"006 The Mutant Corps" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"Twenty feet high and sixty feet wide."

"Excuse me for a moment, please" said Adams, and began to scribble some quiet figures on a piece of paper. Two minutes later his calculations were finished.

"With my special machinery you will be able to advance with your excavation work by a mile and a half daily-provided that you withdraw your own machinery and workers from the area, as long as we use our own patented tools."

Andre Gillette did not protest the way his predecessor, Abraham Weiss, had done, but he seemed quite indignant. "I am in no mood for silly jokes, Mr. Adams. I am fighting for my firms survival. This is no laughing matter for me. DonТt you have anything more realistic to suggest?"

"I was not joking at all, Mr. Gillette. I am ready to give you a quick demonstration of our working methods. Our machines work on the principle of converting matter into pure energy. Of course, not in a spontaneous process as known in the chain reaction of an atom bomb. We control the reaction. We store the energy that is set free during this conversion and sell it later on at a high profit. I am not surprised that you are sceptical. But the General Cosmic Co.Сs speciality is radical improvement of current production methods. I strongly urge you to observe how our instrument works. We will give you a sample with one cubic yard of earth. Then after having watched this demonstration you can make up your mind."

"Fine. I hope you will be able to convince us! If what you say is really so it would revolutionize the whole tunnel construction market, and we could make a real killing in it. I can see fantastic possibilities shaping up for my firm. What is your price for the use of your machinery?"

"Fifty-one percent participation in the Minneapolis Mining Co."

Andre Gillette reacted very similarly to Mr. Weiss. He shot out of his seat and stared horrified at Adams, as if he feared for his sanity.

"But that is ridiculous, Mr. Adams! Do you have any idea what kind of firm I represent we are an enterprise of the first magnitude, and you simply propose to put it into your pocket!"

"My offer is worth more than fifty-one percent of what Minneapolis Mining Co. is worth. You just got through telling me what the fate of your firm would be in another six months, if you continue on your own. But if you decide to accept my offer that would change your moribund enterprise into the worldТs leader in the construction of tunnels. You should consider me a most unselfish person, if I will be satisfied with only fifty-one percent participation."Andre Gillette could not hide his trembling hands any longer. "I think I had better leave now, Mr. Adams."

"Please do, I am very pleased to have met you Mr. Gillette. If you have any more business, worries, donТt forget to call on me again."Miss Lawrence announced seven more callers, but none of them represented the grand style of enterprise that would have interested Adams. He got rid of them within a few minutes. He had more urgent matters to attend to.

He placed a long overdue call "Hello, Klein! What do you have to report about your interview?"

"Mission accomplished! just two hours, ago I happened to run across a reporter from The New York Times. We had a couple of drinks together. My anonymity was as if by accident, the way I had planned, and that fellow had to recognize me, of course. You should have seen his expression! He informed me that I was none other than Captain Klein who, had deserted from the U.S. Secret Service, and that the F.B.I. was hot on my trail. I told him that if he was that clever he also ought to know who my new bosses were. And he stated rather naively that this was a generally known fact. Then I proposed to him a compromise solution-if he would refrain from revealing my identity and therefore give up the chance for a sensational news item, I would offer him something in exchange, a veritable bombshell. I told him everything about the unknown invaders from space and particularly stressed the point that the world was facing an invasion any moment now. My source of information seemed reliable enough for him. And if he can convince his editor in chief of that bit of news, everyone will be able to read all about it in todayТs papery"Fine! Now it is 11:38 A.M. Go over to the stock exchange now and keep in touch with me. If you should have any, doubts then contact me immediately. Dr. Haggard and Dr. Manoli are already at the stock exchange. But make sure not to give away that you know each other. As far as the public is concerned, you are opponents."

Business had been quite calm this morning at the stock exchange. Looking back on the hectic events of the past weeks, this seemed rather welcome. After the, sudden establishment of the Third Power in the Gobi Desert the securities market had taken a deep dive. When a third world war appeared imminent, the question was no longer of an economic crisis, but of total collapse. Then various manifestations of Arkonide, strength had followed. The political power blocs of the East and the West had forgotten their differences and had formed a world union among all the nations of Earth. The invasion threatening mankind from extraterrestrial enemies had been repulsed by Perry Rhodan. Now the situation in general had improved, and things were looking up again. There, was again a rising mood of confidence and hope, which was mirrored in the risen barometer of mankindТs state of mind, a high in the stock market.Now things had returned to normal again, and the hectic weeks were about to be forgotten. It was 11:38 now. By noon the situation underwent a drastic change.

A few minutes earlier Dr. Haggard had offered some oil shares thirty points lower than the market price and had sold them at once. The brokers had simply shaken their heads in surprise and comforted themselves with the thought that some inexperienced amateur was trying to play the market with a remarkable lack of judgment. But when the noon editions of the newspaper came out, the brokers were sure that Haggard must have a sixth sense, for he had saved his money in time.

The panic the brokers experienced on hearing the news of the invasion was not so much fear for their own safety as concern for their money. The din in the hall was tremendous for several minutes, until Mr. Oliver could manage to command their attention via the loudspeaker system.

"Gentlemen, please donТt over react to a mere newspaper report. There is no official confirmation of this rumour. The board will immediately check out the veracity of this article."He had hardly finished before a gentleman stormed into the hall, shouting loudly that radio Peking had broadcast the same news simultaneously, independently of The New York Times.

"Seventy for General Electric!" a voice suddenly shouted. Dead silence fell on the huge room. But then the storm broke loose and quickly grew to hurricane strength. General Electric had opened that morning at 145!

While Mr. Oliver and his ushers, supported by police were trying desperately to restore order in the big hall, unofficial business deals were being concluded in the corridors. The pessimists were selling frantically while the optimists felt they could make a killing. It took half an hour before Mr. Oliver could control the frenetic buying and selling. There were rumours of closing the stock exchange, but many protested against it.

The G.C.C. agents were still holding back. According to their instructions they should wait before starting to buy, even in the present favourable situation. Only when activity of selling and buying had come to a standstill did Mr. Haggard make a moderate attempt. He caused Standard Oil to drop thirty-five points, and soon pandemonium reigned again. Haggard with drew quickly and let the others work, until there were more people wanting to buy than to sell. At 12:55 Opiat, Ltd., shares suddenly began to rise.

Homer G. Adams, who had been in constant touch with the events at the stock exchange, spoke a brief order into his microphone. "You have bought Opiat, Manoli. Make a conspicuous private deal with Captain Klein. Go down forty points! After all everything remains in the same family, nothing can happen to us."

By 12:57 Opiat, Ltd., had lost seventy-five percent of its opening value. The majority of the other securities shortly followed suit. Toward closing time just as things seemed to have calmed down again, despite the heavy losses the market had sustained, Homer G. Adams dropped his biggest bombshell.

A special radio communiquщ announced that an unknown spaceship had lifted a whole fishing fleet several miles up into the air somewhere in the Timor Sea off the northwest coast of Australia. Then all the ships had been dropped again into the water. The newscaster ended his Special announcement with these words:

"Е assumptions that these actions emanated from the Third Power must be rejected. After diplomatic negotiations the Third Power must be considered absolutely loyal to the interests of all mankind."After the alien spaceship had dropped the fishing fleet back into the ocean, where approximately 400 men lost their lives, the spacecraft was observed to descend again rapidly to almost ground level and open its hatches or air locks, from which several thousands of grotesque looking creatures jumped into the water. They swam around for several minutes and then disappeared under the surface of the ocean.

"There can he no doubt that we are dealing here with strange nonhumanoid creatures whose natural habitat seems to be the ocean. It remains uncertain but most likely that the invasion of the ocean will be followed by an invasion of the land masses. United Nations headquarters has issued its first communiquщ that proper steps will be taken against the invaders."