Ambitious Curiosities
Chapter 10
Dr. Salik walked quietly over to where the young Adama lay. Had it not been for the almost death like stillness of the boy, she would almost think he was just asleep. There was little or nothing she could do for either of her patients right now. One would be dead in the next few hours, that she knew only too well, but the other, if Michael was right, then Lee's life hung on the thin thread that tethered his soul to his body, and there was no telling when it might break.
She had no problem with the theology of life, faith in something bigger than oneself and not uncommon. After all, she was a doctor and grateful for all the miracles she had witnessed in her career. But man for all his wisdom, would never be privy to all they could know. That, after all, would make them Gods. Lords keep us from our own ambitions.
Commander Adama was a traveler and in some odd way he was a product of her father's ambitious curiosities. Had it not been for men like her father, the commander would have only thought himself a man with very odd dreams and an occasional headache. If not for men like her father, at least nine other men would have lived to see the sun rise thirty some odd years ago. Damn, she would not sit here helpless and uninformed. She gently touched the commander's sleeve, startling him out of his own turmoil.
"Commander, I want to read the reports."
At first Adama did not seem to hear or comprehend what she said, and
for a moment he even looked as if he might say no.
"Will, you have known me for a long time. I will not lie to you. My father never talked about those days and I know as little as anyone on the street about Old Souls and Travelers. But what I do know is that your son lies here totally unresponsive to anything I do and I have no clue why. But my father would know and know what to do. I want read his reports. There may be something in them to help me save your son's life."
Will rose and walked over to the computer. He typed in some numbers, clicked some icons and tapped in more numbers. Sure enough, right where Michael said they would be, were the reports on the Traveler Experiments, including a video even he was not aware of. He pushed himself away from the desk and let her sit down.
"I did not know about this," he whispered, "but if you think it might help, then..." Without further thought he just pressed the enter key, starting the video and pulled up another chair.
The first few minutes gave a brief Intel of the experiment and its participants. The next few went over the records and history of the ten men who would participate. Adama was slightly startled at the sight of himself at that age. He knew Zac had resembled him, but he just hadn't been aware of how much alike they looked at that age.
Doctor Salik and the Commander watched diligently for nearly a half hour before they decided to fast forward the vid to the first incident involving a young officer by the name of Darefield. Michael Darefield. One moment he, like all the others, had the appearance of sleeping. The next thing they knew, the young man's body began arching and flailing. Blood began spewing from his mouth and then his nose, ears and eyes and then the body went limp. A young priest could be seen in the background screaming for them to stop this experiment before others died. They saw that his objections were heard but not followed, for Kylen fast-forward the tapes nearly 5 hours further, when the next episode began and two others would die similar violent deaths. After Doctor Martin Salik pronounced them dead, he, too, began requesting the end of this experiment. It was not until after the death of 4 others before they allowed attempts to retrieve the spirits of the young volunteers.
It was not until they realized they were unable to register a response by the use of chemicals that the young priest attempted to cross the spiritual plane and retrieve them. Fifteen minutes after the first attempt, he awoke.
"He doesn't recognize me," the boy announced, pointing at the young man next to him. "He will not return because he doesn't believe he belongs here." The young man in the video, a Lt. Donatello, still seemed to sleep.
The priest again fell into a trance. This trance did not last as long, as he awoke he announced that he was not able to reach two of the other officers at all. He had one young officer he had yet to try and reach. He believed there was still a chance to save one of the men who volunteered for this failed experiment.
The doctor feared that even the young priest might die in his attempts. He had been under for so long. Suddenly, the young lieutenant began to convulse but it only lasted a moment and he jerked upright gasping for air as if he had been trapped miles below the water and suddenly was free. The medical team burst into action but at least you could tell the patient was alive. The young William Adama awoke, as did the young priest.
The young Lt. was removed from the room, as was the priest. The rest of the video recorded the lives or deaths of the other officers. Dr. Salik didn't bother to watch the rest of the recording. She had been thumbing through her father's notes and found that the three of them were put on life support and actually lasted many years in that state before dying. The notes also stated that William Adama, the only survivor, suffered no known ill effects of his experience.
"No ill effects," he repeated, "…just a lifetime of living with the fact that I was part of just one of many attempts of man's attempt at playing God."
"Man's inability to accept his mortality has been both his curse and his gift." Both the doctor and the Commander jumped at the weak sounding voice of Michael. He was struggling to sit up by the time they reached his bedside.
"Gift?"
"Yes, Commander, it is a Gift. It is not the knowledge that is the…the curse, but the poor use of it." Michael smiled in his gentle way. "Then again, if God truly wanted to curse man, he only need give him the immortality he so craves."
Kylen Salik placed a motherly hand on the young man's shoulder. She felt she understood a little more about what Michael must have gone through in his life: the same frustrations that his predecessors must have felt when they, too, began their journey. As well as the uselessness her father must have felt when he realized there was little or nothing he could do to help the young officers before him
"Doctor, you have seen the vids. What did you learn from them?"
Kylen frowned and sat on the stool next to the young priest's bed.
"Nothing!" she growled. "The vids, the notes, they gave me nothing to work with."
"I believe that, in showing you nothing, it has taught you all you need to know."
She laughed. "All I learned from those reports were that there is nothing medically I can do." Michael smiled at her and suddenly she became aware of what he wanted her to learn.
"Which is what I needed to learn. There is nothing I can do, is there?"
"No there is not. The only ones who can help the Captain now are myself and the Commander."
"What do you need me to do?" Adama queried.
"You need to be on this side of the portal, Commander. If I can convince your son to return, he will need your guidance back to his body."
Fear darkened Adama's features.
"What is it that you fear, Commander? Being a Traveler or a father?"
"Both!" the elder admitted.
"There is no need for either. You are what you are: Commander, father and Traveler. He will follow where you lead. He is, after all, an Adama."
He turned back to the Doctor, who looked somewhat defeated and smiled as he took her hand. "I wanted to thank you for all you have done for me. I know it could not have been any easier for you than it was for your father. What is about to happen is just one small step into a greater plan. I wish I could tell you more, but you must live your lives for yourselves. Make your own futures. Lee will need both of you to help him understand what awaits him." The priest closed his eyes. Then, with his last breath, he whispered, "It is time."
