" Perry Rhodan 0061 - (53) Spybot" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

beginning is half the battle. In our case maybe that sounds a bit ridiculous
but in any case when you don't lose heart at the beginning of an undertaking
you're in a better starting position." Atlan nodded. "Yes, I know. I have
known your human race for a long while and its faculty of faith, which is
really no more than a certain stubbornness blended with a kind of illogical
conviction. I know of many examples where it has moved mountains. This quality
is peculiar to Terranians alone. With other races it's sometimes an
insurmountable difficulty for them to jump over their own shadows." He looked
tip and offered his hand. "So, my barbarian friend, we shall try." Rhodan
laughed. "And you, my Arkonide friend, must have learned much from us
barbarians, it appears to me. Otherwise you'd have thrown in the towel by now
and given up trying entirely." Atlan's smile became somewhat rueful. "You
touch my sore spot, Rhodan. But in the meantime I have to believe that my
people have become nothing but a bunch of dreamers and fatuous
blockheads." "There are exceptions," Rhodan reminded him. "Arkon is not lost
yet." Atlan nodded. "We will-" At that moment he was interrupted by the
sharp buzzing of the intercom. A clear, firm voice came through: "Second
communications officer to Commander! Com station 2 to Commander!" Rhodan
reached the pilot's master console in a single leap. He switched on the
microphone. "This is the Commander. What is it?" "Top priority message from
Terrania, Central Intelligence, sir. It came through the relay station from
Rigel." Rhodan hesitated while glancing askance at the tense faces of the
assembled officers. "Wait," he said. "I'll come to Com Central myself." He
smiled regretfully at Atlan and swiftly left the room. Atlan remained rooted
to the spot and stared at the door that had closed behind Rhodan. "Speak of
the devil..." he murmured with foreboding. .... Pucky had not taken the
trouble to hear Atlan's narration in person. He sat in his small cabin during
the report and finally snapped to attention when the viewscreen darkened and
the face of the Arkonide disappeared. Pucky was the only mouse-beaver on
board the Drusus. Basically he was the only existing mouse-beaver in the Milky
Way, if one were to discount the population of a planet called Vagabond which
was lost somewhere in the far reaches of the cosmos circling around a dying
sun. He was slightly more than 3 feet in height and his fur was a rusty brown
in colour. He had the head of a giant mouse and the broad, flattened tail of a
normal beaver. But he was endowed with at least 3 astonishing faculties: Pucky
could read thoughts and was accordingly a perfect telepath, in addition to
being capable of dematerialising at will and simultaneously popping up in
other places. Thus he was also a perfect teleporter. Then, too, he had
psychokinetic powers which enabled him to move solid objects by mental means,
without touching them physically. It was small wonder, therefore, that Pucky
was not only Rhodan's special friend but also an outstanding member of the
Terranian Mutant Corps. Without knocking, Bell stepped into the
cabin. Reginald Bell, Rhodan's chief deputy and best friend, had left the
officer's group at the termination of Atlan's report. His first move was to
visit the mouse-beaver, with whom he had formed an unusual friendship. In
fact, to outsiders there was a strangely spirited bond between the 2, in spite
of fairly frequent controversies of a petty nature. Pucky had already sensed
his approach and now shook his head. "You will never be a gentleman, Reggie,"
he said in purest English. Even this would have seemed very unusual to the
uninitiated but the mouse-beaver's IQ by far surpassed average human