by Perry Rhodan
"Speed it up!" urged Rhodan. His blanched face revealed the extent of his inner turmoil.
I attempted to monitor the activity of the Akons. The power step-up control of the converter was operated by contact buttons. So far only the power plant itself had been fired up. Current feed for a field projector, regardless of what kind, had a much different sound.
Kitai suddenly groped about for support. I leapt forward, pushing a Terran technician out of the way, and grasped the slightly-built mutant under his arms. Marshall saw what was going on and understood.
I was waiting for something that I could neither explain nor even estimate. A displacement or conversion of the applicable time lines was so much to conceive of that the brain failed to produce the normal thinking processes for comprehension. All I could do was struggle for some mental image that might reasonably match the situation that was to come.
When the phaser field came on, the converter did not move from its position. This meant that many things were happening in the same place but separated by different planes of reference. The determining factor here, however, was time rather than distance.
Ishibashi groaned. I gripped him more firmly but his glassy-eyed look told me he had reached the end of his stamina. He had been working for days to produce the suggestive mental block in his subjects. If he should collapse now there was no telling what the Akons would do. Naturally we could force them by other means. The only question was, how long would we have to do it to keep them tractable for our purposes.
The humming of the power plant irritated me. It was a steady, monotonous sound-too normal, in fact, to indicate the technical wonder we were anticipating. Rhodan was bending over the shoulders of the Akons while they concentrated on their control panels. The viewscreens were functioning by now, revealing both the outside world and the machine itself.
"Pucky!" said Rhodan suddenly. "Get ready to dispose of that bomb!"
This startled me as I realized the demolition device would explode in 2 minutes. If we hadn't pulled out of the present time frame by then we could be caught in a fire of annihilation.
"Hold on another minute," Marshall interjected. "Jump within 30 seconds of ignition."
The red-haired sergeant pointedly checked his impulse beamer. Breaking out of the museum could bring on a catastrophe. It would precipitate incalculable political complications. If only one wounded Terran should be found here it would mean more than a lost battle for Rhodan.
The mouse-beaver was standing beside me. Kitai's knees began to tremble. Outside we could hear the thunder of the robots' weapons. Mingled with this were frequent bursts of metallic sounds, usually followed by an explosion. It was obvious that our combat machines were being shot down. It had only been intended that they would have to provide a brief holding action. The fighting force had been adequate for our planned schedule except that by now we should have vanished from the present time plane.
"Pucky... !"
The little one glanced at Rhodan. In 5 seconds it would be time for his teleport jump. Everyone stared at him entranced as he concentrated-except for myself. My attention was occupied by Kitai, who slumped against my chest.
But in that instance I happened to see the viewscreens. The battling robots had disappeared from view while under my feet I felt and heard the rumbling of another apparatus.
Without thinking I cried out: "Stop-come back! We're pulling out. Stay here, Pucky!"
I shoved the mutant into Marshall's arms and sprang forward. The Akons were busy discussing their work, apparently fascinated by what was happening to the machine. Artol of Penoral was bent forward intensely concentrating on a circular screen above the controls of the phaser field. I reached the mouse-beaver just as he came out of his fixation but I jerked him off his feet and shook him roughly.
"Snap out of it!" I shouted."Pucky, don't jump-it would be the end of you!"
Pucky understood. Without a word he leaned his head on my shoulder and closed his eyes. I realized that even mouse-beavers have nervous systems.
By now Ishibashi was lying on the floor and the medico of our commando team was taking care of him. Rhodan and the other mutants were watching the scientists. Apparently their mental blocks were very deep-seated because they had not yet become aware of Kitai's withdrawal.
"Can they come out of their trance?" asked Rhodan quickly.
Our other hypno mutant, Andre Noir, seemed calm about it. "Kitai did his work well. They still don't know what's going on here. If they start to get edgy I'll move in on them. No sweat, sir."
I couldn't take my eyes from the viewscreens. The bomb must have detonated a minute or so ago but we had not felt any repercussions from it. It was hard to imagine that the exhibit hall that we were looking at as though in a fast-motion film had already been destroyed.
I finally followed Artol's gaze. The digital counter over the control panel seemed to be measuring the rate of reversal of relative time. It was impossible to read the flickering numbers, however, to determine how many years we had returned into the past.
Within a few moments my logic sector reacted. It reminded me that the impression of "time travel" was confusing and false. The counter was only measuring the increasing strength of the phaser field. But somewhere there would have to be a synchronously operating device to convert that indication into equivalent years of time. When I shared this thought with Rhodan we soon found the computer that was doing this work. It stood behind me. We'd have to figure out the schematics later. Apparently Artol could read them and interpret the output data.
The pictures on the screens were changing in such rapid succession that we could hardly distinguish one from the other. It was like a runaway film. The cultural periods were rolling past while the exhibit hall remained unchanged.
Then suddenly it was gone. We saw open country that was bordered to the north by a long stretch of forest. We had reached a time period when the museum town of Impton had not yet come into being. A bell sounded. The maximum power of the phaser field was being held constant by an automatic program control. It meant that we had come to a "stop". I awoke as if from a dream. Rhodan kept looking at the screens.
"Success, Your Eminence," said Artol. But his eyes were still glazed and vacant looking. Andre nodded to me. I realized that Kitai's suggestive block was stronger than we had anticipated.
I stepped forward since I spoke the ancient Arkonide language better than the Terrans. Apparently the physicist was now considering me to be the chairman of the Council.
"Hold the machine steady where it is," I said. "How big is the radius of the phaser field?"
"20 meters, Excellence. It only encloses the epotron."
I realized this was the Arkonide name for the machine. "Is it possible to go out on the platform without being exposed to any danger?"
"Yes, it's possible but it would be advantageous to intensify the phaser field in that case."
"Why?"
The scientist seemed strangely reserved. "You have the research data, Your Eminence," he replied.
Rhodan cleared his throat warningly. I did not follow up the remark. Naturally, Artol would have prepared and submitted the results of his studies. I knew it would be useless to bring him out of his state of hypnosis.
Andre pressed me aside. "I'll take over," he whispered. "Get on with the transport operation."
I followed Rhodan, who was already at the outer airlock. Certainly the atmospheric conditions of the planet Sphynx could be no worse than those of our own "present" time. We could open the outer hatch without any special preparations. When we stepped out onto the platform we experienced something that it took me a few seconds to analyze.
"Illogical!" warned my extra-brain. "Something is not right. If the phasing field's radius is so limited-how is that you don't see the surroundings of your own time frame beyond its effective range?"
I grasped Rhodan's arm. My logic sector was right! When I told him my thoughts he cleared his throat as if embarrassed.
; "This is over my head," he answered. "We should have brought Kalup along. I would presume that a person inside the field could not see the normal world."
"Especially when the field only encompasses a fraction of the other time plane. Perry, this disturbs me. We were told this wasn't to be a regular trip through time-merely a distortion of the reference point. I imagine I'm seeing everything that exists within the distortion zone. What lies beyond it should either not be seen or it should be only shadowy and vague. Actually what we should be seeing out there is our own plane of time!"
If the other men were as confused as I was they didn't show it. They were only concerned about the antigrav transporter which had apparently come through the strange journey unharmed.
"We'll discuss it later," said Rhodan, changing the subject. "Right now what we have to do first is to get this thing to the Ironduke."
I withdrew and strolled around the platform. To the east of our real position lay the museum town-that is, in our own time reference. In that sense one could say that we were in the exhibit hall which had already been ripped asunder by the nuclear bomb.
"Enough to drive you donk," commented Pucky.
I turned to see the little fellow standing at the top of the stairs. He was looking down uncertainly. Directly before us was a growth of Akon air-root trees. Far and wide, no one was to be seen.
"If I had my druthers, Atlan, I'd take a jump right now," he said. "Then we'd really know what it looks like out there."
"That you will not do."
"I could make it." The little fellow's incisor tooth gleamed enterprisingly.
Wordlessly I took his hand and drew him back from the stairs. If I myself couldn't understand what physical laws were affecting us at the moment I could at least imagine the consequences of suddenly leaving the phaser zone.
The commando troops had taken up defensive positions along the edges of the platform. Their weapons bristled menacingly. The technicians activated the antigrav transporter and adjusted its field to the mass of the converter machine.
"Whether or not it'll bear up under the phaser field we'll soon find out," said a young engineer almost indifferently.
Rhodan was listening at the entrance passage. He had sent somebody back inside to keep an eye on the scientists. They were still under the impression that they were carrying out an authorized experiment.
An unexpected jolt threw me to the deck of the platform. I clung to the railing and waited. The transformer bank of the antigrav was in an uproar. The time-phaser lifted uncertainly from the ground, reeling and jerking, finally hovering at an elevation of 3 meters while the antigrav took its measure. I remained lying in the same position although I turned on my back to look over at Rhodan. His features were trembling visibly with agitation and then I knew that someone had miscalculated. The antigrav field was just barely sufficient to neutralize the weight of the machine.
I waited patiently until our 2 small propulsion units started whistling. Their base plates had been welded to the platform. The converter slowly began to move. I didn't try to calculate the effects of the air resistance nor did I think in terms of how fast the entire mass could move. Certainly our speed would not be very great. The propulsion units had a thrust capability of 150 kilos per unit.
It was enough for me that the whole structure moved at all. We glided around a group of low hills where a new view presented itself. The tops of high buildings could be seen beyond the horizon. The blue sun of the Akon System had just risen. It was early morning.
"Now all that's left is to make a precision landing at our own settlement in the extra-territorial zone," said Rhodan.
I laughed ironically. "All that's left... " How simple it sounded! Wuriu Sengu smirked but he refrained from commenting. The nervous stamina of these Terrans was astonishing. I never stopped marveling at their spirit of enterprise.
I finally got to my feet and dusted off my uniform while trying to be casual in my observation of the "non-existent" landscape. After about 10 minutes a ground vehicle put in an appearance. I waited curiously to see the reaction of its occupants. They only noticed us when we were close upon them. They looked up in surprise. Somebody shouted something I couldn't make out. Rhodan casually waved at them. We knew then that we could make contact with the inhabitants of a specific era through the displaced time lines of the phaser.
"Those 2 men have been dead for thousands of years," said Wuriu.
I said nothing. My eyes burned as I watched their figures grow smaller in the distance. Far ahead the first of the buildings of the city rose completely above the horizon. They were considerably smaller than those of the time reference we belonged to. And of course the spaceport was not yet in existence.
We flew toward the familiar group of hills where Terran engineers had erected the trading base. The tall limestone cliffs had not changed. This was our goal. The Ironduke was scheduled to come back to the base in time to meet us, so we knew that if we landed exactly in a certain relationship to the hills we would be about 30 meters from the warship's nearest landing strut-that is, from where it would be located in our own time.
We were sighted twice again by the "local" inhabitants. I made a note to check Akon history to see if anything would be noted there concerning our strange advent.
Rhodan went back into the time-phaser. I remained on the platform until we sank softly to the ground. The howling of the over-burdened antigrav subsided. The men's faces had grown tense. The plan called now for an immediate return to the regular time plane. How would this come about?
The transition was so sudden that it struck me like a shockwave. I felt a painful pulling sensation while a red mist welled up before my eyes. When I could see clearly again, it was night. Above us shone the stars of the Milky Way and to our right the contours of the battleship loomed into the sky.
A blood-red nuclear flare illumined the horizon. Our bomb! Rhodan joined me. Shadowy figures rushed toward us. They were troops from the Ironduke. Colonel Claudrin was the first to pound his way up the staircase, which trembled under the Epsalian's weight.
As usual his voice was thunderous. I groped my way toward him and stretched out my hand. He shoved his weapon into its holster and gripped me. A sudden pain shot through me. When this giant shook hands with enthusiasm it could be felt.
"Relax, sir," he said. "You'll have to excuse me but I thought I should let you know for sure that you're back here again."
"It's been a mad dream," commented Rhodan.
"You'd better give me the same treatment, Jefe." I had to laugh when the tall Terran sank to his knees with a groan. "Alright! Don't overdo it!"
The warship's commander desisted at last. "You're ahead of schedule, sir. We figured you'd be an hour yet getting back. About an hour ago the Akon guard patrol wanted to talk to you. I held them off-and then the bomb hit."
"When it happened, Jefe, we were about 4000 years in the past," I told him. "So you say we've hit the bullseye? No time displacement? Our preparations for departure took about 30 minutes. I'd say that the flight itself lasted about 45 minutes."
"That fits the picture exactly , sir. It proves that when the field is shut off there's an immediate return to the true plane of reference. So timing of operations on our side can take that into account. From that standpoint there's no danger. Knowing that, you can't ever go wrong."
Somebody shouted. When I turned around I caught sight of a slender figure darting out of the sliding hatchway. The lock door closed again with a dull thud and the light from inside was cut off. Sengu had just come out of the inner chamber of the time-phaser. He spoke in a calm and objective manner. "The 4 scientists have pulled out of their trance, sir. What are your instructions?"
Rhodan pondered swiftly. Men were moving about under the giant spherical hull of the ship in the darkness. The cargo lock slid open. It was big enough to have taken in 2 converters. Everything was carried out silently and under cover of the night. Rhodan delayed answering until somebody announced that the sh
ip's tractor beam was ready. Now it would be easy to handle the mass of the machine.
"Make an official arrest," he finally ordered. "Bring them into the Ironduke."
"Arrest-?!" I echoed in surprise.
"That's right-it's an arrest," he confirmed. "Intelligence information indicates that the physicist Artol of Penoral had a great deal to do with the reprogramming of the robot Regent. That means he violated the non-aggression pact between Terra and the Akon Empire."
"He was only following orders, Perry."
"Probably, but that doesn't change my position in the matter. The other 3 scientists were pretty high up in the Blue System and they also had their hands in the operation. Carry out my instructions, Col. Claudrin."
As Rhodan turned away my extra-brain came through to me again: "Fool! Is it so important-when the existence of an entire race is at stake?"
I looked around uneasily as if the admonishment might have been overheard. Then I hastily got off the platform. The machine was grappled by the loading equipment and drawn into the lower cargo hold of the Ironduke.
"Let's go," cried Pucky. "Some class, eh? Man, was that ever a caper we pulled!"
The mouse-beaver emitted a shrill chuckle. I went with him to the ground-lock entrance. The arching hull above us blocked out the starry firmament. The only lingering sign of strange happenings was the red glow hanging over the museum town of Impton. What had become of the people we had seen back there 4000
years ago?
4000 years? For me it had been but a moment. I shuddered at the thought of this machine, which was to be my means of destroying the robot Regent.
4/ AURIS CROSSES THE LINE
She had arrived 15 minutes earlier in an aircar and she had quietly spoken to the officer of the watch, requesting an audience with Perry Rhodan. We had no other choice but to invite the young woman into the Control Central of the battleship. And now she stood before us.