Andre said as he flipped open his cell phone and began dialing.
Professor Russell leaned into his assistant so only she could hear. “I think you just earned that pay raise you’ve been asking me about.”
Chapter 5: Betrayal
Dr. Holmes sat across from his patient waiting for the man to begin his delusional tale. He resisted the urge to tap the eraser end of his pencil against the note pad as the silent seconds dragged on. The story would come when the patient was ready.
“First things first,” Hastelloy finally began, “I believe I owe you an honest introduction. I am Hastelloy, Captain of the star ship Lazarus or at least I was until our crash landing on this planet over 4,000 years ago. My home world is located approximately 26,000 light years from earth, and resides very close to the center of the Milky Way galaxy.”
“Wow, you don’t waste any time do you,” Jeffrey said trying to buy himself some time to process the dump truck load of information that just clobbered him over the head.
“You indicated earlier your time was valuable, I was just trying to be considerate.”
“Let me start off by asking how you wound up on Earth?” Jeffrey enquired. “What could possibly be so interesting about our planet that brings you half way across the galaxy to see it?”
“Answering how we got here is a lesson in technological advancement,” Hastelloy began. “My people, the Novi, took to the stars 50,000 years ago. At first they did it much the same way humans have over the last 100 years, using rudimentary rockets and liquid hydrogen fuel.
“Regrettably, I wasn’t alive to witness those heroic days of first flight for my people,” Hastelloy said with a solemn voice. His tone perked up noticeably as he continued. “Gratefully, my time here on earth gave me a second chance. The bravery that your first astronauts displayed was almost beyond comprehension, especially the Apollo flights.
“I took for granted our technology of using self contained gravity fields to lift off from a planet’s surface and break free into outer space. The first humans into space had to; quite literally, strap themselves to a fifteen-story building loaded to the bulkheads with highly explosive fuel. Then they set the fuel ablaze and hoped the explosive reaction could be directed properly to propel the rocket hundreds of miles vertically. Then they entered a place devoid of even the most basic elements needed to sustain life; namely oxygen. It’s been an honor and a privilege to witness such valor.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Jeffrey said. “I read somewhere the computers used to run the Apollo moon landing missions had about as much computing capability as your typical microwave oven does today. Remarkable,” Dr. Holmes added while shaking his head in disbelief.
“As time passed the Novi got better at space travel,” Hastelloy continued. “The ships grew bigger, safer and, most importantly, faster. Eventually it was concluded the Novi needed to explore beyond our solar system. At first we launched small probes that left the system at crawling speeds.
“Twenty thousand years later we pushed out with ships traveling near light speed velocity. The travelers passed up the probes launched in the early days and kept on going. Colony ships were sent out soon after.”
“So earth is to eventually become a colony for the Novi?” Jeffrey asked, trying to feign mild alarm with his question to show belief in the story. The doubting look on the patient’s face let him know he failed miserably in the attempt.
“No, not at all,” Hastelloy said fighting back a chuckle at Jeffrey’s poor acting ability. “Any sentient species we discover are cataloged and left alon e to develop on their own. There are strict rules against cultural contamination. Not just rules, they are unbreakable regulations created through hard lessons learned during first contact with the
Professor Russell leaned into his assistant so only she could hear. “I think you just earned that pay raise you’ve been asking me about.”
Chapter 5: Betrayal
Dr. Holmes sat across from his patient waiting for the man to begin his delusional tale. He resisted the urge to tap the eraser end of his pencil against the note pad as the silent seconds dragged on. The story would come when the patient was ready.
“First things first,” Hastelloy finally began, “I believe I owe you an honest introduction. I am Hastelloy, Captain of the star ship Lazarus or at least I was until our crash landing on this planet over 4,000 years ago. My home world is located approximately 26,000 light years from earth, and resides very close to the center of the Milky Way galaxy.”
“Wow, you don’t waste any time do you,” Jeffrey said trying to buy himself some time to process the dump truck load of information that just clobbered him over the head.
“You indicated earlier your time was valuable, I was just trying to be considerate.”
“Let me start off by asking how you wound up on Earth?” Jeffrey enquired. “What could possibly be so interesting about our planet that brings you half way across the galaxy to see it?”
“Answering how we got here is a lesson in technological advancement,” Hastelloy began. “My people, the Novi, took to the stars 50,000 years ago. At first they did it much the same way humans have over the last 100 years, using rudimentary rockets and liquid hydrogen fuel.
“Regrettably, I wasn’t alive to witness those heroic days of first flight for my people,” Hastelloy said with a solemn voice. His tone perked up noticeably as he continued. “Gratefully, my time here on earth gave me a second chance. The bravery that your first astronauts displayed was almost beyond comprehension, especially the Apollo flights.
“I took for granted our technology of using self contained gravity fields to lift off from a planet’s surface and break free into outer space. The first humans into space had to; quite literally, strap themselves to a fifteen-story building loaded to the bulkheads with highly explosive fuel. Then they set the fuel ablaze and hoped the explosive reaction could be directed properly to propel the rocket hundreds of miles vertically. Then they entered a place devoid of even the most basic elements needed to sustain life; namely oxygen. It’s been an honor and a privilege to witness such valor.”
“I couldn’t agree more,” Jeffrey said. “I read somewhere the computers used to run the Apollo moon landing missions had about as much computing capability as your typical microwave oven does today. Remarkable,” Dr. Holmes added while shaking his head in disbelief.
“As time passed the Novi got better at space travel,” Hastelloy continued. “The ships grew bigger, safer and, most importantly, faster. Eventually it was concluded the Novi needed to explore beyond our solar system. At first we launched small probes that left the system at crawling speeds.
“Twenty thousand years later we pushed out with ships traveling near light speed velocity. The travelers passed up the probes launched in the early days and kept on going. Colony ships were sent out soon after.”
“So earth is to eventually become a colony for the Novi?” Jeffrey asked, trying to feign mild alarm with his question to show belief in the story. The doubting look on the patient’s face let him know he failed miserably in the attempt.
“No, not at all,” Hastelloy said fighting back a chuckle at Jeffrey’s poor acting ability. “Any sentient species we discover are cataloged and left alon e to develop on their own. There are strict rules against cultural contamination. Not just rules, they are unbreakable regulations created through hard lessons learned during first contact with the
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