The Starless Realm Read online

  Having just performed a great service for Atlan by rescuing the Arkonide 'Sleepers', Perry Rhodan and the super battleship Drusus are present on Arkon 3 when something happens to remind the Solar Administrator of something he had long since dismissed from his mind:

  From the far reaches of the universe, Perry Rhodan and his mutants receive a telepathic call which is incredible in its intensity—and with this summons begins the adventurous journey into...

  Perry Rhodan

  Atlan And Arkon #87

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  The Starless Realm

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  1/ A "VOICE" FROM THE VOID

  THE FIVE GIGANTIC, spherical transport ships had landed on Arkon. They waited in pentagon formation on the vast spaceport of world three in the tri-planet Imperial center.

  Anyone with psychological background knew that waiting was the best means of making someone mellow and tractable and doubly effective when the element of uncertainty could be added to the waiting.

  Perry Rhodan and Atlan, Imperator of the Arkonide stellar empire, met each other in the luxurious wardroom of the Drusus, which had also landed on Arkon 3. The fact that Rhodan did not leave his ship and Atlan had requested to meet him on board was not owing to any possible suspicion or feeling of distrust. Rather, it was because the Terranian wished to return as quickly as possible to the Druufs' fading discharge zone in order to witness the final phase of the battle.

  Atlan, who was now Imperator Gonozal VIII, met Rhodan with outstretched hands. His tone of voice was unusually cordial and sincere. "I want to thank you, my friend. Perhaps I should be grateful to you for the survival of the Imperium itself. Now the 100,000 undegenerated Arkonides will be able to help stabilize the Empire. But—tell me about it."

  Rhodan returned the double handshake and invited Atlan to have a seat. "Tell you about it...? Well, as you well know, it wasn't easy. After some tribulation we located the Arkonide emigrant ship. It had taken off about 10,000 years ago. Then an accident caused your sleeping ancestors to awaken out of their frozen state of suspended animation—fortunately just a little over two weeks ago. As the whole sleeping generation of them awakened there was chaos on board the ship because its engines failed to function. At any rate, the oldest Arkonides among them had had a nice little nap of 10,000 years, and being as fresh and alert as they were in the old days they managed to gain control of the vessel. Our intervention prevented any possible calamities. We brought them all under control with an anesthetizing gas and then invited them on board the transports you sent us. The only ones we took on board the Drusus were the leaders among them. So that's about the size of it... and here we are."

  Atlan leaned back in his seat and gazed at Rhodan pensively. "So that's the size of it, you say! Just as though that's all there were to it. Do you realize that this is the turning point for Arkon, the whole beginning of a new era? 100,000 Arkonides of the original vintage, near descendants of the actual founders of the Imperium, undegenerated and in full possession of their mental capacities...! They are the foundation of our future development."

  Rhodan returned his gaze. "Do you mean that I may have done you a favor by finding your forefathers for you and bringing them here?"

  Atlan shook his head in wonderment. "Why do you even ask? You know as well as I do that your action will probably be the salvation of Arkon. I am convinced..."

  "Maybe I didn't frame my question right," interrupted Rhodan. "I was really wondering if 100,000 Arkonides are enough."

  "There are actually 110,000 of them, Perry! Of course it's a pity that not all of them reawakened but one must expect some losses in such an experiment. We must be content that we have at least this many survivors."

  "You above all should not be contented! This sudden appearance of people long since given up for dead will present some problems. Just for one example: do you think these proud Arkonides are going to recognize you as their Imperator?"

  "They shall!" nodded Atlan confidently. "When they disembark from the transports, my robot army will receive them. This will be timed with the arrival of a fleet formation of cruisers and space battleships back from the front. Don't worry, Perry. I'll see to it that this ancestral generation becomes fully convinced of the present might of Arkon. Besides I'm holding a trump card in reserve that they won't be able to match."

  "You mean..."

  "The Robot Brain! Of course it was constructed after their time but it will serve to convince them. After all, it was the Robot Brain that put me where I am. At any time it will bear witness to the fact that I am a direct descendant of the first Imperators. Besides, it can also testify to the fact that I am as old as the oldest forebears among them. They are my original contemporaries but I won't be able to explain it to them without revealing the secret of my immortality."

  "You'd better not shock them with that one," smiled Rhodan. "At least not at present."

  Atlan breathed a sigh of relief. "Certainly it should satisfy them when the Robot Brain makes reference to my direct descent. Then the old guard will give me their oath of allegiance, Perry! Only then will I be able to assign them to their responsible positions of authority... It's time for you to present me to the ancient ones."

  Rhodan got up and pressed a call button on the ship-wide video intercom. The prominent features of Col. Baldur Sikerman flashed on the screen.

  "Sir...?"

  "I'm taking Atlan to the awakened sleepers now. Is everything in order?"

  "Yes sir. I believe that Chief Marshal Bell has taken care of the essentials. But sir—if I might make a comment?"

  "Please do, Colonel!"

  "Well... I mean, Chief Marshal Bell may be going a bit overboard, sir. He's posted an honor guard and arranged for 10 heavy combat robots to present arms when Atlan comes into the hall. Also he's given orders for a 10-second blast on the sirens all over the ship, as a salute. I wouldn't be surprised, sir, if an energy salvo weren't fired off at the same time..."

  "Relax, Colonel, it won't go that far, I can assure you. But you seem to forget that while these people were sleeping through the ages Atlan has become the Imperator. Now... of course you know that, but the old ones don’t know it! So that's why we're putting on the show. Do you go along with that?"

  "Yes sir... naturally I go along with it. I only thought..."

  "Alright, Sikerman. You say everything's set? Good, then let's hear those sirens!"

  Sikerman's face reflected perplexity before it disappeared from the screen. The Colonel was an extremely capable officer but he did not understand much about the 'saber-rattling' brand of diplomacy—or perhaps he didn't wish to. But the sirens came on.

  Flanked on either side by the honor guard, Rhodan and Atlan entered the hall where the awakened ones awaited. The towering robots presented arms just as the bedlam of sirens ceased.

  Bell had been standing before the old ones and now stepped forward and came to attention. When he announced that the awakened ones were ready to greet the emperor, Atlan and Rhodan walked along the lineup of the Arkonides who had departed 10,000 years ago on an incredible journey.

  It was all very ceremonious and impressive. But somewhere inside of Rhodan's brain there was an impression of a soft, restrained telepathic giggle. Somebody seemed to be greatly amused by the diplomatic show but it was someone who could also read Rhodan's thoughts at the same time—because the giggling was immediately 'silenced'.

  Rhodan made a mental note to find Pucky later and give him a lecture.

  For after all, if the leading Arkonides gathered here could be convinced of Atlan's power, then it would also work for the others who were waiting in the five transport ships.

  •
• •

  Telepaths John Marshall, Betty Toufry, Ishy Matsu and Pucky the mouse-beaver were sitting in the crew mess hall with a few other mutants passing the time until the takeoff of the Drusus. As usual John Marshall and Betty Toufry were engaged in a hard-pitched battle of 3-D chess. As though entranced, the others watched the unique game. Supported by antigrav fields, the 256 playing pieces floated within the cube which contained twice this number of individual cubic fields. The figures could change into other levels or even make jumps into other fields.

  "It's your turn, Betty," chirped Pucky as he slid restlessly back and forth in his seat. "Now it's just child's play. You can checkmate at least one of his kings!" (After all, the game included eight kings!)

  Betty continued to stare at the shimmering force cube while she stroked Pucky's reddish brown fur. "So? You think it would be real smart to make a killing at one level—and meanwhile lose at least two pieces elsewhere? I thought you could play better chess than that, Pucky."

  A player could actually lose eight pieces in a single play. But one had to think more than eight times as hard as he would in an ordinary chess game. So it was not surprising that 3-D chess was usually played only by mutants.

  Betty moved. She pressed a button on a control panel beside her; one of the figures glided onto a lower level and into another cubical field. John Marshall sank into deep meditation.

  Pucky looked suddenly toward the door. Seconds later it opened and Rhodan entered the room. The Administrator of the Solar Imperium nodded to the mutants and sat down in one of the empty chairs which were placed at random around the chess table. It appeared to be mere coincidence that his chair was close to Pucky. The mouse-beaver sank comfortably back into his upholstered seat and quickly focused his attention on the game.

  "You should have seen the big parade," Rhodan told him almost in an undertone. "It was quite impressive. I'll bet anybody that all 110,000 sleepers will give their oath of allegiance to Atlan."

  Pucky gazed at the ceiling. "And he can thank me for that," he murmured, alluding to the indisputable fact that it was he who had discovered the ship of the ancient ones. "Hopefully Atlan will always keep in mind that we're friends."

  "That he will never forget, little one. Atlan is more of a Terranian than he is an Arkonide. There is nothing that can ever cause him to be our enemy."

  Rhodan had no way of knowing how mistaken he was but the event that was to set him straight still lay in the far future.

  Pucky appeared ready to abandon his skepticism and change the subject. After glancing at the players and deciding that John Marshall was about to lose the game to Betty Toufry, he turned to Rhodan again. "When are we blasting out of here?"

  "Sikerman already has his instructions. We'll be making a slight detour before we return to Earth. I'd like to pay a visit to a few other planets."

  Pucky didn't look too pleased. "But I was counting on..."

  He got no further. Something totally unexpected and inexplicable happened at that moment.

  Although Rhodan could clearly hear Pucky's words, he suddenly experienced a physical pain in his head. It was as though a mighty invisible hand were attempting to crush his brain. He had an involuntary impulse to grasp his head but his limbs seemed to be paralyzed. He could hardly move at all.

  The same was happening to Pucky and the other telepaths.

  Perry Rhodan!

  The mental call came sharply and forcefully into each mind. It emerged from the void so intensively that it caused pain. None of the mutants would have been capable of telepathing so powerfully as to cause such a painful sensation.

  Perry Rhodan!

  This time the thought was still more urgent and compelling. It was as though the sender was groping through dark endlessness in search of Rhodan.

  John Marshall groaned aloud and collapsed. Not being able to withstand the physical pain, he had fainted. On the other hand the two girls appeared to have better resistance. They sat hunched over in their seats, pale and motionless. In their widened eyes was an expression of boundless amazement—and fright.

  Perry Rhodan—answer!

  A suspicion leapt into Rhodan's mind. There was only one living entity in all the universe who possessed such telepathic power. But that source was many thousands of light-years distant from Arkon.

  As the pain in his brain subsided slightly for a few seconds he ventured a side-glance at the others. John Marshall lay back in his chair, apparently out cold. Betty Toufry's widened eyes were staring at the ceiling of the mess hall as though waiting for something more. Ishy Matsu gazed helplessly at Rhodan. On the other hand, Pucky had closed his eyes and appeared to be listening inwardly.

  Before a new message came, Rhodan decided to answer the call. Any more mental signals like the last one could bring about serious consequences for John Marshall. Rhodan had a fairly accurate comprehension of the powers which the unknown entity possessed. Even across thousands of light-years, if It wanted,It could kill a person.

  "I have sensed your call, old friend!" Rhodan said aloud. He was thinking of a certain synthetic planet that hurtled along its strange course in the immensities of the interstellar void. "Do you have to frighten us out of our wits?"

  In the chair next to him, Pucky opened his eyes abruptly. In them shone a new light of comprehension—and a measure of relief. Then he nodded, satisfied, and sank back into expectant meditation. John Marshall stirred feebly. He groaned softly and straightened up with an effort. When he opened his eyes he encountered a warning look from Rhodan.

  Pucky spoke to him in almost a whisper: "Better screen yourself so you can weaken those impulses! Your brain is too sensitive!"

  Before Rhodan could say anything, the answer came to them through the inner void.

  I await you, Perry Rhodan! Come at once!

  Although this time the mental thrust had lost nothing of its intensity it was not as painfully penetrating as before. Rhodan even caught the impression that the thought impulses expressed a certain note of relief. But it could have been his imagination.

  "Where are you waiting for me?" asked Rhodan, breaking the suspenseful silence.

  The answer returned within the same second: On Wanderer! It is urgent! Come at once!

  Rhodan nodded to himself. Certainly nothing indefinite about it. The Immortal Being on Wanderer was calling him. And it was no idle summons. There was a note of trouble in the mental voice from afar, almost of despair. Had the Druufs launched another attack? Or was it a new menace?

  "Give me the present position of Wanderer!" Rhodan asked while he had the chance, for instead of being anchored at a fixed position in space, the artificial planet followed a course directly across the galaxy. If he let this opportunity pass, in order to determine its location, Rhodan would have to question the great robot Brain on Venus. This would cost precious time.

  He waited. But the undying, incomprehensible entity did not reply. The voice from the void was silent.

  Marshall made a visible recovery.

  "Give me the position of Wanderer!" repeated Rhodan more insistently. "What's wrong?"

  But again there was no reply. The Immortal maintained its silence.

  "It’s pulled back," said Betty Toufry. "What do you suppose it wants from us?"

  It... such was the name they had given to the incomprehensible being on Wanderer who had given them virtual immortality by means of the biological cell shower. Embodying an entire vanished race, It was their conglomerate vital force and intelligence existing in an imperishable form. They had seldom seen It, and even then only in the form of small, shimmering globes of energy.

  And now this entity who was often referred to as It had called to them. Across a distance of more than 30,000 light-years.

  John Marshall followed up Betty's question: "Perhaps It has something important to tell us or show us. Anyway I'm happy that the pain has ended. It was terrible. I felt like my brain was full of molten lava. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to telepathic impulses but this w
as the first time I found it to be a disadvantage—especially in a cry for help."

  "Help?" Rhodan looked doubtfully at Marshall and shook his head slightly. "I'm not sure whether or not that was a call for help. It sounded more like a command. In spite of that, I don't quite know what to make of it."

  Pucky straightened up and turned his eyes to Rhodan "We have no other alternative than to comply with the Immortal Entity's wish. Are we taking off?"

  Rhodan shrugged. "We were leaving, anyway, so the most we can do is accelerate our departure. It's too bad we have to go to Venus first but there's no other choice. It doesn't look as though It’s going to relay position coordinates."

  He got up and went to the intercom panel. The flip of a switch connected him with Command Central. Sikerman answered. He was in the process of having the ship's course and necessary transitions calculated.

  "Take off at once, Colonel. You can work out the rest of the course data after we're underway. I'll be with you in a few moments."

  Sikerman confirmed the order. The screen darkened.

  Pucky sighed. "There goes our vacation again," he mumbled resignedly. "There's always something that throws a monkey wench in the machinery. Bell is going to be real happy when he finds out about it."

  Rhodan gazed beyond Pucky when he answered: "We'll soon know what happened on Wanderer.

  • • •

  Reginald Bell had retired to his cabin to catch up on some sleep. As Rhodan's best friend and second-in-command, he knew that it would be several hours yet before takeoff. So he was considerably surprised when he sensed the vibration of the power machinery in the bowels of the vast ship. When he looked at his watch he saw that he had only been asleep for 10 minutes.

  "What the—?!"

  He was out of bed and at the intercom in a single leap. Col. Sikerman responded.

  "What are we taking off for, Colonel? What's happened?"

  "Departure time was advanced, sir. By orders of the Chief. Now you know as much as I do."