The crowning effect of all the incredible changes had been the personal invitations sent out by Mercant himself.

Thus it had happened that two Delta bombers of the Asiatic Federation and the Eastern Bloc had landed this very morning at the huge airport of the headquarters. The visitors had been welcomed by Allan D. Mercant in person.

Nevertheless, this unpretentious looking man had been cautious enough to transport the strangers in a sealed train, which roared along one of the unfathomable underground tunnels deep down in Greenland’s icy mainland. The strangers did not know exactly where they were. They were moving around now in a big, comfortably heated, well lit hall that gave no hint of being almost two miles below ice and rocky ground.

This was Mercant’s center. This was the focal point of all lines of the Western Defence within the framework of a mighty defence union.

Volcanoes seemed to be roaring in the big, built-in concealed loudspeakers. The sound recording technique of the Chinese TV crews was excellent—perhaps too much so.

The viewing target was brought close by their excellent long focus lenses, and the eyes of the viewers were tortured by the constant bright lightning flashes across the screen.

The spectacle had already lasted for fifteen minutes. Conversation had become impossible among the men. They were watching in fascination. Suddenly Allan D. Mercant switched off the set, abruptly bringing back the attention of the spellbound observers.

Silence. Mercant moved his hand across his mirror-like bald head. He seemed so obviously harmless that Marshal Petronskij could not help but feel ill at ease and alarmed. The Chief of the Eastern Air and Space Defence looked helplessly over at the man with the expressionless face.

Ivan Martinowitsch Kosselow, Chief of the Secret Service of the Eastern Bloc, had not batted an eyelid during the TV demonstration. He seemed to think it was to his advantage to keep up his usual masklike face. Kosselow had fought many a battle in silence with Mercant, battles never known to the general public.

Two additional men seemed rather remarkable: Marshal Lao Lin-to, Commander in Chief of the Asiatic Federation Air and Space Forces, as well as the tall, raw-boned Southern Chinese Mao-tsen, who was known to be the Chief of the Asiatic Federation Secret Service.

Thus, the most important and influential personalities of the three major power groups of the world were assembled in the central bunker of HQ-IIA. It was amazing—really more than amazing.

The men looked at each other. The adjutants and minor experts remained quietly and discreetly in the background. This was the place where only the big bosses spoke.

Politely Mercant asked the gentlemen to enter the adjoining conference room. The last guards vanished. The room was hermetically sealed against the outside world.

Mercant’s slight cough sounded like a revelation or perhaps, rather, a warning. Heads turned, fingers began to play with pens and pencils, wide awake brains became even more alert. What did Mercant want?

He spoke in the manner of a deeply caring physician whose psychological schooling has trained him to conceal the fact that he must operate. "I admire the tenacity of the Ochre army," he began charmingly.

"Gentlemen, despite all the efforts of the Asiatic Federation a brief study of the screen makes it quite clear that we are dealing here with a far superior opponent. The events of the past weeks prove, merely by the frightening collection of facts, that neither the NATO states nor those of the East are involved here. I specifically want to have this point made clear. In addition I want you to confirm that you no longer regard the spaceship Stardust as a provoking base of the West within your own domain. These misunderstandings could easily have led to worldwide destruction in an atomic war. May I reassure you once more that the scientists of the Western powers do not have at their disposal any of the means and instruments that could produce such amazing effects and surprises. The Stardust has landed in the central Gobi Desert expressly against our wish. Mister "Mao-tsen, what is your opinion of this situation?"

The tall Chinese turned glumly toward him. Irony smouldered in his dark eyes. "What is that supposed to mean, Mercant?" rang out his deep voice. "I have come here to put an end to all these hide and seek games. I regret having to state that we have lost precious days and hours because of our mutual distrust. My sole concern is to find out how, when and where your Major Rhodan was able to lay his hands on these things. I have learned from a reliable source that these events are closely linked with the first landing on the moon."

"With the second landing, to be correct!" came an icy cold rejoinder.

Mercant’s smiling face froze, as he recognized the unmistakable voice of the Chief of Eastern Defence. Marshal Petronskij managed a sombre grin.

"I beg your pardon?" whispered Mercant.

"With the second landing of a manned spaceship," repeated Kosselow with studied impassiveness. "I have been authorized to inform you herewith. Our manned rocketship started three months before your Stardust. Since it is not our policy to publicize failures, the inexplicable crash of our Spaceship was never made known to the world."

"May we have more details about this affair?" interjected General Pounder, Chief of the U.S. Space Explorations Command. His face was pale and perturbed as he turned toward Mercant. How could the Western Secret Service have remained in ignorance about such a vital bit of news?

"Gladly." Kosselow nodded obligingly. "What we need now is to make a clean sweep and to be absolutely truthful with each other. Our rocket crashed on the surface of the moon. Total loss, no news, no indications whatsoever. We have learned that your Stardust encountered similar difficulties, with the only difference that your crew managed to survive and even to return after their disastrous mission was completed. We have thoroughly examined the data you supplied us. We can therefore conclude that your rocket was thrown off-course shortly before trying to land by some disruption of its remote control steering system. This is exactly what happened to our vessel.

"This strange duplication of circumstances motivates us to ask for your cooperation. We are firmly convinced at this point that there is some mystery going on up there on our planet’s satellite. It appears that your Major Rhodan countered this challenge more successfully than did our own people. At least, he was fortunate enough to survive this catastrophe. Whatever happened after their crash landing is beyond our comprehension. The only thing that matters here for us is this—both the Eastern and Western ships ran into dangerous complications as a result of spontaneous interferences with their remote control guidance systems. It is out of the question to hold any rival power groups responsible for this. These are the plain facts."

Allan D. Mercant nodded in affirmation. "Gentlemen, I have kept you fully informed of all explanations and information we have received from our Major Rhodan. Our former special test pilot stated flatly that on the moon he discovered the remains of a highly intelligent alien race from another system. This accounts also for the infinitely superior arms and instruments brought back on the Stardust. Despite our express orders the Stardust was brought down to Earth within the Gobi Desert. Ever since then he has refused any contact but has identified himself as the so-called Third Power. What he means by that is of secondary interest for the time being. But we are vitally interested in the plain facts that immediately confront us—especially the impenetrable energy screen that baffles our experts. We have just witnessed with our own eyes the senselessness of attacking it with conventional weapons."

"Let’s get better ones!" hissed the Chinese bitterly. "Why don’t you do something to straighten things out after the catastrophic treason of your special test pilot? We are all agreed that Perry Rhodan has become the world’s greatest enemy. Unless we manage to remove the mysterious field of energy and to render harmless the men of the Stardust we—"

"Might even be forced by these circumstances to come to an agreement and cooperate with each other!" interrupted Mercant sarcastically.

Kosselow cleared his throat, then continued thoughtfully. "We are of the opinion that preventing an atomic war with the help of Rhodan’s powerful weapons should not be looked upon as an ignominious deed," declared Marshal Petronskij. "Quite the contrary, gentlemen. It was you who pushed certain red buttons in wild panic. But your ballistic nuclear rocket did not explode, thanks to Rhodan and his secret defence arms. We owe it to Major Rhodan that we are assembled here today in a peaceful exchange of views. That is the other side of the coin. A very positive result out of a critical situation, and we should not forget it."

"No one is overlooking this aspect," remarked Mercant with professional seriousness. "On the other hand I’d like to remind you that the emergency buttons would never have been pushed if Rhodan had not landed on the territory of the Asiatic Federation. We have indicated in many communiques that this landing did not occur with our consent. Quite the contrary. Yet Peking has preferred to believe that we are involved in establishing a Western base in the central Gobi in order to provoke you. We ought to look at these problems in their proper perspective. All that matters now is to decide the manner in which this agreement should be reached."

"Something should be done," began Mao-tsen slowly. "We absolutely refuse to tolerate the presence of the so-called Third Power in the territories of the Asiatic Federation. Rhodan’s actions are criminal according to our international laws. He is resisting and openly defying an internationally recognized government."

"Please, do consider Rhodan’s point of view too," growled General Pounder. "I want to be frank with you. So permit me to state here that I consider it a distinct advantage for world peace if we are kept in check by a neutral power. Need I remind you how terribly tense and dangerous the political situation had grown? Rhodan’s landing in the Gobi Desert was not the decisive factor in our pushing of panic buttons. Rhodan was probably nothing more than the spark that ignited the explosive tensions that had been building up for decades during the Cold War."

The Eastern Chief of Defence seemed to grow nervous. Dryly he replied, "General Pounder, you still appear to treat Rhodan like the spoiled problem child within the frame of your space travel program. May I point out to you that we, too, are unable to accept a new power that suddenly makes its entry into the constellation of the world’s power groups. Quite apart from the legal situation, which has grown untenable by now, it is out of the question that we should be degraded to a position where we receive orders. Who can guarantee that Rhodan won’t develop into a dictator ruling the whole world? Right now he is still small, practically immobilized, imprisoned by this mysterious protective shell. The time has come to employ the scientific and industrial might of all the great powers against Rhodan. First of all we should find out who is behind him. We doubt the validity of the information coming from the IIA!"

Allan D. Mercant rose, his face displaying displeasure. "I have asked you to come here to the headquarters of the IIA in order to familiarize you with the latest data available to my organization. All known facts were fed into the biggest and best computer brain on Earth. We were not concerned with determining whether it is advisable that humans he in possession of a superhuman technology. We wanted to know if Rhodan plans to play the role of a peaceful supervisor over-mankind’s future development or if he is inclined to turn into an imperialistic ruler with the help of infinitely superior instruments."

"The latter, of course!" Kosselow replied quickly. "What else could motivate him in his actions?"

"Please, be patient!" said Mercant with icy politeness. "As much as I personally welcome the opportunity of this meeting, on the other hand I detest the unlawful practices of a man who started out as a major in the space force and ends up returning to this globe as a dictator. So far it is still undecided whether Rhodan has done a favour for a nightmare haunted mankind.

"One thing, though, is certain-he has prevented a total atomic war. In this regard I must agree with General Pounder. All nuclear reactions have been rendered impossible. We have arrived at a temporary alliance, in which I can see the hopeful beginning signs of a future coalition between the great powers. All united, we are now confronting one man. These are the only important facts we need consider here. For weeks we have pondered the events that undoubtedly happened on the moon. You are familiar with Rhodan’s allegations. You must have listened in to the radio communication between the U.S. Department of Space and Major Rhodan. According to that, Rhodan maintains his assertions that he has discovered on the moon the abandoned heritage of a far superior alien race. He claims to have appropriated these remains in the interests of all humanity. Therefore, he refuses to hand over these discoveries to any government of this world. This ia tantamount to desertion and high treason. But cause and effect are not the same thing. Our usual standards of jurisdiction are no longer applicable in this case, particularly since Rhodan has renounced both his rank and his citizenship. He has no nationality, calls himself a citizen of the world and does not recognize the authority of our planet’s courts of law."

"A legally untenable situation!" snapped Kosselow angrily.

"Indeed," confirmed Mercant. "Even more than that. The situation is utterly confusing. But let’s wait with any decision until we can proceed effectively against Rhodan. For the time being we are limited to talk, which is not very productive in such circumstances. Let’s rather get busy with the facts, for facts speak louder than words."

Mercant sat down. He motioned briefly with his left hand. A huge screen lit up, on which the launching of the manned moon rocket was projected.

The kinescope report of the ship could be seen, followed by the crew’s preparations for the touchdown on the moon, filmed by the lunar expedition’s own cameras. This was interspersed with the pictures taken by the manned satellite space station Freedom I. Rhodan’s last radio message could be heard, then the shrill whistling of the automatic warning system and the high chirping of the call for help, "QQRXQ." The robot automatic steering system of the Stardust registered the failure of the earthbound remote control steering signals. The last shots showed that the rocket was hurtling out of control toward the lunar surface. Finally the ship disappeared beyond the curvature of the moon.

Mercant indicated by raising his hand that the film projection was to be stopped.

"Gentlemen, you have just seen the preparations and the sudden plunge toward the moon’s surface," he said. "So far everything was clear. We believed it an accident. Others spoke of sabotage. The only thing we are certain of is that the Stardust suddenly no longer responded to our remote control impulses, although her receivers were functioning perfectly, as has been proved by the return of the ship. These are the unassailable final results of our electronic computer. Will you listen now to the technicians’ report of translated symbols of the final data. They prove without doubt that Perry Rhodan is not acting alone. We are dealing with an unknown and horrifying force. Therefore, it seems utterly senseless right now to present hair splitting arguments of who is right or wrong. What matters is solely in whose hands the power rests. If it is in Rhodan’s, then we have no alternative but to remember with a resigned smile the old saying ‘might makes right.’ Do you agree?"

Kosselow expressed his approval by a short resolute nod. But the representatives of the Asiatic Federation protested loudly.

Mercant shrugged his shoulders helplessly. "Mr. Ktao-tsen, we are willing to accept your protests, but it is not in our power to undertake the necessary steps against Rhodan’s invasion of your territory. You have tried it with your best elite troops and your latest arms. With what result, if I may ask? You are burning up millions of dollars by bombarding the indestructible wall of energy, without making as much as a dent in it. Rhodan does not even lift a finger. That means according to the laws of logic that he knows himself to be invulnerable. Give up, gentlemen, and be satisfied with hermetically sealing off this area. I will prove to you that the true danger is hidden up there on the moon. Rhodan plays nothing but a subordinate role here in this game with big stakes."

With these words Mercant had expressed in an indirect manner what seemed to be the inevitable truth. He continued firmly, "In order to attack the evil at its roots we will be forced to go where the danger is, namely, to land on the moon and to attack it there. Listen first to this short report of our E brain."

Turning to the technicians, Mercant said, "Proceed!"

The loudspeakers began, "It is to be assumed that the data regarding start and emergency landing of the moon rocket are known. The return to Earth was executed with the assistance of electronic remote control system. Reentry into our atmosphere was accomplished successfully and according to plan. First indications of the preceding events lie in Major Rhodan’s landing against orders in the central Gobi Desert. Our records of the Stardust’s construction and equipment show that the crew would have been absolutely incapable of using superior weapons and instruments before take-off. Yet after the touchdown in the Gobi Desert such installations were definitely aboard the Stardust. Therefore, it is concluded with utmost certainty that the commander of the Stardust must have discovered on the moon the non-terrestrial products of a non-terrestrial industry."

"Very clever!" muttered Ltao-tsen caustically. "We already now that. Is that all?"

The monotonous sounds of the loudspeaker started up again, while the landing area with the moon rocket appeared on the screen.

"According to the confused statements of the test pilot Clark G. Fletcher, captain of the space force, we can conclude that the crew was forced by Major Rhodan to submit to the forbidden landing. Captain Fletcher was arrested and taken into custody by the Australian Security Service. Due to some careless procedures during a cross-examination, Captain Fletcher unfortunately suffered a fatal stroke. Judging by the tape recordings and medical records of the proceedings it appears that Captain Fletcher’s memory bank was put out of commission by means of a parapsychic hypnotic bloc. Nevertheless, it is certain that at least Fletcher was made to obey his commander by force. The officials responsible for Fletcher’s death are being prosecuted."

"How clever!" mumbled the Chinese with bitter sarcasm.

The report concluded with a detailed account of the various aspects of the investigation and its results. The attitude and behaviour of the other two crew members, Dr. Eric Manoli and Captain Reginald Bell, were reconstructed. These were based on the sparse reports of far Eastern and Western secret service agents.