by Perry Rhodan
Pucky listened into the night without moving from Rhodan's lap. "At least one thing is sure: Ellert isn't at the laboratory yet! I don't pick up anything from him there, so he's still somewhere between those mountains and the city. Let's hope he isn't expecting Onot to hoof it all that distance on the ground. At that rate we'd really be waiting around a long time for the old hippopotamus!"
"Let's go to the laboratory area," replied Rhodan. "Or do you have a better suggestion?"
Pucky's incisor tooth gleamed in the starlight. "Not at the moment..."
A few seconds later the boulder in the small hollow lay deserted as before. Only a dwindling warmth on its hard surface would have betrayed the fact that someone had been sitting there.
But there was no one in the vicinity who might have detected this.
• • •
Their solitude aloft was very short-lived.
"They're after us!" announced Onot while checking his night-vision tracker. "A whole squadron of interceptors—and they're faster than we are!"
"Just take it easy," said Ellert, attempting to calm the scientist. "They are forced to take you alive so that they'll be able to find out what they want from you in court. You are of no use to them dead, so they're not going to start off by shooting us down."
The soundless words were registered effectively in Onot's brain. He became calmer and more deliberately objective. Even though the pursuit ships were swiftly closing the distance between them he made no attempt to get more speed out of the aircar.
Within 400 kilometers of the laboratory area, the interceptors overtook the small craft and fell in ahead of it. Several brilliant-warning shots sliced past him but Onot took no heed of them. He was acting of his own volition; Ellert remained completely neutral.
"Are you familiar with those interceptors?" he asked, finally. "I mean, with the function of their engines especially. Is there anything on the control panel that shuts oft the propulsion? Like an ignition key, for example?"
Onot thought a moment and remembered. "They have a very ordinary electronic shutoff device that is activated by a socket type key plug. Without the insert plug you can't start the engines."
Ellert took in the situation through Onot's eyes. In front of them were about 10 such ships—probably police units. On either side of them several more similar craft raced along, carefully keeping pace with them. It was obviously their purpose to prevent any lateral escape attempt on the part of the fugitive. At least 10 more ships followed closely behind them. Altogether then, maybe 30 interceptors.
It didn't look like an easy chore to accomplish but nevertheless under the circumstances it was possible. Far below them was the desert.
"Onot—just hold your course for the laboratory and don't be surprised at what you may see happening."
Onot thought fleetingly of the fate of the police car back in the city. He nodded. It was a gesture of agreement that Ellert had anticipated.
"You can depend on me," Ellert told him as he withdrew from him.
A second later he was hovering near the aircar in emptiness. He was not quite sure how he was going to accomplish his task, yet he felt confident. Perhaps this was the first major test of his newly developed faculties. Traversing the stream of time was something else; it was something he was no longer capable of. But in the place of that capability a new field of application had opened to him.
He sought out his first victim among the ships in the lateral escort. He penetrated the interceptor's cockpit and slipped into the brain of the pilot, who was flying solo. He dispensed with the more laborious process of creating an amnesia block, which wouldn't have served much of a purpose anyway. He simply took over the Druuf's conscious mind and gave him his orders.
These consisted of two simple commands.
First, the pilot let go of his controls and opened a small ventilator window next to him. Then he quickly jerked loose the socket plug from the ignition and threw it out the window.
The engine became silent immediately. The interceptor dropped a short distance but leveled out again as Ellert left the pilot to his own resources. He waited until he saw that the aircraft was making a steep, gliding approach to a landing in the desert. The pilot had no other choice since now there was no way of starting the engine again. His was the first ship to drop away from the formation.
Ellert was satisfied with the success of his strategy. The whole process had not taken more than 20 seconds at the most. Of course the pilot was going to wonder what happened to his key plug and later he wouldn't have any explanation for having thrown it out the window. But that didn't matter anymore. Let the Druufs rack their brains over it. One thing for sure: there would be no logical explanation they could come up with.
With new determination, Ellert prepared to force the next pilot into an emergency landing.
Onot, who firmly maintained his course and continued to disregard the further warning shots of the police ships around him, was aware of Ellert's actions. In his night-vision screen he saw one pursuer after another drop back and peel off toward the desert below. Soon there were no more pursuers other than the 10 ships ahead that were trying to block him.
But they, too, soon began to drop away in the same mysterious manner as their predecessors. One of them even plunged helplessly into the depths, only straightening out within 100 meters of the surface.
Since there were no bursts of flame or any explosions, Onot assumed that all interceptors had landed safely in the desert. All they had to do was wait there to be picked up, without damage or injury.
When he sensed that Ellert had returned to him he pointed back into the night. "If the Supreme Magistrate had seen that action, maybe he'd be only too glad to believe the statements I made yesterday. Well, he'll find out what happened from the pilots."
"That won't do him much good because not a single pilot knows that he threw his key plug overboard. If they're lucky they may find a few of the keys in the desert but nobody will know how they got there or how they were removed from the control panels. I would have preferred avoiding this kind of spooky action but there wasn't any other way. Sooner or later they would have forced you into a landing, otherwise. How much farther do we have to go?"
Onot looked at his instruments. "Another 200 kilometers. In 10 minutes we'll be there. Let's hope another squadron doesn't overtake us in the meantime."
Luck was with them. The night sky behind them revealed no further pursuers. Onot dropped the aircar toward the ground finally and made a fairly hard landing close to the cliff wall where the laboratory entrance was still standing open. He gave a sigh of relief. Here they had first taken him prisoner and it was unlikely they'd assume very quickly that he would return here. Even if they did make such an assumption... He would be waiting for them.
Ellert made the mistake of sharing Onot's new confidence. Consequently he neglected to probe the surroundings and the laboratory. So he was taken entirely by surprise when Onot got out of the aircraft, only to stare into the muzzles of more than two dozen energy weapons.
6/ PLANET ALERT!
It was precisely at this moment when Dr. Eric Manoli made his discovery.
Prior to this he had slept a half hour and also conversed a short while with Ras Tschubai. Lt. Mundi was still sleeping in his seat before the flight controls.
Ras had asked him: "Do you think that we'll find him?"
Manoli shrugged his shoulders. He felt weary and beaten. "We can only hope so. Otherwise I don't know where we'll get a body for Ellert. From an ethical standpoint it would be a crime to suppress another intelligence so that Ellert could find a place to stay."
The Afroterranian gazed thoughtfully at the ceiling. "An interesting problem—if there were any time to go into it. Just as an example, what would happen if Ellert took over the body of an insane person? Would that also be a crime? Or wouldn't it be more likely that a sick person would be cured that way?"
"Perhaps I have too many scruples," replied Manoli somewhat uncertainly. "Of
course I guess it wouldn't be such a hard decision to make if there were no other alternative. But it's all so theoretical... I don't know."
Ras waved a hand as though to dismiss the ethics of the problem, "Well, that's something we don't have to decide at the moment. Ellert isn't dead yet—I mean his body is still more or less intact. We'll soon be able to stop worrying about him."
This remark reminded Manoli that he hadn't been taking care of his own task for almost an hour. He got to his feet hurriedly. "I have to get back to the sick bay. If he's gotten any worse I may have to make a transfusion. Can you help me with that, Ras?"
"Sure thing—let's go!"
They left Mundi to his gentle snoring and exited the control room. The ship's clinic was not far away and within a minute following their conversation they were in the immaculately white sickbay chamber. Manoli closed the door behind him and went to the bed where Ellert lay. When he lifted up the sheet he was startled at the sight of a pale, motionless face in which there was no longer a trace of the bluish coloration.
It took him a moment or so to grasp the actuality of the change. "But... that's not possible!" he stammered, finally dropping the edge of the sheet. It fell back against the body but left the face in view. "The process of biological deterioration can't just reverse itself! This body was slowly becoming a corpse—but now it seems to be alive again!" On a sudden impulse he bent down and placed his ear against Ellert's chest. Then he straightened up again and shook his head. "No, not actually alive. Ellert hasn't returned to his body yet. But why... I mean, what the devil! If I don't find an explanation for this I'll lose my mind!"
Ras Tschubai was surprisingly calm. "I'm no medical man and can't presume to make a judgment. You say the process has reversed itself. Maybe it'd be a good idea to also reverse our thinking process."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Manoli absently.
"Quite simple. You were saying previously that the blue coloration was due to the fact that Ellert's mind had become too weak to put out the necessary energy that made it possible for his body to receive certain vital impulses through time and space. But now if the deterioration process has stopped and even a little recovery is noticeable it would seem logical to assume that Ellert's disembodied essence has begun to broadcast some excess energy—maybe without even realizing it."
Manoli came out of his momentary lethargy and nodded in agreement while still staring at Ellert's face. "That's what it must be, Ras. Of course that doesn't solve the whole problem but at least it gains us extra time. The main thing now is to let Rhodan know about the new situation. If Pucky happens to be listening in on us, he'll be able to give him this information."
Ras grinned briefly. "It's quite probable that the mouse-beaver is picking up our thoughts and conversation—if he has time. If for no other reason, he'll be keeping contact with us out of his inborn snoopiness and curiosity. "
Manoli agreed with him, feeling somewhat reassured.
What he and Ras Tschubai did not suspect however, was that Pucky was in no mood for monitoring distant thoughts at the moment.
• • •
At first Onot had raised his unwieldy arms in the face of the threatening weapons but he soon dropped them loosely to his sides and regarded the police troops quietly. His self-confidence had become strengthened, even though it was actually bolstered by Ellert's capabilities.
"Well, this is where you took me the first time," he said with a touch of sarcasm. "They say history repeats itself."
Ellert could make out the colorful insignia on the red uniform jacket of the officer in charge. The latter did not appear to be in any mood for sophistries. He replaced his hand weapon in his belt and made a sign to his men.
"Whatever he may say, don't listen to him. You know the orders of the Supreme Magistrate, to bring the prisoner back to the city alive. You know the nasty tricks he can play on other men's minds—so if I should give you orders to the contrary and tell you to let him go, do not listen to me. Take him into the laboratory and hold him there until he is picked up."
Without any show of resistance, Onot followed the soldiers and police officers as directed.
But Ellert realized that this time it wasn't going to be so easy to outsmart the Druufs. He would only be able to take over one of them at a time and then would have to leave him again to go into another. It was not possible for him to effect a mass control simultaneously overall of them. The Druufs had been warned.
"Go with them," he told Onot silently. "Meanwhile I'll see what can be done." Having sensed the scientist's confirming response, he left his host's body.
His movements and mobility were less difficult for him now. Just the mere wish of emerging from Onot had been enough to accomplish it. Onot's former resistance had really consumed most of his strength but now he was definitely on his way to recovery. At least in the same time plane he would again be able to move about without hindrance.
Outside in the vicinity of the laboratory, Ellert counted 30 Druufs. They must have been here for some time already, apparently lying in wait for Onot's arrival. He was mystified as to how the police troops had been able to get here so fast. Or had the Superior Judge stationed his forces here even prior to Onot's escape—in order to take any possible friends of Onot by surprise when they approached the secret laboratory?
In the lab was every evidence of a thorough search operation, or more to the point—a raid. Bundles of papers and documents together with sketches and drawings were neatly stacked in a corner. Apparently they were to be picked up and turned over to other scientists as data for them to use in their own researches. Chests and boxes had been broken open. Their contents were strewn all over the floor as though no one had found any interest in them so far. A number of machines had been loosened from their anchorage and had been made ready for being transported away.
Onot was taken into a small adjacent room and locked in. Ellert knew he was safe there and that for the time being he could leave him to himself.
He was about to take over the officer when all of a sudden he was already seeing through the Druuf's eyes. It happened without the slightest transition or effort. He had merely thought of it and it was already realized.
The officer had gone to a vehicle that was carefully concealed behind some outcroppings of rock. There he operated a transmitter so that he could report to the police chief in the city that Onot had been captured. He was promised that an air vehicle would be there as soon as possible to pick up the criminal. It was estimated that this would require about a half-hour.
Ellert concentrated on the face that appeared on the viewscreen in the car and then he thought of the capital city and the Tribunal building. In the same second he found himself in a very familiar corridor. In two more probing attempts he was inside the brain of the police chief.
The officers present were somewhat pleasantly astonished to see their superior dance suddenly from one leg to the other. Yet they were puzzled when he quickly desisted in this and looked at all of them with a wide-eyed expression of surprise.
"Do you have a pain?" asked one of his friends in some concern,
"No... it was just a passing impulse. I simply felt an urge to move my legs and... well, haven't you also felt that way at times? Often a man will be overcome by a certain exuberance and will want to dance. Don't worry about it. I think maybe it was because I'm so pleased we've caught Onot again."
He did not know that he was personifying Ellert's own secret joy, which had to find an outer expression of some kind. Everything seemed to be back in order again. He could cover greater distances and reach a specific goal. So he was not foredoomed to stay forever in Onot's body.
"If you're so happy about Onot's capture, then you'd better send a ship out there so that the traitor can be brought here."
Now Ellert took over the chief completely. "You take care of that. I'm going to advise the Supreme Magistrate of our success. It was a lucky thing I posted guards at the laboratory."
The
Druuf who had been so addressed proceeded to leave the room. Ellert bothered no further with the police chief but instead followed his friend, who hurried through the corridors and emerged into the street, which was once more under reduced lighting. Here he commandeered a car which brought him to the spaceport.
When the Druuf sought out the officer in charge of the troops there, Ellert relaxed and did not interfere. Everything was going as he had figured it would.
"Orders from the police chief," said the Druuf. "Send a ship at once to the Brasi Mountains. Onot's lab. North of the computer station. You know the coordinates. We were able to capture the escaped prisoner again and he is to be picked up there."
The C.O. appeared to be happy to comply. "I'll fly there myself," he replied. "I know that region. I'll take three of the troops with me."
The emissary of the police chief saluted and returned to the court building. He must have assumed that everything had been well taken care of because he had personally brought the order to the C.O.
Ellert let him go and nestled down inside the brain of the troop commander. By Earthly standards the Druuf would have been a lieutenant. His name was Rambos.
Rambos alerted his subordinates and called for a pilot and two sergeants who were to accompany him. Five minutes later the swift machine rose upward into the night sky and then raced with amazing speed toward the East.
Shortly before the landing, Ellert tried a second experiment. Remaining with Rambos, he sent out a fractional portion of his intellect to Onot. By this means he was now located in the brains of two entities at the same time.
"They're coming to pick you up, Onot. Go with them. We'll be airborne again but this time much better prepared. They are going to find out that you are not to be trifled with and that you will deal with them only on the basis of your own free will. Are you receiving me alright?"
