The Radiant Dome Page 4

  "According to the confused statements of the test pilot Clark G. Fletcher, captain of the space force, we can conclude that the crew was forced by Major Rhodan to submit to the forbidden landing. Captain Fletcher was arrested and taken into custody by the Australian Security Service. Due to some careless procedures during a cross-examination, Captain Fletcher unfortunately suffered a fatal stroke. Judging by the tape recordings and medical records of the proceedings it appears that Captain Fletcher's memory bank was put out of commission by means of a parapsychic hypnotic bloc. Nevertheless, it is certain that at least Fletcher was made to obey his commander by force. The officials responsible for Fletcher's death are being prosecuted."

  "How clever!" mumbled the Chinese with bitter sarcasm.

  The report concluded with a detailed account of the various aspects of the investigation and its results. The attitude and behavior of the other two crew members, Dr. Eric Manoli and Captain Reginald Bell, were reconstructed. These were based on the sparse reports of far Eastern and Western secret service agents. The statement was concluded with these words: "The mysterious disappearance of Dr. Frank Haggard, specialist for blood dyscrasia, must be looked upon as a significant coincidence. And evaluation of Rhodan's actions, while considering about 11 million probabilities, provides also the explanation for Dr. Haggard's continued absence. With a probability factor of ninety-nine percent it is stated that Major Rhodan must have brought back to Earth with him an alien being suffering from a serious blood disorder. An examination of all steps undertaken by Dr. Haggard immediately preceding his disappearance led to the inevitable conclusion that this disease must be leukemia. It is known which medications and special diagnostic instruments he has taken along. One hundred percent certainty!"

  This time Mercant waited in vain for some biting remark of the Asiatic Federation Defense Chief. Mao-tsen sat rigidly in his chair, not uttering a sound.

  "No, no, no!" breathed Kosselow heavily. That was the only sound in the room.

  Mercant glanced at General Pounder, who seemed to be lost in deepest thought. The report came to an end: "Rhodan's explanation of having found on the moon the ownerless heritage of a non-human race, and having appropriated and used these remains in a manner well-known by now, must be rejected as completely untrue! Careful checking of the scientific technical potential useful effects leads to the conclusion that it is entirely impossible for a human mind to comprehend the functioning of totally unknown machines and weapons within the span of a few days. The working mechanism of the so-called energy screen necessitates such specialized knowledge as is not at the disposal of our engineers. Even considering all facts, we calculate with one hundred percent certainty that even a highly qualified research team would have needed three to four years merely to understand the workings of the energy screen's mechanics. But another three to four years would have been required for them to learn how to master the correct procedures of working the apparatus. The intelligence quotients of our pilots are a matter of record. Even in intense collaboration they would never have been able to understand the instruments or to make them function. A careful calculation of sixty-four million possibilities results in the inescapable conclusion that Perry Rhodan, contrary to his statements, must have discovered on the moon alien creatures of surpassing intelligence. We cannot determine Rhodan's final goals, since we lack the necessary data. Therefore, it seems advisable to attack the base of the unknown aliens on the moon or, lacking suitable means of aggression, to try to enter into diplomatic relations with the strangers."

  With these words ended the report of the translated symbols of the mightiest E-brain on Earth.

  For the next two hours Mercant was kept busy answering the innumerable questions thrown at him by those present. Detailed calculations were requested and promptly supplied by the computer. The gigantic robot developed a crystal clear logic.

  Finally Kosselow came to the heart of the matter. "We assume these final results to be correct. The E brain recommends that we attack the unknown danger on the moon by suitable means. But do you have such means at your disposal?

  Needless to mention here that our atomic weapons have been put out of commission. We can't even penetrate the screen around the Stardust. How about it, Mr. Mercant?"

  The frail man looked around in a deliberate fashion. Then he inquired without his usual smile, "How far are you with your spaceships, Kosselow?"

  "Our rocket has been ready to start for the past eight days. A crew of six men and a payload of ninety-two tons."

  General Pounder let out his breath noisily. That was a new blow. Six men and ninety-two tons! The Eastern Bloc was still one step ahead.

  "Marshal Lao Lin-to?"

  "We are ready to launch our spaceship," declared the Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Federation Space Force, "with a crew of four men, payload of fifty-eight tons. The source of error leading to an explosion of our first moon-craft has been removed."

  Mercant coughed dryly before he stated, "Our vessel will be ready to take off tomorrow too. The second manned Western moon rocket will be known as the Stardust II. The team will consist of four astronauts as before, with a payload of sixty-four tons. Please arrange for an immediate meeting of the parties concerned and their rocket experts. All these spaceships must leave Earth at the same moment, and calculations must be made to adjust for any differences in thrust, to enable the rockets to reach a certain orbit around the moon simultaneously. Will you be able to manage this?"

  "What is all that nonsense supposed to accomplish?" interjected Kosselow roughly. "How and with what do you plan to attack? In case there really exists a base of alien intelligences up there our pilots will get the surprise of their lives. What do you intend to do?"

  Mercant replied very softly, "First of all we must see to it that our ships will be guided manually. We will supply you with the appropriate radar equipment. The unknown base must be within a narrowly confined area on the far side of the lunar south pole. You will get shortly our exact coordinates. We know precisely where our ship started its emergency touchdown. The strangers have to be in that vicinity, a fact that was also confirmed by the calculations of the computer. We have been quite busy these last few days, obtaining a maximum amount of data. Are you willing to cooperate with the West?"

  Another two hours passed before this problem was settled and put down in a written agreement spelling out the details of this special coalition. Afterward Mercant triumphantly played his last hand.

  "You want to know how? Pay attention, please!"

  This time an officer of the defense ministry switched on the video screen. A tiny island appeared on it, apparently uninhabited. The chaos started with an incandescent ball of gases. Unearthly mumblings emanated from the loudspeakers. A pillar of unchained primordial forces racing toward the clear blue sky. Tidal waves, horrendous heat, all hell let loose.

  "The latest experiment of the Western scientists," declared Mercant matter-of-factly. "A 100 megaton fusion bomb. About three months ago we put into practice for the first time the theoretically known principle of 'cold' fission process. That means we no longer depend on an initial fission process. This 'catalyst bomb' uses only mesonic atoms. A chemically induced ignition of only 3,865 degrees Celsius is sufficient to begin the nuclear reaction. Free neutrons have thus become entirely superfluous. The new catalyst bomb will be ready for transport within two weeks and then become available for military use. Please advise your governments that each of your moon rockets will be equipped with one of these bombs. For the time being we do not want to employ this super bomb against Perry Rhodan's base in the Gobi Desert. If we destroy his cover on the moon, he will automatically have to surrender. Are there any more questions?"

  Yes, indeed, there were still a number of questions, all pointing in the last analysis to one fact never before had the great powers been as frank and sincere with each other as now.

  A tall blond man with firm features and polite gestures kept close observation of the reactions of
the almost almighty chief of the secret service. As soon as the meeting had come to an end, he requested to be relieved of his assignment as special observer and liaison officer with the International Intelligence Agency and to be sent instead to China.

  Allan D. Mercant gave his consent. When the tall man left the room he could feel on the back of his neck the enigmatic glance of his boss. The rumor was that Allan D. Mercant possessed a brain with quite special properties. In any case he complied with the justified desire of his best special agent. If only he had not smiled so strangely! The heavy delta bombers of the guests roared along the runway; then HQ-IIA returned to its normal routine. Allan D. Mercant was satisfied, as far a, such a feeling could arise within the framework of recent events.

  However, he was supposed to have a parapsychic brain! And that fact had been overlooked by almost all the recent visitors to the headquarters. Only one man bore this in mind, and the thought became the source of everlasting disquietude for him.

  "The dice are rolling now," whispered Mercant.

  CHAPTER THREE

  A FEW WEEKS LATER, at exactly two o'clock in the morning, the slenderly built officer with the rank insignia of a lieutenant general lowered his hand with a sudden jerking motion.

  Almost instantaneously all hell broke loose. The mightiest guns and rocket batteries opened fire from 6,000 fiery mouths.

  There had never been such a tremendous barrage in all the history of mankind's endless wars. At least, never had 1,500 batteries of mostly heavy caliber been directed against a single target about the size of a garden. The blockade was still in effect. It had been augmented during the past four weeks by new divisions. The area within the energy screen had been cordoned off by five concentric rings of troops.

  Some seconds after the opening of the sudden bombardment 6,000 guns of varying calibers continuously hit the protective bell. The target area was sixty feet above the ground and extended for 2,500 square yards.

  Only there, nowhere else, were the exploding charges of the projectiles directed in a last attempt to pierce the wall of energy that had withstood all previous attacks.

  The headquarters of the general in command were on a small hill, barely eight miles from the perimeter of Rhodan's domain. The gun emplacements lay farther to the north. The heaviest batteries had been positioned about eighteen miles behind the target area. Conventional guns had been put into action, after it had become obvious that the tiny forces of the enclosed enemy had become powerless.

  Nothing could be noticed of the zero gravity conditions. Therefore, Lieutenant General Tai-tiang had ordered a new offensive.

  His staff officers looked in fascination across to the target area of the energy screen. Among his staff there were several observers, in addition to the military experts. The force of impact of all the simultaneously exploding charges must amount to millions of tons. The spontaneously arising yet never ceasing waves of pressure would have sufficed to flatten a small mountain. They kept up their observation for fifteen minutes without uttering a word. At this distance the target area looked like a white hot glowing spot the size of a palm from which constant flashes of lightning seemed to emanate. The energy dome, which was invisible under normal circumstances, was aglow in a greenish shimmer that gradually changed to violet at the place of impact. Nothing else was to be seen. The radiant dome stood like a shining beacon in the reddish glow of the nocturnal sky.

  "The strongest fortresses in the world would fall under this barrage," snarled Tai-tiang. "What kind of machines do they have over there" How can they resist this barrage so effortlessly, as if they dealt with glass marbles thrown against a steel wall? How do they manage this?"

  The slender hipped Chinese turned his head abruptly. His eyes were burning. Tai-tiang was quite aware that he was about to let another billion of his precious national treasury go up in smoke by shooting at this mysterious obstacle.

  "Our most venerable scientists hide themselves behind a perplexed silence," grumbled the general. "Very well! And your colleagues from the far West probably have no comment either."

  American and European teams of observers had arrived fourteen days ago. The delegation of the Eastern Bloc had witnessed the catastrophe of the Asiatic army right from the beginning. Their freely given good advice had become less frequent. Now the Western advisors were regarded rather ironically. A leading nuclear scientist from the United States tried to outshout the horrible roar of the distant guns. He barely managed to make himself understood.

  "Sir, we have never pretended toward you or your government that we are in possession of miraculous powers or the philosopher's stone. We have encountered here an unscalable wall. Our scientific knowledge and the experiences of our technicians are failing us in the face of most mysterious forces. Therefore, I would suggest most urgently that you request again the help of the psychological and medical teams. If anything can be done here, then it must be accomplished by wearing down the surrounded enemy's nervous resistance."

  "This is exactly what we are trying to do here," explained the commanding officer. "Why else would we have brought all these batteries here with such effort? We had to use The entire transport fleet of the Asiatic Federation Air Force to guarantee the necessary supply of ammunition. I simply can't understand why you can't come up with sensible calculations. Somehow it must be possible to destroy this structure! Even at the expense of another 1,500 batteries. We could find a way to secure them, just say the word!"

  The discussions grew more and more violent, while a veritable inferno was unleashed just eight miles away.

  "I would lose my mind over there," said a heavyset civilian. His eyes probed the tall figure in the semidarkness of the observation bunker. The tall man stepped closer. His steps seemed to drag a little despite the unobtrusive elasticity of his gait. A narrow, restrained face became visible as he entered the weak cone of light coming from the dimmed lamps. He did not speak. He lifted his field glasses to his eyes and peered toward the west. Then he glanced at his watch.

  The bright flame of a cigarette lighter flickered in the darkness close to him. Lieutenant Peter Kosnow, special agent of the Eastern Secret Defense Service, was smoking nervously with quick puffs.

  He was torn by violent emotions. It was not easy for him to stand here in this gathering of the highest ranking officers. Under normal circumstances Kosnow would not have given a damn about these military brass. His extraordinary powers of proxy had so far enabled him to get along well enough with them. Particularly since they had frequently been obliged to take orders from him, the low-ranking lieutenant of the secret service. This relationship had not been changed, at least not outwardly. As long as one could not read what went on behind Kosnow's forehead, he was still considered to be the representative of a powerful organization.

  Yet he was convinced that any close observer must sense his inner unrest. As a result, he felt insecure and dissatisfied with himself. He was fighting to keep himself under control, while anxiously trying to avoid becoming suspect. He ground out his half smoked cigarette. The bright glow died down. Only the narrow face of his companion was discernible in the reflected light from the video screen.

  Kosnow began to feel doubts about his new won friend. He did not think for a moment that Captain Albrecht Klein, special agent of the International Intelligence Agency, would commit some stupidity. Even so, Kosnow regarded the daring of his blond colleague from "the other side" as sheer insanity. Kosnow cleared his throat. The noisy argument between the officers and the scientists formed a welcome protective backdrop for their own discussion. Albrecht Klein, who just three weeks ago had been personally advanced by Allan D. Mercant to the position of captain of the IIA, slowly let his field glasses sink. He observed the disputing men for a while; then an ironical smile played about his lips.

  "What's the matter, friend? You look like a zombi."

  Kosnow muttered a rough curse.

  "The transport commando landed six hours ago in Siberia. By now your lovely moons
hip must have aboard it the Western power bomb. I don't like the whole thing."

  Klein's mumbling stopped. He looked even more closely at the face of his Eastern comrade, who kept staring at the plainly visible energy dome.

  "They are magnificent, aren't they?" he whispered into his friend's ear. "If only they had done the slightest wrong that could be considered an infraction of human rights, I would be both your and their most bitter enemy. But this way, I simply can't feel any animosity toward them. And this is what makes me sick. Can you understand that, my friend?"

  Klein laughed shortly. "Who do you think you are talking to! Not only do I know that Rhodan has prevented an atomic war that had already started, but I also know that Rhodan has no intention whatsoever of favoring one of the parties. I am deadly afraid that things might change again tomorrow or the day after tomorrow. The terrible fear and mistrust of each other has disappeared from mankind, because a new opponent has arrived on the scene. They feel a common threat; therefore, they cooperate with each other. That is quite an accomplishment! We could not have wished for a better, faster and more peaceful way of attaining peace on this planet. As long as Rhodan exists as the Third Power we will be one united power. The longer he remains, the stronger will his incredible strength impress itself on mankind's awareness and the closer will our ties become. If only this state of affairs could reign for a few years or decades, then we would remain one united nation of this Earth. That's why I can't follow the argument that Rhodan must be destroyed at all costs. If he is defeated, the Cold War will start all over again. Let's be honest about it!"

  "A clear and absolutely logical conclusion." Kosnow grinned joylessly. "There is only one flaw in your argument—we do not know in what direction Rhodan will develop as time goes on. He is only a human being, even if you are so completely enchanted by him."

  "I am the only person to have spoken to him after his return to Earth. I am also the only human being, apart from Rhodan and his men, who has laid eyes on the alien Khrest. In the meantime our big bosses have also come to believe that there seems to be a nonhuman intelligence in Rhodan's party inside the energy bell. Quite remarkable powers of deduction, particularly since they have never seen Khrest. I am convinced that Rhodan is our man for the whole Earth. You ought to make a decision, Peter! Just think of the two of us! We are a living example of what the future might have in store for all men. But barely two months ago we reached instinctively for our weapons when we met for the first time."