" Perry Rhodan 0056 - (48) The Dead Live" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"Cute little fellow," Markus commented—to which Bell responded with a nearly hysterical laugh.
 Rhodan turned to Noir, who sat across from him. "Make sure that Anne Sloane receives a
comprehensive report of the current situation. She’s in Venusport right now and will have to be informed
of the Mutants’ whereabouts. We’ll meet in an hour on theLotus at the spaceport. Markus, you come
with me."

Bell watched as the others left the room. Then he slowly stood up, walked around the table and sat
down in the massive seat that was Rhodan’s customary place.

The temporary transfer of governmental authority in Terrania had taken place without fanfare. In that
moment Bell had become the man who pulled the strings—all the strings that held Rhodan’s Solar
Imperium together.

The shock came a few minutes taken off.

To start with, the light cruiser had stood on its 3 telescoping legs. The shining metal sphere was 300 feet
in diameter, nothing in comparison with the spacespheres measuring 2400 or even 4500 feet in diameter.
By any standard, theLotus was a small ship but she could defend herself in an emergency. And, like on
any other ship in the Imperium fleet, a hypercom and a structural compensator were to be found installed
aboard. The compensator disguised jumps through hyperspace so that they could not be detected by
others. Rhodan’s ships could speed through space, ‘silently’ in a sense, without being spotted by the
omnipresent tracking stations manned by Arkonides and other intelligent races.

The crew members assumed their posts for liftoff. Meanwhile, the passengers had assembled in the
Control Central. Rhodan sat in the copilot’s seat next to Markus while Pucky lolled—as usual—in a
reclining position on one of the couches, appearing to miss Bell greatly. André Noir, the hypno, had
taken his place in the reserve seat.

The vidscreens glowed while nearby, in the navigation room, the positronic brain spewed out the data
for the imminent jump through hyperspace.

Markus laid his hand on the control lever.

And then the spaceport, the city of Terrania, the Asiatic continent and finally the planet Earth shrank
behind them into the emptiness of space.

The acceleration was such that theLotus would reach the speed of light in 20 minutes. Even before
reaching the outer limits of the solar system, it was possible for a ship to go into transition.

More on the basis of a hunch than anything else, Rhodan suddenly said: "Turn on the radio!"

Markus was surprised. "Why, sir? Inside the System you’ll get only the normal radio traffic. Besides,
we’ll soon be moving so fast the waves won’t reach us anymore."

Yet, Rhodan felt more strongly than ever that his hunch was more than a mere whim. He pressed his
point. "You’re right, normal waves won’t reach us—but the hypercomis allowed for emergencies."

"You’re expecting an emergency? What kind?"

"You can never tell—I just think it’s a good idea to stay in touch with the Earth until the last minute."