Summary: Earth sent Atlantis entertainment materials, they should have paid more attention to what they were sending.

Disclaimer: The "Stargate" franchise, including "Stargate: Atlantis" and all associated characters and situations are not the property of the author, who is merely using them for entertainment purposes without permission or intent to profit.

-o0O0o-

"ZPM Effect"
By J.T. Magnus, 'Turbo'

-o0O0o-

Even more than it was at Stargate Command, in the city of Atlantis mental health was considered a serious concern. While the SGC was effectively well 'behind the lines' of conflict - despite the number of times the facility and Earth itself had come under attack, especially from the Goa'uld - Atlantis, being in another galaxy that took intergalatic spacecraft weeks to reach, was the equivilent of a firebase deep in contested territory; a view that was enhanced by the overwhelming presence of the Wraith as well as the other various 'hostile' parties that the Atlantis Expedition found themselves facing. This made it much more difficult for members of the Expedition to truly experience down-time, even on their days without training or missions, there were not many options for relaxation as the city remained mostly unexplored and other worlds had to be visited carefully due to the risks of Wraith attacks. On-base entertainment, therefore, was a serious priority for the mental wellbeing of the Expedition - and to reduce the chances of anyone doing something risky, stupid and dangerous and claiming 'boredom' as a reason, there were enough problems in the Pegasus Galaxy without anyone doing that.

All possible efforts were made to supply Atlantis with materials to keep the residents busy and out of trouble; televisions with dvd players and a steady supply of new dvds, including season boxed sets of popular television shows, were one thing. Another supplied source of entertainment was video game systems, again with a good number of various kinds of games from racing and fighting to Role-Playing Games and even 'music hero'-types. This was a good thing since it mean that there were enough games for everyone to be able to play their favorite genre.

Colonel John Sheppard had a love for RPGs, something he kept just as secret as he did his MENSA membership, maybe even moreso. There were somethings people just weren't meant to know; why they were called buildings when they were already built, why you drove on a parkway and parked in a driveway, why hot dogs came in packages of ten and buns in eight, or just how big of a geek he really was at heart. He had enough trouble moving past being seen as the Expedition's 'Token High ATA Person' - even people that liked him sometimes forgot he wasn't just a walking, talking 'on' button for Ancient technology - and 'The Idiot That Woke The Wraith', he didn't need the military not taking him seriously or the scientists thinking they could walk all over him because they saw him as a geek. All of that led to him playing video games late at night when the chances of being caught by anyone who either would care or couldn't be intimidated were very low.

Unfortunately, for him, 'very low' and 'nonexistant' were two different things. From behind where he was sitting, there was a loud, almost exaggerated sigh that made John pause his game so that he could turn around and look.

The interloper rolled their eyes, "Colonel, are you playing that video game again?"

"Hey, the main character is a soldier with special abilities fighting to save a galaxy from being conquered by an ancient enemy, it's like it should be the official game of Atlantis and the SGC, maybe even a training tool. Besides, I feel a kinship, their name is 'Sheppard', default first name is even 'John' for a guy," John pointed out with a grin.

"Call yourself 'Paragon' or 'Renegade' and I may have to hurt you, John."

John gave them a knowing look and smirked. It took them a moment, but they mentally cursed as they realised that, by showing their knowledge of the game, they'd outed themself as a player of the same game.