The Golden Apples of the Sun
The Golden Apples of the Sun is a radio show which features eight stories from Ray Bradbury's collection. The title is shared with a book of the same name, which featured the same stories plus many more.
The series is similar to Bradbury 13 and Ray Bradbury's Tales of the Bizarre.
The Golden Apples of the Sun
A rocket takes off on a mission to the Sun. The captain points them in a direction he considers "south", despite his crews protestations that their is no south in space, and enters an orbit that allows them to so close as to touch the surface via their refrigerated ship internals which leaves it feeling like a bleak winter. One of the crew dies when his suit suffers a malfunction, while an issue with a pump begins to cause their freezing conditions to combat the heat, fail. Managing to fix the issue with the auxiliary pump, the captain remarks that their mission is to capture a part of the Sun, is reminiscent to the way to early humans did with capturing fire for their own use. Beginning the process of capturing the Sun, the crew has a nervous wait as they hope that they succeed. Completing their mission, they begin the journey which will return them home, or as their captain puts it, "north".
Hail and Farewell
Willie begins to pack his suitcase in preparation for his trip away from Foxhill, Illinois. The twelve year old has a birth certificate which indicates he was born forty-three years ago, and his leaving renders his adoptive parents sad, though Willie insists he has to leave after being there three years already. Uncertain of his destination, he intends to return in twenty years when he believes his face will begin to age, and plans to visit all the parents he has had in the past. During his journey, Willie contemplates his lack of stature which has caused the issues with people being uncertain of his age, with suggestions it was a lack of vitamins or late growth spurt. However, when neighbours begin to talk, he sets about moving on as it proves difficult to settle in the long term. Despite this, Willie has settled on the situation being a living for himself - making other people happy.
The Flying Machine
In the 1400's, a Chinese emperor learns from his servant that a man is flying. Eventually the emperor heads out to see the phenomenon, and immediately becomes concerned that the Great Wall of China will be proved useless. He orders the man down, while also observing a nearby farmer who has seen the man flying. When the man finally descends, the emperor questions who knows about his invention, before taking him back to the palace and orders him executed for fear of his invention being adopted by another man with evil intent. He also orders the man to be burned and buried along with his kite, and also orders his servant not to talk for fear of death, as he suggests that he has to consider the welfare of the country's citizens.
The Fruit at the Bottom of the Bowl
Mr. Acton is standing over the body of Mr. Huxley, after he has murdered him. He hears a voice in his mind which begins to question what he has touched in the room as the fingerprint evidence will almost certainly be found in the police investigation. He begins to have flashbacks of his encounters with Huxley and their arguments over Actons' wife who has left him for Huxley, and is taking a trip with him to Mexico the following day. His flashbacks lead him to believe there are more and more fingerprints of his all over the victims house, and in a frenzy begins trying to remove the potential evidence over the course of several hours. However, this distracts him from his main objective which is to get away from the scene of the crime. As such, he is eventually caught red-handed at the scene of the crime after cleaning the entire house, when he is found re-polishing the glass fruit at the bottom of a bowl.
A Sound of Thunder
It is 2055, and Time Safari Inc is offering hunting trips back in time to wealthy adventurers. Eckels, a hunter, joins a group going back to the Late Cretaceous period to hunt a T-rex. As the group awaits departure, they discuss the presidential elections in which a fascist has been defeated by a moderate. Arriving in the past, tour guide Travis warns them that any changes in the past may have consequences for the future, and that they should not leave the levitating path. Out on the path, the group soon finds the designated T-rex, but Eckels hesitates to shoot it despite his earlier swagger. Travis attempts to get Eckels to return to the craft as he begins to panic, but he runs off the path and into the forest. Eckels returns once the dinosaur is shot and killed. Arriving home, the group soon find minute changes such as a sign which has strange spelling. The group also find the fascist president won the election the previous day. Spotting a dead butterfly on Eckel’s boot, Travis raises his gun and a gunshot is fired toward Eckels.
The Murderer
In the future, everyone is listening to music all the time are communicating all the time via phone or intercom. A psychologist has an interview with Albert Brock, a man who calls himself "The Murderer". Entering the room, he finds it is silent with Albert having kicked in the speaker to disable it. He also sets about destroying the psychologist's wrist radio, before beginning to describe his destruction of devices which make noise. He goes on to describe a world of advertisements, communication and propaganda leading him to destroy anything that could disrupt the peace and quiet he now seeks. His only regret is destroying an Insinkerator, when mangling another piece of equipment, as he considered the appliance did the job required without demanding attention. The psychologist somewhat understands Albert's position, before heading back out into his world of constant music and communication.
The April Witch
Cecy is a benevolent and innocent seventeen year old girl born into a magical family. She has her own powers such as being able to assimilate into other living plants and animals. However, despite her powers she tells her parents that she wants to fall in love. Her parents however warn that she will lose her magical powers by mixing with ordinary people. Deciding against following the warning, she decides to love through someone else and merges herself with a young woman she has just met named Ann. Ann is controlled by Cecy and forced to attend a dance with twenty-two year old Tom who has been interested in her for some time. However, Ann does not reciprocate which leads to inconsistent behaviour during the dance as Ann and Cecy control her thoughts. At the end of the dance, Tom reveals his feelings for Ann but announces that he is leaving the town for a distant job. Cecy herself falls for Tom, and tries to arrange a meeting with Tom via Ann.
The Fog Horn
Johnny, and his boss McDunn, are working in a lighthouse in late November, and due to the bad weather, the fog horn is also sounding. McBunn admits to the recent employee that the sounding horn attracts a sea monster who visits the lighthouse in November each year, and has done for the last three years running, though it is the first time anyone has been with McBunn when it has happened. McBunn puts its visits down to the monster seeking love, with the fog horn sounding like the wailings of the monster itself. However, despite the monsters wails, it receives no response from the lighthouse leaving the monster puzzled, and as McBunn believes, angry. The monster comes closer to the lighthouse, which leads McBunn to turn off the fog horn, resulting in an irate monster destroying the building before retreating to the sea. Johnny and McBunn survive the ordeal, and the lighthouse is rebuilt in concrete. When Johnny finds a new job, he returns sometime later to enquire about the monster, though McBunn says its has never returned, and probably won't until humans are gone from the Earth.