The First Men in the Moon Page #6

You mean to say that you run about

over the surface of your world,

this world whose riches you have

scarcely begun to scrape,

killing one another?

Well...

Yes.

Why?

Well, for profit, or territory.

For, you know...

..stuff.

But surely man does not like war?

I'm afraid men of my race

consider battle

the most glorious experience

of life.

But we are not all alike!

I came here purely in a spirit

of exploration, to learn.

Your moon is a miracle to me.

Beautiful.

Astounding.

You have told me of your cities,

your ships, your guns.

But how did you come to be here? Ah!

Well, I'm afraid I might have to

blow my own trumpet a little there.

Trum...pet?

Yes, er, a little invention of mine.

I call it Cavorite.

Tell me of...Cavorite.

Hello there!

Hello?

England? Is this England?

Well, of course it is.

Oh, God!

Oh, Lord! I made it! I got back!

I say, what on earth is that thing?

Can you tell me where we are?

West Wittering.

West...? It's incredible.

It's almost back where we started.

Have you been wrecked or something?

Er, yes.

By Jove, you must have had a time

of it. Is that a sort of life raft?

Er, something of the kind.

Look, I need help. Well, yes, yes!

And food. Bacon. Eggs. Anything.

Yes, well, I'll help you up

to the hotel. Wait. I have...

(I have some things

I can't leave lying about.)

Oh? Gold.

Ah! There's more of it

in the sphere.

I have to get it out.

No, no.

Y-You stay here and rest.

I'll get them for you.

Oh, thanks. You're a pal.

By all means.

It's the least I can do.

You just get your puff back.

Oh, for pity's sake, don't touch...

..anything.

'And so ended my lunar adventure.

'I had some gold, of course,

'and that got me started, though

I didn't do very well, I'm afraid.'

I never was much of a businessman.

But you never went back?

How could I?

The sphere was lost for ever,

and I knew no more of the secret

of Cavorite than...

..than the man in the moon.

I had my precious kinematograph

reels, of course,

but no-one's ever taken them

seriously.

They say I must have faked it all

in a film studio.

What about Professor Cavor?

Did he ever come back?

No.

No, he never did.

But I heard from him.

How? By wireless.

Huh?

'About six months later, I read

of a Dutchman called Wendigee.

'He had been experimenting

with a certain apparatus

'akin to that used by Tesla.

'His hope was to discover some method

of communication with Mars.

'What he received instead

was a series of garbled messages

'that seemed to come from the moon.'

'I have been given

a great deal of freedom -

'perhaps more than they realise,

'or I would not have been able

to construct this machine.

'I was a fool to tell the Grand

Lunar so much about Cavorite,

'for now mankind's troubles

are only beginning.

'Bedford and I showed them violence,

gave them a taste of our quality,

'and I, idiot that I am,

did my best to finish the job

'with my tales of battles

and conquest and empire.

'Now the Selenites

are plotting, planning.

'To preserve their way of life

they can see only one recourse...

'a pre-emptive strike

against the Earth.

'But there is yet a chance of

saving humanity.

'God knows, I blame myself

'for bringing both the Earth

and the moon to this sorry pass.'

What have you done, old man?

Something very like almost happened

during its first creation,

you see, my friend.

I told Bedford.

All the air above the Cavorite

ceases to have any weight

and is forced up violently.

The air that rushes in to replace it

immediately loses weight,

and so on and so on.

And now there is nothing

to stop the process.

The Cavorite has soaked

into the ground.

As soon as it's cooled,

all of the moon's air

will squirt out into space.

I'm... I'm so very sorry.

That's my story.

Believe it if you like, or don't.

It doesn't matter to me.

Jim?

Jim, where on earth have you been?

No, no, I don't want to go!

I'm ever so sorry.

Has he been a nuisance?

Always asking questions, is Jim.

Not at all, sir. Not at all.

Go on, Jim, you have to get home.

It's a special day.

Didn't I tell you not to wander off?

Thanks for looking after him.

Mr Bedford? Hm?

Thanks.

Thank you.

Come on, then, we have to hurry.

It doesn't start for ages, does it?

It doesn't matter! I want to get

settled! The build-up.

'Houston, this is Neil. Radio check.'

'Neil, this is Houston.

Loud and clear. Break. Break.

'Buzz, this is Houston.'

Can't keep my eyes open.

Come on, woman, it's historic,

is this.

Oh, my tea's gone cold.

'Roger, TV circuit breaker's in.'

Would anyone like a pikelet?

I'd like a pikelet.

Shut up, we're missing it!

'We're getting a picture on the TV!'

They're taking their time.

'Got a good picture?'

Are you not sleepy, Jim?

'There's a great deal

of contrast in it...'

I might go up.

You're kidding, aren't you?

'..but we can make out

a fair amount of detail.'

This is it.

'I'm going to step off the LM now.

'That's one small step for man...

'..one giant leap for mankind.'

Yes!

Have I missed it?

Good on you! Bloody hell!

Oh, stop swearing, Norman.

To hell with it. This is

amazing, isn't it, Jim? Yeah!

You'll always remember today,

won't you?

Yeah. Yeah, I will.

'The surface is fine and powdery.'

'I can kick it up loosely

with my toe.'

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes