" Perry Rhodan 0019 - (13) The Immortal Unknown" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

appreciated by the descendant of a degenerating race. Nevertheless Khrest endeavoured to practice
tolerance. He had for some time realized that mankind was about ready to assume the heritage of the
Great Imperium. Men like Rhodan seemed to be predestined. They scorned compromise and had an
unlimited thirst for knowledge. They had a great capacity to stand up under painful reverses, and it
looked as if a race of such men was made to rule the world. The Arkonides had long lost those talents
which their ancestors, too, had possessed many years ago. But this was now ancient history.

Stardust IIcame down like a giant falling meteor. Only a few feet above the ground was its velocity fully
retarded. The impulse waves from the mammoth engines in the ring around the middle of the hull churned
up the ground and large molten puddles formed under the heat. The huge pads of the telescoped
landing-legs buried themselves noisily in the rock-hard synthetic surface of the spaceport.

Stardust IIhad returned to the first cosmic trading base of the human race. Twenty-seven light-years
separated the vast Vega system from the home world. However, this presented no problem for vessels of
the Stardust’s class.

The engines came to rest but the whirlwind was still to come.

Searing pressure waves roared with such force across the surface of the spaceport that smaller
Ferronian crafts were torn from their take-off ramps. The super-battleship was once again a grandiose
mountain of perfect harmony suddenly transplanted on the landing field.

The men in the auxiliary ships of theGood Hope class which had already arrived in the meantime,
ducked instinctively. The supergiant had set down precisely within the marked field.

Lt. Everson readjusted the observation screen to normal. He did it with a feeling of resignation.
Gradually and carefully he turned the step-switch of the optical magnifier to the right. However, he was
unable to bring theStardust , which had come down over 500 yards away, into full view on his screen.
All he could see was a section of the shiny metallic sphere measuring 2500 feet in diameter, its mass
blocking out the sight of everything else.

"Now we’ve been downgraded to grasshoppers again," he said weakly. "What the heck, but only a few
moments ago we really thought we had some colossal spaceships here ourselves. A little depressing isn’t
it?"

He glanced. at Capt. McClears who was hastily putting on his best uniform.

"Am I glad that the old man has come back!" grunted McClears. "Man, give me a hand!"

"I’m hungry," Everson complained. "During such a state of biological dependence I feel quite
incapacitated. The zipper is one eighth of an inch from your finger-tips."

McClears swore horribly. The heavy-set lieutenant nodded solicitously.

"You said it," he agreed in a sepulchral tone of voice.

"You’ll never reach that zipper. We’ll have to get a telekinetic mutant."

"Come and help me!" the captain roared in disgust. I’ll have to get aboard immediately. The old man will
chew me out something awful if I don’t show up within five minutes."