CBS Radio Workshop: Brave New World Part 1

Ladies and gentlemen, the distinguished author, Mr. Alders Huxley. Brave New World is a fantastic parable about the dehumanization of human beings. In the negative utopia described in my story, man has been subordinated to his own inventions.

Science, technology, social organization, these things have ceased to serve man. They have become his masters. A quarter of a century has passed since the book was published. In that time, our world has taken so many steps in the wrong direction that if I were writing today, I would date my story not 600 years in the future, but at the most 200.

The price of liberty and even of common humanity is eternal vigilance. CBS Radio, a division of the Columbia Broadcasting System at its 217 affiliated stations, present the premiere broadcast of the CBS Radio Workshop. Radio's distinguished series dedicated to man's imagination.

The Theatre of the Mind Tonight, part one of two half-hour programs devoted to one of the world's most shocking and famous novels. Aldous Huxley's terrifying forecast of the future, Brave New World. We are proud to have Mr. Huxley as narrator for these broadcasts.

Original music is composed and conducted by Bernard Herman. This is Aldous Huxley, and these are the sounds of the Brave New World, of test tube and decanter, of hissing injectors and gurgling blood substitute.

The year is AF-632, 632 years after Ford. We are inside the London Hatchery and Conditioning Centre. This is the 30Lires in-room, an enormous laboratory where the temperature is never allowed to fall below 98.6. And here comes the director of Hatcheries and Conditioning in-person, bringing with him a group of young students.

Tomorrow we will be settling down the series work. Today I just want to give you a general idea of things. These are the incubators, and here is the weak supply of over, kept at blood heat.

Come on boys. Now here we immerse the eggs into a warm bouillon containing free swimming sphermatosoa. Emission continues until the eggs are all fertilized. Oh, and over here, here is where we bottle the alphas and betas.

In short, gentlemen, the perfect process for manufacturing healthy babies. Are there any questions? Sir, will you explain the Bakanovsky process? I'm glad you asked that. Students take this down. Bakanovsky's process. Where in olden times, one egg made one embryo which made one baby.

Today we've improved on all that. Now the egg will bud will divide from 8 to 96 buns, and every bud will grow into a perfectly formed embryo and every embryo into a mature baby, making 96 human beings grow where only one grew before.

Progress. What advantage is it, sir? I mean... Oh my good boy, can't you see? Where in olden times nature allowed us only to have twins, or perhaps triplets or so, today we can create scores, yes scores, of identical individuals.

We can manufacture men and women in uniform batches, think of it. An entire factory stuffed with the product of one single egg. 96 identical individuals working 96 identical machines. At last society really knows where it stands.

Remember, it was our Ford who gave us the concept of the assembly line when he was on Earth many centuries ago. And now boys, we will go up to the bottling room where we shall see how we create each class of society.

Alphas, betters, deltas, etc. Come with me. Where did Nina? Oh, director. Oh, charming, charming. Ah. What are you injecting into our embryos today, my dear? Typhoid antitoxin? Yes, sir. Are you busy this afternoon? Oh, not after five, sir.

Good. Suppose we'll get together then on the roof. That would be fine. I've admired you for some time, La Nina. I'm looking forward to a closer acquaintance. Thank you, sir. And now, boys, we're off to the bottling room.

You are a lucky girl. The director of Hatcheries and Conditioning. Oh, hello, Fanny. Oh, you can trust the director to be the perfect gentleman. I saw him pat you. He wants me. You see? That shows what he stands for.

The strictest conventionality. And it's about time you started belonging to someone else, my dear. But I like Henry Foster. We've only been with each other for months. For months? Well, what would the district world controllers say?

You know how he disapproves anything intense or long drawn. And it isn't as though there were anything painful or disagreeable about being with one or two other men besides Henry. After all, everyone belongs to everyone else.

You're quite right, Fanny, as usual. Good girl. Fanny, do you know Bernard Marx? Bernard, why not? Bernard's an alpha plus. Besides, he asked me to go to New Mexico to the savage reservation with him.

But his reputation? They say he doesn't like obstacle golf. Oh, they say, they say. And that he spends most of his time by himself alone. They say somebody made a mistake when he was still in the bottle.

Thought he was a gamma and put alcohol into his blood substitute. That's why he's so stunning. Oh, what nonsense. Well, very well, La Nina. It's your life, my dear. But I think you're heading for trouble.

And here we have the bottling roll. All embryos carefully bottled being rocked gently to and fro as they did in olden days when carried by their mothers. Now boys, you must learn to distinguish between smut and science.

I am going to use that word again. A scientist of tomorrow you must learn to cope with it. Mother. Oh. There, that's better. As a matter of fact, there is an area in our world where humans are still viviporous, still give birth to their children.

savage reservation in New Mexico. I visited there once myself many years ago, dreadful filthy place. Naturally, a civilization has improved on all that. Oh, it is here we control the embryo's growth. Each batch carefully regulated to produce the exact class of citizens we desire. And here is our Mr. Henry Foster in charge of bottling. Oh Henry, please explain the process to the students. Oh

Oh, delighted, sir. By the way, honey, before you begin, I made a date with Linina Crown this afternoon. Oh, really? I'm delighted, sir. I'm sure you'll enjoy belonging to her. Go ahead, very new, mad at girl.

Now, please proceed. This way, gentlemen. Here, we advance the process. One by one, the eggs are transferred from their test tubes into these larger decanters and moved along to the labelers. Carefully labeled as to heredity, data fertilization, sex, name, serial number.

Gentlemen, there are 88 cubic feet of card index in this room. Amazing. Now here is where we actually predestinate and condition. Nothing is so unstableizing to society as unhappy people. We avoid all that by preconditioning our embryos.

And now we are entering the heat conditioning room. Hot tunnels alternating with cool tunnels. Exposure to cold is accompanied by exposure to x-rays. By the time these babies are decanted, they have a perfect horror of cold.

Thus they are perfectly prepared to emigrate to the tropics, to be miners and acetate silk spinners, and steel workers. And that is the secret of happiness and virtue, liking what you have got to do.

All conditioning aims at that, making people like their unescapable social destiny. Oh, 10 to 3 boys, time to visit the nurseries. And so the director continued on his tour. Meanwhile, in his rooms high above the city, Bernard Marx nervously paced the floor.

I'm taking Lenny Necrau and New Mexico with me Helmholtz to the savage reservation. Well, it's about time. What do you mean by that? I'll be frank Bernard, there's been a lot of talk about your behavior at the College of Emotional Engineering.

Of course, I've been defending you. I'm supposed to be grateful because you're a successful feelies writer because you're tall, well built, have all the girls you want. Oh, but, ha ha ha. You know how I feel.

I want to write. I mean seriously, not slogans of feelies. I want to write something important. Lately, I've been cutting out my committees and my girls, the director called me on just the other day.

Are you in trouble too? As a poem I wrote too emotional, he said, and he gave me the lecture about being an Alpha Plus, about remembering to behave even as a little infant. I know.

I tried to explain to Lynina, but she doesn't understand, or won't understand. All those other men she belongs to, Henry Foster, Benito Hoover, they treat her like a side of beef. It's disgusted. It's socially proper.

We share and we share alike, remember? But I want her for myself alone. Bernard, you're my closest friend. Now you listen to me, you can't win this way. Follow the rules, play the game. Be happy.

The nursery was on the fifth floor. The sign over the door said, Neo-Pevlovian conditioning room. It was a large bear room, very bright and sunny. Half a dozen nurses, trouser and jacketed in the regulation white viscose linen uniform, were engaged in setting out bowls of roses in a long row across the floor.

The nurses stiffened to attention as the director of hecheries and conditioning came in, followed by his students. Set out the books. In silence the nurses obeyed his command. Between the rows bowls the books were duly set out.

Now bring in the children. They hurried out of the room and returned in a moment, each pushing a kind of tall dumb waiter, laden on all its four wire knitted shelves, with eight month old babies, all exactly alike, a Bockenowski group, and all, since their cast was delta, dressed in khaki diapers.

Put them down on the floor. I'll turn them so they can see the flowers and books. Turned, the babies at once fell silent. Then began to crawl towards those clusters of sleek colors, those shapes so gay and brilliant. From the ranks of the babies came little squeals of excitement, gurgles and twitterings of pleasure. The swiftest crawlers were already

at their goal. Small hands reached out uncertainly touched, grasped, unpetaling the roses, crumpling the illuminated pages of the books. Watch carefully students! All right nesses pull the the lesson with a mild electric shock. All right, take them away, nurses. Observe. Henceforth, books and flowers will be associated in their minds with loud unpleasant noises and electric

shock. And, after two hundred repetitions of the same, or a similar lesson, will be wedded forever. What man has joined, nature is powerless to put a sundae. They will be safe from books and bottoming all the lives. But, sir, since these are lower caste children anyway and will never read, why bother to condition them against flowers?

Simple economics, if gammas, deltas, or even epsilons like flowers in nature, soon you'd see them wasting their time visiting the countryside. And of what economic use is that. A love of nature keeps no factories busy. It was decided to abolish it at least among the lower classes.

further question. Sir, would you tell us about sleep teaching? I'm glad you asked that. The most ingenious development of all, sleep teaching, is given to all our children as they grow to maturity. A little voice murmurs slogans in their ear all the night long while they sleep.

Of course, it's useless for teaching, but as a method for giving post-hypnotic suggestions, it is invaluable. It's what conditions our minds to love our future role in life. Now, boys, always tell me some of the lessons we've all learned through sleep teaching.

A gram is better than a dam. A good example. We have learned to take a gram of soma whenever we feel out of sorts. Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinate. It transports our minds into a beautiful sleep filled with wonderful images.

It gives a soma holiday, thus preventing unnecessary impulses such as anger, jealousy, envy, anxiety. Yeah, ending is better than mending. Good! It's better to throw away something than to repair it. New clothing, new possessions, keep our factories humming, and make us happier.

Next! I'm glad I'm not a gamma. Ah, yes. We're all taught in our sleep to enjoy our own cast, whatever it may be. Gammas are taught to think I'm glad I'm not an epsilon. Betas learn to be glad they're not deltas or gammas.

glad they're not alphas, because we alphas sometimes have to use our minds, and that's very painful for me. Very good, very good indeed. Well, students, I think our tour is over for today. I'm sure most of you have dates with pneumatic young ladies, some of course will be wanting to get in a game of obstacle golf.

But before we finish, I'd like to add a few footnotes to the things you've seen today. Today we have a controlled society, a happy society, we have stability. There was a time when these things did not exist.

Didn't people grow old and feeble in those days, sir? Indeed they did. Old men in the bad old days used to renounce, retire, take to religion, spend that time reading, thinking, thinking. Now, such is progress, at 60 we have the taste and the powers of a 17-year-old.

The old men have no time, no leisure from pleasure, not a moment to sit down and think. They're much too busy scampering from feely to feely, from girl to pneumatic girl. Fortunate boys, no pains have been spared to make your lives emotionally easy, to preserve you as far as possible from having emotions at all.

in his fliver, all's well with the world. Ours and his fliver, all's well with the world. And solemnly and devoutly, they made the sign of the tea and hurried off to join their fellow citizens at play.

In spite of Fennie's dire warnings, Denina Crown made a date that evening with the eccentric Mr. Marks, partly to show Fanny her courage and partly because she was curious. When they were safely in their helicopter and climbing above the city, she turned to him.

Shall we play escalator squash or go to the feelies? Escalator squash is a waste of time. But what else is time for? Alright then, let's go to the feelies. You know they're showing love on a bear skin rug and everyone says it's terribly exciting.

You can actually feel it. This could be just go for a walk and be alone together. But Bernard, we'll be alone all night. A lot. I meant alone for talking. Talking? What about? Oh, you're beginning to feel nasty, I can tell.

Take a soma, Bernard. I'd rather be myself, my self-anasti, not somebody else, however, jolly. A gamin' nine saves nine. Oh, for forts sake, be quiet. Bernard. Don't you ever want to be just you, not enslaved by your own conditioning to be free?

But I am free. I'm free to have the most wonderful time. Everybody's happy nowadays. But wouldn't you like to be free to be happy in your own way and not somebody else's? I simply don't understand you. Bernard, do you really like me? Everyone says I'm awfully pneumatic.

Eventually Bernard took Lina to the Westminster Abbey cabaret, where Kelvin Stokes and his 16 saxophonists were playing. Also featured was London's finest scent and color organ, and all the latest synthetic music. With the aid of four soma tablets, Bernard managed to spend a successful evening with the girl. And the next morning he agreed to apply at once

for a permit to visit the savage reservation. He was quite nervous as he stood before the large desk of the director of hatcheries and conditioning. Oh, going to take La Nina Crown, I see. Yes, sir. Very pneumatic.

Yes, sir. New Mexico Reservation. How long ago was it? Let me see, twenty, twenty-five years. Hmm. I must have been your age, then. Sir. I had the same ideas you. Wanted to have a look at the savages. Got a permit for New Mexico and went there for my summer holiday, with my girl at the moment.

She was a beta minus, I think. Oh yes. She had yellow hair and was especially pneumatic. Well, it was terrible. We rode about on horses and all that, and the last day of our stay she got lost.

Somewhere in those horrid mountains, lost. We never did find her poor girl. Must have fallen in some crevice. Yes, we searched for days, but no luck. Oh, miserable trip. you must have had a terrible shock.

Well, don't imagine there was anything unethical about it, nothing emotional or long drawn. It was all perfectly healthy and normal. I'm sure it was, sir. What's that? Oh. Mr. Marx, I should like to take this opportunity of saying I'm not at all pleased with the reports I receive of your behaviour outside working hours.

Alphas are so conditioned that they do not have to be infantile in their emotional behaviour, That is all the more reason for they making a special effort to conform. And so, Mr. Marx, I give you fair warning.

If ever I again hear of any lapse from a proper standard of infantile decorum, I shall ask for your transference to a sub-setter, preferably to Iceland. Good morning. The journey was quite uneventful. The blue Pacific rocket lost four minutes in a tornado over Texas, but was able to land at Santa Fe less than forty seconds behind schedule.

Linna and Bernard slept at night at Santa Fe, and Linna was very happy. Imagine 60 escalator squash racquet courts in the hotel and obstacle and electromagnetic golf too! Oh Bernard, it's simply too lovely! There will be no send organs, television or even hot water once we get out on the reservation.

I can stand it, you'll see. Only progress is lovely, isn't it? They took a rocket ship into the interior and from there they traveled on horseback and all Bernard could think about was Iceland and how cold and barren it would be.

The director's warning had made him even quieter and more sullen than usual and then that evening they reached their destination. The four of them was the village of Malpaiis situated on a maser. Adobe hovels growing out of the stony ground, dust and squalor and the smell of wood smoke.

What an awful place, I don't like it. Who's that man coming toward us? He used to be our guide. I'm frightened Bernard. Quiet. We shouldn't have come. Oh, good morrow. You're civilized, aren't you? You come from outside from the other place?

My name is Bernard Marx. This is Lening of Crown. My name is John. Come with me. He speaks English, that's strange. Probably trained as a guide. Where is he leading us? To that heart, I believe. There seems to be some sort of activity over there.

R&G, Pargy! Why, it's like our lower caste community sin! Only look! Now they're beating themselves with quips! Oh no Bernard! It's got something to do with their religion. What a wonderful intensity of feeling it must generate.

I often think one may have missed something in not having passions like that. Nonsense. Bernard, what's wrong with that man? Well, oh, he's just old, that's all. Old? But we don't look like that when we're old, he's so wrinkled, so...

It's horrible. That's because we age all at once. We stay 17 until we're 60 or so. And then we die and they burn our bodies and recover the phosphorus But the good of the world stay just as it should be But this...

What is it? That woman! Oh Bernard, no! Take me away! Take me away! We're only nursing her baby, Lina, that's her child, she's the mother! Bernard, how can you be so vulgar? I think I'll be sick.

Please Bernard, anywhere! Is something wrong? I think we better take Lina inside. Over here. Follow me. My sonma! I'm out of Soma, Bernard. I'm sorry, Elena. I didn't bring in here. Inside. This is my home.

This is my home. You are welcome to remain here. John. John? Yes, mother? Mother! These are people from the outside, Mother. They have come to see the reservation. From the other place. You're from the other place.

Don't near me. But don't you see I'm from there too. I'm civilized. I don't belong here. It's all a terrible mistake. This is my mother, Linda. Were you born here? No, no! I tell you I was decanted like normal people.

Oh, thank Ford, someone has come. And last, thank Ford, Bernard Bernard, please keep her away. Could you tell us about yourself, please? Well, I came here 25 years ago with a man. His name was Thomas.

We weren't riding together. Unhorses. There was a terrible storm. I got lost, lost in this horrible place. It was the last day of our stay. He left me here. Hello, Nina. Yes? You will be interested to know that our Director of Hatcheries and Conditioning is named Thomas and that he came here 25

years ago. It can't be. But it is. Well he told me so himself. What a discovery. This boy. This boy is our director's son. Our director is a father. Mother what is he saying? I slant, I slant indeed.

We're not stopping. Well, we'll see who tells who where to go now. John, yes, sir? How would you and your mother like to return to civilization? Do you mean it? Oh, please, do you? Listen, they're crazy here. I was a beta minus.

I always worked in the fertilizing room. I was a good worker. But how can I tell them they don't understand. They mend things. They don't know what a helicopter is or a soma. They have babies like dogs, so it's too revolting.

Oh, thank God. If it hadn't been for my son, for John, what a comfort he has been to me. Your son, how can you? You obey to mine. I know I know, but he's been a comfort to me just the same.

If only I'd had soma. Oh, you mean it. Will you take us back to civilization? Of course. We'll leave tomorrow. You and your son back to civilization. And Bernard was as good as his words.

That very night he and John and his mother and Linina took the blue Pacific rocket to London. For Linina, it was a happy trip since she had taken four so-mer's. The minute they got back to the hotel, for John it was a voyage of discovery.

Poor Linda, his mother, could only weep for joy, but for Bernard it was a moment of triumph. Triumph such as he had never known before. Brave New World, part one by Aldous Huxley.

A startling, shocking account of what can happen to our civilization six hundred years in the future, and more importantly, a warning to all of us against the destruction of moral standards, family life and the soul of man.

Join us next week when we will continue with part two of Aldous Huxley's terrifying forecast of the future of what could become the Brave New World, presented on the CBS Radio Workshop. The CBS Radio Workshop is produced and directed by William Frooh. Brave New World was adapted for radio by Mr. Froog.

Featured in the cast were Joseph Curran, Bill Eidelson, Gloria Henry, Charlotte Lawrence, Byron Kane, Sam Edwards, Jack Crucion, Vic Perron, and Lorraine Tuttle. Original music composed and conducted by Bernard Herman. This is the CBS Radio Network.