Origins by Mark Henrikson Read Free Book Online

When these two points in space touch an event horizon is created and you can go through it, instantly moving to the new location.  It’s just like opening your office door and stepping through to the other side, but instead of moving to the next room, the space fold moves you to another point in space entirely.”
    “Wow,” Jeffrey responded privately thinking how nice it would be to space fold to work rather than dealing with the construction delayed traffic each day.  “One other point I’d like to clarify is how you’re able to live so long?  Part of your story indicates the Novi species has a limited life span, while another section paints a story of an almost infinite life span.  Can you reconcile the differences for me?”
    Dr. Holmes watched Hastelloy’s reaction very closely.  Pointing out this major inconsistency was the first challenge to the believability of his story.   The patient paused for a moment as the corners of his eyes and mouth ruffled ever so slightly.  He was mentally chastising himself for letting his story telling get away from him and now was struggling to find a way to bring it back together. 
    Dr. Holmes, for his part, simply waited patiently for the reply and to find another hole to poke in the tale.  The hardened facial expressions eased and Hastelloy slowly leaned forward in his chair to deliver his response. 
    “I can see where your confusion lies.  Prior to the Nexus, the typical life span of a Novi was about 200 earth years.  That all changed nearly 12,000 years ago when the Nexus was developed.”
    “And what is this Nexus?” Jeffrey asked.
    “Like all living things, the Novi feared the one certainty life brings with it - death.  The only difference is the Novi advanced enough technologically to do something about that former certainty. 
    “About 2,000 years before my birth, a device was invented to capture an individual’s life force upon death and transfer that life force into another form.  Not just any form, but a cloned body that could be shaped into anything desired.  The only requirement is the individual needs to be within range of the device when their body dies.  That range is about 10,000 miles.  That may seem like a lot since it encompasses this entire planet, but it’s actually a very limited range when you’re moving about in space.”
    Jeffrey could only sit and marvel at the creativity.  Not only did the concept of this Nexus device explain how he could have personally been alive for thousands of years to take part in all of human history.  It also explained how he and his crewmen could live on earth and pass themselves off as human beings.  They simply instructed this Nexus device to generate a body that looked human since it was utterly preposterous to believe that two species evolving on separate planets in separate parts of the galaxy could look anything like one another.
    Hastelloy’s delusion was elegantly crafted and well reasoned, which unfortunately made Jeffrey’s job to cure him that much harder.  “That makes perfect sense to me now, thank you.  You mentioned a battle with the Alpha left you stranded on this planet, would you care to pick up your story from there?”
    “My dear Dr. Holmes, I would be delighted,” Hastelloy replied.

Chapter 6:  Hastelloy’s Origins
     
    “ We’re coming into position behind Admiral Tridget’s command ship, Captain.”
    “Thank you, Ensign Valnor,” Hastelloy acknowledged, “Maintain this distance and follow their lead.”
    The captain looked up from the display built into his command chair to admire the image shown on the main viewer.  The new Thorin class battle cruiser lay larger than life in front of him.  The mammoth vessel was every bit as impressive as he’d hoped.  Hastelloy could plainly see the designers incorporated numerous aspects of his suggestions into the final product.  The ship was five miles long, two miles wide and only one hundred yards tall at its