A
Narrator: … Time as well as oxygen is running out for Galaxy X. The Professor and Greg now have eleven expressions: to hand in one’s notice, odds and ends, out of order, to put up with somebody or something, every modern convenience, to show somebody round, to lose one’s way, V.I.P. (Very Important Person), to exceed the speed limit, to eat out and every cloud has a silver lining. They are now going to listen to the last but one tape.
* * *
Greg: Hello, Prof. How are you today?
Prof: A little worried, to tell you the truth.
Greg: Why?
Prof: Haven’t you heard the news today?
Greg: No.
Prof: It’s almost 6. I’ll turn on the radio and you can hear for yourself.
Radio: Here is the 6 o’clock news. Today the President of the Academy of Sciences announced that new tests on the oxygen level of the atmosphere have shown that the oxygen is running out faster than expected. Scientific experiments have so far been unable to reverse the trend. There is, however, no need to panic. By the end of the year there will be enough transport for everybody to be able to leave the Galaxy. – Sport. The inter-space football…
Prof: I’ll turn it off, shall I?
Greg: Yes. But why are you upset? We’ve almost finished going through the tapes and papers now. Soon we’ll have all the code, and then we can open the safe.
Prof: And what then?
Greg: Yes… That’s the question. But let’s get down to work, then you won’t worry so much. Here’s N. O. Hope.
B
N. O. Hope: The 12th tape is about a police investigation at a block of flats where the people have heard some shots. They were all busy at home at the time, watching television or listening to the radio. Radio and television were both inventions of the 20th century and radically altered life on the whole planet. For the first time people could hear and see the news right after it had happened. There were different programmes for everyone and as a means of education radio and television were invaluable. Most countries had commercial television which meant that the TV advertisements paid for the programmes, though both radio and television were usually state controlled. You’ll hear on the tape what sort of programmes there were. Naturally the older forms of entertainment continued and people went to the theatre and concerts and exhibitions. Cinema was very popular, though television kept a lot of people at home. I think one could say that all branches of the arts flourished in the 20th century.
Prof: Theatre seems to be one of man’s oldest entertainments.
Greg: Do you go much?
Prof: I have a season ticket to the opera, but I’m usually too busy to go. Now, here’s the tape. Let’s listen to it.
* * *
C
(Tape)
Woman’s Voice: (on phone): Police? Please come quickly. I’ve just heard three shots – gun shots – outside the front door. Flat 13, 3rd floor, Angels Court Flats.
Policeman 1: A police car is already on the way, Madam. (rings off) What an evening! That’s the sixteenth phone call from Angels Court Flats. “There must have been a murder”. I bet they just heard the repeat of that thriller. What’s it called?
Policeman 2: Three Shots Outside the Door. But it’s a bit odd all the same, Joe. There may have been something. After all no one has phoned from any other block of flats or anywhere else in town. It’s a bit strange.
* * *
D
(knocks at door)
Woman’s Voice: Who is it?
Policeman: Police.
Woman: Oh, thank goodness you’ve come. Have you caught them?
Policeman: Caught who?
Woman: Well, whoever fired those shots.
Policeman: We’re interviewing several people, Madam. Now, what time did you hear the shots?
Woman: Well, about half past six or a quarter to seven.
Policeman: And what were you doing when you heard the shots?
Woman: Well, I was watching the television.
Policeman: Which channel?
Woman: Channel 2. There was a very good variety show on. They had such a funny comedian and then there were some chorus girls and…
Policeman: And what about the rest of the family?
Boy: I was listening to Radio 1. Top of the Pops. It was a smashing programme – had all the best groups from all over Europe.
Policeman: Did you hear the shots, sonny?
Boy: Well…
Woman: Had the radio on so loud we could hardly hear the telly. He never turns it down when he’s asked.
Policeman: But you heard the shots, all the same.
Woman: Oh, yes, quite clearly…
* * *
Colonel: … It was exactly 6.34.
Policeman: What were you doing, Colonel?
Colonel: I was watching the old box, I’m afraid.
Policeman: The detective story?
Colonel: Oh no. I’m not a thriller man myself. No, I was watching the quiz – the Brain of Britain quiz. I was one of the contestants last year, you see. The new series is rather disappointing though. The question master isn’t so good and the questions are not so good either.
* * *
Child: … I was listening to Children’s Hour. There was a super story about a dog called Rex, then they told us how to make paper hats. It was very good…
Policeman: Children’s Hour finishes at 6 o’clock, doesn’t it?
Child: Yes sir. Then comes the News, but I don’t listen to that. I turn the radio off then, don’t I, Mummy?
Mum: Yes, dear.
Policeman: And what were you doing, Madam?
Mum: I was doing the ironing.
Policeman: Then you must have heard the shots.
Mum: No, she must have been making it up. Unless the next door neighbour had her telly on too loud again. I keep telling her she’s disturbing the whole block with her telly.
Policeman: I see. Now, were you listening to the radio?
Mum: Well, yes. I had the transistor on in the kitchen.
Policeman: What was on when she said she’d heard the shots?
Mum: The Sports Round-up, I think. I’m not interested in sports, so I wasn’t really listening. First they gave the football results, then there was a running commentary on a motor race or something – awful noise of these cars.
Policeman: Yes, that may have been why you didn’t hear the shots.
* * *
Man: … up here on the tenth floor, too! You’d think we’d be safe up here, wouldn’t you? But not a bit of it. There I was quietly listening to the News when three shots went off. Right outside my door, too. “Funny,” I thought to myself. “That can’t have been shots,” although they were talking about the situation in Angriland at the time. Sometimes there are on-the-scene reports, but there’s a cease-fire in Angriland at the moment. So I knew it must…
Policeman: Excuse me, but you said you were listening to the news. So you heard the shots just after six then?
Man: That’s right. There’s a time signal at 6 o’clock. Then the news. Angriland was the first news item.
Policeman: Thank you…
* * *
E
Officer: Well, sergeant – any leads?
Sergeant: Not really, sir. The strange thing is that only one person was watching the TV thriller, and he heard the shots at 6.15, before the programme started. Then another thing – everyone heard the shots at different times. There must have been more than three shots. The first shots were heard before 6 o’clock on the tenth floor, but the lower floors heard them later – so they can’t have been on the television… (shots) What’s that?!?
Officer: Where was that?!?
Children: Bang! Bang! Bang!
Child 1: Hey, Tommy! That’s not the way they did it.
Child 2: Yes, – they did! Outside the door!
Officer: Hey you two, just a minute!
Children: Yes, sir?
Officer: What are you two up to?
Children: Playing, sir.
Officer: What are you playing? Cowboys and Indians?
Children: Oh no.
Child 1: Didn’t you see that super programme on the television? It was called Three Shots Outside the Door. It was ever so exciting.
Child 2: It went on for 10 weeks. The last was on Tuesday.
Child 1: There’s a repeat tonight, I think.
Officer: And that’s what you were playing, were you?
Child 2: Yes. We’ve got these super guns just like real ones.
Officer: So you played it all through the block from the tenth floor right down to the cellar!
Child 1: How did you know?
Child 2: That’s right! That’s what we did!
(End of Tape)
* * *
Prof: Little monkeys!
Greg: But what fun they must have had!
Prof: I bet they did! I’ll feed it into the Ex.Ex. and we’ll see what expressions we can find.
Ex.Ex.: There was a very good programme on, all of a sudden, to make something up, next door neighbour, to have a lead, to be up to something, to have the radio on, to turn the radio on, to turn it up, to turn it down, to turn it off.
Greg: Good. But that’s given me an idea. There’s a good film on at the Jupiter Cinema. Wouldn’t you like to see it?
Prof: Well, if that’s an invitation, I’d love to. I haven’t been out in the evening for ages.
Greg: Well, come on then. It starts in about half an hour.
Prof: Greg, I’ll just lock up the lab and we can go.
* * *