" Perry Rhodan 0060 - (52) Fortress Atlantis" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

by a mixture of shrewdness, personal courage and scientific and technological know-how, were on the
verge of conquering the Galaxy.

They proceeded step by step, exercising cautious restraint. At times, however, they struck with
overwhelming force, only to vanish without a trace. Strictly speaking, they conducted a kind of cosmic
guerilla warfare. In so doing they always showed the greatest concern for their opponents, taking care
not to hurt friendly beings and treating them in such a fashion that no burning, lasting hatred was created
in them. Their anger invariably subsided once they had a chance to coolly reflect on the situation.
Precisely what happened to me after I awoke from my long deep-sleep at the bottom of the ocean and
ascended to the face of the Earth. I had believed that an atomic war had taken place on Earth but this
proved to be an erroneous assumption.

Perry Rhodan, whom I had known as a simple Major of the U.S. Spaceforce, had meanwhile
surpassed himself and it had been painful for me to see that Terra's might was based on the knowledge
and methods developed by my worthy ancestors.

Without the Arkonide super-technology Rhodan would probably be long forgotten and his
accomplishments would have been buried in the chronicles of some archives as having been those of the
commander of the first expedition to the Moon in an atomic rocket.

When I learned that he was the driving force behind the phenomenal development of Terra's leap into
space, I had seen my chance to return home after thousands of years. However my efforts to flee had
failed twice and each time it had been the tall lean grey-eyed barbarian who had frustrated my plans by
his personal intervention.

After my arrest at the capital of the Venus colony Rhodan was gone one night but Lt. Gmuna, my
constant companion and guard of the Special Corps for Psychological Defence, had dropped a few hints
now and then, according to which some inhabitants of the Galaxy, who had believed that Rhodan was
dead, had now found out that he was still among the living. This had ended the biggest game of hide &
seek but I had to admit that it had borne amazing fruits.

This bold barbarian had been able to make all intelligent populations of other worlds believe for 56
years that Terra had been destroyed in the wake of a mighty attack from outer space in which Rhodan
had met his death.

Taking advantage of this welcome respite, Rhodan had begun to work feverishly. What he and the
young generation of men and women had created boggled the mind. I had no choice but to admit that
these Earthlings were not inferior to my own people in any respect and they probably had more energy
and determination, features which I had often found to my great sorrow absent from my race when I was
an Admiral in charge of an Arkonide Fleet.

Now the mysterious Rhodan, who had become almost legendary, had returned to Earth. I could
vividly imagine what hazardous ventures he had undertaken in the 4 months since last July when I was
taken in custody at Port Venus.

When Capt. Gorlat appeared a few minutes earlier it became clear to me that I approached a final
decision about my future. Rhodan was not one of those procrastinating people who kept putting
unpleasant matters off. I expected him to ask me a few blunt questions in his ironic manner which I was
supposed to answer either yes or no.