"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan 0091 - (83) Ernst Ellert Returns" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"I can kill you," Ellert reminded him.
"Then do it!" the Druuf challenged him.
Ellert chose not to answer. He was suddenly assailed by fear and a sense of doubt. He himself could feel that he had grown weaker. He suspected that his disembodied excursion to the secret laboratory had been about his last chance of separating himself successfully from Onot without falling again into the stream of time and being lost in Eternity. In this condition of incipient weakness it was out of the question to consider reaching the Earth on his own initiative.
His total being signalled: danger!
For him there was only one method of salvation: he had to transfer from Onot into his own body. That would only be possible, however, if his body were here on Druufon.
"There is still another alternative."
"What is that?"
"When the right time arrives, I will leave you. You have my promise that I will never return to you. You will be free."
"So what is your price?" The Druuf could not imagine that freedom might be obtained without some kind of payment in return. "What do I have to do?"
Ellert felt relieved. "Under the skin of your left hand you will be able to feel a slight protuberance. Press on it with your finger. You need do nothing more."
Onot was not at all willing to accommodate the voice but curiosity forced him to search for the thing under his skin. It was easy to locate it. "What is it?" he asked.
"Don't ask questions, Onot. Just press harder on it-that's it. Now I can tell you. It's a micro-transmitter which is making contact with some good friends of mine. They are being alerted now by a red indicator lamp. Either my thought impulses or yours-or both-will be converted into electrical wave patterns and another apparatus will translate them into the words of my language. And now relax and remain passive for a few minutes. I don't think I can force you to do that anymore, but believe me, it's your only-and your last chance-to remain alive."
As a scientist, Onot was curious. He cherished his life even though at the moment it was not too promising. True he had boasted that he'd prefer to die rather than to submit to the voice again but at the moment that grandiloquent gesture appeared to him to be foolish.
Willingly, then, he surrendered himself to the voice.
But he promised himself irrevocably that it would be for the last time.

* * * *

The alarm catapulted Capt. Marcel Rous out of a deep sleep.
Almost instantly his feet hit the cold metal floor of his room and he was running while still pulling his clothes on toward the com room where the alarm had originated. If it had come from the Command Central he might have expected to be under a direct attack from the Druufs. So in. this case, Rous was assured, the Druufs were not directly involved.
Breathlessly he dashed into the communications centre and saw that Sgt. Masters was just turning off the pickup recorder tapes. It was too early for him to tell whether it had to do with a hypercom dispatch from the Ohio or some other incoming communication. As for the special micro-receiver that tied the base to Ellert's transmitter, he thought of this last of all.
"What is it, Masters?"
With a final adjustment of the keyboard, Masters straightened up. "Message from Ellert on Druufon. Still running it through the decode-translator, sir."
Rous could only nod an acknowledgement, after which he began to pace back and forth nervously. He knew that the message from Ellert would be important and urgent. The mutant never announced himself without special reasons. He knew from experience that the automatic deciphering and translation process would not take more than 10 minutes. It didn't make any difference whether the message was long or short.
Sgt. Masters remained silent. He continued to stare doggedly at the final tape reel, listening for the click of the decoder machine. Then, finally, the tape clicked into rewind.
"Ready!" announced Masters.
"Play it back!" said Rous.
After a few more clickings of switches a voice was heard in the room which was unique. Although its intellectual origin was Ellert, it was not actually his real voice. The special receiver had converted his transmitted thoughts into audible sounds:
"This is Ellert in Onot's body. Calling Perry Rhodan! We have here a critical possibility of discovery. I am becoming too weak to be able to resist the power of Onot's mind much longer. He is slowly getting the upper edge. Onot has been arrested and is being ordered before the Supreme Tribunal. If I can't control him he will reveal my presence here. He also has knowledge of the base on Hades. I am not able to transfer from here to Earth and into my own body. Bring my body to Hades or take Onot to Earth. There is no other alternative. Please rush this message to Rhodan. He will know what to do. Only a few more days and it will be too late. Help me! Ernst Ellert."








2/ A MATTER OF CORPSE

The Solar Empire had given diplomatic recognition to the new Imperator of the Arkonide realm. Behind the once all-powerful robot Brain was Atlan the undying Arkonide, Rhodan's friend and ally. Both empires were now working together in the complex task of bringing all the various races and civilizations of the galaxy 'under one roof'-as Reginald Bell was fond of expressing it.
Perry Rhodan was presently on Arkon 3 and was preparing for his return to Earth. The battleship Drusus was standing by at his disposal. Basically, Rhodan didn't have much faith in premonitions but during the past few days he had not been able to shake off an unpleasant sense of impending danger. He had discussed it with Bell but the latter had been impudent enough to laugh at his fears.
"You're seeing ghosts, Perry. Recent events have gotten to you. Your nerves are frazzled, that's all! I can certainly understand that. What's bothering you? The Druufs have been clobbered and aren't likely to recover and soon they'll be locked back inside their own time plane. No, I think you're getting carried away..."
"You're forgetting Ellert, my friend," replied Rhodan. He glanced indifferently at the abstract colour patterns on the viewscreen. Arkonide signal checking left him cold. "He's still on Druufon. Sooner or later we have to see to it that he gets back to Earth. When the discharge funnel closes, it will be too late."
"Why? We can still reach him if...?"
"But under more difficult conditions. I'd like to avoid that."
"OK-then what are we still waiting for?"
This turnabout was even too fast for Rhodan. He stared in some surprise at Bell for a moment before he finally smiled back at him. "That's right-what are we still waiting for, actually? It's what I've also been asking myself. We have no further business to attend to here for the time being, and if I know Pucky he'll be happy to raise and harvest his own batch of carrots in Terrania."
Pucky the mousebeaver lay sleeping on a couch at the rear of the Control Central. At least so far he had appeared to be sleeping. But now he raised up his head with its big mouse ears and permitted his single incisor to gleam with pleasure.
In a squeaky voice he commented: "You don't have a very green thumb, Perry. It's been so long since I've been able to take care of my truck garden that I've figured on a complete loss of the harvest. Those little monsters-whatever they're called-must have gobbled up all of my carrots by now."
"Those little monsters," interjected Bell, "are known as mice. They happen to be relatives of yours, Pucky."