Dimension X - Potters Of Firsk - #17

Summary

Podcast Summary: Dimension X – “Potters of Firsk” (#17)

Podcast: Harold's Old Time Radio
Date: May 5, 2026
Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode: A classic radio science fiction drama about colonialism, culture clash, and a mystery involving alien potters and a coveted yellow glaze.

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Episode Overview

This episode of Harold’s Old Time Radio features an original broadcast of the classic radio program “Dimension X,” specifically the episode “Potters of Firsk.” The story, adapted from a work by Jack Vance, weaves together a tale of interstellar colonial administration, cultural misunderstandings, ritual, and technology, all centered on a strange people whose pottery preserves the souls of the dead and who covet the secret of an otherworldly yellow glaze.

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Key Discussion Points and Plot Breakdown

Setting the Scene (02:02 - 03:35)

• Opening narrative sets up humanity’s spread across the stars, and the uneasy relationships with alien cultures.
• Michael Tom, new assistant resident for Interplanetary Affairs, arrives at the planet Firsk, greeted with alien architecture and a mix of native and Earth customs.
  • "That bowl. Why, it’s a souvenir. I got it many years ago on the planet Firsk." (03:03, Michael Tom)

Introduction to the Native Culture (03:35 - 07:15)

• Michael is briefed on the Me Tooans (the local humanoids) and their artistry—particularly their pottery.
• Michael notices the market’s remarkable pottery lacks anything made with yellow glaze.
  • “There isn’t any yellow. ... That’s right. There are no yellow glazes at all.” (07:19, Michael Tom)

Cultural Mysteries and Tensions (07:15 - 10:02)

• Sue Thin, a Me Tooan, introduces the belief that their pottery contains the souls of ancestors, and selling pots cheaply is irreverent.
  • “They are our ancestors. And to sell them as cheaply as wood or glass would be irreverent.” (07:55, Sue Thin)
• The potters occupy a feared and secretive place in Me Tooan society, viewed with both awe and dread.

The Potters’ Dark Secret (11:11 - 13:41)

• Michael and his superior, Coville, visit the Potters’ mountain village.
• The potters admit to using the bones of the dead (and sometimes the living) to create their pottery glaze, and that the unique yellow glaze has always eluded them.
  • “Our glazes require lead, sand, clay, alkali, spar, and lime. All but the lime is at our hand. And this we take from the bones of the dead.” (11:52, Chief Potter)
  • “My people have sought the sun glaze for thousands of years.” (12:44, Chief Potter)

Escalation and Attempted Violence (13:52 - 15:40)

• Michael grows close with Sue Thin, who is then abducted by the potters for their ritual.
• Coville’s response is violent: he decides to use an atom bomb against the potters, highlighting a destructive, colonial attitude.

The Bargain for Peace (17:44 - 20:03)

• Michael halts the bombing, bargaining with the potters for Sue Thin’s and others’ release in exchange for the secret of the yellow glaze.
  • “Potter, I can give you the secret of the yellow glaze.” (19:14, Michael Tom)
• The potters agree to the deal: if the glaze works, they will cease their raids; if not, Michael will die.

A Deadly Test (20:03 - 24:00)

• Michael and his team experiment to create the yellow glaze, risking their lives.
• After several failures, their last test yields the brilliant yellow the potters have sought for generations.
  • “Yellow. Bright shining yellow.” (23:41, Sue Thin)

Fallout and Bitter Success (24:00 - 25:42)

• Coville is irate; Michael reveals he achieved the yellow glaze by giving the potters uranium salt from the atom bomb.
  • “It was uranium salt that made the yellow glaze. The potters didn’t have any, so I gave them the uranium out of the bomb. That was part of the bargain.” (24:46, Michael Tom)
• Coville rushes to reclaim it, leading to his own downfall.

Final Resolution (25:42 - 27:26)

• The chief potter visits Michael, informing him that Coville is now dead, his spirit immortalized in the “brightest” yellow-glazed bowl ever created.
  • “For his spirit dwells in the brightest glass ever to come from the great burn.” (27:08, Chief Potter)
• The episode ends with Michael reflecting on the yellow bowl on his desk, symbolizing both peace and a heavy price.

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Memorable Quotes & Moments (with Timestamps)

• The significance of pottery:
  “They are our ancestors. And to sell them as cheaply as wood or glass would be irreverent.” (07:55, Sue Thin)
• Potters revealed as death’s artists:
  “Our glazes require ... lime is at our hand. And this we take from the bones of the dead.” (11:52, Chief Potter)
• Colonial arrogance:
  “If necessary, I’ll put a stop to the potting altogether.” (13:01, Coville)
• Potters’ chilling logic:
  “Tons of natural lime is a poor substitute for fresh, live bones. The spirit of the person is in the bones and it passes into the glaze and gives it an inner fire.” (12:09, Chief Potter)
• High stakes gamble:
  “If your glaze is the bright yellow of the sun, you live. If not, you die.” (20:15, Chief Potter)
• Climax – the yellow glaze appears:
  “Yellow. Bright shining yellow.” (23:41, Sue Thin)
• The final twist:
  “The fiery soul of the madman has given luster to an already glorious glaze. He will live forever in the shining life.” (27:09, Chief Potter)

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Timeline of Significant Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic | |--------------|---------------------------------------------------------| | 02:02–03:35 | Introduction to Michael Tom and setting | | 07:15–08:21 | Discovery of meaning behind the pottery | | 11:11–13:01 | Visit to the Potters – secrets revealed | | 13:52–14:44 | Sue Thin kidnapped by the potters | | 15:12–17:44 | Coville decides to bomb the potters | | 17:44–20:03 | Michael's bargain for peace with the potters | | 20:31–23:43 | Attempt and success in making the yellow glaze | | 24:46–25:06 | Michael reveals he gave potters uranium from the bomb | | 26:07–27:26 | Potter returns with the yellow bowl and Coville’s fate |

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Overall Tone & Style

The episode maintains the suspenseful, cerebral tone typical of “Dimension X,” fusing speculative fiction with morality tale elements about cultural collision, colonial hubris, and the cost of peace. The dialogue is crisp, with an undercurrent of grim mystery and wry wit; the outcome is as unsettling as it is poetic.

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Summary

“Potters of Firsk” stands out as a thought-provoking sci-fi morality play: the alien customs that so repulse the colonial officials turn out to be both profound and dangerous; attempts at domination backfire; and a desperate, clever protagonist negotiates a fragile peace—at a high personal and planetary cost. The episode ends with lasting ambiguity: a beautiful yellow bowl, suffused with both hope and haunting consequence.

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Transcript

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[Michael Tom]

Hey, everyone, check out this guy and his bird. What is this, your first date?

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[Commentator/Friend]

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[Commentator/Friend]

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[Dimension X Announcer]

Wheaties presents Dimension X

[Narrator]

Adventures in Time and Space Transcribed in Future Tense Dimension X.

[Dimension X Announcer]

On stage tonight. Dimension X. Another in the Wheaties big parade of exciting half hour presentations.

[Wheaties Announcer]

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[Michael Tom]

Come on now. Try them.

[Narrator]

What will happen when man, finally conquering the galactic distances of interstellar travel, finds life on the strange worlds across the universe? Will he discover civilizations of incredibly advanced scientific knowledge? Or primitive cultures deep in a stone age of savagery? Here is a story of the relation between men of our world and beings from beyond the stars. On the desk stood a yellow bowl, the profile a simple curve, clean and sharp. The body was thin, without fragility, and the beauty of its shape was matched by the glowing intensity of the glaze. A glorious transparent yellow, soothing as sunlight, yet glowing with the fire of a volcano's core. The desk belonged to Michael Tom, Regional Administrator for the Department of Interplanetary Affairs.

[Michael Tom]

That bowl. Why, it's a souvenir. I got it many years ago on the planet First. I'd been out on the Channel Planet in the frontier service for 19 months when my transfer came through to First. I was surprised to see that I'd been promoted to three grades and my orders read to report to the regional office as Assistant Resident, my ship came in at Penol Pond Spaceport and I was met by the office car and showboat.

[George Coville]

Mr. Tom?

[Michael Tom]

That's right.

[Werrichek]

I'm Werrichek, sir.

[Michael Tom]

Welcome to First.

[George Coville]

Thanks.

[Michael Tom]

Well, I didn't expect to find a 1992 Rolls.

[Werrichek]

The resident had it shipped out in parts. Mr. Covel. Changes every year for the new model.

[Michael Tom]

Pretty smooth, hey? This is certainly different from the Channel planet. Nothing there but ice. Frost, please. And the dullest aborigines in the system.

[Werrichek]

Well, you won't find the Aborigines very dull here.

[Michael Tom]

What kind of people are they?

[Werrichek]

The Me too. They're humanoid. Very close to us systemically. Tall, sort of amber colored and graceful.

[Michael Tom]

Oh, is that one the girl balancing the bowl on her head?

[Werrichek]

Yeah, yeah, she's a me too. And there isn't a very big human population at first.

[Wheaties Announcer]

Well, well, well.

[Michael Tom]

Looks like Mike Thomas found a home in the circus.

[Werrichek]

You haven't met Mr. Coville yet, have you?

[Michael Tom]

What do you mean by that?

[Werrichek]

Oh, nothing, sir.

[Michael Tom]

Nothing. Look, we're a chick. If there's anything wrong, you'd better tell me.

[Werrichek]

Well, there's nothing, sir. Nothing you won't find out. It's just that Mr. Covel is a very forceful personality. Very forceful.

[Michael Tom]

We drove through penalpine, threading our way through narrow streets between rows of low houses of reed, parchment and wood. Canals of green water laced the city and the bridges trailed ivy and orange flowers. Suddenly we turned a corner and there on the bank of the main canal was a large concrete and glass building, Earth style. This was the district office. And in a room that gleamed with black plastic and glass, I found George Covill, senior resident.

[Mr. Colville]

You're Tom?

[George Coville]

Michael?

[Mr. Colville]

Tom?

[Michael Tom]

Yes, sir.

[Mr. Colville]

My last junior. Took off for the hills with a dancer from a Me too and grog shop. If I have any trouble with you, I'll ship you back to earth with a minus 50 efficiency rating. That clear?

[Michael Tom]

That's clear, sir.

[Mr. Colville]

And don't get edgy with me. Sit down. Now listen, Tom. I'm easy to get along with. I like things done. Done right the first time. Gotta give a good example for the gooks.

[Wheaties Announcer]

Gooks?

[Mr. Colville]

Yeah, the natives. I don't know what's good for them. I brought in a high grade silica yarn to replace the root fiber they were using in fish nets. Took me three months to talk them into using it.

[Michael Tom]

I thought the Bureau policy was to avoid introducing Earth technology to stable cultures.

[Mr. Colville]

That's what those boneheads at the main office say. They don't have to live Here. Have you seen those pigsties they live in? There isn't a concrete building on the planet.

[Werrichek]

Me too. And delegation. Mr. Colville.

[Mr. Colville]

Tell them I'm busy for 15 minutes.

[Michael Tom]

Yes, sir. Well, I'll be going along then, sir.

[Mr. Colville]

Why?

[Michael Tom]

Well, if you're busy, forget it or.

[Mr. Colville]

Forget it. I always let those gooks wait at least 15 minutes. Softens them up. They're not hard to handle. You know how.

[Michael Tom]

I was assigned to pest control? A duty Covell considered beneath his dignity. In the next few weeks, I carted rat poison and insect spray through the poorest sections of Penolpan, where the trees ended and the plains stretched out to the Cookman Mountains. It was there that I first heard of the Potters of Firsky. I had found a pottery bazaar. Long shelves of jars of every size and shape. Crocks, paper thin. Vases, bowls, demijohns, tankards. The glazes were remarkable. Deep, glowing colors. And yet something was missing. I looked up and down the shelves.

[Werrichek]

Mr. Tom, is anything wrong?

[Mr. Colville]

No, no.

[Michael Tom]

It's just. I've got it. There isn't any yellow. Yellow? That's right. There are no yellow glazes at all. They have every other color. Ruby green. There's a jar that's translucent, but no yellow.

[Werrichek]

Well, maybe it's a superstition.

[Michael Tom]

Could be yellow might be connected with death or disease.

[Werrichek]

Well, you can find out. Mr. Tom, here comes a. Me too. And she probably runs a place.

[Sue Thin]

May I help you, sir?

[Michael Tom]

Oh, you speak English.

[Sue Thin]

I must. We trade with the Earth colony.

[Michael Tom]

You're. Your wares are very beautiful. For example, how much is this bowl?

[Sue Thin]

75 credits.

[Michael Tom]

That much?

[Sue Thin]

They are our ancestors. And to sell them as cheaply as wood or glass would be irreverent.

[Michael Tom]

Your ancestors? You mean the bowls?

[Sue Thin]

Yes.

[Michael Tom]

Tell me, where's the pottery made? In Pinolpon?

[Sue Thin]

No.

[Michael Tom]

Back there in the mountains.

[Sue Thin]

There our ancestors go and the pots are brought back. Aside from this, I know nothing. The meatjorn fear the potters.

[Michael Tom]

Why?

[Sue Thin]

No one knows what lies beyond the first hill. Earthman. Sometimes we see the glow of furnaces. And when there are no dead for the potters, they take the living.

[Michael Tom]

Living.

[Sue Thin]

There are the potters now.

[Michael Tom]

What are they shouting?

[Sue Thin]

That they have sold all their wares. That they will ride back to the mountains now.

[Mr. Colville]

Hey.

[Michael Tom]

Big devils, aren't they?

[Mr. Colville]

Red hair.

[Sue Thin]

They are very strong.

[Michael Tom]

I think I'll visit the potters one of these days.

[Sue Thin]

No, Earthman, no.

[Michael Tom]

Why not?

[Sue Thin]

It is dangerous for you. They have guarded their secrets from all pen or pen. They are very fierce.

[Mr. Colville]

Tom, where the devil you been? I told you to get the estimates for that power plant.

[Michael Tom]

I put them on your desk sir.

[Mr. Colville]

Oh yeah, so you did.

[Michael Tom]

Say, what do you know about the potters back in the Cookmans, Mr. Coville?

[Wheaties Announcer]

Huh?

[Mr. Colville]

Oh they're a tribe of bandits or something.

[Michael Tom]

Why I was at the bazaar today. A girl called the vases ancestors. Seems strange.

[Mr. Colville]

Ancestors. Well it probably has something to do with religious death rites. They take away the dead bodies and cremate them for a fee or trade goods.

[Michael Tom]

The girl said that when they don't get the dead, sometimes they take the living. What?

[Mr. Colville]

Well. So that's it.

[Michael Tom]

What sir?

[Mr. Colville]

Rating about every month or so a couple of meat tuan turn up missing. The whole city clams up like tongue tied parrots. For two years I've been trying to track it down, Tom. These potters must be behind it. Raiding huh? We'll see about it.

[Michael Tom]

No, we don't know anything. Definitely.

[Mr. Colville]

Well we will get wearer check to roll out the copter. We're flying out to those mountains. I'll put a stop to this if I have to blow them clean off the planet. We'll never find a village in that mess down there. Look at those cliffs.

[Michael Tom]

There's a smoke trail over there to the right. Potters need kilns, kilns need heat.

[Mr. Colville]

That's a volcano, not a chimney. Lets try out along that ridge. Then we'll go back.

[Michael Tom]

Wait. I think we found them.

[Mr. Colville]

Where?

[Michael Tom]

At the base of the volcano. Look close. You can see buildings. Yeah, yeah.

[Mr. Colville]

Set her down.

[Michael Tom]

Should we land sir? They're supposed to be pretty rough on home ground.

[Mr. Colville]

We're official representatives of the system, remember that.

[Michael Tom]

That might not mean much to a tribal mountaineer.

[Mr. Colville]

Don't argue with me Tom. Land. Get your pistol ready.

[Michael Tom]

I don't see anybody. The village is deserted.

[Mr. Colville]

They're hiding.

[Michael Tom]

The potter's all right. There's a heap of old broken jars but I don't see the kiln.

[Mr. Colville]

They'll stay here till something moves. What's that?

[Michael Tom]

One of the potters. Wait a minute. Here they come. Three of them.

[Mr. Colville]

You cover them Tom. I'll do the talking. Hey there you.

[George Coville]

What brings strangers to the village of the potter?

[Mr. Colville]

I'm Covill, chief of the Planetary Affairs Bureau in Penalpa. This is an official visit to see how things are going.

[George Coville]

With you we make no complaints.

[Mr. Colville]

Oh, I've heard reports of you potters kidnapping me toon. Is there any truth in that?

[George Coville]

There is an ancient agreement. The potters are granted the bodies of the dead. And occasionally, when the need is great, we do anticipate nature by a year or two.

[Mr. Colville]

You mean you admit it?

[George Coville]

The soul lives forever in the bowl. It beautifies.

[Mr. Colville]

What do you mean?

[Supporting Character]

Look here.

[Mr. Colville]

Just what do you do with the corpses?

[George Coville]

Our glazes require lead, sand, clay, alkali, spar and lime. All but the lime is at our hand. And this we take from the bones of the dead.

[Mr. Colville]

I see. Well, we don't want to interfere in any native customs or rights. Corpses. That's between you and the me too. If you need lime, I can ship you in.

[George Coville]

Tons of natural lime is a poor substitute for fresh, live bones. The spirit of the person is in the bones and it passes into the glaze and gives it an inner fire.

[Mr. Colville]

You listen to me. I don't care what you use, as long as there's no kidnapping or murder.

[Michael Tom]

Tell me, potter, I don't see any furnaces. Where are your kilns?

[George Coville]

Our firing is done by the great monthly burn.

[Michael Tom]

You mean the volcano?

[George Coville]

Yes, Earthman. Once each month the heat roars up white and glowing.

[Michael Tom]

I see. Potter, why don't you ever use yellow glaze?

[George Coville]

Yellow glaze? We have no metal to give the pure, rich yellow the color of the sun. It is strange, Earthman, that you talk of the yellow, for my people have sought the sun glaze for thousands of years.

[Mr. Colville]

Listen, if there's any technical help you people want, that's my business. But there'll be no more murder. If necessary, I'll put a stop to the potting altogether.

[George Coville]

Your words are not friendly.

[Mr. Colville]

Don't think I can't do it. I'll drop an atom bomb down the throat of your volcano and cave in the whole mountain.

[Michael Tom]

We'd better pull off, Mr. Colville.

[Mr. Colville]

Shut up, Tom. You understand my job is to protect everyone on this mud hole planet. And that includes the Me too.

[Michael Tom]

Get back in the cockpit, Mr. Colville. They're getting ugly.

[Mr. Colville]

Fire over their heads. Keep them back.

[Michael Tom]

Quick, get in. Sir, they're scared now, but in a minute they may jump us.

[Mr. Colville]

All right, let's go. Don't worry, Tom. Now those gooks know who's boss. Now, sir, we won't have any more trouble from the potters.

[Michael Tom]

Coville kept me pretty busy the next few weeks. But I got to spending a good deal of time at the pottery bazaar with the girl. Her name was Sue Thin. She was interested in everything. I had to tell her about the rest of the galaxy. And I was lonely. So I got to looking forward to my visits there. I was on my way there one evening when suddenly I heard shouts down the side streets. I hurried toward them, pulling out my gun. And then I heard the deep cry of the giant potters and the crack of hooves on the cobbled streets. Suddenly, a group of riders burst around a corner and charged down on me. When they were gone, I hurried to the pottery bazaar. Xu Fen was gone.

[Supporting Character]

Erst man, Earth man. She is not here. They took her, the potters. She has gone to her ancestors.

[Michael Tom]

Did they kill her?

[Supporting Character]

No, no. They have taken her to the hills. But soon she will live forever, her spirit wrapped in the glorious glaze suthem. There is nothing to be done. When the potters take you, it is the end.

[Mr. Colville]

I've been raiding again.

[Michael Tom]

Huh.

[Narrator]

Poor.

[Michael Tom]

Me too. And tonight?

[Mr. Colville]

Bring the copter around in front.

[Michael Tom]

It's ready, Tom.

[Mr. Colville]

I'm gonna break out the atom bomb from the arms locker. You fly out there and drop it down that volcano crater. I'll teach those murdering devils a lesson they won't forget. But the me crawling to the city on their hands and knees. I know how to run this plan.

[Dimension X Announcer]

Dimension X will continue in just a moment.

[Wheaties Announcer]

Friends, this is Frank Martin, the Wheaties man. And I want you to know an associate of mine, Ed Prentice. Okay, Ed.

[Michael Tom]

Folks, I'd like to have you meet a good friend of mine and a prominent member of a fine little organization known as the Chicago White Sox. Mr. Lucius Benjamin Appley.

[Commentator/Friend]

Ooh, Ed, don't say it like that. Whoever heard of a ballplayer named Lucius? What if I went around calling you Paul Edward Prentice? Let's just make it Ed and Luke, huh?

[Michael Tom]

All right, Luke. Say, just how long have you been with the White Sox?

[Commentator/Friend]

Over 20 years, Ed. Golly, I played in darn near 2500 games. Been at bat almost 9000 times. Man, I'm from way back.

[Michael Tom]

Well, Luke, you don't look it. How do you keep up the pace anyway?

[Commentator/Friend]

Well, Ed, I sleep good. I eat good. I eat mighty good Wheaties about four mornings a week. Those little old flakes put a lot of snap even in an old timer like me. Must be because they're 100% whole wheat. I sure like Wheaties and milk and fruit.

[Michael Tom]

You know, Luke, that's exactly what I hear from a lot of ball players and plenty of other people too. No wonder they call Wheaties the breakfast of champion.

[Wheaties Announcer]

Thank you, Mr. Prentice. And Mr. Luke Appling of the Chicago White Sox. Mighty nice of you to say those good things about Wheaties. Now, folks, you and I may not be playing baseball for a living, but we can use those whole wheat Wheaties too. Step around to the grocery tomorrow yourself for Wheatie's breakfast of champions. Breakfast for you.

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[Michael Tom]

There's the village winner.

[Mr. Colville]

Check.

[Michael Tom]

Swing over it.

[Werrichek]

Shall I pull the safety on the bomb?

[Michael Tom]

No, no. Hold it.

[Werrichek]

But Mr. Cole said.

[Michael Tom]

I know what he said. They got a girl down there and I'm gonna get her out alive. And I'm gonna start by trying to Talk with that 7 foot red headed potter. All right, we're a check ted her down right in the middle of Main Street. Have your gun ready, Werachek. Here they come. Tall one's the chief.

[George Coville]

So this is the insolent lordling again.

[Michael Tom]

Come on out of the copter.

[George Coville]

Good. We are in need of bone lime. And yours will suit us well.

[Werrichek]

Closing in, Mr. Tom.

[George Coville]

Prepare your soul for the great burn.

[Michael Tom]

Stand back. I'll kill a lot of potters and you'll be the first. I've come for the four. Me too. That you took from Gnome. You don't seem to understand that we can punish.

[George Coville]

We can kill you before you can do much damage. We potters do not fear death. Death is merely eternal meditation from the glass.

[Michael Tom]

Potter, listen to me. I didn't come here to threaten, but to bargain. You have a me too. And girl. Is she still alive?

[George Coville]

She still lives.

[Michael Tom]

Chief Colville gave me orders to destroy your volcano. We can do that easily. If I'm harmed, the next bomb will drop on your village. I've come down here against his orders to bargain.

[George Coville]

Bargain with what? We care for nothing but our craft.

[Michael Tom]

Potter, I can give you the secret of the yellow glade.

[George Coville]

Empty word.

[Commentator/Friend]

No.

[Michael Tom]

The truth. In exchange, I want the girl and the other metoon you've stolen and your word not to raid again.

[George Coville]

How would we get lime?

[Michael Tom]

We've told you. We can ship it in pure lime as good as yours. Do the potters of Fisk want the yellow glaze fy?

[George Coville]

That has been the goal of the tribe of potters for a thousand years.

[Michael Tom]

And if I show you the yellow glaze, Earthman?

[George Coville]

If it comes clear through the burn, I agree to your bargain. If it does not, your spirit will be lodged forever in the ugliest bowl we can spin on the wheel.

[Michael Tom]

It's a bargain, all right. We're ajack. Disarm the bomb.

[Mr. Colville]

Disarm it.

[Werrichek]

Mr. Tom, are you crazy?

[Michael Tom]

They'll kill us. There'll be nothing left to stop them. Nothing but the yellow glaze.

[Wheaties Announcer]

Yeah, but do you know how to make it?

[Michael Tom]

We'll soon find out. I've been doing a little reading on the subject lately.

[Wheaties Announcer]

Reading?

[Mr. Colville]

Holy smokes.

[George Coville]

Enough, Earthman. I will take you to the potter's shed. If your glaze is the bright yellow of the sun, you live. If not, you die.

[Michael Tom]

Come on, Renacek, let's get to work.

[Dimension X Announcer]

With what?

[Werrichek]

You never made a glaze in your life. What are we supposed to work on now?

[Mr. Colville]

Our last will and testament.

[Michael Tom]

Who's that? Are you all right?

[Sue Thin]

Yes. Why did you come? They will kill you. Two earthmen.

[Michael Tom]

Maybe. How did you get in here?

[Sue Thin]

When I heard that you were here, I asked the chief potter to come. He said it would not matter. They would have all our bones soon.

[Michael Tom]

Cheerful so stir. This where A check? Yes, sir.

[Sue Thin]

They said you were trying to make the yellow glaze. O Earth men, we will die.

[Michael Tom]

This goo may turn out yellow. It had better.

[Sue Thin]

No one on Firsk has been able to make it.

[Michael Tom]

But I'm not from Firsk. Hang on, Sufan. We're not dead yet.

[Sue Thin]

Earthman, I am glad you came, although I wish you had not.

[Michael Tom]

Suit, then. All right, Wheelerjack, call that redhead. Tell him I got his glaze ready.

[Supporting Character]

Hey.

[Michael Tom]

Hey, you out there.

[George Coville]

Earthman, are you ready?

[Michael Tom]

Here's your glaze. Test it.

[George Coville]

You have six bowls of glaze.

[Michael Tom]

I'm no potter. This stuff ought to turn out yellow, but I can't be sure in one mixture.

[George Coville]

We will coat six tablets, one with each glaze. Then we will fire them.

[Michael Tom]

How long will it take?

[George Coville]

20 hours before you know if the burn has brought you life or death.

[Werrichek]

How long can they keep that up? It's been hours.

[Michael Tom]

Tiles ought to be done soon.

[Sue Thin]

Earthman. Here comes the chief potter.

[Michael Tom]

It must be time the tiles are cooled.

[George Coville]

It is time now to open the kiln and test your glaze. A bargain has been made. The glaze is yellow or you die. I will open the kiln.

[Werrichek]

How are they, Mr. Tom? Mr. Tom?

[Michael Tom]

I can't see inside. It's dark. All right, potter, pull them out. What are you waiting for?

[George Coville]

I will remove the first tile.

[Sue Thin]

No.

[George Coville]

A dull, dirty brown.

[Michael Tom]

Earthman, pull out the next one.

[Mr. Colville]

The color of mud.

[Supporting Character]

Hiya.

[Michael Tom]

Now Wait a minute.

[George Coville]

What is the use? There is no yellow glaze.

[Michael Tom]

Get that next tile out. We made a bargain, Mr. Earth Brown.

[George Coville]

Your glazes are worse than the feeblest work of our children. Prepare your spirits for the great burn.

[Mr. Colville]

Now wait.

[Michael Tom]

Wait. Look in there the next time. I'll get it out.

[George Coville]

Here, Earth man, you waste time.

[Michael Tom]

I'll get it out myself. There, there. Look at it.

[Sue Thin]

Yellow. Bright shining yellow.

[Michael Tom]

There it is. The yellow glaze.

[Mr. Colville]

Tom, where in thunder have you been?

[Michael Tom]

Mr. Colville, I've been trying.

[Mr. Colville]

I send you out on business which should take two hours and you stay two days.

[Michael Tom]

Why? I got the four. Me too, and back. And I made a contract with the Pollard's. No more rating.

[Mr. Colville]

You what?

[Michael Tom]

I made a deal with them and it turned out to be a better idea than yours.

[Mr. Colville]

You disobeyed you deliberately, Tom. You're through here, through with planetary affairs. Listen, mister, the man can't be trusted to carry out orders. He's not worth a lead nickel to the bureau. Get your gear together. Leave on the next ship out.

[Michael Tom]

Yes, sir. Wait.

[Mr. Colville]

You're on company time till 4 o' clock tonight. Until then, you obey my orders. Take the copter back to the hangar. Bring the atom bomb back to the armory.

[Michael Tom]

I can't. What? I've been trying to tell you. There's only one way. I had to make that yellow glaze.

[Mr. Colville]

Tom, what the devil have you done with that bomb?

[Michael Tom]

I gave it to the potters.

[Mr. Colville]

What?

[Michael Tom]

It was uranium salt that made the yellow glaze. The potters didn't have any, so I gave them the uranium out of the bomb. That was part of the bargain.

[Mr. Colville]

What you gave that murdering tribe of gooks at uranium.

[Michael Tom]

You heard me. And if you think you could have used it better by blasting them out of that mountain in your crate.

[Mr. Colville]

Why, you abysmal blasted imbecile. That's the only bomb we had. Those potters could tear Penalpan off the face of the planet.

[Michael Tom]

If you want that uranium, Colville, you can go out and get it. If I'm fired, I'm through.

[Mr. Colville]

Now, you fresh mutt. You yellow livered louse.

[Carvana User]

I ought to kill you.

[Michael Tom]

If you asked me, I'd say it'd be dangerous business trying to get that uranium back. Now we're a check.

[Supporting Character]

We're a check.

[Mr. Colville]

Yes, Mr. Colville.

[Michael Tom]

Yes, sir.

[Mr. Colville]

Get the copter fuel. Get me a double holster and a full bandolier of ammunition. Yes, sir. Tom, when I get back, I'll see that you rot in the deepest cell in the gallatin tower. I'm going out now to those hills. I'm gonna bring in that uranium myself.

[Michael Tom]

Two days later we're a came into my office. His face was pale. His hands shook with excitement.

[Mr. Colville]

He's.

[Werrichek]

He's here, Mr. Tom.

[Michael Tom]

He's here. Colville?

[Werrichek]

No, the chief potter.

[Mr. Colville]

The potter.

[Michael Tom]

Bring him in. Should I call the guard? Just bring him in. Well, Potter, I was just going to the mountains to see you.

[George Coville]

Earth man. Does that bargain we made still stand?

[Michael Tom]

Just a minute. First I want to know what happened to my chief. He has not returned.

[George Coville]

A madman came to the village of the potters. He said you had no authority. He said he could not allow the potters to keep the heavy metal that makes glazed like the sunset.

[Michael Tom]

What happened to Covil? Tell me.

[George Coville]

There was violence. He killed six good wheel men. He was captured. I come to find whether our contract is good.

[Michael Tom]

Captured? All right, potter. The contract is good. It is bound by my word and by the word of my great chief back on earth. But only if Colville is returned. He must be brought back. Good.

[George Coville]

Then to seal the bargain, I have brought you the first bowl made with the new yellow glaze.

[Michael Tom]

It's a beautiful vase, potter. And now about returning Kovil.

[George Coville]

It is done. The madman is a lucky man indeed. For his spirit dwells in the brightest glass ever to come from the great burn.

[Michael Tom]

You mean that Koville?

[George Coville]

Here I return him to you. The fiery soul of the madman has given luster to an already glorious glaze. He will live forever in the shining life.

[Narrator]

On the desk stood a yellow bowl and the beauty of its shape was matched by the intensity of the glaze. A glorious, transparent yellow glow of a volcano's core.

[Dimension X Announcer]

Tonight, Dimension X has transcribed the Potters of first written by Jack Vance and adapted for radio by Ernest Kanoy. Featured in the cast were Carl Weber as Michael, Tom Wendell Holmes as Coville and Raymond Edward Johnson as the chief of the potters. Your narrator, Norman Rose. Music by Albert Berman, engineer Bill Chambers. Dimension X is produced by Van Woodward and directed by Edward King. Tomorrow hear sam spade. Now it's truth or consequences on NBC.

[Carvana User]

Hey, sweetie. Your mother showed me this Carvana thing for selling the car. I'm gonna give it a try. Wish me luck. Me again. I put in the license plate. It gave me an offer. Unbelievable. Okay, I accepted the offer. They're picking it up Tuesday from the driveway. I haven't even left my chair.

[Michael Tom]

It's done.

[Carvana User]

The car is gone. I'm holding a check anyway. Carvana, give it a whirl. Love ya.

[Michael Tom]

So good you'll want to leave a voicemail about it. Sell your car today on Carvana. Pickup fees may apply.

[VRBoCare/Support Announcer]

I drive my bus in a busy city. That's why road safety is so important to me. I know that I must slow down and be extra careful when I make a wide turn. Buses need more room than cars. Everyone can help keep our road safe. Next time you're driving, remember to give buses plenty of time and space to finish turning before driving ahead. Let's all plan to share the road safely. Learn how at www.sharetherodesafely.gov.