Day: October 24, 2012

Protecting Project Pulp 14: The Way Down the Hill by Tim Powers

Scott D.

SFFaudio Online Audio

The latest episode of Protecting Project Pulp contains and interview of Tim Powers, and a story! “The Way Down the Hill” by Tim Powers, read by Fred Himebaugh.

The rich, leathery smell of Latakia tobacco told me that old Bill was there, and I soon identified him by the long, blackened meerschaum pipe he somehow found again every time. The little girl puffing at it gave me a raised eyebrow.

“Saul, Laddie!” piped the little girl’s voice. “Excuse the nonrecognition. You were a gawky youth when I saw you last. Been doing anything worthwhile?

I didn’t even bother to give the standard negative reply. “I’ll talk to you later,” I said. “Got to find something for this beer to chase.”

Bill chuckled merrily. “They laid in a dozen bottles of Laphroaig Scotch in case you came.” He waved his pipe toward the dining room that traditionally served as the bar. “You know your way down the hill.”

Posted by Scott D. Danielson

The Roads Must Roll by Robert A. Heinlein

Jesse Willis

SFFaudio Online Audio

The Roads Must Roll by Robert A. Heinlein - illustrated by Charles Schneeman

Robert A. Heinlein’s short story The Roads Must Roll features a future in which a small union of engineers seize control of the nation’s vital infrastructure. This replacement for the highway and railroad systems is a series of massive conveyor belts allowing for the flow of goods and people around the country.

Here’s the synopsis from ISFDB:

Set in a future where the automobile has been replaced by The Roads, a gigantic set of parallel conveyor belts. The belts run at different speeds allowing a pedestrian to enter the Road at slow speed, and make his way to the center, where speeds are in excess of 100 MPH. Follows the exploits of Gaines, the Transport Commissioner, as he tries to put down a strike by the Rolling Roads Guild.

Dimension XDimension X – The Roads Must Roll
Adapted from the novelette by Robert A. Heinlein; Script by Ernest Kinoy; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC
Broadcast: September 1, 1950
The more complex, the more integrated a civilization is, the more fragile it becomes to – sabotage! First published in Astounding, June 1940.

X-Minus OneX-Minus One – The Roads Must Roll
Adapted from the novelette by Robert A. Heinleinl; Script by Ernest Kinoy; Performed by a full cast
1 |MP3| – Approx. 30 Minutes [RADIO DRAMA]
Broadcaster: NBC
Broadcast: January 4, 1956
The more complex, the more integrated a civilization is, the more fragile it becomes to – sabotage! First published in Astounding, June 1940.

Posted by Jesse Willis