Adventures in time and space transcribed in future tense. Dimension. Can you predict what will come in 100 years? Can you see beyond the known dimensions of time and space into the unknown dimension X? In 1987, Atlantic's spaceport was established on the site of old Fort Devin outside of Boston. And as the ships pushed deeper and deeper into space, the time of voyage increased by geometrical progression. It became more and more difficult to persuade able spacemen to sign on for flights which lasted for years, 10 to 15 monotonous years in the cramped focus of a deep spacer. The bar rooms and one-armed joints in Scully Square in Boston were plastered with recruiting posters for the deep space star runs. Flashy four-color signs with a blue-eyed young man gazing into a star-studded sky. Seek your future in the stars. Jeff, there's your last chance to get out of the wedding. Sure, just send Judith a short note. I can't get away to marry you today. I'm 300 million light years away. Very funny, very funny. Well, think it over, boy. Tomorrow, the shackles of matrimony. But tonight, the stars. The mystery of the galaxy. Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow, you commit matrimony. Oh, come on, we came here to have a little fun. We might as well be at Mother's Musical on Commonwealth Avenue. Ah, the problems of the rich. Hey, Jeff, just where does the coffin fortune come from? I guess it started in Nantucket. My great great something or other used to be a whaler. A whaler? There she blows. A dead whale or a stove boat. Watch my trusty harpoon. Ouch, look out with that fork. Where's the money now? Oh, I don't know. We've got a lot of commercial holdings, mills, import, export, outfits, rocket lines, you know. A mere trivia. Hey, why don't we get out of this dump? We could go up to the Copley Plaza. It may be stuffy, but at least the glasses are clean. You're the condemned man. All right, you guys go ahead and get a taxi copter. I'll settle. Uh, meet you out in front. Right. Excuse me. You want something, bud? The check. Okay, okay. Hey, Milton, check. He'd be right out. Right. Hello, mate. Huh? Nice night, eh? I, I suppose so. I've been watching you. Celebrating? Sort of. Oh, so am I. Just got off of deep space, run out to St. Torres. St. Torres? That's a 15 year run, isn't it? 15 and three blooming months. How'd you know? You a spaceman? No, not exactly. Hey, barkeep, where's that check? Hang on to your hat, bud. Milton is slow, but he's sure. Fill it up, Charlie. Say, why don't you join me, mate? Here, Charlie. No, no, thank you. No. Come on, won't take off on me? Celebrate whatever it is you're so excited about. I'm not going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. I'm going to do it. You want to celebrate whatever it is you're celebrating on me. Come on, pour it, Charlie. Yeah, sure. Well, I guess I might as well. Thank you. Cheers. Cheers. Was that Varnish? Charlie special brand, eh, Charlie? Yes. Look, could you get that waiter out here? I've got to meet my friends. Oh, watch your earring, mate. You've got plenty of time. Sure. Sit down. Take it easy. You don't look so good. I don't feel so good. Well, you know, you sit right here. You'll feel chipper as a blooming grassnapper in a second. Got it. Get outside. In a hurry. Where's the check? Check! Come on. Get him out the back before his mates turn up. Grab his other leg. Let's go. In a hurry, you see. That's what he thinks. Well, he's gone. He's got plenty of time. All right, mate. Up on your feet. Wakey, wakey, wakey. Let go of me. That's the idea. Rise and shine and greet the dawn. Where am I? What's going on here? I'm all now made up and at him. Wakey, wakey, wakey. Come on. Show a leg. Show a leg. Wait a minute. Hey. You were at that bar. Scully Square. Come on now. Up to the power room or you'll be in trouble. Power room? What are you talking about? Where am I? Well, that's hard to say exactly. Orphaned about eight hours out of Atlantic Spaceport. Atlantic Spaceport? What kind of a joke is this? If Alan and Peter think this is funny, they... What ship is this? RS Michael M. Rafferty. Corfin Line. Corfin Line. Well, it makes it easy. You've got to put back the port. Forget your toothbrush, mate. Listen, you run. Take me to the captain or I'll tear you apart. Here they go, my little pal. Get moving. Sure. Sure, mate. I'll take you up to the captain. Captain Longstrom is just the man you want to see. Martin. What the devil are you doing on the bridge? Get below the bar. Right away, sir. Right away. I need to see a gentleman asked to say... That's right, captain. There's been a mistake made. It was supposed to be a joke. Yes, you see, I'm going to be married today and I suppose my friends... Thought it would be funny to make me miss the ceremony. I'm sure it won't be too much trouble to have you drop me off back at Atlantic. What? Martin, what is this? How it's simple, captain. He wants you to turn the ship around. If there's any trouble with your superior, I'm sure I can fix it up. You see, I'm Jeff Corfin. Yes? Well, you don't understand. My father is Cyrus Corfin. He owns this ship. He does, eh? Before I... I can understand you're not believing me, captain, but I can identify my... Hey, where's my wallet? My, my. Look, captain, all you have to do is radio back and check. Mr. Black, remove this man from the bridge. Aye, sir. You heard the captain, buster. Wait a minute. Let go of me. This is no way to treat a passenger. Passenger? Wake up, sonny boy. You're one of the crew. What? Well, you're crazy. I'm Jeff Corfin. Maybe, but you're signed on as a crewman. Now, stay to the attention. You can't get away with this. And say, sir. Why, you cheap hoodlum. Now, listen, careful, sonny. You're a spaceman on this ship. And when an officer gives you an order, you're gonna jump. How do you all bust it? Let go of my arms. I guess you need a little lesson in ship discipline. And you might as well get it now. All right, Mr. Black. Now, take him below. All right now, mate. You grab yourself a buffer and you get to work on those deck plates. They can't get away with this. It's kidnapped. Maybe, yes, maybe, no. Now, get this here deck nice and shiny. We might even see a batch of grub. I'll be back in two hours. And mind you, I want to be able to see my bloomin' reflection in it. Hey, hey, you'd better get started. I can't get away with this. The law says once you sign on, you're under absolute orders. I looked it up. But I didn't sign on. I was kidnapped. You won't be able to prove it. Come on, mister, please. I didn't get anything to eat today. Give me a break. All right. You run the buffer over, is that it? Yeah, that's right. Like this. Yeah, okay. You sign on? Yeah. I ran away from home. What? How old are you? Sixteen. I'll be thirty when we get back. What do you mean, thirty? We're headed for Mars, aren't we? Only to refuel. We're bound out to Centaurus. But now! We can't, but that's fifteen years. Morton! I've got to get back! It's no use. I'm getting married. You'll think I'm dead. Morton! Morton! Morton! Now what's up? You want me to call Mr. Black again? He'll give you what for. No, no, listen. Now listen, I've got to get back. I can't disappear for fifteen years. How is that a fact? Look, we stop at Mars, right? Yes, and you'll be below decked on the lock and key. Listen, I can make it worth your while if you get me off at Mars port. Jumping ship? Now that's real. Naughty man. One thousand dollars. What would I tell me poor old mother in battersy? Two thousand? Five. In advance. What do you mean in advance? I bet you're the one that rolled me for my wallet. There's a way. They don't believe you, young Corfin. Maybe I know better. All right? It's a deal? All right. Look, Mr. Corfin, can you take me with you? I didn't realize what it would be like. I'll pay my share. I can work it for you. Or maybe borrow money. I couldn't stand fifteen years. I go crazy. He'll cost you another thousand. You cheap swindler. Hear now, Mr. Corfin. I'm all what stands between you and a lovely pleasure crows for fifteen years. So I'll thank you to treat me with respect and politeness. What a gentleman like me self deserves. Stand by. Stand by for landing procedure. All right now. Listen carefully. This here's the cable locker for the grappling anchor. When she lands, this hatch will open and the cables go out. Don't get yourself caught in the middle. You'll be tore apart. All right, we got that. Are you sure we can get out? You just do what I say. When you drop down, right here, you'll be able to get out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. I'll get you out. When you drop down, run for the blast pit. Nobody's there for a landing. Lay low until dark. You got that? All right. Don't worry. I'll tell the patrol you help us get away. That'll help you when they catch up with this guy. Well, thank you, sir. Thank you kindly. I've got to get to the station. Good luck. Thanks. Thanks, Mr. Morton. There's the landing horn. Yeah. Keep clear of that cable, Joey. Here comes the deceleration blast. Hold on tight. There goes the grappling cable. All right, come on. Drop to the hatch. It's about six feet. It's clear. Hurry up. Here I go. You all right? Yeah. Twisted my ankle. It's all right. There's the blast pit. Come on, get going. Yeah. Yeah, we're all right. Yeah, we're all right so far. The ship hides us. Here's the pit. Get down so they can't see you. I know how to thank you, Mr. Coffinay. I must have been crazy to sign on that ship. That's all right, Joey. What happened? Ever fight at home? Yeah. Wait a minute. Huh? I hear somebody coming. What? Keep still. Maybe we better look. We stick our heads over the edge. I'll see you sure. Keep down and keep quiet. I hear him too. Well, well, well, look what we have here. Two little babes in the wood. You two move and I'll shoot you each once in the belly. Morton, you got good eyes. I told you I saw him come his way, Mr. Black. Jumping ship. Boy, that's a terrible thing to do. You double crossing rat. You got paid in advance, didn't you, then turned us in. I'll see the Port Police about this. Yeah? We already turned your papers over to the Port Police's ship jumpers. Papers? I didn't sign any papers. You just don't remember signing them. I got them stamped nice and legal. It's no use, Mr. Coffin. We haven't got a chance. My, my, jumping ship. Well, don't worry, mate. You'll see your girl again in 15 years. Mr. Black, inform the ship's company that these two men have been found guilty of attempted desertion. Desertion? Well, you kidnapped me, you dirty crook. Don't you talk to Captain Lundstrom that way. I'm sentencing them to 20 years in prison. You're going to be a good man. You're going to be a good man. You're going to be a good man. You're going to be a good man. You're going to be a good man. I'm sentencing them to 24 hours hole watch. Take them away. Morton, take them to the aft lock. Aye, sir. Morton. Ship jumping. You didn't have that gun I'd break you in two. Double cross and rattled. You calm down after 24 hours hole watch. What's hole watch? Very simple. We put you two in space suits and shove you through the airlock at the end of a line. You sit out there and you watch the hole for 24 hours. You can talk to each other on the wireless intercom, but no food and no water. And the eating units in those suits are just a little bit defective. Makes it interesting, long about the 18th hour. Oh, but. Well, here we are, gentlemen. The airlock. Now you get in here. You've got five minutes to get into suits and we blow you out of the lock. See you in 24 hours. Maybe. The Joey. Joey, can you hear me? Yeah. It's getting awful cold. How much longer we got? I don't know. I suppose that's part of the fun. Guess. I'm awful thirsty. It can't be too much more. Hang on, kid. It's cold. It'll probably get colder. We'd better snap the safety hook. Jeff. Jeff, what would happen if we drifted away from the ship? We'd keep going in the same direction until the oxygen gave up. Yeah. Will it get much colder? I don't know if I can take it. We haven't got any choice, Joey. Just hang on. It can't last forever. Will, welcome back to our little home. Water. Tasty? Right here. Here. Slopping like a bloody animal. Joey, best help. You'll be all right. Teach your lesson, brother. Just take my advice and behave yourselves. You've got 15 years to go on this ship and you might as well make the best of it. Hey, Martin. What do you call this mess? That's your supper, mate. Food concentrate. What's the idea? Only two months out and on concentrates already? I'm complaining, Reed. Yeah, I'm complaining. If Captain Lundstrom's chiseling on the manifest, that's his business. But when he tries to take it out of our hide... You keep quiet or I'll turn you into Mr. Black. Concentrate is what you get to eat from here on out. Now shove it in your face and keep quiet. Now shove it in your face and see how you like it. Look out. Look out. What's going on in here? Martin, what happened? He struck me at what? 48 hours hull watch. What are you all looking at? Get back to your places. Martin, bring that man to the aft airlock. All right, Reed. Come on out of there. Your time's up. Come on. You, mate, go in and get him. Come on, Joey. Chief, 48 hours out there. Unsnap the helmet. Careful. Get it off. Come on now, hurry up. Bring him too. I can't. What? He's dead. Get him undressed. Hang up that space suit. He must have had a heart attack. Heart attack. He's frozen to death. Mr. Black will be fair out broken. Red was her first-class jet man. Hurry up with that suit, it's cold in here. It's murder, that's what. Just plain murder. Space code gives a 30-hour limit for punishment. They didn't even have a burial. Just shoved him out of the lock. If the owners knew about this, they'd stop him. A lot of good that's going to do us for the next 15 years. Wait a minute. If we could get the ship back to Mars. That's no good, son. Two weeks after we landed, we'd be hung. That's what space code says about mutiny. If they catch you in the act, they shoot you down and no question. I'm willing to take the chance. Are we going to let Black and Lundstrom kick us around for 15 years? Why don't we take over and head back? Okay. Quiet. Did I interrupt something, gentlemen? A discussion? Talking about the captain, maybe? Well, go. Let go of me. I'll have you all out on the island ships. I'll see you now, police. You're dead. What are you? Here, chew on my oil, all right, Morton. There. Well, that's done it, Harry. He's an officer. Who cares? We've got to move now. Joey, get up to the radio room and smash the set before they can get a message out. Right. Pop, you get out, tell the engine watch. All right. The rest of us will go up to the bridge. How about this, Rhett? Tie him up. Speed counts now. We've got to take over before they know what hit them. Careful. We've got a surprise. We'll get him cold. Quiet. Sparks were sending when I got in, but I knocked him out and smashed the set. We're all right. All right, come on. Let's get up to the bridge. Hey, look out. Close the hatch. We're cut off from the bridge. We'll never get through that. He must have found out somehow. Folks will intercom. Black must have turned it on from the bridge. He must have heard the whole thing. Yeah, yeah, yeah. We'd better get out of here. Yeah. What'll they do? I don't know. They got all the controls up there. We can shut down the drive, but we can't steer. We better dog down the hatch behind us. Well, what next? All right, men. Captain Lundstrom's giving you one minute to get them quiet. In a pig's eye, Black. He'll hang from you, and he'll bring one of you. What do we do now? Quiet. They can hear everything on the intercom. Not if I cut the switch. We've got to get through to the bridge. It's a Mexican standoff. We can't get at them, they can't get at us. What's that? Air leak. The pressure's down. Tell us. Tell us. What is it? Lundstrom, he blew the hatch in the mess hall section, just opened it up and let the air out. Anybody caught? Al Haines, he was cooking supper, dead as a doornail. But they can kill us all, they'll do it too. All they've got to do is bleed off the air. They've got the atmosphere controls up there. I'll see all of you blacks swinging from a landing crane. I'll wear you scum. Morton, you know what Black's going to do? Bleed off the air down here. Serve you all right. Fly in my way, I'd see you all out in the yard until you froze stiff. You're forgetting something, Morton. You're back here with us. What do you mean? If Black and Lundstrom blow out compartments one by one or bleed the air off, you'll get it too. They'll take care of me, don't you worry about that. You think so? Joey, plug that intercom back in. Yeah. Black! Black! Coming up. We've got Morton back here. Yeah? If you try anything honest, he'll get it too. What am I supposed to do? Cry? You don't care if he does? That's his problem. We're going to drop the oxygen level five percent. You can't do that to me. Captain! Captain! It's unfortunate that you are captured, Morton. But the security of my ship comes first. You mean you don't care you'd see me dead? Precisely. Well, you can't. It's murder, that's what. I'm not one of them. You can't kill me. You can't. Joey, pull the intercom plug. You can't do it. I always follow orders. I get the dirty work and pull it. We can't hear you anymore, Morton. Shut up! Morton, they'd kill you as soon as they look at you. Now listen, we've got to get through to the bridge. You know this ship. There must be some way. Well, your only chance, Morton. Get us through that hatch and up to the bridge. All right. All right. Why shouldn't I? They'd kill me. And there is a way to get through? Emergency release. Works by hand. I don't tell Cromley about it to keep him from breaking through and an engine blast and leaking radiation to the bridge. Let's get going. We've got to get through before Lundstrom cuts the air down and gets us all. Here's the hatch, Morton. Where's the release? Under the floor panel. You can throw it up, Harry. I got it. It's up. Works on a key. Ready? Back against the walls. They've got the guns. Let them have them. I want to wrap my wrench around Black's neck. All right, Morton. Open it up. Here goes. Look out. Behead it. Quiet. Morton. Morton. He's dead. Electrocute it. And the hatch is still closed. He didn't get to turn that key. It killed him instantly. Harry, they've got your watch gloves. They're insulated. Oh, sure, sure. They'll take any curves. Let's get Morton out of the way. And don't touch him, Joey. He's got the current through. Yeah, I'll pull him away with the glove. All right, now stand by. Here goes the key. Let's go. Get him. Back there. Like this. Drop the gun. Joey, look out. Oh, my God. Lundstrom. Hold him, boy. You don't have to worry about Black. I got him square with a wrench. Anybody else hurt? The side. I think it just grazed me. We'd better tie Lundstrom up. What do you think you are going to do now? Turn around and go back home. I don't think so. I have burned the navigation tapes. None of you can recalculate. What? You'll just wander in space until the fuel gets out. You'll die right here on the ship. Hi, Comin' Jeff. Ah, it's no use. I've had a little space math, but not enough to compute a flight. Sooner or later, you're going to beg me to let you surrender. Jeff, the interceptor screens went off. Media? No, no, it was a ship. A patrol ship coming up on us. Hey, must have got off an S.O.S. We don't have to worry. We can just tell them the truth. Sure. You are not familiar with this space code, young man. Mutiny is punished by immediate execution on the ship itself. In other words, they don't ask questions, they shoot. He's right, Jeff. We're through. Can we get away? Not from a patrol ship. They've already sent us a heave-two flash. If we run, they'll blow us out of space. I'm afraid your mutiny is over, gentlemen. Soon they'll be alongside with an airlock coupling. And ten minutes after that, you will all be dead. Nobody move. Sergeant, take a squad and secure the ship. Collect all weapons and post a guard in the engine room. Yes, sir. You, Brown, Williams, Kuckey, Kelly. I'm delighted to see you, Major. I was not sure that an S.O.S. had gotten through. Oh, you're Captain Lundstrom? That's right. I can swear out there that I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. I'm not a spy. That's right. I can swear out the affidavit of mutiny and... I don't think a mutiny judge will stand up, Lundstrom. Not with a relief of command warrant out for you. I think we'll just forget about it. You're under arrest, Captain. Oh, you can't do that. Space code is clear. You recorded my S.O.S. S.O.S.? Of course. How else did you get here? They send us after you to get Jeff Coffin. Where is he? I'm... I'm Jeff Coffin. We had a missing persons alarm for you, and then when a check you signed turned up at Marsport... A check? That's right. I gave one to Morton to help me get away. And he sold it to a fence for half face value. We traced it back to this ship. Coffin, I've got orders to escort you personally. We're taking you back to Earth, son. Major, can I send out a message? Of course. Oh, that reminds me, I've got one for you from your fiance. Oh? She said to tell you that she didn't object to a bachelor party in principle, but she did think six months was stretching it a bit. Competition, they say, is the life of trade, and it will be as true two centuries from now as it is today. You'll hear about it next week when we present... Dimension X! Today, Dimension X has transcribed, Shang Hide, an original story by Ernest Kenoy. Featured in the cast were John Sylvester as Jeff and William Griffiths as Morton. Your host was Norman Rose. Music by Burt Berman. Engineer, Bill Chambers. Dimension X is produced by William Welch and directed by Edward King. Three chimes mean good times on NBC. Tonight, it's the big show on NBC. Your stars will be Groucho Marx, H.C. Opienza, Jane Powell, Fanny Brice, Frank Lovejoy, Meredith Wilson, and many, many more. Supervising the hour-and-a-half big show will be M.C. Tallulah Bankhead. Incidentally, when unpredictable Tallulah meets unconventional Groucho, look out. It's the big show every Sunday on NBC. Now the quiz kids, and later here Tallulah and the big show on NBC.
