Have fun reading. Don't forget to review. ;)
Disclaimer: Gekko, Double Secret, MGM and probably loads of others own StarGate, Joss, WB, UPN et al own Buffy. I do not.
Title: Waking Dreams
Author: Paradigm Shifter
Feedback: Yes please:-)
Rating: 15.
-
Xander was run to ground by Janet in the main generator room. The following airmen, Janet wave back, afraid he might bolt again if they got to close... or maybe get violent.
He huddled in the corner, his head thudding against the concrete wall as he stared in wide eyed horror at his hands.
Janet knelt down a few feet away, inching as close as she dared. "We're not here to hurt you, Xander. Just... just take it easy. What's wrong?"
"There's... there's simply so much. I can't." He choked back a sob. "I can't. No. Not any more. No more, please!"
Janet sat on the floor next to him, taking sidelong glances at the distraught boy. "Easy. I'm here. Nothing can happen to you now."
"Nothing?" Xander's voice was hopeful, then distraught. "But you weren't there!"
"I wasn't where?" Janet asked softly.
"You. You weren't there when Kowalsky. Kowalsky. God. If it hadn't been for him, I would have done it by now." He jerked back, his skull making a large crack echo in the generator room as it contacted the concrete. Janet winced at the sound. When she got back to Medical, she would definitely have to give him a head x-ray.
"You weren't... I can't even get that right. I can't even do that properly. But then... Kowalsky. He... he gave me... something back. Self respect. Self worth. A desire to live. See!" The mumble rose to a shout. "See! I'm not worthless! I'm not! I count! I help! And do I get any thanks!"
Xander launched himself at Janet, and for a second, she flinched, thinking he was going to attack her.
Then her arms came around his chest, almost on automatic, and she held the sobbing man until he passed out.
-
Sam Carter entered the generator room in time too see Alexander Harris throw himself at Janet, and she knew there was nothing she could do about it. Then Janet wrapped her arms around a suddenly sobbing man as he cried into her shoulder.
She took a few uncertain steps forward, and paused again as Janet turned her head to see who was there.
Sam moved quickly to help Janet lay the now unconscious man down, and looked at the doctor with her eyes asking a lot of silent questions. Her mouth asked one:
"Is he OK?"
Janet met her eyes, and looked down again, brushing some hair out of Harris' face as she checked he was breathing correctly. "No. I want to get him back to medical. I think he might have a fractured skull."
Sam nodded, and tore off.
-
Janet sighed, and looked at the x-rays pinned to the lightbox on the wall. Harris' skull wasn't fractured – he was very lucky in that department, but he seemed to have retreated somehow.
He was – technically – fine. He should be awake, but he wasn't. Janet pondered the idea of two minds in one body... it didn't seem possible. But if you thought about it, it might not be so hard. Most people never used more than a fraction of their available neurons anyway... what if a second mind used the ones that weren't being used? There would have to be some overlap: for example, sensory perception and motor control, but there was no reason why it might not work.
It would be a fascinating discovery if it was true.
And... somehow, a terrifying one, as well. Janet shivered, despite the air conditioning maintaining a comfortable temperature, and thought of the possibilities. Teal'c had said something about demons... aliens might have been mistaken as demons. The Ancients had proved that they could download information into individuals – what if humans learned to do it? Download the mind of the 'best' soldier into every other soldier?
The potential benefits, as well as the potential horrors were astounding.
Janet heard the beep of the heart monitor drop in rate again, and looked up at the brain activity screen. A real-time map of what regions in the brain were functioning. The yellow tinted white that showed in the cerebrum showed high activity, but all the other areas were dull blue.
Alexander Harris' chest rose and fell slowly as he breathed, lying on the bed. And his heart-rate levelled out again.
Janet Frasier picked up a mug, took a sip of cold coffee, and watched.
"I feel so helpless..."
Janet jumped at the sound of a voice behind her, "There's a lot of that going around."
Turning, she saw Daniel Jackson standing in the doorway. "Oh, Daniel. I didn't see you there... you came in quietly!"
Daniel shrugged. "Seems that some of Jacks' spec ops training is rubbing off on me. I kept quiet because you looked like you were thinking."
Janet raised an eyebrow. "Oh? No, no I wasn't, particularly. It's just..."
"Yeah. I know what you mean. There seems to be little anyone can do about this, other than wait to see what happens next. Jack's tearing his hair out: he might not look it, but this has spooked him more than any alien encounter."
"I can believe that," Janet nodded. "Jack isn't the sort of man to stand idly by while someone else does the work. He likes to be involved."
"That's Jack for you."
Janet could see that it was more than just Jack that was bothering the scientist. "There's something else, isn't there Daniel? What is it?"
Daniel strolled toward a chair, and sat down in it slowly. "Ah, I don't know. That's what's bothering me the most. I don't know. Sam seems to be alright, but both Jack and Teal'c are acting oddly. Teal'c looked horrified when... Alex met his eyes."
"I noticed," Janet chewed her lip. "You don't think that they... recognised each other, do you?"
"Recognised?"
"When the Goa'uld was loose here, it fought Teal'c, didn't it? Do you think there could be some element of the Goa'uld still in there?"
Daniel looked at the bed speculatively. "If there is, the General will want round the clock surveillance in case he tries anything."
"He's already got it there, look over by the far wall," Janet nodded in the direction, "for my protection, apparently – if he tries to get up, they'll alert the base. He's restrained anyway, so he doesn't tear out the IV lines or disturb the electrodes."
"If he is a Goa'uld, that won't take it long to break free."
"No, but it's better than nothing," Janet and Daniel both looked at the unconscious Alexander Harris once more, before Daniel silently got up and left.
-
Hammond watched the still body of Alexander Harris as machines around him beeped and hummed various signals to those monitoring him. He couldn't help but muse over some of what Harris had said as he started to break down. He had been hot-listed for command of another project... one that was soon to be started up, and was based in Sunnydale – Harris' home town. In the end, the Army took control, brought in all new agents – agents that were too young and impulsive in Hammond's eyes – so he happily handed over command and moved to the SGC.
A nice easy command for the last few months of his career, before honourable retirement and writing his memoirs: time to do what he wanted, rather than do what others wanted.
Some hope. He'd had more work in the SGC than he had in the past ten years previously, and despite that workload – not to mention the stress – he wouldn't change it. Here he was helping keep the world safe – even if the rest of the world didn't know it. That was something he wouldn't be able to do if he was just some idiot desk jockey somewhere.
This boy turning up... Hammond couldn't think of the unconscious man as a man until he proved he was worthy of the title. He looked older than his 18 years, his eyes and body both... but his records didn't. Given the strange things he had been briefed about when preparing to take over the 'Initiative' as it had been called, he was inclined to believe Harris. Of course, he didn't let this on to SG-1 or anyone else – a general kept no council but his own, and the Presidents', after all – he let them come to their own conclusions, and examined them to see if they agreed with his. It paid off – their views rarely clashed. When they did, it was normally on some small bureaucratic incompetence or inconsistency.
He sighed as he turned away, and Janet watched a silent, troubled man leave the med lab.
-