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

Our best scientists and technicians had built a huge machine and instructed it to assume power in case the government of the Arkonide stellar empire should completely fail to function.
This had indeed come to pass but not in the form the great planners of the Empire had desired. The robot Brain seemed to interpret several of the programs in a faulty manner. Moreover, the state of affairs had changed considerably during the last 6000 years and the Brain had neglected to keep pace with it.
My wrath was not directed against the rather 'innocent' machine but I felt utter contempt for my compatriots who allowed the empire to disintegrate and neglected the most important affairs because of their incredible cravings for pleasure. Undoubtedly the Robot Regent contained some special safety factors which would come into play as soon as the now prevailing decadence underwent a change for the better. Much could depend on taking a decisive hand in the situation.
For all these reasons Rhodan had evidently taken the right course and I now realized that my earlier attempts to escape had not only been foolish but also very dangerous.
After the presentation of the evidence Rhodan had accompanied me to the comfortable cabin where I now was. The powerful engines of the Drusus had been shut off and we floated motionless in space.
I had no idea what Rhodan was waiting for but I assumed it had something to do with the emergency which he had not yet described in detail to me. I looked at my watch. I had spent 4 hours in brooding and it was time to pull myself together. When I finally pushed the button of the telecom I had reached the firm conclusion that I belonged to the Earthlings from now on. If I wished to do something for my own people I had to side unconditionally with Rhodan and mankind. Only by cooperation with them was it feasible to remove the festering sore of the Robot Regent.
The broad face of the First Officer appeared on the picture screen in my cabin. "You called me, sir?" he responded.
I stepped closer to the camera. "Could you please find out for me if Rhodan is available, Sikermann?"
He raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised that I remembered his name. "He's waiting to see you. He's got some information for you."
"Not again!" I reacted in dismay.
"It doesn't concern Arkon, sir. It's about the incidents which have occurred during the recent months. We assume that you'll be very interested."
My lethargy vanished. This sounded so much better. "Where can I find your Chief?"
"I'll send somebody to pick you up."
The screen turned dark and a few minutes later a young dark-haired lieutenant appeared.
"David Stern?" I greeted him. He was perplexed and his face turned red in self-consciousness. I was happy to possess a photographic memory.
"Yes... yes, sir. I've orders to..."
"I know, thank you very much," I interrupted him. "Please show me the way. One can get lost in this labyrinth of corridors."
"When I first came aboard I almost starved, sir," he said cheerfully. "It was terrible. They let me and 3 other lieutenants wander around till we were exhausted while they watched us on the telecom from the Control Centre. Our buddies got a good laugh at our expense."
I chuckled. This was typical for the attitude of the Terranians. Their astronautical recruits had to go through a tough school but it brought results.
Stern led me to the briefing room in less than 5 minutes. It was located directly behind the Command Centre and contained a variety of communication equipment.
Rhodan was already waiting for me. A few officers of the ship simply nodded in my direction. They were far less formal than a few hours earlier.
Rhodan examined me with a glance. My thin smile seemed to be enough for him. "Are you all right again, gladiator?" he inquired.
When I silently nodded he picked up an oblong box and handed it to me. "A beautiful example of Terranian impulse-beamers," he commented. "The reaction chamber is already charged up. You can throw your own model away."
He turned around and left me standing with the box. I opened it. It was indeed a finely made impulse-blaster. I put it in my bolster and gave my replica to David Stern. "Will you please discard it for me?" I asked him.
"Now that this has been taken care of, please take a seat and look what we've discovered in the meantime!" Rhodan began. "Can you imagine that there is somewhere an alien power that depopulates entire planets?"
I thought I hadn't heard right. "Depopulates?"
"Depopulates!" he repeated, a deep furrow appearing between his eyebrows. "It sounds strange, I know. I had an appointment with a messenger of the Robot Regent on the 3rd planet of sun Mirsal, which is in the centre of the Milky Way 14,480 light-years from Earth. I didn't want to reveal the position of Terra and so far I've been fortunate that nobody has found it."
"A reason not to let me fly to Arkon?" I interjected with a touch of irony.
"Correct," he admitted frankly. "We're bound to be discovered sometime. At present we're concerned about the planets of the star Mirsal. When we arrived there we found planet #3 depopulated. All inorganic objects were untouched, only the, intelligent humanoids and all animals had disappeared. We became embroiled in a tough fight with unknown spaceships. We still don't know what we were fighting and we don't have any explanation why the terrible salvos the Drusus fired went without any effect whatsoever through the invisible alien spaceships which we pinpointed with our rangefinders. Mirsal planet #2 was also inhabited and we arrived just in time to witness how its intelligent beings vanished before our eyes and dissolved into nothing. The Robot Regent was so alarmed by these baffling events that it assigned the command of its new super-battleship Arc-Koor to me. However we were completely helpless. Not even my mutants were able to get to the bottom of it. All I could do was take as many Mirsalese as possible aboard to evacuate the planet. I transferred the refugees to Arkon but I was pursued by the ghost ships and was saved only by a quick transition. This is the situation we're in and it still baffles us. I intend to... What's the matter with you, Atlan, hey?"
Rhodan jumped up and shook my shoulders. I could feel only his hard grip. The clarity of my vision had become clouded by a sudden surge of vivid memories. I saw Rhodan only as a shadowy shape and his shouts sounded like thunderclaps in my ears. My photographic memory had reacted against my conscious will as he recounted the events. I was thrown into a state of panic and it was a few moments before I was able to see clearly again.
Rhodan stood near me. His lips formed a thin line. I could feel my hands tremble. Somebody was calling for a doctor.
"Do you know these strangers?" Rhodan asked excitedly. "Please tell us, Atlan, if you can explain what happened."
"My friend," I stammered, "the story goes back 10,000 Terrestrial years."
"We're anxious to hear it," Lt. Stern urged.
I slowly nodded my head. My lucid memory threatened to overwhelm me. Rhodan seemed to realize how much I was disturbed by reviving the impressions of my past and he wasted no time. He led me to the antigravitor and we went to the large mess hall of the Drusus.
While I tried to suppress my inner turmoil and to regain my composure, the crew filled up the hall and I saw many members who had not yet been introduced to me.
Rhodan sat next to me. "Okay, we're ready," he announced. "If your report is truly significant it is better if the whole crew can listen to you. We hope we can clarify the mysteries with your help. How do you feel? You look miserable!"
I tried to smile although my head ached. "It'll be difficult," I began. "There are many concepts of the Arkonide vocabulary involved in my tale of the past. I'll convert all distances and time to Terrestrial values and express many other things, such as machines, weapons and ranks in your terms. Even though it won't be easy."
I looked around. The big mess hall was jammed with listeners. Where did they all come from? I felt like my brain was wrapped in cotton and I was barely able to visualize the present. My eidetic memory-stirred by Rhodan's account-had taken possession of me.
Somebody handed me a cup. "Drink it!" the man said. "It'll calm you down. What did you do to him?"
The question was addressed to Rhodan by the medical officer who had been called in.
The words seemed to pour out of my mouth by themselves. For the first time in years I began to speak about my life but I had never dreamed I would do it aboard a Terranian super-battleship of all places.
I ranged far out with my narration. I had to do this in order to explain how it had all come about. I used only contemporary expressions to make myself understood. It would have been quite senseless to use the Arkonide designation 'Tsohlt-Taark' for the Terrestrial term 'impulse drive' or to call the Commander of a cruiser 'Vere'athor'.
I forgot that I was in the mess hall of the Drusus. Time had turned back in my mind and I was again aboard the imperial battleship Tosoma with orders from the Great Council of Arkon in my pocket.
My vision became hazy and I surrendered to the insistent demands of my memory. I began my story.