Fic: Dreams of Convenience
Mar. 8th, 2007 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
grav_ityTeaser
Chapter One
CHAPTER TWO
The kitchen staff had fought a long, excruciating, somewhat uphill battle against Dr. McKay, trying to make him stop taking entire pots of coffee out of the commissary. It wasn’t that they begrudged him the coffee; rather it was the pots they were concerned about. There had been an inexplicable shortage of coffee pots a while back and the marine team tasked with locating them had been most put out to discover several caches of mold-covered coffee pots in McKay’s labs. The resolution of the war was quite simple and painfully direct: the more coffee pots in the commissary, the fewer lemon-based dishes on the menu. And vice versa.
Rodney didn’t usually share his ill-gotten coffee with his co-workers. Dr. Simpson, however, had had a very trying six hours and circumvented him by having several mugs on the counter when he arrived, and not giving him any way to get out of sharing. He glowered slightly, but John and Elizabeth came in, with Teyla and Ronon behind them, and he didn’t have time to complain.
“Dr. Weir, Colonel, everyone,” Simpson began, bringing the room to attention. “I was able to find out what still has power. We have the basics: doors, the transporter, water, the Mess and the Infirmary. As far as I can tell, everything else, like the stasis chambers or the ZPM room for example, are still working, we just can’t operate them. As far as computer use goes, we have limited resources. All of the Earth-based systems work, but the Ancient database is just…blank.”
“Long range sensors? Defense? The ‘Gate?” John interjected.
“I’m sorry Colonel,” Simpson said with a shrug. “There’s just nothing there.”
“That is not entirely true,” Zelenka cut in gently. “The database itself seems to have reverted to some kind of default setting. We can only see this screen, almost as though the database has gone on screensaver.”
“Let’s see it please, Radek,” Elizabeth said, then hesitated. “Does the screen still work?”
“The screen will operate this far,” said Zelenka as it came to life in front of them.
It was in Ancient, of course. Line after line of writing.
“Have you translated it?” Rodney asked peevishly.
“Yes,” said Zelenka. “It is over here on the white board: ‘Ekleth left home one morning on the planet Kethros and went for a walk. He saw his friend 500 [metres] to the south on his left and his enemy 500 [metres] to the south on his right. A pellig walked past him. What colour is it?’”
“What?” Rodney gaped at him.
“I did it twice, Rodney. And then Simpson double checked.”
“But it doesn’t make any sense!” Rodney protested.
“The pellig is yellow,” Teyla said quietly. Everyone stared at her.
“She’s right,” Ronon agreed. “I’ve been to Kethros. It would be yellow.”
“It’s a riddle,” Elizabeth said. “We have one like it on Earth. You know, the one that ends with ‘What colour is the bear?’ and it’s ‘white’ because you’re at the North Pole.”
“The North Pole of Kethros is not covered with ice and snow like that of Earth,” Teyla said. “Instead, it is a vast sandy desert.”
“Type in the Ancient word for yellow,” Rodney demanded.
Zelenka looked at Elizabeth, who nodded, and quickly hit a few keys. The image on the screen dissolved to black.
“What did you do this time?” Rodney pushed Zelenka out of the way and commandeered the laptop.
“Rodney, wait!” John said, for the screen was changing again.
More words in Ancient appeared. Rodney began to translate.
“It’s numbers,” he announced. “1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 33, 54…and then nothing.”
“87,” said John quickly. “Fibonacci Sequence. You add the last two numbers to get the next one.
Rodney hit the keys and the screen changed again.
“Physics,” he reported and looked thoughtfully at Zelenka. “We are going to need some more coffee.”
------
Two hours passed before they ran into a question that they couldn’t answer. In that time, they worked through logic puzzles, math proofs, physics equations, chemical formulae and more Pegasus Galaxy history. It was almost like a party at times, laughing as Teyla described an obscure marriage ritual, taking bets on whether Rodney or Radek would solve the equation first, watching John do ridiculous mathematics in his head, but every time a riddle was solved, another one presented itself.
“This is medical,” Rodney said, staring at the screen and looking absurdly defeated. “We’re going to need Carson.”
“Get him down here, then,” Elizabeth said. “In the meantime, everyone take a break.”
“Elizabeth – ”
“You can stay Rodney,” Elizabeth allowed, remembering that he’d already had his enforced rest period. “But remember to let the other children play too.”
Rodney didn’t deign to dignify that with an answer, choosing instead to page Carson while everyone else filed out of the room, some better than others at concealing their smirks.
------
Teyla stood beneath the trees, protected slightly by the overhanging branches, watching the horror unfold in front of her. The Wraith ships were everywhere, screeching overhead and sweeping up people in swathes as they tried to flee. There were also Wraith on the ground, which added to the panic. These were not their usual culling tactics. They must be desperately hungry.
There were screams all around her, shouts and yells and the sharp cries of children whose night terrors have suddenly come true. Alaran stood beside her, her dark eyes wide as they took in all the terror around them. The two women had been friends since childhood and Teyla always looked forward to trade missions where she would see her friend. But this time, the Wraith had come. And now the world was ending.
“We must help!” Alaran cried, for it was her village in flames, and started towards a young woman carrying a child as she stumbled across the field in front of the forest.
“We must survive,” Teyla said, pulling her friend back into the meager shelter and hating the cold practicality in her own voice. “There is nothing we can do.”
“Then we shall feed!” The voice from beside her was no longer her friend.
Teyla looked at her in shock, only to discover that Alaran was a Wraith Queen, white and terrible against the black night sky.
“Alaran, this is not what you are!” Teyla shouted, backing away. “You must fight this. You must resist!”
“We must feed!” Alaran insisted.
“No!” Teyla stumbled into a tree. Alaran surrounded her and there was no place left to run.
Teyla knew then the pain of living too fast. She screamed her defiance even as the life drained from her, taken before its time, leaving her a drying husk on a planet that wasn’t even her own. She gasped for breath, determined not to die until absolutely necessary, and found her mouth was full of pillow.
She sat up, heart pounding, in her own bed safe in Atlantis. Irrationally, she threw the offending pillow across the room. She hadn’t had Wraith dreams in months. What was happening that they should return now? When the long range sensors were off line?
“Teyla, this is John. Are you there?” her comm unit seemed very loud.
“Yes, Colonel,” she replied automatically.
“There’s another Pegasus question. Could you come down?”
“Yes Colonel,” It was harder to believe in Wraith dreams when Atlantis was all around her. “I will be right there.”
------
Chapter Three
Chapter One
CHAPTER TWO
The kitchen staff had fought a long, excruciating, somewhat uphill battle against Dr. McKay, trying to make him stop taking entire pots of coffee out of the commissary. It wasn’t that they begrudged him the coffee; rather it was the pots they were concerned about. There had been an inexplicable shortage of coffee pots a while back and the marine team tasked with locating them had been most put out to discover several caches of mold-covered coffee pots in McKay’s labs. The resolution of the war was quite simple and painfully direct: the more coffee pots in the commissary, the fewer lemon-based dishes on the menu. And vice versa.
Rodney didn’t usually share his ill-gotten coffee with his co-workers. Dr. Simpson, however, had had a very trying six hours and circumvented him by having several mugs on the counter when he arrived, and not giving him any way to get out of sharing. He glowered slightly, but John and Elizabeth came in, with Teyla and Ronon behind them, and he didn’t have time to complain.
“Dr. Weir, Colonel, everyone,” Simpson began, bringing the room to attention. “I was able to find out what still has power. We have the basics: doors, the transporter, water, the Mess and the Infirmary. As far as I can tell, everything else, like the stasis chambers or the ZPM room for example, are still working, we just can’t operate them. As far as computer use goes, we have limited resources. All of the Earth-based systems work, but the Ancient database is just…blank.”
“Long range sensors? Defense? The ‘Gate?” John interjected.
“I’m sorry Colonel,” Simpson said with a shrug. “There’s just nothing there.”
“That is not entirely true,” Zelenka cut in gently. “The database itself seems to have reverted to some kind of default setting. We can only see this screen, almost as though the database has gone on screensaver.”
“Let’s see it please, Radek,” Elizabeth said, then hesitated. “Does the screen still work?”
“The screen will operate this far,” said Zelenka as it came to life in front of them.
It was in Ancient, of course. Line after line of writing.
“Have you translated it?” Rodney asked peevishly.
“Yes,” said Zelenka. “It is over here on the white board: ‘Ekleth left home one morning on the planet Kethros and went for a walk. He saw his friend 500 [metres] to the south on his left and his enemy 500 [metres] to the south on his right. A pellig walked past him. What colour is it?’”
“What?” Rodney gaped at him.
“I did it twice, Rodney. And then Simpson double checked.”
“But it doesn’t make any sense!” Rodney protested.
“The pellig is yellow,” Teyla said quietly. Everyone stared at her.
“She’s right,” Ronon agreed. “I’ve been to Kethros. It would be yellow.”
“It’s a riddle,” Elizabeth said. “We have one like it on Earth. You know, the one that ends with ‘What colour is the bear?’ and it’s ‘white’ because you’re at the North Pole.”
“The North Pole of Kethros is not covered with ice and snow like that of Earth,” Teyla said. “Instead, it is a vast sandy desert.”
“Type in the Ancient word for yellow,” Rodney demanded.
Zelenka looked at Elizabeth, who nodded, and quickly hit a few keys. The image on the screen dissolved to black.
“What did you do this time?” Rodney pushed Zelenka out of the way and commandeered the laptop.
“Rodney, wait!” John said, for the screen was changing again.
More words in Ancient appeared. Rodney began to translate.
“It’s numbers,” he announced. “1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 33, 54…and then nothing.”
“87,” said John quickly. “Fibonacci Sequence. You add the last two numbers to get the next one.
Rodney hit the keys and the screen changed again.
“Physics,” he reported and looked thoughtfully at Zelenka. “We are going to need some more coffee.”
------
Two hours passed before they ran into a question that they couldn’t answer. In that time, they worked through logic puzzles, math proofs, physics equations, chemical formulae and more Pegasus Galaxy history. It was almost like a party at times, laughing as Teyla described an obscure marriage ritual, taking bets on whether Rodney or Radek would solve the equation first, watching John do ridiculous mathematics in his head, but every time a riddle was solved, another one presented itself.
“This is medical,” Rodney said, staring at the screen and looking absurdly defeated. “We’re going to need Carson.”
“Get him down here, then,” Elizabeth said. “In the meantime, everyone take a break.”
“Elizabeth – ”
“You can stay Rodney,” Elizabeth allowed, remembering that he’d already had his enforced rest period. “But remember to let the other children play too.”
Rodney didn’t deign to dignify that with an answer, choosing instead to page Carson while everyone else filed out of the room, some better than others at concealing their smirks.
------
Teyla stood beneath the trees, protected slightly by the overhanging branches, watching the horror unfold in front of her. The Wraith ships were everywhere, screeching overhead and sweeping up people in swathes as they tried to flee. There were also Wraith on the ground, which added to the panic. These were not their usual culling tactics. They must be desperately hungry.
There were screams all around her, shouts and yells and the sharp cries of children whose night terrors have suddenly come true. Alaran stood beside her, her dark eyes wide as they took in all the terror around them. The two women had been friends since childhood and Teyla always looked forward to trade missions where she would see her friend. But this time, the Wraith had come. And now the world was ending.
“We must help!” Alaran cried, for it was her village in flames, and started towards a young woman carrying a child as she stumbled across the field in front of the forest.
“We must survive,” Teyla said, pulling her friend back into the meager shelter and hating the cold practicality in her own voice. “There is nothing we can do.”
“Then we shall feed!” The voice from beside her was no longer her friend.
Teyla looked at her in shock, only to discover that Alaran was a Wraith Queen, white and terrible against the black night sky.
“Alaran, this is not what you are!” Teyla shouted, backing away. “You must fight this. You must resist!”
“We must feed!” Alaran insisted.
“No!” Teyla stumbled into a tree. Alaran surrounded her and there was no place left to run.
Teyla knew then the pain of living too fast. She screamed her defiance even as the life drained from her, taken before its time, leaving her a drying husk on a planet that wasn’t even her own. She gasped for breath, determined not to die until absolutely necessary, and found her mouth was full of pillow.
She sat up, heart pounding, in her own bed safe in Atlantis. Irrationally, she threw the offending pillow across the room. She hadn’t had Wraith dreams in months. What was happening that they should return now? When the long range sensors were off line?
“Teyla, this is John. Are you there?” her comm unit seemed very loud.
“Yes, Colonel,” she replied automatically.
“There’s another Pegasus question. Could you come down?”
“Yes Colonel,” It was harder to believe in Wraith dreams when Atlantis was all around her. “I will be right there.”
------
Chapter Three
