Fortress Atlantis Page 9

  The next thing that happened was done in such a casual manner as if I had encountered a fleeting acquaintance.

  "I've been instructed to give you a micro-activator for the regeneration of your organic cells. You're free to use it or not. You may do whatever you wish. The device can prevent your natural aging process. if you wear it next to your heart you'll be biologically immortal, provided you suffer no external destruction. I repeat: you'll remain young and healthy and your life can only be terminated by accidents or violence. Take off your clothes and enter the apparatus in front of you. I'm going to attune the cell-activator to your individual cell frequencies.

  This short and simple pronouncement was all the robotic ship bothered to make. As if in a daze I followed its instructions and stepped with bare feet on a shining metallic platform. A cap moved down and was placed on my head. I felt the not-so-painless jabs of needles making contact with my skull.

  The entire procedure took about two minutes. Before the hood was lifted again, a mechanical hand of excellent precision put a small egg-shaped object on a fine but extremely strong chain around my neck.

  I continually kept asking questions but received no reply until after I had dressed again.

  My job is done. I'm not at liberty to answer all your questions. I can tell you only that my creator deems it beneficial to save the Arkonide race from annihilation. It'll be your duty to work for your people. He doesn't think it would be wise to let other creatures take over the Galaxy. In particular he doesn't approve of the invasion of the universe by creatures of the second time-plane. You were given the cell-activator in order to enable you to take the necessary preventive measures. One word of caution: it is possible that certain circumstances might cause an acceleration of the aging process. However you've been equipped to cope with such an eventuality. My creator has no intention to intervene further but he trusts you to act in accordance with his wishes.

  This ended the strangest conversation of my life. The machine unceremoniously deposited me in the antigravitor. When I exited at the corridor below and started to run, I was stopped by a mechanical hand which popped out of the wall.

  Then came the 'voice' of the robot again: I've received additional orders to let you have instructions for the construction of a weapon which your scientists call a converter-cannon. It is a method of generating an unstable field concentration of 5-dimensional character at any distant target area. As soon as the projector relinquishes the artificial concentration effect it causes a dematerialization of objects inside the field zone. All details are contained in a magnetic spool. They have been expressed in Arkonide mathematical symbols so that you can use them directly. Good luck!

  I was finally dismissed, picked up a small tube from the metallic hand and put it in my pocket.

  For the first time I felt a stimulating wave flowing through my body. By the time I was back in my tiny ship, all fatigue and tension had disappeared and I had the impression of gaining new vigor.

  The trip back to the Tosoma was accomplished by another miniature transition. After I went aboard I retreated to my cabin in order to avoid the curious questions of my officers.

  Tarth announced via telecom that the alien ship had suddenly departed. "What happened?" he inquired. "Why don't you say something?"

  I glanced at the little tube. It seemed to hold several visitapes like the ones we used. I had trouble focusing my thoughts. "Are the technicians done?" I asked.

  "Are the technicians done!" Tarth echoed my words in amazement. "Of course. We've been waiting 18 hours for your return."

  "Eighteen hours?" I muttered.

  "I thought there was something wrong," the commander exclaimed furiously. "You kept calling every 30 minutes that your talks were still in progress. I'd have waited only two more hours before busting in. What's going on?"

  "Nothing," I evaded the answer, "nothing at all. The whole ship was nothing but a robot without a living person aboard. It must have had its own time. I didn't think I spent more than 15 minutes there at the most and I never called you either."

  "Yeah?" Tarth shouted, still upset. "It was 18 hours. Are you alright? I'm going to send for a doctor."

  "I'm okay, I think. I'm coming up."

  When I entered the Command Center, my officers stared at me as if I had come from another world. Tarth asked a few questions concerning matters unknown to anyone but me. Only then did he drop the idea that a monster in disguise had come aboard in my place. Finally he went back to his combat chair, cursing loudly on the way.

  We landed on Atlantis without having encountered a trace of our shadowy foes. The ominous time of planet #2 & #3's opposition drew nearer and I prepared everything for the imminent evacuation.

  Meanwhile the scientists studied the secrets of the spools and Grun told me jubilantly three days later that they had found the solution. This was the point in time when one of my trusty companions had to leave me. I summoned the commanders and ordered the captain of the Askohr to take the valuable data at once to Arkon and to hand them personally to the Imperator.

  At the same time I took advantage of the opportunity to send 40,000 settlers back to Arkon in the two last transport ships despite their strenuous objections. It was my opinion that no more than 10,000 people should remain on Atlantis and I insisted on compliance with my wishes. Furthermore, I directed Capt. Taneth to take over the protection of the convoy.

  Three weeks later the big spaceships departed on the long way home. Later on I learned that Capt. Taneth and the Askohr had been assigned to another admiral after completing their mission. They were thrown at once into the battle against the Methaners and were destroyed in a daring raid.

  My repeated pleas to the Great Council for obtaining one of the new converter-cannons were ignored and I never received the weapon. However the Imperator requested me again to remain in the small system of Larsa's star and to try to solve the mystery of the wavefront.

  In recognition of my efforts to secure the plans for the new weapon I was promoted to the rank of Fleet Admiral. However I received no additional ships. I was told that Arkon's resources were stretched to the limits by the war against the monstrous Aliens, already three years long and that each new ship was sent at once to the battlefront.

  Therefore I was compelled to rely on the Tosoma and the battle cruiser Paito under Capt. Inkar. The deployment of the converted remote-controlled cruisers was severely restricted since they were too antiquated. They were so slow that it was extremely risky to commit them in a fight against a more mobile enemy. Consequently I issued orders to decommission the ships, to remove the converted propulsion engines and to install them as stationary weapons on Atlantis.

  Together with the crew of my remaining units there were about 14,000 Arkonides left on the small continent which began to bloom under the diligent efforts of the pioneers. The 10,000 farmers from Zakreb 5 cultivated vast fields and taught the natives the art of agriculture. Our relations with the barbarians were excellent. We were never ambushed by them or suffered any other untoward incidents at their hands.

  Eventually I gave Feltif permission to acquaint the indigents with metalwork and building crafts and he established our first schools on the two large southern continents east and west of Atlantis. In this manner we expanded the farthest base of the Great Empire.

  During the coming weeks, Inkar and I flew numerous dangerous missions to the second planet in order to remove as much as possible from its depots. I had only two powerful units left at my disposal and it seemed that their existence had been forgotten on Arkon.

  It took considerable time till the converted engines salvaged from the two old cruisers had been mounted in the rocks of Atlantis. From then on we had eight completely self-sufficient firing positions whose impulse-wave converters could make their presence felt if necessary. Of course their crews would have to be withdrawn to a safe area before they were inundated by another wavefront. Hence I held sufficient numbers of antigrav-gliders in readiness for the escape of t
he men in case we should be unable to repulse the relativity field or tear it apart at least in some places.

  Atlantis had become a fortress.

  Finally we could afford to relax in the warm dry air high in the mountains and to explore the icy region of the north where we encountered more backward barbarians of the Stone Age. Although some of these tribes already lived in huts, others roamed the primordial forests in search of food. It was amazing how differently life had developed on the third world of Larsa's star. Especially the northern people seemed to have endured many hardships for thousands of years.

  On the seashores bordering a mountain farther south we erected sturdy huts on stilts for the convenience of primitive fishermen. Other than that, it seemed senseless to introduce the products of Arkonide technology to a population many of whom still lived in caves. It was better to let them develop by themselves.

  We devoted our attention to the brown-skinned natives who had reached a higher stage of civilization and now began to build their first cities under the helpful supervision of the Zakrebian settlers.

  We were highly pleased with our progress and remained undisturbed by the wavefronts which stayed in their own sector of space. We had long since determined that they were brought on by natural events that were manipulated by intelligent beings.

  We settled down to wait for further developments and didn't expect another attack until the third planet would be in opposition to Larsa-when the fatal decision was bound to occur.

  10/ BACK FROM THE PAST

  "Atlan! Atlan!" Someone was repeatedly speaking this meaningless word and shaking me by the shoulders at the same time. The insistent sound finally resolved into sense and, tired and weak, I struggled up to consciousness as from a deep drugged sleep as I recognized my own name.

  The faces of the officers around me were blurred and indistinct.

  "Admiral, wake up!"

  Fingers roughly pressed my check.

  "Tarth-is it you?" I stammered.

  The voice that had been calling me stopped abruptly. When I heard it once more, it was speaking in a sharp tone. "We must stop delving into the past. From now on there'll be no more unnecessary questions and you'll restrict yourselves to finding out the results of his actions. Doctor, will you please take care of him?"

  I was startled by the crisp commanding voice. Something pricked my arm and I felt a warm current vitalizing my veins. I heard the nearby breathing of a man and when he spoke it was in a foreign language-which I understood nevertheless.

  It took me almost an hour till I finally realized I was no longer aboard the old Tosoma but in the mess hall of a super battleship called the Drusus. Whose commander was Perry Rhodan.

  The stellar system discovered by Larsaf was now known as the Solar Empire and Atlantis-Atlantis no longer existed! Drowned 100 centuries ago, my men, dead 10,000 years. The Great Imperium, which I wanted so desperately to save, was in dissolution and a robot regent held the reins of power on my home planet Arkon.

  Rhodan helped me sit up. I forced a wan smile. He said softly: "You'd have kept recounting the story of your past for hours if I hadn't brought you back to reality. I've heard enough. It's all ancient history. By the way, would you believe that I come from the north and those cavemen were my forefathers?" Then, solicitously, "How do you feel now?"

  I fingered my cell-activator as it began its invigorating action. "It's still working," I whispered to myself, relieved. Then to Rhodan: "Do you understand why I can't tell you anything about the secret of eternal life? To this day I don't know myself what happened at that time."

  "But I do," Rhodan asserted calmly. "Because I too have met your mysterious benefactor. The It that lives on the artificial world called Wanderer must be the one who gave you this gift. Although greatly amused by our human foibles and fond of uproarious laughter on such occasions, in the time of Atlantis he was probably upset by the emergence of the creatures from the second time-plane. He must have considered you his military arm since he now exists only in non-material form. I'm very curious to learn how It reacts to the latest events, now that your shadows have returned. This time we're going to knock out their teeth-well, assuming shadows have teeth.

  "OK-you need a rest. Your emotional return to the past was a little too taxing for you. By the way..." he paused for a moment, then continued with a smile, "now I've got a much better opinion of the Arkonides. Your Tarth must have been quite a guy."

  "And so were all the others," I replied quietly with a reawakening pride in the heroic and glorious past of my people. "I wonder if they ever used that converter cannon?"

  "I've seen old reports that mention a legendary weapon whose construction was lost and forgotten. The methane-breathers were beaten back and then thoroughly defeated. If the other admirals of the old Imperial Fleet were like you, they undoubtedly cut their enemies' worlds in the nebula sector into asteroid-sized chunks. You better take it easy now."

  I leaned back in my chair and looked up at the luminous observation screens. Here I was in space again, even if another man was plotting the course, picking the goal. But that man was Perry Rhodan and I realized that when one had said that, whether in my native Arkonese or adopted English, one had said something.

  FORTRESS ATLANTIS

  Copyright © Ace Books, 1974

  Ace Publishing Corporation

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