Time Capsule
Chapter 7
Rodney McKay looked exhausted. Bleary eyed from lack of sleep and staring at a computer screen for hours, he staggered to his feet, rubbing his hand across his eyes. This Brenna was absolutely right. The power was failing and apparently, there was nothing they could do about it.
Carson Beckett had startled the hell out of Rodney, snapping open his eyes, sitting up in the bed and yanking off the leads to the heart monitor. All the while he was chattering about power failures and knowledge lost and Brenna dying, his blue eyes slightly wild and frantic. It had taken a few minutes of calming the agitated physician down to get to the heart of the matter.
Now, two days later, Rodney was in his lab, his computer routed to the section Carson had pin-pointed. A technical team, headed by Rodney and Radek, had been dispatched to the area, and the room located. Although most of Atlantis had been searched throughout the year, this room had been artfully concealed. A systems diagnostic had revealed unbelievable damage, probably due to the Wraith attack a year earlier, as well as ten thousand years of neglect. Repairs to the area could only restore the most basic system functions, but not to the technology responsible for Brenna.
They room had appeared exactly as Carson had described it, flickering lights and all. Rodney had located the control panel, and after fiddling with it for a while, had caused four identical columns to raise up out of the dais. It was these columns that contained Brenna's memory. Or so Rodney believed. The amount of energy that they drew was phenomenal, and Rodney wondered how it could escape everyone's attention that these items existed. Still, without a constant source of power, these modules would lose all that they stored, effectively killing off Brenna and her memories.
McKay wearily trudged down the hall to Elizabeth's office, summoning up the courage to tell Carson that he had failed. Other than shutting down all the systems – including life-support – and re-routing that power to Brenna's systems, she was going to die. Rodney knew that the woman was really only a memory, pieces of data, but he knew that Carson regarded her as a person; this news was going to hit the sensitive doctor hard.
Rodney entered the conference room, almost knocking over a pacing Dr. Beckett. Both John and Elizabeth were seated, their eyes on the agitated physician. Colonel Caldwell was also present, as well as Teyla and Ronon.
Everyone's attention turned to Rodney, and he sighed.
"Carson, I'm sorry. Radek and the others are still working on it, but I am afraid that even if we diverted most of our power to her systems, it still wouldn't be enough." Rodney paused, seeing the bleak look of loss in his friend's eyes.
Apparently, this Brenna had made quite an impression on the kind-hearted doctor.
Carson stopped pacing, his head low. He inhaled deeply, the reality of the situation overwhelming. Elizabeth eyed him with concern, then turned to the others.
"Suggestions?" she inquired. Rodney squirmed for a moment, then spoke up.
"We should talk with her. Carson said it was possible – if he's willing to try. We need to find out what she knows, before she…. " Rodney's voice trailed off, avoiding the accusing eyes of Beckett.
Elizabeth merely nodded, as did most everyone in the room. With a resigned sigh, Carson also bobbed his head.
"Okay," John said. "Elizabeth, I think all of us should be there. Including Ronon and Teyla. She may relate something about other worlds that we know nothing about, but maybe they do. Agreed?" He watched as Elizabeth mulled over his words, then stood.
"I agree. We'll meet you in the room in three hours. Rodney, be sure to have your people standing by…just in case, okay?" McKay nodded his head. His technical staff was already trying to make room to store some of Brenna's memory elsewhere, but the space needed was huge. He doubted they would even scratch the surface.
"Carson, please remain a moment," Elizabeth ordered as the others filed out of the room.
"Are you all right with this, Dr. Beckett? You do understand that this Brenna is only a computer program, not a real person?" Elizabeth asked softly, coming around her desk to stand before the physician. He only shook his head, his shoulders slumped.
"No, I'm not all right, Dr. Weir. And you should remember that at one time, Brenna was a living, breathing person. Just because she's been reduced to some kind of ….data stream or something doesn't make her any less real to me. She's going to die, and there's nothing I can do about it," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper. With a sad eyes, he turned and slowly walked out the door. Elizabeth's gaze followed him, her eyes troubled.
oOo
The room was eerie, with it's flickering lights and the four silent columns standing sentry on the circular dais. A gurney was positioned at the foot of the dais, along with the medical monitors that Dr. Amrubi insisted upon.
Carson was perched on the bed, his mind far away as Amrubi attached the leads. He wondered how he was going to tell Brenna that there was nothing they could do, there was no way to save her…and then start grilling her for information. The unfairness and cruelty of the situation upset Carson more than he let on to the others. Except maybe Elizabeth. She seemed to understand his distress.
Carson found himself watching Rodney's grim face as the physicist barked at Dr Zelenka. Apparently, the situation also had hit a sore-spot with the resident genius on Atlantis. For once, there was a problem that he just couldn't fix. Carson knew how he felt. But right now, he just couldn't summon up any sympathy for the short-tempered scientist.
"We're ready when you are, Dr. Beckett," McKay called over. Rodney had a computer precariously balanced on a small table he had set up. He approached Carson, his hands cradling the circlet. John and Elizabeth were standing quietly together, with a silent Teyla and Ronan nearby. Colonel Caldwell, as always, stood off to the side, keeping to himself.
Rodney gently placed the circlet around Carson's brow, then stepped back to the computer. Carson leaned back, trying to relax against the bed, and shut his eyes.
'Brenna,' he thought silently. 'Brenna, are you there?' The same white emptiness flooded over him, and then, she was there, her hand on his arm.
"Carson," she greeted, a smile on her face. He looked at her, trying to hide the truth in his eyes. Her own gray gaze widened slightly, though, and she gave a brief sigh.
"There's nothing you can do, is there?" she asked quietly, and Carson numbly shook his head.
"I'm sorry, lass. We did try, but …" Carson's accent thickened with emotion, and he felt himself tremble. It wasn't fair, condemning this woman who only wanted to help them to death.
"Carson. It's okay. Maybe I cannot fulfill my entire purpose, but perhaps I can still help you and your people," she consoled him. She stepped away from the silent doctor.
"Brenna, there are a few others who would like to meet you, to ask you questions. I am in the room, as you requested. What do I have to do now?" he asked. She wrinkled her brow in thought for a moment, then spoke quietly, firmly.
"You need to concentrate, Dr. Beckett. Just keep thinking about you and I standing together, in front of the room, with the rest of your people. That will strengthen our link. I will do the rest."
oOo
"What do you think is going on?" John mumbled to Rodney. Dr. Beckett had been prone on the gurney for about five minutes, and still, nothing had happened.
"How do I know?" Rodney snapped back. He eyed the computer screen, looking for any indication that this Brenna program was working. Suddenly, the power levels decreased, and the lights dimmed even further.
Rodney's eyes widened as a woman appeared before him. Her image was indistinct and fuzzy, but her identity was clear from the description Carson had related. She stared for a moment at Rodney, then her attention turned to something behind her. She held out her hand, and then Carson was next to her, his image even more jumbled.
Rodney looked from the obviously bewildered Carson image to the motionless form on the bed.
"Now, that's cool."
TBC