Reality shifted.

For several, terrifyingly disconcerting beats of her heart, Samantha Carter had absolutely no idea who or where she was.

Then it all came flooding back. She was a Major in the United States Air Force. She was an astrophysicist and worked on the Stargate Program as a member of SG-1. Her commanding officer was Colonel Jack O'Neill, and he…

On a gasp she bolted upright, feeling a half dozen points of pressure tug at the skin of her temples and chest before snapping free. She looked down to see four circular red marks – about an inch in diameter each – marring the white skin of her chest above the hem of the gown she was wearing. The gown itself was white, fell to mid-calf, and contained two pockets, rather like a nightgown-length scrub top.

Upon lifting a hand to her head, she discovered two things: there was one more, slightly warm round spot on each side of her forehead, and there was also some sort of metal ring around the crown of her head. She pulled it off, finding that it was connected to her via several dangling microfilaments of an undeterminable material. They led to what was unquestionably an IV port in the back of her right hand, and she tore it out, heedless of the blood that immediately welled there.

Carter looked around wildly, reeling from disorientation. A minute ago she'd been dying on the floor of Polytus' throne room. She remembered Colonel O'Neill at her side, speaking to her urgently, and wishing she could see him. She remembered the feel of his cheek under her palm, and then…

She'd died, then awoken here. Recognizing that there was just something fundamentally wrong with that order of events, Carter took in her surroundings again and belatedly realized what must have happened.

She swung her legs off of the low platform upon which she'd been resting. Carter wouldn't have described it as a bed, or a couch, but as something in between. It was soft and white, with no discernable linens. The "pillow" was built-in, a square, tidy lump beneath the surface. It was the only piece of furniture in the room.

Indeed, it was the only piece of anything in the room. Whoever had designed it could have been descended from the Spartans. No sign of the Colonel, Daniel or Teal'c.

Carter suppressed a feeling akin to panic when it fluttered in her stomach. She had to stay calm if she was going to get out of this. Her primary objective was to get out of this room and find her team. If she was right, they would be lying unconscious in rooms just like hers, hopefully somewhere nearby.

With that in mind, the Major rose, uncomfortably aware for the first time that she was wearing nothing beneath the thin material of the gown. It floated breezily around her as she made her way to the room's only entrance and paused there to peek out and assess the situation before moving on.

She looked out into a small, spherical room that reminded Carter of the space left behind in her tub of Rocky Road when she used an ice cream scoop. It contained four entranceways just like hers, with no doors, evenly spaced along the gleaming ivory surface. Though the architecture was alien to her, Carter got the impression that she was in some sort of medical section. The equivalent of an infirmary, or a hospital. Everything was white and spotless, and quiet.

Hoping to make as little noise as possible, Carter kept her breathing slow and steady as she emerged from her room. She moved on soundless bare feet to the first room on her right, her hands itching distinctly for want of a sidearm. Pressing her back flat against the curved wall next to the entrance immediately to the right of her own room, Carter took a deep breath and glanced quickly into the new one, eyes sweeping the interior, before ducking back to her position in completion of the training. Then she spun off the wall and darted into the room, crossing it to the man lying on the low platform. It was Daniel, and he was attached to it by suction cups just as she'd been when she awoke. He was also similarly attired in a loose white gown, though his was a bit shorter, cut off at the knee like some sort of Gladiator's tunic.

Carter wondered for a moment why Daniel hadn't awakened on his own, as she had, then realized that her "death" might have had something to do with it. Unavoidably, her mind started playing with the hows and whys that worked, imagining that the ring device placed on each of their heads must somehow be capable of monitoring brainwave patterns, or maybe even just the firing of synapses. On one hand that was good, because it meant that her friend hadn't been "killed" by the guards in the throne room. On the other hand, it caused her to worry about whether or not removing him manually from the virtual reality would be harmful.

After a moment of debate, Carter concluded that there was no real choice. It wasn't as if she could just leave him here while she went and sought help. Whoever had done this to them was unlikely to render assistance just because she asked nicely.

Course of action decided, Carter peeled the suction cups from Daniel's chest and temples and gently removed his IV. Lastly, she lifted the ring of metal from atop his fine, short brown hair. His eyelashes fluttered immediately and Carter leaned over him. "Daniel? Can you hear me?"

Her teammate stirred, inhaling sharply as his arms jerked as if to brace himself from falling. Remembering her own disorientation upon waking, Carter kept a hand on his shoulder to reassure and stabilize him. "Daniel," she said again, "can you open your eyes?"

Apparently he could, because they immediately flew open at her words, darting to her in disbelief and blinking with the rapidity of someone jarred awake. "Sam?" he asked.

Carter nodded, opening her mouth to tell him to be quiet. To her surprise, however, the archaeologist's eyes misted. Before she knew it, he was off the bed / couch hybrid and hugging her tightly to him. "Oh my God, Sam," he said, overwhelming relief in his voice. "I thought you were dead."

"Wait a minute." Suddenly he pulled back from her, grasping her shoulders with both hands, his eyes raking her up and down as if to search for injuries. "You were dead. How are you… What… Are you okay?"

Still in a hurry, but unable to remain untouched by his obvious relief and concern, Carter smiled, nodding. "I'm okay. Daniel, it wasn't real. None of it. We were in some sort of virtual reality program."

From her gown's pocket she pulled the metal ring that she'd taken from her own head, back in her room, and showed it to him. His eyebrows furrowed as he examined the device. "Like that planet with the Gamekeeper," he said.

Carter nodded again. "P seven J nine eight nine, yes." She paused, noticing the way he was squinting at the device, and looked around. "Do you know where your glasses are?"

Daniel reached an absent hand up to his face, apparently having been unaware that his glasses were missing until she'd said so. "No. I was wearing them just a minute ago…"

At Carter's meaningful look, Daniel's bemused smile turned wry. "Of course, a few minutes ago I was in a computer program. Sam, do you know where we are now?"

She shook her head. "No. But there are four other doors out there," she said, indicating the entrance, "I came from a room just like this one, and I'm betting that the Colonel and Teal'c are through two of the others. We've got to get them and get out of here."

Daniel had blanched at the mention of their teammates, alarming her. "What? What is it? Are they okay?"

"No," he shook his head. "I don't know. Teal'c and I fought off the guards, and then we…we saw you. And Jack…"

Carter felt icy fear nipping at her skin. "What? What happened?"

"He was using that thing…that pain stick thing…on Polytus. Sam, we didn't stop him. We went to get the workers from the mines so we could escape. We left him there. He's killing Polytus right now."

Carter swallowed. "It isn't real. He's not really killing anyone, because Polytus isn't real."

Daniel looked at her significantly. "It is to him."

Dread gripped her, and she snatched the ring device back from Daniel, who immediately followed her to the doorway. Her movements quicker now, she repeated her methods to make certain all was clear and led Daniel into the larger circular room.

She paused, moving close to Daniel so that she could whisper. "I'll take this one," she said, jerking her head to indicate the next room down to the right. "You go left to the second room; the first one was mine."

Daniel nodded once to show that he understood and started off, keeping his back to the wall as he walked. Carter mimicked his movements until she reached the next room, where she found Colonel O'Neill.

The feeling in her stomach that wanted to become panic fluttered up again, forcing her to swallow hard and mercilessly shove it down as she approached him with quick steps. The sooner she got him out of there, the sooner he'd be okay, she reminded herself.

He was lying on his back, outfitted with a gown, head device, IV and suction cups as she and Daniel had both been. Carter did away with them, taking no time this go around to be fascinated by the technology or to wonder how it worked. All she could think of was getting him out of the world where his rage and loss had prompted him to torture a man to death.

She removed the IV and kept pressure over the small puncture wound with her hand as she leaned over him. "Colonel," she said worriedly. "Can you hear me?"

His lips parted. His hand twitched in hers. Carter squeezed it, grazing the back of her other hand lightly against one of the suction cup marks still present on his temple. She felt the ends of his salt-and-pepper hair brush light as a feather across her first two knuckles.

She watched his face avidly, waiting for awareness to seize him, as it had Daniel. Then, it happened. And oh, it pierced her heart like a blade.

Colonel O'Neill's features abruptly twisted into an expression of such acute grief that Carter suddenly found herself blinking back tears in response. His mouth widened and he emitted a soft, inarticulate sound of anguish.

"Jack!" she said urgently, her voice nearly breaking despite her best efforts. She leaned over him and lowered her free hand to his chest, just needing to touch him. Hoping to calm him. "Jack, open your eyes, now," she demanded.

Amazingly, he did, and they roved about wildly for a moment as he sought to orient himself to the immediacy of his new surroundings. His breaths came in great, gasping heaves.

O'Neill's first action to situations such as this one was always to jump away in a remarkable display of reflexes, and she felt his muscles beneath her hand bunching in preparation to do just that. Rather than trying to restrain him, Carter raised her hand to her cheek and turned his face toward her, striving for eye contact. Then he saw her, and he stared up at her with round, dark eyes that were wide with shock.

"It wasn't real," Carter said immediately, giving him the information she knew he needed and squeezing the hand she still held. "None of it was real. We were in a virtual reality program, like the Gamekeeper's world."

She omitted the planet's designation automatically, knowing it would tell him nothing. She saw in his face when it all clicked for him and relaxed minutely as he sat up. But he never took his eyes from her. His voice, when he spoke, was raspy. "Are you…?"

"I'm fine, sir," she replied. "I don't know how that's possible, but I don't seem to have suffered any physical effects at all."

He was still staring at her like she was a figment of his imagination, or an insubstantial reflection in a pool of water. Like if he moved too suddenly she'd vanish. Carter was locked in his gaze, helpless to look away. "I know," she whispered, squeezing his hand again. "I know, Jack, but there's no time. We've got to get out of here."

He finally looked down at their clasped hands and shook his head as if to rid it of cobwebs. Regaining his self-control, he looked back up at her and his eyes were sharp again. In charge. "Daniel and Teal'c?"

Carter nodded as she released him and headed toward the entrance. "I found Daniel first; he's okay. He's getting Teal'c, now. They should be…"

She trailed off as they entered the circular hub to their rooms and encountered Daniel and Teal'c emerging from the second-to-last doorway. At any other time, Carter thought, she would have been highly amused by their matching states of undress. But the situation now called for absolute alertness. She would tease them both about their knobby knees and bulging calf muscles later. Assuming there was a later.

There was no mistaking the look of gratified relief on Teal'c's face. The Jaffa's cheeks rose only fractionally with his smile, but it lit up his brown eyes like a neon sign. "Major Carter," he greeted her. "I am pleased to see you well."

Carter smiled and touched a hand to his warm forearm in silent acknowledgement as the Colonel swept the room with his eyes. "Which way?" he asked.

Carter jerked her head toward the last, unbreached doorway and they all fell in line. O'Neill paused as he assessed the space beyond, then led them into another white room. This one contained a large table, also white, where all of their gear lay. Its easy accessibility had them all looking around suspiciously. The Colonel appeared especially wary of some sort of trap. "Okay, campers, let's grab and go. The longer we stick around, the better our chances of getting caught."

Everyone snatched up their vests and weapons; even Daniel's glasses were present and accounted for. He slipped them on as he brought up the rear on their way out of the room.

They emptied into a long corridor, the ceiling of which was dotted with more bright, white lights. The hallway itself was a continuation of the stark white, uniform interiors they'd seen thus far. Apparently preferring a murkier environment in which to carry out their covert breakout, O'Neill winced at the long, unbroken stretch of bright hallway. "Okay, these guys've obviously never heard of Martha Stewart."

"It does lack a certain…personality," Daniel agreed in a quiet voice as they made their way down the corridor. "Does anyone have any ideas about who we've actually been captured by? I'm guessing it wasn't really the Nisians."

O'Neill glanced back at him sarcastically. "Ya think?"

Teal'c's dark skin contrasted sharply against the blindingly white background of the walls and his gown, and he somehow managed to look cool and self-possessed even in his ridiculous attire. "I am unfamiliar with this architecture."

"Yeah?" Carter asked, her attention abruptly riveted on the two people she'd spied walking in their direction. Thus far, they appeared too involved in their own conversation to notice the quartet of escaped prisoners down the hall. "What about them?"