The Fifth Race
Dear Journal,
I've only been at the SGC for about six months, but in that time I have seen a lot of crazy stuff. And I have to say that today's events were one of the craziest. When the Stargate dialed that seventh symbol and the chevron encoded, but didn't lock, I honestly had no idea what to say. To my ears, I think it may have come across as a question. I hope no one else could hear that. I also hope they didn't hear the near panic in my voice when the gate continued to dial an eighth symbol before finally locking in that chevron.
Honestly, the entire base has been abuzz with rumors and exciting theories ever since SG-1 got back from P3R-272. It was odd seeing Dr. Jackson so torn between concern for Colonel O'Neill as his friend and delight over finally having something to go off of in interpreting the language of what he now knows to be the Ancients, the Gate Builders. But even that excitement was nothing compared to the way the science department was going gaga over the energy source he built out of spare parts and the energy crystal from a staff weapon. Apparently, he essentially built a supped up naquadah generator. The term zero-point energy was also thrown around, but I'm still not sure exactly how that relates to the whole thing. And Captain Carter's been going on and on about the revolutionary base eight math equations that Colonel O'Neill was kind enough to scribble out for her on a blackboard in Dr. Jackson's office. She has theorized that the Ancients only used base eight math in relation to the Stargate itself since it takes eight symbols to lock in to a planet in the Ida galaxy. All other mathematical equations they had to do were probably done using the more traditional and seemingly universal base ten math.
I suppose that none of that can compare to Dr. Frasier's reaction to all these revelations. She seemed rather subdued compared to most of the scientists and experts on base, and yet her field was affected just as much as anyone else's. The implications of what could be possible if it were discovered how all the information was downloaded into the Colonel's brain so quickly are too many to count. I suppose that if I tried really hard to see if from her perspective, I would finally understand that it's not about the implications of brilliance, but more about the implications of the dangers it would pose to the human mind. The physical brain was not meant to hold that much information at once. I saw the way Dr. Frasier watched over Colonel O'Neill as he deteriorated. Sometimes, I think that she cares too much about her patients. I worry that it could be dangerous for her to care so much. People die all the time in this line of work and it must eat at her terribly every time that she loses someone.
I overheard a conversation at lunch between Dr. Frasier and Dr. Jackson in the commissary. He seemed to be bringing her up to speed on everything that happened to Colonel O'Neill when he went through the Stargate to the Asgard planet where they were able to erase the Ancient's knowledge from his brain. Dr. Jackson seemed to think that based on the conversation the Colonel had with the Asgards that the only reason they haven't made strides to talk to us before is because they've been studying the wrong kinds of humans. I think he said it kind of jokingly, but it makes sense in a way. After all, the Asgard also told Colonel O'Neill that we were well on our way to becoming the Fifth Race and how impressed they were with the advancements in human brain capacity to be able to sift through all the knowledge of the Ancients to subconsciously find a gate address to the Asgard planet and to be able to modify the dialing computer, and build a power source that was capable of getting him there. Personally, I think it's just proof of how stubborn the Colonel can be when he's trying to get what he wants. And Dr. Frasier did point out that the Colonel knew that the Asgard language of Thor's people were present next to the language of the Ancients on the "meaning of life" walls. She insisted that the Colonel was smart enough to conclude that if anyone could figure out how to fix him, it would be the little gray guys. He knew what he was looking for, so it was easier for his subconscious to find it. If Joe Smith from off the streets had all the Ancient knowledge in his brain, he wouldn't know what to look for to fix himself, therefore his subconscious would never have been able to find it and execute a plan that complex in such a short time.
Anyway, all of this is just more proof of how honored I am to even be here, at the SGC, part of something so incredible and astronomically overwhelming.
-Lieutenant Graham Simmons