 told in future the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Street and Smith Publishers of astounding science fiction bring you dimension X My name is John L. Hayes and private investigator Maybe you heard about me. I cracked the Turner kidnapping back in 1946 It wasn't very hard. I paid off a few stool pigeons and went right to the hideout I did my reputation a lot of good though Enough good for me to be called into the mayor's office down at City Hall to see big Mike Flaherty himself Sit down. Sit down. Thanks You have to forgive me for speaking so low. That's a bad case of laryngitis. Yes, it is Jason I've been a fool. You didn't get to be mayor of a city like this by being a fool When you get old you want to believe a lot of things We want to believe so hard that sometimes you throw your common sense right out of the window You get hardening of the crony larderies to become stupid What's the pitch mr. Mayor? You didn't call me in to discuss the philosophy of growing old gracefully Listen, I want you to do some investigating for me Naturally, it must be confidential. This is a confidential business. All right Here's the day man came into this office and sold me a vial of radioactive water that he called the relixer of life I'm supposed to cure you of any disease and keep you healthy enough so you live a hundred years That's none of my business mr. Mayor, but how much did you drop on this gold-breaking? It's About fifty thousand dollars Hmm You uh, you don't seem the type somehow and come a little closer to season And we did tell you something my political opponents would give their right arms to know this Isn't laryngitis It isn't it's inaccessible for surgery It's really be dangerous How much time I have left? I don't know but I look like a man who's going to that chair Isn't if I want a vacation I pack up and go if I want to drink I take one If somebody comes to me with a vial of liquid and says it'll keep me alive I think twice before I throw him out as a crackpot What do you want me to do get your money back? The money isn't important. You mean that the loyal opposition got hold of the story. They could use it against you That's part of it, Asian However, you don't have the whole picture yet Shortly after I bought the stuff I received an anonymous phone call I was warned not to take it I was told it was poisoned and would kill me in a matter of seconds. Ah, the plot thickets. Are you going to appreciate my position? I feel like a man who can either save his life Or destroy himself by taking that stuff Well, the phone call might be a hoax. Yes And so might the elixir of life Yeah, very likely What do you want me to do about it? Investigate the man who sold it to me Find out who's behind him. What he knows where he goes Nothing else. I want that 50 grand back What's in it for me? A grand If he's on the level 10% if you get the dough back Deal deal He's a vial and he's his card uh-huh Arthur C. Layman longevity experts 45 Billings chords Okay, mr. Mayer, you got yourself a boy. Good. I'll leave your working name and phone number with my secretary I'll have a sender check. Right. I'll call you You were in there a long time. How'd you make out? Swell. I bought the outer drive for only 10 bucks on the cost of mailing. That's kind of high last week We were selling it for only five. I'm sorry. I've been listening to too many detective programs It isn't polite to stare I was just wondering what your name was Sign on the desk says katharina cooper. I'll call you Kathy Oh, uh, I'm supposed to leave my name and phone number go ahead The name is donald haston But then you knew that honey, you've been listening to the mayor call me by it for the last half hour You forgot to shut off the intercom switch Big mics getting kind of careless, isn't it? He said she was feeding me to the vultures piece by piece I left my card and walked out By the time I got home it was dusk It was the time of early evening when every bachelor wishes he wasn't one especially after meeting a girl like kathy The phone began to ring just as I put my key in the latch I made it on the fourth ring Hello I live alone and don't like it. Were you expecting someone else to answer it? This is a warning mr. Hason Don't touch your bed I'm sorry, but I don't like to sleep on the floor The joys of being a private detective. Oh, hello, jaco How's my boy? Add to that good boy Oh, jaco, be glad you're not a private detective with all kinds of crack parts calling you up and trying to get you to go Sometimes I wish I had shaggy ears like you so I couldn't hear them Come on boy. Come on in the bedroom for a change or something Oh boy, you want to go out? Well, you just wait until I sit down here and get these shoes. Hey, hey there. Don't jump on that bed bed. Now, you know better I'm gonna fly When I looked more closely I saw that the bedspread had silvery threads of fine spring steel woven into it It had been set like a bear trap to spring shot and strangle anything that touched it Somebody wanted to get rid of me pretty badly somebody to whom I had suddenly become very dangerous Instead they got jaco My poor little jaco I decided to take a fast drive over to billings court to see arthur layman monchevity expert I'm looking for mr. Layman's office. I'm the janitor. You didn't need to explain Yes, indeed mr. Layman, isn't it? I just said I was looking for his office. Oh, it's a detective Now I'm really a vacuum cleaner salesman I just had these credentials printed up for fun here by your wife and muskrat coat I can't take any money I'll just keep this to the tip. What floor is it on? Up those steps. Thanks Looking for someone Mr. Layman A janitor told me you weren't in so I will pick the lock. Yes. I hope you don't mind not at all If you put down the gun, I like to hold it. It gives me a feeling of power Now mr. Hayes, mr. Hayes, and if you will tell me just who you are and what you're doing here I couldn't sleep My bed had a dead dog in it. I thought I should consult a health expert. Who sent you nobody sent me. I'm like topsy I just groaned. I'd like to keep on growing mr. Layman. I don't like people trying to kill me And I don't like people killing my dog. I'll make sure you think I would try to kill you Just a hunch if I really wanted to kill you I could do it right now perfectly legally since you broke in That'd be hard to prove fortunately for you mr. Hayes, and I don't have the faintest interest in trying to kill you On the contrary it was I who telephoned and warned you about that bed You know about that phone call. I ought to I made it What's the pitch mr. Layman? I can't tell you what the pitch is mr. Hayes But I will tell you this Give that bile of liquid back to clarity and let him cure himself or poison himself Look mr. Layman. I wasn't born yesterday Don't give me this elixir of life stuff. There ain't no such thing and don't try to top me off this case by pretending You're on my size to hasten I warn you you're playing around with something much too big for you to handle That bile is the only one of its kind in existence today the liquid it contains will cure fliers if he drinks it You know, I've seen lots of carnival men peddling flukum and ink sticks, but you're good You almost convinced me almost but not quite You're a very stubborn fool mr. Hayes and give back that 50 grand and I'll become very unstubborn I Have a suggestion. I'll bet you do why don't you safe enough the tiniest drop of that elixir and have it tested on say A rabbit then if it's non poisonous you can go back to clarity and have him drink and while we're proving It's caramel water. You're on a fast boat out of mongolia with 50 g's come with me Where to a reputable biological laboratory any one you choose Suppose I don't want to play then I'll kill you You will feel my gun against your side. So don't try anything Shall we go before we do just one thing? Well If you didn't try to kill me Who did Who else knew about it? Nobody nobody except florida you me and And florida's secretary Shall we go Of course, we'd mean injecting at least a cc into an infected guinea pig Then we'd have to we can do a biopsy. How long would it take 24 hours at least okay? How much 50 dollars my friend will pay Your face yeah, the gentleman Holy jumping sunfish, sir Look, you saw me come in with a guy just a minute ago didn't you yes, sir But he left when you started talking to me isn't that just dandy is something wrong? No, nothing much. You know what barnum said about one being born every minute. Yes, sir Well, he was talking about me. I better get going. Yes, sir. Oh, sir. What about that kiss? Okay, I suppose you might as well do it just for laughs Send the report on the bill that donald hasten private investigator cater building. Yes, sir Pointing going back after layman. He was probably well on his way by this time It was an all-around for me story from beginning to end But still somewhere hanging around the edges of my brain was a funny kind of hunch If layman had wanted to kill me then who called me up to warn me layman himself Why it didn't figure I stopped to look up an address in the phone book and then I invested 10 cents Why don't you do it over a cup of coffee? I have to talk to you Very late a sleep late tomorrow, please There's a coffee shop near your place. I'll be there in 15 minutes soft blonde hair She seemed genuinely happy to see me it threw me for a few seconds And then I reminded myself I had already won the pt barnum award once that night My name Arthur C layman Am I supposed to refresh your memory? I had a talk with his honor about him. I I don't remember Look, I used to have a little scotch terrier named jockel. We liked each other. He used to lick my hand All I want to know is are you mixed up in it? What goes on? I don't know anything about it. Listen kathy Maybe I'm getting sentimental in my old age But for a moment there when you walked in I thought you seemed genuinely glad to see me Wasn't because you were glad I was still alive. Come on give Don, I liked you. You're a nice guy Why don't you let it alone call flowery and turn down the assignment Give him back as well and tell him you're not interested in finding layman Would you do it? If you want to help me so much why not tell me what it's all about. I can't I'd like to but I can't I've told you too much already Somebody's got you real scared honey. Who is it? You're too nice a girl to be mixed up in this garbage with a guy like layman Come on. Tell me I can't just believe that please Get out of it now before it's too late Okay, honey, you can play it that way if you want but to me it's as thin as a bowl of restaurant soup Poor jockel knew something and couldn't tell me you know something and you won't tell me Good night. I am ca and I didn't sleep very well It went around and around in my brain like a squirrel in a cage, but it didn't add up to anything when it came out In the morning I went straight to my office and locked myself in with a bottle of gin By 10 o'clock. I had decided to quit the job, but before I could call flowery and tell him The phone rang Go ahead Mr. Hayson, you got it. This is dr. Gregory the base at biological laboratory. If you want the money He isn't about the money. What's up? Mr. Hayson Do you have the formula for that serum you gave me? No, I know a guy who might but he's in out of mongolia by now. Why? But I've never seen anything quite like it. I don't know if it's just a freak of fate or what happens? Well, let's take that disease my undershirt as I put down the receiver Where do we go from here? Was layman on the level after all? The next stop was layman's office. Maybe he wasn't in out of mongolia It was noon before I got there the same janitor was on duty in the same dirty lobby Hello there. Hi Want something layman who layman Now wait a minute junior, you'll remember me last night five bucks real office first floor I don't know what you're talking about. Mr. Are you one of the five a junior? Well this time? I don't buy get out of my way I can't let you just walk into that office. I'll try to stop me if you want to work tomorrow But there's nobody in that office. We'll see about that junior right now Was covered by a six-week accumulation of dust that was undisturbed except for the footprints of the janitor and myself Yet yesterday there had been a rug telephones desk chairs file cabinets I checked the door number 1b that was it all right Then I checked the janitor He was standing there just looking stupid But he looked a little too stupid I figured I could make him talk so I tried an old trick I reached inside my hat band took out an ordinary pen and jabbed him hard on the arm Hey, yo, what's the big idea mr. Sit down jr. Sit down over here on the window ledge Okay Listen, I don't know anything. Maybe you saw something like this in the movies junior There's this guy see a killer and he sticks another guy with a needle that has a slow poison on the end of it Like I have right in this little glass file see it And only this killer has the antidote if the other guy doesn't talk it's curtains in one minute If he does the killer will give him the antidote Okay, junior talk. I I don't believe you There's no poison in that pin. It's a joke. It's up to you junior Don't you feel something different though feel your heart speed up a little from the poison? Now listen, I don't know anything it makes you sweat too When it reaches the brain that's when it really begins to work You've got 30 seconds to spill otherwise 25 seconds Okay, he was here He gave me a hundred dollars to forget it the rent at the office only a couple of days ago And then last night he said he was moving out said I shouldn't mention to anybody that had been here And our lady was gone piles for it turned off. Don't know how I moved all that stuff out so fast Now that's all I know unless that's all I know now for god's sake, mr. Give me that stuff Don't let me just cook Junior there was no poison. You're all right Yeah trick. Thanks for the information a trick a trick He said he'd shown me thanks again and right back on the horns of ye olde lemma The only thing I knew for sure at this point was that the serum was apparently not poisonous And since my client was most concerned with that I made my next stop the office of his honor mayor big mike flowery I had the vial in my coat pocket Hello beautiful I want to see his honor He isn't in I'll go into his office and wait you can't but I can come on in. I won't talk to you anyway. Please come on Shut the door, huh? No, okay, I'll shut it I'll sit Okay, baby, let's have a heart-to-heart conversation. I see you didn't listen to my warning No, I didn't what's more I found out that this layman character is on the level about the serum it works Found that out too. That's right. It leads me to an interesting conclusion kathy Namely that you're the one who tried to booby trap me All right, have it your way What do you intend to do? Well first I'm going to give flowery that serum and let him cure himself. You mustn't do that. Why not? I I can't tell you but you mustn't Down in a few minutes mike flowery will be here before he comes I'll have to ask you to give me that serum try again I don't hear so good. Maybe you'll hear this It works too. So don't try anything Well, well, so now it comes out Okay, kathy if you want to play that way go ahead. Give me that serum Why don't you shoot I warn you I may have no choice. Give it to me Pull the trigger baby You're weakening done. Please don't make me kill you. Please What is it baby? True love or just weak in the knee You better handle that gun Tom what can I do? I'm so mixed. Well, that's better Well, what is it kathy? You're no killer. Tell me what's going on here. Maybe I can help you. You gotta trust me No, no, I can't don't believe me I want to but it's against the prime injunction The what? You wouldn't understand. There's no way I could make you understand only believe me don't because I love you You mustn't let layman succeed in giving that serum to mike flowery The consequences would be unimaginable You know kathy If you had come to me and leveled right at the start, maybe we could have worked something out Maybe I'd be listening to you now But you're a little late because I just heard big mike coming to the outer office. He'll be here in a second Don't don't please come in How do you do? Layman, I see she's been trying to get the vial from you mr. I was afraid of that I came over to make certain that mr. Flaherty is permitted to drink the serum. That's very noble of you layman, but I don't quite understand it You have your 50 grand. What do you care whether mike flowery lives or dies mr. Hason if mike flowery dies the opposition candidate will win the next election That means a new political party will come into dominance in this city The next president will be a representative of that party I am most anxious to see that that does not happen The entire future of our country indeed the history of the world would be affected by it He's telling the truth don't but events must be allowed to take their normal course. Don't listen to her hastens She's tried to kill you once she'd do it again. You know, I'm telling the truth about that serum She wants to see flowery die go ahead ask her It's true, isn't it kathy You want mike flowery to die You don't understand listen. I'm getting pretty fed up with being told. I don't understand understand what? I understand that in the past 24 hours somebody's tried to kill me I understand that layman's serum will cure a guinea pig and probably a human I understand that unless i'm completely insane the entire contents of layman's office vanished in a few minutes I understand that you two seem to be more concerned with some nonsense. It's going to take place in the future and Oh, no, no, it's too fantastic. Just too fantastic to even think about Something troubling you mr. Hason, perhaps I can help you Perhaps you can layman i'm going to ask you just one question very well When Are you from that does it doesn't it mr. Layman? I've guessed your game I'm afraid you have mr. Hason I am as you surmise a traveler from the future And since you stumbled upon it Perhaps miss cooper here would like to fill in her part of the story What before she does up your hands both of you higher Don't move I'll take that god mr. Hason Now miss cooper you may enlighten our backward friend Go ahead catty Both layman and myself are from the future don't why didn't you tell me? I couldn't the prime injunction to time travelers is never to reveal their identity The penalty is death Since you've guessed it as we feared you might there's no point in trying to conceal anything further go on Mr. Layman's a fugitive from the era in which we live Using one of our time machines. He came back to your time And he sought to change things so that he'd be in a position of great power in the future How do you figure to do that if laity lives long enough he could dominate the political picture in america You're almost right except in one detail miss cooper Fairly will not survive he will live only long enough to gain a position of political dominance Then I will remove him and my own ancestor will take over the reins of power leaving them eventually to me I get it now But there's one thing that bothers me Who was trying to kill me? I was You see I was sent here to track down layman I set that spring before I met you as soon as laity hired you to help him I did it on orders from the council. They're afraid you'd be successful in saving laity's life then unfortunately I I fell in love with you and couldn't go through with it I called and warned you you took credit for that layman. I wanted to remiss you on my side mr. However, it makes a little difference at this point since you know the entire story I have little choice now Do you think you can get away with this? I believe I can mr. Hissen there are two of us here. We'll know your plans other time as de flair to return to his office There will be only one myself Goodbye mr. Hissen It has been Saw Kathy jump toward the desk and push a button. I hadn't noticed before I remember a thought as if I'd been sandbagged And then watching an amazement at the crimson spread down the front of my shirt Then there was a loud roaring noise and everything went black I died Don't try to move down Don't move yet It'll take a few minutes for you to feel like yourself Well, you jump in the sunfish. I I'm sitting in flirty's office That was blood on my shirt and it's gone now here. You drink this I don't understand it. Have I been dreaming? Is the whole thing nothing but a nightmare Well, it seems so real that there was a man named layman He ployed a gun at my head and shot me I I felt it. I tell you I felt it gone gone. Listen to me Listen carefully. There isn't much time and please darling. Please this time. Believe me. Listen Go ahead. You were in this room layman did shoot you. He he killed you. You're insane. No What he didn't know was that this office is a time machine We rigged it that way hoping to trap him here and take him back to future time When I saw you was about to shoot you I jumped through the switch that sets the machine in the reverse We went back into the past before he killed you That's where you are now It's only a few minutes before layman is going to knock on that door and come into the office But it's too fantastic to believe cat What can I do? Thanks a lot. Make it now before layman gets here And then when he comes get the jump on him since you're the one who went back in time You'll remember but layman won't What'll happen to us? They'll appeal to the council. Perhaps they'll let us stay together I can't make my brain believe this cat You must Don Don for our own sake for the future's sake Breaks a vial now in a moment. It'll be too late. Well, I don't know catty Clarity is life depends on this little glass bottle. I'm sneezing It's layman time. You've got to decide now. No quick come in mr. Layman We're ready for you You just heard another adventure into the unknown world of the future the world of Dimension X 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 Untitled story from the current issue of astounding science fiction It was written for radio by george lefferts from the story by frank m robinson Featured in the cast were george peteras hasten and sergeant as catty bernard lenro as layman Your host was norman roll music by albert burman Dimension x is produced by william welch and directed by fred way Dragnet the story of your police force is next on mbc