Chapter 9 Remedy
The machines went off with an eerie kind of squeal, and the members of SG-1 and their CMO were led to a main room to meet once again with the Cequarish leaders. Sam started off the conversation.
"Lyinill, we think we already know what the problem is. One of your scientists sneezed while he was putting us into the electro- generator, room. He said it had never happened before. Can you tell us what kinds of symptoms your people are experiencing?"
"What are symptoms? I do not know this terminology. I will signal our senior physician." Before anyone could react, or say anything, the man was out a door on one side of the room, and back through another door on the opposite side of the room within two minutes.
"Wow. Houdini has nothing on this guy." Jack said to Teal'c in a whisper. Teal'c just shrugged, he had no idea who Houdini was, and it didn't particularly concern him at the moment.
"Our senior physician will be with you shortly. Can I offer some fluid or sustenance? We have an excellent cuisine available to you at your request."
Jack spoke up. "We don't want to offend you, but we made you sick with something, and well, see we really don't want you to return the favor, even if it is unintentional. We brought everything we need if we have to stay for a few days, but if what Carter told me on the way over here is true, we should be able to help you out in no time. Thanks for the offer though, it's appreciated."
"For certain. I do hope you will be able to resolve our dilemma. Our physicians have never before encountered anything like what the people of this facility are experiencing. If it should get out of this structure into the general populous...well it could be devastating."
"We understand Lyinill; we are going to do everything we can to ensure the safety of your people." Sam was interrupted by another door at yet another part of the room coming open. A little tiny man, about half the size of Janet, and about twice the width, came waddling in through the door. He wore blue like the rest of his race, but his "suit" hung behind him on the floor, and it reminded Sam of a wizard's robe. The little fat man was bald, with no hair whatsoever on any part of his head or upper body. He smiled brightly at the taller members of earth as he entered the room.
"Greetings! My name is Nambanrill. I am the senior physician of this facility. I do hope you have come to aid us in our journey to discover a remedy for our...oh...my, I really don't know what to call it. Come! I will show you to our medicine hall!" The little fat man turned and waved his hand for the members of Sg-1 to follow. The group headed toward the door where Nambanrill had entered from, and now stood waiting for them. For a little fat man, he moved very quickly, and Sg-1 had to walk briskly to keep up with him. Lyinill also accompanied them. Jonas spoke softly to Jack as they traveled down a ridiculously long corridor with very bright lights.
"Boy. When they said "shortly", they weren't kidding, huh? How in the heck does he move so fast anyway?"
"Tell me about it. I wonder if they have ever seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate factory? Have you seen that yet? With the little oompa loompas, and the blue berry girl, and the..." Jack stopped as he realized that everyone else had stopped at the entrance to another very large room and everyone had also turned to look at him.
"Oh. Guess it didn't come out on DVD yet in this part of the galaxy. What region are you guys anyway?"
Sam and Janet were desperately trying not to laugh, and Teal'c and Jonas were as lost as ever when it came to Jack's slang, and his comments about television. The two members of the Cequarish race just looked on in curiosity at their visitors' antics. The little fat man spoke up.
"Please, right this way." He led the group into the room, which was divided into approximately fifty different little cubicles, about twenty-five or so on each side. In each of the little cubicles was a bed-like structure, with a member of the Cequarish race lying down on each one. At the base of each bed, were monitors, which Janet recognized as representative of the species vital signs. What she saw, completely amazed her.
"Are those monitors tracking their internal rhythms? Can you explain these to me?" She wandered down between the two rows of beds looking excitedly at the machines.
The little fat man followed behind her nodding. He was very excited to share information about his people if only to help make them better.
"Oh yes, yes. Each member of our race is implanted with a circuit after birth which is tracked all through their life by our central medical profiling systems. These lines here, are the respirations, there is one for inspiration, as well as expiration. They let us know if either one fluctuates more so than the other, or if there are any lapses in either of the respirations. These next ones are the circulation rhythms. They monitor..."
"Wait, why are there two rhythms for circulation? That's the heart rhythm and what else?" Janet said as the rest of the team looked on with her.
"The Cequarish race have two of everything. The "heart" as you say is actually two. We have two brains. We have two lungs, two separate digestive tracts and two sets of reproductive organs, both male and female."
"Wait a minute. Woh ho ho ho. Hold up. Say again? You have both MALE and FEMALE reproductive organs? How does that work?" Jack couldn't take it anymore, enough already.
"Sir?!!" Sam said, slightly embarrassed. But even her curiosity had been aroused.
Nambanrill continued on, un-phased by the colonel's sudden outburst. "It ensures species survival. There are a dominant set of reproductive organs, and there are a non-dominant set. If there are no mates of the opposite sex available, then our bodies are programmed to create a joining of the two sets in order to procreate. However, unlike your physiology, everything occurs on the inside of the body. The circuits that are implanted in our brains at birth, are automatically programmed to initiate the reproduction process at a specific age, if a mate has not been found. Therefore, every one of us is capable of sustaining offspring, in the event that a mate has not been acquired. We are also able to share our "organs" as you say to those of us who are in need of them due to illness or injury."
"Sort of like transplants back on Earth." Janet said to the group. "But I don't understand. Your medical systems are far more advanced than ours, how is it that you need our assistance?"
"And how is it that you know so much about us? We only met you five days ago." Jack was a little more than flustered at the thought of an entire race of he-shes and also at the thought that they knew so much about human anatomy and physiology.
"Our scanners collect information about any travelers that venture through the stone ring. Including internal structure, chemical composition, and intellectual abilities. Your species is by far the most complex that we have encountered, and you are almost comparable to our species intellectually speaking. We do not use both of our brains at one time. Each of them has a different function at a different part of our lives. Humans only have one brain as it seems, and it is much larger than both of ours. We can also learn much of the language, and terminology that travelers use, simply by scanning their memories, and the learning centers of their brains." Nambanrill stopped to take a breath.
"But that still doesn't answer the question of why you need our help." The Colonel's shock was beginning to wear off, and he desperately wanted to be at home in his boxers in front of the television. Not on a planet God knew how many light years away where the people were twice what he had expected them to be.
The little fat man started in again with his almost jolly tirade. "We do not have internal immune systems like you do. We do not have a cellular make up compatible to yours. I am afraid in that aspect, your anatomy is far superior to ours. Which is why we have to keep everything very sterile and clean. And this facility is the most important part of keeping our society safe from any harmful antigens. Most of our race need only to see a medical officer once every twelve of your years. They do not require any further medical assistance. If they do, they travel here, or to one of four other facilities like this on our planet. So we sent for you in the hopes that you could identify whatever is the cause of their illness and remedy it before everyone in this facility is contaminated."
"Okay then. Doc, you and Carter get to work, because the three of us have some negotiating to do, right Lyinill?" Jack turned to the Cequarish leader.
"Indeed Colonel. Come. Let us go out into the mail hall to communicate. I do believe your female officers are quite capable of cooperation with Nambanrill. Please, this way." The taller Cequarish turned on his heels and exited to the corridor from which they had entered.
"Yes. We'll be communicating, you ladies be swift now, we need to be home before the streetlights come on." Jack said to Sam and Janet. The boys left the girls alone with Nambanrill.
"Yes sir." Janet and Sam answered together.
The girls followed the little fat man to the front of the room where their equipment had been brought in for them. Now it was their turn to introduce Nambanrill to their technology. They started opening cases and
explaining each piece of equipment and what it was for.
"Are you sure our stuff is going to even work?" Sam had her doubts after the experiments that the NID technicians had run back on earth with the laptops and other various electronic devices.
"Oh yes. We put them through rigorous magnetronic protocols, but we ensure that they will be fully operational. I cannot say however, that they will still function upon your return to your own planet."
"Great. General Hammond's really not going to like my request for this month's shopping list. Or the amount of money it's going to cost from the budget."
"Don't worry Janet, if we are able to arrange for trade of technology, then I think he might just call it even. So okay. Let's just start with basic physicals, and let's take a look at their symptoms. Sam just hang with me for the first few patients, and then after you know what kinds of questions to ask, you can go on your own. We'll get it done much faster if we both work at the same time."
Sam and Janet started their assessments with determined alacrity, followed closely behind by the little fat man who was eagerly recording "notes" into some kind of device as they worked. It was going to be a long next couple of hours.