Reconstructing Rome
By Indygodusk
Chapter 26
"From the dome of St. Peter's one can see every notable object in Rome…He can see a panorama that is varied, extensive, beautiful to the eye, and more illustrious in history than any other in Europe."
MARK TWAIN
After almost half an hour of skimming through the Ancient programs, a pattern emerged in the files she could access. There were some Ancient words and concepts that she wasn't familiar with but even so, her initial excitement became tempered by dismay. "This isn't an Ancient military base, it's a research lab for Ascension. Great. The Ancients always leave weird and deadly traps behind in their research labs. Hopefully, you've already tripped them all so I won't be affected. Not only is my brain priceless but so is the brain in my belly."
"You will explain what you are talking about later with Ancients and what they are to the Gods, but for now, can you fix the malfunctioning shield?" Julian asked.
Fingers flying, Meredith nibbled on her lip. "I see some corrupted subroutines and programs actively drawing power despite reading inactive, but being a blessed recorder isn't giving me deep system access because I'm still not a gene-carrier." Huffing, she leaned back and looked up. "Maybe you should explain exactly what problem your shield's having that's so bad that you had to kidnap me to fix it."
"I assume a gene-carrier is synonymous with being from the blessed family?" At Meredith's impatient gesture, Julian said, "Very well. The problems are multiple. None of the surviving adult members of the Aquila family have been blessed with power to alter the programs. We have hopes for a few of the children, but they are too young yet. My nephew, Ava's son, appears to be a blessed one but he is just turned three."
Blowing out her breath, Meredith typed in a different string of Ancient commands, only to hit another wall. "Look, there's only so much I can do with gene-locked technology. Believe me, if I had a way to remove that stupid requirement I would for my own sake, but you're at peace right now, right? So what's the big deal? Just wait for the kid to grow up."
"If you don't fix this, he won't survive that long." Julian leaned towards her, eyes bright and almost feverish. "When the bomb exploded, the shield was still up. It took us almost a year to get it down, with my nephew placed in a playpen next to the console to allow even minimal access for me and the new blessed recorders. People were dying from lack of food and fresh water, trapped inside the holy shield meant to protect us. It became a prison keeping out all but air and light."
"I sympathize, seeing as I'm a prisoner right now too," Meredith told him pointedly. "You should let me go. I'll come back with more people to help, but you can't keep me here."
Julian acted as if she hadn't spoken as he slowly paced around the consoles. "We got the shield down, but it won't stay down. It keeps springing up again randomly and the amount of time it stays open is getting shorter and shorter. We've brought in as much water and food as we can, but the population is large and supplies are already low because of the recent war. Sensing our weakness, people living outside the city and in the surrounding farmland have started feeding us lies about the events we miss when shielded. Whole families have been wiped out by Albissian squads while we were trapped inside and helpless to respond."
As Julian circled the shorter console, the orange-gold light reflected in his eyes like burning flames. "On top of the city shield malfunctioning, there have also been strange phenomena occurring. We've had people leave the dinner table to go to the bathroom, only to be found ten minutes later a desiccated corpse, with fingernail marks scratched into the back of the unlocked door as if they couldn't get out."
"That was unnecessarily graphic." Grimacing, Meredith tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I don't see a simple off button on this thing so your solution seems rather obvious—you should evacuate."
Lips thinning, Julian shook his head. "No, we've already looked into that as a last resort but it won't work. Not only is this our home, but it's also the best piece of real estate on the continent and the Albissians hate us. A flood of refugees would be slaughtered outright or enslaved for generations, not greeted with mercy and goodwill. We've encouraged those with family outside to move, but by and large we are an insular and traditional people."
"What about through the gate?"
"Our culture and religion are tied to this place. The God Machine is a divine gift of protection and the reason we have prospered. We can't abandon it. Without it we lose the record of our people and would quickly descend into primitive savagery. This is our holy city and you, Dr. Mckay, are the God-sent woman who will save us."
Julian grabbed her hand, clasping it between his and staring fervently into her eyes. "God delivered you into my hands. You know more about the inner workings of the God machines than people who've lived with them their whole lives. You're amazing. When I saw your beauty and genius I knew my prayers had been answered. Please, Dr. Mckay, save my people. I know you can do it."
"Well... I am a beautiful genius, it's true, but... this setup is a mess. I mean, I guess I can try—" Julian beamed at her adoringly and kissed her hand "—since it's obviously a challenge too difficult for the idiots around here, but you have to know that there's no guarantee that even someone as intelligent as I am can fix this."
Pulling away her hand, Meredith reminded herself of the realities and shook off the glow of his admiration. "And I'm still mad that you kidnapped me. This will go a lot quicker if I had my tools and people from my world to assist me. You need to let me go and get more help. I'll tell them the kidnapping was a mistake and come back. That's the best way to make sure this gets fixed quickly and correctly."
Even before she finished speaking he was shaking his head. "I acknowledge your difficulties, but you're the first hope we've had in months, if not years. We need you. Of course I trust your word, but we can't risk losing you if your people are feeling less forgiving. The periods where the shield is open are getting exponentially shorter. If you leave, you might never get back inside to help, assuming they even let you come back. No, I'm sorry, Dr. Mckay, but you will have to work with what you have, just like the rest of us."
No arguments could sway him. She tried but he crossed his arms and became like stone. Frustrated, Meredith finally threw up her hands and threw herself into the work.
Several hours later she went to stand up and became lightheaded. The world slipped sideways. Plopping back down onto her chair, she leaned forward and dropped her head into her hands, trying to take slow breaths and not pass out.
A hand landed on her back and rubbed soothingly. "What's wrong?"
Squeezing her eyes shut, she swallowed. "Besides being kidnapped? You haven't given me anything to eat or drink since I woke up from being drugged. I have low blood sugar and I'm allergic to citrus and my health is fragile and I'm pregnant. You kidnapped me and I'm pregnant. I haven't even had an OB appointment yet. Troy should've been here instead of me. He should've never tricked me into getting pregnant. I should be home safe picking out a new kitten to keep me company or even looking into nursery furniture and a live-in nanny but instead I'm here living this nightmare." The lightheaded feeling went away but now her head hurt and her back hurt and her bulging stomach hurt from being smashed against her thighs and starved of food. And despite being given nothing to drink she needed to pee, which was grossly unfair.
Meredith sat up, opened her eyes, and swatted away Julian's hand. "And stop touching me! I don't want to be here and your smiles and flattery aren't going to make me change my mind."
Lips pressed tight, Julian took a slow breath through his nose. "I'm sorry. I wish there was another way." Melancholy furrowing his brow.
It didn't matter how he looked if he wasn't going to stop being the bad guy. "There is a way. Let me go."
"I can't. However, I will do my best to treat you carefully. Let's take a break now. Do you feel steady enough to stand?" Julian tried to take her arm.
Meredith avoided his touch and pushed herself to her feet. The world swung once and then stabilized. Her head hurt but she wasn't going to pass out. Yet. "I need some fruit juice, but remember, nothing with citrus, like orange, lemon, lime, that sort of sour thing."
Julian guided her out of the guarded lab to an office area a few hallways away with his name on the door. He talked briefly to a secretary in the anteroom and then ushered Meredith inside his private office. The guards waited outside. Julian sat her in a chair and pulled a package of crackers out of his desk, passing them over to her before picking up a receiver off a bulky box that looked like a radio or phone. The secretary came in and handed Meredith a cold bottle of what tasted like a pear juice. Meredith got distracted eating and drinking, so she missed part of Julian's conversation, but it sounded like she was being sent somewhere.
As soon as Julian put his phone-thing down it began buzzing alarmingly. He picked it up quickly. Whoever was on the other line wasn't saying anything good because Julian bowed his head and grimaced. He went to his windows, pushed aside the curtain with a finger to peek out, and then let the curtain drop before she could see out. His shoulders slumped.
"What is it?" she asked, but his expression closed.
"Dr. Mckay, I'm going to send you out with the guards to be checked over by a doctor. My sister Ava will meet you at the hospital and then take you to see your new rooms in our home, where you'll be allowed a short rest. I have some things to take care of and then I will retrieve you to continue the work. Perhaps you'll have some better ideas by then." Inclining his head, he hustled her out of his office and outside.
The rain had stopped but the air felt thick with humidity. Rushing made Meredith feel lightheaded again. Pregnancy sucked. Wasn't there supposed to be glowing skin and crap like that? Because she'd obviously received the knockoff version. Before she could catch her breath, Julian passed her off to the guards, turned, and strode off in the opposite direction, not bothering to avoid the puddles on the streets. Two men in navy came around the corner and joined him. On seeing them Julian looked even more stressed.
The guards prodded her up onto the waiting trolley and it jerked into motion with them the only passengers. A strange shushing sound echoed through the city, but she couldn't identify it. The streets were almost completely deserted except for an old man sitting on a bench with his hands over his face, crying loudly. It made her uncomfortable.
As they went around a corner into a wider street Meredith noticed her guards keeping their heads tilted down to the floor. Confused, she looked down too but didn't see anything interesting. Then she looked up and flinched.
A translucent glowing shield hovered just above the rooftops. The shushing sound was a torrent of angry rain pounding against the eerie copper glow of the shield. The shield must really be malfunctioning if it kept out even weather. That didn't seem like a good design feature. Meredith imagined that this must be what sailors saw a second before their ship was broken apart by a monstrous wave. The word shield should conjure up feelings of safety, but seeing the dome overhead and the angry bubbling of water, Meredith felt as if she was about to be crushed at any moment.
Like the guards, she kept her head down after that. The reminder of being trapped made her anxious and depressed. This kidnapping could've been a lot worse—no one had threatened torture or even really hurt her—but that didn't mean things couldn't change for the worse. What if she didn't manage to fix their machine? She'd do her best, but she wasn't a gene carrier so some of the Ancient programs would never respond to her, even with this blessed recorder thing they'd discovered as a workaround. What if the SGC didn't know where she was? What if they never rescued her? What if the baby came while she was still stuck here? What if she died here?
Breathing fast, Meredith stood up quickly when the trolley stopped in front of the red brick Hospital of Menudia. They went inside and were met in the lobby by Ava. She handed Meredith a bulging paper bag.
The head guard frowned and stepped forward. "Has that been approved, Madam Lorenzi? Perhaps I should inspect it first."
Ava sent him a haughty look. "Are you implying that I am not trustworthy? I may have married into the Lorenzi name, but I was born an Aquila. I know my duty. It's just food."
Except it wasn't just food, it was a lot delicious-smelling food. Meredith's stomach growled loudly as she eagerly unwrapped a sandwich. The guard looked over at the sound, frowned, and stepped back. Julian might be a jerk, but Meredith was liking his sister more and more. As she bit into the meat and cheese sandwich, she couldn't help but moan. It was either that good or she was just that hungry. Reaching into the bag to pull out a purple thing that looked like a striped carrot, she tried to remember her real priorities. "So Ava, just where is your stargate located?"
The guards bristled unhappily and sent Ava narrow-eyed looks.
Sighing, Ava gestured the group towards the elevator. "Outside our city where you won't be able to reach it without assistance, which I cannot give. I'm very sorry for how you got here, but I can't help you escape. It would be a betrayal of my people. However, I'll do my best to make sure you're treated well while you're with us." She pressed the button for the third floor. "You're welcome to call me Ava, but what should I call you? I'd rather be friends than enemies."
Pursing her lips, Meredith followed Ava out of the elevator and down the hall. "I'll think about it. Friends don't kidnap each other." An ally would be useful but should she really make it easy for these people by cooperating? And what if this was a trick? What if Ava wasn't really nice after all? This might be some sort of good cop-bad cop scenario, though if so, she really didn't want to meet the bad cop.
A nurse sitting at a desk by the elevator stood up and ushered them into a room. It had no windows, just an examination table, cabinet, desk, and two chairs. It looked like a doctor's office on Earth except without the reassuring computer and digital scale.
A black and white poster of a pregnant belly hung on the wall with a fetus inside. Arrows pointed to different body parts of mother and child with names that looked similar to latin. She couldn't tell if the picture was as advanced as a similar diagram on Earth but the sight of it still freaked Meredith out.
She was going to have to talk about the pregnancy in detail and start accepting that those gas bubbles weren't really gas bubbles and she was going to have to do it while kidnapped on an alien planet with primitive medicine. Sure, she'd thrown the "pregnancy" word out a few times to try and manipulate O'Neill and Julian into leaving her alone, but neither attempt had worked. In fact, telling the people here might've just made things for her worse. What if they used it against her somehow? Panic welled up in her chest, making it feel uncomfortably tight.
Since the room was so small, one of the guards went ahead and squeezed in against the wall next to the examination table. It had stirrups. The guard had a sloping forehead and a cruel mouth. The other guard stood by the door with his hair scraped back in an uncomfortably tight looking black bun.
"No." She didn't realize she'd whispered it until the words left her mouth.
"No what, Dr. Mckay?" Brow creased, Ava turned to face her. "I want to help. Please."
Swallowing hard, Meredith surrendered her suspicions. She needed some sort of ally here and a woman seemed a lot more comfortable than a man. If it blew up in her face, well, it wouldn't be the first time. "Ava, I can't have two strange men in here while the doctor makes me take my pants off and examines my privates. They're called private for a reason. I can't. Please."
Ava winced and then firmed her lips. "I don't blame you." She looked at the guards. "Why don't you two stand outside the door?"
"Ma'am, we have to make sure she doesn't escape," the man by the door told her.
Ava arched one brow imperiously. "Escape where? There's no way out of the room but that door. You can stand outside and make sure to both keep her in and keep out any spies or assassins from Albissia who might've heard rumors of her presence."
The two men shared an unhappy glance but they moved outside and shut the door behind them.
"Thank you." Fidgeting with the cuff of her sleeve, Meredith leaned against the wall. "And you can call me Meredith."
Ava inclined her head. "Thank you, Meredith. There's not a lot I can do for you, but what I can, I will."
"Meaning what?" Meredith fisted her hands in the wrinkled edge of her shirt.
Sitting down on a chair with a sigh, Ava wiped a hand across her face. "Meaning it doesn't hurt for you to ask. I believe that kidnapping you was wrong... but Julian is right that you're our best hope right now. My son is just a toddler. He can't control or fix the God machine. When the council forced me to put my baby in with the machine, I think he did as much harm as good. He's too young to understand. I'm praying you can fix it for us. If not, we're all lost unless God sends us another miracle."
A knock sounded on the door, letting in a sturdy-looking woman with silver-threaded black hair, thin lips, and a pale blue tunic. "Hello, I'm Dr. Lillian Gallus." She closed the door behind her, nodded to Ava, and held out her hand to Meredith. " I remember Ava Lorenzi from when I delivered her boy Lucas, so you must be the patient."
Accepting the handshake, Meredith nodded. "Dr. Meredith Mckay, pregnant and kidnapped against my will."
Dr. Gallus didn't so much as twitch. "I'll do my best to keep you and the babe healthy, but I won't be a party to escape or treason. Now, why don't you get up on the bed so we can get started."
Pursing her lips, Meredith sourly eased herself up onto the exam table. "Fine, but I'm very disappointed in everyone's moral fiber around here, especially considering how much you talk about God. Aren't religious people supposed to be moral? Right now you're all going to go to hell for this." The attempted guilt trip didn't seem to phase the doctor at all, though Ava looked pained and made the same sort of gesture the guard had when talking about their temple.
Meredith wasn't religious, but she'd had people force themselves to be nice to her merely because they were, so she'd thought it worth a try. Maybe they didn't have hell in this religion. Or maybe they believed more in the Aztec god of human sacrifice than the Christian God of mercy. Though hadn't Christians slaughtered a lot of people back in the day in the name of religion too? Though they also gave yummy cookies and casseroles even to mean neighbors and that earned them definite points when her pantry and fridge were bare.
Grumpy and frustrated, Meredith submitted to the doctor's examination. She was poked, palpated, and measured. By the end of it all, she was feeling rather overwhelmed. They had some sort of technology that let them check the baby's sex and anatomy but she was too overwrought to figure out how it worked.
At least she wasn't carrying twins like Troy had threatened, but— "What do you mean, seven months along? That can't be right." She looked down at her stomach. It was rounded, but nothing like the basketball or watermelon she'd been led to expect. She must've gotten pregnant within the first month of being given Clomid. She'd thought she had more time to get used to this. Way more time. At least it was a girl like she'd hoped, but still! Meredith wasn't ready to be a mother.
Dr. Gallus wrote notes in Meredith's file. "Unless babies develop differently on your world, you're entering the final stretch. You're both healthy and I don't see that changing as long as you take the vitamins I gave you and eat small meals regularly. Based on your daughter's level of development, the child will be born in about two months. We can discuss pain management for the birth at your next visit."
"I don't want to be here in two months," Meredith said roughly. Her eyes stung. She wanted to go home. She felt so alone.
Shutting her eyes, for a moment she didn't see the back of her eyelids but instead saw a white field with seven paler lights pressing close. Confused, Meredith snapped opened her eyes to find the white field gone and herself in the doctor's office again. Blinking didn't bring the white field back.
Finishing her notes, Dr. Gallus tucked the file under her arm and stood up, drawing her attention. "God willing, we'll all be free of the shield by then. The sooner you do whatever Dr. Aquila needs you to do, the sooner the council will let you go home. Until then, I'll try to make sure the rest of your pregnancy goes as smoothly as possible."
The pressure of it all made Meredith want to scream and throw something.
