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

"You shot him dead-you did not strike him dead!"

"How old is his head wound, Doctor?"

"Approximately half an hour."

"But half an hour ago Captain Zimmerman was still outside the base flying on patrol. There are plenty of witnesses for that."

"I canТt understand all this," the doctor said. "DidnТt Zimmerman show any signs of weakness? No, all signs point to it that the blow to his head was fatal. He was killed when something or someone struck him on the skull."

"You must be mistaken. Zimmerman was very much alive when he came to my office. But be that as it may, I am very much intrigued by your diagnosis. I would be interested in finding out how and where the captain was killed for the first time and how he managed to live on despite his fatal wound. LetТs inspect his airplane. Would you please accompany me upstairs to the airfield!"The machine was a four seater, so Mercant, Curtis and Cretcher could sit down in it without being cramped.

"Here is the pilotТs seat," said the chief, and sat down in it. "The captain claimed that he had encountered some turbulence and had descended rapidly when he hit an air pocket. This caused excessive acceleration, which snapped his head backward. Now, gentlemen, could you explain to me where he might have hit his head?"The answer was obvious. Zimmerman had lied. Seat number three had been behind. him. He would have had to stand up to hit his bead against the cabin ceiling.

"Besides, we should see some bloodstains on the ceiling," said Cretcher.

Mercant inquired from the officer on duty, "Which plane did Captain Zimmerman fly today on his patrol mission?"

"This one, sir."

"Thank you." Then Mercant addressed his two companions. Make yourselves comfortable in your seats, gentlemen. We will retrace Captain ZimmermanТs patrol fight"Mercant started the engine and flew along the coastline in a northerly direction.

"Captain Zimmerman acted rather unusual during his mission," remarked the chief. "When I ordered him to return to base he spoke of some strange discovery he had just made. He wanted to investigate it still further. Then he did not reply for quite some time and then claimed to have lost consciousness for a while. The whole affair must have occurred north of Proeven."

Mercant descended to 2,500 feet after having flown over Proeven. He asked his companions to participate in optical observation of the terrain.

The weather was clear, and there was no wind. If Zimmerman had noticed something, then it must still be visible barely an hour later. Cretcher called out suddenly, "Down there! Do you see it? There are some landing tracks Е that must have been made by ZimmermanТs machine Е and then next to them this round spot! What on Earth can that be?"Mercant turned around and flew once more over the site. He descended to 300 feet. They could clearly distinguish now that the round spot was really a hemisphere something like an igloo but completely black. They could recognize the landing tracks very distinctly. There was no doubt that ZimmermanТs plane had made them.They landed close to the black "igloo." Mercant stepped out and reached it first. He touched it. "Odd! ItТs made of metal. Who would construct such a funny looking thing in the middle of nowhere here in the Arctic? And it doesnТt even have any entrance or windows. I canТt find any welded seams, either. What do you think of that Cretcher?"

"It looks like nothing I have ever encountered. Almost unearthly!"

Mercant knocked on the unknown material that he had called metal. There was a hollow sound.

Mercant knocked on it once more.

"Step back, gentlemen! I canТt locate any door or any other opening, but we will get inside it somehow. I want to know for sure what we are dealing with."The men stepped back and opened a concentrated barrage on the igloo with their machine guns. But the bullets could not even dent the metal of the strange structure.

"Wait a-moment. IТll get some explosives from the plane."Their efforts were crowned with success. The force of the explosion lifted the hemisphere up, which caused it to topple over. Underneath it they saw a small crater that the detonation had hollowed out in the snow Е and a torn body. This body was naked and hairy but of an undefined nature. Curtis picked up a limb that might have been an arm but unlike any arm they had ever seen on any living being on Earth."Six joints," murmured Dr. Curtis with fascination. "This creature must have come from another world. Unfortunately it, is dead, and we cannot reconstruct its original shape. But it is certain that this is what Captain Zimmerman encountered when he landed here on his patrol flight. What are you going to do now, sir?"

"Just gather up all the pieces, and well take them along with us. IТm afraid that Rhodan doesnТt know anything of this monster! He will be interested in it all the more. I have an idea that this is the start of the invasion that has frightened mankind for days and weeks with nightmarish dreams!"



CHAPTER SIX


Nagasaki, Japan.

More than 40,000 spectators had gathered at the Kashiri stadium to watch the final game of the Japanese Football League. The air was oppressive and filled with the tense mood of the crowd, eagerly awaiting the outcome of the game.

Two men were sitting in Section F of the huge arena. In their pockets was hidden some complicated machinery. Although they were separated by more than 150 feet, the two remained in constant communication with each other. The brainwave location finders functioned smoothly and almost noiselessly. The instruments slight hum was completely drowned out by 40,000 roaring voices.