The Starless Realm

by Perry Rhodan

  Perry Rhodan!

  All three of them 'heard' the voice that spoke to them. The word meaning simply existed momentarily in their brains. It was as though It were standing close beside them.

  "We're standing by in the main lock. What shall we do?"

  Disembark!

  Rhodan shrugged and depressed a panel key which activated the video intercom. Sikerman's worried face appeared on the small screen.

  "Sir?"

  "Open the main lock and close it after we've left the ship."

  "Very well, sir."

  Sikerman's voice had none of its customary self-assurance. Obviously the colonel was concerned. But he asked no superfluous questions.

  To the two men and the mouse-beaver it seemed as if an invisible hand were closing and sealing the inner hatch of the lock. Then the air was pumped out of the chamber. By the time the outside pressure had dropped considerably their spacesuit systems started to operate. Also their helmet transceivers clicked on in order to establish communication.

  When all air had been removed from the lock, the outer hatch swung open. Rhodan stepped to the outer threshold and stopped. He waited until Sengu and Pucky had joined him. Silently they stood there and waited for instructions from the Immortal.

  Before them lay the universe. Across a seemingly infinite abyss, tens of thousands of stars gleamed in magnificent serenity. Almost all of them mothered a system of planets but relatively few of them were inhabited. Still, there were enough inhabited worlds out there to reduce any thought of a lifeless Cosmos to an absurdity.

  Wanderer had to be somewhere in front of them. Rhodan looked in vain for a sign of the synthetic planet's presence. Directly beneath him between the stars he saw a spiral nebula. It could have been anywhere from two to five million light-years distant. An entire galaxy like his own, of which he had come to know a very tiny part. How big was the universe actually...?

  Step forward out of the lock!

  The command came suddenly without any warning. Sengu and Pucky looked at Rhodan doubtfully. Then they looked downward into the bottomless immensity.

  Rhodan nodded to them and pushed away from the ship. The slight gravitational field of the Drusus released him immediately and he drifted away toward the maze of stars. Pucky followed him at once but he pulled Sengu with him in order to lighten the burden of decision. The seasoned little mouse-beaver had made a lightning swift calculation and so directed his push-off that he was able to slowly overtake Rhodan. At a distance of about 300 meters from the ship the three came together and gripped each other tightly. It was high time for the Immortal to do something about them.

  As though perceiving their wish,It announced Itself : "I'll pick you up now. In a few seconds you'll pass through the screen and then you'll be able to see my planet." This time his mental voice was so clear that it was hard to tell it from the spoken word.

  Suddenly the Drusus appeared to accelerate away from them, swiftly dwindling into distance. It was of course an illusion. In actuality, they themselves were moving, gripped by a new gravitational field. Once more there was a sense of 'up' and 'down'—for they were sinking downward.

  And then they broke through the neutralized roof of the energy dome.

  From one second to the next the entire universe changed. The sun was shining but it was no sun born of Nature. It was a synthetic star—made especially for Wanderer. Suspended exactly at the Zenith of the energy sheet that was the sky, it shone down on the undulating landscape of a world that seemed to be the materialization of an idealist's dream. Sparkling blue rivers wound, their way between hills and forests toward a distant sea.

  The three of them fell slowly toward the surface of Wanderer but then the angle of their descent became sharper so that they finally flew parallel to the endless plain toward a distant horizon that was not foreshortened by any curvature.

  Then the city came into view.

  Rhodan knew that it was not inhabited by actual living beings but only by the materialized fantasy images of the Immortal, if at all. Or perhaps this time it might also be empty. Some of the buildings had changed. In fact it seemed to Rhodan that nothing ever remained quite the same on Wanderer. The dream world was always subject to the changing whim and imagination of its Creator.

  Gliding at a low altitude they were still over the forested hills as they approached the city. Then they began to sink lower. They landed on a broad field directly before the city. At the same moment the invisible hand of the Immortal released them and their natural weight returned to them. Rhodan estimated that the gravity here represented roughly that of the Earth.

  "Perry Rhodan!"

  They whirled around. At first they saw no one but then Rhodan made out a small, almost transparent sphere, hardly 10-cm in diameter, which was visible against the background of the hills. It reminded him of Harno in a way. But Harno the television creature was presently on Earth with Marshal Freyt, whom he kept constantly advised as to Rhodan's whereabouts.

  "I have assumed this form because it's easy to shape and maintain. My energies are limited. Follow me, Perry Rhodan. Your friends are to wait here."

  Rhodan departed from Sengu and Pucky with a curt nod and followed the sphere, which hovered before him at a medium level. They moved straight toward a dome-shaped building that reminded him vaguely of the hall of the physiotron.

  "I have to confess that my curiosity is growing," said Rhodan with a touch of irony but not intending to reproach. "Why so secretive?"

  "Only that which a man doesn't know seems mysterious, my friend," came the answer. And Rhodan could not have detected whether it had been actually spoken or only thought. At any rate he 'heard' the voice of the incomprehensible being as though It were beside him in the flesh. "I shall tell you everything that I know. But if I knew everything you wouldn't have to be troubling yourself. In the universe there are things that happen which are not easily explained. You have to help me to find them."

  "In the universe?" Rhodan drawled out the counter-question just as a wide door glided open before him. The sphere floated into the chamber beyond. Rhodan followed and looked around the hall he was in. "Or do you mean just the galaxy?"

  The dome shimmered over him in a silvery light. The hall was empty but then he saw that in its center was a solitary chair that was centered precisely under the source of light. The spherical embodiment of the Immortal floated over to the chair and came to a stop before it, hovering in the air.

  "I mean the universe,"It replied in his soundless yet penetrating voice. "Sit down, Perry Rhodan. I must speak to you."

  Rhodan complied. The wide chair immediately assumed a shape about him that made him most comfortable. It seemed almost as if it were alive, so quickly did it react to his slightest movement.

  "I guess you're making provisions so that our conference won't be too strenuous for me," said, Rhodan. "But what is your trouble? Does that spherical form have any particular advantages?"

  "It has every advantage which it is possible to obtain, my friend. That's why I chose it." Rhodan recalled that Harno had once mentioned something of the sort. "And I must preserve my strength," the Entity continued. "I have become very weak. It was by pure chance that I learned of the terrible danger that threatens us all. Don't ask me the nature of this danger because I wouldn't be able to give you an answer. I know only one thing: the Barkonides appear to have been slain by it already."

  The Barkonides...?

  Rhodan felt as though an electric shock had surged through him. The Barkonides!

  That time when the Immortal had taken him on the excursion into Infinity, everything had been as in a dream. Traveling in a ship that flew millions of times the speed of light they had thrust into the dark void between galaxies. There they had found the Barkonides and preserved them and their planet from certain annihilation. And now...

  "You say that the Barkonides have been slain by some unknown menace?" asked Rhodan, repeating the suspicion of the Immortal. "How can you know that when you don
't yet know what the danger consists of?"

  "Do not inquire concerning my capabilities of observation or of their nature—you would not comprehend them. The fact remains that I am not receiving any thought impulses from the Barkonides now. Therefore they are devoid of consciousness. Beings without consciousness are dead."

  Rhodan stared at the faintly shimmering sphere. When he thought that it embodied the mightiest and most incredible being of all time it seemed all the more fantastic. "And their wandering planet? What has happened to Barkon?"

  "I have no news of it, Rhodan. I can locate living and thinking creatures wherever they may be. But planets...?"

  "So now you've lost Barkon! How shall we ever find it now that you've lost track of it? A single planet without a sun, mind you, lost in the immeasurable vastness of intergalactic space..."

  "You shall find Barkon because I am going to give you a ship, Rhodan. A ship such as no man has ever seen before. It is capable of any velocity you desire. In its bow is a searching device that will only become activated once you have entered intergalactic space. It can locate any planets which may be wandering in that greater void. So even though I may not know where Barkon is, the ship will find it."

  "And what if we go astray out there in that endlessness?" cautioned Rhodan.

  The Immortal answered at once: "Did I not just impart to you that I would always be capable of locating thinking creatures? As long as you live and think, I shall always be able to find the ship. So your concern about going astray in the outer vastness is unnecessary. Only when you are dead will your thought impulses cease—but in that case it would make little difference."

  "Of course," Rhodan calmly agreed. "So will this ship be under remote control?"

  "Only to a limited extent, my friend. I'll bring it onto the approximate course and then I'll release it. The search apparatus will then be activated and it will so adjust the course that you will be able to fly to Barkon and land there. From that point you will be left to your own resources. When you disembark the ship will take off and return to outer space, where it will wait until you order it back. But don't misuse that command—you have only one chance to use it! Once landed again, the ship must take off within 10 minutes. Otherwise it will leave Barkon without you. Don't ever forget that, Rhodan!"

  Rhodan gazed up thoughtfully at the shimmering sphere. "So... that is all that you can tell me? I am to find out by myself what has gone wrong on Barkon?"

  "Yes. And if possible you must also help. I hope it is not too late for that. No more thoughts—I am worried about them. It does not seem possible that all of them can be dead."

  "If they are, then any help would come too late. But permit me to ask you something. That time when we flew to Barkon and managed to save the Barkonides from destruction—even then I noted the fact that you are very sympathetic toward that race of people. Why is that? You don't seem to concern yourself over other intelligences right here in our own galaxy, so why the Barkonides in particular? Is there some special reason?"

  The Immortal answered: "In every respect the Barkonides are an extraordinary race. They are worthy of our respect and sympathy on one count alone—which is their attempt to navigate an entire planet through the starless abyss."

  Rhodan nodded. "That was a very diplomatic answer. I know as much now as I did before."

  "That is to be expected of diplomats." Rhodan caught an impression of facetious irony which was replaced almost at once by concern again. "But now let's not lose any more time, which is a factor I have no control over in this situation. Otherwise it would be a simple matter to find the Barkonides somewhere in the past and divert them from a perhaps critical future date. Your friends are waiting for you, old friend. And also—the ship."

  The small sphere appeared to be fading. It rose slowly toward the arched ceiling of the hall, becoming larger and ever more transparent. Then it vanished without a trace.

  Rhodan got up from the chair and walked to the entrance door, which opened before him. He stepped outside but stopped to look back into the hall for the last time. The chair was not there any more. The place where it had been was empty. Apparently the Immortal did not waste energy. Every material object created by Its undying intellect was energy. In order to retrieve it, the matter was converted to its basic form.

  The door glided shut behind him.

  He continued onward. Out there on the field where Pucky and Sengu were waiting for him he saw the sunlight reflecting from a gleaming, silvery cylinder. It was about 30 feet long and 10 feet in diameter. Whereas the bow of the ship was blunt and composed of a transparent material, its stern end came to a point. A small hatch stood open and was just large enough to admit a full-grown man. Inside was a small airlock.

  Rhodan made out the figures of Sengu and Pucky, who were standing close to the vessel. The two mutants appeared to be undecided as to what they should do.

  When Rhodan came up to them, Pucky was the first to speak. "First of all, It sticks my doppleganger in front of my nose and gets a big kick out of scaring me half to death and now It whammies up a toy ship out of the air. At first I thought maybe a teleporter was about to show up but it turned out to be this ship. What are we supposed to do with it—keep it as a present or something?"

  "If you want to consider it as such," replied Rhodan while he ran his hand testingly over the smooth cold metal of the hull. "At any rate we're going to go on board now and make an excursion. I'll explain everything to you later, once we're under way."

  Pucky looked at him doubtfully. He seemed to be unaware of his thoughts. "Under way? Where to?"

  "To the Barkonides, little one. They're in trouble and we are to give them some help. Well, what's wrong? Are you afraid of this magic ship?"

  Pucky had followed Rhodan and Sengu's example and removed his light plastic helmet. He felt a slight shudder run through him. "Afraid...?" he squeaked reproachfully. "Who's afraid? Well maybe just the teensiest, now that you mention it..."

  Sengu asked no questions. He knew that he would be safe in boarding the ship if Rhodan also went inside. So within a few moments all three of them were standing together in the airlock. Even while the outer hatch was closing they were already opening the inner door. They came through a narrow passage into the control room which was the only accessible chamber on board. It took up more than half the space within the entire hull. If the rest of the ship was occupied by the propulsion unit it would have to be something that Rhodan was not prepared to imagine.

  The forward part of the room was transparent. The bow section offered a good view on all sides except in the direction of the stern. Pucky let out a pleased whistle when he saw a wide couch near the door of the control room. It had the exact specifications of all similar lounges that he had preferred in the past. He made a single leap and landed among the soft cushions, where he stretched out luxuriously.

  "This is more like it!" he exclaimed as he indirectly praised the work of the Immortal. "Once again, It read my mind..."

  Rhodan and Sengu found two comfortable flight seats just aft of the blunt-ended bow. As they let themselves sink down into them it was as though they were sitting outside in the open air. They could not determine what the invisible material of the bow consisted of. Although it felt like glass it appeared to be both very thin and incredibly solid.

  They did not feel a thing as the field and the city suddenly dropped away beneath them. It was as though the planet Wanderer were moving instead of themselves. The flat circle of the horizon receded. Then, before the whole disc of the synthetic planet could become visible, they broke through the energy dome.

  The hilly terrain with its rivers and broad valleys vanished, to be replaced by the interstellar void. Just in that moment it was apparent that Wanderer was surrounded by a reflecting field of some kind which made it invisible to anyone approaching it. In place of the planet the three observers only saw the cold, alien constellations of an unknown part of the Milky Way.

  To their right a bright s
tar hurtled past them and sank into the fathomless depths where the synthetic planet had been moments before. They saw it out of the comer of an eye, more or less, but Rhodan had recognized it.

  "The Drusus! Just a light speck—at least 20 kilometers away. We're accelerating."

  The Japanese mutant, Wuriu Sengu, was noted for being the cautious type and now he ventured to make the first objection. "Sir, we're flying without star charts, without even knowing how this ship is propelled. Why, we don't even know where our destination is! We're completely dependent upon the moods of the Immortal—and we know very well from experience that It can play some pretty rough jokes!"

  "This time, my dear Sengu,It plays no games because It’s not in the mood. It has entrusted us with a mission that seems to be very important to It. I'm convinced that we're as safe in this ship as we would be on board the Drusus —perhaps even safer."

  "But It didn't think of anything to eat or drink!" exclaimed Pucky in a mixture of triumph and secret remorse. "Or do you think It can also materialize that stuff too?"

  "Yes, I believe so. And if you take a look around I'm sure you'll find everything we need for life support—I'll take all bets on that!"

  Pucky promptly slipped off the couch and began to rummage about in every corner of the ship. Rhodan let him carry on by himself and dedicated himself anew to the task of observation.

  Which wasn't an easy thing to do this time. He was accustomed to determining the course and speed of his ship and to guide it toward a definite destination. But now here he sat in the bow of a tiny spacecraft where he was separated from the deadly vacuum only by a thin sheet of unknown material and he was compelled to rely on the capabilities of the Immortal who had told him that It was by no means infallible. In addition to this he had no idea what safety measures the Immortal had provided in order to protect his life and the lives of his companions. If he had overlooked even the slightest detail—!