 Countdown for Blastoff. X minus five, four, three, two, X minus one, fire. 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 Street and Smith, publishers of astounding science fiction, presents X minus one. Tonight's story, Hello Tomorrow. After the third atomic war when the earth was a mass of red radioactive dust, a handful of men and women went deep underground in the struggle for survival. A new civilization was built deep underground, a civilization which must keep a ceaseless vigil against the deadly gamma rays which filter down through the earth. A civilization where the prime consideration is the genetic survival of the race. It is to this civilization in the year of our lord, 4195, that we take you now. Yes, hello dear. How is the director of emotional stability? My, how impressive that sounds. Sorry, how are you? You sound tired. What is it? So soon? Our chromosomes tested perfect. I know. Of course, terribly happy. I'm coming right over to the left. You'll have to give me some time. What's the trouble? No trouble. You know that genetic survey I've been working on. What about it? Well, I've finally gotten permission to study an actual living case, a specimen of imperfect genetic transmission. Really? They're bringing him or it up from the condemned cages on the lower level. You will be careful. There's nothing to be afraid of. The specimen is XJ12. It's been studied before many times and is quite well trained. Oh, there's my door signal. I'll have to hang up, darling. See you later. Yes? Professor Bruton? Yes. I'm from the phylogenic institute. Oh, you've brought my specimen? May I come in? By all means. Oh, how... Horrible? It all depends on your viewpoint. I happen to have a twisted leg. My parents were genetically unsound. But then you... Yes, I am specimen XJ12. I see. I hope you aren't shocked. No stable person permits feelings to enter into his work. I will admit to surprise. I was expecting something a little more abnormal. Well, I try to be as abnormal as possible. It pays off. The phylogenic institute allows me out of the genetic cages ever so often so I can breathe the pure air of the upper levels and mingle with the genetically perfect. You seem quite well educated. I spent the first years of my life here in the upper levels. How is that possible? As a small child, my mother concealed me from the director of heredity. My mother actually dreadful words. Loved me. That would explain your obviously low threshold of emotional control. You choose to call it that. You seem to be struggling to repress a few feelings yourself. We will confine ourselves to the impersonal aspects of our work. As you please. I shall require you as a demonstration for a lecture on delivering to one of my classes tomorrow. At your service. Sit here please. Grip these electrodes tightly. I'm going to calibrate your electrochemical tension. I'm quite familiar with the procedure. I realize that as an imperfect I am expendable but I should hate to be electrocuted. The charge is not lethal. Plus 15 surface tension. You know you have beautiful hair. Plus 12 at a depth of 4 centimeters. My hair meets minimal requirements for the genetic code. Lovely blue eyes. Crystal clear. Plus 10 at 7 centimeters. Pretty. Perfect woman. Lovely expressive hands. And a heart of stone. Like all the rest of you perfect survival type. Shut up. Could it be you do have feelings? I seem to sense an air of emotional tension. It's nothing dear. This is the specimen. You specimen. Tell this doll who I am Lois. This is the director of emotional stability for the third oblong. You will address him as Mr. Director. Mr. Director. This creature seems quite impertinent. He's only a specimen darling. Well use him and ship him back to the cages. He's probably radioactive. Attention. Attention. The next demonstration will be conducted by Professor Lois Burton of the Institute of Genetics. Her topic, the probability of radioactive damage in the chromosome heredity of imperfect non-survival types. Professor Burton. As you know, most imperfects are destroyed at birth. However, those who for one reason or another managed to survive are segregated in cages on a lower level for study purposes. The specimen we have today has been trained to tell in his own words about the factors in his upbringing. You will have to forgive his immature emotional control factor. He is, as you can see, quite different. Specimen XJ12, you will proceed, please. Thank you. My mother was a psychotechnician in the fifth oblong. My father was an historian specializing in the records of pre-atomic surface culture. In the earthquake of 2170, apparently some hard radiation filtered down through the tunnels and penetrated the fifth oblong. The effect on my hereditary factors is quite apparent in this twisted leg. My father taught me in the last days before he was executed that every human personality is born with certain inalienable natural rights. The rights to have feelings. The right to mature. And above all, the right to be different from every other living organism. Because it cannot be otherwise. I submit to you distinguished students that the attempt by this society to abridge these rights is a violation of nature. I submit that the imperfects, the mutants, those who are different have as much right to exist and be free as you. And I say, break, open the cages. Stop him! Give us back the right to be individuals. Stop him! Perhaps that will teach you. Professor Burton, take this specimen back to your laboratory and confine him. Hold still while I bandage your head. You'll be all right. I suppose you detest me for getting you into trouble. I don't detest you. What? I don't know why. But as you spoke, something began to stir in me. Tell me what you feel. If I moved you, then I must have moved the others, some of them at least. For some reason, I took pride in what you were doing, seeing you stand up against them. Why do you look at me like that? I can't help it. I wish you wouldn't. You're only an imperfect, you know. Please. My name is Oren. Please. Say it. Oren. Oren. Again. Oren. Lois. Oren. Lois. How touching. Walter. I've been listening for some time. Walter, how could you? In my capacity as director of emotional stability, it is my duty. What are you going to do? Spassiman XJ-12 will be disposed of quite systematically by the state. For the good of the state, for the good of the genetic code, and in the name of emotional stability. Walter, I have to talk to you. Go right ahead. Walter, you mustn't destroy him. Spassiman? Why not? He's emotionally unstable. You have to expect irrational behavior. Aren't you forgetting something, my dear? That you were responding in much the same manner? Or had you forgotten? You see, I'm having him liquidated for your sake. He has an upsetting effect on you. Then send him back to the cages. But don't kill him. You speak of destroying an inferior creature as if it was something unethical. Walter. Walter, please, for my sake. I understand that you have entered a plea for postponement of marriage at the records bureau. Yes. I was too upset to go through with it. It came as a great disappointment to me. I'm sorry. I was hoping that, linked to a stable personality such as mine, you might settle down. If you were married to me, I might even be persuaded to send him back to the cages instead of having him destroyed. Think it over. If I refuse? The choice is yours. Well, my dear. Perhaps you're right. I am. I suppose I ought to be rational about this. After all, he's an imperfect. I'm glad you've come to your senses. When can we be married? Tomorrow, if you like. The sooner the better. Let me talk to the custodian, please. Hello. This is the director of emotional stability for the third oblong. I would like you to cancel the execution of specimen XJ-12. Turn him over to be remanded permanently to the genetic cages. You'd better go. I'll pick you up in, say, an hour and we'll make plans. All right? Yes. Yes, of course. Hello. This is the director of emotional stability again. I want you to cancel that last order. Proceed with the execution, but under conditions of absolute secrecy. No, don't use the lethal chamber. Take him through the upper level to the tunnels. Yes. Yes, I'll issue a pass for the radiation checkpoint. Into the elevator. Very well. Why are we going toward the surface? We're on the lower levels. Radiation check. I've never done that before. New procedure. Walk. You can't go beyond this point. There is radioactivity in the tunnels. I have a pass from the director of emotional stability for the third oblong. Special mission. I'll open the airlock. March inside. Turn around. So this is how they get rid of the imperfects. Now, before you dispose of me. Yes. Security! Security! What is it? What's happened? The prisoner struck me. He escaped into the tunnels. He won't last long. Can you go after him? I could send a robot, but it isn't worth the trouble. There's no way back from the tunnels except through here. The only other direction he can go is toward the surface. And the closer he gets, the hotter the radiation. Now, I think you can consider your prisoner officially dead. More wine. No, thank you, Walter. You look very beautiful, my dear. Very beautiful. Thank you. The wedding will be a small affair. The director of endocrine control, the chief of the security guard. Walter? Yes? Was he returned to the cages? Oh, now why must you spoil it? Was he, Walter? Well, as a matter of fact, there was a little difficulty. Difficulty? Yes, you see, XJ-12 escaped. How? Where? He struck a guard and ran off into the tunnels. The tunnels? But that's your death. He's free to return any time he chooses. Now don't become upset, darling. You planned it, didn't you, Walter? Stability, darling, stability. Stability, stability. Here's what I think of stability. State your business. I'm Professor Burton of the Genetic Institute. You can't go into the tunnels, Professor. You'll have to let me by. I'm the fiance of the director of emotional stability. Oh, I suppose you're after the one who escaped? Yes. He's quite dangerous, I understand. I'm well armed. Wouldn't it be better to send a robot? I'm quite capable of handling him. He was my subject. All right, miss. It's your risk. Checkpoint. Yes, sir. Professor Burton tried custody. Professor Burton just passed, sir. You idiot. But, sir, she said that she had... I don't care what you said. Stop that. Yes, sir. At once, sir. Robot control. Checkpoint to robot control. Order out all televocal robots into the tunnels. Have them bring back any humans. This is a first priority order. Behind the rock. What was why did you come here? It's suicide. I've had to, darling. Are you all right? So far... You've got to turn back. Give yourself up. They'll kill me. You can't stay here. The radiation is plus four at this point. It gets worse as you approach the surface. Lois, darling, go back. What will you do? I'm going ahead. But you can't. I can. I'm going to the surface. It's certain death. Not even the robots can survive it. Well, at least I'll be the first human in 1100 years to see what the surface of the Earth looks like. Come back with me. No, Lois. Then I'm going with you. Lois. Don't try to stop me, darling. There's nothing to go back to now. It's all about the Walter and emotional stability. You really want to come with me? Yes. You know what it means. I don't care. My mother used to believe there was a life after death. A place called heaven. We'll believe it, too. Oh, no, Lois. I can't let you go. Aaron, I... I love you. See? I know how to say it now. Say it again. Aaron, I love you. What is that? It seems like, Arnie, it's a robot patrol. They're looking for us. All right, come on. This way. Wait. It can't be much farther, darling. The robots. They're coming. I can see their lights now. Listen, they're stuck. The lights are swinging around. They see us. Come on. Look. Lois, look ahead. You can see the lights reflecting from something. It looks like a lead door. Come on through. There must be some way to close it. Oh, yes, here. Let me help. Well, they won't get through that. It's solid lead. I feel so strange. Where are we? I don't know. Look. Up there. A huge round light. Lois. Yes, Aaron? Lois, that's Luna. The moon. We're on the surface. You can read everything, Lois. How it glows. It's the radioactivity. Quiet and peaceful. And deadly. A hush, darling hush. Sit here and rest a while. Put your arm around me. Yes. Aaron. Aaron, I'm afraid. Aaron, we're going to die. Don't think about that. Just think about us. Alone. The first humans to stand on the surface of Earth in 1,100 years. That door must have been placed there by the last handful of survivors who went underground after the atomic wars. And those other lights, the small ones, they must be stars. Aaron, I'm so tired. Go to sleep, darling. Put your head on my shoulder and sleep. Hold me, Aaron. Hold me very close. Aaron, wake up. What? Look, the universe is light. Oh, Aaron, how beautiful. Look. This must be the heaven my mother talked about. See the plants? All green and fresh. How strange they look. Lois, this... this isn't heaven. But we must be dead, Aaron. We should be dead, the radiation. By all the laws of nature, yes. By all the laws of nature, Aaron. Aaron, we're not dead. This is Earth, and we're alive. We're not going to die. But Lois, the radiation, it's present. You can see it's effect. Aaron, did you ever hear of geotropism? I'm not a geneticist. There is a natural law of adaptation by which an organism will try to adjust itself to its environment by changing. It's called geotropism, don't you see? No. All these generations, we've been bombarded by radiation filtering down through the Earth. Each successive generation must have inherited some degree of immunity. But... Aaron, it can't hurt us. Don't you see? We're immune. We're probably the first generation to inherit sufficient immunity. Darling, if that's true, then... then we can transmit that immunity. We can pass it along to our children. And they to their children. Come on. We'll have to find food and water. The practical way. Wait a minute. What are you doing with that rock? I want to scratch something on the outside of this lead door. Lois and Aaron. 4195 AD. Hello, tomorrow. You have just heard X-1 presented by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of astounding science fiction. Your announcer, Fred Collins. X-1 was an NBC radio network production.