Chapter 0: Prologue
Deep within a certain mountain complex on Earth lies a marvelous and fantastic device of alien origin, called a Stargate. In 2006, the Stargate was discovered by humans. An expedition was sent to an alien planet on the other side of the galaxy. It ended in disaster, and the Stargate program has lain dormant until now.
Now: a group of humans gathers nearby to entertain themselves with a simple card game.
"I win, again!" the Sergeant announces. The losers refuse to react. It's not like they cared anyway, the game was just a way to starve off boredom while off-duty. Their job is to decommission this bunker, but with so few people, work is slow-going.
"I wish something interesting would happen," a private quips. The universe obliges.
In the background, the inner wheel of the Stargate begins to turn with a low-pitched whine. Confused, the sergeant and his group turn to face the source of the noise.
"What the hell?!," the sergeant asks, confusion in his face. The group has no idea what the device is, but they've decided among themselves that it's probably some crank's science project, built on government dime, that failed to produce results. Now, the science project is doing something completely on its own. A competent group would take cover at some point. But the action is so out-of-place that everybody just stares dumbly.
Slowly, the Stargate lights up as six chevrons lock into place. Then, with an audible "fwhoosh," a burst of blue energy erupts from the Stargate's inner ring, sending the sergeant and his group diving for cover. The burst stabilizes on a shining blue disc, and not a second later, a figure emerges from the gate, tumbling down the ramp. The strange man gets on his feet with noticeable urgency. He is dressed in shabby Abydonian robes, but otherwise shaven and clean.
"Ouch!", the ragged man says.
The group of soldiers belatedly realize that there is now an intruder in the base. Guns are drawn and pointed at the trespasser. "Unknown, identify yourself!" the sergeant barks as per protocol.
"My name is Daniel Jackson, and I need to see General West," he says. Then he realizes that guns are pointed at him and quickly raises his hands. As per protocol, he is taken into custody.
The Jackson's Home
Nagada, Abydos
October 13, 2007
"Yes, Yes, Yes. No, I don't know. My cul-"
Skaara watches the discussion from across the room. "I don't know" is a catchphrase that his brother-in-law is famous for. What kind of god would know so much, yet so little? He brushes the thought aside. Daniel is a man, just like all of them here, just a very wise one.
It has not been quite a year since his people and Daniel's had joined forces to slay Ra and his servants. Since then, many things had changed. For one, food had been plentiful. Since they were no longer being forced to labor in the mine, they could tend to their farms all year. Since they no longer had to make offerings to Ra, they were running a surplus. It was so much that people were starting to find other work. The thought reminds him that he needs to get back to copying writings. One day, Daniel says, there will be a machine to do the work for him, and he'll find other work again. But for now, he copies by hand.
After Daniel finishes his conversation, he comes back inside the family home. He proceeds to check the copies that the scribe made for any mistakes. The original manuscript is the first written record of Abydos' laws. Daniel and other scholars have laboriously listened to his father-in-law and other tribal leaders explain the minutiae of their laws, writing them down in every contradictory detail. Then they tried to unify the spoken account into a consistent set of laws. It's been slow going. In the meantime, Daniel and the others have decided to copy the manuscript at least ten times and store the copies in various places, some public, some hidden. Daniel wants to make sure that this document is not lost.
Skaara is impressed by such dedication. If it were up to him, he'd rather forget about the archaic and unjust laws that had burdened his people for thousands of years. But Daniel has convinced him and the others that history matters. If it weren't for him and the other scholars from Earth, the Abydonians would have never met their long-lost cousins from among the stars. Their rebellion would never have happened at all.
"Hmm. It's that time again," Daniel remembers, slightly late. "The meeting of the scholars. Skaara, we have to get ready."
"I'll go buy food for the guests." Skaara rushes off to the town square. Ever since its inception, Skaara loved the meeting of the scholars. He loves hearing Daniel lecture about the history of his world, especially about his distant Egyptian cousins. However, on most other topics, Daniel knows very little, and so he stumbles like everybody else.
Even so, there is one single topic that his brother-in-law continues to drill in the heads of the Abydonian scholars. That is the need for curiosity, skepticism and "science". As the leading authority on archaeology and history, nobody argues against him.
Even so, there is one single subject that his brother-in-law continues to drill in the head of the Abydonian scholars. That is, the need for curiosity, skepticism, and how to do science. Still, as the leading authority on archaeology and history, nobody argues against him. There is no way to check what he's saying. Skaara himself is studying engineering, though so far all he's produced are toy models that do nothing useful. Regardless, he feels like he's outpacing Daniel's practical knowledge. For this, he is very proud.
Meanwhile, a steady stream of scholars is arriving at Daniel Jackson's home. His family is no richer in wealth than any other, even though his father-in-law is a tribal leader. So, scholars from all over the city and the countryside contribute food, parchments and other supplies.
His house is large though, but the space is reserved for study rooms, scholar meetings, the archive and the workshop.
With the preparations complete and Skaara returned from errands, some few dozen of scholars, along with Daniel's family, gather around the lit fireplace. A few present are recording summaries on parchment. Short summaries, as most of the supply got used up for copies of "The Laws, Before the Rebellion." The rest don't have anything, so they're mostly going by memory. Daniel rises up to start the meeting. The chatter dies down, and everyone looks at him attentively.
"Friends, I know that we have a lot to discuss tonight, like our experiments on spontaneous generation, Skaara's work on levers, the proposals for the group project and other things. But first, I have two announcements to make. The first is that one of the farmers, Ahmoes, has just today agreed to work only on producing parchments. In exchange, we're responsible for giving him what he needs to sustain himself."
The audience applauds in congratulation, an Earth custom that they picked up, to celebrate the good news.
"Second, the tribal council has agreed to hear our proposal to dig up the Stargate for study for a limited time. Since this is an important decision, we'll put it to a popular vote." That raises some murmurs. Few of the scholars present are sure whether to go ahead, since the benefit of learning about the Stargate is matched by great risk. Everybody remembers that the demon Ra and his servants came through the Gate. But so did their lost cousins who liberated them from slavery.
Among the scholars, the proponents barely outnumber the opposition. A few days later, the scholars present the proposal to the elders, outlining the benefits and potential risks of studying the Stargate.
"But, but..but..You haven't even thought about it for more than 5 seconds!" Daniel stammers.
"You have given more thought about it, know more about it, and have considered the potential danger. We trust your judgement." That was all the council had to say on the matter. "We agree to hold a referendum, per your proposal."
The referendum is called. Most Abydonians elect to follow their leaders' opinion regarding the study of the stargate. Thus begins Daniel Jackson's dig on Ra's pyramid. Sands and debris have to be cleared, and the stargate itself is a great risk. Diligently, the workers dig up and clean up everything else. Days turn into weeks, then into months, until finally the stargate itself is excavated. As soon the work is done, militiamen pour in to secure the gate, some with M-16 rifles, others with more primitive weapons like spears and bows. Soon after, Daniel Jackson begins translating a recently discovered wall of Egyptian writings. A mere day passes before Jackson believes that he has discovered something of great importance. The wall contains a list of Stargate addresses! Meaning that there are more gates like this one, which he already suspected, but still! The Stargate doesn't just connect Abydos and Earth, but many worlds among the stars.
Daniel's wide smile turns into a frown as he deciphers more of the hieroglyphics. The inscriptions are warnings, of other demons like Ra. Daniel knows he has to warn the people of Abydos and Earth. For several seconds, he feels the urge to run to town and tell everyone. But that would cause a panic. So he takes a few breaths to calm himself.
"Men, bury the gate as soon as possible," Daniel commands. "Stay on guard. The gate may activate at any-" The stargate whines a low pitch. One by one, red trapezoids lights up.
"Shit!" Of all the times. "Prepare to fire! Keep your finger off the trigger!"
A whirling vortex bursts forth, then stabilizes into the characteristic puddle. A man with a golden tattoo walks out of the gate, followed by several soldiers. They are dressed in the armor of a servant of Ra. However, Daniel fails to notice the tattoo on the men's foreheads. It should be the symbol of Ra, but it is not.
The Abydonians wait a few tense seconds to decide on the threat, as they were told that it might be possible that aliens could come in peace. Still, the men look like servants of Ra, which is good enough for them.
"Fire!" Skaara orders. From concealed positions, the men unload a hail of bullets at the enemies. The battle is a slaughter.
"Stop! Stop!" Daniel yells. By the time the barrage stops, most of the servants are riddled with bullets, laying on the ground in pools of blood. "I need to talk to them."
One of the servants is still alive. Daniel walks up to him. "Who the hell are you! What do you want?"
"What insolence!" the servant spits. "You will pay for this! Apophis will send-"
Daniel's face turns white at the realization. There were others like Ra? "Skaara, get back to town and warn the elders! The rest of you, bury the gate. I must go and warn Earth. Keep the gate covered for a week. At the end of the week, open the gate up for a day. Keep it guarded. I don't know what will happen, but I promise you I will try my hardest to come back."
Everyone rushes off toward their assignment, as Daniel dials the gate and leaves for Earth. The men carry off the bodies, while some prepare to rig the stargate for burial. As for Skaara, he has run off as fast as he can to warn his father and the elders.