"Point of origin," Shawn muttered to himself. He'd been sitting on the
floor of the room, leaning against the dialing device for hours, trying to
decide what to do next as the shadows outside the other room lengthened,
telling him that night was going to be coming eventually. Another night
that would leave Shawn in the dark once more. He'd thought if he found a
Stargate that his problems would be solved, but they obviously weren't.
He'd stared at the Stargate, as though hoping the dumb thing would tell him
what was wrong with it, but the answer had come from his own memories of
the Asgard language. "Point of origin! I need another symbol!"
There were seven symbols! Six to get Earth, but one more. The one for the place he was. He needed that one. Why hadn't the Asgard told him that? Maybe they thought he already knew? He got to his feet, feeling light- headed and wondering if it was just excitement, or if there was something wrong with him. Not that it mattered. Whatever it was, there wasn't anything he could do about it. He looked at the symbols, assuming the point of origin would be labeled. But they all looked the same. Nothing stood out to him. The symbol didn't jump out at him, and he wondered what would happen if he used the wrong one. Probably something bad.
Shawn sighed, and looked around. He'd seen writing on the alter next to the Stargate. It was the same language that was etched into the stone in the big room, but he'd noticed, even from where he'd been leaning against the dialing device that some of them were Stargate symbols. Maybe the answer was there. He moved over, and sat in front of the thing, looking at the symbols, and trying to ignore the growling in his stomach and the fact that he was as miserable as he was ever going to be.
He wished he knew what the words said. He knew they were words. They had the look of words, not pictures, like Daniel's Egyptian Hieroglyphs. These looked like they might even be letters. Like some kind of alphabet. But nothing he knew. All he recognized were the symbols that matched the ones on the dialing device and the Stargate, and they weren't in any particular order. They looked random, for that matter. Line after line of symbols, mixed in with some of the other language. Probably telling me exactly what I need to know, he thought bitterly. If only he knew how to read them.
He reached out and ran his finger along one of the symbols. Then another. And another. And another. All seven of them. He felt tears threatening, and didn't bother to hide them. There wasn't anyone to hide them from. Shawn had pretty much decided that he was going to die. Here on this stupid planet, next to the one thing that could have gotten him home if he'd only figured out how to use it. Tears lined the dirt on his cheeks, dropping onto his jeans, creating wet spots in the denim.
His parents weren't going to understand what had happened. That was if they ever found out. He didn't know how Jack was going to explain it. Shawn sniffed, mightily, but it jut hurt his head. He wasn't even going to get to say goodbye to anyone. Thor probably felt awful. Probably blamed himself. Jack was probably furious, but Shawn knew he would be sad, too, and it was Shawn's fault. Everyone would be sad, and it was all his fault. They were probably better off-
"Seven?"
He broke off his own litany of self-loathing, and looked at the alter once more. There were seven symbols. He counted them, touching each one.
"Seven."
Was it a Stargate address? He looked at another set of the symbols, ignoring the unfamiliar language to concentrate only on the ones he knew. Which were the symbols. There were seven there, too. And there. And there! They were all Stargate addresses! They had to be! He caught his breath, and focused. There had to be a single one that was in all of them. That one would be the point of origin. He was sure of it. He went back to the first ones, and looked again, then compared it with the next one. There were a couple symbols that matched. But that one was different than the second one, and the same as the first one. And that set had that one as well!
Shawn lurched to his feet, and almost fell again. He clutched at the alter, and waited for his legs to stop shaking, then stared at the symbol until he was certain he knew which one it was. Then he made his way back over to the dialing device and looked on it, almost expecting not to see that symbol. He'd had so many things go wrong so far. But there it was. Was it really the right symbol? Was he just fooling himself? He knew he was having a bit of trouble focusing his thoughts. Maybe it was just wishful thinking?
"Better to die trying," he said as he reached for the first symbol and pressed it. Again it lit up, and Shawn took a deep breath, forcing himself to concentrate. He pressed the rest of them in the proper order, and held his hand over the strange symbol. The one that he thought was the point of origin, but might just be the favorite symbol of the guy who'd wrote on the alter in the first place. He bit his lower lip, and pressed the symbol. It lit up as well, and Shawn swallowed, nervously as he pressed the center switch.
The gate seemed to explode. Liquid came pouring out of it, only to be sucked back in in a rush, and Shawn fell backwards with a yell of terror. Was it supposed to do that? He'd never seen the Stargate in action before. He looked up at it from where he lay, and was amazed to see that the water was defying gravity. It was in the ring of the gate, but not pouring out. The event horizon? He wasn't sure. He did, however, know that there was only one way to find out.
Shawn looked over his shoulder at the other room. It was going to be dark in only a few hours. Did he really want to go through another night here? The place was so empty, and lonely, and dark. Way too scary for him, and he knew it. He stood up, and limped painfully over to the Stargate, looking up at it, terrified. Shawn closed his eyes, and leaped forward, only at the last moment remembering that Thor had mentioned that the SGC had a shield on their Stargate. By then it was far too late to change his mind. He felt the thing grab him and pull him forward at a blinding speed.
There were seven symbols! Six to get Earth, but one more. The one for the place he was. He needed that one. Why hadn't the Asgard told him that? Maybe they thought he already knew? He got to his feet, feeling light- headed and wondering if it was just excitement, or if there was something wrong with him. Not that it mattered. Whatever it was, there wasn't anything he could do about it. He looked at the symbols, assuming the point of origin would be labeled. But they all looked the same. Nothing stood out to him. The symbol didn't jump out at him, and he wondered what would happen if he used the wrong one. Probably something bad.
Shawn sighed, and looked around. He'd seen writing on the alter next to the Stargate. It was the same language that was etched into the stone in the big room, but he'd noticed, even from where he'd been leaning against the dialing device that some of them were Stargate symbols. Maybe the answer was there. He moved over, and sat in front of the thing, looking at the symbols, and trying to ignore the growling in his stomach and the fact that he was as miserable as he was ever going to be.
He wished he knew what the words said. He knew they were words. They had the look of words, not pictures, like Daniel's Egyptian Hieroglyphs. These looked like they might even be letters. Like some kind of alphabet. But nothing he knew. All he recognized were the symbols that matched the ones on the dialing device and the Stargate, and they weren't in any particular order. They looked random, for that matter. Line after line of symbols, mixed in with some of the other language. Probably telling me exactly what I need to know, he thought bitterly. If only he knew how to read them.
He reached out and ran his finger along one of the symbols. Then another. And another. And another. All seven of them. He felt tears threatening, and didn't bother to hide them. There wasn't anyone to hide them from. Shawn had pretty much decided that he was going to die. Here on this stupid planet, next to the one thing that could have gotten him home if he'd only figured out how to use it. Tears lined the dirt on his cheeks, dropping onto his jeans, creating wet spots in the denim.
His parents weren't going to understand what had happened. That was if they ever found out. He didn't know how Jack was going to explain it. Shawn sniffed, mightily, but it jut hurt his head. He wasn't even going to get to say goodbye to anyone. Thor probably felt awful. Probably blamed himself. Jack was probably furious, but Shawn knew he would be sad, too, and it was Shawn's fault. Everyone would be sad, and it was all his fault. They were probably better off-
"Seven?"
He broke off his own litany of self-loathing, and looked at the alter once more. There were seven symbols. He counted them, touching each one.
"Seven."
Was it a Stargate address? He looked at another set of the symbols, ignoring the unfamiliar language to concentrate only on the ones he knew. Which were the symbols. There were seven there, too. And there. And there! They were all Stargate addresses! They had to be! He caught his breath, and focused. There had to be a single one that was in all of them. That one would be the point of origin. He was sure of it. He went back to the first ones, and looked again, then compared it with the next one. There were a couple symbols that matched. But that one was different than the second one, and the same as the first one. And that set had that one as well!
Shawn lurched to his feet, and almost fell again. He clutched at the alter, and waited for his legs to stop shaking, then stared at the symbol until he was certain he knew which one it was. Then he made his way back over to the dialing device and looked on it, almost expecting not to see that symbol. He'd had so many things go wrong so far. But there it was. Was it really the right symbol? Was he just fooling himself? He knew he was having a bit of trouble focusing his thoughts. Maybe it was just wishful thinking?
"Better to die trying," he said as he reached for the first symbol and pressed it. Again it lit up, and Shawn took a deep breath, forcing himself to concentrate. He pressed the rest of them in the proper order, and held his hand over the strange symbol. The one that he thought was the point of origin, but might just be the favorite symbol of the guy who'd wrote on the alter in the first place. He bit his lower lip, and pressed the symbol. It lit up as well, and Shawn swallowed, nervously as he pressed the center switch.
The gate seemed to explode. Liquid came pouring out of it, only to be sucked back in in a rush, and Shawn fell backwards with a yell of terror. Was it supposed to do that? He'd never seen the Stargate in action before. He looked up at it from where he lay, and was amazed to see that the water was defying gravity. It was in the ring of the gate, but not pouring out. The event horizon? He wasn't sure. He did, however, know that there was only one way to find out.
Shawn looked over his shoulder at the other room. It was going to be dark in only a few hours. Did he really want to go through another night here? The place was so empty, and lonely, and dark. Way too scary for him, and he knew it. He stood up, and limped painfully over to the Stargate, looking up at it, terrified. Shawn closed his eyes, and leaped forward, only at the last moment remembering that Thor had mentioned that the SGC had a shield on their Stargate. By then it was far too late to change his mind. He felt the thing grab him and pull him forward at a blinding speed.
