"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan 0041 - (33) The Giant's Partner" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"Thank you," said the Brain, "I believe you since there is no other alternative left. And what is your involvement in this affair, Rhodan?"
"Demesor requested my help but I have kept stalling all the time. He protected me and the Titan because he thought he had found an ally against you. Demesor wanted to find out from me how I managed to break through the protective barrier around Arkon."
"This is something I'd also like to learn from you," replied the robot brain.
Rhodan smiled. "You'll find out about it later on, Regent. All I can tell you now is that it was done with the aid of a weapon which is not known on Arkon. The weapon comes from the Planet of Eternal Life."
"This Planet is nothing but a vague theory."
"No, Regent, it's a fact!" retorted Rhodan. "I was there myself and obtained relative immortality which however was denied Thora and Khrest. But let's return to what we were discussing before, Regent: Demesor is a traitor and must be rendered harmless. However he is not the sole guilty party. Do you know who the Mooffs are?"
"Yes, relatively primitive and definitely harmless creatures living on a methane world within the Empire. They are telepaths and weak suggestors. What is their role in events on Zalit?"
"There are many thousands of Mooffs on Zalit and they have assumed power over the minds of the Zalites. Although the treacherous Zarlt does not realize it, the Mooffs are his best allies in his desire to conquer the Empire."
"That is absurd! It would never occur to the Mooffs to dabble in politics. They are harmless creatures totally devoid of any ambitions. As I have already pointed out they are telepaths and suggestors but they..."
"Nobody pretends that these plans have originated with the Mooffs; they are nothing but pawns in this galactic game of chess. Some mightier mind is behind all this. He uses the Mooffs to gain influence over the Zalites with whose help he then wants to conquer the Empire."
"And who is this unknown entity?"
"This is something, Regent, that I don't know," Rhodan hesitated. "Nobody is sure whether he really exists. But what you just were saying about the Mooffs seems to make it more plausible that he actually does exist. My men are fighting against the Mooffs for, several weeks now-and they are doing this to preserve the Empire, Regent!"
"What is your motivation to help the Empire survive?"
Now Thora who had listened quietly all along pressed forward. "The Terrans are our allies, Regent. We helped them when they were attacked by the Mind Snatchers and the Springers. Why then shouldn't they come now to our assistance when we need it?"
Rhodan was secretly amazed at Thora's voluntary intervention on behalf of the human race. He could not have wished for a better spokesman.
"The Springers?" There was another slight pause by the robot brain. "Their intentions are not the best toward the Arkonide Empire. It's quite possible theoretically that they are behind the Mooffs and the plans of the Zarlt."
Rhodan felt as if suddenly a veil had been removed from his eyes. The Springers! The galactic traders! It would be in line with their character to send others ahead and let them pull the chestnuts out of the fire. But on the other hand the Springers lacked the feeling of solidarity which was paramount for the success of such an enterprise.
"Maybe-it could be the Springers," said Rhodan with reservation in his voice. "Some day we'll find out if that is really the case." Rhodan paused for a second, then continued: "Now that I have informed you where the Titan can be found I'd like to suggest a fair proposition to you."
"Yes, I'm listening."
Rhodan took a deep breath. Then he said: "You'll leave the Titan in my hands and call off the pursuit. In exchange I'll vouch to restore order on Zalit and to see to it that the legitimate Zarlt will be installed in his office."
"Give me a little time," requested the robot brain.
The image remained constant on the videoscreen. There was a steady, uniform humming to be heard from the loudspeaker. Three light-years away the positronic memory banks began to function. New data were transferred, stored anew and the results weighed against each other.
The robot brain made its decision.
The result came 15 seconds after it had requested a brief delay.
"I accept your proposition, Perry Rhodan. The Titan will remain in your possession as a loan as long as you will be working for the Empire. The pursuit will be called off immediately. Still, I'll keep an eye on you. But the moment Demesor is punished and the unknown entity behind the Mooffs exposed, the Titan will belong to you forever. Will you accept?"
"I accept, Regent. Will Thora and Khrest be permitted to return to Arkon?"
"No, I don't want to!" called out Thora. Rhodan looked at her in disbelief. But before he could say anything the robot brain spoke up: "Thora and Khrest may return to Arkon at any time. However, I desire that they remain on the Titan-in a leading position."
"Agreed," Rhodan confirmed.
"There is something else I want to ask you," said the robot brain.
"Go ahead!" Rhodan waited for the question to come. He had no idea what the Brain might want to know from him. Therefore it was no wonder that he was utterly taken by surprise when the Brain inquired: "Are you a descendant of the Arkonides?"
For a moment Rhodan was dumbfounded. He had expected anything but that question. After all, the Brain ought to be in a much better position to answer that than he could at this stage.
"It is not known whether the Terrans descend from the Arkonides," he replied. "By rights this fact ought to be recorded in the central files on Arkon."
"I do not know what kind of a world Terra is and where it is located."
And you're not going to find out so soon, Rhodan thought as he suddenly realized what was behind the Regent's line of questioning: the Brain wanted to learn Earth's position...!
"Terra is not part of the Empire, Regent. I don't know how far your colonizing expeditions once were advancing but it's quite possible one of these ships was driven off course and landed on our world. One of these days we'll be able to give a satisfactory answer to this question."
"They obviously are descendants of the same line as the Arkonides. A parallel evolution is most improbable. It would be too great a coincidence if 2 identical intelligent life forms would develop independent of each other. Well, enough of that."
Rhodan contemplated the glistening hemisphere for a few moments. "In any case, Regent, you seem to know more than you care to admit."
"What do you mean by that?"
Rhodan smiled and gave Thora a reassuring glance. "You calculated our distance from Arkon to be 2.75 light-years according to our way of telling time. How do you happen to know how long one year lasts on my home world?"
The robot brain's answer came without an instant's hesitation: "I intercepted your radio messages which sufficed to calculate your units of measurement. Still, this did not enable me to ascertain the position of your home planet. Some day you'll tell me where it is."
"It's possible," Rhodan admitted. "A final question: if necessary, can I get in touch with you at any time?"
"Yes, at any time, on the same frequency. Thank you, Perry Rhodan." The screen was suddenly dark again.
Rhodan sank into a nearby chair. Deep furrows lined his forehead. "The Regent of the Arkonide Empire-thanks me." he murmured, his voice filled with doubt. "Can that be true, Khrest? Thora? Can we trust the Brain? Is the Regent on the level with us or is this just some devilish trick?"
Thora stepped closer to Rhodan and put her hand on his shoulder. "I don't think so, Perry. A positronic brain does not engage in lies and underhanded practices. It is fully aware of its own strengths which would be only lessened if it resorted to lies and underhanded practices. The Brain has sincerely recognized you as its ally, in my opinion. Thus we have accomplished the first step that will lead to our reconquering the Empire."
Rhodan looked squarely into the Arkonide woman's eyes. "But not against the Brain's wishes! If some day in the future the Brain will be convinced that either mankind or the Arkonides will once more be capable of resuming the rulership, it will not fight against such insight. On the contrary, it will help us."
"Let's hope that the future will justify your present optimism, Perry," Khrest remarked calmly. "What is our next move? Back to Zalit?"
"Yes, of course. They are waiting for us. We'll return immediately."
"I'm looking forward to a solemn reception by the Zarlt," squealed Pucky in his corner where he had been intently following the whole conversation with the Brain.
"He'll hardly find the time for that," replied Rhodan as he exchanged a quick glance with Tiff who was readying the co-ordinates for the return jump. "After all, don't forget there's an underground resistance movement on Zalit." Rhodan consulted his wristwatch. "In exactly 5 hours all hell will break loose on the fourth planet of the Voga System. The Zarlt will have his hands full trying to deploy his entire fighting forces in order to catch the men who'll be blasting to pieces army and space fleet installations everywhere. This whole uproar will permit us to land unnoticed and without interference at the outer edge of the spaceport."
Pucky cocked his head and gave a knowing wink with his right eye.