by Perry Rhodan
In case a non-Arkonide spaceship would approach the fortified mountain base, mighty defensive weapons were programmed to ward off the intruders. Nothing but the gigantic fleet of a highly intelligent race, that had been schooled in millennia of constant warfare, would have even a chance to overcome the mechanical defense system of ancient Arkonides.
One of the entrances to the underground labyrinth was located on the high plateau of the mountain. The Stardust was slowly approaching this relatively flat area. Invisible probing rays examined the ship and permitted it to come in for a landing.
Inside the mountain fortress was the giant positronic brain. It knew already that one of the ships of its ancient builders was coming near.
Only Rhodan and Khrest had set foot on Venus. They intended to obtain information from the omniscient robot brain. Meanwhile Reginald Bell was in charge of the Stardust. Rhodan had issued orders that the giant spacesphere was to return to Galacto-City, the New Power's main base on Earth.
Galacto-City! The most modern metropolis of the world, built in the middle of the Gobi Desert on the Asian continent. Its site was on the very spot where a few years earlier Rhodan had landed upon his return from the first trip to the moon, accompanied by Khrest and Thora, the two shipwrecked Arkonides whom he had rescued. Near the shores of the Goshun salt lake he had erected his first base, defying the violent protests of all the governments of the world. Now the base had grown tremendously. Robots and automated robot machines had constructed this vast city surrounding the actual center whose valuable installations were protected by a permanent energy dome. The entire area of the New Power's realm covered some twenty-four thousand square miles, protected from the outside world by Rhodan's army.
These armed forces consisted of five hundred superbly trained soldiers equipped with Arkonide weapons. They were ably assisted by some five thousand Arkonide robot soldiers, programmed to obey only Rhodan's orders or those of his authorized personnel.
Four battleships, huge spacespheres of Arkonide design, swift space-fighters, all heavily armed, made up the city's defense forces that served only one purpose to maintain peace!
The commander in charge of these forces during Rhodan's absence was Colonel Freyt, who so closely resembled Rhodan that he could have been mistaken for his brother.
Colonel Freyt was standing in Galacto-City's spaceport, awaiting the announced arrival of the Stardust. As soon as the gigantic ship had safely settled on the ground he started walking over to the passenger exit. He gazed up at the spaceship that now looked like an incredibly tall building. The convex hull of shiny metal arched upward reaching into the blue sky. He came closer and the metal wall was hanging almost horizontally above him. The exit hatch opened and Reginald Bell's stocky figure appeared. He quickly slid down the moving belt, almost tumbling into the arms of his waiting friend.
"Welcome home, Reggie!" Freyt saluted a bit sloppily. "Or to make it quite official: On behalf of the New Power we welcome our Minister of Defense... Everything is okay here at the base."
"That's what I like to hear," roared Bell, slapping Freyt's back in a friendly greeting. "Rhodan and Khrest have remained on Venus. Thora has returned with us. Here she comes."
Freyt was surely not the only man who took pleasure in looking at the beautiful Arkonide woman, even if she comported herself in a cool, distant and haughty manner. Still, she was a woman, and an extraordinarily gorgeous female at that.
"Why are you staring at me, Colonel Freyt?" Thora inquired. "Have I changed so much?"
"You just looked tanned, very becoming," Freyt stammered, embarrassed. He was furious at the same time of Bell's impertinent grin. "You feel fine, I hope."
"Thank you. I always feel great when I have a chance to get rid of that pest Bell for a few days." Thora spoke in a condescending way. I'm looking forward to not having to see this Earthling as long as we're here in Galacto-City."
Bell kept on grinning broadly. He turned to Freyt. "She's true to form. Have fun! She'll probably ask you to beat her beck and call. Show her a good time in the city while I'm busy supervising the unloading and loading of exchange goods for our Ferronian allies."
"Great! Everything is ready for you," Freyt replied gratefully. "As far as I'm concerned you can start right away with that job."
"That can wait till tomorrow, my friend. Where's the nearest bar?"
In the meantime some of the mutants had disembarked, as well as Dr. Haggard and Dr. Manoli, the two physicians. Freyt welcomed everyone, carrying on brief conversations with the returning crew, until the first transport gliders arrived. The unloading of the ship's freight began immediately.
Freyt took Bell by the arm and pulled him aside. "I have some good news for Rhodan," he said mysteriously. "It won't be long now until we'll have one united government of the world. Our negotiations have progressed splendidly. Mankind still hasn't forgotten the narrow escape we had some time ago from alien invaders. And to think that mankind was in danger of exterminating itself! We were on the brink of an atomic war! Only their fear of the boomerang effect of a total atomic war, of falling victim to a general holocaust, prevented them from jumping right into it. But now they seem to be willing to listen to the voice of reason."
"That's great news," commented Bell. He was bursting with all the tall tales he loved to tell whenever he returned from one of their space trips. "I haven't done so bad myself, Freyt. I've solved part of the galactic riddle."
Freyt's face changed into a question mark. "What riddle did you say?"
Bell grinned. "That's a long story that's best told over a few drinks. Now take me to the nearest bar, pal. You know Rhodan believes alcohol is only fit to be used for medicinal purposes. And I haven't been sick for a long time!"
The metallic conveyor belts rolled eerily through the underground corridors of the rocky fortress. The walls were illuminated by a faint glow. The hum of mighty generators could be heard coming from somewhere. From time to time Khrest and Rhodan were sliding by the openings of some smaller side corridors that led deeper into the mountain base. Silently and clumsily, robots moved alongside the conveyor belt. They did not react when Khrest and Rhodan passed by. Their probing rays received the brainwave patterns of the two men, checked and registered them. These apparently harmless looking machine creatures would have quickly changed into death-dealing monsters if these brainwave patterns had not been of the correct type.
One day had passed—one Earthday.
"I wonder whether we will get an answer today," ventured Khrest.
"Maybe," Rhodan replied. "We've done all we could. We've presented our questions and all the necessary particulars to the positronic brain. Twenty-four hours are a long time. We should get a partial answer, at least."
Once again they passed by a side corridor. They knew where it led: to the completely automated command Center of the defense installations. From this point the entire planet Venus could be defended against whole fleets of attacking hostile ships. And perhaps even the entire solar system might be protected this way.
Now the conveyor belt slowed down. They were approaching their destination, the center that housed the brain. This positronic brain was similar to that on board the Stardust. It had the same controls, yet it was much bigger, all encompassing, omniscient.
Its memories reached back for thousands of years.
In addition to that this brain on Venus had another inestimable advantage. It could conjure up thought images upon a screen. The observer could visually follow the descriptions of events the brain was thinking about.
If desired, one could thus see an actual filmic report of happenings thousands of years earlier. Perhaps even, Rhodan thought, a bit frightened, a report coming from the future. All these thoughts passed through Rhodan's mind while the conveyor belt came to a standstill. They had arrived.
The corridor ended in front of a big metal door. Khrest and Rhodan stepped up to it, stopping about one yard short of the door. They knew that they were being observed and exa
mined at this point by invisible and mechanical eyes. Then the door slid noiselessly open.
The entrance to the Command Center of the positronic brain lay wide open in front of them.
The light came on; everything was now brightly lit up ahead. The giant console came to life. little lamps began to glow, then grew dark again. Levers began to move. The hum from behind the walls grew stronger. The positronic brain obviously must have been expecting them, for hardly had they sat down at their listening posts than the loudspeaker spoke up with its impersonal mechanical voice:
THE INFORMATION YOU SUPPLIED HAS BEEN CHECKED. THE MEMORY BANKS HAVE GIVEN THE DESIRED ANSWERS. THE RESULT WILL BE TRANSMITTED TO YOU IN THE FORM OF A FILM. AT THE SAME TIME YOU WILL RECEIVE A SHORTENED VERSION IN THE FORM OF A WRITTEN REPORT. IF YOU WISH TO HAVE A TAPE RECORD OF THIS REPORT, PLEASE PUSH THE RECORDING BUTTON. THE REPORT WILL START IN ONE MINUTE.
The loudspeaker fell silent.
Khrest looked at Rhodan. "What do you think?"
"Let's just watch the film, Khrest. All we really need is the name of the man who once upon a time landed on Ferrol and expressed astonishment at the sight of the matter transmitters. There's no record of this event in the Ferronian annals. They've never mentioned to us that somebody else landed on their planet after the immortal race had been there. Secondly, we'll need to know the approximate date of this event. These, two items will be covered in the short written version of the report... The film is about to begin."
A wall panel had rolled aside and a picture screen appeared. The dull glass began to glow softly, giving way shortly to an abstract color design. This lasted just a few seconds, then a true to life three-D film started to roll. It was an authentic film, even if it portrayed events that had taken place thousands of years ago. Three giant spacespheres hovered in infinite space. They approached a solar system at the speed of light. They cruised about for a while and finally landed on the system's sole inhabited planet. There they were greeted with awe and reverence by the shy native population.
The tinny, mechanical voice of the positronic brain carried on a running commentary, while the film was showing.
9,985 TERRESTRIAL YEARS AGO COMMANDER KERLON AND HIS FLEET OF THREE EXPLORATORY SPACE CRUISERS REACHED THE VEGA SYSTEM, WHICH CONSISTED OF FORTY-THREE PLANETS. A BRIEF SCOUTING TOUR REVEALED THAT ONLY THE EIGHTH PLANET WAS INHABITED BY INTELLIGENT LIFE. KERLON LANDED AND WAS WELCOMED BY THE NATIVES, WHO SEEMED SOMEWHAT FRIGHTENED OF THEM.
SOON THE ARKONIDE ASTRONAUTS LEARNED THAT THEY HAD NOT BEEN THE FIRST 'GODS' TO ARRIVE ON FERROL (THE NATIVES' NAME FOR THEIR HOME PLANET). OTHERS HAD MADE AN EMERGENCY LANDING THERE. THE NATIVES WERE FRIENDLY AND HELPED THEIR 'GUESTS,' WHO IN APPRECIATION FOR THIS ASSISTANCE LEFT SEVERAL MATTER TRANSMITTERS BEHIND. THE ARKONIDE EXPLORERS HAD MERELY SOME THEORETICAL KNOWLEDGE OF SUCH DEVICES, BUT HAD SO FAR BEEN UNABLE TO BUILD THEM.
Now the film showed how the Ferrons led the Arkonides to the matter transmitters.
KERLON EXPRESSED AMAZEMENT AT THE SIGHT OF THESE TECHNICAL MARVELS AND WANTED TO KNOW FURTHER DETAILS ABOUT THESE MACHINES. THE FERRONS TOLD THAT THEY HAD RECEIVED THEM AS A GIFT FROM THOSE BEINGS THAT 'LIVED LONGER THAN THE SUN.' THIS WAS IN REFERENCE TO THE RACE OF THE IMMORTALS. KERLON WAS GREATLY ASTONISHED BUT HE DID NOT REPORT THIS INCIDENT UNTIL MUCH LATER TO THE CENTRAL. MASTER FILE ON ARKON. HE SENT THIS REPORT FROM THE SECOND PLANET OF STILL ANOTHER SOLAR SYSTEM.
THE THREE ARKONIDE EXPLORATORY VESSELS STARTED OUT AGAIN AND WENT BEYOND THE VEGA SYSTEM. THEN THEY MADE A TRANSITION JUMP THROUGH HYPERSPACE, COMING OUT AGAIN INTO NORMAL SPACE WITHIN THE OTHER SOLAR SYSTEM. THERE THEY LANDED ON THE SECOND PLANET, CALLED VENUS. KERLON AND HIS MEN CONSTRUCTED A GIANT BASE THERE AND SENT OFF DETAILED REPORTS OF THEIR TRAVELS TO ARKON. THESE REPORTS WERE DULY RECEIVED, REGISTERED AND RECORDED. LATER ON, KERLON'S EXPEDITIONARY FORCES SETTLED TERRA,THE SYSTEM'S THIRD PLANET. KERLON MET HIS DEATH WHILE FIGHTING THE SAVAGES OF A HUGE CONTINENT. THIS ISLAND WORLD WAS LATER ATTACKED BY ENEMIES COMING FROM OUTER SPACE. AS A RESULT THIS CONTINENT PERISHED, SINKING INTO THE OCEAN.
The monotone voice of the robot brain continued:
KERLON HAS LONG SINCE BEEN DEAD. HE WAS THE FIRST ARKONIDE TO RUN ACROSS THE TRAIL OF THE IMMORTAL RACE—
— AND TO LOSE TRACK OF THEM AGAIN. KERLON WAS ALSO THE FIRST ARKONIDE TO ENCOUNTER AND WONDER ABOUT THE MATTER TRANSMITTERS AND TO SEND HOME AN ACCOUNT. FURTHER DETAILS, HOWEVER, WERE LOST. THE ARKONIDE POPULATION ON VENUS VANISHED. ALL THAT REMAIN THERE ARE THE ROBOTS AND ALL THE STORED INFORMATION.
The film was over. The screen grew dark. The voice fell silent. Rhodan remained seated in front of the quiescent robot brain. The humming sound from behind the walls had ceased. Rhodan was pondering what he had just witnessed. For the first time he realized that an insurmountable wall stood between him and the solution of the galactic riddle. What use was it now to have learned the name of the man who had wondered at the matter transmitters, if that same man had been dead for the past ten thousand years Kerlon and Rhodan were separated by a millennial barrier of time.
There was nothing to be learned from the Ferrons. The film had made that quite clear. They had lived in a primitive feudal society at the time of the first Arkonide landing on Ferrol. The Ferronian weapons consisted of old-fashioned muzzle-loaders, swords and lances. They wore suits of armor like medieval warriors had done on Earth. No memory of this second encounter with alien visitors had survived. The natives had probably been too preoccupied with internecine warfare and strife.
"Now we know this man's name—Kerlon—but that is all. What next, Perry?" Khrest's voice sounded rather discouraged.
Rhodan abruptly stood up. "We'll see. After all, they didn't ask for anything else, just the name of that man. That's what we were supposed to find out and we did. We'll get our next answer inside the vault in the Thort's palace on Thorta. We'll fly back to Earth now and from there we'll return to Ferrol. We'll discover there whether we've lost the trail to the planet of eternal life or not."
Khrest also rose. "The auxiliary vessel is waiting outside the fortress to bring us back to Earth. I'm looking forward to seeing your home planet once again, Perry."
Rhodan glanced quizzically at the Arkonide scientist but the latter's voice had been totally devoid of sarcasm.
Reginald Bell was in his element.
He had to select two hundred men from among the soldiers and specialist workers of the New Power. From now on they were supposed to serve on the Stardust. This would increase the number of the spaceship's crew to five hundred. Added to this number was the Mutant Corps and the inner circle of command.
It was a difficult task to decide which of the many volunteers were most qualified to become members of the Stardust's crew. One of the criteria, Rhodan had decreed, was the volunteers' marital status. They should not have strong family ties. Married people were out therefore.
But this did not apply only to men. Numerous females were chosen for service on the Stardust. All had to be single. All that mattered then were their professional qualifications as wireless operators, electronic specialists or chemists. From now on women physicians and technicians would work aboard the spaceship and help to represent the human race on interstellar trips. Bell noticed, not without satisfaction, that the male members of the old crew accepted this new regime with definite signs of approval.
Bell's strenuous task came to a sudden end with Rhodan's return from Venus. Since the unloading of Ferronian and loading of Terrestrial goods had been completed in the meantime, nothing stood in the way of the Stardust's departure.
Three days after Khrest's and Rhodan's arrival on Earth the Stardust was ready for takeoff.
The Stardust shot up once again into the blue skies that enveloped Earth with a mantle which hid from human eyes the terrifying loneliness and immensity of the universe. The ship flew beyond Pluto, using simple speed of light, soon reaching the point of transition.
The gigantic sphere suddenly started to oscillate as if it were surrounded by an envelope of ho
t air. Soon everything vanished from sight. The shockwave, resulting from the warp disturbance of the space-time structure, was propagated with unimaginable speed throughout the universe, reaching its very edges without any loss of time.
But inside the universe lived innumerable races on innumerable planets. And once again Rhodan was fearful that one of these races might possess some instruments resembling the Arkonide warp-sensors and therefore would become aware of the Stardust's hyperjump.
This most certainly would cause them to wonder as to the origin of this transition through hyperspace.
3/ BATTLE IN THE PAST
The Thort, ruler of all Ferrons, seemed greatly impressed by the goods Rhodan had brought along from Earth. His trade organizations did splendid business with the Terrestrial merchandise. Thus both he and Rhodan were highly satisfied with the financial success of these transactions. The first interstellar trade relations between the two races had been established.
Rhodan charged Major Deringhouse to supervise the unloading of the goods. Rhodan was restless. He realized this was due to the uncertainty about their real mission: the solving of the galactic riddle. Hardly had Deringhouse left, when Rhodan summoned Bell, Khrest, Thora, Dr Haggard and John Marshall, the telepath. Nothing would prevent him from descending this very day into the crypt underneath the Red Palace.
However there were a few items he wanted to discuss first with his closest collaborators.
"You all remember the decoded message," Rhodan began, and held up the paper containing the text which barely a week ago the positronic brain had translated for them. "There are three points in it for us to consider. To begin with, the immortals speak of seconds that have passed. We may safely assume that these seconds have lasted exactly almost ten thousand years. Next: the message ordered us to find the man who had wondered about the machines of knowledge and to ask him. This presents us with a problem: what was meant by that? We did find that man, at least we learned his name. But how can you question someone who has been dead for these past ten thousand years? I'm afraid that this part of the galactic riddle will defy solution. Finally the message tells us to come down into the underground vault in order to interrogate that man. This must be interpreted to mean that there is some possibility to talk to a dead man via the fifth dimension. Don't ask me how this works — I really don't have an explanation for it. Anyhow, we will soon find out. For I'm not descending into the crypt without knowing the name of the man, Kerlon. There is still some point in that message that has aroused my curiosity..."