" Perry Rhodan 0011 - (5b) Mutants in Action" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

 Bell grumbled something incomprehensible. The Snake Mountains fell from sight beyond the visiscreen
frame. In dead centre loomed the wide gorge into which Heklihar had pointed.

"Five hundred yards," announced Bell.

Rhodan peered down into the chasm. The bright light of Vega could not penetrate to its bottom; the
shadows were so dark that details could not be made out with certainty.

"Three hundred yards."

Instinctively, Rhodan turned the control on the visiscreen that would give him a closer magnification of
the scene before him. As he clicked the knob into a higher position he heard a loud, emptyclack! He
realized that the ship's power sources were so stringently programmed that not a spark could be spared
even for such small incidentals as the optical equipment.

But as theGood Hope descended between the walls of the gorge, he suddenly perceived that there was
no discernible bottom at all. A place was reached where the craggy walls of the abyss became smooth,
and here a faint light was detected somewhere in the depths. Rhodan couldn't suppress his wonderment
over this tremendous installation, which could undoubtedly have accommodated three ships the size of
theGood Hope . The shaft proved to be of considerable depth. With a square measurement of about two
hundred yards per side it penetrated about 1,500 feet below ground.

Heklihar noted Rhodan's reaction with pride. "It will do for a start, don't you think?" he asked, in his
guttural tones.

"Startling is a better expression."

Heklihar's eyes glowed with pleasure. Like all Ferronians he was very receptive to compliments, and
Rhodan's remark was a specific compliment, because Heklihar himself had constructed this entrance
shaft.

TheGood Hope settled in the middle of a tremendous chamber whose ceiling, 150 yards above them,
was pierced by the shaft.

"Ship secure!" announced Bell.

Heklihar seemed to comprehend the gist of this. He got up and said in Ferron, "Come! Hopthmar will be
waiting for us."

Rhodan didnтАЩt have the slightest idea who Hopthmar was, but he had no intention of keeping him
waiting. When the Thort designated this new base for theGood Hope he had explained very little.
Rhodan was going to have to learn on the spot whatever was to be learned about this place. He turned
the ships command over to Bell and advised Khrest that he was going with Heklihar to visit somebody
called Hopthmar, who was probably the fort commander. Then he and the Ferronian technologist
disembarked.

While he followed Heklihar he marvelled at the tremendous dimensions of the chamber. The walls were
lost in the distance, and the evenly distributed illumination seemed to be designed to prevent a full
orientation. The ceiling was cantevered, an engineering masterpiece that no one on Earth had dared to
attempt. There were no support girders; an entire fleet of battle ready spaceships could have found room