Freyt's uneasiness vanished. "I believe I'm beginning to understand what you're driving at, Rhodan."

  "Pleased to hear that, Colonel. Mighty pleased. Under these circumstances you'll also understand why I'm so interested to see my crew get over with their training period as fast as possible. The Titan must be ready for action when the decision will be made. We still don't know the ship properly. Sure, it's the Stardust's counterpart, except twice its size and power. But there are certain differences we mustn't ignore. It happened only yesterday during one of the drills that one of our radio officers got so hopelessly lost in this labyrinth that when he was found in a part of the part which had never been explored before, four hours later, he had become a total nervous wreck. You can't imagine what that means: a sphere with a diameter of one mile. Theoretically it would be possible to pack Earth's entire population inside, if you'd jam them in like sardines in a can."

  "Theoretically!" came Bell's rumbling voice from the background. "And theoretically you can't count either on becoming friends with a robot brain."

  "In any case, we've got to give it a try before it gets the crazy idea of sending a robotguided battleship to the area of our solar system. I realize we've left Maj. Deringhouse and Nyssen in charge back on Terra and they are well capable of defending Earth—but we don't know what weapons will be used to attack them."

  "I don't believe," Thora suddenly entered the conversation, "that the Brain knows Earth's location."

  Rhodan's eyebrows shot up. "Why not, Thora?"

  For a single second their eyes met and melded. Rhodan's spine tingled. How deep were her eyes! How soulful this woman could look who had perpetually kept him at arm's length all these past 13 years. Ever since Arkon, had rejected Thora, she and Perry had begun to come so much closer to each other. Suddenly they were real allies, pursuing the same goal.

  The barrier that had separated them for 13 years had broken.

  "Otherwise the Brain would have made other decisions and treated us very differently. Most likely it would have killed you, Perry. I couldn't say exactly but I believe it does not know Earth's position."

  "That would be a strategic advantage for us," stated Col. Freyt.

  "Quite right, Colonel," agreed Rhodan. "By the way, as soon as this discussion is over you may return to the Ganymede. Further instructions will follow, if necessary, via radio contact. There's no danger in that because normal radio waves take three years to reach Arkon." Rhodan turned again to Thora. "What do these Zalites look like?"

  She answered without hesitation. "As I already pointed out, they have descended from the Arkonides and therefore have the same appearance."

  "I know a race that also descended from the Arkonides but hasn't the slightest resemblance any longer to their forefathers."

  "You are referring to the Mounders, the special guard troops of the Springers. They have lived on a world with almost three times the gravity of Arkon for many thousands of years. But in that respect Zalit differs only very little from Arkon. The only difference in the Zalites' outer appearance is their brownish-red skin and their copper-colored hair, that sometimes will show a greenish cast. This has something to do with their solar radiation. They are highly intelligent, have mastered space travel and are by far not so decadent as my own people. Till now Zalit was considered to be the most faithful and dependable of all our colonies."

  Rhodan had been listening attentively to Thora's words. He looked at her intently and finally asked: "There seems to be some contradiction, Thora: assuming the Zalites are not decadent but on the contrary enterprising and intelligent, why then would they remain the obedient vassals of an inferior nation?"

  A shadow flitted across Thora's face. "I've already told you that Arkon is only three light-years away from Zalit. In case of a rebellion against the empire, the robot brain would show them no mercy. And the Zalites are well aware of this. They'd never dare to rebel openly against Arkon."

  "I understand, Thora," Rhodan remarked. What he had surmised earlier he now found confirmed by her explanations. The Zalites might possibly turn out to become his allies.

  All of a sudden John Marshall rose from his chair. His eyes assumed a strange, fixed expression. Rhodan knew at once what this meant: Marshall was receiving a telepathic message. But who was it from? A mutant aboard the Titan?

  "What's the matter, John?"

  But before Marshall could reply, Pucky had jumped forward, squeaking in a shrill voice: "The Ganymede! She's moving away from us!"

  Marshall was so surprised that he could barely manage a brief confirmative nod. For a moment he seemed to have forgotten that he wasn't the only telepath in the command center.

  "What's going on?" Col. Freyt called out. After all, being the commander of the other ship he had to be sure that she was circling around the sun Voga in a stable orbit, the same as the Titan. "The Ganymede can't move away from the Titan! Not until her engines have been started up."

  "But she's doing it all the same!" insisted John. "I received the thought impulses of an officer standing in the Ganymede's control center as he was making this observation. He'll report in shortly!"

  Indeed it was hardly three seconds till the intercom began to hum.

  Rhodan bounded halfway across the room to switch on the receiver. A few more seconds passed and the videoscreen lit up. A young man's worried face appeared on it.

  Col. Freyt stepped next to Rhodan.

  "What's happened, Lt. Marten? How can it be possible that the Ganymede is moving away from the Titan when

  "You know about it?" Marten wondered out loud, quite perplexed. But then he understood as soon as he caught sight of the two telepaths Marshall and Pucky. "Aha—I see. Was I thinking so strongly? Yes, sir, it seems the Ganymede has left its orbital path and is moving closer to the red sun. I'm at a loss to find any explanation for this and I am waiting for your orders..."

  "Just a minute!" Rhodan interjected and switched on additional direct optical observation screens. "First we have to make sure what is actually taking place here. Maybe it's just an illusion..."

  "It's definitely not an illusion, sir!" Lt. Marten exclaimed desperately, seeing that nobody would believe his words. "We are definitely moving away from you."

  Rhodan did not reply. He waited until the observation screens lit up. There was a long wide row across the wall reflecting an image of the world outside the ship.

  The Titan was still circling the red sun in the same orbit as heretofore, while the Ganymede indeed moved away toward the giant red sun with considerable acceleration.

  "Don't do anything!" Rhodan instructed the lieutenant. "Wait until you receive further orders from me. Do you understand?"

  "Yes, sir," came the reply but Lt. Marten's face made it obvious he'd prefer not to have understood. Waiting passively was definitely not one of his great attributes.

  Rhodan turned to Bell.

  "Feed the following problem at top speed to the navigational brain: "Did the Titan leave its orbit around Voga? If the answer is positive: by how much? Now hurry up, Reg!"

  "The Titan?" Bell stammered, bewildered. "You mean the Ganymede, don't you, Perry?"

  "You heard me right the first time. The Titan is what I'm interested to find out. Ever heard anything about optical illusions or the relativity principle, old boy? If you try to watch something with just your unaided eye you can't ascertain whether we or the others are actively moving away. And since we seem to be moving in the direction of Arkon I have some well-founded doubts about the whole affair. Get it?"

  The sudden silence in the control center was sufficient proof that they had indeed understood him.

  • • •

  The calculations indicated plainly that the Titan had been drawn out of the gravitational field of the giant sun by invisible and immeasurable forces. On the other hand, the Ganymede orbited afar in unchanged free fall around the entire giant system.

  As Bell showed him the positronicon's figures, Rhodan flipped on the intercom. He only nodded and waited for the com system to warm up. Various push buttons provided connections with all sections of the ship, so that his voice could be heard everywhere.

  "Attention, all hands!" Rhodan began. His grey-eyed lean countenance was tense, revealing the iron will ready not only to take on human enemies but also, if necessary, a giant robot brain. "By all indications, we've strayed within range of a powerful tractor beam. In view of the fact that we're being deviated toward Arkon, we can assume the transmitter is in that area. So much for the facts. All hands will repair immediately to battle stations. We may be attacked as soon as our position is known. I want five guppies manned and held ready for use. Further orders will follow." He cut off the intercom and established video connection with the Ganymede. "Lieutenant Marten? Your status remains quo. Do not attempt any tactic at this time. While Col. Freyt is on board the Titan, you have the command of the Ganymede. Please confirm..."

  "Very well, sir!" came the brisk reply, before Rhodan cut off.

  Bell sat in the copilot seat in front of the navigation controls. Nothing coming from the direction of Arkon escaped him on the scanner screen. Apparently he was expecting a unit of the Arkonide fleet to appear at any moment.

  Thora and Khrest appeared to be uncertain. Colonel Freyt joined them and attempted to learn what be could concerning the probable nature of the tractor beam that had ensnared the Titan. John Marshall and Tiff carried on a low-voiced conversation. Pucky was nowhere to be seen: he had probably left the control room inconspicuously in order to go his own way again.

  Rhodan suddenly fired up the propulsion engines which encircled the ship. The giant impulse converters developed such a thrust that the Titan could accelerate from 375 miles per second to the speed of light within a short span of 10 minutes. The tremendous inertial pressure, equivalent to 60,000 Earth gravities, was not noticeable because of the automatic field generators. Rhodan slowly activated each thrust unit that was turned toward Arkon.

  Bell came to life, swamped by new results. The navigation computer flashed the first new data. The distance to the red sun Voga was increasing proportionately. Even when Rhodan permitted the impulse converters to work harder, thus increasing the repulsion force against Arkon, nothing changed. It was as though the Titan's propulsion had simply been neutralized.

  Rhodan frowned, gravely concerned. He threw Bell a quick glance, hesitated a moment, then threw in full power.

  Inside the giant sphere the vibration and humming of the wide-open converters increased. It rumbled in everyone's ears. Everyone's heartbeat became almost painfully audible and seemed to be the pulse of a mighty universe. Under their feet, the deck began to tremble. The Titan struggled with all its power against the uncanny force that had gripped her and was now bent on dragging her toward Arkon.

  Bell depressed several keys. The navigation computer began to bum and a few seconds later a thin strip of glistening metal popped out onto the console.

  The embossed numerals were clear and distinct.

  They were receding with undiminished velocity from Voga. Rhodan shut down the engines. He spoke into the sudden silence. "The robot brain is stronger than we are. So what now...?"

  Col. Freyt then proceeded to demonstrate his reasoning powers. "We have to know whether or not the Titan alone can be gripped by the tractor beam. In any case, the Ganymede is free of it. If the guppies are also free, we could use a couple of them to abandon the Titan and go back to the Ganymede."

  Rhodan was hesitant. "Granted, that's one way of rescuing ourselves—but at the cost of losing the mightiest ship in the universe. I still believe that Earth will one day make use of this ship. Should we, then, for the sake of expediency, just lightly surrender her?"

  "What's the use, now that we've fallen into Arkon's power?"

  "Nowhere," admitted Rhodan matter-of-factly. "But I don't intend to surrender myself to the uncertain captivity we've just run away from. Nor do I intend to give up so quickly now. There must still be some way of outwitting that Brain. In any case, I'm not calling the cards until I can come up with a trump hand."

  "A trump hand?"

  "Exactly. It'll just have to come to me, somehow."

  Freyt didn't answer. He gazed silently at the videoscreen and observed that Voga was already beginning to shrink in size. The Titan's velocity must have increased considerably. Only a tiny point of light indicated the presence of the Ganymede.

  Suddenly, Tiff said, "Do you think that the robot brain's radiation can be measured?"

  Rhodan looked at him. "What do you mean?"

  "If its transmission field density can be determined, then at least we'd know if it's only trained on the Titan or if it has been sent arbitrarily into space and has caught us by mere accident, completely in an unfocused beam."

  Rhodan brightened appreciatively and turned to Bell. "What do your instrument's say? I mean in particular the outside electromagnetic radiometers."

  Two minutes later they knew. The tractor beam intensity was measurable. By this means it could be determined where and when and in what strength the transmitted energy was present. A hurried connection was made with the Ganymede. A quick investigation revealed that the identical tractor intensity also impinged upon the former Springer ship but completely without effect.

  This was the deciding factor that had to be put into application.

  With his inimitable logic, Rhodan proceeded to do so. "Very well. So we know that only the Titan responds to the will of the robot brain and not the Ganymede. Therefore, it's reasonably safe to conclude that a special circuitry, some sort of electronic device, exists on board this ship, which can be energized by the Brain even at a distance of three light-years. Once this circuit is activated, then the tractor beam becomes effective—but only then. So we're faced with the problem of finding that infernal device and deactivating it." He gave Col. Freyt a challenging look. "Well now, Colonel, do you still think it would be better to bail out and run to the Ganymede and abandon this magnificent ship..."

  Freyt modified his previous stand. "Well, of course we can try to keep her. It would be preferable, I'll admit..."

  Rhodan smiled, then immediately became grim as he received Bell's next navigation figures. Since the last reading, the Titan's velocity had doubled.

  "So how are we going to locate this blankety-blank gadget?" Bell growled. "In a ship that's a whole world by itself..."

  "Inasmuch as the converters are still working properly, I'd say that the only logical place would be between the drive chambers and the outside radiation shielding," Rhodan answered. "In that way we can narrow down the search area." He looked about him. "Incidentally, where's Pucky?"

  It was the first time. anyone had noticed that the mouse-beaver was no longer in the control room.

  Ruefully, John Marshall remarked, "I can't pick up his mental impulses. He must have screened them off

  "Maybe he's sitting on the—" Bell started to say but cut short when he saw Thora. He wasn't able to suppress a tiny smirk, however, because the suggestion invoked a comical vision.

  "Perhaps," Marshall suggested, "Anne Sloane can help us."

  Anne Sloane was a very good telekinetic in the Mutant Corps who had already demonstrated that her faculties were quite comparable to Pucky's. Unfortunately, she did not have the technical comprehension of the quick-learning mouse-beaver.

  "Pucky can't have disappeared," replied Rhodan. He assented a bit hesitantly. "Alright, Marshall, you'd better get hold of Anne."

  When the telepath had left the control room, Freyt asked, "Why didn't you call Miss Sloane on the intercom?"

  "Because I don't want to make the crew any more jittery than they are," replied Rhodan. "They're not accustomed to the ship. The Titan hasn't yet won their confidence, which can only happen after we've come through a successful test under fire." He looked at the scopes. "And this may be our baptism."

  John Marshall returned in a few minutes wearing an indescribably vacuous expression. The man's countenance seemed hysterically funny to Bell but the seriousness of the situation moved him to a commendable self-control.

  Rhodan was surprised. "What happened? You look as if someone just stole your emergency rations."

  "Anne Sloane—she wasn't there. Pucky just picked her up 10 minutes ago. He also took Wuriu Sengu with him."

  Sengu was the Japanese member of the Mutant Corps, who was known as the 'seer' because of his wild talent for seeing through solid matter.

  "Well, that's not so bad," commented Rhodan. "He and Miss Sloane and Sengu are already moving ahead on this, on their own. That's a little more like him..."

  "How did he know about it?" asked Col. Freyt, bewildered. "He'd already left the control room when we made those measurements."

  "He's a telepath and is definitely following our conversation. He decided to do the necessary, and I'll admit he did the smart thing to back himself up with reinforcements and to think of our seer. So I think we can relax and wait to see what will happen. And it won't be too long before we know more."

  Rhodan proved to be right.

  Bell had just gotten up and was talking to Col. Freyt when the air in the control room began suddenly to shimmer and the figure of the mouse-beaver took on a solid form. Without paying anyone the slightest heed, he waddled to the control console and slithered with a flop into Bell's empty seat. His white incisor tooth gleamed triumphantly. Pucky was grinning.

  Rhodan waited patiently while Bell began scolding in the background, not in very complimentary terms. He quieted suddenly, however, when Pucky turned around ominously, raised his left paw and pointed toward the ceiling. Bell was not anxious to have another demonstration of the fact that telekinetics are stronger than normal mortals—in spite of the benefits of the biological cell shower.

  Reassured, Pucky turned once more to Rhodan. "The circuit was located just under the outer ring bulge and was hermetically sealed. With the best instruments and the most powerful cutting torches, we would have required months to get through the dense arkonite panels. Wuriu located the receiver. Together with Anne I was able to disconnect it and make sure it was jammed." Pucky was still grinning. "It was only possible through telekinesis. I can assume that the designers didn't reckon with that."

 

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10