joining this radio theater presentation. Follow old-time
493
00:31:40.819 --> 00:31:44.880
sci-fi radio for more classic science fiction broadcasts.
