Dimension X - Courtesy - #41

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Harold’s Old Time Radio

Episode: Dimension X - “Courtesy” (#41)
Date: May 6, 2026
Host: Harold’s Old Time Radio
Source Show: NBC’s Dimension X (“Courtesy” by Clifford Simak, adapted by George Lefferts)

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Episode Overview

This episode features a classic science fiction radio play from the renowned anthology series Dimension X, originally aired during the Golden Age of Radio. “Courtesy” tells the gripping tale of an Earth expedition stranded on the alien planet Landro, where the crew faces a deadly plague and must seek help from reclusive native inhabitants. The story is both a survival thriller and a meditation on the nature of arrogance, cultural disrespect, and the idea that "courtesy" might hold the answer to humanity’s deepest problems.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Dire Situation on Landro (01:12–03:04)

• Captain Warren sets the scene through a journal entry: Out of 180 crew, only two are left alive. He expects to die within 27 minutes, leaving just one survivor.

  • Notable moment: “As I write, there are two of us left. Two out of an original complement of 180 men. One of us, myself, will be dead in less than 27 minutes…” (01:19)

• The planet is described as a cemetery of dead, advanced cities, abandoned by the native Landrians after a mysterious plague.

2. Realization of their Predicament & Failed Supplies (03:04–06:20)

• Dr. Morgan reveals the serum intended to protect against the plague is 10 years too old — a misread label means it’s useless.
  • Notable moment: “Dr. Morgan, would you mind telling me how it feels to murder 180 men? 181, including yourself.” — Captain Warren (05:20)
• The last supply ship has just left; no help will come for two years.
• The only hope: seek out the Landro natives, who seem immune.

3. Planning an Expedition to the Natives (06:20–08:55)

• Warren picks a small group for a covert mission:
  • Himself, Bat Ears Brady, Dr. Morgan, and Benny Faulkner (an anthropologist with native language knowledge)
• Their goal: find the natives and learn their secret to surviving the plague.

4. Contact and Communication with the Natives (09:08–15:07)

• The group is tailed by Landrian natives as they approach the caves.

• Faulkner establishes communication with a captured Landrian via a makeshift drum (to mimic the Landrian’s vibration-based language).

  • Notable moment: “We find they communicate... through a very primitive kind of vibration of the tongue... closest I can come is a series of drum beats.” — Faulkner (11:25)

• The interaction is both awkward and tense; Warren is adamant: “Don’t treat this fellow like an equal. Don’t give him the idea that we’re desperate…” (12:03)

• A philosophical exchange unfolds:

  • Faulkner: “We want to help you rebuild your cities and make your machines work again.”
  • Landrian: “Why?” (13:36)
  • Faulkner: “So you can enjoy the benefits of our culture.”
  • Landrian: “If we ask you not to help us, will you go away?” (13:51)
  • Faulkner: “We stay for your own good.”

• The native tells them, cryptically, “Go among my people. My people have the answer.” (14:47)

5. The Climax: The Death Word and Its Meaning (17:19–21:11)

• Dr. Morgan ascends to the caves but later runs in panic, falls to his death, leaving a single word in his notebook: “Courtesy.” (17:58–18:00)
• Warren and Brady are left desperate; Brady attempts to force the answer out of a native. The plague takes hold among the crew, killing most, while Benny Faulkner unexpectedly recovers.

6. The Revelation (23:49–28:16)

• Warren questions Faulkner about why he survived; Faulkner remembers he had stepped aside for the native earlier — a gesture of courtesy.
  • Notable moment:
    • Warren: “Take it from where the native started to walk away. You stepped out of his path and Brady grabbed him.”
    • Faulkner: “Okay, so I stepped out of his path. Why?... Courtesy, that’s why.”
    • Warren: “Courtesy. Funny, that’s the word that Dr. Morgan had written in his notebook.” (24:59–25:20)
• Warren muses that the plague might not be biological but a kind of spiritual or societal disease—arrogance, greed, lack of basic respect.
  • Quote: “Maybe the plague was nothing more than what we know as greed and arrogance.”
  • “Are you talking about dignity, or arrogance?” (25:29)
• By the end, only Faulkner is unaffected; Warren succumbs, leaving a warning in his diary for future expeditions.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Philosophy of “Courtesy” as Survival

• “Why should you want to be courteous to a native?” — Captain Warren (25:21)
• “What about maintaining your own dignity?” — Warren
  “Are you talking about dignity or arrogance?” — Faulkner (25:29)

Cultural Relativism & Colonialism Critique

• “Why are we trying to take these primitive, happy people and make them like ourselves? ... Why, Benny, if that isn’t sheer stupid, crazy arrogance, my name isn’t Ira Warren.” — Captain Warren (26:32–26:50)

Final Journal Entry

• “I am turning it over to Benny Faulkner in the hopes that he will be able to transmit it to any other expedition commander who contemplates exploring the planet of Landro. The fever is beginning to mount now. My hands tremble as I write. The end should not be far off. You see, I didn’t have a chance. I stepped out of no path.” — Captain Warren (28:37–29:26)

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Timestamps of Important Segments

• 01:12 — Captain Warren’s opening summary and the hopeless situation
• 05:20 — Warren confronts Dr. Morgan about the serum error
• 11:25 — Faulkner explains the drum-based Landrian communication
• 13:36–13:51 — Key dialogue on cultural “help” and native resistance
• 17:58 — Dr. Morgan’s death and the word “Courtesy”
• 24:59–25:20 — The pivotal “courtesy” realization
• 26:32–26:50 — Warren’s epiphany about arrogance and imposing civilization
• 28:37–29:26 — Captain Warren’s final report and fate

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Conclusion and Themes

Dimension X’s “Courtesy” is a haunting story of hubris and humility, using the lens of speculative fiction to critique colonial attitudes and the dangers of cultural arrogance. The solution to the crew’s survival was not a technological one, but a moral and social gesture: a simple act of courtesy. The episode’s bleak ending and powerful philosophical dialogue offer a timeless warning about respect for others and the perils of assuming superiority.

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For listeners and old-time radio fans, this broadcast stands out as a prime example of how 1950s science fiction bravely tackled weighty social themes—wrapped in gripping stories that hold up to scrutiny decades later.

Transcript

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[Narrator]

Adventures in time and space told in Future Tense. The National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with street and Smith Publishers of Astounding Science Fiction bring you Dimension X.

[Captain Ira Warren]

This is the story of the second expedition to the planet of Landror. I am recording it for any future expeditions which might land on this godforsaken sphere and the whole I hope that they may learn from our tragic example. As I write, there are two of us left. Two out of an original complement of 180 men. One of us myself will be dead in less than 27 minutes. As for the other, heaven have mercy on him. This is how it happened. On June 3, 1997, less than two months ago, the last of our supply ships blasted off land row, headed for Earth.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Well, there she goes. Like a big bottom bird, huh?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Like to be a boarder, Bat ears? Me.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Listen, Captain, I've been kicking around with you from one planet to another for so long now they're all getting to be the same.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Not this one. Bad ears. Not Landro.

[Bat Ears Brady]

No, no, maybe you're right. There ain't never been one like this. It's a cemetery, that's what it is. A big cold cemetery. Them empty cities, that's what does it. Sitting there like they was tombs.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Bad is you're getting to be a poet in your old age.

[Bat Ears Brady]

I ain't. I ain't so poetic. I didn't remember to swipe a bottle of Irish off that supply ship.

[Captain Ira Warren]

What?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Right here?

[Captain Ira Warren]

You know, Brady, if you weren't the best all around cook and troubleshooter I ever shipped, I'd court martial you.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Well, since I ain't being court marshalled, how about we should open this Irish hair tonic after supper tonight, right?

[Captain Ira Warren]

We walked back to the cluster of plastic huts we call the base. It was beginning to freeze up and that purplish glow had settled across the planet. Yes, it was like a cemetery, all right. A cemetery of dead cities. We walked past one of them. A huge plastic dome with tall, graceful buildings. Atomic power systems, vacuum conveyors, all perfect all deserted. All ominous. How had it happened? Nobody knew for sure. But the best guess was that the plague had frightened the original inhabitants of the planet, so that they had piled into rocket ships and headed for some distant planet. I often wondered why a civilization so advanced as Landro could not find a serum to beat the plague. Well, maybe the aborigines back in the hills knew the answer. Those strange, ugly little people who had taken to the caves the day we landed. All we knew of them was what we found in the anthropological report of the expedition which preceded ours and an occasional glimpse by someone on a hunting patrol. When I reached my shack, Morgan, the expedition surgeon, was waiting for me. He was sweating like a pig. And it wasn't the heat, because my shack was as cold as a grave. Good evening, Captain Warren. What brings you here, doctor? Matter of the serum, sir. What about Sam? It's. It's just that. Well, it's no good. No good? It's too cold. 10 years too cold. Didn't you examine it? Yes, yes, I did, but. Well, my eyesight has been failing lately. Well, are you aware, doctor, that the last supply ship has returned to Earth? Do you know we'll have no more contact for two years? I must have misread the label, sir. Dr. Morgan, just how long do you give us? Well, the present immunity will last a week or so, and then it's just a question of time until someone picks up the plague. After that, a month, two months at most. Do you have any thoughts as to how we might save ourselves? No, sir. I'm afraid not. What about the natives? They don't dive in the plague. They must have a treatment for it. If they didn't, there would be no natives. Would you be willing to go on an expedition to the hills to find out? Right now, Captain, I'd be willing to do anything. Absolutely anything. I. I'm truly sorry, Sir. You're sorry? Dr. Morgan, would you mind telling me how it feels to murder 180 men? 181, including yourself. I did a lot of thinking after Dr. Morgan left. My hut was still unreal for me. After all, the planning of an expedition was no simple thing. You put into it the results of years of training and experience. Every man on my crew was hand picked for his skill. And yet a simple thing like a myopic surgeon misreading a label could blast the whole thing. Yes, it was a shame. I did the only thing I could think of. I yelled for batty Ears. Brady. Brady, get your carcass in here and hurry it up.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Okay, okay. What's up?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Sit down, Battius.

[Bat Ears Brady]

You got trouble.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Ira, we got trouble. What? The serum's no good. What? Morgan forgot to check it. It's 10 years too old.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Holy jumping snails. You gonna court marshall that?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Wouldn't do much good. We'll all be dead pretty soon unless somebody figures something out.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Why did they send these civilians with us?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Well, it was a mistake. Anybody can make a mistake. Only this was a big one.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Ira, what are you gonna do?

[Captain Ira Warren]

There's only one chance. One chance and 10 million. What? The natives. Them cave rats.

[Bat Ears Brady]

What good can they do us?

[Captain Ira Warren]

They don't get the plague.

[Bat Ears Brady]

So?

[Captain Ira Warren]

So maybe they know a cure.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Oh, listen. Those gimpos don't know nothing. Take it from me, it's the only chance. Okay, let's get a few of them and beat it out of the.

[Captain Ira Warren]

That's why you're here. Shoot. How'd you like to come along on a little expedition up to the cave country?

[Bat Ears Brady]

That's a good way to die young.

[Captain Ira Warren]

We die young anyway. Okay, what's the pitch now? We don't dare let the rest of the camp know. It would knock our morale to pieces.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Who's going?

[Captain Ira Warren]

You, me, the doctor, and Faulkner. Faulkner?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Listen, Ira, he's worse than the duck.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I know he isn't exactly the man for a hunting trip. But he knows more about the native culture than anybody here. He's the only one who's completely familiar with the records of the first expedition.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Okay, so it's me, you, the dark, and Faulkner.

[Captain Ira Warren]

When do we start? Tonight, in half an hour. Now, we should reach the cave country by tomorrow. With luck, we'll be able to find natives before night.

[Bat Ears Brady]

And then the fun starts. You know, Ira, them gimpos don't exactly love us.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Nobody loves us, Batt ears. That's one of the great paradoxes about this job. We come here to help them, to civilize them. So they can live like human beings instead of pack rats. And they run off to the hills and hide from us like we had to. I almost said plague. Okay, buddy, get the doc and Faulkner. Benny? Faulkner's body was small and consumptive, but he had a good brain. He was the best anthropologist the Interplanet Institute could Recommend. He and Dr. Morgan were the only civilians on the expedition. The rest of us were all army or space patrol. We hadn't been marching very long before Benny's frail constitution began to show signs of wear and tear.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Benny?

[Doug]

It's nothing. Just the dust. I'm allergic to dust.

[Bat Ears Brady]

You hear that, Ira? He's allergic to dust. We better call off the expedition.

[Doug]

Where is he?

[Captain Ira Warren]

But.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Want to rest a while, Faulkner?

[Doug]

It's okay. I can make it.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Well, we should be in the cave country in an hour or so. It'll be daybreak then, and the going will be easier. How about you, Doctor?

[Bat Ears Brady]

I'll make it.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Okay, let's go. Ira. What is it?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Don't look narrow, but very slowly. Turn your eyes to the right and look behind that big yellow rock.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Okay.

[Bat Ears Brady]

You see anything?

[Captain Ira Warren]

No.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Keep looking. Don't stop walking or let out.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Okay. There look like a shadow or something.

[Bat Ears Brady]

It's one of them gimpos. He's been following us now for almost an hour, dodging in and out behind rocks.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I think there's more of them too,

[Bat Ears Brady]

but I couldn't swear.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Well, anyway, they know we're coming, that's for sure.

[Bat Ears Brady]

What do you think? Should we bring one in?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Saadiata, we don't know how many of them there are. Just pretend you don't see them. And above all, tell the others to show no signs of fear, as nothing will start. These simple minded cavemen like fear. That was it. The manual said. Under no circumstances shall a member of the patrol display fear before a native. The dignity of the earthman must be preserved. At all costs, walk erect. Be firm, but just. And. And do not allow the native to feel he is your superior. It was a good rule and it always worked. Just before dawn we reached the cave country. We were tired and hungry and we stopped to cook some food and rest. Everything was quiet. There was no sign of the Gimbo, as Batt ears called him, until. Come on, boy.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Breaking now. What's your trouble? Look at me, Ira, they call me. One of these gimpos. Sneaking around outside the tent. He almost slit my throat with one of those stone knives. He did? Yeah.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Bring him into the light of the fire where we can get our luck.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Yeah, right.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Hey, Faulkner.

[Doug]

Yes, sir?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Try to establish some communication.

[Bat Ears Brady]

All right, Giddy.

[Captain Ira Warren]

God. Now, no need to knock him down. Bat ears.

[Bat Ears Brady]

That's the only language they understand.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Faulkner, see if you can reach him.

[Doug]

Okay, Captain. I'll need a drum of some sort.

[Bat Ears Brady]

A what?

[Doug]

Well, I find they communicate with one another through a very primitive kind of vibration of the tongue. Now, the closest I can come is a series of drum beats, a sort of a Morse code. The psychologist on the first expedition had it worked out before he was killed by the plague. I've studied his notes and I think it'll work.

[Bat Ears Brady]

You mean these animals can talk to one Another?

[Doug]

I believe they can. At any rate, we'll have a chance to find out. Do we have something I can use for a drum?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Oh, here, take my help.

[Doug]

Thank you, Doctor. Now I'll tap it four times. That's a greeting of some sort.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Oh, just a moment.

[Doug]

Yes, sir.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I don't want you treating this fellow like an equal. Don't give him the idea that we're desperate once they sense that we're lost. All right.

[Doug]

Here we go. Now. I'll give him the helmet. Good. He seems to understand. What shall I ask him, sir?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Now, first, tell him we come in peace. Reassure him that we don't wish to hurt him or his people.

[Doug]

I'll try. He seems to understand. He wants to answer. Well, he says others like you came to Land Row.

[Captain Ira Warren]

You must mean the first expedition. Go on. I want you to lead around to the subject of the plague gradually. Don't let on that word desperate.

[Doug]

I'll do my best, sir.

[Captain Ira Warren]

It's a strange sight. On one side of the helmet crouched little Benny Faulkner. Across from him crouched the Landrian, a humpback, gray little creature with an enormous head and those soft lavender eyes. I'm setting forth in this narrative the transcript of their conversation as Benny Faulkner later transcribed it from the best of his memory. Faulkner? We come as friends. Native. Why Faulkner? We will help you to rebuild your cities and make your machines work again. Why?

[Doug]

We want to help you to enjoy the benefits of the great culture which once thrived on land.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Go.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Why?

[Doug]

Because we want to help you.

[Bat Ears Brady]

If we ask you not to help us, will you go away?

[Doug]

We stay for your own good. We have helped many others on other planets.

[Captain Ira Warren]

How?

[Doug]

We teach them a better way to live. Their way of life was better than your way.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Have you tried our way?

[Doug]

Why were your cities abandoned? Was it the plague?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Yes.

[Doug]

Do you still fear the plague?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Yes.

[Doug]

Do any of your people become afflicted?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Solomon.

[Doug]

How do you treat them? How do you keep the plague from spreading? Do you have a cure? How can we find a cure for the plague?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Go among my people.

[Doug]

Will we find the answer among your people?

[Bat Ears Brady]

My people have the answer.

[Doug]

Will you tell me the answer?

[Narrator]

Go among my people.

[Captain Ira Warren]

The drumbeats ended. As far as the landing was concerned, the conversation was ended. He rose to go, and Faulkner stepped from his path. But Brady was there to ensure the best.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Hold on there, bucko. You ain't going no place.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Don't maltreat him. Brady

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[Doug]

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[Doug]

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[Captain Ira Warren]

What'd he say, Benny?

[Doug]

He says his people have the answer.

[Captain Ira Warren]

What do you think?

[Doug]

Well, there may be some truth in it. He says some of his people still get the plague.

[Captain Ira Warren]

That must mean it isn't a question of immunity. They must have a cure.

[Doug]

Well, he wasn't clear on that, doctor.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Then they must have a vaccine to keep it from spreading. Does he know?

[Doug]

Evidently not.

[Bat Ears Brady]

I could beat it out of him.

[Doug]

I don't think he's lying.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Well, that leaves it up to us. Now, the first level of caves are on top of that cliff about a mile ahead.

[Bat Ears Brady]

It's a trap.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I'll bet my last dollar on maybe not. We'll have to risk it. Now, wait. Yes, doctor. Let me go. I got you all into this. How will you talk? Well, Benny here can give me enough of the cold so I can ask the big question. All right, doctor. We'll wait at the foot of the cliff. You go on ahead. You aren't back down in three hours, we'll come up after you.

[Bat Ears Brady]

What about the gimpo we've got?

[Captain Ira Warren]

We'll hold him as a hostage to ensure the doctor's safety. Now, if the doc comes back all right, we'll let him go. Your job, Thad ears.

[Bat Ears Brady]

A pleasure.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Don't kick him. Natch.

[Bat Ears Brady]

But if he gives me any trouble, I'll take a shovel to his bottom. You can count on that.

[Captain Ira Warren]

It took Dr. Morgan about an hour to pick his way up the side of the cliff to the first of the openings where the Landrians lived. He waved to us before he entered the mouth of the cave and we waved back. Then we settled down to wait. It Was a long, long wait.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Eight o'. Clock. He's been up there more than three hours, Ira.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I'll give him a little more time.

[Doug]

It's getting colder.

[Captain Ira Warren]

And keep the fire going.

[Bat Ears Brady]

You think we'd have heard something by now if they was going to knock

[Captain Ira Warren]

him off, I mean. Not necessarily. Wait. Look up on the cliff.

[Doug]

That's the doctor.

[Bat Ears Brady]

What's he running for?

[Doug]

I don't know. He looks scared.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Crazy fool if he don't look down.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Dr. Morgan, look out. Look out. We found him at the foot of the cliff, crumpled and broken. We never knew why he had thrown himself off. Scrawled across the pad he had taken with him on which to make notes concerning. The answer was a single word. The word was courtesy. The expedition was a failure. Okay, that's it. I have to head back for camp. And just wait and pray.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Not just yet, Ira. Okay.

[Captain Ira Warren]

What's on your mind?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Bar, if it's all the same to you, I'd like to take the gimpo here out behind the rocks and have

[Captain Ira Warren]

a talk with him. Okay, Ira. What do you think you'll accomplish?

[Bat Ears Brady]

I don't know. Just a quiet little talk.

[Captain Ira Warren]

No violence.

[Bat Ears Brady]

No violence. Just a real earnest type conversation. Okay, Ira.

[Captain Ira Warren]

It was one of those decisions the commanding officer dreads. One hundred and eighty lives against the chance that Bat Ears could persuade the little gray man to give an answer he might not even know. I nodded and Bat Ears took the little native off behind an outcropping of rock. He was back in 15 minutes, dripping with sweat. Well, let's go, Harry. Nothing, huh? But nothing they see.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Yeah, they ain't made very good, those little gray people. They come apart too easy. So let's go.

[Captain Ira Warren]

All right. Hey, Benny. Hey, Benny, what is it?

[Doug]

I feel kind of sick all of a sudden.

[Bat Ears Brady]

He's got a weak stomach. Dust allergy and.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Wait a minute. What is it, Benny?

[Doug]

The back of my head. Dull kind of pain.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Stick out your tongue. Give him a hand, Bat Ears. We've got to get him back to camp.

[Bat Ears Brady]

What is it?

[Captain Ira Warren]

I'm not sure. But that blackness on the tongue and the headache, it could be the plague. By the time we got Benny talking back, he had the red spots on his body. And then the fever began to rage. It was a plague. No mistake about it. Before morning, Collins, the supply sergeant, had it. Then it was T bar. After that, the men went down like 10 bits. They screamed and moaned and then they died. Come. Hello. That is

[Bat Ears Brady]

Iris.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Have a drink. It's the last of the cough medicine.

[Bat Ears Brady]

Yeah. Tired oh, man, I never been so tired.

[Captain Ira Warren]

What's the count?

[Bat Ears Brady]

We lost six more today.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Six. That makes 29 dead. 29 in less than a week.

[Bat Ears Brady]

It's them stinking natives. They put the whammy on.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I take it he's easy.

[Bat Ears Brady]

I'd like to take a machine gun up to them hills and knock off

[Captain Ira Warren]

the whole bunch up. How's Benny?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Now, that's a funny thing. I went into his tent this morning, figuring sure he'd be dead by now. Instead, I see his fever is down a couple of points.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Excellent. Usually gets him in a matter of days. Faulkner's been hanging on for weeks now. Well, keep an eye on him. It was a nightmare of eternity after that ceaseless round of caring for the stricken, of helping with the graves, of writing in the book the names of those who died. Sleep came in snatches over when we were so exhausted we couldn't stand. Then one morning, Batty's Brady dragged himself into my shack. Sit down, Ben. What's it count?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Six left. We buried the chaplain today. You got a cigarette?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Yeah, sure. How's Falkland?

[Bat Ears Brady]

I don't get it.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Still alive?

[Bat Ears Brady]

He's getting better. He's sitting up.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Holy mackerel. Ah, this is a good cigarette, like any other.

[Bat Ears Brady]

No, this one's different, Ira. It's my last.

[Captain Ira Warren]

What do you mean?

[Bat Ears Brady]

Take a look at my tongue, Ira. See? Little black spots.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Somehow I managed to get him into bed. He was already raving when I gave him the last of the morphine. It was incredible. Big, brawling, Bat Ears Brady, Tower of strength. Lying sick and whimpering on a cot. I went out on the moors to think. The sun was a dull red glow. Cold breeze whipped up. The planet of Land Row was in emptiness. I thought about bat ears and Dr. Morgan and Benny Faulkner. Why should Faulkner, of all of this, recover from the plague from which no man recovered? I turned and went back to see Benny Faulkner.

[Doug]

Hello, Captain.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Hello, Benny. How are you? Good.

[Doug]

Got up and walked a couple of steps today. How goes it?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Brady's down. Oh. Listen, Benny, there must be some reason why you survived the virus.

[Doug]

Well, how about you? Why didn't you ever even get it?

[Captain Ira Warren]

I give.

[Doug]

What can I do?

[Captain Ira Warren]

I want you to tell me everything you know about yourself. Everything you can remember. But why? Because somewhere in your makeup is some little thing that makes the difference. At least I can leave a record for any future expedition that comes to Land Rover.

[Doug]

Okay, okay, Captain Warren, where do you want me to start?

[Captain Ira Warren]

At the beginning. Now I'm going to take notes.

[Doug]

Well, I was born on 2 July in 1971. My parents were ordinary people. My father was a husband. Look, Captain, I've told you everything I can remember. For three days now, you've questioned me.

[Captain Ira Warren]

All right, now take it from where. The native started to walk away. You stepped out of his path and Brady grabbed him.

[Doug]

Okay, so I stepped out of his path. Why? What do you mean, why? Why did you step out of his path? Well, why not? Courtesy, that's why. What's the matter?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Courtesy. Funny, that's the word that Dr. Morgan had written in his notebook.

[Doug]

I don't see.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I don't either. Tell me, why should you want to be courteous to a native?

[Doug]

Why not?

[Captain Ira Warren]

What about maintaining your own dignity?

[Doug]

Are you talking about dignity or arrogance? Look, I don't get this at all, Captain.

[Captain Ira Warren]

You're familiar with the records left by the first expedition, Benny, what happened with the natives?

[Doug]

Well, the natives were friendly enough at first. But after a while, they went back to the caves.

[Captain Ira Warren]

And when we got here, they wouldn't come near us, right?

[Doug]

Right.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Yet we came to help them. So what? So maybe this Benny. Maybe we were all wet. Maybe those cities weren't deserted centuries ago. After all, maybe these little people up in the caves are the same people who used to live in those cities.

[Doug]

Why should they leave?

[Captain Ira Warren]

Well, maybe they found out the big

[Doug]

cities weren't the answer.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Maybe they found out that civilization doesn't necessarily bring happiness. So they just packed up and left.

[Doug]

Returned to the simple life. That doesn't make sense.

[Captain Ira Warren]

You're forgetting the plague, Benny. What is this? Well, I don't know. I think the plague was nothing more than what we know as greed and arrogance.

[Doug]

Captain, you're going off your rocket.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I think maybe we were in line to die of it. Even if the serum had been good,

[Doug]

well, it violates all the laws of Earth. We aren't on Earth.

[Captain Ira Warren]

We're on land row. A planet a million light years from home. Now, why are we trying to take these primitive, happy people and make them like ourselves? Why are we trying to mold them? To convince them that they belong in cities. That they should be building better can openers instead of just enjoying human relationships. Why, Benny, if that isn't sheer stupid,

[Doug]

crazy arrogance, my name isn't Ira Warren.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Well, before went that night, three days later, that Ears Brady died In his delirium, he was howling about how if he could just get his hands on one of those stinky, he'd wring the answer out of him. After I buried him, I went back to Benny Faulkner's. Tent. Faulkner was getting out of bed as I entered.

[Doug]

How is he, Captain?

[Captain Ira Warren]

I just buried him.

[Doug]

Holy Mother.

[Captain Ira Warren]

In Hammond.

[Doug]

That means two of us. Two out of 180.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Not two. Just one.

[Doug]

Oh, but you're all right.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I have a headache. I'm beginning to sweat a little too. Well.

[Doug]

Can I help you any?

[Captain Ira Warren]

No, I think I'll go back to my shack and finish writing the report.

[Doug]

Well, maybe it isn't the plague.

[Captain Ira Warren]

No, Benny. I've seen it too many times to kid myself about it.

[Doug]

Look, Captain, you don't believe that junk about courtesy, do you? I mean, that stuff you were talking about the other night. That's a lot of nonsense. You must know that. Holy mackerel, Captain.

[Captain Ira Warren]

You can't believe it.

[Doug]

You can't.

[Captain Ira Warren]

Good night, Bunny. I think I'd like to be alone, so.

[Doug]

Okay. Good night, Captain Warren.

[Captain Ira Warren]

I am turning it over to Benny Faulkner in the hopes that he will be able to transmit it to any other expedition commander who contemplates exploring the planet Atlanta. Fever is beginning to mount now. My hands tremble as I write. The end should not be far off. You see, I didn't have a chance. I stepped out of no path.

[Narrator]

You have just heard another adventure into the unknown world of the future.

[Captain Ira Warren]

The world of dimension.

[Narrator]

We are just beginning to discover how boundless our universe really is.

[Captain Ira Warren]

And yet, what would it be like

[Narrator]

to live in a world no larger, say, than a single gigantic rocket ship? You'll find out more about it on Dimension X next week when we present Robert Heinlein's universe. Dimension X is presented each week by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with street and Smith, publishers of the magazine Astounding Science Fiction Today. Dimension X has presented courtesy. From the current issue of Astounding science fiction was written4radio by George Lefferts from the story by Clifford Simak. Featured in the cast were Lawson Zerby as Captain Warren, Bill Zuckert as Batty as Brady, and Bill Gray as Benny Faulkner. Your host was Norman Rose. Music by Albert Berman. Dimension X is produced by William Welch and directed by Fred.