The Old Die Rich by Tales Of Tomorrow

Summary

Summary of "The Old Die Rich" by HL Gold

Podcast: Relic Radio Sci-Fi
Episode: The Old Die Rich by Tales Of Tomorrow
Release Date: March 24, 2025

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Introduction

"The Old Die Rich" is a gripping science fiction narrative presented in the classic old-time radio format by Relic Radio Sci-Fi. This episode delves into themes of time travel, deception, and the ethical implications of manipulating the past to influence the future. Through the protagonist Mark Weldon’s journey, listeners are taken on a suspense-filled adventure that questions the boundaries of human ingenuity and morality.

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Plot Overview

1. The Mysterious Case of Starving Millionaires

The story begins with Mark Weldon, a persistent investigator intrigued by a baffling phenomenon: wealthy elderly individuals committing suicide through starvation despite having substantial financial resources.

• [02:08] Lou Pace: "Old man dead of malnutrition with thousands of dollars in the bank."

Mark is contacted by Lou Pace from Central Hospital about another case. Unlike previous victims, this elderly man is still alive but critically malnourished. Mark becomes obsessive with uncovering the truth behind these peculiar deaths, dismissing the official explanation of "senile psychosis" as too simplistic.

• [03:07] Lou Pace: "Why don't you give it up, Mark?"
• [03:08] Mark Weldon: "What?"
• [03:09] Lou Pace: "Why make a big mystery about something that's perfectly natural."

Dismatisfied with the mundane explanations, Mark discovers an anomaly with the victims' bank books—the ink on the records is chemically recent, suggesting tampering. This discovery propels him deeper into the mystery, leading him to investigate further.

• [03:36] Mark Weldon: "He started mumbling about Ms. Roberts like he was afraid of it."

2. The Encounter with May Roberts

Mark’s investigation leads him to a job advertisement by May Roberts, prompting him to disguise himself as an elderly man to infiltrate her residence. His suspicions are confirmed when he confronts May Roberts, who reveals herself as Mayor Carr and a brilliant physicist responsible for the time manipulation affecting the elderly.

• [07:09] Mark Weldon: "How did you know that?"
• [07:10] Mayor Carr: "I knew you seemed a bit too curious this morning, so I conducted an investigation of my own."

Mayor Carr explains that he uses a time machine to send individuals back to the past, exploiting their knowledge to amass wealth through strategically timed investments and bets. This revelation forces Mark to confront the moral implications of such manipulations.

• [08:14] Mark Weldon: "Ah, your laboratory, eh?"
• [08:16] Mayor Carr: "You might call it that."

3. The Mechanism of Time Manipulation

Mayor Carr introduces Mark to the time machine, coercing him to participate in the scheme. Mark is transported to the year 1931, where he uses envelopes provided by Carr to invest in stocks and place bets, thereby generating substantial wealth. This experience exposes Mark to the mechanics of time travel and its potential for both good and evil.

• [09:00] Mayor Carr: "And I suppose you'd like to be rich. Your."
• [09:03] Mark Weldon: "Is that an offer?"
• [09:04] Mayor Carr: "It's a command."

Mark successfully navigates the past, accumulating wealth and realizing that Carr's operations have broader, more sinister implications.

4. The Grand Deception and True Intentions

Upon returning, Mark learns of Mayor Carr’s true intentions: the Dynapack, a futuristic power source, is central to Carr’s plan to manipulate the 20th century, leading to technological unemployment and perpetual conflict. Carr reveals that May Roberts, his daughter, orchestrated the scheme to avenge her father's rejection and humiliation.

• [13:18] Mayor Carr: "Well, you've already seen how simple it is to make money by sending men back into the past."
• [14:38] Mark Weldon: "Atomic energy?"

Mayor Carr explains that the Dynapacks are essential for the future, but bringing them to the past would destabilize the timeline, leading to disastrous consequences.

• [22:09] May Roberts: "If you returned to the 20th century with a Dynapac, it would revert to a lump of nettles."

5. The Climactic Confrontation

Determined to thwart Carr’s malevolent plans, Mark returns to his present time without the Dynapack information, thereby preventing Carr's scheme from succeeding. In a final confrontation, Mark overcomes Mayor Carr, effectively dismantling the time machine and ensuring the safety of both timelines.

• [25:52] Mark Weldon: "I'd have you all right. Long enough to get my throat slick."
• [27:19] May Roberts: "You just."

Mark contacts his colleague Lou Pace to reveal the truth, but skepticism ensues until they discover the remnants of the time machine, solidifying Mark's account as reality.

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Key Themes and Insights

1. Ethical Implications of Time Travel: The story explores the moral dilemmas associated with altering past events for personal gain, highlighting the potential for abuse of such powerful technology.

2. Deception and Manipulation: Mayor Carr’s facade as a benevolent scientist contrasts with his manipulative intentions, emphasizing the dangers of charismatic individuals exploiting technology for nefarious purposes.

3. Human Greed and Desperation: The willingness of individuals to distort or lie about their circumstances to access financial resources underscores the darker aspects of human nature.

4. Sacrifice for the Greater Good: Mark’s decision to forgo personal gain to prevent future chaos illustrates themes of selflessness and responsibility.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• [03:24] Mark Weldon: "Nah, that's too pat."

• [04:09] Mark Weldon: "What sort of a container would that be?"

• [07:10] Mayor Carr: "You seem a bit too curious this morning, so I conducted an investigation of my own."

• [09:00] Mayor Carr: "And I suppose you'd like to be rich."

• [13:15] Mark Weldon: "You mean to say you're familiar with the future?"

• [22:30] May Roberts: "That exact nonsense."

• [23:06] May Roberts: "No, Mr. Weldon. She intends to use the Dynapac to enslave your century."

• [25:50] Lou Pace: "Hold it."

• [27:19] Mark Weldon: "I'll switch off the current. Are you all right, Lou? Did you get hurt?"

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Conclusion

"The Old Die Rich" masterfully intertwines classic radio storytelling with timeless science fiction elements. Through Mark Weldon's harrowing experience, the episode invites listeners to ponder the profound consequences of time travel and the ethical boundaries of scientific advancement. The narrative not only provides suspense and intrigue but also serves as a cautionary tale about the perils of unchecked ambition and the moral responsibilities that come with great power.

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Production Credits

• Cast: John Raby, Raleigh Bester, Maurice Tarplin, Raymond Edward Johnson (Omentor)
• Special Effects: Ed Blaney, Bob Prescott
• Engineer: Joe Durante
• Music: Bobby Christian
• Script Adaptation: Michael Sklar

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"The Old Die Rich" stands out as a compelling installment in the Relic Radio Sci-Fi series, seamlessly blending nostalgic radio elements with forward-thinking science fiction. It underscores the enduring fascination with time travel and its potential to reshape our understanding of history and morality.

Transcript

[Mark Weldon]

Relic Radio.

[Lou Pace]

This is Relic Radio. Sci Fi, Old time Radio. Science fiction stories from relicradio.com.

[May Roberts]

Tales of Tomorrow.

[Mark Weldon]

Tales beyond human imagination until they happen.

[May Roberts]

Tales of tomorrow. Story number 13.

[Mark Weldon]

The Old Die Rich by HL Gold.

[May Roberts]

This is your host, Omentor, saying hello. Like to take a little trip to another century? Just name your choice. You can go back through the years as far as you like, or forward into the future and visit civilizations as yet unknown. Fantastic. Not if you use the proper vehicle, which in this case is a time machine.

[Mark Weldon]

What's that?

[May Roberts]

How do you find a time machine? Well, I found one in a remarkable story from Galaxy magazine. A story called the Old Die Rich.

[Lou Pace]

Hello, Mark?

[Mark Weldon]

Oh, yeah. Hello, Lou. What's up?

[Lou Pace]

I'm calling from Central Hospital. We got another of those cases here.

[Mark Weldon]

Old man dead of malnutrition with thousands of dollars in the bank.

[Lou Pace]

No, this old guy had 17,000 in the lining of his coat.

[Mark Weldon]

And he's still alive, Lou. Will he stay that way?

[Lou Pace]

It's hard to say. He was 3/4 dead from hunger when the cops picked him up. The doctors are shooting him full of heart stimulants and feeding him intravenously. How soon can you get here?

[Mark Weldon]

Right away. Wait for me.

[Lou Pace]

This was it.

[Mark Weldon]

The break I'd been waiting for ever since. I'd first become curious about all those old people who died of starvation with plenty of money in the bank. This was the first one who turned up alive. If I could talk to him, find out why he'd done it. But I couldn't. When I reach the hospital.

[Lou Pace]

Too late, Mark. Oh, by five minutes.

[Mark Weldon]

Now, that's luck for you. I wait months for a chance like this, and when it comes, I'm stuck in a taxi cab. I feel like giving up the whole thing.

[Lou Pace]

Why don't you?

[Mark Weldon]

What?

[Lou Pace]

Why make a big mystery about something that's perfectly natural.

[Mark Weldon]

There's nothing natural about people starving themselves to death when they have plenty of money.

[Lou Pace]

I told you, it happens every day. Now, here's the death certificate on this one. Malnutrition induced by senile psychosis.

[Mark Weldon]

Nah, that's too pat.

[Lou Pace]

Pat or not pat, that's the explanation. This guy was like the rest of them in your file. He starved himself because he was crazy. Because he was less afraid of death than he was of digging into his savings.

[Mark Weldon]

I don't believe it. This one. Did he have any means of identification on him? No, you see, he fits into the pattern. He was old. He had no means of identification. If he'd had a bank book, I bet it would be just like the others.

[Lou Pace]

You mean that business about the ink?

[Mark Weldon]

You've never been able to explain that?

[Lou Pace]

Well, I can now.

[Mark Weldon]

How? The entries in those bank books date back as much as 50 years. But chemical analysis shows that the ink is only a few months old.

[Lou Pace]

The ink only seems to be a few months old now. Don't you see? Those entry screens would look fresh if the bank books were kept in the right kind of container.

[Mark Weldon]

What sort of a container would that be?

[Lou Pace]

Well, I guess it would have to be, well, practically airtight, so the ink wouldn't oxidize.

[Mark Weldon]

All right, now ask yourself this. Would every one of those starvation cases have kept his bank book in an airtight container? Does that sound logical?

[Lou Pace]

I admit it's a pretty big coincidence, but how else can you explain it?

[Mark Weldon]

I don't have any answers yet, Lou. Did this old guy say anything before he died?

[Lou Pace]

He started mumbling about Ms. Roberts like he was afraid of it.

[Mark Weldon]

Ms. Roberts? Who is she?

[Lou Pace]

I tried to get him to tell me, but he was too far gone.

[Mark Weldon]

Anything else?

[May Roberts]

That's all.

[Lou Pace]

Why don't you give it up, Mark?

[Mark Weldon]

Give up now. And for the first time, I've got something solid to go on.

[Lou Pace]

What have you got?

[Mark Weldon]

The name Roberts. During the next week, I made a list of all the Roberts's in the phone book. Every morning I checked the want ads and finally I found what I was looking for. The ad read, wanted man over 50 years. Years of age, good income, no experience necessary. Apply May Roberts, 1205 Eldridge Avenue. The house was an old five story brownstone in the wealthier part of town. I showed up the next morning, made up as an old man, my face lined with collodion wrinkles, wearing an old suit and shabby shoes. May Roberts had red hair, pale skin and blue eyes as cold as ice. Three words describe her. Beautiful, but hard. Her voice as she asked for my name, address and Social Security number and references was completely impersonal. After writing it all down.

[Mayor Carr]

Thank you, Mr. Weldon. We'll get in touch with you if we need you. Good day.

[Mark Weldon]

She practically pushed me out of the house. Whatever that job was, I didn't get it. But why? What had I done wrong? Then it came to me in a flash. Hadn't all the starvation cases been men without Social Security numbers or references? Yeah. I'd pulled a boner that night. I waited until all the lights in the brownstone house went out. And I climbed up the fire escape, trying the windows until I found one that was unlocked. I opened it, jumped Inside and came face to face with May Roberts. She had a gun in her hand.

[Mayor Carr]

Mr. Weldon, isn't it? I thought I told you to wait until we'd get in touch with you.

[Mark Weldon]

And please don't turn me over to the police. Ms. Roberts, I never tried to rob a house before, but I'm un.

[Mayor Carr]

You aren't an old man and you didn't come here to rob me.

[Mark Weldon]

What else would I be doing here?

[Mayor Carr]

I know this much about you. You're 32 years old and you've been trying to find out why senile psychotics starve themselves to death.

[Mark Weldon]

How did you know that?

[Mayor Carr]

You seemed a bit too curious this morning, so I conducted an investigation of my own. What have you found out about me?

[Mark Weldon]

Nothing.

[Mayor Carr]

Let me remind you you're guilty of housebreaking. I could shoot you and claim I did it in self defense. So please be completely frank with me.

[Mark Weldon]

All right. I know you're the daughter of the late Dr. Anthony Roberts, the physicist, and that you're a pretty good physicist in your own right. And that's all I know. You could let me go and I wouldn't have a thing on you.

[Mayor Carr]

No, I don't think you would. On the other hand, you might convince the police to get a search warrant. That would be inconvenient.

[Mark Weldon]

Not if you've nothing to hide.

[Mayor Carr]

You want to find out my connection with the senile psychotics? Very well. I'll show you. Go through that door and turn to the right.

[May Roberts]

Where?

[Mark Weldon]

Now?

[Mayor Carr]

Through that open door to your left.

[Mark Weldon]

Ah, your laboratory, eh?

[Mayor Carr]

You might call it that.

[Mark Weldon]

What's that? Queer looking Wire mesh cage. And those electric motors.

[Mayor Carr]

That's what I'm going to show you. But first I want you to undress.

[Mark Weldon]

You mean take my clothes off?

[Mayor Carr]

That's right.

[Mark Weldon]

Look, I'm not in the habit of undressing.

[Mayor Carr]

Please, Mr. Weldon. I'm a scientist. Also, I have the gun.

[Mark Weldon]

She pulled a bundle of clothes from the shelves on the wall. They were cut in the style of 20 years ago. When I put them on, she took a bundle of envelopes from a work desk. Then she switched on the electric motors.

[Mayor Carr]

You've been an unexpected nuisance, Weldon. But now that you're here, we might as well both benefit by it. The money those old men had in the bank. You'd like to know where it came from, wouldn't you?

[May Roberts]

Sure.

[Mayor Carr]

And I suppose you'd like to be rich. Your.

[Mark Weldon]

Is that an offer?

[Mayor Carr]

It's a command. Take these envelopes and get into that case.

[Mark Weldon]

Hey, wait. A minute. What's this all about?

[Mayor Carr]

When the time comes, I want you to use the envelopes in the order they're arranged.

[Mark Weldon]

Are you going to do the same thing to me that you did to those old men?

[Mayor Carr]

I'm going to make you rich, Mr. Weldon.

[Mark Weldon]

Ha. Rich and dead. No, thanks.

[Mayor Carr]

You won't die unless you refuse to follow instructions.

[Mark Weldon]

It was either the gun or the cage, so I chose the cage. She went to a big electrical switch and pushed it as far as as it would go. The cage began to vibrate like a tuning force. I was being taken like a tree in the storm. The next thing I remember is finding myself standing near a newsstand.

[May Roberts]

Then several things hit me.

[Mark Weldon]

It was day instead of night, spring instead of autumn. The cars on the street had square bodies. I turned to the newsstand, picked up a paper and looked at the date on the front page. May 15, 1931. It hit me like a punch in the solar plexus. I'd been taken for a ride in a time machine carried back 22 years. The envelopes. I hauled them out of my pocket. The first one contained $150. Somehow, perhaps by hypnosis, I heard May Roberts voice.

[Mayor Carr]

Deposit this money at the First national bank under your name.

[Mark Weldon]

I had no account at the bank, but they welcomed me with open arms. The vice president of the bank made out my bank book personally. Outside on the street again, I opened the second envelope. It contained 10 crisp $100 bills.

[Mayor Carr]

Take this and buy as many shares of stock in General Motors as you can. Buy it in the name of Dr. Anthony Roberts.

[Mark Weldon]

My thousand dollars bought a tremendous wad of stock certificates. Stock that's worth many times as much in today's market. Then the third envelope. $500 in small bills.

[Mayor Carr]

Bet this on the championship heavyweight fight between Max Schmeling and Jack Sharkey. Bet on Sharkey to win.

[Mark Weldon]

I put down every dollar of it and cleaned up. After that, the fever of what I was doing got into my blood. I made dozens of bets, opened dozens of accounts at banks, bought dozens of blue chip stocks and all of them sure things. Because May Roberts knew in advance which stocks would go up and which horse or fighter would win. I cleaned up 15,000 for myself and 100 times that much for May Roberts. When I ran out of envelopes, suddenly I. I blacked out on the street. When I came to my senses again, I was in the room with the motors inside the wire mesh.

[Mayor Carr]

You can come out now.

[Mark Weldon]

Thanks.

[Mayor Carr]

Well, how'd you like your trip into the past?

[Mark Weldon]

Very interesting. And profitable. But one thing puzzled me. I am kind of hungry, but a long way from being starved.

[Mayor Carr]

What made you think you'd be starved?

[Mark Weldon]

The others always were.

[Mayor Carr]

Not you. Don't mind my using first names now that we know each other, do you?

[Mark Weldon]

Go right ahead.

[Mayor Carr]

Good. Look, I'm not infallible, Mark. Sometimes I make mistakes. Occasionally I hire men too old to stand the strains of time travel. I try not to let that happen. But they need money so badly that they lie about their age and health. Can you blame me for that?

[Mark Weldon]

Not if it's the truth.

[Mayor Carr]

Don't you believe me, Mark?

[Mark Weldon]

I think you're a killer. A very brilliant one. To invent a time machine, you'd have to be a genius.

[Mayor Carr]

You think I invented the time machine to win a few hundred thousand dollars at gambling? You underestimate me, Mark. The purpose of the time machine is to help all mankind.

[Mark Weldon]

And just how do you help mankind with it?

[Mayor Carr]

Well, you've already seen how simple it is to make money by sending men back into the past. That's the smallest part of my work. There were great upheavals in the past, Mark. Wars and revolutions, vandalism and great fires. I sent men back to save things that would have been destroyed. Beautiful things. Things that would have been lost to the world forever if I hadn't interfered. There's no point in talking about the treasures of the past when the treasures of the future are so much more important.

[Mark Weldon]

You mean to say you're familiar with the future?

[Mayor Carr]

I know something about it. Enough to solve most of the problems of the world. If I could find the right man to help me.

[Mark Weldon]

What do you mean?

[Mayor Carr]

Well, up until now, I've concentrated the time machine on the past. Only once I sent a man into the future.

[Mark Weldon]

What happened to him?

[Mayor Carr]

He was too old to survive the strain of the transitions.

[Mark Weldon]

But you said you'd found out something that could benefit all mankind.

[Mayor Carr]

I did. That man lived long enough to describe a small metal box. Small enough for one man to carry, but producing enough power to run the city's industries and light its homes and streets.

[Mark Weldon]

Atomic energy?

[Mayor Carr]

I don't know. But, Mark, can you imagine what the world would be like today if those boxes were in every city?

[Mark Weldon]

Chief Power. It would revolutionize the world. All right. But where do you find those boxes?

[Mayor Carr]

In the civilization of the year 2023.

[Mark Weldon]

What's your idea, May? Do you want me to go into the future and get that box so it can be copied and distributed?

[Mayor Carr]

You can't do that.

[Mark Weldon]

Why not?

[Mayor Carr]

It's physically impossible to bring anything from the future that doesn't exist right now. So you can't bring back the box, Only the technical information to build one.

[Mark Weldon]

Technical information? But I'm not a scientist.

[Mayor Carr]

You don't have to be a scientist to find the and copy it down in notebooks.

[Mark Weldon]

Maybe so, but isn't the future uncharted territory? I'm no hero. I want to come back alive.

[Mayor Carr]

Don't you think I want you to come back?

[Mark Weldon]

This could be a sweet way to get rid of me.

[Mayor Carr]

I'm rather fond of you, Mark. I've waited a long time for a man like you to come along. I'd hate to lose you now.

[Mark Weldon]

May. Does that mean what it sounds like?

[Mayor Carr]

Listen to me. We'll have money, power, love. All the things two people could ever.

[Mark Weldon]

Wish for if I come back.

[Mayor Carr]

Mark, Are you afraid of me?

[Mark Weldon]

Yeah, a little.

[Mayor Carr]

Don't be silly. Come here, Mark.

[Mark Weldon]

She was fire and ice. She was all the things I wanted in a woman. And a few that I didn't want. Part of me was repelled. The other part was fascinated. A couple of hours later, we went back to the laboratory and I entered the wire mesh cage.

[Mayor Carr]

Don't be afraid, darling. I'll be here waiting for you.

[Mark Weldon]

Hey.

[May Roberts]

How long are you going to keep.

[Mark Weldon]

Me in the year 2023?

[Mayor Carr]

One month. Goodbye, Dar.

[Mark Weldon]

Once again, the motors were screaming, the cage vibrating faster and faster until the mesh blurred, the earth spun. And then suddenly I was catapulted into a world I never knew. The world of 2023. A minute later, I was back on the street. There was a sign at the intersection. It read, to the shopping center. I followed the arrow to the center of the city, a large square with a park in the middle and shops on all four sides. I walked along it until I found an electrical appliance store. What could I say? I didn't even know the name of the box I was looking for. And even if I had known it, I had no money to buy it with. Assuming it was for sale, I found the box purely by accident. It was sitting on a counter made of a tinted metal no bigger than a suitcase with a lit vent on top and a dial alongside. I didn't know I had until I twisted the dial. Suddenly, every light in the store glared and a salesman came rushing over.

[Lou Pace]

Please be careful, sir. We don't want to burn out every light and motor in the place.

[Mark Weldon]

Stuart, I'm sorry. I. I just wanted to see if it worked okay.

[Lou Pace]

Oh, but there's never any question about that Dynapacks always work. The principle is simple and there are no moving parts to wear out, so they last indefinitely. But you must know that everyone learns about the Dynapack in primary education.

[Mark Weldon]

Oh, yeah, yeah, sure, sure.

[Lou Pace]

Are you thinking of getting one?

[May Roberts]

Me?

[Mark Weldon]

No, no, no. The old one is good enough. Well, I'm curious to see if the new models are much different from the old ones.

[Lou Pace]

New models? There hasn't been a new model since the year 2008. Can you think of any reason why they should be?

[Mark Weldon]

Why, no, no. Guess not. But. Well, you never can tell.

[Lou Pace]

You can with Dynapacks. Now, if you'd like to make application for one, I'd be glad to take your name and address.

[Mark Weldon]

No, thank you.

[Lou Pace]

I don't need a moment, sir.

[May Roberts]

Knife.

[Mark Weldon]

You'll step. I don't have the time. I've got an appointment. Sorry to trouble you.

[Lou Pace]

It's no trouble at all, sir.

[Mayor Carr]

You just.

[Mark Weldon]

I got out of there fast. Ducking around several corners, I went into the park and sat down on a bench. I was like an ancient Egyptian set down in the middle of Central park with instructions to steal a mummy out of the Metropolitan Museum. Hours passed as I tried to figure it out. There was only one thing to do. I had to take a chance and ask someone for help. Just then a man sat down on the bench beside me. He was middle aged and looked friendly.

[May Roberts]

You mind if I sit down here?

[Mark Weldon]

Not at all. Look, mister, I'm a stranger in town and I. I haven't eaten all day. Could you help me get a meal somewhere?

[May Roberts]

Certainly. I'll be glad to help you, Mr. Weldon.

[Mark Weldon]

Oh, it's real nice of you to. What did you call me?

[May Roberts]

You are Mark Weldon, aren't you? Mark weldon from the 20th century?

[Mayor Carr]

You.

[Mark Weldon]

You know who I am?

[May Roberts]

Of course. All the city officials know about you, Mr. Weldon. We've been expecting you.

[Mark Weldon]

Expecting me?

[Mayor Carr]

But how.

[Mark Weldon]

How did you know?

[May Roberts]

We read all about you in the private papers of May Roberts.

[Mark Weldon]

So you know about her too?

[May Roberts]

Oh, yeah. You see, Ms. Roberts private papers were discovered in a vault several weeks ago. That's how we knew exactly when you would come and where to find you.

[Mark Weldon]

And you know why I'm here?

[May Roberts]

Certainly. To obtain information that would enable Ms. Roberts to build a Dynapac. By the way, my name is Archibald Car. I'm mayor of the city.

[Mark Weldon]

All right, you caught me, Mr. Carr. You can do whatever you want with me. But first get me something to eat. I'm starving. Mayor Carr took me to his home A magnificent apartment in one of those tall glass buildings. We had dinner together, served by a pretty maid who kept staring at me as though I were a freak. Mayor Carr ate roast beef and green vegetables. Topped off with savory coffee and a rich dessert. I ate canned meat, canned vegetables and dehydrated potatoes. For dessert, I had dried fruits and powdered milk.

[May Roberts]

I hope that food doesn't taste too unpleasant, Mr. Weldon. Unfortunately, we can't give you any of the foods we eat ourselves.

[Mark Weldon]

Why not? Seems to be more than enough to go around.

[May Roberts]

If you ate our food, you would die when you return to the 20th century. Like those pathetic old men you've been investigating.

[Mark Weldon]

What?

[May Roberts]

That canned meat, powdered milk and the rest of it may not taste really appetizing, but at least it won't do any harm. You see? All of it was prepared in your time. I don't get it, Mr. Weldon. Didn't May Roberts explain that nothing can exist before it exists? Isn't that why you were able to obtain the technical data on the Dynapack instead of the Dynapack itself?

[Mark Weldon]

That's right.

[May Roberts]

If you returned to the 20th century with a Dynapac, it would revert to a lump of nettles. Because that's all it was in your time. In the same way you. You couldn't take our foods back. Because our foods were non existent in the 20th century.

[Mark Weldon]

And if I try to, I die of malnutrition like the others.

[May Roberts]

Exactly.

[Mark Weldon]

Did May Roberts know that?

[May Roberts]

Of course.

[Mark Weldon]

I don't believe it. She said she would love with you.

[May Roberts]

As the two who borrow a 20th century expression. She was playing you for a sucker. She expected you to bring back the technical information and then die like the others. Fortunately for you, we were able to read her papers in advance.

[Mark Weldon]

But why should she do that? She doesn't want the Dynapack for herself. Isn't she after it because it will bring cheap power to the 20th century?

[May Roberts]

No, Mr. Weldon. She intends to use the Dynapac to enslave your century. To revenge herself on a society that rejected and humiliated her father, the scientist Dr. Roberts. She wants the Dynapac to create technological unemployment and wars and revolutions without end.

[Mark Weldon]

That's not true.

[May Roberts]

It can't be.

[Mark Weldon]

It just can't be.

[May Roberts]

You don't have to take my word, Mr. Weldon. I can prove everything I said.

[Mark Weldon]

How can you prove it?

[May Roberts]

By letting you read the private papers of May Roberts for yourself. They are stored in the city archives a short distance from here. I'll take you There. As soon as you're ready. Well, Mr. Weldon, do you believe me now?

[Mark Weldon]

It's fantastic. Gruesome. She's a cold blooded murderer. According to these papers, she sent those old men into the future knowing they'd die when they return. And she's planned the same thing for me.

[May Roberts]

Yes, and she'll succeed. Unless you cooperate with us.

[Mark Weldon]

What do you want me to do then?

[May Roberts]

You will trust us and work with us.

[Mark Weldon]

After reading this to the limit, how can I describe the next month? I was the guest of Mayor Carr. With the freedom to travel the entire country. Those people of the future had learned all the secrets of the physical universe. But more important, they'd learned how to live with each other and each with himself. I'd have given anything to spend the rest of my life with them. But it couldn't be. May Roberts controlled me through the time machine. Every day, every passing hour brought me closer to the time of departure. I was in my room, asleep, when the last moment came.

[Mayor Carr]

Mark, you've come back.

[Mark Weldon]

Yes, I'm back. May. What's the matter? Why are you staring at me?

[Mayor Carr]

I thought you'd be.

[Mark Weldon]

You thought I'd be. Thin as a ghost, A walking cadaver just strong enough to tumble out of here and collapse on the street.

[Mayor Carr]

What an idea. Darling, please don't start distrusting me again. Did you bring back the information on the power box?

[Mark Weldon]

No, The Dynapack is better off where it is. Those people showed me that inventions that appear before the world is ready for them can cause more harm than good.

[Mayor Carr]

You fool. So you double crossed me. I don't know how you escaped starvation, but you won't escape this time.

[Lou Pace]

Hold it.

[Mark Weldon]

Keep your hand away from your pocket.

[Mayor Carr]

Let go of me.

[Mark Weldon]

Martha, go. Okay, as soon as I see what's in that pocket. Yeah, I thought so. A gun. Give that to me. To kill me with. Or maybe your plan was to force me back into the cage and send me to a century I could never come back from. Well, it's your turn this time.

[Mayor Carr]

What are you talking about?

[Mark Weldon]

Get into that cage. My friends in the next century have plans for you.

[Mayor Carr]

But it's murder.

[Mark Weldon]

As Lou Pape would say, there's no murder without a corpse. How many deaths were you responsible for? For the law couldn't convict you. But I can get inside.

[Mayor Carr]

Mark, you're making a mistake. You could have so much money, power, me.

[Mark Weldon]

I'd have you all right. Long enough to get my throat slick.

[Mayor Carr]

Please don't do this.

[Mark Weldon]

Give my regards to my. I waited until she Was gone. Then I phoned Lou Pace, and when he got to the house, I told him the entire story. He listened with an expression of disbelief until I was finished.

[Lou Pace]

So you sent the dame into the year 2023, huh?

[Mark Weldon]

That's right, Lou.

[Lou Pace]

I've heard some crazy yarns in the years I've been on the force, but never one to beat this. Have you been hitting the bottle?

[Mark Weldon]

It's true, every word of it.

[Lou Pace]

Look.

[Mark Weldon]

See for yourself. There's the time machine.

[Lou Pace]

Time machine, huh? All right, let's have a peek under that tin hood. He's exploding.

[Mark Weldon]

I'll switch off the current. Are you all right, Lou? Did you get hurt?

[Lou Pace]

I'm okay. I jumped away in time. The machine is ruined, though.

[Mark Weldon]

I might have known she had it rigged to short and explode if it was tampered with. No one will ever be able to figure out how it worked from that mess.

[Lou Pace]

If it ever did work. Where's Ms. Rabbit's mark?

[Mark Weldon]

In the next century.

[Lou Pace]

Don't give me that. Did you kill her?

[Mark Weldon]

No, Lou, I just told you.

[Lou Pace]

I heard that before. And I'm sorry, Mark, but I have to take you down to headquarters. You better have a good story when you meet the boys from Homicide.

[Mark Weldon]

I told the detectives the same as I told Lou. Fellow I was grilled for days. They dug up the cellar of the house on Eldridge Avenue searching for May Roberts body. Naturally, they didn't find it. Eventually, they released me. Enlisted May Roberts with the Missing Persons Bureau. I often think of May Roberts, of Mayor Carr and all those other people in the future. And sometimes it all seems like a dream. When that happens, I take out my bank book and look at the 15,000 DOL have on deposit. A gift from May Roberts. Or should I say, a gift from the past?

[May Roberts]

That's it. The Old Die Rich by HL Gold. Thanks to wonderful Galaxy magazine now in the stand. This is your host, Omentor. And until next week, I leave you with this thought. Look out for beautiful redheads. One of them might just possibly on a little time machine.

[Mark Weldon]

Tales of Tomorrow. Heard in tonight's play were John Raby, Raleigh Bester, Maurice Tarplin and your host o mentor, Raymond Edward Johnson. Special effects, Ed Blaney and Bob Prescott. Engineer Joe Durante. Music was composed and conducted by Bobby Christian. Script adaptation by Michael Sklar.

[May Roberts]

This has been Tales of Tomorrow. Exciting science fiction stories of the future. Thrilling tension.

[Mark Weldon]

Tales of the days to come come.

[May Roberts]

Tune in again next week at this.

[Mark Weldon]

Same time and over these same stations.

[May Roberts]

For another thrilling story.

[Mark Weldon]

This is the United States Armed Forces Radio Service.

[Mayor Carr]

It's RA.