In the old days, he might have been satisfied with that. Today, he realized he couldn’t leave anything to luck. Thus, he roved beyond the starship. He found Valerie Noonan, the Lieutenant Commander, in her darter, heading for a select region of the star system.

  A few seconds contemplation brought a plan into thought and then bloom. This might work.

  Becker collected himself and projected, “Return to Victory.”

  Inside the piloting chamber in the darter, Valerie cocked her head as if puzzled.

  Becker realized his mistake. He needed to give her mind a path that she recognized as legitimate.

  “This is Galyan speaking. The captain told me to tell you that he’s ordered you to return to the hangar bay.”

  Valerie scowled thunderously. It wasn’t because she suspected the command, but was angry with Maddox.

  Becker searched her thoughts for the right words. This ought to do it. “The captain wants you to take Lieutenant Maker along after all. Maddox’s wants to give you the best possible chance for success.”

  Oh. Valerie smiled and began to manipulate the darter’s piloting board.

  Out in space, the darter turned around and headed back for Victory.

  Becker used that time to study Valerie’s thoughts in detail. Ah, he understood her instructions. He also realized what had happened out here. The Spacers had escaped the star system through a surprise method. Galyan had found a hyper-spatial tube projector, a one-way path.

  It would take the darter twenty minutes to return and land in Victory. With everyone asleep on the starship, and with these free minutes, Becker studied himself in earnest. He needed a better understanding of what he could and could not do. By degrees, he discovered the power of his pituitary gland. He had reshaped his mind, many of the brain cells with its aid. It seemed he might have gained a lizard-like ability to repair physical damage as such creatures did with a lost tail, for instance. Might he regrow his lost testicles through a similar procedure?

  If so, that meant he would not need to go to the Library Planet for the…healing. Yet, to heal himself like that, he would need power or extra energy. That would take food. He was already hungry, as his mental efforts used calories as fuel.

  Now that he thought about it, it really wasn’t so incredible that his body could regenerate testicles. His body had done that before while he’d been in his mother’s womb. It would simply be a matter of finding the areas in his brain to activate that particular growth process.

  Becker smiled with a smug sense of satisfaction. This was all possible because the mystic shards from the shattered Phantasma Synth Crystals were unleashing his potential. That was because he had an enlarged and dense brain from the Liss. The combination of the two allowed him to metamorph into a god.

  Becker chortled to himself. If the New Men were better than the old-style men, he was something wonderful and marvelous even compared to the New Men.

  It was time for the next phase of this.

  Using the bulkhead for support, Becker pulled himself to his feet. He pushed off and began to shuffle through the corridors, finding it full of sleeping individuals.

  How long would they sleep? He had put them down hard, more through accident than anything else. He doubted any would wake anytime soon, unless he specifically woke them.

  As he shuffled through the corridors, he roved telepathically, examining each crewmember. He chose the three most beautiful women—

  Well, Meta was the most beautiful. Becker decided to leave her, though. She was too physically strong for one thing. Besides, an enraged Maddox might be a problem. Sometimes, it was better to leave sleeping dogs lie. These three beauties should be enough for now.

  Becker almost took Valerie, but he decided against her, too. She was too old for his tastes. These three were younger.

  Physically going to each chamber, he partially woke up each of the three. They sleepwalked to the hangar bay with him, helping him shuffle along by holding him up.

  By that time, the darter had landed in the hangar bay. Becker telepathically ordered the crew to exit. They did, moving into a control chamber. There, he ordered them to go to sleep.

  They crumpled onto the deck, including Valerie Noonan, and started sleeping.

  This was too much and a ton of fun.

  Surrounded by his three beauties, Becker led them into the Darter Tarrypin.

  Transferring piloting knowledge from the sleeping Valerie to one of his chosen, he had her activate the piloting controls.

  In moments, the hatches shut and engine purred into life. The darter rose from the deck and exited through the open hangar bay hatch, sliding into space. The new pilot headed for the original hyper-spatial tube opening the Spacers had used, or where it had been, anyway.

  The extended use of his mental powers had made Becker incredibly hungry. His stomach was growling and pains shot through him. So, before he did anything more, he went to the small galley and ate three ham sandwiches, and drank two glasses of milk. Two of his lovelies made the sandwiches and poured the milk for him.

  He felt much better and appreciated the service. How soon should he have them do a strip tease for him? Maybe he should get far away before he indulged himself.

  Becker and the two returned to the small bridge. He examined his three beauties as each sat a station. He made them smile at him.

  “Hello, my darlings,” he said.

  Each of them said in turn, “Hello, Handsome. Hello, Mr. Stud. Hello, Becker, my love.”

  Becker grinned with delight. Was that great or what? This was going to be a fun trip, possibly the best of his life.

  As soon as he got his balls working, or made them, this would be a paradise cruise. This was what he’d longed for all his life. This was why he’d done Nostradamus’ bidding back in the day. The Prime Saa had forced him to give all that up. Now everything was turning around for him. This was incredible.

  “I’m the luckiest man alive,” Becker said.

  He concentrated, reaching out to Victory and switching Galyan back on.

  “This is Captain Maddox,” Becker projected into the AI system. This was more difficult to do than tricking a human, but the process was essentially the same. It was simply a matter of getting the hang of it.

  Soon, Galyan projected his holoimage into the comet and activated the Builder device there. As before with the Spacers, a hyper-spatial tube opening appeared as a bright light.

  The pirated darter swerved and headed for the opening.

  At the last minute, Becker said, “No, my mind. What am I thinking?”

  He strengthened his mind, hardened it, if you will, and readied himself for the process.

  Then the bomber-shaped darter entered the hyper-spatial tube opening, and zip, it was gone.

  A moment later, the opening closed. Becker had escaped the starship and the Barnard’s Star System. Becker had taken three of Captain Maddox’s crew and the darter. Who knew what awaited them at the other end.

  -32-

  Maddox snorted in his sleep, realized that his back ached, and his eyes abruptly flew open. He sat in his captain’s chair on the bridge. He had apparently been fast asleep.

  Maddox sat up, perplexed. Now, the crick in his back was worse. He eased forward and then stood and stretched, leaning his long frame as his fingertips touched the deck. He straightened slowly and saw that everybody around him was asleep.

  Something was terribly wrong.

  He tried to wake more and realized it was difficult to do. This was harder than shaking off any previous jump lag. Why would that be?

  He felt a numbing sensation in his brain, or an empty area there. What could that signify?

  Maddox shook his head, squeezed his eyes shut, and concentrated—but that didn’t help. He was almost falling asleep on his feet. If that happened, how long would it take until he woke up again? The pain in his back must have driven him awake.

  Maddox stretched out on the floor and began to do push-ups, going all the way down and all the way up. When that didn’t work, he leaped up and sprinted off the bridge. He ran down the corridors, hurdling over people sprawled out asleep everywhere.

  By the intense exertion, he shook off the lingering paralysis. That suggested to him that someone had forced him to sleep. Who could do that?

  A moment’s reflection showed Maddox that Becker was the obvious person.

  Thus, during his sprint, he went down a turbo lift and raced into the stasis chamber on a different level. He skidded to a halt, finding the stasis unit empty. Either Becker was up or someone had taken him. It was imperative to know which.

  “Galyan, can you hear me? Come here this instant.”

  Galyan did not appear after several seconds. No one appeared. It could be that he was the only one awake on the starship.

  Maddox pivoted and hurried out of the chamber. He was wide-awake now, but just to be certain, he went to his quarters and got the silver headband, jamming it over his head. He switched it on, but there was no change. Not one damn bit of difference.

  He hurried to the science chamber and found Ludendorff fast asleep on the deck. Kneeling, Maddox shook the Methuselah Man but achieved no results. He slapped him in the face. Finally, with Ludendorff’s face cherry red, Maddox switched tactics and got two glasses of water. He threw the water into Ludendorff’s face—one, two.

  The Methuselah Man snorted and smacked his lips.

  “Professor, can you hear me? Becker must have switched our brains into permanent sleep mode. But we can overcome it through exertion. You have to start moving.”

  Ludendorff opened his eyes and stared at him blurry-eyed. “What did you say?”

  “Wake up, Professor. Becker duped us. So far, I’m the only one been able to resist this process. I’m hoping somebody else on this starship can resist like me.”

  “Damn you, man,” Ludendorff said in a sleepy way. What seemed like through sheer grit, Ludendorff sat up. Soon, he did push-ups, ran and started panting. He stopped and drank water.

  “May I use your headband?” Ludendorff said.

  “By all means,” Maddox said, taking it off and proffering it.

  Ludendorff put on the headband, but it had no effect. Instead, through steady exercise, Ludendorff shrugged off the debilitating effect until he was wide-awake.

  “Where’s Galyan?” Ludendorff said.

  “I’ve called him, but the AI doesn’t respond.”

  “We must go to the AI Core,” Ludendorff said. “By the way, what exactly happened?”

  “I think Becker did,” Maddox said.

  “What do you mean? What happened to Becker?”

  “He’s gone.”

  “Gone where?” asked Ludendorff.

  “Right,” Maddox said. “We need to check ship security and watch some videos. That might show us what happened.”

  They hurried to the main security chamber. There, they turned on monitors and watched video of Becker wandering through the corridors, stepping over sleeping people. Becker chose and awoke three beauties, taking them to the hangar bay and leaving the starship in Valerie’s darter.

  “How could Becker do that?” Maddox said.

  “It’s a mystery,” Ludendorff said. “Obviously, Becker used telepathy, but how he became so powerful remains unclear. We must find or activate Galyan immediately.”

  Maddox looked sharply at Ludendorff. “You know something. What is it?”

  “I wonder if Becker is seeking the Spacers,” Ludendorff said. “What happens if the Spacers reappear in the system and board the starship?”

  “Good point,” Maddox said.

  They raced into the armored AI chamber or core. There, Ludendorff threw switch and pressed buttons.

  Tall cylinders and wide computers soon hummed with power. They had been off.

  Abruptly, Galyan called from outside the chamber, “I am here. I am fully aware. I know what happened. Becker used the hyper-spatial tube device to leave the star system.”

  By that time, Maddox stepped outside into the corridor. Galyan’s holographic image could not appear in the AI core for security reasons.

  Galyan now explained what he knew.

  During that time, Ludendorff stepped out of the chamber and shut the hatch, locking it.

  “Becker has increased his telepathic or mental capabilities,” Ludendorff said. “It would seem they’ve increased tenfold or more. Perhaps he’s a proto-deity, something beyond what we can understand. He’s seems able to use his mind in ways we didn’t even think was possible.”

  “How could that have happened?” Maddox said.

  “Perhaps it has something to do with the semi-stroke you spoke about before,” Ludendorff said.

  “Destroying your own brain cells doesn’t make you smarter or more powerful,” Maddox said.

  “Not under usual circumstances,” Ludendorff said, “but we’re dealing with a person who has undergone metamorphosis from the Liss. Perhaps the combination activated greater mental powers.”

  “But why did he leave Victory?” Maddox asked. “I thought Becker wanted to refurbish himself or have the Supreme Intelligence give him back what the Liss stole from him.”

  “I don’t know the answer, but Becker did kidnap the three lovely ladies,” Ludendorff said.

  “Yes, we must rescue them.” Maddox frowned. “He tricked Valerie into bringing the darter in. Who knows what else has happened. Professor, we need to wake up everyone. Galyan, perhaps you can lightly shock people and help speed up the process.”

  “Yes, sir,” Galyan said.

  “Let’s get started,” Maddox said.

  For the next three hours, Maddox, Ludendorff, Galyan, and a small but growing number of people who gained consciousness, worked on the others. Some proved more resistant to consciousness than others did.

  “We can study this later,” Ludendorff told Maddox, Galyan, Meta and Andros Crank. “But for now, we should get back to Earth as fast as possible.”

  “Why’s that?” Maddox said.

  “What if the Spacers show up here?” Ludendorff asked.

  “They haven’t yet.”

  “That doesn’t mean they can’t or won’t,” Ludendorff said. “Becker may make a deal with them.”

  “Maybe we should go after Becker immediately,” Maddox said.

  “How are you going to defeat someone who can make everyone sleep?” Ludendorff asked.

  “Surely he must have a range limit,” Maddox said.

  “Look how he brought the Lieutenant Commander in,” Ludendorff said. “Valerie was already far from the starship.”

  “True,” Maddox said. He frowned. What had he unleashed by originally waking Becker in Antarctica? This was all a huge problem he’d unwittingly brought to life. “You’re right, Professor. We need to return to Earth. I need to tell the new Lord High Admiral what has happened. It’s time to face the music.”

  “More importantly,” Ludendorff said, “It’s time to bring Conqueror-class battleships to the star system and through this point. We need to destroy the Spacer ships and Becker as fast as possible.”

  “Is this an intuitive sense?” Galyan asked.

  “I wouldn’t go as far as that,” Ludendorff said. “I don’t have the captain’s ability. But I think something dreadful has occurred. It has to do with how the Spacers were able to assassinate Cook and Stokes. We’re too in the dark on all this, and this secret method of travel here is deadly to Star Watch.”

  “Agreed,” Maddox said. “Becker literally woke himself according to what we saw on the video.”

  “That was strange,” Ludendorff agreed. “It should have been impossible to wake up from stasis, but Becker has advanced far in his mental capabilities.”

  “How has he done that?” asked Meta.

  “That would be good to know in case we ever want to reproduce it,” Ludendorff said.

  “Reproduce it?” Maddox said. “That’s madness.”

  “No,” Ludendorff said. “That’s what you call the advancement of science. Whether you like it or not, that’s how knowledge grows. There’s no turning back the clock, Captain. It’s always ahead, ahead, full speed ahead.”

  “Maybe,” Maddox said. He didn’t care to argue the point. Thus, he adjourned the ad hoc meeting. It was time to get back to Earth as fast as possible.

  -33-

  Maddox arrived in the Solar System in less than an hour using the Laumer Point that the phase ship had utilized to reach the Barnard’s Star System six light years away from Earth. Soon Victory was in orbit around Earth. Maddox took a shuttle down to Geneva Spaceport and soon sat in Lord High Admiral Haig’s office. Haig was astounded and surprised to see him.

  As Maddox started to explain the situation, Haig raised a small hand and said, “Stop. I’m bringing another representative in.”

  Soon, the large and blunt General Mackinder of Intelligence was sitting across from Haig and Maddox. He sat at a far corner of the desk, while Maddox sat across from Haig.

  “Now, explain from the beginning, Captain, what you were telling me earlier,” Haig directed.

  Maddox related everything he knew about the Spacers, the flotilla marshal, and the hyper-spatial tube. Then he explained how Becker had awoken from stasis sleep, slept everyone aboard the starship, and kidnapped three of the crew and left the star system in the darter.

  “Ensign Ro was one of his captives?” General Mackinder asked sharply.

  “Yes,” Maddox said, wondering why the general cared or knew anything about Ro.

  Mackinder looked starkly at Haig.

  “Is Ro one of yours?” Haig asked.

  Mackinder closed his eyes as if in pain. Maybe he didn’t like the question.

  “What’s this?” Maddox said, glancing from Haig to Mackinder. “You’re putting spies aboard my starship?”

  Mackinder opened his eyes and glared at Maddox. “Not spies, sir. We’re monitoring you and the half-alien starship you use to flit here, flit there, and do who knows what all over the universe. I think it’s telling Becker took Ensign Ro.”

  “Ensign Ro was a pretty woman,” Maddox said.