The Starless Realm

by Perry Rhodan

  "They are coming—very fast!"

  Sengu abandoned his seeing efforts and grasped the mouse-beaver’s hand. Rhodan followed his example.

  "Where?"

  "From up above," answered Pucky excitedly. "Are they able to fly?"

  They did not learn whether the invisible enemy was able to fly by means of natural endowments or whether they were employing airships or spaceships. At least not at first. But one thing was certain: their unseen foe had seen them and was attacking.

  A blinding light flashed above them in the void. A pale blue beam sliced downward and slashed through the ice on the plateau. Rhodan had enough presence of mind to watch the ray's line of destruction. It did not change its direction and the angle of incidence remained the same all the way. It traveled with amazing swiftness across the plateau and over the edge—then disappeared.

  Pucky whispered: "They're getting farther away—but now they're turning. They're coming back!"

  This much made it certain that the enemy sat in some kind of flying machine which was also invisible. They were curving in their flight and making ready for a new attack. And this time perhaps they would aim more carefully.

  "Let's go!" cried Rhodan.

  Pucky had since prepared himself. He jumped.

  This time they rematerialized at a distance of almost 1,000-km in the heart of a mountainous country. It was purely by accident but at first sight of the place Rhodan realized that it was well suited to their purpose. Even if the aliens possessed flying machines they would find it difficult to operate effectively in these precipitous gorges and tortuous valleys. Perhaps now they would be safe here for awhile.

  "Sengu—get to work!" Rhodan waited until the Japanese nodded a confirmation and then he turned to the mouse-beaver. "And you keep your tendrils up for the invisible ones. Give the alarm at the first sign of their approach."

  The two mutants knew what they had to do. It was a bit depressing to Rhodan at the moment that he was practically superfluous because he lacked the faculties of his mutants. He could do nothing other than wait for the results of their efforts.

  He was aware of a kind of hopelessness. Of what use was their presence here if they would always have to be fleeing from the unknown enemy, who were superior to them, at least in numbers? How were they supposed to help the Barkonides when they had all they could do just to keep themselves alive?

  He withdrew a slight distance from the other two and became lost in thought. So far, he repeated to himself, their experience on Barkon had consisted of little more than continuous flight. During this process of cogitating, he had been looking at a rock formation which was unusually symmetrical in its contours. He didn't notice this at first but finally it puzzled him.

  The smooth, vertical wall was free of snow. Its only covering was a thin, transparent layer of ice. Rhodan slowly passed his hand over it. The wall was seamless and smooth. In any case it was too smooth to be a natural formation.

  Rhodan looked about him. As far as he could see the canyon was completely inaccessible. It could well be that here was another entrance into the subterranean world of Barkon.

  His suspicions were confirmed when Sengu spoke to him. "I'm picking up some more weak radiations, sir. Also there's a tunnel into the depths. I followed it. 1,000 meters, 2,000..."

  "Watch out!" Pucky's voice was shrill and warned of critical danger.

  In an instinctive reaction, Rhodan whipped the beamer from his pocket and opened the safety catch. He did not intend to continue this state of continuous flight. They had to show the attackers, once and for all, that they could also defend themselves. The time had come to take a stand.

  Sengu understood at once. He also took the safety off his beamer.

  "I think there's only one of them," said Pucky uncertainly.

  "Grab your weapon!" Rhodan ordered.

  Pucky's expression did not reveal much confidence. Nevertheless he followed Rhodan's instruction and took out his energy gun. He pointed in the direction of the canyon's natural course. "Yes, there's only one. It must have been here when we got here. Its thoughts are mostly curious—that's all I can read."

  "Some kind of sentinel," guessed Rhodan as he looked in the direction Pucky was indicating. He also felt the probing into his brain, which gradually became painful again. He could see nothing, not even any tracks in the snow. And yet some entity was approaching him who was intelligent and whose race could manufacture energy weapons. "How far now?"

  "Twenty or thirty meters. But I can't be quite sure..."

  Pucky did not finish speaking because there was a sudden flash of light about 25 meters away.

  The bluish beam barely missed Sengu. Even as the Japanese dove for cover, Rhodan fired. He aimed directly at the spot where the beam was coming from, even after it ceased. And he kept on firing. He noticed that the brilliant finger of energy from his weapon was glancing off an invisible barrier but the impact area seemed to take on almost human outlines.

  "Let him have it!" Rhodan shouted to Pucky.

  The mouse-beaver read Rhodan's intention in his mind and comprehended. He also began to shoot at the invisible target. Sengu remained lying on the ground but he also opened fire.

  The flaming outline of the invisible attacker became more pronounced. This meant, therefore, that its body was resistive enough to reflect the energy beams. Was it possible to destroy it? But then Rhodan saw something that gave him new hope.

  The alien staggered and did not return the concentrated fire.

  But only its outline could be seen, not its actual body. The cascading streams of the energy beams held the silhouette in their vision. It was like emptying a pail of water over something invisible so that its outlines were revealed by the water itself.

  But then for a few seconds something incomprehensible occurred.

  It might have been the combination of the three concentrated energy beams or perhaps it was due to other circumstances. Rhodan could hardly believe his eyes when he saw the snow disappear at the target spot—that is,behind the fiery silhouette. The unseen foe was taking form. It became visible, turning into material substance!

  "Hold fire!" Rhodan yelled, even as he began to sprint forward.

  It was a desperate hope that drove him forward. If the counterattack had meant nothing to the alien it should have fired back long before this. And now if it was assuming shape and form to the point where its body even made an impression in the snow, it should also be possible to take hold of it physically.

  And that was exactly Rhodan's intention.

  Pucky and Sengu had lowered their weapons and were staring after Rhodan in wide-eyed amazement. The mouse-beaver was too disconcerted to use his telekinetic powers and try to hold the alien. He merely stood there as an onlooker. His weapon arm hung loosely at his side.

  Just as Rhodan closed the remaining distance with a tremendous leap the outline of the stranger began to dissolve. The snow was already starting to show through.

  But then Rhodan was there. His hands were free because he had dropped his weapon. He reached out and felt resistance. His fingers gripped something soft and yielding. He was struck by a stream of hate-filled thoughts which made him cringe involuntarily. The pain in his head became unbearable.

  Then the alien creature dematerialized and slipped out of Rhodan's grasp. There was no further attack. The thought impulses became weaker and then faded entirely. Rhodan bent down and picked up his weapon.

  He heard Pucky. "What was it? Not teleportation, not a reflective field... You were able to get hold of it but it disappeared again. It's beyond me...!"

  "That makes two of us," Rhodan answered him peevishly. "But at least we know now that they are not as insensitive as we feared. In our concentrated fire they become visible and material. Perhaps they even feel pain. Who knows, they may even die and then dematerialize. I only wish I knew who they are, where they come from and what they want here."

  The silent landscape under the eternal starless firmament held no
answer for them.

  "Now about this wall over here," continued Rhodan. "It's artificial or at least it's been shaped by intelligent beings. Sengu, maybe you can see what's behind it?"

  This was no task for the Japanese. "It's only one meter thick," he answered, "and behind it I can see a big chamber—almost like a depot of some kind. There are lots of rails and vehicles. There are switches and spur lines. Also a main tunnel that goes steeply downward. Two rail lines there. No lights."

  Rhodan indicated Sengu's backpack. "We've brought a hand lamp along. All right then—Pucky, take us behind that wall. Now let's have a look at the inside of Barkon. I don't think we're missing anything here on the surface—at the most we can lose our lives if we stick around outside. What happened there just now..." He pointed to the spot where he had felt the alien's form. "That was just pure chance."

  Pucky came up and took both men by the hand.

  Rhodan finished: "I'll also feel better with a ceiling over my head, where I won't have to be looking at just this empty, starless realm above us. Strange how a man can become so accustomed to the stars..."

  The mouse-beaver nodded. "You only notice them when they're gone." He concentrated and then made his jump.

  4/ INTO THE UNDERWORLD

  The jump was no more than 10 meters but it took them through the thick stone wall, a barrier which they could not have overcome in their materially stabilized state.

  It was dark. At first Rhodan tried to observe his surroundings with his eyes alone but then he turned on the lamp. Its light was reflected back from smooth walls. It was also mirrored from shining tracks and revealed a number of small metal cars which were standing about in the area. It was just as Sengu had described it.

  Pucky emitted an audible sigh of relief. "To tell you the truth—outside I was still able to catch a few weak thought impulses but here there's nothing. I wonder if the rock walls can hold back their impulses? In that case they wouldn't be tracing ours, either, and it would mean, we're safe in here."

  "If they haven't found some easier entrance already," said Rhodan, dampening the mouse-beaver’s optimism. The beam of the lamp wandered through the chamber. "We'll find out when we go deeper."

  "Go...?" Pucky observed his short little legs.

  Rhodan indicated the rail cars. "We'll take a taxi, little one, so you won't get tired out. We could teleport farther but I want to have a closer look at what we've gotten into. Is the tunnel safe, Sengu?"

  "As far as I can see—yes."

  "Then down we go! Let's hope the motors on these cars are still working. I seem to remember vaguely how these things work. The controls are simple."

  There were various sizes of rail cars, which were designed for as many purposes. Some of them were like personnel carriers and contained 20 or 30 seats, whereas others were smaller and offered room for anywhere from two to four people. They chose one with three seats in tandem. Sengu sat behind Rhodan while Pucky lolled pleasurably in the rear seat.

  "There are two knobs to pull on here," said Rhodan thoughtfully. "One of them is for speed and the other is for brakes. Well, probably that's all that's needed for a descent. It gets pretty steep on the way, if I recall."

  "Pretty much so," Sengu confirmed. He was not as much at his ease as Pucky.

  The braking knob was in the outward position. Rhodan released it slightly by pushing it inward and soon the car began to roll into the black maw of the tunnel. The hand lamp turned out to be too weak to light much of the way ahead.

  "Hold this lamp," Rhodan told Sengu while he began to fool with the control panel. Seconds later, two powerful headlights flashed to life. "Well now, that makes more sense!"

  The going was much better. They could see at least 50 meters ahead and could tell whether or not the track was clear. Meanwhile the car had increased its speed and it would have been more than inconvenient to meet with an obstacle now. In spite of his special faculty, Sengu could not see much because it was too dark. His eyes could see through solid matter but in the complete absence of light they were almost powerless.

  "I get definite radiation impulses," he said once, hesitantly. "But they're still far away. Just how far I can't say for sure."

  They traveled onward and deeper for almost an hour. Then Sengu spoke suddenly.

  "Put on the brakes, sir! I think the tunnel's coming to an end. Maybe another 500 meters."

  Rhodan pulled out the brake knob. The car began to decrease its speed, whereupon Pucky gave up his idea of teleporting. Although he was comfortably seated on the last upholstered bench he did not trust riding like this very much where he couldn't see far ahead.

  Five minutes later the headlights reflected from a wall that formed the end of the tunnel. The car came to a halt. Rhodan inspected the wall, which was obviously artificial. It sealed the tunnel off so tightly that even the countersunk rails vanished into it as though they had come to an end. It was precisely this fact, however, which revealed to Rhodan what was involved here.

  "It's a pressure lock! Let's hope we can get through it in this car. Otherwise we'll have to search for another one on the other side. Sengu, what do you see?"

  "There's a chamber just beyond and then there's a second wall like this. You could be right, sir. It may be an airlock."

  Rhodan climbed out of the car but left the headlights on. "It ought to work automatically but if the power machinery is dead we can hardly hope for that. Surely though, there should be some manual controls here. If not, then Pucky will have to try it."

  The mouse-beaver sighed and remained seated. "If I have to do some work I might as well do it from here."

  Rhodan stepped to the wall and went over it carefully. In the lower right-hand corner he found a control wheel. Fortunately the lock mechanism was powered by an emergency source. The wall parted in the middle over the tracks and slid to the sides of the tunnel. Rhodan went into the chamber and also discovered a control wheel by the second wall. He signaled to his two companions.

  "Everything's in order! Sengu, roll the car slowly into the lock but watch out that you don't let it bump the inner wall!"

  The Japanese said nothing. The car rolled forward and came to a stop within a few centimeters of the far wall. Pucky grinned appreciatively but made no comment.

  Before opening the second lock gate, Rhodan went back to the first control wheel and turned it back to its original position. The front lock gate began to close again. He sprang swiftly into the airlock chamber and waited until the gate had closed. Under normal circumstances he would not have done so without first determining that the second gate was functioning. But in this case he had Pucky with him.

  When the second gate separated, Rhodan felt an inflow of air. It came from the continuing section of the tunnel. The lock became filled with it. Here below there was an atmosphere!

  The car rolled forward a short distance and Rhodan closed the inner lock gate. He stood there motionlessly for perhaps 10 seconds before making his next decision. Then he calmly raised his hands and released the fasteners on his lightweight space helmet.

  Pucky suddenly cried out in shrill tones: "Don't do it, Perry! If the air is poison...!"

  "The Barkonides are oxygen breathers," Rhodan reassured him, and he took off the helmet. Although warm and a bit stuffy, the air was good otherwise. He breathed it in and out deeply without feeling any after effects. "You can take your helmets off so that we can save our own air and power supplies. Who knows how long we may have to still use these suits?"

  He climbed into the car and released the brake, again traveling forward into the tunnel. After two hours, Sengu looked at the roof of the tunnel and made a comment. "I can see the surface above us. We're about 4000 meters deep by now. It can't be much farther."

  "I feel like a mole down here," muttered Pucky from the rear, and he curled up on his seat to take a little snooze. All of them had shut off the heaters in their suits because their present surroundings were pleasantly warm.

  Sengu opened a can of f
ruit preserves and they took the edge off of their hunger. But of course the sweetish syrup did nothing to quench their thirst. "I guess we can't count any more on getting our supplies replenished—at least not down here," Sengu said.

  "We can get by for about one more day if we take it easy with what we have," Rhodan told him. "And if the thirst problem gets too bad, Pucky will have to take a trip to the surface and get us some snow."

  "Snow...?" the mouse-beaver shook himself and reached into the pocket of his spacesuit. After some effort he managed to extract a carrot from it. "I'd rather go thirsty!"

  Rhodan smiled at this but made no reply. He had a feeling that the tunnel was getting warmer. He knew they must be getting close to the actual living quarters—or at least where it had been planned to build them. This thought startled him for a moment when he considered what it might infer. But at the same time it gave him an idea. "Pucky, what about thought impulses now? Do you think you can trace any?"

  The mouse-beaver listened inwardly for awhile. "Nothing—not even a wandering dream! It looks like we're alone in this world except for those invisible ones—and their kind of thoughts are spooky. But if the Barkonides are like you say they are—humanoid and almost like Earthmen—then I would have to pick up at least a thought tremor somewhere on this whole planet that you call Barkon."

  "No impulses? Not anything at all?"

  "I'm sorry—no."

  Rhodan resisted the thought that the invisible attackers might have been able to extinguish an entire race of people. The Barkonides had been in existence for a million years already and they had colonized a large part of the galaxy. Perhaps they were even the ancestral source of both the Arkonide and Terrestrial races. And now was it possible for them to die out in the course of a mere half century?

  Somehow something was wrong with such a deduction. But what?

  Now the tunnel had ceased its descent and was leading in a horizontal direction. Rhodan had dispensed with the brakes entirely and opened the car to full speed. The tracks led forward in a straight line and the small vehicle shot along at a hurtling pace. One hour, two. They were heading directly toward the center that lay beneath the main entrance, where the first attack of the invisible entities had taken place.