by Perry Rhodan
"Betty claims that somebody on board the Good Hope has caused the explosions on Earth and she thinks that he's now feeling, some remorse," Bell added hesitantly. "He seems to be giving orders to Deringhouse."
Is that so?" Rhodan remained silent for a few seconds. "I wouldn't mind if we could catch that man alive."
"We're going to try," Bell promised.
"Take up pursuit," Rhodan finally said. "We'll follow you at a safe distance. Keep your radio on reception."
Bell manipulated his controls, and before long got the Good Hope VII back on screen. The spacesphere had gone into orbit around the Moon.
Behind the Z-13 the Earth fell away like a stone in water. The metal sphere on the observation screen grew visibly. At the same time Bell kept listening to the exchange of information between Rhodan and the other ships. That way he kept up to date on the events behind him. Rhodan took over the Stardust and followed behind the Z-13 with moderate speed. Despite Deringhouse's dangerous behavior he seemed to have given up any intention of demolishing the Good Hope VII. Bell suspected that he was much too interested in the mysterious weapon to risk losing it by the total destruction of the spacesphere K-VII.
Ten minutes later Bell and his friends reached the moon. He slipped into approximately the same path as the Good Hope and trailed the Guppy from a safe distance. Under the circumstances such assumptions had to be made with caution but he relied on Betty's assurances that no danger was imminent at the moment.
As soon as Rhodan affirmed that the Stardust was standing by for action, Bell made his next move, "Pucky, you'll go ahead and disable the engines of the K-VII by telekinesis. You know how to move the separator between the two drive-sectors. Do you have enough telekinetic energy to do it? O.K., Betty, you keep in touch with Deringhouse and his guardian. You must warn us in case they plan an attack or some other detrimental action. Let's hope we'll be in luck. Let's go!"
He put his right hand on the trigger of the impulse cannon and shifted with the left hand to medium acceleration, making the Z-13 race like a missile toward the distant Good Hope .
Pucky sat in a big upholstered chair and closed his eyes.
His great hour had come.
"Death to the Supermutant!" he chirped with his high voice and started to concentrate on the telekinesis.
• • •
Ivan Ivanovich noticed that something began to bore into the brains of his two heads. Then he felt that a steel ring that had been tightened around both his foreheads was loosened.
Where was he?
Ivan's thought process started like a machine warming up. Long forgotten memories rose from the depth of his consciousness and began to round out the picture of his situation that was forming in him.
He shook both his heads, got up and walked over to the Command Center of the vessel. He had to duck at the door to keep from bumping his heads.
Major Deringhouse looked up as he saw the mutant enter. "What's the matter, Ivan? Have you already taken care of everything?"
"What's there to take care of?" queried Ivan, shutting up his three-second-younger brotherhead Ivanovich. He sat down in an upholstered chair and studied Deringhouse attentively. Again he felt the boring probe in his brain but at the same time a different pressure emerged that had all the earmarks of dreadful hostility.
"Terrania, what else?" Deringhouse replied automatically without thinking. "We had instructions to destroy Terrania."
"What is Terrania?" Ivan wanted to know. "Who gave us the order to demolish Terrania? And why?"
"I don't know why but I know." Deringhouse interrupted himself as the pressure in his brain grew almost painful. Then he heard a voice telling him distinctly: "Come back, Major Deringhouse! Land on Mars at the same place you started from."
The Supermutant had registered the changes taking place in his mutant Ivan and he realized after a futile attempt that he was unable to effect corrections across millions of miles. It also had become further apparent that his hypnoblock required renewal at certain intervals. It was his mistake that he had not found this out earlier.
"Return," Deringhouse repeated the mental order of the hypno and grasped. the controls. The Good Hope looped out into space and sped away with high acceleration.
Ivan listened inwardly as if he were hearing voices. Supermutant? Wasn't this the man who had abducted him three years before from the forest? The man he had obeyed ever since—was forced to obey! Why did he have to submit?
Gently and almost tenderly such thoughts pervaded his mind, reinforced by suggestion. They differed from those he had known for three years. They were free of threats and force, only persuasive and friendly.Free yourself at last, Ivan, they seemed to whisper. Throw off the yoke of the Supermutant, Ivan, and begin to think for yourself!
Think for myself, the mutant wondered and tried to understand what it could mean. Then he turned his attention to Major Deringhouse again, who sat immovably at the controls, steering the ship back to Mars.
The Supermutant was waiting for him on Mars. The closer they came to him, the worse the pressure in his head became again. He would be given new orders to start more and more fires...
Slowly Ivan rose up and accosted Deringhouse. "There's the Moon ahead of us. Don't go any farther!"
Deringhouse looked up with frightened eyes. "But the Supermutant..."
"I'm giving the orders here, not the Supermutant," Ivan stated sharply. He was suddenly overcome by a feeling that he must act or suffer the loss of something highly important. It was all rather vague and confused. He acted instinctively but consciously.
Major Deringhouse received the countermanding order of the Supermutant but failed to comply. The menacing giant standing beside him was a closer and much greater danger. Obediently he veered away from his course and let the Good Hope circle the Moon.
However the Supermutant was not yet ready to give up so easily. He pounded with strict orders the brains of the crew that had not yet been affected by the persuasion of Rhodan's mutants. It was impossible for André Noir to win each of the men with his hypnotic mental vibrations at the same time.
Ivan spun around when the door to the Command Center was pushed open and two men with drawn guns rushed in. Ivan's fists shot forward. The left one was aimed by Ivanovich and the right by Ivan. The two men didn't know what hit them. The fists landed hard on their chins—and it was as if scales had suddenly dropped from their eyes. The burden on their brains was abruptly lifted. The dictates of the Supermutant ceased.
But they ceased only because Noir began to subject the wretched victims to his own treatment.
Yet there were twenty-three other men on board who would have given their lives for the Supermutant had he demanded it.
Ivan leaped forward, caught the crumpling assailants and put them gently on the hard metallic floor. Then he barred the door to the corridor with the magnetic lock that could not be opened from the outside. Only ten seconds later the first blows battered against the door.
Deringhouse remained undecided.
Again he heard distinctly the luring voice inside him that was evidently bolstered by a psycho-beamer without which he would have been prevented from receiving it.
"Deringhouse, are you listening? Ignore the demands of the Supermutant. Do you understand me? This is Betty Toufry speaking. You remember me, don't you? We're near you. Don't do anything. Let the ship drift. Answer me in your thoughts if you've got my message. I can understand you."
Concurrently another even stronger voice insisted: "I'm the only one you must obey, Deringhouse. Get into high gear and return to Mars at once. Don't listen to anybody else. Have your men lock up Ivan. Do as I tell you!"
Deringhouse put his hand on the accelerator lever. Ivan did not let him out of his sight.
Deringhouse hesitated. The soft voice was back, this time more urgent and close? "Listen to Betty, Deringhouse! Do you want to betray me and Perry Rhodan? The Supermutant is our enemy. He's going to kill you if you go back to Mars. Wait for
us and don't listen to the Supermutant!"
Ivan watched Deringhouse pull his hand slowly and reluctantly back from the lever.
"We want to wait," Deringhouse said quietly but not without emphasis. "Switch on the observation screens so we can take a look around."
Stars sprang out from the black infinity and filled the screens. Close by was a round shadow that was lengthened and gleamed like silver as the light of the nearby Moon fell on it. Deringhouse remembered darkly that he had ships just like that in the hangar of the Good Hope, or did at one time. His brain was beginning to function again and told him that the ship could therefore not be hostile.
The Supermutant on Mars perceived that he was beginning to lose his control over Deringhouse. He tried it again with Ivan. "Set fire to your pursuers, Ivan! They are out to kill you and me—me to whom you owe everything. Act without delay and execute my commands! Remove Deringhouse!"
Ivan slowly shook both his heads and said loudly so that Deringhouse could hear it too: "No, Supermutant, I won't listen to you and I'm not going to kill Deringhouse. I want to wait because I've become curious and I would like to know what the others have done to me that I have to exterminate them."
No reply came from distant Mars.
Deringhouse and Ivan gazed impassively at the observation screen and let the spacesphere continue girdling the Moon. The interceptors closed in on them. Farther away the magnification of the image sensors showed more ships, among them a gigantic spacesphere of incredible dimensions. They kept at a safe distance and Ivan began to suspect the reasons for it. But why did the single interceptor dare come so close? He was to find out sooner than he expected.
• • •
Bell knew only too well that the energy screen of the Z-13 was utterly inadequate to protect him against the uncanny weapon of the Supermutant. He had already learned that the effective range of the weapon was six miles. When he approached this limit and passed into the danger zone he was aware of the risk he took.
However he was willing to trust Betty. "Have you already established contact with Deringhouse?" he
asked as he raced straight to his goal. He flicked a glance at Pucky: "Did you pull it off already?"
"They have no more energy left except their emergency reserve batteries," the mouse-beaver whispered. "Shall I give them a tumble?"
"Wait a little," Bell pleaded. "What's the matter, Betty?"
"Noir has gained partial control of the Supermutant's agent. The Supermutant keeps telling him to immolate us but I don't know what he means by that."
"Immolate?" Bell murmured as his eyes suddenly narrowed. He was thinking about the atomic blasts in
Terrania. "And this agent refuses to do it?"
"Noir has managed to throw him into confusion. He now resists doing it."
"Excellent! What about Deringhouse?"
"I believe he's listening to me," Betty replied. "What are you going to do now?"
However Bell did not have a ready answer for that. He turned to Pucky instead: "Can you disable the whole crew of the ship without anybody getting hurt?" Pucky got up on his hindfeet, supporting himself with his wide beavertail. He folded his front paws over his chest and began to concentrate. In the meantime Bell communicated on the videoscreen with Rhodan who had followed him at a great distance with the mutants in the Stardust II. There wasn't much time for conversation.
"Noir has asserted his influence on a certain Ivan," Rhodan reported quickly. "But we can't tell how long this will last."
"Pucky has already gone into action," Bell encouraged proudly. "The K-VII has lost its thrust and they're out of energy."
"Sounds familiar," Rhodan replied.
"But it works," Bell was quick to answer. "And now Pucky is about to render the crew harmless. It's getting time for our mutants to intervene. That's where the teleporters come in.
"Kakuta and Ras Tschubai are already waiting for the signal to go ahead," Rhodan said tersely. "When can I expect it?"
Bell noticed a nod from Pucky who was deeply absorbed in his endeavor.
"Just keep tuned in and you'll know when you can send your space jumper's on their trip."
Rhodan scowled. "You mean the teleporters?"
Bell gave no answer and Betty spoke up: "I've got the impression that Deringhouse will remain inactive for the time being. But Ivan seems to have rid himself entirely of the Supermutant's dominance. As far as I can make out the mixed-up thoughts, he must have knocked out two men of the crew when they wanted to force Deringhouse to fly to Mars."
Pucky, who had left in the meantime, now triumphantly announced via the micro-telecom: "They're all stuck to the walls of the cabins and can't move, but I can't keep it up much longer."
"Perry!" Bell shouted at the top of his voice. "You can dispatch Kakuta and Ras right now. We're ready. As soon as you give me the word I'll move in and get into their ship."
"If you take my advice, leave well enough alone. I'll attend to it myself. Let Pucky watch out that there will be no mishaps. As long as Deringhouse and his men can't move a muscle we'll be safe from that confounded weapon."
Bell cursed under his breath. Once again he had to do the hazardous preparatory work and now when it got interesting he was supposed to stand by as a spectator while others finished the operation. There had to be a fly in the ointment. He...
He was unable to finish his train of thought. Pucky came back, flaunted his tooth, smoothed his bristling fur in the nape of his neck and settled down to relax. "I think the two teleporters can take care of the rest," he chirped. He was apparently not in the least disappointed that others finished the job he had started.
"Bell, I've pressed the men gently against the walls and I'm holding them there. This requires only half the effort of concentration but I can't sit here forever. The point is to liberate the men from the spell of the Supermutant."
Bell glanced at the observation screen. "Here he comes!" he exclaimed.
The gigantic Stardust swooped down and joined the Good Hope and the Z-13 on their path around the Moon, followed by the other interceptors. Then the big battleship pulled abreast of the Good Hope and a panel in the gleaming silvery hull slid back exposing an oval opening—the access hatch to the huge hangar that could hold twelve ships the size of the Good Hope. Bell saw the flash of a tractor-beam and watched as the captured ship, together with Deringhouse, Ivan and twenty-five men, was hauled into the gaping mouth of the voluminous sphere.
Bell sighed contentedly. He looked at Betty and asked: "Well, little girl, what is Deringhouse thinking now?"
The girl stroked her forehead: "It's a complete suspension of thought, to describe it properly. I can't detect a thing."
Bell grinned and stared at the observation screen showing the Stardust II. "I'd love to know what's going on in that mothball."
Rhodan smiled down from the screen. "Come over Bell. Down the hatch! Hurry up!"
Ten seconds later the Z-13 entered the hatch that had been kept open and touched down next to the immobilized Good Hope .
Pucky suddenly stopped smiling. He nodded to Betty from the telecom screen. Being also a telepath he had understood what was going on in her mind. "I won't let him go," he chirped.
"Who?" Bell wanted to know.
"Please don't disturb Pucky now," Betty said with unaccustomed seriousness. "I've intercepted some very evil thoughts that are bent on our destruction. Ivan is thinking about setting another fire."
Bell, who had already risen from his chair, fell back. He felt paralyzed. He expected any moment to become an exploding atom bomb that would blow his ship and the Stardust to... stardust.
• • •
Ivan Ivanovich Goratschin was cognizant of the fact that he had broken the spell that had ruled his existence for three years. He surmised that he had fallen victim to a criminal.
The thoughts of the Supermutant were demanding and vicious; the new ones that tantalized his brain were full of friendliness and goodwill. Of course this could be a
deception. But now he had regained his faculties and wanted to decide for himself which side was in the right.
When Pucky intervened, the light and the ventilation were the first to be interrupted. Deringhouse determined at once that the energy reactor was exhausted. The emergency batteries quickly restored the illumination but the air circulation was blocked and it became stuffy and cold in the Command Center.
A few seconds later Ivan felt himself lifted up by an invisible force and irresistibly pressed against the wall. He was completely helpless with his two heads pushed against the cold circular window hatch. He was able to look out but he saw nothing except empty space. The intruders came from the opposite side.
His first reaction was one of wrath against those who tried to render him helpless. Did they know his secret? If so, they deliberately took a terrible risk. At this moment Ivan was ready to turn anybody who would venture into his view at the window into a bursting bomb. However he didn't see a soul; not even the mouse-beaver entered into his line of sight.
The soothing thoughts again pervaded his two brains. "Don't be afraid, Ivan, we want to help you. But we have to be careful so you won't hurt us. We desire peace with you and your men."
And a little later: "We're going to pull you into our ship."
Although Ivan was unable to look to the side, he saw from the corner of his eye that Deringhouse was stretched out on the console unable to lift his head an inch. Soon the void was replaced by the sight of a brightly lit hall in which some people ran around excitedly.
Ivan still harbored ideas of annihilation. He could dearly see the people and it would have been easy for him to atomize them and blow up the ship into which he had been hauled. However two things prevented him from carrying out his intentions.
By now he had learned to gauge the effect of his formidable gift and he knew that he would kill himself too if he detonated a man in the hall. Furthermore, he was enticed by the strange thoughts his brain received. The tender voice exerted such an attractive influence on him that it created the wish to meet the owner. Yet if he were to set another fire, his spiritual partner would also be doomed.