"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan 0070 - (62) The Last Days of Atlantis" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

We waited impatiently but meanwhile I was wondering what Bell must have been feeling at this moment in the Physiotron. Probably nothing at all.
When the time was up and Homunk turned off the cell shower, we turned breathlessly to look at the nearby antigrav platform. The vortex screen disappeared. The outlines of the structure became more discernible.
Pucky had been standing close to me clutching my left hand. He suddenly, squeaked excitedly and threw his little arms up. "He's alive!" I heard the supermouse yell out. "I'm getting his thoughts. He thinks he's only been in there for a second or so."
I ducked away involuntarily as the air suddenly shimmered. Pucky disappeared in a flash but instantly he appeared in the middle of the silenced Physiotron, where he jumped up and threw his arms around the broad-shouldered human figure there.
Rhodan and I merely exchanged glances. We understood each other without need for words. At least we had achieved one goal in any case because Reginald Bell appeared to be intact. To what degree the cell shower had reverted the strange rejuvenation process, however, was still an unknown factor.
Rhodan's eyes began to stare blankly. He was listening inwardly. Since I knew that he had developed a slight telepathic ability I did not disturb him. In a few moments he turned to me, slightly nonplussed.
"The mousebeaver reports that Bell seems to be completely himself again. The boyish features have gone back the way they were before. Do you understand?"
I didn't have time to answer him because at that moment a monstrous shape emerged far above through the dense chlorine atmosphere. Simultaneously we were contacted by the flight commander.
I saw the smooth, well-groomed features of Van Aafen appear on the viewscreen. As usual, the Major was cool, slightly reserved and pedantic. He was an outstanding cosmonaut who seemed not to have a nerve in his body.
"We have an alert condition, sir," he informed us. "A heavy enemy vessel has broken through the line and I am closing in with 8 guppies. I would suggest that you take cover."
His manner was such that he might as well have been describing crumbled cookies at a picnic. We dove for cover!
About 1000 yards away something bright and glistening flashed through the greenish chlorine air. A terrible clap of thunder reached us along with a powerful shockwave, which hurled me several yards over the smooth deck surface of the platform. An infernal roaring sound became audible. Close on its heels a new cyclone struck us and this time I was lifted up violently. Apparently we were being just grazed by the vacuum suction of a fast-moving spaceship.
Things happened too swiftly for immediate comprehension. Several shadowy shapes went by at a considerable height above us. Bright flashes of light illuminated the semi-darkness and then afar off, an atomic sun-ball seemed to inflate like a balloon.
Blinded by it, I closed my eyes and waited for what was to come. Somebody clutched my ankles, seeking support. We lay flat on the platform as the glowing hot pressure front of the explosion arrived. Like a world in collision. Minutes later I could not have explained how I lived through the inferno.
Almost benumbed by the experience, I helped Rhodan to his feet. Our 2 antigrav gliders had almost been capsized. The atomic blast had gripped them from underneath and spun them more than 50 yards across the flat terrain.
"That must have been at least 100 megatons!" groaned Rhodan. His left wrist seemed to pain him from a bad bruise. "Do you think these contraptions will still fly?"
"They've got to, sir!" said one of the crewmen. "All that equipment has got to go back-especially the Physiotron."
We turned to search for Bell. He waved at us from the other platform. So at least all was in order in that department.
I was already checking the propulsion engines when the major's report finally came in. I heard Rhodan scolding him before I made out his words:
"Sorry, sir; that was apparently shaving it a bit thin for you. Stupid of the robot ship to explode like that. May I request further instructions?"
"The devil take you-and piece by piece!" retorted Rhodan. "You could have held your fire from the Druuf for at least 2 minutes. He would have been a few thousand miles away from us by then. OK, forget it! Stand by till we have these 2 freight decks secured. Then fall in behind with the whole formation. Use the pursuit ships as a rear flank protection. In an emergency the fighter jets can get through the lens faster than you could with your heavier guppies. Is that clear?"
"Completely, sir. May I presume to ask how things are with Mr. Bell?"
"You may," answered Rhodan in a more cheerful tone. "He was especially thrilled over that shockwave you sent us. Otherwise he's doing fine and you can pass that along to the individual crews."
Van Aafen's typical formality remained unshaken. "I'd appreciate it, sir, if you would convey to him my best wishes."
Rhodan merely chuckled but the repartee had only served to prove again what wonderful men and staunch friends he had on board his ships. 10 minutes later our loaded platform rose up from the ground. I guided it through the lens under full power, finally shutting down the auxiliary engines when the mighty curve of the Drusus loomed toward us from the ground.
Rhodan followed closely with the other platform glider. His radio dispatch had just reached the fleet squadrons. I was just opening my pressure helmet with a sigh of relief when the first of the guppies began entering the normal universe. That chlorine world had not been what you Terranians call a picnic!





3/ THE KEY WORD

Teldje van Aafen had submitted a very formal inquiry to me in an attempt to learn what methods were used by the old cruiser commanders of the Arkonide fleet for documenting their mission experiences.
At first I was a bit nonplussed but I finally gave what information I thought appropriate. Even a Perry Rhodan was not able to avoid the great battle of papers and documents but from experience he had always exerted every effort to mitigate this vexatious problem as much as possible for each and every one of his statesmen and commanders. At any rate, the 2nd officer of the Drusus seemed a bit perturbed over his assignment to put every detail of his recent battle down on paper.
We had not suffered any losses, which was an indication of how much precision the Terranian pilots had used in their attacks. Of course their faster time-rate over the enemy had been to their advantage.
At the time I was busy making an evaluation of all the data that Khrest had submitted to me. Rhodan had temporarily postponed the return flight of the super battleship back to Earth because we felt obligated to repair all the damages we had inflicted in the cell shower chamber.
Since our return from the Druuf-plane, about 24 hours had passed. A robot army was engaged in the work of mounting the Physiotron and the power reactors in their former positions, including the appropriate power distribution hookups. A test run was to be made before our takeoff.
I suspected that Rhodan was still deeply disturbed about the Druuf question. He knew as well as I did that the whole problem had to be settled eventually, one way or another.
A number of hypercom communications from Terranian defence and intelligence sources had been disquieting. According to these dispatches the terrible phenomena were still occurring on a number of distant worlds, of the type which we had not been able to stop. Entire races of galactic intelligences had disappeared over night. Huge planets had been practically depopulated. It was an occurrence with which we had long since become familiar but which we did not yet fully understand. What purpose could be served by abducting millions and even billions of thinking entities?
I had brooded over this question for some weeks now. An apparent solution seemed to be emerging in my mind but I still wasn't sure that my hunches were correct. The increasing tendency of our own time-frame to retrogress and slow up on the Druuf worlds appeared to indicate that a critical stage was being reached 'over there'. Somebody seemed to be making great efforts to cross-assimilate and equalize the different and conflicting laws of nature affecting both universes. Could it be that living organisms were necessary to this process? Was this the reason for the abduction of countless human and humanoid intelligences?
A few hours before when I had presented my deliberations to him, Rhodan had whistled loudly and discordantly in his reaction to what I had in mind. But now I was alone again in the main computer centre of the super battleship.
Reginald Bell appeared to be completely back on his feet again. If one examined his face very closely there was still a trace of the rejuvenation effects to be seen but at least the weird process had been halted. Something had occurred in his more or less delicate cellular tissue that we couldn't understand but it was certain that a true stabilization had been reached, as was the case with Perry Rhodan.
Along about 12 noon I entered the great officers' messhall on board the Drusus. The perfect robot, Homunk, had arranged to supply us with fresh vegetables. Everything seemed to be completely under control by now, especially since the Druufs had still not found a way to penetrate into our plane of existence. Apparently it was disproportionately more difficult to achieve an adaptive compatibility between the 2 continuums from their side, through use of a lensfield. Nevertheless something occurred that filled me with concern. I would have been happy to see us get away from Wanderer in that very hour.
I sat down at my established place and waited for the ship's officers to arrive. They filed in one after another with Rhodan and Bell arriving last.
Perry's tall, lean figure turned my way briefly as he nodded in recognition. During the meal he seemed to toss down his food absently and without enjoyment. As the automatic food conveyor system produced dessert and fanned out the individual portions to their proper places, he spoke suddenly to all of us:
"Pucky claims to have picked up some very weak telepathic signals a few hours ago. He says they could only have come from the collective entity-in other words, from It. John Marshall has confirmed this!"
My fork lowered slowly. In the messhall a sudden silence ensued. I looked across at the mousebeaver, who sat at the table next to Rhodan in-his custom-designed highchair.
"It's true!" he insisted in his twittery voice. "It has been heard from!"
"And what was the import of the communication?" I asked with outward calm.