 Countdown for Blastoff. X minus 5, minus 4, minus 3, minus 2, X minus 1. Fire! From the far horizons of the unknown come 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 would-be worlds. The National Broadcasting Company presents X minus 1. Tonight's story, The Man in the Moon. Attention, attention. This is the Federal Bureau of Missing Persons calling all local agencies. Attention, this is a coded report nationwide. Missing since 9 o'clock this morning the following persons, Smigley, Jonathan, 5 feet 8 inches tall, brown hair, brown eyes, mastoid scar behind right ear, last seen wearing blue top coat and tan cap, wandered by Los Angeles. Hello, get off this wavelength. This is a restricted band. Hello, hello, Earth. Oh, whoever you are, you're on a coded wavelength. Tune out. This frequency is reserved for the Federal Bureau of Missing Persons. Hello, Earth. Calling Earth. Hello, Earth. This guy is loony. Taking transmission. Jake, there's Charlie in the code room. Some crackpot is on our frequency. Yeah, I heard him, Charlie. I've got CQ trying to trace a source now. We should have a triangulation any second. Well, hurry it up. Well, you're some hammers in for a good stiff find by the FCC. Yeah, they ought to take his license away. Oh, here comes Lenny with the direction fix. Right. Thank you. What's this? This is impossible. What's going on down there? How about it? Get that ham out of my killer cycles. Oh, listen, Charlie, unless this is a gag, that interference is being beamed from 240,000 miles away. Oh, now, Jake, you know there ain't no such thing as 240,000 miles away. Yes, there is, Charlie. Straight up. Oh, now, wait a minute. Charlie, that signal is coming from the moon. Are you nuts? Somebody might be bouncing it like a radar signal. Radar on this frequency? Where'd you study basic radio? Now, listen, Flathead, you asked for a fix. I gave the best fix our instruments can find. Take it or leave it. Somebody on the moon is calling the Bureau of Missing Persons. What's the sweat, Charlie? Shouldn't you be broadcasting? Listen, Mr. Timkin, you know I'm a sober citizen, right? But once have I broadcast with the smell of alcohol on my breath, right? Right. In all your 12 years here at the Bureau, did I once ever... What's the matter, Charlie? We're picking up a message on our wavelengths. When did you report to the FCC? I ain't got the nerve. Well, what's wrong? You'll scream when you hear this, Mr. Timkin. You'll jump right out the window, but... We are getting an SOS from the moon. Flat City started unvoiced and switched to morse. The way the signal repeats sounds like a phonograph record or automatic sender of some sort. Well, what's it say? Uh, let's see here. Can you read me? Help, Otterburn. We'll contact when moon is in phase. Let's have that again. Can you read me? Help, Otterburn. We'll contact when moon is in phase. Otterburn. That sounds like a name, huh? Otterburn, Otter... Wait a minute! Something registered? Cranidius, Otterburn. Only jumping your hose up there. Hey, where are you going? Hey, wait a minute! What are you going to tell him? We just got a CQ from the man in the moon? That's exactly what I am going to tell him, Charlie. This... Just too much for me. Uh, let me have O'Brien on city desk. I love it. Seamus, Charlie Starbuck, down at the missing persons bureau. You want a hot one, no kidding. This will cost you a beer, okay? All right. Thirty seconds. Okay. We just got a radio message from the moon. Yeah. From the moon. Call me back when you're sober. Okay, Seamus. If you don't know a story when you see one, I'll... I'll send you the name of a good psychiatrist. Solong Orson Welles. How do you like that? He don't believe me. Otterburn, Mr. Wade. Now, does that name ring a bell? You're the man with the photographic memory, Henry. What about Otterburn? Cranidius Otterburn, atomic physicist. Reported missing from his home in Baltimore on June 5th, 1945. Just five years ago. Vanished completely. Are you trying to tell me you really think there's something to this man in the moon business? Henry, I'm surprised at you. This is some crackpot trying to jam the airwaves. Yes, but the name Otterburn is so unusual. So are a lot of names. I have a theory that... I was afraid of that. Henry, you always have a theory. Let's see, what was it last year? Oh, yes. That people disappear in occupational cycles. But it's true. Please, Henry, I'm a busy man. Expect me to believe that this Otterburn is sitting up on the moon, sending out shortwave messages. Well, he might be on earth bouncing the messages off the moon. But who's to say he isn't on the moon? Henry is chief of this bureau. I have my hands full trying to coordinate reports from 48 states in Alaska. I have no time to include the moon. But Mr. Wade... Out, Henry. But Mr. Wade... Out, I'm busy. Yes, sir. Oh, here. Take this folder of reports for the dead file. Yes, sir. And no more nonsense, eh, Henry? Yes, sir. I appreciate that you have a very dull job filing old missing persons reports. And I appreciate that you take an active interest in the affairs of the bureau. But no more nonsense, eh? No, sir. No more nonsense. Eh, pardon me. Hmm? You are Mr. Henry Timkin. That's my name. Permit me, Jefferson, file a scientific feature writer. Well, how do you do? Well, are you a newspaper man? Not exactly. I write as a hobby. Occasionally the papers give me leads on an assignment. If I may have a moment of your time. Well, certainly. Just sit down at my desk over here. Thank you. My, that's quite a stack of papers. Filing. I'm the records custodian of the bureau. 12 years and never misplaced a record. Magnificent. I admire the precise mind. Mr... Timkin. Of course. Now, Mr. Timkin. Mr. O'Brien, the editor of the Starlight, just said I might drop by and investigate a rumor. Only a rumor, mind you. That a message from the, uh, moon? Well, we aren't certain it's from the moon. It may be a bounce. They have bounced radar waves off the moon, you know. Yes, I know. I wrote the first newspaper article on it. Really? I'd be interested to read it. I must have a copy in my bookcase. Well, don't bother. Oh, but I insist. Oh, yes. There you are. I'll leave it on your desk. Oh, thank you very much. Now, about this message from the moon, Mr. Timkin... Now, we don't know for sure, as I said, but I believe that this message, wherever it originates, is from Cornelius Otterburn. The physicist? Oh, do you know him? I once wrote an article on his contributions in nuclear mechanics. A brilliant man, Otterburn. Years ahead of his contemporaries. Well, whoever is sending those signals, if he isn't on the moon, is at least using the moon as a sounding board, bouncing the signal. But why, Mr. Timkin? Why? And if you will come here tomorrow night at eight, Mr. Filo, we may learn the answer to that question. I've arranged with Charlie our radio man to let me use the equipment. May I consider this an invitation? You certainly may. Very well, sir. Until tomorrow night, then. Goodbye, Mr. Filo. Hmm. Let's see now. Akin, Abelard, Abramson, Ronno, Atch... That's funny. Now, where did this list of names come from? Paul Arons, astro-mathematician, Robert Simons, electronic engineer, Carl Parker, mining specialist. Well, this must have got mixed up with the papers on my desk by accident. A peculiar list of names. Oh, good morning, Charlie. Oh, hi, Mr. Timkin. See, we made the papers. Oh? And how? And as the chief steamed up about it, he really gave me what for. What did the papers say? Oh, mostly, ha-ha. Here's a hero, listen. Man on the moon contacts missing person's bureau. Missing atomic scientists sitting on the moon say bureau experts, et cetera, et cetera. What a panning. Well, no wonder Mr. Wade is hopping. Say, about tonight, Mr. Timkin, I don't know. Now, you promised you would give me a key to the radio room. Yeah, but I didn't expect this. I'll take full responsibility with Mr. Wade. At the time for the morning broadcast, we got quite a list today. Well, mind if I listen a while, I may hear Otterburn. Why? It's self-conscious. Just stick around. Yes. Attention, attention. This is the Federal Missing Persons Bureau calling all local agencies. Nationwide, this is a coded broadcast. The following persons are missing. Aaron's, Dr. Paul. What? 5 feet 5, brown hair, brown eyes. Scar on left side of chin, thick glasses. Aaron's. Occupation, astro-mathematician. Missing since 6 o'clock this morning. Okay. Being sought by Bel Air Police. Charlie. Repeat. Dr. Paul Aaron. And Charlie, shut off a second. Hold it. A delay one minute. Listen, Mr. Timkin, it's okay to stay, but you can't interrupt. This is important. Did you say Dr. Aaron's was reported missing this morning? 6 a.m. We got the report from Bel Air less than an hour ago. Are you certain, Charlie? Positive. What is this? Charlie, what's the next name on the list? Uh, let's see. It's Simmons. Robert, engineer. What? Came in less than 20 minutes ago. 20? Hey, what's the matter with you? You look like you've seen a ghost. There's nothing, Charlie, except that last night, quite by accident, someone left a list of names on my desk, and that list included the names of those two men who were reported missing within the last hour. What? Oh, that don't sound right to me. Well, it isn't right, Charlie. It gives a big question to be answered. Who would make up a list of missing persons before they were missing? Not after. And you say this list of names was left on your desk accidentally? I believe so, Mr. Wade. Do you have any ideas, Henry? It's hard to say. Mr. Filo left some papers from his briefcase. Mr. Filo? A science feature writer. Let's see. You were the leak on that story, then. Yes, sir, I'm afraid I was. I didn't think it would be treated as a laughing matter. We'll deal with that later. Yes. What's this Filo like? Well, he's a strange old duck. Bald, thick glasses, tall. He walks stooped over. Seems to know a great deal about scientific data. But of course, being a science writer, Is there any other possibility? I believe that this is all hooked up with the broadcast from Otterburn. That seems to be a very remote possibility. A missing persons bureau deals in remote possibilities, Mr. Wade. I do not require a statement of policy. Yes, sir. What's the theory? For some time now, it has been my contention that in a country like ours where even the cleverest criminal can be ferreted out and located eventually, there is no such thing as a missing person. I was afraid of that. For 12 years now, I have kept the central files where information from all over the country is channeled and recorded. I have made a private study. This is beginning to sound familiar. And I have discovered that each year literally thousands of persons vanish leaving no trace. They are never located. Where do they go? Nobody knows. And they disappear in interesting cycles. What sort of cycles? Occupations, for example. One year we will have a run on, well, say coal miners. Next year the proportion of engineers increases. And then scientists. What do you think happens, Henry? I do not know, Mr. Wade, but I am beginning to suspect that somebody else has discovered the same phenomenon even to the point perhaps of being able to predict who will turn up among the missing next. Hello. Hello. I do not know. But I would like to find out. And you think Otto Byrne may be a part of this picture? Mr. Wade, I definitely do. Henry, do you honestly expect me to buy an idea like that? Well, it is more than an idea. The two top men on this list are missing. Maybe so, but the rest of them aren't. Parker Watson Gibbs. Why I saw Parker in the restaurant where I had lunch today. Yes, but... And if you think I am going to make myself a laughing stock by accepting such a crack-brained theory... Well, I... Excuse me. Yes. Hello. Wade speaking. Yes. Yes. You see. What name? Just a moment. Henry, let me see that list again. Here you are, sir. Go ahead. I see. I'll get back to you. I guess I owe you an apology, Henry. Sir? Harold Parker was just reported missing. Parker? Third man on your list. Holy mackerel. Exactly. Henry, for a good many years now, I have ridiculed these theories of yours. I don't know. Perhaps I have underestimated you. Maybe this time you've really stumbled onto something. What do you intend to do, Mr. Wade? I don't know. I haven't thought it out yet. I was planning to listen for another broadcast tonight in the hope that Otterburn might try to contact us again. Good idea. I believe I'll join you. I also invited Mr. Filo the feature writer. Oh. I'll be glad to meet him. I'm beginning to get interested in you, Mr. Filo. Wade, you don't think... That he's mixed up in this? Yes. I don't know, Henry. But it suddenly strikes me that we don't know very much about him, really. We ought to contact the police. No, Henry. I think we're better off keeping this between ourselves for the moment. We're dealing with the unknown. And in solving an equation for the X factor, it's often easier to limit the number of terms. Follow me. We don't know, Mr. Wade. There may be more danger in what you have discovered than you are aware of. Let's keep it quiet. You agree? Maybe you're right, Mr. Wade. I haven't thought of the danger involved. It's eight o'clock. When Mr. Filo is late... He said he'd be here. He strikes me as a man who keeps appointments. Look out the window. Yes. The moon is almost in direct phase. We can't wait much longer. That's a perfectly clear knife for transmission. If anybody's sending, we ought to pick it up with this equipment. You'd better switch on the set. Yes. I never realized how eerie this office could be when it was empty. I left a light in the hall for Mr. Filo when he comes. Are you getting anything? Just some foreign stuff, I think. That's a peculiar transmission sound. That sounds like something. Let's see if I can work the selector. The moon is in phase. Yes. I'll try to return. Hello? Hello? Hello, do you hear me? Who are you? Can you hear me? Who are you? This is Professor Cornelius Otterburn. Hello? Go on. I hear you. Not much time. They're on to me. You hear me? Go ahead. Keep talking. I've only enough oxygen for a few minutes more. Where are you? I'm on the Earth's side of the moon. You get that? The Earth's side of the moon. A volcanic crater. Start that recorder, Mr. Wade. Go on. Explain, please. Explain, please. Listen closely. There is an Earth's colony on the moon. There is an Earth's colony on the far side of the moon. Made up of renegade scientists and criminals. Professor Ernst Halsman. He died in an insane asylum in 1938. Professor Ernst Halsman discovered nuclear rocket power in 1935. He turned his plans over to escape inmates of the asylum. They took off and set up a colony on the far side of the moon in 1938. Go ahead. We're recording you. Each year, they recruit new colonists from Earth. Slave labor mostly. I was kidnapped in 1945. I know. Keep talking. They wanted me to work on atomic drive for their flying disk. Still getting you? Go on. Last month, six others and I escaped. Speak louder. You got to stop them. Stop who? The Moon colony. Planning to take over the Earth. Invasion. Hang on. No oxygen. Hard to breathe. Listen. They have agents on Earth. Agents on Earth? Where? Hello? Hello? Agents on Earth. Henry, look out. Someone at the window. Get down. Henry. Are you all right? I think so. Shots smashed to the transmitter. And the lights. Strike a match. Careful. It was close. I got a look at him. From the description it was your Mr. Filo. We got a recording anyway. But not the most important part of the message. Poor Otterberg. Suffocating to death. Henry, we've got to get you out of here. He said they have agents. Filo was probably one of them. He'll be looking for you now trying to kill you. The police. Do you think the police would believe a fantastic story like this? People being kidnapped to the moon as slave labor. Moon colony planning an invasion of the Earth. But Henry, believe me, they'd trap us into straight jackets before we could finish. We've got to do something. We need time. Time to get through. You don't think my theory was bunk then? I know it wasn't, Henry. Right now my only concern is for your safety. But we can't walk out of here. Filo's probably waiting. Listen. There's a service elevator that leads to the basement garage. Yeah? We can get down there. There are some delivery trucks parked there all night. We can probably get one started. Change doors off the ramp, work from the inside. We'll start the mechanism and make a run for it. I don't know. I think if we call the police... By the time the police get here, we'll be dead. You think Filo will wait outside all night? Come on. That's an order. Okay. But what about the recording of Otterburn's notes? We'll leave that here in the safe in my office. They'll never get into that. Let's go. You buzz the elevator while I hide the recording. This is the basement. Come on. Keep to the side. Yes, sir. Let's try that delivery truck over there. I'll get in. All right, Henry. You start the mechanism to open the garage door. Then jump on with the truck. Yes, sir. We'll make a dash for it. Where can we go? I have a farm outside Chevy Chase. It's private. Miles from the nearest neighbor and completely hidden by trees. We'll run for that. Go ahead. Start the door up. All right. Quick. Jump in. Cross your fingers. We made it out all right. Anything doing? There's a blue coop behind us, Mr. Wade. It seems to be following. I'll cut up Pennsylvania Avenue. Now route one toward Baltimore. It is following. He turned with us. Can you go faster? I'm much faster. He's gaining on us. I've got an idea. Hang on, Henry. Yes. Why did you stop? I'll turn off the lights. It worked. He shot right past us. Now we'll double back and go out another route. I don't see anything. I think we've lost him. Good. I think everything is going to be all right now. We can beat my farm in less than an hour. Not much longer now. Is anyone behind us? I thought I saw the blue coop again, but I was mistaken. This place is really hot in the wilderness. You can stay here indefinitely until we'll figure out the next move. Now just up this dirt road now, there's the house up ahead. You're not going toward it? No, I have a better idea. There's a big abandoned wheat sallow on my grounds. It's down a hollow where it can't be seen except in the air. And even then, the oak trees shielded. We'll hide you out there. Now we leave the truck here and it'll be seen. Come on. Yes. How did you ever find this place, Mr. Wade? I've always liked seclusion. I bought it about 12 years ago. Come up here in the summertime to get away from it all. There's the silo. It's certainly well hidden. There's a small door around the side. Come on. Careful of those bushes. Yes. It's hard to see them in the dark. Do you suppose Philo will find us? Are you sure you, Henry, Mr. Philo will never find us here? Not in a million years. Here's the door. It's pitch dark. Hold my arm. I know the way. Just a few steps up and another door. Steel. This is an unusual silo. It's almost double walled wood outside and steel inside. Completely fireproof. An army couldn't break it. We're inside the inner shell. Careful. We're in a circular room. Stay here a moment. I'll go outside and see if the coast is clear. In a moment your eyes will become accustomed to the darkness. I'll bring back some food and water. Don't be long, Mr. Wade. This place gives me the willies. Just a moment. Mr. Wade. Where are you? Mr. Wade. What's happening? There is something. Good lord. There's someone in here. It's locked. Oh no. This must be a light switch. People in 15, 20. Speaking of the intercom. Mr. Wade, there are people in here. 15 or 20 of them. They're sitting like statues just staring at me. They won't hurt you, Henry. Who are they? The gentleman seated before you, the one with the scar, is Dr. Paul Erics, the astro-mathematician. Next to him is Mr. Robert Simons, electronic engineer. Teams on the list. Yes. They've all been, shall we say, recruited. They'll work with Professor Horseman's group on the moon. Moon? Then you... You're one of them. Of course. Oh yes. There's one whose name was not on our list. If you'll turn around, Henry, you'll recognise the drug to form of your old... Well, but I thought... He was part of the conspiracy. His snooping made it necessary for us to include... Please put the man in the window. The one who finds the shot. An agent of mine. What ship? This silo is camouflaged for a rocket launch that will slide back for the rocket's takeoff. A rocket ship? In exactly 70 hours, you and your companions will join Professor Otterburn on the moon. What? You see, there was another name. Bon voyage. I've been since eight o'clock last night the following persons. Timkin, Henry, age 45, height 5 feet 8, 165 pound records custodian. Repeat, Timkin, age 45. In just a moment, a word about next week's adventure. Tonight by transcription, X minus one has brought you The Man in the Moon, an original radio drama written by George Lefferts. Featured in the cast, where Louis van Rooten as Henry, Santos Ortega as the chief, Ross Martin as Charlie, Sidney Smith as Otterburn, Bob Hague as Jake, Joe DeSantis as Philo, and Ed Latimer as O'Brien, your announcer Fred Collins. X minus one was directed by Fred Way and is an NBC radio network production. And now, next week, the sign on the window said Perigi's Wonderful Dolls. A woman and a child waited outside. The little girl peering eagerly through the window and the woman glancing impatiently at her wristwatch as if expecting someone who was late for an appointment. And there was nothing about Perigi's doll shop to warn them that they were waiting to keep an appointment.