“I see…” Rhodan brooded over this a moment, then looked up again. “And you believe that it’s possible to build the kind of generator that will do the job?”
“Yes, I believe so, sir. It’s merely a matter of making certain changes in the intersecting magnetic fields which generate the time window. Basically it’s all quite simple but if you asked me to explain it to you I’d have to admit defeat. You understand, of course, how I mean that…”
“Quite!” Rhodan smiled and leaned back. “How long will you need to build the new generator—or can you make use of the present equipment?”
“I don’t consider that to be practicable, sir. The alterations may appear to be simple in their nature but actually they’re not. That is, a redesign of the existing generator would be more complicated than to make a complete new model. So if there’s just one request I might make…”
“Don’t worry about your needs, Erb. They’re granted already. You have full authority and a blank check for finances. Just remember that we’re not only concerned here with the lives of the 6 men who went into the other time-plane but also with the goal of finding a weapon against this uncanny menace. Overlappings of the 2 planes of existence are happening throughout the universe. What would happen if by chance the Earth were also to be trapped in such a danger zone?”
Erb paled at the thought. Then he stood up and said firmly: “You may depend on me, sir. By tomorrow I’ll be able to present you with the plans. The actual construction, of course, will require a few months yet but it will be successful.”
“A few months?” echoed Rhodan. “That’s a pretty long time.”
The physicist held firm to the time schedule but gave the reasons why the work could not be accelerated. It was in that moment that the idea came to Rhodan that was to affect the destiny of the Milky Way.
“Erb, there’s just one last question: does the size of the ring-field generator have anything to do with its safety of operation? What I mean is: a larger generator creates a larger energy-ring—we’re agreed on that—but what I want to know is, will its functional safety be influenced or can you guarantee that safety for a larger generator?”
“Sir, the size has no bearing on its proper operation.”
“Excellent! Then see to it that the circular aperture in the time-wall has a diameter in excess of 300 feet.”
Erb stared at Rhodan, thunderstruck. “300 feet—! But that’s enormous, sir! Up till now there’s been no energy-ring larger than a few yards at the most
“Is it technically possible or isn’t it?”
“Oh it’s possible, certainly. It’s just a matter of increasing and strengthening the design proportionately. But I’m afraid that the weight of the new machine would be so great that its transportation and installation on Tats-Tor—”
“Hold on!” interrupted Rhodan; then he smiled suddenly again. “Just so that we won’t misunderstand each other: the new generator doesn’t have to be built up entirely from scratch. I want it to be a permanent part of the Drusus itself—as a new integral part of the ship, always to be ready for action at any place or time and thus perpetually portable. Is it possible under such circumstances?”
“It is possible, sir, that in such case I would only need 2 or 3 months. You will get such a generator that it can project an energy-ring from the Drusus big enough for a cruiser to go through it into the other dimension, at any time desired.”
“That,” said Rhodan calmly, “is exactly what I have in mind.”
* * * *
Rhodan was still looking at the planets in the middle of the viewscreen. His thoughts returned to the present. Dead ahead lay Tats-Tor, the world that had been depopulated by the aliens from another time. If there were any relationship between space and time, then Lt. Rous and his crew should still be there.
In the heart of the Drusus lay the giant mass of the new energy-ring generator. Its controls had been extended into the observation cupola. From that position one would be able to look directly into the circular aperture to be generated, which would measure 600 feet in diameter. Below in the hangar lay the light cruiser Sherbourne, ready for launching. Since its diameter was 300 feet, there would thus be a 150-foot safety factor between the hull and the edge of the forcefield window.
Erb had been backed by the research staff in Terrania when he had guaranteed that the new generator would make it possible to break through into the other time-plane.
The Drusus continued to decelerate and landed an hour later on Tats-Tor next to the still-waiting Gazelle. The retractable struts extended outward and sank deeply into the sandy ground of the desert before encountering bedrock strong enough to support the ship. But the antigrav fields still had to be kept in operation because the tremendous weight of the ship would otherwise have even penetrated the rocks toward the very crust of the planet.
Rhodan left the Control Central and went to the observation dome. Erb, Bell, Marshall and Baldur Sikerman, first officer of the Drusus, were waiting for him there. Pucky sat quietly and discreetly in a corner, so unobtrusive for the moment that he might as well have not even been there. John Marshall, head of the Mutant Corps, interrupted his conversation with Sikerman and turned to Rhodan expectantly.
“Everything is set,” announced Rhodan with a hint of tension in his voice. For months he had looked forward to this moment and had pushed every doubt aside concerning the achievement of his purpose; but now, a few minutes before the start of the expedition, submerged apprehensions returned to him.
This was not a mere thrust into space, which had long since lost its terrors for man; it was instead a thrust into time. And even Rhodan had to admit that time was a relatively unknown factor in his experience. Not only unknown but also dangerous.
Lt.-Col. Sikerman sprang to attention. “The Sherbourne is ready for launching, sir,” he announced. “The crew is already on board, all men accounted for.”
“Including all available mutants,” added Marshall. “Except for myself and Pucky.”
Rhodan nodded. “Bell will take over command of the Drusus and keep the radio receivers open at all times. That includes hypercom! Of course I don’t think that a radio communication will be possible through the time-wall but we won’t pass up any chances of making contact. And one thing more…” Rhodan turned directly to Bell and looked him in the eye. “Nobody knows how much time may pass in our own dimension of time while we are with the Sherbourne in the other plane. So it is very essential that the Drusus remain here—no matter if it takes weeks or even months. Is that perfectly clear, Bell?”
“It’s clear enough, Perry,” Bell answered in an unusually subdued tone. “We’ll wait, whatever happens. The energy-ring generator will remain in continuous operation.”
“Practically speaking,” interjected Erb, “what you have now is more of a warp-field generator because the light and energy spectra are curved quite sharply. Moreover, you know that a penetration into the other time-plane isn’t possible if an interface with our own continuum doesn’t happen to be present. That’s just a fine distinction but I thought it was important enough to mention it to you.”
Rhodan smiled at Erb. “Dr. Erb, if you are as precise and knowledgeable in everything else concerning this operation, we’ll have no further apprehensions about entrusting ourselves to your creation.”
“That’s not what I’d be worried about,” returned the physicist calmly. “You can rely on the new WF generator completely, sir. But the time ratio between our side and the alien plane—that is my total concern! Up until now we’ve held the time factor to the only constant that we had. But now we know that even time itself isn’t constant.”
“I concur with you,” replied Rhodan seriously. “And we all know that I can’t afford any time slippage. But we have to take these risks if we don’t want to be swept away one day by the other time dimension.” He looked at his watch. “I think we’ll begin the experiment in 5 minutes.” He looked outside at the dead surface of the planet. To the right stood the deserted Gazelle in which Lt. Rous had come here more than 7 months before. The projectors of the warp-field generator were aimed at a spot that lay ahead to the left of it. It was so situated that one could also see it from the Sherbourne, which stood ready for flight in the hangar. The outer lock doors were already wide open so that the light cruiser could leave the gigantic mothership at any time. “Let’s go.”
“Best of luck, Perry,” muttered Bell in a rather husky tone. “You can depend on us.”