The Merchandise Guide
Annual 1977

Nothing hindered Koenig and his friends as they warily left their Eagle. No force struck them down. It was Helena who first discovered the cavern entrance that led downwards from the crater's surface, and it was Alan Carter, stun-gun drawn, who led the way.    Through twisting rock passages their path took them in a seemingly endless spiral - until, abruptly, they emerged in a vast cavern, where beings toiled with pick and basket chipping remorselessly away at the rocks around them.    "The crews of the crashed ships, Commander?" Lew Picard's question was more of a statement.    Koenig nodded grimly. "And look at them. Zombies, all of them. They don't even sense our presence!"    Carter's hand fell suddenly on Koenig's arm, the fingers painful with tension. "Look, John! Look!"    It was pilot Torens. Co-flyer of Survey Eagle One. And he was just like the rest. A glassy-eyed automaton, streaked with dirt, a mindless slave toiling in Mentor's mine!	Keonig jumped towrads him, hands outstretched. And a blast of energy as quickly hurled him back at the feet of his companions!    "Nnuhhh! Some - sort of force- field around him. . ." Koenig clambered dizzily to his feet. "We've got to get out of here - before we suffer the same fate!"    "We can't leave Torens!" Helena's voice was shrill with horror.    "No." Koenig shook his head, slowly. "First, we locate Mentor!"    And then, from behind them, came the hurried footfalls that made them spin round, guns at the ready! The weird, helmeted humanoids with rifles of thier own - rifles that spat streams of energy in blasting, destructive force!    Alan and Helena had no chance. Koenig saw them fall even as his own weapon spat death at the attackers! His shot struck home, and for an instant, a green glow enveloped his target. Then it vanished as though it had never been there!    The Commander just had time	to hear Picard, his voice at panic- level, scream, "Molecular trans- formation! Creatures conjured out of nothing!" And then came oblivion as something slammed him in the chest and stretched him senseless on the ground! Koenig awoke to find himself lying amidst a mind-boggling array of electronic consoles, each surmounted with a cluster of thick transparent cylinders, in which multi-coloured liquids boiled and bubbled. His mind struggled to try and grasp their meaning. And then came Mentor's voice. . .    "It's called Psyche, Comman- der. A biological computer."    The bearded man was smiling down at him, and Koenig eased himself to his feet. He was aware of another presence. Turned to look into the deep, almost violet eyes of Maya.    "Welcome, Commander John Koenig," she said. "I am Maya. Mentor's daughter. Oh - please don't worry about your friends. They're quite safe."    "If you're as trustworthy as

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