Chapter 6
Doctor Fraiser, placed her clipboard down, coming to meet the remaining members of SG-1 at the door.
Jack motioned to the occupied gurney with the jerk of his head. "Sleeping?"
"It would appear so," Fraiser stated.
"Well, even a Goa'uld would need to rest," Carter mentioned.
"True. But I am not asleep." Daniel's body rose, and he sat on the gurney, allowing his legs to dangle off the side. "And I am not a Goa'uld."
"So we've heard," Jack stated sarcastically.
"You've finally come to negotiate then?"
"No," Jack said simply, frowning as he watched the man he knew as Daniel struggle with his moderate restraints. They reminded him of the restraints Daniel was forced to wear when he carried the Stromos passengers. "Thoth, is it?" he asked.
He didn't look at Jack, muttering to himself as he patted his chest and then the gurney. "That would be one of my names." He turned his head and looked behind him.
"Whatcha lookin' for?" Jack asked, trying to sound detached.
"Where are my host's spectacles?" Thoth asked, frowning.
Carter and Fraiser exchanged looks, before glancing at Teal'c and Jack.
"This is a ploy," Teal'c stated. "In order to win our sympathy."
"A symbiote would heal any ailments of the host," Carter remarked, stating what they already knew.
Thoth rolled his eyes, an action that surprised Jack. "Yes, yes. We all know that. But my host's eyes have not been repaired so I require his spectacles." He held out his hand as far as the restraints would allow him.
"Why?" Carter asked, obviously not going to let this go. "Are you unable to heal him?"
Thoth chuckled, waving his hand again. "I am perfectly capable of healing him," Thoth replied shortly. "He has not yet given me permission to do so, and therefore, I must refrain." He jerked his hand impatiently.
Permission to do so? Jack shot a look over to Carter, but she could only shrug in response. What the hell was Thoth up to?
"We took away his glasses in the event he tried to do anything," Fraiser informed them, standing beside Teal'c. "But, I have to admit, he hasn't made any aggressive moves so far."
"If I had wished to escape, I would have done so long ago."
"That so?" Jack gazed at him levelly. "Why haven't you tried, then? Maybe because you haven't had the chance to get to the Stargate?"
"You think so simply," Thoth muttered irritably. "I had a Stargate on Khemenu." He paused before continuing. "Or P9R-139, as you seem to call it. I could have left at any time. Yet, I chose to stay."
"Could that be because it might look a little odd if you just walked away and headed off to the Stargate?"
Thoth hopped off the gurney, causing the airmen in the room to draw their weapons, and put the medical staff and SG-1 on high alert. Thoth barely seemed to notice.
"I could have easily killed them at any time. They did not provide any obstacle for me."
"Then why are you here?" Carter asked.
"I have come seeking sanctuary."
Jack had to fight not to laugh. He had to be kidding. This was all some sick joke.
Thoth reached out his hand, wiggling his fingers and gazing at Jack expectantly. The action looked so much like Daniel that it hurt.
"Give him the damn glasses," Jack muttered.
Fraiser hesitated. "Colonel—"
"Just do it," Jack instructed.
Sighing, Fraiser nodded, slipping the glasses out of her pocket.
"I do not feel this is wise, O'Neill," Teal'c warned. "He will use DanielJackson against us."
"I know that, Teal'c. I'm just trying to get through to Daniel somehow."
"You won't," Thoth said bluntly, still holding out his hands.
"Why's that?" Jack pressed.
"Because he is busy right now." Thoth raised his eyebrows, waiting for the glasses.
That was the lamest excuse he'd heard yet from a Goa'uld.
"Give them to him," Jack said at last.
Teal'c nodded, taking the glasses from Fraiser and walking toward Thoth. He readily accepted them, bending over to allow his hands to reach his face. Satisfied, Thoth grinned and walked over to the small table flanked with two chairs that had been brought into the room.
Taking a seat, Thoth folded his hands on the table and gazed eagerly at them. "I know you have many questions. Shall we begin?"
Daniel felt a clap on his shoulder and he jerked, blinking a few times. Had he fallen asleep again?
Looking over to his left, he noticed Sadji was glaring at him.
Oh yeah, he'd fallen asleep.
Yawning, Daniel arched his back, snapping out the kinks and reached over to pull his glasses onto his face. He couldn't really recall when he'd found them or exactly how, but their disappearance and reappearance didn't really bother him.
"I have medicines that can help improve your sight," Teacher told him from across the room.
Daniel nodded, dipping his reed pen into the ink to continue another stroke on the limestone. "I know. You've only offered five times already, and five times I've said no."
Sadji hissed next to him. "You should be more respectful to the Teacher."
"And you shouldn't grovel so much," Daniel retorted, finishing another hieroglyph.
Sadji's golden face darkened with embarrassment as Teacher chuckled at the remark. "Come now, Sadji, relax. Let us see how you have done."
The embarrassment vanished in an instant as Sadji proudly held up his copy. Teacher came to stand by him, studying the limestone carefully. He nodded in approval, only stopping twice to point out a few mistakes.
"It is much better than Kemsa's, isn't it so?"
Daniel looked over to the right, noticing another man sitting beside him. Kemsa, he assumed, though he hadn't remembered the man ever coming to join them. Kemsa was also younger, but quite the opposite of Sadji. He was taller, with skin as dark as the Nile soil. Daniel was suddenly acutely aware of how out of place he was here.
Shifting his legs, Daniel began to stand, but Teacher gently pushed him back down.
"Let us see what you have to offer," Teacher told him, gazing down at the limestone.
"Your copy is exceptional," Teacher beamed proudly. "A perfect copy in every detail."
Daniel fought the urge to smile at Sadji.
"Much better than Sadji's," Kemsa said with a wicked grin.
"You should not compare if you are not up to the task," Teacher scolded, pointing to Kemsa's stone slab. "You have not yet finished."
Kemsa shrugged. "The sun has already risen past its highest point and we have not yet eaten."
"So it is," Teacher agreed. "We shall break for meat and bread." Teacher beckoned them to follow him out into the garden.
Daniel watched them go, taking additional time to set aside his stone and clean up his workstation. When he saw that they had left, he quickly rose to his feet, searching the room for any hint of recognition, or escape.
He surveyed the room four times and still found he was getting nowhere. Not an illusion, not a Goa'uld trap. He was truly in an Ancient Egyptian palace.
Unless, of course, he was hallucinating.
Daniel began to believe he was getting a little too involved in his work.
Sighing, he walked over to the scrolls in the corner, and started to unroll them. If he was hallucinating, he knew he shouldn't feed into the delirium, but this was too real to ignore. Satisfied with his rationalization, he knelt down and eyed the writing of the first scroll, noting it spoke about agriculture. While that was fascinating, it really didn't catch his attention. Next, he reached for another scroll, unraveling it, to find it dealt with philosophy, and the balance between the ba, ka, and ankh. This he found far more interesting.
"Overzealous, aren't you?"
Daniel looked up, feeling his cheeks burn as he gazed up at Teacher. "I would say eager," Daniel replied, slowly rolling the scroll and placing it back.
"There will be plenty of time to learn," Teacher told him. "We start off small and then we step into the larger world."
"Yeah." Daniel wasn't really in the mood for this. "That's great. But I already know how to read, write, and speak…this," he said pointing to the stone slabs. "I really would like to know more about this," he said, lifting his voice as he motioned to the scrolls.
"All in good time."
"Yeah, well, I don't really have time," Daniel admitted.
"Why? Are you going somewhere?"
"Why? Are you keeping me somewhere?"
Teacher chuckled, obviously pleased. "Not only do you carry extraordinary intelligence, you have a sharpness to match." Teacher smiled gently at him, coaxing him forward. "Come and eat with us."
"Actually, I'm not very hungry," Daniel lied, feeling his stomach rumble.
"You should not tell falsehoods, for they lead to destruction."
Daniel nodded, feeling his uneasiness return. The nagging feeling that he should be doing something else had come once again to throw him off balance.
"Who are you, really? And what is this place?"
Teacher smiled, coaxing him again with his hand. "All will be better soon," Teacher soothed, his gaze warm and inviting. "Why don't you come and sit with us. More of your questions will be answered when we return."
Daniel nodded again, relaxing, dimly aware that Teacher hadn't answered any of his questions. But, for some reason, it didn't seem to matter, and he was content in following the man out into the garden.