SOUND:

HIGH-PITCHED ELECTRONIC HUM ... JOINED BY ELECTRONIC BEEPING IN AGREEMENT WITH COUNTDOWN

ANNOUNCER:

Countdown for blast-off. X minus five, four, three, two. X minus one. Fire.

SOUND:

A MOMENT'S SILENCE ... THEN ROCKET SHIP BLASTS OFF

MUSIC:

BUILDS VERTIGINOUSLY TO A CLIMAX ... THEN IN BG

ANNOUNCER:

From the far horizons of the unknown come 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 maybe worlds. The National Broadcasting Company, in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, presents -- (HEAVY ECHO) X Minus One!

MUSIC:

TO A CLIMAX ... THEN OUT

ANNOUNCER:

Tonight-- The time, a hundred and fifty years from now. The place, a luxury spaceship en route to Venus. The story, "Venus Is a Man's World" by William Tenn.

MUSIC:

A STIRRING INTRODUCTION ... FOR AN OUTER SPACE VOYAGE ... THEN BEHIND FORD--

FORD:

(NARRATES) Some fellows are lucky. They have brothers, but not me. I have nothing but sisters -- two of them, Carrie and Evelyn. Sometimes Carrie isn't too bad -- for a girl, I mean. But Evelyn, boy, she's hopeless. It was Evelyn's idea to put me on that spaceship, jam-packed with three hundred females -- and all of them achin' to get themselves husbands, in the one place they're still to be had, the planet Venus. Well, anyway, twenty minutes after we took off from the space port, I was bored stiff.

SOUND:

WHOOSH! ... SPACESHIP BACKGROUND

EVELYN:

Ferdinand, do stop fidgeting and sit down.

FORD:

(UNHAPPY) I don't have anything to do.

EVELYN:

Well, I'll read to you and Carrie. Would you like that?

FORD:

No. I wanna do something.

CARRIE:

What's the name of the book, Sis?

EVELYN:

Well, it's titled "Family Problems of the Frontier Woman." Doesn't it sound intriguing?

FORD:

(IRONIC) Peachy keen.

EVELYN:

That's enough out of you, young man. Why don't you take a walk around the ship?

CARRIE:

Can I go with Ferdinand, Sis?

EVELYN:

Well, wouldn't you rather we start the book?

FORD:

(MIMICS EVELYN) You should, Carrie. Every girl should read about the family problems of the frontier woman.

CARRIE:

Keep quiet, you boy.

FORD:

(DISMISSIVE) Oh--!

EVELYN:

Oh, children, let's have enough of that. Now, go ahead, run along, you two; and - and, Carrie, look after Ferdinand. See that he keeps out of mischief!

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... FOR EXPLORING THE SHIP

FORD:

Gee, this is one big ship, isn't it?

CARRIE:

Uh huh.

FORD:

I sorta wish we were on a cargo ship instead of this liner.

CARRIE:

Why? This is super.

FORD:

On a cargo ship, we could go climbing from deck to deck on a ladder. We could even go to the bridge or the fo'c'sle; talk with the crew.

CARRIE:

That's silly. Why would anyone want to do that?

FORD:

Because ship's crews are men!

CARRIE:

Only because we women are too busy with important things like government to run ships.

FORD:

Says you. Hey, what are you lookin' at?

CARRIE:

This sign. (READS) "In the event of disaster affecting the oxygen content of the companionway, break glass with hammer upon wall. Remove spacesuit and proceed to don it."

FORD:

Boy, I hope we have that kind of a disaster. I sure would like to get into one of those.

CARRIE:

Oh, you're silly.

FORD:

Hey, let's go exploring down this way. I see some portholes.

CARRIE:

And I see a sign that says, "Notice: Passengers are not permitted past this point."

FORD:

Come on, there's no one around. And besides, I'm not really a passenger.

CARRIE:

Ferdinand, you say you're not really a passenger? Well, what do you mean?

FORD:

You have to be a citizen of a planet in order to get a passport right?

CARRIE:

I'm not sure.

FORD:

Well, I'm telling you. Ever since they passed that Male Desuffrage Act, only women can be Earth citizens. You and Evelyn are passengers, all right, but me, I'm just a male dependent. So when a sign says "off limits for passengers," it doesn't mean me; I'm not a passenger, see?

CARRIE:

Keep away from that door, Ferdinand. Can't you see the sign?

FORD:

You and your ol' signs.

CARRIE:

Ferdinand, let's go back to the cabin.

FORD:

I wanna see what's behind this door.

CARRIE:

If you don't come back with me this very minute, I'll tell Evelyn.

FORD:

So what? Hey, this looks like a sonic lock. I wonder if it works by knock or voice.

SOUND:

KNOCK-KNOCK-KNOCK

CARRIE:

Ferdinand, I'm going.

FORD:

Say, I remember one voice key. I wonder if it'll work. (TO DOOR) "Twenty, Twenty-Three, Open Sesame!"

SOUND:

DOOR SLIDES OPEN

CARRIE:

Ferdinand!

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND FORD--

FORD:

(NARRATES) Out of all the million possible combinations, I hit it just right. The door clicked open into a - a dimly lit hold. As the door closed, a hand closed around my throat. The lights came on and I found myself staring up the muzzle of a highly polished blaster held by the biggest man I'd ever seen. We just stood there looking at each other for a while till finally he said--

BUTT:

(HIGHLY AMUSED) Why, you're only a tadpole!

FORD:

Sir?

BUTT:

A little tadpole. I must be gettin' jumpy enough to splash.

FORD:

My name is Ferdinand Sparling. I'm very pleased to meet you, Mister, uh--?

BUTT:

I hope for your sake you aren't a tadpole brother to one of them husbandless anura.

FORD:

Husbandless what?

BUTT:

Anura -- herd of females lookin' to nest. I come from Flatway folks.

FORD:

You're a Venusian?

BUTT:

Yup. What part of Earth are you from? And what are you doin' on a spaceship to Venus?

FORD:

You know, the three-out-of-four.

BUTT:

(PUZZLED) How's that?

FORD:

The three-out-of-four. No more than three women out of every four on Earth can expect to find husbands. Not enough men to go around, you know, with the Third Atomic War and all. Why, back in the twentieth century some of our best men went to the planets. My sister Evelyn says that, by now, most of the men on Earth aren't even worth marrying.

BUTT:

(LAUGHS) That's for sure! Those busybody anura took care of that. Earth, what a place. I had a bellyful.

FORD:

Why did you come in the first place?

BUTT:

I came lookin' for a wife. Women are pretty scarce on Venus. And I heard that there was a surplus of 'em on Earth.

FORD:

I can't understand why any man would - would even want to marry a woman.

BUTT:

How old are you, tadpole?

FORD:

Thirteen, almost fourteen.

BUTT:

Well, that explains a lot of things, tadpole.

FORD:

It doesn't explain why you're heading back to Venus.

BUTT:

Because I was in trouble the minute I landed on that woman's world. I didn't know I had to register at a government-operated hotel for transient males. Imagine! They told me a man couldn't say anything in court. All talkin' was done by female attorneys to a female judge. But I told 'em off. I told 'em, where I come from, a man spoke his piece when he had a mind to and his woman walked by his side.

FORD:

Well, what happened?

BUTT:

Oh, I was found guilty of this, and contempt of that, but I wasn't gonna serve all those fancy little prison sentences, so I broke out and stowed away.

FORD:

You - you mean that you're breaking the law right now?

BUTT:

Sure; aren't you?

FORD:

Oh. Uh, I guess so. (MANLY) I'm also a man outside the law. We're in this together!

BUTT:

Shake, Ferdinand. Ferdinand? That's not a right label for a sproutin' tadpole. I'll call you Ford. My name's Butt. Butt Lee Brown.

FORD:

Is Butt a nickname like Ford?

BUTT:

Yeah, short for Alberta. But I haven't found a man who can draw a blaster fast enough to call me that. Ya see, Pop came over in the eighties with the first wave of immigrants from Ontario. Named all of us boys after Canadian provinces. I was the youngest, so I got the name they were savin' for a girl.

FORD:

Golly, Mr. Butt, you must have had a lot of brothers.

BUTT:

Yeah, full nest. There's Sas, his real name is Saskatchewan; Manny after Manitoba; and Yuk, he was named for Yukon. I got one for every province and territory in Canada.

FORD:

Golly, all I have is two sisters.

BUTT:

(VERY INTERESTED) Oh? Tell me about 'em.

FORD:

Well, there's Carrie; she's almost sixteen.

BUTT:

Well, how 'bout your other sister? She a little older?

FORD:

She's old, all right. Evelyn's almost twenty-one.

BUTT:

She pretty?

FORD:

Who?

BUTT:

Your sister Evelyn!

FORD:

Oh, I don't know. She's healthy. She's got very good teeth.

BUTT:

If I know her breed, she's bossy and opinionated.

FORD:

Well, aren't all women?

SOUND:

CLANG! OF DINNER BELL

BUTT:

Oh, there goes the dinner gong, Ford; you better scat. Growin' tadpoles need their vitamins.

SOUND:

CLANG! OF DINNER BELL AGAIN

FORD:

Could I bring you some chow? I could stuff it in my pocket and sneak it back here.

BUTT:

No, thanks, I've stashed away enough provisions. I got plenty o' kelp and Venusian mud-grapes to last the trip. You better shove off, Ford; they'll start lookin' for ya.

FORD:

Guess I had better. Well, I'll see ya right after dinner, Mr. Butt.

BUTT:

Just plain Butt to you, Ford.

FORD:

Oh, okay. I'll be seein' ya. (TO DOOR) "Twenty, Twenty-Three, Open Sesame!"

SOUND:

DOOR SLIDES OPEN

MUSIC:

TRANSITION

EVELYN:

(STERN) Ferdinand, please be seated. I want to talk with you.

FORD:

Now? They just rang the dinner gong.

EVELYN:

I am aware of that. Now, where have you been?

FORD:

Around.

EVELYN:

I demand a straight answer. Where have you been, Ferdinand?

FORD:

I told you, Sis -- around. And don't call me Ferdinand; call me Ford. That's what Butt calls me.

EVELYN:

Butt?! Who is Butt?

FORD:

Oh, nobody; I just made it up.

EVELYN:

(INSISTS) Ferdinand.

FORD:

I can't tell ya; I can't.

EVELYN:

You must!

FORD:

Well, you promise you won't turn him in? Well, Butt's my friend. He's a Venusian. He's going home.

EVELYN:

(DEEPLY OFFENDED) Aboard our ship, the "Eleanor Roosevelt"? Ferdinand, don't you realize you've been consorting with a stowaway? A criminal? What sort of antisocial ideas has this warmongering masculinist been putting into your head?

FORD:

(PROTESTS) Butt's a nice guy. He asked about you.

EVELYN:

Oh, indeed?

FORD:

I told him you had very good teeth.

EVELYN:

Really?! Well, take me to this - this man.

FORD:

I will, if you promise not to turn him in.

EVELYN:

(RELUCTANT) Oh -- I promise.

MUSIC:

TRANSITION

FORD:

He's in there. The door has a sonic lock. I know the combination. Watch. (TO DOOR) "Twenty, Twenty-Three, Open Sesame!"

SOUND:

DOOR SLIDES OPEN

EVELYN:

Oh, it's so dark in there.

FORD:

(CALLS GENTLY) Butt? Hey, Butt? I brought along my sister Evelyn. She'd like to meet ya. It's all right; put on the lights.

SOUND:

CLICK! OF LIGHT SWITCH

EVELYN:

(STARTLED) Oh!

BUTT:

(IMPRESSED) An honor, Miss Sparling. Please, come right in.

SOUND:

DOOR SLIDES SHUT

EVELYN:

First, Mr. Butt, I want--

BUTT:

It's Brown. Butt Lee Brown.

EVELYN:

(WITH CONTEMPT) First, Mr. Brown, you realize that you are committing two crimes. One, the political crime of traveling without a visa; and, two, the criminal act of stowing away without paying your fare.

FORD:

Golly, Sis, that's - that's no way to talk to Butt.

EVELYN:

(TO BUTT) I take it you either have no defense or care to make none.

BUTT:

(AMUSED) Wonder if all the anura talk like that. And you want to foul up Venus!

EVELYN:

We haven't done so badly on Earth after the mess you men made of politics.

BUTT:

(IRONIC) Hear! Hear!

FORD:

Yeah -- Hear! Hear!

EVELYN:

Oh, you keep quiet, Ferdinand. And another point, Mr. Butt Lee Brown. I don't suppose you know that under space regulations you've made this poor child an accessory.

FORD:

Butt didn't make me anything!

BUTT:

Let's not talk law, female; let's talk sense. I'm in trouble because I went to Earth to look for a wife. You're standin' right here now because you're on your way to Venus for a husband. So -- let's.

EVELYN:

(PUZZLED) Let's? Let's what? (GASPS, OFFENDED) Are - you - daring to suggest that--?

BUTT:

Now, Miss Sparling, no hoopla. I'm sayin' let's get married and you know it.

FORD:

Gee, Sis, say yes!

EVELYN:

And what makes you think that I'd consider you a desirable husband?

BUTT:

Figure it this way. If you wanted a poodle, you're pretty enough to pick one up on Earth. When you go chargin' off to Venus, you don't want a poodle, you want a man, and I'm one. I own three islands in the Galertan Archipelago; good farm land when they're cleared. I got no bad habits, outside of havin' my own way. I'm passable good-lookin'. My teeth are good, too. Besides, if you marry me, you'll be the first mated on this ship, and that's a splash most nestin' females like to make.

EVELYN:

You know there's more to marriage than just doing--

BUTT:

So there is. Well, we can try each other for taste. (BEAT, AS HE KISSES HER, THEN EXHALES, SATISFIED) Now, me, I'd vote yes.

FORD:

(QUICKLY, PLEASANTLY) Me, too. I'd vote yes.

EVELYN:

Now I'll cast my vote!

SOUND:

SLAP! OF EVELYN'S HAND ACROSS BUTT'S FACE

MUSIC:

TRANSITION ... THEN BEHIND FORD--

FORD:

(NARRATES) Well, you guessed it. She broke her promise. I suppose the kiss did it. She reported a stowaway to the captain and he sent the detail from the ship's crew to haul Butt off to the brig. Well, later that afternoon, all the passengers -- three hundred females and me! -- gathered in the lounge for the hearing.

SOUND:

LARGE CROWD OF MURMURING FEMALES ... THEN IN BG

FORD:

(LOW, UNHAPPY) It's all on account of you.

EVELYN:

Shush.

FORD:

Don't shush me. You promised you wouldn't get Butt into trouble -- and you snitched.

SOUND:

TAP-TAP-TAP! OF GAVEL

EVELYN:

Shush. The captain is rapping for quiet.

SOUND:

TAP-TAP-TAP! OF GAVEL ... CROWD QUIETS

CAPTAIN:

By authority vested in me under the Pomona College Treaty, the stowaway -- a Venusian, Butt Lee Brown -- will be tried for violation of Articles Sixteen to Twenty-One, inclusive, of the Space Transport Code. Purser, bring in the prisoner.

SOUND:

MAN-HUNGRY CROWD REACTS WITH SWOONS, SHRIEKS, AND SHOUTS ("Oh, I want him! I want him!" "He's mine! Mine!") ... THEN IN BG

SOUND:

TAP-TAP-TAP! OF GAVEL

CAPTAIN:

(PLEADS MEEKLY FOR QUIET) Ladies! Ladies!

EVELYN:

(DISGUSTED) Those cheap extroverts. And they call themselves responsible [women]!

SOUND:

TAP-TAP! OF GAVEL ... CROWD QUIETS BEHIND--

CAPTAIN:

(SWEETLY) Ladies! Dear ladies! Thank you, ladies. (RESUMES OFFICIATING) Butt Lee Brown, I order your person and belongings impounded for the duration of this voyage as set forth in Sections Forty-One and Forty-Five--

EVELYN:

(INTERRUPTS) Captain, the sections are Forty-Three and Forty-Five.

CAPTAIN:

Uh, you're - you're quite right, Miss Sparling. Sections Forty-Three and Forty-Five of the Mother Anita Law, Emergency Interplanetary Directives.

BUTT:

Aren't you even gonna give me a fair trial before you hang me?

SOUND:

CROWD REACTS WITH SHRIEKS AND SHOUTS ("I'll give him a fair trial!" "Don't hang him!" "Talk to me!") ... THEN IN BG

SOUND:

TAP! OF GAVEL

CAPTAIN:

(PLEADS) Ladies! I beg of you, ladies.

SOUND:

CROWD QUIETS

BUTT:

Captain, what exactly are the charges against me?

CAPTAIN:

You're a stowaway.

BUTT:

I can pay for my passage.

CAPTAIN:

You can? (WITH A NERVOUS CHUCKLE OF RELIEF) Well, then I guess we can dismiss the charges.

SOUND:

CROWD REACTS WITH SHRIEKS AND SHOUTS ("He's mine! I want him!") ... THEN IN BG

SOUND:

TAP-TAP-TAP! OF GAVEL

CAPTAIN:

(PLEADS) Ladies! Gentle ladies.

SOUND:

CROWD QUIETS BEHIND--

EVELYN:

Just a moment, Captain!

CAPTAIN:

Uh, yes, Miss Sparling?

EVELYN:

I demand justice! You can't let him off that lightly. Besides, there's the other charge.

CAPTAIN:

What other charge?

EVELYN:

Assault! That comes under Sections Eighteen through Thirty-Five of the McDonald Law.

CAPTAIN:

(INTRIGUED) It does? Well, then would you tell the court in your own words exactly what happened?

EVELYN:

Well, when I first laid eyes on Mr. Brown he seemed to be a fundamentally decent chap, despite his barbaric notions on equality between the sexes -- or worse. I was positive I could shame him into a more rational social behavior and make him give himself up.

CAPTAIN:

(LOVES THIS JUICY GOSSIP) Go on, Miss Sparling.

EVELYN:

Just as I was getting over the colossal impudence involved in his proposing marriage, and was considering the offer seriously -- on its merits, as one should consider all suggestions -- he deliberately dropped the pretense of reason.

FORD:

(SARCASTIC) Get her.

EVELYN:

(ADMONISHES) Ferdinand!

FORD:

My name is Ford and you're nothing but a big snitch! You promised not to get Butt into trouble!

SOUND:

CROWD REACTS UNHAPPILY ("Well, how do you like that?") ... IN BG

EVELYN:

Your name is Ferdinand and stop trying to act forcefully, like a girl. It doesn't become you.

SOUND:

CROWD QUIETS BEHIND--

CAPTAIN:

(DELIGHTED) Miss Sparling, did I understand you to say that you were considering Mr. Brown's proposal of marriage?

EVELYN:

(UNCOMFORTABLE) That is true. I will not deny that he appealed to me. He appealed to me as - as most savage ancients appeal to their women -- as an emotional machine. (WITH CONTEMPT) Huh! Throw the proper switches, says his theory, and the female surrenders herself ecstatically to the doubtful and bloody murk of masculine plans.

CAPTAIN:

I'm afraid I still don't understand. (TELL ME THE JUICY DETAILS, GIRL!) What exactly did Mr. Brown do?

EVELYN:

He - kissed me!

SOUND:

CROWD REACTS WITH SHRIEKS AND SHOUTS ("Oh, boy! That's for me!") ... THEN IN BG

SOUND:

TAP-TAP-TAP-TAP! OF GAVEL ... CROWD QUIETS BEHIND--

CAPTAIN:

(PLEADS) Ladies. Fair ladies. Please, ladies. (TO BUTT) Uh, Mr. Brown, do you deny kissing Miss Sparling?

BUTT:

No. (TO EVELYN) Miss Sparling, do you deny enjoying the kiss?

EVELYN:

Your question is irrelevant and immaterial.

FORD:

Oh, she enjoyed it.

CAPTAIN:

How would you know?

FORD:

Well, I was right there. I could tell the way she acted. She sort of held the back of his neck, closed her eyes, and just hung on.

EVELYN:

(EMBARRASSED EXHALATION)

CAPTAIN:

What were you doing there?

FORD:

I introduced 'em. I met Butt first, then I took Sis over there to meet him.

CAPTAIN:

I see. Ferdinand Sparling, I hereby order your detention for the duration of this voyage for aiding and abetting a stowaway as set forth in Sections Forty-One and--

EVELYN:

Forty-Three and Forty-Five!

CAPTAIN:

(MEEKLY OVERLAPS WITH EVELYN ABOVE) Forty-Three and Forty-Five.

EVELYN:

And you can't arrest Ferdinand; he's only a child! You gave me your word no charges would be lodged against the boy.

CAPTAIN:

That was the usual promise one makes to an informer. But I made it before I knew it was Butt Lee Brown you were talking about. I didn't want to arrest Butt Lee Brown. You forced me. So I'm breaking my promise to you just as I understand you broke your promise to your brother. I'm afraid both Ferdinand and Butt Lee Brown will be picked up at New Kalamazoo Space Port and sent Terraward for trial.

EVELYN:

But I used all our money to buy passage!

CAPTAIN:

I'm sorry. You'll have to return with your brother. (POINTEDLY) Of course, there is a way out.

EVELYN:

There is? Well, tell me, please.

CAPTAIN:

Miss Sparling, if you'd marry Brown--

EVELYN:

(SHOCKED) I--?!

CAPTAIN:

(STAMMERS DELICATELY) Don't look at me like that. (RESUMES) If you'd marry Brown, he would go on your passport as a dependent male member of your family.

EVELYN:

(ASTONISHED) Do you think I'd marry that - that - that desperado? Why, he doesn't know enough to sit back and let a woman run things. Captain, you should be ashamed of yourself.

LADY:

(SCREAMS, OFF) I'll marry him!

CAPTAIN:

(TO EVELYN) Perhaps I should be, but that's what comes of putting men in responsible positions. See here, Miss Sparling. I didn't want to arrest Brown. I'd still prefer not to. The officers and crew of my ship all go along with me.

EVELYN:

Why not? Men always think like men. They never use logic. They just rely on masculine intuition.

CAPTAIN:

Maybe so. This ship's crew are all residents of Earth, but our work requires us to be on Venus several times a year. We wouldn't want to cross any member of the Brown clan. They're all men of influence on the Polar Continent.

EVELYN:

(WITH CONTEMPT) I wouldn't doubt that for a second. If anyone gets in their way, they merely oxidize them with a blaster.

CAPTAIN:

Take Butt. He's a big man in his own bailiwick, the Galertan Archipelago. When he wants to put somebody in office-- Well, he just appoints them.

EVELYN:

(IMPRESSED) Mr. Brown has that much influence, you say?

CAPTAIN:

Uh, power, actually. The kind a strong man usually wields in a newly settled community.

EVELYN:

(CHANGE OF TONE, TO BUTT) Oh, Mr. Brown, if I marry you, would you promise to see that I'm appointed resident governor of the Galertan Archipelago?

BUTT:

No.

FORD:

That a boy, Butt. Don't give in.

EVELYN:

Ferdinand, this does not concern you. (TO BUTT) Uh, Mr. Brown, I might even consider a county clerkship.

BUTT:

Nope!

FORD:

Stick by your blasters, Butt! Show her you're a real man!

CAPTAIN:

(HELPFULLY) Mr. Brown, it would seem to me that if you really want to marry this attractive young lady, a compromise could be worked out.

BUTT:

Well, I could make her sheriff.

FORD:

(DISSAPOINTED) Aw, no.

CAPTAIN:

(TO EVELYN) Would the position of sheriff of the Galertan Archipelago be acceptable, Miss Sparling?

EVELYN:

(PLEASED) Yes.

CAPTAIN:

Good! I'll marry you here and now.

SOUND:

CROWD REACTS VARIOUSLY ("I want to be a bridesmaid!" "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride! That's me, every time!") ... THEN MURMURS IN BG

FORD:

Butt, you shouldn't have sold out. Why did you do it? You don't have to marry her for my sake. I wouldn't care what they did to me.

BUTT:

(LIGHTLY) That's all right, tadpole. I'd do anything for my favorite brother-in-law.

FORD:

I'd sure like to be your brother-in-law. But, gosh, you don't have to marry Sis. You could've had any one of these three hundred females. Why marry Sis?

BUTT:

I'm stubborn. What I like at first, I keep on likin'. What I want at first, I keep on wantin' until I get it.

FORD:

(WORRIED) Yeah, but makin' her sheriff-- What's gonna happen to our "man's world"?

BUTT:

Don't worry none about that, Ford my boy. Wait till after we meet and go out to my islands. She'll find herself sheriff over exactly two Earth males -- you and me. And I got a hunch that'll keep her pretty busy, huh?

FORD:

(STARTS TO LAUGH)

BUTT:

Huh? How 'bout that, huh?

FORD AND BUTT:

(LAUGH HEARTILY)

MUSIC:

CURTAIN ... FOR HUMOROUS PUNCTUATION

ANNOUNCER:

You have just heard "X Minus One" presented by the National Broadcasting Company in cooperation with Galaxy Science Fiction Magazine, which this month features "An Eye for a What?" -- a story of the Earth men who thought they couldn't hurt a friendly alien if their lives depended on it -- while all the time, their lives did depend on it. Galaxy Magazine, on your newsstand today.

MUSIC:

CLOSING THEME SNEAKS IN UNDER FOLLOWING--

ANNOUNCER:

Tonight, "X Minus One" has brought you "Venus Is a Man's World," a story from the pages of Galaxy written by William Tenn and adapted for radio by Arthur Small. Featured in our cast were Dennis Bellabio as Ford, Bob Haag as Butt, Gerrianne Rafael as Carrie, John Gibson as the Captain, and Fredericka Chandler as Evelyn. This is Fred Collins. "X Minus One" was directed by Daniel Sutter and is an NBC Radio Network production.

MUSIC:

TO A FINISH

ANNOUNCER:

Next week, "X Minus One" presents "Trap" by Finn O'Donnevan. Fur hunters tangle with a bottle of firewater and a new kind of trap, which catches more than they bargained for. We hope you'll be listening next week at this same time.

This week, the Boy Scouts are celebrating their forty-seventh year of service to American youth. Throughout the country there will be Open Houses, Courts of Honor, Indoor and Outdoor Camp Fires, Cub Circuses, Scout Expositions, Explorer Events, and other special activities. This is the second year of the four-year program "Onward for God and My Country," which was launched to help prepare America's boys to live in today's world and prepare them to carry their full share in the years ahead. It's designed to give youth an opportunity to develop physical fitness, self-reliance, a sense of personal responsibility, a spirit of helping people, a willingness to share, an understanding of our government's democratic processes, and a firm spiritual foundation. On Sunday, February tenth, churches of all faiths will observe Boy Scout Sunday, with Scouts attending services in uniform.

The world on a new hotline! Listen for "News on the Hour" and the exciting Hotline service -- all day, every day, on most of these stations.

MUSIC:

NBC CHIMES