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On a lonely moon in deepest space a scout for Perry Rhodan’s fleet encounters a strange, sentient orb.
As a Springer attack force approaches the planet Goszul, the orbit reveals its awesome power… but
what are its intentions?
Meanwhile on Goszul, the Springers seem to have been vanquished by the Plague of Oblivion unleashed
by Rhodan and his mutants. But the Springers have one devastating card left to play–hidden deep in the
mountains, their mightiest battleship is nearing completion…
This is the stirring story of–
A WORLD GONE MAD
1/ PUCKYS PERILOUS PRETENSE
"WE 13 MEN are opposed by a whole world!" growled Ragor, a patriarch of the Galactic Traders
known as the Springers and himself till now holding the title of Governor of Goszul’s Planet.
"A world
we
ruled till now!" a dark giant next to him murmured ominously. "I wonder what condition the
Goszuls will impose on us?"
Bright sunlight from an alien star streamed through the wide windows of the assembly room in which 13
dejected men were sitting. The rays reflected from the polished surface of a long conference table.
There were several features the 13 had in common which clearly characterized them as a homogeneous
group: Heavy beards half-covered all their faces… Strong noses and thin lips were common above their
bearded chins… All had bush eyebrows—beneath which their eyes now held a peculiar mixture of
distress and barely restrained pride bordering on arrogance. Their haughty heads topped sturdy
physiques and now seemed crestfallen, displaying little of the great strength normally evident. The sinewy
fists lying listlessly on the table lacked their customary energy.
These vanquished masters of their colonial world were waiting for their conquerors.
Patriarch Ragor had fled like the others to the abandoned administration building when the Plague of
Oblivion caused a rebellion among the natives and the commanders of the Springer ships fled in panic. A
50-year quarantine had subsequently been imposed on Goszul’s Planet by the Traders… costing them an
important base.
Ragor cleared his throat. "They keep us waiting," he observed gloomily, trying to mask his impatience
with an exterior show of calm.
 "The prerogative of the victor," philosophized his neighbour.
"Yes, they give us time to ponder. When they occupied the Command Centre for our robots we were
automatically rendered defenceless—which has brought us to this sorry plight."
Just then footsteps sounded in the corridor, followed by the opening of the door. Three men entered the
room, accompanied by a seven-foot-tall robot which placed itself near the entrance without waiting for
specific orders.
The people who entered were quite different from those waiting anxiously. They were humans like the
others but distinguished by red skins and atypically beardless faces. In contrast to the sturdy Springers
they were slender, almost delicate, though every inch as tall. These hitherto despised natives had
suddenly become the masters and now for the first time faced their former governors in the sweet role of
conquerors. But their frank, genial faces showed more joy of hard won liberation than pride of victory.
Their simple raiment clearly revealed the primitive state of their culture imposed by their former rulers.
The Galactic Traders had dominated Goszul’s Planet and exploited its inhabitants with the aid of an army
of programmed robots until the day the pestilence broke out and infected seven of the 20 governors,
rendering them totally inactive. The diseased patients were still confined in hospitals with coloured spots
on their faces and obliterated memories. Fear of contagion had driven the other governors together but
when the four alien spaceships landed and put their army of fighter robots out of action they had no
choice left but to capitulate.
The four ships were still stationed outside on the huge spaceport. Such ships had never before landed on
this planet. They were gigantic spheres up to half a mile in diameter and their intervention had determined
the outcome of the battle.
Ragor studied the men with pinched eyes and made no effort to rise from his seat. With a sluggish
gesture he pointed to the empty chairs. Although he conceded that they were the victors he did not
regard them as his real conquerors in the field.
In this respect his judgment was utterly erroneous.
The three men remained standing on their feet. The one in the middle, the old telepath Enzally, probed
the thoughts of the governors and detected besides resignation and despair also resistance and secret
hope. Yet he was unable to ascertain quickly what this hope was based on.
Ralv, the leader of the rebellion against the Springers and future head of government of the united planet,
adopted an attitude of waiting for the time being. He left it to Enzally to say the first words.
The third man, however, was no Goszul.
His skin was tanned and his lean figure towered about five inches above Enzally and Ralv. His eyes
showed nothing of the glum traces of age-old slavery and fear. They looked bright and expressed
self-reliance and a sense of strength and superiority. The 13 governors didn’t recognize his unpretentious
uniform which had never before appeared in their realm.
There was only one explanation: the man was not a native but must have come in one of those four alien
spaceships and belonged to the people who had inflicted the defeat on the Springers.
Ragor came to the same conclusion but was far from happy about it.
 He would have been even much unhappier had he known that the man who confronted him was Perry
Rhodan, who was careful not to reveal his identity for various reasons. His mission on Goszul’s Planet
was not yet fully completed. Although these 13 governors seemed to have lost all contact with their
compatriots who had fled away into space, Rhodan preferred to be on the safe side.
He nodded to Enzally who had waited for his sign.
"Thank you, we prefer to stand up," said the telepath, who was the only one born on this world. "If you
accept our conditions we’ll come very quickly to an agreement. You’ve lost the fight and you’re helpless.
Even your robots refuse to obey you since they’ve been reprogrammed. We’ve no intention of killing
you, we merely wish to isolate you. We’re planning to put you on an island in the Western Ocean where
you can spend the rest of your lives in peace in a good climate. A return to your own world is impossible
since you’re deprived of your spaceships."
Enzally paused and looked at Ragor. The governor was unaware that his conscious and subconscious
thoughts were carefully studied. Nothing remained hidden from the probing telepath.
A murmur was audible among the 13 men. Several began to whisper but Ragor hushed them up with a
wave of his hand.
"What will happen to the seven governors who are suffering under the Plague of Oblivion?" Ragor
inquired. "Are we to leave them behind?"
"They’ll go with you to the island."
"So that they’ll infect us too?" Ragor was indignant and looked furious. "If that island is now free of this
scourge, it won’t remain that way very long."
Perry Rhodan gave Enzally a sign and addressed Ragor himself. "We’ve brought an anti-serum with us,
Ragor. The disease has now been reduced to a harmless sickness—luckily only after the Springer
commanders were put to flight. You’ll be administered injections and you’ll never come down with the
illness. The seven governors we’ve found in the hospital have already recovered and will be able to
accompany you to the island."
Ragor studied Rhodan intently. "You’re not from this world?"
"No, my home planet is more than a thousand light-years away.
"Why do you interfere in this conflict?"
"Because we’re concerned for people who are oppressed to be able to govern themselves. We’ve
helped the Goszuls to overcome colonialism."
"And you don’t make any profit out of it?"
"Certainly, Ragor. But you can’t expect us to tell you all about that. All you have to do is answer one
question: Will you submit voluntarily to the decision of the new government of this world in offering you
exile?"
Ragor cast a sideways glance at his associates before he answered. "Are we allowed to leave Goszul’s
Planet in case we can get a ship?"
 "In that case, yes. But you don’t have a ship."
Ragor hesitated once again but it was already too late.
Enzally suddenly smiled and said to Rhodan, "I know where the ship is, sir! We can conclude this
conversation."
Ragor stared uncomprehendingly at the telepath who had so casually given away his prized secret. He
felt as if his whole world had suddenly collapsed and that his hopes were buried. Ragor had been anxious
to gain a short breathing spell and wangle perhaps a few robot workers. Then it would have taken only a
few more days to complete their mightiest battleship, hidden in a secret hangar in the mountains,
and—after a quick blow for revenge he could have escaped with his partners in crime into space.
And now this…
Enzally stopped smiling and said coldly, "Thank you, Ragor, you’ve said enough. I can see that we’re
too lenient with you. You’ll be deported to the island today."
The telepath turned to Rhodan. "They wanted to take the battleship of the Springers and destroy
Goszul’s Planet before returning to their sector of the Galaxy. Lovely people, really."
"Their mentality is such that they cannot tolerate defeat. However Ragor’s attitude can’t be used as a
criterion for the entire race of the Springers. I’m convinced some day we’ll reach an understanding with
them. Not here and not with the governors but with others of their ilk. We better close this chapter right
now. Ralv, you can attend to the duties of your office! Enzally, lees leave! What will happen here is no
longer our business."
Holding their heads high, Rhodan and Enzally left the room. They walked past the motionless robot
whose crystalline lenses stared rigidly at the 13 Springers whom he had formerly owed obedience.
Now it would be his task to take them to prison.
* * * *
Goszul’s Planet circled around the star 221-Tatlira as the second of seven satellites. 221-Tatlira was the
name given in the star-catalog of the Springers. It was 1012 light-years distant from Earth, where it was
unknown to the astronomers.
In a bloodless coup Perry Rhodan’s Mutant Corps had succeeded in returning the planet used as a
power base by the Springers to their rightful owners. Four of the mutants under the leadership of John
Marshall had created an artificial epidemic which produced splotches on the skin in the first stage and
later seemed to affect the brain. Those who fell victim to the epidemic lost their memory. Of course there
was an anti-serum available but the Springers had no knowledge of it. They succumbed to their terror
and retreated in haste, leaving the 20 governors to their fate.
Only a few weeks after the outbreak of the disease its effect started to clear up. Memory returned and
 the brain worked better than before. The coloured spots disappeared and the patients' health was
restored even without injection of the serum. It just took a few weeks longer.
Rhodan presumed that the escaped Springers would soon learn these facts but he figured that the
Springers whose medical knowledge was at a very advanced stage would nevertheless attribute the cure
to purely accidental causes and would be wary of setting foot on Goszul’s Planet for a long time.
But this assumption was where Rhodan erred and he was to find it out soon enough. At present he was
too busy with the task at hand to worry excessively about the future.
Somewhere in the mountains was a secret dock where the Springers kept their robots working on a
gigantic spaceship, adding the final touches. Enzally had read in Ragor’s mind that the ship was being
constructed according to the revolutionary design of the outstanding Springer scientists and that it
surpassed the achievements of the Arkonides.
Rhodan simply had to gain possession of this ship!
This was the reason why he couldn’t depart from this world and return to Terra where important
problems demanded his attention.
* * * *
The briefing took place in the spacious Command Centre of the
Stardust
. The spacesphere measuring
half a mile in diameter rested on the spaceport of the Land of The Gods, as the natives called the
continent on which the Springers had erected their base, and it was surrounded by the three cruisers
Terra
,
Solar System
and
Centurio
.
Reginald Bell had taken his seat next to Perry Rhodan. Bell’s reddish hair bristles were combed back
and seemed to have an irresistible urge to stand up straight.
The mutants John Marshall, Tako Kakuta, Kitai Ishibashi and Tama Yokida sat at the side on a couch.
The representatives of Goszul’s Planet were seated across from them. Ralv, the erstwhile leader of the
rebellion against the Springers, acted now as the liberated world’s head of government. Next to him sat
the telepath Enzally, a quiet and modest elderly Goszul. He was the only mutant Goszul’s Planet had ever
produced. And the third representative of the inhabitants who was present was Geragk, one of Ralv’s
aides in the clandestine resistance group they had formed.
Also attending the meeting were the commanders of the three cruisers. Their ships measured only 200
feet and looked like dwarves next to the
Stardust
although they were stupendous technical marvels in
their own right. Captain McClears sat between Maj. Nyssen and Maj. Deringhouse, showing no concern
whatsoever that he was outranked.
"The 20 governors have already been transported to their island and so are restrained from disturbing
the peace," Perry Rhodan began, quickly glancing at Ralv. "I don’t expect that they will find a possibility
of escaping nor do I think that any of their tormented victims will seek revenge. Now Goszul’s Planet is
free and belongs once again to its indigenous population and we hope they will build a beautiful world."
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