Wisconsin Public Television University Place Wisconsin Science Festival  Old Time Radio Drama: The Time Machine  September 24, 2011 UP629    cc >> Norman Gilliland: What if you could travel to any year, past or future, you'd be omnipotent. You'd be immortal. It's already starting to sound like a bad idea. (laughter) But wisdom rarely stands in the way of science and the drive for discovery. H.G. Wells wasn't about to let it get in the way of a good story, either. When he wrote The Time Machine, he was looking back, oh, not too many years in his lifetime, but certainly very far forward in our own, farther than we'd even like to contemplate. Yet his story about the Eloi and the Morlocks, and the man caught between them, is a story for the ages. So whatever the present year, put it behind you, go back to 1902, and then fly into the distant future, a future of wild surmise, as University Theater brings you The Time Machine. (applause)  § § >> Filby: The man who made the Time Machine, the man whom I shall call "Professor Dudley," had been well known in scientific circles for a number of years, and therefore, the fact of his mysterious disappearance is also well known. He was a mathematician of particular subtlety, and one of our most conspicuous investigators in molecular physics. 

He did not confine himself to abstract science alone, but also had several ingenious, and one or two very profitable, patents that afforded him a handsome house and laboratory in Richmond. Up to the last, there was held at his home a kind of informal gathering, which it was my privilege to attend, and where, at one time or another, I met some of the most distinguished literary and scientific figures of the day. Every Thursday, there was a plain dinner served at 7:00 followed by an adjournment to his sumptuous library where, over a brightly burning fire, and with libations of alcohol and tobacco, we would invoke the muses of conversation and invention. At first, the conversation was mere fragmentary chatter, but toward 9:00 or half past 9, if the muses favored us, some particular topic would surface through a kind of natural selection. So it was, I remember, on that last Thursday evening, that I first learned of the Time Machine.  >> James: So, Professor, what is it you've been up to lately? We've hardly seen you! >> Dudley: Well, it has to do with time. >> Matthews: Marvelous! I've always maintained that what this nation needs is a reliable timepiece! The Navy needs one. The Army needs one. For the artillery, you know. >> Reily: So that's why you've been hiding! Very clever of you, indeed! >> Dudley: I'm not referring to a new kind of timepiece. 

When I speak of "time," I'm referring to my experiments with the fourth dimension. >> James: Excuse me? >> Dudley: As you know, the difficulty of explaining the fourth dimension is that it cannot be seen or felt. It must be thought of. >> James: Hah! >> Filby: If you don't mind, professor, would you refresh me on the first three dimensions? >> James: Really, Filby. They must have taught you something at school! >> Matthews: Suppose you explain it to us, Dr. James? >> James: Certainly! When I move a line forward and backward, that's one dimension. When I move it to the left or right, that's two dimensions. When I move it up and down, three dimensions. For instance, a box has three dimensions. Length, breadth and height. >> Matthews: Well, then, what's the fourth dimension? >> Reily: Well, that's mere theory, actually. 

No one can really say what the fourth dimension is, or even that it exists. >> Dudley: On the contrary, Doctor. The fourth dimension is as true and as real as any of the other three. In fact, they couldn't exist without it. >> Reily: How do you mean? >> Dudley: Well, take that box. It has three dimensions, as was said. But what if it didn't exist in time? It wouldn't exist at all, would it? >> Reily: No, of course not, but... >> Dudley: So, for an object to exist at all, it must exist in the fourth dimension. And that fourth dimension is duration. Time. 

There is a tendency to draw an unreal distinction between the first three dimensions of space and the fourth, time, because it happens that our consciousness moves intermittently in one direction along the latter, from the beginning to the end of our lives. Now, it is remarkable that this is so extensively overlooked. Really, the fourth dimension is only another way of looking at time. There is no difference between time and any of the other three dimensions of space, except that our consciousness moves along it. I have been at work upon the geometry of four dimensions for some time, and some of my findings are curious. For instance, here is a portrait of a man at eight years old, and another at 15, another at 17, another at 23, and so on. All of these are three dimensional representations of his four dimensional being, which is a fixed and unalterable thing. >> Reily: But if time is really only a fourth dimension of space, why is it, and why has it always been, regarded as something different? And why can we not move in time, as we move about in the other dimensions of space? >> Dudley: But, my dear madam, we do move about in time. That is just where the whole world has gone wrong! We are always going away from the present moment. For instance, if I am recalling an incident very vividly, I go back to the instance of this occurrence. 

I become "absent-minded," as you say. I jump back for a moment. Of course, we have no means of staying back for any length of time, any more than a leaping animal has of staying suspended six feet above the ground. But, unlike the animal, a human being is better off in this respect. He can go up against gravitation in a balloon, so why should he not hope that ultimately he may be able to stop or accelerate his drift along the time dimension, or even turn about and travel the other way? >> James: Oh, really. This is all... >> Dudley: Why not? >> James: It's against reason. >> Dudley: What reason? >> James: You can show black is white through argument, but you'll never convince me. >> Dudley: Possibly not. But now you begin to see the point of my investigations into the fourth dimension. 

Not long ago, I had a vague inkling of a machine... >> James: That travels through time? >> Dudley: That shall travel indifferently in any direction of space and time as the driver determines. (all laughing at Dudley) >> Matthews: It would be remarkably convenient! One might travel back and witness the Battle of Hastings. Find out what really happened! >> Reily: Don't you think one might attract attention? Our ancestors, I'm sure, had no great tolerance for anachronisms. >> James: One might get one's Greek from the very lips of Homer and Plato! >> Reily: In which case they would most certainly plow you down! The German scholars have improved Greek so much! >> Matthews: Then there's future! Just think, one might invest all one's money, leave it to accumulate an interest, and hurry on ahead to reap the profits! >> Filby: To discover a society erected on a strictly Communistic basis... >> Of all the wild, extravagant theories. >> James: I say, old man, if you start floating about in the future, aren't you likely to mess things up for the rest of us? >> Dudley: That's the most important part of the question to which I hope to find an answer. Can man control his destiny? Can he change the shape of things to come? >> Matthews: Yes... Well, I wish you luck with your study and your experiments, but I'm afraid it's time for me to go. >> James: Yes, I promised to get back early tonight. 

Thank you for a lovely dinner and lively conversation. >> Dudley: Thank you for coming. >> Reily: Goodnight, Professor. Sweet dreams. See you next week. >> James: Take care of yourself, old man. Don't work too hard. >> Dudley: Goodnight. >> Matthews: Thank you. >> Dudley: Mrs. Reily. 

>> Filby: Well, professor, I suppose I should be off, as well. >> Dudley: Suit yourself. Goodnight, then. >> Filby: Yes, um, but... Do you really believe it, sir? Do you really believe that one can travel through time? >> Dudley: It's been done! >> Filby: Of course, memories and dreams, but traveling back and forth in time as you suggested tonight? Do you really believe that's possible? >> Dudley: Filby, my friend, it's a certainty. If your mind isn't as closed as my other guests', you should come with me and see firsthand what I've been working on for the past three years. >> Filby: All right, you're on! (footsteps) § § (door opening and closing) >> Filby: You have an impressive laboratory, Professor. >> Dudley: Thank you. Now, look here. What do you think? >> Filby: It looks like one of those horseless carriages, but where are the wheels? And what is that huge crystal disc in the back? Is that a new kind of engine? >> Dudley: It's a Time Machine. 

>> Filby: This thing? >> Dudley: This very thing. >> Filby: This framework made of quartz, and bronze, and ivory? With its levels, and its dials, and seats in the middle? This contraption? >> Dudley: I promise you, Filby, that on this "contraption" a man can go wherever he likes in time. By working these levers, he can choose his century, his year, his very day. >> Filby: Oh, for-- Really, Professor. >> Dudley: As I told you tonight, time is only a kind of space. If we can travel in all the other dimensions of space, why not in time as well? >> Filby: You can't just ride back and forth in time. It's impossible. >> Dudley: What of the journeys I've already taken on this little contraption? >> Filby: You must have been dreaming. Mrs. Reily and Professor James were right. You've been working too hard. 

Your imagination is getting the best of you. >> Dudley: You think so? Very well, my friend, you shall have proof. >> Filby: How? >> Dudley: Just climb aboard, Filby. Sit here beside me facing these ivory dials, and I'll take you on a little ride through time. >> Filby: What? You mean, right now? >> Dudley: Right now. >> Filby: Just in case this thing really does take off, is there anything I should bring with me? >> Dudley: What? Like a toothbrush? No, Filby. You won't need any luggage on this trip. You'll be back in my laboratory in less than a minute. >> Filby: Oh? >> Dudley: Before you climb aboard, please tell me, what time is it? >> Filby: It's, um, just past ten in the evening. >> Dudley: Good. 

Now, be so good as to leave your watch propped up on the table there. >> Filby: Here? >> Dudley: Yes. >> Dudley: Now, climb on board! >> Filby: All right, I'm on. Now what? >> Dudley: Hold on tight. It sways a great deal. I'd hate to lose you. >> Filby: Stop trying to scare me, Professor! I can't be frightened. >> Dudley: Then you're braver than I am. >> Filby: (laughing nervously) Yes, right. >> Dudley: Before we start, I just want to adjust this control a bit. 

(high pitched humming) >> Filby: Uh, everything ship-shape? >> Dudley: Tell me, did you notice anything just then? >> Filby: Only a noise, a high-pitched humming noise. Nothing else. >> Dudley: And what time is it? >> Filby: You just asked me, Professor, and you told me to leave my watch on that table. That's odd. My watch says quarter to nine, but...? But it was just after ten a moment ago! There must be something wrong with it. >> Dudley: It's only that I touched the lever to test it, and we've gone forward a full day, 22-1/4 hours to be precise. >> Filby: But, how can...? >> Dudley: Finished scoffing, Filby? >> Filby: Yes. Yes, I believe I have. >> Dudley: Then hold tight. This will be the real article. 

>> Filby: Ready when you are, Professor. >> Dudley: Good man. Well, say goodbye, Filby. Say goodbye to 1902. § § >> Filby (narration): We went off with a shattering jolt, with the machine swaying wildly under us. The walls of the Professor's laboratory suddenly fell away. Night was speeding after day like the flapping of a huge bird's wing. I saw the sun hopping across the sky, leaping swiftly across it every second, and every second marking a day. I saw the moon going through her quarters like a spinning ball, from new to full, all in the twinkling of an eye. Trees grew and blossomed like puffs of smoke, and then passed away. 

All the while, we were going faster and faster. Now our pace was a year a second, so that second by second, the white snow flashed across the world, and was followed by the bright, brief spring. And still we raced at ever increasing speed into the future. >> Dudley: How do you feel, Filby? >> Filby: Rather weak. Very dizzy. >> Dudley: Just don't let go! Don't fall off! >> Filby: Where are we? How far have we come? >> Dudley: We are in 100,050 100,060, and 100,070... >> Filby: That's enough! Stop! I can't stand it any more! Stop this machine! (metallic clanging) >> Dudley: Filby, are you all right? >> Filby: Yes, I-- I believe so. No broken bones. What happened? >> Dudley: I'm not sure. It must have stopped too suddenly. 

>> Filby: Where are we, Professor? >> Dudley: Look around for yourself. A wide lawn. A beautiful, vast garden. >> Filby: I meant geographically. >> Dudley: Just where we started. Where my laboratory stood. >> Filby: And the year, Professor? What is the year now? >> Dudley: 100,080. § § >> Filby (narration): It seemed absolutely incredible. A dream. And a pleasant one, for the garden in which we found ourselves was beautiful and summery. 

The air perfumed with strange flowers and greenery. At some distance, we could see a large imposing building of white marble, in the shape something like a winged sphinx with wings spread so that it seemed to hover. There was something ominous about the unseeing eyes and the faint shadow of a smile on the lips of this strange architectural beast. The pedestal appeared to be made of bronze and was thick with verdigris. It was greatly weatherworn and imparted an unpleasant suggestion of disease. But everything was completely quiet and peaceful around it. Perhaps too quiet. An unfathomable strangeness, sent a shiver up my spine. >> Dudley: 100,080. Filby, do you want to go back? >> Filby: Yes, I rather think I do. 

>> Dudley: All right. And maybe now we'll go to 1066, or to one million B.C.! (human-like cry of distress) >> Filby: Professor Dudley? Did you hear that? >> Dudley: From over there, in the bushes! (cries continue) >> Filby: It sounded human. >> Dudley: Come on! (running footsteps) >> Filby: Why, it's a child! Seems to be a very small girl. >> Dudley: There's been a beast here of some kind that has struggled with her. Look at the marks on her arm. >> Filby: Easy, my dear. You'll be all right now. We'll help you. Hmm, how silly of me to expect her to understand English. >> Dudley: She's motioning us to go with her. 

>> Filby: What about the animal that attacked her? Did you see it? >> Dudley: No, not a glimpse. Too fast for us. >> Filby: Perhaps we better go back. Professor, the girl seems to be all right now. >> Dudley: Leave her like this? >> Filby: Yes. Yes, I've had enough. >> Dudley: Well, they haven't, Filby. Because they're here, all around us. § § >> Filby (narration): A hundred or so of the little people of this era had crept up on soundless feet to surround us. And it became apparent that the girl we had saved was not a child, but a full-grown woman. 

They all stood about four feet high and wore simple tunics. Beautiful creatures, but terribly frail. They were like eerie figures in a dream. And all we could hear were their bird-like voices, and the rustling of their light, silken clothing as they circled happily around us, their faces smiling and wondrous. (indistinct light voices) >> Filby: Why, they're not savage at all. They're very loving and gentle little people. >> Dudley: Yes, but there is something terribly wrong. >> Filby: How do you mean? >> Dudley: They seem to have the minds of pre-school children. >> Filby: Well, how did you expect them to be? >> Dudley: Far ahead of us, of course. Incredibly ahead of us in knowledge and science. 

Look at them. Children. >> Filby: They seem to be happy in this huge garden of theirs. Professor, I've changed my mind. Let's stay. Maybe we should enjoy spending a few days with our little friends. § § >> Filby (narration): The little people led us home, into their valley. They all lived together in colossal buildings, sleeping together in one huge hall, eating in another, playing and frolicking in the sunshine. We lived with them for several days in utter contentment. One afternoon, Professor Dudley and I walked along the banks of a great river that I realized must be a future incarnation of the Thames. 

>> Dudley: Filby, have you noticed that the little people all wear the same clothes? They all have the same soft, hairless skin, the same feminine roundness of limbs? >> Filby: Yes, and I've noticed that they're all vegetarians. >> Dudley: They're vegetarians because they have to be. You haven't come across any horses, or deer, or cattle of any kind, have you? >> Filby: No, Professor, now that you mention it. >> Dudley: With good reason. All extinct by now, just as the dinosaur is with us. Such a strange and different place our earth has become. >> Filby: Yes. I actually prefer it in some ways. Less noisy. More pastoral. 

>> Dudley: With little sheep for people. >> Filby: Pardon? >> Dudley: You know what I'm talking about, Filby. As a scientist, I want to learn all there is to know about them and their culture, but I find myself frustrated at their lack of, well... >> Filby: Humanity? >> Dudley: Yes, exactly. With the exception of that girl we rescued, any time we try to communicate with them, they all break into laughter. >> Filby: I was trying to teach some of them English, but I began to feel like an unpopular school master among children. >> Dudley: Very disinterested children. One moment they come up to us with eagerness, and the next they wander away, onto something else. >> Filby: You sound upset. >> Dudley: I am. 

It seems to me that we've happened on humankind on the wane. The sunset of humanity, if you will. >> Filby: What makes you say that? >> Dudley: Strength comes out of need. We come from a time when we're trying to make life more comfortable with electricity, more secure and convenient with the power of steam, more connected with telegraphs and wires. All these things are making our lives better; a true civilizing process. >> Filby: How can that be bad? What happened? Where did we go wrong? >> Dudley: The work of ameliorating and improving the conditions of life must have continued steadily to a climax. One triumph of a united humanity over nature following another. Things that are for us mere dreams must have become reality, and progressed to a point where there was no need to strive. And the harvest is here before us in these playful, grown-up children, devoid of any shred of ambition. What a waste! >> Filby: I can't put my finger on it, Professor, but it doesn't add up. 

There is something strange here, something hidden away. It is so silent. Something is not right. The year 100,080 may look pretty, but I can't help feeling that we're being spied on. >> Dudley: We think alike, Filby. See this? >> Filby: Those are the control levers of the Time Machine. >> Dudley: I took the precaution of removing them, and putting a master lock on the main switches. I don't much fancy the idea of someone riding away with it into another century and leaving us here for the rest of our lives. >> Filby: That makes me feel a little better. (sighs) London is so completely different now. 

I can make out a few geographical landmarks, an ancient building from our time here and there, but even the Thames seems to be miles from where it used to flow. >> Dudley: Yes, quite extraordinary. Come on then. Let's head back to the little people's shelter and gather our things. I've seen enough of this "paradise." >> Filby: I'm inclined to agree with you. Wait. Professor, do you know where we are? >> Dudley: Yes, of course. This is near where we landed. >> Filby: I thought so, but... >> Dudley: Why do you ask? >> Filby: I can't see the Time Machine anywhere! § § >> Dudley: The Machine's not here. 

They've taken it away! They've stolen it! >> Filby: This is where it was, right? It was right here! >> Dudley: Look, Filby! Tracks! Look here, where they've dragged it... Over there! Come along! (running footsteps) >> Dudley: Down this path! Look! Right there! The monument. They took it to the monument. >> Filby: The tracks stop at those bronze doors on the base. >> Dudley: (yelling): Open up, you little thieves! (metallic pounding) >> Filby: The doors are locked! (indistinct, faint laughter) >> Filby: Professor, did you hear that? >> Dudley: Something is behind the doors. It sounds like movement, and faint laughter, but... >> Filby: But what? >> Dudley: Nothing. The Machine must be in there! Let's go! Look for something to pry the doors open or break them down! We must get in there! Come on! >> Filby: There's a ladder against that wall. We can use it as a battering ram against the doors. >> Dudley: Fine, let's do it! Ready? One, two, three! (ladder clangs against door) >> Filby: It's no good, Professor! They're solid! We'll never break through! >> Dudley: There's got to be a way! There's always a way! >> Filby: The doors are solid. 

>> Dudley: I spent years building that machine, and I'm not going to let a simple door stand in the way of our only way home! >> Filby: The reality has just struck me that we may never go home again. >> Dudley: Why take the Time Machine?! Why?! Why?! (yelling): Why?! § §  >> Man: When you're suffering from headache, neuritis, or neuralgia pain, you want fast relief. Well, just try Anacin. Anacin gives incredibly fast, effective relief. Anacin is like a doctor's prescription. That is, it contains not just one, but a combination of medically-proven active ingredients. Many people first discovered Aspirin tablets through their own physician or dentist. Next time you want effective relief from the pain of headache, neuritis, or neuralgia, get Anacin. For most effective relief, use only as directed. Anacin, A-N-A-C-I-N, comes in boxes of 12 and 30 tablets, or in economical bottles of 50 and 100. 

§ § >> Gilliland: You're listening to Wisconsin Public Radio's "Old Time Radio Drama" production of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine, brought to you live from the Town Center and the Wisconsin Science Festival, on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus. And now, back to our story.  >> Filby (narration): We were caught in the year 100,080. The Time Machine was gone. The bronze doors of the monument held. Our retreat was cut off. The thin line by which we could make our way back home, back to our own time, our own people, back to 1902, was broken. And the little people's language was still a mystery. Any time we tried to communicate with them, our efforts were met with howls of laughter. But it wasn't hostile. 

They weren't taunting us. Their attitude was innocent. They were like simple, wondering children. Only one, the young woman whose life we had saved on that first day, became truly interested in us, and was able to tell us her name. It was Weena. She always kept close to us. She went with us wherever we went, and slept near us at night in the hall. She'd always make us garlands and bring us flowers, which she would sometimes drop in our pockets. The very idea of pockets being somewhat of a mystery and delight to her. I was pleasantly surprised that Professor Dudley was not furious with her for this. 

I suppose the main thing was that we had a friend in her. As time went on, we were able to teach her a few words of English and learn a few words of her language. We learned that her people were called the Eloi. Now that we could communicate with her, we redoubled our efforts like men racing against the clock, so that we might speak to her and discover the secret of our immense loss. We were talking to her one night after the others had gone to sleep. >> Weena: No, not we, Dudley. No. >> Dudley: How can you be so sure your people didn't steal the Machine? Aren't there any thieves among them? Are they all perfect? >> Filby: Not so loud, Professor. You'll wake them. Besides, she doesn't understand. 

>> Dudley: (whispering): The thief must be sleeping somewhere in the hall. (louder): Weena?  They take Machine? >> Weena: No, Dudley. No! >> Dudley: Who, then? Who took it, Weena? >> Filby: We are friends? >> Weena: Yes. >> Dudley: We must have Machine! >> Weena: Yes, Dudley, yes. >> Dudley: Who took Machine? Other people? Not yours? >> Weena: Oth-er? >> Filby: What about those doors, Weena? Doors open? >> Weena: No! (fearful): No! >> Dudley: Weena, Machine in there. Must Open. >> Weena: (very scared): No! No! Not open! Not open! Bad! Bad! >> Dudley: All right, never mind. Go to sleep. Get some rest. >> Weena: Yes, Dudley. 

Sleep now. >> Dudley: What's to become of us, Filby? Are we caught here in this century? To spend our lives with these little creatures and their secrets? >> Filby: We'll go back to the monument in the morning. We'll find a way to break in. We have to. Goodnight, Professor. (gasps): Professor?! Professor? >> Dudley: Yes? >> Filby: Did you just-- (panicking): There it is again! >> Dudley: What? >> Filby: Something touched my face, cold and disgusting, on my face and in my hair! It's cold! It's like death! Professor! >> Dudley: You're right. There was something here with us. It smells of the grave. What was it? >> Filby: I don't know. But look at them! Look at the Eloi! >> Dudley: They're huddled together, as though they've been stampeded Let's get out of here! I want some fresh air! § § >> Filby (narration): We went quickly from the hall and outside away from the Eloi. 

The moon was full overhead and it was close to dawn. There was a faint sound speeding close behind us, and we turned, nerves ragged, muscles tensed, to find it was only Weena coming swiftly to join us. >> Weena: Dudley, I afraid! Dark! >> Filby: Then there is something. >> Dudley: What do you mean, Weena? Dark, what? >> Weena: Dark things! Dark place! Night! >> Filby: Why should they be afraid of the night, Professor? >> Dudley: Not the night alone, "dark place." That's our clue. >> Filby: Perhaps its something underground. § § >> Dudley: Perhaps it is. Try to get some rest. I'll keep watch. We'll get to the bottom of this in the morning. >> Filby (narration): We arose just before dawn, and began another day in this strange world. 

We had wandered into a lovely, wooded area about a mile from the community. Suddenly, Weena screamed. >> Weena: Filby! § § >> Filby (narration): We stopped short. A pair of glaring eyes were fixed upon us. As we stood there petrified, the thing, a little ape-like figure, rushed across our path and disappeared in the clearing about 30 yards away. >> Filby: What was it? >> Dudley: I couldn't see it very well. It seemed to be a dull white creature with white hair on its head and on its back. >> Filby: It looked like a small ape! >> Dudley: It was running on all fours with its arms held very low. >> Filby: Weena? Weena, what was it? >> Weena: Morlock! Morlocks! >> Dudley: Who are the Morlocks? What are they? Weena, tell me! >> Weena: No! No! >> Dudley: Let's go to where the Time Machine disappeared. Come along, Filby. 

§ § >> Filby (narration): In the clearing, we found a round well-like opening. Professor Dudley and I leaned over and looked down a deep shaft. A small white creature was retreating down a ladder in the well. Like a human spider, its large white eyes watching us as it went swiftly down, and then disappeared in the shaft. >> Dudley: Filby, did you see it? Like an ape! >> Filby: Yes, but also like a man. >> Dudley: So there are two species of humans in this world! >> Filby: Yes. >> Dudley: The little people above ground, and this obscene thing, this bleached monster, below. >> Filby: That white appearance is common to animals that live in the dark, like huge rats, like worms that are cold to the touch. I know, because they've touched me. >> Dudley: Filby? Can you feel the air being sucked down into the shaft? >> Filby: Yes. 

>> Dudley: The earth must be tunneled enormously here under our feet. These monsters must live in the tunnels. >> Filby: I think we know who stole our Time Machine. >> Dudley: Yes, then we must... >> Filby: Then we must go down and have a look. >> Weena: No! No! Not go! >> Dudley: Why not, Weena? >> Weena: Morlocks! You never come back! >> Filby: Weena, we must have our Machine! You wait for us here. >> Weena: No! No! § § >> Filby (narration): And so, down we went. Our heels ringing on the small, metallic bars that were meant for creatures so much smaller than us. Down we climbed. Down, down, down, deeper into the darkness, ever, it seemed, into the center of the Earth, into the core of the world. 

(distant rumbling) >> Filby: How much longer? >> Dudley: We won't know until we reach the bottom. It can't be much further. (rumbling continues)  Do you hear that? Like machinery. We're almost there. >> Filby: Thank heaven for that. >> Dudley: All right, Filby. I'm on the bottom. Come along, just a few more steps. Now, give me your hand, Filby. Good. 

We're here. >> Filby: Yes. In the land of the Morlocks. >> Dudley: Do you have a match? >> Filby: Yes, here. (strikes match) >> Dudley: There seems to be a large vaulted chamber at the end of this passage. >> Filby: What do you suppose they'll do if they catch us? >> Dudley: I have no idea. Best not to be caught. Another match! (strikes match) >> Filby: That throbbing noise! >> Dudley: Probably their ventilating system pumping the air down. There must be thousands upon thousands of these Morlocks living under the earth. >> Filby: We haven't seen any yet, except for our friend who came down ahead of us. 

Why do you suppose they wanted our Time Machine? >> Dudley: I think they wanted us, not the Machine. >> Filby: And we've come to them. >> Dudley: We had no choice. It's our only chance. Filby, if that noise does come from air pumps...? >> Filby: Yes? >> Dudley: Why is it so stuffy here? So oppressive? >> Filby: I noticed that, too. Professor, what's that strange smell? (machinery rumbling and pounding) >> Dudley: Blood. § § >> Filby: Blood?! >> Dudley: Light another match. (strikes match) >> Filby: Dudley, look straight ahead, on the white metal table >> Dudley: It's set for a meal. >> Filby: Yes, with a small haunch, do you see? Meat. >> Dudley: We know that cattle and deer are extinct. 

>> Filby: Then what do they feed on, these Morlocks? >> Dudley: Can't you guess. >> Filby: God help us! >> Dudley: Another match! >> Filby: Professor, I have no more matches! We've used the last of them! >> Dudley: What ill planning, not to bring enough matches! Without matches, we have no choice but to return to the surface. Come on! >> Filby: Right behind you! >> Dudley: At any rate, we know the secret now. The Morlocks live under ground, and they are the masters of this age. Our little friends up above are merely fatted cattle fed by the Morlocks. Clothed, supplied and housed until the day when they are cut out of the herd and brought underground as food. >> Filby: It's not the fading Utopia you had theorized about after all. >> Dudley: No. This is the future you are looking at. This is our future. 

>> Filby: Professor?! >> Dudley: What is it? >> Filby: In this darkness! I felt hands! Cold hands! >> Dudley: There are pipes along the walls. Do you feel them? Some are loose. Pry one off and use it as a weapon! (pipes clanging) Use it against the Morlocks! § § >> Dudley: Filby! They're here beside me! I can feel their breath on my neck! (growling and moaning) § § >> Man: In business, she's pleasant to have around. In public, everybody enjoys her company. In private, that special young man thinks she's perfection. Yes, she's nice to be near, because she's smart. She wouldn't think of offending. She relies on Listerine Antiseptic for that breathless charm. Listerine night and morning, and before every date is her extra careful precaution. Independent research has proven that Listerine Antiseptic not only stops halitosis instantly, and keeps it stopped usually for hours on end, but averaged four times better than the leading chlorophyll products against which it was tested. 

Halitosis is a real everyday problem. By far its most common cause is fermentation of proteins that are present in everybody's mouth, all the time. The trouble is, you could have halitosis and never know it, and even your best friend won't tell you. Why take chances when there's such a pleasant, extra special precaution? Listerine, the most widely-used oral antiseptic in the world. § He said § § That she said § § That he had halitosis § § She said § § That he said § § It's true of some girls, too § § He said § § That she said § § The answer was simple § § Here's what she said to do § § Try Listerine § § Buy Listerine § § Keep breath fresh and clean § § With Listerine § § Try Listerine § § Buy Listerine § § Keep breath fresh and clean § § With Listerine § § § (applause) >> Gilliland: This evening's "Old Time Radio Drama" performance of The Time Machine is brought to you live from the Town Center, as part of the Wisconsin Science Festival. And now, back to our story. § § (Morlocks growling) >> Dudley: Keep swinging that metal pipe against them! Give it all you've got! We've got to keep them at bay! >> Filby: They're all around us! >> Dudley: This way! Follow me this way! Back this way! >> Filby (narration): We went back into that evil darkness, back to the ladder of metallic bars by which we had entered this nightmare. Fighting every step as we went, kicking and clawing ourselves loose from their taloned grasping hands, we climbed up, up toward daylight and freedom, away from their stench and the eagerness of their icy hands. They did not follow, for daylight was their enemy, and their great fear. We lived once again among the lush gardens of the little people, like prisoners, like men without reprieve, like men who are dead but still walk the earth. 

For the Time Machine was locked away behind great bronze doors, and we knew we could never force them open. And sooner or later, we would have to deal with the Morlocks again. § § Then, one day, Weena told us of an old building, an ancient, sagging structure that had survived through many ages, and was filled with many curious objects. >> Dudley: A museum! That's what it must be! A museum, Filby, from a much earlier time! >> Filby: I'm in no mood to look at a museum. >> Dudley: Don't you see? Specimens are medically sealed in museums. Perhaps there are things, weapons, machinery, something we can use! >> Filby: Yes! Yes, of course! If we could find some kind of dynamite, or gunpowder, or something. >> Dudley: We could blast those doors! We could get in! >> Filby: Where is this place, Weena? This old building that no one ever goes near? >> Weena: Come, not far. >> Filby: A chance, Professor! A slim one, but a chance nevertheless. § § >> Filby (narration): All day, we wandered through the great ruined halls. The building had been deserted, unused for perhaps a century. 

The child-like people of that time had long since ceased to care about anything but their own personal comforts. We encountered a vast library of books that had disintegrated into dust. I had never seen the professor look so sorrowful, as when he peered upon the fate of all the learning contained in those volumes. We found nothing useful in the museum, until late in the afternoon when we came upon the chemical section. At first, it seemed that our complete disappointment would continue. >> Dudley: It's dust. All of it. It's been dust for countless centuries. >> Filby: Another dead end. >> Dudley: It's hopeless. 

We were out of our minds to hope that nitrates would retain their form for 100,000 years. >> Weena: We go now? Nothing here? >> Dudley: Wait. Just a moment. There's something in this case. >> Filby: Break the case with your lever! >> Dudley: Stand back a little. (glass breaking) >> Dudley: A box of matches. Medically sealed. >> Filby: Why, they're perfect! Solid and sound. They're not even damp! >> Dudley: What should we do with them? Burn down those bronze doors? >> Filby: Well, we'd better keep them. They're sure to be useful. 

>> Dudley: Filby? >> Filby: What? >> Dudley: On the floor. Do you see them? Small, narrow footprints leading away into the darkness at the end of this gallery! >> Weena (very scared): Dudley! >> Filby: We'd better go! It will be dark soon. >> Dudley: Pick Weena up and carry her. We're going to have to make a run for it! >> Filby: Don't be frightened, my dear, it will be all right. Come with me! (Morlocks growl and groan) >> Dudley: Come on! Run! >> Filby (narration): We came out of the gloom of the ancient museum into the deeper gloom of dusk, and suddenly we saw we were trapped! All around us were the Morlocks. (growls and moans grow louder) They were there by the thousands, surrounding us and coming closer, an ocean of deathly white eyes blinking in the half-light, and tiny mouths alive with appetite. >> Dudley: Filby! The matches! >> Filby: Yes, I have them! (strikes match) >> Dudley: Light a fire here in this tall grass. The forest around us is dry. Hurry, man! We'll have an inferno here in a minute! These little monsters don't like light or heat! (fire crackling) >> Filby (narration): The fire leapt high to the heavens and the countryside was instantly ablaze. The Morlocks turned in fear, blinded by the flames. 

(Morlocks screaming) Some of them plunged into the raging fire, and the rest faded away like fog. I had left a narrow passageway for our retreat, and we fled down a long corridor of leaping flames and blistering heat. We fled instinctively toward the community of the Eloi. But as we ran, we passed the huge sphinx-like monument with its great bronze doors. And suddenly, in the glare of the distant fire, we saw something that stopped us short. >> Dudley: They're open! Filby, the doors are open! >> Weena: No! Not go in! Dudley, no! >> Filby: It's a trap! They're waiting for us inside! >> Dudley: Trap or not, we're going in! >> Filby: Professor, it's suicide! >> Dudley: It'll take me one minute to screw the levers back on again, then I touch them and we're away! >> Filby: All right! I'll try to give you one minute. >> Dudley: Good man! >> Weena: No! Not go! Not leave me! >> Filby: Weena, hold tight around my neck. You're going home with us. >> Dudley: All right. Let's go! Wait-- Look at the Machine! They haven't harmed it in the least! >> Filby: On the contrary. 

It looks as though they've cleaned and oiled it! >> Dudley: It's a trap, all right. (audience laughs) They'll be around us any moment. >> Filby: I don't see them yet. >> Dudley: Come on! Now! Quickly! (doors clang shut) >> Filby: The doors, Professor! They're closed! It's pitch black again! >> Dudley: Just get in the seat. I'll be ready in a moment. >> Filby (narration): I waited for the hum that would signal our departure. (Morlocks growling and moaning) There in the darkness, the Morlocks were finally upon us. Cold persistent fingers swarmed over my body, tugging at me and pulling me away from the machine. I held tight to Weena, as any man would hold fast to life. I tried to kick them away with my feet. 

>> Weena: Filby! Filby! >> Filby: Hurry, Professor! Hurry! >> Dudley: Just one more moment! >> Dudley: There, Filby! (high pitched humming) We're away! Were gone... >> Filby: Yes! Yes, we made it! >> Dudley: Are you all right? >> Filby: Yes, I'm fine. >> Dudley: Good. And Weena? >> Filby: Weena-- Isn't with us, Professor. >> Dudley: What happened? >> Filby: They tore her from my hands. At the last second, they got their filthy claws around her and wrenched her from my grasp. I tried to save her. I couldn't. I still have a piece of her tunic here in my fist, a little piece of her tunic, Professor, nothing else. § § >> Filby (narration): And so, we came home again. 

Back to the very minute in which we had left. We were in Professor Dudley's laboratory again, sitting side by side on the bizarre, marvelous contraption he called his "Time Machine." It was all too much. I must have blacked out from sheer exhaustion and the shock of it all, because the next thing I knew, I awoke in a chair in front of a blazing fire in Professor Dudley's library.  Professor Dudley was nowhere to be seen. I rushed back to the laboratory, the Time Machine was gone! >> James: Oh, this is ridiculous. Simply preposterous! >> Matthews: Well, there's one thing I'll say for you, Filby. You do know how to spin a good yarn. Best adventure story I've heard in years! >> Reily: Truthfully, where have you been? And where is Professor Dudley? >> Filby: I understand your doubt. Think that I am lying, if you wish. Now that I am back, I hardly believe it myself. 

Except that when I awoke, I still had this little piece of silken fabric in my hand, Weena's tunic. And in my pocket, I found this strange withered flower, the flower playfully placed there by that same lovely, innocent little creature. A present for you, Mrs. Reily. You were always interested in botany. Try to match this flower with any species known today. >> Reily: I don't think I can. >> James: Come now, you don't really think this story is true, do you? >> Matthews: And Professor Dudley? Filby, where is he really, and why is he not here? >> Filby: He's gone. I believe he went back. Back to Weena, and the Eloi, and the Morlocks. Back to try to rebuild civilization. 

I noticed several books missing from this library. He must have taken them with him. >> James: Books? What books? >> Filby: I don't know. What books would you have taken? >> Reily: Mr. Filby, do you believe he will ever return? >> Filby: One cannot help but wonder. After all, he has all the time in the world.  (applause)  >> Gilliland: With a look into The Time Machine, and the University Theater's production of the H.G. Wells' classic, coming to you live from Town Center and the Wisconsin Science Festival. The Time Machine was adapted for radio and directed by Patricia Boyette. And included in the cast were: William Bolz as Professor Dudley, Peter Hiller as Filby, Santiago Sosa as Professor James, Jake Penner as Matthews, and Liz Casserino as Mrs. Reily and Weena. Composer and pianist was Stanislav Ossovsky. (applause continues) Our Foley operator was Jeff Parulski. 

Our lighting design was Brandi Mitchell. Our production stage manager was Sarah Marty. Tim Hamilton was our dramaturg. Gail Brassard and Jim Greco provided our '40s costumes. Thanks also to our WPR engineer Joe Hardtke and to our Town Center engineer Alan Ruby, and to Michelle Traband, Michelle Good, Dan Steger, Jeffrey Potter, Nora Heisler, Kristin Annen, and to our Wisconsin Public Television production team, including Bruce Johnson and Tina Hauser. There's more to come on tonight's Old Time Radio Drama. It'll be Harry James and Alan Ladd right here on the Ideas Network at Wisconsin Public Radio.