by Perry Rhodan
Ron brought the monster to a halt. It towered over the clearing and cast a mighty shadow as it turned its head as though searching the area. The blasting voice broadcast its challenge: "Where is this false god? Let him come out and show me what he can do! Then I will decide if mercy is to be shown!"
Ron had a sense of uneasiness behind the soundproof walls of his cubicle as he heard the muffled rumbling of the tape recorder's amplified output. These lofty utterances of the ersatz god had been pronounced back on Earth and each tape strip had been carefully labeled. But under present conditions they couldn't understand what the great voice was thundering out, not even Lofty. Ron wondered what would happen if Larry accidentally used the wrong tape and had the god blat out something that didn't fit the situation at all. Ron had thought it would have been better to wait until a translator machine could be converted for direct use, allowing one of them to speak directly through it and the amplifying system. In that way there would be no chance of making a goof. But Nike Quinto had been cutting comers to save time and he was still the boss.
Ron was determined to put an end to this obnoxious game of superstitious folderol. He activated the super-god again and had it march toward the temple wall while it was still bellowing out its challenge, exhorting the impostor to give an account of himself. This wall was no particular obstacle. The monster crashed against it the first time and it cracked. The glass logs leaned sideways or fell to the ground. Under the impact of a second assault the entire wall came thundering down. A great pall of dust arose from the dry earth and in its midst any chance observer might have seen the shaggy, frog-faced beast angrily trampling the remains of the structure into ruins.
It made an impressive scene. Thundering maledictions, the synthetic monstrosity raged about, guided by the three humans inside, and trampled the ruins of a sanctuary which had been under preparation for worshipping another synthetic creation. But Ron paid little attention to the scene of the destruction; he was more interested in the rim of the forest and finally he detected a shadowy movement at the northern edge of the clearing.
His range of sight was not limited to the movements of the giant frog-head. While the robot monster swayed its head here and there, he was still able to concentrate entirely on the suspicious area of the woods that had caught his attention. In the shimmering light shadows between the glass trees he could make out two very tall, thin humanoid figures. They were busy setting up several pieces of equipment which had the appearance of old-fashioned cannons. Or at least that's what the stocky, squat tubes seemed to be that protruded from the underbrush into the clearing. But Ron was more interested in the operators than in the equipment. He could only catch brief glimpses of them but it was enough to convince him that these two were Aras—members of the race of Galactic Medicos, as they were called. So now they were coming into the fray themselves to defend their test tube Messiah.
Ron caused one of the monster arms to raise up toward them and he took careful aim. The two Aras seemed to have finished their preparations and now they huddled down behind their weapons but Ron's blinding, hissing thermo shot struck straight between them. The air in the impact area was only heated for the fraction of a second but the intensity was enough to make it expand like an explosion. He saw the long thin figures fly into the air and hurtle to either side of their bivouac where they lay motionless on the ground. One of the cannon devices whirled right up into the branches overhead and then crashed to the earth again. The strange weapons were capsized and for a second Ron thought he saw a greenish thread of smoke come out of their muzzles. But he disregarded them and made the frog-bear giant press into the forest on the trail of the Aras, in a search for where they had come from.
Within a few minutes he reached another clearing which was smaller. At his first glance he recognized the loose mound of earth on the farther side of the place and the dark hole that yawned in the middle of the earth pile. For just a fraction of a second he saw a glint of reflection from shaggy fur but immediately it disappeared. It was all he needed so he fired a second time. In the same instant an enraged cry of pain rang out in the forest.
The smaller god scurried out of its hiding place and stood ready for battle. Its furry hide revealed a black burned spot where the giant bear's fire beam had grazed it and the creature stood there uncertainly on its two hind legs. However it swung its hammer and unleashed its lightning.
Ron didn't hesitate for long. He swung the great god's arm until it pointed directly at the smaller beast's midsection. Then he fired and saw the heavy bolt of energy tear the smaller god asunder.
The way into the ground was clear. The tunnel was not so large that it could be negotiated easily by the larger monster. However, the mechanical creation was equipped with many flexible joints. It could bend down low and with brilliant searchlights beaming out of its giant eyes it was able to illuminate the dark passage.
The shaft led steeply into the depths. The Evergreens had been using it for the purposes of serving their false god so it was high enough so that the new god could move through it without too much trouble. Farther below burned a feeble red light which could be seen when the giant eyes shut off their blinding light. The huge figure marched downward toward the other flickering light source.
At this time Ron Landry picked up a message from Maj. Bushnell: "Everything is secured! We have captured the base. 130 Springers have been captured. They surrendered without a struggle when they realized what they were up against—and we've got their ships under control."
Then Ron accelerated the pace of the giant because he knew now that the only opponents left were the Aras. The red torchlight burned in front of a large door that had been fashioned out of shimmering wood from the glass forest. The monster god shattered it with a single thundering kick. Beyond it a larger chamber widened out which was filled with a greenish glowing gas. The Colossus paid no attention to this and pressed onward into a farther passage. But here the way was suddenly blocked by brilliant lightning and the towering figure received such a powerful blow that it was almost catapulted back into the cavern. But in the next instant it hurled its own lightning, which went hissing through the passageway. There was a sound of wild, painful howling which soon faded away. The false beast moved onward and finally discovered its victims lying on the ground. Here were the bodies of three additional godlings which had been the final reserve supply of the Aras' bio-creations. Here also were the dead bodies of four Aras who had been forced to take up their final stand here, although they could just as well have come out into the open.
This appeared to be the last obstacle to be confronted. The passage ended in front of another plank door and when he shattered it with another mighty kick Ron finally saw what he was looking for: a giant, lighted cavern where thousands of humans lay apathetically on the floor, awaiting their ghastly fate. And this was worse than being offered up to a false god. They had passed through that experience and now they would have been taken to the dissecting tables of the Aras if they had not been rescued at the last moment.
The towering god-figure spoke to them in its thundering voice, but this time in human language: "You are free, Terrans! Get onto your feet and get out of here! The false god is dead!"
• • •
Nike Quinto rubbed his hands. Nobody had ever seen him in such a good mood. "So everything's been taken care of to our satisfaction, right?" he said, fairly chuckling in his success. "By comparison to what we had feared at first, the price tag has been fairly small. The Evergreen uprising cost us the lives of 315 Terrans, all told. Of those, 302 were killed by the Evergreens and 13 died in the Ara experiments. Incidentally, does anybody know what they were trying to do?"
Ron Landry shook his head. "No sir. In any case they were trying to launch a major experiment of some kind. They had used the false god situation to collect 10,000 Terrans for it."
Nike Quinto nodded. "You're right so far. OK, that's fine. We've located their subterranean laboratory and captured two remaining Aras. If w
e put them through the wringer right they'll probably be willing enough to tell us the truth about it all. At any rate the super-god we sent to the Evergreens seems to have straightened them out. They'll never again buy the sales pitch from any impostor that the road to salvation is to fight against the Terrans."
Ron Landry smiled. He glanced at Larry and Lofty, who were sitting next to him, and then he turned back to Nike Quinto. "To be frank with you, sir, we didn't hold out much hope for the success of your... ah... somewhat wild idea. We'd like to compliment you on your foresight and planning, which apparently worked out better than we thought it would."
Quinto's face reddened. He swallowed hard as if he found it hard to speak. "What are you trying to do now—build up my blood pressure again? Wild idea, indeed! If any blonk on an undeveloped world takes a small jalopy for a god, then logically he's going to think a truck is a greater god. That's all the brains it takes. As for any deeper perception or foresight—bunk! But naturally I can see farther ahead than you can. Otherwise you'd be a colonel sitting here and I'd be a mere major sitting where you are! So lay off the wisecracks because I can already feel my blood roaring." He groaned and put a hand to his heart. "One of these days you'll put me in my grave, Landry, and you too, Randall. Not to mention our new man for the Passa post. Yes, I mean you! Don't give me such a dumb look or I might regret I made the assignment!"
Lofty shifted uncomfortably in his chair. He wasn't yet accustomed to take Quinto's bantering the way it was supposed to be taken.
"So what happens to the Springers?" asked Ron, attempting to change the subject.
"What do you mean?" snapped Quinto critically. "They'll be given a regular court trial, same as the two Aras we captured. I don't doubt that they'll give the scarbs at least 20 years hard labor. We're going to make sure the verdict and sentence will be advertised throughout the galaxy. Maybe then the Springers will think twice before they ever try such a stunt again."
Still pondering, Ron asked another question. "But they must have been playing for heavy stakes in this operation, wouldn't you say? Otherwise they wouldn't have gone all out like they did."
Nike Quinto had regained his composure by now and he smiled easily. "Oh yes, I believe you could say that. And it wasn't just one goal they had in mind. Of course from the start of the whole thing they were just concerned with getting hold of the Passa pelt business. But in figuring out how best to go about it they pulled the Aras into the situation, offering them a slice of the pie. Probably the Aras promised to help them under the condition that the Passa affair could be used to further their researches... for example, 10,000 Terrans for guinea pigs.
"Then they landed a mixed patrol on Passa and had a look around. It was then also that they may have discovered what the Evergreen skins were really good for and suddenly the Ara-Springer deal took on a new aspect. After that they were willing to go all out for the business itself and if necessary they were prepared to wage a local war on the planet. Because as soon as they got hold of the first dozen serpent skins they would have a unique weapon for which there was no counter-defense in the galaxy... at least not at that time."
Ron perked up his ears. "Serpent skins—a weapon?" he asked, bewildered.
Quinto nodded calmly. "I thought maybe you'd come to that conclusion a bit sooner," he said.
Then he pulled out a drawer of his desk and took out a glass ampoule. He held it up against the light and Ron could see that it was filled with a greenish iridescent gas. The color of the gas reminded him of something but for the moment he didn't know what it was.
"Our scientists call this stuff avertidin. They know the effect it has on the human nervous system. The Aras blew it into the underground areas that you two investigated with Patterson. They were also able to pass it through the glider's defense screen when Capt. Randall was standing watch there. The gas is terrifically active. It can diffuse itself through a screen with unbelievable speed. Anybody breathing it is gripped by an irresistible rage. He runs amuck against anything or anybody that's handy. This was probably the riddle the Aras were trying to solve on Passa. They wanted to find out how to control the effects of the gas so that it would cause rage and anger to be directed at specific people or objects. That's what we think they were after, anyway. We'll know the answer after we've questioned the Aras and taken a closer look at their laboratory on Passa."
Quinto looked thoughtfully at Ron. "But in this regard the Aras were faster than our own scientists," he continued. "They got wind of the possibilities even during the first native uprising." He swung the ampoule back and forth. "At any rate, this sample here was produced in our own labs."
Ron Landry suddenly paled. "Glord!" he stammered. "If..."
"If your super-god had not been hermetically sealed, you were about to say?" smiled Quinto. "Yes, my dear fellow, in that case you might have blown your cork right there in your cubicles. As I gather, the Aras had filled the entire approach passage with the gas."
Ron shook his head hastily. "I don't mean that, sir," he blurted out. "But the prisoners... the 10,000 of them that we found in the main cavern... if they hadn't been too weak to get up immediately and run out of there, the gas vapors would have still been in the passage when they came through There would have been a massacre!"
Nike Quinto nodded, this time quite seriously. "Yes, that's right. The fact it didn't happen is due to no action on our part. But nevertheless, you know, here in Division 3 we have to count luck as one of our allies, my lad." He stood up while lifting the ampoule up to the light for the last time. "And by the way, I forgot to tell you something," he said. "The most vital ingredient of avertidin is extracted from the Passa pelts. That's why all the commotion."
• • •
But the giant god had been immobilized by now and was on its way home to Terra. The living idol had taught the Passan aborigines respect for Terrans and that was all it'd been intended for. Its task was at an end.
In the tri-colored twilight hour the drums of the Evergreens were ringing through the fastness of the glass forest and the serpent people were chanting:
Praised be thy name forever, O thou Almighty One! Eternally grateful are thy children whom thou hast protected against the greatest of evils and whom thou hast saved from the false god. We serve thee always, O thou Just, O thou Ayaa-Oooy...!
THE IDOL FROM PASSA
Copyright © 1976 Ace Books
An Ace Book
by arrangement with Arthur Moewig Verlag
All Rights Reserved.
THE SHIP OF THINGS TO COME
ATLAN TELLS US:
Before I could ponder the pros and cons of the new situation the Akon ship was gripped by a terrible force. Before my eyes the others in the room began to blur. My vision was obliterated in a burst of crimson pyrotechnics. And then there was nothing.
My last thought was that this was the most violent dematerialization I had ever experienced. The Akon Central Station transmitter must have generated an incredible burst of power to be able to dematerialize the considerable mass of the spaceship and take it over in the form of extra-dimensional pulses.
• • •
YOUR pulses will race as you enter—
THE BLUE SYSTEM
by K.H. Scheer
