" Perry Rhodan 0039 - (31) Realm of the Tri-Planets" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

also the seat of the super-robot brain. ItтАЩs the only secret of my race which weтАЩve kept from you till
now."

Rhodan sat down thoughtfully in slow motion. He idly adjusted his belt while his thoughts were spinning
around in his mind. "Three worlds?" he whispered. "Great Scot, howтАЩs that possible? Arkon is the third
planet of your sun, isnтАЩt it? Where are the other segments of the planet?"

An unbearable expectant silence hung over the vast Command Centre as Khrest paused before he
continued his explanation of the wonder in a choked voice: "The tri-planet system is made up of three
bodies in identical orbits and at the same constant distance of 370 million miles from the sun. The position
of these synchronized worlds, as theyтАЩre also called, corresponds to an equilateral triangle. The seasons
of the planets never vary since their axes have no inclination and their paths describe a perfect circle. The
mean temperature is about 90┬░ F on the terrestrial scale. Arkon is a unique phenomenon in the Galaxy.
IтАЩve always been very proud of it until a few weeks ago."

Khrest lowered his eyes. RhodanтАЩs face had lost a little of its colour. This was something he had not
taken into account and his brain automatically began to make calculations. The extraordinary constellation
of three synchronous celestial bodies represented enormous astronautical and mathematical problems.

Another thought suddenly occurred to him and the fleeting guess became a certainty after a few seconds.
"Khrest, I hope you donтАЩt claim that this incredible coincidence of three planets with the same orbit, solar
distance and correlated positions has come about as a natural development?"

KhrestтАЩs sombre face brightened. A spark of the lost pride in his race returned to his big eyes. His
countenance became more dignified despite the fact that his situation had become pathetic. Khrest no
longer harboured illusions. "YouтАЩre quite right," he declared solemnly. "The Crystal World of Arkon, was
the third planet of the sun 30,000 Terra years ago. Due to the enormous expansion of the Arkonide
Empire it became too small and it was necessary to separate the economy, the residential areas, the
space fleet and the industrial installations from each other. Since my ancestors endeavoured to centralize
the most important organizations, the biggest impulse engines of all times were installed on the original
planets #2 and #4. In the course of 3000 years they were very slowly pulled out of their natural orbits
and aligned with extreme caution in the trajectory of the original Arkon. The entire operation and
synchronization was performed with precise computation and the three co-ordinated planets were called
Arkon. You must understand, PerryтАФthis is Arkon! After their successful consolidation the three planets
showed virtually no variation. Only very few Arkonides had knowledge of the secret which we now
share with you. The dynasties that ruled in earlier times considered it psychologically preferable to
pretend that this unique constellation was natural. They sought to promote a certain glorification of our
race. Superior beings like ourselves were entitled to the distinction of living in a special environment, you
see."

Rhodan took a deep breath before he replied in awe: "I must confess that I feel the greatest respect for
your ancestors. And IтАЩm very grateful to you for your decision to disclose these facts to me. Otherwise
we wouldтАЩve run into some nasty surprise with our hytrans computations. But you could have told me
about this a little earlier, couldnтАЩt you?"

Rhodan looked reproachfully at Thora, who responded with a faint but meaningful smile.

Meanwhile the men in the Command Centre engaged in an excited discussion. The programming by the
astronautical computer brain bad already begun. The thin plastic tapes with the punched symbols were
swallowed up by the insatiable machine.