"Perry Rhodan 031 - Robot Threat- New York in Atlan" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

The infantry concealed in the houses opened fire with their impulse rayguns, blazing thermal energy, the only threat there was to the artificial beings.
Part of the attackers marched on undaunted; only a few of the giants toppled over or disintegrated. Most of them automatically surrounded themselves with the protective screens fed by their own little miniature atomic power plants. The outer robots fanned out, moving towards the houses as quickly as their awkward gait permitted.
"You stick with the enemy, Captain," Bell suddenly said to Klein, "but clear me a line to the Air Force."
His words did not surprise anyone. Because of the alert released by the P-computer, everyone knew where to go and whose command to follow. As official Security Minister of the New Power, Reginald Bell had automatically assumed top command, a fact that was not changed by Rhodan's presence.
Col. Friedrichs reported on viewcom. "Sir!"
"Your report, Colonel!" Bell requested.
"Fighter squad started as planned. One-man fighters assuming security of national territory. Three-man destroyers patrolling up to moon orbit. Within the closed energy dome only helicopter engagement possible. Twenty-five units just started, flying towards the three robot spearheads. Which weapons do you recommend, sir?"
"Bombs are ruled out! We don't intend to reduce our own city to ashes. Use helicopter weapons, direct aim, Colonel! Take impulse rayguns! They are most effective against robots."
"Right, sir!"
The connection was broken and interest again turned to the observation screen. Things did not look so good for the city, at least what lay within the energy dome 10 meters in diameter, the most significant centre of Terrania.
The screen showed bursting walls, 5 and 6 storey houses collapsing like wooden huts on the streets through which the robots were advancing. These war machines could think independently and they had at their disposal the most formidable weapons a soldier on Earth had ever carried.
When they received fire from the infantry, their perfect position finders immediately located the foe. The mass of soldiers, however, were not equipped with individual protective screens. They did not have a chance.
Loudspeakers announced that tank support was on its way. They hurried back. Everywhere isolated figures emerged from cover and dashed away. The ray weapons of the robots had good targets again. The reaction ability of robots lay far above the human. Their nervous system was less complicated than a biological being but nonetheless in some respects it was more utilitarian. For man and animal the nervous system is a warning system spawned by the instinct of self-preservation. This necessity was almost non-existent for the robots. Their specialty was attack and destruction.
The first robot law, 'You may not kill a human being!' was quite flexible. It could be interpreted to mean 'You may not shoot at people who are friends or allies!' The minute a living being was declared to be an enemy, all scruples ceased. And the changes undertaken by the Traders resulted in the robots considering all people as their enemies.
The humans became more cautious, availing themselves of any shelter. Their faces were covered with sweat and dirt as they arrived in the reception centres.
Officers checked them in. Short shock massages. Energy tablets. New weapons. A few tanks were rolling up again. New ones were being manned. And solitary fighters that had escaped the hell outside continued to return.
"Where the devil are those helicopters!" Bell cried.
"They're coming!" Rhodan said in a harsh tone.
The head of the middle robot column melted under the flashing impulse rays. Eight combat machines were annihilated. Then something peculiar happened.
The robots were crowding up close together in groups of six, seeking some sort of contact. The observers at once realized that they had found it. They were mutually recharging their protective screens. Their six-fold strength could not be penetrated by the impulse rays of middle weight weapons aboard the helicopter.
One could be proud of those fellows' intelligence, thought Rhodan, if they were only fighting on the right side.
The moment the helicopter attack wave was over, they disengaged the groups of six and turned to renewed attack.
"We won't stop them this way," Bell groaned. "Why aren't there any mutants in this battle?"
"There are," Rhodan said oracle-like, since Bell's question had been purely rhetorical. They all knew that the guidelines they had received from the P-computer for this alert had advised against the engagement of mutants, at least not before it became necessary to put all their eggs in one basket. A principal regulation required the shielding of mutants if there was a 90% probability of their destruction.
"We have a teleporter, a telekineticist, a telepath, a seer, a tracker and a suggestor at our service," Bell listed. "Tako can only affect himself, Anne would be good if she weren't too precious, Ishy can't find out anything from machines. Wuriu and Tanaka are of just as little help to us. Kitai hasn't had any success with machines, either. What good are they then?"
"I want to volunteer," said Anne Sloane, the delicate blond. "Using telekinetics I have moved objects weighing tons..."
"But not in the midst of battle," Rhodan contradicted. "There's no point to it, Anne, pitting yourself against these giants. You would be able to stop them and even force them back for a little while-but it wouldn't take long until you would get it. You're no match for their superior strength."
"I can whirl them in the air and let them fall to the ground. They would break into pieces."
"Not another word out of you," Rhodan refused. "We have other things in reserve. Tako, come here a moment!"
Rhodan spoke softly with the teleporter so no one could understand him other than Ishu Matsu, perhaps, who was a good telepath...
Tako's face was suddenly beaming and he nodded vehemently. "OK, sir! I'll be back as quickly as possible." Then he disappeared from the room.
No one dared to question Rhodan. When he was being secretive he stuck with it and would reveal nothing.
The screen presented a radically changed scene. The advance of the robots had been temporarily stemmed on all three streets. But only temporarily!
The tanks had managed what Anne Sloane had intended to accomplish with her natural powers. Using anti-gravitation ray devices the defenders had created gravity-free fields within a small radius. Some of the robots had begun to float and shoot up into the air. When they passed the effective radius of the antigrav, they plunged to the ground. Very few of them survived the crash.
Bell took stock and found that thus far almost 50 robots had been destroyed. Still there were over a thousand more marching towards their target: towards the controls of the energy screen, the positronicomputer in the Gobi.
"If a miracle doesn't occur, at least 800 robots will survive," Bell declared. "We have to deal a decisive blow..."
"The centre containing the most important installations is particularly heavily guarded. Besides, the building housing the positronicon has its own screen," Manoli stated.
"Thank you for the lesson," Bell said sarcastically. "I still can't share your optimism. We have all seen that the robots can build up a reinforced defence by contact closure. I bet those guys still have a few surprises on tap. And if those surprises are part of their attack strategy, there is no reason for even the slightest optimism."
The robots had introduced a new manoeuvre. The introduction of antigrav devices had retarded their advance. At critical moments of tank shelling they crept forward. As long as they did not push off from the ground, they remained fairly near to it. Some of them even tried to exploit the opportunity by hurtling themselves forward, achieving speeds for which they had not been constructed.
Three combat machines lunged forward in this manner and with surprising swiftness landed between the flanks of four tanks. The heavy vehicles were instantly victims of the attacker.
Total loss.
The next move further thwarted the attack. The spearheads divided, then continued their advance in 6, 8, 12 columns.
This forced the humans to lose precious time spending reinforcements into several new blocks before they could resume the attack. The robots thus gained over 1000 meters headway in a short period.
"What the devil! Why are you acting so mysterious, Perry?" Bell exploded. "You must explain to me what your scheme is with Tako! After all, I am Minister of Defence!"
All eyes automatically turned to Rhodan. His grim expression did not display the confidence he had still radiated only a few minutes earlier.
"Hey, Perry. Something wrong?"
"They are encircling block J-D 3. And the man I sent Tako to lives there."
They did not all know whom Rhodan meant. Block J-D 3 was large, containing more than 200 apartments.

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