Rystal

by DOKChairman

After a disastrous fight with Aeryn, John is abandoned on a strange planet. He soon discovers an ancient and mysterious prophecy that leads to open warfare with the Peacekeepers, and maybe a way home.

7. Different Wavelengths

Title: Rystal

Author: DOKChairman

Time/Spoilers: I really have no idea when this takes place, but if I had to say, it takes place before John was twinned, but after Zhaan dies.  Everything before that is fair game.

Summary: After a disastrous fight with Aeryn, John is abandoned on a strange planet.  He soon discovers an ancient and mysterious prophecy that leads to open warfare with the Peacekeepers, and maybe a way home.

Disclaimer: "Farscape", its characters, and its situations don't belong to me - they are the propertyof The Jim Henson Company, Rockne S. O'Bannon, the Sci-Fi Channel, Hallmark Entertainment, and Nine Network Australia.  The only thing that belongs to me is the original story and characters.

Author's Note: Oh, in case anyone hasn't figured it out yet, this takes place in an alternate timeline than Season 3.  I have no intention of dealing with any of the issues that occurred during that time.

Second Author's Note: I would like to thank those who have given me feedback; it is much appreciated.  Like before, any and all feedback is encouraged, especially constructive criticism.  Oh, and I have things planned for Juli that may or may not change people's opinion of her.

Third Author's Note: I apologize for how short this chapter is.  I never indented for this chapter to ever be, but it snuck up on me out of nowhere.  This chapter was actually supposed to be part of Chapter 6, but things did not work out the way I wanted and ended up with this chapter.

"Perhaps you can.  You have every incentive.  The welfare of Earth hangs on your doing so and, as you have told me, your own career."

            "What good is incentive?  If you ordered me to fly by flapping my arms and told me further that if I failed, I would be promptly killed by slow torture and that Earth would be blown up and all its population destroyed, I would have enormous incentive to flap my wings and fly-and yet still be unable to do so."

-Isaac Asimov, The Robots of Dawn

Chapter 7: Different Wavelengths

            John could not believe his eyes.  Standing not more than four feet away from him, a holographic image of a person that he would have preferred never to see again was talking to him from a thousand cycles in the past.

            "Hello, John.  If you are seeing this message then you have finally arrived at the planet of Rotar and met Rayna.  I am sure she has already said what I am about to tell you, but I think that you will believe it more coming from me."

            The Ancient known as Jack stopped talking briefly, before continuing in his deep voice.  "Fate, John.  Fate brought you to this side of the Universe, fate brought you and me together, and fate brought you to this planet.  I know that you believe in fate, John.  Trust in fate John.  Believe me when I tell you that you are here for a reason.  That you were meant to be here."

            Jack paused and stared out at John, as if staring into his soul, even though the message was more than a thousand cycles old.  "I know that you don't believe me, John.  I know that right now you are wondering how this is possible.  How a message from me a thousand cycles in the past could be possible when we only met two cycles ago?  Just think about this, John.  Wormholes cannot only travel from one location to another; they can also be used to travel from one time to another.  Wormholes are tears in space, John.  With them anything is possible."

            "I know that you don't want to help these people fight their wars.  I know that you would rather be on Moya.  But you must help them John.  They need you.  They don't know what the galaxy has become.  They don't know how it's changed.  They don't know how unforgiving it has become.  Even if they manage to somehow defeat the Peacekeepers, they would never be prepared for the rest of the galaxy."

            "I remember your father telling you that you need to be your own kind of hero.  This is your chance.  We made a promise to them that we would provide them with a leader.  We chose you because of who you are.  No one else in this corner of the galaxy has the right values needed to lead them and to understand them.  I only wish that I could be there myself to help you.  But my people have found a planet for us to finally call home, and I must leave this part of the Universe.  I am sorry for abandoning you to this fate, but I have no choice."

            "However, I wish to give you a parting gift.  To thank you for agreeing to help them.  For I know that you'll help them, it is not in your nature John Crichton to not help someone in need, no matter how much you have changed.  Goodbye, John."

            With that said, the message ended and the light faded at the end of the staff.  John just stood, staring numbly at the wall.  A million questions were flying around inside his head.  There were so many that he didn't know where to start.  He just stared at the staff, wishing he had never ever seen the thing.

            In anger and frustration, John threw the staff down onto the ground.  As soon as the staff hit the ground, a blinding white flash shot out from the staff.  The room was bathed in light and everyone had to shade their eyes.  When everyone opened their eyes and waited for them to readjust, they noticed a lump on the ground next to the staff.  The lump was John and he was unconscious.

            Inside John's head a battle was raging.  On one side was John Crichton: human, scientist, and all around good guy.  On the other side was John Crichton: human, warrior, and ultra paranoid schizophrenic.  Unfortunately, it was difficult to tell who was winning.

            At first it seemed that pre-Scorpius John had the upper hand, but then, without warning, post-Scorpius John launched a devastating counter attack.  Flashes of every bad thing that had ever happened to him since he had come to the Uncharted Territories replayed themselves inside John's mind in glorious Technicolor.  Images of John in the Aurora Chair, images of John killing Aeryn, images of Zhaan sacrificing herself to spare him all came rushing back to him.

            Pre-Scorpius John could not lose.  If he did then everything that made him who he was before he came to the Uncharted Territories would disappear, and all that would be left was everything that he disliked about himself.  He would become a Peacekeeper: uncaring, unsympathetic, ruthless, and untrusting.  He didn't want to become that person, but he also knew that he needed that person to continue surviving.

            Post-Scorpius John also knew he could not lose.  If he did then everything that he had learned about surviving in the Uncharted Territories would disappear, and all that would be left was everything that he hated about himself.  He would become just a Human again: ignorant, stupid, compassionate, and trusting.  If he became that person again, he knew that he would die.  He didn't want to die.

            John was going insane.  The two parts of his personality were fighting over his mind, trying to assert their dominance.  Why this was happening, John did not know, but he suspected it had something to do with the white flash that he had seen come out of the staff.  Somehow that flash had created this battle for supremacy.

            He just wished that people would stop messing with his mind.  Once again, the Ancients had screwed him over.  Parting gift my ass, John thought.  His mind was starting to feel like it was in a blender.  Images of the last two cycles were playing around in his mind, in complete random order.  Some were good, but most were bad.  John could tell that Post-Scorpius John was winning, but John did not want him to win.

            John didn't want Pre-Scorpius John to win either.  He wished the two parts of his personality to merge, to become one.  That way he would have the best of both personalities.  

            A white flash suddenly happened in John's mind, and the two Johns fighting for his mind stopped fighting.  After the flash died down, John saw the alien Jack standing next to the two Johns.  Jack spoke out in his deep voice, "I am sorry John Crichton for causing this confusion in your mind, but it was necessary for you to come to terms with who you are.  You are no longer the ignorant human, and you do not want to become the unemotional Peacekeeper.  I will help you heal your mind, John Crichton."

            John then felt a blinding pain in his mind.  The pain was so intense that it felt like his mind was being ripped apart.  Inside his mind, and outside his mind, he let out an anguished scream. 

            Almost as soon as the pain started, it stopped.  John looked for the two personalities that had been fighting over him and noticed they were gone.  In their place John saw one version of himself.  Jack was standing next to the new John.

            The new John stared at Jack with pain and confusion in his eyes.  He croaked out, "What the hell was that?"

            "I tried as best as I could to heal your mind, John.  Your mind had been torn apart and tampered with so many times over the last two cycles that I don't think it will ever completely heal.  I tried to reconnect your mind, merging your conflicting personalities into you.  You are now what you consider to be the best version of yourelf.  You are John Crichton: human, scientist, warrior, and survivor.

            John could feel a change in himself.  He no longer felt like he was being torn in different directions.  As John was surveying his new self, a thought came to him.  "What about Harvey?" he asked Jack excitedly.  John felt conflicted.  He hated Harvey because of the person he represented, and yet ever since John had assumed complete control over him, Harvey had become an unwelcome, but tolerated, companion.

            Jack stared at John before answering, "You speak of the neural clone inside your mind?"  Jack saw John nod his head before he continued, "The neural clone proved difficult to remove.  He was quite entrenched inside your mind.  I managed to remove a large portion of the clone, but I'm afraid that a part of him will always be a part of you John."

            John was disappointed that Jack had not been able to get rid of Harvey.  There was a small part of John that was happy though.  Harvey was the only one who had never abandoned him, or lied to him, or ever let him down.  Sure he had tried to take over his mind, but he had always been upfront with John about what he was trying to do.  If Jack had removed Harvey before the chip's removal, John would have been jumping for joy.  But now, John knew that he depended on Harvey to help him out of bad situations.  Harvey was like John's spider sense, always telling him when danger was coming.

            John stopped thinking about Harvey when he realized that Jack was talking.  "Now that I have helped you heal your mind, John.  It is time to give you your gift.  Many of my brethren did not want me to do this, but I convinced them that you would need the knowledge inside your head to properly perform your role as the Rystal.  I am going to release the knowledge of wormholes, John.  The knowledge will not come all at once, in fact it may take many monens before everything comes together, but it will all come to you in time."

            John said bitterly, "I thought you said that if I was not smart enough to figure it out on my own, then I should not have the knowledge?  Isn't that why you never gave it to me in the first place?"

            "Much has changed since then John.  You have changed.  You are no longer the person you once were.  You have proved that you would never divulge the information you carry in your mind.  My gift to you for your help is that you will eventually be able to go home.  You do still want to go home, don't you?"

            John was caught off guard by Jack's question.  "Of course I do.  Deep down, I never thought I would though.  I never thought I would ever figure out those damn equations you put in my mind.  Besides, I wanted to go home to Earth with Aeryn, and with her gone and with everything happening here, I sort of forgot about it."

            Jack nodded his big head, "That is understandable, John.  But if you succeed and lead these people to their freedom, you will be able to go home, for as long as you wish.  You are their leader, you must embrace that fact.  As soon as you accept that you are the Rystal, that we have made sure that you are the Rystal, then the faster you can rid this planet of Peacekeepers and be free to go home."

            John hung his head, "I know that, but it doesn't make this any easier.  I never wanted this kind of responsibility.  I never wanted an entire planet to depend on me."
            Jack smiled, or at least what passed for a smile on his face.  "I know that John, but the choices you have made have brought you here.  You have made an impact on the galaxy that has already affected billions of people.  The fact that you continually refuse Scorpius is proof enough that you are the right person for the job."

            Jack turned his head for the side before continuing, "You're friends are beginning to worry, John.  It is time for you to go back.  I will leave you now.  Remember that you are the Rystal.  You must believe you are, or you will fail." 

            There was another bright flash, and Jack was gone.  John was alone in his mind with his thoughts.  Thinking about whether or not he could actually do it.  Whether or not he could be what they wanted him to be.  He had no idea, but he was sure as hell going to try.

Side note: John unifies all the resistance groups under the Rystalva and begins the war with the Peacekeepers.