Section 13: Equations
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It was both amazing and frustrating, in Sam's opinion. The banners of equations that draped across the room like a really big toilet papering were first of all not in any coherent order, and secondly, only half written in symbols she understood. She was trying to decide if that really bothered her though. Because what she could read was enough to make her head spin.
From what she gathered, it was wormhole theory, but wormhole theory expanded well beyond Sam's research, most notably in how the fourth dimension was taken into consideration. Time, in Sam's experience, was fairly constant. The standard hours passed the same on Earth as they did on other planets even if they did not correspond to the planets' rotation or orbit. In short, gate travel was simply a physical dislocation.
But on the butcher paper scattered everywhere, the temporal variable was not constant. Einstein would have a field day with this.
"Major Carter, are you alright?" Teal'c's calm voice broke through Sam's thoughts.
"What? Oh. Yes. Fine." She glanced at him curiously, wondering why he had asked.
"You have not moved for some time," he answered her silent query.
"Sorry." Sam grinned wryly. "It's just that this has given me a lot to think about. What I've read, or can read at all, doesn't contradict what we've learned about wormholes, but it certainly takes it to new levels. Crichton said that he thought the stargate acted as a navigational control for a wormhole that kept us in the right time. I'm wondering if what happened when we went back to 1969 wasn't just the solar flares affecting the wormhole, but actually setting it loose from the stargate's control briefly." Sam stopped even though Teal'c seemed to be paying attention. He probably was listening, but she could tell he wasn't that interested. "Anyway, I can't wait to talk to him about it."
"I'm sure you will find a way," said Teal'c. Sam grinned again and Teal'c smiled lightly back before turning his attention back to the yellow robot working in the corner. If Sam hadn't been as caught up in the treasure before her, she might have been interested too.
As it was, she awkwardly shuffled the six foot paper she had been studying aside and stood up, wondering where to try next. Looking around, a ragged edge caught her eye on the opposite side of the room from Teal'c. Curious, Sam waded to it and pulled it out. It turned out to be much shorter than any of the other pages she'd seen - about two feet square. The rest of it had been burned away.
"Teal'c, look at this?" Sam found a matching burned piece a few feet away and held the two pieces up for her friend to see.
Teal'c looked curiously first at the pieces then at her. "Why would they destroy this particular set of equations?" he asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it contained dangerous information they didn't want anyone else to find."
"In that case, would not all of this have been destroyed? D'argo made it clear that wormhole knowledge was itself dangerous."
Sam studied the writing at the top, but it was mostly symbols she didn't know so she didn't know what it referred to. "It was something to do with this information specifically," she murmured. "Why? What was so important it had to be destroyed?"
"Not important." Sam jumped at the unexpected voice from the door. John Crichton stood there looking like he just woke up.
"Not important?" she echoed, glancing back at the charred papers.
"Nah, just wrong."
"And for this you burned the incorrect information?" Teal'c raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
Crichton rubbed his chin absently, looking around at all the scattered equations. "Well, shot it actually." Off their looks he added, "I was a little stressed."
"Really." Sam couldn't help the amused smile from cracking over her face. He sounded just like the Colonel. "Ever heard of an eraser?"
Crichton grinned back. "Not out here. Anyway, there wasn't time. So Jack said you were a theoretical astrophysicist."
"Yeah," said Sam happily. "And you? I mean you wrote this stuff. . . "
"Theoretical sciences and cosmic theory." Crichton shrugged like it wasn't anything to be proud of.
Sam liked his modesty but pushed on anyway. "Can I ask you about these equations? I understand some of it from my work with the stargate wormholes but there's a lot of alien symbols that I don't know - " She stopped rambling as Crichton just stared at her with his own amused smile shaking his head.
"I don't understand most of it either," he said into the quiet.
"But - "
"It's in my head. I wrote it so I could see it, figure it out. Master it." He paused, his gaze lingering over the messy room. "Wormholes are . . . deadly," he said sadly, the smile gone. "I should burn the rest of this."
"But you can't," Sam protested, shocked at the thought. She had the sudden urge to protect this treasure trove. "There's so much we could learn. You can't destroy it. It's too important."
"And that's why I have to," Crichton countered. He laughed hollowly. "You don't get it do you? Wormholes . . ." He paused, searching the ceiling for words. "I have . . . power over the universe. I can destroy a star. . . hell, a solar system if I wanted to." He looked directly at Sam. "And trust me when I tell you there are Hitlers out here that will stop at nothing to be able to blow everyone to kingdom come." His voice was hash, bitter even. Sam resisted the urge to step back away from him. "Enough people have died," said Crichton softly. He looked away from her and Teal'c.
"So what about us?" asked Sam. "How do we get back to our reality without this?"
"I'll help you get back if I can," Crichton glanced up. "I doubt I could teach you anyway - I use it mostly by instinct. But don't get your hopes up. We'll either have to do something to your stargate without getting killed by the fridge-faces or find another wild wormhole."
"Do you not have knowledge of any local wormholes?" asked Teal'c.
Crichton didn't look at them; instead he turned toward the door. "Not anymore," was all he said.
"Why not?" asked Sam.
He kept walking but said, " 'Cause we collapsed it." Sam exchanged a shocked look with Teal'c, feeling once again out of her depth. "Come on," said Crichton. "It's supper time."
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It was both amazing and frustrating, in Sam's opinion. The banners of equations that draped across the room like a really big toilet papering were first of all not in any coherent order, and secondly, only half written in symbols she understood. She was trying to decide if that really bothered her though. Because what she could read was enough to make her head spin.
From what she gathered, it was wormhole theory, but wormhole theory expanded well beyond Sam's research, most notably in how the fourth dimension was taken into consideration. Time, in Sam's experience, was fairly constant. The standard hours passed the same on Earth as they did on other planets even if they did not correspond to the planets' rotation or orbit. In short, gate travel was simply a physical dislocation.
But on the butcher paper scattered everywhere, the temporal variable was not constant. Einstein would have a field day with this.
"Major Carter, are you alright?" Teal'c's calm voice broke through Sam's thoughts.
"What? Oh. Yes. Fine." She glanced at him curiously, wondering why he had asked.
"You have not moved for some time," he answered her silent query.
"Sorry." Sam grinned wryly. "It's just that this has given me a lot to think about. What I've read, or can read at all, doesn't contradict what we've learned about wormholes, but it certainly takes it to new levels. Crichton said that he thought the stargate acted as a navigational control for a wormhole that kept us in the right time. I'm wondering if what happened when we went back to 1969 wasn't just the solar flares affecting the wormhole, but actually setting it loose from the stargate's control briefly." Sam stopped even though Teal'c seemed to be paying attention. He probably was listening, but she could tell he wasn't that interested. "Anyway, I can't wait to talk to him about it."
"I'm sure you will find a way," said Teal'c. Sam grinned again and Teal'c smiled lightly back before turning his attention back to the yellow robot working in the corner. If Sam hadn't been as caught up in the treasure before her, she might have been interested too.
As it was, she awkwardly shuffled the six foot paper she had been studying aside and stood up, wondering where to try next. Looking around, a ragged edge caught her eye on the opposite side of the room from Teal'c. Curious, Sam waded to it and pulled it out. It turned out to be much shorter than any of the other pages she'd seen - about two feet square. The rest of it had been burned away.
"Teal'c, look at this?" Sam found a matching burned piece a few feet away and held the two pieces up for her friend to see.
Teal'c looked curiously first at the pieces then at her. "Why would they destroy this particular set of equations?" he asked.
"I don't know. Maybe it contained dangerous information they didn't want anyone else to find."
"In that case, would not all of this have been destroyed? D'argo made it clear that wormhole knowledge was itself dangerous."
Sam studied the writing at the top, but it was mostly symbols she didn't know so she didn't know what it referred to. "It was something to do with this information specifically," she murmured. "Why? What was so important it had to be destroyed?"
"Not important." Sam jumped at the unexpected voice from the door. John Crichton stood there looking like he just woke up.
"Not important?" she echoed, glancing back at the charred papers.
"Nah, just wrong."
"And for this you burned the incorrect information?" Teal'c raised a disbelieving eyebrow.
Crichton rubbed his chin absently, looking around at all the scattered equations. "Well, shot it actually." Off their looks he added, "I was a little stressed."
"Really." Sam couldn't help the amused smile from cracking over her face. He sounded just like the Colonel. "Ever heard of an eraser?"
Crichton grinned back. "Not out here. Anyway, there wasn't time. So Jack said you were a theoretical astrophysicist."
"Yeah," said Sam happily. "And you? I mean you wrote this stuff. . . "
"Theoretical sciences and cosmic theory." Crichton shrugged like it wasn't anything to be proud of.
Sam liked his modesty but pushed on anyway. "Can I ask you about these equations? I understand some of it from my work with the stargate wormholes but there's a lot of alien symbols that I don't know - " She stopped rambling as Crichton just stared at her with his own amused smile shaking his head.
"I don't understand most of it either," he said into the quiet.
"But - "
"It's in my head. I wrote it so I could see it, figure it out. Master it." He paused, his gaze lingering over the messy room. "Wormholes are . . . deadly," he said sadly, the smile gone. "I should burn the rest of this."
"But you can't," Sam protested, shocked at the thought. She had the sudden urge to protect this treasure trove. "There's so much we could learn. You can't destroy it. It's too important."
"And that's why I have to," Crichton countered. He laughed hollowly. "You don't get it do you? Wormholes . . ." He paused, searching the ceiling for words. "I have . . . power over the universe. I can destroy a star. . . hell, a solar system if I wanted to." He looked directly at Sam. "And trust me when I tell you there are Hitlers out here that will stop at nothing to be able to blow everyone to kingdom come." His voice was hash, bitter even. Sam resisted the urge to step back away from him. "Enough people have died," said Crichton softly. He looked away from her and Teal'c.
"So what about us?" asked Sam. "How do we get back to our reality without this?"
"I'll help you get back if I can," Crichton glanced up. "I doubt I could teach you anyway - I use it mostly by instinct. But don't get your hopes up. We'll either have to do something to your stargate without getting killed by the fridge-faces or find another wild wormhole."
"Do you not have knowledge of any local wormholes?" asked Teal'c.
Crichton didn't look at them; instead he turned toward the door. "Not anymore," was all he said.
"Why not?" asked Sam.
He kept walking but said, " 'Cause we collapsed it." Sam exchanged a shocked look with Teal'c, feeling once again out of her depth. "Come on," said Crichton. "It's supper time."
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