"002 The Third Power" - читать интересную книгу автора (Perry Rhodan)

with Rhodan, provided, of course, that the latter was still in the Gobi Desert
and had not yet become a pawn of the Asiatics, as he presumed, then the whole
affair must soon be explained. There were several possibilities:
The Stardust had landed on purpose in the territory of the Asiatic Federation.
That meant that Rhodan was a traitor. But it was equally possible that she had
been forced to crashland and was now being dismantled by the Asiatics, who only
pretended to have encountered opposition. This-and Mercant was convinced of it,
was nothing but a preparation for a subsequent broadcast that would say the
defences of the Stardust had suddenly collapsed and the ship had been destroyed
in the process.
Then there was a third possibility but this was too fantastic for serious
consideration. Despite his love for animals (he had once been observed to pull a
worm off the hook of a most surprised fisherman and carefully place the worm in
the earth) Mercant was a terribly sober and pragmatic person. His life consisted
solely of facts, reports, and regulations, never of suppositions.
And yet.
He did not have an opportunity to finish his thought. The episode on the
recorder had concluded. General Pounder jutted out his chin and looked at
Lehmann. "Well, Professor, what’s your reaction to that? Do you believe Major
Rhodan is a traitor?"
"Traitor? Who came up with that crazy notion?"
Pounder glanced at Mercant with a significant expression. "That was merely a
rhetorical question, Professor. I am much more curious to learn your opinion of
this force field concept and, and the other thing."
"Nullification of gravity, is that what you mean? Both are nothing short of
fantasy, impossible with the means presently at our disposal. The Asiatics have
concocted a fine fairy tale there, in order to find a suitable pretext for
keeping the Stardust. I’ll wager that tomorrow we discover the ship has been
destroyed and therefore cannot be returned to us.
Mercant nodded in agreement. "Very well done. A splendid analysis. If I’m going
to retire, I’ll recommend that you become my successor."
"Not interested. I’d rather fly along to Mars. Well, at least we know that the
landing of the Stardust occurred without any serious damage. The ship is safe;
otherwise, this smokescreen manoeuvre would be uncalled for. If we could only
find out the cause of it all, our questions would no longer remain unanswered.
If only we had a good intelligence agency, we’d have no problem."
This apparently innocent remark found its mark. Mercant turned red. In an
instant his mild expression collapsed. A steel hard expression arose in his
eyes. Without bothering any longer with the grimacing General Pounder, he rose
to his feet.
"The last word hasn’t been said. You’ll be surprised," he threw at Lehmann.
"You’ll be surprised how well our intelligence agencies are operating. General,
please call me the minute you hear from Washington. Goodbye, gentlemen." He
slammed the door behind him.
Professor Lehmann, quite surprised, looked at Pounder. "What’s the matter with
him? Since when is Mercant so sensitive?"
"You’ve hurt his professional pride." Pounder grinned, obviously very pleased.
"Serves him right. Why does he have to treat everyone who isn’t a fellow
bloodhound like half human beings? Well, now we are undisturbed. Tell me,
Professor, what’s your honest opinion? We agree that Major Rhodan is above