Untitled Story by Dimension X

Summary

Relic Radio Sci-Fi: "Untitled Story" by Dimension X

Original Air Date: September 15, 2025
Host: RelicRadio.com
Source: Dimension X (NBC radio series)

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Episode Overview

This episode of Relic Radio Sci-Fi features a suspenseful, time-bending detective story from the classic radio anthology Dimension X. Combining noir sensibilities with speculative twists, "Untitled Story" follows hardened private investigator Donald Han as he’s pulled into an enigmatic web involving a dying mayor, a supposed elixir of life, political intrigue, and mysterious figures who seem to know more than possible—even things from the future. As Han investigates the case, he uncovers layers of deception that transcend both time and space.

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Key Discussion Points & Story Breakdown

1. The Noir Setup: A Case with Strings Attached

• [00:01–04:48]
  • Donald Han, a seasoned PI, is summoned by Mayor Mike Flaherty. The mayor confides a health secret: he has a fatal, inoperable condition, but was convinced to pay $50,000 for a vial claiming to cure anything—“an elixir of life.”
  • Shortly after buying it, he gets warned anonymously that the vial is actually poison.
  • Han is tasked to track down the seller, Arthur C. Lehman, and find out the truth.
    • Notable line:
      "Easton, I want you to do some investigating for me...This is a confidential business." – Mayor Flaherty [03:08]

2. First Clues and Fatal Traps

• [04:48–06:03]
  • Han leaves his details with Flaherty’s sharp secretary, Katharina Cooper (“Kathy”), but gets a strange vibe.
  • Returning home, Han receives an ominous phone call:
    • "This is a warning, Mr. Hasen." – Anonymous voice [06:03]
  • His dog Jocko is killed by a deadly trap set on his bed; Han narrowly escapes.

3. The Mysterious Dr. Lehman and a Deadly Game

• [06:03–12:44]
  • Han tracks down Arthur C. Lehman, who is armed and suspicious but claims the phone warning as his own doing, urging Han to have the “elixir” tested on animals.
  • At a lab, they attempt the test, but Lehman disappears.
  • Han continues to press for answers, beginning to suspect a larger plot.
    • "You're playing around with something much too big for you to handle." – Lehman [09:15]

4. Kathy’s Secrets and Shifting Loyalties

• [12:44–14:40]
  • Han confronts Kathy in a late-night diner; she pleads with him to abandon the case, hinting at danger but refusing to explain.
    • "Don, I like you. You're a nice guy. Why don't you let it alone?...I've told you too much already." – Kathy [14:02]
  • Her fear seems genuine, but Han refuses to back down.

5. Scientific Proof and a Vanishing Act

• [14:40–19:51]
  • The biology lab soon informs Han that the elixir miraculously cured a dying guinea pig, proving it works.
  • Han returns to Lehman's office—only to find all traces of Lehman erased, as if the office was never occupied.
  • Han uses a clever ruse to pressure the janitor to reveal that Lehman recently rented and then hastily abandoned the office.

6. Showdown at City Hall: Motives Revealed

• [19:51–23:02]
  • Han returns to Flaherty’s office, confronting Kathy. She tries (at gunpoint) to force Han to hand over the vial, desperate to prevent Flaherty from using it.
  • Lehman arrives, clarifying his own motives: if Flaherty survives and rules, he’ll influence presidential politics, which may alter the world’s future in critical ways.
    • "I am most anxious to see that that does not happen. The entire future of our country, indeed the history of the world, would be affected by it." – Lehman [22:32]
  • Han realizes both Kathy and Lehman know things they shouldn’t—about the future.

7. The Time Travel Twist

• [23:02–27:19]
  • Han deduces the truth: Lehman and Kathy are time travelers.
  • Kathy admits that the “prime injunction” of time travel forbade her from intervening openly, but she has fallen for Han, clouding her mission.
    • "Both Lehman and myself are from the future." – Kathy [24:30]
    • Lehman’s plan: manipulate the past to install his own ancestor in power and thus secure his own future dominance.
    • Kathy had tried to kill Han to prevent interference but changed her mind, warning him instead.

8. Alternate Timelines and Sacrifice

• [27:19–28:52]
  • In a gunfight, Han is shot and dies—or so it seems.
  • He awakens, unhurt, in Flaherty’s office with Kathy. She reveals that the entire office is a time machine; she transported them back to moments before he was killed, giving Han a crucial second chance.
    • "This office is a time machine... When I saw he was about to shoot you, I jumped to the switch that sets the machine into reverse." – Kathy [27:54]
  • Kathy begs Han to destroy the vial and defeat Lehman; Han must make a final, fateful decision as Lehman returns.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "You get hardening of the cranial arteries, you become stupid." – Mayor Flaherty [02:11]
• "Somebody wanted to get rid of me pretty badly. Somebody to whom I had suddenly become very dangerous." – Han, on the lethal trap [06:27]
• "If you tell me just who you are and what you’re doing here..." – Lehman, confronting Han [08:32]
• "You're playing around with something much too big for you to handle." – Lehman [09:15]
• "Don, I like you. You're a nice guy. Why don't you let it alone?" – Kathy’s conflicted plea [14:02]
• "I am, as you surmise, a traveler from the future." – Lehman acknowledges the time travel secret [23:41]
• "The prime injunction to time travelers is never to reveal their identity. The penalty is death." – Kathy [24:34]
• "What he didn't know was that this office is a time machine." – Kathy reveals the final twist [27:54]
• "For our own sake, for the future's sake, break the vial now. In a moment, it'll be too late." – Kathy’s urgent appeal [28:37]

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Timeline of Major Segments

• 00:01–04:48: The case begins: Han hired by the mayor about a suspicious “elixir of life.”
• 06:03: Anonymous warning; the first murder attempt (Han’s dog is killed).
• 08:32–09:55: Han’s tense confrontation with Lehman; the elixir’s mystery deepens.
• 12:44–14:40: Late-night confessions; Kathy tries to persuade Han to quit the case.
• 16:30–19:51: The lab confirms the elixir works; Han discovers Lehman’s office is wiped from existence.
• 19:51–23:02: Confrontation at City Hall—Kathy’s betrayal and the escalating stakes.
• 23:41–24:46: Time travel secret revealed.
• 27:19–28:52: Death reversed; Kathy’s confession and the final, time-twisting decision point.

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Tone and Style

The episode’s dialogue is classic hard-boiled noir, full of witty repartee and a world-weary detective’s wisecracks. However, the story’s layering of science fiction concepts—time travel, alteration of history, parallel timelines—balances this tone with a sense of cosmic suspense and tragic inevitability. Kathy's sincere emotional conflict adds a touch of romance and pathos to the cerebral, twisty plot.

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Conclusion

"Untitled Story" is a prime example of Dimension X's imaginative merging of pulp detective fiction with the mind-bending possibilities of science fiction. Its surprising, time-looping ending leaves both its protagonist and the audience pondering the butterfly effects of even the smallest decisions. The episode is driven by sharply-drawn characters, clever period dialogue, and a final, sophisticated twist that still feels innovative in a modern context.

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End of summary.

Transcript

[A]

Relic Radio. This is Relic Radio. Sci Fi Old Time Radio. Science fiction stories from relicradio.com Adventures in Time and Space Told in Future. The National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Street Action and Smith Publishers of Astounding Science Fiction Bring you Dimension X. My name is Donald Han, private investigator. Have you heard about me? I cracked the Turner kidnapping back in 1946. It wasn't very hard. I paid off a few stool pigeons and went right to the hideout. It did my reputation a lot of good, though. Enough good for me to be called into the mayor's office down at City hall to see Big Mike Flaherty himself. Sit down, Hasten. Sit down. Thanks. You'll have to forgive me for speaking so low. That's a bad case of laryngitis. Yes, it is. Haitian. I've been a fool. You didn't get to be mayor of a city like this by being a fool. Well, you know, Hasten, when you get old, you want to believe a lot of things. You want to believe so hard that sometimes you throw your common sense right out of the window. You get hardening of the cranial arteries, you become stupid. What's the pitch, Mr. Mayor? You didn't call me in to discuss the philosophy of growing old gracefully. Easton, I want you to do some investigating for me. Naturally, it must be confidential. This is a confidential business. All right. Yesterday, a man came into this office and sold me a vial of radioactive water that he called a elixir of life. I suppose to cure you of any disease and keep you healthy enough so you live a hundred years. It's none of my business, Mr. Mayor, but how much did you drop on this gold brick? It's about $50,000. Hmm. You don't seem the type somehow. Come a little closer.

[B]

Hesitant.

[A]

I'm going to tell you something my political opponents would give their right arms to know. This isn't laryngitis. It isn't? It's inaccessible for surgery. X rays would be dangerous. How much time I have left, I don't know. But I live like a man who's going to the chair. He said if I want a vacation, I pack up and go. If I want a drink, I take one. If somebody comes to me with a vial of liquid and says it'll keep me alive, I think twice before I throw him out as a crackpot. What do you want me to do? Get your money back. The money isn't important. You mean if the loyal opposition got hold of the story, they could use it against you? That's part of it. Asia, however. You don't have the whole picture yet. Shortly after I bought the stuff, I received an anonymous phone call. I was warned not to take it. I was told it was poison and would kill me in a matter of seconds. Ah, the plot thickens. You can appreciate my position. I feel like a man who can either save his life or destroy himself by taking that stuff. Well, the phone call might be a hoax. Yes, and so might the elixir of life. Yeah, very likely. What do you want me to do about it? Investigate the man who sold it to me. Find out who's behind him, what he knows, where he goes, nothing else. I want that 50 grand back. What? Sell it for me. A grand if he's on the level. 10% if you get the dough back. Deal? Deal. He'll survive. And here's his card. Uh huh. Arthur C. Lehman, longevity experts. 45 billings course. Okay, Mr. Mayor, you got yourself a boy. Good. Leave your working name and phone number with my secretary. I'll have you sent your check. Right. I'll call.

[B]

You were in there a long time. How'd you make out?

[A]

Swell. I bought the outer drive for only 10 bucks. And the cost of mailing, that's kind of high.

[B]

Last week we were selling it for only five.

[A]

I'm sorry. I've been listening to too many detective programs.

[B]

It isn't polite to stare.

[A]

I was just wondering what your name was.

[B]

Sign on the desk says Katharina Cooper.

[A]

I'll call you Kathy. Oh, I'm supposed to leave my name and phone number.

[B]

Go ahead.

[A]

The name is Donald Hayson. But then you knew that. Honey, you've been listening to the mayor call me by it for the last half hour. You forgot to shut off the intercom switch. Big Mike's getting kind of careless, isn't he? The look on her face said she was feeding me to the vultures. Piece by piece, I left my card and walked out. By the time I got home, it was dusk. It was the time of early evening when every bachelor wishes he wasn't one. Especially after meeting a girl like Kathy. The phone began to ring just as I put my key in the latch. I made it on the fourth ring. Hello? Is this Mr. Donnell Hayson? I live alone and don't like it. Were you expecting someone else to answer?

[B]

This is a warning, Mr. Hasen.

[A]

Doc Cox was there. I'm sorry, but I don't like to sleep on the floor. The joys of being a private detective. Oh, hello, Jocko. How's my boy? That's a good boy. Now, Jocko, be glad you're not a private detective with all kinds of crackpots calling you up and trying to get you coat. Sometimes I wish I had shaggy ears like you so I couldn't hear them. Come on, boy. Come on in the bedroom for a change. Into something color. What's the matter, boy? You want to go out? Well, you just wait until I sit down here and get these shoes. Hey. Hey there. Don't jump on that bed, Fred. You know better than me. Choco Cho. Oh, God. The bed spread closed down in the way of Venus. Fly trap closes on a fly. When I looked more closely, I saw that the bedspread had silvery threads of fine spring steel woven into. Had been set like a bear trap to spring shut and strangle anything that touched it. Somebody wanted to get rid of me pretty badly. Somebody to whom I had suddenly become very dangerous. Instead, they got Jocko. My poor little Jocko. I decided to take a fast drive over to Billings Court to see Arthur Lehman. Longevity. I'm looking for Mr. Lehman's office. I'm the janitor. You didn't need to explain. He isn't in. Mr. Lehman isn't in. I just said I was looking for his office. Oh, a detective. Now I'm really a vacuum cleaner salesman. I just had these credentials printed up for fun. Here. Buy your wife a muskrat coat. I can't take any money. I just keep this till it's spent. What floor is it on? Up those steps, rear. Thanks. Now, let's see now. I ought to have one that fits this. There we are. There should be a light switch somewhere. Let's see if I could. Perhaps I can be of assistance. Looking for someone, Mr. Lehman? Yes. The janitor told me you weren't in, so I. You picked the lock? Yes. I hope you don't mind. Not at all. If you'd put down the gun. I like to hold it. It gives me a feeling of power. Now, Mr. Hasen. Mr. Haysen. If you tell me just who you are and what you're doing here. I couldn't sleep. My bed had a dead dog in it. I thought I should consult a health expert. Who sent you? Nobody sent me. I'm like Topsy. I just growed. I'd like to keep on growing, Mr. Layman. I don't like people trying to kill me. And I don't like people killing my dog. What makes you think I would try to kill you? Just a hutch. If I really wanted to kill you, I could do it right now, perfectly legally. Since you broke in. That'd be hard to prove. Fortunately for you, Mr. Hasten, I don't have the faintest interest in trying to kill you. On the contrary. It was I who telephoned and warned you about that bed. You know about that phone call? I ought to. I need it. What's the pitch, Mr. Lehman? I can't tell you what the pitch is, Mr. Hasten. But I will tell you this. Give that vial of liquid back to Flaherty and let him cure himself. Or poison himself. Sure. Look, Mr. Layman, I wasn't born yesterday. Don't give me this elixir of life stuff. There ain't no such thing. And don't try to top me off this case by pretending you're on my size. Jason, I warn you. You're playing around with something much too big for you to handle. That vial is the only one of its kind in existence today. The liquid it contains will cure flowers if he drinks it. You know, I've seen lots of carnival men peddling flucum and ink sticks, but you're good. You almost convince me. Almost, but not quite. You're a very stubborn fool, Mr. Hasen. Give back that 50 grand and I'll become very unstubborn. I have a suggestion. I'll bet you do. Why don't you siphon off the tiniest drop of that elixir and have it tested on, say, a rabbit? Then if it's non poisonous, you can go back to Flaherty and drinking. And while we're proving it's Carmel water, you're on a fast boat to outer Mongolia with 50 GS. Come with me. Where? To a reputable biological laboratory. Anyone you choose. Suppose I don't want to play? Then I'll kill you. You will feel my gun against your side, so don't try anything. Shall we go? Before we do, just one thing. Well, if you didn't try to kill me, who did? Who else knew about it? Nobody. Nobody except Flaherty, you, me and. And Flaherty's secretary. Shall we go, Mr. Hasting? Well, yes. Yes, I believe I could make such a test. Of course, we'd mean injecting a beast of CC into an infected guinea pig. Then we'd have to wait and do a biopsy. How long would it take? 24 hours at least. Okay. How much? $50. My friend will pay you. Your friend? Yeah, the gentleman will. Holy jumping sunfish, sir. Look, you saw me come in with a guy just a minute ago, didn't you? Yes, sir. But he left when you started Talking to me. Isn't that just dandy? Is something wrong? No, nothing much. You know what Barnum said about one being born every minute? Yes, sir. Well, he was talking about me, but I better get going. Yes, sir. Oh, sir. What about that test? Okay. I suppose you might as well do it just for laughs. Send the report on the bill to Donald Hasen, private investigator, Cater Billings. Yes, sir. I knew there wasn't much point in going back after Lehman. He was probably well on his way by this time. It was an all around phony story from beginning to end. But still, somewhere, hanging around the edges of my brain was a funny kind of hunch. If Layman had wanted to kill me, then who called me up to warn me? Layman himself. Why? It didn't figure. I stopped to look up an address in the phone book and then I invested 10 cents.

[B]

Hello?

[A]

Kathy? Yes, this is Sherlock.

[B]

Oh, I'm glad. Glad that you called, I mean. I. I wanted to apologize to you for eavesdropping this afternoon.

[A]

Why don't you do it over a cup of coffee? I have to talk to you.

[B]

It's very late.

[A]

Sleep late tomorrow. Please.

[B]

All right. Well, I need to.

[A]

There's a coffee shop near your place. I'll be there in 15 minutes. She came in wearing a blue nylon dress and a short gray jacket. It went real well. With her blue eyes and soft blonde hair, she seemed genuinely happy to see me. It threw me for a few seconds. And then I reminded myself I had already won the PT Barnum Award once that night. Sit down, Kathy.

[B]

What is it?

[A]

Do you know a man named Arthur C. Lehman?

[B]

Am I supposed to.

[A]

I'll refresh your memory. I had a talk with His Honor. About him?

[B]

I. I don't remember.

[A]

Look, I used to have a little Scotch terrier named Jocko. We liked each other. He used to lick my hand. All I want to know is, are you mixed up in it? What goes on?

[B]

I don't know anything about it.

[A]

Listen, Kathy, Maybe I'm getting sentimental in my old age, but for a moment there when you walked in, I thought you seemed genuinely glad to see me. Was it because you were glad I was still alive? Come on, give.

[B]

Don, I like you. You're a nice guy. Why don't you let it alone? Call Flaherty and turn down the assignment. Give him back his viol. Tell him you're not interested in finding Lehman. Would you do it?

[A]

If you want to help me so much, why not tell me what it's all about?

[B]

I can't. I'd like to, but I can't. I've told you too much already.

[A]

Somebody's got you real scared, honey. Who is it? You're too nice a girl to be mixed up in this garbage with a guy like Lehman. Come on, tell me.

[B]

I can't just believe that. Please get out of it now before it's too late.

[A]

Okay, honey, you can play it that way if you want, but to me it's as thin as a bowl of restaurant soup. Poor Jocko knew something and couldn't tell me. You know something and you won't tell me. Good night. I didn't go home. I spent the night in a local YMCA and I didn't sleep very well. It went around and around in my brain like a squirrel in a cage, but it didn't add up to anything. When it came out in the morning, I went straight to my office and locked myself in with a bottle of gin. By 10 o' clock, I had decided to quit the job. But before I could call Flaherty and tell him, the phone rang. Go ahead, Mr. Hasen. You got it. This is Dr. Gregory, the Bayside Biological Laboratory. If you want the money isn't about the money. What's up? Mr. Hayson? Do you have the formula for that serum you gave me? No. I know a guy who might, but he's in Outer Mongolia by now. Why? Well, I've never seen anything quite like it. I don't know if it was just a freak of fate. What happened? Well, that pig. That diseased guinea pig, Mr. Hayson. Well, it completely recovered in 12 hours. Not only that, Mr. Hat, but there is not a trace of the malignancy. That pig looks healthy enough to live another hundred years. I could feel the sweat soaking into my undershirt as I put down the receiver. Where do we go from here? Was Lehman on the level after all? The next stop was Lehman's office. Maybe he wasn't in Outer Mongolia. It was noon before I got there. The same janitor was on duty in the same dirty lobby. Hello there. Hi. Want something? Lehman. Who? Layman. Never heard of it. Now, wait a minute, Junior. You remember me? Last night? Five bucks. Rear office, first floor. I don't know what you're talking about, mister. You want another five, huh, Junior? Well, this time I don't buy. Get out of my way. Oh, listen, mister, I can't let you just walk into that office. I'll try to stop me if you want to work tomorrow. But there's nobody in there. That opportunity. We'll see about that, Junior. Right now, holy mackerel. I told you, mister. The room was bare. There were caps on the electrical outlets. Everything in the room was covered by a six weeks accumulation of dust that was undisturbed, except for the footprints of the janitor and myself. Yet yesterday there had been a rug, telephones, desk, chairs, file cabinets. I checked the door number 1B. That was it, all right. Then I checked the janitor. He was standing there just looking stupid. But he looked a little too stupid. I figured I could make him talk. So I tried an old trick. I reached inside my hat band, took out an ordinary pin and jabbed him hard on the arm. Hey. Ow. What's the big idea, mister? Sit down, Junior. Sit down over here on the window ledge. Okay, now listen. I don't know anything. Maybe you saw something like this in the movies, Junior. There's this guy, see, a killer, and he sticks another guy with a needle that has a slow poison on the end of it, like I have, right in this little glass vial, see it? And only this killer has the antidote. If the other guy doesn't talk, it's curtains in one minute. If he does, the killer will give him the antidote. Okay, Junior, talk. And I. I don't believe you. There's no poison in that pin. It's a joke. It's up to you, Junior. Don't you feel something different, though? Feel your heart speed up a little from the poison? Now listen, I don't know anything. It makes you sweat, too. When it reaches the brain, that's when it really begins to work. You got 30 seconds to spill. Otherwise. Please. 25 seconds. Okay, okay. He was here. He gave me $100 to forget it. He rented the office only a couple of days ago. And then last night he said he was moving out. Said I shouldn't mention to anybody that had been here. And our lady was gone. Piles, furniture and all. Don't know how I moved all that stuff out so fast. Now, that's all I know, Alice. That's all I know. Now, for God's sake, mister, give me that stuff. Don't let me just croak. I feel it. Relax, Junior. There was no poison. You're all right. A trick. Yeah, a trick. Thanks for the information. A trick. He tricked me. He said he'd kill me. Thanks again. There was Mr. Han again, right back on the horns of ye old dilemma. The only thing I knew for sure at this point was that the serum was apparently not poisonous. And since my client was most concerned with that, I made my next stop the office of His Honor, Mayor Big Mike Flaherty. I had the vial in my coat pocket. Hello, beautiful. Oh, I want to see His Honor.

[B]

He isn't in it.

[A]

I'll go into his office and wait.

[B]

You can't.

[A]

But I can. Come on in. I want to talk to you anyway.

[B]

Please.

[A]

Come on. Shut the door, huh? No. Okay, I'll shut it. Now sit. Okay, baby, let's have a heart to heart conversation.

[B]

I see you didn't listen to my warning.

[A]

No, I didn't. What's more, I found out that this Layman character is on the level about the serum. It works.

[B]

You found that out too?

[A]

That's right. It leads me to an interesting conclusion, Kathy. Namely? That you're the one who tried to booby trap me.

[B]

All right, have it your way. What do you intend to do?

[A]

Well, first I'm gonna give Flaherty that serum and let him cure himself.

[B]

You mustn't do that.

[A]

Why not?

[B]

I. I can't tell you. But you mustn't. Down. In a few minutes, Mike Flaherty will be here. Before he comes, I'll have to ask you to give me that serum.

[A]

Try again. I don't hear so good.

[B]

Maybe you'll hear this. It works too. So don't try anything.

[A]

Well, well. So now it comes out okay, Kathy, if you want to play that way, go ahead.

[B]

Give me that serum.

[A]

Why don't you shoot?

[B]

I warn you, I may have no choice. Give it to me.

[A]

Pull the trigger, baby. You're weakening, Don.

[B]

Please don't make me kill you. Please.

[A]

What is it, baby? True love or just weak in the knee? You better handle that gun. Oh, Don. Don.

[B]

What can I do? I feel mixed up.

[A]

Yeah, that's better. Now what is it, Kathy? You're no killer. Tell me what's going on here. Maybe I can help you. You gotta trust me.

[B]

No, I can't, Don. Believe me, I want to. But it's against the prime injunction.

[A]

The what?

[B]

You wouldn't understand. There's no way I could make you understand. Only believe me, Don. I love you. You mustn't let Lehman succeed in giving that serum to Mike Flaherty.

[A]

Please.

[B]

The consequences would be unimaginable.

[A]

You know, Kathy, if you had come to me in level right at the start, maybe we could have worked something out. Maybe I'd be listening to you now. But you're a little late because I just heard Big Mike come into the outer office. He'll be here in a second.

[B]

Don't. Don't. Please.

[A]

Come in. How do you do? Layman. I see she's been trying to get the vial from you, Mr. Hastings. I was afraid of that. I came over to make certain that Mr. Flaherty is permitted to drink the syrup. That's very noble of you, Layman, but I don't quite understand it. You have your 50 grand. What do you care whether Mike Flaherty lives or dies? Mr. Hasten, if Mike Flaherty dies, the opposition candidate will win the next election. That means a new political party will come into dominance in this city. The next president will be a representative of that party. I am most anxious to see that that does not happen. The entire future of our country, indeed the history of the world, would be affected by it.

[B]

He's telling the truth, Don. But events must be allowed to take their normal course.

[A]

Don't listen to her, Hastens. She's tried to kill you once. She'd do it again. You know I'm telling the truth about that serum. She wants to see Flaherty die. Go ahead, ask her. It's true, isn't it, Kathy? You want Mike Flaherty to die.

[B]

You don't understand.

[A]

Listen, I'm getting pretty fed up with being told I don't understand. Understand what? I understand that in the past 24 hours somebody's tried to kill me. I understand that Layman's serum will cure a guinea pig and probably a human. I understand that unless I'm completely insane, the entire contents of Layman's office vanished in a few minutes. I understand that you two seem to be more concerned with some nonsense that's going to take place in the future than. Holy smokes. Oh, no. No. It's too fantastic, just too fantastic to even think about Something troubling you, Mr. Hasen. Perhaps I can help you. Perhaps you can. Lehman, I'm going to ask you just one question. Very well. When are you from? That does it, doesn't it, Mr. Lehman? I've guessed your game. I'm afraid you have, Mr. Hasen. I am, as you surmise, a traveler from the future. And since you stumbled upon it, perhaps Ms. Cooper here would like to fill in her part of the story. But before she does, up your hands, both of you. Higher. Don't move. I'll take that gun, Mr. Han. Now, Ms. Trooper, you may enlighten our backward friends. Go ahead, Kathy.

[B]

Both Lehman and myself are from the future.

[A]

Don, why didn't you tell me?

[B]

I couldn't. The prime injunction to time travelers is never to reveal their identity. The penalty is death. Since you've guessed it, as we Feared you might. There's no point in trying to conceal anything further.

[A]

Go on.

[B]

Mr. Lehman's a fugitive from the era in which we live using one of our time machines. He came back to your time and he sought to change things so that he'd be in a position of great power in the future.

[A]

How do you figure to do that?

[B]

If Flaherty lived long enough, he could dominate the political picture in America.

[A]

You're almost right. Except in one detail, Ms. Cooper. Flaherty will not survive. He will live only long enough to gain a position of political dominance. Then I will remove him and my own ancestor will take over the reins of power leaving them, eventually, to me. I get it now. But there's one thing that bothers me. Who was trying to kill me?

[B]

I was. You see, I was sent here to track down Lehman. I said that spring before I met you. As soon as Flaherty hired you to help him. I did it on orders from the council. They were afraid you'd be successful in saving Flaherty's life. Then unfortunately, I. I fell in love with you and couldn't go through with it. I called and warned you.

[A]

You took credit for that, Lehman. I wanted to enlist you on my side, Mr. Heysen. However, it makes little difference at this point. Since you know the entire story, I have little choice now. Do you think you can get away with this? I believe I can. Mr. Hasen. There are two of us here who know your plans. By the time Mr. Flaherty returns to his office, there will be only one. Myself. Goodbye, Mr. Hasson. It has been a pleasure. Not without a fight.

[B]

You shut down.

[A]

Not many people know how it feels to be shot in a forest. I saw Kathy jump toward the desk and push a button I hadn't noticed before. I remember a thud, as if I'd been sandbagged. And then watching in amazement as the crimson spread down the front of my shirt. Then there was a loud roaring noise and everything went black. I died.

[B]

Don't try to move. Don. Don't move yet. It'll take a few minutes for you to feel like yourself.

[A]

Well, I'd only. Jumping sunfish. I'm sitting in Flaherty's office. The blood. There was blood on my shirt. And it's gone now.

[B]

Here. Here, drink this.

[A]

I. I don't understand it. Have I been dreaming? Is the whole thing nothing but a nightmare? Well, it seemed so real that there was a man named Lehman. He pointed a gun at my head and shot me. I. I felt it, I tell you. I felt It.

[B]

John. John, listen to me.

[A]

Listen carefully.

[B]

There isn't much time. And. Please, darling, please, this time, believe me. Listen.

[A]

Go ahead.

[B]

You were in this room. Lehman did shoot you.

[A]

He.

[B]

He killed you.

[A]

You're insane.

[B]

No. What he didn't know was that this office is a time machine. We rigged it that way, hoping to trap him here and take him back to future time. When I saw he was about to shoot you, I jumped to the switch that sets the machine into reverse. We went back into the past before he killed you. That's where you are now. It's only a few minutes before Lehman is going to knock on that door and come into the office.

[A]

It's too fantastic to believe, Kat.

[B]

It's true.

[A]

What can I do?

[B]

Break the vial. Break it now before Layman gets here. And then when he comes, get the jump on him. Since you're the one who went back in time, you'll remember. But Layman won't.

[A]

What'll happen to us?

[B]

They'll appeal to the council. Perhaps they'll let us stay together.

[A]

I can't make my brain believe this.

[B]

Kathy, you must.

[A]

Don.

[B]

Don, for our own sake, for the future's sake, break the vial now. In a moment, it'll be too late.

[A]

Well, I don't know, Kathy. Clarity. His life depends on this little glass.

[B]

Bottle, don't you think? It's Lehman time. You've got to decide now. Now.

[A]

Quick. Thank. Come in. Mr. Layman. We're ready for you. You just heard. Another adventure into the unknown world of the future. The world of dimension. Foreign each week by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with street and Smith, publishers of the magazine Astounding Science Fiction. Today, Dimension X has presented Untitled Story from the current issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was written for radio by George Lefferts, from the story by Frank M. Robinson. Featured in the cast were George Petri as Han and Sergeant as Kathy. Bernard Lenro as Layman. Your host was Norman Rose. Music by Albert Berman. Dimension X is produced by William Welch and directed by Fred Way Dragnet. The story of your police force is next on NBC.