The Thrall of Hypno Read online

  "Your position?"

  Tatjana gave him the information.

  "O.K. I'll try a little hyperspace-jump. I'll be there in a minute."

  Hyperspace-jump!

  Tatjana couldn't picture what it meant although she had heard of it. The ship slipped into the fifth dimension and materialized again at the target point in the fourth. The time factor was thereby completely eliminated.

  Before Tatjana could think it through she saw the spacesphere pop up between herself and the Z-45, barely missing the asteroid. At first the stars became blurred in a circular section of the universe and then the Good Hope VII materialized again.

  Soon the glazed look in Bell's eyes was restored to normal. His brain began to function again but he was unaware of what had happened. Tatjana brought him quickly up to date while André Noir in the Good Hope VII brought Lieutenant Bings and Sergeant Adolf back to reality as well.

  Pucky sat in the pilot seat and grinned happily. Bell glanced at him with a peculiar look and firmly gripped the controls of the Z-13 to perform a sharp curve veering in the direction of the Supermutant who had eluded him.

  Spacesphere Z-VII and interceptor Z-45 trailed him closely.

  "Is the Supermutant really unable to steer his ship?" Bell sought assurance from Pucky. The mouse-beaver nodded. "And he can't accelerate either?"

  "He has no energy left," Pucky chirped. "He'll be dead in a few hours when his air is gone."

  On the observation screen a point of light streaked rapidly through the slower asteroids. Bell magnified it and recognized the interceptor he was looking for.

  Tatjana warned: "It'd be senseless to go closer. If he sees us coming he'll try again to use his hypnoblock..."

  Suddenly a brilliant light flashed far ahead.

  Between the multitudinous specks of luminosity a small white sun flared up, then quickly burned out. When the eyes of the observers had become adjusted again to the accustomed darkness, the little point of light that had been the Supermutant's interceptor had vanished from the scene.

  Bell increased his speed and slowed down again when he reached the tiny asteroid that had wandered into the fixed course of the disabled ship. It had a diameter of perhaps two miles and its mass was too big to be knocked out of its path by the smashing impact.

  Silently it rolled on in its eternal orbit.

  A huge crater had been gouged out of its surface. It still glowed.

  Bell stared silently at the crematorium of the Supermutant. Tatjana, who had monitored the final few thoughts of the demoniacal fiend, murmured: "His last wish has been fulfilled with ultimate irony: he wanted a world where he could rule alone and now he has found it. Nobody will ever contest the rulership of Monterny's World!"

  Major Deringhouse spoke from the videoscreen: "Well, this wraps up Operation Supermutant. And am I relieved. So will Rhodan be. We'd better advise him immediately so he can turn his attention to more worthy projects than a combat with a brutal fanatic trying to improve the world."

  "You mean imperil the world," Bell murmured, correcting Deringhouse. "Go ahead, report to Rhodan."

  He studied the star map spread out before him. "Take the Z-45 with you—I'll follow later." Deringhouse registered mild surprise. Tatjana also seemed puzzled. But Lieutenant Bings' interest suddenly perked up. A hopeful gleam came into his eyes.

  Pucky munched his carrots. Any detour was A-OK with him. "What do you have in mind?" Deringhouse finally queried Bell.

  Bell winked confidentially at Bings on the other screen. "I have to fulfill a promise I made to myself. The

  Supermutant is dead and I have something to do now. Have you ever seen a Venusian Palpitating Eye butterfly?"

  "Huh! What's that?"

  "You better take a course in ET butterflyology," Bell advised just as he switched off the telecom, thus failing to hear the happy cry of Lieutenant Bings, lepidopterophile extraordinary.

  Z-13 whipped around and set course for the primeval planet. Venusian Palpitating Eye butterfly, beware!

  THE THRALL OF HYPNO

  Copyright © Ace Books 1973,

  by Ace Publishing Corporation