And now, another tale well calculated to keep you in...
...suspense.
A report from a dead planet, written for suspense by George Bamber.
Oh, Dr. Siddons, what are you doing here?
Oh, I might well ask you the same thing.
Well, I couldn't sleep. I'd close my eyes and then I'd think...
...Jeffrey's old man? Tomorrow you make history.
One of the first men to set foot on an inhabitable planet.
And then the next thing I'd know, my eyes would pop open...
...and I'd be staring up in the darkness.
So you came up here to have another look at it, huh?
How did you know?
I'm afraid Buck Fever isn't restricted to the young.
Oh, gosh. It's beautiful, isn't it?
Yes, yes it is.
Just look at it. Oh, it hangs out there in space.
Motionless, like a huge ball or a giant pearl.
Kind of luminescent gray.
It's rich against the blackness of space, the light of the stars.
Red, green, against yellow, black.
Look here on the radar.
The land masses show up quite clearly now through the cloud layer.
What? But, doctor, it's almost water.
More than three quarters of X-37J's surface is covered with water.
Well, do you think the land will be firm enough to set down on?
As dry as the land at home.
Attention! At ease.
Dr. Siddons, I was just going to send for you.
What's up?
I don't know. I just got a report from the Khan...
...that the Van Allen belt for this planet is about 50 times more intense...
...than they anticipated.
Oh, here, let's see.
Yes, I see. Radiation's about 50 times above normal.
Is ship okay?
Oh, yes. Our hull is designed to withstand 100 times that.
What do you make of it?
Well, I don't know. It's not normal for this large a concentration of radiation...
...to be in the magnetic field around the planet.
You mean somebody would have had to put it there?
Oh, well, I didn't say that.
Well, it is possible that it was put there to act as a barrier to incoming rocket ships, right?
Yes, it is possible.
Well, then that means there's life here.
No, no, not necessarily.
Of course, we know this planet is capable of supporting life.
That's why we're going to explore it.
But to jump to the conclusion that it is an intelligent life...
...and hostile to our exploration is not only unscientific...
...it's completely unfounded at this point.
But maybe that the intense presence of radiation in the Van Allen belt of this planet...
...might be due to natural causes, ones we hadn't anticipated.
But whether there are people down there, such as ourselves...
...is something we can't possibly say until we've landed.
Well, I'm going to sensitize the ship's defense system...
...and post orders for the landing party to carry their weapons.
Yes, it's a wise precaution.
Now, in the meantime, it's five hours till touchdown.
I suggest you gentlemen get some sleep while you can.
I have a feeling you're going to need it once we land.
150,000 feet from touchdown.
Rate of fall, 0-6-6-0.
Well, so far, so good.
145 from touchdown.
Rate of fall, 0-6-6-0.
If they had any anti-rocket devices, they would have sent them up by now.
We're well into their atmosphere.
Yes, unless...
...unless they're planning some kind of trap...
...letting us land so they can capture us intact once we're on the ground.
If there's anybody down there.
We've been monitoring the radio frequency since last night...
...and there hasn't been a sound.
Whatever life is down there, I'm sure we'll be able to handle.
110,000 feet from touchdown.
Rate of fall...
I see you're keeping to the edge of the landmass.
Yes, I want you to be able to get your ocean samples without a lot of traveling.
May I suggest you set down where that large river empties into the sea?
That way I can take fresh water samples as well.
You see there, on that peninsula?
You think that's big enough?
I make it to be about two miles wide. Plenty of room for us.
Jenkins, what's the spectrographic reading for that peninsula?
Solid mineral, granite-like composition.
It should support us.
Well, it's not a peninsula, sir. It's an island.
You see here how the river cuts around it at the north end...
...cutting it off from the main body of land?
Yes. Well, that makes it all the better.
It's small enough, surrounded by water on four sides.
Makes it easier to defend if there are hostile people down there.
100,000 feet from touchdown.
Rate of fall...
0-7-9-0.
Collins, set a course for that island.
Aye, aye, sir.
Dr. Siddons.
Yes?
There's something funny about that island.
Look, here on the spectrograph.
Well, what is it?
Well, look how the whole thing shows up gray. Solid rock.
Except for this patch of green, the only spot on the whole island.
There's nothing unusual about that.
Merely indicates vegetation covering the minerals.
Grass or trees.
Yes, but why this one spot? And why so perfectly oblong?
Look, the sides of it are laid out square as a parade ground.
Yeah, he's right, you know, doctor.
Nature couldn't lay out anything as geometric as that.
It has to be manmade.
You don't suppose it's some sort of sacred ground...
...a place for a religious ceremony?
No, lieutenant, let's not let superstition run away with our better judgments.
But look, Dr. Siddons...
...the whole island's cross-hatched into squares...
...and that green patch is only the only unmarked place on it.
I don't know, sir, maybe it isn't the best place to land.
The island has been definitely marked up by an intelligence of some sort.
80,000 feet from touchdown, rate of fall...
Oh, we're too far down to blast up again. I can't waste the fuel.
Captain.
Yes?
The altimeter is giving me a hodgepodge of readings for that island.
The only level place on it is that green patch of ground.
Maybe we should try to land on either side of the river on the mainland.
Well, that's cross-hatched just as bad as the island is.
Now, whatever that patch of ground is, sacred ground or what...
...we're going to be in the middle of it.
Set your sights for the south end of that green, Collins.
Man your battle stations, men. We're taking her in.
Well, gentlemen, we made it.
The New World.
Keep your eyes open.
See any movement?
No, sir.
Phew.
Looks like we've landed in the middle of a huge graveyard.
What are they, Dr. Siddons? Monuments?
No, no, no. They're too big for that.
No, I imagine they're dwelling places of some sort.
See all those little squares they cut in them? They must be windows.
Well, then there's no question that there are creatures on this planet.
No.
Well, then where is everybody?
Yes, that's a very good question.
Well, I would say that they were scared away by the roar and blast of our landing rockets.
And I would say that they evacuated this place when they saw us coming...
...and that they're waiting for us to get on the ground where they can attack us.
Well, what are we going to do?
The only thing we can do.
It's obvious they aren't coming to us. We go to them.
Let's suit up. Be ready to leave the ship by 0800.
And every man carry his assigned weapon.
We're on the deck now, Collins.
We're spread out in a defensive perimeter.
You are in complete charge of the ship.
Aye, aye, sir.
Now, no one is allowed to re-enter the ship without the proper password...
...no matter what the circumstances.
And if for any reason you think things have gone wrong...
...you are to blast off and make your report to home.
Do you understand that?
Aye, aye, sir.
Very good.
Have you made your readings, Doctor?
Yes, sir. It's just as we predicted from home.
Though the ground radiation level is a little bit higher than we anticipated.
Here, you can see for yourself.
Is that dangerous?
Oh, it's more than safe for us.
There's no reason why we can't get out of these suits and walk around...
...the same as at home.
Unless there's the presence of a gas we don't know about.
Yes, that's true.
I need to volunteer.
Oh, Captain, I would like to volunteer.
No, not you, Dr. Siddons. You're too valuable to the expedition.
I can't let you do that.
Well, there's no danger.
Set yourself in the mine.
Please, Captain.
You were the first person to set foot on this new world.
I'd like to be the first to breathe its air.
Well, all right, Doctor.
But be careful.
Come on in, boys. The water's fine.
Hey, you hear that, Collins?
We got it made.
All right, all right, all right. Knock it off.
This is a military reconnaissance, not a picnic.
Well, there's life on this planet.
But until we make contact with it, it's the enemy.
Lieutenant Jefferies.
Yes, sir.
You will take the doctor and two men...
...and reconnoitre to the east as far as the river.
I'll go as far as the west river.
And when you get through, double back here.
Yes, sir.
See anything, Doc?
No.
We've been lying here so long...
...staring at the window so long.
I feel like there's a million pair of eyes staring back at us.
What do you suppose they look like?
I don't know.
I haven't any idea.
It's weird.
Hunting for creatures and you don't know what they look like.
Yes.
Well...
...I guess we could lay here forever...
...but it wouldn't do any good.
We're going to find them.
We're going to have to get them.
Such crude dwellings.
They must have lived absolutely one on top of the other.
Any volunteers to go with me?
I'll go with you.
All right.
Now, the rest of you stay here.
Keep us covered.
If anything happens...
...don't be afraid to shoot into us.
Doc...
...when I give the word...
...we'll run across the street.
And don't stop until we come to that wall.
First building, you got it?
Yes, right.
Well...
...so far so good?
Yes.
Just above your head.
There's one of their windows.
But it's filled with plastic.
I'll see if I can break it.
No, you can't shatter plastic.
What?
There's nothing but glass.
Old-fashioned glass.
Hello in there.
Anybody home?
Move along the wall.
Maybe up ahead, I think.
It's unlocked.
Push it open with your weapon.
Carefully.
Hello in there.
Anybody home?
Move in cautiously.
And keep your eyes open.
Hey, there's one.
Stop, stop!
That's an effigy of some sort.
See, it isn't living.
It's a statue of some kind.
See?
It's made out of some sort of alloy.
Are you sure?
Yes.
You suppose that's what they look like?
I imagine so.
Animals aren't given to making statues of themselves.
Such ugly-looking creatures.
You suppose that's its head?
Yes.
And you see, these must be the arms,
and these are clearly the legs.
Well, look how close together the eyes are placed.
And the spindly legs.
I hope we don't run into one.
I don't think we will.
What do you mean?
Not in this city, at least.
Here, look at the gray dust on the floor.
It's almost two inches thick.
I noticed the same thing in the street.
Now, if there are any of these monstrosities left,
they aren't here.
This city hasn't been used for a long, long time.
Maybe a thousand years.
Lieutenant Jefferies reporting, sir.
All right, go ahead, lieutenant.
We've completed the thousand mile inland reconnaissance
as your instructions, sir.
And you found?
Nothing.
No life of any sort.
Not a thing?
Just miles and miles of twisted, stunted vegetation
and a couple more of those huge radioactive burns,
such as we found 100 miles south and west of here.
Collins, your receivers picked up anything yet?
No, sir.
We've been monitoring all frequencies every day
since we've been here.
Not a sound.
Nothing but random radio interference from outer space.
What about the television satellites we sent up?
They've covered the surface of this planet a hundred times, sir.
Not a sign of movement anywhere.
Well, Dr. Siddons, what do you make of it?
Well, it would be unethical for me to venture an opinion at this time.
Oh, come now, doctor, come now.
You must have some idea.
For the past 10 days, you've been doing nothing
but nosing around these old ruins.
You must have drawn some conclusions.
Well, now, this is only my opinion, mind you.
We won't know until all the facts are in.
But as we know, this planet was at one time inhabited
by living creatures much like ourselves,
no matter how repulsive they may appear to us.
They were biped, carnivores,
and possessed a certain amount of intelligence.
Well, what happened to them?
Well, in order to understand what happened to them,
you have to understand the people themselves.
Now, as I've said, they were very primitive and very superstitious.
True, they had advanced from the Stone Age
to the threshold of nuclear energy,
but culturally and morally,
they hadn't gotten much beyond the Iron Age.
So, then they discovered the tremendous power of nuclear energy, hmm?
Yes, exactly.
The very first use they made of it was to blow a couple million
of their fellow creatures off the face of the planet.
Tsk, what savages.
But they didn't destroy everything.
The city's still standing.
Well, as far as I can figure out,
it didn't hold any military targets.
Then what happened to the people in it?
They were killed off by radiation.
It's still radioactive.
Why didn't the radiation kill us off?
Well, because for one thing,
it's cooled off considerably since then.
And for another thing, we're used to it.
They never had a chance.
Hmm.
Well, that's it.
We have enough to make a report when we get back.
Blast off at 1800 hours tonight.
Get everything tied down and ready.
That's all, gentlemen.
You were able to crack their language, doctor?
No, I wasn't able to. My computers were.
Fortunately, it was a relatively simple task.
Doctor.
Hmm?
What did they call this place?
You mean the planet, the civilization?
No, no. No, I mean this island, this city,
or whatever it was.
Oh, well, of course it was a proper name,
so it's meaningless to us.
But I can reproduce the sounds as they made them.
They called this place New York.
Suspense.
You've been listening to Report from a Dead Planet,
written for suspense by George Bamber.
Heard in tonight's story were Bill Mason as Lieutenant Jefferies,
Les Damon as Dr. Siddons,
John Larkin as the captain,
and Phil Meader as Collins.
Listen again next week when we return with Memorial Bridge
by William N. Robeson,
another tale well calculated to keep you in...
Suspense.
The Kingston trio next, followed by the latest CBS News
and Have Gun Will Travel on CBS Radio.