Chapter twenty-one

The greeting that they received on the Tollan home world was even less eventful than they had expected it to be. Except for the fact that a few people had to get out of their way when they came tumbling through the event horizon, little notice was taken of their arrival. The place where the gate was located was a large open plaza in between several tall white buildings, and dozens of people crowded in front of the dialing device, obviously waiting to dial out just as soon as the wormhole disengaged.

Once the shimmering puddle disappeared, a man began dialing an address. And as the outgoing wormhole formed, he called out a word which none of them recognized, and a group of about twenty travelers...men, women and children...walked up the stairs and stepped into the event horizon.

"Let's get out of this crowd," Jack said, his head down and his voice low. He took Sam's hand, and they all followed him between two buildings and down a narrow passageway. After a few minutes Jack stopped. There was no one in sight, so he slid to the ground with his back against the nearest wall. "I think we've got a problem," Jack said.

The others crouched down around him, waiting to hear what their leader had on his mind.

"When we met the Tollan, they spoke our language," Jack said, looking around the group. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I didn't hear anything back there that I understood."

"That's true, Jack. And they may not be capable of understanding us for many generations yet. Remember they learned Earth's languages by observing us for a long time. But I'm sure I can figure out their language in time," Daniel said with certainty.

"In time? Great! What do we do in the meantime? How do we explain who we are and where we're from?" Jack asked him.

"Jack, I think we should just try to talk to someone. Try to make ourselves understood as best we can and see what happens," Daniel suggested.

"Who thinks Daniel is off his rocker besides me?" Jack asked. When no one spoke, he waved his hand back in the direction they had come.

"Okay, lead on!" Jack told Daniel, and he wasn't smiling.

They followed Daniel back to the busy plaza, but this time they went inside the largest building. There were a few people on the first floor, but no one looked up from where they sat. The interior of the building was also very white and sterile looking, but there were brilliantly colored pictures hanging everywhere, and row after row of small drawers built into the walls. A woman was standing in front of one drawer. She flipped through the discs that it contained and then removed one, before taking it to a desk at which she sat down. They watched as she placed the disc into a small machine. Almost instantly a holographic image appeared in front of her. The image was of a person, and there was some writing as well.

"Guys, I think this is a library or some sort of repository of information," Daniel said.

"You would be correct, stranger," said a pleasant male voice. They turned to find a man standing nearby. He was dressed entirely in white and looked as sterile as their surroundings.

"You speak English!" Daniel remarked happily.

"Yes, I do. I also speak one thousand and five hundred and fifty other languages, give or take a few. I am called Taban of the House of Restis. I am head curator here. Have you come here to seek knowledge?" the tall, dark haired man asked. He was about six feet, five inches tall and had very blue eyes. They twinkled as he looked at Sam. Jack shoved in front of her and addressed the man.

"Actually we could use your help. We came from the future in a time machine, and we'd like to get home. But we don't know how to operate the time machine." Jack stated. The others looked mildly surprised.

"Jack, that's brilliant! Why didn't I think of that!" Daniel said, slapping Jack on the shoulder. Jack just smiled smugly.

"Can you describe this time machine to me? Perhaps I can locate directions for you," the curator said.

"Yah, it's a big, gray cube-shaped thingy. Big enough for about a dozen men to stand inside of, and you can see through the side walls. It looks like it's made out of kids' toys. You know, the kind that snap together."

"Legos, Jack. But I'm sure he doesn't know what Legos look like," Sam said, shaking her head.

"I believe I know the kind of thing of which you speak," the librarian said, as he inserted a disc into a machine. Instantly the holographic image appeared in front of them. It was a toy bridge built of interlocking pieces, and a child was sitting on the floor next to it.

"It's not Legos, but it's damned close!" Jack exclaimed.

Then the librarian pulled out a keyboard and began typing. "And here," he said, "is an image of a Rubiconian Time Dilation Chamber. Is this the device you call the time machine?" he asked as the image flashed into view.

"Yes!" "Yep!" "Wow!" "Indeed." They answered simultaneously. The curator simply smiled.

"Then I will copy the directions, and you may take them with you. I will be but a moment," he said as he walked toward the back of the large room.

"I can't believe I never thought about finding directions for that darned thing!" Daniel said, shaking his head.

"My grandma always said to ask for directions," Jack replied, smiling smugly again. Sam reached up and kissed him on the cheek. But Jack being Jack, he was not satisfied with such a little kiss. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her long and hard, while Daniel and Teal'c looked around in obvious embarrassment.

"Guys, he's coming back!" Daniel warned them. Sam and Jack separated, but Jack kept his arm around her waist.

"Here you are," the Tollan said, handing a small cylinder to Jack. It looked like it was made of bright blue plastic. Jack turned it around in his hand and frowned.

"Eh... How are we supposed to read this?" Jack asked.

"Oh, I am sorry. I always forget about you less advanced cultures. Here," he said, taking the cylinder from Jack's fingers. "You simply look through the center and turn it this direction, and the words and images will appear." He demonstrated how to use it, and then handed it back to Jack, who took a look for himself.

"Sweet! Sam, you've got to invent one of these things when we get home. We'd never have to work another day in our lives!" Jack enthused.

"Let's just get home first," Sam said, hugging him around the waist. She was very proud of him!

"Thanks, Toban!" Jack said, giving the man a mock salute.

"Taban," Sam said, correcting Jack's mispronunciation. He frowned at her.

"You are very welcome, traveler. Be safe and happy journey," he said, and then he turned and walked away.

"Jack, I hate to burst your bubble, but now that we have the directions, how do we get back to Rome? I don't think Antony will let you use his boat again," Daniel pointed out.

"I know that, Daniel. I guess we'll just have to stow away on a boat headed for Italy," Jack suggested.

TBC