The Blue System Read online

  The gigantic bell-shaped screen opened before me. I stepped through and switched on my command transceiver which was fastened to my left wrist.

  "Welcome, Your Highness." The apathetic mechanical voice of the Regent rang from the loudspeaker. This had been his customary greeting for the past 60 years. I was brief.

  "The Administrator of the Solar Imperium and his aide are to be admitted. Process their patterns, register them in the data banks and beam them collectively to the defense units."

  If it is at all possible for a mechanical brain to be speechless, that is what happened now. There was simply a loud humming in my transceiver. It was several seconds before the Regent was heard from again however, in an unexpected way. After a sharp crackling in the speaker a more well-modulated 'voice' rang out. "Security circuit section A-1 speaking, Your Highness. In accordance with the programming your ancestors provided me with, I am instructed to deny entrance to aliens unless extreme circumstances affecting the stellar empire make it absolutely necessary for an authorized Arkonide to request access for aliens. If such a measure is to be taken, the complete justification shall be stated."

  For a moment I forgot to breathe. This was something new! In some confusion I turned and waved Rhodan back as he was about to step over the red line. And it was then I noticed that the warp opening in the screen had closed behind me. Rhodan jumped back to safety. He seemed to get the message but he could probably see that I had again raised the transceiver to my lips.

  "Imperator to security A-1," I announced emphatically. "The extreme circumstances affecting the stellar empire exist. According to information obtained from the ancient registers, whose data I requested, the existence of the Imperium is at stake. The quarrel with the Arkonide mother race—which has come to be known as the 'Hub War'—has reached a new and critical stage. The Akons attacked the Greater Imperium two months ago and the 3rd planet was transferred back through a time-field to the period of Imperator Metzat, 15,000 years ago. Although in a relative sense the Arkonides of that time had been dead for thousands of years, they awoke to a new and incomprehensible existence. An ancient Arkonide battlefleet then attacked the Earth, which was not under the influence of the time-field. The time-converter that had been planted by unknown agencies was eliminated and that brought us back to a normal state. These data are known—"

  "Yes, they are known, Your Highness!" confirmed the security section in almost deafening tones. "In regard to the two aliens you mention, what is their relationship to these events?"

  My mind raced feverishly. It was only possible to convince a robot brain of something with pure logic. It would have been useless to explain that Rhodan merely wanted to take a look at the ancient film report for purposes of information. I knew I had to be more convincing than that.

  "The degenerated condition of present-day Arkonides is also known to you. In order to defend ourselves against the attacks of the mother race we must request the armed assistance of the Solar Imperium. His Administrative Excellence, Perry Rhodan, must be personally convinced of the circumstances. His companion is functioning here as his adjutant and is endowed with special paranormal faculties."

  "Can these faculties be employed in the interests of the Empire?"

  I knew by the question that I had won the argument already. Shortly after I answered in the affirmative, A-1 spoke again.

  "After due analysis of the available data, Your Highness' proposal is conditionally authorized."

  "Conditionally?"

  "In accordance with my programming, Your Highness. The two non-Arkonides may be admitted to screen room seven. Other sectors of the Regent's brain are restricted to aliens both in the sense of physical access or by remote observation through a video system. Your Highness' opinion concerning the importance of the armed assistance that is to be gained has passed my logic gating to the extent of this permission. Any further concessions may not be granted."

  I was happy to have at least gotten this far. In spite of myself I had to marvel at the foresight of my forebears who had devoted centuries of labor to the building and programming of the giant robot. There was nothing they had overlooked! Even my own life wouldn't be worth a straw from this moment on if I were to lead Rhodan anywhere other than the designated area. My normally unlimited power of authority seemed to stop at that point.

  I waited until the mobile data sensor stopped beside me. Only then did the field-warp provide an opening in the energy screen. I stepped outside again and beckoned to Rhodan but he didn't move. He seemed tensed as though to leap away. I could feel his distrustful gaze on me. Now he was once more the fundamentally cautious Terran who was making a cool, calm assessment of the situation while still allowing for a slight measure of 'playing it by ear'.

  At the same time I sensed a kind of nibbling and probing at the back of my brain. The telepaths of the Mutant Corps on the Ironduke were trying to scan my consciousness although they had known for many years that this was not possible against my will. With the help of my activated extra-brain I blocked my mind, which had the effect of making me mute for the telepaths. The aborted attempt didn't anger me in the least. I knew that the impertinent mouse-beaver Pucky, especially, could never desist from putting me to the test, time after time.

  The only disturbing thing about it was that the mutants had certainly not acted without orders. Rhodan possessed a minimal telepathic faculty which he had augmented through every modern paranormal means at his disposal. With a good telepath receiver on the other end he was able to communicate very well. But that was the extent of his range. So naturally, since he was always suspicious, he had sent a mental command to his mutants, telling them to snatch any thought fragments they could from me. It was about then that I gave up the hope of ever learning from him how his new hyperspace-drive worked.

  I suppressed my vexation. This Terran would never learn. He had gone through a hard and merciless school. Life and widespread abuses throughout the settled regions of the galaxy had convinced him that no one could be trusted. The axiom wasn't false by any means, nor could I attribute his attitude to any chronic malevolence but he shouldn't have let himself get carried away to the point where he even included his true friends among those who were to be mistrusted.

  I turned on my portable radio and spoke sarcastically into the microphone: "Thanks for the show of confidence, Barbarian! In case the mutant gentlemen on theIronduke are still tuned in, they should know that their para-mental snooping is just as futile as it always was."

  Rhodan's stiffness relaxed. After that he laughed and I couldn't be angered with him anymore. He was and remained a Terran who had once more identified himself with all of humanity. Before he would permit any harm to befall this humanity of his he would rather see himself torn to shreds.

  He took his radio communicator from his belt and lifted it to his lips. As was typical of him, instead of asking a question he went directly to the self-evident point. "You got into a jam there—how come?"

  "Security circuit A-1."

  "Aha! So that's it! Getting pulled up short like that is something new for you, isn't it?"

  "Your logic, as they say, has hit the nail on the head..."

  "Thank God for your sense of humor, Arkonide! So now is it safe to come nearer?"

  "You may enter screen room 7, that is all."

  "Oh, then there are several of them!"

  "You might assume that."

  He laughed disarmingly. Together with Tama Yokida he started slowly forward. My eyes became moist when they crossed over the red danger line. It was a sign of my tension, which was a characteristic of my race. How would the Regent react to their presence from there on in—and above all the security circuit? It would be unthinkable if Rhodan were to lose his life during a mere friendly visit.

  I only began to breathe normally again when the two of them passed through the individual impulse scanning unharmed. I waited until the sensor hoods raised from their heads and circuit A-1 confirmed the registration.

&n
bsp; The combat robots who had deployed themselves around the distant steel dome retreated and disappeared. Anyway the Brain considered me reliable enough to trust me with keeping an eye on Rhodan and Yokida.

  I briefed them hurriedly and concluded: "I urge you not to try anything stupid. That goes for you, too, Tama—no telekinetic fooling around. We're dealing with a mammoth machine that can understand neither a joke nor bravado."

  Rhodan had to contact theIronduke telepathically because voice communication was no longer possible. The Brain's honeycomb screen blocked radio impulses in any form.

  "OK, let's go. The crew has been informed. If anything should happen here at least they won't be able to attribute it to any hostility on your part." He looked at me pointedly and the angry protest stuck in my throat. He had meant it as a grave statement of fact.

  Silently I turned away. A repulsion-field float-glider took us over to the low steel dome which barely rose above ground level and there an antigrav lift was waiting for us. My ancestors had installed the Brain's vast circuits far beneath the surface.

  Rhodan and the mutant followed me closely. Nor did they deviate from my course as we came through the last armor plate hatch door at a depth of 2,000 meters. After that we entered the mysterious labyrinths which reflected a technology that the present-day Arkonides did not possess. Even I would not be able to repair any of these sectors should one of them fail. My venerable ancestors had also thought of that because the Regent took care of his own repairs! But technically speaking, those ancestors were actually my descendants, since I had been born 5,000 years earlier.

  An unarmed special robot was waiting for us at the entrance to screen room seven. The steel doors glided back. Before us was a rectangular hall which was arched and supported by pillars. Other than the great viewscreens, a horseshoe-shaped programming desk and the steel case of a terminal device protruding from the wall, there was nothing to be seen here. That is with the exception of the comfortable viewing seats which had known the presence of the greatest scientists and statesmen in Arkonide history.

  I pointed to the seats without a word. The whole presentation had been prepared. It was not necessary for me to feed any detailed questions to the machine since I had retrieved all the pertinent data-bank information several days before and now it was already in the coordinating logic section of the local terminal bank.

  This moment was a significant one for me and Rhodan although not necessarily decisive. However, before activating the start signal I prefaced the presentation with some casual remarks. "Perry, your unexpected thrust into the Blue System was apparently only possible because of your linear drive system. However that trip unleashed an avalanche of varied events and consequences. Your information is correct. The pre-Arkonides, properly called the Akons, are in fact the mother race of the Arkonides as you know them and which I also represent. For the members of the Supreme Council of Arkon, this fact is especially regrettable."

  "Why is that?"

  I looked at him thoughtfully. "You know the answer as well as I do. We have felt the effects of an apparently unavoidable law of Nature. Almost every sociologist, biologist or medical authority agrees on that point. They are unanimous in their contention that when any race is uprooted from its original environment and brought to other worlds where it is exposed to completely different natural conditions it cannot remain stable. This applies to its culture and ethics as well as all the technical and scientific knowledge that has been handed down. The indisputable state of degeneration of almost all the present-day Arkonides is a direct consequence of this unfortunate principle. So now we know the reason for these feet of clay that the whole Empire seems to be standing on. As a result of your test-flight into the hub of the galaxy we have solved the riddle that we have sought so long and in vain to find an answer for. We are the colonial descendants of a great people and thus we've degenerated. Almost all Arkonides, including the leading members of the Supreme Council, are in the mental state of a group of insane or psychotic patients whom no psychiatrist can convince that they are sick. Logically it would seem to be the need of the moment to make these Arkonides realize that we've come to the end of our way. However, there's no chance of my succeeding in that. The more advanced their state of decadence, the more overbearing and presumptuous they become. Completely unjustified, of course! So what I'm saying is, according to that you and I are on our own."

  "The data registered in the Brain reveal that a terrible war broke out at one time between the Akons and my ancestors—about 20,000 years ago by Earthly reckoning. It involved vested rights and interests, autocratic demands and claims, trade relationships and all those things that we've repeatedly regarded as a cause for devastating conflicts. In the Blue System you learned that this war has not yet been forgotten, as evidenced by recent events. The Akons are trying to eliminate the danger which has emerged with your own appearance on the scene. You have become dangerous to them because you have the secret of linear spacedrive."

  Rhodan watched me fixedly. None of my emotions escaped him. "Yes," he said, succinctly.

  "The Regent gives a 100% probability to the fact that your demise would mean the end for Terra as well as for the Arkonide Empire. On the other hand you could fall if it were not for me, because I command the Arkonide spacefleets. Accordingly, it makes no difference where the Akons make their point of penetration. And that is why I have asked you to come here today."

  "Sir?" asked Tama Yokida. "Is the Regent's conclusion really as inevitable as all that?"

  "Even more so. If I ceased to be the Imperator, the Arkonide fleets would attack Terra—of that there can be no doubt. And if Terra were to be weakened by other means I'd not be able to defend myself against my countless enemies. We are dependent upon each other. Now then, shall we begin?"

  "Wait a moment," said Rhodan tonelessly. There was something in his tense, lean features which disquieted me.

  "Yes?"

  "Your hypercom call arrived when I was getting ready to leave. I planned then and still intend to fly a second time to the Blue System where I'm going to try to clear up our disagreements."

  A silence pervaded the large auditorium. Rhodan watched carefully for my reactions. I wasn't especially surprised. His intention merely expressed his unfailing instinct for strategic imperatives.

  "I understand—but did you find my communication to be unusual?"

  Not a muscle moved in his face although his features seemed pale. "Speaking frankly for myself—yes. I wasn't intending to tell you ahead of time." He got up and came to stand in front of me. We studied each other in silence for a moment.

  "Is that so?" I muttered while trying to keep the tension out of my voice.

  "The internal political situation in the Arkon System is obvious," he explained hastily. "I figured it would

  be dangerous to reveal my purposes at this time."

  "You know I'd not have revealed your intentions to my useless ministers," I protested bitterly. "So you were going to take off without my knowledge in spite of the fact that we've been under mutual attack? What do you plan to do now?"

  Our eyes met again. He turned slowly and went back to his seat.

  "Your message arrived just in time," he said as he sat down. "I hadn't suspected that I would see such a blatant confirmation of the darkest foreboding on the part of Terran researchers."

  "Does that mean you have changed your opinion, Administrator?"

  Rhodan only smiled at this form of address and I suddenly thought I understood why he had not wanted to keep me informed. I was a shadow figure on the throne of Arkon, even though I was doing everything possible to combat the untenable circumstances.

  "Come off it, old friend!" he finally retorted. "You would have been told about the flight, regardless."

  At least that was one positive note, I thought. Without any further questions, I activated the visual presentation.

  3/ THE GREAT HYPER-CAPER

  "...and consequently, within the parameters of the cou
nter-offensive program, the 12th Arkonide Cruiser Fleet under Adm. Talur began the destruction of the Akon reserve base of Tarkta, 4th planet of Opogon in the central system. The flagship was the auxiliary craft carrier Her-Akal. After a four-year retreating action on the part of the colonists, the 12th Fleet made a decisive attack which contributed greatly to the containment of the ancestral offensive..."

  The mechanical voice of the Regent rose above the sounds of battle. The great screens of the 3-D panoramic projection system revealed an event that had taken place 20,418 years ago by Earthly reckoning. What came to be known in history as the 'Hub War' was a schism between the ancestors of the present-day Arkonides and the free colonists of that time—a conflict which broke out only 182 years after the first colonization of star cluster M-13.

  Being furnished with the most modern equipment of the mother race, the emigrants had quickly become independent, and with their massive superiority in all kinds of ships and weapons they had managed in just 60 years to subjugate intelligences of all classifications who lived in star cluster M-13.

  Such were the beginnings of the Arkonide Imperium. About 180 years after the first colonial ship had landed there was an internal overthrow. An imperialistic form of absolutism was invoked whereby all internal resistance groups were ruthlessly eliminated. Seven years after his assumption of authority the first Imperator Gwalon I declared the new empire to be independent. In a lightning surprise offensive he then sought to destroy the outlying fortress and supply bases of the ancestral forces which were still within the star cluster.

  The plan succeeded.

  Although the ancestral forces retreated they did not recognize the new Imperator. Then followed the 11-year 'Battle of the Hub', initiated by colonists who now called themselves Arkonides, and the bitterest conflict of Akon history was inaugurated. The numerous sound films taken by long-dead cameramen showed us portions of the battles between Arkonides and Akons-who at that time were already established in that central solar system which Perry Rhodan had discovered in March 2102 during a test flight. It was now 16 December 2102, yet when I looked at the screens it seemed to me that the events depicted had only happened but moments before. What were apparently the mightiest fleets ever to hurtle through the galaxy were clashing together and they included the newly developed giants of that age, measuring 800 meters in diameter. Tens of thousands of spaceships of all types and classes were spewing out death and destruction.