by Perry Rhodan
Rhodan's tone was unusually sharp. Bell decided to forego his usual argument, preferring to devote himself to the young patient lying in his arms. She was just regaining consciousness and tried to wiggle out of his firm yet tender support as soon as she became aware of this embarrassing situation. Marshall took everything in with a certain satisfaction. Khrest was rooted to the ground as if in a trance.
Rhodan seized Betty's hand and walked back with her into the huge hall filled with machinery, in the direction of the approaching robot, whose rhythmical thumping had become louder in the meantime. The monster rolled toward them with incredibly even steps.
"You must concentrate very hard," whispered Rhodan to the little girl. "It's not enough to stop the robot. Try to lift it up and carry it over to the side. You can smash it if you let it fall from a height of about five to six yards. And that is probably what they want us to do, they want us to destroy this robot. Amongst other things," he added softly as if someone might overhear him, someone who had no business listening in to his words. "Can you do it, Betty?"
The little girl nodded her head. She did not speak. Her eyes were wide open, for now they had rounded a corner and saw the metallic colossus just 10 yards in front of them. The robot rolled steadily toward them!
"Now, Betty!" whispered Rhodan. He stayed one step behind the child to avoid any unnecessary distraction.
The girl could hardly suppress the sudden panic that welled up in her. Only once in her young life had she been put to the test of proving her special abilities in an emergency situation. That time several years ago when she had to shoot her father, whose mind had been taken over by hostile alien intruders. These mind snatchers were capable of directing the bodies of other beings according to their own evil plans. The moment they had Betty's father in their power and commanded him to cause tremendous harm to all mankind, Betty had been left no other alternative but to seize her father's gun and kill him with it. Thereupon the alien invaders had been successfully repelled. However the memory of this tragic deed had caused the child to mature very rapidly.
She was a high quality mutant. Ever since she had been a small child her abilities had been fully developed. And now, at the age of nine, she surpassed all the adult mutants. Rhodan fondly characterized her as the precursor of future mankind.
Homo superior!
Betty switched off all other thoughts, concentrating exclusively on one effort to direct her mind into a beam of telekinetic energy. And then she acted with lightning speed. Rhodan had not been able to observe how difficult it had been for Anne Sloane to lift the first robot off the ground, he had only heard the resulting crash. Nevertheless, he was amazed to watch how skilfully little Betty was "working" once she had gotten over her first shock.
The robot, which had to weigh many tons, had stopped abruptly. Its brightly illuminated eyes seemed to shine more intensely. In vain, the monster tried to push against the invisible obstacle of the telekinetic wall of energy. Its wheels spun wildly and finally stopped moving. And then, as if it had become weightless from one moment to the next, the colossus rose upwards until, its antennae bumped into the ceiling. Betty let it dangle there as if she enjoyed playing with her unusual forces.
And then she too let go suddenly.
The crashing breakup of the huge metallic body was accompanied by the terrified shouts of several people. Rhodan whirled around in confusion. He could distinguish Bell's shrill voice and Marshall's mournful complaint. Khrest uttered a few unintelligible words.
Rhodan understood immediately that something extraordinary must have happened. He could not see what it had been because the bend in the corridor obliterated his view. He grasped Betty's arm, to lead her back to the rest of the party. It took several seconds until the child's mind returned to present time. Then she followed him willingly. Her task had been accomplished for the time being.
As Rhodan came around the bend he stopped so suddenly that Betty ran into him. Now he saw what had been the cause of his friends commotion. The matter transmitter that had brought them to this place and which represented their only link with the outside world, had vanished.
Sgt. Groll stood beside Lossosher in front of the entrance to the shaft. Both had spent a rather restless night in the narrow cabin of their fighter plane. The pilot's sleep had been constantly interrupted by the fidgety Ferronian scientist who was too excited to fall asleep. Lossosher kept mumbling to himself, which drove Groll to distraction. He cursed the hour when Rhodan and Deringhouse had ordered him to fly the Ferronian scientist throughout the Vega system.
Finally the far distant sun rose on the horizon and the short day of moon 13B began. They had breakfast, eating very fast and then, heavily armed, the two men returned to the plateau, the scene of last night's weird encounter. They came upon the pyramid. Groll filmed the inscription on the side of the structure. Then the two walked over to the nearby underground tunnel.
Both were gripped by fear as they peeked inside the gently descending passage. There was no light coming from within. The floor showed no joints and consisted of some concrete substance. Undoubtedly the tunnel had been constructed by some intelligent creatures.
"We have found them!" whispered Lossosher jubilantly. "We have found those that live longer than the sun. We have outwitted them in their game of hide and-seek. We have detected this shaft that leads down to some hiding-place. This must have been constructed by some beings that may have been dead for many years, centuries or even millennia."
"Well, what are we going to do now?" wondered Groll; "are you going down first?"
The Ferron's hair stood on end. Groll knew that this meant both fright and especially rejection. "You are my pilot," insisted Lossosher. "You are supposed to protect me. I am nothing but a peaceful explorer. I don't know how to handle arms. You go ahead, will you!"
Sgt. Groll cursed once again that he had been entrusted with this undesirable job, but then his pride won out. Damn it, if this Ferron was going to claim later on to have been responsible for having ferreted out the unknowns, hiding-place, he wanted to be able to insist that he too had had a part in it.
He switched on the searchlight and entered the tunnel first. He had to bend over slightly. This was the first clue about the unknown builders of this shaft. They must have been shorter than Earthmen. About the size of the squat Ferron Lossosher would have no difficulty walking down this low-ceilinged passage.
Something did not seem right there: the stranger last night had definitely been taller than Groll himself. However Groll did not waste any time pondering about this evident inconsistency. He concentrated on the immediate task confronting him. As far as he could make out in the light of his powerful flashlight, the corridor seemed to stretch way ahead without any indication where it would end. It descended at an angle of about 20 degrees and Groll was grateful for his ribbed rubber soles that gave him a firm grip on the ground and would not let him slip or stumble. Besides, the tunnel was narrow enough that he could steady himself against the side walls with both arms stretched out.
Lossosher followed close behind, guiding himself clumsily along the walls. The men could have advanced along the shaft with eyes closed as long as there were no side corridors. Gradually the entrance to the world above shrank to a tiny spot of light. Even if their flashlight gave out, it would not matter greatly. They could not lose their way. Groll felt reassured.
After having advanced for about 50 yards, their searchlight was reflected by a smooth cross-wall. The material of which this wall consisted absorbed 50% of the light. What remained was bright enough to blind them.
Groll reduced the intensity of the beam. He explored the smooth wall with carefully groping fingers. The surface felt cool to his touch and somehow very massive. He rejected a thought that flitted through his mind of removing this obstacle with his hand raygun. The ensuing heat would be unbearable in this narrow passage, quite apart from the fact that the energy would most likely be insufficient to melt down this massive wall.
/> Anyhow, this wall proved that the unknown from the previous night must be very familiar with these surroundings-otherwise they would have come upon him by now. Unless-this thought now crossed Groll's mind-the stranger had left the tunnel again after he and Lossosher had returned to their space fighter for the night.
"Doesn't it continue any more here?" asked Lossosher.
"I'm sure it does," replied Groll, "behind this cross-wall."
"I wouldn't count on that with such certainty!"
The pilot did not answer. He realized that he did not possess the extensive knowledge of the Ferronian scientist, who owed this in turn to the Arkonide hypno-training he had received. Sgt. Groll had just good common sense. And this told him that this tunnel would make no sense if it ended here. There must of necessity be a continuation. Furthermore, this obstacle indicated that valuable objects probably lay hidden behind it.
He arrived therefore at the logical conclusion that this obstacle in their path had to be cleared away. Systematically he set out to accomplish this feat. It took hardly two minutes until he found the tiny raised bump on the right hand side of the wall at a height of approximately one yard.
He pressed in on the raised bump.
Nothing happened for a while, but then the wall started to move. It slid upward and disappeared in the slightly vaulted ceiling, which must be lying, according to his estimate, about 20 yards below the rocky surface.
At the same time bright lights flared up in front of them. He noticed that the tunnel grew wider and higher. It continued for another 10 yards and then opened into a large room which was filled with an array of glittering instruments, machines and installations.
Just before the corridor widened into the large hall and silhouetted against the strong light coming from behind, stood a figure. Its scaly armor shimmered threateningly.
The stranger was waiting for them. Groll stared into the black mouth of a weapon that was pointed directly at him.
5/ COUNTDOWN TO ETERNITY
For the first time in his life Perry Rhodan experienced the sensation of utter dejection. Without the matter transmitter, he realized, their way back had been cut off. It was no longer possible to escape this labyrinth of mysterious machinery. Their search for eternal life would end now in eternal death.
But this attack of despondency lasted but a few seconds. Rhodan's mind began to work again. The positronic brain could not have been wrong in its advice. And the immortals who had puzzled out this riddle would never have intended that those who were supposed to solve the riddle would perish so miserably and without any chance of extricating themselves from this precarious situation.
But where would they find the next task that was waiting to be solved? There were thousands of tasks, according to the decoded written message. Which task was the right one, the decisive one?
And as far as the transmitter was concerned...
With a sudden flash of insight it became clear to Rhodan that its disappearance did not really matter. At all costs they must avoid letting themselves be confused. For this very fact itself constituted one of the tasks confronting them: don't become entrapped in confusion! And it was probably not even necessary to solve all the thousands of riddles if they should discover the decisive ones first.
"What next?" asked Khrest with a surprising calmness in his voice. "Will that mean the end for us?"
"No, Khrest. This is just the beginning." Rhodan hoped deep inside himself that he had not told a lie.
"We must continue with our search."
"Now even the repair robot is no good to us," reflected Bell. "After all, how could it repair a transmitter that is no longer here?"
"There must be hidden somewhere another chance for us that will help us to return," suggested Rhodan. And this time he was convinced he was right in his assumption.
"If only we knew where we are," complained Bell. "In the interior of the planet Ferrol? On another planet? Still in the Vega system? The transmission might have hurled us to the end of the universe."
"Agreed," admitted Rhodan. "We might be any where or anytime. Whether on Ferrol or thousands of light years away, in the past or in the future-the way back will lead only via a matter transmitter. Therefore, we must find one, in case the old one has disappeared for good. I am afraid it has teleported itself away from here under its own power."
For the first time little Betty Toufry spoke up: "That's right. And exactly at the very same instant when the second of the hostile robots was destroyed."
Rhodan glanced at her in amazement. His thoughts began to race. Then he smiled. "Of course, we almost forgot! The moment both robots ceased to exist as functioning machines, they released a contact. The disappearance of the transmitter signifies therefore that we have come closer to our goal. It sounds paradoxical but it is a logical conclusion. Thanks, Betty. You have helped us a great deal."
"I wish I could share your optimism," said Bell, who started walking down the corridor that led between the machines. He did not even turn around when Rhodan inquired where he was going.
"I am searching for the next task, Perry."
"We must not get separated," advised Khrest. "We must stay together if we want to find the solution to this problem."
Rhodan, followed by the rest of the group, started to move in the direction Bell had taken.
"How could the positronic brain have possibly known that we would need Betty down here?" wondered Rhodan. Khrest was at a loss for an explanation, too.
The passage widened. An empty pedestal with a slanting step leading up to it marked the spot where the robot had been standing. Directly above it glowed the sphere that had served as the receiving terminal for those terrifying bolts of lightning. The electrical discharges had begun after they had been scrutinized by the telepathic automaton. One event had released the next-a kind of controlled chain reaction.
Which event would now follow the disappearance of there matter transmitter?
They did not have to wait very long for an answer to their question.
Bell had been standing at the center of the widened passage. The heat was not too noticeable at this particular spot, although the entire room had become considerably warmer. There were no machines nearby. Only a massive metal cube of about one cubic yard was over to the right. It was completely smooth, without any joints, with a strange looking instrument resting on top.
There was hardly enough time for Rhodan to examine this instrument properly. He mainly noticed various levers, sliding scales and buttons. The mysterious apparatus reminded him remotely of a movie camera. An oval-shaped lens confirmed this impression.
A gentle humming roar came from somewhere again. Suddenly Bell started to shriek in horror without any visible cause; he kept screaming at the top of his voice. He shouted incomprehensible words, an the while raising his as if he were trying to grasp something invisible.
Rhodan, startled, stopped abruptly. "What's the matter?" he called out to his friend. "Did you get caught inside an energy field? I can't see anything..."
But now all could plainly perceive it. A nebulous veil coming from nowhere formed around Bell, whirled aimlessly around the human shape, gradually condensing to a spiral, which began systematically to envelop his body. The spiral kept turning, faster and faster, apparently materializing into a compact mass. Bell's figure became hazy but his disconcerted cries passed unhindered through the strange barrier.
"Stand still, Reg!" ordered Rhodan. "Is it painful?"
"I don't feel anything at all!" roared Bell in desperation. "That damn thing won't let go of me! Get me out of here! Quick!"
"Don't get hysterical! It doesn't hurt-so it can't be that dangerous."
Rhodan's thoughts were racing. There must be some reason for this energy spiral. It meant to draw his attention to something. But there was nothing in the immediate vicinity.
Oh, yes, there was something indeed!
The "movie camera!"
Rhodan jumped over to the metal cube. The lens o
f the strange camera-or whatever else it might be-stared at him with an almost challenging look.
And then, rising to the surface from some unfathomable depth, an almost forgotten memory emerged. Or was it just his imagination? Somewhere, sometimes he had encountered this instrument before. If not in reality, then at least in the form of a hypothetical plan.
It must have been during his hypno-training! The special schooling that had transferred to his mind the entire body of Arkonide knowledge. If this memory should stem from this training, then Khrest ought to know about it too. And most likely in more detail.
Rhodan turned to the Arkonide scientist. "Khrest! Think fast! What is this thing? I remember it vaguely from the scientific theories of the hypno-training. It was called fictional... no, fictive... oh, hell, help me, Khrest! It has something to do with dematerialization. Fifth dimensional. The Arkonides know of it only in theory. Please, think hard! Everything depends on it!"
Before Khrest had a chance to reply, Betty interjected: "It's much faster to think than to speak. Khrest has understood your question, Rhodan. This apparatus is a fictive-transmitter, described by the Arkonides as a theoretical possibility but never practically explored. It functions according to the principle of fifth-dimensional geometry. Mechanical teleportation with ray impulses capable of seizing objects. This way it is possible to teleport things from any place in the universe to somewhere else."
Khrest remained silent. There was nothing he could add after little Betty had expressed all his thoughts aloud. Rhodan felt relieved. His brain worked at top speed.
Meanwhile Bell had stopped screaming. He stood motionless in the center of the wildly rotating energy spiral. He was waiting for a miracle that would free him from this imprisonment. His feet were hovering about five inches above the floor, Rhodan noted with scientific detachment. Thus he must have been removed from the fetters of gravitational pull.
Without much thought, acting more on an impulse, Rhodan's fist slammed hard on a lever that suddenly glimmered faintly on the side of the so-called camera. This time the unknowns had given him a definite hint! Perhaps this problem had seemed too difficult even to them.