The Radiant Dome Page 5

  "Routine. A conditioned reflex," corrected Kosnow.

  "If you insist. But that is even worse if one has to look at it that way. Now I firmly believe it is our duty to, do something for our fellow human beings. This latest rocket war, which was thwarted in the last moment by Rhodan's intervention, has given me the final push. Horrible when I think back how far things had gone already! We lived in constant fear of the next day. We must see to it that such a catastrophe cannot be repeated. One dud was more than enough for me. That's all I want to say on this point. Now to the immediate problem at hand.

  "I have informed you about the outcome of the big conference in Greenland. The news about the catalyst bomb is kept a strict secret. No one here has any idea about it. Even Lieutenant General Tai-tiang is already too unimportant to be informed of this new kind of nuclear weapon. He simply carries out orders of the highest chiefs, who carefully planned this bombardment. As soon as the bombs fall on the moon, they will attack Rhodan here on his base. First the Chinese will evacuate the entire province; then a remote controlled Western bomber will appear and lay its egg. I don't like the way things are going. Captain Klein glanced again at his watch. His dark cover-all could hardly be distinguished against the unlit background of the bunker. Kosnow was silent. His strong teeth gnawed nervously at his lower lip. He was still hesitating.

  "My mission will begin in eight minutes," Klein said. "You will be with me. Make up your mind by then. Here we can talk to each other without being disturbed."

  Klein's tall figure disappeared in the darkness. A few seconds later he saluted several of the uniformed officers of the three secret services. The representative of Asiatic Federation Defense was Major Butaan, the Eastern secret service's man was Colonel Kalingin and that of the IIA was Lieutenant Colonel Cretcher.

  They had collaborated in preparing a mission to be carried out by a special commando of Eastern and Western special agents.

  Peter Kosnow joined the group standing in the dim light. There was quick motioning, then a few loudly spoken words.

  Lieutenant General Tai-tiang approached the waiting men. His salute was cordial, but his coal black eyes remained cold. "We will proceed as planned. Try to carry out the plan worked out by the defense services of our combined forces. If you should be successful you may rest assured of our gratitude. When will you enter the blockade zone?"

  "At 3 o'clock sharp, sir," replied Captain Klein. "We want to request urgently that you will once gain inform the commanding officers of the concerned units about this exact time. We want to avoid being shot down by our own people by mistake."

  The Chinese general briefly raised his eyebrows. Then he smiled. Apparently he had been startled momentarily by the term "our own people."

  "You can rely on us. There will be no errors on our part. Your plane is waiting for you, gentlemen."

  "It is getting late, sir," urged Lieutenant Colonel Cretcher. "Our people must return before daybreak."

  "We should at least have established contact before sunrise," added Colonel Kalingin. "If Rhodan reacts according to our plans, you may cease fire by 8 o'clock."

  "Let's hope so!" muttered Tai-tiang. "Be careful and see to it that you don't infect my own soldiers. What exactly are we dealing with here?"

  "This is a discovery by Western research scientists, sir," answered Cretcher.

  "Would you excuse us please now!"

  Klein and Kosnow followed the defense officers downstairs. One room of the bunker had been arranged as the center of command of the secret services. A physician gave the men an injection with a high pressure syringe that made the medication enter directly into their bloodstream.

  "Do you feel anything?" asked the doctor after a few moments. "Dizziness, loss of balance or heat sensation?"

  "Nothing whatsoever, Doctor," replied Klein. "Let's hope this stuff really works. I wouldn't want to swell up like a balloon or maybe shrink like a wrinkled apple and scare my fellow human beings after my return."

  "You'd never get that far, if you should be infected," stated a radio bacteriologist with a horrifying matter of fact tone. "The artificially cultivated causative agents are perfectly viable and capable of reproducing under the local conditions. All you need to do is to open the valve of the pressurized cylinder very slightly. You will hear a certain hissing sound. Watch for it and remember that you must avoid squirting the plasma into your own faces—it wouldn't be advisable even if you are protected by this shot of antibodies. This culture is a highly concentrated solution of the most dangerous microbes. This is all I am permitted to tell you about it."

  "Will this cause everything within the energy dome to become contaminated?" inquired Kosnow anxiously.

  "What else did you think?" said Colonel Kalingin. "If you succeed in introducing this radio biological weapon inside the energy bell, all life will become extinct there within a few hours. Then our work here will be completed, Even Dr. Haggard does not know of any antidote against it."

  Captain Klein's throat suddenly felt raw as he took the small steel bottle, no larger than a hand. It looked like a miniature oxygen cylinder. But instead of life sustaining oxygen it contained the most hellish brew ever devised in a secret laboratory of biological warfare.

  Colonel Cretcher sensed his agent's reaction of utter disgust. He explained in a soothing manner, "Klein, you are being sent on this mission by the recognized representatives of all mankind. Perry Rhodan seems to place some confidence in you. Three weeks ago be permitted you to enter his energy screen fortress for a short interview. Try to get another one. Pretend to have slipped through the lines against the will of our chief of the troops, because you want to negotiate with Rhodan on behalf of a revolutionary resistance group: You have one important point in your favor—he knows you already. As soon as you are inside the energy dome, open the valves of the pressurized bottles unobtrusively. Even if you manage to release only one charge into the air, it should do the trick. Just think up a good excuse to make Rhodan believe in your mission. That's all."

  Klein swallowed hard. His eyes burned in his pale face. "Yes, sir," he said with some effort. "Sir, I have carried out many an unpleasant orders, but this one has them all beat. A really dirty job."

  "A special agent's job has never been noted for its lack of ruthlessness," snorted Kalingin. "How dare you even raise such objections! We are not used to this kind of behavior from our own people."

  Colonel Cretcher's face expressed disapproval, while Peter Kosnow stared ahead blankly.

  "That's it!" hissed Major Butaan. This was all he said, but it was enough to make Klein understand that he had acquired a dangerous opponent in the Malayan.

  The American radio biologist stated calmly, "Captain Klein, I fully appreciate your qualms of conscience. But rest assured, we did not bring here our most devilish weapons. These bacteria will cause swift infection and swelling of the tissues. But if one can administer the antidote within eight hours, there will be complete recovery. We are in possession of these remedies. It will be up to Perry Rhodan, therefore, to act according to our instructions, given over the radio and over the loudspeakers, and to leave the blockaded zone within these eight hours. This seems a rather humane procedure as far as I am concerned."

  Klein did not reply. It would have made no sense to do so and could have endangered his position. The Asiatic Federation major was observing him with eyes full of distrust.

  Before both men left, Butaan added with emphasis, "Our representative, Lieutenant Li Tschai-tung of the Asiatic Federation Secret Service, is waiting for you in the aircraft. It matters greatly to us to have him participate in a significant manner in this enterprise. Do we see eye to eye there, Captain Klein?"

  The blond giant looked down on the slightly built Malaysian. "Why, of course, sir!" he countered politely. "I can't see any reason why Li Tschai-tung should not take part in our action."

  Klein thought back to the ruthless manner in which his orders had been given to him. He had lived long enough in Asia
to learn that commanders were not plagued by great sensitivity—especially in the Secret Service of the Asiatic Federation.

  "In case of emergency you will have to sacrifice your own life!" he had been told. Klein could still fed the bitter taste in his mouth. A few minutes later the men left. When they emerged from the underground bunker they were greeted by the infernal rumble of the guns. Farther to the north the sky, lit up by unceasing gun flashes, looked like a blood-red ribbon made of flaming gases.

  Outside the bunker they found the helicopter waiting with its pilot Lieutenant Li Tschai-tung. He, too, had received his last protective injections. The plan was to fly to the energy bell and land at a safe distance from the target area. There they were supposed to establish radio communication with Perry Rhodan. The mighty machinery of the defense services had thus finally been set in motion. Nothing had been overlooked in the planning; no one had made any mistake. Yet nobody had the slightest inkling how well the three men of the team got along. No one suspected that they shared the common interest of preserving peace for the world's population.

  These were the three men that took off into the bullet ridden night sky—an American of German descent, a Russian and a Chinese.

  As they approached their destination, Li Tschai-tung asked with a slight chuckle, "Is everything okay? I hope you realize that we are risking our skins."

  Kosnow grinned simply in reply. Then he turned to Klein with a strange tone of voice. "Let's be frank with each other, brother! How did things go with your mighty boss? Why were you so perturbed by his peculiar smile when he gave you permission for this special task? Didn't the idea of smuggling the bacteria into Rhodan's base originate in your own mind?"

  Klein nodded affirmatively. His face had turned pale. There was deep worry glowing in his eyes as he said slowly, "Allan D. Mercant is a fabulous man, but you never know what is going on in his mind. Even the best psychologists can't figure him out. His actions are unpredictable. There is a rumor that he might be a mutant with unusual-mental powers …"

  "Not so unusual in this day and age of the atomic bomb."

  "Certainly. But Mercant is too old for his parents to have suffered damage to their genes. He was born before the first atomic bomb. there must be other causes for his special gifts. Natural mutants have been known to occur throughout the ages."

  "What has this to do with your uneasiness? He let you go, didn't he?"

  "He surely did!" confirmed Klein. "He even provided the biological weapon. But I could not help feeling when I took my leave from him that he was, could, read my mind, that he had seen through to the deepest depths of my most innermost thoughts. He behaved like a father who is up to his little son's tricks but pretends ignorance. A queasy feeling, I must admit."

  The men grew silent.

  Kosnow stubbed out his cigarette. With clear, logical precision he presented his ideas. "There are two possibilities. In case he knew what you intended to do, then he does not object if you warn Rhodan. This would mean that Mercant approves of Rhodan's actions. Perhaps he realizes that this way Rhodan is guaranteeing worldwide peace. It would be surprising after all if a man of Mercant's caliber did not arrive at these conclusions. On the other hand, if he did not see through you, then you were simply imagining things. Turn to the left here, Li! Signal our ground troops with a light flare; otherwise, they'll send a high explosive charge into our backside."

  This was the beginning of a strange mission, where three men felt deep inside that their commanding officers were totally in the wrong. Captain Klein toyed with the small pressurized bottle. Before the helicopter set down he said seriously, "Just think that we produced this stuff in order to contaminate you with it in case of war. Great, isn't it?"

  "Don't melt your snowball," jeered Kosnow. "We have similar tricks up our sleeves. I, too, have come to believe that it is high time to get rid of this nonsense once and for all. Nevertheless, we will have to discuss sometime our ideological differences."

  "Let sleeping dogs lie!"

  "Okay. First things first. I'm very anxious to meet Perry Rhodan!"

  CHAPTER FOUR

  THEY HAD TAKEN refuge behind the thick padding of their ear protectors. as if the exclusion of excessively strong sound-waves could somehow provide a panacea against the attackers' superior firepower.

  Groaning, with panic in their eyes, they had put on these helmets a few seconds after the onset of the renewed attack. Then they had plugged in their walkie-talkies. Perry Rhodan was convinced that the situation had become untenable. Events seemed to take on the aspect of catastrophe.

  In a sudden rage Reginald Bell had attempted to influence the encircling troops with his psychoradiator. It turned out to be ineffective, since even the nearest soldiers had dug in beyond the silvery rod's range.

  The gravity neutralizer, too, had become useless. There was simply nothing left to degravitize.

  One hour after the start of the barrage the vibrations of the ground became unbearable. The reactor of the Arkonides began to glow in a bluish light. At the same time the energy dome changed color.

  Rhodan guessed that the violent ground concussions had impaired the workings of the apparatus. With narrowed eyes he observed the incredible fireworks toward the right. He had given up by now trying to comprehend cause and effect here. This was more than a human brain was capable of understanding. He dared not think how long the protective dome could withstand the intense bombardment. The mysteriously glowing dome might not be anything to be worried about. Perhaps it was only the result of the increased output of the reactor.

  On the other hand, this bluish glittering might indicate the approach of the catastrophic end. Ever since all projectiles had begun hitting the energy wall at precisely the same point, a tremendous shift of forces had resulted. Rhodan wondered with growing alarm whether such excessive stresses had been foreseen and compensated for. The Chinese had met the dome's challenge in a clever way, there was no doubt about that!

  An hour passed. The incessant bombardment had turned the energy screen into a vibrating bell. Had there not been the fabulous noise absorbing ear protectors aboard the Stardust, at least Dr. Manoli, the least stable of the team, would have gone insane. This was more than his constitution could bear. Bell and Rhodan faced the situation with a grim smile. They knew that unless help from the outside intervened, they were faced with an imminent crisis. Rhodan was convinced that the final breakdown of the protective screen was inevitable within a short time. He stood motionless in front of the barrel shaped reactor and observed the nerve-wracking light phenomena. He could not perceive the increasingly noisier workings of the machine, since they were drowned out by the infernal uproar created by the impact of the exploding missiles. The pitiful fluorescent tubes of the tent had been shattered long since. The hard desert ground seemed to absorb the vibrations and transmit them immediately in earthquake strength shockwaves. As far as this effect of the intense barrage was concerned, there was not much protection afforded to the Stardust's crew by the surrounding radiant dome.

  In order to have at least some light within the tent they had fastened a few battery lamps to the highly elastic bracing supports. Especially the sick bay had been provided with excellent lighting. Khrest, the alien being from the far depths of the galaxy, seemed to be approaching a crisis.

  At the beginning of the heavy shelling Dr. Haggard had been startled out of his drugged sleep. Until then Dr. Manoli had watched over the patient. Khrest's incredible circulatory system had apparently successfully overcome the strain of the second injection. Lab tests proved clearly that all symptoms of leukemia had disappeared. The hematology report was negative. Yet the stranger remained unconscious.

  Cautiously Rhodan retreated from the reactor as if he feared that any moment might bring a holocaust from the suddenly bursting apparatus, whose workings mystified him.

  Reginald Bell sat in front of the videoscreen of the Stardust's radar equipment. They had removed it from the moon rocket and taken care to inst
all it to withstand vibrations as much as possible.

  This radar equipment was of a highly specialized nature, particularly well constructed to function despite the greatest acceleration and the mightiest jolts. The crash landing on the moon had failed to knock it out of commission, and the present heavy barrage did not seem to affect it.

  On the radar screen could be seen with high magnification the positions of the enemy.

  The infrared position finder showed excellent three-dimensional pictures of the gun embankments on the other side of the river. The automatic warning system functioned perfectly; still the attached robot brain could not manage to calculate the fluctuating position of the enemy.

  No human being was visible within the six mile zone around the energy screen; no sign of life, no activity whatsoever that could have been pinpointed by the position finder or attacked with the help of the Arkonide arms. Perry Rhodan, still wearing the uniform of the space force, hesitantly stepped closer. Once again his eyes fastened on the shining fluorescent screen. Bell's broad face was half-hidden under the enormous protective earpads. Only his eyes, clear as water, peeped out from close to the edge of the thick bulge. The throat mike around his neck had once again become the exclusive means of communication for the friends.

  Rhodan established the contact with imperceptibly trembling hands. Right away he could hear the fast breathing of Bell.

  "Only a few more hours and the reactor will be finished," he said quietly. "Are you aware of that?"