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Wikipedia...
X Minus One was a half-hour science fiction radio drama series broadcast from April 24, 1955 to January 9, 1958 in various timeslots on NBC.
Initially a revival of NBC's Dimension X (1950–51), the first 15 episodes of X Minus One were new versions of Dimension X episodes, but the remainder were adaptations by NBC staff writers, including Ernest Kinoy and George Lefferts, of newly published science fiction stories by leading writers in the field, including Isaac Asimov, Ray Bradbury, Philip K. Dick, Robert A. Heinlein, Frederik Pohl and Theodore Sturgeon, along with some original scripts by Kinoy and Lefferts.
Included in the series were adaptations of Robert Sheckley's "Skulking Permit," Bradbury's "Mars Is Heaven," Heinlein's "Universe" and "The Green Hills of Earth", " Pohl’s "The Tunnel under the World," J. T. McIntosh’s "Hallucination Orbit," Fritz Leiber’s "A Pail of Air" and George Lefferts' "The Parade."
The program opened with announcer Fred Collins delivering the countdown, leading into the following introduction (although later shows were partnered with Galaxy Science Fiction rather than Astounding Science Fiction): (Some would argue the intro countdown should have stopped at X minus one. As it was, the show should have been called: "Fire" with the resolution of the countdown as aired.)
Countdown for blastoff... X minus five, four, three, two, X minus one... Fire! [Rocket launch SFX] 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 may-be worlds. The National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Street and Smith, publishers of Astounding Science Fiction presents... X Minus One.
The series was canceled after the 126th broadcast on January 9, 1958. However, the early 1970s brought a wave of nostalgia for old-time radio; a new experimental episode, "The Iron Chancellor" by Robert Silverberg, was created in 1973, but it failed to revive the series. NBC also tried broadcasting the old recordings, but their irregular once-monthly scheduling kept even devoted listeners from following the broadcasts. All episodes of the show survive.
This offering...
"Knock"
Aliens who have no concept of death have wiped out humanity, literally to the last man and woman, whom they put in a zoo as public curiosities. Story by Fredric Brown.
Original radio broadcast
Script...
X Minus 1
"Knock"
May 22nd 1955
"Knock"
May 22nd 1955
SOUND:
HIGH-PITCHED ELECTRONIC HUM
ANNOUNCER:
Countdown for blast-off. X minus five, minus four, minus three, minus two. X minus one. Fire.
SOUND:
ROCKET SHIP BLASTS OFF
MUSIC:
IN BG
ANNOUNCER:
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 would-be worlds. The National Broadcasting Company presents -- (HEAVY ECHO) X ... Minus ... One!
MUSIC:
TO A CLIMAX ... THEN OUT
ANNOUNCER:
Tonight, the science fiction classic, "Knock" by Fredric Brown.
MUSIC:
FOR AN INTRODUCTION ... FADES OUT BEHIND--
ANNOUNCER:
Tonight, we have a strange story to tell, a sweet, bloodcurdling little story that is really only two sentences long -- "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock at the door..."
SOUND:
THREE HEAVY KNOCKS AT THE DOOR
WALTER: Hm? What's that?
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES OPEN AND SHUT ... ZAN'S FOOTSTEPS IN
ZAN:
Good morning, man.
WALTER:
Wha--? Who are you?
ZAN:
You have regained consciousness.
WALTER:
Who are you?
ZAN:
I am Zan.
WALTER:
I'm still asleep; I must be.
ZAN:
You are not asleep.
WALTER:
Maybe if I close my eyes, it'll go away.
ZAN:
I will not go away, man.
WALTER:
No. I guess I'm awake. Who--? What are you?
ZAN:
I am a Zan.
WALTER:
What's that?
ZAN:
A Zan is intelligent life.
WALTER:
Look, I don't-- What happened? Where are you from?
ZAN:
From Planet Seven in the Third Galaxy in the Fourth Quadrant.
WALTER:
Where?!
ZAN:
It is not necessary to repeat information which is correct in the original statement.
WALTER:
Planet Seven? But-- You mean I'm not on Earth?
ZAN:
You are still on your planet.
WALTER:
Then - what are you doing here?
ZAN:
The Zans have annexed your world.
WALTER:
You mean you've conquered Earth?
ZAN:
Yes. That is correct. We will now prepare your planet for habitation by the Zan.
WALTER:
How 'bout the people? What about the - population of the world?
ZAN:
You are the population of the world.
WALTER:
Hmm? Now, wait a minute. I can't-- I don't understand what's happened.
ZAN:
The Zan have landed on your planet. We have removed the lower life forms to prepare for colonization by the Zan.
WALTER:
When did all this happen?
ZAN:
Two days ago. You have been unconscious until now.
WALTER:
You really mean I'm the last man on Earth?
ZAN:
That is correct. Identify yourself now.
WALTER:
What?
ZAN:
Kindly provide data as to your position in the elementary social order of your planet.
WALTER:
Oh, oh. I'm, uh, Walter Phelan, associate professor of anthropology at Nathan University. How do you speak English?
ZAN:
We have deciphered your written and recorded records. It is not difficult to reconstruct your language. It is a primary type of auditory communication.
WALTER:
Oh, oh.
ZAN:
Is there anything you want to complete your natural habitat?
WALTER:
You mean I'm a prisoner?
ZAN:
That is correct. What would you want further in your room?
WALTER:
Do I have to stay here?
ZAN:
Yes.
WALTER:
The rest of my life?
ZAN:
Forever.
WALTER:
Well, you better bring me my books.
ZAN:
That will be done.
WALTER:
That's rather considerate of you. You know, I've got to call you something. Do you mind if I call you George?
ZAN:
It is immaterial. I will be back, Associate Professor of Anthropology.
WALTER:
Oh, that's all right, George. Just call me Walter.
ZAN:
Very well -- Walter.
SOUND:
ZAN'S FOOTSTEPS AWAY
ZAN:
I will be back with your books.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES OPEN
WALTER:
All right, George. I'll be seeing you around.
ZAN:
You will not be around, Walter. You will be here.
MUSIC:
BRIDGE
SOUND:
THREE HEAVY KNOCKS AT THE DOOR
WALTER: Come in.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES OPEN ... ZAN FOOTSTEPS IN ... DOOR SLIDES SHUT
WALTER:
Hello, George.
ZAN:
Hello, Walter.
WALTER:
Wait a minute. You're not George; you're different somehow.
ZAN:
It makes no difference. The Zan are many and they are one.
WALTER:
Then I'll call you George, too. I'll call you all George. What can I do for ya?
ZAN:
Point one. You will please henceforth sit with your chair facing the other way.
WALTER:
Uh huh, I thought so, George. That plain wall is different on the other side, isn't it?
ZAN:
That is correct. It is transparent.
WALTER:
Yeah, that's what I thought. I'm in a zoo. Right?
ZAN:
That is correct.
WALTER:
How many other animals do you have in the zoo, George?
ZAN:
Two hundred and sixteen.
WALTER: (LAUGHS) Not complete, George. Even a bush league zoo could beat that. Did you just pick at random?
ZAN:
Yes. All species would have been too many. Male and female, each of one hundred eight kinds.
WALTER:
Male and female, huh? Of, uh, all the animals?
ZAN:
There is a female of your species among the collection.
WALTER:
Mm, anyone I know? Uh, well, never mind; it doesn't matter anyway. Well, uh, what do you feed us all, eh?
ZAN:
For carnivorous species we make synthetics. The flora was not hurt by the vibrations which destroyed animal life.
WALTER:
Oh, nice for the flora. Well, George, you started out with "point one." I deduce there is a "point two" kicking around somewhere. What is it?
ZAN:
Something we do not understand.
WALTER:
Oh?
ZAN:
Two of the other animals sleep and do not wake. They are cold.
WALTER:
Don't worry, George. It happens in the best-regulated zoos.
ZAN:
What is wrong with them, Walter?
WALTER:
Nothing much. They're just dead.
ZAN: Dead?
WALTER:
Mm hm.
ZAN:
That means stopped. But nothing stopped them. Each was alone.
WALTER:
Well, maybe they just died of old age.
ZAN:
Old age? I do not understand.
WALTER:
You don't? Well-- How old are you, George?
ZAN:
Your planet went around the sun about seven thousand times since I was born.
WALTER:
Seven thousand years!
ZAN:
Yes. I am still young.
WALTER:
Yeah, a babe in arms. Look, George, you've got something to learn about this planet you've hijacked. Here on Earth, we've got somebody you don't know where you come from. An old man with a beard and an hour-glass and a scythe. Your vibrations didn't kill him.
ZAN:
What is he?
WALTER:
Oh, Old Man Death. Down here, our people and animals live until somebody -- the Grim Reaper -- stops them.
ZAN:
He will stop more?
WALTER:
He gets us all, George. With your life span, it won't seem like a minute and we'll all be gone. (CHUCKLES) Looks like you made a mistake, George. And I don't think there's much you can do about it.
ZAN:
That is not correct. The Zan is a logical being. We will take action!
MUSIC:
BRIDGE
SOUND:
WALTER AND ZAN'S FOOTSTEPS DOWN HALLWAY ... CONTINUES IN BG
WALTER:
Well, George, uh, where're you taking me?
ZAN:
We will be there shortly. We will bring your books and your chair.
WALTER:
You mean my lease is up?
ZAN:
I - I do not understand.
WALTER:
It's moving day?
ZAN:
That is correct.
SOUND:
FOOTSTEPS OUT
ZAN:
We are here now. You will live here now, Walter. It is a larger room.
WALTER:
Well, be it ever so humble, there's no place like home.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES OPEN
ZAN:
Go inside.
WALTER:
Oh, be careful with those books, George. Don't lose my-- (BEAT) Oh, uh, excuse me.
GRACE:
Who - who are you?
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES SHUT
GRACE:
What are you doing here?
WALTER:
I guess George didn't explain. George tries to be polite, but he hasn't quite caught on yet. I'm Walter Phelan.
GRACE:
My name is Grace Evans, Mr. Phelan. What's all this about? Why did they bring me here?
WALTER:
I think I know why but let's go back a bit. Do you know just what has happened otherwise?
GRACE:
No, not exactly.
WALTER:
Well, I've been talking to George--
GRACE:
George?
WALTER:
Oh, that's what I call them. All of them. There's no way to tell 'em apart anyway. There aren't many of 'em here -- yet. They come from outside the solar system. Sort of an advance scouting party.
GRACE:
I saw their spaceship. It's as big as a mountain.
WALTER:
Yeah, they're moving in on us. They cleaned off the Earth with some kind of vibration. It destroys all sorts of animal life. I don't know whether they did it all at once, or if they had to circle the earth a few times, but they killed everybody.
GRACE:
No! I was afraid that--
WALTER:
The cheerful note is that you and I and two-hundred-odd other animals were picked up beforehand as specimens for the zoo. You do know this is a zoo, don't you?
GRACE:
I suspected it. But I don't remember anything about being captured. I just woke up here.
WALTER:
Well, my hunch is they used the vibrations just low enough to knock us all out, and then they cruised around, picking up samples at random. When they were all set, they turned the juice on full blast.
GRACE:
How terrible.
WALTER:
Yeah, well, they solved a lot of problems for us -- housing shortage, wars, even the atomic bomb. I don't suppose the human race -- you and I -- have to worry about anything now.
GRACE:
It's awful.
WALTER:
Only -- they made a mistake. They underestimated us.
GRACE:
I don't understand.
WALTER:
(CHUCKLES) They thought we were immortal.
GRACE:
That we were what?
WALTER:
Immortal -- like they are. Oh, they can be killed - but the Zans don't know what natural death is. They didn't know, anyway, until they lost two of us yesterday.
GRACE:
You mean there are more than two of us?
WALTER:
Oh, not more of our species, no. These were merely fellow animals -- a rabbit and a canary. And by the Zan's way of figuring time, the rest of us are only good for a few minutes apiece. The joke on them -- they figured they had permanent specimens here in the zoo.
GRACE: Well, didn't they even know we'd all die eventually?
WALTER:
I don't think so. George -- that is, the second Zan I saw -- told me he was seven thousand years old, and he's young by their standards. When they learned how quickly we die, they were practically shocked to the core -- if they have cores.
GRACE:
How can you talk that way about it?
WALTER:
Academic detachment. I learned it at faculty teas. At any rate, they've decided to reorganize their zoo -- two by two.
GRACE:
What, are they going to keep us locked up together in this one little room?
WALTER:
Yeah, I'm afraid so. There's plenty of furniture, though, and George promised to bring me my chair.
GRACE:
We've got to do something!
WALTER:
Why?
GRACE:
Well, I don't know. It just - just seems to me we owe it to the human race to do something!
WALTER:
Oh? Well, uh, perhaps you have a suggestion?
GRACE:
There must be some way. They can be killed, you said.
WALTER:
Oh, yes. I've been studying them. They look horribly different, but I think they have about the same metabolic and digestive system as we. I think that anything that would kill one of us would kill one of them.
GRACE:
But you said seven thousand years--
WALTER:
Yeah, I think I figured it out. Now, George cut his, uh -- why, I suppose you'd call it his hand -- when he brought in my books. Started to bleed. Red blood. But I could see the cut closing as he stood there. By the time he left, it was healed.
GRACE:
I don't understand.
WALTER:
You see, whatever factor there is in man that makes him grow old is missing in the Zan. Their regenerative powers must be unlimited. They just don't wear out. They go on and on until they're stopped.
GRACE:
Suppose we killed one. There must be some way.
WALTER:
Oh. What would be the use? They wouldn't even punish us. They'd just give us our food through a trap door and put up a sign saying, "Beware of the Man -- Dangerous."
GRACE:
(DISGUSTED) I don't think they'll even have to bother in your case.
WALTER:
(CHUCKLES)
GRACE:
I don't see anything funny.
WALTER:
I'm sorry, it just reminds me of Martha.
GRACE:
Martha?
WALTER:
My wife. She died two years ago.
GRACE:
I'm - I'm sorry.
WALTER:
Oh, not at all. It was a pleasure.
SOUND:
HEAVY KNOCKS AT THE DOOR
WALTER: Uh, that'll be George with my books. (CALLS) Come in.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES OPEN
WALTER:
Hello, George.
ZAN:
Hello, Walter.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES SHUT
ZAN:
Point one, I have brought your books.
SOUND:
ZAN FOOTSTEPS IN ... BOOKS DROPPED ON FLOOR
WALTER:
Mm hm. Point one, eh? What else is on your mind?
ZAN:
Another creature sleeps and will not wake.
WALTER:
Oh?
ZAN:
A small feathered one called a duck.
WALTER:
Well, it happens, George. I warned you. Old Man Death. The Grim Reaper. I told you about him.
ZAN:
Walter, the Council of Zan has met. It has been decided logically that -- A. No life form can withstand the full strength vibrations with which we cleared your planet. Therefore, the Grim Reaper you spoke of does not exist.
WALTER:
Mm, pretty neat, George. What's B?
ZAN:
B. The only intelligent life to escape the vibrations is you. Therefore, the logical conclusion is you are stopping these animals by some means unknown to us.
WALTER:
George, you are off your trolley.
ZAN:
You will tell me now how this is done.
WALTER:
You've got me.
ZAN:
Yes. We have. It is necessary to save the remaining specimens as long as possible. If we do not get the information, we may be forced to dispense with your species entirely. This means you, Walter. And the female.
WALTER:
Now, hold on, George. Don't go off half-cocked. Uh, let me take a look at these animals that won't wake up.
ZAN:
I will take you there now. Go first, Walter.
SOUND:
FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR WHICH SLIDES OPEN
WALTER:
After you, my dear George.
MUSIC:
BRIDGE
SOUND:
WALTER AND ZAN'S FOOTSTEPS AS THEY PASS CAGES ... IN BG
ZAN:
This is the weasel.
WALTER:
Well, you should have got him in the winter, George. The fur's worth more then. It's ermine.
ZAN:
This is the reptile cage.
WALTER:
Mm hm.
ZAN:
Here are the ducks.
SOUND:
DUCK QUACKS IN BG ... FOOTSTEPS OUT
ZAN:
That is the male. The female has been stopped.
WALTER:
Lucky girl. (TO DUCK, SYMPATHETIC) What's the matter, fella? Lonely? Hm?
ZAN:
Walter? You will tell me how you stopped the female duck.
WALTER:
You've got me, George. I didn't do it. Maybe she died of the Dutch Elm blight.
ZAN:
Walter, you are not being logical. We have concluded you are stopping these animals. Tell us now how it is done.
WALTER:
I've told you, George. I haven't the foggiest notion.
ZAN:
Very well. We will have to take further action.
WALTER:
Oh? What are you going to do, George?
ZAN:
We will go back now to your room.
MUSIC:
BRIDGE
GRACE:
(WORRIED) What happened, Mr. Phelan?
WALTER:
Uh, you might call me Walter. After all, George does. And we have more in common.
GRACE:
Please! What happened?
WALTER:
Oh, just a duck. A dead duck. George thinks I killed it by remote control. He wants me to tell him how.
GRACE:
Did you?
WALTER:
Look, I'm just an ordinary anthropologist. There's no telling what those animals died of. Just natural causes. But George can't see it that way. He thinks I'm holding out on him.
GRACE:
Good!
WALTER:
Hm? What?
GRACE:
At least we can get back at them some way. At least we can do something to them.
WALTER:
Well, why? After all, George isn't a bad fellow -- if you like an ant mentality.
GRACE:
How can you say that?! Why, they murdered the whole human race!
WALTER:
I suppose so -- but, uh, we can't change that now. So why think about it?
GRACE:
We just can't sit here and do nothing.
WALTER:
I fail to see how we can do anything else.
GRACE:
Well, at least we could be fighting.
WALTER:
I can't see the virtue in that. I was more or less content with my books and-- We've got George to talk to.
GRACE:
(DISGUSTED) Of all the men in the world they had to pick--! Don't you want to fight back? Don't you want to keep on fighting to the end?
WALTER:
It hadn't occurred to me.
GRACE:
But we've got to, Walter!
WALTER:
Why?
GRACE:
I can't really explain it. But, Walter, if there was any good in man, it was that he kept on struggling against nature and, in the end, even against himself. He kept on fighting for what he thought was right. And we're all that's left. Walter, we - we just can't end by giving up. We've got to keep on fighting.
WALTER:
(CHUCKLES) You know, you do remind me of Martha.
GRACE:
There isn't much left for us. We could beat them in this one small thing. We can pretend there's a secret about death. We could refuse to tell them anything.
WALTER:
Well, there isn't anything to tell.
GRACE:
But they don't know that! Promise me you won't give in.
WALTER:
Well, I suppose the worst they can do is kill us. All right, Miss Evans.
SOUND:
THREE HEAVY KNOCKS AT THE DOOR ... DOOR SLIDES OPEN ... ZAN FOOTSTEPS IN
WALTER:
Hello, George.
ZAN:
Hello, Walter.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES SHUT
ZAN:
Now you will tell us how these animals are stopped.
WALTER:
George, this may come as a shock to you but I've decided not to tell you.
ZAN:
Why?
WALTER:
Oh, a romantic attachment to lost causes. My grandfather was a Confederate officer.
ZAN:
Walter, you are not being logical.
WALTER:
Neither was my grandfather. He charged a Yankee battery with one round of ammunition and a corncob pipe.
ZAN:
You are not logical. But that is expected in lower life forms. You will come with me now, Walter.
GRACE:
Where are you taking him?
ZAN:
To the second level. Go now, Walter.
GRACE:
(TO WALTER) You won't tell them.
WALTER:
I can't guarantee anything but, as of now, I don't intend to.
GRACE:
We've got to fight, Walter. Remember that. We've got to go out fighting.
WALTER:
Yes. Yes, I think you're right.
SOUND:
FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR WHICH SLIDES OPEN
ZAN:
Go now, Walter.
GRACE:
Goodbye.
WALTER:
It's been a pleasure, Miss Evans.
ZAN:
I am waiting. Go now, Walter.
WALTER:
After you, my dear George.
MUSIC:
BRIDGE
SOUND:
EAR-SPLITTING DRONE ... FOR TORTURE ... THEN IN BG
ZAN:
You will tell us now, Walter.
WALTER:
(GROANS IN PAIN FOR A FEW MOMENTS)
SOUND:
EAR-SPLITTING DRONE OUT
WALTER:
(GASPS FOR BREATH ... CONTINUES IN BG)
ZAN:
That was the first level of vibrations. There are many more. However, we have calculated that none of them exceed your threshold of unconsciousness.
WALTER:
Very clever, George.
ZAN:
Of course. You will tell us now -- how do you stop these animals? You will tell us now.
WALTER:
As of now, no. However, I'm not very brave, if that encourages you, George.
ZAN:
You are not being logical, Walter.
WALTER:
You're telling me.
ZAN:
We will now use Vibration Level Two.
SOUND:
CLICK! OF SWITCH ... HIGH-PITCHED DRONE ... THEN IN BG
WALTER:
(GROANS IN PAIN FOR A FEW MOMENTS)
SOUND:
HIGH-PITCHED DRONE OUT
ZAN:
Walter? Walter, you are still conscious?
WALTER:
Let me alone, George.
ZAN:
You will tell us now. You will tell us now how you stop the animals.
WALTER:
Let me alone. Let me alone.
ZAN:
We have had Vibration Levels One and Two. There are still fifteen more before your threshold of unconsciousness.
WALTER:
No, no, no. Let me alone.
ZAN:
Walter, listen to me. Another creature sleeps and will not wake. We must know now!
WALTER:
You better start vibrating again, George.
ZAN:
No.
WALTER:
(BEAT) What?
ZAN:
It would not be logical. We have calculated that no further level of vibration will overcome your irrational psychological block. We conclude you will not tell.
WALTER:
You'll let me go?
ZAN:
That is correct.
WALTER:
(UNCERTAIN) Hmm. That's, uh, real nice of you, George. I appreciate it.
ZAN:
We have calculated that the resistance of the female of your species will be lower. We will now place her under the vibrations.
WALTER:
No, no, George. George, you can't do that. Now, listen, George. George, there is no secret. Can you understand that? There is no secret. Those animals died from natural causes. I'm telling you the truth.
ZAN:
That is not a logical answer. We will get the woman.
WALTER:
I've told you the truth! Can't you understand?
ZAN:
We must know now. The female animal caged next to the duck has been stopped. We must preserve the survivor.
WALTER:
The animal--? The animal next to the duck?
ZAN:
We will bring the woman here. She will tell us after the vibrations.
WALTER:
No, no, no. Listen, George. You want the truth? You want to know how to save the mates of the animals that have been stopped?
ZAN:
You will tell us now?
WALTER:
Yes, yes. I'll tell you now. I give up. But you've got to promise to leave the woman alone. You promise, George?
ZAN:
If we receive the answer from you, Walter, there will be no further need for the vibrations.
WALTER:
Well, I guess that'll have to do. All right.
MUSIC:
SNEAKS IN
WALTER:
All right, take me to that stopped animal. I'll tell you how to save the mate.
ZAN:
Very well, Walter. You are being logical now. We will go.
MUSIC:
UP FOR BRIDGE
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES SHUT ... WALTER'S FOOTSTEPS IN, BEHIND--
GRACE:
Walter, are you all right?
WALTER:
Just - let me catch my breath a minute.
GRACE:
What did they do? What happened?
WALTER:
After a while, I told them what they wanted to know.
GRACE:
Oh, no!
WALTER:
As George pointed out, it seemed to be the logical thing at the time.
GRACE:
But you promised!
WALTER:
I know.
GRACE:
(DISAPPOINTED) It was our last chance to beat them on even one little thing.
WALTER:
Perhaps. You mind if I sit down?
GRACE:
(ACCUSING) You gave up.
WALTER:
I suppose you could call it that. I'm very tired.
GRACE:
They've beaten us completely then. There isn't even anything we can do. The last of the human race and we give up! We don't even die fighting.
WALTER:
Oh, it isn't that bad. (YAWNS) Something might turn up, Martha.
GRACE:
What did you call me?
WALTER:
Huh? Oh, I must have said "Martha." Sorry. She was my wife. She died two years ago. What were you saying?
GRACE:
(BITTER) Nothing. Nothing. It doesn't matter. It's too late. It's too late for the whole human race.
SOUND:
THREE HEAVY KNOCKS AT THE DOOR ... DOOR SLIDES OPEN ... ZAN FOOTSTEPS IN
WALTER:
What now, George?
ZAN:
The Council of the Zan has met.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES SHUT
WALTER:
Oh? Something wrong, George?
ZAN:
A Zan has been stopped.
GRACE:
What?
WALTER:
A Zan is dead?
ZAN:
That is correct.
WALTER:
Well, you didn't believe me, George. But you can die. You can really die. You'll have to get used to that, if you're going to stay here.
ZAN:
The council has decided. A. You have in some way stopped this Zan. B. You and the woman must be eliminated.
GRACE:
Walter?!
WALTER:
No, no, you've got it wrong, George.
ZAN:
The council has decided. This time you will have the full vibration.
GRACE:
This time? Walter, what did they do to you?
WALTER:
Oh, they, uh, they have a rather effective third degree.
GRACE:
They tortured you, Walter?
WALTER:
Yes.
GRACE:
And I - I thought-- Oh, Walter, it was all my fault.
WALTER:
I wouldn't have even tried without you. I suppose we have a last chance now to - to end with some dignity.
GRACE:
I think you're a very brave man, Walter.
WALTER:
No, not very. There isn't much else to do. Do we go now, George?
ZAN:
Now, Walter.
SOUND:
VERY HIGH-PITCHED COMMUNICATION SIGNAL
ZAN:
Wait.
WALTER:
Hm? What's that?
ZAN:
I have been told another Zan has died!
WALTER:
Now - now will you believe me?
ZAN:
The Council of the Zan meets now!
WALTER:
Two gone already, and you were with me, George. You know I didn't kill this one.
ZAN:
What stopped him then?
WALTER:
I told you! It's Old Man Death! You came to the wrong planet, George. Your immortality doesn't go down here. He can stop you but you can't stop him. And you'll all die if you stick around.
SOUND:
VERY HIGH-PITCHED COMMUNICATION SIGNAL
WALTER:
What now?
ZAN:
The council has decided. This is a place of death. We will leave your planet.
WALTER:
Leave? You mean you're giving up?
ZAN:
It is not safe for the Zan.
GRACE:
Oh, Walter, they're leaving! They're really going.
WALTER: Go on, then, George. And, uh-- Don't hurry back.
ZAN:
It would not be logical to do so. We are leaving the Earth now. Goodbye, Walter.
SOUND:
ZAN FOOTSTEPS TO DOOR WHICH SLIDES OPEN
WALTER:
Goodbye, George.
MUSIC:
BRIDGE
SOUND:
WIND HOWLS ... CONTINUES IN BG
WALTER:
Well, they're all aboard now.
GRACE:
So wonderful to feel the sun and the wind again.
WALTER:
Yeah, they've closed the hatches.
GRACE:
Walter, is it safe for us to be out here?
WALTER:
Yes, they're not interested in us any longer. They only want to get away. And I want to see this, Grace -- the Zan leaving Earth, forever.
SOUND:
DISTANT TAKE-OFF OF SPACESHIP BEGINS ... CONTINUES IN BG
WALTER:
They're blasting off.
SOUND:
SPACESHIP FLIES AWAY ... FADES OUT BEHIND--
GRACE:
There they go!
WALTER:
Yes, it's all over now. (BEAT) Well, I suppose we might as well go back in.
SOUND:
GRACE AND WALTER'S FOOTSTEPS .. CONTINUES IN BG
GRACE:
I - I still don't understand. Walter, what made them go?
WALTER:
(CHUCKLES) I just - I just told them the facts of life.
GRACE:
Of death, you mean.
WALTER:
No, no. Of life. After all, I thought George was old enough to know. At seven thousand years, he was getting to be a pretty big boy.
GRACE:
I wish you'd stop joking and tell me what happened.
SOUND:
DOOR OPENS ... FOOTSTEPS CONTINUE INDOORS ... WIND OUT WITH DOOR CLOSING BEHIND--
WALTER:
Look out for the step. Well, you remember when the first animals died?
GRACE:
The rabbit and the duck?
WALTER:
Yeah. And their mates just started to pine and waste away?
GRACE:
Yes?
WALTER:
Well, that worried the Zan. They wanted to keep the last specimens alive if they could, so finally I broke down and told them about -- affection.
GRACE:
Affection?
WALTER:
Yes. And then I introduced Donald.
GRACE:
Donald? Who's that?
SOUND:
DUCK QUACKS
WALTER:
Here we are. Grace, meet Donald.
SOUND:
FOOTSTEPS OUT BEHIND--
GRACE:
Walter, please! What does affection have to do with it?
WALTER:
That's what the Zan wanted to know. I told them it was love that made the world go round. That, having lost his mate, Donald would die immediately unless he had affection and constant petting.
GRACE:
Petting?
WALTER:
Mm hm.
SOUND:
CAGE DOOR UNLOCKED AND OPENED
WALTER:
(CHUCKLES) I even showed 'em how. (TO DUCK) Here, fella, come on. Come here.
SOUND:
DUCK QUACKS
WALTER:
I held Donald in my arms, and I petted him awhile. And then I let the Zan take over with the animal in the next cage.
GRACE:
What animal?
WALTER:
Take a look.
GRACE:
You mean this cage?
WALTER:
Mm hm.
SOUND:
RATTLE
WALTER:
Watch out. Don't go too close.
GRACE:
Walter! It's a rattlesnake!
WALTER:
Ye-e-es. Their metabolism made it impossible for them to die of old age but I had a hunch that they could be poisoned.
GRACE:
(REALIZES) Then it was the snake that killed the two Zan.
WALTER:
Mm hm. They never even knew what bit 'em.
GRACE:
Then, you outwitted them, Walter!
WALTER:
Well, I - I suppose--
GRACE:
I thought you'd just given up! Oh, Walter, I'm so ashamed.
WALTER:
You don't have to be. I had given up. I probably wouldn't have fought if you hadn't pushed me.
GRACE:
(AWKWARD PAUSE) Well, I--
WALTER:
Well, we've got a world to plan. A new world, Grace.
GRACE:
I know.
WALTER:
We'll have to decide which animals to let out of the zoo, and which ones it'd be safer to keep in. But, first, there's a bigger problem.
GRACE:
What's that?
WALTER:
The human race.
GRACE:
Oh.
WALTER:
We've got to make a decision about that. Pretty important one.
GRACE:
Y-yes, but--
WALTER:
It's been a nice race, even if nobody won it. Of course, it may go backward for a while until it gets its breath, but we can save the books and all the most important things, and get it started ahead once more.
GRACE:
No!
WALTER:
It's the Garden of Eden all over again. Ah, but, Eve -- you'll have to watch out for that snake.
GRACE:
Now, don't! Don't be ridiculous, Walter!
WALTER:
You know-- Funny, you even blush like Martha. Only, uh, you're stronger than she was. Prettier, too.
GRACE:
I - I wish you'd forget about Martha.
WALTER:
I think I will, my dear -- if you'll give me time.
GRACE:
Now, Walter Phelan, you listen to me! If you think for one minute that I-- That we could--
WALTER:
I thought it would never happen to me again. But it is love that makes the world go round. So, Grace, if you could only--
GRACE:
No! I wouldn't marry you if - if you were the last man on Earth!
WALTER:
Well, that's exactly what I am!
GRACE:
I don't care! I don't even want to talk about it!
SOUND:
GRACE'S FOOTSTEPS START AWAY
GRACE:
I'm going out!
WALTER:
(CALLS, FROM OFF) All right, my dear, but think it over. And please come back!
SOUND:
DOOR SLAMS SHUT
MUSIC:
BRIEF WHIMSICAL BRIDGE
SOUND:
GRACE'S FOOTSTEPS HESITATE THEN RETURN TO DOOR, BEHIND--
ANNOUNCER:
You see? I told you. It wasn't really so horrible, our story. Remember how it goes? "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. And then, there was a knock on the door..."
SOUND: GRACE KNOCKS ON DOOR
WALTER:
(OFF) Come in.
SOUND:
DOOR SLIDES OPEN ... GRACE'S FOOTSTEPS TO WALTER
WALTER:
(GROWING CLOSER, LOVINGLY) Come in, Grace. My dear.
MUSIC:
WHIMSICAL ... THEN IN BG
ANNOUNCER:
You see? It wasn't horrible at all.
MUSIC:
TO A WHIMSICAL FINISH
ANNOUNCER:
In just a moment, a word about next week's adventure.
MUSIC:
CLOSING THEME ... THEN IN BG
ANNOUNCER:
Tonight, by transcription, "X Minus One" has brought you "Knock" by Fredric Brown, adapted for radio by Ernest Kinoy. Featured in the cast were Alex Scourby as Walter, Lori March as Grace, and Luis Van Rooten as the Zan. "X Minus One" was directed by Fred Weihe and is an NBC Radio Network production.
MUSIC:
TO A FINISH
ANNOUNCER:
And now-- Next week.
SOUND:
HIGH-PITCHED ELECTRONIC HUM ... THEN IN BG
ANNOUNCER:
A strange and chilling story from the Bureau of Missing Persons. The story of what occurred when they accidentally intercepted a short wave message, a cry for help, from a missing atomic scientist who told them the fantastic story that he was now -- "The Man in the Moon." How did it happen? You'll hear next week at--
SOUND:
HIGH-PITCHED ELECTRONIC HUM OUT
ANNOUNCER:
(HEAVY ECHO) X ... Minus ... One!
NBC ANNCR:
(AFTER A PAUSE) Join "The Abbotts" on another baffling mystery tonight over most NBC Radio stations.
MUSIC:
NBC CHIMES ... THEN OUT
BONUS...The story as it appeared in the December 1948 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories...
"Knock"
by
Frederic Brown
There is a sweet little horror story that is only two sentences long: "The last man on Earth sat alone in a room There was a knock on the door..."by
Frederic Brown
Two sentences and an ellipsis of three dots. The horror, of course, isn't in the two sentences at all; it's in the ellipsis, the implication: what knocked at the door? Faced with the unknown, the human mind supplies something vaguely horrible.
But it wasn't horrible, really.
The last man on Earth - or in the universe, for that matter - sat alone in a room. It was a rather peculiar room. He'd just noticed how peculiar it was and he'd been studying out the reason for its peculiarity.
His conclusions didn't horrify him, but it annoyed him.
Walter Phelan, who had been associate professor of anthropology at Nathan University up until the time two days ago when Nathan University had ceased to exist, was not a man who horrifled easily. Not that Walter Phelan was a heroic figure, by any wild stretch of the imagination. He was slight of stature and mild of disposition. He wasn't much to look at, and he knew it.
Not that his appearance worried him now. Right now, in fact, there wasn't much feeling in him. Abstractedly, he knew that two days ago, within the space of an hour, the human race had been destroyed, except for him and, somewhere, a woman - one woman. And that was a fact which didn't concern Walter Phelan in the slightest degree. He'd probably never see her and didn't care too much if he didn't.
Women just hadn't been a factor in Walter's life since Martha had died a year and a half ago. Not that Martha hadn't been a good wife - albeit a bit on the bossy side. Yes, he'd loved Martha, in a deep, quiet way. He was only forty now, and he'd been only thirty-eight when Martha had died, but - well - he just hadn't thought about women since then. His
life had been his books, the ones he read and the ones he wrote. Now there wasn't any point in writing books, but he had the rest of his life to spend in reading them.
True, company would be nice, but he'd get along without it. Maybe after a while, he'd get so he'd enjoy the occasional company of one of the Zan, although that was a bit difficult to imagine. Their thinking was so alien to his that there seemed no common ground for discussion, intelligent though they were, in a way.
An ant is intelligent, in a way, but no man ever established communication with an ant. He thought of the Zan, somehow, as super-ants, although they didn't look like ants, and he had a hunch that the Zan regarded the human race as the human race had regarded ordinary ants.
Certainly what they'd done to Earth had been what men did to ant hills-and
it had been done much more efficiently.
But they had given him plenty of books. They'd been nice about that, as soon as he had told them what he wanted, and he had told them that the moment he had learned that he was destined to spend the rest of his life alone in this room. The rest of his life, or as the Zan had quaintly expressed it, forev-er. Even a brilliant mind - and the Zan obviously had
brilliant minds - has its idiosyncracies. The Zan had learned to speak Terrestrial English in a manner of hours but they persisted in separating syllables. But we disgress.
There was a knock on the door.
You've got it all now, except the three dots, the ellipsis, and I'm going to fill that in and show you that it wasn't horrible at all.
Walter Phelan called out, "Come in," and the door opened. It was of course, only a Zan. It looked exactly like the other Zan; if there was any way of telling one of them from another, Walter hadn't found it. It was about four feet tall and it looked like nothing on earth - nothing, that is, that had been on Earth until the Zan came there.
Walter said, "Hello, George." When he'd learned that none of them had names he decided to call them all George, and the Zan didn't seem to mind.
This one said, "Hel-lo, Wal-ter." That was ritual; the knock on the door and the greetings.
Walter waited.
"Point one," said the Zan "You will please hence-forth sit with your chair turned the other way."
Walter said, "I thought so, George. That plain wall is transparent from the other side, isn't it?"
"It is trans-par-ent."
"Just what I thought I'm in a zoo Right?"
"That is right."
Walter sighed. "I knew it. That plain, blank wall, without a single piece of furniture against it. And made of something different from the other walls. If I persist in sitting with my back to it, what then? You will kill me? - I ask hopefully."
"We will take a-way your books."
"You've got me there George. All right I'll face the other way when I sit and read. How many other animals besides me are in this zoo of yours?"
"Two hun-dred and six-teen."
Walter shook his head. "Not complete, George. Even a bush league zoo can beat that - could beat that, I mean, if there were any bush league zoos left. Did you just pick at random?"
"Ran-dom sam-ples yes All spe-cies would have been too man-y. Male and female each of one hun-dred and eight kinds," "What do you feed them? The carnivorous ones, I mean."
"We make food Syn-thet-ic."
"Smart," said Walter. "And the flora? You got a collection of that,
too?"
"Flo-ra was not hurt by vi-bra-tions. It is all still grow-ing."
"Nice for the flora," said Walter. "You weren't as hard on it, then, as you were on the fauna, Well, George, you started out with 'point one.' I deduced there is a point two kicking around somewhere. What is it?"
"Some-thing we do not un-der-stand. Two of the oth-er a-nimals sleep and do not wake? They are cold."
"It happens in the best regulated zoos, George," Walter Phelan said.
"Probably not a thing wrong with them except that they're dead."
"Dead? That means stopped. But nothing stopped them. Each was a-lone."
Walter stared at the Zan. "Do you mean, George, you don't know what
natural death is?"
"Death is when a be-ing is killed, stopped from liv-ing."
Walter Phelan blinked. "How old are you, George?" he asked.
"Six-teen-you would not know the word. Your pla-net went a-round your
sun a-bout sev-en thou-sand times, I am still young."
Walter whistled softly. "A babe in arms," he said. He thought hard a moment. "Look, George," he said, "you've got something to learn about this planet you're on. There's a guy here who doesn't hang around where you come from. An old man with a beard and a scythe and an hour-glass. Your vibrations didn't kill him."
"What is he?"
"Call him the Grim Reaper, George. Old Man Death. Our people and animals live until somebody - Old Man Deathstops them ticking."
"He stopped the two crea-tures? He will stop more?"
Walter opened his mouth to answer, and then closed it again.
Something in the Zan's voice indicated that there would be a worried frown on his face, if he had had a face recognizable as such.
"How about taking me to these animals who won't wake up?" Walter asked. "Is that against the rules?"
"Come," said the Zan.
That had been the afternoon of the second day. It was the next morning that the Zan came back, several of them. They began to move Walter Phelan's books and furniture. When they'd finished that, they moved him.
He found himself in a much larger room a hundred yards away.
He sat and waited and this time, too, when there was a knock on the door, he knew what was coming and politely stood up. A Zan opened the door and stood aside. A woman entered.
Walter bowed shghtly, "Walter Phelan," he said, "in case George didn't tell you my name. George tries to be polite, but he doesn't know all of our ways."
The woman seemed calm; he was glad to notice that. She said, "My name is Grace Evans, Mr. Phelan. What's this all about? Why did they bring me here?"
Walter was studying her as she talked. She was tall, fully as tall as he, and well-proportioned. She looked to be somewhere in her early thirties, about the age Martha had been. She had the same calm confidence about her that be'd always liked about Martha, even though it had contrasted with his own easy-going informality. In fact, he thought she looked quite a bit like Martha.
"I think I know why they brought you here but let's go back a bit," he said. "Do you know just what has happened otherwise?"
"You mean that they've - killed everyone?"
"Yes. Please sit down. You know how they accomplished it?" She sank into a comfortable chair nearby. "No," she said, "I don't know just how.
Not that it matters does it?"
"Not a lot. But here's the story - what I know of it from getting one of them to talk, and from piecing things together. There isn't a great number of them - here, anyway. I don't know how numerous a race they are where they came from and I don't know where that is, but I'd guess it's outside the Solar System. You've seen the space ship they came in?"
"Yes It's as big as a mountain."
"Almost. Well it has equipment for emitting some sort of a vibration - they call it that, in our language, but I imagine it's more like a radio wave than a sound vibration - that destroys all animal life. It - the ship itself - is insulated against the vibration. I don't know whether its
range is big enough to kill off the whole planet at once, or whether they flew in circles around the earth, sending out the vibratory waves. But it killed everybody and everything instantly and, I hope, painlessly. The only reason we, and the other two-hundredodd animals in this zoo, weren't killed was because we were inside the ship. We'd been picked up as specimens. You do know this is a zoo, don't you?"
"I - I suspected it."
"The front walls are transparenl from the outside The Zan were pretty clever at fixing up the inside of each cubicle to match the natural habitat of the creature it contains. These cubicles, such as the one we're in, are of plastic, and they've got a machine that makes one in about ten minutes, If Earth had had a machine and a process like that, there
wouldn't have been any housing shortage. Well, there isn't any housing shortage now, anyway. And I imagine that the human race - specifically you and I - can stop worrying about the A-bomb and the next war.The Zan certainly solved a lot of prohlems for us."
Grace Evans smiled faintly. "Another case where the operation was successful, but the patient died. Things were in an awful mess. Do you remember being captured? I don't. I went to sleep one night and woke up in a cage on the space ship."
"I don't remember either " Walter said. "My hunch is that they used the vibratory waves at low intensity first, just enough to knock us all out. Then they cruised around, picking up samples more or less at random for their zoo. After they had as many as they wanted, or as many as they had space in the ship to hold, they turned on the juice all the way. And
that was that. It wasn't until yesterday they knew they'd made a mistake and had underestimated us. They thought we were immortal, as they are."
"That we were - what?"
"They can be killed but they don't know what natural death is. They didn't anyway, until yesterday. Two of us died yesterday."
"Two of - Oh!"
"Yes, two of us animals in their zoo. One was a snake and one was a duck. Two species gone irrevocably. And by the Zan's way of figuring time, the remaining member of each species is going to live only a few minutes, anyway. They figured they had permanent specimens."
"You mean they didn't realize what short-lived creatures we are?"
"That's right," Walter said. "One of them is young at seven thousand years, he told me. They're bi-sexual themselves, incidentally, but they probably breed once every ten thousand years or thereabouts. When they learned yesterday how ridiculously short a life expectancy we terrestrial animals have, they were probably shocked to the core - if they have cores.
At any rate they decided to reorganize their zoo - two by two instead of one by one. They figure we'll last longer collectively if not individually."
"Oh!" Grace Evans stood up and there was a taint flush on her face.
"If you think - If they think -" She turned toward the door.
"It'll be locked," Walter Phelan said calmly "But don't worry. Maybe they think, but I don't think. You needn't even tell me you wouldn't have me if I was the last man on Earth; it would be corny under the circumstances."
"But are they going to keep us locked up together in this one little room?"
"It isn't so little; we'll get by.I can sleep quite comfortably in one of these overstuffed chairs. And don't think I don't agree with you perfectly, my dear. All personal considerations aside, the least favor we can do the human race is to let it end with us and not he perpetuated for exhibition in a zoo."
She said "Thank you," almost inaudibly, and the flush receded from her checks. There was anger in her eyes, but Walter knew that is wasn't anger at him. With her eyes sparkling like that, she looked a lot like Martha, he thought.
He smiled at her and said, "Otherwise -'
She started out of her chair, and for an instant he thought she was going to come over and slap him.Then she sank back wearily. "If you were a man, you'd be thinking of some way to - They can be killed, you said?" Her voice was bitter.
"The Zan? Oh, certainly. I've been studying them. They look horribly different from us, but I think they have about the same metabolism we have, the same type of circulatory system, and probably the same type of digestive system. I think that anything that would kill one of us would kill one of them."
"But you said -"
"Oh, there are differences, of course. Whatever factor it is in man that ages him, they don't have. Or else they have some gland that man doesn't have, something that renews cells."
She had forgolten her anger now. She leaned forward eagerly. She said, "I think that's right. And I don't think they feel pain."
"I was hoping that. But what makes you think so, my dear?"
"I stretched a piece of wire that I found in the desk of my cubicle across the door so my Zan would fall over it. He did, and the wire cut his leg."
"Did he bleed red?"
"Yes but it didn't seem to annoy him. He didn't get mad about it; didn't even mention it. When he came back the next time, a few hours later, the cut was one. Well, almost gone. I could see just enough of a trace of it to be sure it was the same Zan."
Walter Phelan nodded slowly.
"He wouldn't get angry, of course," he said. "They're emotionless.
Maybe, if we killed one, they wouldn t even punish us. But it wouldn't do any good. They'd just give us our food through a trap door and treat us as men would have treated a zoo animal that had killed a keeper. They'd just see that he didn't have a crack at any more keepers.
"How many of them are there?" she asked.
"About two hundred, I think, in this particular space ship. But undoubtedly there are many more where they came from. I have a hunch this is just an advance guard, sent to clear off this planet and make it safe for Zan occupancy," "They did a good-"
There was a knock at the door, and Walter Phelan called out, "Come
in."
A Zan stood in the doorway.
"Hello George," said Walter.
"Hel-lo Wal-ter," said the Zan.
It may or may not have been the same Zan, but it was always the same
ritual.
"What's on your mind?" Walter asked.
"An-oth-er crea-ture sleeps and will not wake.A small fur-ry one called a wea-sel."
Walter shrugged.
"It happens, George. Old Man Death. I told you about him."
"And worse. A Zan has died. This morning."
"Is that worse?" Walter looked at him blandly. "Well, George, you'll have to get used to it, if you're going to stay around here."
The Zan said nothing. It stood there.
Finally Walter said, "Well?"
"A-bout wea-sel You ad-vise same?"
Walter shrugged again. "Probably won't do any good. But sure, why not?"
The Zan left.
Walter could hear his footsteps dying away outside. He grinned. "It might work, Martha," he said.
"Mar - My name is Grace, Mr Phelan. What might work?"
"My name is Walter, Grace. You might as well get used to it. You know, Grace, you do remind me a lot of Martha. She was my wife.She died a couple of years ago."
"I'm sorry," said Grace "But what might work? What were you talking about to the Zan?"
"We'll know tomorrow," Walter said. And she couldn't get another word out of him.
That was the fourth day of the stay of the Zan.
The next was the last.
It was nearly noon when one of the Zan came. After the ritual, he stood in the doorway, looking more alien than ever. It would be interesting to describe him for you, but there aren't words.
He said, "We go. Our coun-cil met and de-cid-ed," "Another of you died?"
"Last night This is pla-net of death " Walter nodded. "You did your share. You're leaving two hundred and thirteen creatures alive, out of quite a few billion. Don't hurry back."
"Is there an-y-thing we can do?"
"Yes. You can hurry. And you can leave our door unlocked, but not the
others. We'll take care of the others."
Something clicked on the door; the Zan left.
Grace Evans was standing, her eyes shining.
She asked, "What -? How -?"
"Wait," cautioned Walter. "Let's hear them blast off. It's a sound I want to remember."
The sound caiue within minutes, and Walter Phelan, realizing how rigidly he'd been holding himself, relaxed in his chair.
"There was a snake in the Garden of Eden, too, Grace, and it got us in trouble," he said musingly. "But this one made up for it. I mean the mate of the snake that died day before yesterday. It was a rattlesnake."
"You mean it killed the two Zan who died? But -"
Walter nodded, "They were babes in the woods here. When they took me to look at the first creatures who 'were asleep and wouldn't wake up,' and I saw that one of them was a rattler, I had an idea, Grace. Just maybe, I thought, poison creatures were a development peculiar to Earth and the Zan wouldn't know about them. And, too, maybe their metabolism was enough like ours so that the poison would kill them. Anyway, I had nothing to lose trying. And both maybes turned out to be right."
"How did you get the snake to -"
Walter Phelan grinned. He said, "I told them what affection was. They didn't know. They were interested, I found, in preserving the remaining one of each species as long as possible, to study the picture and record it before it died. I told them it would die immediately because of the loss of its mate, unless it had affection and petting - constantly. I showed them how with the duck. Luckily it was a tame one, and I held it
against my chest and petted it a while to show them. Then I let them take
over with it - and the rattlesnake."
He stood up and stretched, and then sat down again more comfortably.
"Well, we've got a world to plan," he said. "We'll have to let the animals out of the ark, and that will take some thinking and deciding. The herbivorous wild ones we can let go right away. The domestic ones, we'll do better to keep and take charge of; we'll need them. But the carnovora - Well, we'll have to decide. But I'm afraid it's got to be thumbs down."
He looked at her. "And the human race. We've got to make a decision about that. A pretty important one."
Her face was getting a little pink again, as it had yesterday; she sat rigidly in her chair.
"No!" she said.
He didn't seem to have heard her. "It's been a nice race, even if nobody won it," he said.
"It'll be starting over again now, and it may go backward for a while until it gets its breath, but we can gather books for it and keep most of its knowledge intact, the important things anyway. We can -"
He broke off as she got up and started for the door. Just the way his Martha would have acted, he thought, back in the days when he was courting her, before they were married.
He said, "Think it over, my dear, and take your time. But come back."
The door slammed. He sat waiting, thinking out all the things there were to do, once he started, but iis no hurry to start them; and after a while he heard her hesitant footsteps coming back.
He smiled a little. See? lt wasn't horrible, really.
The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door...
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