by Perry Rhodan
Marshall simply shrugged his shoulders but Bell had to admit secretly that his conjectures were not totally absurd.
• • •
A few more hours went by. Without talking very much they huddled close together near the exit of the cave and kept their eyes glued on the spot where the 4 mutants had vanished. It was only 3 or 4 miles from the cave and from their slightly higher vantage point they had a good view of the shapeless dark film which was the subject of Tako's report. However there was no sign of the mutants and Bell's last hopes came to naught.
They had only one serious discussion when Tako and the African Ras Tschubai besieged Bell for permission to jump together to the brown cover with the intention of obliterating it by using their thermo-beamers on it. However Bell denied his permission after consulting with Marshall, who stated that while the telepathic command had ceased for the time being, the danger persisted that it could be reinstated any time with the effect that the two teleporters would also succumb to its terrific power.
"Whoever this unknown hypnotist may be," Marshall explained, "he was able to pick up Ivan's, Ishibashi's, Sengu's and Yokida's brainwave patterns across the distance of nearly 4 miles. He probably was helped by some lucky circumstance or we'd have all suffered the same fate; but the danger increases at a closer distance."
This sounded irrefutable. Kakuta and Tschubai were thus dissuaded from their plans. Marshall and Betty Toufry attempted time and again to get in touch with Pucky aboard the Titan but all they could hear was an unintelligible telepathic jabbering. Meanwhile the edge of the twilight zone had advanced a few more steps toward them.
Bell racked his brain about what he could do to ameliorate the situation of his people but his mind was a blank. There was little to go by and each idea seemed as foolhardy as the other. Waiting still appeared to be their best bet. Gom's 18 moons followed their paths in the dim sky, sometimes in groups of twos, threes, fours or fives. The largest and most distant one was Laros, where the Springers and the Aras plotted the invasion of Terra. And still farther out in space, at a distance of 20 light-years, the Titan stood by, protected by its anti-detection field. Bell began to worry about the food. Each spacesuit contained an iron ration which could be consumed by means of a clever arrangement that made it unnecessary for the wearer to open the spacesuit.
Half or two-thirds of the rations—varying with the appetite of the occupant—had already been eaten up. In no more than 20 hours they had to find a place where they could take off their suits. Only then would they be able to use the supply of food they had taken out of the disabled Gazelle.
Bell glanced at the watch on his wrist. The second hand crept like a blind caterpillar over the dial and the two colored illuminated indicators pointed to figures which meant nothing. 9:17... A.M.? P.M.? Marshall suddenly sat up. At the same moment Betty uttered a soft cry of surprise. Bell turned around and asked: "What's going on?"
Marshall responded only by raising his hand and cocking his head to listen. Ras Tschubai, the teleporter, who was lying farther ahead, turned his head to look at Marshall and then peered out of the cave. Ras had keen eyes. He didn't need binoculars like Bell, who usually pressed them so tightly against his elastic faceplate that he had the eyepieces almost on top of his eyes. Ras realized what happened. The dark brown sheet had started to move. It was clearly visible in the semi-darkness against the light-grey rocky ground as it approached the cave.
"There!" Ras exclaimed. Bell observed it through his binoculars. He took his time until he was sure that the brown substance aimed straight for the cave.
"It's feeling its way," Marshall commented. "It's reaching out for our brains and as soon as it has spotted one it'll probably send a hypnotic command." Bell felt a shudder running down his spine. The brown mass—mass was the wrong word; the thing was only a wafer thin coating on the rocks—crept closer. Bell didn't know much about telepathy but he knew that a telepath with hypnotic capabilities had first to perceive the wave pattern of an alien brain before he could influence it.
The probing for a wave pattern was not so much different from the selection of a certain frequency on a radio receiver. Of course there were no knobs and indicators and the searching brain acted as a tuning circuit. This made matters a little more difficult. Nevertheless, it was no reason to feel safe. The brown patch kept coming closer at a speed they could never attain themselves under the prevailing conditions of gravity which handicapped them.
Bell made a quick decision. "We'll get out of here!"
Marshall nodded his agreement. "We haven't got a chance against this monster."
They collected their meager equipment, the food they had brought from the Gazelle, the weapons, the portable radio transmitter whose range far exceeded their helmet sets and the binoculars. Then they crawled out of the cave and turned around the big cliff into the blackness, moving as fast as they could along the ground. Not even Ras Tschubai was able to see the brown patch after they left the cave.
"Please keep me informed!" Bell requested the two telepaths. "Let me know if anything new comes up!"
"It's constantly changing," Betty panted "The thing is getting nearer... I sense it clearer all the time."
Bell looked back but could see nothing but the mesa strewn with rocks. There was no glimpse of the brown patch. They struggled along for half an hour, gaining only about half a mile during that time.
Betty paused for a few seconds and gasped: "I get the impression that we'll soon be able to see it. I can feel it as clearly as if it were right behind me."
Bell chose one of the larger boulders which abounded around them. He raised his hand and pointed toward it! "Ras! Get up there and take a look!"
The Afroterranian disappeared. For a few seconds he was visible on top of the big boulder as he scrutinized the red borderline of the bright zone. "1000 feet," he reported tersely.
"It'll have caught up with us in a few minutes. We better take cover behind that boulder!" Bell replied.
They crawled over to the same boulder on which Ras Tschubai had stood to scan the horizon. Once they had reached it, they found that it really consisted of two parts, one massive block and a lower needle-like rock raising from the ground next to it. Between the large rock and the needle was a gap of about 18 inches which could serve as an ideal fire slit. They quickly took their positions. Betty had discovered a little ledge a few feet up on the side of the rock where she could comfortably stretch out. She took her thermo-beamer and dragged herself up to the ledge with a laborious effort. From there she would be able to shoot through the crack above the heads of the others lying below her.
Bell and Marshall staked out behind the crack in such a manner that their lines of fire wouldn't cross. Tako Kakuta and Ras Tschubai were posted a little farther to the side. Bell hoped that their parapsychological talents could be put to good use during the imminent flight.
A few more minutes elapsed. Though they were only a few, it seemed to be an eternity. Then Betty suddenly cried out: "I can see it now! It's heading straight toward us!"
Bell answered calmly: "Let it come!"
He moved his right arm forward and waited. For awhile the stony desert remained as he had observed it for the past 10 minutes. But then a brown shadow of paper-thin veneer slid across the ground, pushed pebbles out of the way, surmounted others and crept closer, making a scraping noise as it moved along.
"Hold your fire!" Bell growled. "Wait till it gets here!"
He heard Marshall pant and turned around solicitously. When Marshall caught his glance, Bell grinned: "Easy does it!"
200 feet... 150 feet... 100...
Bell looked a last time at Betty. She didn't seem to be afraid. She lay quietly and took aim along the barrel of her weapon.
...75 feet... 50...
"Fire!" Bell shouted.
He heard Marshall groan beside him and saw the blinding white beam of concentrated energy shoot from his weapon. He observed where Marshall hit and aimed a few feet to the left. From a
bove Betty raked her fire over the other areas of the aggressor which were outside the range of Bell and Marshall. The lacquer bulged with hissing bubbles and went up in blue-grey smoke. But other layers advanced, moved over the empty spots and kept coming closer.
"It's at least a mile long and 300 feet wide!" Betty exclaimed in desperation.
Marshall continued shooting. Bell rose up at the stone needle to get a better view of the battlefield and tried to sever somewhere the long body of their opponent in order to break up all connections between the two parts. However the attempt was useless because of the enormous width of the body. The gaps Bell created closed up a few seconds later. He dropped down to his former position when he noticed that Marshall was unable to keep the sheet away from the rock by himself. He kept the trigger of his weapon in permanent firing position and poured a rain of fire on the alien being as if it spouted from a watering can.
He took a little breather and shouted to the two teleporters: "Get out there and see what you can do!"
Tako and Ras had been waiting for the order. They disappeared instantly and a few seconds later blue-grey vapors rose from two different spots on the mesa, showing the result of their work. However the situation didn't change drastically. The enemy didn't seem to care how much substance it lost under the murderous fire and how hot the ground became under its brown belly. It moved toward its target and persevered with so much determination that Bell could count on his fingers the number of minutes it would take before their position at the boulder was overrun. The telepathic danger which also threatened from the uncanny substance was all but forgotten in the excitement.
"Marshall!" Bell called, "crawl around the left side of the needle and shoot from there! I'll manage to hold out here."
Marshall complied at once. He slid past Bell around the needle and planted himself a few feet farther left where the brown layer of veneer almost outflanked the defenders. Bell heard his wild and furious screams as he drove the enemy back with steady fire. Suddenly Marshall interrupted himself and shouted triumphantly: "Here's a better hide-out! Come over quickly!"
Bell didn't ask questions. He waved to Betty, moved muttering to the place from which Marshall had called and held the post till Betty reported that she had made it. While keeping up his fire he managed to call back the two teleporters. Then he crawled over as quickly as he could. Tako Kakuta stood near a hole and motioned to him. A few feet behind Bell the dark brown veneer seeped through the crack between the rocks which he had just left.
Tako held the entrance to the hole open with staccato fire. Bell sent him down and followed after a few more shots. Up to now there was no time for Bell to wonder about the new hideout. As he dropped down into the hole, he noticed that it was a shaft leading at an angle of about 50° into the ground to a considerable depth. Bell was thrown and bounced till he finally landed with a dull thud—his feet up in the air—among the group that preceded him.
Somebody cried out in pain but Bell quickly got hold of himself again. "Silence!" he commanded.
He turned around and held his head so that the right outer mike aimed upward into the shaft. Holding his breath, he tried to hear what was going on above. For a few moments everything was quiet. Then a soft scraping became audible, quickly growing louder. Bell held his weapon ready to shoot. But eventually the noise remained at a constant level. Bell kept listening for awhile, finally turned back and growled: "For the love of Mike! Why doesn't somebody turn on a light?"
Two helmet-lamps lit up. Bell looked around. The room in which they had landed was only the beginning of a horizontal continuation of the shaft leading from the surface of the mesa into the ground. Bell switched on his own light and turned it into the passage. The light was strong but it didn't reach to the end of the tunnel, which was semi-circular and had a flat floor. It was 10 feet wide and 5 feet high.
"For the time being we're safe," Bell sighed. "The brown thing doesn't seem to intend to come down here. Now we've two possibilities. First: to investigate this tunnel and find out if it has a second exit. Second: wait till the scraping stops and climb out again."
Betty spoke up: "I can feel that the brown thing is probing for us. It won't give up its search so quickly. Perhaps it would be better to inspect the tunnel. As long as the enemy lingers up there, we can't do much anyway."
Bell agreed. "Let's get started!" he ordered. "We don't have any time to lose."
He took the lead of the little troop. They stooped to enter the tunnel. Bell's helmet-lamp illuminated the way. It looked as if the shaft stretched for miles under the ground and its straightness made Bell suspect after the first few steps that it was not created by nature. For the time being there was no other indication for his assumption. He kept it to himself, forgetting that John Marshall and Betty Toufry could read his thoughts very well.
2/ "KILL THE ALIENS!"
The tension grew on board the Titan. For days the mighty ship waited motionlessly in space for a sign—either from Talamon, the Mounder on Laros, or from Reginald Bell. The Titan had come here to use the last chance there was to prevent the attack on Earth threatened by the Springers. The Springer patriarchs had heeded a call. from one of their related branches, the Aras, to assemble on Laros. On Laros, the 18th moon of Gom, the Aras had a secret power base.
Perry Rhodan had a single ally in the camp of the Springers. Talamon the Mounder had informed Rhodan that a rejection of the plans for the attack could not be expected. Therefore Rhodan's mutants had infiltrated Laros led by Reginald Bell with the help of Talamon in order to sabotage the conference.
Bell had succeeded in falsifying the program of the only positronic computer left to the Springers which still contained data about the galactic position of Earth in its memory bank. It was part of the positronic equipment of the Springer ship which was owned by the Mounder Topthor. Topthor was Talamon's friend but by no means shared his opinions. Topthor had no inkling that his positronic computer would furnish data about the Earth pointing in the direction of Betelgeuse in case he consulted it but he suspected that Talamon played a perfidious game with the patriarchs and the Aras. Talamon had even admitted it without revealing his secrets and he had managed to keep Topthor quiet by promising him lucrative profits.
Bell and his men were eventually discovered. They managed to escape in a Gazelle taken from Talamon's ship but not without a hard fight. Talamon had great difficulties convincing the patriarchs that he had no knowledge of the aliens' presence.
After their initial triumph with their successful escape, Bell and his mutants were drawn in their craft by a mysterious power to the surface of Gom. Marshall had sent a telepathic emergency call to Rhodan and informed him about the events taken place on Laros, as well as about the altered program of the ship's positronic.
The course of the ill-fated Gazelle clearly indicated that it would go down on Gom. Marshall had reported at the end of his message that Betty Toufry believed the power which held their ship in its grip was a telekinetic field.
This was the last word they had received from Bell's group. Rhodan didn't know whether they had survived the emergency landing on Gom or not. Pucky, the best telepath of the mutant group, thought a few times he could hear signals. But this sector of space was so full of telepathic vibrations that even Pucky was , unable to separate clearly the uncertain signals from the telepathic 'background noise'.
Still there was hope.
The conference on Laros continued after Talamon had succeeded in dispelling the suspicion he had aroused. The continuation of the conference caused Rhodan to suspend further actions. Remaining motionless in its anti-detection field, the Titan was safe. Once it started to move, the risk of being tracked down was imminent and if they were located by Laros it was sure to trigger a chain reaction of highly unpleasant events.
First of all the suspicion against Talamon would be renewed. Secondly, they would start checking the memory bank data of the positronic computer aboard Topthor's ship. No organic brain was capable of differ
entiating between two similar stored data concerning galactic positions. A precise galactic position was described by 3 spatial, 3 hyper-impulse—and 2 time-coordinates. In addition it required the so-called 'beacon determinant' which fixed the course to the goal from any other galactic position. All this constituted a tangle of figures and imaginary values which defied the capacity of any brain. But the Springers: would, once their suspicion had been stirred, apply a bigger positronic computer to test the programming sequence of Topthor's equipment. In doing so, Bell's trick would come to light.
Thus Perry Rhodan was forced—for the sake of the entire Earth—to leave his friend Reginald Bell in the lurch.
• • •
They proceeded through the tunnel without incidents and as time dragged on it became quite tedious. John Marshall and Betty Toufry stated that the telepathic probing noises of the brown Gom-being grew weaker all the time—a sure sign that Bell and his people had quickly got away from the spot where they had saved themselves from the beast. They had noticed that the walls of the passage were seamless and smooth and remarked about its rectilinear direction. Soon they started to grumble that no end to the tunnel was in sight.
The only one who had noticed anything unusual during the past half hour was Bell himself. From time to time he stopped So that the entire file came to a standstill. He stared at his wrist and nobody except the two telepaths could tell whether he looked at his watch, the radiation counter, the manometer or the thermometer. He shook his head in astonishment and mumbled something unintelligible under his breath.
After he had done it for the 10th time, Marshall finally laughed: "Why don't you also tell Ras and Tako why you're so amazed?"
Bell looked at him in surprise and shone his helmet lamp directly into his face. "What do you mean, also I didn't tell you... Oh yes! All you telepaths can go to hell!"
Then he looked again at his wrist. "I've observed for some time," he explained "that the temperature in here is unusually low and unusually constant, too. Since for the last half-hour, I've registered slightly more than 57°F, turned the thermometer to its most sensitive range. The temperature has been stable within less than four-hundredths. I consider this very remarkable."