A/N here is the first chapter of the revised butterfly effect story. please note i am primarily posting it on spacebattles creative writing forums first, as its much easier to get feedback and talk to the viewers. that being chapters will be posted later here, and it will be mainly a story archive without authors notes and the like. if you want to get a more indepth and behind the scenes view of whats going on i recommend you visit the thread on spacebattles.
Flick, click. Hisss...
"Not bad, smooth." the man in front of me says and I nod.
"It's one of our more popular strains, grown in a greenhouse under controlled conditions, a higher concentration of THC. The smoothness is a side-effect of the controlled environment," I say in explanation as I give my usual sales pitch.
"How much?" he asks simply.
"Two hundred an ounce."
"I'll take two and a half," he says as he passes back the sample pipe which I set on the counter. In response I portion out his order and go about ringing it up, taking his money and handing him the cannabis in a small cardboard container. As he walks away towards the entrance of the shop I pick up the sample pipe and go about cleaning it out before placing it with the matching variety.
Glancing around the shop I see one of my employees helping one of our regulars. Not seeing anything requiring my attention I open up the display case on the counter and grab my preferred variety of smoke, load the sample pipe and take a few hits, caching it; one of the perks of owning the business.
As I go about cleaning it I hear the bell above the door chime; looking over I see a middle-aged woman glancing around. Almost immediately I recognize the fact that she's a newbie; the nervous glances and ticks give it away in a heartbeat. Putting the pipe back in place I grab an information pamphlet and make my way over to her.
"Hello there miss, may I help you today?" I start out simply.
"Oh! Uh... yes, I suppose... I've... well I've never smoked before, my sister and brother-in-law have been bugging me for years to try it so... well. I'm here?" she says nervously as I nod.
"In that case I'd be happy to help you. Before I do however I'll ask that you drop any pre-conceived notions of what cannabis is. There is a LOT of misinformation out there. This here is a basic information pamphlet about it, citing only facts, and debunking several myths," I say as I hand her the pamphlet, giving my usual sales pitch I reserve for newbies.
"Another thing you should know, it affects everyone differently. Some people use it to relax after a hard day of work, personally it helps me focus, which to my understanding is a rare occurrence. The most common effect is a sense of relaxation and euphoria," I say watching her reactions in order to gauge the effect of my words.
"That being said, I'd recommend one of our strains with a lower concentration of THC. As with any drug the body builds a tolerance to it with use and as such if you've never smoked before you're likely to experience a much more powerful high then someone like me who has been smoking for years," I go on getting a nod out of her.
"On that note I would recommend smoking with someone you know, you said your brother smokes as well? It would be beneficial for you to be with someone to explain what's happening as you smoke..."
The conversation goes on as I work her over; by the time I'm done she's purchased a sample of smokables and edibles. Just another day on the job.
The day goes on, several dozen people coming through my shop. By the time we're closed and I'm counting the money into the safe, the store has made over ten thousand dollars in profits.
As I finish placing the day's profits in a portable lockbox I hear the door open once again. Glancing at the television linked to the surveillance cameras around the shop I see that it's my escorts Travis and Paul, both armed with AR-15's slung over their shoulders.
A lesson I learned early on after opening the store: the sale of cannabis may be legal at the state level, but the federal government refused to accept that times were changing, and stubbornly refused to decriminalize it. To that effect I had opened a bank account which I had deposited the profits of my store.
Which were seized by the IRS, citing federal law of the sale of an illegal substance. Typical.
As far as the world had come in my lifetime, the people in power, as usual, stubbornly refused to change.
Which leads me back to the reason those two were armed to the teeth. Without the ability to bank reliably, all the profits of the store were kept in an offsite location, a fact that criminals quickly picked up on, leading to several other couriers being robbed, and stores losing tens of thousands of dollars.
Unsurprisingly the police didn't give two shits, as they resented the change even more then the politicians. The reason being? It took the attention off the "criminals" that they had been waging a war on for the past three decades. Without the pot heads to focus on they were forced to turn their attention to drugs that were actually dangerous, such as cocaine.
If you could find a cop that didn't use cocaine in this city, I would give you my store.
Yet, as twisted as this world is, it is the one I had the misfortune of being born into, and someone in my position was in no place to do anything to change it. Those in power knew that. Taking advantage of that fact they use their power only to fuel their own agendas, while the rest of us suffer the consequences.
Despite all this, I have finally managed to find contentment in my life. For years I had refused to accept that this is the way the world was, when I knew it could be so much more. It took me nearly ten years to realize and accept the fact that there was nothing I could do to change it. When I finally did realize this fact of life, it marked a changing point in my life.
The way I saw it I had a choice, I could either refuse to accept it, and in one final act of defiance, take my own life. Or I could accept it and live the best life I could, despite the circumstances.
In the end I refused to simply become a statistic, deciding instead to do what I could with the world with the tools that I had. To that end I had managed to make a decent living for myself. Taking advantage of the money I had, I left behind everything I held dear to start a new life. With the money I had I was able to start my business here in Denver, making more than enough to live comfortably and watch the world slowly destroy itself...
"Brooding again Lil?" Paul says from the driver seat beside me, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"Eh, what can I say? You know me too well," I say with a shrug as I reach into my jacket pocket, pulling out my dugout.
"I think I might take a vacation. I really could use one about now," I say as I load the pipe and take a few hits, tapping it out in the ashtray when it's cached.
"I hear you. To be honest given the new laws up for ballot I wouldn't blame you at all for laying low for a while," he says causing me to snort.
"I take back what I said before. Do you really think I'm the type of person to hide who I am just because some religious asshole is getting up on his soap box and preaching hateful rhetoric?" I shoot back, getting a shrug out of him.
"Got you fired up didn't it? I rather have you pissed off then brooding," he says simply causing me to scowl at him.
"Dick," I say simply as I dig in my pocket again, this time for a cigarette, which I light up, rolling down the window as I watch the city flow by.
As we head to the safehouse I go about setting up my vacation, texting on of my more trusted employees to take over my shift for the next two weeks. By the time we arrive things are taken care of.
Thankfully the deposit goes down without a problem, and in no time at all I'm headed back to my apartment to pick up some essentials for my road-trip.
.
I like to dream, yes, yes
Right between the sound machine
On a cloud of sound I drift in the night
Any place it goes is right
Goes far, flies near
To the stars away from here
Well, you don't know what
We can find
Why don't you come with me little girl
On a magic carpet ride
Well, you don't know what
We can see
Why don't you tell your dreams to me
Fantasy will set you free
Close your eyes now
Look inside now
Let the sound
Take you away
I smile as I sing, or shout, the lyrics of the song as I cruise down the highway in my '67 impala, my most prized possession. Thoroughly enjoying myself, I take in the terrain of the North Dakotan countryside, having been on the road for three days and heading towards the general direction of the town I grew up in.
Briinnng!
The moment is interrupted however as my phone rings, overriding the stereo speakers. Pressing a button on the steering wheel I answer the call, turning down the volume a moment later.
"Hey! Nice timing. I was gonna call you later, I'm taking a vacation. I'm on my way to town, I've just passed Minot," I say after a second I see the caller ID displaying my sister's contact.
"Oh! Uh... well... that's... good I guess?" she says after a moment, her tone of voice promoting my eyes to refocus on the phone screen for a moment.
"What's going on? Is something happening?" I ask out hurriedly, worst case scenarios already flying through my mind.
"Lilly... I... I don't know how to say this... Mom... Mom passed away this morning. She had a massive heart attack."
In an instant, the world stops. Taking my foot off the accelerator I somehow manage to turn on my flashers as I coast to a stop on the side of the highway.
"Lilly?" I hear my sister say after what seems like ages.
"I... uh... I... uh..." I stutter out, my brain still not processing. I do however feel the floodgates open as tears start pouring down my cheeks.
"I need to go. I just... I'll call you back alright?" I say as press a button, cutting the connection before I let it out, sobbing in earnest.
I don't know how long I sat there crying, but all too soon I'm snapped out of my grief by a knocking on my window. Jumping a bit I look up, seeing a highway patrolman.
"Are you alright, Miss?" he says after I roll down my window to which I nod.
"Y-yes I'm s-sorry... I just got a call from my sister. My... my mom passed away this morning..." I say promoting a sympathetic look from him.
"I understand... where are you headed?" he asks and I stare for a moment zoning out.
"Uh... I... I was heading home. I was gonna surprise my mom, I live in Colorado." I say, once more getting a look of sympathy from him.
"Right. I understand if you want to burn rubber getting home, to that end I can give you an escort to the county line. However I ask you obey the posted limits afterwards." he says ad I nod.
"Th-thanks! That would be amazing." I say as I wipe the tears away.
"Right then, let me pull ahead of you here," he says simply as he walks back to his squad car.
A few moments later I'm speeding towards home at ninety miles an hour.
TBE.
"She would love these flowers..."
"I like this one... the same as Dad's..."
"We'll have the ceremony at sacred heart..."
"Have to have funeral hot dish..."
"These were her favorite songs..."
The next four days are a blur, as I numbly go through the motions once again of burying one of my parents, in such a state of shock that I could not feel anything but mind-numbing pain and grief. As they say however, time doesn't stop before anyone, and before I know it the funeral wake is upon us. Standing there in my brand new black morning dress I stare down at the corpse of my mother, her casket matching the one my dad was buried in.
"She... looks so peaceful..." I say quietly as tears drip down my cheeks, doing everything I can not to start sobbing as stare at the corpse of my mother.
"She's with dad now Lil..." I hear my sister say from beside me and I nod as I look up at her before taking a glance at my mom and turning back, walking down the isle of the funeral home to head to the reception area.
As it was with Dad I numbly go through the motions of talking to friends and family who slowly arrive to give their condolences.
I quickly realize however, that there is one very major difference from when I buried my father.
"Hey, thank you for coming. I remember you, Aunt Christy right?" I say as I hold my hand out for a handshake as I see one of my mom's sisters arrive.
"Uhh...? I think? I'm sorry. Do I know you?" she says and I giggle nodding.
"Sorry, I forgot mom didn't tell anyone. Last time you saw me I looked quite a bit different. You remember Michael?" I say with a small smile.
"Her son? What's he have to do with you?" she says clearly confused and I smile shrugging.
"Surprise. Not her son anymore. I'm Lillian rose cross. You knew me as Micheal Alexander Cross." I say as I see her eyes light up with recognition.
Which quickly flashes to confusion and disgust. Seeing what's about to happen I cut her off as she goes to speak.
"I'm going to have to stop you right fucking there. I don't give two shits what you think about what god and your religion says about transgender people like myself. I am going to tell you that there's a reason my mother didn't tell you, that she only mentioned I was living in Colorado. She knew how bigoted you people were, despite the fact that she loved me. I am her daughter, and I don't give a damn what you think. I only ask that you be respectful and polite to me during the services. As far as I'm concerned you're not my family anyway. But you are mom's family. If you disrespect me in anyway whatsoever, you WILL be asked to leave." I say coldly, my eyes gleaming with a rarely seen intensity.
"I... I'm sorry... I'll... I'll just.. I'll be..." she stutters as I nod.
"The rest of the family is over there." I say simply motioning over my shoulder towards the reception area.
Unsurprisingly this process repeats a few more times, all with my mom's side of the family, along with a few of her friends from the lake resort she frequented during the summer. By the time the service was over I was thoroughly exhausted.
The day of the funeral is much the same: the service was beautiful, and as with my dad I buried her by hand, standing over her grave for over an hour as I shoveled dirt into her grave to fill it completely, my sister staying by my side the whole time.
After everything was said and done I speak to my sister and uncle on my father's side before packing up my things and heading for the lake resort. A week of my vacation already gone I needed to relax and process my grief.
It was on that day, on a back road winding through the Chippewa National Forest in northern Minnesota that the world as I knew it was turned upside down, and everything I thought I knew was changed.
On that day, July 24th 2020, I was granted the power I had so desperately wanted. The power to change the world for the better.
TBE.
Stargate Reality.
Sol System.
In orbit over Earth.
USAF Odyssey
The Earth ship Odyssey of the BC-304 class was by far the most advanced ship in the known galaxy. It owed this designation to the now extinct Asgard race, which one week ago gifted their legacy to mankind, whom they firmly believed to be the fifth great race of the galaxy.
Utilizing every technological upgrade they could they improved the Odyssey across the board, with new hyper-deadly beam weapons, improved shields and propulsion, and the power generation to match. In a one-on-one fight she could take down any ship known to mankind.
The greatest gift given to man however was the Asgard core, which contained the sum knowledge of their race. A race which was millions of years old. With untold technological might contained within it, the Odyssey had become Earth's greatest asset.
It was not only a gift to the race of man, but a responsibility to as well. For the Asgard had entrusted their legacy to man, and it was their job to protect it.
A task they were about to fail.
Colonel Samantha Carter, along with dozens of other technicians, were currently swarming the core room, copying all of its data into backup drives, one storage crystal at a time. They had been doing this nearly constantly for the past week. Already cases of datacrystals were transferred down to Area 51.
The reason being? The Odyssey was a warship, and mankind was at war. It was their responsibility to protect the knowledge contained within the core, yet despite this the ship was desperately needed to help fight the Ori crusade, as it was the only ship in the galaxy capable of destroying an Ori mothership on its own. Hence, the copying of the data contained within it to an offsite location.
It's this chaotic scene that one Daniel Jackson walked into.
"Hey Sam. How's it going?" he calls out as he enters the rather crowded room.
"Oh, hey Daniel," she says glancing up from her laptop for a moment.
"Slow. Much slower than I would like. We're talking about the sum knowledge of a race of people millions of years old. We've copied over a thousand exa-bytes of data and we're barely a quarter of the way through it," she says with a sigh.
"I understand. It is their legacy after all," he says nodding in response.
"I was hoping I could convince you to take a break? Come down to the commissary for a while. You've been at this every waking moment for the past week Sam. We're worried about you," he says after a moment.
"Daniel... Thor and his people entrusted this to us, I can't just-" she starts off only to be cut off by Daniel.
"Hey, you said it yourself didn't you? You're barely a quarter done with the project. Besides, I think these guys can copy data just as well as you can. Take a break⦠please Sam?" he asks giving her a pleading look to which she nods.
"Alright, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to-"
"General quarters! General quarters! All hands man your battlestations! This is no drill!" the voice of one Kevin Marks barks across the intercom, prompting a look between Sam and Daniel. A moment and a few crystal movements later Sam is connected to the bridge.
"This is Colonel Carter, what's the situation?!" she calls out.
"We have two Goa'uld motherships incoming Sam. From the looks of it they're chasing a cargo-ship," Major General Hank Landry answers back.
"I see them now, diverting power to shields and engines, weapons will be ready to fire in ten seconds Sir," Sam says as she does just that with a practiced precision. The massive energy output of the ship's Naquadah fusion generators and the newly introduced Asgard neutrino ion generator coursed through the ship's power conduits into said systems.
On the bridge Landry is likewise on the ball, barking out orders to Marks to raises shields and get them into position just ahead of the predicted exit point of the incoming ships.
Not five seconds after they are in said position, a portal tears through the fabric of space time; a swirling purple vortex of the exotic particles unique to hyperspace appears as the portal opens, disappearing a moment later when the ship's generator shuts down.
Not a second after two more portals open up, depositing two Goa'uld Hat'ak class vessels.
"Sir! Motherships are opening fire! They're targeting the Tel'tak!" Marks calls out as the cargo ship goes evasive, taking a grazing blow in the process.
"We are being hailed, Sir! Source is the cargo ship."
"On screen!" Landry calls out.
"It's audio only sir," he says as he pipes the transmission through the bridge's intercom system.
"Zrch- An'ran of Zrch- Tok'ra. Zrch. Ship damaged Zrch- Host-zrch-dying. Reality dri-zrch powering up-zrch cannot stop-zrch-" the transmission cuts off as another blast of plasma comes dangerously close to the ship, overloading its communication gear.
"I've heard enough. Marks! Power up the plasma beams. Destroy those motherships!" Landry calls out. In response to Marks' command inputs, two white hot beams of hyper compressed transphasic plasma erupt out of the firing ports on the front of the ship, each impacting the motherships. Their shields hold momentarily before collapsing, allowing the beam to piece the ship itself; its pitiful armor doing next to nothing to stop them.
A half second after they impact the shields of the ships they hit their power cores, causing them to explode spectacularly.
"Marks! What's the status of the cargo ship."
"It appears to be intact Sir but it is not responding to our hails. I'm reading a power buildup of some sort as well... its course is ballistic Sir. At this rate it will impact somewhere in northern Minnesota."
"Can we beam the pilot out?"
"I'm trying sir, but I'm getting some sort of interference from the ship, I think it has to do with the energy readi-"
Bleep!
"What the hell?!" Marks shouts out as his console beeps at him, the ship disappearing in a flash of white light.
"Report!" Landry orders.
"I don't know sir! It just disappeared. The energy signature spiked and it was gone."
"Carter, are you listening to this?" Landry asks after coming to the core room.
"Yes Sir, I've been watching the situation. I can't explain it but I swear I've seen this energy signature before...
TBE.
It was 1989, my thoughts were short my hair was long
Caught somewhere between a boy and man
She was seventeen and she was far from in-between
It was summertime in Northern Michigan
Ahh Ahh Ahh
Ahh Ahh Ahh
I smile to myself as I sing along with the song as I cruise down the winding road, trees as far as the eye can see on either side of me. It was two days since the funeral and I was almost to the lake resort my Mom and Dad had frequented when they were alive, the cabin I had bought Mom last year... my cabin now, was waiting for me. I was looking forward to being able to relax and process.
CRASH-BOOM!
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I scream out as I slam on the brakes as something MASSIVE crashed through the road in front of me. Turning the wheel to try and avoid the massive trench it had dug through the asphalt, the car flips over into the trench, coming to a stop upside down right in the middle of it.
It takes me a few moments to get my bearings as I sit there hanging upside down by my seatbelt. After a few moments I manage to unbuckle myself, crashing onto the roof of the interior unceremoniously.
As I attempt to crawl out of the vehicle I see my phone, which was somehow still in its charging cradle. Grabbing it I crawl out of the now shattered window, pieces of broken glass cutting up my arms and knees as I do so.
"What the fuck was... that!?" I say as I stand up, the last word coming out extremely high pitched as I look down the long trench carved in the road, leading into the marshland on the side of the road... and fifty meters from which, something was sitting at the end of the trench.
Something that was impossible.
Something that shouldn't exist.
Something that was fictional.
A Tel'tak class cargo ship.
A space ship.
From the FICTIONAL TELOVISION SHOW Stargate SG-1.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" I scream out as I stare at it, taking a moment to shake my head, thinking I'm hallucinating. However when it's still there when I look back at it I gulp.
"What the fuck is going on..." I say as I walk around the uneven ground around the car, doing my best to keep my balance despite the heels I was wearing.
Reaching the other side of the car I lean down and reach into the glovebox, which had sprung open during the crash. Sitting in its holster and Velcroed to the top of the compartment was my Colt 1911.
Grabbing it I relax ever so slightly, the familiar weight of a firearm reassuring in my hand. Working the slide back I pop a round into the firing chamber and flick off the safety before I run towards the ship, kicking my shoes off after a moment given their impracticality for the situation.
My progress slows as I trudge through the marshy ground, my feet sinking into the mud lightly as approach the ship. As I get close it occurs to me that I have no idea how to get inside of it, a dilemma which solves itself as a panel on the side of the ship lets out a hiss of depressurization before sliding into the ship almost seamlessly.
Revealing a man, no. A Jaffa, which I level my weapon at, my hands shaking slightly, yet despite that at this distance I knew I couldn't miss.
"Stop! Who the hell are you?!" I shout out.
"Please. I am An'ran. Of the-" he says in a distorted voice which I recognize instantly as that of a Goa'uld, or in this case...
"Tok'ra?" I cut him off, getting a nod out of him.
"Please. My host is dying. I carry critical information that will save this planet," he says causing me to gulp as I realize what he was implying.
"What? You mean... shit! Fucking Christ!" I shout out in panic as I lower my gun.
"Please. Time is of the essence. I do not have long..." he says and I nod before raising my gun again.
"Alright! But I'm not getting body-jacked by a Goa'uld! Tell me something only a Tok'ra would know," I say as I rack my brain for information.
"Who was Jolinar's mate?" I say as he gives me a confused look.
"Martouf," he answers and I nod lowering my gun.
"God help me." I say simply as I approach him, doing my best not to hesitate as I open my mouth and place it over his.
Squelch!
"ahhH-HHHHH! Huh?" I scream out as I feel a sharp pain at the back of my throat, before the mother of all headache hits me, fading as fast as it came.
'I apologize Lilly. I did not mean to cause you pain. Especially given your current situation. I am sorry for you loss'
I hear a voice in my head. One that wasn't mine; a very disorienting experience.
Yet even as I'm thinking of how strange it was to have another sentient being inside me, I'm bombarded with images, memories that aren't my own.
It's in that moment that I realize that gravity of the situation.
And the opportunity.
As the memories integrate with me, it feels as if my mind is racing a million miles a minute.
For the first time in my life, I have the power to truly change the world. To change the corrupted system that was the modern world.
And as I think, I realize that with the reality drive the Tel'tak was equipped with, I could do anything. I could make a difference not only here, but in the reality An'ran came from. It was in my power to save them all.
'Amazing' I hear him say in my mind.
'It is but fiction in this reality... marvelous... I am afraid however, that I am still too weak to go on. I will use the last of my energy to save your life, young rose. Now go forth and help them. You have greatness in your heart; go forth and let that greatness guide you... goodbye Lillian.' I hear him say, and then.
Pain. Mind number, debilitating pain.
"AHHHH!" I scream out as I grab my head as I feel An'ran's presence fade. Yet as quickly as it came it was gone, leaving me kneeling in the mud next to his old body.
As I stare at it, the memories of both An'ran and the host flash before me for a few moments, promoting me to sigh sadly.
"You will be missed," I say as I stand up slowly, my legs covered in mud from the knee down now.
Striping the body in front of me of its zat gun and hand device I bow my head once in respect before priming the zat and shooting it three times, disintegrating it.
"Right then..." I say simply as I look around once, nodding to myself before I step into the ship.
"Let's change the world."
