 Adventures in time and space, told in future tense. When man first crossed the vast distances of outer space to land on strange worlds, he found that someone had been there before him. The ruined canals of Mars, the smashed cities of Titan and Centaurus II and III, all these were evidence that 100,000 years ago, a race of intelligent beings built their cities across the galaxy. They knew space travel, atomic power, astrophysics and engineering, and then they destroyed themselves, completely, so that of all the cities on a thousand worlds, only dust and rubble remained. Why? Why did these beings obliterate all record of themselves? That is the mystery of the lost race. The freighter Carilla, bound out of Earth for Cetus Alpha II, came into normal flight after 103 days in overdrive. The stars were unfamiliar, the constellations known on Earth had disappeared, but there was a yellow sun off the port and about it revolved three planets. What do you make of the Briggs? It isn't on any of the star charts Captain Wharton, I checked through. 103 or dead alright, have to take a closer look at number two. Turn up the vision scale, hold her ice caps, she's green around the bell. Let's take her down to a five mile orbit, swing around for a look, alert for deceleration. Aye sir. Throw in the manuals, power room. Power room, aye. We're going down to have a look at something, give us just enough power to keep her under control. Briggs, hang on to your stomach. You sent for me Captain Wharton? Come here Mr. Owl. You mind if I sit down? Free fall sickness? I'm afraid I'm not an old space hand. We'll level out in a minute. Do you want something? Yes, we can model over dry and smack in the middle of a new planetary system. Briggs says it's unreported. Well that's rather good news isn't it? Depends. Press reports pretty common. Let's take a claim on her in case there are any mineral discoveries. Well I meant the possibility of archaeological finds. I'm afraid I'll leave that to you Mr. Owl, you're the expert. Coming up five Captain. Level off. Hang on Owl. Power room, hold her steady she goes. We'll orbit at slow cruising speed. Alright, clear the scope Briggs. Aye sir. Nice looking piece of real estate. Well the space guard requires I check up a radioactive gold and lost race rooms. Landing? Landing. I've got a schedule to keep Mr. Owl. I can't sit down on every lump of dirt I run into. We'll do a spectroscope check and I figured you'd spot any ruins. Alright. Wait a minute. They're in the lower quadrant. What? That bold spot in the vegetation. Those are ruins alright. Are you sure Owl? Yes. I've seen the lost race rubble on Centaurus too. There. You can see it plainly dust and rubble. No, that's what I get for calling in an expert. Briggs, stand by to take it down to 5,000 feet. Aye sir. All this thinking luck there goes my schedule. Seen enough howl? This is going to set me back five hours. Interesting. Wait a minute. What's wrong? I believe it. Marvelous. Incredible. Stop sputtering howl. What is it? Look over that rise in the ground. It's a section of the city still standing. You're right. That hill must have shielded it from the blast. Captain, you've got to land. Land? You've got to. This is the first lost race site that's ever been spotted. Of course you'll land. Howl, we get a thousand dollar bonus for every day under par for the run. But you don't understand. It's the biggest find in the century. We can shard it and you'll have to get back somehow. That's all. I'm not sitting down to rake over old dust heaps. Captain Wharton, I'm on commission to the space guard. You may have to answer to them. I'll think of one. Look howl. Strictly speaking, you're a passenger. You've got to land. You don't belong in a bridge. I'm not landing down there on that section. Emergency from the power room. Something must have blown. Power room, power room. Denton, what's wrong down there? Denton. He doesn't answer. You think he's serious, Captain? Reaches the fuel locker. That five pounds of besetting will go and kick us right out of space. Denton. Denton. Power room, aye. What happened? What blew? What's the damage? The main tube's burnt out. Okay. Can you make repairs? Not in flight. And you're raising enough power to land? I don't know, Captain. A wiring shot. It's that like a Tomcat. I might be able to get something from the deceleration auxiliaries. Get a jewelry rig on her. We'll try to set her down. Aye, sir. Briggs. Yes, sir. Alert for price landing. Signal room. Signal room. Signal line. Langston, get off a position fix and SOS stand by. Aye, sir. Well, Mr. Howell, I guess you're going to join your friends in the lost race. I just hope it's not permanently. That's it. She's bucking bad. Five more minutes and the whole place will shake loose. Power room. Stand by for Bob Blaston signal. Power ready. I'm going to try for that clearing. Two now. Two to one for a dollar. All right. Hang on. You all right? My head on the panel. It seemed to be all assembled. We're down. I guess our luck hasn't run out yet. Calling power room. Power room. Aye. All right down there? Yeah, I'm all right. Danton, I want a complete damage check and repair estimate. Get up here as soon as you got it for me. Briggs, you all right now? Yes, sir. I guess so. As soon as we get Danton's report, get a detailed app. Help him with repairs. Captain Wharton. What is it, Langston? My speaker line is out. Sending circuits broke. It's fair tubes. Those are pretty rough landing, Captain. They're gone. I'll replace them this side of lunar space station. I see. Well, the SOS ought to do it. When the space guard monitor reports out... They aren't going to, Captain. Why not? Sending circuits went out when the blast went off down there. I didn't get the SOS out. Thank you, Langston. Get back and see what you can salvage. Has that been bad news? We were in overdrive, Mr. Howell. It would take 40 years to search the distance we've traveled in one day. Consequently, when the ship doesn't make port and doesn't transmit a position fix, they forget about it. Oh. I see. And with the radio out, we blast off on our own power. Or we don't get off. I got your damage report, Captain. Well? Here. It's on a B-23 checklist. Isn't that bad? What? Captain, how long will it take you for repairs? I don't know. An estimate. I know Gypsy Fortune teller. How about the lifeboat? For deep space? What are they teaching at Sands Point now? Basket weaving? Captain, lifeboat couldn't lift half a light year off this year. Captain, I'll take just so much. Can it be converted to Bescendium Drive? Converter links were mashed when we came down. How long is it going to take you to repair the main drive? Look, Captain, I got two hands. You want me to hold a lug wrench in my teeth? See here, Captain. You stay here, Captain. The whole Lazy Crew's been spittin' all over me ever since we blasted off. Now you can all wait on me. Who do you think you are, Captain? The only power man on this ship, that's who. Can't satisfy with the way I'm working. Go hire yourself another boy. The woods are Lazy with him. I'll take my own sweet time. What's the matter with him? Now, the bugger is here. Space fatigue, Captain. He's been locked up in the power room for a day. We don't have enough trouble. Briggs? Remind me to slug the psychotechnician when we get back. Don't tell me nobody gets into deep space, who isn't emotionally stable. What are you going to do about him, Captain? Nothing. Stay off his back. Oh, but Captain's the only man who can get us out of here. We want to hit the cradle at New York Spaceport again. We've got to keep him happy. Captain Wharton, as long as we're landed and we do have to wait for the engines to be fixed, I suppose we can't explore the lost race ruins. Look, Mr. Howell, I can't spare the men. We are now stuck tight until Danton gets those engines fixed. And if he can't, which is entirely possible, we are stuck, period. Briggs, I want you to keep a careful eye on the men. Space fatigue is nothing compared to what we might run up against now. Captain Wharton, Captain, I've got it. Is there any circuits? No, no, sir, but I picked up the incoming video band. Well, that's something. Can you get the mail call through? The man could use a little lift right now. Well, the scheduled one-way personals are due at 2330 Greenwich. Good. I'd ought to help morale. Langston, rig the receiving booth. Aye, sir. Oh, this is a break. Seeing the folks at home may be enough to keep everybody on an even keel. I know I'll be glad to see that kid of mine. Mr. Langston, get Hanson out of the booth. You'll wear the glass right off the tube. Take it easy, Williams. Everybody gets three minutes. Hey, Kelly, I bet that dame of yours burned up the circuits, eh? How'd you know it was his, girl? You can't tell through the booze. Who else would call that, eh? What'd you say, Kelly? Oh, nothing. She don't have to. She just stands in front of the pickup tube and, oh, brother. I can just see that. Hey, hey, it's a boy. A boy? How's that a boy? They're gonna show him to me in the circuit tomorrow. Congratulations. Who's next, Mr. Langston? The last call's coming through now on ticker. It's for Williams. Well, wait a minute, Williams. That'll go with my arm. What happened to my call? Uh, no call today, Danton. You're a liar, Langston. Hey. My girl calls in every scheduled circuit. That must be mine. Let go, Danton. Maybe Janie was busy waiting tables at the lunchroom. What do you know about her, Hanson? You kidding? She's a swell kid. Everybody at New York Spaceport knows her. Yeah, I've seen you hanging around Jane, too. Now wait a minute, Danton. Take it easy, Danton. You and Williams made this up between you, didn't you? You're gonna take my call, huh, William? You're a space happy. You used to hang around with her before I cut you out. Now listen, Danton, you were lucky enough to get her. Let well enough alone. You bet I got her all right. And you're not gonna steal her back. Williams, I'm gonna... Are you crazy? Danton! Get him up! Get him up! What's going on in here? Let him fight! Can't you? You little crescent! I might back! Grab him, Hanson! Get him up! That's all I mean. Everybody took your call. Now calm down, Danton. I'll fix all of this. Look out. He's got a wrench in here. Danton! He's nuts. Ah, nobody gets a call. Nobody. How do you like that, Williams? You ain't gonna hear from Janie no more. How do you like that? After him! Kelly! Hanson! The airlock. He's left the shit. Let him go, that jealous screwball. Sure. But that's the only man who can get us off of here. Won't you so help me, Briggs? I warned you to keep an eye on Danton. Well, I didn't think he'd go off this way. All right, that girl is here, sir. He's crazy jealous about her. Any reason for it, Williams? No, sir. She's a good kid. Too good for Danton. I guess he's just so afraid of losing her to some other guy. He's getting psychopathic about it. Well, we've got to get him back. I want every man equipped and ready for search parties immediately. Aye, sir. Williams. Briggs and portable search lights. And issue hand blasters and radiation tickers. Kelly! Aye, sir. You had the second party. You find Danton, send up a signal flare. Aye, sir. Unless we do find him, we'll be on this planet until the next freighter stumbles on us. Maybe 10,000 years from now. Hold that light up, Hanson. This is amazing, Captain. Lost, raised buildings actually stand in case. What is it? Nothing, a shadow. This place gives me the willies to be able to find out so much about them. Their science, art, what they look like, perhaps even why they destroyed themselves. I'm beginning to wonder about that, Hal. You sure they destroyed themselves? Maybe they lost a war to another race. Winners have left traces. Jengus Khan, the Mongol emperor, left a pile of skulls as a monument after he destroyed his enemies. But there's been nothing like that found. No clues at all. Nothing. When they decided to wipe themselves out, they did a thorough job. But why? That's what we've been asking for 50 years. They wanted to end like that. Captain, there's a rise ahead. Keep going. Anything on your side, Briggs? No, sir. Hanson, what is it? I don't know, sir. It's a funny kind of a glow. I guess I shot without thinking. No, get trigger, Abby. How old? Yes. Where do you think the light is coming from? Down there. It's an amphitheater. Stone seats and a hood. It looks like a band shell. What's up, Captain? Wait a minute. Well, how? I don't know. That's the lost race sign on the hood. The what? A sort of hieroglyphic. The only thing we'd ever found before, one in each ruin. What does it mean? Some kind of a warning, I think. Come on. We're going down here. Careful now. There's some kind down here. Looks like a lecture platform, doesn't it? Well, I know, sir. This might have been a temple. Perhaps the lost race sign had a religious significance. Looks like a throne to me. A throne five feet high. Briggs, climb up there. Let's see if there are any controls for this machinery. Aye, sir. This wasn't meant for any man to sit on. There's a lever up here. Shall I try it? Sure, go ahead. Hey, what's that mist? It's like a steam bath. I wonder if Kelly and Williams ran into anything like... Hey, Kelly, hold that lighter. Shut up and keep looking for Danton. What? Look there. In the hood. It's Williams and Kelly. That crazy jet junkie. When I find him, I'm going to beat his brain. You could see him, a three-dimensional image. Some kind of television. Get down, Briggs. Aye, sir. Did you see it, Skipper? I was just thinking about him, and there he was. And we all saw it. Out of the way. I'm going to try it. If this thing can pick up Earth, it'll replace the receiver Danton smashed. Just throw the lever, eh? That's my son. His music lesson. See, it reaches Earth all right. What? Imagine. Television without a transmitter. Looks like the lost race was ahead of us in more ways than one. Go up and try it, Howell. It's amazing, amazing. Television without a transmitter. This machine may be the clue to the mystery of the lost race. I'll try it. My paper first in the morning. If that youngster wants to know how the tigers did, let him wait until I am... My father in Detroit. Remarkable, Captain. You can see the whole room clearly. Hey, how about me, Captain? Let me get up there. I like to see my baby. Alice told me all about it. Out. What's the matter, Hanson? I kicked something, a wrench. Well, hold it up. It's Danton's. That means he's been here. We're on his trail, all right? Come on, Howell, let's go. The baby wouldn't take a minute, Captain. Later, Hanson. We've got to find Danton first. All right now, let's get moving. Hold it. What's that? The recall flare. Kelly and his men have found Danton. Oh, I hope that crazy fool isn't one piece. We start back now, Captain. Yes. That came from the ship. Another flare? No, that was an explosion. That's all we need now. Something more to happen to the ship. It's the main jets smashed flat. With all the stinking rotten. Check through the ship for further damage. Aye, sir. Look at those plates. Crumpled like an accordion. Captain. Oh, Captain. Here comes Kelly's party. We got him. Got Danton. What happened here? Somebody blew up the main jets. Danton, do you know anything about this? No, sir. Not much, he doesn't. He's crazy enough to blow us all up. Listen, Hanson, I admit I went off my head tonight, but I'm not crazy enough to commit suicide. The jets of smash were all marooned up the same crack. I still think he's got something to do with it. Lay off, Hanson. We found him wandering up in the hills. And he was with us when the blast went off. Yes, that's right. We saw your recall flare before the explosions. I guess that puts Danton under clear. Then who did it, Captain? I don't know how. Looks like somebody didn't want us to leave this planet. Well, we still got one slim chance left. If we can repair the lifeboat, we're going to get it. Skipper? It's gone. Gone? The escape port has opened the boat's missing. What else? The arms chest was cleaned out, sir, and the fuel locker was jimmied open. The send-in bars are gone. You sure? If you look for yourself, sir, she's clean. I see. There's only one answer left. If something or somebody out in those ruins is trying to get us, maybe that lost race decided they weren't going to stay lost. You think some of them may still be alive? Who else could have blown up our ship? Look at your blaster up, Hal. And be careful. It's a hair-trigger. What are we doing back at the television machine, Captain? I thought we were looking for the lifeboat. We are. Whoever blew up the ship must be around here. Might as well try to use the machine to track them down. Yeah. Catch them with their own gadget, huh? That's right. All right, Hal, you're the expert. Get up there and try to find them. Hope it works. Well? Try it, Captain. Nothing but mist. I don't understand it. It reached all the way to Earth before I saw my father in Detroit. Mary, my paper's all rumbled again. What? There it is again. My father in Detroit. I've told him time and time again. I don't like a messy paper. Look at that. No selective control yet. All the way to Earth. You can see the whole room, the goldfish ball, the antimicassers on the chairs. Yet we can't pick up something less than a mile away. Knock it off, Hal. We're wasting time. Come on. That gadget won't work. We'll have to comb these rooms inch by inch. I don't understand. Neither do I. We'll cut behind the hood here and go on. Briggs, you take the lead with the radiation-ticker. We might be able to pick up a reading on where the rocket fuel is hidden. Aye, sir. All right, let's go. I can't understand why that machine can pick up Earth and not... Captain! Briggs, what is it? Captain, help! It's a cave-in. Hang on, Briggs. I'm slipping, Captain. Grab his rest. All right. Now pull. Pull. Higher. Higher. What happened? I was just walking along and the ground caved in. It's some kind of shaft. Hold your light over it, Captain. Oh! 50 feet deep in the stone bottom, I could have split my head open like a grapefruit. Something down there holding that light steady. Amazing. Amazing. It's like a pile of bones to me. Two piles. It may be the first skeletal remains ever found at the Lost Race. I've got to get down in there. We haven't got time howl. Come on. Let me have your binoculars. That small skeleton must be an infant. They've been laid out carefully. It's a burial chamber. The way they're lying, it's probably a mother and infant. The tale, she's definitely anthropoid. Howl, you mean apes? Something like that. Yet they had atomic power and built cities across the galaxy. Amazing. Oh, we haven't got time. Oh, that's funny. The little one is different. The caudal bones are different. No tales. Listen, Howl. What do I care whether they are tales or not? Come on, Nowl. It's almost as if... Well, they did have atomics and radiation does funny things to heredity. They had that problem in mutations in Detroit. What? Detroit. That must be it. What? The new atomic plant at Detroit. They tore down my father's house to make room for it. Quickly, Captain. Howl, where are you going? Back to the machine. I've got a theory that may solve the whole mystery of what happened to the lost race. I don't care what happened to the dead ones, Howl. I want to find the living ones who wrecked my ship. I think this machine may give us both answers. It's the house Detroit down to the last detail. Come on, Nowl. We know all that. Don't you understand? That house was torn down. I got a letter before we lifted off Earth. It's gone. But it's on the television machine. Captain, that machine isn't television. It's a thought projector. What? It only mirrors what's in your own mind. But, Mr. Howl, we saw Earth. It was really there. But it was just because we imagined it break. It's a thought projection. I can produce any mental image that occurs to me on this machine. New York, space port, a space guard patrol. Anything. Anything? Yes. I think I know what inspired the lost race to do what they did. It was fear. Fear of what was in their own minds. They could all see it with machines like this. But fear. Fear of what they foresaw the future. So they destroyed themselves. Every last one of them. All of it, Howl. Are you sure they're all dead? 100,000 years ago. Then who blew up the ship and stole our lifeboat? Danton. Danton? But why? He was pathologically jealous. Yes, but blowing up the ship was like committing suicide. He wasn't crazy enough to do that. The lost race was after they looked at this machine. You mean Danton did too? We found his wrench here. You're right. He must have looked at the machine and thought it was television. He must have seen all his fears about losing his girl confirmed. That was enough to make him completely unbalanced. But he was with Kelly when that explosion went off. He's got an ironclad alibi. No, he hasn't. He wouldn't take a power man long to sneak back to the ship. And rig a delayed action fuse. Howl, we've got to get back to the ship before Danton. Never mind, Captain. Stay right there. That's Danton. Back there. Stop your gun. I got a blaster set at wide angle. Drop him. He's got us cold. I've been following you, Wharton. I wanted to tell you, I'm going back to Earth. I got the lifeboat hidden over that ride. It won't work in deep space. You believe me when I told you that, didn't you? Well, I've got it fixed. And with that vasendium fuel, it'll be a milk run. I'll reach the space guard station at Volta with a long, sad story about how the rest of you exploded in mid-space. Danton, that's murder. Yeah, yeah. That's just what it is. And easy, too. Danton, you can't just leave us here. Watch me. Sit in front of that machine and watch me. Yeah, I know what it is. I know it's a television without a transmitter. And I did some checking up. I've seen how you were stealing my call. Trying to steal my girl. Danton, you're sick. Pretty smart that last race. They built some machine, and it showed me plenty. It showed me enough to kill you. Oh, you've got it all wrong. This isn't a television machine. What are you trying to pull? What nice sight. Those were your own thoughts, Danton. Those things you saw exist only in your mind. Shut up before I blast all of you down. You're just trying to lie out of it, that's all. But I know the truth when I see it. And you're gonna die. All right, Danton, but you're not going to get away with it. Get the machine. What's that? The machine. It's the Space Guard patrol, Danton. Look, they're coming. X3 to command. Spotted the Corellias reported. Preparing to land. That's the Space Guard, Danton. Here, hold patrol. You're lying. You're lying. They couldn't come. There wasn't any SOS. X3 to command. Preparing to land. There's the clearing. That's enough, Howell. All right, Danton. They'll be coming over the horizon. Drop your gun and give yourself up. No, no. No, they're not going to catch me. I'll be away in that lifeboat before they land. Stand still all of you. Stay where you are. I still got you covered. Danton, look out behind you. Burial shaft. He fell in it. Hold the light down, Briggs. Well, he's dead. Deader than the lost race. And what about those Space Guard cruisers? Out of my head. I just imagined them. There they were on the machine. Poor Danton believed they were real. I wish they were real so we could get off this planet. No, it doesn't matter. We know where the lifeboat is now. We can send one man to bring back help. And it won't be Danton. The machine got him the same way it got the lost race. Through fear. But what was the lost race afraid of, Howell? Changing. Changing? Look at those skeletons down there. They had atomic energy, but they couldn't control it. Look, the baby is different from the other. The race was changing by mutation. Mutation? Look at those skeletons. Now imagine a shifted hip socket so they could walk upright. The baby was already without a tail. But Howell, that would mean they were changing into... Into... Yes, Captain. The lost race committed suicide rather than face the fear of seeing their descendants become such horrible creatures as... Men. You have just heard another adventure into the unknown world of the future. The world of... Dimension X. And now, about next week, William Travis and his wife thought they had escaped, but they were wrong. They were being searched out by men from another world, men who wanted them to return. Where? I'll tell you next week. Tonight's drama was based on the Murray-Linster story, The Lost, and was adapted for radio by Ernest Connoi. Features in the cast were Matt Crowley as Captain Wharton, Roger DeCoven as Howell, and Joseph Julian as Danton. Your host was Norman Rose. Tomorrow at Sam's Fade, now hear truth or consequences on NBC.