Stargate -- Kriegsspiel -- Tafl -- Twenty-Two
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Twenty-Two
“It’s so great that we’re getting transmissions from Earth again,” Dr. Barnes said when Daniel walked into the shed they’d set aside for shuffling through the Earth transmissions. “I’ve found the coolest thing.” He looked at her, confused. “Come on,” she said, taking his arm and pulling him over to one of the monitors.
The sound was turned too low for Daniel to hear, but it seemed to be an advertisement, one of those long infomercials they play before the crack of dawn; ‘gatelag meant Daniel had seen more than enough of those in his time. There were images of waves crashing on a beach, mountainscapes, and people doing what Daniel realized, after a long moment, must be yoga. He was about to ask Dr. Barnes why this was so interesting when the images changed and Adria appeared on the screen.
The standard Americanized yoga outfit she wore was more than incongruous, but it was obviously her. Out of habit, Daniel found himself lip-reading, but all Adria was talking about was the miracle exercise program she was selling. The bizarreness of it had him speechless for a minute. “Do you have any idea what she’s doing on Earth?” he asked finally.
“Well, teaching yoga, silly,” Dr. Barnes said, with a surprisingly lighthearted laugh. “She looks amazing.”
“Jenna,” Daniel said, taking the linguist’s shoulders and turning her to face him. “This is Adria here. There is no way she’s just trying to make a living as a fitness instructor.”
Now that Daniel was looking closely, he realized that Jenna’s eyes were fever-bright, even though her skin was cool. “I think we should go see Dr. Lam,” he said gently, turning and starting to lead her out the door.
“But…” Jenna said, turning back to the screen.
“We can watch more later, okay?” Daniel said, and Jenna smiled brightly. “Why don’t you head over to the infirmary and I’ll meet you there.” Jenna nodded and bounced out the door. Daniel quickly turned off the video and then hurried out behind her, just to make sure she went straight to Lam.
*
“It’s some kind of brainwashing, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Lam said. “Her dopamine and serotonin levels are very high. Not dangerously so, but it’s a similar response you’d see to LSD and other street drugs.”
“Are we sure it’s not just drugs?” Jack said. That at least was something they could deal with.
Lam shuffled her papers and put them on the table. They were sitting in her office alcove, the sounds of a nurse checking on Armstrong’s sprain drifting in from the corner. Daniel was sitting at Dr. Barnes’ side in the main infirmary, listening to her talk excitedly about something.
“The tox screen came back clean,” Lam said. “Even if it’s a drug we’re not familiar with, something would show up in her blood. But beyond the neurotransmitter imbalance, she’s perfectly fine. The obsession with Adria would also hint at some kind of manipulation, something more than just drugs.”
“We can take a look at that commercial she was watching, see if there’s a subliminal feed in it,” Carter said. She was standing behind Lam’s chair, arms crossed over her chest.
“Make sure no one actually watches or listens to it,” Jack said. “Until we know what’s causing smile time, I can’t risk losing more people to this thing.”
“The computers can examine it without us,” Carter said, without the animosity that Jack was starting to get used to. Were things improving? He’d have to ask Daniel. “I usually prefer a set of human eyes on it, but in this case it’s not worth the risk.”
“I’ve examined Dr. Jackson, but he seems to be fine,” Lam said. “It’s possible he wasn’t exposed long enough, or that it’s transmitted aurally. I’d like to keep him under observation just to make sure there isn’t a delayed reaction.”
“Do it,” Jack said. “Both of you. Sam, let me know as soon as you guys have something. This might help explain what Adria’s been up to. Oh, and no one watches the satellite feed until we have this figured out.”
“Yes, sir,” Carter said.
“I’m going to go take a look in on my patients,” Lam said, standing up. “I’ll let you know if I learn anything else.” She went into the main infirmary, leaving Jack and Carter to eye each other warily.
“I want to apologize for my earlier behavior, sir,” Carter said. “My…my feelings on a certain personal situation have been affecting my work.” Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Carter held up a hand. “Let me finish, please.” Jack nodded. “Vala brought this to my attention, and I am sorry for my unprofessional behavior. I would hate to think that my actions negatively affected our progress.”
“Can I say something now?” Jack asked. Carter nodded, almost warily. “Sam, if this was you working while distracted, you could probably take over the galaxy if you were focused.”
Carter flushed slightly. “Thank you, sir.”
Jack smiled slightly. “Since we’re on better terms again, you can drop the ‘sir’.”
“Actually, I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Carter said. “For right now I'd like to keep this…more professional. I think that will help sort this out.”
Jack nodded. “As long as we’re working on it, I’ll be content.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, and her slight smile was more reassuring than anything she could have said.
continued in Twenty-Three
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Twenty-Two
“It’s so great that we’re getting transmissions from Earth again,” Dr. Barnes said when Daniel walked into the shed they’d set aside for shuffling through the Earth transmissions. “I’ve found the coolest thing.” He looked at her, confused. “Come on,” she said, taking his arm and pulling him over to one of the monitors.
The sound was turned too low for Daniel to hear, but it seemed to be an advertisement, one of those long infomercials they play before the crack of dawn; ‘gatelag meant Daniel had seen more than enough of those in his time. There were images of waves crashing on a beach, mountainscapes, and people doing what Daniel realized, after a long moment, must be yoga. He was about to ask Dr. Barnes why this was so interesting when the images changed and Adria appeared on the screen.
The standard Americanized yoga outfit she wore was more than incongruous, but it was obviously her. Out of habit, Daniel found himself lip-reading, but all Adria was talking about was the miracle exercise program she was selling. The bizarreness of it had him speechless for a minute. “Do you have any idea what she’s doing on Earth?” he asked finally.
“Well, teaching yoga, silly,” Dr. Barnes said, with a surprisingly lighthearted laugh. “She looks amazing.”
“Jenna,” Daniel said, taking the linguist’s shoulders and turning her to face him. “This is Adria here. There is no way she’s just trying to make a living as a fitness instructor.”
Now that Daniel was looking closely, he realized that Jenna’s eyes were fever-bright, even though her skin was cool. “I think we should go see Dr. Lam,” he said gently, turning and starting to lead her out the door.
“But…” Jenna said, turning back to the screen.
“We can watch more later, okay?” Daniel said, and Jenna smiled brightly. “Why don’t you head over to the infirmary and I’ll meet you there.” Jenna nodded and bounced out the door. Daniel quickly turned off the video and then hurried out behind her, just to make sure she went straight to Lam.
*
“It’s some kind of brainwashing, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever seen,” Lam said. “Her dopamine and serotonin levels are very high. Not dangerously so, but it’s a similar response you’d see to LSD and other street drugs.”
“Are we sure it’s not just drugs?” Jack said. That at least was something they could deal with.
Lam shuffled her papers and put them on the table. They were sitting in her office alcove, the sounds of a nurse checking on Armstrong’s sprain drifting in from the corner. Daniel was sitting at Dr. Barnes’ side in the main infirmary, listening to her talk excitedly about something.
“The tox screen came back clean,” Lam said. “Even if it’s a drug we’re not familiar with, something would show up in her blood. But beyond the neurotransmitter imbalance, she’s perfectly fine. The obsession with Adria would also hint at some kind of manipulation, something more than just drugs.”
“We can take a look at that commercial she was watching, see if there’s a subliminal feed in it,” Carter said. She was standing behind Lam’s chair, arms crossed over her chest.
“Make sure no one actually watches or listens to it,” Jack said. “Until we know what’s causing smile time, I can’t risk losing more people to this thing.”
“The computers can examine it without us,” Carter said, without the animosity that Jack was starting to get used to. Were things improving? He’d have to ask Daniel. “I usually prefer a set of human eyes on it, but in this case it’s not worth the risk.”
“I’ve examined Dr. Jackson, but he seems to be fine,” Lam said. “It’s possible he wasn’t exposed long enough, or that it’s transmitted aurally. I’d like to keep him under observation just to make sure there isn’t a delayed reaction.”
“Do it,” Jack said. “Both of you. Sam, let me know as soon as you guys have something. This might help explain what Adria’s been up to. Oh, and no one watches the satellite feed until we have this figured out.”
“Yes, sir,” Carter said.
“I’m going to go take a look in on my patients,” Lam said, standing up. “I’ll let you know if I learn anything else.” She went into the main infirmary, leaving Jack and Carter to eye each other warily.
“I want to apologize for my earlier behavior, sir,” Carter said. “My…my feelings on a certain personal situation have been affecting my work.” Jack opened his mouth to speak, but Carter held up a hand. “Let me finish, please.” Jack nodded. “Vala brought this to my attention, and I am sorry for my unprofessional behavior. I would hate to think that my actions negatively affected our progress.”
“Can I say something now?” Jack asked. Carter nodded, almost warily. “Sam, if this was you working while distracted, you could probably take over the galaxy if you were focused.”
Carter flushed slightly. “Thank you, sir.”
Jack smiled slightly. “Since we’re on better terms again, you can drop the ‘sir’.”
“Actually, I don’t think that’s the best idea,” Carter said. “For right now I'd like to keep this…more professional. I think that will help sort this out.”
Jack nodded. “As long as we’re working on it, I’ll be content.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, and her slight smile was more reassuring than anything she could have said.
continued in Twenty-Three
back to Master Post