The War Of The Worlds
The Eve of The War
Journalist : No one would have believed, in the last years
of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being
watched from the timeless worlds of space.
No one could have dreamed we were being scrutinized, as someone with a
microscope studies creatures that swarm and multiply in a drop of water. Few men
even considered the possibility of life on other planets and yet, across the gulf of
space, minds immeasurably superior to ours regarded this Earth with envious eyes,
and slowly and surely, they drew their plans against us.
At midnight, on the twelfth of August, a huge mass of luminous gas erupted from
Mars and sped towards Earth. Across two hundred million miles of void, invisibly
hurtling towards us, came the first of the missiles that were to bring so much calamity
to Earth. As I watched, there was another jet of gas. It was another missile, starting on
its way.
And that's how it was for the next ten nights. A flare, spurting out from Mars - bright
green, drawing a green mist behind it - a beautiful, but somehow disturbing sight.
Ogilvy, the astronomer, assured me we were in no danger. He was convinced there
could be no living thing, on that remote, forbidding planet.
'The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one,' he said.
'The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one - but still they come!'
Journalist : Then came the night the first missile approached Earth. It was thought
to be an ordinary falling star, but next day there was a huge crater in the middle of the
Common, and Ogilvy came to examine what lay there: a cylinder, thirty yards across,
glowing hot... and with faint sounds of movement coming from within.
Suddenly the top began moving, rotating, unscrewing, and Ogilvy feared there was a
man inside, trying to escape. He rushed to the cylinder, but the intense heat stopped
him before he could burn himself on the metal.
'The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one,' he said.
'The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one - but still they come!'
'Yes, the chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one,' he said.
'The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one - but still they come!'
It seems totally incredible to me now, that everyone spent that evening as though it
were just like any other. From the railway station came the sound of shunting trains,
ringing and rumbling, softened almost into melody by the distance.
It all seemed so safe and tranquil.
Horsell Common and the Heat Ray
Journalist: Next morning, a crowd gathered on the Common, hypnotized by the unscrewing
of the cylinder. Two feet of shining screw projected when, suddenly, the lid fell off!
Two luminous disc-like eyes appeared above the rim. A huge, rounded bulk, larger than a
bear, rose up slowly, glistening like wet leather. Its lipless mouth quivered and slavered, and
snake-like tentacles writhed as the clumsy body heaved and pulsated.
A few young men crept closer to the pit. A tall funnel rose, then an invisible ray of heat leapt
from man to man and there was a bright glare, as each was instantly turned to fire. Every
tree and bush became a mass of flames at the touch of this savage, unearthly Heat Ray.
People clawed their way off the Common, and I ran too. I felt I was being toyed with, that
when I was on the very verge of safety, this mysterious death would leap after me
and strike me down. At last I reached Maybury Hill and in the dim coolness of my home I
wrote an account for my newspaper before I sank into a restless, haunted sleep.
I awoke to alien sounds of hammering from the pit, and hurried to the railway station to buy
the paper. Around me, the daily routine of life - working, eating, sleeping - was continuing
serenely as it had for countless years.
On Horsell Common, the Martians continued hammering and stirring, sleepless,
indefatigable, at work upon the machines they were making. Now and again a light, like the
beam of a warship's searchlight, swept the Common - and the Heat Ray was ready to follow.
In the afternoon, a company of soldiers came through and deployed along the edge of the
Common, to form a cordon. That evening, there was a violent crash and I realized with
horror that my home was now within range of the Martian's Heat Ray.
At dawn, a falling star with a trail of green mist landed with a flash like summer lightning.
This was the second cylinder.
The Artillery Man and the Fighting Machine
Journalist: The hammering from the pit and the pounding of guns
grew louder. My fear rose at the sound of someone creeping into the house.
Then I saw it was a young artilleryman, weary, streaked with blood and dirt.
Artilleryman : Anyone here?
Journalist : Come in. Here - drink this.
Artilleryman : Thank you.
Journalist: What's happened?
Artilleryman : They wiped us out. Hundreds dead - maybe thousands.
Journalist : The Heat Ray.
Artilleryman : The Martians! They were inside the hoods of the machines they'd
made - massive metal things on legs! Giant machines that walked - they attacked us!
They wiped us out!
Journalist: Machines?
Artilleryman : Fighting Machines! Picking up men and bashing 'em against trees.
Just hunks of metal, but they knew exactly what they were doing.
Journalist : Mmm. There was another cylinder came last night.
Artilleryman : Yes. It looked bound for London.
Journalist: London! Carrie! I hadn't dreamed there could be danger to Carrie and
her father, so many miles away. I must go to London at once.
Artilleryman : And me. Got to report to Headquarters - if there's anything left of it.
Journalist : At Byfleet we came upon an Inn, but it was deserted.
Artilleryman : Is everybody dead?
Journalist : Not everybody. Look! Six cannons with gunners standing by.
Artilleryman : It's bows and arrows against the lightning. They haven't seen the
Heat Ray yet.
Journalist: We hurried along the road to Weybridge. Suddenly, there was a heavy
explosion. The ground heaved, windows shattered and gusts of smoke erupted into the
air.
Artilleryman : Look! There they are! What did I tell you?
Journalist : Quickly, one after the other, four of the Fighting Machines appeared.
Monstrous tripods, higher than the tallest steeple, striding over the pine trees and
smashing them. Walking engines of glittering metal. Each carried a huge funnel and I
realized with horror that I'd seen this awful thing before.
A fifth Machine appeared on the far bank. It raised itself to full height, flourished the
funnel high in the air - and the ghostly, terrible Heat Ray struck the town.
Journalist : As it struck, all five Fighting Machines exulted, emitting deafening
howls which roared like thunder.
Martians : Ulla! Ulla!
Journalist: The six guns we had seen now fired simultaneously, decapitating
a Fighting Machine. The Martian inside the hood was slain, splashed to the four
winds, and the body, nothing now but an intricate device of metal, went whirling
to destruction. As the other Monsters advanced, people ran away blindly, the
Artilleryman among them, but I jumped into the water and hid until forced up to
breathe. Now the guns spoke again, but this time the Heat Ray sent them to oblivion.
Martians : Ulla!
Journalist: With a white flash, the Heat Ray swept across the river. Scalded, halfblinded and agonized, I staggered through leaping, hissing water towards the shore. I
fell helplessly, in full sight of the Martians, expecting nothing but death. The foot of
a Fighting Machine came down close to my head, then lifted again, as the four
Martians carried away the debris of their fallen comrade... and I realized that by a
miracle, I had escaped.
Martians : Ulla! Ulla! Ulla!
Journalist: For three days I fought my way along roads packed with refugees, the homeless,
burdened with boxes and bundles containing their valuables. All that was of value to me was
in London. By the time I reached their little red brick house, Carrie and her father were gone.
The summer sun is fading as the year grows old,
And darker days are drawing near,
The winter winds will be much colder,
Now you're not here
I watch the birds fly south across the autumn sky,
And one by one they disappear,
I wish that I was flying with them,
Now you're not here
Like the sun through the trees you came to love me,
Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away
Through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way,
You always loved this time of year,
Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now,
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
Journalist: Fire suddenly leapt from house to house, the population panicked and ran and I
was swept along with them, aimless and lost without Carrie. Finally I headed eastward for
the ocean, and my only hope of survival: A boat out of England.
Like the sun through the trees you came to love me,
Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away
A gentle rain falls softly on my weary eyes,
As if to hide a lonely tear,
My life will be forever autumn,
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
Journalist: As I hastened through Covent Garden, Blackfriars and Billingsgate, more and
more people joined the painful exodus. Sad, weary women, their children stumbling and
streaked with tears, their men bitter and angry, the rich rubbing shoulder with beggars and
outcasts. Dogs snarled and whined, the horses' bits were covered with foam…... and here
and there were wounded soldiers, as helpless as the rest. We saw tripods wading up the
Thames, cutting through bridges as though they were paper - Waterloo Bridge, Westminster
Bridge…... One appeared above Big Ben.
Martians: Ulla!
Journalist: Never before in the history of the world had such a mass of human beings moved
and suffered together. This was no disciplined march, it was a stampede, without order and
without a goal, six million people, unarmed and unprovisioned, driving headlong. It was the
beginning of the rout of civilization, of the massacre of mankind.
A vast crowd buffeted me toward the already packed steamer. I looked up enviously at
those safely on board - straight into the eyes of my beloved Carrie! At sight of me she began
to fight her way along the packed deck to the gangplank. At that very moment it was raised,
and I caught a last glimpse of her despairing face as the crowd swept me away from her.
Like the sun through the trees you came to love me,
Like a leaf on a breeze you blew away
Through autumn's golden gown we used to kick our way,
You always loved this time of year,
Those fallen leaves lie undisturbed now,
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
'Cause you're not here
Martians: Ulla!
Journalist: The steamer began to move slowly away but on the landward horizon appeared
the silhouette of a fighting machine. Another came, and another, striding over hills and
plunging far out to sea and blocking the exit of the steamer. Between them lay the silent,
grey Ironclad "Thunder Child". Slowly it moved towards shore; then, with a deafening roar
and whoosh of spray, it swung about and drove at full speed towards the waiting Martians.
People: There were ships of shapes and sizes
Scattered out along the bay
And I thought I heard her calling
As the steamer pulled away
The invaders must have seen them
As across the coast they filed
Standing firm between them
There lay Thunder Child!
Moving swiftly through the waters
Cannons blazing as she came
Brought a mighty metal war lord
Crashing down in sheets of flame
Sensing victory was nearing
Thinking fortune must have smiled
People started cheering,
"Come on Thunder Child!"
"Come on Thunder Child!"
Journalist: The Martians released their black smoke, but the ship sped on, cutting down one
of the tripod figures. Instantly, the others raised their Heat Rays, and melted the Thunder
Child's valiant heart.
People: Lashing ropes and smashing timbers
Flashing Heat Rays pierced the deck
Dashing hopes for our deliverance
As we watched the sinking wreck
With the smoke of battle clearing
Over graves in waves defiled
Slowly disappearing
Farewell Thunder Child!
Farewell Thunder Child!
Farewell Thunder Child!
Journalist: When the smoke cleared, the little steamer had reached the misty horizon, and
Carrie was safe. But the Thunder Child had vanished forever, taking with her man's last hope
of victory. The leaden sky was lit by green flashes, cylinder following cylinder, and no one
and nothing was left now to fight them. The Earth belonged to the Martians.
Martians: Ulla!