by Perry Rhodan
There were only a handful of such specialists in Terrania and they embarked immediately on a medical lottery game with the task of checking the effect of the extract from the mud borer's second gland on more than 1,000 enzymes in the human body in a few hours.
Prof. Wild was biting his nails as the analysis was conducted. The entire medical profession was in a state of extreme excitement. More than 1/3 of the physicians were dependent on Liquitiv.
At long last a result was announced. It concerned the extremely rare Lyl enzyme which had been discovered only 20 years earlier. If the substance from the second gland came in contact with one of the Lyl enzymes in the human stomach, the catalyst changed the extract into a narcotic drug whose efficacy was so potent that it caused an incurable addiction and eventually destroyed the nervous system.
If the extract from the second gland of the mud borer failed to come in contact with a Lyl enzyme—inside the human stomach it remained what it was in the first place, a harmless, quick-acting rejuvenation agent.
Prof. Wild held his head with both hands. "Good heavens!" he groaned. "What an infernal cover-up!"
He had every reason to feel distraught. The hope of finding an antitoxin in a few weeks was zero.
• • •
After Perry Rhodan vanished without a trace Reginald Bell took over the command of the Ironduke and the entire warfleet. This burdened him with a double responsibility. The uncertainty of what happened to Rhodan prevented him from acting according to his own best judgment. Of course he was glad not to know for certain that Rhodan was dead. If he had been convinced that Rhodan was no longer alive, he wouldn't have hesitated a second to turn Okul into a flaming sun.
The Ironduke followed the rotation of the planet and remained motionlessly at a high altitude above the island. The U-boats were given orders to converge on the island and to scan the sea continually with their rangefinders. The submarine of the Antis could not have simply vanished. The cargo-spaceship was standing by at the bay, ready to take the U-boats aboard at a moment's notice. This wouldn't take very long since the 20 vessels were concentrated in the vicinity of the island. This was all he could do at the moment.
The sun went down below the horizon and a long night began. Bell kept tossing around on his bed, unable to sleep. The fear for the fate of his friend was foremost in his mind. He had to admit that he had never been in such a hopeless predicament. Whatever the Antis or Cardif demanded he would have to comply with their conditions in order to save Rhodan's life.
If they would only get in touch with him! But the night passed in endless waiting until the dawn of the next day finally arrived.
Bell took a cold shower, dressed and rushed without breakfast into the Command Center where Deringhouse waited for him. "Nothing?"
The general shook his head. "Nothing!"
Bell was assailed by a terrible anxiety. He glanced at the dials of the control panels as if he could find the answer there. The door to the radio room was kept open. All transceivers were attuned to reception. The rangefinders were operating without interruption. The routine reports of the waiting fleet and U-boats came in and were answered.
The tension became unbearable.
"If I only knew what we can do..."
Deringhouse tried to be optimistic. "They can't hide forever," he murmured lamely. "They've got to come out from their hiding place some time and then..."
"And then... what? If Rhodan is in their power we will have to consent to their unhindered retreat. I don't know..."
"Sir!" It was the voice of the radio officer. He sounded excited and urgent.
Bell dashed into the radio room. "What's up?"
"Radio signals, sir! From here!" He pointed to a map on his table. "We don't have the coordinates from the rangefinder yet. All I know as yet is the direction."
The finger of the radio officer was on a point 2,000 kilometers away from the island.
"What kind of a radio signal was it?" Bell asked impatiently. "Perhaps it came from one of our ships
"It was from Rhodan, sir."
Bell gasped for air. "What—?!"
"Morse, sir! Only a Terran knows Morse signals!"
This drove Bell almost into a frenzy. Deringhouse had come in and they both listened to the message: "... am in fortress. Located exactly 2,000 kilometers west of transmitter in a mountain 1000 meters below zero. Sender is remote-controlled, destruction useless. Am free but cannot leave fortress. Try to rescue me but..."
The signals broke off.
"Is this another trap?"
Deringhouse shook his head. "Who except Rhodan speaks English and knows Morse signals? Well, Cardif perhaps. But what sense would it make if he would betray the location of the well-concealed fortress? No, it must have been Rhodan!"
Bell turned to the radio officer. "Where is the transmitter located?"
"It is the same one the Antis used to make the first contact with us. Here, 4,000 meters below the surface of the ocean." He pointed to a mark on the map.
Bell took a ruler and put it on the map: 2,000 kilometers west of the mark was out in the open sea. He concluded an underwater mountain containing the fortress at a depth of 1,000 meters must be located at the spot. "Thank you," he said and went back to the Command Center, followed by Deringhouse. "Order the withdrawal of 200 units from the blockade and deploy it around the undersea mountain. We want to seal it off. I will give the same instructions to the U-boats and advise them of the positions they must take up. Take care of it at once, Deringhouse; each second counts."
The orders were quickly carried out. Less than half an hour after receiving the radio instructions 200 spaceships had surrounded the fortress. Although the spaceships could not move as fast in the water as in a vacuum, they manoeuvred very safely in this medium as well. In case of an attack they would be unable to use their ray-cannons but could respond with atomic torpedoes. The location of the fortress was not precisely known but the mountain was not very long. It rose like a cone with several peaks to a height of 3,000 meters from the bottom of the ocean. Wherever the fortress was located, nobody could escape now without being noticed. And if somebody managed to slip away nevertheless, there were more than 4,000 other units of the Terran warfleet waiting to intercept the fugitives and destroy them.
The Antis were trapped but what was the matter with Rhodan?
• • •
3 hours crept by with agonizing slowness. They failed to receive another call and the uncertainty whether Rhodan's escape had finally succeeded or if he had been captured again was still unrelieved. The former seemed highly unlikely because he would have been detected. No man could leave the fortress if it was in the mountain.
The waiting grew unbearable. The Ironduke hovered directly above the undersea mountain at an altitude of only two kilometers. The contours of the massif were already charted on the map since the U-boats that were in close proximity had quickly performed the necessary measurements.
Furthermore, submarine U-35 made an interesting discovery. Sir John Rengall had noticed something unusual when Capt. Torsin steered close to the overhang. Both men thought that the wall was remarkably smooth.
"Look there, Captain... the entrance!"
Torsin remained skeptical. "It could be an accident of nature. Such smooth walls of stone sometimes occur in the ocean. The water washes the rock and smoothens it..."
"Down here at a depth of 1,000 meters? Did you notice any currents?"
Torsin gave no answer. He steered the submarine closer to inspect the area in question. It was clearly visible on the observation screen, including the fine seam extending from top to bottom at the center of the smooth face. No, this was no accident. "I'll report it to the Ironduke," Torsin said, motioning the waiting radio operator. "Coded!"
Rengall gazed fascinated at the entrance to the fortress. The last doubts he might have had vanished. They had found the entrance to the fortress and he was eager to put on his diving suit to swim to the gate. He had to restrain himse
lf since he was not allowed to do it without Reginald Bell's permission, which was not forthcoming.
Bell slumped into his chair just when something unforeseen happened. The Ironduke received a strong signal from a transmitter and a message to turn on the visual reception. The radio officer complied and switched through to the Command Center.
Rhodan's face appeared on the screen lighting up before Bell's eyes. And what a face it was!
His hair was clotted with blood and wet from sweat. Blood from a fresh scar on the right side of his forehead ran down his cheek and disappeared in the collar of his uniform. Deep furrows on his face showed the effect of the torment he must have suffered. Yet his grey eyes flashed triumphantly as he exclaimed: "Reggie... is it you? Let me see you!" The radio operator turned on the camera and Rhodan seemed to breathe easier. "How good it is to see your face again, old buddy! They nearly fixed me up for good."
"Where are you, Perry? In the fortress? We have found the entrance gate!"
Rhodan smiled wryly. "So you have found the gate? Excellent! But at the moment it doesn't help me much. Yes, I am in the fortress but I'm not free." He stepped aside to make room for a bearded man who came into view. "This is Rhobal, the High Priest of the Baalol. I am his and Cardif's prisoner. During my last attempt to flee from here Cardif was severely injured and it is not yet certain that he will pull through I got away with a few minor scratches as you can see."
Bell scrutinized the face of Rhobal, who stood next to Rhodan and held a heavy impulse-beamer in his hand. "Why do they let you talk with me?"
"I have to submit a proposition to you in the name of the Baalol," Rhodan said in a strained voice. "You won't have any other choice than to accept it if you want to save my life. Cardif needs the care of the Aras for a chance to survive. They are willing to trade me for Cardif. If we let them leave unmolested, they will set me free."
Bell remained suspicious. "You are under duress to make this deal. It's useless."
Rhodan smiled with unaccustomed coldness. "Do you believe they can force me to do something that would harm Terra? I would rather die. No, you can be sure, Reggie, that this is one time I agree with the opinion of the Antis. We have no alternative. Please put a spaceship at their disposal and have it land on Okul. Then exactly 250 Antis and the injured Cardif will leave the fortress. As long as you don't prevent them from taking off in the ship, my life will be safe. I am going to stay behind in the fortress and keep in touch with you by radio-vision.
Bell's eyes lit up but Rhodan shook his head. "Forget those hasty ideas, my pal! Naturally Cardif's men have taken precautionary measures to keep you from attacking the Antis and freeing me at the same time. I will be locked up inside the radio room—together with a bomb which can be ignited by remote control at anytime. Rhobal will have the impulse trigger. Only after the Antis and Cardif get away safely will you be allowed to enter here."
Bell was amazingly stubborn. "And who will guarantee me that the Antis won't blow you up as soon as they are ready to perform a transition?" He shook his head. "I don't like this deal. We must have some safeguard too."
Rhobal, the Baalol priest, pushed Rhodan away and said: "You don't have a choice, Terran! Nonetheless I will offer you a compromise. I will permit two of your ships to escort us. We intend to go into the transition at the perimeter of the solar system and you can keep us from leaving if we don't eject the impulse sender from our ship into space where you can pick it up. Moreover, by that time your men will have invaded the fortress and liberated Rhodan. You can trust me that I will keep my end of our agreement."
Rhodan nodded. "You may take his word for it this time, Reggie. Nothing is going to happen to me." He winked an eye at Bell so that the Anti could not see it. "I will be glad to get back aboard the Ironduke."
"What about the Liquitiv?"
"They will let us take over the stock from three warehouses."
Bell looked at Deringhouse. "Send out a couple of cruisers to intercept a spaceship of the Springers. Instruct them to land on the island so they can take the Antis aboard." He turned back to Rhodan. "Alright, Perry, we'll be there in a few hours. But heaven help the Antis if they are trying to pull a fast one!"
Rhodan laughed and wiped the blood from his face. "You may rest assured, Reggie, that this is not one of Cardif's tricks. I have cured him of double-crossing me once and for all. He's through with all his deceitful schemes."
Rhobal stuck the barrel of his weapon into Rhodan's side and shoved him away from the camera, addressing Bell. "We are going to lock Rhodan up now and set the bomb. You may keep in constant touch with him. In the meantime I want you to withdraw your blockade so that we can use our submarine to proceed to the island. No rough stuff! I'll be keeping my finger on the impulse trigger. One false move from you and Perry Rhodan is no more! Is that clear?"
Bell nodded, gnashing his teeth. As Deringhouse gave instructions to round up a spaceship of the Springers, Bell watched on the picture screen how a small bomb in the shape of a box was put into a cabinet. Rhobal locked it up and took the key. Then he waved to Rhodan and left the room.
Rhodan commented: "He locked the door but it won't be hard to open it from outside."
"Are you sure they can't hear us now?" Bell asked in a hopeful tone.
"Quite sure—unless they go to the trouble of watching the transceiver. But I think they've got more important things to do now. Why? What were you going to say?"
Bell was nervous. "Teleporters! As soon as the Antis are gone on the submarine, the teleporters will come to get you. Then we can sink the submarine before they can reach the island and..."
"Stop it!" Rhodan said in a sharp voice, startling Bell. "Are you crazy? To begin with, the fortress is shielded by an energy field which cannot be penetrated even by teleporters. Secondly, I have no intention of breaking our agreement with the Antis: I don't want them to consider me a traitor. Thirdly, the risk is too great. So then—no rash actions. I must insist! Have you got that?"
Bell pulled himself together. "Sure, Perry. I had the feeling they had treated you so roughly that you are overly cautious. I'll give orders to relinquish the blockade of the exit and to permit the safe passage of the Antis' submarine. But if you come to grief—!"
"I told you that nothing will happen to me. Believe me, in a few hours I will join you safely aboard the Ironduke!"
• • •
As a gland and hormone specialist, Prof. Wild knew from experience that a drug to counteract the addiction of Liquitiv could not be developed from one day to the next.
This fact was emphasized again at the conference he had convoked. Discussing the excretion of the second gland in the proboscis of the mud borer, they had strayed from the subject and put the question: Can we be criticized for having failed to recognize the seriousness of our duty to control our research of Liquitiv?
The medical scientists did not spare themselves nor their colleagues from hard accusations which were voiced bluntly or implicitly, until Prof. Wild asked to speak. He got up with a red face and his voice suddenly became loud and strong. "Gentlemen! Must I remind you that the Liquitiv drug we have tested for two years in the most distinguished laboratories on Earth was merely the secretion of the first gland we detected in the proboscis of the mud borer. This drug is the best and fastest-acting rejuvenation agent we know today although it loses its efficiency after 12 years. Only after the Health and Drug Control Office of Terrania authorized the sale of Liquitiv did the Antis add the drug from the excretion of the second gland and simultaneously reduce the amount of the original substance. It was impossible to detect the difference because both secretions are chemically equivalent. Nor did we have reason to be suspicious because the alteration of the components produced at first the same rejuvenation and the addiction occurred, according to our investigations, only after consuming Liquitiv five or six times. However by that time everybody drank so much Liquitiv that the addiction remained hidden and undiagnosed. We have not even noticed it on our own b
odies although we should have been able to observe it firsthand. But the fact that Liquitiv made us younger prevented us from realizing that it was an insidious narcotic drug. The thought never occurred to us and we lived a lie that all we craved was eternal youth! And now I would like you to give it some thought what to report to Perry Rhodan. I suggest we hold back any report until we can announce that we have prepared the formula for an anti-toxin. I urge you to coordinate our efforts so we can achieve our goal as quickly as possible. I can only express my fervent hope that we will succeed before it is too late!"
The conference voted to adopt his proposal not to submit an interim report to Perry Rhodan and the desperate search for a cure of the addiction was continued and intensified.
• • •
The observation screen of the Ironduke registered the outlines of the Antis' submarine and the rangefinders monitored its course. Bell was seated so that he could simultaneously watch the observation screen and Rhodan. In the meantime Deringhouse was informed by radio that a ship of the Springers had been approached and requested to change its course to Okul where it was expected to land without delay.
The ship of the Springers soon rematerialized in the outer reaches of the stellar system. It slowed down and finally landed, guided by directions over radio, at the bank of a river which flowed into the ocean not far from the bluff where Rhodan had met his unhappy fate. The submarine of the Antis navigated upstream until it reached a convenient place to anchor.
As the spaceship landed, Rhobal got once more on the videophone of the Ironduke. "You have kept your end of the bargain," he praised Bell sarcastically. "After we have boarded the spaceship you may go to the fortress."
