" Perry Rhodan 0012 - (06) The Secret of The Time Vault" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

from us?' 'Something he doesn't know himself. I know this sounds odd, but
it's the truth. The Ferrons haven't developed these transmitters on their
own.' 'I thought so, my friend. But it's interesting to find out that the
Thort himself is aware of that. What else could you read in his
brain?' 'There's a sealed vault on the planet Ferrol. Five-dimensional locks
keep everyone out. Only the Thort knows how to open these locks, without
understanding their purpose. This knowledge seems to have been passed on from
generation to generation since time immemorial. I get the impression these
transmitters were a gift from an alien race, who in the distant past had
received some great favour by the ancestors of our Ferrons. This vault is
supposed to contain the exact plans for the construction of these
transmitters. The Thort was thinking of studying these plans in order to build
some.' 'That doesn't surprise me either,' remarked Rhodan without apparent
emotion. He noticed Marshall's disappointed expression. 'I wasn't trying to be
facetious, John. You've rendered me a tremendous service with this report, for
now you've confirmed what I'd suspected earlier: the Ferrons could never have
invented these five-dimensional transmitters, for they lack the necessary
mental prerequisites. Now, I'd like to know, who did build them?' 'I got a
tiny hint on that, too,' replied Marshall with a radiant smile. 'I could sense
the Thort was thinking of something like "beings that live longer than the
sun". Does that make sense to you?' These words had a startling effect on
Rhodan. And Bell, who by now was tuned in on their conversation, suddenly sat
up stiffly in his chair near his instruments. First his face grew unnaturally
pale, which was followed by a deep blush. His eyes flickered. He slowly turned
to Rhodan and met his friend's eyes, which were also wide with
amazement. Marshall observed with great interest the effect his report had
evoked; he smiled with contentment. 'What an unusual pleasure to make you
lose your cool!' he chuckled. 'That alone has made my lonesome stay on Iridul
worthwhile. Now I feel amply rewarded. Indeed, these creatures that live
longer than the sun have given the Ferrons the secret of the matter
transmitters eons ago. I'm sorry to say that they didn't know too well what to
do with this secret.' 'The Ferrons are thinking in four dimensions, and
that's already a giant step ahead, as far as we're concerned. It's just that
they donтА╣t think five-dimensionally. And that's the first prerequisite if you
want to construct hyper-spaceships or matter transmitters. That alone was
enough for me to realize that the Ferrons could never have built these marvels
themselves. Tell me, Marshall, could you get some indication where these
beings reside who are supposed to live longer than the sun ? Where are they
located?' 'Somewhere in the Vega system,' replied Marshall. And for the
second time he experienced the thrill of seeing Rhodan lose his composure. 'At
least that's where they were several thousand years ago, when the Ferrons were
still in touch with them. Unfortunately, that's all I could make out, by
probing the Thort's brain. I believe he doesn't have any further information
on that.' For several minutes Rhodan sat silently in his chair and stared at
nothing in particular, while his thoughts were racing ahead. Beings that live
longer than the sun, he thought. How long does a sun live? Half a day, because
it rises in the morning and sets at night? A year, because every planet in a
solar system needs one specific year to complete one revolution around the
sun? Two hundred million years, the time it takes for the sun to revolve once
within its galaxy? Or longer still? An eternity? Do these beings have eternal