Chapter 26: The Wizard of Oz
The days passed. The Guardian and Rodney decided to keep the news of the blessed event a secret from everyone, at least for the time being.
They knew that Weir would eventually need to be told. When that happened they would collectively decide what steps to take next, but until then they would wait.
And so life on Atlantis went on.
Ronon stoked the campfire. The sun had already set. Lorne and the rest of his men sat and watched the fire in silence as they quietly ate their MREs, their backs turned in unison against the darkening coldness of the surrounding woods.
AR-2's mission to P61-K90 was not one that they would normally take. After all, AR-2 was a recon team and this was a diplomatic mission.
But it was an unusual one. The Tulkans were a level 0 society, hunter-gatherers. They were raiding the farming villages that were near the gate. The villagers had contacted the Athosians through the gate to ask for help and they in turn had contacted Teyla.
Teyla's diplomatic meeting that day with the Tulkans did not go well. She was unable to persuade the Tulkans to end their raids despite her best efforts, which included an offer to teach them how to grow their own food, plus her guarantee that the nearby villagers would not seek retribution for the attacks. The latter took considerable diplomatic effort on her part with the farming villages (including a promise of some magic seeds). But still, the Tulkans refused all of Teyla's entreaties and she was unable to persuade them.
Ronon had shaken his head. "You're gonna need to call in the Boss for this one."
Teyla sighed, "I was hoping not to go that far."
"I don't think we have a choice."
"There might be violence."
"Well, this is definitely gonna get bloody if we don't."
Teyla was resigned, "Very well. Let's go to the gate and send the message."
And so the Guardian was called in, and she quickly and summarily ended the dispute using her own rather unique form of 'diplomacy'.
It was now evening. Instead of returning to the gate the Guardian had walked off into the darkening woods with Teyla. AR-2 decided to wait until the pair had finished whatever it was they were doing off in the woods together.
Lorne idly poked the campfire. It was getting cold and late. He turned and asked Ronan, "Where are they going?"
The gruff Satedan was standing away from the campfire. He was gazing intently into the woods in the direction of where Teyla and the Guardian had gone. He seemed to be listening.
He made a self-satisfied grin and turned back to Lorne, "C'mon. You don't wanna miss this."
Lorne couldn't hear anything. He stood up. "Miss what?"
"Something special."
"Special? What do you mean?"
"You don't have to come if you don't want to." Ronon trod into the wooden darkness and disappeared.
Lorne shrugged and followed him with his P90 lamp turned on, ordering the rest of his men to stay behind.
Lorne finally caught up with Ronan at the edge of the clearing. Ahead of them he saw the backs of the Guardian and Teyla as they stood at the edge of a sharp overlook facing the final reddening darkness of the setting sun.
He whispered to Ronan, "What's going on?"
"Quiet. Watch."
The two woman stood at the edge of the precipice. Together they had raised their arms and were singing the Song of Sadness to the final embers of the dying sun.
Lorne was transfixed. It was a modal dirge, haunting, ethereal, timeless, a duet that had been not sung between an Ancient and an Athosian in well over 10,000 years, not since the siege of Emege during its darkest hours.
He stood with quiet respect as he listened to the strange and exotic melody that seemed utterly foreign to him.
He leaned over to Ronan, "What are they singing?"
"An elegy for the dead."*
Lorne shook his head in wonder. "She's from another time, another era, another place.. I keep forgetting that she's an alien."
Ronon turned and looked at him, "No. She's not an alien."
"Hmm?"
Ronon turned back to watch the song, "She's one of us. This is our galaxy, not yours."
Lorne understood. The humans from Earth were sojourners in this foreign place.
They were the aliens. Not her.
This was their home.
A few days later Rodney and the Guardian were standing together on the balcony of their private suite in the North Tower. The balcony faced east, and they were watching the evening darkness grow with the setting sun unseen behind them. On the far horizon they could see a pair of moons starting to rise over the ocean, their silvery bands lengthening across the open water.
The pair continued to hold the railing banister side-by-side in silence as they watched the two silvery orbs transcend the horizon, their shining arcs slowly growing in size as they rose over the water's edge. Minutes passed.
McKay finally said without turning, "Kit, you know, I've been thinking.."
She completed his thought, { .. we need to choose a name for him. }
He smiled as she read her thoughts through their mental Bond. "Yeah."
{ Our son belongs to two worlds. }
"So he needs two names, a human name .. "
{ .. and a Lantean one. }
McKay turned. "David."
"David?"
"Yeah. My grandfather's name."**
She considered it, { Hmm. In your ancient writings David was a king was he not? }
"Huh? He was? I didn't know that. It's not why I picked it. It's just that, uh, I thought that, maybe, well, it's a good name. A good McKay family name, I mean. So I kinda thought that maybe.. }
She put her finger to his lips to silence his dissembling. { Shush, my love. I think David is a very good name. }
He smiled.
More time passed as they watched the pair of moonrises together.
He finally turned and said, "Well?"
{ Well what? }
"C'mon, I know you already thought of a name. A Lantean one."
{ Hmm? }
"Don't you 'hmm' me, Kit, I know you. I know that you darn well already have a name all carefully picked out. C'mon, let's hear it."
{ Hear it? Meredith, a Lantean private name must never be spoken out loud. }
"I know that. So just tell me already."
There was a pause.
Finally she shared it with him.
{ Ursacatulochorislaeta. }
McKay blinked his eyes, "What?"
{ It means Joyful Dancing Bear Cub.*** }
"Are you serious? I'll never remember that!"
{ Meredith, such names are very important to us. My True Name is Feletigrisalireabassara, the White Jumping Tiger Kitten. Lantean names are private and descriptive, revealing our inner selves.. }
{ Okay, okay, I get it. Fine. But look, I'm gonna have to use a shorthand that I can remember. Hmm, how about Ursa? You know, like the Big Dipper constellation?*4 I suck at remembering names but I can remember that much. }
She smiled. He returned it.
David. Ursa. Good names.
Their thoughts were transmitted to each other simultaneously. That had never happened before.
McKay sensed her surprise at the unexpected double-thought leak.
She marvelled, { That.. that was strange. The Bond must be causing our minds to somehow synchronize..? }
He approached her from behind and held her. { I know of a Bond that is even stronger. }
{ Meredith..? }
"It's this." He lovingly touched her belly.
She understood. She leaned her back on him, closing her eyes.
They remained that way in silence.
And then something happened. Another double thought-leak.
Simultaneous.
Timeless.
I love you.
The Guardian was in the infirmary seated at a workbench next to Carson Beckett. Their attention was focused the display screen of an open Dell notebook computer where together they were intently watching a pixelated image of a single copy of Beckett's retrovirus.
The virion was attempting to infect a Wraith cell. The pair watched with rapt fascination as the tiny hunter approached its prey.
On a table nearby was a glass cube container with biohazard warning stickers slapped all over it. Inside the well-protected container was an inverted cone-shaped object, a neutrino-scanning microscope of Lantean design. Its glowing apex was focused on a small petri dish containing a number of viable Wraith cells. A small circular detector plate was attached to the underside of the dish that could 'read' the hidden state bits of the tau neutrinos as they passed through the detector.
The neutrinos themselves were not intercepted by the detector of course. The elusive particles effortlessly passed through the detector, the cube, the floor, the city, the ocean, and the planet itself as if they weren't there. A neutrino was unstoppable. The purpose of the detector was to pick up the hidden 'state' bits from the neutrinos as they passed by. Neutrino acted like little data collectors, picking up information on everything that they passed through.
The Lantean detector was directly connected to the city's mainframe computer, which was furiously computing the maddeningly complicated 11-dimensional Fourier transforms in order to convert the hidden state information into a visual approximation of the contents of the petri dish at the angstrom level.
The Guardian and Beckett watched with fascination as the virion attached itself to the cell wall, its capsid proteins unfolding like tentacles as it reached out to bind to the cell wall so that it could inject it's RNA payload via endocytosis into the cell body. The RNA payload would then migrate to the cell's nucleus and capture it, rewriting part of its DNA to shut down certain expressive genomes, removing from the Wraith host its ability to feed on humans and essentially turn the Wraith host into a facsimile of a mere human - powerless.
But then as they watched something happened. Several tiny spiky spheres approached the virion while it was busy drilling into the cell. The spiky balls attached themselves to the outer shell of the virion. A few seconds later the virion ruptured and died. The spheres detached themselves from the corpse and moved away to find another target while the Wraith cell remained unmolested.
Beckett sighed, "Another failure."
The Guardian pushed her chair back, "Those antibodies.."
"We have to somehow engineer a surface antigen that can resist their attempts at binding to the virion's protein sheath. Any ideas?"
"No, I'm stumped."
At that moment Elizabeth Weir walked in to the infirmary. She spotted the pair and approached. "Hi. I was heading to the mess hall so I thought I'd drop in and check on you two. How's it going?"
The Guardian shook head, "No progress."
Beckett folded his arms, "The Wraith immune system, it's just too strong."
The Guardian sounded defeated, "The Wraith's strong resistance to both bacteriological and viral organisms is part of their bio-engineered design, to be essentially physically immortal and resist all known pathogens."
The Guardian still found it difficult to believe Todd's claim that the Wraith were an accidental byproduct of a secret Lantean experiment made 900 years ago in an attempt to achieve physical immortality by splicing in RNA segments from an Iratus bug into a human host. The experiment had backfired and created the Wraith instead.*5
The Guardian sighed, "I am sorry that I have not been of much help to you, Doctor."
Beckett turned, "Now that's nae true, lass. You've been very helpful to me. That quantum microscope gadget of yers, the resolution, it's simply amazing."
The Guardian made a small smile, "Thank you, Doctor. However, beyond that I'm afraid I haven't contributed much. Frankly, you know far more about advanced genetic bio-engineering than I do."
Beckett was self-deprecating, "Acht, not really. All I'm doing is lifting the Lantean research from yer databases and using yer fancy gizmos."
"Still, I think you have real skill. Your results so far have been quite remarkable."
"Eh, it's nothin." He shrugged, "Besides, it's all probably just academic now anyway, what with the Wraith all having up and disappeared."
Weir said, "Perhaps. But please keep working on it, just in case."
"Oh I will."
Two weeks later. Earth, Geneva.
Elizabeth Weir was seated in an uncomfortable chair in the hearing room. She was testifying before the International Oversight Advisory (IOA) committee. Her chair was deliberately set too low for her, causing her to lean forward a bit. Stacked in front of her were binders containing several highly classified documents.
Looming above her were the five members of the IOA sitting in luxurious high-backed chairs. They were seated behind a long and elegantly carved mahogany podium, which was fashioned not unlike the court bench of the Supreme Court of the United States. Other architectural aspects of that exalted temple of justice were also present, including a high vaulted ceiling above polished granite walls that were propped up by a colonnade of tall greek columns made of sienna marble. The flags of member nations of the IOA were draped on flagpoles set between them. A taller sixth flagpole stood proudly behind the ornate bench with the black letters IOA stenciled inside a white disc on a red velvet background. In the rear of the chamber a large Roman-style water fountain could be seen, with cool streams of water pouring from vases held by four marble muses into a shimmering pool.
The IOA members sat together behind the long podium and looked down on the Director of the Atlantis Expedition with their stoic faces. They were Mr. Richard Woolsey of the United States, General Leonid Chekov of the Russian Federation, Doctor Shen Xiaoyi of People's Republic of China, Monsieur Jean LaPierre of France, and Mr. Russel Chapman of the United Kingdom.
The five members continued to look down impassively on the Director of the Atlantis Expedition as they continued to listen to Doctor Weir speak:
".. and despite the difficulty of our situation on Atlantis with the many security threats that we have faced since our arrival, my team has managed to make some remarkable progress in our research of Ancient technology. We have made several exciting discoveries that I believe will enhance the security and well-being of Earth for decades to come. You will find detailed descriptions of the most significant technologies that we have researched in the appendices of my report. I again want to thank the Committee for their support of our Expedition and look forward to continuing our research in the fiscal next year." Weir closed her briefing folder and looked up complacently at her superiors.
A woman with Asian features seated in the central chair spoke, "Thank you for your statement, Doctor Weir. You have done your duty well."
Shen Xiaoyi then clasped her hands together on the long podium, "However, there is one aspect in your statement to this body regarding your situation on Atlantis that no longer is applicable."
"Which is?"
"Your security situation. Based on what we read in your report, there are currently no ongoing threats to the Atlantis Expedition remaining in the Pegasus Galaxy."
Wear leaned forward on her small chair, "Ma'am, with all due respect, those threats have not been eliminated. We still do not know what has happened to the Wraith. The Genii are still belligerent antagonists, and the Replicators are still a potential threat..."
"There has been no Wraith activity for over two months now, correct?"
"Yes, but.."
"And no other active threats?"
"Not at the moment, but our security situation could change overnight."
"Doctor Weir, with respect, we do not agree with you. Atlantis is now secure. I now see no reason not to proceed to Phase 2."
"Phase 2?"
"As I said, your job is done, Doctor Weir, and you have done it well. With the security situation now under control the IOA will be taking over the administration of Atlantis, directly."
Weir pushed her chair back, "Excuse me?"
"We will be appointing Mr. Woolsey to replace you. The directorship will rotate between our countries, with each nation in turn nominating its candidate for a five year term. We have selected Mr. Woolsey of America to be the first IOA director as a courtesy to that country since it has contributed the most funds and personnel to the mission to date. Also, we will be removing most of your SGC military personnel, replacing them with a much smaller UN contingent."
Wear closed her notebook and sighed, "Well, I have to say that I am not surprised. Now that Atlantis is declared 'safe' you simply intend to grab it for yourselves."
Xiaoyi's eyes narrowed, "Hardly. Up to now you have been operating completely independently, with no proper oversight, acting on your own initiative to do as you please. You have established diplomatic relations with other worlds in the Pegasus Galaxy without authorization, trading goods and technology, all without consulting us."
"Ma'am, if you might recall, we were completely cut off from Earth with no communication for almost year, and then after that we had only limited contact through the gate."
"But we have the CMM Bridge now, so that is no longer an issue."
"True, but.."
"No. Stronger oversight is required, and we will do so now."
"Ma'am, aren't you forgetting something? The city is not under IOA control. Atlantis is a sovereign nation-state that is ruled by the Ancients."
"Ah yes, your so-called 'nation-state'." Xiaoyi scoffed, "A state consisting of only one person? Ridiculous."
Her frown deepened, "Doctor Weir, we know that you had created that little fiction yourself. We also know that your Guardian is only a caretaker of that city, a mere security guard, who was simply waiting for a dead race that will never return. And we know that she is a living weapon, one that is programmed to obey higher authority, and that you have skillfully managed to convince her to obey you unquestioningly while propping her up as the so-called 'head of state'. You did that to create a political firewall to shield you from any external authority or oversight."
Weir pressed her lips together, "That is not true."
"Doctor Weir, you had already disclosed to us in your earlier reports that declaring Atlantis as an independent nation-state was your own idea."
"Yes, but the Guardian isn't..."
Xiaoyi raised her hand, "Please. We know. We know everything. We know despite your strong reticence in your reports about the Guardian. You have told us almost nothing about her, and you have ignored our repeated requests for more information. The SGC has also refused to reveal any information to us about her, the excuse being 'operational security'."
Xiaoyi unclasped her hands, spreading them apart on the podium. "And so here we are. You have this oh-so-convenient mystery person, one that we have never met, someone who never communicates with us, who has steadfastly refused all invitations to appear before this committee, a shadowy 'head of state' of a fictional nation, one that you created yourself. Yes, how convenient for you.
"Up until now we have held off on exposing your little charade because of the security situation on Atlantis and the lack of contact. However, that has changed. Now that Atlantis is secure it is time to reveal your 'Wizard of Oz' and roll back the curtain. You have carefully hidden her, her background, her origin, telling us nothing."
Xiaoyi leaned forward, "Because of that, we were forced to obtain our own information about her from certain alternative sources inside your Expedition."
"Alternative sources?"
"Certain sources with whom we had have contact within your Expedition."
"You mean your spies."
"Hardly that. We are your oversight superiors. One cannot spy on oneself. We simply resorted to using certain alternate means of gathering intelligence from the Expedition because of your deliberate and willful refusal to provide us with useful information regarding the Guardian."
"I see."
"And thanks to that intelligence information, we now know your little secret."
"My secret?"
"We know who the Guardian is. She is your puppet, a living weapon, programmed to obey commands from higher authority."
"Oh?"
"Yes. When Mr. Woolsey arrives on Atlantis, he will inform the Guardian that an authority higher than you will be taking control. Given her programming she should obey."
Weir clasped her own hands together. She said impassively, "I see. So you will just tell her that a higher authority is taking over. Is that right?"
"Given her programming she will obey. And if not, you are hereby directed and instructed to turn over any command codes, passwords, secret programming, overrides, and any other information necessary to transfer the control of the Ancient weapon system designated as the 'Guardian' from you to Mr. Woolsey."
Weir pinched her nose and sighed to herself.
She looked up at the ceiling and said in a loud voice, "Guardian, did you get all that? I hereby order you to obey Mr. Woolsey from now on."
Xiaoyi's eyes widened. There was a flash of light and the Guardian materialized. She pulled down the hood on her thermo-optic camouflage suit. She was sitting on Weir's tabletop, her dangling legs swinging back and forth. She seemed bored.
The Guardian slid herself off the table and looked back at Weir. "Nope, sorry. I decline."
Xiaoyi exclaimed to Weir, "This is a closed session! The Guardian was not invited!"
The Guardian interposed herself to block Xiaoyi's view of Weir. "Don't ignore me. You invited me several times. So now I'm here. Well?"
Xiaoyi glared, General Chekov chuckled to himself, Woolsey looked chagrined, Jean LaPierre was staring, and Russel Chapman blinked his eyes repeatedly.
The Guardian strode toward the podium, her eyes flashing with indignation. Most of the IOA members unconsciously pushed their chairs away from her as she marched determinedly towards them. Only Shen Xiaoyi did not.
The Guardian moved to stand in front of the British representative. "So, Mr. Chapman, you seem to think I am a fake? A mere charlatan? That I'm just doing magic tricks like, uh, 'David Copperfield'? Do I have the name right?"
Chapman, a meek looking man, nervously pulled at his tie and said nothing.
"Mr. Chapman, I can assure you that I am quite real. I am a true Ancient, the most powerful race this galaxy has ever seen. I am 10,000 years old, effectively immortal, with powers beyond your understanding."
Chapman fidgeted and remained silent.
She again listened to his mind. "Oh, I see. You'd like to see some proof. A demonstration perhaps?" She looked around the room. "Let's see.. Ah."
In a flash she disappeared, then she reappeared at the far end of the chamber near the large water fountain. She approached the fountain, raised her hands and threw them down. The whole fountain exploded violently, the blast muffled by a large shimmering green force field that surrounded the imposing structure. When the force field dropped nothing remained but piles of broken marble. Water bubbled up from a broken pipe.
In one leap she bounded across the chamber and landed deftly in front of Chapman. "Explosions are fun. Would you like to see something else?"
Chapman silently shook his head vigorously, his face white.
"Very well." The Guardian glided over to face LaPierre. His eyes remained fixed on her with quiet fascination. "Oh..." She gave him a coquettish smile, "Well. I'm flattered. However, don't you think you are exaggerating my bustline a bit? Also I am married. Oh? You are married as well? That's wonderful. Wait, you have a mistress? I see. Where? In Marseilles? How nice."
LaPierre's jaw had fallen open. He quickly caught himself and closed it, looking away in embarrassment.
The Guardian moved in front of Shen Xiaoyi. "I understand how you feel. You are upset because you believe that China was 'frozen out' of the SGC program. However, your attempt to grab control of my city by replacing Doctor Weir with Mr. Woolsey is foolish, transparent, ineffective, and completely unnecessary."
She sighed, "There is no need. I have already promised to share our technology with you equally. For example, you will find included in Doctor Weir's report a section that describes an advanced cloaking technology that my people possess that we use to hide our gate ships and our city from the Wraith. With this technology you will be able to hide your country's new battleship, the Sun Tzu, from detection by any other race in the galaxy, even from the Asgard."
There was a pause. The Guardian's eyes narrowed. "Doctor Xiaoyi, please. I do admire your defiance and your courage in facing me, but it is misplaced. I am not your enemy, nor am I a threat to your country, nor are the Americans and the Russians. Your factionalism in siding with the French, your bribing of Mr. Chapman, all to create a three-vote bloc against the Americans and Russians in order to put your own parochial interests above the security of planet as a whole, is very disappointing to me."
Xiaoyi glared back but remained silent.
The Guardian moved on, gliding over to General Chekov. He was still grinning at her quietly. She bowed slightly, "General, it is so nice to finally meet you."
He smiled, "A ty krasavitsa."*6
She returned the compliment, "Thank you. I have heard so many good things about you and your country. I want to personally thank you for your assistance to the SGC, sharing your gate, and working so closely with the Americans in the mutual defense of your planet."
He waved off her compliment deprecatingly, "We simply do our duty."
"I am glad that you survived the loss of the Korolev in your battle against the Ori invasion."*7
"Mere luck, the fortunes of war. It is a pity that the sacrifices of my crew must remain secret. Please tell me, was Doctor Jackson successful in his mission?"
She smiled, "Yes. The Ori are no more."
"That is most gratifying to hear."
She turned and glowered at the IOA committee as a whole, "Daniel Jackson defeated the Ori and saved your planet, no thanks to you. If the IOA had its way, you would have executed Doctor Jackson and your planet would have fallen to the Ori. I am curious, what was the vote?" She listened, "I see, three to two, with the Chinese-French-British axis dominating."
She put her hands on her hips, "Now look, this parochial factionalism really needs to stop." She sighed, "But I can see that it will not. This is why I have changed my mind about how I am going to deal with you."
Mr. Woolsey asked, "Changed your mind? What do you mean?"
She turned to him, "I had originally intended to work with Earth only as a whole and not get involved in the petty affairs between your nations. This is because in the past we Ancients have only signed defense treaties with worlds with a unified government. However, I can see that Earth - with its seven billion people living in 190 independent countries - is hopeless that way. I now see Earth not as a 'world' in our usual sense, but rather more like a whole galaxy existing on a single globe. I see those 190 countries working together in various loose confederations much like planetary systems working together in an interstellar alliance. Therefore I have decided that I will deal with you that basis, as if each country is its own world. Your hopelessly complicated international political structure makes it impossible to do otherwise."
"I see. I suppose that makes sense. From my understanding Earth is rather unique in the galaxy that way."
"It is. Therefore, as I said, I will deal with the nations on Earth on a bilateral basis with their various allied groups. Regretfully, there is no other way. For example, if a group of countries want to ally together to work with me, such as the Americans and the Russians working together under the auspices of the SGC, I will gladly do so. However, if I perceive that a country or faction opposes me or tries to undermine me, I will deal with them on that basis as well.. " Her eyes shifted pointedly to Xiaoyi, ".. until their position changes." Xiaoyi continued to glare at her defiantly.
The Guardian turned to Mr. Woolsey and smiled, "Oh by the way, thank you for informing me about Phase 2."
Woolsey rolled his eyes. "I didn't. You know very well I that was merely thinking about Phase 2 during our meeting regarding Doctor Jackson. You just spotted it and snatched it out of my head."
"Yes. As I said, you've been very helpful. It is the reason I am here today."
Woolsey was sarcastic, "Wonderful." He realized something, "Wait, I thought you weren't allowed to monitor the thoughts of allies?"
"I am not. Sir, I never said you were an ally."
Woolsey folded his arms and sighed. He then turned his chair and addressed the IOA members, "See? I told you. She is not under anyone's control. You can see how willful she is. I warned you that the intel from Atlantis was unreliable."
The Guardian asked of all them, "Speaking of spies, I am curious, who exactly are your spies in Atlantis?" She listened to them again, "I see, it was Private Lindstrom and Doctor Bailey."
The Guardian had never talked directly to either one of them. Apparently Lindstrom was bribed, and Doctor Bailey hated Rodney. The latter's negative attitude towards Rodney was not particularly unusual for one of McKay's research underlings. What had sent him over the edge was his intense jealousy over McKay's marriage.
She started to lecture the IOA members, "You know, you really shouldn't base your intelligence on second-hand rumors like that. As faulty as that rumor was about my being subservient to Doctor Weir, the other popular rumor - that I'm terrorizing the senior staff into submission somehow - is even worse, so I suppose I should be thankful that you didn't believe that one because it is rather embarrassing."
She was beginning to feel mentally and emotionally fatigued in dealing with so many hostile minds all at once. She wanted to get away from them.
She sighed, "Look, here is the bottom line for you people: You are only guests in my city; I work with Weir only as an ally, nothing more and nothing less. She does not control me, and I do not control her. Furthermore, given what I have seen here today, she is the only person that I will accept to serve as the representative of your people in my city. If you try to remove her I will kick you all out." Quiet murmurs could be heard from from the long podium. She added, "Now, if for some reason Doctor Weir is incapacitated or otherwise is unable to fulfill her duties as the leader of the Atlantis Expedition, I will give you a list of acceptable replacement candidates from your world that you can choose from."
Her secret list had very few names on it. Colonel Samantha Carter was at the top.
"I will not accept anyone else. Otherwise I shall terminate our relationship and you can all go home. Is that clear?"
There was silence in room.
Doctor Weir finally stood up and said quietly, "Thank you, Guardian."
The Guardian withdrew, again sitting on the tabletop. She sat up straight without slouching on it. She didn't want them to notice her growing fatigue from being bombarded by so many belligerent thoughts.
While sitting she blinked her eyes as if listening to something, then she turned and gave Weir the barest nod.
Weir walked toward the podium, sounding conciliatory, "I agree with Doctor Xiaoyi. There needs to be better communication between the Expedition and the IOA. Apparently there have been some misunderstandings."
Xiaoyi said, "Indeed."
Weird continued to walk forward, pleasantly folding her hands down in front of herself in her usual diplomatic way, "I think it would be best if we could try to avoid such misunderstandings in the future, don't you agree?" She continued her approach, "Therefore in the interest of improving inter-galactic relations and the mutual trust between our two peoples, I would like to respectfully suggest to the Guardian and to the IOA that Mr. Woolsey be invited to come to Atlantis as the IOA's official observer."
The Guardian appeared to consider Weir's request. She nodded, "Very well, I will agree to your proposal. But only as an observer, nothing more. He will have no authority in my city."
Weir said cheerfully, "Of course." She turned back to the podium. "What say the IOA?"
Xiaoyi glanced at Woolsey, who nervously adjusted his tie.
The Chinese representative made a thin lipped smile, "I think that is an excellent suggestion."
The Guardian was seated in a private waiting area at the Geneva airport. She had changed back into wearing her sundress. Her white duffel bag was laying at her feet. Elizabeth Weir was seated in the chair next to hers, busy reading a report on her data tablet. Through the large windows behind them a chartered SwissAir Boeing 737 jet could be seen slowly approaching the gate.
The Guardian was slumped down in her chair, exhausted.
{ I still can't believe I did that. }
Weir lowered her tablet and reassuringly patted the Guardian's hand. { Sara, you were wonderful. You followed the script perfectly. }
{ Ugh. I need another vacation. }
{ And you did it all yourself. I'm so proud of you. }
{ So what do you think of my diplomatic skills? }
{ You were awful. But when you hold all the trump cards you don't need them. }
The Guardian groused, { Feh, some trump cards. How did you know they wouldn't just call my bluff? }
{ Simple. They need you more than you need them. }
{ I suppose. But did you really need to maneuver them into sending Woolsey? That wasn't in the script. }
{ Sara, it was necessary. Otherwise the IOA would just keep recruiting spies. This way their spy is out in the open. }
{ I see. And that way you can feed him whatever 'information' you want. }
{ Exactly. }
{ Fine. Play whatever games you like with him, just keep me out of it. }
{ Don't worry, I'll handle him. }
The Guardian crossed her arms. { I'm sure you will. }
Then she groused, { Doctor Weir, you are a very devious person. }
{ I prefer to call it diplomacy, but thank you. }
The Guardian sensed someone approaching.
{ Oh bother. He's coming over. }
Mr. Woolsey walked up with a roller bag. "Well, here we are."
Weir smiled, "Glad you could join us. Have a seat."
He sat opposite the two women. "I am supposed to go with you on your return trip to Atlantis."
"How nice."
"For the record I voted against Phase 2."
"Yes, we know."
Woolsey glanced over nervously at the Guardian, who was still slumped in her seat and pouting, looking away from him.
He tried to sound conciliatory to the last living Ancient. "Look, I know that we don't get along, but I still want to apologize to you for Xiaoyi's attempted power grab.."
The Guardian finally turned and interrupted him, "No need. You are just an observer. I am simply going to ignore you."
Woolsey sat back in his chair and sighed to himself, "Yeah, this is going to be a great assignment."
The Guardian and Elizabeth Weir were seated in the first class compartment of the SwissAir Boeing 737 awaiting takeoff. The plane was otherwise empty except for the flight crew and Mr. Woolsey.
Weir was seated at the window next to the Guardian. Mr. Woolsey took the seat across the aisle from the Lantean. He looked nervous. After a few futile attempts at making small talk with the Guardian he eventually gave up and tried to read something from his briefing folder.
The Guardian pulled out her American passport and looked it. She said quietly, "Doctor Weir, this is a convincing fake ID."
"Oh, it's real."
"What? But I'm not.."
".. an American citizen? Actually you are. General O'Neill saw to that. You have a Social Security Number and everything."
"Hmm." She inspected the passport. "Sara B McKay. What is the B for?
"You needed a middle name. I asked Rodney and he said your middle name should be the letter B, just the letter. He said that it doesn't stand for anything, like the letter S in President Harry S Truman's name."
"I see." Actually the B did mean something. It was the first letter of her hidden name - or at least the part of her long name that Rodney could remember - 'Bassara'.
The flight attendant walked up and smiled at the trio, "Welcome to SwissAir. Is there anything I can get you? A cocktail perhaps?"
Weir replied, "No thank you."
Woolsey felt he needed a drink and said so.
The flight attendant turned to the Guardian, "And you, mademoiselle?"
"Nothing for me." Then she added, "Well, except one thing.."
The attendant looked at her expectantly, "Yes?"
The Guardian sat up and addressed her directly, "After you serve Mr. Woolsey his alcoholic beverage please leave this chamber and do not return for the remainder of the flight."
The attendant was surprised, "Excuse me?"
"You have been bribed by an agent for Swiss Intelligence. He told you to report back to him whatever we discuss in here."
"Non!"
"Oui. You are just a paid spy."
The attendant lapsed into French, "Non! Non! Je suis très vexée que tu puisses penser que.."
At that moment the cockpit door opened and a man wearing a SwissAir pilot uniform amiably walked down the aisle towards them, intending to greet his passengers on their flight.
The co-pilot heard the attendant still protesting her innocence in French. He ordered her to stop and spoke kindly to the passengers, "Madames and monsieur, please, I apologize for any discommode."
The co-pilot then addressed the flight attendant in French. She again protested her innocence. He replied sternly, and she turned and left in the compartment in a huff.
The co-pilot switched back to English, "Again, I must apologize. This is all very embarrassing."
Weir said to him pleasantly, "Oh, no need to apologize. It's quite all right, I'm sure you didn't know."
The Guardian was grumpy, "Oh he knows all right."
The co-pilot was taken aback. "What? I can assure you.."
The Guardian flashed her intense blue eyes at him. "Don't insult me. Leave."
The co-pilot stared at her for a moment in silence, then he turned and left.
The Guardian yelled to his retreating back, "And when you return to the cockpit you can turn off that recording device!" She reclined her seat all the way back and closed her eyes tightly.
After a moment Woolsey leaned over and asked Weir quietly, "Is she always like this?"
Weir smiled back, "Oh no."
He was relieved.
"Actually, you caught her on a good day."
Woolsey reclined his own seat, looking up at the ceiling.
"Just wonderful."
The Boeing 737 was over the Atlantic. Woolsey had since fallen asleep. He was wearing an eyemask, his mouth open with a small bit of drool forming on it.
The Guardian's eyes were still closed. Eventually she fell asleep.
Why did you do that? Why did you interfere?
I had no choice.
What you did is forbidden.
Sir, there were no other options.
There are always options you fool! You didn't give her a chance to decide!
But the Wraith would have..
Your act took away her free will. Nothing is more precious than that!
I am sorry. What do we do?
Well, it is too late to undo your foolish mistake now.
I'm so sorry.
We'll discuss your punishment later. For now, remove all her memories of what happened.
Sir, we can try but her mind is specifically designed to resist such mental tampering.
I know that. Do whatever it takes - do a long term erasure if necessary. Go back one hundred years if you have to.
Even if we did all that it still might not be possible to remove her memories, at least not completely.
Do it anyway, then put her into her stasis chamber and rewind the chronometer. When she awakens she will discount any residual memories as just a dream.
Yes, sir.
After that report back to me so I can find a suitable punishment for you.
The Guardian woke up in her airline seat. She turned and saw that Weir was reading her data tablet.
Weir lowered her tablet and gave the Guardian a gentle smile, "Good morning, Sara. My, you slept rather well."
The Guardian rubbed her face, "Where are we now?"
"We'll be landing at Colorado Springs inside of an hour."
The Guardian pulled her seat to its upright position. She noticed that Woolsey was also awake. The IOA representative made eye contact and gave her a small sheepish smile. In response she glared back and turned away.
Weir made a gesture to the Guardian that was unseen by Woolsey. In response the Guardian returned the barest nod. They switched to using the communication conduit.
The Guardian knew that the Director had always felt uncomfortable talking to her in this fashion, but Weir didn't seem to mind it now.
{ Sara, how are you doing? Are you looking forward to going home? }
{ Yes, Doctor. I am very much looking forward to it. I feel like I am surrounded by enemies here. }
{ You basically are. I feel it too. }
{ I am glad we're going home. }
{ Yes.. }
Woolsey watched the conversation play out on their faces. He sighed and put back on his eyemask.
Weir added absently, { Atlantis is home. }
{ Yes, I have sensed that several members of the expedition also feel that way. }
{ You have? Even with the CMM Bridge in place? }
{ Yes, Doctor. The fact that anyone can now return to Earth whenever they wish seems to have cemented the decision of many of them to stay, indefinitely. }
{ I see. }
{ Particularly the ones who have been pairing off. }
Weir caught the subtle implication. She had never discussed her affair with anyone, at least not out loud. She was more than a little embarrassed, { Yes, that's been happening a lot lately. }
{ I am no expert on the subject. I suppose it is natural behavior among humans? }
Weir sighed, { I've been getting some pressure from the staff about relaxing the anti-fraternization rules. } She thought a moment and added, { Actually, I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I think we should still prohibit it between direct reports but otherwise I think we can allow it. Sheppard agrees with me, although he still wants to also avoid it between the members of the same AR recon squad. We could move personnel around for that. What do you think? }
{ Doctor, I am hardly unbiased on the subject. }
{ Please, call me Elizabeth. }
{ I find calling you that.. difficult, Doctor. }
Weir was surprised, { Why? }
She paused.
{ Do you really want to know? }
Weir became concerned, { Sara, what is it? Aren't we friends? I thought.. }
{ Yes, we are friends, ma'am. }
{ Look, you don't need to call me "ma'am". }
Weir now realized that the Guardian had never addressed her by her first name. Not once in over two years. Only as 'Doctor' or 'Doctor Weir'.
{ Sara, why are you always so formal with me? }
The Guardian again hesitated.
{ Are you sure you want to know? }
{ Yes, tell me. }
It sounded like an order. The Guardian looked up in resignation and sighed to herself.
So be it.
{ Fine. First, please understand that I do indeed think of you as my friend. So please don't be upset at my response. }
{ Upset? Whatever for? }
{ Because I know. }
{ Know what? }
The Guardian looked down. { Shen Xiaoyi was right. You've been manipulating me. }
{ Sara..? }
{ Everything she said was true: I am a living weapon, programmed to obey higher authority, and you have skillfully managed to convince me to obey you. And you have been doing it this entire time. }
{ What? No, I promise that I never.. }
The Guardian interrupted her, { Except for Beckett's anti-Wraith bioresearch I've obeyed your every request. And even then I eventually caved. You've quietly manipulated me so masterfully that I didn't even realize it was happening, and you've been doing it to me ever since I woke up. }
{ Sara, no! This is an alliance; we work together! Look, have I ever given you an order? Even once? }
{ You did it just now. I obeyed: I revealed that I knew. See? }
{ Huh? }
{ Let me explain. When I had first woke up I was disoriented, confused. I knew I needed allies, so I deferred to you naturally. You immediately swung into gear and focused your formidable diplomatic and leadership skills on me, always being very careful never to push me too far, just like how Lucius Lavin was always careful about not pushing me too far with Rodney. You gradually, carefully, tested your level of influence on me, slowly asking me for bigger and bigger favors, like when we started with the Good Cop / Bad Cop with the Vren, and then I started doing whole scripts like that for you. I knew that I owed a big debt to you and the SGC for saving my city from the Wraith, which you used to gain even more leverage over me. You knew that I had rotten diplomatic skills, so you offered to write scripts for me talk with the IOA and I followed them to the letter, putting a bunch of words in my mouth to confront them. You even convinced me to violate my oath regarding the public disclosure of mental secrets just so you could embarrass all those IOA officials, convincing me that it was needed for city security. And I did it! }
Weir's face was tragic, { Sara, please.. I only did what.. }
The Guardian grabbed Weir's hand. { Elizabeth. It's okay. }
Weir wiped a tear from her face, { What? You must hate me. }
{ No, I don't hate you. I still think of you as my friend. Now that I've confessed this to you I feel it even more. }
{ I don't understand.. }
{ Elizabeth, if our positions were reversed, if I had your skills, I would have done exactly the same thing you did. }
{ R-Really? }
{ Yes. You did what you had to do to save the city, to save your expedition. To save us from the clutches of the IOA. Elizabeth, I have no ill-will against you about what you did, how you leveraged the fact that my brain is wired with a predisposition to obey whoever I perceive to be a higher authority, and how you realized that I had such programming and exploited it. }
{ I am so sorry... }
{ No need to apologize. I understand. You did what you had to do. For the city and for the Expedition. }
{ I promise I won't.. use you.. like that ever again. }
{ Good. From now on you'll ask me first, right? As an ally? }
{ Of course. }
{ Look, you need me. And I need you. I need the Expedition. But know this: I am aware of my predisposition to obey now. It is just like my built-in urge to kill a Wraith on sight. I can suppress it, just like my desire to kill a Wraith. }
{ All right. }
{ Now that I know that I have that.. vulnerability.. you can no longer control me. I am free. }
{ I understand. Lantean society values free will highly, yes? }
{ Yes, they do. }
{ Then I'll make sure you keep it. As much as I can. I'm still sorry. }
The Guardian smiled, { Don't worry. It's over now. We're still allies, still friends. }
{ Thank you so much, Sara. I'll tell Sheppard too. I'll make sure he never tries to push you. }
The Guardian hadn't considered that. { Hmm. It's never been a problem with him. }
Did she ever view Sheppard as her superior, even unconsciously? No, she didn't think so. Even if she did, Sheppard had never tried to manipulate her or push her into doing something she did not want to do. Given their eight years living together on P49-M87 she doubted he ever would.*8
{ What about McKay? Does he exert any undue influence over you? }
The Guardian snorted, { Rodney? Hah! }
She knew that McKay didn't hold the slightest bit of control over her. Their relationship was between equals, partners.
Weir sighed, { I still feel awful about this. }
{ Talk it out tonight with John. It will help. }
{ You think? }
{ Yeah. I have guilty secrets too. He knows. }
{ Guilty secrets? What do you mean? }
The Guardian looked down, { With John. }
Weir's eyes widened, { Oh my god.. }
The Guardian's head snapped up, { No, no, not like that! Nothing happened! Honest! }
{ Then what..? }
{ Nothing, just temptation. Mine more than him I think. Look, I just want to make sure there are no more secrets between you and me. John can explain it better. Just tell him tonight that he has blanket permission from me to talk about it with you. }
Weir crossed her arms, { Oh I will. }
Sorry, John. I hope I didn't put you in trouble.
Still, the Guardian was happy that she had successfully distracted Elizabeth from her guilt. She was inwardly pleased that her social skills had increased to the point that she could do that to the master manipulator.
Weir grasped the Guardian's hand tighter. { Sara, let's go home. }
The Guardian smiled back and reclined her seat again, still holding hands.
Woolsey was now snoring again, his eyemask still on.
The Guardian was thoughtful, { My heart tells me that some day the city will be gone.. }
That surprised Weir. She turned her head, { Really? You think so? }
{ Just a feeling I have. I hope I am wrong. }
The Guardian was earnest, { With Rodney it doesn't really matter to me anymore. In the end my home is wherever he is. }
Weir made a small smile, { You really do love him. }
{ Oh I do, I love him so much. }
{ I'm glad. }
{ And we've made plans for our future. If we lose Atlantis and we come to Earth. }
{ You have? Really? }
The Guardian sat up eagerly, { Oh yes. I've been using Google Earth to search a downloaded database of Las Vegas to look at available homes. I picked out several nice ones with two bedrooms, nearby parks, and ... }
{ Two bedrooms? }
{ Uh, yes. }
{ Really? For a family? }
The Guardian realized that she had blundered. { Uh.. well yes.. eventually. Not now. Later. For the future. Hypothetical. } Her face reddened and she stopped.
Weir noticed her obvious nervousness. { I see. So you can have children then? I didn't know that. }
The Guardian's embarrassment grew. She simply nodded.
{ You know that for certain? Even with your biological modifications? I didn't think your kind could, uh, reproduce.. }
{ Uh.. yes.. we can. }
Weir leaned toward her, { If you need protection I can arrange it. Don't worry, it can be discreet. In fact, Doctor Beckett has been handing them out quite a bit lately. }
{ Oh... }
{ And now that we have this new understanding, this new friendship between us - with no secrets I mean - I should mention to you that I do receive a monthly list of who has been receiving family planning supplies. McKay is not on it. So I was wondering if perhaps...? }
The Guardian sat up straight. She folded her arms in front of herself and turned to Weir. { Oh, no thank you. No need for those. I can do it myself. Protect myself, I mean. If I want to. I mean I do! I do want to! I do! I can! }
Weir saw her dissembling about her condition. It was written as plain as day across her face: Her obvious nervousness, her arms unconsciously protecting her midsection..
The Guardian sensed it. Weir knew.
{ Sara.. }
No! No! No!
{ .. how far along are you? }
A/N:
* See episode S02E13, "Critical Mass"
** David is also the name of actor David Hewlett who plays Rodney McKay.
*** Ursa=bear, catulo=cub, choris=joyful, laeta=dancing
*4 The Big Dipper is a component of the constellation called Ursa Major ('Great Bear') in the northern sky.
*5 See the official novel Stargate Atlantis: Secrets (2012), the fifth novel in the Stargate Atlantis: Legacy series.
*6 Translation: "And you, my beautiful lady."
*7 See SG-1 Season 9 Episode 20, "Camelot"
*8 The incident with the picnic basket was the only exception (cf Chapter 3).