by Perry Rhodan
For the scientists, however, it was something else. For them the vast positronicon of Arkon 3 represented the non plus ultra. These top specialists in their own fields were awed by the tremendous scientific achievement of the Arkonides who had created this unprecedented marvel and this was why it was doubly hard for them to imagine that the Brain could he in a situation where it was unable to help itself.
The robot entity was prepared to give access to 20 persons into an area that no human had penetrated since its inception. Professor Crane was faring no better than his colleagues. There was a film of sweat on his brow. He kept turning to look at the Ironduke, waiting for the vehicle that was to bring the Chief and Atlan here.
Dr. Vally grasped his shoulder tensely. "Here he comes!" he exclaimed
Guided by a robot, the new vehicle raced toward them and kept on going. It crossed the marker line and stopped abruptly before the entrance to the Brain, beyond which were the only rooms the positronicon would normally permit access to.
An order snapped from speakers in the four waiting vehicles: "Follow!"
About one minute later, Rhodan and Atlan were followed by 17 highly qualified scientists and mutants and one mouse-beaver into the interior of the Brain. They entered a hall-like chamber. No one said a word They all watched Rhodan and the Imperator as they stood in the middle of the hall apparently waiting for a message.
And then it came.
The metallically-ringing voice of the positronicon gave precise instructions, indicating a certain location on the floor where everyone in the hall was to stand and wait. "Further directions will follow. That is all!"
The metallic reverberations were still echoing in the chamber when Rhodan’s voice sounded out sharply: "The instructions of the Coordinator will be obeyed under all circumstances, with one exception: we are allowed to go against such instructions if our lives are endangered. Please follow us!"
After 30 more paces they reached the place in the hall that the Brain had indicated. Suddenly the floor beneath them slipped to one side. They were gripped in a powerful antigrav field which carried them at a notably high speed into the depths.
Rhodan had been taken by surprise. "Atlan, did you know about this shaft?"
"I’m as astonished as you, Perry."
And that was all that was said. They plunged downward in utter darkness. The walls, of the shaft had no sources of illumination.
Abruptly but not painfully their fall was suddenly broken. They felt the ground under their feet again. In that moment the wall lights flared up and all around them it was as bright as day. Before them was a light-flooded tunnel that seemed to lose itself in the distance.
Again they heard the metallic voice: "Enter tunnel in closed single file. Do not pass beyond red warning light. That is all!"
The tunnel was a tube that was at least 30 meters in diameter, completely circular in cross-section except for a flat strip of floor that was about three meters wide. Far ahead they could clearly see the red warning light. Rhodan moved into the tunnel with his men and waited.
Suddenly they were gripped in another antigrav field but this time it operated horizontally. Simultaneously the tunnel lights were extinguished and they were once more plunged into darkness. All they felt was a slight but constant pressure. They had no sense of motion or speed.
Then the illumination was back and they found themselves finally in a dome-like chamber. Wherever they looked they saw passages leading away, but each of the corridors was visibly closed by a shimmering energy screen.
Atlan spoke in a low tone to Rhodan. "There are 28 branching passages here."
Rhodan couldn’t answer because the Brain spoke again: "Enter the passage with the bright blue energy screen. Any attempt to enter another passage will end in death. That is all!"
"Wait!" cried Rhodan. "Coordinator—who are the strangers in A-1?"
"Aliens, Rhodan. No other information possible."
The Administrator and the Imperator could only stare at each other. They understood each other without words. They were both almost 100% sure that they would find Akons at the end of their journey into the center of the Brain.
One of the shimmering energy gates in the 28 tunnel entrances began to shine with a bright blue light, which fit the description the Brain had given them. No one had any intention of trying any other entrance. But when Rhodan and Atlan approached the bluish screen and it failed to disappear they stopped abruptly. Behind them there was not even a sound of breathing from the men: 19 commandoes and a mouse-beaver fixed their eyes on the blue energy screen, not daring to take another step.
The metallic voice broke into the tense silence: "This bluish defense screen is attuned to your physical frequencies and is not dangerous."
"Blast!" exclaimed Rhodan spontaneously.
Atlan muttered, "The builders of this thing certainly didn’t miss any tricks!"
He and Rhodan stepped through the blue-shimmering curtain and stood in—void. They were suspended in empty space which lowed dimly with a diffuse light. Only in the distance could they make out something material, which also floated in this emptiness.
Rhodan looked about him. Above him arched a seemingly endless wall, apparently of metal, which could be part of the interior of a sphere of tremendous dimensions. He stood suspended inside the ball, dangling in nothing but air. Wherever he looked there was emptiness and diffuse light. Only directly ahead was that other something—a spherical form that was at the center of the larger sphere’s interior.
He recalled the words that Atlan had just spoken before: the builders of this thing certainly didn’t miss any tricks!
One could only marvel at the ingenious way in which the ancient Arkonides had build the giant Brain. The present situation was proof of how well they had secured the vital centers of the positronicon against all foreseeable eventualities. Rhodan recalled that Atlan had counted 28 energy gates in the dome-like room behind them. He was fairly certain that within the 10,000 square km area of the vast Brain there were 28 different control centers which were all sealed off like this one and also floating inside giant spheres—held there by incredibly powerful antigrav fields.
Something else he had noticed on his way here: the structure of the Great Coordinator extended much deeper under the surface than either he or Atlan had previously assumed.
As the others came through the screen there was a chorus of surprised exclamations not unmixed with awe or fear but they were drowned out by the monotonous-sounding voice of the Brain. "Make bodily contact! In 20 seconds you will be taken to A-1."
The 19 men and the mouse-beaver had hardly clasped hands before the ball in the distance seemed to hurtle toward them. Within seconds the sphere was so big that the men could only make out a part of its smooth, grey-gleaming surface. Close before them the slightly-curved wall opened like a shutter and gave them access to the interior of the control center.
"A-1!" sounded the robot voice but so softly now that Atlan and Rhodan could barely hear it.
Again there was solid flooring under their feet. They found themselves in a very long room, the walls of which were covered on both sides with a giddying maze of cables, switches and circuits. On either side of them in front of the positronics panels stood two work robots which appeared to have taken no notice of their entrance. They did not move.
"Infra-red control!" exclaimed Dr. Vally. Without waiting for orders he stopped between the two robots who had their optics fixed motionlessly on the flickering red lights. They didn’t make way for him.
Nor was it necessary. Dr. Vally had read the Arkonide inscription under the warning light. It told him very much. On the spot he turned and looked at Rhodan.
"Sir, this is the main control center!"
"I’ve already figured as much," replied Rhodan. He turned and called out: "Sengu!" When the mutant came to him he asked: "Where are the aliens now?"
"In the A-1 circuit section, sir!" replied the teleseer without hesitation. "I saw 8 men. They are
setting up apparatus of some kind but I can’t say what the. equipment is for. I’ve never seen that kind of paraphernalia before."
"Have they posted guards? Robots perhaps?"
"No sir! They seem to feel completely secure. Not one of them even looks up from his work!" Wuriu Sengu sounded as though he were in a trance.
"Do you see ... wait a minute. A-1 circuit section? That’s where we are. But you said they were in it!"
The others meanwhile were listening to this conversation in breathless suspense.
"The room where the 8 aliens are working represents one giant circuit that’s lined up in a number of rows, sir ... that’s all I was able to make out so far. But now I see the glow of a transmitter arc! It’s ... yes, it is, sir—an Akon transmitter arc! it’s unmistakable. From this angle it is located in the rear left corner of the room and it’s concealed by a massive wall of circuitry."
"If you see anywhere where one of our teleporters could hide, describe the surroundings, Sengu."
"In that big circuit room there are many hiding places. The best place seems to be behind the emergency converter. The way it’s set up is ... "
Ras Tschubai and Pucky were the two teleporters in this truly unique operation. The little mouse-beaver was already cozying up to Rhodan in the hopes of influencing the Chief to let him make the first jump.
But Rhodan had already decided. He turned instead to the tall, highly-trained African. "Tschubai, you make the jump, but only after we’ve reached the circuit room. Sengu, you keep watching the intruders... Marshall, you may take charge of the rest of your men... Professor, you and your group will keep in the background but within calling distance. Has everybody got that?"
"And what about me?" chirped the mouse-beaver, who had tried in vain to read Perry’s thoughts.
"Isn’t Marshall your commanding officer?" retorted Rhodan. His tone was hard and sharp enough to discourage Pucky from asking any further questions.
They left the main control area through the only available exit. It was typical of Rhodan and his men that they carried shock weapons in their hands while their deadlier impulse, thermo and disintegrator weapons, remained in their holsters. The only ones also carrying fire-ready impulse beamers were Rhodan and Atlan.
Wuriu Sengu and Tschubai followed closely behind Rhodan and the Arkonide. Pucky stayed close to Marshall, who was also trying in vain to detect the thought impulses of the intruders.
It looks bad, John, telepathed the mouse-beaver. I can’t trace a single thoughtwave from those burglars.
Same thing with me, little one, responded Marshall by the same paramental medium. I’ve already told the Chief. He thinks it looks pretty hopeless for us.
Maybe I could get somewhere with telekinesis, John. But one thing I don’t understand: how the heck did those characters get through the honeycomb screen? Is it possible they can do more than we can?
That’s what it looks like, Pucky.
The telepathic conversation between the two ended as the passage everybody was following terminated in a shaped chamber.
"Sir, we keep going straight ahead!" directed Sengu. "All other passages lead to separated special relay stations. The master circuit lies exactly in the center of the sphere."
"How far yet, Sengu?" Rhodan asked, without looking at the teleseer.
"About 100 meters, sir."
Fellmer Lloyd was a mutant in their group who was a tele-tracer of brainwave patterns. He never forgot a brainwave configuration once be saw it; it was a pattern by which he could recognize persons. He was also able to determine whether the person belonging to such patterns threatened danger, and from what direction. For the first time since leaving the main entrance to A-1, be reported through. "I get no reception, sir."
The closer they came to the inner circuit chamber-the more concerned Rhodan became. He was increasingly disturbed by Sengu’s observation that the intruders had not posted any guards.
Wuriu Sengu broke in on his thoughts. "We’re only five meters from the entrance to the inner chamber!" he warned. Yet the passage they were traversing still seemed to be several km long!
Atlan and Rhodan halted abruptly and turned to the mutant.
"Where is the entrance, Sengu?" asked Rhodan sharply.
"In front of us, sir—directly ahead! I see it now although you cannot. The builders of the Brain have placed an optical harrier here. The passage actually ends within five meters. What you see is a kind of mirage!"
"The camouflage around here is incredible!" grunted Atlan irritably, and before Rhodan could stop him he moved forward.
He disappeared before their eyes, apparently vanishing between one step and the next. Yet there ahead was the continuing passage, still many km in apparent extent.
Then the waiting men felt an eerie sensation when Atlan reappeared before them, totally unaffected by what he had just experienced. "It’s true, Perry," he said calmly. "The entrance to the circuit chamber is less than 10 feet from here. The main portal is partially open and I was able to see the 8 aliens working in there."
Rhodan turned to his men. "Professor, you and your men stay within calling distance, preferably on this side of the optical barrier. Don’t forget to keep your minicoms open-but on our channel, not the Ironduke’s. Alright—mutants, forward with me!"
Wherewith he and Atlan stepped through the mirage followed by Marshall and his mutant commandoes.
"Here’s the portal," said Atlan, and he stepped aside for Rhodan.
The latter was able to peer into a room that was one giant circuit assembly. But his eye was mainly attracted to the glow of the Akon transmitter arc. It revealed conclusively that the Akons had penetrated here but the mystery still remained of how they had overcome the extra-dimensional honeycomb screen. Also Rhodan recalled that the Brain had said A-1 was secured by a separate honeycomb barrier of its own—yet on their way here they had not encountered it. That meant the Coordinator must have shut it off to enable them to get in.
Rhodan’s gaze turned from the transmitter arc to the 8 intruders. They were busily working with completely unrecognizable pieces of equipment. Suddenly he tensed and craned his neck a bit farther to check a flash impression he had received. He thought he detected an intervening invisible something—like a faintly iridescent wall—yet when he concentrated on the elusive phenomenon it was gone.
He quickly ducked back behind the portal. "Atlan, did you see that energy screen in there?"
The latter thought he referred to a honeycomb screen. "No—it’s something else. Sengu, what do you see?"
Their transmatter ‘spy" concentrated and finally his eyes widened in surprise while he stammered, "S-sir ... can I have a look directly into the chamber?" It was a very odd request for Wuriu Sengu, who normally needed no direct line of sight to peer through solid objects.
Rhodan seemed to be the only one who understood what he meant. "OK, Sengu, come here and take a very good look!"
Wuriu carefully poked his head forward to look into the room. John Marshall had formed a telepathic link between Sengu’s thoughts and Rhodan so that a three-way communication was established. Whatever transpired in Sengu’s mind was immediately transmitted to the Chief.
Spherical energy screen ... Time seems to—what? Time is there in glowing rainbow colors! But the equipment that generates the screen isn’t there ... What’s this impression I keep getting about time? A protective screen built up from a time-field? Time-field!—Time converter! How can I describe it to the Chief? Is it possible my eyes and my para-senses are seeing two different things—like a double vision in two slightly different times? But there isn’t such a thing!
At that moment Sengu felt a hand on his shoulder which helped him to free himself from the vision held by his paranormal faculties. As he turned around, taking a half step behind the portal again he found himself looking into Rhodan’s face.
To his surprise he heard the Chief say: "Sengu, I believe you have seen correctly. Ras Tschubai will now make an attemp
t to teleport himself into that spherical field."
For the tall, lean teleporter, Rhodan’s announcement was his order for action. Ras Tschubai concentrated. He produced a shimmer of light in the air around him, in the midst of which he vanished—only to reappear almost instantly, falling helplessly to his knees in a paroxysm of pain. He gasped, "Sir—that spherical screen must be a time-field!"
"Ishibashi, it’s your turn!" ordered Rhodan.
Kitai the suggester nodded. Simultaneously he mobilized his abnormally powerful hypnotic forces and concentrated them on the 8 intruders who were calmly working under the protection of their time sphere.
For several seconds the native-born Japanese sought to bring the Akons under hypnotic control but suddenly he jerked his head back and then turned slowly to Rhodan. "Sir, I can’t get through. That’s no energy screen in there. I mean it has time-field characteristic—but it’s different from the time-field, they used that time on Arkon 3 to mobilize the phantom fleet of Imperator Metzat III from 15000 years in the past ... "
Rhodan was startled by a loud groan from Atlan. "Now I know!" exclaimed the Imperator. "I can see how the transmitter station could penetrate A-1! Whatever the nature of Time may be, Akon research is centuries ahead of us!"
"No wonder the robot Brain shouted for help," commented Rhodan. "Even the giant positronicon is powerless against alterations of Time. Atlan, Akons somewhere in the past have somehow inserted the transmitter into A-1 and I wouldn’t be surprised if this time-field isn’t being produced by equipment that’s here in A-1 now! Sengu, take another close look in there!"
While the mutant activated his hyper-sight again, Atlan whispered privately to Rhodan: "Aren’t we losing too much time? Has it occurred to you that these men in there could be putting a bomb together?"
"It occurred to me, Atlan, but I dropped the idea. What we’re dealing with here is Akons—not With fanatical, narrow-minded Arkonides who are out to blow the Coordinator apart. What we should be more concerned about is that this group of aliens may be able to make effective changes in the A-1 circuits!"