A/N: A semi-short interlude Chapter...

Chapter 6 –A Tale of Two Discoveries

It was the next morning when Dr. Weir walked into the infirmary, looking for Dr. Beckett and news of Lt. Ford.

"I was about to page you." Carson said as he met her.

"How is Lt. Ford?" Elizabeth asked.

He chuckled a little, "Oh he's healthy enough to flirt with all my nurses. He'll have a while to do that, as the X-rays show he has four broken ribs, but other than that there's nothing wrong with the lad. Not even a scratch."

"And that machine is responsible?"

"Aye. It's quite an amazing contraption. It rapidly accelerates the body's natural healing processes. But for some reason, it doesn't have the same effect on bone tissue."

"And it took Dr. Belacu to activate it."

"I have a suspicion why, I'll explain when Rodney gets up here."

Just then, he walked into the room, his broken left arm in a cast.

"This is really starting to itch Carson, it's driving me crazy! Can't you just take if off and I'll use a sling."

"It cannot be that bad this early, so stop your complaining."

Elizabeth steered the conversation, "What did you want Dr. Beckett?"

"Oh yes, I wanted to show you this." Carson brought up a screen on the laptop, one side had one set of DNA, and the other side had another and was highlighted in some places.

"What exactly are we looking at?"

Rodney got close to the screen and pointed, "Carson, this is amazing, whose DNA is this on the right?"

"Dr. Anirul Belacu's," He brought up another column so there were three on the screen. "That is Hawat's." It was also highlighted in places. "I didn't feel the need to do this when she first came to Atlantis, but after the events of yesterday I thought I should. I ran the blood sample I took through a DNA comparison test; I did it twice to make sure. Then I used the sample I still had from Hawat to triple check. A percentage of her and Hawat's genetic makeup isn't human."

"It's Ancient."

"Aye Rodney, that's what I expect. The ATA gene she has is the most prominent I've seen, even more than Major Sheppard's. It could be why only she could activate the machine."

"How much exactly is Ancient DNA?" Elizabeth asked.

"Thirty percent."

"That's quite a lot Carson." She said.

"Aye, it is. Especially considering that humans and primates are a mere few percentage points different. I couldn't believe it at first."

"The Ancients that fled to her planet during the war, they must have blended into Tialysian society."

"Exactly what I was thinking Rodney."

Dr. Weir asked, "Do you think she knew all along Carson?"

"I'm not sure. It would be possible the Tialysians suspected, but could never prove it."

Dr. McKay found Anirul down in the lab. She was visibly excited over something huge.

"Rodney! I'm so glad you're here. You're never going to believe this!"

All thoughts of her being part Ancient slipped his mind, "Believe what?" He stepped over to the laptop she was working on.

"I've been searching the Ancient database, and I found deeply buried in some pointless information a reference to a 'Power Supply Laboratory', and I believe they mean ZedPMs."

"This is incredible! Is it in the city?"

"Of course! According to the map," She pointed to the lab, "we should be able to get there in… twenty-five minutes."

"It's in a completely unexplored part of the city… I'll page Major Sheppard to go with us."

"No, there's no need. I don't want to excite everyone and then find nothing. Let's just go, Come on, bring your laptop and I'll bring mine." She unplugged hers and headed out the door. He was standing there in disbelief. "Are you coming Rodney?"

He snapped back into consciousness, "Yes, yes I'm coming! As long as you don't get us lost."

"I won't, don't worry."

They had to take the transporters down to the bottom of the tower and cross the rest of the way on foot. All the way there they were in not a heated debate, but rather intense speculation over what they would discover upon reaching the lab. Schematics? Samples? Operating instructions? Z.P.M.s in various stages of construction? Even a fully charged Z.P.M.? That would be the best outcome. They could just imagine everyone's faces if they came back with a charged Z.P.M., out of nowhere! Of course they also discussed the possibility of finding absolutely nothing, but they hoped there would be something of use.

The sight of the two doctors walking and talking elatedly through the inhabited parts of Atlantis just fueled the already rampant rumors spreading about them. But, they were too busy at the time being to notice.

Dr. McKay and Dr. Belacu arrived in the final hallway of the journey to the new lab.

"Oh by the way Rodney, did you ever decipher what that device I had to activate for you was?"

"A personal recorder with some Ancient man's 'to do' list."

"Remarkably uninteresting?"

"I wouldn't say that, only not as interesting as this hopefully will be."

"Hopefully. Is Dr. Beckett making any progress with the compound?"

"He has some hesitation with it, after what happened with the Hoffans."

"Hoffans? I don't know of them, what happened?"

"They made a vaccine to protect against Wraith feeding, Carson helped, it succeeded in half the population, but had deadly side effects for the other. It shook him up quite a bit."

"Understandably. Did they know of the side effects?"

"Yes, but they all still took it."

"Then he shouldn't blame himself. He didn't inject all of them against their will. And the compound the Ancient scientists made on Tialys has no such effects. It won't even harm his lab mice."

"He knows that."

"I wish I could help, but anything to do with biology isn't my expertise. We haven't exactly spent too much time studying the compound on Tialys. Honestly, we never felt the need."

"Well he has all of the Ancients' files on it. Those will keep him busy."

They kept walking down the hallway, but Anirul stopped and walked back the other way. "Wait we passed it..."

"See you are getting us lost!" He snipped.
"No I'm not, the lab is right… here." She pointed to the room on her left.