"It's too late," Noir murmured. "The hypno-block was far too powerful. But he wasn't killed by the hypno-block. He simply was obeying an overpowering hypnotic command."

They laid the stilled figure of the mulatto on a couch. John Marshall bent over in order to examine him.

"A hypnotic command?" asked Rhodan and looked at Noir. "Who gave him that command?"

"That I couldn't say but I'd guess it came from the mutant master."

"And what kind of an order would he have issued to that poor fellow?"

"To die! He simply ordered him to die on the spot. And our prisoner obeyed."

"Is that possible?"

The Frenchman's face grew sombre. "I believe I've found my match. The unknown supermutant has outdistanced me by far.

And without waiting for a reply, Noir left the room. Bell, who had been standing the while very quietly in a corner of the room, now walked over to Perry Rhodan. "Once again that mutant master! Now we have additional proof. He is a monster! He's murdered two people within the last two hours: first Captain Hawk and now one of his own men."

"He's giving orders to those mutants that he has in his power," said Marshall. "The instant our prisoner was dying I managed to penetrate his mind for just a second. He was a weak mutant and had a photographic memory. This enabled him to fly the destroyer all alone. I'm sure he could have told us quite a few things of interest."

"Right," agreed Rhodan. "That's exactly why he had to die." He frowned and looked at Marshall. "Couldn't you determine from which direction the hypnotic influence originated?"

"From which direction? What do you mean by that?"

"Well, if this supermutant kept our prisoner under personal surveillance, then his hypno impulses must have come from the same direction. I hoped you'd be able to tell me."

"Noir was puzzled by exactly the same question when he left the room. He wondered why the impulses were coming from two directions. Exactly from the west and the east."

Rhodan seemed startled by this revelation. "Simultaneously from two directions? Odd! But maybe not that strange after all-the Earth is round. But I could have bet that they were coming from one and the same direction: above. Or is Mars still below the horizon?"

John Marshall didn't say a word. He kept following Rhodan with his eyes as the latter left the room.

Bell pointed to the motionless figure lying on the couch. "So he's dead?"

"Yes," said Marshall softly.

2/ "I HAVE MET THE SUPERMUTANT".

Lieutenant Becker was in charge of the East border station. It consisted of 10 observation posts positioned at regular short intervals and equipped with Arkonide neutron cannons. These stations were manned at all times. The border guards had their quarters on flat terrain. A small movie house, a bar and a swimming pool were the only diversions for the men out here in this isolated spot.

Sergeant Harras and his men had just returned to their base from their period of guard duty. Harras had dismissed the men, who were now off duty for eight hours. By the time they would have to report to their posts again it would already be dark.

It was a very hot day, the sun seemingly burning everything to a crisp. Not a cloud was to be seen in the sky. Harras couldn't think of anything better than to get out of his sweaty uniform as fast as possible and take a running jump in the swimming pool. He planned to stay in the cool water until hunger would force him out and he'd stroll over to the cafeteria for a hearty meal.

He put on his swim trunks and left the room which he shared with two other sergeants, strolled across the lawn and stopped at the edge of the swimming pool. He breathed the vitalizing scent of the water in which some 30 men were frolicking about, apparently forgetting that in reality they were here in the middle of a desert. They jostled and joked with each other and didn't spare Harras either.

"You afraid?" somebody close by hollered and hit the surface of the water so skilfully with the flat of his hand that Harras was showered by a sudden water spout. "Get in, get in! what are you waiting for in that hot sun!"

Sergeant Harras hesitated. Just one second ago he had looked forward to jumping right into the cool water. But now something held him back. Still, his desire to cool off in the water was stronger than all vague dark fears. He advanced one step and leapt into the water.

"The pool is running over!" called somebody in mock horror. Harras couldn't hear it. He let himself drift down to the bottom of the pool and was glad not to have to hear any more intruding voices. For a moment he felt grateful to fate for this brief solitude.

Strange desires and thoughts began to possess him and tuned out his normal ego. Somewhere in his head he felt a peculiar pressure. He had palpitations of the heart. Maybe he was holding his breath too long?

He kicked his legs against the bottom of the pool and rose to the surface. He looked around the swimming pool and what he saw seemed to confirm his dark and incomprehensible feelings of foreboding. All his comrades were eagerly swimming toward the edge of the basin and scrambling on land. n.o.body spoke a word and it was as if they all had received a command during the short time he had been submerged in the water. And the command must have told them to get out of the water immediately.

Over on the other side, at the exit door of the barracks, Lieutenant Becker came into view. He was waving both his arms and shouting something. Harras could not understand what he was saying. Nevertheless he knew what Becker had called out: "Alarm! Report immediately! Battle gear!"

Sergeant Harras ran to his room, quickly put back on his uniform, made sure he had his hand raygun and rushed to the exercise yard. Half the company was already a.s.sembled there. From the direction of the boundary station they could see some caterpillar track vehicles approaching. Harras was dumbfounded to see that they had removed the neutron ray cannons from the gun emplacements at the border. They had been mounted instead on the vehicles. That meant the border was left without protection. Perhaps the worker robots might take over guard duty from now on.

Lieutenant Becker apparently wasn't worried at all that his platoons had not reported to a man. He seemed to be extremely nervous and fidgety and kept urging his rank and file to hurry up. Hardly had the 10 armoured tanks lined up in formation than he gave the signal to leave.

Sergeant Harras had an uneasy feeling that something wasn't the way it was supposed to be but he couldn't pull himself together sufficiently to systematically think about the latest events. The pressure in his head had not diminished; on the contrary it had become worse. Something indefinable forced him to set himself in motion.

Lieutenant Becker's column advanced toward the s.p.a.ceship a.s.sembly halls and hangars of the New Power which were located about one mile away inside the actual barred area. Their barrels lowered, the neutron ray cannons led the column. The gunners sat at the controls, ready to shoot.

For a fleeting moment Harras intended to ask his neighbour what actually had taken place but when he saw the man's pencil-thin lips he dismissed the thought. Something horrible must have happened.

But no, that was sheer nonsense what they were doing...

His attention was diverted at this point. From the direction of the hangars came three vehicles trailed by a dense dust cloud. They came to a halt and some fighter robots of the Arkonide type got out of the cars.

Reinforcements, thought Harras, relieved yet with alarm. Like the rest of the soldiers he had in the meantime gotten used to regarding these perfect machine-men as allies and friends. They were united in their task to provide protection for the New Power and to ward off any potential attackers.

Now Lieutenant Becker did something totally incomprehensible: he ordered his men to destroy the robots. The vehicles with the mounted neutroncannons formed a semi-circle in whose focus the robots were standing.

Harras could not manage to draw his hand weapon. He realized that Becker had issued a completely irrational command but didn't have the strength to oppose him. He remained pa.s.sive and that was all he could do. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see that several of the soldiers seemed to share his feelings. They hesitated to carry out Becker's command.

But that's outright mutiny, thought Harras horrified. Mutiny against Perry Rhodan and the Arkonides. Mutiny against the almighty robot army.

The first cannon spat out a ray of concentrated energy against the unsuspecting robots and thus opened the senseless battle. Four out of a total of nine robot fighters sank half-molten into the broiling desert sand and lay there unmoving. The other five reacted with lightning speed, for machines equipped with positronic thought processes have no reaction lag due to fright like mere human beings.

They were being attacked and it didn't matter by whom. Their left arms rose from their sides and a.s.sumed a horizontal position. From inside the robots came a slight clicking sound from a relay, clearing an emergency switch which gave them permission to fire on human beings. Their left arms had thus been transformed into formidable miniature ray cannons.

Before Becker's cannons could fire the second round they were hit by the energy showers of the firing robots. Two barrels of Becker's cannons began to droop as if they had turned into soft wax, while a third cannon melted entirely in a shower of sparks.

The rest of Becker's cannons were outside the destruction range. Despite their fast reaction the robots nevertheless had no chance. They were annihilated before they could even whirl around.

Lieutenant Becker drew his own raygun and walked over to the three waiting cars. The three drivers awaited him with faces devoid of any expression. They made no attempt to come to the a.s.sistance of their robots.

"You are now under my command!" snapped Becker. The three drivers came to attention, while sitting behind their wheels; they saluted like one man.

Sergeant Harras was standing in the background. He hadn't understood what was going on there but he realized that something terrible was taking place in front of his eyes. Becker must suddenly have lost his mind. But how about himself? Why did he obey these obviously senseless orders? what forced him to do so?

This agonizing headache! It didn't stop. Maybe it was because of the unbearable heat? The sun was standing almost vertically above their heads, sending streams of fire down onto the desert. The nearby hangars and a.s.sembly halls were wavering in the heated air.

And then it was as if gentle fingers were groping for his brain and probing around in it. All of a sudden the invisible fingers were no longer gentle but demanding and commanding. They swept aside his will and suspended his normal thought processes.

Like the rest of his group he started to move again, past the still figures of the robots lying on the sand and the disabled, battered, armoured tanks.

Over at the s.p.a.ceship docks and hangars he noticed a commotion. Heavily armed men were streaming forth from their pill-boxes. A turbo-car came racing from the right and stopped in front of a building. One of the men carried something in his hand, a small oblong box.

Lieutenant Becker raised his arm. "Extend your lines! We're attacking the s.p.a.ceship docks!"

Automatically Sergeant Harras drew his weapon.

Perry Rhodan looked up as someone pushed open the door and rushed into his room. It was his friend Reginald Bell but he could hardly recognize him. He had never before seen him in such a state. His hair was dishevelled and his usual ruddy colour had. given way to a deadly pallor.

His eyes were flashing restlessly and Rhodan was amazed to see his friend's hands tremble.

"Did you run into the devil?" Rhodan asked astonished.

"He'll soon be here," countered Bell, trying to catch his breath. "All h.e.l.l has broken loose. Two guard platoons under Lieutenant Becker's command are attacking our s.p.a.ceship installations!"

"What did you say?" Rhodan couldn't believe his ears and was beginning to doubt Bell's sanity. "Becker is attacking the docks? If that's your idea of a joke you've gone too far this time, Reg!"

"No, Perry, it's true! People have gone stark staring mad! I'm sure this is another example of that unknown supermutant's work."

"The mutant master?" murmured Rhodan, slowly. rising from his seat. "What's going on? What exactly has happened?"

"Just a few seconds ago I got the alarm signal from sector seven. Becker and his men are advancing toward docks and have already destroyed nine fighter robots. Our defence posts have been alerted and are ready for action. They are awaiting further orders. what are they to do in case Becker actually attacks? That guy has gone crazy!"

Rhodan had a sudden vision of the dying mulatto, who had willed himself to death while obeying the command of the mighty unknown mutant master. If this supermutant was capable of accomplishing this then it wouldn't be surprising if he'd order an entire company to commit suicide.

Fear surged through him. He suddenly realized what might happen if this menacing mutant actually possessed such unbelievable powers. Compared to this the extrasensory abilities of his own mutant corps must seem some ineffective trifling nuisance. Rhodan was overcome by the sudden realization that here he was facing an equally strong, if not superior enemy, who could annihilate him if he was clever enough.

"We can't waste any time now," Bell urged. "The men are waiting for our instructions. It won't be easy for them to shoot at their own friends, even if they have suddenly gone crazy."

"We'll go there ourselves," Rhodan decided. "Get a psycho raygun and a small gravity neutralizer. Hurry up I'll wait for you outside in my car."

Bell whirled around without a word and got cracking. Two minutes later, when Rhodan reached his car, Bell was already there waiting for him. In his left hand he held a small metal box, which did not seem to be too heavy. He clasped a silvery rod in is right hand.

"Is anybody else coming along with us?" asked Bell.

"If we can't manage on our own n.o.body else can help us," said Rhodan as he climbed into the car. The turbo-engine started up with a roar and the little machine sped off with unbelievable acceleration, over the smooth expanse of reinforced concrete and in the direction of the docks, just three miles away from the centrally located administrative buildings of Terrania.

There wasn't too much traffic there at this time; occasionally a lone pedestrian stopped and shook his head in bewilderment at this driver gone mad.

Bell gasped for air. "Can you explain what happened?"

"Hypnotism, what else? The mutant master has placed Becker and his company under his hypnotic influence. We must try and nullify this hypnotic command with our psychobeamer."

The psychray was an Arkonide weapon. With its help it was possible to take over and direct another person's will and to issue post-hypnotic commands. It had been quite awhile since Rhodan had last found it necessary to resort to its use.

"But how about us?" wondered Bell. "How come we haven't succ.u.mbed to his hypnotic influence? Can't he force his will on us?"

"We know that he tried it once already with Khrest and it didn't work. Therefore I a.s.sume that his powers are ineffective when applied to Arkonide brains. Since we have gone through the Arkonide hypno-training, I suppose our brains are now similar in this respect to those of the genuine Arkonides. At least, let's hope so."

"I hope you're right there, Perry," remarked Bell and took a deep breath.

They were now racing through the desert. The concrete pavement of the road was 30 feet wide and as smooth as a mirror. The shimmering air hung above the roadway with constantly rippling waves. Ahead they could make out the s.p.a.ceship installations, the a.s.sembly halls and hangars where daily new s.p.a.ceships, of the type of the destroyers were constructed. Rhodan could see indistinct figures running back and forth; big gates were shut and some armoured tanks took up positions.

Over to their left in the desert they observed a dust cloud. Underneath that cloud marched Becker with his company of soldiers.

Rhodan couldn't quite explain why the unknown foe of the New Power didn't deploy his forces in another action which would promise a greater likelihood of success. If the supermutant had it in his power to bring entire companies under his influence why then didn't he simply order the New Power pilots to take off with their ships and attack Terrania from the air? why did he content himself with a relatively harmless fighting action whose success was a priori, to say the least, doubtful? It made no sense.

Did the unknown supermutant intend to make Rhodan a nervous wreck?

Well, apparently he had already succeeded with Bell. The Minister of Security of the New Power had meanwhile become a model of fear and trepidation. If John Marshall had been present he would certainly have now called him the Minister Of Insecurity. Bell kept fidgeting with the psycho ray and was wiggling restlessly in his seat.

"Oh, stop wiggling like a worm, Reggie!" Rhodan admonished him. "You can be sure that the supermutant won't be satisfied with this attempt. It's just a beginning.

"A beginning?" moaned Bell in horror. "Our own people shooting at us and you call that just a beginning?"

Rhodan didn't answer. He knew his friend sufficiently well to realize that his loss of composure was but skin deep.

The car now pa.s.sed the first robot guard outposts.

Several pulse-ray cannons were mounted, ready for action.

They drove up to a bunker. Some officers were standing about. They wore the uniforms of the guard division. They came running toward the car as soon as they recognized its occupants.

Bell didn't give them a chance to say anything. "Clear the area!" he shouted. He jumped out of the car, waving his psychray. "I'll show you how one can command an entire army!"

Rhodan took the small metal box away from Bell and placed it on the ground before him. He seemed suddenly not to be overconfident as to how well the hypnotizing silver rod would work in this situation. He signalled to Bell: "Give it a try! Order them to make an about face and to return immediately to their quarters." Then Rhodan addressed the waiting officers. "Now you, gentlemen, keep your men in readiness. But don't give any orders to shoot unless I specifically tell you so. We don't want to have to kill our own people."

"But they've destroyed nine robots already," said a captain.

"That's most regrettable but robots aren't human beings. Besides, Becker and his men were acting against their own free will."

"Against their will?" echoed the captain with a questioning voice. But before he could ask any further questions, his attention was diverted. For now Bell had gone into action.

The psychobeam's range was naturally limited but meanwhile Lieutenant Becker's forces had approached close enough. It was an absolute mystery why he took up position close by. He could have opened fire on the docks from a distance of over a mile away. His cannons were powerful enough over such a distance. Instead he advanced to half a mile within the lines of the boarder guard sentinels.

Bell kneeled on the ground and pointed his silvery rod at the involuntary opponent. Then he depressed the activating k.n.o.b. At the same time he spoke loud and clear: "Lieutenant Becker, I'm ordering you and your men to turn around and march back at once to your quarters. All other orders you might have received are herewith countermanded."

The officers-their number had increased to five meanwhile-stared at Bell with admiring eyes. They knew the Arkonides were said to possess legendary weapons but they had never before seen any of them in action. At least not the psychray. Unfortunately however they were not destined to witness this miracle today either.