by Perry Rhodan
A cry of horror rent the stillness. Reg had screamed involuntarily. His hand that held the light trembled.
Even Rhodan had trouble overcoming his feelings of shock and fright, Although he had been mentally prepared to face the Mind Snatchers in person, their appearance exceeded his worst expectations.
Six feet away stood the two extraterrestrial monsters who had come to Earth to subjugate the human race. No, even worse than that? For they would not hesitate to destroy the whole planet. They simply did not tolerate any other races; that was all. An unbridled drive to destroy was at the root of all their actions. The two monsters resembled gigantically distorted wasps but differed from these insects in many respects. They did have the typical wasp waist, as well as six limbs. Two of these limbs served as legs on which they were standing upright. Their multifaceted insect eyes glistened maliciously. Two shiny antennae played excitedly above their pointed heads. Their thoraxes looked hard and sturdy.
Perry Rhodan wasted no time. He directed the beam of his psycho-radiator against the two monsters and ordered them to make an about-face. Although he had counted on this manoeuvre's success, he could not help feeling relieved when the two M.S. carried out his instructions without the slightest sign of resistance. Therefore, he concluded, their brain structure had to resemble that of man. This similarity would in the final analysis become the decisive factor that would permit the human race to win out over their enemies, the Mind Snatchers.
"Walk up to the surface and do whatever you are told by Tako Kakuta!"
Rhodan continued. Then he added to the Japanese, "Wait up there with them until I can join you."
As Tako led his two charges past Bell, the hefty engineer, not normally given to fear, began to shudder and tremble involuntarily. Reg felt as if Death in person had brushed against him.
"We have never come as close as that to them," remarked Khrest in a feeble attempt to justify his own race's lack of success in dealing with the menace of the M.S. "We never believed it would be possible to make use of the psycho-radiator in our fight against them."
"I was absolutely convinced that the psycho-radiator would be effective against the M.S., although I had no concrete basis for my belief," said Rhodan, at the same time pointing out one of the important differences between the mentality of his own race and that of the Arkonide scientist. Being able to convert a mere belief into a scientific fact demanded a type of energy that the Arkonides had lost as their race had grown older and more decadent.
Thora's face plainly showed her feelings of deep repulsion as she stared at the immobile row of lifeless bodies. The energy gun in her hand was poised as if ready for action.
"No, Thora, not yet. Hold it!" he warned her. "There is too much at stake here. If we should destroy these twenty-two insect bodies here, we would condemn twenty-two dematerialized human personalities to be in limbo forever. For they cannot return to their own human frames unless they have been vacated by the M.S. usurpers, which is of course out of the question, once the M.S. have lost their own bodies. We can destroy these insect bodies only after their minds have taken up abode in them again. Then, naturally, we must act quickly."
"Twenty-two human beings?" replied Thora with deliberate slowness. "Aren't they worth a victory over our common enemy?"
"I would not hesitate to sacrifice them, if necessary," Rhodan admitted in a sombre voice. "But that isn't the point. At all costs, we must avoid twenty-two M.S. in disguise wreaking havoc here on Earth. Do you understand what I mean?
Someone will have to remain here in this cave to watch for the moment the M.S. minds return. As soon as the bodies start moving they must be destroyed."
A sudden insight seemed to come over Thora. The disgust in her eyes disappeared and in its place came something new. Perry Rhodan had observed the same change in her once before. Now her eyes expressed appreciation and even respect.
Respect ... for whom? wondered Rhodan. For himself or perhaps for mankind?
That would mean tremendous progress, worth far more than a battle victory against the invaders. But perhaps his eyes were deceived by the dim light inside the underground cave. Nevertheless, couldn't there have occurred a change in Thora's attitude toward Earthlings? Learning to recognize one's own shortcomings is usually achieved only by the intelligent. And there was certainly no lack of intelligence in the brilliant Thora!
"Who is going to stay behind?" she asked.
Rhodan smiled. "I guess Reg would be ideal man for that job-"
Before Rhodan could finish his sentence he was interrupted by a scream. A very frightened Reg was now pointing to one of the reclining shapes on the ground before them. The monstrous creature began to stir and to sit up halfway, flaring with vacant eyes into the bright light of Bell's lamp. Perry Rhodan lightly touched Thora's arm. "If you feel like it, you can kill the thing. Just remember that these Mind Snatchers are the mortal foes of your nation. Unless we check their advance they will swarm over the Arkonide empire like a horde of locusts, devouring and annihilating everything in their path. They will bring about the end of the Arkonide rule in the universe. Don't be frightened of killing this beast. Just a few moments ago that was all you could think about"
The beautiful alien female raised her weapon, still hesitating, and aimed at the giant wasp whose black eyes still gazed into the blinding circle of light The mere sight of the insect filled Thora with such fear and trepidation that she quickly overcame her misgivings of killing another living being while face to face with it."
She pulled the trigger. A violet ray shot out and hit the insect's abdomen. The violent pain jerked the M.S. out of his initial lethargic state. But it was too late; it could no longer react. It could not even send a message of warning to the oval shaped spaceship that was cruising beyond the Earth's atmosphere. A burning hole showed on the insect's body and a line of fire traveled up to its thorax. The giant wasp collapsed.
Thora lowered her weapon. "It was horrible!" she exclaimed, handing the gun to Rhodan. "I could never do that again."
"But it will have to be done another twenty-one times," replied Rhodan, taking the ray gun and passing it to his friend Reg, who was obviously reluctant to accept it. "Reg, you know what to do, don't you?"
"I won't stay here all alone," protested Bell.
"Tako can keep you company," suggested Rhodan.
"He won't be any help," grumbled Reg. "As soon as things get too hot, he'll just take off with one of his famous jumps and leave me here to face the mess."
But then Bell accepted the ray gun from Rhodan's hands and looked grimly along the line of the reposing insect bodies.
"Our task is not yet completed," said Rhodan before he turned to leave. "There are still another twenty-one invaders busy out there in the disguise of influential men in high posts. Their aim is to bring chaos and destruction to our world. We must track them down and then force them to flee back into their own bodies here. Fortunately we know who they are. So this won't present too much of a problem for us. I imagine, Reg, that we will pick you up tonight or sometime tomorrow morning. In the meantime I have to inform Mercant and our mutant corps and tell them how to proceed. Have fun here, Reg. Tako will help you while the time away!"
Bell was so stunned at the prospect before him that he did not immediately vent his feelings. By the time he managed to utter a strong, one syllable comment, his friend had long since disappeared.
The same instant that Ellert touched the ill fated lever of the electro panel a strange event took place. The strangest part was that he experienced everything while fully conscious and never lost his awareness for a single moment. Unbearable pain raced through his body, then faded quickly. The space around him fell away into a bottomless abyss that knew neither beginnings nor end. Colorful reflections whirled about him, sometimes enveloping him from close by, then receding again into the distance. Undefinable sounds, abstract and devoid of harmony, thronged into his ears, or whatever served him now as auditory receptacles. These impression
s came and went again in a rhythmical succession, as if he had entered the interior of a pulsating universe. There was nothing above him; there was nothing below him. He was floating in the void. At one time a sun with rotating planets whizzed by somewhere in the distance, far, far away. Galaxies were slowly rotating like spinning tops, and then they too disappeared somewhere deep into space. Eternity seemed to shrink into nothing.
With a speed that was beyond comprehension, Ellert was racing through the stream of time, over which he had lost any control. He was hurled into an infinity devoid of any matter. The present time remained behind the way Earth would recede from a radar beam rushing out into space.
Nothing could impede his plunge into the future.
And then, all of a sudden, he felt ground under his feet again. So sudden was this materialization, so unexpected, that he collapsed and lost consciousness. How long he had been lying there, he could never have told later on. But on awakening he became aware of his body. Had he returned to the present time, or had he overtaken his own body some time in the future? He dismissed the question the same instant he had posed it.
Millions of years must have elapsed, for he had witnessed the growth and death of entire universe islands. He could never live that long. But he did possess a body!
He felt the silky fur and grew frightened. When finally he managed to open his eyes, his wildest fears were confirmed. His mind, which had been flung into a far distant future, had found a new abode, but it was not the body of a human being that sheltered him now.
The monster was four-legged and had only a very limited intelligence, which left ample space for Ellert's mind inside the huge skull. A soft fur covered the monster's body. Could this be a bear? Ellert wondered. But he soon realized his mistake. For inside him was suddenly a voice...
"I am Gorx," said the toneless voice. "who are you?"
Ellert was startled, but he managed to think back. I am Ellert. Why aren't you surprised?"
"Why should I be surprised that you came? We often get visitors from the universe."
"Where am I?"
"Our world is called Gorx," came the information.
"And what do you call your sun?"
"Gorx."
Ellert was puzzled. He could not understand. "Why is everything here called Gorx?"
"Everything is called Gorx because everything is Gorx."
The explanation seemed sheer insanity to Ellert. How could he ever learn where fate had brought him? Or was this what the planet Earth would be like millions of years in the future? He dismissed this question too before he even tried it. He knew that the shock of his physical death had flung him not only through time but also through space.
Ellert made a concerted effort and left his host's body. Way down below him he saw a heavy, furry creature crawl clumsily over the rocky ground. He could discern dark entrances to caves over there at the vertical rock walls. Here he would not be able to find any answers to his questions. Not here!
Once again the world disappeared from underneath him and gave way to infinity.
Ellert whirled anew through the time stream, but this time in the opposite direction-he traveled back in time. When he could once again stop in his fall, he was floating again in the void.
How could he ever find his way back to the present time? There was no point where he could find his bearings and get a fix on time. He was like a tiny drop of water in an ocean, a drop that was supposed to touch land at a certain spot of one of the six continents, at a certain predetermined point in time that was measured by seconds.
The inevitable realization dawned on Ellert, he could never return to his own time and space. He had become the prisoner of an eternity whose master he had believed himself to be.
No longer did the question matter where he was. He was confronted by the more horrible uncertainty of when he was...
There was no answer to that question. Unless eternity itself could supply the solution.
And thus Ellert, the prisoner of eternity, began his quest for the present time, a search that would last for millions of years...
CHAPTER SIX
The worker robots had completed their task. The tunnel penetrated the stony ground of the Gobi Desert to a depth of one hundred feet. Steel hard enameled walls would ensure protection against the ravages of erosion for all time. Neither could any ground water seep through these walls into the shaft. At the bottom of the tunnel, Rhodan had the robots construct a rectangular room that contained oxygen supplies, all kinds of information, instructions, and energy reservoirs. An automic installation would set everything in motion the moment it was needed. In the middle of the twelve by twelve foot chamber stood a couch. Attached to it was a very complicated alarm system, which would be activated the very instant the human being inside the room took his first breath.
This human being was Ernst Ellert.
They had placed him under the electronic instruments. Metal clasps enclosed his left wrist and both ankles. A helmet had been put on his head. Close to his mouth they had suspended a mirror connected to selenium cells. The faintest exhalation would be sufficient to set the whole installation in motion. The mausoleum had been constructed by Rhodan for Ellert. The building was unlike anything ever built for any mortal. But Rhodan intuitively new that Ellert was no mere mortal. Rhodan carried the deep conviction that someday he would meet up again with the teletemporarian.
But it might also be possible that Ellert would find his way back by himself. Then he should be able to find his own body in a perfect state, unravaged by the damages that time normally would inflict on the human body. The three physicians-Dr. Fleeps, Dr. Manoli, and Dr. Haggard-were of the same opinion: Ellert's body would never decompose, despite the fact that it had stopped all metabolic functions. Yet his body temperature never fell below ninety-seven degrees Fahrenheit.
Rhodan glanced for the last time at the quietly reposing Ellert; then he gave the order to seal the burial chamber. Ten minutes later liquid concrete was poured into the shaft, which soon was filled with a solid core. Nothing in the world would ever disturb the rest of this body-nothing except the harmless looking apparatus under the ceiling of the burial chamber, waiting there to be put into action. If ever Ellert should awaken inside the tomb he would be able to set himself free within half an hour. But what would he find? A world revolving close to a red sun into which it threatened to fall at any moment? Or a planet that had been swept clean of any life by an invasion from space?
There might never be an answer to these questions. Who could predict?
Lost in deep thought, Rhodan watched as the robots placed a pyramid shaped cone above the spot that led down into the burial chamber. In the distance the mighty sphere of the Good Hope shimmered in the bright desert...
All throughout his return flight to Gobi City, as Reginald Bell had privately named the Third Power's Gobi Desert base, his mood was dark and depressed. He had taken twenty-one lives during the past twenty-four hours. As he kept reassuring himself, these had not been human lives, but still he had deprived some beings of their life. Had he been justified to kill?
He had had ample time to discuss this question with Tako, but they had not arrived at a satisfactory solution. No doubt, they had acted in self-defense. For unless they had immediately destroyed the M.S. upon their reentry in-to their own insect bodies, the creatures would have given the alarm to their oval shaped command ship circling far above the Earth. Or else they might have taken possession of both his and Tako's brains.
No, Rhodan was right. Leniency was out of place here; it was far too dangerous. The invaders had chosen to take a calculated risk when they attacked Earth. They had lost and must therefore accept punishment. This still need not mean that they would give up the fight.
The oval shaped spaceship had been a worry to Reginald Bell. So far it had not been possible to pinpoint its location. Either the distance from Earth was too great or the enemy craft had hidden out somewhere. But where?
This was the
question Bell asked of his friend Perry Rhodan after rejoining the desert base.
Rhodan pondered awhile before he replied, "There seem to be no more Mind Snatchers here on Earth, as far as we know. Their spacecraft might be hiding out, and I have an inkling where that might be. I placed the two prisoners into a hypno-trance. Manoli and Haggard examined them. According to their report they discovered astonishing anatomical differences between theirs and the human body. The M.S. do not possess a language the way we do. They are telepaths. A great part of their brain consists of a complicated organic transmitter and receiver structure. We fear that they are capable of communicating over distances that amount to light-years."
"Have you been able to talk to them-"I mean, to establish some telepathic rapport?"
"Yes, thanks to Marshall I have been able to communicate with the."
"Well, and what did you find out?"
"Unfortunately not too much. They are very stubborn, and I had to apply the hypno-radiator to make them 'talk,' if you'll pardon this human expression. Still, they could not divulge any more than they themselves knew. They did want to destroy our planet. Yes, you heard me right-destroy it completely. They had no political or economical interest in our world. They were not driven by any imperialistic motives to take over our Earth. They imply came to annihilate us, for they cannot tolerate anyone besides themselves. Therefore, we need not have any qualms if we fight back just as mercilessly. It is a question of survival-them or us!"
"Anything else?"
"I had them get in touch with their commander of the oval craft-while they were under strict guard, of course. I had them report about their unsuccessful invasion attempt. Marshall tuned in to their telepathic conversation. He could understand everything. Their commander ordered the two prisoners to set themselves free at once. When they informed him that they could not obey his orders because of their hypnotic trance, he instructed them to commit suicide. I countermanded this order immediately to prevent them from destroying themselves. This way, at least I still managed to find out that their oval shaped spaceship has landed somewhere on the moon, where it intends to remain. The M.S. plan to wait there for the arrival of reinforcements. In my opinion it is senseless to start searching for them on the moon. If they are cautious and avoid exposing themselves to attack, we will never succeed in ferreting them out But we must forever remain on guard and never relax our precautions against their threat although I believe that for the time being there is no imminent danger of invasion."
