"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan 0032 - (24) Infinity Flight" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

"What?"
Rhodan was so perplexed that he let a few seconds pass before he answered: "The city-what else?"
"Forgive me," It said in a conciliatory tone. But Rhodan thought he heard a trace of sarcasm in that voice. "I was just watching the death of a solar system-more than 200,000 light-years removed from here. Millions of years ago, this solar system drifted out of its galaxy and the inhabitants of the second planet tried to detach their world from the sun in order to transfer it to another solar system. But their planet turned into a super­nova. Now that system has two suns-but no more inhabitants."
Rhodan and Bell were listening with bated breath. It was speaking with a calm, controlled voice, as if It were telling some made­up story-yet they knew that this was not the case.
"The debacle lasted several months. But I was gliding through the various time­planes and the whole catastrophe unrolled before me in an explosion of a few seconds duration. Too bad, they made only one tiny mistake. They almost succeeded in their plan."
"What plan?"
"To wrench loose their planet from their own sun's grip. They had already created an artificial sun of their own, were in possession of a special drive which could have safely removed their whole planet... but why waste any more thoughts on the whole affair once it has happened?"
"Can't it be undone?"
There was a silent pause. Then It said: "Why not? It would be fun. Old friend... do you see the mountains ahead of you?" Do you recognize them?"
"It looks like the Alps," said Rhodan.
"It doesn't merely look like them, these actually are the Alps, old friend. Beyond these mountains lies the city you are seeking. But let's not lose any more time-Bell will have to be alone for just a second... but what does one second mean in the life of a mortal being let alone in the eternal life of a quasi­immortal? Rhodan, take a deep breath. It will take many weeks before you can breathe out again."
While Rhodan was looking at the automatic calendar he felt how he was becoming invisible.
He could still bear Bell's horrified voice calling: "Perry! What's the matter? You're becoming transparent and..."
With that Rhodan lost consciousness.
Everything was so different.
The small ship did not need a regular transition to cause the horrendous distance of 200,000 light­years to shrink to nothingness: it was covering the entire distance-actually flying through it at an unimaginable speed.
The ship was small, with an almost tiny­looking command centre, whose arrangement seemed as familiar to Rhodan as if he had never been sitting in any other such cabin. The innumerable controls did not confuse him at all; they seemed to inspire trust. The oval picture screen, reaching halfway around the room, was like a window opening on the universe.
He was alone but he felt that somebody was there with him, someone whom he could not see. Somewhere in this tiny ship was the Immortal...
"I am not here with you," suddenly said the well-known voice, which seemed to emanate from inside him, "now I am you! Do you understand that. I have assumed your form and am existing within you. Together we shall save a solar system, for I know how sorry you felt for that race that was perishing there, somewhere all alone in the universe-or will perish unless we come to its assistance. In two days we shall land on the planet Barkon II-three months before the catastrophe is due to take place."
"How is all this possible?" wondered Rhodan, staring at the confusion of strange stars which began wandering with fantastic speed across the screen. "What am I?"
"You are I and I am you, old friend. Take your choice."
"And the Stardust?"
"Don't worry, you'll find it again-and won't have missed any time at all. But now a task lies ahead of us, a task you have desired yourself."
"Is this one of your games-a game to while away the time, to chase your boredom away?"
"Of course it's another one of my games but this will save a whole people from certain destruction. Playing with fate is the most wonderful game that remains for me."
Rhodan didn't feel inclined to start a discussion about the meaning of life. His sober reasoning power was just beginning to digest the facts without wanting to ask after their origin. Yet there were a few things he absolutely wanted to know.
"This ship-how big is it?"
"How big? Big enough to contain enough space, food and air for you. You need no protective spacesuit. I could also have transported the two of us in a disembodied state to Barkon II but this way it is far more interesting and also better."
"What kind of a drive is it that lets us race through the universe with such incredible speed?"
"Don't let yourself be deceived. The speed only appears to be so fast; in actuality we are flying at the simple speed of light-but I have altered the normal passage of time, a process which can be turned back again in a retrograde direction any time you desire. In our present state, 4000 years pass in every hour; since we are flying with the speed of light we are therefore covering about 200,000 light­years within two of our relative days."
"This is madness!"
"On the contrary, it's completely normal. Once you master time you will also master space."
"But if so much time-out there in space-is passing, that sun of Barkon II will no longer exist when we get there. That's pure logic, isn't it?"
"It would be logical if we hadn't already plunged back 200,000 years in time the second we departed. Even three months more in order to find the right moment."
"It is incredible," said Rhodan, shivering with awe. "If I didn't know you are here with me, I would be afraid, truly afraid."
"Regard the universe," now the voice of the Immortal said inside him. "Perhaps you'll never again see it in this form. We are covering much more than one light­year per second-that is an incredible speed. Even if we were now to hit a planet or a sun we would not notice it. Not only we are moving but also the matter out there-and from our point of view with incomprehensible speed. Besides, the probability of hitting a celestial body would be smaller than bitting a fly in midair with a random pistol shot. Much smaller."
Rhodan did not reply. He followed the Immortal's advice and was absorbing the miracle of cosmic creation as it presented itself to his awestruck eyes. It was like a dream-and maybe everything was nothing but a dream in actuality.
The ship fell into an ocean of stars. The law of perspective caused the impression that the glowing suns were concentrated in that spot to which the little spaceship's nose was pointing. Again and again new suns massed in that same spot, then fled in all directions, accelerating the more they withdrew from the centre. Then they were gliding by on either side with a speed of one light­year per second, only to converge again in one point. This second point was located far behind the ship's rear.
The great distance made the stars seem to slow down, some more than others. But all kept their original colour. The well­known rainbow effect did not materialize.
The Immortal remained silent. Perhaps It was lingering somewhere else now, roaming through the universe in It's own way. For a moment Rhodan felt very lonely and lost. He was thinking of the Stardust and its mission. He was thinking of his friend Bell from whose eyes he must have vanished so suddenly. He thought of Julian Tifflor, who had to hold out on a far away world together with Pucky and some companions until Rhodan would bring them the promised help. All trusted him and relied on him-he who was now sweeping through the cosmos on board this marvellous, incomprehensible ship in order to warn an unknown race that might not even exist any longer.
He shook his head. "My good old friend has some mighty strange ideas," he murmured and glanced at the clock in front of him at the control board. The clock showed Earth time. They had been travelling now for three hours and had covered almost 13,000 light­years.
"This idea was yours, Rhodan," said the Immortal, who after all had not taken off from the small vessel. "I was describing to you the annihilation of a race-you brought up the idea of saving that race. I only want to prove to you that, under certain circumstances, it is possible to influence the future. True, it's just a game, but it has also a very serious side to it. For some time later you will once more encounter this race we'll be saving soon. Perhaps you will regret having warned and saved them!"
The hours crept by slowly. Rhodan had fallen asleep after he had eaten a meal. When he awakened, the scene before him had changed.
The point ahead of the ship's nose no longer showed myriads of stars. Only a few could be seen there and the number passing by, to disappear behind it in eternal darkness, kept diminishing all the time.
Darkness...?
Rhodan became aware that there was no absolute darkness behind them. The round picture screen did not permit a view of 360°, only a section of about 70%. The rear was lying in a dead angle. And yet, what he came to realize now was sufficient to cause cold shivers down his spine.
He was staring at the Milky Way, as it was slowly taking shape.
In less than 12 hours he had traversed the marginal regions of his home galaxy and was now already outside its starry reaches. The Immortal's little ship had dared the jump into the abyss, that ghastly abyss of millions of light­years that gaped between the galaxies and could never be gapped by any mortal race.
Or could it be done after all...?
In breathless amazement he gazed at the scene that opened up before his eyes. He could clearly make out now the shape of a spiral nebula as seen 'from above.' One of the luminous arms was hiding Rhodan's home sun lying in the far distance over 50,000 light­years. At its point of insertion the same spiral­shaped arm cradled the star empire of the Arkonides-and that of the Springers. And yet, this spiral nebula was but a tiny portion of the entire galaxy.