by Perry Rhodan
Rhodan watched as Khrest and the robot left. He felt uneasy. He hated to have to remain behind. For the first time the initiative had been wrested from his hands—by an argument of logic.
Kerlon was busy organizing a small expedition when he noticed three figures approaching his ship. The three men were not dressed alike; they looked different from each other. They came down from the castle and were now walking across the plain. In the lead was a silvery shimmering monster whose shape and movements seemed somewhat familiar to Kerlon. At first he thought it to be a man wearing a suit of armor but then he recognized it as a robot
A robot? Here on this primitive world?
He turned to one of his officers. "Switch on the visicope with the magnifier. I have the sinking feeling we've arrived here too late."
The officer did not grasp what Kerlon meant by this remark. But as soon as the magnifying screen clearly showed the three figures, he understood his commander's meaning. The metal monster that was walking toward their ships was unmistakably an Arkonide robot.
And at the same time they could distinguish Khrest, who advanced, tall and straight with the inborn pride of his race, toward the waiting ships. Although he was dressed in some unfamiliar garb, rather than the usual uniform of the expeditionary forces of the Arkonide space fleet, his racial extraction was quite obvious. At his side strode a short stocky man with a colorful cape—whom Kerlon took to be a native of this planet.
"Too bad." Kerlon murmured, evidently disappointed. "And I thought our expedition was the first to have discovered this system. Someone else has beaten us to it. I wonder who it might be?"
"Shall we go out and meet them halfway?" asked the officer.
"It would be a friendly gesture," Kerlon said and stood up. "Switch off the screen and accompany me."
It was a clear-cut case for Kerlon. One of the many expeditions that searched the universe for inhabited solar systems had landed on this planet and established contact with the natives. That was a completely normal procedure. Sooner or later this gigantic solar system would therefore become part of the galactic empire. It was too bad that he wouldn't be credited with this discovery. It was a regrettable fact but one that couldn't be changed.
"Shall we sound the alarm?" asked the officer. But he already knew the answer.
Kerlon shook his head. "What for? It's quite obvious that we're dealing here, with friendly natives, otherwise the Arkonide and his robot wouldn't be able to move around unhindered. No, there's no danger."
And Kerlon, accompanied by his officer, left the ship to meet Khrest and his companions.
Skilfully utilizing dips and furrows in the ground and seeking cover behind clumps of bushes had enabled Gagat and ten of his bravest warriors to steal up close to the three spaceships. The eleven men lay pressed close to the ground, hidden by the tall grass, waiting for further developments.
Then they saw three figures descend from the castle and make their way toward the ships. Soon two other men emerged from the mysterious silver ships and walked toward the other group. Barely twenty yards from Gagat's hiding place the two groups met and began to converse. Unfortunate, thought Gagat, that he could not understand a word they were saying.
"They know each other," Gagat whispered. He was disappointed. "They have come to conquer our world. Lesur is their ally. We must kill them."
His new chieftain Radgar placed his right hand on Gagats arm. He murmured with a raucous voice, "Shouldn't we rather take them prisoners than kill them? Once they are in our power the other Gods won't dare attack us anymore."
Gagat could see his point. "You're very clever, Radgar," he praised the man. "They'll be no good to us if they're dead but they'll be very useful as hostages. Take care not to injure them. Wait for my signal, then we'll rush them. We must take them by surprise; they mustn't get a chance to defend themselves."
And once more they pressed even closer to the earth, hoping that the strangers would come still nearer to their hiding place.
Khrest was not the least surprised when he saw the two Arkonides walk toward him. Still, it was hard for him to suppress a peculiar feeling.
The two men that came nearer and nearer had been dead these past ten thousand years. A vast chasm separated them, still they would confront each other presently. Death had been overcome; exercising some influence on future events had become possible too.
But was this truly the case? What he was about to do now, was this not an indispensable necessity in order to make possible what would happen in ten thousand years—or rather what already had taken place by now?
What, on the other hand, wondered Khrest,would happen if I were not standing here this moment and it Kerlon and I would never meet? And the answer came to him instantly: somebody else would be standing here in his place, advising Kerlon to fly off to Earth's solar system.
And then they finally confronted each other.
"I see," Kerlon began with a slight smile, "that my expedition has arrived too late. You've stolen a march on us."
Khrest understood at once. He decided to play along. "We've found this system quite by accident, Kerlon, and we believe it will be possible to incorporate it into our galactic empire. The natives, the Ferrons, are willing to become Arkonide subjects."
And in the same instant Khrest realized that he had committed an important blunder. How could he have known Kerlon's name?
Kerlon raised his eyebrows. "You know me? I can't remember ever having met you before."
Khrest caught himself in time. "I'm Khrest. My spaceship is off to another exploratory trip to the other planets of this system. A few of my crew and I have remained behind. The center on Arkon reported that you were on your way here."
Kerlon shook his head. "Strange," he said. "Nobody had any inking of my intention to explore this system. It can be nothing but sheer guesswork on their part. It's only an accident that we are meeting here."
"Since when are we permitted to carry out missions without special authorization?" Khrest questioned him in a chiding tone while trying to hide his own embarrassment. He knew that Kerlon would not dare make inquiries at the center on Arkon. It constituted an illegal act in itself to have come here without being ordered to do so.
"But be it as it may," Khrest resumed, "to be honest with you—I haven't informed the center about my exact location. They assume that I merely touched this sector in passing. Therefore you're fully entitled to claim the discovery of this system for yourself. I hope that you'll regard me with a little more sympathy from now on..."
Kerlon exchanged astonished glances with his officer, then extended his hand in a friendly greeting. "This is very kind of you, Khrest. You're right, it'll be wiser to conceal this meeting entirely from our center. And, quite frankly, it's most important for me to be officially known as the discoverer of this system. I have my reasons for it. Let me tell you, I'm on the track of a very great secret. Once this mystery is solved, it will bestow absolute power to our race over the entire universe."
"If you're referring to the secret of eternal life, I can give you some additional clues," Khrest said calmly.
Kerlon's eyes went wide with horror. What he had believed to be his own personal secret was mentioned here by this strange commander in an almost matter-of-fact tone of voice. Khrest realized that he must have gone a bit too far. How could he lessen the shock?
I've found some clues that indicate the existence of a race in our universe that has discovered the secret of cell rejuvenation. I believe this is nonsense. But on the other hand I see that you take this whole story more seriously than I do. That's none of my business. Since I have no intention of following up this trail, let me tell you where I suppose the trail will lead next. There is a solar system some twenty-seven light-years..."
"I know." Kerlon nodded in agreement, quite to Khrest's surprise. "This is where the trail leads. Thanks for your kindness, Khrest. As soon as I have registered my discovery of this system—and this is happening while we're talking, via the p
ositronic brain—I shall proceed to the other solar system twenty-seven light-years from here. And how about you? What are your plans?"
Khrest smiled. "I've been ordered to search sector AM Fifty-three Y. One of our space vessels is supposed to have crash-landed there."
Khrest had arbitrarily picked these co-ordinates.
"Fine." Kerlon nodded, satisfied. "Then we've come to an agreement. Do you plan on leaving this planet as soon as your ship returns?"
"Yes."
"How did you get along with the natives here?"
"There are various tribes. The inhabitants of the castle over there believe us to be Gods. They're devoted to us. We came to their assistance while they were being attacked by some enemies, the so-called barbarians."
"You intervened in the internal affairs of an inferior race?" asked Kerlon, astonished.
"We were forced to defend ourselves," Khrest replied.
"But it is forbidden to fight against primitive races."
"Self-defense is allowed," countered Khrest.
Kerlon was just about to say something but before he could utter a word a most startling event took place. This very moment Gagat decided to overwhelm these valuable hostages.
With Gagat in the lead, the band of warriors rushed toward Khrest's and Kerlon's groups who were quickly surrounded. At the sight of the barbarians' raised swords Khrest deemed it wise not to draw the ray gun that was hanging at his belt. They were completely taken by surprise. No defense was possible without endangering their own lives.
Even Markon the robot recognized the danger of their situation. He realized that any counterattack would only aggravate their risky position. If he were to engage the barbarians in battle, one of them would certainly find some opportunity to kill either Khrest or Lesur. Therefore the robot remained inactive. There was no threat to his own survival at any time, whichever way be would act, but his creators' lives had to be protected at all costs. Even if it would have meant his own destruction, he would always have considered first his masters' welfare.
Gagat touched the tip of his sword to Lesur's chest. "Even your Gods can't help you now!" he reminded him sarcastically. "But never fear, we won't harm you and your friends. As soon as they hand over their silver spheres to me, those giant flying vessels, I will let them go free."
Khrest understood his words, while Kerlon naturally could not make any sense of them. He had some vague idea what the barbarians might have in mind, however as they gestured toward the spheres. Still, he could not imagine what use the barbarians could possibly of the spaceships once they were in their possession.
"I'm warning you." Lesur spoke up bravely, although he had never felt so close to death as at that moment, "Our Gods can destroy you if they so desire. The reason they've shown you mercy is to give you another chance. Let us go free or you'll bitterly regret it."
Kerlon had given up any hope. Surely his crew had observed this incident from the safety of the spaceships, but how could they come to their commander's assistance without definitely endangering his and his officer's life even more? Besides, there was the ban on using deadly weapons against primitive peoples.
Derisive laughter was Gagat's answer to Lesur's warning. He brandished his sword and motioned to his men. "Two of you walk on either side of each prisoner. Make sure you can kill them at any moment, if necessary. Watch out, they're full of tricks. We must take them back to our camps where we can lock them up securely."
Kerlon looked at Khrest, and not without blame he reminded him: "It appears you hadn't sufficient opportunity to make a thorough study of these natives' customs. Otherwise this incident couldn't have occurred."
"Don't worry, Kerlon," Khrest comforted the other Arkonide. "It won't be long before we'll be free again. My friends are already aware of what has taken place here and will act at any moment now. They're probably only waiting for the most favorable occasion. But once they start their action to liberate us, please, do me the favor not to be surprised at anything. Don't ask any questions, will you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"Keep quiet now. The barbarians will become suspicious otherwise. Just this: my friends keep in constant communication with me. They can even hear what we're saying. They'll intervene very soon. I only hope that your crew in the spaceships will remain calm."
"If they should disregard the ban and try to set me free, I wouldn't really blame them."
"Of course not. But look here, Kerlon! Our captivity has already come to an end. I must insist, though, don't ask me for any explanation!"
This reminder was necessary for in Kerlon's eyes the ensuing events must have seemed more than improbable. It must all be a wild dream!
Gagat's sword suddenly took on a life of its own. It slipped out of his hand and rose slowly upward. About five yards above their heads the weapon hung in the air without moving. The barbarians were thunderstruck at this sight. They forgot all about their leader's command. They no longer even worried that they themselves might be taken prisoner by their former captives. They stared up at the hovering sword that quickly was joined by nine more. Defying gravity, the heavy weapons climbed skyward, arranged in an orderly, structured ornament. Then the tip of all ten swords began to point to the center and formed a perfect circle. There was only one gap where the eleventh sword had not yet taken its place. Its owner was not willing to surrender his weapon so easily, despite all this frightening magic. Desperately clutching his sword, the barbarian would not let go of it.
But Anne Sloane's telekinetic abilities were stronger. She directed the weapon higher and higher. The sword kept rising, pulling the desperately struggling barbarian after it. The brave warrior wildly kicked his legs, trying to regain the ground with his feet. In vain! He was almost three yards above the grass by now. Unrelenting, the sword dragged him up into the air. Finally the barbarian seemed to realize that it would be useless to keep resisting the will of the Gods.
He let go of the sword and fell back to the ground. Anne did not bother to break his fall. She had all she could manage to hold the beautiful arrangement of the swords intact way above the group's heads.
The barbarians were disarmed.
Calmly Khrest drew his my gun and pointed it at Gagat.
"You see how senseless it is for you to try to rebel. And now, run for your lives! The next time I might not be as patient and merciful!"
Gagat looked longingly once more at the inaccessible swords. Then, remembering the most unpleasant effect of the odd weapon held in the hand of the white-haired superman, he followed the stranger's advice. With Gagat in the lead, the barbarians retreated to the woods. Kerlon hardly paid attention to the withdrawing barbarians, he was too busy staring at the eleven floating swords. He was absolutely fascinated and utterly perplexed.
Khrest felt it was time to offer some kind of explanation to Kerlon. "I told you earlier, Kerlon, not to be surprised at anything. You might also have noticed that the mysterious happenings made no particular impression on the primitives. Despite its backwardness, this planet has produced many things we're not too familiar with. What you just witnessed here was the work of a telekineticist."
"I thought so. Do you know him?"
"Yes. A Ferron whose brain is way ahead of his time. There are entire races of telekineticists. Our scientific research—"
"I know," Kerlon interrupted with resignation in his voice. "We'll never completely understand this phenomenon, unfortunately. In any case, this fellow has saved us from a dangerous situation and we owe him our thanks."
"The best way to express our gratitude would be to forget the whole incident." Khrest spoke with emphasis. "The Ferronian natives believe that we've endowed this man with this special talent. They might get suspicious if we start making a great to-do about it."
This seemed to make sense to Kerlon. But he still couldn't take his eyes off the sword circle in the air. Then, pointing to his waiting ships, he invited Khrest to come aboard for a visit.
Khrest accept
ed. But he had no idea what Kerlon would have to give him in order to find the way to the light.
6/ THE BLACK GHOST
Meanwhile Rhodan was facing a difficult decision.
The last message indicated not to wait more than three days before returning to the time-transformer. Today is the third day since our arrival here. But this means a Ferronian day, because by Earth time three days have already gone by."
Bell became quite jittery. "What if we wrongly interpreted this message and the immortals really meant to say three Terrestrial days?"
"Then we'd be stuck here," Rhodan admitted undisturbed. "But I'm convinced that the immortal always reckons according to the time of the planet where the particular task is to be solved by us. This means we still have time until this afternoon. Marshall, what's going on with Khrest's group?"
The telepath sat in a corner of the room, quietly concentrating. "Khrest and Lesur are accompanying Kerlon into the flagship of the expedition. Markon is waiting outside. Kerlon was just telling Khrest that he wished to show him something."
"Hurray!" chortled Bell. "That's it!"
"That's what?"
"The thing we're after, what else! The path to the light. Couldn't Ralf Marten get into the action? He's just sitting around twiddling his thumbs. He looks bored."
The slant-eyed mutant smiled. "Bored? That would be exaggerating. But it wouldn't be a bad idea if I could take over Kerlon for a while. He won't notice anything. Marshall can read my thoughts and report to you whatever I'm seeing and hearing. For this purpose I'll leave behind in my body here a small part of my conscious mind. With the other part I shall control Kerlon. He'll be totally unaware that I'm spying this way and we'll get a splendid view of what's going on over there in the Arkonide flagship."
Rhodan liked the idea. "Yes, and I also prefer not to leave the two Arkonides alone by themselves. After all, they are compatriots."
"Don't you trust Khrest?" Bell said. "He won't risk anything foolish."
"Not intentionally, Reg. But even our Arkonide supermen are not infallible, as we unfortunately have found at times. We must be ready to intervene at any moment if necessary. Just imagine what would have happened if Anne Sloane hadn't chased away those barbarians."