Enterprise Stardust

by Karl H Scheer

  Perry Rhodan landed the rocket in northern China, on a rocky plain near Lake Goshun. Although a salt lake, the Goshun was fed by the fresh water river Morin-Gol. This was in the middle of the vast central Gobi, scarcely south of the Mongolian border, just 102 degrees east and 38 degrees north.

  Rhodan landed the Stardust as though it were a regular aircraft. The huge tires, designed specifically for this purpose, touched ground perfectly. A few moments later, the nose cone of the ship that had at last returned home pointed like some signpost at the nearby banks of the Morin-Gol.

  The high whine of the auxiliary landing engines became silent. Rhodan detached his hand from the steering lever, suddenly aware that it was painfully cramped. Once the Stardust had overcome the first dangerous moments of reentry and landing approach, it was easy to land the ship like some heavy air freighter. Earth had one benefit the moon had probably always lacked—namely, a supporting air envelope.

  With a quick movement, Rhodan had freed himself from the upright contour couch. His hand sprang so quickly to the open holster of his automatic that Captain Fletcher could not even begin to act.

  Fletcher stared as though frozen into the barrel of the exceedingly dangerous RAK automatic weapon.

  Bell remained unmoving in his seat, and Dr. Manoli did not venture to lift a finger. Khrest, occupying the fifth couch, made plain a lively interest in the proceedings. Fletcher had raved with a madman’s senseless fury since their deviation from course. Try as he might, he had been unable to free himself from his seat, for Rhodan had locked the automatic fastening mechanism. Now, with a last rash effort, Fletcher tried to reach the weapon shelves built into the wall behind his couch.

  “Forget. it, Fletch,” Rhodan cautioned. “Just hold on. We’re back home again. If I were you, I wouldn’t try anything else.”

  Fletcher stared at him. He was shock white, with trembling lips. “Home!” he repeated loudly. “Did you say home?” He laughed furiously his face was misshapen with a maniacal rage. “Damn you, traitor! You’ve landed the ship in the middle of Asia! You must have had it planned all along; otherwise, you wouldn’t have flown straight to this barren waste. You charted our course long ago. So that’s it! You want to hand the Stardust over to the Chinese. Since when did you hatch such a treacherous plot? What reward will the ace astronaut of the United States Space Force receive for a job well done? How much—”

  Rhodan interrupted him. “Shut up, Fletcher! Right now!” He had turned pale. A flicker of warning sparkled in his gray eyes. “Fletch, you can leave any time you want. No one will prevent you from leaving. You will see your baby, and Eric will have quite a lot to tell his grandchildren. But whatever you say, I never want to hear you suggest that I am a deserter or a traitor.”

  “And why did you land here?” Bell interjected calmly. He showed a frozen grin and narrowed eyes. Captain Bell was still himself in doubt. After all, one could not ignore the weapon in Rhodan’s hand.

  “I’d like you all to listen to me for a moment,” began Rhodan. “I am not a man who has ever done anything without good reason, and this time it is no different.”

  “Oh, no!” Fletcher moaned in desperation. He tugged with all his might at the magnetic bonds that held him fast in his seat. “You’ve deceived us! You’ve forced us to play along with your game. We were helpless!”

  “Of course.” Rhodan nodded with a straight face. Khrest smiled. He knew Rhodan’s plans, just as Thora before him had been informed about them.

  “You must understand by now that the Stardust has become only a worthless toy. Even if it should fall into Chinese hands, it would be hardly more than a joke. For on the moon there is a ship, and in that ship are people who, from this day forward, are the only important ones. It is they alone who have the power to prevent our world’s total annihilation through nuclear war. From now on, the Stardust plays only a subordinate role. For the time being it makes no difference that in Moscow and Peking, as in Washington, they still believe her to be the greatest miracle of all time. This view is merely the result of sheer ignorance of the true situation. If our leaders had any idea of what we found on the moon, they would, with a wave of the hand, write off the rocket as entirely negligible. What matters exclusively is that mind we’ve brought to Earth with us. From now on, only Khrest counts, for he is heir to an immeasurably superior science. With him, mastery of the last secrets of Nature has come to Earth. Concealed in his photographic memory are things that will permit our space travel to leap across more than five millennia of painful development.

  “You must understand that it is no longer a question of the Stardust. The problem now is Khrest, and the alien intelligences of the galaxy. The problem now is the union of all mankind—all human beings, irrespective of race or faith or ideology. The eternally misguided and misinformed will awaken, and men of goodwill may at last breathe a deep sigh of relief. It would have been the greatest mistake of all time to permit any one nation to capture Khrest.

  Fletcher, who seemed more than amazed, shut his gaping jaws. He looked around helplessly.

  “By now, Nevada Fields should be cordoned off by special security forces. Our people are hardly such fools. They could easily see that we must have experienced something out of the ordinary on the moon. The Eastern bloc, on the other hand, is still of the opinion that they are dealing with only an emergency landing. I have no intention of surrendering Khrest—the representative of an age old civilization and the unchallenged master of a superior science—into the merciless hands of some security organization.

  “Let’s be honest. Had we landed in the proper manner, Khrest would already have been taken into custody. Naturally, they would have had to do this. They would have placed him in isolation and interrogated him. They would have been extremely kind, considerate and polite; but still, he would already have been a prisoner. Khrest himself posed this condition—that he be permitted to act freely and without hindrance. He represents a third power on Earth. He is ill and needs our help. I consider it my duty, therefore, to guard him from all these embarrassments. He has the right to insist on freedom, even if he is an alien intelligence. Besides, he expects fair treatment, regardless of where we land. Any nation on Earth would be licking its chops if they could get a crack at his staggering knowledge. Every power would be embarking upon a feverish endeavour to win his ability for its own advantage. You cannot convince me that such a one sided concentration of power would be in the best interests of all mankind. His arrival in the United States would have led inescapably to catastrophic consequences. The Asiatic Federation would feel itself under threat. They would insist that they be allowed to share his knowledge. One ultimatum would only provoke another. It would lead ultimately to a worldwide crisis. That is precisely what I wish to avoid.

  “I am a human being, and I would prefer to act in a human fashion. In other words, decently. No one is going to squeeze Khrest like a lemon and then declare, with a regretful shrug of the shoulders, that it was absolutely necessary for this or that reason. If he wants to give something of his knowledge to humanity, he should do so out of his own free will, without coercion. We will all profit from it. Foremost, however, by this freedom of action and movement for Khrest, we have won the guarantee that there will be no World War III. I now assume you will understand why the Stardust has become wholly insignificant. I have landed in this desolate area so that Khrest might have a chance to mount his special instruments before the inevitable armed opposition arrives. I have nothing further to add.”

  “You might loosen my straps,” said Bell calmly. His brow furrowed, he turned to the alien. “I’ll help him. No doubt you realize we’ll be having some fireworks around here within an hour.”

  “Let them start shooting! Someday, here on this very spot will arise a metropolis. Here will be built hyperlight spacecraft; and here the seeds of one humanity will be sown. What have you decided, Reg?”

  The heavyset man laughed. He did it without ease, but the worry had left him. “I think
I know people pretty well,” he said slowly. “They mean well, but all the same, they look out for their own advantage. I believe it better that Khrest remain uncommitted. That’s about all I can say.”

  “Dr. Manoli?”

  The medic raised his head. The colour had returned to his cheeks.

  “Your conduct is not without its logic. If Khrest can guarantee that his knowledge will be used only for the benefit of all men, I have no objections. On the other band, it would be a crime if he should prefer one certain bloc.”

  “Rest assured,” whispered the alien, “that I have no such plans. My only request is that you respect my wishes and assure that I be safe from incarceration by any of the entities you refer to as ‘states.’ This would leave me with incalculable difficulties. Major Perry Rhodan has chosen to land here at my request.”

  “How do you plan to defend yourself?” shouted Fletcher, quite beside himself. “I think this is nothing but a dirty trick. I think—”

  “Fletch, if we had landed at Nevada Fields, by now we would already be in protective custody. There would simply have been no other alternative for our people. Unintentionally, or even under duress (or so they would tell us), we might have let slip some word about our experiences. This way, we act with motives that are, I think, honest and honourable.”

  “But I’m an officer of the space force, and I—”

  “So was I. But now, in the face of these events, I am only a human being who wants to see all mankind become great and powerful—and united. Do you believe this to be a crime? Individual nations are of no importance here. All that matters now is the planet Earth. And from now on, it behoves us to think on a cosmic scale. Are you incapable of understanding how utterly childish our Earthbound differences are, within the framework of the great Imperium? Can you not see that we must become unified as quickly as possible. An alien intelligence would refer only to the third planet of the solar system; but never would he speak of this or that nation. From a cosmic point of view, we are only inhabitants of Earth, and never Americans, Russians, Chinese, Or Germans. We are standing on the threshold of a new age. We will just have to get used to that. Once more I stress—under no circumstances must Khrest fall into the hands of any single power. We’re staying where we are.”

  Bell stood up slowly. With a pained expression, as though offended, he murmured, “You could have told me that before now, while we were still on the moon. I knew something was up. Okay, let’s get a move on. Khrest, you’ll have to pull yourself together. When the first troops arrive, we’ll be in need of real protection. All the flowery language in the world, about the desired unity of mankind and our future significance in the galaxy, et cetera, et cetera, ad nauseam, won’t be able to fend off a single bullet. The warlords of the Asiatic Federation would split their sides with laughter, and then, of course, off you’d go to the interrogation room. All right, then. Let’s go.”

  “I shall remain on board,” declared Dr. Manoli quietly, “until the necessary medications have arrived. It is my duty as a physician and as a human being to help a sick person. All the more so, in this particular case. It would be a great error to act so precipitately so soon after our first encounter with an alien being. You are right, of course. We must no longer concern ourselves with the question of profit to any one nation.”

  Sitting in his chair quite rigidly, Captain Fletcher was silent. Khrest rose painfully.

  Rhodan put his weapon away and said, “Fletch, we mean well. We have the best of intentions. My God, we’re no criminals! Could it ever be wrong to risk everything for the sake of humanity? I think not. Once again, we are at the dawn of a new era. We must be careful to do the right thing; we must be aware of our responsibilities. No one will ever lay a hand on Khrest. Take my word for it.”

  Rhodan threw open the heavy bulkheads of the air lock. The fresh air of planet Earth streamed into the cabin. It was hot and dry, just right for Khrest’s lungs.

  Rhodan stepped outside. So far, nothing could be seen of the army, but it would not be much longer before they arrived. Rhodan could just imagine what frenzied activity there must be now in three various command posts. And they did not even know what had been brought to Earth with the Stardust.

  No one had any idea of their power yet, but it would not be long.

  Even while Rhodan’s gaze measured the immense task that lay before him, something began to take shape in his mind’s eye. In images still remote and nebulous, he saw gigantic interplanetary vessels race into the skies and heard the hum of their faster than light engines; and he knew, proudly, that these were built by human hands.

  He saw a global government. He glimpsed a world of peace and prosperity, a world that had earned galactic recognition. It was, of course, merely a vision but he had grasped it with all his senses. For a moment, it was real to Perry Rhodan.

  As a mysterious engine began to whir in the storeroom of the Stardust, the Third Power began its mission on Earth. Perry Rhodan stood smiling up at the blue sky. Then, slowly, he detached the insignia of rank from the epaulets of his uniform.