Caller from Eternity

by Perry Rhodan

  From time to time he had to touch up the grey coloration of his eyes so that their natural reddish hue would not betray him as Thomas Cardif. But now they gleamed coldly. He was gloating. The demise of high priests Kalal and Utik was an obvious indication that It must have discovered the theft of the 20 activators by the Antis somehow and had acted at once, from Wanderer, to convert the devices into instruments of death.

  It did not occur to Cardif that his suppositions were completely devoid of logic. Much less did he suspect that the entity on Wanderer had long since penetrated his disguise.

  Or you will become too big and too powerful...!

  For him this sentence seemed to contain something prophetic: powerful yes, as ruler of the galaxy; and big in mentality. Could either one ever become too great?

  He lifted his gaze again to the cloudless sky where a small part of the Fleet had just disappeared. Its departure was the beginning of a new move on the cosmic chessboard. With this he was about to prove that he was greater than his father and he wanted to show the Antis that instead of being a marionette to them he was someone they would yet learn to fear.

  His plan had reached the next phase: the fall of Arkon!

  On all the Arkon worlds where Terrans had been active, mobilization was now in progress to bring them back to the Sol System. The abandonment of their positions could mean nothing less than a catastrophe for Atlan's Imperium. It would lead to its decline and decay and finally the Sol System's takeover would succeed. It was quite clear to Cardif that this was playing with fire. He was well aware of Arkon's powerful robot fleets. But he had not forgotten to consider Atlan's mentality in his sophisticated plan.

  As Admiral Atlan, Imperator Gonozal VIII had lived on Earth for more than 10,000 years. Today in his thinking and methods of operation he was much more Terran than Arkonide. For him a pact of friendship represented far more than a mere piece of paper. For him the rupture of all treaties and agreements would constitute a heavy psychological shock. Under such pressure, Atlan would be bound to make some errors in decision. But every wrong move would work in the favor of the Solar Imperium. The outbreak of disturbances and the Terran pullback as well as the penetration of the Solar Fleet were designed to create an avalanche of power politics which would sweep Gonozal VIII from his throne and force the obligation upon him, Thomas Cardif, as Rhodan, to invade the Greater Imperium in order to reestablish law and order.

  "Invade..." he said half aloud and he nodded with a smirk. Taking control meant invasion. His plan was in operation. Nothing could stop him now. He, Cardif, had outplayed them all. Very soon now, in less than a half-hour or even the next quarter hour, they would all be facing a fait accompli!

  It was not for nothing that he had requested a direct continuous contact with the giant brain on Venus. It was only with the help of the colossal positronic computer that he as an individual had been able to undertake an operation of this magnitude and complexity and carry it to a logical conclusion.

  And all along he had been aware of the warning voice of the far community's entity. From Rhodan's knowledge he knew about the multiple being's farcical sense of humor. He knew what It considered to be a joke but he was not to be taken in by such play; he could not permit his great opportunity to pass unutilized.

  He stood motionlessly at the window and looked out over the sea of rooftops of Terrania. He was becoming ever more fascinated by this panorama. It represented something of the power which lay behind the Solar Imperium. And the hunger and greed for power had taken possession of him.

  He could still recall the time when a Springer patriarch had wanted to make him the Administrator. At the time he had brusquely rejected the suggestion because he had been consumed by a passion of vengeance which had as its goal his father's destruction. This vengeance drive had long since lost some of its impetus. His zeal for power had partially replaced it although he was not aware of it.

  Suddenly his thoughts digressed to something else. In his mind's eye he saw the two young officers Brazo Alkher and Stant Nolinov standing before him. After his return from the Antis' long-ship Baa-lo, he had told their comrades in the Control Central of the Ironduke that they were under suspicion of having committed treason. On this point he had collided head-on with Col. Jefe Claudrin's opposition and also Solar Marshal Allan D. Mercant had refused to accept his assertion.

  Cardif nodded. Even this subsidiary plan had been carefully interwoven so that the two officers would be whitewashed of all suspicion of treason while yet sparing him certain inconvenient questions, such as who might have known that he was going to Wanderer to ask for the cell activators. It hadn't been on any basis of decency that he had reestablished the two officers but solely for quite pragmatic reasons. If the lieutenants remained in captivity among the anti-mutants there would always be the danger that one day they could manage to escape. In which case it wouldn't be too difficult for them to prove on their own that they had not leaked any information to the Baalol followers concerning their Chief's journey to Wanderer. Also, Cardif was not unaware of the fact that his closest coworkers regarded him either with reservations, confusion or straight-out suspicion.

  This continued to vex him and he had resolved from now on to operate, think and decide like Rhodan. But the ego in him was stronger than his will. He was also aware that the knowledge he had gained from his father on Okul was slowly but surely fading away. The hypnotic transference on Okul had been hurried because of the pressure of time and it had not been 100% complete. Many things in Rhodan's life were entirely lacking in his superimposed memory. Often he was seized with terror when he found a gap in the transmitted knowledge and so he had finally decided to become a recluse in order to prevent any discovery of his identity.

  He knew that he would still have to live a number of years in this hermit-like existence-but not forever! The time would come when the top staff would be due for their next biological cell shower on Wanderer. He himself had an activator so he didn't need this cell-shower treatment; but Reginald Bell would require it-except that he wouldn't get it! None of the old friends of his father! All of them would meet their deaths. He would surround himself with his own friends and not have to see any more of the old faces which had looked up all their lives with such admiration to Perry Rhodan, the man he hated as the murderer of his mother.

  Behind him he heard the video intercom buzz. He turned about casually and took his seat at the desk, after which he glanced at the viewscreen to his right. It was the duty officer at the main hypercom station. He announced that he had an incoming call from Arkon 1, the Crystal World. Imperator Gonozal VIII wished to speak to Perry Rhodan.

  A symbol appeared on the screen that always identified the Imperator's official call. After a few seconds it disappeared and Atlan's intense face was seen.

  "Perry Rhodan!" The Imperator called out to his friend excitedly across an abyss of 34,000 light-years. "I've just learned about your order! In five days all Terrans in the Arkonide Imperium are to relinquish their positions here. Barbarian, would you care to explain what you're trying to do? May I also say that your order has come as a very great shock and that I'm beginning to doubt your integrity?"

  "Aren't we sounding off a bit pompously, Admiral?" retorted Cardif-Rhodan cynically. "I'm surprised that you've called. Didn't I explain to you in our conversation of a week ago that I would have to mobilize all manpower reserves in order to cut the Sol System's 10-year plan to eight years? Didn't I mention a number of times that I meant all reserves? Now do you wish to accuse me of not informing you or going behind your back? Admiral, I categorically deny both accusations!"

  The Arkonide's face froze. There was a pause of many seconds during which the receiver hummed with the undulating carrier sounds of the hypercom transmission. Finally he asked: "How do you explain the fact, Perry Rhodan, that for some hours now the Solar Fleet has been on course for star cluster M-13?"

  Cardif-Rhodan's tone became frigid. "You mean a part of the Solar Fleet, Admiral! And th
ere's another question that surprises me. In the first place, according to treaty the Solar Fleet is permitted to fly into and out of the Arkon Imperium at will, and secondly you seem to forget that neither Arkon nor the Solar Imperium is equipped with the type of matter transmitters they have in the Blue System. Those ships are under way for purposes of transporting Terran personnel back to Earth. Are you saying you perceive an element of threat in the approach of my ships?"

  The Arkonide's features grew more livid with anger. "Terran, if I were not face to face with you over this hypercom channel, I would swear I was talking to a stranger. The fact of the matter is, I'm looking at a supposed friend who is suddenly showing his true colors! Rhodan, admit it! You've finally chosen the most strategic time to make your move! You've always known when to hold off and when to strike. My compliments, Barbarian! Fool that I am, I believed in your integrity, yet I've lived long enough on your Earth to actually know better. I congratulate you, scoundrel though you are!"

  Cardif-Rhodan had listened without the quiver of an eyelash but now he laughed sarcastically. "Imperator, Perry Rhodan does not forget either favors or insults. As for your dubious compliment, may I repay you in kind? Just so there'll be no misunderstanding I am telling you here in plain English that neither I nor the Sol System are willing any longer to support a conglomeration of degenerated races of people. We are fresh out of compassion and tolerance, for one basic reason, Imperator Gonozal. The Sol System is not a welfare operation!"

  The Arkonide managed to maintain his composure. "Perry Rhodan, I am indebted to you for your unusual frankness. I understand you perfectly now. However, under the circumstances you surely can't expect to get your ships into the Arkon Imperium without opposition! Inform your fleet formations that within the hour the robot fleets of Arkon will be alerted. They will be programmed to seek and destroy any Terran ship attempting to enter the Empire!"

  "Are you threatening me with war, Imperator?" asked Cardif-Rhodan coldly. At this moment he was relying entirely on the judgment of the Venus brain. Giving a probability factor of 67.4% to its conclusion, it had informed him that Arkon was not in a position to wage a war against the Sol System.

  "Rhodan, I did not express the word. I have no desire to go down in history as the destroyer of a great part of the galaxy. I have no such criminal ambition."

  Cardif-Rhodan raised his voice in sudden anger. "Imperator, your robots will not keep me from retrieving all Terran personnel who have been ordered to return!"

  It had never been customary for Rhodan or Atlan to use each other's titles in addressing one another so Rhodan's use of the word 'Imperator' was doubly obvious to the Arkonide now.

  However, when Atlan spoke again it was to make an earnest plea. "Rhodan, I have just had to scratch the word 'friendship' from my vocabulary but I am appealing to your reason and I am asking you not to carry this game too far! Remember that billions of lives are at stake and that Terra itself may be destroyed. And I stress once more, Rhodan, that if your fleet units..."

  The Arkonide on his distant Crystal World fell silent. He had seen Rhodan turn away from the screen momentarily and from his familiarity with the other's office he knew the Terran was looking at another video setup on his desk. The shaken man on Arkon I was able to hear the message coming over the other instrument and thus he knew that 21 major formations of the Terran fleet had just materialized out of hyperspace. They had arrived in star cluster M-13.

  When Rhodan's face came back on Atlan's screen it wore a cynical grin. "Atlan, I hope you won't try to stop my ships from picking up all Terran personnel on your planets. In my opinion your time for any effective counteraction has passed, as a matter of fact."

  The Arkonide's red eyes mirrored despair as he searched in vain for any familiar features in the face of his former friend. What he saw on his viewscreen was a complete stranger whose words had seemed frighteningly alien. Again the hypercom undulations hummed in the gap of silence between the two men. Across 34,000 light-years Atlan's gaze bored into the man whom he took to be Rhodan.

  "Terran," Atlan said finally, "this very day the order will go out to the Arkon Imperium for total mobilization. Prepare yourself accordingly! I have nothing more to say to you!"

  Rhodan's double remained silent. He kept looking at Atlan until the Imperator on Arkon 1 broke the connection. Then he got up and went back to his favorite window. Below him stretched Terrania's vast sea of buildings. The symbolism of the picture came to him once more: the might of the Solar Imperium lay at his feet!

  2/ ATLAN FEELS BETRAYED; AURIS DEFENDS PERRY

  Some months before this, Rhodan had called the Arkon Imperator a 'sad old hound dog' but the remark had referred to the Imperator's enslavement to court etiquette and protocol and all the official ceremonies he had to endure. At first the Arkonide didn't think of this when he read the news reports which were suddenly coming in from all parts of the stellar empire. In effect the reports were all more or less the same: hasty departure of Terrans, the appearance of heavy formations of the Terran fleet, heightened activity of Solar Intelligence throughout the Arkon Imperium.

  But finally he saw himself indeed as a 'sad old hound dog'.

  He had trusted his friend Rhodan as much as any man could trust a close confidant. He had done much to return the friendship; much had been done for Rhodan at the expense of the Imperium. And now this man had betrayed him in the most insidious manner. But that was not all. With indescribable impudence Rhodan had given him to understand that the Arkon Imperium with its degenerated Arkonides was no less than a ripe plum which was merely waiting to be picked by the Solar Fleet!

  Atlan had recourse to one special asset: the logic sector of his 'extra' brain. This he turned to now for advice. In accordance with its name, this mental mechanism based all of its deliberations on pure logic alone. It was free of any feelings or other diverting influences, nor did it take issue now with Rhodan's betrayal.

  The invasion of the Terran fleet and the withdrawal of Terrans from the Imperium represented treason, yes-but also an accomplished fact. Atlan's logic sector had no interest in whether this was good or bad.

  The only way out of this catastrophic situation is a military alliance with the Blue System!

  The 'sad dog' Arkonide had been forced to live on Earth more than 10,000 years and during that time he had grown very fond of humanity-yet he followed the advice of his logic sector.

  He began to take action accordingly.

  • • •

  The Ruling Council of Akon had been called into a special session.

  Sphynx or Drorah, the fifth planet circling the blue-white sun of Akon, was alive with rumors. It was said that just a few hours ago an urgent distress call had been received from the Arkon Imperator, Gonozal VIII. It had something to do with seeking help against the Terran, Perry Rhodan, and it was claimed that at present the latter was attempting to shake the Arkon Imperium in its foundations so that he could move in and take it over.

  Aside from a small number of officials, no Akon knew whether such rumors were based on fact or fiction. Yet this sudden convening of the Ruling Council left no doubt that top political events were taking place in the galaxy. These rumors gave rise to unexpected psychological repercussions within the Blue System. For more than 20,000 years the Akons had looked upon Arkonides as deteriorated and debased offshoots of their race. Then, a few months ago, in alliance with the Terran, Rhodan, they had been regarded as an acute source of danger to the Blue System. But now they were suddenly finding a place in the hearts of the Akons.

  That mysterious principle which gives cohesive force to all races of men became manifest in every Akon as he found new empathy for the threatened Arkonides. Suddenly Akon sympathy knew no bounds and widely embraced those far colonial worlds which had turned their backs on the mother empire so many centuries ago. They were not aware of the basic validity of their feelings and actions; instinctively they saw in this Terran named Rhodan the greatest threat to their security. The
y had not yet gotten over the blow of defeat that Rhodan had recently delivered.

  The executive branches of the Ruling Council had long since stretched out feelers into all levels of the Akon populace to test the mood of the people. As a result of the fullest accord of Akon citizens with rescue action, the special session of the Ruling Council had been convened.

  Among the council members was a woman, Auris of Las-Toor, a young Akon of unusual grace and beauty. Her specialty was Terrans and the Solar Imperium. No one knew the Terrans better than she. During the recent encounter she had been in close contact with First Administrator Rhodan as well as the Arkon Imperator Gonozal VIII, whom Rhodan had addressed as Atlan.

  The meeting of the Ruling Council was opened by the Elder Akon, Sa-Ga. He announced briefly that the full Council had been convened in order to examine the message from Imperator Gonozal VIII. After that he opened the session to debate.

  The first to be consulted was the alternate chairman, Lempart of Fere-Khar. With reference to the racial kinship and common history between Akons and Arkonides, he made a conservative statement concerning the threat to the Blue System which had arisen because of the Terrans. And with three sentences he disposed of the Terran trading base on the planet. It was his very conservatism which gave weight to his arguments. He had cleverly delayed mentioning the Sol System's commercial settlement on Drorah until the end of his speech. In fact, he had even refrained from pointing out that it was a camouflaged military base.

  After Lempart of Fere-Khar, eight other Akons had taken the floor. Three of them were experts in military matters and they operated with figures and numerical data. Their exposition boiled down to specific requirements: The Arkon Imperium would have to turn over 1,000 of their most modem ships to the Blue System. Also the Arkon Imperium would have to agree to place hypno-trained Akons in responsible positions within the Arkonide fleet.