"(novel) (ebook) - Perry Rhodan 0040 - (32) Challenge of the Unknown" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

breathing was very shallow and he had hardly any trace of a pulse. He was already many miles away in the other
ship.
Pucky sighed and plunged again into his task, trying to seek out the aliens with his far-probing telepathic tendrils.
His sensitive brain actually picked up an astonishing flak of thought impulses, some of which indeed carried a
semblance of reason. But as before, a pattern of abstract thought was superimposed over them, from which he was
not able to gain any useful intelligence.
And then he sensed something else.
Something groped cautiously and testingly for his brain-still hesitant, as though blind and making a haphazard
probe. He was shaken by this and instantly screened himself without betraying his presence. The alien mentality
continued searching, appeared to detect nothing-and withdrew.
Now Pucky was aware of the game they were playing. He shook himself and looked at Rhodan reflectively.
"There's ESP involved here. Telepaths and maybe some low-calibre hypnotists. It doesn't surprise me, though."
Rhodan was astonished. "Thora has never mentioned that the Zalites had parapsychic capabilities. Hm-m-m. That's
very strange. Pucky, are you sure?"
"Quite certain, Rhodan. You can count on it because one of them just tried to find me. But it was a sort of blind
groping. If I were a hypnotist I'd very definitely be able to enter somebody's brain and influence them. But these
psi-freaks on the alien ship are apparently only able to do it if their prey is also detectable visually."
"We'll have to wait for Marten's report-he's already coming to again.
Ralph Marten groaned and suddenly opened his eyes. He seemed to awaken from a dream that was anything but
pleasant. In his questioning glance there was even a trace of terror.
"Thank God!" he muttered in relief and straightened up slightly. "That one I didn't expect!"
"Give us your report," Rhodan urged. "We don't have much time."
"As soon as I was able to see again," said Marten, "I observed humans around me. They looked the same as we,
except for reddish-brown skin and copper-coloured hair; and they didn't seem to harbour any kind of hostile
thoughts toward us. But that isn't what shook me; it's that everything looked blurry, as if I were seeing through
water. And that was it-I was in a glass tank! More exactly, the body I had transferred to was in this tank."
Rhodan hardly understood a word of what Marten was telling him but he didn't interrupt. He realized that any
answers to his unspoken questions would be forthcoming if Marten had them.
"I attempted to analyse myself, to figure out what kind of being I had slipped into, but I couldn't I had an impression
of being a fish in an aquarium. And maybe that was it. The people that passed in front of my field of vision didn't
seem to pay any attention to me so I figured that I must have chosen the body of a very unimportant entity.
However, I can go back any time and give it another try-"
"Wait, Marten, that won't be necessary," Rhodan interrupted. "The important thing is, they Don't seem to have any
intentions of attacking us. -Pucky, anything new?"
The mouse-beaver reaffirmed his contention. "There are psi faculties present there. I am sensing quite plainly that
they are trying to plant suggestions in me."
"So you're telling us there aren't any telepaths, just hypnotists who can take over another person's will?"
"Both!" chirped Pucky quickly, and added, "But after a couple of very pitiful attempts on their part, I'd say they're
not going to make it."
Rhodan looked at the videoscreen. The alien ship had come closer now and it came to a full stop. It was less than six
miles distant from the Titan.
The com operator entered the control room. "Radio contact from the alien ship," he announced. "The commander is
requesting to come on board."
Rhodan considered this for several seconds. then nodded. "Alright. Give him my permission. But he must come
alone. Let the ship come in at lock 17. Give them some light markers for docking."
The operator disappeared. The docking manoeuvre began.
Rhodan turned to Pucky. "Go back to the mutants," he said, "and stand by. Keep a sharp lookout for any Zalite
attempts to bring us under their mental control. Have Marshall join me here in the command centre. As soon as the
alien commander is on board, I want teleporters Ras Tschubai and the Japanese to go on board the other ship and
have a look around. If possible, unobserved. Understood?"