Seeds of Ruin
Page 3
On course to its sector the U-35 ploughed with top speed along the fairly calm surface of the tropical warm ocean. The platform on the upper deck, which was protected against breakers, had room for several men. A telephone line kept them in direct contact with the engine room. If necessary the U-35 could submerge within 30 seconds.
However there seemed to be no reason for doing so. Captain Alf Torsin scanned the horizon with his powerful binoculars but failed to see the mainland or any islands. Their theater of operations lay several nautical miles ahead. It stretched north and west as far as the mainland and the southern line was far out in the open ocean.
So far the ocean appeared to be no different from a terrestrial ocean, if one disregarded the absence of steamers or strato-clippers flying high in the sky. However nobody knew as yet what lurked in its depths.
Continuous echo-soundings determined the average depth of the ocean to be about two kilometers with minor changes of the ground level. However this fact proved nothing. If a fortress existed down there it could have been built below the level of the bottom.
Torsin turned to his Navigation Officer. "Well, Brischkowski, what is your opinion?"
The young lieutenant was undecided. "It is difficult to make a guess from up here. Perhaps after we dive..."
"We will reach our perimeter in 10 minutes. Then you can watch the detection instruments. Any metallic object will be registered far away. I'd sell my soul to the devil to find these priests."
Rengall, who had been gazing at the rolling waves, said with amusement, "Some choice, Captain! It would be fair to say that there is not much difference between the devil's demons and these priests. The Baalol cult has nothing to do with religion. If I had anything to say about it, none of the Antis would escape with their lives."
"First we have to find them," Torsin said, casting a damper. He consulted his chart. "Here we are. Let's go down!"
As they passed down through the hatch the boat began to dive. The tanks were filled with water and pulled the vessel into the unknown depths. The hatch shut with a clunk. They were cut off from the outside world and as isolated as in a small spaceship. The U-35 was nearly 50 meters long, it was streamlined and displaced 2000 tons of water. The atomic reactor was located in the stern and shielded from the rest of the vessel by a thick sheet of lead. The 30 men of the crew were quartered in cabins with plenty of room to spare.
The observation screens in the control compartment lit up. They were mounted so they pictured everything within 180° in the forward direction.
The boat held steady as it descended slowly. Torsin shut the tanks off again. The water became gradually darker and finally totally black. There was no sign of fish or other living creatures.
When the searchlights were turned on they were momentarily blinded by the glare. When they opened their eyes again, the water had become translucent but nobody was able to estimate the distance because there were no reference points. Did they see as far as 10 meters? Or 100?
When the depth gauge registered 200 meters the submarine received a slight jolt as if it had touched ground. However this was impossible since the Fathometer concurrently indicated that the ground level was almost 2,000 meters deep.
"What was that?" Rengall asked with a pale face. Although he felt no real fear, the water seemed more dangerous to him than the vacuum of outer space. "Did we hit bottom already?"
"The Fathometer is correct," Torsin replied, studying the dials. The observation screen showed nothing. Lt. Thomas J. Wagner quickly switched over to another viewfinder which broadened the angle of observation downward so that they were able to see what was below the boat.
They saw nothing but water that shimmered in a green hue and seemed to be bottomless. The boat kept sinking slowly.
"Maybe it was an animal," Wagner surmised in a hoarse voice. "Some kind of a whale."
"If there are no small fish it is not very likely that there are any big ones. It's quite impossible."
At a depth of 1,000 meters they were proven to be wrong although it was not a whale they encountered. The goggle-eyed monster that slowly floated into their view bore no resemblance to anything on the land or in the water of Terra. It was the embodiment of a nightmare suffered by a psychotic brain. As far as its size was concerned it was enormous—more than a match for the submarine. The only thing they could actually see clearly enough was the horrendous eye. It had a diameter of two meters and stared at the strange intruder.
"Horrible!" Rengall exclaimed stupefied, holding himself on the rungs of the deck's ladder. "There are animals down here after all..."
"It could be an animal," Commander Torsin admitted sceptically, letting the U-35 sink deeper. The nightmare went upward and was soon out of sight. "We don't know whether we collided with such a giant after diving 200 meters but it is very probable. They are apparently harmless or they would have attacked us. But that eye..."
"That eye looked terribly weird, sir," Lt. Wagner interjected.
Torsin studied him tensely. "What was so weird about it?"
"It was uncanny how that 2-meter big eye stared at us so inquisitively. All I could see of the beast was the eye. I had the feeling that it was holding me and was unwilling to let me go."
"Like a hypnotic orb," Torsin murmured. "Somehow it gave the impression of being intelligent and understanding, as if it pardoned our intrusion in its silent world. I wonder how it can stand the enormous water pressure."
Rengall had recovered from his shock. He looked at the depth gauge, which now registered 1,400 meters below the surface. Meanwhile Torsin had switched on the detector instrument, which emitted rays in all directions. But none of the search beams were reflected. They would be returned only if they struck some metal, which did not have to be larger than a saucer and could be as far as 50 kilometers away.
The engine was started up again and the submarine moved in the direction of the western continent while it continued its approach to the bottom of the sea.
When they collided with the monster they had been able to determine that their searchlights reached as far as 200 meters. This was enough to change their course in case an obstacle suddenly loomed in their path. The danger of a collision was minimal since the submarine also used its radar in the horizontal direction.
2,000 meters. Now they could see the bottom of the ocean. It was mostly flat with a few shallow dips. Its yellowish color seemed to indicate that it consisted of clay and mud. The observers scrutinized the ocean floor but failed to observe any vegetation or animals. But once they discovered a skid track which could not have been formed by the elements alone. Could it have been made by the 'Eye Dragon' they had run into earlier?
The track ended abruptly as if the creature that had left it behind suddenly rose from the bottom and swam through the water.
The intercom buzzed and Torsin pushed the button. "What is it, Gibson?"
"Call from the Ironduke, sir. Radio test. Also requests short report."
"Say that our search has not produced any positive result so far." Torsin switched the intercom off.
The ghostly search beams failed to detect any metallic or man-made objects. After awhile the ocean floor began to slope gradually down and when they had traveled 200 miles they had descended 3,000 meters. This was the maximum depth they could dive. Fortunately the ground began to rise again at a distance of 300 miles from the coast. But its appearance never changed until they came within 50 miles of the continent. At first Torsin, Wagner and Rengall noticed that the ground began to rise and fall irregularly. Then came the first cracks. They were to small to be entered by the submarine. It was even difficult to take soundings. The thought that they could meet another and more aggressive sea monster preyed heavily on their unspoken thoughts.
Behind the uneven terrain lay a rocky chain of mountains whose highest peak reached within 500 meters of the water's surface. Torsin had to use all his skill for his manoeuvres and all Rengall could do was to stand by idly and watch the observation scr
een in the absurd hope of suddenly discovering the elusive quarry. Although he had no way of knowing what the hideout of the Antis looked like, he pictured it in the form of a huge metallic dome because such a shape would best withstand the pressure of the water.
The U-35 explored the undersea mountain without success. Then it continued on its course toward the continent and followed the coast at a distance of 10 miles, first north to the cape and then south to the open sea.
To judge from the reports they received from the central radio station none of the other boats had found anything either. Of course it could have been only the most incredible luck if they had found the undersea fortress so quickly without a clue whatsoever. Maybe they would have to keep up the search for weeks before it met with success. If it did so at all.
At the southernmost point of its area of operations the U-35 turned around and steered north again. Although it seemed unpromising, Torsin went close to the shore and hugged the rocky coast underwater within a few meters. Sometimes the coast was so steep that they had to dive down alongside a wall 500 meters deep in order to stay near the land.
Rengall watched the dangerous manoeuvre with skeptical eyes. "Is it necessary to get so close to these rocks?" he asked, keeping his eyes glued to the observation screen. The bizarre forms of the submersed precipice were on the left and the infinite expanse of the ocean on the right side. Jutting rocks and crevices passed in quick succession. "You've got your detectors and there is no need to endanger ship and crew."
Capt. Alf Torsin slowly turned around and eyed the security officer. "We have been good friends up to now, Major. Let's keep it that way and stay out of my business. Only I am responsible for this ship and I know exactly what to do. Although you are a major and I am only a captain, this makes no difference on our mission. Besides our search beams are useless if the Antis built their fortress under land with an undersea passage to the entrance. It would be easily accessible to them by submarines. I could imagine that the fortress is on the mainland—or more accurately, under the land."
"I didn't mean to be critical of your actions, I simply asked a question," Rengall replied, irritated. He should have known that he would stir up trouble. There was something like a friendly rivalry going on between the active officers of the Spacefleet and the agents of the Security Service. They liked to use every occasion to put each other down. This was not done in a malicious spirit, however.
Torsin wanted to make another remark but was interrupted by Tom Wagner, who shouted: "There...! A tunnel...!"
Torsin reacted at once. He stopped his propellers and manoeuvred his boat to a dark spot in the steep wall 200 meters below the surface of the water. In the twilight they soon recognized an almost circular opening which turned out to be a cave whose rear wall they were unable to light up with their searchlight.
"That hole is big enough to swallow us with our torpedoes and atomic rockets," Torsin mused, glancing nervously at Rengall. "I don't know if we should risk it. The smallest mistake..."
Rengall remained silent. He offered no advice and did not encourage Torsin. Neither did he keep Torsin from acting on his impulse.
Lt. Wagner merely muttered: "Yes... h'm."
Torsin went closer to the tunnel. The opening was brightly lit by the searchlight and its rim looked natural without a sign of artificial work. However this could be a deliberate deception.
Rengall could read the firm intention in Torsin's face to inspect the inside of the tunnel and he asked quietly: "What about using the Reissman diving suits? Don't you have some on board?"
Torsin nodded in surprise. "Yes, that's right. I almost forgot about them. Before we imperil the whole ship I would rather send out two men. I really don't believe that it will be dangerous. Those diving suits are tough enough so that they won't be torn by hitting a rock."
Rengall drew himself up. "If you give me another good man, I'm willing to..."
"That's out of the question," Torsin declared firmly. "I'm responsible for you and if something happened to you..."
"Diving is my hobby," the major assured him. "A Reissmann suit permits descending to a depth of 350 meters. Here we are only 200 meters deep. I'll take a raygun with me."
"We have only four shockproof hand rayguns in our arsenal," Torsin said, half persuaded. All others would endanger your life because of the conductivity of the water. Well... all right! You've talked me into it. But it will be your own responsibility."
"Of course. Captain. I don't think anything can happen to us. Just wait for us here until we return. The tunnel may not be very long. Perhaps it bends around and that's the end of it."
Only one other man, engineering science and systems expert Robert A. Gibson, had some diving experience and thus was chosen to accompany Rengall. The task did not appeal very much to the redheaded computer fanatic but duty called. Ten minutes later the two men left the boat through the pressure chamber and swam away after testing their radio equipment.
The Reissman diving suits were almost ideal. The nuisance of oxygen tanks had been eliminated since a convenient chemical device produced enough air to breathe for 20 hours. This gadget was so small that it took up less space than the radio transceiver which was a miniature set. Each of them carried a raygun in his pocket where it could be easily reached.
The U-35 kept hovering at the same spot and illuminated the tunnel with its searchlight. Rengall flipped over, unencumbered by gravity, and waived gaily to Torsin although he was unable to see him. "I'm enjoying this," he said into the microphone which was built to his helmet. "I feel much safer out in the water than in the narrow confines of the boat."
"But," Torsin taunted him, "only as long as I keep shining my lights. You will be surprised how little fun you have when it gets dark around you. Well, don't waste my time. Haller is already at the entrance."
Rengall sputtered something about the unseemly haste of insensitive dullards and swam to catch up with Haller without taking time to peer at the bottom of the ocean.
Gibson, straining his blue eyes, waited at the entrance to the cave and pointed to the dark gap. "I can't see a thing in there, Major. But it really seems to be some sort of a cave. Maybe we found the Antis, sir."
"Maybe," Rengall replied sceptically as he joined Gibson.
The light of the submarine's searchlight reached about 50 meters inside the cave, which indicated that its size was huge. The end could not yet be seen.
"I guess we'll go for a swim," Rengall suggested. Gibson nodded. He had already anticipated it. They pushed off and entered the tunnel, which was gradually getting narrower. The U-35 would not have gotten very far and Rengall was eager to let his friend Torsin know it. When it got too dark they turned on their own lamps, which were mounted on their helmets. The light reached only 10 meters but it was sufficient.
The cave became an almost round tunnel, measuring 10 meters in diameter and leading horizontally into the rocky continent, making them wonder if it had been excavated although they failed to notice any trace of labor.
The exit behind them looked like a large bright spot and it disappeared when they rounded a corner. Now Rengall knew that they were really alone.
They floated in a shadow zone which had no semblance to the world on the surface. The cone of their light flitted across the irregular walls with its small crevices and sharp edges. There were no fish and no plants.
They continued swimming for almost 20 minutes and had traveled several hundred meters when the passage widened. The ceiling, walls and floor receded to such an extent that the shine of their lamps failed to reach them. It was impossible to determine whether they were again in the open ocean or inside an enormous cave although the latter seemed more likely. Torsin's chart had not shown that a fjord or a lake stretched behind the coastal formation and they had to assume that it was a subterranean lake, a cave filled with water and connected with the ocean.
"How are we going to find the continuation of the tunnel if there is one?" Gibson said dejectedly.
"Any luck?" both men heard Torsin's voice. "Where are you now?"
"In a cave full of water. We don't know how big it is."
"You seem to be on the wrong track." The voice of the captain sounded disappointed. "I want you to come back."
But Rengall was caught by the fever of adventure. "Why, Captain? Perhaps we can find the continuation
"I told you to come back, Major. We can't waste so much of our limited time. Is that clear?"
Rengall glanced at Gibson, who was floating next to him. His red-topped face was clearly visible in the helmet. He made a questioning gesture with his hand as if he didn't want his superior to know anything about his doubts.
"Alright, we are turning back," Rengall finally answered. It was senseless to argue with Torsin since he was in command.
Half an hour later they reported to Torsin and came just in time to hear the radio message which the Ironduke broadcast to all U-boats. It was short and urgent: "Calling all submarines on Okul. Surface immediately and signal your positions. Waft for further orders. Search to be suspended in the meantime. Rhodan."
Capt. Torsin looked at Maj. Rengall in astonishment. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked, completely baffled. "Did somebody discover the Antis?"
Rengall slowly shook his head. "I would hardly think so, Captain. Something unforeseen must have happened. We'll soon find out about it, I suppose."
They surfaced and marked time in the irregular swells near the coast, which rose like a wall of rock from the ocean. The sun stood low in the west and night was fast approaching.
3/ COUNTDOWN TO CONFLAGRATION
It was three days after the spaceship Antilles had brought the mud borers to Earth. Dr. Koatu was in Prof. Wild's office.
"Read this, Dr. Koatu!" the professor said to him, handing him a report from the University Clinic of Heidelberg.
At Heidelberg they had developed a new analytical method and the laboratory was able to prove that the secretion of the gland was neither a poison nor habit-forming but an excellent medium of rejuvenation. The laboratory raised the question for the first time whether Liquitiv might contain also an additional drug which had so far escaped detection.