First of four parts of the great cycle 'The Great Cosmic Mystery', which covers issues #1600 until #1799!)
Issues: 1600 - 1649
Year: 1200 NGC - 1202 NGC (4787 - 4789 AD)
In the years between 1173 and 1200 (#1599 and #1600) Perry Rhodan and Reginald Bell, who had not held political office for the past few decades, went on expeditions in several regions of the universe. On one of these expeditions, Bell finds traces of a mysterious race of 'arachnoids', (spiderlike beings), whose tracks lead him to the galaxy NGC 1400, 22 million lightyears away. But there he finds only very old relics of this race. He also discovers 73 supernovae, which are all forty years old.
Perry Rhodan's travels lead, by way of the galaxy Truillau and ESTARTU's sphere of influence, to the planet Khrat in the galaxy Norgan-Tur, 86 million lightyears away, the center of the Order of the Knights. There he learns that he and Atlan still have the status of Knights of the Deep, despite their break with the Cosmocrats. In addition, it is revealed to him that the future developments in the galaxy and their environment are part of the solution of a great cosmic riddle, whose meaning is similarly important to the third ultimate question.
In the first few days of the year 1200 NGC, inexplicable disturbances of hyper-space come to pass. A large part of the highly developed galactic technology is based on the use of five-dimensional space. As the first instruments show some irregularities, no one becomes particularly alarmed. Only the Nexialist Boris Siankow warns of greater consequences. But on January 10th 1200 NGC, hyper-space loses its known structure and all 5-D-technology stops operating. The term 'Hyperspace-Parese' is coined for this effect.
Although the inertia of the five-dimensional continuum is limited to a sphere of 10,000 lightyears diameter, for the civilizations lying within this area the so-called 'Dead Zone' is a disaster. With the loss of the gigantic lunar syntronic NATHAN, damages in the amount of billions of Galaxes mount up, and not only on earth. On Mars, a genetically programmed biomass, intended to become part of the Terraforming project in the Sheravyl area, goes out of control. Also the ODIN, with Perry Rhodan and his Cyber-clone servant Voltago, is spun out of hyperspace and is able to move only with sublight speed.
Atlan, who was outside the Dead Zone, undertakes a mission to explore the phenomenon and to send the affected people some help or at least news.
As the Ennox named Philip suddenly appears, the situation eases a little. Philip and his fellow Ennox are very curious and get on the nerves of many galacticians, but they have the ability "to go the short way", that is, to 'displace' themselves like a teleporter from one place to another by psionic-power - but do so independently of hyperspace. In this manner an exchange of information between the Dead Zone and the 'outside world' becomes possible.
Meanwhile Pucky, with Alaska Saedelaere, is in search of both missing Immortals. On his search he follows vague hints of the superintelligence IT, who designated the chosen ones as 'mirror borns' and as 'of his (Pucky's) kind'.
The race of Ennox are also delved into. Yart Fulgen is successful in 'X-raying' a member of this race and in so doing he discovers the so-called solar plexus - organ, which gives them the ability to go the "short way". In reaction to the investigations the Ennox go into seclusion.
In May 1200 NGC, the Dead Zone suddenly dissolves. The scientists find out that the Hyperspace-Parese was not a natural event. In the area of the star cluster M 3 the 'hyperdim-attractor' develops, a hyper-phenomenon which is interpreted as the Dead Zone in a state of rest. Thus, with a probability close to certainty, it is determined that another Dead Zone will emerge in the foreseeable future.
At the research area, a place where the Haluters and the Nakk Paunaro parked their ships in order to study the attractor through the use of space-time-folds, Sinta appears, a mysterious entity who apparently originated from another dimension. The being, similar in abilities to a superintelligence, is attempting an intrusion into normal space with all its power. However, it is able to be repulsed for the time being. During this event Sato Ambush disappears into a para-reality. (* Note: Sato Ambush was a scientist who played an important part earlier in the series and joined Paunaro after IT refused to grant him a cell-activator)
In the meantime, Reginald Bell succeeds in his investigation of the arachnoid artifacts, brought along by his expedition, and learns the history of the spider-people, the Arcoana. Apparently the arachnoids spent several millennia murdering and plundering their way through their home-galaxy Noheyrasa and left behind one devastated world after another. Eventually, however, they developed the mental maturity to recognize their lack of respect to life and to the cosmos. From that point on their efforts were concentrated on reparation of the damage that they had caused. Their natural talent of grasping and understanding five-dimensional processes leads to the building of a superior civilization but also to the unexpected appearance of the Riin, a humanoid people, who want to use these abilities for the satisfaction of their extreme curiosity.
It becomes more difficult from time to time for the sensitive Arcoana to endure the attentions of the obtrusive Riin. Finally they feign a collective suicide by the ignition of 73 suns and flee into the far galaxy Aemeionga. There they lay the foundations of their new life in the Sheokor-system on the planet Dadusharne.
However the Riin, which by now it has become clear are the eccentric Ennox, do not give up. They succeed in tracking down the arachnoids again. This time the spider-like people defend themselves in another way. They develop the Maciuunensor (also called 'pace-maker'). This is a device that prevents the Ennox from going the 'short way'! The Riin-problem appears solved.
But more than 10,000 Riin remained in the solar system of the Arcoana at the spontaneous 'switch-on' of the Maciuunensor. For this reason, a few months later the instrument is switched off temporarily to make it possible for the Riin to return home. However, 271 of them had exhausted their solar plexus organ and cannot go the short way anymore. At this point the Arcoana start an auxiliary mission to bring these Riin home. But other, healthy Riin appear and force their comrades to let themselves be set down on an unknown planet instead of their home planet. In their home system the Arcoana activate the Maciuunensor again.
In the meantime the second Dead Zone, this time with a diameter of 5,000 lightyears, manifests itself in a sphere with Arkon at the center. This causes the Akonides to jump at the opportunity to settle the long smoldering conflict with the Arkonides and to annex Arkonide systems. Especially the mysterious Blue Snake and the ship MAGENTA, with a new development of the Akonides on board, the XD-Transponder by which matter-transmitter transmissions can be intercepted, give the Arkonides and other Galacticians a great deal of trouble.
Over Arkon, projections of a gigantic crystal and of insectoid shaped spaceships appear, which Atlan interprets as a fresh contact-attempt of Sinta after entering them. After the extinguishing of the projections, Atlan holds a twentyone sided pyramid prism, later called spindle, in his hands. On investigation, the spindle turns out to have a negative 'strangeness', something which only appears to be there (* Note: The strangeness is a measure for the 'distance' to other universes. It can be calculated from many natural constants of the other continuum or of some objects of this continuum [natural constants also show a kind of inertia, which means that when an object is transferred into another universe it holds its properties for a while before it adjusts to the new environment] and because distances are always positive numbers the strangeness is positive also). Later, Paunaro recognizes that it is only a functionless dummy and leaves it up to Sinta to escape 'her' and to banish the danger. (* Note: the spindle was brought out of the Dead Zone by an Ennox. Paunaro and others tried to investigate the border of the Dead Zone where it was oscillating a bit. There they came into further contact with Sinta and her hordes)
Pucky, in search of the mirror born, meets on Gaia in the Provcon-Fist with Felix, a sick Ennox without memories, whom he offers to bring to his home planet if he gives him the coordinates. Only after long refusal does the Ennox surrender them, when he is already near death. Other Ennox try to prevent him from betraying the coordinates. He wrests from Pucky the promise that no Galactician will set foot on the planet Mystery, which lies a bit outside of the 10.5 millions lightyears distant galaxy NGC 7793.
Meanwhile IT calls the mirror born officially to it, whereupon many Galacticians take themselves to believe that they are the candidates selected by the super-intelligence and try to reach WANDERER, which has appeared in the Sol-system. The 'hunt for immortality' begins. Also the Akonide Alnora Deponar, who is no one other than the Blue Snake and the boss of the Blue Legion, tries for immortality but is killed in the attempt.
Suddenly, Philipp asks Perry Rhodan for help for 250 sick Ennox. These are the survivors of the 271 Riin from the Sheokor-system of the Arcoana. Perry picks up the Ennox with the ODIN and the medical ship PARACELSUS from the unknown planet where they were set down and brings them to Mystery. As Perry lands on Mystery, he finds no traces of civilization or of the Ennox themselves. But instead of this, a strange night-sky surrounds the planet: One has the impression of being in the center of the universe and able to see all stars. It is a three-dimensional projection with a height of 20 km, but neither the projection layer nor the devices that produce it can be located. Nevertheless, there are still some gaps in this model of the universe. To remove the Galacticians from his home world, Philip offers to lead them to the causes of the Dead Zone.
Meanwhile Paunaro was successful in finding out the source of the Hyperspace-Parese: It lies in the galaxy NGC 6503, at a distance of 13 millions lightyears. Bell outfits the 'Dragon Fleet' (dragon, because NGC 6503 lies in the direction of the constellation Dragon), to retaliate. As they arrive in NGC 6503, Paunaro and Myles Kantor prevent overhasty hostilities. Finally, Bell must ascertain that he is dealing with the Sheokor-system of the Arcoana. Before long, Perry Rhodan arrives there with the ODIN. With Paunaro's help the Maciuunensor, whose work has caused the Dead Zones, are adjusted so that the Dead Zone around Arkon is extinguished and no such phenomena will appear again.
In the Milky Way galaxy, after the extinguishing of the Dead Zone, Atlan is able to avert an intricate of the Akonides on Arkon and diverts the Akonide government with the help of a Linguidian pacifier.
Eventually Pucky receives the decisive reference to the mirror born by Felix. They turn out to be the Vandemar-twins, who took care of Felix on Gaia. Pucky brings the two to WANDERER, where it turns out that IT has been gone for 26 years and since then Ernst Ellert has acted in IT's name. After the delivery of the cell activator chips to the Vandemars, WANDERER also disappears.
At the investigation of the photographs of the universe model of Mystery the astronomers discover a gigantic empty space beginning at a distance of 225 million lightyears. This empty space, called 'the Great Void', extends over 150 million lightyears, up to the 'great wall' ( behind which Triicle-9, the former Frostruby, now lies as well). Perry Rhodan wants to undertake a further expedition to Mystery, but Philip appears again and tries dissuade him. Philip explains that the Ennox themselves have been working on the model of the universe for millions of years. Beside some regions of the universe, which they have not yet explored, there exists also a place, which is not accessible to the Ennox with their 'short way': The completely starless Great Void! Philip designates the Great Void as the greatest cosmic mystery and the 'other side of the universe'. This mystery was also the reason why the Ennox were so relentless with the Arcoana. Now Philip persuades Perry Rhodan to start an expedition to the Great Void, into the sector Coma Berenices (named after the star-constellation). After initial difficulties in finding the necessary financial means, Perry is able to procure, among other things, the BASE by the LFT (League of Free Terrans). As the Arcoana pay a visit to the Galacticians, Colounshaba, the designer of the Maciuunensor, agrees to join the expedition.
On August 1, 1202 NGC, the BASE finally starts on a mission to the Great Void. In addition to 12,000 crewmembers, also Perry Rhodan with the ODIN, Reginald Bell with the CIMARRON, Atlan with the ATLANTIS, Roi Danton with the MONTEGO BAY, Icho Tolot with his HALUTA and Paunaro with the TARFALA participate. Furthermore Pucky, Alaska Saedelaere, Myles Kantor, the Vandemar - twins and 2 Linguidian pacifiers are on board. Also the research ship FORNAX, the LAMCIA of the Arcoana and 3 other Haluters with their ships join the expedition.
Note on Linguidian Pacifiers: Among the Linguides, the people who appeared first in cycle 22 (also called 'The Linguides'-cycle), there are persons who have the ability to calm down (or pacify) other people by merely saying the right thing (it is not a psionic ability). They have to 'think themselves very deeply into' the other persons and to understand their problems and fears to do so. In this manner, they are able to solve many conflicts without weapons. The best of these Linguides are called pacifiers. So, for example, the 14 Linguides who received cell activators in the previous cycle were also pacifiers (before they went mad under the influence of the activators).
Perry Rhodan series and characters Copyright Verlagsunion
Pabel-Moewig
Written and translated by Wolfgang Kienberger (c) 1997
Editorial assistance provided by John Foyt
Webmasters John Foyt (rhodanenglish@netscape.net)
and Steve Taylor (steve-taylor@fsmail.net)