 Adventures in Time and Space, told in future 10th. The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of astounding science fiction, bring you dimension X. This is the story of the second expedition to the planet of Landlord. I am recording it for any future expeditions which might land on this second sphere, and to hope that they may learn from our tragic example. As I write, there are two of us left, two out of an original complement of 180 men. One of us, myself, will be dead in less than 27 minutes. As for the other, heaven have mercy on him. This is how it happened. June 3rd, 1997, less than two months ago, the last of our supply ships blasted off Landlord, headed for Earth. Well, there she goes, big bottom bird. Like to be a border, bad ears, me. Listen, Captain, I've been kicking around with you from one planet to another for so long now, they're all getting to be the same. Well, not this one, bad ears, not Landlord. No, no, maybe you're right there. I've never been on one like this. The cemetery, that's what it is, a big cold cemetery. Them empty cities, that's what does it, sitting there like they were tombs. Bad ears, you're getting to be a poet in your old age. I ain't so poetic, I didn't remember to swipe a bottle of Irish off that supply ship. Want it? Right here. You know, Brady, if you weren't the best all-round cook and troubleshoe driver shipped on court, Marshall, you. Well, since I ain't being court, Marshall, how about we should open this Irish head time I gave to supper tonight, right? Right. We walked back to the cluster of plastic huts we call the base. It was beginning to freeze up and that purpleish glow had settled across the planet. Yes, it was like a cemetery on the right, a cemetery of dead cities. We walked past one of them, a huge plastic dome with floral graceful buildings, atomic power systems, vacuum conveyors. All perfect, all deserted, all honest. How had it happened? Nobody knew for sure, but the best guess was that the plague had frightened the original inhabitants of the planet so that they had piled into rocket ships and headed for some distant planet. I often wondered why a civilization so advanced as land role could not find a serum to beat the plague. Well, maybe the aborigines back in the hills knew the answer. Those strange ugly little people who had taken to the caves the day we landed. All we knew of them was what we found in the anthropological report of the expedition, which preceded ours and an occasional glimpse by someone on a hunting patrol. When I reached my shack, Morgan, the expedition surgeon, was waiting for me. He was sweating like a pig and it wasn't the heat because my shack was as cold as a grave. Well, what brings you here? It's a matter of the serum, sir. What about the serum? It's just that, well, it's no good. No good? It's too cold, 10 years too cold. But didn't you examine it? Yes, yes I did, but well, my eyesight has been failing lately. Well, are you aware, doctor, that the last supply ship has returned to Earth? Do you know we'll have no more contact for two years? I must have misread the label, sir. Dr. Morgan, just how long do you give us? Well, the present immunity will last a week or so, and then it's just a question of time until someone picks up the plague. After that, a month. Two months at most. Do you have any thoughts as to how we might save ourselves? No, sir, I'm afraid not. What about the natives? They don't die in the plague. They must have a treatment for it. If they didn't, there would be no natives. Would you be willing to go on an expedition to the hills to find out? Right now, Captain, I'd be willing to do anything, absolutely anything. I... I'm truly sorry, sir. You're sorry. Dr. Morgan, would you mind telling me how it feels to murder 180 men, 181, including yourself? I did a lot of thinking after Dr. Morgan left my hut. It was still unreal for me. After all, the planning of an expedition was no simple thing. You put into it the results of years of training and experience. Every man on my crew was handpicked for his skill. And yet a simple thing like a myopic surgeon, misreading your label, could blast the whole thing. Yes, it was a shame. I did the only thing I could think of. I yelled for about a year's break. Lady, get your carcass in here and hurry it up. Okay, okay. Sit down, Badius. You got trouble, Ira? We got trouble. What? The serum's no good. What? Morgan forgot to check it. It's 10 years too old. Holy jumping snails. You're going to court, Martin? Well, that wouldn't do much good. We'll all be dead pretty soon unless somebody figures something out. Why do they say that? Why do they send these civilians with us? Well, it was a mistake. Anybody can make a mistake. Only this was a big one. Ira, what are you going to do? That was only one chance. One chance and 10 million. What? The natives. Them cave rats, what good can they do? They don't get the plague. So? So maybe they know a cure. Oh, listen, those gimpos don't know nothing. Take it from me. It's the only chance. Okay, let's get a few of them and beat it out of them. That's why you're here. Sure. How'd you like to come along on a little expedition up to the cave country? That's a good way to die young. We die young anyway. Okay, what's the pitch? Now, we don't dare let the rest of the camp know. We would knock on morale of pieces. Who's going? You, me, the doctor, and Faulkner. Faulkner? Listen, Ira, he's worse than the dog. I know he isn't exactly the man for a hunting trip, but he knows more about the native culture than anybody here. Now, he's the only one who's completely familiar with the records of the first expedition. Okay, so it's me, you, the dark, and Faulkner. When do we start? Tonight, in half an hour. Now, we should reach the cave country by tomorrow. With luck, we'll be able to find natives before night. And then the fun starts. You know, Ira, them gimpos don't exactly love us. Nobody loves us bad ears. That's one of the great paradoxes about this job. We come here to help them, to civilize them so they can live like human beings instead of pack rats, and they run off to the hills and hide from us. Like we had to, I almost said plague. Okay, bad ears, get the doc and Faulkner. Benny Faulkner's body was small and consulted. But he had a good brain. He was the best anthropologist the Interplanet Institute could recommend. He and Dr. Morgan were the only two civilians on the expedition. The rest of us were all army or space patrol. And we hadn't been marching very long before Benny's frail constitution began to show signs of wear and tear. Are you mad at Benny? It's nothing. Just the dust. I'm allergic to dust. You hear that, Ira? He's allergic to dust. We better call out the expedition. Hey, deep-eyed ears. Yes, sir. Wanna rest a while, Faulkner? It's okay. I can make it. Well, we should be in the cave country in an hour or so. It'll be daybreak then, and the going will be easier. How about you, doctor? All right. I'll make it. Okay. Let's go. Ira, what is it? Don't look now, but very slowly. Turn your eyes to the right and look behind that big yellow rock. Okay. You see anything? No. Keep looking. Don't stop walking or let out. Okay. There. What a shadow or something. It's one of them gimpos. They've been following us now for almost an hour, dodging in and out behind rocks. I think there's more of them, too, but I couldn't swear. Well, anyway, they know we're coming. That's for sure. What do you think? Should we bring one in? Not yet. We don't know how many of them there are. Just pretend you don't see them. And above all, tell the others to show no signs of fear. As nothing will start these simple-minded cavemen like fear. The manual said under no circumstances shall a member of the patrol display fear before an alien. The dignity of the earth man must be preserved at all costs. Walk erect, be firm, but just, and do not allow the native to feel he is your superior. It was a good rule and it always worked. And just before dawn, we reached the cave country. We were tired and hungry, and we stopped to cook some food and rest. Everything was quiet. There was no sign of the gimpos. Bat ears called him until... On that side of the tent, he almost slit my throat, but one of those stoned knives he did. Bring him into the light of the fire, or we can get a look. Yeah, right. Hey, Farkner. Yes, sir? Try to establish some communication. Oh, I did it, okay? Look out! Now, no need to knock him down, Bat ears. That's the only language they understand. Farkner, see if you can reach him. Okay, Captain, I'll need a drum of some sort. A what? Well, I find they communicate with one another through a very primitive kind of vibration of the tongue. Now, the closest I can come is a series of drum beats, sort of a Morse code. The psychologist on the first expedition had it worked out before he was killed by the play. I've studied his notes, and I think it'll work. You mean these animals can talk to one another? I believe they can. At any rate, we'll have a chance to find out. Do we have something I can use for a drum? Oh, here, uh, take my helmet. Thank you, Doctor. Now, I'll tap it four times. That's a greeting of some sort. Oh, just a moment. Yes, sir? I don't want you treating this fellow like an equal. Don't give him the idea that we're desperate. Once they sense that, we're lost. All right. Here we go. Now I'll give him the helmet. Good. He seems to understand. What shall I ask him, sir? Now, first, tell him we come in peace. Reassure him that we don't wish to hurt him or his people. I'll try. He seems to understand. He wants to answer. He says, others like you came to Landro. You must mean the first expedition. Go on. I want you to lead around to the subject of the plague gradually. Don't let on that word desperate. I'll do my best, sir. On one side of the helmet crouched little Benny Faulkner. Across from him crouched the Landrian, a humpback gray little creature with an enormous head and those soft lavender eyes. I'm setting forth in this narrative the transcript of their conversation is Benny Faulkner. Later transcribed it from the best of his memory. Faulkner, we come as friends. Native, why? Faulkner, we will help you to rebuild your cities and make your machines work again. Why? We want to help you to enjoy the benefits of the great culture which once thrived on Landro. Why? Because we want to help you. If we ask you not to help us, will you go away? We stay for your own good. We have helped many others on other planets. How? We teach them a better way to live. Their way of life was better than your way. Have you tried our way? Why were your cities abandoned? Was it the plague? Yes. Do you still fear the plague? Yes. Do any of your people become afflicted? Some. How do you treat them? How do you keep the plague from spreading? Do you have a cure? How can we find a cure for the plague? Go among my people. Will we find the answer among your people? My people have the answer. Will you tell me the answer? Go among my people. The drumbeats ended. As far as the land ring was concerned, the conversation was ended. He rose to go and Faulkner stepped from his path. But Brady was there to ensure the best. Hold on there, bucko. You ain't going no place. Don't maltreat him, Brady. What do you say, Benny? He says his people have the answer. What do you think? Well, there may be some truth in it. He says some of his people still get the plague. That must mean it isn't a question of immunity. They must have a cure. Well, he wasn't clear on that, doctor. Then they must have a vaccine to keep it from spreading. Does he know? Evidently not. I could beat it out of him. I don't think he's lying. Well, that leaves it up to us. Now, the first level of caves are on top of that cliff about a mile ahead. It's a trap. I'll bet my last dollar on it. Maybe not. We'll have to risk it. Oh, wait. Yes, doctor? Let me go. I got you all into this. How will you talk? Well, Benny here can give me enough of the cold so I can ask the big question. All right, doctor. We'll wait at the foot of the cliff. Now, you go on ahead. If you aren't back down in three hours, we'll come up after you. What about the dimple we've got? We'll hold him at the hostage to ensure the doctor's safety. Mm-hmm. Now, if the doc comes back all right, we'll let him go. Your job, that is. Oh, pleasure. Don't kick him. Natch. But if he gives me any trouble, I'll take a shovel to his bottom. You can count on that. We're at the side of the cliff to the first of the openings. He waved to us before he entered the mouth of the cave. And we waved back. Then we settled down to wait. It was a long, long wait. Eight o'clock. He's been up there more than three hours, Ira. I'll give him a little more time. It's getting colder. I'll keep the fire going. You think we'd have heard something by now if there was going to knock him off on me? Well, not necessarily. But wait. Look. Up on the cliff. That's the doctor. What's he running for? I don't know. He looks scared. Crazy fool. If you don't look at the doctor. The doctor. Dr. Morgan, look out. Never knew why he had thrown himself off. Scrawled across the pad he had taken with him, on which to make notes concerning the answer, was a single word. The word was courtesy. The expedition was a fail. Okay, that's it. I have to head back for camp and just wait and pray. Not just yet, Ira. Okay? What's on your mind, Batty? If it's all the same to you, I'd like to take the gimp over here, out behind the rocks, and have a talk with him. Okay, Ira? What do you think you'll accomplish? I don't know. Just a quiet little talk. No violence. No violence. Just a real earnest type conversation. Okay, Ira? It was one of those decisions the commanding officer dreads. 180 lives against the chance that Batty is could persuade the little gray man to give an answer he might not even know. I nodded and Batty is took the little native off behind an outcropping of rock. He was back in 15 minutes, dripping with sweat. Well, let's go. Nothing, huh? But nothing. They see you. Yeah, they ain't made very good those little great people. They come apart too easy. So, let's go, Ira. All right. Hey, Benny. Hey, Benny. What is it? I feel kind of sick all of a sudden. He's got a weak stomach. Dust allergy. Now, wait a minute. What is it, Benny? Back of my head. Double kind of pain. Stick out your tongue. Put my hand by the ears. We've got to get him back to camp. What is it? I'm not sure. But that blackness on the tongue and the headache could be the plague. They died. Confirm it. Yeah. They've been so tired. We lost six more today. That makes 29 dead. 29 in less than a week. It's them stinking natives they put the whammy on. All right, take it easy. Easy. I'd like to take a machine gun up to them hills and not go off the whole bunch up. How's Benny? Now, that's a funny thing. I went into his tent this morning, figuring sure he'd be dead by now. Instead, I see his fevers down a couple of points. Usually, it gets him in a matter of days. Faulkner's been hanging on for weeks now. Well, keep an eye on him. He's so surround, chairing for the stricken, helping with the graves, writing in the book the names of those who died. Sleep came in snatches over and he was so exhausted we couldn't stand. Then one morning, Battier's Brady dragged himself into my shed. Sit down, Battie. What's the count? Six left. We buried the chaplain today. You got a cigarette? Yeah, sure. How's Faulkner? I don't get it. Still alive? He's getting better. He's sitting up. Holy mackerel. He's a good cigarette. I don't like any of it. No, no, this one's different, Ira. This is my last. What do you mean? Take a look at my tongue, Ira. See? Little black spots. When I gave him the last of the morphine, the whimpering on the clock, I went out on the moors to thank the sun was a dull red. I thought about Battier's and Dr. Morgan and should Faulkner of all of us recover from the plague from which no matter what, I turned and went back to see Benny Faulkner. Hello, Captain. Hello, Benny. How are you? It's good. Got up and walked a couple of steps today. How goes it? Brady's down. Listen, Benny, there must be some reason why you survived the virus. Well, how about you? Why didn't you ever even get it? I give it time. What can I do? I want you to tell me everything you know about yourself, everything you can remember. But why? Because somewhere in your makeup is some little thing that makes the difference. At least I can leave a record for any future expedition that comes to Landau. Okay? Okay, Captain Warren. Where do you want me to start? At the beginning. Now, I'm going to take notes. Well, I was born on the 2nd of July in 1971. My parents were ordinary people. My father... Three days now, you've questioned me. All right. Now, take it from where the natives started to walk away. You stepped out of his path and Brady grabbed him. Okay, so I stepped out of his path. Why? What do you mean, why? Why did you step out of his path? Well, why not? Courtesy, that's why. What's the matter? Courtesy. That's the word that Dr. Morgan had written in his notebook. I don't see it. I don't either. Hey, tell me, why should you want to be courteous to a native? Why not? What about maintaining your own dignity? Are you talking about dignity or arrogance? Look, I don't get this at all, Captain. You're familiar with the records left by the first expedition, Benny. What happened with the natives? Well, the natives were friendly enough at first, but after a while they went back to the caves. And when we got here, they wouldn't come near us, right? Right. Yet we came to help them. So why? So maybe this, Benny. Maybe we were all wet in our deductions. Maybe those cities weren't deserted centuries ago after all. Maybe these little people up in the caves are the same people who used to live in those cities. Why should they leave? Well, maybe they found out the big cities weren't the answer. Maybe they found out that civilization doesn't necessarily bring happiness. So they just packed up and left, returned to the simple life. That doesn't make sense. You're forgetting the plague. Benny, what is the plague? Well, I don't know. I think the plague was nothing more than what we know is greed and irritants. Captain, you're going off your rock. I think maybe we were in line to die of it, even if the serum had been good. Well, it violates all the laws of Earth. We aren't on Earth. We're on Landrow. A planet a million light years from home. Now, why are we trying to take these primitive happy people and make them like ourselves? Why are we trying to mold them to convince them that they belong in cities, that they should be building better can openers instead of just enjoying human relationships? Why, Benny? If that isn't sheer, stupid, crazy arrogance, my name isn't Ira Warren. A few days later, Buddy is ready to die. In his delirium, he was howling about howl if he could just get his hands on one of those stinking natives. He'd wring the answer out of him. After I buried him, I went back to Benny Faulkner's tent. Faulkner was getting out of bed as I entered. How was he, Captain? I just... Buried him. Holy mother-in-law. That means two of us. Two out of 180. Not two. Just one. Oh, but you're all right. I have a headache. I'll be getting to sweat a little too. Well, can I help you, honey? No. No, I think I'll go back to my shack and finish writing the report. Well, maybe it isn't the plague. No, Benny, I... I've seen it too many times. I kid myself about it. Look, Captain, you don't believe that junk about courtesy, do you? I mean that stuff if you were talking about the other night. That's a lot of nonsense. You must know that. Holy mackerel, Captain. You can't believe it. You can't. Good night, Benny. I'd like to be alone for a while. Good night, Captain Warren. Benny Faulkner and the host said he would be able to transmit it to any other expedition commander who concentrates exploring the planet of life. Favors are beginning to mount now. My hands tremble as I write. The end should not be far off. You see, I... didn't have a chance. Didn't have a chance. I stepped down of no pants. And yet, what would it be like to live in a world no larger, say, than a single gigantic rocket ship? You'll find out more about it on Dimension X next week when we present Robert Heinlein's Universe. This is presented 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 courtesy from the current issue of Astounding Science Fiction. It was written for radio by George Lefferts from the story by Clifford Cimac. Featured in the cast were Lawson Zerbe as Captain Warren, Bill Zuckert as Batty as Brady, and Bill Gray as Benny Faulkner. Your host was Norman Rose, music by Albert Berman. Dimension X is produced by William Welch and directed by Fred Way.