Prisoner of Time Read online

By this time, however, the Russian had had quite enough of the eternal distrust. "This is the miracle weapon with which I'll make your shabby little city disappear from the face of Tats-Tor! And if you don't shut your mouth and help us in our struggle, you'll be the next ones sucked into the time stream. Do you understand me?"

  The Administrator was grimly silent and waved for Ragov to leave the room.

  But the Terran was hardly outside when the Administrator called some of his officers to him and gave them some very specific orders.

  • • •

  "It's happening earlier than we expected," Rous concluded, a bit disturbed, when all the men had collected in the spacious galley of the Gazelle and heard Ragov's full report. "My view is that this can only be a forerunner of the actual time front, a forward bulge of the overlapping zone so to speak."

  "That means the time front isn't symmetrical," said Noir, "which is just what the Chief wanted to know."

  "For the moment we can't say anything with certainty," said Rous, warning against too-hasty conclusions. "We have to go take a look at the scene of the event, first, and wait for further attacks."

  "I doubt if they're really 'attacks' at all," Ragov said abruptly. "On the contrary: I'm even convinced that the unseen aliens from the other time dimension have no idea what they're doing to us. Perhaps they can't even prevent it."

  Nodding, Rous told him: "Determining that belongs to our mission, as well. I suggest we take off now and go look over the depopulated city."

  They did not bother themselves with any formalities. Without warning the scout raised itself from the ground and climbed into the sky, disappearing seconds later into the blue.

  Rous, acting as pilot, did not see the stunned faces of the soldiers marching into the spaceport under orders to arrest the Terrans and take over their flat spaceship. He guided the Gazelle towards the east and descended only once the city in question could be seen below. The radiation meter aboard the Gazelle went into operation and drew the outlines of the overlapping area on a map. All inorganic matter, which had been in the other time plane for only a brief period, had aged by millenniums. That was clearly shown by the radioactive decay of certain elements. The boundaries were easily marked.

  "It's rather like an ellipse," murmured Fritz Steiner, the specialist in this area. "It looks as though the overlapping zone only grazed the planet. Next time it'll take in more area."

  They landed on the edge of the city and investigated it cursorily. No living creatures were to be found within, not even the swarms of insects seen everywhere else.

  Fred Harras, manning the radio, called suddenly: "The Administrator has just declared us responsible for the incident and has alarmed his military forces. The police in Akonar have been ordered to arrest us, by force if necessary, and a search for us has been commenced."

  With half-closed eyes, Rous stared at the deserted houses. "Rhodan's premonition has come true. The Arkonides have already become so arrogant and decadent that they trust only their own experience. They believe nothing of another's word. All right, they can have their own experience to learn by but this time I fear it won't do them much good. Our world, our time plane, will pass by so swiftly for them that they will be invisible to the Arkonides' eyes. They will remain behind in the alien dimension."

  Steiner mourned the fate of the Arkonides somewhat less. "We'd better prepare ourselves," he said warningly. "One of the next attacks-to continue using the not very precise terminology-will take place about 100 kilometers towards Akonar from here. Why don't we land there and wait? It wouldn't make much sense to return to the city itself; it would only cause some unnecessary aggravation."

  Rous sighed. "Our mission comes first. Besides, we really don't have the means to help this world's inhabitants when the attack comes." He nodded to Steiner and rested his hand on the Gazelle's throttle. "OK, we'll wait in the desert by Akonar. Luckily there aren't any jungles there but if I'm not mistaken there are large herds of wild animals. A nice fresh steak would taste good to me about now."

  "As long as it hasn't been sent through the other dimension and aged 10,000 years-great!" agreed Steiner and went back into the engine room where his complicated apparatus waited for action.

  2/ SLOW MOTION WORLD

  The frontier between jungle and desert turned out to be a small paradise they had not anticipated.

  The ever-thicker jungle began towards the south, stretching to the shores of the ocean. Akonar lay just a hundred kilometers to the west. Towards the north was the grassy steppe, which merged into the infertile desert. The east resembled the west, except that there was no city in that direction, only the fertile area between jungle and desert.

  The Gazelle rested on its telescopic legs in the middle of some luxuriant bushes. They fulfilled the function of camouflage only imperfectly but served well as shade when the sun grew too hot for someone. One of the six men was constantly on duty in the main room of the small spaceship, holding it ready for takeoff at all times.

  Steiner had his equipment ready for action. Just one twist of a knob and the LFG would open the door to another dimension of time. The other important device, the ray meter, was continually in operation. Any change in the rate of aging would be instantly registered and thus indicate the approach of the time front.

  So equipped, the members of the expedition allowed themselves a rest pause. Harras and Noir had gone hunting, returning with a dead quadruped resembling to some distant degree a deer. Even the peace-loving Ragov did not balk at taking part in the preparations for a feast. He examined the meat and found that it was edible. Lt. Rous supplied a hand-beamer which, turned to low power, served as a source of heat that would not go out very quickly.

  While the tempting aroma of cooking meat wafted out across the steppe, Steiner sat duty in a bad mood in the Gazelle. The radio was on and let him know what was going on across Tats-Tor. The Administrator had alerted his military forces, it turned out, because he was firmly convinced that only the Terrans could be behind the extraordinary disappearance of the inhabitants of an entire city. His logic was flawless: no one but the Terrans had known of the event in advance, therefore they must be responsible for it.

  As previously pointed out, Tats-Tor was a peaceful world. The Administrator had no spacefleet and no actual army. He had only his police corps and the attached vehicles. He had some manoeuvrable fighter-spaceships and some small bombers but they were hardly suited for extended flights into space. Should events develop on an interstellar scale, the Administrator would have to call Arkon for help. A feeling of uncertainty prevented him from making use of this alternative.

  In any event, Steiner had not heard anything in the multitude of radio messages that indicated that the Regent had been informed of the events on Tats-Tor.

  The move against the Terrans at the spaceport had turned out unsuccessful at the last moment but one of the fighters had been able to follow the Gazelle and observe it land by the now lifeless city. That only seemed to confirm the Administrator's suspicion.

  He gave his police the order once more to arrest the six Terrans.

  Steiner reported to Rous and his expression was serious. "Now what can we do? Our hands are tied and we aren't allowed to even defend ourselves if attacked. I don't understand what Rhodan has in mind with all this."

  "He won't force anyone to accept our help," said Rous, trying to explain. "Anyway, self-defense isn't forbidden: we just aren't allowed to hurt anybody by it. Even Noir isn't supposed to intervene in such an event. That's all."

  "That's all?" growled Steiner crossly. "What are we supposed to do when the Arkonides come to arrest us-throw rocks at them?"

  From by the fire, Harras called out. "There's a flyer circling up above-now it's coming in to make a landing. Who can it be?"

  Standing at the open Gazelle hatchway, Rous and Steiner looked up.

  In all there were three gliders, which a few seconds later set down and rolled to a stop not 200 meters away. Immediately upon landing, abo
ut two dozen armed soldiers came out, assembled in formation and marched towards the Gazelle with weapons held fire-ready.

  Steiner grimaced. "They could have at least let us eat our steak before coming!"

  Rous looked towards the on-marching men and said to Harras: "Move, Harras! Get aboard the ship! Rig the Gazelle so it can't take off! Activate the camouflage covering. You never know what might happen. A twist of a knob will do it."

  "As if I didn't know," muttered Harras angrily, leaving the cooking meat to its fate. Only Ragov remained behind; looking at the large piece of flesh with remorse. Josua was coming from a nearby pond with a can of fresh water and his eyes and mouth went wide when he saw the approaching Arkonides.

  Rous walked towards them. To all appearances he had renounced the use of any weapons but he knew that he was not entirely without defense. Steiner was certainly not asleep there in the Gazelle control room and just as certainly he was not going to hold to Rhodan's instructions 100%.

  The Arkonide marching at the head of the column stopped. His small army stopped automatically also. "The Administrator has ordered that you surrender to me without resistance," he announced haughtily. With raised arm he pointed to the Gazelle. "Your ship is hereby confiscated."

  "May I at least know what the meaning of this is?" said Rous.

  "You have attacked our world and we suspect that your weapon is to be found aboard your ship."

  "You'd be looking for it for a long time," smiled Rous, little convinced, for there were any number of incomprehensible devices aboard the Gazelle whose functions could not be very quickly explained. The Arkonides could believe any one of them could be the mysterious weapon that made men disappear."

  "Do you intend to offer resistance?" inquired the officer.

  "Why should we? We aren't conscious of any guilt."

  The troop marched and surrounded the camp.

  Rous gestured to the harmlessly poised Gazelle and commented: "So, do your duty, officer! But I'd like to warn you beforehand! If the suspicion of your Administrator proves to be unjustified, I'll report you to Arkon. A terrible danger is threatening your world and you don't have anything better to do than bother us. Even when we've only come to help you!"

  "I'm only following my orders," said the officer, taking refuge in the most overused and stupidest excuse since time began. Was there ever a better method of avoiding responsibility-and hadn't it almost always worked? "If anyone is to be held responsible, it will be the Administrator."

  Rous would have had an answer to that if he'd had the chance to say anything. However, that was not the case.

  At that moment several things occurred that were closely connected.

  Steiner appeared up in the Gazelle hatchway and shouted: "More disturbances are taking place! A large overlapping just hit the edge of Akonar and more than 10,000 inhabitants have disappeared. Another attack is taking place at the same time on the other side of the planet. The reports are confused and inexact. But that isn't all! If the messages are right, then a broad front is rolling towards us at the speed of the planet's rotation. For heaven's sake, Rous, get rid of those police! They're only holding us up!"

  Rous would have gladly followed his suggestion but he had to adhere strictly to Rhodan's instructions however much they might irritate him. Besides, the reports of the mysterious events and new attacks were also received by the police themselves. The officer heard what a soldier racing up to him had said, turned pale, as expected, and faced Rous a bit helplessly.

  "New attacks..." he said. "You must have heard. But... you're still here? How is that possible?"

  "Think about it for awhile," said Rous, asking the officer to think for himself for once. Since he was a police officer looking forward to a pension, one could certainly ask that much from him. "If we're standing here in front of your eyes, we can't be out depopulating your world at the same time. I'm sure you'll agree with me."

  "I must carry out my orders." The Arkonide had regained his typical arrogance. "I will search your ship with three of my men, then have it brought to Akonar. You're coming with me."

  "I hope we have time for all that," said Rous, hinting at the threatening danger. "The reports speak of an approach of an Unseen front."

  "Unseen...?"

  "You don't know about that? The Administrator left out the most interesting part. The attackers are invisible and come from another dimension in time. We Terrans are trying to find a weapon against them and came here asking for support. Unfortunately... but why am I telling you this? It won't do any good."

  But Rous had succeeded in sowing mistrust in the hearts of the officers. After all, it did seem impossible to be in two places at once. The Terrans were here but the attackers were...

  Steiner called down from the hatch: "Refugees are mobbing the spaceport! The Springers are storming the ships and taking off in a panic. Even the other visitors in Akonar are jamming the passenger ticket officers of the spacelines. The official radio of the Administrator has admitted that much. Perhaps he's covering up even worse developments."

  Spots of fire far in the west streaked upwards to suddenly disappear into the vastness of space. One could almost feel the terrible fear spurring on the pilots.

  The police officer remembered his duty. He waved for three of his men to follow him and climbed into the interior of the Gazelle. Steiner led the Arkonides through the, ship and explained the equipment to them. Then the officer returned to Rous, who was waiting outside. "Tell your man he should come out. My men will take your ship to Akonar. Quick!"

  Rous shrugged and told Steiner to come down. The Arkonides would not be able to move the Gazelle from the spot and after all their fruitless efforts would soon give up.

  Meanwhile, however, the invisible front drew ever closer...

  Ragov turned the spit with the cooking meat one last time and shut off the beamer. "I think," he said calmly, "we can have our steak now. It would be a shame to let it get cold."

  He carved the meat with a large knife and, smacking his lips, dug into his portion.

  Josua did not hesitate to follow his example. Both men acted as though there were no Arkonides or Unseen.

  Rous and Steiner looked at each other, grinned reservedly, and then joined Josua and Ragov. That was a sign for Noir and Harras likewise to forget their cares and enjoy some of life's more pleasant things.

  The Arkonide officer stood alone like someone waiting to be picked up but who had been forgotten.

  After awhile one of his men stuck his head out of the Gazelle's hatch. "The engines aren't working," he announced.

  The Terrans did not let themselves be disturbed. Instead they went on enjoying their steaks. Only Rous kept his eye constantly on the three airplanes 200 meters away and the soldiers standing nearby.

  "The engines have to work!" exclaimed the officer with complete confidence.

  But the blocked engines of the Gazelle did not work. As hard as the three Arkonides worked on them, nothing moved.

  In the meantime, Rous had swallowed the last bite. He began to feel that they did not have much more time. He did not know how quickly the other-dimensional attack front moved but his assumption was that it could reach the three airplanes at any second. And then things would happen very quickly.

  He stood up and went to the officer. "I think you ought to look after your men," he suggested. "It could be too late in a few minutes. Besides..."

  A shrill cry of fear interrupted him. He whirled around and looked towards the airplanes-just in time to watch a soldier disappear from normal existence. Only his head was left to view, floating along for a short distance, then it too blinked out.

  Another soldier screamed as though he had been stabbed-then he was caught in the inexorably progressing time front and overlapped.

  Panic broke out.

  The officer shouted some senseless orders and ran in the direction of the three planes, which of course had not been affected by the mysterious event. Breaking formation, his men followed
him. Rous wanted to call out a warning but it was already too late. The men ran straight into their fate and all disappeared in a space of 10 seconds. Only their footprints in the sand remained behind.

  Rous turned to his men. "Quick! Into the ship! We don't have a second to lose!"

  The three soldiers who had inspected the Gazelle had come down the ladder and run off. They could not be helped now.

  Steiner was the first into the Gazelle and switched on the hypercom transmitter as agreed. Headquarters in Terrania had to be notified of events before the actual experiment began. Rous was also in the control room a second later, activating the energy of the Arkonide reactor within the Lens Field Generator.

  Josua, last aboard the Gazelle, shut the hatch behind him with a hollow clang. The air conditioning came on automatically.

  Steiner was receiving a reply from the station on Terra. Without paying any attention to the activity around him, he sent off the prepared message:

  Gazelle Lt. Rous to HQ Terrania! Attack in progress. We are in Zone A. Overlapping zone runs asymmetrically; statistic levels. Overlapping has now reached 99%. We are trying to gain view of other plane with lens generator. Will report as soon as possible. End.

  Rous waited until the generator was running and was beginning to form the time window. A shimmering circle of light suddenly materialized in the middle of the control room, about a meter in diameter. Josua stared at it as though it were an incomprehensible miracle, although he knew full well what it was. But Rous had to admit that he was not very comfortable himself. The luminosity of the Window showed that the time front had just rolled over them in that second.

  Steiner turned off the hypercom transmitter and stepped over to Rous. "It's time," he said in a businesslike tone, despite a barely noticeable trembling in his voice. "What are we waiting for now?"

  Ivan Ragov, standing a bit to one side, suddenly cried out in terror. "My arm! Those damned Unseen have grabbed me!"

  It was Noir who acted. "Quick, Steiner! Ragov's got to go through the Window first! Help me!"