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Cycle 26 Summary
The Hamamesch

(Note: This cycle is the fourth and last part of the 'Great-Cycle' "The Great Cosmic Mystery", which covers issues #1600 until #1799!)

Issues: 1750 - 1799
Year: 1218 NGC - 1220 NGC (4805 - 4807 AD)

During the events in the Arresum, on the other side of the universe, the Hamamesch, fish-like but otherwise almost humanoid beings, appear in the Milky Way. They are from Hirdobaan, a galaxy 118 million lightyears away, where the BASE had built the station COMA-6 during its first flight to the Great Void. Their stated mission was to trade with the Galacticians and built huge bazaars. The wares they had were normally useless and worthless, but some of the wares attracted people magically and made them addicted to their 'spell'. This was called the psionic imprint and the wares were called the Imprint-wares. After all their wares were sold ( in exchange for galactic high-technology), the Hamamesch left the Milky Way to return home and said that there would be many more of their wares in Hirdobaan. Only weeks after this, the wares lost their Imprints and left their owners addicted and suffering withdrawal symptoms.

The Hamamesch left behind some 20 billion Imprint-addicts in the Milky Way. Around 40 million addicts, among them Homer G. Adams, left for Hirdobaan to obtain new imprint-wares there. In the year 1220 NGC, 30 million Galacticians reach their goal. Before long the Base, which is on its return flight from the Great Void to the Milky Way, also arrives there.

Hirdobaan is divided in 8 sectors, each of which is governed by a 'trade sovereign'. Above them in the hierarchy are nine Maschtars and the mysterious Gomasch Endredde. The center of Hirdobaan, where Gomasch Endredde is said to live and therefore named the Endreddes district, is blocked off by a 'transition field'. Because no one there seems to know anything about Imprint-wares, the addicted Galacticians become more and more brutal in their search, which induces the Fermyid, the warriors and 'police' of Hirdobaan, to intervene. When the addicts occupy a few planets on which transmitters to the Endreddes district exist, Imprint-wares suddenly start to emerge. Each Galactician receives only one item. After a few days of Imprint-intoxication, the addicts disappear without a trace.

At the same time, some garrison members of the BASE, including Atlan, Bell and R. Tekener, come into contact with some imprint-wares and they materialize in the Endreddes district. There they find that they can move around on 12 planets, the so-called 'Levels', which are interconnected by matter transmitters. Levels 13 and 14, which are rumored to exist, cannot be located.

Eventually all addicts arrive there and are hypnotically forced to repair the strange technical equipment on the planets. Those Galacticians, who obtained only one imprint, materialize in the district at an interval of 13 hours and 1 minute, which is called the "in-phase," and return at the end of that period to the place from which they disappeared, i.e. the "out-phase." That is to say, they become ’phase springers’. Unfortunately, during the "out-phase" they are unconscious and they cannot be communicated with.

Eventually Atlan's extra brain overcomes the unconsciousness phase, and he is able to give Perry information about the district. Because the phase springers can take only those things into the district which they had on their bodies at their first disappearance, they have a general lack of equipment. Therefore some volunteers, loaded with heavy machinery and weapons, are exposed to the influence of the imprint-wares and become phase springers as well. The Hamamesch and the Fermiyd react more and more aggressively to the Galacticians remaining outside of the district around Perry, which leads to the capture of the trade sovereigns and finally to the death of the Maschtars. But none of them know what is happening in the Endreddes district.

During the course of their investigations the phase-springers are able to temporarily turn of the transition field surrounding the Endreddes District, allowing the BASE to fly into the district. In the process of achieving this result they find the mysterious "evolution plains," which completely surround all of the Levels starting at a depth of two kilometers (about 1 mile), and go down to an unknown depth! The 2 km between the evolution plains and the surface are filled with all kinds of technology, mostly positronic devices, which are intended to be repaired by the former addicts. The 'evolution plains' got their name because they consist of an unknown technology which seems to live and to evolve itself! Because the addicts are likely to die of sleep- and nourishment - deprivation during their work, as apparently happened to many other groups before them, Rhodan's humanitarian nature makes him want to assist them in escaping.

The few ships that remained outside of the district are attacked by a great fleet of the Fermyid and in spite of their technical superiority, they seem close to being defeated. At the last minute an auxiliary fleet of 8000 space-ships of the Blues appears from the Milky Way. The rescuers had to be Blues, because they are the only Galacticians who are immune to the Imprint.

In the Endreddes District, the circumstances start to be explained. Gomasch Endredde is a computer which was constructed 200,000 years ago by an entity named Aachthor. During genetic experiments, which among other things created the Hamamesch, a danger arose and Endredde was only able to avoid it by switching itself off. Only one of the repair-computers remained active, named "Rob-repair," which, with its restricted knowledge, governed the skill level of Hirdobaan! In its efforts to activate Endredde again, it established the Maschtars as the rulers of Hirdobaan and, in addition to the technology produced for the Hamamesch, created the Imprint-wares in order to attract foreign races that have a better technology than the Hamamesch to Hirdobaan. These people were expected to help activate Gomasch Endredde again. But, because "Rob-repair" did not know the cause for the deactivation of Endredde, all of their efforts remained unsuccessful. With the BASE and its ancillary ships, the Galacticians are finally able to get to Levels 13 and 14 as well.

Suddenly Hamiller turns itself on. (Note: Hamiller is the main-computer of the Base. It is said, that the scientist Payne Hamiller, who constructed the computer, put his own mind into it, but this could never be proved). Hamiller maintains that Gomasch Endredde must be unconditionally activated again, as if the old danger still existed. With his and Voltago's aid, "Rob-repair" succeeds in booting Endredde again. The Galacticians also find the place on level 14 where Aachthor lies in a deep sleep, and wake him up. Only he is able to remove the danger. At the same time, Hamiller, which has integrated itself completely with Gomasch Endredde, warns the Galacticians to leave the Levels quickly. Rhodan and his comrades succeed only with great effort in rescuing all of the Galacticians on time, before the planets explode.

Aachthor turns out to be a 'Mighty', who was intended to build a 'spore-ship 200,000 years ago. But he had to flee from Queeneroch, the neighboring galaxy to Hirdobaan, because the Roach, the ancestors of the Arcoana, attacked it. He constructed Endredde and hid the parts of the 'spore-ship' in order to wait until the Roach disappeared from this part of the universe.

[* Note: The spore ships were huge vessels (owned by the 'Mighties') which were so named, because the contained the life-spores, Oon and Noon-Quanta which were intended to be scattered over the universe. There were 7 Mighties (one of them was Bardioc, later a super-intelligence) with (naturally) also 7 spore-ships in our universe some billion years ago. This project was initiated by the Cosmocrats in order to bring more life to the universe. Rhodan learned about this in the Bardioc-, the Cosmic Castles- and the Pan-Thau-Ra-cycles (#800 until 999) (the Pan-Thau-Ra was a spore ship, indeed Bardioc one's!) The seven spore ships were then granted to Rhodan to use as the Cosmic Bazaars for the Cosmic League, but they were destroyed during the Sotho-domination of the galaxy (#1250 till 1349)). Later, in the Tarkan-cycle (#1350 - 1399), Rhodan also learned that there were 7 Mighties for each universe!]

As the planets explode, the 'spore-ship', with a diameter of 1500km, is formed out of the evolution plains. As he flies to Queeneroch to save the life-spores, Aachthor falls into an old trap of the Roach and dies. Voltago takes over his mission instead. Suddenly space opens to hyperspace and thousands of Ayindi-ships appear. Also a part of those peoples, who were 'freed' into the Arresum by IT, is on board the ships. Their mission is to form the crew of the 'spore-ship' and scatter the life-spores into the previously sterile Arresum.

By Voltago and Ernst Ellert, who appears again as a messenger of IT, Perry learns how all of these events interconnect. In the Arresum, there were once seven 'Mighties', but instead of following their mission of sowing life, they fought against each other. Anti-life emerged out of the manipulated life-spores, and finally the Abruse emerged from this. As a new Mighty, and not one of the seven who failed, it is incumbent upon Aachthor to take on their mission, spread real life in the Arresum and thereby stop the Abruse, but the Roach unintentionally prevented this from happening, and the Immortals and the Knights of the Deep had to fight the Abruse.

Ellert announces furthermore that the immortals will receive no more missions from IT for a long time, but they will 'stand alone' in all other matters as well, receiving no help from IT. IT gives a mysterious black box to them, which only the Knights of the Deep, Perry and Atlan, can open. But it seems to be empty. Before he finally shifts into the Arresum, Voltago prophesies that Perry will, even must, step on the Bridge to Infinity, no matter what it costs him. The passages into the Arresum will remain closed for ever.

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