Origin by J.A. Konrath, Jack Kilborn Page B

Or maybe he’s a genetic experiment. Maybe our own government created him.”
    “In 1906?” snorted Harker.
    “Dr. Harker, what proof do we have that he’s actually been here since 1906? Were you here when he arrived? How do we know that we’re not caught up in some crazy conspiracy to help test the latest in biological weapon technology?”
    “At least that would stir things up a bit around here.” Race gave a wide Southern grin.
    “How about an extraterrestrial?” Andy asked. “Isn’t there any possibility Bub is from another planet?”
    Frank shook his head.
    “Even if we discounted the problems associated with space travel from another galaxy, it would be a zillion to one, a gazillion to one, that life formed on another planet with the exact same genetic make-up as life on earth. It would be easier for the same lottery number to come up every single night for a hundred years…”
    “Unless it was intentional.” Father Thrist cleared his throat and crossed his arms. “Unless God created Bub the same way He created man and all life on earth. That would explain Bub’s genetic code without the need for evolution, molecular engineering, or space travel.”
    Frank raised an eyebrow. “I thought demons and angels had no physical presence. They’re ethereal, only existing in heaven and hell.”
    Thrist laughed. It was the first time Sun had seen mirth from the terminally serious priest.
    “All of my life, people have questioned my beliefs because there has been no physical evidence to substantiate them. Now here we have something that is clearly a demon, or even Satan himself. Something we can see and touch. And everyone is looking for a new answer, rather than the answer that Christianity has had for two thousand years.”
    “Judaism has had it for over three thousand,” Rabbi Shotzen said, wagging a finger.
    Thrist gave him a sideways glance. “All around is proof of God’s creation. Me, you, trees, birds, the earth, the universe—but since the beginning of this century mankind has worshiped the god of science, rather than our Lord Jesus Christ. Now here is something science cannot explain, yet you refuse to believe. Andrew,” Thrist gave the linguist his full attention. “What was your reaction when you first saw Bub?”
    “Fear,” Andy answered.
    “But what did Bub represent to you? When you saw him?”
    “A devil.”
    Thrist nodded. “Everyone who sees Bub recognizes a devil. They are concerning themselves with the how and the why, but the ‘what’ has been answered. Bub is a devil. Where do devils come from, Andrew?”
    “This one came from Panama.”
    Sun and the others laughed. Rabbi Shotzen had to be nudged by Thrist because his laughter went on longer than the others’.
    “But before he was found in Panama, where did Bub come from?”
    “Devils usually come from hell,” Andy said.
    “Or heaven,” Shotzen added. “Depending on your interpretation of his creation. Lucifer, the Morning Star, had tried to shine brighter than Adonai, was cast out of heaven for his pride.”
    “Or, according to Enoch,” Thrist said, “Devils are angels who chose to fornicate with humans. Wasn’t that the explanation Rabbi Elkiezer gave in the 8th century? Something about fornicating with the daughters of Cain?”
    Shotzen dismissed him. “Remember, Enoch wrote pseudepigrapha and apocrypha—nothing the scribe did went into the Torah.”
    “But,” Thrist countered, “if we were to base our conceptions solely on the Bible, which encompasses the Torah, we’d have very little to go on.”
    “Devils and angels were created by ha-shem as separate entities,” Shotzen insisted. “Had adonai created angels that became devils, it would contradict His perfection. Instead, ha-shem created devils to punish sin. It can be interpreted that all evil, in fact, is Satanic rather than Divine. The Book of Jubilees agrees.”
    “Either way,” Thrist said, “we have a being here that is obviously