 And now, tonight's presentation of radio's outstanding theatre of thrills, Suspense. Tonight, we depart from the usual to bring you a play from one of the greatest authors of science fiction, Mr. Ray Bradbury. It is the story of a last voyage in a spaceship and the six men who took it. So now, starring Mr. William Conrad, here is tonight's suspense play, Kaleidoscope. She was a spaceship cargo carrier, seven years old, with over a million and a half miles lost in her wake. Within her metallic skin was the world of the crew, an atom of life surrounded by a vast expanse of nothingness. The ship and the crew were owned by the company, a third class vessel operated by third class personnel, and each of us hoping that in our day would come promotion to second class, or even the first and the great hush passenger liners, which were also owned by the company. The company ran everything there wasn't anyone else to work for, and you accepted what was given, not gratefully, but with hope. There were 19 of us to begin with on a routine voyage. Our cargo, seasoned lumber. I was at control on the second day of stone navigating. On the nose. Good. Control bearing mark, Captain. Right. Hollis, where's the captain? In his cabin. On the bottle again. Why don't you ask him? I don't have to. I can smell him all the way out. You want something, Applegate? Seat tube's blowing again. It isn't showing on the indicator. I can't help that. Wait a minute. Captain, control. Yeah. Applegate report seat tube blowing, sir. Oh? It doesn't show on the indicator, sir. All right. I'll be right there. What was the idea of that? What? Telling him it didn't show. You're trying to last me up? You better keep check on that tube. He's giving orders. I am. My sash to you, friend. Oh, come on, Applegate. I don't want to blow up. I've got two weeks of pay coming when we get back. Yeah, give me a power check, will you? Sure. Something must be haywire with the indicator. Get it straightened out, Hollis. Now, she's not firing in sequence, sir. Heating up, too. Let me see. I don't like this. Rockets? Who's the captain? Captain, sir. It's seat tube, I think. Heating the others, too. Lock-offs frozen. Use emergency. Stand by. Stand by. Come on, come on. Control, Mr. Dabblegate. Emergency doesn't answer. It's getting too hot. Maybe it'll answer from here, sir. Dabblegate, get your men out of there. Stand by to abandon. Keep going, sir. Shall I sound the alarm? Yes. Here's the captain. This is the captain. Get into your suits. You've got about two minutes. Get into your suits. The ship is going to explode. Get into your suits. Abandon. Abandon. Get into your suits. The concussion cut the spaceship up the side like a giant can opener. Those of us who weren't immediately killed were thrown into space like wriggling silverfish, scattered into a dark sea. And the ship and a million pieces went on, a meteor swarm seeking a lost sun. The sound of our voices calling like lobbing children on a cold night. Don. Don, Mrs. Hallett, where are you? I don't know. How can I? Which way is up? I'm falling. God, I'm falling. We're going. Who is that? This is the captain. Who is that? Lester. Lester. Where are you? We were hurtling in space in every direction. And now instead of men, there were only voices. Voices communicating by radio phones. All kinds of voices. Disembodied and impassioned in varying degrees of terror and resignation. All moving away from one another. We were wearing our sealed tight space suits with glass tubes over our faces. But there hadn't been time to lock on the propulsion unit. Not time enough. And without them we were meteors, senseless, each going to a separate and irrevocable fate. This is the captain. I want a roll call. Who is that? This is Applegate. Sir, Applegate. Next? Lester. Who? Lester. Stimson. Lester. Stimson. Don. Hollis. Anybody else? Don the Hollis. How long can we talk that phone? Well, it depends on how fast you're going your way and I'm going mine. An hour, I make it. What happened? The rocket blew up. Didn't you feel it? That's all. Rockets do blow up. Which way are you going? It looks like I'll hit the moon. Well, it's Earth for me. That's nice. Back to old Mother Earth at ten thousand miles an hour. I'll burn like a match when I hit the atmosphere. Well, stone's going to the moon. I know where I'd like to see Applegate go. I don't want to die. I don't want to die. It's a long way down. Who's that? I don't know. Stimson, I think. Stimson, is that you? This is Hollis. It's a long, long way and I don't like it. I don't like it. Stimson, this is Hollis. Stimson, do you hear me? Stimson. Yes? You take it easy now. I don't want to be here. We're all in the same fix. I don't want to be here all free. There's a chance we'll be found. I heard that. Oh, what a liar you are, Hollis. You shut up, Applegate. Come and make me. Come on, Hollis. Come and make me shut up. I don't believe this. I don't believe any of this is happening. Not to me. It's a bad dream. Now take it easy, Stimson. Hey, you know, I don't feel so bad. Who's that? It's me, Stone Lister. I was just thinking. I've had a pretty good time. Lots of good time. Hey, did I ever tell you about my wife? Which one? Who's that? Applegate. Oh, sure. How do you feel, Applegate? Oh, why don't you shut up? No kidding about my wife. The one on Mars. Did I ever tell you? That's enough. This is the captain. You've got to figure a way out of this. Make a plan. I sash to you, Captain. What did you say? Oh, you heard me. Don't try pulling rank on me. You're 10,000 miles away by now. You listen to me, Applegate. Consider this a newtly of one, Captain. Kill me. Look, I want to tell you something. Your ship was a bad ship, and you were a bad captain, and I hope you break wherever you're going. I'm ordering you to stop, Applegate. Be my guest. Order me some more. You're gonna put me in change till we land? Mars sash to you, Captain. Hey, fellas, let me tell you about my wife. The one on Venus. It doesn't matter now. I guess anybody can know now. Oh, listen, I had it real good. One wife on Mars, another on Venus, one on Jupiter. Oh, boy, what a time. Hey, Stone. Yeah? Remember the time we put into Mars port for repairs? I remember. Well, that's when I met the first one. You know what those Mars girls are like? Well... LaSpere went on and on with his talk about his wife, and had a planetary bigot, his money, his wonderful times, drunkenness, gambling, on and on while we fell in space away from each other. LaSpere reminiscing on the past, happy while he fell to his death, thousands of miles of space and a voice vibrating in the center of it. No one visible at all, only the radio waves quivering and trying to quicken other men into emotion. I tell you, when a man's had a life like I've had, it's not so bad. Not much left for me to do, I guess. Ma'am, this is the captain. I want you to know that I'm very grateful for your loyalty. You've been a good crew. Hollis. Stone. If you get out of this, I have you both posted for a promotion. It'll go through when you report. Applegate. I wish that it... Captain. Captain. Ender won on meteorite got him. And he take it. Hollis. Hollis, can you think of something? Why ask him? I'll tell you something to do, make it quick. Open the valve on your soup. We're finished, all of us. Who cares? Everyone's gonna cry over me. And we fell through space. Five of us living. Each in his orbit of loneliness. Moving away from the other. From this outer edge of my life, looking back, there was one remorse. And that... only that I wish I could go on living. All dying people feel that way, Hollis. What? Oh, Stone, I... I didn't know I was thinking out loud. Funny, as if I'd never lived. I know. What is it? That won't get again. All right, what? That's you and me talking. Go ahead. You hate my guts, don't you? I never thought much about it. I don't give me that. You were that superior way of yours. I want to tell you something. I was the one who blackballed you with a rocket company five years ago. Did you hear me? I heard you. How does that make you feel? Nothing. You wanted to get to the top all your life, I know. I'll bet you always wondered what happened. Well, it was me. See, I put the black mark on you before I was tossed out myself. That isn't important. Well, I had a good time. Yeah, it's a good thing to think about, too. Had a wife on Mars, Venus, one in Jupiter. Oh, you're certain. And I'm saying it again. I like to think about it. They all had money, too. Oh, yes, they creeped me just fine. You know, once I got drunk and gambled 20,000 dollars, 20,000 dollars in one night. Just like that. Not sure here and now, that's fair. I didn't have any of those things. I was jealous of you, funny little man. How did you rate it? The women, the good times. Women frightened me. And I went into space always wanting them. Jealous of you for having them. And money. And as much happiness as man could want. Well, I'm not jealous anymore, though. Because it's over for you just the way it is for me. Now it's like it never was. It's all over, Lusper. It just never was. You hear me, Lusper? Who's that? It's Hollis. Do you hear me? You're out here, Lusper, falling, dying. It's all over. Just as if it never happened, isn't it? No. It happened. When anything's over, it's just like it never happened. Where's your life any better than mine now, huh? Now's what counts. Is it any better? Is it? It's better. How? How? Because I've got my thoughts. Good thoughts. I remember. George. What good? What good are they? You gonna be rescued? You gonna live more than a few hours? I'm resting easy. I've had my change. I'm not getting vicious at the end. Not like you. Vicious. Vicious. Take it easy, Hollis. I know how you feel, Hollis. I don't take it personally. You're all right. I always thought that. Hey. What? What's the matter? I can see something. Down. Down. Yeah. I can see lights. They look like lights. Where? What? Where are you? Must be a ship. Maybe they'll see us. Which way are you going, Stone? It's flight. I can see a plane. Which way? Which way? Where are you from? Where? Hey. Guess what? What? Stone is a star. What? I got myself into a meteor swarm. Little asteroid. Meteor? Yes. I think it's a Miradon cluster. You know, Hollis, the one that goes out past Mars and in chargers once every five years while I'm right in the middle. Down. Down. It's like a big kaleidoscope. That's what I thought with a light. All kinds of colors and shape are pretty beautiful. All that metal. I'm going with them. They're taking me with them. I'll be... Down. I looked. There was nothing. Only the great diamonds and sapphire and emerald myth and velvet inks of space. And then in a sudden calmness of his going there was a kind of wonder in the thought of stone going off in the meteor swarm out past Mars for years and coming in toward Earth every five years, passing in and out for the next million centuries. Hollis, this was fair. You all right? Yes, I'm fine. I can't hear you so good. You there? Hollis? This is Hollis. I'm okay. You? Yes, there must be something wrong with the phone. Hollis? Can you hear me? Say something, will you? Turn up the booster. Turn up your booster. Hollis, can you hear me? Yes, yes, I hear you. Hey, that's fine now. Oh, I thought you were gone. Who are you talking to? The stone. Hey, who else is around? Applegate. Applegate. Simpson. Simpson. Hey, Simpson. I guess he's gone, too. I swear, can you see anything? I wasn't looking. I was thinking. I think your arm hit Mars. Mars. Wouldn't that be something if I landed in the wife's backyard? She'd get a kick out of that. That's pretty funny, huh? Is that you, Applegate? Oh, I thought it was you. Hollis? No, it must be Simpson. Simpson. Simpson. I wanna wake up, will you? Simpson. Shut him up. Simpson. Simpson, will you listen to me? No. Now, Simpson, listen to me. Applegate's right. It'll be easier. You open your valve. Open it. Listen to me, Simpson. Open your valve. Now. Do it now. It won't work. Only a second, Simpson. Open your valve. Has he gone? Anybody know what time it is? Oh, what do you care? What'd you say? Applegate, fading. What did you say? I don't know. Oh, well, I guess it doesn't matter. Habit, I suppose. You mind if I keep talking? And there passes the time. The goodbyes, voices dying, men dying. The awareness of life, my own. What can I do? Is there anything I can do to make up for a terrible and empty life? If only I could do one good thing to make up for the meanness I collected all these years. And didn't even know it was ending. Hollis, this is Applegate. Yes. Hollis, that was right to go with Simpson to do it. I said it to make him feel bad, but you did it right. I murdered him. No, no. No, you didn't. Listen, Hollis, this isn't good, this thing between you and me. It's a bad way to die. Are you listening, Hollis? Yes, I'm listening. I lied. I didn't blackball you. Can you hear me? Yes. Listening to your talk when you were saying those things to Lesfair about it not mattering and he said about you being vicious made me ashamed. I've been like that too. It's all right. They understand. Can you get Lesfair? No, he was gone an hour ago. Can you hear him? No. The last thing I heard, he was singing a dirty song. Quite a guy. Yeah. You're fading out. You too. What? I hope everything's okay with you, Applegate. I hope you're going to have whatever you want. I hope for you. You're getting soft, Hollis. Open your valve. Take it easy, Applegate. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Applegate! Applegate! Any time now I'll hit the earth's atmosphere. I'll burn and be scattered in ashes all over the continental lands. But I'll be put to use just a little bit but ashes are ashes and they'll add to the land. I wanted to make something of my life. To be liked. To do good for people. To make them happy. Now it's all gone. I wish I could do a good thing. Just something for me to know about. When I hit the atmosphere I'll burn like a meteor. I wonder if anyone will see me. Time for bed, Sonny. William Conrad starred in tonight's presentation of Kaleidoscope, written by Ray Bradbury. Next week, the story of two people and the terror that rolled with them in the city. We call it Backseat Driver. That's next week on Suspense. This is produced and directed by Antony Ellis, who adapted to tonight's script. The music was composed by René Garagin and conducted by Wilbur Hatch. Special technical effects by Robert Chadwick. Beats it on the cast for Stacey Harris, Parley Bear, Howard McNeer, John Daener, Sam Edwards, Georgia Ellis, and Master Jonathan Ellis. This is the CBS Radio Network.