Disclaimer: I write this for fun, not money.
Treat of the day: Bundaberg rum (preferably Bundy Black) with Diet Coke. Yes I know it's counter-productive, but trust me it's good!
A/N: Apologies for the delay – not quite the week I promised, was it? You can blame (in this order): my dithering, the sun for shining (it made me want to go for nice motorcycle rides..), my keyboard for dying, my husband for being in Australia (necessary evil), my friends for getting married in France, and my uncle for going away and appointing me granny-sitter for a week (not bad in itself, but their computer is crap). But on that note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANNY! She is now an illustrious 90 years old :)
A/N #2: I am neither a doctor nor a physicist, so please don't hold it against me if I've made a complete hash of the more technical aspects of this chapter! Same goes for some of the Beckett biographyhttp/ Simple Mode info, since its cobbled together from several sources. Oh yes, and I'm not even going to touch what happened in the Stargate episode 1969.
Chapter 32 – The Who's Who of Physics
September 21st, 1998 – Stargate Command
SamCarter's POV
Samantha Carter felt dirty, like she needed a shower, but it had nothing to do with dirt. She had… interacted with someone for a whole day - almost two! – without realising that it was a completely different person to whom she believed. Twice! How good a 2IC could she be, let alone a friend, if she made mistakes like that?
"Captain?"
Huh? Oh. Deep breath, Sam; get over it. "Sorry, sir. Yes, I have heard of a Dr Samuel Beckett – he won a Nobel Prize for advances in artificial intelligence a couple of years ago – however he dropped completely out of sight in 1995. Major Castleman has confirmed that there is a man by that name and title employed by the Navy, but the Project is classified beyond my level of access. Very few people would be able to mimic Dr Beckett's of quantum physics, so I could try to test his knowledge of physics and Dr Beckett's known work. It may take some time, however – it's related, but not my field of expertise."
"That's understood, Captain, and rest assured that I will be seeking the release of more information from the Pentagon," General Hammond agreed with a grim nod that encompassed all three officers at the briefing room table, then glanced at the two SFs on duty by the stairs. In the hour since the SGC's unwelcome guest had been 'captured', the base had locked down. "Is there anything you can tell us about him from the public record?"
Nodding sharply, Sam tucked away her misgivings and launched into a brief biography of the man who'd given himself up less than an hour ago. It was impressive, not to mention daunting.
"Of course, sir. Samuel Beckett was born August 8th, 1953 in Elk Ridge, Indiana. He could read at two, did calculus in his head at age five, and could beat a computer at chess at age ten. In 1970 he graduated high school and began college at MIT, graduating summa cum laude in only two years. Following this he went on to study at several other universities; he is also a doctor six times over with doctorates in medicine, neurology, artificial intelligence, quantum physics, music and.. ancient languages, along with a master's degree in archaeology."
"Quite an achievement," the General stated bluntly. "So he could probably crack our deep space telemetry cover story in no time, is that correct?"
"Yes sir, Time magazine once described him as the next Einstein," Sam couldn't help but agree. She'd never met the man, but if there had been a shadow to study under while she'd been working towards her PhD, it was Dr Beckett's. That this man had been let loose within Cheyenne Mountain for well over a day was left unsaid.
Hammond frowned. "It makes me wonder why he was never recruited for this project. When did he begin his association with the Navy, Captain?"
"Quite some time ago, sir, in 1984," she replied briskly. This she knew. "An Admiral Calavicci hired him to work at a project known only as Star Bright, which seems to have been involved in developing a deep space probe. Dr Beckett's background in artificial intelligence and quantum physics would make him a valuable asset to such research." Unless of course that's as much of a cover story as deep space telemetry.. "I haven't been able to access much information, however Admiral Calavicci is currently employed at the same location as Dr Beckett in Stallions Gate, New Mexico."
"You sure that's not code for Groom Lake, Nevada?" Major Castleman remarked wryly.
Sam permitted herself a brief smile. "Yes sir, I'm sure – it's a fully naval operation with no Air Force involvement, although Project Quantum Leap, as it's called, is funded via the same channels as the SGC. Details are even sketchier regarding this project than Star Bright."
General Hammond was obviously less than happy with this revelation. "So chances are that Senator Kinsey knows about whatever they're doing there, and probably the NID as well."
"Yes sir," Sam nodded, wary of how to bring up this next piece of information regarding their visitor. "Uh, from what I can see Dr Beckett's employment has focussed entirely on his scientific specialities, however the Time magazine article mentions reading hieroglyphics as one of his more unusual talents."
Three backs straightened, no doubt remembering that pesky doctorate in ancient languages she'd mentioned earlier. Pesky? She'd obviously been around Colonel O'Neill too much..
"Anything else?" Janet asked weakly, then caught herself and glanced at the General apologetically. His smile was small but sympathetic as he indicated that Sam should answer the question.
"Uh, Dr Beckett also played piano at Carnegie Hall when he was 19 years old and has trained in several martial arts – standard unknown."
"Oh.." Janet whispered softly, and Sam could see that she felt just as guilty about mistaking this man for Colonel O'Neill and Daniel. They would commiserate over a few bottles of wine when this was over, she was sure of it.
General Hammond's cough their attention back to the moment, and his expression was grim. "People, I think it's clear that if someone was going to infiltrate Stargate Command with the aim of gathering information as possible, this man would be an ideal candidate. His array of qualifications are eerily well-suited to our work here, from quantum physics to ancient languages – hell, even neurology is relevant when you consider the research into how a Gould controls it's host – so we need to know whether he's passed on that information yet, and if so what."
"Sir?" Janet ventured hesitantly.
"Doctor?"
"Sir, I could be playing devil's advocate here, but there is the possibility that Dr Beckett is telling the truth." The petite doctor sounded more confident as she reminded them all: "Stranger things have happened."
Sam couldn't argue to the truth in that statement; she travelled to other planets and studied alien technology for a living after all. Teal'c looked a third of his true age thanks to a larva in his gut and Daniel had even been to an alternate reality.
"Be that as it may, Dr Fraiser, we need to treat this as a worst case scenario until otherwise proven." The General was firm. "We still have a dead-ringer for Dr Jackson in the holding cell and a Colonel who may or may not have been compromised off-world. Yes, Major?"
Major Castleman, who had obviously been taking notes, lifted his head and directed his question at Sam. "What about his family?"
"Sir?" She blinked, quickly scanning her notes for anything that might be relevant.
"Spouse, children, parents, siblings – what's their history? Is there any way that he could have been compromised through their connections?" the dour Marine elaborated impatiently.
Mentally Sam slapped herself – she should have picked up on the Major's thought more quickly than that. "It's possible sir, but we'd need to investigate further. Dr Beckett's parents were dairy farmers, however both his siblings are also linked to the Navy – his brother served as a SEAL in Vietnam and his sister is married to a naval captain based in Pearl Harbour. His wife is listed as a Dr Donna Alessi, similarly employed at Project Quantum Leap as a quantum physicist, no children."
Castleman raised his eyebrows, commenting briefly: "I'm almost relieved to hear that." Louder then: "General, with your permission I'd like to investigate this avenue further? "
"Of course, Major. Captain, what can you tell us about this string theory Dr Beckett mentioned?" General Hammond regained control of the conversation smoothly.
Sam pursed her lips. "According to the Beckett-LoNigro String Theory, time travel is possible within one's own lifetime."
Six sceptical eyes focussed on the young Captain, who could only stand her ground and go into detail.
Taking a deep breath, she related the layman's explanation she'd found during her initial search. "Imagine that your life is represented by a piece of string. One end of the string represents your birth, the other your death. If you tie the ends together, your life is a loop. Ball the loop and the days of your life touch each other out of sequence, and moving – or 'leaping', as they term it – from one point to another would move you back and forth within your own lifetime."
"Is Dr Beckett is suggesting that he's been able to put this theory into practice?" Hammond asked eventually.
"He's certainly implied that sir. He stated that he's from 5 days into the future, but has been away from his 'present' long enough that it's as unknown to him as it is to us. There's a great deal that I can't even begin to understand though, for instance how it works, let alone the absence of a paradox – the implications, that possibility of changing history – sir, I can't even imagine the Goa'uld playing with something so fragile."
The base commander held up a hand, effectively stopping Sam in her tracks. "Captain, has Dr Beckett indicated why this alleged time travel involves looking like a complete stranger at a top secret USAF installation whose line of work just happens to fit his area of expertise?"
"Only a little sir, and only regarding his appearance," Sam replied, noting the General's rebuke and hoping that she wasn't blushing. "Apparently what we see is the aura of the person he's.. replaced, which would explain why his fingerprints don't match his appearance, but I'm at a loss to explain how that's possible or why it should be the case."
"And he believes that Dr Jackson is currently in the future? Which is where Colonel O'Neill may or may not have been locked in a white room by.. Doctor?"
Janet coughed slightly before filling in the blanks. "Uh, a man in weird clothes and a woman named Ziggy."
General Hammond shook his head in apparent frustration. "People, we have a real mystery on our hands here. For the moment our 'guest' is being kept in a holding cell, but I understand that Isolation Room 2 is being prepped to receive him?"
"That's correct, sir" Janet replied. "When Major Castleman's staff are ready I'd like to begin a full range of tests – blood work, MRI, CAT scan etc - and since Dr, uh, Beckett hasn't displayed any violent behaviour I'd like to have him contained in somewhat nicer surroundings than the holding cell. It may help to keep him cooperative, though given his martial arts training I would like a minimum of two SFs on guard."
Unable to help herself, Sam wondered how the intruder would respond to the observation deck above the Iso Room itself. The place was a goldfish bowl, no doubt about it.
"Agreed, subject to the man's future behaviour of course. Major Castleman?"
The Marine looked up from his notes. "My staff are still checking the man's basic biodata against the central database to confirm that this is Dr Beckett under the, uh.. aura.. but as Captain Carter mentioned we have confirmed Beckett's status as a civilian consultant to the US Navy. As such I don't anticipate much trouble in locating the appropriate identification files, and I will be conducting a full interview on my return to Level 12. I am wary of how easy he's making it for us now that he's decided to come clean however."
"You suspect further foul play?" the Texan General was not amused.
"Merely aware that all avenues should be covered, sir," Castleman replied resolutely. "I believe that Dr Fraiser's medical tests should go a long way towards providing a match to the files on record, but I would be happier if Captain Carter can assess his deep understanding of Dr Beckett's known specialities as well as this supposed time travel theory."
"Receiving you loud and clear, Major. We need to know that he's not leading us up the garden path once more, as he so clearly admits he did in the case of Dr Jackson and Colonel O'Neill," Hammond responded, obviously disturbed by the twists this intruder alert was taking. "People, we need to know who this man is – but more than that we need to know what he's doing here and how in the Sam Hill he can fool us all so completely. He may be from Earth, but I don't need to remind you that there certain parts of our government would like nothing better than to shut us down."
Murmurs of "yessir" reverberated around the room.
"Sir," Janet spoke up again. "When do you intend to bring Colonel O'Neill back from the Alpha site?"
"Not until we have a clearer picture of our 'new' intruder, Doctor," the General replied decisively. "I'd like to confirm that our man is back just as much as you do, but we can't put them both through your equipment at the same time. I would also like Major Castleman's staff to verify the fingerprints of every other member of this command – here at the SGC and at the Alpha site – before we re-introduce another possible look-alike to Earth."
With a final cast around the table, the base commander stood up and was rapidly followed by his officers.
"That's all for now, but I'd like you back here at 1500 with some concrete information. Dismissed."
On the way back to her lab, Sam caught Janet glancing her way in an unsubtle attempt to gauge how she was feeling.
"I'm fine, Janet," she assured the petite doctor, certain that she wouldn't be believed.
A quiet snort was her reward. "You keep telling yourself that, Sam. I'm not fine, so you're probably itching for a punching bag. Care to share?"
"Not really."
Up ahead, Castleman was holding the elevator for them. Sam was glad of the opportunity to avoid her friend's questions and jogged into the car, giving the Marine a grateful nod as she passed through the doors. He'd already punched the button for Level 12, so she swiped her card and selected Levels 21 and 19 – the infirmary and her lab respectively. Turning back to Janet, she found herself on the receiving end of a minor glare and ducked her head.
Major Castleman's deep voice interrupted their silent dispute. "The prisoner should be ready for you within the next quarter hour, Dr Fraiser."
"Oh, well thank you, Major," Janet replied with deceptive sweetness. "I'll send a nurse down with a wheelchair as soon as the equipment has been prepared."
Castleman's response was a strangled cough, and Sam couldn't help but smirk. He'd already caught the sharp end of Janet's tongue earlier for trying to frogmarch his new prisoner to a holding cell after Sam's alert, despite the fact that a damaged ankle was his primary means of identification. Threats of long physicals and over-sized needles were probably involved, if she knew Janet – although words were weapons enough when it came to this small woman's armoury. One that she was also on the wrong side of right now.
The elevator doors opened onto Level 21 and Janet stepped out, then held the door a moment. "I'll let you know when I'm done with Dr Beckett, Captain. It shouldn't be more than an hour, perhaps an hour and a half. Maybe we can finish our chat then, too."
The note of 'we will' wasn't restrained enough to stop Sam from nodding reflexively, so she gave a small smile and nodded a second time. "Of course, thank you."
"Good," was Janet's final word as she released the door, and seconds later the car stopped again for Level 19.
Bidding Major Castleman good luck, Sam headed to her lab and was pleased to note that the printer had almost finished spooling the most detailed, unclassified paper on the string theory of time travel she'd located so far. Flicking to the back pages she quickly noted some papers in the bibliography that she didn't recognise and set up a web search to track them down. She knew she was good, but not good enough to leap frog other physicists' years of research – and reading around the subject would come in useful for when she began her interview of the supposed Dr Beckett himself.
Sam dug out a new notebook and highlighter as she returned to the first page, pushing her anger and shame to one side. By the second page she quietly swapped for a double-sized whiteboard and an array of coloured pens, and an hour or so later one of Major Castleman's Marines found a dishevelled Captain Carter in her lab, surrounded by a wealth of equations.
"Sir?"
"Shh!"
Sam could almost sense him standing at attention in the doorway, probably looking anywhere but at her or her whiteboard. The thought brought her up hard and reminded her why she'd started analysing this theory in the first place – and as happened on the odd occasion, she'd gotten lost in her work. None of her team were available to remind her when to stop.. although Daniel was just as likely to play the zoned out academic as she was.
"Just one moment," she apologised briefly, shooting him a quick smile before focussing on his trademark jarhead haircut. "That's it!"
Sure that the young man would be forever confused by her strange response, Sam beamed as she scribbled another line of calculations that disproved her previous assumption of the value of 'q'. Slowly but surely, she was getting there. If shorn hair was what it took to spark off a train of thought, who was she to complain?
After a few associated corrections, Sam stood back to admire her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction before turning back to the door. "How can I help you, corpsman?"
His unblinking posture was a testament to Marine drill sergeants everywhere, as if he hadn't noticed anything strange about her actions. A Teal'c-like voice echoed in her mind as she remembered the previous night's movie: 'do not question the ways of the officer, young padawan..'
"Dr Fraiser is nearly finished with the prisoner, sir."
Sam did blink then, shaking it off as she realised why the soldier was addressing her as 'sir' and looked for his nametag and rank. "I'm Air Force, Private Hillier, not USMC – call me ma'am or Captain, but not sir, please."
"Yes sir!" he acknowledged, not batting an eyelid as her lips twisted in a wry smile. "Will there be anything else, sir?"
Laughing inwardly, and recognising that any laugh was good, she replied, "No, Private, nothing else from me."
"Thank you, sir!"
Sam sobered up as he left the lab, hitting the 'print' button on the whiteboard and gathering up the array of scientific articles that had taken over her desk. How she was going to find out what she needed from this man was anyone's guess, and she could only hope that 'Dr Beckett' was still feeling talkative. If she read this information correctly though, fixing the problem would be nigh on impossible. The unclassified papers mentioned no details, but she was sure that somewhere out there the Navy had the specs for what was referred to as a 'quantum leap accelerator' – and if Beckett had told her the truth earlier, there was a working model in New Mexico.
Arms full, she scanned the room one last time before deciding that she didn't really need anything else, then headed for the elevator and Janet's office – not that she wanted to chat about her feelings, but she did want to know the doctor's preliminary test results.
"Hey," the red-haired medic greeted her.
"Hey," Sam returned. "Any news?"
Janet raised an eyebrow. "Business before pleasure?"
Sam fixed a plaintive smile on her face that said 'please', and thankfully her friend gave in and beckoned her round the desk.
"Ok, ok – Major Castleman told me that as far as fingerprints and handwriting go, we have a match with the Navy's records for Dr Samuel Beckett. But Sam, those records haven't been updated for several years. You know how it is: every couple of years they take a new photo for the ID cards, do the inky fingers thing all over again, mostly in case of new scars I guess, and people's signatures can change a little over time." Janet looked radiated concern. "They still have him registered as an employee, but I can't see how even a long-standing civilian consultant could get out of those checks."
"Unless he hasn't been there," Sam mused. That was what the man claimed, after all.
"Exactly. As for my tests – the blood work will take a while longer to confirm, but come take a look at these EEG readings."
Intrigued, Sam did as she was told. "What am I looking at?"
Janet brought two graphs up on her computer screen – one labelled 'Jackson.DM – 980917', the other 'Subject.Beckett.S – 980921'.
"Thankfully Daniel was scanned only a few days ago, along with the rest of your team – that should help when the General gives the go-ahead to bring back Colonel O'Neill, too," Janet began, then tapped the second graph. "This is, of course, our mystery man. Have you ever seen anything like it?"
"Can't say I have.." Sam breathed. Her medical training was limited to first aid in the field, but as a physicist she understood the principles behind EEG scans. "Is that two patterns?"
"In a nutshell, but these here – the ones that match Daniel's usual brainwaves – are at a far lower strength than they should be. We actually had to boost the machine's power to pick up on them." There was wonder in Janet's tone. "That was Dr Beckett's idea, by the way. He was as interested in what the results of these tests would be as I was!"
"Or put on a good show of it?"
The doctor shook her head. "I honestly don't think that's the case, Sam. It's funny, but he spent most of the last hour apologising for leading me on earlier – I visited 'Daniel' when I heard that Colonel O'Neill was being held at the Alpha site."
"And you believe him?" Sam was a little incredulous.
Janet had the grace to look sheepish. "You know that look that Daniel gets when he's genuinely sorry for something? On the odd occasion when he's not being stubborn and trying to convince the Colonel that he was right, that is."
"He gave you the puppy-dog eyes?"
"Almost, but not quite. It wasn't really a Daniel expression, just close to it – and with the same effects. He's either a very good actor –"
"Which we've already established," Sam reminded her warningly.
"True.. but.. well, you tell me what you think once you've spoken to him properly," Janet finished. "The questions he was asking about the equipment we were using though, it definitely wasn't Daniel talking. He wanted us to search for the second pattern, and he was genuinely interested as well as sorry."
Sam shook her head, annoyed. "We'd expect to see two patterns with a Goa'uld, wouldn't we?"
"Have you ever heard of a Goa'uld wanting proof of the host's continued existence?" the doctor retorted. "That and the second pattern is more like a shadow, an echo." She smiled weakly. "Dr Beckett's theory is that it's the link that transmits Daniel's physical aura from wherever – or whenever – he is."
They shared a confused look.
"So you really think this man is Dr Samuel Beckett?" Sam probed.
Janet shrugged. "I have no idea, but I can't call him Daniel can I? It may or may not be his true name, but if it keeps him happy and cooperative I'm willing to play along. As for why he's here.. my jury's still out."
"Anything from the MRI?"
The doctor's expression was inscrutable as she brought up the named scan.
"Now that, I can't say. There's more activity than usual in his superior and inferior colliculi, parts of our primitive brain structure that research suggests process visual and auditory information." She took an audible breath and looked into Sam's eyes. "If I was going to go along with this 'aura' theory, I would guess that this is something to do with why we see, hear and – heaven help me – feel Daniel Jackson rather than a complete stranger."
"And if you weren't going along with that theory?" Sam asked gently.
Janet's gaze dropped and she sighed heavily. "No idea – I'm not a neurologist, and our local specialist is still in a fit over these results. That part of the brain usually runs on autopilot, if you get my meaning. It's like the appendix: a evolutionary legacy whose function has more or less been usurped by more modern equivalents."
A knock on the door caused both women to break away from the computer.
"Dr Fraiser – your X-rays are ready," a technical sergeant announced, waving a large envelope.
"Wonderful," the petite doctor declared, immediately turning on the wall-mounted light box behind her desk and removing a similar envelope from a file marked "O'Neill, Col. J. J." on her desk. "Sam?"
Smiling, Sam took the envelope from the tech and dismissed him with thanks before handing the package to her friend. Moments later the pair were gazing at near-identical X-rays, speechless. As far as Sam could see, the only difference was the faint outline of the foot itself – the brighter bone structure was indistinguishable. The placement of the bones was not just similar, but exact.
"Wow," was all she could come up with. "So I guess this is the physical aura at work?"
"I would say so," Janet confirmed, her tone equally amazed. "Skin deep, or so it seems. And again, Dr Beckett was just as interested as I was – if not more so. He made me promised to show him the results when they came back. I took the first scan when the man we believed was Colonel O'Neill took a tumble down the Gate ramp. It turned out to be a sprain, as you know, but at the time we needed to double check in case there was a fracture. An ideal opportunity to study this 'aura' phenomenon further, obviously."
"Obviously.." Sam echoed, then realised that she should be getting on to her interview with the man himself. "Look Jan –"
"You have to go," her friend finished, smiling. "Quite an enigma we have here, don't you think?"
She rolled her eyes in response. "Do you have any spare copies of those X-rays? I'm meant to test his knowledge of physics and this string theory more than anything else, but I could take them along as a bonus and see what his reaction is."
"Good idea, but bring them back when you're done?"
"Of course."
Janet put the films in a new envelope and handed them to Sam, but kept hold of one end for a moment. Confused, the blonde woman met her gaze and frowned.
"What?"
"Sit down a moment."
Sighing, Sam did as she was told. She wasn't going to get away as easily as she'd hoped after all. "I'm fine, Janet – really."
"So you say, but I want to know that you're not going to let your friendship and concern for Daniel to colour this interview too much."
"I –"
"Sam, it's going to happen. I saw your expression during the meeting earlier, remember? You're going to look at this man, hear him speak, and your conscious mind will register him as Daniel Jackson well before it thinks of Dr Beckett. Then you're going to judge him by that, regardless of the whys and wherefores." Janet opened up a drawer and pulled out another folder. "I have one last scan for you to look at, a CAT scan. Please note the complete lack of a Goa'uld."
Obediently, Sam looked down at the paper before her. "Ok, so he's not a Goa'uld."
"Remember that Sam, and take a moment in the observation deck before you go in there, ok?"
The suggestion was a strange one.
"May I ask why?"
Janet quirked her mouth into some semblance of a smile. "Sure. I want you to see him interacting with my nurses – speech patterns, expressions, mannerisms. It might help you overwrite some of those preconceived notions that are probably floating around in your mind from when he shook the living daylights out of you by confessing."
Sam was momentarily offended, but she understood what Janet's rationale. Daniel Jackson was a teammate, and one of her best friends to boot. If it wasn't for the fact that she was the SGC's best-qualified physicist, General Hammond probably would have given the job of interviewing 'Dr Beckett' to someone else on the grounds that she was too close to the situation. Her earlier, knee-jerk reaction was proof of that if nothing else.
Finally she nodded. "Ok, I'll do that – and I'll try to keep my head together while he runs rings around me with all these equations."
The medical doctor grinned at the pile of paperwork that Sam had picked up again. "The Colonel will be amazed to hear that anyone could run rings around you, Sam. He may just fall over backwards in shock." She cocked her head to one side. "By the time you're done with Dr Beckett, Colonel O'Neill will be close to finishing the most complete medical he's ever had the misfortune to experience."
"I may send those X-rays back via messenger then," Sam replied glibly to cover her apprehension. Much as she might resent this Dr Beckett's presence right now, it would be nothing to what her CO's reaction would be.
Janet waggled her eyebrows. "Lucky you for having the choice. Now get out there and test our 'new Einstein' – I have work to do."
"Yes, ma'am," Sam mock-saluted her fellow Captain - though as the SGC's chief medical officer she could overrule anyone, even the General, given the right circumstances. She squared her shoulders and double-checked that she had everything. "See you in the briefing room at 1500?"
"Of course, now git!"
"Gitting.."