by Perry Rhodan
"Because his murderers thought this unwise. Besides, it would have interfered with their plans if the Regent of the Empire found out that Zalit intends to assume rule over the Realm of the Arkonides."
"Murderers?" That was all. Even a robot brain could be amazed.
"Zarlt Elton was murdered. The new Zarlt is Demesor, a former officer of the spacefleet. He has planned the annihilation of the robot brain of Arkon."
"That is absurd!" came the unruffled voice over the loudspeaker. "Nobody can destroy me."
"Oh yes they can!" Rhodan contradicted coldly. "It's possible! Though Demesor cannot do it. That's why he asked for my help. Does it make sense now why Demesor didn't inform you of the Titan's whereabouts?"
"Considering these aspects it would be logical and therefore understandable. My question is, on the other hand: do you speak the truth? Who can give me a satisfactory answer to that?"
"Perhaps Admiral Zernif," said Rhodan, pointing to the man from Zalit. "He served the Empire under Zarlt Elton but fell into disgrace when Demesor came to power. It was only by chance that his life was spared. He together with other Zalites who are faithful subjects of the Empire have founded a resistance movement with the goal of restoring order on Zalit–an order devoted to the interests of the Empire."
Another pause of 10 seconds followed. Then the robot Brain's impersonal voice came over the loudspeaker: "I have checked out all information about Admiral Zernif. His personal integrity is above all suspicion. The same was the case with Demesor."
"Why was in the case of Demesor?"
"Because I have just determined that Demesor was sent to the space academy instead of his far more qualified brother. That was 30 Zalit-years ago. In all probability he was threatening his brother at the time. Besides, according to the data checked out by me, his brother fell victim to some unexplained accident some time later. It is well known that he was a loyal adherent to the Empire."
Rhodan sighed with relief. The robot brain was working fast and with icy efficiency.
"And what are your conclusions, Regent?"
"That you are speaking the truth. What does Zernif have to say to all this?"
Zernif stepped forward and stared at the glittering metal dome. "I want to confirm Rhodan's statements. I also would like to emphasize that our Empire is in danger. Demesor has organized a military dictatorship on Zalit and has imposed total censorship on all kinds of news. But my underground movement will do away with Demesor and install the legitimate successor of the former, rightful Zarlt."
"Thank you," said the Brain, "I believe you since there is no other alternative left. And what is your involvement in this affair, Rhodan?"
"Demesor requested my help but I have kept stalling all the time. He protected me and the Titan because he thought he had found an ally against you. Demesor wanted to find out from me how I managed to break through the protective barrier around Arkon."
"This is something I'd also like to learn from you," replied the robot brain.
Rhodan smiled. "You'll find out about it later on, Regent. All I can tell you now is that it was done with the aid of a weapon which is not known on Arkon. The weapon comes from the Planet of Eternal Life."
"This Planet is nothing but a vague theory."
"No, Regent, it's a fact!" retorted Rhodan. "I was there myself and obtained relative immortality which however was denied Thora and Khrest. But let's return to what we were discussing before, Regent: Demesor is a traitor and must be rendered harmless. However he is not the sole guilty party. Do you know who the Mooffs are?"
"Yes, relatively primitive and definitely harmless creatures living on a methane world within the Empire. They are telepaths and weak suggestors. What is their role in events on Zalit?"
"There are many thousands of Mooffs on Zalit and they have assumed power over the minds of the Zalites. Although the treacherous Zarlt does not realize it, the Mooffs are his best allies in his desire to conquer the Empire."
"That is absurd! It would never occur to the Mooffs to dabble in politics. They are harmless creatures totally devoid of any ambitions. As I have already pointed out they are telepaths and suggestors but they..."
"Nobody pretends that these plans have originated with the Mooffs; they are nothing but pawns in this galactic game of chess. Some mightier mind is behind all this. He uses the Mooffs to gain influence over the Zalites with whose help he then wants to conquer the Empire."
"And who is this unknown entity?"
"This is something, Regent, that I don't know," Rhodan hesitated. "Nobody is sure whether he really exists. But what you just were saying about the Mooffs seems to make it more plausible that he actually does exist. My men are fighting against the Mooffs for, several weeks now—and they are doing this to preserve the Empire, Regent!"
"What is your motivation to help the Empire survive?"
Now Thora who had listened quietly all along pressed forward. "The Terrans are our allies, Regent. We helped them when they were attacked by the Mind Snatchers and the Springers. Why then shouldn't they come now to our assistance when we need it?"
Rhodan was secretly amazed at Thora's voluntary intervention on behalf of the human race. He could not have wished for a better spokesman.
"The Springers?" There was another slight pause by the robot brain. "Their intentions are not the best toward the Arkonide Empire. It's quite possible theoretically that they are behind the Mooffs and the plans of the Zarlt."
Rhodan felt as if suddenly a veil had been removed from his eyes. The Springers! The galactic traders! It would be in line with their character to send others ahead and let them pull the chestnuts out of the fire. But on the other hand the Springers lacked the feeling of solidarity which was paramount for the success of such an enterprise.
"Maybe—it could be the Springers," said Rhodan with reservation in his voice. "Some day we'll find out if that is really the case." Rhodan paused for a second, then continued: "Now that I have informed you where the Titan can be found I'd like to suggest a fair proposition to you."
"Yes, I'm listening."
Rhodan took a deep breath. Then he said: "You'll leave the Titan in my hands and call off the pursuit. In exchange I'll vouch to restore order on Zalit and to see to it that the legitimate Zarlt will be installed in his office."
"Give me a little time," requested the robot brain.
The image remained constant on the videoscreen. There was a steady, uniform humming to be heard from the loudspeaker. Three light-years away the positronic memory banks began to function. New data were transferred, stored anew and the results weighed against each other.
The robot brain made its decision.
The result came 15 seconds after it had requested a brief delay.
"I accept your proposition, Perry Rhodan. The Titan will remain in your possession as a loan as long as you will be working for the Empire. The pursuit will be called off immediately. Still, I'll keep an eye on you. But the moment Demesor is punished and the unknown entity behind the Mooffs exposed, the Titan will belong to you forever. Will you accept?"
"I accept, Regent. Will Thora and Khrest be permitted to return to Arkon?"
"No, I don't want to!" called out Thora. Rhodan looked at her in disbelief. But before he could say anything the robot brain spoke up: "Thora and Khrest may return to Arkon at any time. However, I desire that they remain on the Titan —in a leading position."
"Agreed," Rhodan confirmed.
"There is something else I want to ask you," said the robot brain.
"Go ahead!" Rhodan waited for the question to come. He had no idea what the Brain might want to know from him. Therefore it was no wonder that he was utterly taken by surprise when the Brain inquired: "Are you a descendant of the Arkonides?"
For a moment Rhodan was dumbfounded. He had expected anything but that question. After all, the Brain ought to be in a much better position to answer that than he could at this stage.
"It is not known whether the Terrans descend
from the Arkonides," he replied. "By rights this fact ought to be recorded in the central files on Arkon."
"I do not know what kind of a world Terra is and where it is located."
And you're not going to find out so soon, Rhodan thought as he suddenly realized what was behind the Regent's line of questioning: the Brain wanted to learn Earth's position...!
"Terra is not part of the Empire, Regent. I don't know how far your colonizing expeditions once were advancing but it's quite possible one of these ships was driven off course and landed on our world. One of these days we'll be able to give a satisfactory answer to this question."
"They obviously are descendants of the same line as the Arkonides. A parallel evolution is most improbable. It would be too great a coincidence if two identical intelligent life forms would develop independent of each other. Well, enough of that."
Rhodan contemplated the glistening hemisphere for a few moments. "In any case, Regent, you seem to know more than you care to admit."
"What do you mean by that?"
Rhodan smiled and gave Thora a reassuring glance. "You calculated our distance from Arkon to be 2.75 light-years according to our way of telling time. How do you happen to know how long one year lasts on my home world?"
The robot brain's answer came without an instant's hesitation: "I intercepted your radio messages which sufficed to calculate your units of measurement. Still, this did not enable me to ascertain the position of your home planet. Some day you'll tell me where it is."
"It's possible," Rhodan admitted. "A final question: if necessary, can I get in touch with you at any time?"
"Yes, at any time, on the same frequency. Thank you, Perry Rhodan." The screen was suddenly dark again.
Rhodan sank into a nearby chair. Deep furrows lined his forehead. "The Regent of the Arkonide Empire—thanks me." he murmured, his voice filled with doubt. "Can that be true, Khrest? Thora? Can we trust the Brain? Is the Regent on the level with us or is this just some devilish trick?"
Thora stepped closer to Rhodan and put her hand on his shoulder. "I don't think so, Perry. A positronic brain does not engage in lies and underhanded practices. It is fully aware of its own strengths which would be only lessened if it resorted to lies and underhanded practices. The Brain has sincerely recognized you as its ally, in my opinion. Thus we have accomplished the first step that will lead to our reconquering the Empire."
Rhodan looked squarely into the Arkonide woman's eyes. "But not against the Brain's wishes! If some day in the future the Brain will be convinced that either mankind or the Arkonides will once more be capable of resuming the rulership, it will not fight against such insight. On the contrary, it will help us."
"Let's hope that the future will justify your present optimism, Perry," Khrest remarked calmly. "What is our next move? Back to Zalit?"
"Yes, of course. They are waiting for us. We'll return immediately."
"I'm looking forward to a solemn reception by the Zarlt," squealed Pucky in his corner where he had been intently following the whole conversation with the Brain.
"He'll hardly find the time for that," replied Rhodan as he exchanged a quick glance with Tiff who was readying the co-ordinates for the return jump. "After all, don't forget there's an underground resistance movement on Zalit." Rhodan consulted his wristwatch. "In exactly five hours all hell will break loose on the fourth planet of the Voga System. The Zarlt will have his hands full trying to deploy his entire fighting forces in order to catch the men who'll be blasting to pieces army and space fleet installations everywhere. This whole uproar will permit us to land unnoticed and without interference at the outer edge of the spaceport."
Pucky cocked his head and gave a knowing wink with his right eye.
"Are we going to help the rebels after we return? How about a little fist fight with the secret police...?"
Rhodan shook his head and said regretfully: "Sorry, Pucky! No fights of any kind! We are the Zarlt's guests. We may even have to help him quell the revolt."
"What?" yapped Pucky, gasping for air. He quickly tried to probe Rhodan's thoughts but encountered a firm defense shield. He was forced to resort to a direct question: "Friends of the Zarlt? It doesn't make sense."
"True. The main thing is that it won't make any sense to the Zarlt either," explained Rhodan. "That's exactly what I want."
Rhodan turned to Tiff. "Are we ready for transition?"
"In two minutes. We'll emerge from hyperspace four light-hours from Zalit. Traveling top speed we'll manage to arrive on Zalit. right on the dot when we're expected back."
Rhodan nodded his head in a silent answer. He had difficulty in not breaking out laughing as he watched the little mouse-beaver's face do a slow burn.
Mouse-beavers look very funny when they feel outraged...
3/ THE PLOT TO TRAP PERRY
André Noir straightened up, totally exhausted. He wiped the beads of perspiration from his forehead. He looked into John Marshall's questioning eyes.
"Well?"
"A very intensive hypno-block. Applied by the Mooffs, most likely. Perhaps also done through purely technical means. I've no idea how far advanced the Zalites are in this respect. Anyhow, I can neutralize this block. Rogal will again be his normal self in about 10 minutes."
"Excellent," Marshall rejoiced. "Now I can carry out Perry Rhodan's commission and mobilize the rebels. They are supposed to cause a lot of trouble for the Zarlt at a certain hour."
Marshall left the sickbay presided over by Dr. Haggard and left the patient in the care of the hypno André Noir.
Upon Marshall's return two hours later he found Rogal already sitting in the mess hall. He had completely recovered and greeted him with a bright cheerful look. He gave the impression that a tremendous load had been removed from his mind.
"You are Marshall, the telepath—oh, yes, I recognize you. I was told that we are here on Perry Rhodan's ship. What happened to my friends? Have they been...?"
"No, Rogal, everything is just fine. The Zarlt's 12 soldiers that accompanied you were killed as they reached the end of the secret passage. Now I would like to hear your story. What happened?"
Rogal's face grew sombre. "I failed in my mission," he blamed himself. "I made my way easily to the sleeping chamber of the Zarlt. I saw him lying in his bed. I shot him and everything seemed to go according to plan. Suddenly the Zarlt's bodyguards appeared and arrested me. Ten minutes later I was brought before the Zarlt—very much alive although I had just witnessed his death."
Marshall directed a questioning glance at Noir but the hypno smiled back in resignation accompanied by a declining little wave of his hand.
Rogal shook his head from side to side. "No, Marshall, I am not crazy, although I thought then I'd lost my mind. A short while earlier I had personally killed the Zarlt and now he was miraculously risen from the dead. I had seen his face dissolve and now it was completely restored without any scars. That's when the truth dawned on me: the Zarlt had a double—a robot created in his image. This robot was what I saw resting in the old Zarlt's bedroom. His men must have guessed there was some secret passage and so didn't want to incur any risks. When I killed the robot an alarm was activated—and I was caught in the trap. Everything went so fast that no time was left for me to take my own life, as should have been my duty."
"We're very glad you didn't commit suicide," said Marshall with a reassuring smile to the Zalite. "Your sacrifice would have been in vain. You didn't betray any secrets—and even if you had, your friends would have been prepared for it. Anyhow, now we know that the Zarlt has been alerted. Also, that he has or rather had a robot as his doppelganger. Your mission was a success just for this revelation alone. You can be sure, the dictator's days are numbered. We're only waiting for him to openly confront us in a hostile manner. That's when we can go into action."
"And when will that be?"
"Tomorrow at the latest. Right now Rhodan is somewhere in deep space between here and Arkon in order to negotiate with th
e robot brain. Let's hope he'll bring back good news."
Rogal broke into a wide grin. A load must have lifted off his mind. "Can I join my friends again?"
"Of course. We'll bring you back to them. Another question: what did the Zarlt do with you after you had been apprehended?"
"I was taken to a cellar for an interrogation. But the Zarlt suddenly changed his mind. He had me transferred to a room that housed 12 Mooffs in their containers. I can't recall anything that happened afterwards. I don't know what took place in there."
"Hmm, the Mooffs. Tell me, Rogal, do you have an idea who or what these Mooffs actually are?"
Rogal nodded his head in affirmation. "Every kid on Zalit knows that! They are used by the ruling class as living lie detectors because they can read minds. Nobody dares think freely any more; the Mooff spies are listening in to all our thoughts. These monsters are a great threat to individual freedom."
"Have you realized that?" Marshall wondered out loud. Now he knew that the Mooffs' suggestive powers had remained unrecognized. The Zalites had no idea that the Mooffs were the actual initiators of the planned rebellion against the Empire. "Then the first step to freedom should not be difficult for you: the Mooffs must be destroyed!"
"You've already started this task," remarked Rogal. "Your mutants killed almost all the Mooffs we had on Zalit. But they're being replaced by new shipments every day now."
"Kill the Mooffs!" urged Marshall. "They mean ruin for Zalit. Maybe they are not the guilty ones but we cannot determine that. The Mooffs themselves seem to be victims of some coercion. They will not reveal anything, not even if threatened by death. Destroy the pressurized containers and the Mooffs will die. And now, Rogal, we'll return you to your friends. Ras Tschubai, our friend here, will take care of that. He knows where your headquarters are located at present. Goodbye Rogal."
The teleporter Tschubai tapped Rogal on the shoulder and proceeded to explain briefly how the transport would take place.
With a friendly farewell wave Marshall left the mess hall and was on his way to see Reginald Bell in the command center.