The Bonds of Eternity Read online

  "That's Pucky," Rhodan introduced him, "and you better be nice to him or he'll drop you like a hot potato next time."

  Tommy-1 couldn't take his eyes off the mouse-beaver but now his gaze expressed respect or fear, exactly which, was a little hard to tell. But Pucky, who could also read his thoughts, was happy. "Splendid!" he said, nudging Bell. "Now he thinks I'm one of the gods." He whispered so softly that the translating machine didn't pick it up.

  Rhodan addressed the Druuf again. "What do I get in return if I help you."

  "Are you demanding a reward?" Tommy-1 seemed to be honestly amazed. "I thought our enemies are yours as well. Why should we compensate you if you're fighting your own enemies."

  "Have it your way! In that case I'll let you fend for yourselves."

  "Wouldn't it benefit you also if we defeat them? We could ask you for a reward by the same token."

  Rhodan was well aware that the Druuf was right. But this was beside the point at the moment.

  "I'll have to tell you something which might make you think this over," Rhodan said in an ominous tone.

  "The robot race has offered me an alliance. If I accept it it'll be the end of you. Or do you believe you can fight both of us at the same time?"

  Tommy-1 seemed stunned. His eyes sought help from his brethren and he hoped to receive advice from them. The jabbering voices suddenly fell silent as the translators were switched off.

  "They want to consult with each other," explained Pucky, who never neglected his surveillance. "You scared the wits out of them."

  "That's just what I tried to do," Rhodan, murmured.

  Bell didn't move. He watched the long rows of monsters who looked down on him and gave him a creepy feeling. To be on the safe side, he began inching closer to Pucky.

  Rhodan raised his left hand a little and pressed the button of the tiny transceiver. "Hello, Sikerman?"

  "Sir?"

  "Is everything under control? What does it look like?"

  "There's nothing out of the ordinary going on as far as the Drusus is concerned. But there are violent explosions in the city. It seems that heavy fighting has broken out there and deep craters indicate that whole subterranean sections have collapsed."

  "Thank you," Rhodan replied, leaving the set on and turning to Pucky. "Are they getting anywhere?"

  "As far as I can tell they can't come to an agreement. They're still deliberating what they should offer us as reward."

  "We'll soon have them where we want them," Rhodan smiled..

  They waited another 10 minutes during which the job of demolishing the computer center probably had been finished by the rampaging robots. Then the translators were turned on again.

  Tommy-1, who had retreated a few steps, returned. "What do you want us to give you for joining the fight against the robots instead of siding with them?"

  Rhodan's face looked impassive as he declared: "You possess a type of spaceship propulsion system which is unknown to us. We leap in transitions through hyperspace whereas you fly through without dematerialization at ultra lightspeed. If you hand over the blueprints for this propulsion system, we'll reject the proposition of the robots."

  Tommy-1 consulted again with his people. His 4 eyes were completely devoid of any expression when he finally announced: "We agree to give you the construction plans after the robots have been defeated."

  Rhodan had expected something along this line. The Druufs would have to be brainless idiots if they had relinquished their most valuable secret without restrictions. He therefore had to be patient. Perhaps it would be possible for Ellert to get hold of the plans in the meantime.

  He slowly nodded his head although he was convinced that the Druuf would be unable to understand the meaning of the gesture. "This is a fair enough proposition. But I'm warning you, Tommy-1, if you entertain any potions of double-crossing us..."

  "We keep our promise just as you keep yours," was the ambiguous answer by Tommy-1 and Rhodan was none too happy when he heard it. "When you have achieved your victory you'll receive the plans for the ultra lightspeed propulsion system. Will you now take action?"

  "Very good. Are my ships guaranteed safe passage in their lane of approach?"

  "They'll be able to pass without being intercepted. We'll give you a code which will be recognized by all our units."

  "And what if the computer center is knocked out?"

  "It's not the only one we've got although it was the most important one."

  Rhodan had to hide his surprise and disappointment. Apparently he had underestimated the Druufs. If they had other such research institutes, their battle reserves were not yet exhausted, perhaps for a long time to come. Maybe they even had more than one Onot in their scientific ranks.

  It was a fear which was confirmed in less than a few seconds.

  "Shall we try to repulse the robots under the ground?" Rhodan inquired.

  "That won't be necessary," Tommy-1 replied. "They're lost anyway. A special squad will turn the gravo-burner on all the other robots. It has been developed by..." here followed an unpronounceable name, "...this should be the end of our opponents inside our universe."

  "Gravo-burner?" Rhodan asked uncomprehendingly. He couldn't imagine what he meant. "What's that?"

  "The translating machine doesn't use precise scientific terms. It applies figurative symbols whenever it lacks the commensurate expression. The gravo-burner is a weapon against which there is no defense—unless you know the weapon itself. I'm not a scientist and can't explain to you how and why it functions. All I know is that it disturbs gravitational relations. It burns up gravity."

  "This is utter nonsense!" Bell broke in in disgust, thinking that the Druuf was trying to bamboozle them. "Even if the effect of gravity has been eliminated, this is no disaster. Each ship can generate its own gravity field and compensate for such a loss."

  Tommy-1 turned to Bell and said: "Perhaps I've failed to express myself accurately. The gravo-burner counteracts the effect of artificial gravitation fields and it reinforces at the same time the magnitude of planetary gravitation. Even the most powerful ships can't resist the attraction and will be caused to crash. The pull of our twin-sun can be increased 1,000 fold. Only a shield of special amalgamations can protect against it—and our own ships have it."

  Rhodan was still unclear but he suspected that the Druufs had made decisive progress in the exploration of stellar gravity fields. He used a few seconds of the pause to picture in his mind what would be the result if Tommy-1 didn't lie.

  But why should he lie?

  The artificial gravity fields of Arkon and Terra's spaceships served to maintain the customary gravitational environment and were also used for preventing the deflection of the navigational course in the vicinity of planets. If the ship approached a world with extremely high gravitational force, the magnitude of the antigrav field was increased till it compensated for the excessive pull. If the gravity of such a planet were to be multiplied 1,000 times without any means of neutralizing the augmentation, the ship would undoubtedly crash into the planet. In such a case the regular propulsion system would be insufficient to carry it out into free space again.

  If the Druufs owned such a weapon, they would be unbeatable and it baffled him why they had not yet deployed it. He wondered whether Tommy-1 would answer a straightforward question. "Is the gravo-burner still in an experimental stage?" Rhodan asked cautiously. "Is its effectiveness limited to only one time-plane?"

  "Yes, unfortunately. That's the reason we haven't brought it out yet. The robots remained in their own universe with the exception of a few minor forays and the gravo-burner doesn't function there. It's another proof of the relation between gravitation and time, that it can't surmount the obstacle of different time-planes."

  Rhodan began to regret that such a race had to be his enemy. They seemed to have attained a knowledge which expanded the frame of traditional concepts.

  A connection between gravitation and time?

  He quickly ret
urned to the sobering presence. "If you command such tremendous weapons why do you require help from us?"

  To this the Druuf had a logical answer. "Within the frontiers of our own universe we can master any foe if he doesn't strike with the advantage of surprise as has unfortunately been the case. The source of our calamity is not located in our universe but in yours and I must admit that many of our technical weapons fail to operate beyond that barrier of time."

  "The time-freezer too?"

  "What do you know about that?"

  Rhodan realized that he had made a mistake. In order to rectify it he felt compelled to reveal one of his secrets. "My companion," he said pointing to Pucky, "is a telepath. He can read thoughts and he came across several references to it."

  "Telepath?" the Druuf wondered. "We don't have any persons who can read the mind of others. What else can your little friend do?"

  "You just found that out on your own body. He's the one who brought you down from your seat up there."

  Pucky waddled a few steps toward Tommy-1 and yelled shrilly and furiously: "Didn't you hear just now that I'm a telepath? Why are you scheming to seize me because you could use me for your own purposes? How would you like to zoom through the air and let me drop you in nothing flat? You sneaky devil, you better beware of Pucky!"

  Tommy-1 flinched when he saw that his thoughts had been unmasked. "I merely thought... because of..."

  Rhodan used his chance to tone down the troublesome controversy. "So you'd prefer us to take on the enemy in our universe while you try to tackle him here yourselves. Did I understand you right?"

  The Druuf twitched his triangular mouth and Rhodan noticed for the first time that the Druufs used their mouths for expressions similar to human gestures like nodding or shaking heads.

  "Yes. This is the proposition we're putting to you. We want you to attack the robots on their own grounds and destroy their logistics. This is all we expect you to do."

  This was a sensible suggestion if they had such a formidable weapon as the gravo-burner but had to use conventional weapons in the Einstein universe.

  "Agreed," Rhodan declared. "I'll give our battle fleet the necessary orders. Now we have to get the code signal which will enable us to return safely whenever it becomes necessary."

  Tommy-1 waved one of his powerful arms. The door behind Rhodan, Bell and Pucky opened again and a car pulled up. "It'll take you back to the spaceport."

  Without another word the three friends entered the vehicle which then moved out to the open road and rapidly increased its speed. The Drusus, which was waiting undamaged on the badly pockmarked landing field at the edge of the city, came into view down below.

  Rhodan said with satisfaction, "Now we know their strength and their weakness. But it worries me that they're strong enough to defeat Arkon in this region. If they use that fantastic weapon it can bring Arkon down to its knees."

  The silence that followed was shattered by Pucky's high voice which struck like lightning as he proclaimed: "As surely as I can read Tommy-1's mind, the Druufs have no such thing as a gravo-burner. That invention exists only in his imagination."

  5/ SECRET REVELATIONS

  When the streamlined cabin-glider stopped and Onot got out, all lights went out in the subterranean corridors and everything was plunged into total darkness.

  He felt his way along the wall and tried to find his way out. He was not very familiar with this area of the underground network because this department was run by other scientists. However Onot as the chief physicist of his race had the authority to demand admission anywhere.

  "What happened?" he asked, subdued, hoping that his invisible companion would give him an answer. Without him he no longer knew what he was doing here.

  "The computer center under the capital has been destroyed. Can you find the way to the surface?"

  "It must be fairly close but if the power has been cut off it'll be a difficult hike."

  "The emergency power will soon begin to function," Ellert consoled him sardonically. "Sometimes it's better if you don't have a body."

  Onot didn't reply. He continued groping his way in the dark until the light suddenly flickered and then became steady. Now he was able to proceed faster and soon oriented himself.

  Before he reached the elevator he suddenly heard hasty steps which quickly came closer. Two Druufs appeared and they stopped in astonishment when they saw Onot. "Onot?" one of them exclaimed. "What are you doing here? What's going on in the city?"

  "We've had an attack by the aliens," Onot explained and was about to describe the details when he suddenly paused. Could he tell the two scientists that he himself had admitted the enemy into the computer center? How would they take it? Would they believe that he had acted under force?

  "On the city, Onot?"

  Onot pulled himself together. He had to be very careful so that he didn't make them believe he was a traitor. "No, on the computer center. The aliens landed robots in the city. Although most of them were shot down, some of them managed to get into the computer center. I was lucky to find a glider and escape one step ahead of them. There was nothing I could've done against the invaders. I was alone and unarmed."

  "Aren't you working on a new weapon?" one of the Druufs asked suspiciously. "It had been rumored that..."

  "There wasn't time," Onot interrupted him hastily. "I'm glad that I got away with my life. The entire computer center has been demolished."

  "Is all the equipment smashed too?"

  "As far as I could tell, yes. It's a heavy loss for us. I don't know what the Council is going to do about it."

  "If the situation is as bad as you describe, we're lost."

  Onot denied it although he didn't do it of his free will. Ellert had ordered him to do so. "We've got other research and development institutions with excellent scientists and we'll be able to beat our enemies. Now don't keep me any longer, I've got some business to take care of."

  "At our place?" the Druufs inquired, puzzled.

  "Yes," Onot replied and hurried on. He now knew where he was and was anxious to reach the surface as quickly as possible. The elevator was operating again. The antigrav stream quickly carried him up and he sighed with relief when he saw the brilliant twin-sun Siamed again.

  By contrast to the far-flung and complicated subterranean installations, the surface of Druufon resembled in many parts a bleak wilderness. The capital was one exception and there were other cities along the shores. But the nerve center of the Druufs was deeply hidden beneath the crust of the planet.

  Suddenly the ground shook and Onot would have fallen down if he couldn't have held on to the wall of the elevator building. Several Druufs came running across the empty square, rushing toward Onot when they saw him. "What happened?" they cried, revealing their lack of information about the situation. "Is it an explosion or a trembler?"

  "Both," Onot retorted, avoiding further discussion because his invisible master had told him to refuse all information. "There's no cause for alarm, though."

  He twisted his triangular mouth as an agreeable gesture and strolled away as if taking a leisurely walk. The Druufs looked at him in awe. If such a famous scientist failed to show any anxiety, there was no real danger to be feared and so they returned to their work.

  And now go as quickly as you can to a safe place!The order was given silently to his brain. Your secret laboratory! Don't tell anybody where you're going. We're going to conduct a little experiment together.

  "You demon—is there anything you don't know?"

  I know everything, Onot!

  The chief physicist began to move again. He felt tired and longed for rest and sleep.

  There were a few remote-controlled vehicles parked on the square. He selected one of them, got in and turned on the energy. Onot marked his destination on a card in the dashboard and the vehicle began to roll. Then he leaned back in the comfortable cushions and asked: "How did you learn about my secret lab, ghost?"

  I know all that is in your
thought and memory, Onot. I know it all from you. You are incapable of keeping secrets from me no matter how much you try to guard your thoughts. We're one, Onot. Can you hide something from yourself?

  Onot gave no reply. He looked straight ahead where after a turn the mountains came into view. There, under massive rocks, was his laboratory, an old abandoned test site which he had accidentally discovered some time ago. He had fixed it up and spent many a day here, when the Council believed that he was absent on a vacation trip. Onot had better things to do than relax on holidays.

  The road was very bad but it didn't matter. The car was suspended on elastic cushions which smoothened out all bumps. The speed increased when the road became straight again.

  "What do you want to do with me?" Onot finally asked.

  Now the voice of the unknown was loud and clear as if he spoke next to him. "Don't ask questions, Onot. Be glad that you didn't remain in that inferno—because that's what the computer center is, a hell. There's nothing left for you, even if you wanted to go back. But this is impossible for you now. Somebody saw that you have activated the transmitter."

  Onot was shocked to death. If this was true...

  "It is true," Ellert insisted with emphasis. "It was that Druuf whom you met on the way out. He became suspicious and wanted to know what you had done in his department. Luckily he left the transmitter on since he couldn't know what would happen. But he made it back to the surface and at this moment he's standing before the Council to report what he had seen. You, Onot, are considered to be the worst traitor of your people."

  Onot felt as if his entire world collapsed all at once. "Why did you do this to me? Wasn't it enough that you've forced me to commit such a terrible crime? Does everybody have to know it too?"

  "It had to be, Onot! It's better this way." Ellert didn't explain why it was better. He knew that Onot wouldn't dare to go back and that it would be safe to leave him alone for a few minutes. The mountain was still half an hour away and it was time to get in touch with Rhodan again.