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    The Yggdrasil Codex
    The Yggdrasil Codex
    The Yggdrasil Codex
    Ebook77 pages55 minutes

    The Yggdrasil Codex

    By Hugh B. Long

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    *** A SHORT STORY BY BEST SELLING & AWARD WINNING AUTHOR - HUGH B. LONG ***

    In this life there are a great many profound questions that have yet to be answered: Are we the first intelligent life in the universe? Why are we here?

    Man continues to ask these questions, apparently to deaf heavens. But what if someone, or something, did answer?

    In the short story The Yggdrasil Codex, two University researchers stumble upon an incredible secret encoded on ancient Scandinavian runestones. Their discovery leads them into the world of modern code-breakers and ultimately leads to a revelation with galactic consequences!

    (This short story is 3200 words)

    BONUS: Includes the first 3 chapters of the Novel "Star Wolves" which takes place 115 years after this short story!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHugh B. Long
    Release dateJul 22, 2014
    ISBN9781927646137
    The Yggdrasil Codex
    Author

    Hugh B. Long

    Hugh B. Long is an Award Winning Canadian Journalist and Best Selling Author. Hugh B. Long - Headshot Me-faux painting Graduating from the University of Aberdeen‘s School of Engineering in Scotland with his Masters of Science degree, he subsequently taught for the University, and was a dissertation advisor for graduate students. In addition to his academic background, Hugh also holds a Black Belt in Shito-Ryu Karate, a Brown Belt in Budoshin Ju-Jitsu, and was study group leader in D.C. for the Association of Renaissance Martial Arts. (Historical European Martial Arts). Hugh has taught Martial Arts in Canada and the USA. Hugh recently returned from a 10 year stretch working in the Washington D.C. area, and is now back in his native Ottawa Valley where he lives with his wife, son and two dogs. Hugh is a professional member of the Canadian Author’s Association.

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      Book preview

      The Yggdrasil Codex - Hugh B. Long

      Year: 2013 / Location: Norway, University of Oslo’s Runology Laboratory

      ----------------------------

      Magnus Olsen arrived at his lab in the University of Oslo at eight-thirty on a Monday morning, completely unaware that today, he would make history.

      He stared at a massive slab of grey stone covered with angular inscriptions. He brushed off some dust and continued examining the runic characters, which snaked around the stone inside an anthropomorphic design.

      The runes were a linear looking script that his Viking ancestors had used as a system of writing on wood and stone, over a thousand years ago. As a Doctoral candidate in Linguistics at the University of Oslo, Magnus had a passion for the runes bordering on obsession.

      Oy, Mags! shouted a young Arab student from the corridor.

      Damn! Startled, Magnus looked up. Tariq, why must you do that? he asked. With a mildly annoyed look, he turned back to the runestone.

      Mags, get your nose off that stone. It’s sat a thousand years, bro, surely it can wait. Let's go grab a pint, he said in his Cockney accent.

      Almost ready. Give me five ok?

      Tariq pulled up a stool and sat down beside the runestone, which measured ten meters long, and was lying on a massive steel frame.

      Magnus began scribbling in a tattered notebook, while Tariq leafed through papers on the table. Tariq replaced the papers and glanced over at the section of the runestone Magnus was inspecting.

      Looks like a constellation, mate, Tariq said, leaning closer to the runestone.

      They are runes, my friend, not constellations. I’ll make you a bargain: you confine your theories to astrophysics and I will confine mine to linguistics and runology

      No, seriously, Mags, look here, Tariq pointed to a series of indented dots between the rows of runes.

      Those dots indicate the end of words, instructed Magnus.

      Yeah, sure, but pretend the runes weren’t there - wait a sec, I have an idea. Tariq grabbed a large sheet of blank paper, placed it over the section of runic inscription, and with a pencil, marked only the dots on the paper. Pulling the paper off the stone, he set it on the table and hastily drew lines connecting the points.

      Look! See? It’s the constellation Draco, Tariq explained.

      Magnus picked up the diagram with a curious look.

      Tariq grabbed a second sheet of paper, placed it over a different section of the stone, and shortly produced a second constellation.

      Gesturing to the paper, palm down, he said, Canis Major.

      Magnus was stunned. Wide eyed, he lowered himself down onto one of the stools and stared at Tariq.

      Tariq…do you know what this means?

      Absolutely. It means you're done for the day, and were going to grab a pint ya silly bugger, let's go.

      The discovery of constellations, on what was being dubbed the ‘Olsen al-Fazari Runestone’, sent linguists, historians and astronomers, into a frenzy of research and reevaluation of old assumptions. The fact that constellations were encoded onto the stones added an irresistible dimension to this mystery.

      Codes on runestone were nothing new, and when deciphered, they almost always yielded simple epitaphs - Olaf’s son Helgi raised this stone to honor his brave father - something banal like that.

      Occasionally, they would read like magical spells, and given some of these monuments were erected after the conversion to Christianity, the sponsor would certainly want their heretical intentions hidden from plain view, and so, encoded them.

      This was the first time in history man discovered inscriptions going beyond mere commemoration, and further, hinted at the scientific.

      Magnus looked out the window of the limousine as they approached the futuristic looking ‘Government Communications Headquarters’, or simply ‘GCHQ’; affectionately nicknamed the Doughnut after its shape. Despite it’s humorous moniker, this was the most secure building in all of the United Kingdom.

      GCHQ was Britain’s equivalent to the American’s CIA and NSA, and the Doughnut, the Pentagon. In addition to being the home of intelligence gathering, this was the new home of the code-breakers, most famously of Bletchley Park, Britain's code-breaking centre during WWII. This small group became heroes after they cracked the German’s Enigma cipher machine - considered a key accomplishment in turning the tide of the Second World War.

      Bloody brilliant! exclaimed Tariq. I feel like a spook, mate!

      Magnus  managed a smile at Tariq, but felt uneasy. He was happiest when poring over old journals, deciphering runic inscriptions, or reading a good book - this cloak and dagger business left him with a pit in his stomach. Why were they here? Surely they could have done more of this decoding back in Oslo? When Magnus received a telephone call from the Prime Minister asking him

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