Part 5 (1/2)

”You are quite right,” admitted Ellert, much to Frettel's surprise. ”I share this view, although I tried to describe the other variation. In any case,” he continued, ”I've lain awake many a night trying to figure out how one could possibly have a glimpse of the future, even if I could do this only mentally without being physically transferred to some other era. I've racked my brain to understand the connection between dream, fantasy and wishful thinking; the relations.h.i.+p of the hypothetical eventuality of teleportation and temporal portation. Temportation, to coin a word. If we a.s.sume the possibility that the body can follow the mind to another location, then it should also be feasible for the body to follow the mind to another period in time.”

”Oh boy!” admired Jonny, without letting go of his almost empty bottle on the table. ”It's simply snorky the way you can make plausible some things that are really impossible.”

”No wonder,” grumbled Frettel. ”That's what he gets paid for.”

Ellert waited until the general excitement subsided. He looked very confident of himself now, and his good friends knew this to be the sign that he was going to spring some more surprises.

”It's getting interesting bit by bit,” remarked Lothar with sarcasm.

”Go on with your story!” demanded Aarn, his eyes s.h.i.+ning with speculation and full expectation.

Ellert did not need any urging. ”I have Always been interested in the future, and it seems that I have been constantly preoccupied with it. Especially so yesterday. n.o.body knows what is going to happen tomorrow, and who is sure that he will exist the next day? In the last year we have had a few narrow escapes from an atomic Armageddon. Everybody understands the consequences of an atomic war. And if a certain Rhodan had not intervened, none of us would be sitting here so comfortably talking and drinking.

”But despite Rhodan's service to all mankind, he is looked upon as our enemy. This doesn't make sense to me. It's plainly illogical. Well, to make a long story short, last night before going to sleep, I directed my thoughts toward the future with such intensity that I almost believed I had arrived in it. I so fervently wanted to learn what would happen in one year. And then suddenly: I knew it!”

”I beg your pardon?” squeaked Jonny in utter amazement. He released his grip on the bottle for an instant, which was not lost on Aarn, who took the opportunity to help himself to the meagre remainder of liquid refreshment. ”You knew it? Be more specific, please!”

”I am just about to. While my thoughts were focused on the problem most intently, I suddenly noticed some change taking place, I could not define what kind of change this was, for everything seemed to happen so swiftly. it became dark in my room, for a few seconds or an eternity, who knows? Then all of a sudden it was daylight. The sun was s.h.i.+ning bright. I was sitting here on my bed, wondering what had taken place that would account for the sudden turning of night into day.”

”You must have had too much to drink,” suggested Jonny.

Ellert shook his head. ”Just wait a minute, my friend. I have not yet finished telling my story. Well, it was broad daylight, and the sun was s.h.i.+ning. I got up from my bed and looked around, wondering all the while. At first I a.s.sumed that my mental effort had made me fall asleep abruptly and that morning had come and it was time for me to get up. Then I noticed that two of my pictures were missing from the wall. Yours, by the way, Jonny. Instead there were two new paintings, signed by Aarna”

”But I have never drawn any pictures this size,” objected Aarn.

”That's just the point!” exclaimed Ellert. ”This is my first proof already. You are going to paint them-not draw them! And you will make me a present of them in the near future.”

”He's gone off his rocker,” whispered Lothar worriedly to Frettel, who was sitting next to him. ”Why don't you examine him sometime?”

”I deal in appendix operations, not in brain abnormalities,” said the physician without emotion.

Ellert did not seem to mind their discussing his state of sanity. ”At first, of course, I did not understand. I examined the paintings more closely-and I may say I liked what I saw, Aarn-and walked toward the corner, where I stopped in front of my big wall calendar. You know this big calendar over there where I write down all my appointments, And what do you think I saw there on my calendar?”

”I haven't the faintest idea,” mumbled Lothar. ”But don't keep us in suspense. Go on speak!”

”The date! Why, what else should I see on my calendar? But it was the 17th of November two years hence!”

Jonny burst out laughing and kept laughing till tears came into his eyes. He tried to utter a few words, but they were unintelligible.

Frettel did not join in the general amus.e.m.e.nt; be remained serious. ”Is that the truth?” he asked. ”Explain What happened?”

”A simple explanation might be that my almost superhumanly felt desire had brought me into the future, more than two years ahead in time. But the most amazing thing was that my body remained in the present time. At first I believed that my body, too, had arrived in the future, but then I noticed suddenly that another will was fighting against my own. I realized quickly that my own will of today was struggling with my will of two years hence. Only my mind had travelled into the future and slipped into the body Ernst Ellert of two years from now. With his eyes I saw and experienced that period which is still lying ahead of us. I could even partic.i.p.ate in the memories he had acc.u.mulated during these two years. But I did not succeed in imposing my will on his. Yet I knew that that same night our usual gathering was scheduled to take place, although according to the calendar it was a different day than we usually meet now. It was an exception. I was on leave, and this way we were able to get together for the evening.”

”On leave,” mused Jonny, as if he had never before heard such a word.

But Ellert did not care to elaborate on what kind of a leave he was on. Instead he rea.s.sured them. ”I will set your minds at ease. All of us will still be alive in two years. No war will have broken out but tremendous changes have taken place.”

”Now I know what is ailing you, my friend,” Lothar triumphantly. ”He is taking up fortune telling.”

”You might have a point there. Maybe that's what happens with prophets when they start foretelling the perhaps they can send their minds some years ahead report what they saw.” Ellert sighed with resignation. ”But I see you don't believe a word of my story.”

”Of course we don't,” smiled Frettel. ”But it still is a most entertaining tale. I keep waiting for the punch line.”

”Punch line?”

”Why, what else? It's a gag, isn't it?”

Ellert lit a cigarette. His face was very serious. ”There is no gag, there is no punch line. The story is simply the truth. Would you like me to prove it to you?”

”That would be nice of you,” admitted Lothar. Frettel and the rest nodded in agreement. They looked at Ellert with great expectation.

”All right, my friends, I'll try now to attend our next Friday night party here. In other words, I'll be able to tell you right away what will happen in one week. Or even better still, what will occur during the coming week. I'll listen in to your usual weekly report of your activities at our next meeting by sending my mind ahead into the body of Ernst Ellert, one week older. Then I'll return and tell you all about it. Within the following seven days you will have ample opportunity to verify the correctness of my prediction. Are you with me?”

”You bet,” grinned Frettel. ”And in the meantime, while your mind has wandered off into the future, I'll examine your body right here in the present. Perhaps I might observe some difference in your body, and this will be an additional proof.”

”I sincerely doubt that you will notice anything different in him,” remarked Aarn in a highly critical tone.

Ellert paid no attention to this dispute among his friends. He leaned back in his armchair, head thrown back, eyes closed. He had stopped moving. His breathing was calm and regular. Frettel was waiting for any sign of change but could observe none whatsoever. Finally, growing impatient, he poked his index finger at Ellert's chest.

”Have you started with it, Ellert?” be inquired.

Ellert did not reply. He was sleeping. He could not be aroused. All attempts at awakening him failed. Frettel checked his pulse, heartbeat and blood pressure. All vital signs seemed to function perfectly, exactly the way they would in a sleeping person, except that this slumber was far deeper than anything the physician had witnessed before.

”He has been asleep now for five minutes like this,” Frettel said, looking at his watch.

Johnny had turned serious too. He looked at Lothar and Aarn. ”Do you believe there could be something to what Ellert has told us?”

They shrugged.

Suddenly Ellert opened his eyes. He looked around the room in confusion. Then he seemed to remember. He smiled weakly.

”Well?” urged Aarn. ”What happened?”

”I was one week ahead in the future,” whispered Ellert with resignation. ”Exactly one week from now, from this very moment. For five minutes. But I can't tell you what will happen to you during this coming week. I did not see any of you. Apparently we won't meet here in my apartment Friday night. I did find my body, though, which had become one week older in the meantime. But not here in Munich.”

”Where did you locate it?”

”In Asia! To be exact, in the Gobi Desert. How I got there, who knows? I don't at this point. It was difficult enough for me to get hold of a newspaper so I could at least tell you the events of the coming week. I wanted to bring some proof along to you of my trip into the future. Unfortunately, I could not transport the newspaper back with me, since I cannot cause matter to travel through time. But I did read some news items.”

”Well, how about some tips on the stock market?” scoffed Jonny, who remained as sceptical as before. ”I'd like to know why you were in the Gobi Desert, of all places. That's the spot where the American s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p landed, isn't it?”

”You are right. It landed there. And in one week I'll be standing in front of the astronaut Perry Rhodan.”

”Charming story,” mocked Lothar. ”Now I presume you will write one of your science fiction stories around this visit.”

All the friends laughed, as if they had heard a good joke.