by Perry Rhodan
He raised his head and stared at the observation screen. The landing field in the proximity of the Ganymede was flat without exposed contours of any sort. And yet there had to be some powerful projectors below the ground capable of producing the unbelievable amount of energy required for the forces retaining his ship.
What next? Deploy his weapons? Bombard the landing field till all projectors were destroyed? No, he had other options still open to him. Rhodan's dismay diminished at the same rate as a new plan took shape in his mind.
• • •
Night fell over Naat.
A horrendous storm had been the first indication that the day was nearing its end. Wind velocities up to 250 miles per hour were pouring eerily in the outside microphones. Nightfall was also accompanied by a drop of temperature to minus 100°.
The nocturnal darkness was made complete by an impenetrable dust layer carried along by the storm. Otherwise, Rhodan thought, night time in this corner of the galaxy would be as bright as a Swedish midsummer night - due to the enormous density and brightness of the stars.
Rhodan had thoroughly prepared his next mission. He had learned from Khrest and Thora, at least roughly, how the Naat cities were planned and what the park-like areas looked like where the few Arkonides resided. Col. Freyt had been informed as to his part of the undertaking; he knew that for a few hours at least, if not several days, he would have to carry on his shoulders the entire responsibility that was the lot of a ship commander with a crew of a thousand men. In addition he was also responsible for the welfare of the three persons who were about to leave the Ganymede: Perry Rhodan, Reginald Bell and Tako Kakuta.
Rhodan had been unwilling to entrust this mission to anyone but himself and to those of his co-workers he knew best. He planned to pay a personal visit to Sergh, the Arkonide administrator.
There had been a lively discussion about Rhodan's plan. Thora and Khrest were of the opinion such an idea was fraught with great danger: Rhodan and his companions might risk their lives. Apparently the Arkonides regarded the Ganymede and its entire crew as their prisoners. They would definitely object if these prisoners should leave their "prison" and if it was for nothing more than paying a visit to their jail keeper.
Rhodan had to admit that his two Arkonide friends were probably right but he had gone on to explain that he had to carry out this plan regardless of the danger it would entail. In Bell he had, naturally, found an ally who whole-heartedly supported this enterprise. Tako Kakuta, the little Japanese with the round babyface, had expressed his approval with a trusting smile but that was as far as he participated in that discussion.
Three hours after darkness had fallen, Rhodan and his two companions were ready to leave. They were wearing Arkonide transport suits - those miracle devices which enveloped their wearer like a garment and were equipped with most potent micro-generator capable of producing their own field of gravity, a deflector shield which would bend away light-rays, thus rendering its wearer invisible and also a protective screen from which missiles and all types of energy and heat-rays would bounce off.
They left the shift through the airlock in the rear but dispensed with dropping the wide escalator band to the ground for very obvious reasons, although it would have enabled them to reach the ground in a comfortable manner. Instead they entrusted their weight, increased 2·8 times due to this world's higher gravitational pull, to the artificial gravity of their suits. There was a definite limit to the neutralizers built into their transport suits. Their potential stopped at 3 Gs, therefore Naat's gravity strained the micro-generators to their utmost limit.
Rhodan had taken all of this into account. They would have to abstain from gliding along in a comfortable, safe fashion during this trip - all the more since in case an overload in one of the systems would occur it would tap the energy reserves of another system. So that if the protective energy screen had to bounce off more direct hits than its generator was equipped to handle, the latter simply borrowed power from the generator of the deflector and the artificial gravity field. Thus it could happen that if a hit was sustained during a flight, the wearer of the transport suit might suddenly drop to the ground or else become visible again.
But far more urgent than Rhodan's command to walk all the way from the Ganymede to the administrator's residence, a distance of some 18 miles, had been his admonition:
"Till now we've been used that our transport suits impressed everyone everywhere as miracle weapons. None of our opponents to this day possessed anything similar - except for the Springers.
"But remember, these are Arkonide products and we are dealing here with Arkonides. You can be sure that the Arkonides won't regard their own invention that they've been used to for a long time, as anything extraordinary or miraculous. So beware! Never think you're invulnerable or invincible because your suits make you invisible or ward off all shots directed at you!"
Bearing in mind his own warning, Rhodan expected the first crisis in this dangerous enterprise might occur the moment they'd leave the protective shadow of the Ganymede.
Rhodan and his two companions marched some 100 feet away from their spaceship, their weapons cradled in their arms, ready for action. While they were standing there and waiting they could hear the howling storm and the crackling of the dust through the outside microphones of their helmets. The noise made them nervous because it drowned out any other sound. But Rhodan insisted they stay there for fully 10 minutes in order to get adjusted to this enervating barrage of their ears.
Nothing happened to them during this time. Either no one had noticed them or else they were not interested in stopping them yet at this point. However there was no doubt in Rhodan's mind that their progress was bound to be challenged at some place at some time. He announced to Freyt: "Phase B!"
That was the code they had agreed upon. Phase A of the undertaking had been completed the instant it became clear that no obstacle obstructed the path Rhodan and his two companions had to take. The reason for this code and the general instructions to speak as briefly and precisely as possible lay in an obvious consideration: the Arkonides - or even the Naats - could listen in to their telecommunications once they had found out the frequency band on which the Earth instruments were operating. But they did not know the language Rhodan was speaking. The Arkonides' efficient instruments would be capable of reconstructing the English language if they intercepted sufficient data. To prevent them from obtaining enough material on which to base their detective work, Rhodan had insisted on using a code and limiting themselves to the tersest remarks.
Communication between the three dauntless Earthmen, however, was not affected by all this. They used the conventional electromagnetic senders and receivers which could be switched over to a minimal range if necessary.
Rhodan led the little group across the wide landing field. The only clue as to how to behave, apart from what he had heard from Thora and Khrest, was what he remembered from his earlier hypno-schooling, namely that Arkonides who were working as administration officials on galactic colonies led a carefree, unrestricted life. They resided away from the native population inside lavishly artificial parks created regardless of cost. The peculiar-looking dwelling places build according to Arkonide architectural designs rose from the park's green expanses. Rhodan knew that a monitoring system was installed at the edges of the parkland. This system reported to a central registering mechanism anyone entering the compound. His task now was therefore to deceive or circumvent this monitoring systems. Rhodan was of the opinion that this should not prove too difficult to do.
He was far more concerned about the safety installations of the individual houses - house was actually a misnomer for these structures resembled funnels which were balanced on a stem. It was easy to figure out that the administrator's house had been especially well safeguarded. Tako Kakuta, the teleporter, was therefore probably the the reason Perry Rhodan had selected the Japanese to accompany him on this dangerous mission.
At the end of two and a h
alf hours, during which they had been steadily marching toward their goal, Rhodan peered through the ultra-red telescope tight of his raygun - they had to leave all other weapons behind for fear of being too restricted in their mobility - and saw the flat, circular buildings which marked the edge of the landing field. Beyond, rose the thick wall of trees and bushes forming a living fence around the Arkonide living compound. The round houses were not guarded and appeared to be vacant. They reinforced the impression transmitted generally by this landing field that the time had long since passed when this tremendous spaceport had functioned as an important base in the galactic empire of the Arkonides.
The little troop passed unhindered between two flat, circular houses. The men stopped some 100 feet before the living fence.
"Phase B, Part 2!" Rhodan said.
From the Ganymede came Col. Freyt's reply: two short and one long blast from a whistle.
Rhodan turned to the teleporter. "Tako, now it's your turn!"
"Yes, sir!"
The tall, thick bushes weakened the fury of the storm. Rhodan observed Tako while he stood there staring at these bushes as if he were searching for something in them. Suddenly the teleporter's body seemed to dissolve and vanished completely.
Tako had "jumped." He had used his paraphysical gift of teleportation to overcome the invisible border of the Arkonide monitoring system. Now if nothing untoward had happened to him meanwhile, he should be far inside the parkland. Rhodan let three minutes go by. At the end of this time, Tako announced his presence via his helmet telecom. He gently cleared his throat, according to the prearranged signal.
And Rhodan reported to Col. Freyt: "Phase B. Immediately!"
Tako, however, turned on his heels on the spot where he had landed after executing his telejump, and marched back, with long strides, directly to where Rhodan and Bell were waiting for him. Twenty minutes after he had vanished into thin air, Tako reappeared amongst the bushes. Rhodan walked toward him, close to the line where the range of the monitoring system extended.
Tako kept coming closer and closer till, the penultimate instant before the two men touched, he telejumped for the second time. Rhodan quickly stepped across the danger line, making certain not to arouse the suspicions of the monitoring system which was registering now as before the presence of one person only inside its active range.
Since the Japanese was coming from the inner regions of the parkland, he must therefore not seem suspect to the monitor. Although the instrument registered his presence when he approached the border, it nevertheless did not set off an alarm. Now, since Tako had jumped once again far inside the park, the monitor could not distinguish Rhodan from the Japanese. Moreover, Rhodan hoped the monitor would not be puzzled why some one who had just marched halfway across the park right up to the frontier, had suddenly changed his mind and, instead of crossing to the outside, had made a quick about-face and walked back to where he had just started from.
Rhodan was endeavoring to leave the border behind as fast as his legs would carry him. For he intended to give Bell the chance to enter the Arkonide compound in the same manner as he had just done. Thus Rhodan marched half a mile in a straight line away from the border to a point where the sensors of the monitor would not longer be effective.
But meanwhile, Tako Kakuta was once again on his way toward the border. He emerged from a section of the compound which must seem inconspicuous to the monitor. He repeated the same manoeuvre as before and vanished from the picture the same moment that Bell was crossing the border line. As far as the monitor was concerned nothing had changed: there was onlyone man registered within its active range.
Reginald Bell followed Rhodan's trail, which was clearly visible in the tall grass. For a while he was bothered by something, some noise whose origin he could not pinpoint. Until he figured it out: it was not some sound but rather the absence of a noise. He could no longer hear the roaring of the storm!
Bell could not believe that the storm had actually subsided. Presumably there was some method by which the Arkonides could exclude the unpleasant weather conditions of their host planet from within their own living area. Bell felt a certain admiration for the refined methods of the Arkonides in attaining personal comfort.
After a quarter of an hour he found Rhodan. Rhodan was seated on the grass under a tremendous, exotic tree, peering through the telescopic sight of his impulse weapon. Bell almost stumbled over him; the Arkonides had, obviously, made no attempt to alleviate the darkness in their park.
"Fantastic picture," murmured Rhodan.
Bell looked around; no trace of Tako yet. He stretched himself out on the ground, leveled the automatic disintegration gun to a fairly comfortable position and turned the infra-red viewer on. He didn't get a picture in true colors. The reflected rays appeared stark white against a black background, producing an extraordinary spectacle.
Bell had known what to expect as he had knowledge of the Arkonide civilization. He knew that the Arkonides built their houses in the shape of gigantic funnels. They had based their architecture on psychological observations. They had concluded that the funnel shape provided a maximum of individuality and privacy for the residents.
But Bell was not prepared for this breathtaking view. He saw the exotic silhouettes of bushes and trees in a pale white glow contrasted by the glaring illumination of the randomly spaced funnels.
They varied in size like pebbles on the beach. There were small bungalows, gracefully hidden behind bushes, funnel buildings 38 to 100 feet high and finally colossal constructions rising more than 380 feet into the sky. These funnels ascending from narrow, sometimes quite large stems represented marvels of proficiency in statics and use of materials. Here was proof that the Arkonide civilization had forced technology to be the servant and not the master.
Suddenly the Japanese emerged in front of Rhodan and Bell.
"Ready?" asked Rhodan.
"Yes, sir," answered Tako. "I studied most of the buildings closely. If Sergh, as we assume, lives in the biggest, we will have to turn toward the right."
"How far?"
"About four miles."
"Blast!" cursed Bell. "Four miles! Like ducks in a shooting gallery."
"Let's hope the Arkonides are asleep," said Rhodan firmly. "They are not alarmed, because the monitor system did not react. The situation won't be critical till we get into Sergh's house."
4/ PHASE D
Sergh's palace - if indeed this was his palace - was bound to induce agoraphobia in anyone standing near the stem of the funnel-shaped building as he happened to be glancing upwards along its outward-sloping walls.
Sergh's building was the only one whose walls were gleaming with a softly palescent light. It had served as a beacon in the night, pointing the way for Rhodan and his companions when they were still two miles away. Sergh's funnel-house was also one of the few buildings from whose slanted walls some elevated roadways occasionally would branch off. They were supported by huge pillars and led across the park to other buildings or to the city of Naatral.
Rhodan estimated the height of the funnel-building to be roughly 500 feet. Most likely it contained not only Sergh's living quarters but also the most important offices of the administration.
So far, Rhodan's advance had come oft without any difficulties. From time to time the outside mikes had transmitted some noises which seemed to have been caused by Arkonide vehicles. But at no time had the intruders seen any of these vehicles nor had they ever laid eyes on any of the Arkonides.
The Ganymede had nothing new to report.
Besides the elevated roadways that connected Sergh's funnel-house with the outside world, it had also the usual entrance gate located in the funnel's stem. The bottom of this wide portal was situated six feet above the ground and could probably be entered by a drawbridge-like arrangement typical of this type of architecture.
For a moment Rhodan toyed with the notion of approaching this portal close enough for the electronic announcer to be activated, the
n to wait until Sergh or his servants would lower the folding transport ramp and open the door. But he quickly dismissed this idea. This was not the right time for fooling around, he reminded himself.
Now they were standing 90 feet away from the wall of the stem. Rhodan knew that the electronic announcer would react as soon as a visitor approached within 40 feet of it. For a quarter of an hour they silently watched the immense building but there was no indication whether its inhabitants inside were asleep or awake. The funnel walls isolated it from the outside so that nothing of what was going on in its interior could be perceived by an outside observer.
"What are we waiting for?" Bell finally asked impatiently. "We're just wasting our precious time!"
Rhodan motioned to Tako and called out softly: "Now listen carefully, Tako! Here is a brief rundown on the most important data you need to know: the funnel is hollow, its inside walls are constructed like terraces. The lowest terraced walls usually consist of landscaped areas and gardens. The upper levels contain administrative facilities and living quarters that sometimes open directly to the interior of the funnel and sometimes are screened off by walls. Don't go there assuming you'll encounter a dwelling similar to what we have on Earth. The funnel forms a world all its own and from the inside it probably looks even bigger than from the outside.
"And above all: use your weapon only in case it's a matter of life or death and if you have no chance of teleporting yourself out of there! Is that clear, Tako?"
"Perfectly clear, sir!"
"Alright. I'll expect you back in 15 minutes for your first report!"
"Yes, sir!"
While the last word was still reverberating in the receivers, Tako had already vanished.
• • •
Tako Kakuta's first impression when he landed on the other side of the funnel-building's walls was that of being seized by a strong force pushing him violently upwards, causing him to slam into the ceiling of one of the inside terraces affixed to the funnel-walls.
