chapter 173 part 2
Jor-El: "Yes... yes, I've just hammered in the last rivet. How does it look?"
Lara: "Wonderful... but will it work?"
Jor-El: "Uh... that remains to be seen. If it works, I will immediately begin construction on another like it, only much larger—one big enough to carry the three of us to another world."
Lara: "Jor-El, how long must we wait? Every moment we spend waiting and wondering..."
Jor-El: "Yes, I know, I know, Lara. It's been hard on both of us, especially you. How is the child?"
Lara: "Asleep. This afternoon's earthquake frightened him, but he's all right now. Can't you come in and see him? You barely see him these days, working on that spaceship model all the time."
Jor-El: "My dear, it can't be helped. I'm in a race against time. Right now, I must know if the model will perform as I hope."
Lara: "How does it operate?"
Jor-El: "Very simply. When everything is ready, I flip this switch. That closes this circuit, building up electrical pressure in the atomic engine. Then at the last moment, the pressure forces the ship free from its carrier and hurtles it on its way."
Lara: "But where does it go?"
Jor-El: "Wherever it's aimed. This one, I have aimed at the planet Earth."
Lara: "Earth? What is that, Jor-El?"
Jor-El: "A planet, smaller than ours, on the other side of the sun. Inhabited by a race that looks like us."
Lara: "Like ourselves?"
Jor-El: "Oh... only partly, of course, my dear. They're about the same size, but almost undeveloped. Very weak and helpless. All their faculties are extremely limited."
...
Lara: "What are you doing, Jor-El?"
Jor-El: "Placing the child in the spaceship."
Lara: "Jor-El, the house is shaking..."
Jor-El: "Lara, he's safe inside. Now I'm going to throw the switch. Stand back a bit."
Lara: "Oh, Jor-El, will he reach Earth?"
Jor-El: "Heaven only knows. The ship has a chance. It's the only plan. Now stand back."
Lara: "I'll press the switch!"
Lara: "Jor-El, it's dark! I can't see anything! What's happening?!"
Jor-El: "Fire, smoke from the center of the planet. There isn't much time left now."
Announcer: "The spaceship roared away from the planet, flying into the vast universe."
Announcer: "Krypton was blown into glowing fragments, scattering across the universe, forever remaining in the night sky. But our Superman, the spaceship he rode in, escaped the explosion in the nick of time. He came to Earth, and thus the story of Superman begins..."
The entire episode of the radio drama lasted nearly twelve minutes. It began with the Kryptonian Science Council and ended with the planet's explosion, detailing the devastating catastrophe that befell Krypton.
The protagonist, Superman, didn't speak once during the entire episode, but everyone now knew the story that would shape his future.
Passerby A: "Look! Up in the sky!"
Passerby B: "Is that a bird?"
Passerby C: "Is that a plane?"
Passerby D: "It's Superman!"
Announcer: "*Superman* is a copyrighted work, serialized in the newspapers and magazines published by the Messenger Newspaper."
The radio broadcast concluded with Superman's iconic slogan and the announcer's final copyright notice.
"Is it over?"
In front of the radio, Little John listened to the announcer's final sign-off, an expression of wanting more on his face.
"So, such an amazing story happened before Superman came to Earth."
As a worker at the Newspaper Office and one of the earliest readers of *Superman*, Little John thought he knew Superman's story inside and out. But upon hearing the thrilling scene of Krypton's explosion in the radio drama, he still couldn't help but gasp in amazement.
He had heard about Krypton's background from Colin and seen the planet's explosion in the *Superman* quarterly, but the immersive feeling created by the radio drama made Little John almost forget he was in the Messenger Newspaper office. He felt as if he were right there at the scene of Krypton's explosion, following the story's development until he, along with the infant Superman, finally escaped Krypton.
"That was incredible! That was simply the most amazing radio drama I've ever heard!"
After a long moment, Little John, snapping back from *The Adventures of Superman* radio drama, had an excited expression flash across his usually stoic face. He spoke in a nearly incoherent tone.
"I swear, sir, even listeners who haven't read the *Superman* comic will fall in love with Superman after hearing this radio drama!"
The Mercury Theatre had been extremely meticulous with the voice acting for *The Adventures of Superman*. Their grasp of every detail was exceptionally precise, making the broadcast quality of the entire Superman radio drama unbelievably excellent.
Even Colin, the original author, couldn't help but sigh in admiration inwardly after listening to the voice-acted radio drama.
If even Colin, the creator, was captivated by the plot of *The Adventures of Superman*, one could only imagine the audience listening in front of their radios.
CBS had done promotional work before broadcasting *The Adventures of Superman*, and with the popularity of the animated film *Superman and Mickey* still soaring, the first episode of the radio drama generated a massive response right from its debut.
Besides the listeners who already knew about *The Adventures of Superman* radio drama and were eagerly waiting by their radios.
Some listeners who were previously unaware and had just chanced upon it were also captivated by the story's thrilling plot twists.
Later that day, the CBS radio station in New York was flooded with letters from listeners, all demanding that the first episode of *The Adventures of Superman*, "Baby from Krypton," be rebroadcast so that those who missed the beginning could listen to the full episode.
The enthusiastic response to *The Adventures of Superman* somewhat exceeded CBS's expectations.
Although CBS had anticipated that the Superman radio drama would be popular, they hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.
With just the first episode, the radio drama's audience rating shot to the number one spot among all radio programs of the day.
(end of chapter)