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  I glanced at the entrance to the transport belt streets leading at various speeds to the road system which I wanted to reach.

  Somebody handed me a big picture on which to my amazement I recognized myself. They shoved pens

  into my hand, begging for autographs. Against my will I had become an idol. I realized that I who had always endeavored to remain the most inconspicuous person on Earth was now a well-known celebrity. This was the last thing I wanted because it made my task so much more difficult.

  Gmuna used his elbows to hold the crowd back until two big laughing youths grabbed both his arms.

  I had already put the metal case, which I had stuck to my body, in the outside pocket of my blouse. It was easy to open the magnetic lock and I reached inside to feel the slim lightwave deflector.

  When a few policemen rushed to Gmuna's aid and they finally managed to make a little room I saw my opportunity.

  The elevator shafts were close behind me and virtually all of the protesting students were in front of me. The few who had gathered along the concrete wall at my back would have to be sidestepped in a fast dash.

  I waited calmly until Gmuna blew his whistle again. At that moment I depressed the button of the set.

  The light-deflector rendered me instantly invisible to all normal eyes. Whereas I retained my ability to see everything clearly, I completely vanished from the sight of all outsiders.

  The deflection field shaped itself automatically to the contours of my body.

  As I leaped back and ran past a few vexed students I saw Gmuna's dumbfounded face.

  Although I had been utterly calm only a few seconds ago I now felt hounded by fear of the imminent events. Of course they would call a general alarm. If I had been at the spaceport it would have been impossible for me to escape. Now I had to find a way to submerge in the teeming crowds of the megalopolis Terrania.

  I ran around the closely huddled groups of students and spied some gaps through which I darted forward.

  A thunderous boom behind me made me stop in my tracks and whirl around in fear. Was it possible that Gmuna had become so panicked that he fired at the people? Not that, instead the sun drenched desert air was rent by glaring light fingers of liberated atomic forces.

  Gmuna shot straight up, causing the frightened students to scatter in flight. This young Defense lieutenant knew how to handle the situation! I had hoped to gain a few minutes in the tumult. But he had succeeded in gaining control almost instantly, giving an unmistakable sign of alarm at the same time.

  I muttered under my breath and resumed running after a quick look around.

  I reached the entrance to the transport belts near the roof enclosure ahead of the retreating students. Here began the road network suspended on stylish arches and columns which extended all over Terrania.

  Jumping in front of a screaming girl onto the first slow belt, I quickly changed over to the high-speed belt going 50 kilometers. Due to my haste I fell on the elastic surface where I remained and observed what was going on behind me. The band moved me away from the focal point of the action at a higher clip than Gmuna would like.

  Just before I was carried in a wide curve between the main building of the Academy and a huge office tower I saw several machines of the Aero-Police zooming down from the sky.

  The big chase was underway! If I were caught again I would have lost the game for good.

  I was very careful not to bump against any of the few people on the passenger belt. I had chosen the belt not only because it was fast but mostly because it provided a good guarantee against detection. The passengers on the high-speed belt seldom tried to walk along its surface. Once they had stepped on it they usually stood still, the better to withstand the pressure of the stiff air resistance. Many people never ventured out on the city's transit system.

  Now I reverted again to a more relaxed state of mind. Let them try and find me! I was and would remain invisible as long as my micro-generator produced enough effective current.

  I carefully watched the big illuminated street signs which informed the passengers of the stations they approached.

  When I saw the sign Spaceport in the distance I changed my original plan at the last moment. Since Gmuna had reacted with such surprising speed, it would have been not only dangerous for me to set foot on the spaceport but also quite useless. If I had been in Kosnow's place I would have stopped all machines from taking off.

  Consequently I traveled past the exit and headed for the main railway station although the trains were used by very few travelers. I hoped I would be able to leave town by catching a freight train.

  I sat up, clasped my arms around my raised knees and laughed loudly into the onrushing wind.

  The stream of air was warm and not very refreshing. The next rainfall had been predicted for tonight.

  I pulled the case out of my pocket and took out my little psycho-beamer. It was a miniature version of the invaluable influence weapon whose rays disrupted the process of conscious decisions. The device was neither dangerous nor detrimental to the health of affected persons. I had no intention of killing or hurting these wild, yet very successful barbarians of Terra.

  They had treated me very decently. One of their girls had even become infatuated with me. Why in the world didn't they trust me? I swore never to mention Terra, the Solar Imperium or the name Perry Rhodan after my return to Arkon.

  This word of honor was given to myself in accordance with the sacred code of the Arkonide Space Fleet. I couldn't go back on my word no matter how much I might regret it later on. For this reason I decided to take the oath before any discordant feelings might arise in the future. I was bound by my promise.

  Relieved of the burden of my pangs of conscience and with my tender thoughts dedicated to Marlis, I got ready to jump over to the next belt. I had to be careful most of all not to bump accidentally into another person.

  The lighted sign Freight Station appeared far ahead.

  Of course the area would also be blocked off but it was certainly not as closely watched as the intercontinental airport. Hardly anybody in Terrania still used the old-fashioned atomic trains. They carried goods, that was all.

  4/ SUBSEA SHELTER

  My journey on the freight train turned out to be an unending torture. I had recklessly yanked open a sliding door of the heavy atomic locomotive which happened to receive the signal to pull out at the time of my arrival. It made no difference whatsoever to me whether the train was consigned to a place in Asia or Europe, I was anxious to leave Terrania as quickly as possible to escape the spreading net thrown in a wide search.

  In a state of weakness I concealed myself behind the transformers of the big locomotive's tender. Only 10 minutes after the train started it was made to stop. The Solar Defense operated with incredible speed.

  Then the risky game began. The investigating police knew they had to find an invisible man. A problem of this nature obviously defied ordinary solutions. Therefore the freight train was held two hours in the open desert till a special detachment of the Defense arrived with detection instruments.

  The tender with its transformers converting the 30,000 volt tension of the generator reactor into proper current for the elastic motors was still the best place for me to hide.

  Since I was close to the unshielded current conductors, the powerful field created by them was superimposed on the slight radiation of my lightwave deflector, dwarfing it into insignificance. Detection of its minimal energy output was thus precluded.

  However this advantage was bought at the price of constant danger to my life. I tiptoed between the uninsulated conductors in deadly fear, trying to figure out at what distance the spark of a discharge would char my body to cinders.

  I went through several agonizing minutes but fortunately the tender was only perfunctorily inspected.

  When the train resumed its movement again, I noticed that I traveled deeper into the desolate wastes of the central Gobi desert. The freight cars were empty, which m
eant that the train headed for someplace where it was to be loaded.

  Hour after hour went by, racing 200 kilometers per hour through western China until the mountains of the Himalayan massif towered before us. There the locomotive's engineers were relieved by two new men. However the short stop did not help to alleviate my discomfort at all since I was afraid to use my psycho-beamer for the purpose of making them give me a sip of water or a bite of food. If they were to be questioned by Rhodan's mutants after we arrived at the point of destination, they would easily discover my hypno-block and notify the Defense Center so that they would know the approximate area where to find me.

  I endured the next hours in total exhaustion. We traversed numerous mountain passes till we reached the riverbed of the mighty Brahmaputra.

  The second change of the train's crew exposed me to great danger since all railway cars were once more thoroughly searched. Apparently new orders had come from Terrania.

  When we finally arrived at the big freight station in Calcutta, I staggered to the nearest water fountain with total disregard for the danger involved.

  From then on my ordeal subsided. On the airport of the vast Indian metropolis I located an air transport bound for Tel Aviv. This time I was compelled to use my psycho-beamer on the plane's personnel since I had to share the pressurized cabin with them. The machine flew only at six times the speed of sound but traveled at about 30 kilometers altitude and I would have been asphyxiated in its storage bay.

  In Tel Aviv I noticed for the first time that the battery of my lightwave deflector was getting low and that it was high time to switch it off. Therefore I immediately looked around for another machine without leaving the airport but not without first stilling my nagging hunger at the cafeteria for the ground personnel.

  Without being noticed I flew on a small transport plane to Tripoli where I found the private plane of a Lebanese official waiting at the airport.

  When the man arrived in a helitaxi I learned from his conversation with the pilot that he intended to go to a conference of irrigation experts at Casablanca, which was called to negotiate the construction of a major pumping installation. This was all I wanted to know. Casablanca on the west coast of Africa was a place whose location fitted well into my plans.

  We departed at nightfall. I sat next to the Lebanese who was completely under the influence of my psycho-beamer, the same as the pilot who carried out my wishes.

  There was plenty of food and drink in the luxurious plane and I filled up while contemplating my next move.

  The radio and TV announcements of my escape became more frequent by the hour. I had the news turned on and listened to the latest releases of the government.

  I had never before heard such a thorough description of my person. Terra Television telecast a series of pictures which enabled anyone who wasn't half blind to recognize me.

  The search was carried on by all available means, however all reports clearly indicated that they had lost track of me. Now I congratulated myself on my spontaneous decision to hop a freight train.

  The mathematicians of the Defense organization had probably figured out every second from the time I absconded. Unless they were able to reconstruct my exact route of escape they were bound to arrive at wrong results. Apparently they had already discarded the idea that I had fled on a freight train since all checks with the most sensitive detectors had given negative readings. Everything pointed to the assumption that they still believed me to be in Terrania, which couldn't have suited me better.

  "Landing in 10 minutes, sir," the pilot announced without being asked. I had earlier given him hypnotic instructions to this effect.

  I cleaned up the cabin, putting back the food I had not consumed and ordered the two men to forget my presence. In the faint glimmer of my psycho-beamer I saw their faces become more expressionless, indicating that they had been put under a strict hypno-block.

  The airfield of Casablanca was still shrouded in darkness. We had flown away from the rising sun. It was shortly after two o'clock at night, early enough for my next step.

  When I began the pursuit of my task weeks ago I had concealed my deepsea pressure suit in a cave at the rocky shore. The spot was not far from the city of Tangier, which I should be able to reach before dawn.

  Our pilot got ready to land. I observed that he rotated the jets of the two propulsion engines at the end of the wings to direct the particle stream downward.

  We touched down as gently as a helicopter, rolled a few feet and came to a stop. I pushed the door open, jumped out and closed the door behind me before the plane started rolling again.

  With wide leaps I disappeared in the dark and paused for a minute as soon as I had reached an empty hangar.

  Farther back the Lebanese official left his small plane and I saw him met by a car. Everything seemed to be all right.

  It took me another hour till I discovered the best chance to continue on my way. It was not my nature to be afraid of entering the lion's den. Therefore I prowled around till I spotted and got close to a gyrocopter of the Coast Police where I waited till the two officers of the patrol showed up.

  When they climbed aboard I had already stowed away in the back of the copter. After the takeoff I quickly put them into the influence sphere of my psycho-beamer. Their rigid faces were proof that they no longer had a will of their own. I squeezed through the narrow door which separated us and sat down on the seat behind them.

  Our flight took us north along the shimmering white surf of the southern Atlantic far below.

  "Head straight for Tangier!" I firmly ordered the pilot. "If you're questioned by your control officer, radio back that you've sighted some suspicious cars on the coast speedway which you want to check in due course. Is that clear?"

  "Yes, sir," the pilot acknowledged. The lieutenant sitting next to him kept staring ahead with a vacant look.

  "Blanca Center to Patrol #6, please report!"

  "Patrol #6, Lt. el Habib speaking."

  I flinched at the sound of the radio. If the gyrocopter received orders to change its course from my desired direction I could have difficulties.

  "Patrol #6," the voice droned from the loudspeaker again, "fly down the coastline and look for a fast cabin cruiser on the way to Mechra el Hade. The name of the boat is Almeria. It sails under the Spanish flag. We're looking for a member of the crew. Please make a check!"

  "Roger, Blanca Center, we proceed along the shoreline."

  The air patrol officer switched off. I glanced at the illuminated relief map on the instrument panel.

  The town of Mechra el Hade was located between Casablanca and Tangier, exactly in the direction I wanted to go. Tangier was only 300 kilometers away by air and we could easily reach it in no more than 30 minutes.

  I gave the pilot my instructions. The transformer of the miniature fusion-reactor behind me began to hum louder. The idling rotor blades produced a high-pitched clatter which was quickly drowned out by the roar of the jet propulsion engines.

  We flew at 600 kilometers per hour toward my destination. There were no more incidents until the lights of Tangier appeared in the distance.

  I directed the pilot to a deserted beach between Tangier and the suburb Arcila where I left the jetcopter south of the Coast Speedway.

  I followed the departing machine with apprehensive eyes till it was swallowed up by the darkness. I was concerned that complications might arise if the pilot were to be unable to answer possible questions why he had flown to Tangier. Hence I had to make sure that I could no longer be traced.

  My thoughts were interrupted by a warning from my extra-brain: You're getting too tired!

  Of course I was tired and exhausted. I had hardly been able to catnap in the various places I had to conceal myself. Now I'd have to spend the day hidden in a cave and wait for the night. I dreaded the unlucky possibility that the returning copter patrol would bring the Solar Defense down on my neck. If this happened it would jeopardize my flight in my transport-suit
across the open sea to the Azores. It would be a mistake to underestimate the swift and decisive measures the Terranians were bound to take.

  Shortly before daybreak I reached my cache. The cave was deep inside the rugged sun-warmed cliffs. It was possible to spot it from above.

  I meticulously checked my outfit and the other supplies I had providently deposited; ate and drank and lied down to rest.

  My deepsea pressure suit was in excellent condition and so was the flying apparatus. Before I fell into a leaden sleep full of unpleasant dreams, I recapitulated my plans in my mind.

  My armored sphere at the bottom of the ocean had never been discovered by anyone else. The machines and procedures which were available to me in my refuge permitted me to change the appearance of my person. This was a factor which the Solar Defense could not foresee.

  Then I had to find a Terranian space traveler who resembled my figure and physiognomy as much as possible. Once I had such a man brought into my shelter it was a fairly simple matter for me to recreate his physical features. This would enable me to board a spaceship to Venus as a member of the crew in his place.

  When my thoughts turned to Venus I believed I could see Marlis Gentner before my eyes. She was going to wait for me at Port Venus, the big spaceport of Sol's second planet from which many huge intergalactic spaceships started. There I should be in a good position to find an opportunity to fly to the Vega system. Once I was beyond the immediate jurisdiction of Terra it would be much easier to figure out other means and ways to get to Arkon.

  Units of the Solar Space Fleet were regularly stationed in the Vega system and I had high hopes of capturing one of the super light-speed Gazelles which could take me home.

  Home! The thought of Arkon and the Great Empire made me shudder. What was I to do if my venerable people really had become degenerated?

  Call Rhodan?my extra-sense suggested. Return to Earth!

  In dismay I rolled over on my side and closed my eyes. The logic of this advice was evident. If I were to return to Earth it was senseless to leave in the first place.