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Day of The Triffids 68-07-04 03 Conference And Confusion
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Day of The Triffids 68-07-04 03 Conference And Confusion
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Styles Mackenzie
We interrupt this program to bring you an important Wayfair message. Wayfair's got style tips for every home. This is Styles Mackenzie helping you make those rooms sing. Today's style tip when it comes to making a statement, treat bold patterns like neutrals. Go wild like an untamed animal. Print area rug under a rustic farmhouse table. From wayfair.com fierce this has been your Wayfair style tip to keep those interiors superior. Wayfair Every style, Every home. From London, we present the Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham's famous science fiction story, dramatized by Giles Cooper. Is anyone there? Help me. Help me. Help me. The Day of The Triffids Episode 3 Conference and confusion I lay awake for a long time on that first night after the disaster, listening to the nightmare confusion shouts of the blind in the street below and wondering if the searchlight we'd seen far away on a tall building was really a signal to get the sighted people together. When I did go to sleep, I slept heavily and late. I woke up to find the sun shining. Gisela was making coffee. Hello, Bill. Ready for breakfast? I'll shave first. Feel a bit scruffy. Oh. Shall I heat some water? It's all right. I manage with cold. What about the light we saw? I looked before you woke up. The scratch you made on the window ledge points towards the University Tower. Does it? Mm. We better go straight there as soon as we've eaten. It's quite different from yesterday. Yeah. Fewer people about. Then they were clinging to the house fronts. Now they're creeping along the gutters. I suppose it's easier going by the curb. This is the turning we want. Just a minute. I think there's something happening at the gates. Quite a crowd. Shall we investigate or clear out? Investigate all right, but don't let's get involved. If we go through those houses and into one of the gardens, we could get quite close to the gates without being seen. If there's anyone there who can see. Come on. Shut yourself up in there. Who do you think you are? You needn't think I can't see you, that I'm one of these helpless wretches. I can see you all right. What's happening? There's a sort of agitator trying to get in. Do you think these people haven't got the same right to live as you? They have, you know. It's not their fault they're blind, is it? It's nobody's fault. But it's gonna be your fault if they Starve, and you know it. I've been shown the way to get food, but there's only one of me and there's thousands of them. You could show them, but you won't. What you're thinking of is looking after your own lousy skin. And how long do you think the supplies will last? How the blazing will, I know. What I do know is that if all the people who still got their eyes don't muck in and help, there aren't gonna be many left alive by the time they come to clear this mess up. Nobody's gonna come. Oh, that's it, is it? You're scared. Frightened that if you give them food, there won't be enough for you. They're lovely people, aren't they? But if you won't come out to us, we'll come into you. Gotcha. Let go. There's his arm. Now hold him while I get the cake open. Let me soon have you lots sorted out. Johnson, Edwards. Get him clear. Don't shoot. Get down. Get down, everyone. My God, they're shooting at them. No, they're firing off their heads. Sure? Yes. No one's hurt. Even to frighten them like that. Well, they had to do something. That man, the one who spoke was right. He was wrong. There's no they to come and clear up this mess. It won't be cleared up except by us. We just can't afford to spend our time pillaging food stocks for other people. But it seems so callous. Oh, yes. I don't like it any more than you do. But we've got to make up our minds. Do we help those who've survived the catastrophe to rebuild some sort of life? Or do we make a moral gesture? No, we must go on. Come on. Let's cross the road. Are the men with guns still there? Yes. Can you manage? No. Give me a hand. Can we come in? How many of you? Just the two. We saw your signal last night. Okay, come on. We saw what happened just now. These were the orders not to let them in. Well, you'd better report to the colonel. Just inside on the right doormarked. Reception. Highly organized. And a bit frightening. Here we are. Ah, new arrivals. March straight in. Glad to have you with us. I'll just take a few particulars. Your name, Sir? Mason. Initials, W.J. address? 22, Adelaide Crescent, Worthing, if it makes any difference. Well, we've got to keep the record straight. I'm hoping to get a form run off as soon as we collect someone who can run a duplicator age? 29. Occupation? Triffid grower. Not much call for that now, I'm afraid. And you? Platon, JV42, Dean Road, NWA. Age? 22. No particular occupation. Independent? Very. Miss, I presume? Yes. Yes. Well, the nasty business this, but there's plenty to be done. Mr. Beadley. Hello. Two new arrivals. Mr. Mason and Ms. Peyton. How do you do? How do you do? Come across to my office. I'll see you later. Don't you want references in triplicate? Thinking of the Colonel? That's right. Yes, he is a bit of a civil servant, so he's right in the way. We better get ourselves organized. Here we are. I do sit down. Thank you. What's the position at the moment? Up to the present. There are about 35 of us. We hope some more will come in during the day. Have they all got their sight? 28 of them. The others are relatives or children. At the moment. The general idea is that we move away from here sometime tomorrow and go down into the country. We were going this afternoon. Oh. What sort of transport have you got? It's a station wagon. We haven't stocked it up yet. All we've got is a lot of anti triffid gear. Well, that's a funny thing to make your first essential. Not really. I think you're gonna be a good deal of trouble. Surely there aren't enough to cause a lot of bother. Oh, there are plenty in the nurseries. Yes, but they're all fenced in. Still. Bring the gear. By all means, if you think it'll come in handy. You. You do want to come with us, by the way? Well, what do you think, Gisela? Yes, we need company. Then here's what I suggest. Bring in your car, dump your stuff and then drive off and swap it for a good sized lorry. Now, do either of you know anything about doctoring? Not a thing. Who know me well, otherwise I'd have sent you off on a medical scrounge. You'd better go after the stuff on this list. Yeah. Pots, pans, blankets and food. Yes, and concentrate on bulk. Cans and packets are your best line. Do as much as you can before dark. There'll be a general meeting and discussion here about 9:30 this evening. Right. Have you got a gun? No. You better have, just in case. And you, Ms. Blayton? Yeah. I feel like a gangster. Better than what you'll become if some of the citizens in this town get hold of you. See you this evening then. Good scrounging. Okay. Over here. Bill Mason isn't it? Yes. Which list were you working from? Pots, pans, blankets and food. Oh, here's Josella. Whoa. Leave her there. Right. Have you made out, Bill? We got all the stuff on the list and a bit more besides. Ah, splendid. I made a plan of where it's all packed in case you want anything special. I wish they'd order that. Is this triffid gear you put here? Yes. It wasn't on the list. No, but I thought it might come in useful. Ah, yes, of course, but. Well, haven't you got enough already? It doesn't take up much room. Well, still. Oh, well, leave it for the moment. Well, I dare say you could do with a cup of tea. Certainly could. There's a canteen operating in the hall. Thanks. All right, next one in. Come along. See? Another sack of flour as long as I live. Yeah, we got completely lost. There are far more people than there were this morning. Excuse me, Mr. Mason. Quite still, please. I want a picture of you. What? Don't tell me you're the press. More or less. I'm the official record. Elspeth Care is the name for the post. Sounds like the colonel's idea. It is. Are you really Gisela Clayton? Yes, and I wrote the book. And none of it's true. Somebody said you were worried about triffids, Mr. Mason. Yes. Yes, I am. I think they're troublesome enough to be taken seriously when they get out of hand. Well, yes, but surely that couldn't happen in England. Oh, all sorts of things can happen in England now. Oh, there's Ivan. He may be able to tell us something. He's been cruising around in a helicopter all afternoon. Ivan. Ivan. Hi. Hello, Bill Mason. How'd you do? Gisela Clayton, this is Ivan Simpson. Hello, intrepid birdman. Did you see any triffids wandering around outside London? Triffids? No, I don't think so. Well, not that you'd notice them much from the air. And besides, I was too busy following roads to take in much else. What are they like? Oh, not too bad. Most of the drivers seem to have had time to pull up. And course, it wasn't a busy time of day. I went as far as reading and they seemed pretty clear. Did you see many people? No, hardly a soul. They stay at home. Will you write me up a description of the trip? Well, if you like, yes. What's that? Everybody in the lecture for a contract? Everybody, please. That means that. I wonder if this is all pretty organized school, ladies and gentlemen, and it's probably the last time that I shall use that phrase. The committee has appointed me as its chairman and I'm now going to introduce them to you. But first of all, I want to say this. The world we knew has ended in a flash. Some of us may be feeling that it's the end of everything. It's not. Unless we allow it to be. We can begin to build again. We must start now. You've got the right idea. Colonel Jakes is now going to give you some administrative details. Quiet, please. Quiet. Now, as you know, it is our intention, for reasons of health, to get away from built up areas as soon as possible. We hope to move off at 1200 hours tomorrow. We have now accumulated stocks which we hope will allow us to live in isolation for about a year. Step into the world of power, loyalty and luck. I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse. With family, cannolis and spins mean everything. Now you want to get mixed up in the family business. Introducing the godfather@champacasino.com test your luck in the shadowy world of the Godfather slots. Someday I will call upon you to do a service for me. Play the Godfather now@Champacasino.com Welcome to the family. No purchase necessary. VGW Group void. We're prohibited by law. 21 + terms and conditions apply. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com Arts. Just go to Indeed.com Arts right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. It may prove possible to supplement them from nearby towns in a few months, but that depends entirely on the decision of our medical staff. All right, any questions? Where are we going? All members will be informed of our destination later. He nearly said all ranks. Thank you, Colonel. Well now, as you know, one of our main wires today has been that we've not come across anyone with medical knowledge. And it's with great relief, therefore, that I welcome Ms. Burr, who is not actually a doctor, but who does hold high nursing qualifications. Ms. Burr, I'd be grateful if you say a few words. Would you? Yes, please. I can only say that I'll do everything I possibly can. We must expect a certain amount of infection to be about in the next few days. And you can help us to avoid it by reporting at once if you feel ill by eating nothing that has been exposed to the air and drinking nothing unless it's been boiled or comes out of a bottle. Quiet. Quiet, please. Quiet. After the meeting, will everyone please line up to be inoculated against typhoid, paratyphoid and cholera. Thank you, Ms. Bur. That's right. Thank you very much. Now, our last speaker is going to talk on a slightly different subject. Here is Dr. Vorlis, who is professor of sociology at the university. My friends, the world we knew is gone. Finished. Our needs are now different. Therefore our standards must be different. For instance, you have all spent the day indulging with clear consciences in what two days ago would have been housebreaking and theft. You. You have already. You have already lost one prejudice. And I suggest to you that you must lose others. Now, it will not be easy, but unless we can form our own rules of conduct, we shall cease to exist. Therefore, there is one thing to be made quite clear to you before you decide to join our community. The men must work. The women must have babies. We can afford to support a limited number of women who cannot see because they will have babies who can see. We cannot afford to support men who cannot see. In our new world, babies become very much more important than husbands. What are you grinning at? People's expressions. Michael Beadley looks a bit anxious. He should worry. If Brigham Young could bring it off in the middle of the 19th century, this ought to be a bush over. I think so. As someone who doesn't agree with you. Look. Is advocating free love, I think the questioner must be aware that I never mention love free bought or bartered. Will she? Please make the question clearer. I am asking if you suggest the abolition of the marriage law. The laws we knew have been abolished by circumstances. There is still the law of decency. A Mohammedan preserves rigid respectability with three wives. And so did Solomon with 300. These are matters of local custom. For our own survival. We must develop our own customs in these matters. And those who come with us must adhere to them. And if we refuse? Those who do not wish to are perfectly free to start other communities on such lines as they think fit. You're not grinning now? Well, there's a lot to take in Come on, Joe, let's get these jabs and then find somewhere quiet. I want to talk to you. All right. It's nice to be alone again. Someone's found an old gramophone. Listen. Shall we sit this one out? Oh, it's a lovely night. Is your arm still sore? No. Well, she's quite good, that girl. By the time she got to me, the needle was blunt. When we girls were so busy arguing, we wouldn't have noticed that. I wonder how many will decide to go. Nearly all of them when they've thought about it. Think so? Most women want babies. Do they? Provided they've got some form of security. Hmm. Might have been all right for Solomon, but it's having to share a husband that worries them. After all, there are limits. Are there? Oh, Bill, don't tell me you're going to cling to the old order. No, but it's difficult. What is? I love you. I was going to ask you to marry me, but there's not much point in it now, Bill, is there? I don't know. But I'll accept you all the same. What? Did you really think I wouldn't? I didn't know. Of course, it isn't quite as straightforward as it seems. How do you mean? If I were the committee, I'd make a rule that every man who marries a sighted girl must take two blind girls as well. What? Oh, that's about how the numbers work out. You don't mean that. I do so, do they. Didn't you think it was implied in that speech? Well, it may have been, but I don't see that they can hold anyone to that. I mean, it's completely unnatural. No, it isn't. Listen, Bill, this isn't easy for me either, but we owe a sort of debt for being alive and able to see. One of the ways of paying it is to help these girls to have as full a life as they can. Well, that's a weird way of looking at it, but it's right. I know it is. Okay, if that's the way you think it ought to be. Don't worry. I shall pick two nice, sensible girls for you. Will you? Yes, I will. Good. Shall we dance? Yes. In the hospital. After. In the hospital, we need nurses look after us. Couldn't look after ourselves all the same. Who's smoking there? Fire. Quick. Come on. Downstairs, everyone. And how about the blind? Right. They're on the ground floor. Quick as you can, but mind the spares. All right, Bill. Going down now. Where's your. She's. She's. Down. Hurry up now. The smoke's thickening. Here comes another. Who's that? He's out now. Get him away. Kill. Here's another wakey Wyoming. Rise and shine. That's right. I thought I could hear you. My head. You had an accident, mate. That's what you had. My hands. The hell just tied them up. Take it easy, take it easy. Look, tell me where I am. Why am I tied up? Ah, well, you see. You know there was a bit of a shindig up at the university yesterday morning. Yes, I saw that. Well, after we'd scarpered, that bloke Coker that was doing all the talking like, got real nasty. He said you'd have to take what was coming to you. What? Well, we met up with a couple of other fellas they. They could see and they fixed it all up between them. Fixed what? The fire. He is a land at Coke Ris. You can't help laughing. You mean the fire was faked? Well, of course it was. They rigged up a trip wire, see. Lit a lot of paper and stuff in the hall and started in ding donging the bell. Well, as soon as you come downstairs, over you went. Bang. Went Coker with a cosh. And we put you on the lorry. It was dead easy. Where are we? Oh, we're in an hotel. The talisman. It's a posh one too. It's got a palm tree in it all. I know that because I walked into it. You can't help laughing, can you? I can. Oh, you don't want to take it like that. How many of us did you get? A couple of dozen, but six of them was blind. And what are you going to do with us, eh? Get organized, I suppose. Oh, hello. Is this Coca? Yes, it's Coca. Good morning, Captain. All correct. Come on in, Mac. Now stand there. What's your name? Mason. All right, Mason, now let's have your hands. And don't try anything when they're untied. What the hell do you think you're doing? I'll tell you in a minute. If you won't help other people, you've got to be made too, Mac. Hollow handcuffs. Shut up. That'll give you a bit more freedom. A bit all you'll need. Let's have the chain, Matt. Here, I'll put the strap with my leg. Good. Now get. Get just this side of him. That's it. Now the chain through his eyes. Like that. Hold still, Al. Yes. Come on. On this side. And the strap around your wrist. There. That's Like a sort of shotgun wedding, isn't it? Now, Mason, I want you to look at this street plan. You're going to take these two and 50 others, and you're going to go by truck to your area. Once there, you will find them accommodation and lead them to supplies. There'll be others working to right and left of you, so stay in your boundaries. How am I supposed to help anyone tied up like this? You'll manage. Now, look, here's your area made a vale to Fitzjohn's Avenue. It's no farther in than Swiss Cottage, but you can go as far out as you like. Oh, and I shouldn't let them get hungry if I were you. Some of them are tough. Some of them have knives, mister, like me. I'll be out to check up on where you are. But otherwise you'll be on your own till someone turns up to straighten out all this mess. If they come. They'll come. You'll probably get a medal for your noble work. Yeah, all right. One thing. Yes? Did you get a girl called Gisela Platon in your raid? I think so. Where have you sent her? Westminster. That lot won't find much grub, will they? Not in the Houses of Parliament, will they? Well, don't try wandering off the find her. He'll know. I believe you. Lead them down the street. There's trucks waiting. And the best of luck there. So, six steps. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Right, now we better go in first and have a look round on our own. Wait where you are, the lot of you. Wait. Wait there, all of you. One more step into the hall. Hotel, is it? Yeah. Ah. Any palm trees? No, it's a step down from that. Oh. Seems empty. Well, what's the drill, then? Bring them in four at a time, hands on shoulders, and then find them somewhere to sleep the first four years. Come on, come on. The first four, six steps, remember? Yeah. One. One, two, three, four, five. One, two, three. And turn. It's funny. I never thought what it'd be like kipping down all strung together. There's a lot of things you never thought of. Oh, shut up. No, no, no, no, he's right, mate. It's gonna be difficult. Ah. And it'll be more difficult if your man here shoves off and leaves us in our toad. Ow. I never said I'd do that. I bet you would if you could. And I don't blame you, mate, either. But I'll carve you if you try. I'm not much use to your dad. Oh, you'll not be dead, mate. Just carved. Oh, look, come on, let's change the subject, eh? Erm, what are we gonna do tomorrow? Forage for food. Ah. And the next day? Eat it. And then we can sit back cozy feel, laughing at our bit. So we run out. Oh, something will turn up, don't you worry. Is anyone there? Suzanne? Sounds like the little kid they call Lucy. What do you want, darling? The man who can see I'm here. Can you come up, please? There's something wrong. What is it? Some of the people are ill. They're very hot and they've got dreadful pains. I think they've got something bad. Yes, all right, I'll come. Oh, something'll turn up. Don't you worry, Mac. It has. That was the third episode of Giles Cooper's dramatization of the Day of the Triffids by John Wyndham. Listen to the next episode of John Powell's production of the Day of the Triffids. Dead end. Hello, it is Ryan. And we could all use an extra bright spot in our day, couldn't we? Just to make up for things like sitting in traffic, doing the dishes, counting your steps. You know, all the mundane stuff. That is why I'm such a big fan of Chumba Casino. 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