Göring spoke in German:
“Please sit down. I’m eager to tell you about a project that has been dear to my heart ever since our victorious troops conquered Bolshevik Russia. But first, the introductions…” He pointed with his head at the Italian giant. “This is Captain Maciste of the Bersaglieri dispatched by Benito Mussolini himself.” Then, to the SS commander. “And this is Herr Doktor Merkwürdigliebe,6 a Knight of the Swastika.” Turning towards the two men, he concluded. “And, Gentlemen, this is Leo St. Clair, the Nyctalope.”
He continued:
“The three of you make up the ideal of human achievement: Captain Maciste, strength; Doktor Merkwürdigliebe, intelligence; and you, Herr Saint-Clair, spirit. The best of man in its three components, as defined by the Greek philosophers, is achieved through you. You must have asked yourselves why I wanted to meet you. I am now going to tell you and I hope that you will decide to help me with this rather special mission...
“As you might know, on April 5, 1242, the Bishop of the Teutonic Knights, Hermann von Dorpat, was defeated during the so-called Battle of the Frozen Lake by Alexander Nevsky, as he was about to deliver Russia from its Orthodox heresy. The Knights were moving towards an inevitable victory when, pursuing the pitiful Russian army on Lake Peipsi, the ice broke beneath their feet, causing most of them to be swallowed by the icy waters and die. During that battle, the Knights’ Standard was lost. For centuries, historians believed that it, too, had been swallowed by the lake’s dark waters. But recently, when our troops conquered the Soviet Union, we discovered an ancient manuscript in the library of a monastery that had been converted into a collective farm. Once translated from medieval Russian, that document explained that the Standard had been recovered by the Russians after the battle. To celebrate their victory, it was kept in a shrine supposed to embody the supremacy of the Slavic Race over the Aryan Race. Alexander Nevsky was a mystic and, as you know, he was later canonized by the Prelates of the Orthodox Church. They have since protected the shrine with devices meant to repel any invader and which have successfully defeated all would-be looters throughout the centuries.
“In fact, once we had control of the area in question, about a hundred kilometers from Moscow, we sent an SS company to reclaim the Standard, but only a few made it back alive, deeply traumatized.
“Although it might seem childish, I would like to present the Standard to my beloved Führer as a gift. It would also damage the morale of our Bolshevik enemies. The mission that I would like you to undertake is to enter the shrine and return with the Standard of the Teutonic Knights. What say you?”
The Doctor replied immediately:
“Reichsmarschall, it will be done according to your will!”
Göring then turned to his other two allies, awaiting their responses. Maciste spoke first:
“I’m ready to retrieve an object which rightfully belongs to Germany.”
Göring then looked at the Nyctalope who said:
“The same goes for me.”
The Reichsmarschall’s face brightened.
“Excellent! Von Kubitz, please call for some champagne! We must celebrate! I’ll present the Standard to the Führer for his birthday. Doctor, tell our friends about how you plan to get there…”
“We have developed a new type of rocket-powered plane that we plan to use to strike deep inside England and, by turning them into bombs, reduce London to a heap of ashes. One of our prototypes can be piloted and can carry three passengers. We’ll use it to reach Moscow in three hours.”
Only five hours later, towards midnight, three men descended from a flying object resembling an airplane, but without a propeller, and fitted with small, straight wings. Its main feature was a large reactor placed on his back. They had landed at a small, makeshift airstrip prepared in a few hours by the engineering and military genius of the Wehrmacht. Quickly, they embarked in a tank-like vehicle that had been waiting for them and traveled straight north, towards the location of the no longer secret shrine once built by Alexander Nevsky.
The countryside was gloomy, consisting of low hills with sparse vegetation. There were no birds, no animals in sight. The eerie silence was broken only by the sounds of their vehicle on the muddy road.
Saint-Clair was driving. Sitting next to him, reading a map, the SS doctor tried to give him directions. Maciste sat at the back, where there was enough room for him to move his corpulent body.
“I think we should be coming to a road on the left...” said the doctor, looking at his map.
Suddenly, thanks to his preternatural vision, the Nyctalope caught a metallic gleam flashing briefly from behind the chaos of rocks and boulders on the right side of the road.
He swerved at once as a hail of bullets fell on the vehicle.
It was an ambush! Hidden behind the rocks, a dozen Soviet soldiers opened fire on the three men. Because of the Nyctalope’s quick reflexes, none of the bullets had harmed them. But the engine wasn’t as lucky! Smoke was coming out from under the hood. Then, the vehicle’s right track locked, causing it to abruptly turn 90-degrees then stop.
Leo could no longer steer. His two companions were flattened on their seats in order to escape their enemies’ fire.
The SS doctor then pulled three metal spheres from a small bag he had been carrying.
“Deadly ‘eggs’ from my friend Korridès,” he said.
He flung one towards the Soviets. When it touched the ground, a cloud of green smoke filled the air and enveloped their opponents, who began to scream—briefly. A minute later, the gas had dissipated.
“I’ll take care of the survivors,” the SS said softly, unholstering his Luger and leaving the vehicle.
The Nyctalope and Maciste followed more slowly. They arrived at the scene as they heard the first shots.
That Merkwürdigliebe has no mercy, killing helpless men in cold blood, thought the Nyctalope.
Examining one of the Russian soldiers, Leo realized that it was a woman, paralyzed by the gas. Looking up, he saw that Maciste, a little further away, had made the same discovery. Their opponents had been a patrol from the women’s section of the Red Army.
He heard a loud noise that sounded as if the Italian had crushed the skull of his victim under the cover of darkness, but, thanks to his particular vision, the Nyctalope saw that Maciste had not hit the female soldier but rather a stone near her head, which had shattered under the blow. So he, too, would not strike a defenseless enemy either! With a quick movement of the hand, Leo pressed the nerve centers of the young woman before him, giving her the appearance of death. His companion looked at him, with a glimmer of understanding in his eyes. Apparently, he knew a lot about the ancient martial arts of the Orient. But Maciste said nothing and continued the pretense.
After repeating their deceit on several more occasions, the two men returned to their vehicle. The SS doctor was wiping his boots, which were covered with blood. The idea that his companions could show compassion for their enemies had not crossed his mind. He opened the hood and examined the engine.
“We’ll have to continue on foot,” he said. “But we’re almost there!”
They took bags containing equipment and supplies and headed for the shrine. After a few hours walking through the hills, they stopped at dawn for a quick breakfast.
“We shouldn’t be very far from our goal now,” said the doctor. “I’m surprised, in fact, that we haven’t reached it yet. I’ll walk a little further ahead to check if the Shrine is just around that turn.”
He got up, took a torch and walked away. Leo and Maciste remained silent for a few minutes, watching the first rays of the sun.
“You did not kill those Russians,” said the Italian suddenly.
“Neither did you,” replied the Nyctalope.
Maciste looked surprised, then smiled.
“Ah! I forgot about your superhuman vision! I think we’re involved in some rather murky business. This story about a long-lost Standard seems suspicious to me…”
“Goal, yes… I ask myself how someone like me could be associated with men like that Nazi doctor, and I wonder… I was persuaded by Gabriele d’Annunzio to help unify Italy and restore it to its rightful place in Europe, but how did I go from there to killing soldiers who only seek to defend their country and catering to the whims of a tyrant? Many of my compatriots must now ask themselves the same question…”
“I share your views,” said the Nyctalope. “We should remain vigilant in case things don’t go as they should.”
At this point, the Nazi doctor returned looking very excited.
“I found the entrance to the Shrine. Come quickly! I’m eager to get inside!”
The two men stood up. They took the equipment and followed the doctor who led them outside the entrance to a cave that opened at the bottom of a hill.
The doctor directed the beam of his flashlight into the crevice, but the light stopped abruptly at the threshold.
“It is said that no light can penetrate the Holy Shrine,” quoted Merkwürdigliebe. “We have reached our goal. Monsieur Saint-Clair, can you see through the darkness?”
For the Nyctalope, darkness did not exist.
“Yes. Put your hand on my shoulder and I’ll lead you!”
One after the other, the doctor and Maciste followed Leo into the cave. It was spacious. On his left, the Nyctalope saw a corridor leading away diagonally. After a cautious glance, he followed the narrow passage. A few meters further, the corridor widened, revealing a gaping pit in the center. The Nyctalope cautiously walked around it, still directing his companions. He glanced at the pit and saw, ten feet below, several skeletons piled up and a fresh corpse wearing a German uniform.
After crossing a stone bridge with no railings, they came to a point where the underground passage split into two. Leo noticed that the floor of one of the corridors was covered with a thin layer of copper wires, so he took the other direction. They emerged into a vast room the floor of which was strewn with round copper plates. Near each of them were skeletons or corpses showing deep burns that could only have been caused by a high voltage electricity discharge. Leo slowly walked around each of the booby traps.
While proceeding cautiously, the Nyctalope came to the conclusion that Alexander Nevsky could not have created such elaborate defenses. It required a level of technology far beyond that of the 13th century. A hypothesis began to take form in his mind…
They reached the end of the room. Before them, there was another corridor, about ten meters long, leading to another cave. The Nyctalope looked carefully and saw a small metal sphere at the end of the corridor.
After some hesitation, he stepped forward, drawing his revolver. But after two meters, he began to feel a sort of mental pressure. He heard his companions moan. His brain was being subjected to a violent psychic attack. He had to draw on all his knowledge of the occult sciences in order to block the psychic assault. He then raised his arm and fired his Luger at the metal sphere. Once the first bullet hit it, the psychic invasion ceased. Leo shook his head to regain his composure. Behind him, his two companions were acting as if they were shell-shocked. He understood why the Nazis who had penetrated into the Shrine had gone mad. Without his years of training with the great Tibetan masters, he too would have gone mad—or worse.
They eventually reached the end of the corridor without any further attacks and entered a room with a large stone portal on the opposite wall. A gigantic swastika was carved on it. As they stepped inside the room, the doctor’s flashlight mysteriously again came to life.
They approached the swastika. The Nyctalope thought: This is the missing element: the symbol of Thule. The ancient civilization which inspired the Knights of the Swastika, the mystical branch of the Nazi party. This is probably the real reason for this mission. He looked at the ground in front of the portal and saw a banner decorated with black designs. So there really was a Standard of the Teutonic Knights!.
Without bothering to look at it, Dr. Merkwürdigliebe walked to the swastika, as if hypnotized. At the center of the cross was inlaid a cartouche filled with Kabbalistic symbols.
“I know these symbols,” he murmured. “Their precise meaning is obscure... But if I place them in the right order, taking into account the works of Kepler and Dr. Omega...”
Lost in his thoughts, he no longer paid any attention to his two companions who were watching him skeptically.
The Nazi doctor then began to press the symbols in a specific order. A metallic sound was heard and the swastika suddenly protruded from the stone wall. Dr. Merkwürdigliebe turned towards Maciste
“Turn the cross to the left!” he ordered.
Maciste, after a look at the Nyctalope, grabbed the cross and slowly turned it as instructed. The effort required must have been enormous because even the giant began to sweat. The cross yielded slowly and, gradually, the portal swung open, revealing a brightly-lit secret room.
It was filled with futuristic machines whose purposes seemed mysterious. The three men entered and separated, each looking randomly at one device or another: metal consoles, glass bells, huge light tubes, slabs of plastic floating in the air. Some of these things appeared to have been designed according to non-Euclidean geometry and just looking at them induced a sense of dizziness in the observer.
The Nyctalope discreetly watched Dr. Merkwürdigliebe. After several minutes, he hesitantly went to a column-shaped artifact covered with complex equipment. The column was supplied with power by massive red cables. Out of it came a metal helmet, before which was a control panel. Oddly, ten human skulls were attached to the machine, as if they were part of its design. While the Nazi doctor was busy examining the control panel, the Nyctalope searched his memories, feeling that he had seen such a device once before, a long time ago…
At that moment, Dr. Merkwürdigliebe pulled out a transparent helmet and placed it on his head. He then looked at his companions with a strange expression. The Nyctalope understood they faced great, imminent danger.
A glass helmet, human skulls in a strange machine… Suddenly, he remembered… The teledyname! This was none other than a more sophisticated version of the device built by is old enemy Lucifer, which he had first seen at his Castle of Schwarzrock! With this device, it was possible to control the minds of all men everywhere. That was going to be Göring’s present to Adolf Hitler!
Because of the teledyname, Merkwürdigliebe was already untouchable. The Nazi doctor’s eyes became more and more exalted. He was about to smite them both.
The Nyctalope looked up. He noticed the red power cables at the same time than the doctor’s hand went to press the single switch that would trigger the teledyname.
“Maciste! Destroy those cables!” shouted Leo.
Everything depended on the reaction time of the Italian hero. He had only seconds to act. But moving like greased lightning. Maciste turned around and, in one, smooth movement, took his Bersagliere helmet and threw it like a disk at the power cables. The gesture was absolutely perfect, as if it had been done by an ancient Olympic athlete or a demi-god. Perhaps, thought the Nyctalope, he wasn’t just named Maciste but he really was the legendary eternal defender of the oppressed.
The helmet struck the cable with a force like no other. Nothing could have withstood such an impact. The shock triggered an explosion that short-circuited the teledyname. Metal fragments of shrapnel size were projected throughout the room. A block of metal shattered the legs of Merkwürdigliebe who was thrown to the ground like a disarticulated doll.
A fire began to spread rapidly. The Nyctalope realized that he would not be able to reach the Nazi doctor. He told Maciste:
“Let’s go! It’s all going to blow!”
They ran towards the exit. The Nazi doctor looked at them with vengeance in his eyes. He pulled his Luger and took aim. But another explosion sent a large splinter of metal flying, cutting off the arm that held the weapon.
As t
hey were exiting the secret room, the Nyctalope picked up the Teutonic Knights Standard.
“It might come in a handy later,” he said. “Let’s run!”
A few minutes later, the two men had reached the exit and left the Shrine while a series of new explosions echoed behind them. From afar, they saw a plume of black smoke coming out of the cave.
“The last Outpost of Thule is destroyed. The world is safe,” said the Nyctalope.
“The memory of centuries has returned,” said Maciste. “I now know who I truly am and why I stayed so long in this century… Today, I have performed the last of the tasks that had required my presence in this time. I can now leave and resume my deathless sleep, only to wake up when my presence will again be required. However, I share your concern about the world. The Nazi threat appears in full swing, triumphant everywhere…”
The Nyctalope remained silent for a moment. It had begun to snow. A snowflake fell upon his nose.
“The game isn’t over yet,” he said. “Winter is approaching. Other conquerors have seen their hopes utterly annihilated in the snowy wastes of Russia. Maybe bringing this Standard back to Berlin will compel Hitler to try the same thing. Goodbye Maciste. Maybe we shall meet again.”
The two men arrived at the fork in the road. The Nyctalope went south, Maciste north.
A few days later, a German division en route for Moscow, which had strayed into the hills, discovered the mutilated body of an SS officer. Both his legs were crushed and he had one arm missing. He seemed to have suffered a severe mental shock and was delirious. He did not recover until several months later, and remembered nothing of what had happened inside the Shrine. Despite his undeniable genius, the future Dr. Strangelove, was never again of sound mind.
In the first quarter of 1942, the Red Army, commanded by Generals Zhukov and Vlassov, stopped the German army a few miles from Moscow.
As for the Standard of the Teutonic Knights, it was recovered by Soviet soldiers in 1945 in a railcar transporting some of the treasures stolen by the Reichsmarshall.
The Nyctalope Steps In Page 24
