Part: 10/20

Day 2
Chapter 10 – The Mad Moon

The Wraith Research and Forensics Facility was located in a small, dry moon on the inner orbit of an empty system. Located deep underground, sitting in an extinct volcano's internal chamber, the facility was undetectable from space. If any Wraith signal was accidently triggered from within the facility there was next to no chance of the signal breaking through the layers of thick magnetically unstable volcanic rock, and if it did, it would never make it through the static thick atmosphere of the moon. Orbiting so close to the system's sun, it was unusual that an atmosphere clung to the moon at all, but it was hardly a liveable environment. No one, no Wraith, would think to look at the moon. It was only the Elite that knew the facility existed, having established it only a few years ago, yet despite its secrecy, it was a busy facility. Some of the greatest scientific minds worked in the facility, for either part of their time or some full time. Most preferred to live off the moon, using the Portal the Elite had set inside the facility, to move on and off the facility, which was affectionately known by those that worked there as 'The Mad Moon'.

As Teyla and Halling stepped through the Portal, bright lights flashed overhead sharply over them. Set at a frequency that blinded Wraith, the lights still made Teyla's eyes sting, even through tightly shut eyelids. It was worth it though, as was the specific ultraviolet light that next filled the Portal room, eliminating various bacteria and viruses they may have been brought onto the Facility with them. In this facility, the very best in biological and technological advancements were not only developed, but also utilised as quickly as possible.

The light show complete, a more usual natural light filled the Portal chamber, but the far doorway remained sealed until their identity was confirmed. After only a second, two lights flashed above the thick metal doorway and it began to slide upwards, revealing a corridor beyond. The start of the corridor was observed from both sides by security, which included two newly graduated Elite warriors, on rotation through the facilities until they began their first major missions. With a nod through the thick bulletproof glass to both the Elite and the facility's security, she and Halling walked through another thick security hatchway until they reached the two transports that would take them further down inside the base.

Taking the left-hand transport, which would take them to Forensics, they entered and Halling triggered the correct symbol on the panel. It took only a few seconds for the transport to travel down into the belly of the old volcano. As the faint feeling of falling played through Teyla's body, she glanced at Halling beside her. He looked far better than he had yesterday, though still somewhat drawn in the face.

"The hang-over is long past, I assure you," he told her, feeling her attention.

She smiled as she looked away to the doors before them as the transport slowed. "I was more concerned over your concussion than the remnants of your drinking binge," she assured him. It felt good to be off the Sythus, to be somewhere different for a change. Somewhere where John had never walked with her.

"My head is fully recovered," Halling most likely lied.

As the doors slid open, she gave him a doubtful look as they stepped out into the clear-aired atmosphere of the facility. The air was strictly controlled, not just for ventilation sake considering how deep underground the facility it was located, but also to ensure there was no contamination of evidence, and no spread of Wraith spores or infections.

They reached another security checkpoint, but neither she nor Halling were stopped or scanned as they walked past the bulletproof glass-fronted security point with only a nod to the occupants.

"I will admit I have a faint headache still," Halling replied quietly as they proceeded down the hallway to the Lead Forensics laboratory. "But that is expected with a concussion."

"Of course," she agreed.

Ahead, a lab technician appeared through an open doorway and bowed to them. "Honoured Elite, are you here to speak with Imseti?" She asked.

"Yes, is she available?" Teyla asked, though knew that the Lead of Forensics would make time for any Elite at any time.

"She is working in Lab three," the technician replied as she indicated the doorway just to the left.

"Thank you," Teyla replied as she and Halling turned into the doorway without breaking their stride.

Pushing through the heavy dividing flaps of plastic that contained in the cooler air inside the Lab, Teyla prepared herself for whatever might be on the other side. It was not just Wraith that were dissected in this particular part of the Lab.

Kari' brain would be here somewhere, removed from her body prior to her cremation, for research into how the Queen had broken into her thoughts prior to killing her. Teyla always imagined there to be a large collection somewhere in this facility that housed various brains or other parts of killed Elite. She found it best not to think of it, and certainly never asked if such a place existed. Never one to succumb to nervous thinking, she nonetheless found labs such as this one a little unnerving. Perhaps it was because her own brain would likely end up in a jar here someday. She had already agreed to that in her Death Protocols. Her ashes would be returned to Athos, to her family, if enough of her body remained, and her brain would go to Elite research. Her own highly advanced Seeker skills would no doubt be identifiable in her brain and its study might allow a greater understanding of her genetic gifts, and might even assist in future developments of a natural Seeker ability.

Despite having spoken very frankly about her future demise with Elkaska and Father only an hour ago, being here made the concept a little too real today.

Brushing the last line of flaps aside and pushing open a thin glass doorway, she and Halling stepped into the cool air of the Lab to find Imseti approaching them with her usual wide smile.

"Honoured Elite," she greeted them through the transparent plastic helmet she wore. She was dressed in thick overalls and long tight gloves that ran from her hands up to her shoulders. The front of her overalls was smeared with something organic that Teyla felt best not to focus upon.

"Imseti," Halling greeted first, and Teyla thought she detected his own wavering caution in his polite tone.

"Your timing is excellent," the eccentric scientist replied through the plastic shield, under which she wore magnifying goggles to improve her eyesight for her work. "You do not mind me continuing my work?" Imseti asked as she turned away, already knowing they would not object. No Elite would admit to any weakness of stomach, even if they felt it.

"I am sure you have read my reports," Imseti continued as she led them into the main area of the Lab, which fortunately today only held one body, and it was of a Wraith. "But, I can now confirm, this being the very last of the bodies you brought me from the Glisi world, that my preliminary findings hold water," Imseti declared as she returned to one side of the Wraith body and immediately plunged her gloved arms into the cadaver. "Or should I say, Glisi snow-water, for I certainly found a considerable amount in the lungs and tissues of the bodies," she chuckled. "I can understand why they used it for the base of their Quantum," she said as she pulled out something that looked like part of a kidney from inside the Wraith.

Approaching the other side of the body and keeping a 'respectful' distance from it, Teyla found herself looking down into the opened abdomen. It had been practically emptied, leaving just muscle and what was obviously the inside of the Wraith's spinal column. Teyla lifted her eyes back up to Imseti.

"Very pure," Imseti continued as she put the possible kidney segment onto a machine that displayed its weight. "I have passed along samples of the water to my biology colleagues for their analysis."

Teyla nodded, her eyes returning to the dead Wraith. The top of the Wraith's skull had been cut open and its eyes had been removed from their sockets. She looked back up at Imseti quickly.

The creatures always had a distinctive smell, one she hated, but when they had been dead longer than a few days, the smell intensified dramatically. Despite the downward pull of air from the slab on which the body laid, and the chemical disinfectant scent in the air, the smell was still somewhat overpowering and one Teyla was surprised that Imseti could get used to it.

"And your final analysis of what killed them?" Halling asked, drawing Imseti back on point.

Imseti lifted the kidney part and dropped it into a sealable bin before turning back to them. She set her hands on her side of the slab and looked at them through her magnifying goggles.

"The very same thing that stunned yourself and your Honoured colleagues on the Glisi world," she reported. "We determined the light frequencies and pattern deployed by the new Wraith tech have a stunning affect on the human cortex. The visual assault creates a storm of electrical activity in the brain, which essentially temporary short-circuits everything. The body goes into shutdown to protect higher functions, which is why you and your colleagues found yourselves hitting the snow rather than defending yourselves."

Teyla glanced at Halling, wondering if he was going to correct Imseti that he had already been unconscious when the new stunning tech had been used on Kari and Oneakka. Elite did not usually admit they had been knocked out of a fight.

"So it does not damage humans in the long-term?" Halling asked, decidedly not pointing out Imseti' error.

"No, not at all," Imseti replied as she began pulling off one long smeared glove. "But not so for our enemies here," she added gesturing to the Wraith.

"Why?" Halling asked.

"A very good question to ask," Imseti replied, not at all intending to be condescending, but it still sounded that way, especially when speaking to an Elite. "It seems," Imseti continued as she pulled off the second long glove, "from looking at their brains and spinal cords, that the electrical storm of activity caused by the tech's lightshow resulted in actual physical damage to their neurons, and once unconscious their body simply stopped working. Essentially the brain could no longer communicate with their body, leading to immediate respiratory and cardiac failure."

"Their hearts stopped beating," Teyla translated.

"Yes, and their lungs stopped working; even at the lesser degree that they need air compared to us, oxygen deprivation still kills Wraith. Even when we're deeply unconscious, our basic bodily functions continue; your heart keeps beating, your organs work, and you lungs exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide, and it's the same for Wraith. However, the damage to their brains was extensive enough that it essentially separated brain and body. Without communication with the brain the body died, and without oxygen from the body, the brain dies. Death was not instantaneous, but it was quick." Imseti set the gloves into a bin and turned away. "But, almost more interesting is the tech itself," she continued as they followed her across the lab.

Imseti pulled a sheet off a table to reveal the Wraith orb from the Glisi world. It had been dissected into several pieces and clearly some elements had been removed. Teyla moved closer, far more willing to get closer to tech than a dead body.

"As you can see," Imseti said as she removed her helmet and its plastic shield. "The outer shell of the tech is standard spore grown tough Wraith tech, incorporating these transparent panels allowing the coloured lights to shine through. The inner lining is the usual fibrous housing for cabling." Imseti reached in and caught hold of a handful of thick, sticky Wraith tech. Teyla was surprised the woman wasn't wearing gloves for this. "The innermost part is the very interesting part though. See these," she continued with excited interest as she always did, "these are the light generators, don't worry they have been disabled. If you look in here," she opened up a dissected central lump in the middle of the tech, "this is the real hub."

Teyla leant in to look closer. Surprisingly, she saw all too familiar metallic technology. "It is not Wraith."

"No," Imseti replied pointedly. "In fact I have no idea what's its origin is." Which was a significant statement from Imseti. "The tech is similar to Wraith in some ways, as it has organic elements, but also Ancestor tech in the circuits. Scrapings from it date squarely back in the Ancestor era, towards the end of their time in this galaxy, but I cannot be precise. My best guess is this is some experimental technology by some now extinct race that tried to incorporate Ancestor and Wraith elements to create this stunning technology."

"Unless it was the Ancestors themselves; we know they undertook some extreme experiments towards the end of their era. Perhaps this was supposed to be a significant new weapon against the Wraith," Halling considered.

"That's possible," Imseti considered. "And perhaps this Hive came across a research facility, either Ancestor or another extinct culture. Either way, it is certainly exciting those in Weapons Research; they've already rigged up a version of it, though they have struggled in not stunning themselves during experiments, even with visual shielding."

"Two personnel witnessed the lights of this tech when it was used on the Glisi world, but were not stunned by it," Halling pointed out, referring to Robiah and Seeal, who had been leaving the battlefield when this new technology had been deployed.

"But not in direct line of sight," Imseti answered as she closed the tech core and put it down into the mess of Wraith cables and fibres. "I estimate, and from weapons tests already conducted, that the range is one to two hundred yards, perhaps further with direct line of sight of the lightshow. I suspect the effect of the tech was dissipated in their case by the interference of the light off the snow on the Glisi world and the large number of forest trees."

Teyla frowned at the tech. "It is a strange tech for a Queen to use when it will kill her own warriors."

"I agree. I would guess that she was experimenting, as it appears she did with the Quantum," Imseti replied, her magnified pupils staring at Teyla. "Interesting Queen, and not just because of her work. Unusual brain."

Teyla prayed Imseti was not going to bring out the brain jar for show.

"Her genetic line have a significantly larger prefrontal cortex and amygdala to their brains, as do some of the Seekers from your world, Honoured Elite," Imseti added. "But that Queen, she had, apart from the area of damage cut into the right side at her death," she added almost as a complaint, "far denser neurons than normal in those areas."

"She was more psychically developed?" Halling asked.

"Perhaps naturally," Imseti nodded, "Or possibly as a consequence of her experiments into the Quantum. Some of the neuron formation looked very new and had a look of repaired tissue that usually follows brain damage of some kind."

"The Quantum was damaging her brain?" Teyla asked.

"We know it has that ability, and perhaps with the changes she made to it, the drug had a stronger effect on her. It may have been intentional - that she was trying to develop her skills as you build up a muscle by pushing it to repair itself stronger."

Teyla found that a little worrying, though they knew this particular Queen was no longer a problem.

"Or she was trying to evolve herself," Imseti considered offhandedly.

Teyla snapped her eyes to her. "We have seen no evidence of that from any generation of Wraith yet studied."

"The Wraith have never been pushed to the edge of extinction as they hopefully soon will be. We had thought that that Queen's genetic line had already been wiped out, so it was likely she was one of the last, or the very last, of her line. Evolution, in general, occurs through adaptation to a changing environment or circumstances. For over ten thousand years, the Wraith have never needed to adapt to anything new."

Halling frowned heavily. "It is a worrying thought that they may do so now."

"But one that has to be considered if we are to rid the galaxy of them," Imseti replied. "Another consideration might be to eventually consider such techniques as Atlantis is apparently exploring." The sudden mention of John's people in the conversation sent a shock through Teyla. "To remove the more Wraith elements of their genetic structure so they become more human and no longer require the need to feed."

"You are suggesting the Wraith might evolve that way themselves?" Halling asked Imseti.

"No, that is unlikely as things currently stand, but for the future, who is to know? If we were to alter them genetically to become harmless, perhaps their next generation born would no longer need to feed."

John had shared with her a little on the details of the retrovirus his people had been working on when Iketani had tried to steal it, but Teyla gathered that its aims were still unattainable for the time being, for it either killed the Wraith it was used on, or the effects did not last for every long.

"This Queen may suggest that the Wraith are capable of adapting quicker than we realised," Imseti continued, "Or she could have been an anomaly. One rare example of a brain that could adapt quicker than most."

Teyla looked back to the emptied Wraith lying on the slab behind her. If only a few genetic changes could be made, would the Wraith ever consider removing their ability to feed in return for peace with the Alliance? It seemed highly unlikely, especially considering how determinately the Wraith were fighting back and draining the unprotected worlds of human lives. Yet, if such could occur in the future, perhaps it would be possible to see the end of the war on such terms? Would the Wraith ever agree?

"Do you think it would be possible for us to speak with scientists from Atlantis?" Imseti asked, surprising Teyla out of her thoughts. "I would be very interested to compare notes and get a look at the genetic alterations they have suggested."

Teyla felt Halling's eyes upon her. "It may be possible," she told Imseti, "but I am not sure it would be just yet."

Imseti looked sorrowful behind her magnifying goggles. "That is a shame. I have drawn up a list of potentially tradable information with them in preparation if you should ever consider trade with them." Surprised at the woman's idea, Teyla simply nodded. "And we have heard talk that their ship uses a molecular transporting system that is not based on Wraith tech, and a directed energy beam weapon that appears constant in its energy usage. There is nothing like that in this galaxy; we would very much like to see that tech."

Teyla nodded at her. "I will pass along your interest, perhaps there may be a chance of such information trade in the future."

Imseti nodded with the bright excited naivety of a scientist who saw no borders of politics or alliance. She and her people saw only knowledge as valuable and would, set free, likely trade all manner of Elite secrets in return for Atlantis' secrets. Though, in truth, it had not occurred to Teyla that Atlantis might have tech to trade with them; she had, perhaps naively herself, thought of the Alliance as far technologically superior to John's people. They had the technology of Atlantis, but that was Ancestor in origin, not their own.

Part of her automatically thought to ask John about it next time she saw him, but then she remembered that such an open conversation would be highly unlikely between them now. The next conversation she would have with him might very well be her last, and certainly would not be comfortable. Just thinking of it made her feel cold inside.

"We will pass along your request," she stated politely.

"Thank you, Honoured Elite," Imseti replied cheerfully, in no way aware of any of the emotional discomfort in Teyla's chest and stomach. "If you have time now, I have some interesting new advancements to show you from our experiments on growing Wraith spores..."

"We should visit Weapons Research," Halling said quickly, "see the results of their research into this new tech."

"Of course," Imseti replied instantly. "I will show you next time. The fungus some of the spores are growing is very interesting, and I suspect will allow us to increase our ability to date Wraith tech far more accurately."

"That sounds very interesting," Teyla replied, which it was, but she had no desire to go into the large experimental rooms where the Wraith spores were cultivated and studied. Once had been enough. That the spores had needed dead flesh to start growing had been bad enough, that they had grown extra fungi had not been pleasant to observe. "I look forward to reading your reports."

"Excellent, I will write them as quickly as I am able," Imseti replied with a grin.

"Thank you for your time," Teyla replied as she moved away, Halling noticeably quick to follow.

"You are welcome to observe and ask questions here at any time, Honoured Elite, this is your base and we are excited to share what we find," Imseti replied as she began pulling on another long clean glove.

Teyla replied with some more pleasantries as she and Halling swiftly exited the Lab, and it was only once back outside in the hallway that Teyla let out a relieved breath.

"Compared to Satedan drinking parties," Halling said, "I believe spending time in Forensics is far faster at aggravating my concussion."

Teyla smiled as they headed down the hallway towards Weapons Research – which was always a very exciting and interesting place to visit. "The idea of Wraith evolving could certainly present a headache to us all."

"As Imseti said, they have not changed in any significant way biologically in ten thousand years. It is unlikely they will be able to change themselves quickly enough to save themselves now," Halling replied with confidence.

"Except that they were the result of a rapid evolution of the Iratus and Human DNA combining in the first place."

"We are not sure if that combination was natural," Halling put in. "There is the suggestion that the Ancestors were behind their evolution, as they were the Human species." The origin of the Wraith had been an on-going debate for years now, since the development of DNA analysis of Human, Wraith, and Iratus cells. "For all we know, the Ancestors may have somehow programmed the Wraith genetic makeup so they would not evolve, or at least not quickly."

Teyla nodded vaguely, though was far from personally convinced that the Ancestors would have been so forward thinking, after all the evidence often seemed to prove the exact opposite.

"Let us hope that is the case," she replied as she triggered open the door to Weapons Research.

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TBC