Read Online The Methuselah Project by Rick Barry - Free Book Online

gas?” Burgess repeated from his cot.
    “Excuse my crude abbreviation. Even if I pronounced the full name in German, you wouldn’t recognize it, as it’s my own invention. I translate it ‘phase gas’ for the sake of brevity. Possibly you assumed the pink fog was simply to render you unconscious? That’s merely a helpful side effect. My phase gas is an airborne, highly potent array of compounds and catalysts. When administered through the lungs, these components quickly disburse throughout the body, preparing the blood and cell tissue for alteration.”
    Despite his aching muscles, Roger hung on every word. Was this character a crackpot, a demon, or a genius?
    “What kind of alteration?” Rutledge asked.
    “An alteration for the better, I assure you. In fact, what I have done for you should be considered an honor. Many men will someday desire what you now possess. Let me give you a complete overview—”
    Roger shook his head. “Let’s skip to the bottom line.” Left to his own way of explaining things, Blomberg might take days trying to explain the chemistry and every scientific detail behind his experiment, not to mention why they should be giddy with delight about it. “You’ve done something to us. We want to know what it is—without the scientific mumbo jumbo.”
    “Right,” said Lambright from cell 3. “Heaven help you if you’ve injected us with monkey brains or some such muck just to see what happens.”
    Blomberg sighed. “As you wish. Although I would have enjoyed recounting details about the process, even if only in a rudimentary outline. The whole concept is fascinating!” He paused, as if contemplating how to summarize. “Perhaps you have heard of Methuselah?”
    The word meant nothing to Roger, but Hazlitt raised himself onto one elbow. “Methuselah? The Bible-time character?”
    “Exactly.” Blomberg grew enthusiastic again. “The man who lived the longest life in recorded history. According to the ancient record, Methuselah lived 969 years. He must have been a genetically perfect specimen—the perfect Aryan prototype!”
    “The old boy’s off his rocker,” a British voice commented in an undertone.
    Roger focused on Blomberg’s eyes. As before, he saw the animated glint that might signal the light of brilliance—or of lunacy.
    “Since when do Nazis care about the Bible?” Burgess spat out. “The Bible also says, ‘Thou shalt not kill,’ but you Nazis have murder down to a regular science.”
    As if interrupted by an impudent child, Blomberg replied, “In the opinion of the Führer, most of the Bible is a collection of myths fabricated by an inferior race. But that didn’t stop nomadic tribes from adopting and plagiarizing earlier recorded histories, such as the Genesis genealogies. Without a doubt, some earlier humans once lived extraordinarily long lives. Not until they mingled with lesser races did their life span become corrupted and diminish to the present norms.”
    The professor paused, as if expecting a reaction. When none occurred, he puffed up his chest as if to make the announcement of the century. “Gentlemen, the ultimate purpose of this facility is to restore a human life span to that of Methuselah’s day. Man can live for hundreds of years. With your help, I plan to demonstrate that truth.”
    Burgess caught Roger’s eye and tapped a finger to his temple. “He really is nuts.”
    Kossler, the assistant, stepped forward with a glower. “Show respect. Dr. von Blomberg is one of the most brilliant intellectuals of our time. You wouldn’t speak so rashly had you been here to observe our experiments with the mice.”
    Roger shook his head. “How did you ever talk Hitler into financing this half-baked scheme?”
    Blomberg paced to the end of the chamber and stood directly in front of Roger’s cell. “Militarily, the benefit is priceless. A soldier with physiology enhanced by my procedure will heal rapidly from wounds. Too fast, in fact, even for