by Perry Rhodan
Rhodan ordered alarm stage No.2 when the alien ship had come within 600,000 miles and he accelerated the Stardust under the protection of the sensor shield. During this manoeuvre, which was partially controlled by the automatic steering pilot device, Rhodan asked two of his corps, Ras Tschubai and Pucky, to come to the Command Center.
Tschubai took a shortcut. He was a teleporter like Tako Kakuta and suddenly appeared in the Command Center. A few moments later Pucky, the most capable member of Rhodan's Mutants, entered through the hatch door after he rose on his hindlegs outside the door, pushed the button and made Rhodan open the door.
Pucky had no trouble at all to transport himself by teleportation from one deck of the gigantic spaceship to another but he still found it a little difficult to move around like a human being and he was not quite satisfied with his progress.
He was a cross between a beaver and a mouse, covered with reddish fur and three feet long including his stubby tail. Pucky belonged to a species of semi-intelligent creatures endowed with natural telekinetic gifts whom Rhodan had encountered on his trip to the planet Vagabond. He had clung to Rhodan, who had trained him in a special process adapted to his undeveloped brain. Rhodan succeeded in expanding the great potential of Pucky's conscious mind and in awakening more of his hitherto hidden parapsychological talents. Pucky had become an accomplished telepath and teleporter. He mastered several languages and joined the Officers Corps of the New Power as a mutant.
There were some people who considered Pucky a freak and disapproved of naming him to the rank of officer. But Pucky knew how to convince everybody very quickly that he was not only an excellent mutant but above all an amazingly clever tactician.
Rhodan smiled at him and after the hatch was closed he said: "I've got a job for you both. It concerns the hostile ship over there."
• • •
The little vessel was a reconnaissance craft, only lightly armed but possessing great acceleration and manoeuvrability.
The commander of the ship was Frernad who belonged to the mighty clan of the Frers and his vessel was named FRER LXXII , a figure which looked big and ugly to Frernad since the spaceships of his clan were numbered according to their size which meant that the FRER LXXII was one of the smallest crafts.
Old Etztak was responsible for Frernad's orders to search for foes far out in space. Etztak had been in a scrape on a far distant world with an enemy whom he now was stalking and in Frernad's opinion Etztak suffered a bad case of jitters.
Frernad hated this mission but he executed it faithfully nevertheless. The sensor beams swept the field constantly. However, so far they had registered nothing except a few slowly drifting masses of rocks. Utterly bored, Frernad stared at the little instrument dial which registered the distance from the place he had started from by measuring the amount of energy used up. The thin indicator line of light was creeping slowly to the 10 light-day mark on the scale.
"Two more hours," somebody remarked. "Then it'll be over!"
Frernad turned around and raised both hands as a sign of agreement. "I'll sing praises the moment we land again!" he smiled grimly.
The Command Center of the FRER LXXII was small and was occupied by three men. The crew of the vessel consisted of 18 men in all.
Frernad wanted to say something, when the operator of the rangefinder hastily spoke up. "A reflex!" he called. "There...!"
Frernad made a morose gesture but got up and walked over to the scope. The technician in front of the instrument pointed to the screen where a big bright spot was quickly fading away.
Frernad was vexed. "What do you mean, it just appeared and it's gone again?"
The man raised his hands but before he could say anything a strange loud voice came from the control panel: "Don't let it bother you, friends! I caused that reflex!"
They whirled around and stared at the man who suddenly stood beside the console. They had never seen anybody like him. He was tall—almost as tall as they—but his skin was black. He laughed when he saw they were frightened and showed his glistening white teeth. The spacesuit he wore had an unfamiliar cut and his helmet was open as he talked to them. He spoke impeccable Interkosmo although in somewhat of a monotone.
All this was noted only incidentally by Frernad. The main question to which he could find no answer was:
How did the man manage to get in?
Frernad opened his mouth to ask him but the black started to move so quickly and purposefully that Frernad was fascinated by his actions. He watched how the stranger dexterously pulled a spherical object from a pocket of his outfit and turned a screw or a switch which extruded from the top of the ball. Then he looked up and studied Frernad and his two men very intently.
"What are you doing?" Frernad finally inquired. "Who are you and what..."
That was as far as he got. With a suddenness he had never experienced before in similar situations, he lost consciousness. There was not even time enough for him to recognize what happened to him nor could he see whether his two companions fared better than he. He simply keeled over.
Ras Tschubai gazed at the three unconscious men with a happy grin. Then he closed the helmet of his spacesuit although the filters he had inserted in his nose were enough to protect him from the narcotic gas released from the round bomb. However, he wanted to be prepared for any difficulties in case the gas didn't pervade the ship fast enough and he took the extra precaution to be ready for trouble.
With his foot Ras Tschubai pushed the ball he had put on the floor toward the ventilator shaft. The constant circulation of the air would carry the odorless, colorless gas everywhere inside the ship in the shortest time as it was not filtered out. His job was finished. The crew of the small Springer ship would remain unconscious for four hours. This was all the time Rhodan needed for his plans.
Ras Tschubai jumped instantly back to theStardust by teleportation.
• • •
"Now it's your turn, Pucky," Rhodan said gravely. "Take your stuff across!"
Pucky nodded in a human manner. He gazed for awhile at the observation screen on which the Springer ship was shown as a little point as theStardust kept a constant distance of 20,000 miles from it. Then he looked at the equipment which he had piled up around him—weapons, microcoms and other emergency gear.
A heavy disintegrator vanished from the stack as if it had never been there. One of the microcoms went, followed by a case of miscellaneous supplies. The pile had disappeared in three minutes—transported telekinetically with precision on board the small enemy ship.
Pucky made a wry face and intimated a grin with his incisor tooth. "I'm leaving now," he lisped amiably.
Rhodan's eyes made a last, quick check of the little creature's spacesuit which was specially made for the mouse-beaver. "O.K.!" he approved. "Do a good job! Marshall and the others must be located under all circumstances. We want to know what they've accomplished among the patriarchs. And besides, we want to rescue them!"
Pucky gave no answer. He stared straight ahead and departed the same way the equipment had vanished.
He appeared again in the main corridor of the FRER LXXII. He quickly determined that Ras Tschubai's gas bomb had indeed put the entire crew out of action and found a spot where he intended to spend the time till they landed on Goszul's Planet. It was a small empty compartment at the end of the corridor and Pucky had no way of finding out what purpose it served.
Pucky stowed away his baggage in the compartment and took out the hypno-weapon Rhodan had provided him with. With the weapon in hand he systematically visited each room in the ship and administered treatments to each member of the crew one at a time, thereby safeguarding theStardust and himself in the most effective manner.
Finally he reached the Command Center where Frernad and his two aides received hypnotic instructions.
Next Pucky studied with great interest the rangefinder screen. He watched the hairline sweeping across a space sector as the search antenna rotated. Yet he noted no reflex whatso
ever. The Stardust and the three heavy cruisers farther out in space remained undetected.
It had been Rhodan's contention—with which Pucky agreed—that a few reflexes were registered on the scope during the last half hour when the protective screen of theStardust was deactivated for a fraction of a second to permit the jumps of the teleporters and the telekinetic transportation of the gear through the field. These protective shields were five-dimensional fields and presented a barrier for the teleporters moving in a five-dimensional continuum.
Pucky considered this to be an unnecessary flaw and tried to figure out a method of maintaining the sensor shield uninterruptedly when a teleporter left the ship.
After satisfying himself that everything was shipshape he retired to his chosen hide-away, made himself comfortable among his bundles and waited for things to happen. He had already arranged with Rhodan at the outset that no microcom message would be sent unless something had gone wrong.
The effect of the narcotic gas released by Ras Tschubai's bomb wore off as suddenly as it had begun. Four hours after Frernad's hair-raising experience of seeing the sudden appearance of a black stranger the Command Center of the FRER LXXII came to life again.
Frernad got up at the same time as his two men. Without wasting a look at his surroundings Frernad walked to the rangefinder console and stared at the grid. At the same moment the technician reached his post and sat down in front of the screen and the third man also returned to whatever he was doing when Ras Tschubai interfered.
"...and it's gone again?" Frernad repeated in the same surprised tone the words he had spoken just before the weird incident had occurred.
The man at the rangefinder set raised both hands. "I said it was very big and clearly visible!"
Frernad laughed angrily. "You're letting a stray reflex confuse you, Sifflon. It was probably only an electromagnetic interference which caused the reflex."
"Well," Sifflon murmured, "after all, I didn't claim it was a hostile ship."
Frernad went back to his controls. With a bored expression the third man who had attentively listened to the conversation took up his work again where he had left off. He waited to take over the controls when Frernad wanted to be relieved. None of them had retained the slightest recollection of their mysterious encounter with Ras Tschubai. By carefully selected hypno-impulses Pucky had also corrected the error caused by the momentum of the flight during which theFRER LXXII had moved a considerable distance in space after Ras Tschubai had entered the ship.
Not even the empty bomb container which Ras Tschubai had pushed in front of the ventilator shaft aroused suspicion. The third man discovered it as his eyes wandered around, picked it up and showed it to Frernad who didn't know what to make of it. He told the man to throw it away.
Pucky had taken another precaution. Not once did it occur to the crew during the entire flight to look into the little compartment at the end of the main corridor. Two days later the FRER LXXII had reached the farthest point from Goszul's Planet on its prescribed course and reversed its direction. Pucky had inspected the instruments on a visit to the Command Center. Furthermore, he was able to read the thoughts through the wall of his little room whenever someone came close enough.
He knew that it would take 10 days before he could set foot on Goszul's Planet.
2/ IRONIC DISCOVERY
Halfway to the city they encountered a wagon drawn by animals resembling horses. After they had taken off the transport suits, they wore again the clothes they had first put on aboard Levtan's ship in order to be inconspicuous. Thus their exterior appearance was virtually indistinguishable from crew members of a Springer ship. Even their beards, trimmed in the latest style worn by the Springers, had sprouted in the meantime. It was questionable, however, whether the concept of a spaceship was familiar to the inhabitants of this island. One would normally expect that people using sailing ships had no knowledge of spaceships and would be unable to recognize spacemen.
"We'll have to try it out," Marshall had said. "We won't get anywhere hiding all the time." So they kept silently walking toward the rumbling wagon as it approached them on the gentle incline. A single man sat on the wagon bench, holding the reins in his hands like an old-time farmer on Earth. The man was startled when he saw the four strangers. He halted his animals and shaded his eyes in order to see them better. Marshall and his three companions, who had the strong light of 221-Tatlira at their back, could see that the man was frightened.
I hope he at least understands Interkosmo so we won't have to learn his language, Marshall thought. They stopped when they had reached the cart. The man was so scared he had not dared to move. He was still holding his hand above his eyes.
"Zul bel! Good fortune today!" Marshall offered the most common of the Springers' greetings. The man stared at him with wide open eyes. As if suddenly jolted, he dropped his hand from his eyes, leaped from his bench to the ground and fell on his knees, lowering his head. Marshall heard him mumble some words he couldn't understand. "Plek, staron! Please get up!" Marshall requested. The man obeyed instantly. Marshall was greatly relieved to find out that he obviously understood
Interkosmo. "Look at me!" Marshall demanded next. The man, who seemed to be fairly old, looked at him with fear in his eyes. "Moro?" Marshall asked. "What's your name?"
"I... I..." the old man stuttered in a rasping voice, "I am Vethussar Ologon, Lord!"
"We're on our way to the city, Vethussar," Marshall continued.
Vethussar bowed. "It'll be a great honor for the city if you visit it, oh Lord, and I would consider it a favor if you would let me offer you my dirty wagon."
Marshall looked at the cart. It couldn't have been cleaner.
"You may!" he replied. "We're very much obliged for your kindness."
"I'm your servant, Lord. There's no need to thank me."
The oldster let Marshall and his friends climb onto the vehicle. Marshall moved leisurely and took time to probe Vethussar's thoughts. So far he had been unable to notice anything except the tremendous shock the old man felt since they met and it had overshadowed all conscious thoughts. Gradually the terror subsided and feelings of suspicion mixed with admiration emerged.
Are they really...? Vethussar thought. Do they exist at all as they say, these...?
The expression was not clearly sensed by Marshall and he was unable to ascertain its meaning. It occurred twice and Marshall tried to comprehend it while Vethussar laboriously turned around his wagon and headed down the way to the city.
After Marshall had noted the same expression a few more times in Vethussar's mind, he decided to translate the word as Gods. At the moment he couldn't think of anything else that came closer to its true meaning.
Marshall turned around to his companions and let them in on the result of his probings. He spoke English and was certain that it wouldn't make Vethussar suspicious. After all, Gods were supposed to be intelligent enough to speak more than one language. He noticed, however, that Vethussar seemed puzzled by the foreign language.
Slowly they approached the city. Vethussar had frequently turned around during the last few minutes as though he wanted to say something. Marshall perceived his desire to ask a question. "Vak!" he encouraged the oldster. "Go ahead. What do you want to know?"
"Forgive my curiosity, oh Lord!" Vethussar burst forth, "it's the first time for your humble servant to set eyes on a God. As you're so benevolent to me, I wish to know if you can teach me about the Land of the Gods."
Marshall was surprised to see the alacrity with which the old man changed from breathless fright and respect to undisguised curiosity. He seemed mentally very alert and apparently he refused to believe—
"You know, Vethussar," Marshall replied in a casual tone, "it doesn't look much different from here. The grass and the trees are green and the water in the oceans is blue as long as the sun shines. However, there are vehicles there which are much faster than your wagon and others which can fly through the air, even ships in which one can
travel to the stars."
Vethussar seemed greatly impressed. Only Marshall was able to recognize the little spark of scornful suspicion in the back of Vethussar's mind. The oldster's next question quickly followed: "And why did you travel on foot, Lord?" He had spoken in a tone of deep humility.
You rascal, Marshall thought, more amused than angry, you never believed in Gods and now you want to play a trick on a God!
Marshall faced an important decision. He could choose to give the native some evasive answer but it was a good bet that Vethussar would resist accepting a subterfuge. On the other hand he could explain to him that they were no better than Vethussar and that the only difference was due to their higher development of technology which transformed nobody into a God.
He decided in favor of the second way. "Stop, Vethussar!" he called.
Vethussar was jarred. He held back the animals and looked around anxiously. "Yes, Lord!"
Marshall pointed forward. "Look at that tree!" he ordered.
Vethussar turned around again and stared obediently at the tree. Marshall raised his little impulse-beamer and fired a short burst at one of the lower branches past the oldster's shoulder.
The branch was blasted from the tree and turned into smoke and ashes as it fell. Little flames lapped the grass but were quickly extinguished in the humid soil.
Vethussar trembled. But Marshall wasn't finished yet with his lesson. "Now look to the left where the road turns!"
Marshall gave Tako Kakuta a sign. Tako had already grasped what Marshall had in mind. He suddenly vanished from the cart and emerged at the same instant at the spot Marshall had pointed out and waved to them.
Vethussar was terrified and uttered a grunting sound. Marshall didn't have to tell him to turn around. He convinced himself with his own popping eyes that the stranger standing over there was the same who sat in his carriage less than a second ago.