The Pseudo One

by Perry Rhodan

  "Will the Chief of the Government be present?" he wanted to know.

  "Of course, sir! He has already suggested this evening and would consider it an honor if you would accept the invitation."

  "At what time?"

  "Uh... naturally, a car will be sent for you, sir. As soon as the sun goes down."

  "Very well, I shall make an appearance. What about my servant?"

  The Ara pretended to be startled by the suggestion. "Your servant, sir? What do you mean?"

  "Is he also invited?"

  "No, naturally not. Only the most illustrious guests are invited. No one will bring their servants with them."

  "I see. Then I'll have to leave him here at the hotel."

  The three delegates controlled themselves perfectly. They did not betray in the slightest degree how enthused they were over this decision, which heightened the triumph of their secret thoughts. At the door, Pucky appeared to have forgotten his sorrowful role. Rhodan noted that he was struggling to conceal his incisor tooth as well as his rising enthusiasm for this new game of deception. After all, it wasn't every day that one was captured to be put into a zoo. He seemed to have forgotten how much he had vexed himself over this only 10 minutes ago.

  "Your car will arrive punctually," promised the Ara spokesman, whereupon the three henchmen drew back to the door with many bows. They cast covetous glances at the mouse-beaver and exited.

  Pucky closed the door and squeaked restrainedly. "Ha-ha! Those fools! They see me in their net already!"

  "And that's what has to happen!" Rhodan reminded him gravely. "Don't forget our plan. I will go to the reception but will only stay there for an hour. I'll think up some flimsy excuse to get away and then I'll come back to the hotel. By that time, hopefully, you will have been successfully kidnapped. We will keep in touch with each other. Naturally I will see that you are missing and I'll quickly make a big commotion about it. Then we'll see what happens."

  "So what can happen? I'll guarantee you those characters won't know anything about it and they'll try to talk their way out of the whole thing."

  "And I hope that you will pick up some information. You may run into the very people who pursued Marshall and maybe imprisoned him."

  "We'll see," said Pucky. "But I'll tell you one thing: the minute they try to put me in a cage, I'll be gone!"

  "You may be able to hightail it out of there sooner, Pucky. It will all depend on the circumstances."

  "Never mind my tail," responded the mouse-beaver and he climbed onto a low couch in the comer of the room. "We shall see. At any rate, you're sure going to see the dumbest mouse-beaver you ever saw in your life."

  "I certainly hope so," smiled Rhodan and he began once more to pursue his search for Marshall and Laury Marten.

  • • •

  After Rhodan had gone and Pucky was finally alone, the mouse-beaver prepared himself for the forthcoming adventure. He did not regard the action as an adventure in itself but more or less as a lark. Nor was he far from wrong. The capture did not pose any particular threat to him, as long as he showed himself to be willing—and dumb enough.

  Exactly 10 minutes later he began to pick up the thought-waves. Obviously the abduction was well planned and was being executed with the sanction of the highest levels of government. It was not surprising, since there was no assignment more important for the resident Aras than to find appropriate life forms for their experiments. Actually the zoo also had side benefits, being a center of attraction for the profitable tourist trade.

  There were five men in the group, who showed the hotel owner their authorizing credentials. Pucky listened to the conversation with interest and once more made sure that the door was not locked. Then he slipped onto the couch and stretched out on it comfortably, exactly as might be expected of a servant when the master is out of the house. At least most servants.

  Then he closed his eyes and made believe that he was asleep.

  The five men stopped before the door and prepared to break the lock, in case their quarry failed to open it. But then one of them tested it and found it unlocked.

  "Such an unsuspecting animal!" he whispered as he pushed into the room. "As a valet he would be too careless and stupid for me."

  You'll be amazed, thought Pucky as he pretended to be fast asleep. And will you ever be surprised later!

  Merely the anticipation of such a pleasure inspired Pucky to give everything he had to his role. He let the five men come into the room without hindrance; only then did he pretend to wake up. He blinked his innocent brown eyes and observed the interlopers with astonishment. Apparently one of them was carrying a very deadly impulse beamer. They had come prepared to defend themselves. Well, in that they'd be deceived.

  "Good evening," said Pucky in a clear voice. "My master, the honorable inspector, has gone out, unfortunately. May I be of assistance?"

  One of the animal catchers went back to the door and out into the hall. A few seconds later he returned with a basket cage. A friendly smile lighted his crafty face. "We didn't wish to speak with your master," he said, as gently as possible. Apparently he was trying to win Pucky's confidence. "But we'd like to ask you to come with us."

  "Mere?" inquired Pucky naively "I am not allowed to leave the hotel without my lord's permission."

  "But your master is quite aware of this," said another Ara in a slight tone of reproach. "Naturally he is agreed that we present you to the scientific council of Tolimon. The council has never had the opportunity to examine such an intelligent animal as you."

  "In a cage?" asked Pucky wonderingly and he showed an obvious aversion to the barred basket.

  "Maybe you think I'm a beast of prey?"

  "It's only-uh-because of the people," stammered another man and then he moved forward quickly in order to grasp the coveted research prize by the nape of the neck. "Just wanted to spare you any trouble."

  Pucky fought to keep himself from exploding. Under normal circumstances this fellow would have been hurled against the ceiling by telekinetic forces. But this time he escaped such a fate. Putting on an act of frightened helplessness, the mouse-beaver cowered on the couch and allowed himself to be lifted up without resistance.

  "A splendid specimen!" observed one of the men appraisingly as he opened the basket cage. "In with him, so he doesn't get any other ideas. The inspector will think that he went out and got lost in the city streets."

  Pucky landed not too gently inside the cage, whereupon the door was promptly closed on him. Now that the abductors felt they had him safely in their hands, they dropped all pretense.

  "Let's get out of here!" one of the men advised hastily. "When the Arkonide returns, he mustn't find any trace."

  "I thought the inspector was aware of this," Pucky chirped out, making a good display of anxiety. "Aren't you handling me a bit strangely?"

  "Keep your mouth shut!" one of the Aras snapped at him—which was a severe test for Pucky. How sweet it would be to escape! But he knew he mustn't. He had to act the part of a weakling and of a dummy. How could Rhodan ever do such a thing to him...!

  The men placed a black cloth around the cage and left the room. Outside in the corridor they began to move more swiftly. Without interference they passed through the lobby and arrived at the street. Pucky felt the cage being shoved unceremoniously into a car, which got under way seconds later. The men did not speak any more now but their thoughts revealed more than enough for Pucky.

  They were bringing him to the Zoological Ministry. He learned that the zoo was an establishment of the State and was under a special ministry which was principally composed of physicians and scientists. Perhaps there were also a few psychologists. He was to be examined and interviewed before they brought him to the open preserve.

  Open preserve! In order to assuage his anger, Pucky giggled soundlessly to himself. He knew he was not in any danger but who ever thought it was easy to hide his light under a bushel? Until now Pucky had always taken the greatest delight in demonstratin
g his superiority to humanoid intelligences. But now he had to...

  Well, there were ramifications!

  It was a fairly long journey. He learned from the thoughts of his captors that the ministry was located at the edge of the city, where the necessary research and experiments could be conducted in quiet and seclusion. He was able to learn further that the abduction was not, in principle, based on any really evil intent. It was merely taken for granted that the Arkonide would never willingly part with his comical servant but they were simply obsessed by the idea of adding a rare specimen of semi-intelligent life to their zoo. A talking mouse-beaver would make a real sensation. Perhaps they could even find out where the home planet of this remarkable animal was located. An entire colony of such furry creatures...

  The Aras were allowing their fantasies to run away with them. Pucky was glad that he was concealed by the black cloth so that no one could notice his happy grin.

  He would show them a thing or two. As soon as he could!

  • • •

  It was not easy for Rhodan to carry on socially with the leading politicians of Tolimon while sharing the experience of the abduction with Pucky. Nor did he stay long at the reception. He made his departure with the excuse that he was tired from his long journey and wished to take a rest. Inasmuch as they had meanwhile taken the mouse-beaver into their custody, no objections were made. The car brought him back again to the hotel.

  According to plan, he immediately noted his servant's absence and questioned the personnel, asking them if they had seen him. But from the manager on down they stubbornly denied having seen anything of a suspicious nature. Fear of state authority appeared to be no less on Tolimon than in any other part of the Milky Way.

  Rhodan waited another half-hour and then notified the police. He explained that it was not the habit of his servant to leave the hotel without his permission. He made energetic demands that a search for him should be made.

  The police promised to do everything possible. Naturally the fellows were lying, since they were working undercover with the abductors.

  Then Rhodan lay down in his bed with his mind at ease, after he had made sure the door was looked and had shoved his hand raygun under his pillow.

  He calmly dedicated himself once more to the difficult task before him, considering his undeveloped telepathic faculties. He sought to locate Marshall's thought impulses, keeping in mind that he must also maintain contact with Pucky.

  And Pucky was just now standing before his examiners.

  • • •

  The room gleamed in its cleanliness.

  Bright lamps on the ceiling illuminated him in every part and swept away every trace of shadow. Before him sat 12 or 13 men in white smocks, the professional costume of the Aras, behind a horseshoe-shaped table. Their eyes were concentrated on the diminutive prisoner, who stood there with an unusually doltish expression on his face. Behind him lingered two men with paralysis guns. They were watching the single exit of the room.

  The man at the center of the table—from his beard one might suppose that he considered himself as a Galactic Trader—leaned forward and looked at Pucky with a piercing gaze. "You are the servant of the inspector from Arkon?" he asked.

  "Yes, I am!" chirped Pucky, outwardly intimidated but inwardly boiling. "And my master is going to let you know how he feels about this, taking his servant—"

  "We will do the questioning, you just give the answers!" interrupted his examiner. "Where did you learn the Arkonide language? Or do they speak the language of the Empire on your native planet?"

  "My master taught it to me."

  "Then your own language is different?"

  "Naturally it's different. We communicate by means of unusually melodious whistling. For example a very high tone signifies excitement, whereas a humming note..."

  "And your home planet?" interrupted the bearded one, who seemed to have no interest in the whistling language of the mouse-beavers. "Can you describe its position for us?"

  Pucky nodded confidently. "Yes, of course. It's somewhat to the right of the coalsack."

  "Eh?" The bearded one leaned forward with widened eyes. There was a single question in his expression. "Coalsack? What is that?"

  Pucky searched the other's mind and perceived that the Aras referred to the dark cloud as the 'nebula of absorption dust' but he had no intention of enlightening them. Let them break their heads over the unfamiliar Earthly concept.

  "A coalsack is a coalsack," he said importantly. "Is that clear enough for you?"

  The bearded man shook his head. "We need exact information. We are going to turn off the lights and show you a star map, as seen from Tolimon. You will show us where your home system is located."

  It became dark and then there appeared on the white ceiling a representation of the starry skies that almost stood out in relief. Pucky noted with satisfaction that the dark holes in question were realistically reproduced there. He pointed upward with a triumphant shout.

  "There, the Coalsack. To the right of it!"

  15 pairs of eyes stared upward at the projected star image and searched for a coalsack, without knowing what a coalsack was. Their deliberations were interrupted suddenly when Pucky emitted a shrill whistle and cried, "No, the other one! To the left, there in the corner!" There was a short pause and then: "But it could also be that one in the middle. I had no idea there were so many coalsacks!"

  "What you probably mean by these coalsacks are the absorption clouds," said the bearded one searchingly. "Naturally your race is not schooled in scientific matters but at least you possess a certain intelligence quotient."

  "What is that?" asked Pucky, pricking up one of his ears. "I have never heard that we have such a thing."

  Two or three of the Aras failed to suppress their laughter. There was a slight pause, which Pucky used to think intensely: Hey, Rhodan! Are you listening? Isn't this a ball?

  "The answer shot back with surprising swiftness: I'd rather you'd quit clowning around and tried to find out something about Marshall and Laury. Be more adroit with your questions and...

  How is a dumb-bell like me supposed to ask adroit questions?

  Rhodan did not send any more answers because the bearded one interrupted the momentary silence. "How did you come to the Arkonides? Did they take you from your home world?"

  "I only wish I knew... it's been too long ago."

  "Too long ago? How long ago is that?"

  The ceiling lights came on again but the star map projection remained. There was a sudden note of interest in the bearded man's voice. Pucky perceived that he now had an opportunity to lead the thoughts of his curious questioners toward the theme that concerned him.

  "How long?" he murmured, looking up guilelessly into the eyes staring at him. "Perhaps a couple of hundred years."

  "You are that old?"

  "What do you mean by old?" He pretended to be amazed by the concept. "I happen to be in the best years of my youth, if I may say so. The compliments I have received on all the other worlds that the inspector and I visited..."

  But the bearded one was not interested in the mouse-beaver's penchant for acclaim. He had other problems on his mind.

  "Does everyone on your planet grow as old as you?"

  "Of course! Don't you people live to be a thousand years old?"

  The bearded one gasped audibly. He stared at the mouse-beaver incredulously. The other Aras seemed to be very startled. In their minds was such a sudden confusion of questions and with so many ramifications that Pucky was not able to register them all at once. He only hoped that Rhodan was tuned in and could give him some help.

  "A thousand years...?" The bearded one strained to appear calm. "Have you discovered a means of prolonging life?"

  Now it was Pucky's turn to be astonished. "Something to prolong life? But why? A thousand years is enough, especially for just a servant like me. After my death, my master, the inspector, will have to look for another servant and then..."

  "W
hat?" blurted out two or three Aras simultaneously. In their dumbfounded amazement they became visibly pale. "Your master also lives that long? Isn't he an Arkonide?"

  Pucky sensed that he had almost made a fatal mistake. He attempted to be more stupid than ever. "What else can he be?" he asked, innocently.

  The bearded one didn't answer but he was thinking: Is it possible that somebody came previously to Tolimon to steal the serum, like that Springer who got away from us? Or that girl who was with him? Or could others have accomplished similar research and arrived at the same results?

  Pucky breathed a sigh of relief. The first clue to Marshall! But even the Aras didn't appear to know where he was now. That meant that this whole masquerade was in vain. Or did it...?

  "As a constant companion of the inspector, you see much of the galaxy," began the bearded one again. "You visit all the worlds of the Empire and, as you intimate, this has been going on for centuries. Did you ever come across a world where humanoids were to be found who had a grade C stage of development?"

  Pucky's attention shot to front and center. That was the Earth! At least the Earth had been at that stage for the last two or three centuries. Grade C! Now he saw that in the 17th century an Ara ship had accidentally discovered the Earth and taken away several men for their zoo collection, where they still lived today. Only this Count Rodrigo de Berceo had managed to get away with Marshall's help.

  "Humanoids with a grade C development?" Pucky repeated, pretending to search his memory. Then he shook his head decisively. "No, definitely not! Why do you ask? Is there such a world as that?"

  Again he did not receive an answer but the thoughts of the Aras told him enough.

  Yes, a few hundred years ago there was such a world. It had been discovered but through unfortunate circumstances the co-ordinates of its location had been lost. However, they had procured some specimens of the primitive race there and had placed them in the zoo after administering the life-prolonging serum to them. One of them had escaped. These damned Springers! What possible interest could they have in their prisoner? Star merchants...