The Stars Are The Styx by X Minus One

Summary

Podcast Summary

Podcast: Relic Radio Sci-Fi
Episode: X Minus One – "The Stars Are The Styx"
Airdate: February 16, 2026
Source: X Minus One (original NBC broadcast)
Story by: Theodore Sturgeon (“The Stars Are The Styx”)

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Episode Theme & Purpose

This episode centers around the adaptation of Theodore Sturgeon’s story "The Stars Are The Styx," dramatized on the classic science fiction radio show X Minus One. The narrative explores existential exile, personal redemption, longing, and human connection in a future where nonconformists, outcasts, and misfits are given one last chance to leave Earth and reach for the stars—provided they can find a partner to join them on a one-way voyage. The episode delves deeply into questions of identity, acceptance, and the costs of both freedom and belonging.

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Key Discussion Points and Story Highlights

The Setting and Role of "Curbstone"

• Curbstone Satellite Station: The main setting, an outpost orbiting Earth where those unfit for society wait to be “certified” for interstellar exile. Run by Karen (the narrator, named after the mythological ferryman Charon), it’s a somber but oddly hopeful place.
• Certification Process: Departing Earth involves passing physical and mental evaluations, plus the requirement to find an opposite-sex partner willing to share the journey—and possibly life or death.

Major Characters and Arcs

1. Karen (narrator / station manager):

   • The administrator who interviews, guides, and ultimately judges who is sent into the unknown.
   • Struggles with the burden of his role and a deep compassion tinged with cynicism and regret.
   • Memorable insight:

     "You can't love really, unless you can hate." (Karen, 15:46)

2. Tween (Karen’s assistant):

   • An albino woman ostracized for her difference, longing for acceptance and love.
   • Represents hope and vulnerability among the outcasts.

3. Judson:

   • Karen’s former student; exiled for encouraging individuality in a conformist society.
   • Becomes a quiet catalyst for emotional honesty among the group.

4. Wald and Flower:

   • A decadent pair, bored thrill-seekers who initially seem incapable of love or genuine connection.
   • Their dynamic embodies both the destructiveness of hedonism and the faint possibility of redemption.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

The Nature of Curbstone

• Karen describes those exiled to Curbstone:

  "Some are antisocial criminals of a sort, some are misfits, individualists who cannot adjust to the rigid standardization. Some are just different… And a few are poets. Those who have souls too big for the confines of Earth." (Karen, 04:15)

The Certification Requirement and Existential Stakes

• Explaining the partner rule:

  "You must find an agreeable partner…willing to share her life or death with you from now until eternity." (Karen, 07:33)

• Judson’s blunt question:

  "What are our chances?"
  "46% of them never make it." (Karen, 08:15)

Tween’s Longing and Disappointments

• Tween’s hopes for love:

  "I’ve met someone who really likes me." (Tween, 13:50)
  "He kissed me. Do you know that no man has ever kissed me like that?" (Tween, 14:41)

• Tween’s heartbreak:

  "At least I’ve had them." (Tween, 18:33)
  "He doesn’t care about me. He never has." (Tween, 19:04)

Betrayal and Tragedy

• Karen’s bitter revelation, post-betrayal:

  “Judson…was dead. His head cracked like an eggshell. Judd. I know you can’t hear me, but I swear to you I’ll get the one who did this.” (Karen, 24:26)

• Wald’s justification:

  "I can’t afford to lose Flower." (Wald, 24:50)
  "He’s going to have a companion. You." (Wald, 25:10)

Closure and Moral Reckoning

• Karen’s ambiguous mercy/justice:

  "I did them to Wald… Then I set the controls of the ship again. Went out." (Karen, 25:39)

• Tween’s final hope:

  "He had a spark of decency in him after all. I knew it." (Tween, 27:04)

• Closing reflection:

  "They call me Karen. They forget what it feels like to be denied two worlds instead of one. They forget something else, too. Karen was more than a boat. He was an executioner." (Karen, 27:28)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Segment | |---------|-----------------------------------------------------------| | 02:39 | Introduction of Karen, Curbstone, and the central premise | | 05:00 | Arrival of new characters (Judson, Wald, Flower) | | 07:33 | Explanation of the "partner requirement" | | 08:52 | Statistics and stakes of the one-way journey | | 12:16 | Judson confides interest in Tween | | 13:50 | Tween's romantic hopes | | 14:41 | Tween describes her first kiss | | 18:33 | Tween is rejected and heartbroken | | 19:41 | Flower persuades Wald to join her on the one-way trip | | 24:26 | Karen discovers Judson’s death and confronts Wald | | 27:04 | Ship launches; Tween’s bittersweet closure | | 27:28 | Karen's closing soliloquy on meaning and execution |

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Overall Tone & Style

The adaptation is a melancholic, character-driven drama with classic mid-20th-century radio sci-fi atmosphere—reflective, earnest, at times sardonic. Karen’s narration is world-weary yet filled with compassion. Dialogue is sharp and reminiscent of golden age radio drama, with crisp, poetic lines and a stoic undercurrent of existential dread and human hope.

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For New Listeners

"The Stars Are The Styx" offers a poignant meditation on exile, otherness, and the struggle to find meaning and love beyond the boundaries of an unforgiving society. The story, elevated by memorable performances and a thoughtful script, blends suspense, tragedy, and hope—making it a quintessential old-time radio sci-fi experience.

Transcript

[Tween]

Relic radio.

[Announcer]

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

[Narrator]

In just a moment. X minus one.

[Karen]

But first.

[Announcer]

A familiar theme that introduces some of the sweetest music this side of heaven. The music of Guy Lombardo and his Royal Canadian. And beginning Monday, July 30th, NBC Bandstand brings you live two full hours of your favorite tunes by Guy Lombardo, Tommy Dorsey, plus wonderful arrangements by Freddie Martin and Wayne King. It's four top bands in person, joined by sparkling personalities like Burt Parks and Johnny Mercer. Your Mr. Music. Remember July 30th for the premiere of NBC Bandstand.

[Narrator]

And now stay tuned for X minus one on NBC. Countdown for blast off. X minus 5, 4, 3, 2.

[Karen]

X minus 1.

[Judson]

Fire.

[Narrator]

From the far horizons of the unknown. Come transcribed Tales of new dimensions in time and space. These are stories of the future, adventures in which you'll live in a million could be years on a thousand maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine presents one. The night the stars are the sticks by theodore sturgeon.

[Karen]

They call me Cairn. It isn't my real name, but it suits my job. Cairn, you may remember ferried dead souls across the River Styx of Greek mythology. I ferried dead souls from the planet Earth out into the unknown of space. My little satellite station is known as Curbstone. I've been here for 20 years. Yes, Karen. Oh, Tween. What is it?

[Tween]

There's a ship landing from Earth.

[Karen]

Is it the regular shuttle?

[Tween]

Yes.

[Karen]

Okay, we'll check the candidates as soon as they're in.

[Tween]

I'll fill out the reports for you.

[Karen]

Thank you. Oh, Tween.

[Tween]

Yes?

[Karen]

Close the door a minute, will you? I want to talk to you.

[Tween]

Yes?

[Karen]

How long have you been here on Curbstone?

[Tween]

I don't know. I think two years, approximately.

[Karen]

And you've been helping me here in the office for almost a year and a half. Have you thought about going back to Earth?

[Tween]

Well, yes, I. I thought about it and. Well, I couldn't. I. I'd rather die. I just don't seem to belong there.

[Karen]

You'd rather stay here and wait?

[Tween]

Yes.

[Karen]

Even though you may never become certified.

[Tween]

For space, one day it will happen.

[Karen]

Perhaps. I almost hope it won't.

[Tween]

Oh, don't say that.

[Karen]

Well, the shuttle should be coming in soon. Maybe this trip there'll be somebody aboard for you.

[Tween]

I have a feeling there will be.

[Karen]

I suppose I ought to explain a little about Curbstone. At this point, we're a stopping point. Well, a jumping off place would be more accurate. We get people from Earth who, for many reasons, cannot remain there. Some are antisocial criminals of a sort. Some are misfits, individualists who cannot adjust to the rigid standardization. Some are just different people who are physically different and who have been ostracized as a result. And a few are poets. Those who have souls too big for the confines of Earth. They come to Curbstone and wait to be certified for space. And it's my job to send them out.

[Tween]

They're waiting.

[Karen]

How many of the strip?

[Tween]

Two men and a woman. One of the men.

[Karen]

Yes?

[Tween]

Nothing.

[Karen]

Oh, I've known you too well to be fooled. Why, you're practically glowing. Did you speak to him? No, but do you think perhaps he'll be the one to choose you?

[Tween]

Well, I think perhaps the way he looked at me. How he didn't think there was anything funny about me. He just looked.

[Karen]

There is nothing funny about you.

[Tween]

You're trying to be kind.

[Karen]

You should know me better. I'm the original Billy Goat Gruff.

[Tween]

I do know you better. You have a kind heart.

[Karen]

Enough of that. Ask him to come in one at a time. I watched her walk to the door and I thought she was beautiful. She was. But not in a way acceptable to the Eugenics department back on Earth. Tween was an albino. She had silver skin and hair and ruby colored eyes. If I hadn't been such an old fat.

[Tween]

This way, please.

[Karen]

Thank you.

[Tween]

This is the senior release officer. He'll check you in.

[Judson]

Thank you, miss.

[Karen]

Your name, please?

[Judson]

Well, don't you know it?

[Karen]

No, I'm afraid I. Judd. Good Lord.

[Judson]

Hello, friend.

[Karen]

Judson. After all these years.

[Judson]

I understand they call you Karen.

[Flower]

Yes.

[Judson]

Good. I'll call you Karen.

[Karen]

Well, what in the name of misery brings you to Curbstone?

[Judson]

Oh, I'm a candidate.

[Karen]

But you of all people, you had a good position and enough money. You didn't get into trouble, did you?

[Judson]

Oh, the sort of.

[Karen]

What sort?

[Judson]

When I was your student at the university many years ago you taught me to enjoy my individuality. I tried to teach my students the same thing. The authorities wouldn't stand for it.

[Karen]

I see.

[Judson]

So I decided to take my chances in space.

[Karen]

Are you aware of the risk?

[Judson]

Well, not fully, or I probably wouldn't be here.

[Karen]

Then let me acquaint you with the procedure here on Curbstone. Look out that window. What do you see?

[Judson]

Looks like a spaceship on a launching platform.

[Karen]

Exactly. That ship is aimed at the outer galaxies. It has enough fuel to reach its destination and land but not enough to come back. I See, people who come here to Curbstone have to be certified before they can take off in one of those ships.

[Judson]

How does one go about being certified?

[Karen]

There are three requirements. You must pass a physical examination and a mental examination.

[Judson]

And the third?

[Karen]

You must find an agreeable partner for the trip.

[Judson]

A partner?

[Karen]

A partner of the opposite sex who is willing to share her life or death with you from now until eternity.

[Judson]

That could be rather difficult.

[Karen]

When the Earth authorities agreed to Operation Curbstone, it was decided that it would be a method of colonizing the outer galaxies with Earth people. Therefore, these ships are built to carry two people.

[Judson]

I see. Well, suppose I choose somebody and she doesn't want me.

[Karen]

You wait. Suppose.

[Judson]

Now, just suppose I pass the physical and the mental test and I even find a partner. Suppose we get into the ship and are launched into space.

[Karen]

What are our chances? Come here. This board shows a light for each ship that is en route in space. There, you see that one? That's a couple named Fort and Mary Ellen. They went out together last week headed for the Deneb systems. As long as the light shows they're all right. They haven't been destroyed by radiation or piled up on some asteroid or gotten into a time warp. We know from our years of launching couples here on curbstone that 46% of them never make it.

[Judson]

And of those that make it, we don't know.

[Karen]

They have the equipment for survival, of course, but who knows what they'll meet on some strange planet and still they go out. Still they go out.

[Judson]

When do I take the examinations?

[Karen]

Well, you can start tomorrow if you like. I'd like to talk over old times with you right now, but I have to check the other two passengers you came up with.

[Judson]

Certainly.

[Karen]

Tween. Would you come in, please? Tween assists me here. She too is waiting to find a partner for the trip.

[Tween]

Yes?

[Karen]

This is Judson. Judson's an old friend. He was a student of mine many years ago.

[Judson]

Very happy to meet you.

[Tween]

Yes, I know you are.

[Karen]

Tween. Tell the others to come in, please.

[Tween]

Yes, sir.

[Karen]

A remarkable girl. Remarkable looking, at any rate. Well, Tween will tell you where your quarters are. I hope we'll talk soon. Well, I hope so.

[Judson]

Oh, by the way, that light on the board. Ford and Mary Ellen.

[Karen]

What about it?

[Wald]

Well, it.

[Judson]

It just went out.

[Karen]

I was happy to see Judson. My memories of our association were pleasant ones. As he left, the other two passengers came in. The man was young, dark haired and slick looking. His name was Wald. The woman, well, she takes some describing her name was Flower, her voice was like a cello and her figure was a walking demand for the revival of the now extinct profession of keeping calm. Let me be honest. I didn't like either of them. That takes care of your documents.

[Wald]

How long will it take us to be certified?

[Karen]

Well, that depends. If you pass your test, it can happen in a week.

[Flower]

And suppose we don't pass our tests?

[Karen]

You might be here a year, two years. There's no limit. You. You can keep taking the test or you can return to Earth.

[Flower]

Earth? Oh, well, is there anything to do up here? I'm in excitement.

[Karen]

That depends on what you consider excitement.

[Flower]

Anything we haven't already tried. Isn't that right, Walt?

[Wald]

We decided to come up here, mister.

[Karen]

Call me Karen.

[Flower]

Karen.

[Tween]

How quaint.

[Wald]

Anyway, we decided to come up here because we were bored with the routine on Earth.

[Karen]

You're aware of the risk involved?

[Wald]

You mean we might not make it?

[Karen]

Well, that's life, isn't it? Over some. For others, it's death.

[Flower]

I don't like that kind of talk.

[Karen]

You'll attend an orientation session tomorrow. I'll have my assistant show you at your quarters. Trin.

[Tween]

Yes.

[Karen]

Come in. Twin, I want you to meet Flower.

[Tween]

How do you do?

[Karen]

And Wall. Well, Curbstone is exciting already.

[Flower]

Something different, darling?

[Karen]

Oh, shut up. This is Twin. She'll show you where you live. Pleasure.

[Tween]

A distinct pleasure.

[Karen]

There was something decadent about Walden Flower. Something almost reptilian. I couldn't believe that these two would ever step into a ship and risk the trip to space. Of course, I could be wrong. Boredom drives people to risk many things. At the session the next day, I watched my three new arrivals. When it was over, I stood talking to Judson. Well? Still want to go out? Yes. You got a companion yet? Oh, yes. Really? You haven't met anybody yet?

[Judson]

I've met the person I'd like to go with.

[Karen]

Mind if I ask who? Your assistant, Tween. Don't disappoint me, Judd. I fell in love with her the first time I met her too. I haven't even talked to her yet.

[Judson]

Except to say hello and where's the commissary.

[Karen]

But there's a quality about her like. Well, like a cool breeze on a hot summer's day. You are smitten. At my age, I can afford to be romantic.

[Flower]

Excuse me. Am I interrupting?

[Karen]

Not at all. Judson, you know Flora.

[Judson]

Yes, we met on the ship.

[Karen]

Coming to Curbstone.

[Flower]

I wondered if you were busy.

[Judson]

Me?

[Karen]

You.

[Judson]

Well, not really.

[Flower]

Good. Then you can take me down to the recreation Room for some methyl caffeine?

[Judson]

Well, I don't use it.

[Flower]

That doesn't mean you can't take me.

[Judson]

Well, you're a Mr. Wall.

[Flower]

I mean, World and I are just very good friends. Besides, he's busy right now. He's being shown around the satellite by this gentleman's assistant Twin. That's her name.

[Tween]

The peculiar one.

[Flower]

Coming. Judson?

[Karen]

I guess so.

[Judson]

You excuse us.

[Karen]

Certainly. When I saw Tween the next day, there were stars in her eyes. Good morning.

[Tween]

Good morning.

[Karen]

You're laughing.

[Tween]

Am I?

[Karen]

Your eyes are.

[Tween]

I'm happy.

[Karen]

Good.

[Tween]

I think it won't be long now.

[Karen]

Before what?

[Tween]

Before I'm certified.

[Karen]

Oh.

[Tween]

I've met someone who really likes me.

[Karen]

I see.

[Tween]

Can you guess?

[Karen]

No. Who is it?

[Tween]

Well, you know the dark haired young man who came in yesterday with your friend Judson?

[Karen]

Walt.

[Tween]

We went down to the ship together and he asked a lot of questions about it. And then we started to talk about us. He says he's wasted his whole life flitting from one diversion to another.

[Karen]

Really?

[Tween]

Now he says he's looking for something with some meaning.

[Karen]

You like him?

[Tween]

He isn't afraid of me. He doesn't see anything wrong with my being different.

[Karen]

I thought he was with Flower.

[Tween]

Oh, he says he and Flower travel together because of habit. They're both bored and looking for something or someone.

[Karen]

Well, as long as it makes you happy.

[Tween]

He. He kissed me. Do you know that no man has ever kissed me like that?

[Karen]

You enjoyed it?

[Tween]

Oh, yes.

[Karen]

Did he say anything about going out into space with you?

[Tween]

He said he could think of no one he'd rather go with.

[Karen]

And when is he going to sign the certification?

[Tween]

Well, he felt we ought to get to know each other better. For a while anyway. He's right. Don't you think?

[Karen]

Yes, I think it would be better.

[Tween]

Karen.

[Karen]

Yes?

[Tween]

I. I love you very much.

[Karen]

Why did you say that?

[Tween]

Because it's true. I mean, there's something so kind and understanding about you.

[Karen]

Don't let it fool you. Underneath, I'm the same as anybody else.

[Tween]

No, I don't believe it. Why they picked you for this job because you. You have such compassion. You could never hate, could you? I don't know. I never have. But now I don't know.

[Karen]

That's because you're in love. You can't love really, unless you can hate.

[Tween]

I don't believe that.

[Karen]

Oh, I just invented it to sound as if I knew the answer. Come on, I'll buy you a drink to celebrate the big event. I watched her sip the Drink the tones of her skin, coming and going with a pulse of her blood. I thought to myself, you're going to be hurt, twin. You're going to be terribly, terribly hurt. And I wondered if perhaps she didn't know. Well, Twin, another couple out into space. Maria and Clinton. Will you record it and have another ship brought up to the launching? Queen.

[Tween]

What? Sorry, I was thinking of something else. Walled so would have.

[Karen]

How long has it been now?

[Tween]

Three months.

[Karen]

Long time.

[Tween]

Well, I. He wants to be sure.

[Karen]

And you? Are you sure?

[Tween]

Oh, yes.

[Karen]

Nothing to do but wait. Then I have to go over to the hull division. Will you take over?

[Tween]

Yes. Sometime I too will be speeding through space and I'll be a tiny light on this board.

[Karen]

Hello then.

[Wald]

Mind if I come in?

[Tween]

Oh, not at all.

[Flower]

Where's fatso?

[Tween]

Karen, he isn't that fat.

[Karen]

He's fat enough. Where is he?

[Tween]

He went over to the hull division.

[Karen]

This is a nice layout.

[Tween]

Did you come to see me or the layout?

[Wald]

You know I came to see you. Matter of fact, I wanted to talk to you about something. Well, the party tonight at the rec center.

[Tween]

Well, what about it? We're going, aren't we?

[Wald]

I can't make it.

[Tween]

Was something wrong?

[Wald]

I'm meeting somebody else.

[Flower]

Oh, Flower.

[Tween]

I see.

[Wald]

Oh, come on, I don't look so hurt. Flower and I have bummed around together for years.

[Tween]

I thought she and Judson.

[Karen]

Oh, don't be ridiculous.

[Tween]

Well, they spend all their time together.

[Wald]

Oh, you don't know Flower. She likes to experience new things. When they get to be old, she tosses them away.

[Karen]

All except me.

[Tween]

And you. Do you like to experience new things and toss them away?

[Wald]

Look, I'm sorry, Tween, but it's just the way I am.

[Flower]

Like Flower, like Flower.

[Wald]

We're two of a kind.

[Tween]

Would you do me a favor? Why not make it a clean break. Don't try to see me again or tell me any more lies. Even though I want to hear them.

[Karen]

Okay.

[Tween]

And thanks. Thanks for these three months. Even though they've been make believe. At least I've had them.

[Wald]

Well, I'll. I'll see you around.

[Tween]

Yeah, I'll see you around.

[Karen]

Just let him flow.

[Tween]

He doesn't care about me. He never has. I know he's going back to Flower.

[Karen]

I know I saw him leaving.

[Tween]

What'll I do? He's the only one who ever wanted me.

[Karen]

No, not the only one. Now there are two of us. The question that kept going through my mind was, what next? How long was Wal going to hang around? Curbstone before he decided to go back to Earth. I couldn't believe he'd have the guts to go out into space. But I had underestimated flowers.

[Flower]

Well, well, the prodigal returns.

[Wald]

Don't make funny remarks.

[Flower]

Tell me, darling, what brings you to my room at this late hour? Could it be that you miss me? Or has little Miss Tween given you the huge.

[Wald]

Shut up and give me a drink. And don't act so self righteous. You've been having your fling with this Judson character.

[Flower]

My, my, jealous too. I thought you and I agreed a long time ago we'd never make any claims on each other.

[Wald]

That was a long time ago. Frankly, I'm getting bored with a satellite. Let's go back to Earth.

[Flower]

I'm bored with Earth.

[Wald]

Well, we'll go someplace else then.

[Flower]

I am going someplace else.

[Karen]

Where?

[Flower]

Out space.

[Wald]

Oh, come on now, don't be ridiculous.

[Flower]

Oh, I am not being ridiculous.

[Wald]

Do you know that only 46% arrive? And if you get there, heaven only knows what kind of monsters or poison atmospheres get you.

[Flower]

I know there's a certain thrill in the risk game.

[Wald]

Oh, and when did you start feeling poetic?

[Flower]

Since I started talking to Judson.

[Karen]

Listen, flower, don't try to trick me.

[Wald]

I know you too well. You're a hundred percent too selfish to risk your pretty skin for some poetic feeling.

[Flower]

Well, listen to me. You and I have been together for years. We're very much alike. Now, I'm telling you that I intend to go out. I want you to sign my certification and come with me.

[Wald]

You're mad.

[Flower]

No, no. I think maybe if we get away from everything out there, we'll find each other. We'll have a chance to love and be decent like ordinary human beings. Oh, well, don't you see? We've been destroying ourselves for years. We're getting older. Now please, please try to see it. A clean start. A new life, huh?

[Wald]

Well, this fellow Judson has really been filling your ear, hasn't he?

[Flower]

He's a kind person. He doesn't think I'm, well, worthless.

[Wald]

You kill me.

[Flower]

Girls, would you come with me?

[Karen]

No. No.

[Wald]

If you want to wreck yourself, go ahead. And who, pray tell, thinks enough of a cheap character like you to sign a certification?

[Flower]

Judson.

[Karen]

What?

[Flower]

He said he would go out with me and I intend to go.

[Karen]

I certified Judson and Flower that same evening. They're going to leave at midnight. I was working late. Come in. Well, Flower, I thought you and Judson.

[Flower]

We're not going. At least I'm not. Oh, Judson, decided you didn't want me along.

[Karen]

He did.

[Flower]

Here. He left this note for me. The story of my life. Nice girl. But who wants to marry anybody like that?

[Karen]

You see, I'm going alone. Don't try to stop me. It wouldn't work. I'd always look down on you. Judson. It doesn't sound like him.

[Flower]

Sounds like every man I've ever known. Except Wool doesn't judge me.

[Karen]

Except Walled. Where's Judson now?

[Flower]

Locked in the ship. He's leaving at midnight.

[Karen]

Three minutes. Listen, you wait here.

[Flower]

Where are you going?

[Karen]

See if I can reach that ship before it's too late. Man of my size and age shouldn't run. Especially when he has a bad valve in his heart. But I covered the distance to the takeoff ramp like a track star. As I hit the edge of the ramp, I heard Tween's voice screaming at me from the control tower. Karen, look out. You'll burn. Karen, look out. Karen. I reached the door. Just the rockets were beginning to warm up inside the ship. There wasn't any way to get in except the blast. There's only one way to stop a ship from taking off. Once the combustion chambers are operating. You have to get the dampening rods into the chambers and stop the chain reaction. It took a lot of beef, but I've got a lot. I looked around the control room. The ship Judsons strapped into the pilot's chair. The controls were preset for automatic takeoff. I went over to him. He was dead. His head cracked like an eggshell. Judd. I know you can't hear me, but I swear to you I'll get the one who did this.

[Wald]

Really?

[Karen]

I've moved. I have a gun on you, Wald. You're a pig. You're a living human pig. Thanks for the compliment. To take the life of a man whose only act against you was that he wanted to help Flower.

[Wald]

I can't afford to lose Flower.

[Karen]

Don't you think you've lost her already?

[Wald]

Not at all. She thinks Judson is going out into space without her.

[Karen]

I knew he wasn't capable of writing a note like that.

[Wald]

It doesn't matter.

[Karen]

Just how do you expect to get away with this?

[Wald]

Quite easily. Judson isn't going out alone after all.

[Karen]

Meaning? He's going to have a companion. You. It won't work, W. Once this ship.

[Wald]

Is headed for the stars, there won't be a shred of evidence.

[Karen]

Okay. Got it all for here? That's right.

[Wald]

Now turn around.

[Karen]

You have the gun? All I've got is this. Stop it. Stop it. Fat men can move amazingly fast, Walt.

[Wald]

What are you going to do?

[Karen]

Do? Nothing much. I'm just going to certify you, Walt, for a flight into. There are things you can do to a man if you know enough physiology. Pressures on the nerve system that can immobilize him for hours. I did them to Wall. Then I set the controls of the ship again. Went out. I was breathing hard. Took me a long time to make it up the steps of the control tower for Tween was waiting.

[Tween]

Karen. Oh, Karen. I was so worried. I thought you'd be burned. And then when Wall went in.

[Karen]

I'm okay. Sit down a minute.

[Tween]

What happened?

[Karen]

Nothing much. I had to stop Judson from leaving alone, that's all.

[Tween]

But why?

[Karen]

Well, Walt decided to leave with him.

[Tween]

What?

[Karen]

That's right. He finally repented. He. He knew that if he stayed around, he'd just make you unhappy again. So he asked me to stop Judson till he could join him.

[Tween]

You mean he didn't?

[Karen]

Any second now. There go the engines.

[Tween]

He had a spark of decency in him after all. I knew it.

[Karen]

Yes, in a way, he's a sort of hero.

[Tween]

The ship is trembling now. There they go.

[Karen]

Maybe she knew, maybe not. Anyway, she had loved a man and now she could love another. She came over to me and leaned over and kissed my mouth. Her lips were cool. Then I knew that I could live with the viciousness of what I had done. When you're old and fat as I am, the kiss of a young girl can make you human again. They call me Karen. They forget what it feels like to be denied two worlds instead of one. They forget something else, too. Karen was more than a boat. He was an executioner.

[Narrator]

You have just heard X Minus One, presented by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction magazine, which this month features a story by Theodore Sturgeon, the Other man, which tells of the hardest decision a man could face.

[Karen]

To do his job well and thereby aid his bitterest enemy.

[Narrator]

Galaxy magazine on your new stand today, tonight, by transcription, X minus One has brought you the Stars are the Sticks. A story from the pages of Galaxy, written by HL Gold and adapted for radio by Ernest Kanoy. Featured in the cast were Craig McDonnell, Patsy O', Shea, Dick Hamilton, Charlotte Manson and Bob Hastings. Your announcer, Fred Collins. X Minus One was directed by Bob Mauer and is an NBC Radio Network production. The music of freddie martin live, weekday morning starting Monday on NBC radio.