Infinity Flight Read online

  Rhodan and Bell were listening with bated breath. It was speaking with a calm, controlled voice, as if It were telling some made-up story—yet they knew that this was not the case.

  "The debacle lasted several months. But I was gliding through the various timeplanes and the whole catastrophe unrolled before me in an explosion of a few seconds duration. Too bad, they made only one tiny mistake. They almost succeeded in their plan."

  "What plan?"

  "To wrench loose their planet from their own sun's grip. They had already created an artificial sun of their own, were in possession of a special drive which could have safely removed their whole planet... but why waste any more thoughts on the whole affair once it has happened?"

  "Can't it be undone?"

  There was a silent pause. Then It said: "Why not? It would be fun. Old friend... do you see the mountains ahead of you?" Do you recognize them?"

  "It looks like the Alps," said Rhodan.

  "It doesn't merely look like them, these actually are the Alps, old friend. Beyond these mountains lies the city you are seeking. But let's not lose any more time—Bell will have to be alone for just a second... but what does one second mean in the life of a mortal being let alone in the eternal life of a quasi-immortal? Rhodan, take a deep breath. It will take many weeks before you can breathe out again."

  While Rhodan was looking at the automatic calendar he felt how he was becoming invisible.

  He could still bear Bell's horrified voice calling: "Perry! What's the matter? You're becoming transparent and..."

  With that Rhodan lost consciousness.

  Everything was so different. The small ship did not need a regular transition to cause the horrendous distance of 200,000 light-years to shrink to nothingness: it was covering the entire distance—actually flying through it at an unimaginable speed.

  The ship was small, with an almost tiny-looking command center, whose arrangement seemed as familiar to Rhodan as if he had never been sitting in any other such cabin. The innumerable controls did not confuse him at all; they seemed to inspire trust. The oval picture screen, reaching halfway around the room, was like a window opening on the universe.

  He was alone but he felt that somebody was there with him, someone whom he could not see. Somewhere in this tiny ship was the Immortal...

  "I am not here with you," suddenly said the well-known voice, which seemed to emanate from inside him, "now I am you! Do you understand that. I have assumed your form and am existing within you. Together we shall save a solar system, for I know how sorry you felt for that race that was perishing there, somewhere all alone in the universe—or will perish unless we come to its assistance. In two days we shall land on the planet Barkon II—three months before the catastrophe is due to take place."

  "How is all this possible?" wondered Rhodan, staring at the confusion of strange stars which began wandering with fantastic speed across the screen. "What am I?"

  "You are I and I am you, old friend. Take your choice."

  "And the Stardust ?"

  "Don't worry, you'll find it again—and won't have missed any time at all. But now a task lies ahead of us, a task you have desired yourself."

  "Is this one of your games—a game to while away the time, to chase your boredom away?"

  "Of course it's another one of my games but this will save a whole people from certain destruction. Playing with fate is the most wonderful game that remains for me."

  Rhodan didn't feel inclined to start a discussion about the meaning of life. His sober reasoning power was just beginning to digest the facts without wanting to ask after their origin. Yet there were a few things he absolutely wanted to know.

  "This ship—how big is it?"

  "How big? Big enough to contain enough space, food and air for you. You need no protective spacesuit. I could also have transported the two of us in a disembodied state to Barkon II but this way it is far more interesting and also better."

  "What kind of a drive is it that lets us race through the universe with such incredible speed?"

  "Don't let yourself be deceived. The speed only appears to be so fast; in actuality we are flying at the simple speed of light—but I have altered the normal passage of time, a process which can be turned back again in a retrograde direction any time you desire. In our present state, 4000 years pass in every hour; since we are flying with the speed of light we are therefore covering about 200,000 light-years within two of our relative days."

  "This is madness!"

  "On the contrary, it's completely normal. Once you master time you will also master space."

  "But if so much time—out there in space—is passing, that sun of Barkon II will no longer exist when we get there. That's pure logic, isn't it?"

  "It would be logical if we hadn't already plunged back 200,000 years in time the second we departed. Even three months more in order to find the right moment."

  "It is incredible," said Rhodan, shivering with awe. "If I didn't know you are here with me, I would be afraid, truly afraid."

  "Regard the universe," now the voice of the Immortal said inside him. "Perhaps you'll never again see it in this form. We are covering much more than one light-year per second—that is an incredible speed. Even if we were now to hit a planet or a sun we would not notice it. Not only we are moving but also the matter out there—and from our point of view with incomprehensible speed. Besides, the probability of hitting a celestial body would be smaller than hitting a fly in midair with a random pistol shot. Much smaller."

  Rhodan did not reply. He followed the Immortal's advice and was absorbing the miracle of cosmic creation as it presented itself to his awestruck eyes. It was like a dream—and maybe everything was nothing but a dream in actuality.

  The ship fell into an ocean of stars. The law of perspective caused the impression that the glowing suns were concentrated in that spot to which the little spaceship's nose was pointing. Again and again new suns massed in that same spot, then fled in all directions, accelerating the more they withdrew from the center. Then they were gliding by on either side with a speed of one light-year per second, only to converge again in one point. This second point was located far behind the ship's rear.

  The great distance made the stars seem to slow down, some more than others. But all kept their original color. The well-known rainbow effect did not materialize.

  The Immortal remained silent. Perhaps It was lingering somewhere else now, roaming through the universe in It's own way. For a moment Rhodan felt very lonely and lost. He was thinking of the Stardust and its mission. He was thinking of his friend Bell from whose eyes he must have vanished so suddenly. He thought of Julian Tifflor, who had to hold out on a far away world together with Pucky and some companions until Rhodan would bring them the promised help. All trusted him and relied on him—he who was now sweeping through the cosmos on board this marvelous, incomprehensible ship in order to warn an unknown race that might not even exist any longer.

  He shook his head. "My good old friend has some mighty strange ideas," he murmured and glanced at the clock in front of him at the control board. The clock showed Earth time. They had been traveling now for three hours and had covered almost 13,000 light-years.

  "This idea was yours, Rhodan," said the Immortal, who after all had not taken off from the small vessel. "I was describing to you the annihilation of a race—you brought up the idea of saving that race. I only want to prove to you that, under certain circumstances, it is possible to influence the future. True, it's just a game, but it has also a very serious side to it. For some time later you will once more encounter this race we'll be saving soon. Perhaps you will regret having warned and saved them!"

  The hours crept by slowly. Rhodan had fallen asleep after he had eaten a meal. When he awakened, the scene before him had changed.

  The point ahead of the ship's nose no longer showed myriads of stars. Only a few could be seen there and the number passing by, to disappear behind it in eternal darkness, kept diminis
hing all the time.

  Darkness...?

  Rhodan became aware that there was no absolute darkness behind them. The round picture screen did not permit a view of 360°, only a section of about 70%. The rear was lying in a dead angle. And yet, what he came to realize now was sufficient to cause cold shivers down his spine.

  He was staring at the Milky Way, as it was slowly taking shape.

  In less than 12 hours he had traversed the marginal regions of his home galaxy and was now already outside its starry reaches. The Immortal's little ship had dared the jump into the abyss, that ghastly abyss of millions of light-years that gaped between the galaxies and could never be gapped by any mortal race.

  Or could it be done after all...?

  In breathless amazement he gazed at the scene that opened up before his eyes. He could clearly make out now the shape of a spiral nebula as seen 'from above.' One of the luminous arms was hiding Rhodan's home sun lying in the far distance over 50,000 light-years. At its point of insertion the same spiral-shaped arm cradled the star empire of the Arkonides—and that of the Springers. And yet, this spiral nebula was but a tiny portion of the entire galaxy.

  Suddenly it dawned on Rhodan how minuscule indeed was the Arkonide Empire when measured against the extent of the Milky Way. And what was Terra compared to that empire? A mere speck of dust! Could it be that the Immortal had taken him along on this trip to demonstrate how microscopically small Rhodan was in comparison to cosmic creation?

  Rapidly the structure of the spiral nebula shrank in size. It fell back behind them at a million times the speed of light. At least that's what it looked like to Rhodan's wonder-filled eyes.

  Rhodan peered ahead again. But there was no star to be seen there. The space ahead of the ship was so black as Rhodan had never before perceived. It was absolute darkness in which light seemed to be an unknown factor. Only over to one side, to the left, shone a tiny, washed-out spot. He had to keep his eyes fastened to this spot for almost 10 seconds just to be able to see it properly. Another galaxy, many millions of light-years distant!

  Over to the right he could barely make out another such galaxy. It was a faint glimmer in the darkness—a tiny spot which represented the glow of many millions of suns, now hardly visible, like the weak light of a dying candle. Even the light of the stars loses the battle against space and time, thought Rhodan, drained of emotion, and closed his eyes.

  When he woke up again, eight hours had gone by.

  The universe still looked the same as before he had gone to sleep. Twelve to 15 galaxies were shining from all directions. They had not come any closer despite the fact that Rhodan was rushing toward them with a speed of billions of miles per second. And that had been going on for the past eight hours.

  "Listen," he whispered with emotion. "Your joke is going too far. You should have spared me the sight of infinity."

  "Why?" The voice of the invisible Immortal harbored a hint of surprise. "Why shouldn't you see what is lying ahead of you? We all are existing in infinity and are part of it. Why shouldn't we know what we are?"

  "It's too much for me. My mind refuses to..."

  "In that case your mind has grasped the truth," interrupted the voice. Then the center of their topic shifted. "Now, do you understand why the Barkonides wanted to remove their planet from their own solar system? Can you see that the total isolation of their home, tucked away in this corner of the universe, had to drive them almost insane? Whenever they look up into the night skies they see only far away galaxies which have to represent—in their eyes—the symbol of friendship and gregarious company. They believe that there in the distance are inhabited worlds so close together that they are constantly in touch with each other. While they, the Barkonides, are all alone, utterly and infinitely alone."

  A wave of recognition suddenly swept over Rhodan. "The Barkonides!" he stammered. "What if you leave off the B..."

  "No speculations, please!" the Immortal warned with, Rhodan imagined, a hint of a knowing wink. "Coincidences are a fertile ground for speculations but they still remain coincidences. Only in rare cases can we state any true connections."

  "Not this time?"

  "Do you really expect me to answer? Why don't you ask the Barkonides in person—there will be ample opportunity for you."

  Rhodan refrained from posing any more questions.

  • • •

  They were still 15 minutes short of the time their trip through infinity would have lasted two full days. For the past hour Rhodan had tried very hard to discover a star imbedded in the total darkness that lay between the washed-out spots of the galaxies.

  "In another 60 seconds Barkon will appear on this video screen, old friend. The star's light can be seen only some 800 light-years away."

  Silently, Rhodan continued to stare at the screen. And then, exactly 60 seconds later a tiny star arose at the vanishing point. Rapidly the tiny glimmer grew brighter and larger.

  "That's Barkon, the lonely sun. Of course it's easy to understand that the inhabitants of such an isolated system are unacquainted with the galactic code of behavior. Though they have learned from traditions handed down through the ages that they are not the only form of intelligent life in the universe, they still believe they are the superior race. Their technology is outstanding but they have neglected the art of space travel as it seems senseless to make any efforts in that direction. Even if they'd fly with the speed of light they'd need 150,000 years to reach the nearest star. That would be too wearisome even for Immortals. And the Barkonides definitely are not immortal. For this reason they have concentrated their entire knowledge and effort on the one project: to change their planet into a gigantic spaceship. This is their only hope, they believe, to return together in the course of thousands of generations to their former lost galaxy."

  "A brilliant plan," admitted Rhodan. "But how will I be able to help these magnificent technicians? And who will they think I am when they see me?"

  "You will be able to assist them for I am inside you, Perry. And don't worry how, they will welcome you. There isn't another people in the entire universe so much longing for visitors from outer space as the Barkonides. They will welcome you with open arms. Maybe they'll get curious about the propulsion system of your spacecraft but we'll manage to divert their attention when that question arises. Even if they could overcome space and time with their spaceships, it would be impossible for them to transport their whole planet across the distance of thousands of light-years. No, there is but one possibility left—and they have found out about it."

  Another five minutes went by.

  The sun Barkon had become radiantly bright. It was now shining at a distance of 500 light-years. In nine minutes they would come to the end of their journey.

  "How will we brake our speed in time?" said Rhodan apprehensively.

  "The synchronous slowing down passage of time will neutralize all side effects," reported the Immortal and laughed. For the first time in many hours It was laughing again. "You needn't do anything, old friend—I'll take care of everything; I'll do it for you. I'm happy to be a human being once again—what a rare pleasure."

  This time goodnatured sarcasm was noticeable in It's voice but Rhodan ignored it. Suddenly he moved his right arm without having issued such an order to his muscles. His right hand fiddled with some control knobs. A band on a dial in front of him began to whirl around like mad. Little lamps were blinking off and on. A shrill bell was ringing somewhere in the ship. The floor underneath Rhodan's feet was vibrating.

  "Your eyes will register nothing but a diminishing of our flight speed," announced the Immortal gaily. "Keep your eyes on Barkon, that's all. This is our only point of reference now."

  The range indicator showed another 150,000 light years. If they kept their current velocity it would mean 160 seconds fill Barkon.

  Everything remained as before for another minute.

  Then the braking procedure It had announced earlier began. Despite the fact that Barkon kept
coming closer and closer, it took a good half hour before the ship dipped into the system at a speed of 600 miles per second.

  "They won't notice us until we are there, of course," prophesied the Immortal. "They have neither telescopes nor radar scopes. They haven't seen a star in a million years."

  Rhodan was thinking of something else. "According to Earth time—what would the date be now?"

  The answer came without hesitation.

  "Hm... I was sick then. I know for sure. I was not hospitalized but I was confined to my bed at home in Terrania. Kind of a flu. Hm, and now it's the same date again?"

  "Not again... it's still that date!" emphasized the Immortal ironically. "Yes, you are ill and you are on Earth. Have you forgotten your horrible feverish dream?"

  "Feverish dream?" Rhodan shuddered. Yes, he remembered it now. He had awakened, drenched in sweat, and had seen the worried faces of his friends Dr. Haggard and Reginald Bell. "But I can't recall what it was that I dreamed."

  "I could tell you: you were dreaming that what we are experiencing now—of course very much speeded up and therefore confusing your mind. While you were dreaming you were already forgetting everything. What are dreams in your opinion?"

  Rhodan perceived now far ahead the shape of the planet. Soon he could distinguish the outlines of the continents rising from the oceans. Cloud banks bid part of the planet's surface.

  "What are dreams?" he asked eagerly.

  "Trips of the unconscious mind, that's all. The brain's ability to remember and the spirit's detachment from the body. While we are sleeping our brain is no longer tied to matter and thus is free from the chains of time and space. Human beings know only one form of time travel: dreaming. Dreams are however just a tiny portion of the borderland between reality and vague memories."