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

Two days had gone by.

The demonstrations of the work capacity of General Cosmic Co.Сs machinery hid been completed successfully, and the contracts had been signed. Homer G. Adams had flown to the central Gobi Desert base of the Third Power to report on his activities of the last few days. Even Thora and Khrest, who normally preferred not to participate in intraterrestrial affairs, came to listen to AdamТs report."What is the state of mind of the people on the outside?" inquired Rhodan.

Homer G. Adams lowered his huge head for a moment and then looked around at his friends. "The events of the past days seem to be a repetition of previous experiences that I have gone through. But at that time I was put behind bars for it. This time around, I realize that my actions can be justified. But I want to emphasize that I do not feel responsible for the suicides committed. If they canТt get over the loss of material possessions, well, itТs their own affair. Besides, I believe that most suicides were caused by the fear of the threatened invasion."Adams looked over at Reginald Bell while Rhodan Said, "Whichever way you look at it, we canТt deny having caused mankind a great deal of anxiety. All in this room here know, however, that our action is justifiable for the invasion is a real threat, not just an imaginary one. The alien invader fleet might arrive any day, any hour. The horrible film that Bell projected over the Timor Sea with the fantastic Arkonide instruments might possibly have been a preview of what lies in store for all of us on Earth. We have the duty to protect the human race from such dangers, for we alone are powerful enough to do so. This, on the other hand, leads to our obligation to our industrial potential, which again is possible only if we exert sufficient influence over the worldТs economy. A constitution that is supposed to unite and protect a planet must necessarily also control its economic potential. Last week, when you went to New York we had only modest financial assets. What is the situation now, Mr. Adams?"

"Mr. BellТs Arkonide spectacle over the Timor Sea has tipped the scales for us. We have already laid some solid groundwork, though. We managed to bring utter confusion to the New York Stock Exchange, the same as Mr. Kakuta in Tokyo, Mr. Marshall in Cape Town, Mr. Li Tschai-tung in London, and Mr. Kosnow in Berlin. With a comparatively ridiculous sum of a few million dollars we have bought up whole industries and attained majority in four major concerns. Naturally, it wonТt be possible to give repeat performances of this financial coup, for the world does not fall twice for the same trick. Besides, such tactics would be irresponsible. We donТt want to destroy the world economy. YesterdayТs manoeuvre can happen only once every thirty years. It takes a long period of recovery after any major bank crash. If a second should follow too soon, we might face a total collapse of the world economy. We want to avoid that at all costs, because we, too, would suffer by it. We donТt want to buried under the ruins of a destroyed economic system. Believe me, gentlemen, I have a great deal of experience in this field. We have gone as far as possible but we have reached the limits now. Is there anyone here who does not agree with me?"Homer G. AdamsТs glance swept the round of the assembled group. His question was directed to all of them, but every-one knew that it was really meant for Rhodan alone. "Your success has borne out our prophecy, Mr. Adams." Declared Perry Rhodan. "You will remember my initial scepticism. I would have settled for less than you produced. The way things stand now, I must express my sincere gratitude and admiration for what you accomplished for the Third Power. In addition, you have arranged some advantageous business deals with our Arkonide machinery. Still, it seems advisable now to proceed a bit more cautiously."

"Why, of course. We will always take into consideration KhrestТs veto power. And you, Mr. Rhodan, always have final say in what the public is permitted to learn of the secrets of the Arkonide technology. The energy matter converter that I put at the disposal of the Minneapolis Mining Co. and Mr. Weiss of the Steel and Concrete, Inc., is already an obsolete model by Arkonide standards. But they were most, helpful to us in our present situation. Both firms, in which you hold the majority under the fictitious name of Benjamin Wilder as proprietor of G.C.C., have already outpaced any competitors in their special fields; they will be the leaders in the economic revival that will follow the current financial crash. I cannot foresee any financial difficulties ahead. for us, We can pay off immediately the seven billion dollars to the Peking government for the purchase of our territory. We will no longer need to make the payments in several instalments the way we had the planned. It is now all cash on the line. In addition to that we will have at our disposal another four billion dollars within the next six weeks or so, which we will use for our assembly plant inside our domain."Rhodan seemed pleased with AdamsТs report "We have accomplished a lot these past few days," he commented. "There is still a great deal more to be done. We now have the financial means that we so urgently needed. Whatever else we require will be provided through Mr. Adams financial wizardry. Although we canТt count on another bonanza as the last stock market crash, we will find ways to acquire interests in big industrial concerns, with the help of the superior Arkonide machinery, exactly the way we did with Mr. WeissТs and Mr. GilletteТs firms."

"But this is really the least of my worries. It will be months or even years before we can build up an efficient industrial program inside the realm of the Third Power. On the other hand, we are facing burning problems that must be dealt with at once. The Fantan invasion might occur any day now. RegТs most convincing trick film could become the reality of tomorrow. Then, however, the hostile invaders wonТt simply disappear into the waters of the ocean, never to be seen again!"Another immediate problem is our lack of human resources for the Third Power. The Arkonide robots will not be able to provide all the help we must have in the near future. We need collaborators, living beings and not machines, who will watch out for our interests all over the globe. I will issue further instructions in this regard later on in the day. But for the moment, let me say this-whoever brings a new citizen to the domain of the Third Power will have to be one hundred percent sure of his worth and usefulness for us. Considering our limited space, we can accommodate only a limited number of these collaborators in our new state. Since we are forced to make tremendous demands on each. of the new people, we can accept only the cream of the crop of mankind to join here in us endeavours. We must search for persons with new faculties!"

"You mean we must find mutants, positive mutants," commented Bell.

Rhodan replied with a silent nod. He did not speak of the vision that BellТs words had conjured up in his mind. Instead he posed a seemingly unconnected question to Adams. "Say, Adams, what is the cube of 2,369.7?"The short man looked perplexed and then picked up slide rule.

"Not that way!" Interjected Rhodan. "Calculate in your head."

"That will take a little whileЕ"

"Well then, forget it! The result is 13,306,998,429.873. By the way, I am puzzled about one thing you mentioned earlier in our conversation. You talked about our having acquired the majority in the firms of Steel and Concrete, Inc., as well as the Minneapolis Mining Co. But in the beginning you stated that only Mr. Weiss would accept the fifty-one percent clause while Mr. Gillette concluded the bargain with you at only forty-five percent."

"Oh, thatТs quite simple," explained Adams. "We had previously purchased seven percent of the Minneapolis Mining shares on the stock market. Of course, Gillette had no idea of that when he came to me to seal the deal."Perry Rhodan waited until the general laughter had abated before he continued, "Wonderful! Congratulations on your accomplishments! But now let us discuss the details of our next enterprise-roundup of the mutant corps!"



CHAPTER FIVE


Colonel Kaats had sent some alarming news from New York to the Greenland base of Allan D. Mercant, who was overwhelmed with pressing work and had therefore only reluctantly flown to see the colonel. Mercant blew his top when KaatsТs urgent affair turned out to, be nothing but a report of the disappearance of the mutant Anne Sloane. She had been ordered to work in east Asia, where her special telekinetic abilities were needed by the Secret Service of the Western Bloc. Now no trace of her could be found."You make me fly here, almost 3,000 miles to New York, just to tell me that, Kaats?"

"I had to talk with you, Mercant. IsnТt that sufficient? IsnТt a secret agent important enough, if we are dealing with an irreplaceable mutant?"

"You mean to say if that agent happens to work for the inner defence and federal criminal police, Kaats," corrected Mercant angrily. "Let me tell you something, Kaats! Just donТt bother about Anne Sloane for one full month. If she is supposed to find out something for us, then we must allow sufficient time for her to do the job. She might be a para, all right, but she is still very immature and knows little of what itТs all about in this life. I had advised her to proceed cautiously rather than act rashly. After all she is just an amateur at this game. And now, Kaats, I hope you donТt mind if I leave you in a hurry. I am drowning in work at the Greenland base."

"Come on, first have a drink with me!" Kaats insisted amiably. "I canТt let you leave in such a horrible mood."Mercant had his glass of whiskey. "You know, Kaats, the only thing that made my flight to New York worthwhile is the excellent whiskey here. But please, avoid such false alarms in the future! I hate such waste of my precious time!"



Mercant was still angry as his jet descended to land at the airstrip at Umanak Fjord. The most infuriating thing about this whole trip to the United States was his own lack of secrecy. He should never have shared his private opinion about Anne Sloane with Colonel Kaats. Anne was a delicate young girl and totally unfit for secret service work. True enough, he had urged her himself to accept the job, but now he had definitely changed his mind.

In a short while he made his way to the bungalow on which the name of the fictitious firm UMANAK FUR COMPANY could be read in huge letters. It was not an outright lie, for the secret service center really did deal occasionally in fun for more efficient camouflage of its real activities.

Mercant descended in the elevator down to the fifteenth floor. There he transferred to another elevator, since no direct connection existed between ground level and the main quarters, of the secret service, for security reasons. Down below, at a depth of nearly two miles, lay MercantТs realm. The guards at the doors and in the hallways saluted smartly at his approach. Hardly ten persons of all the five hundred people working at the base had been initiated into the secret installations of this underground maze. These ten were the only ones permitted to move freely without presenting their identification papers.Mercant had to cross three rooms before he reached his own office. There he sank with a sigh into a deep armchair and settled down comfortably.

Then he rang for his orderly. Almost immediately Sergeant OТHealy responded to his summons."Anything special happen while I was away, Sergeant?"

"No, sir!"