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

His description sufficed. The law did not forbid taking over planets at this phase because experience had shown that such underdeveloped creatures could only benefit from a well-planned civilization.
I rose and thereby ended the audience. "I'm going to investigate planet 3," I promised. "In any case I'll see to it that the 50,000 Zakrebians will get a better place to live. You may leave now."
They left the room, walking backwards. Tarth stopped the sound recorder with a sigh and took out the spool to put it in the archives. "More trouble," he grumbled. "What fool advised me to join the Spacefleet?"
The guard before the official residence changed and I could distinctly hear the officer give his brisk commands. My formation was an elite unit of the Imperial Fleet. When we appeared on the scene, all revolts collapsed.
"We'll take a look at Larsa 3 tomorrow," I said. "What else is on the agenda today?"
"A reception at the house of Trento. That ought to be fun. Trento is the chief mathematician at the local research centre. He's reputed to be one of the best brains of the Empire and he's supposed to have been a member of the Great Council."
"This is too much," I grumbled. "I can hardly wait to get our new assignment. This world is a little too hot and damp for me although it seems to be fine for the people from Visal 4."
"But not for the 50,000 pure Arkonides from Zakreb," the old commander reminded me. "You'll have to make a decision before the new administrator comes."
I put my mantle over my arm and switched off the elaborate controls on the desk. This case was already finished for me. I had lost my interest in Larsa.








5/ BIRTH OF ATLANTIS

Although we already possessed a cartographic record of Larsa 3 we mapped it again before our landing. It was a beautiful planet resembling Arkon with wide oceans, blue skies and vast continents with green forests.
We liked the equatorial zone best of all. The temperatures that prevailed there were best suited for our needs, especially at the higher altitudes in the mountains where the heat was pleasant and the air good and dry.
We were less enchanted with the jungles spreading across the 2 continents at the equator. Also the north of one of these continents was covered by a large desert of sand and stone which we found rather unattractive. Farther to the north it was too cold for us. There was an expanse of forests which were outside the tropical zone.
We had already, from outer space, observed a rich animal life. This world could produce real intelligent beings in about 20,000 years. Therefore we had sufficient time to find a suitable location.
After an analysis of air samples I gave instructions to descend lower. I was, obligated by law to ascertain personally the mental and physical development stage of the natives before I granted permission by the authority invested in me to release the planet for an Arkonide settlement.
The Tosoma, a battleship of the Imperium class, entered the dense atmosphere at high speed. A white-hot mass of highly compressed air formed in front of our impact shield, a sight which was bound to scatter the natives in wild flight.
We flew over the continents at a low altitude and quickly crossed the oceans, looking for a land which was imbedded between the 2 equatorial areas. The land in question was large enough for our purpose. It contained some mountains and woods and the climatic conditions seemed to be ideal for the people of Zakreb.
It didn't take us long to find the land. It was almost big enough to be considered a continent. Narrow bridges of earth connected it with the regions east and west offering good opportunities for a later trade with the natives after we had a chance to teach them. Our experience had proven that gifted beings could learn very quickly to tend fields, build ships and construct houses.
We stopped the Tosoma at a height of 80 kilometres from where we could survey the oval, almost 2000-kilometre-long island. A small mountain chain studded with great lakes stretched toward a desert in the east. We discovered a plateau high above the ocean whose prairie-like surface offered a good place for landing.
The First Officer of the battleship showed me the maps he had made with the automatic cartographing machine. Capt. Tarth joined me and we discussed various details till I decided in favour of the plateau.
"We can create a good access to the ocean," Tarth suggested. "If necessary we'll burn a wide road winding down the side of the mountain. Over there I see a large wind-protected bay which would make a good harbour. The surface of this world consists mostly of water. Our colonists and especially the natives will have to learn something about navigation. We've got the necessary equipment on Larsa. I'd even propose to select this planet as a base for our Spacefleet although it is now at the edge of the Great Empire in an unimportant spiral arm of the Galaxy. Yet it might become very useful as a repair base. You'll have to decide this, Atlan."
I marked the area on the map in red although I shuddered at the sight of the huge icecaps at both poles. The terrain farther north and south seemed to be covered by melting glaciers.
"We'll stay here," I declared. "Now I want to check up on the civilization of the inhabitants. Will you please assemble these people?"
Tarth gave the necessary instructions. The gleaming muzzle of a heavy psycho-beamer moved out below the propulsion jets ringing the Tosoma. What followed was a simple matter of routine. If there was any degree of intelligent life within reach on the ground it was compelled to respond blindly to our suggestive commands which the psycho-officer voiced at the mike. They were transformed into para-vibrations and fanned out by the psycho-beamer.
We waited 2 hours till it was time to land. The battleship floated down till the white surf at the coast was visible beneath the shimmering antigrav field. Our 800-meter sphere touched down close to the coastal mountain range. The soft ground of the prairie yielded under the landing pads of the telescopic supports till they reached firm rock. I had landed for the first time on the 3rd planet of Larsa's star.
The analysis of the water and soil was very satisfactory. When we opened the airlocks and let the fresh, fragrant air stream in, the first of the indigenous intelligent beings approached.
Tarth's bellowed commands annoyed me. He could never refrain from disembarking heavily armed forces after a landing. In spite of his tolerant attitude he always put the safety of his ship first.
Borne by their antigrav fields the heavy fighter robots under the command of Lt. Ketlar floated down from the small hatches in the bulge around the Tosoma. Ketlar glanced at the scurrying natives who promptly followed the orders given by the psycho-beamer.
I abstained from performing the customary ceremony which brought a grimace of dismay to Tarth's face. He had never failed to plant the emblem of the Great Empire in the ground of a new planet and to intonate solemnly the time-honoured words of the ritual.
"We don't know yet if we're allowed to remain here," I pointed out, teasing him. "What's the rush, teacher? As far as I can see these people don't have stone weapons. They carry well-constructed battle-axes made of bronze, leather shields and apparently very efficient bows with long arrows. This attests at least to intelligence class A-5."
"But what you see here are the highest developed creatures on this planet," the colonial official from Larsa, whom we had invited to accompany us, interjected anxiously.
I looked at him dubiously.
"It's true," Tarth muttered reluctantly. "I've seen the reports to that effect. The people in the north have not yet learned to work with metal and they still wear animal skins because they can't weave clothes. There are great differences between the various tribes."
I had heard enough. It was a familiar story since we had encountered similar conditions frequently after landing on strange worlds.
I left the Tosoma through a small exit at the bottom and went in a small aerocar over to the group of natives who looked at us with dull eyes. Our medical and biological specialists selected a few people of both sexes and took them back aboard our ship.
They had tall muscular figures with a reddish-brown skin. Their foreheads were high and covered by pitch-black hair. These ignorant barbarians bore an astonishing resemblance to Arkonides.
I had the spell of suggestion slowly lifted. As soon as they were in possession of their mental faculties again and realized their situation they wanted to bolt in fear. I waited till our psychologists took the necessary measures to calm their fears. It took patience and understanding to convince them that there was no reason to be afraid of us and that we had no intention of harming them.
Tarth kept pestering me until I donned my lavishly embroidered mantle with the symbols of the ruling dynasty and recited the prescribed greetings while the natives prostrated themselves before us and covered their faces with their hands.
At this moment I heard Inkar, the young enthusiastic Commander of the battleship Paito, whisper: "The sun symbol of your family will become a holy sign for these primitive people."
His remark upset me although our psychologists claimed that a certain adoration was beneficial to their morals.
It took 4 hours for the auxiliary ships I had sent to investigate the northern zones to return with their reports. They confirmed that the population living there was considerably more backward than the people we had met on the island. In addition they also mentioned that they had observed a variety of skin colours that had been produced in segregated regions.