PART TWO

'What have you got Carson?' Elizabeth asked during the following morning's senior staff briefing.

'Laranne is basically human, pretty much the same as you and me,' Beckett reported. 'But there is some very unusual brain activity, I've never seen anything quite like it. She's also got a very active immune system and she's more or less fully recovered.'

'Do you think she's an Ancient?' John asked.

'I don't think so – she doesn't seem to have the ability to operate the technology.' Carson replied. 'It is possible she's descended from them, though.'

'That fits in with what we know of the Ancients,' Elizabeth agreed. 'They won't interfere directly with others but it is possible that one of them may have done something indirectly. Rodney, have you got anything on the ZPM yet?'

'It appears to be operational,' Rodney advised her. 'But I don't want to risk connecting it to anything until it's been fully tested – for all we know it could be designed to explode when it's activated. I'd like to talk to Laranne though, see if she's got anything else she can tell us.'

'I'm sure that can be arranged,' Elizabeth agreed. 'How long do you need before we can try it out?'

'Couple of days, to be on the safe side.'

'Very well, but keep me posted. Anything else?'

'I'd like to keep a security detail with Laranne at all times,' John chipped in, his previous misgivings regarding the new arrival hadn't changed.

'That sounds reasonable,' Elizabeth conceded. 'That's all then. Teyla, will you join me?'

As the meeting broke up, Elizabeth and Teyla walked together towards the infirmary.

'I'd like you to talk to Laranne, find out if there's anything else she can tell us,' Elizabeth began. 'You seem to understand her far better than the rest of us.'

'I would be glad to,' Teyla accepted the job. 'I know how I felt when I first arrived on Atlantis, and I had my people with me while Laranne is alone. I will do what I can.'

'I know you will, and thanks.'

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'What do you do when you are not working?' Laranne asked the question that had been puzzling her ever since they had returned to the mess hall for lunch following their brief tour of the city. 'You have shown me many places where you do your work, but I have seen nowhere that you can find peace and replenish your spirit.'

'Well, a lot of people have hobbies, such as painting or creating things,' Teyla replied. 'Then there are the recreational facilities for sporting activities and games.'

'I see,' Laranne hesitated, not liking to ask too many questions, but this was one that was very important to her and close to her own heart.

'But there is something more you would like to know?'

'There are no gardens here,' Laranne said. 'The only plant life I have seen is in one of the lab…lab…' she stumbled over the unfamiliar word.

'Laboratories,' Teyla finished for her, 'but they are often called labs for short. You are correct. Some of us like to go to the main land when time allows, but that does not happen too frequently.'

'Would it not be of benefit to the people here to have a garden they could go to without having to travel such a distance?'

'I suppose it would, but we have only been here for a short time and we have not yet had the opportunity to fully explore the city,' Teyla explained. 'If you are interested in plants, I could introduce you to Dr Brown – she is one of our botanists, someone who is interested in plants.'

'I would like that.'

'Very well, but first, Dr McKay would like to see you to talk to you about the ZPM you brought with you.'

'Do you mean the Key?' Laranne looked puzzled. She was becoming very confused with all the strange names of objects, places and people.

'Yes. It is the source of power that keeps Atlantis working and protects us from the wraith, without it we could not survive.'

'I see. Then I will be glad to answer any questions that I am able to.'

Half an hour later they arrived in the lab where Rodney was testing the ZPM. They waited quietly while he finished what he was doing. Laranne turned to Teyla. 'He is not a healer.'

'No,' Teyla smiled in response. 'He is a scientist. He knows how things work and why.'

'Laranne,' Rodney greeted her abruptly, immediately launching into a series of questions. 'Where did the ZPM come from?'

'It was left to the care of my people many generations ago by the forefathers. They foretold the arrival of those from another world.'

'Did you know what it was, what it was for?'

'No, we only knew that it was the Key of Life and would be of the highest importance to those who would come.'

'Has it ever been meddled with, touched by anyone else?'

'No,' Laranne said most definitely. 'We were not able to open it's resting place. We knew that only the ones to whom we were to give it would be able to do so and that it would reveal itself to them when they arrived.'

'I see. That must be why the energy signature only appeared for a brief time, the gene must have triggered it.' Rodney spoke half to himself, his mind clearly on the tests he still had to carry out. 'Did your people ever hear of the Ancients?'

'No.'

'And they were all people like yourself?'

'No.'

'What about…what do you mean no?' Rodney was taken aback by this unexpected response.

'I was of the Chosen,' Laranne explained. 'Only one was born in each generation and the legacy of the forefathers was passed down from one Chosen to the next. We always knew that we were unlike the rest of our people, that we could not go to the same place once it was time to move on. Our place was to guard the Key of Life and to ensure our successors were prepared for when the time came.'

'I see,' Rodney considered this.

'What happened when your people moved on?' Teyla asked curiously.

'They would depart through the great ring. The last of my people left three summers ago.'

'And what about the Chosen? How did they move on?'

'When they had breathed their last, their remains would be turned to ashes and scattered in the wind.'

'I see,' Rodney's attention was already starting to wander. 'Well, thanks for coming.' And with that he had returned to his work.

'I do not understand,' Laranne turned to Teyla. 'Have I caused offence? Have I said something I should not?'

'No, of course not,' Teyla reassured her as they made their way to Laranne's new quarters. 'Dr McKay can be a little,' she searched for the right word, 'distracted at times. You will find that some of the scientists can become very focussed on their work.'

'But Dr Beckett is not like that,' Laranne was trying to understand.

'That is because he is a healer. A healer has to be educated but also has to be good with people. If he were not, he would not be so skilled as a healer.'

'I think I understand.' She reflected on this for a moment as they reached the door to her quarters. 'It is a very complicated life that these people lead.'

'Yes it is, but the more time you spend with them, the more you understand why they behave as they do,' Teyla told her. 'Their world is more complicated than anything we know but they seem to be happy with their lives and are lost without their tools and their technology. At the same time, what they have brought to our lives is very useful and has helped many people. You must be tired,' Teyla finished up. 'You should get some rest. There will be someone on duty outside your room should you need anything. Good night.'

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'Is something wrong?' Carson looked up from his work to see Elizabeth frowning at the plant on the desk, her frown deepening as she saw several more plants around the room.

'Not you too!' She exclaimed, hurrying to explain further when she saw Carson was about to check her for signs of illness. 'There's been a sudden increase in the number of plants around the place. It seems that everywhere I turn a new plant appears. A couple have even turned up in the control room. What's going on?'

'I don't know,' Carson looked thoughtful. 'I just woke up this morning and thought the place would look better for a few plants. It does make a difference doesn't it?'

'Well, yes, but I am concerned that the same idea occurred to a number of people at the same time. Why now?'

'Who else has been acquiring plants?'

Elizabeth reeled off a list of names but was interrupted before she had finished.

'That's got to be too much of a coincidence,' Carson was frowning. 'What about Colonel Sheppard?'

'Not as far as I'm aware.'

'Dr McKay?'

'No.'

'Hmm, I wonder…' He became lost in thought for a moment.

'What is it?'

'Every one of the people you mentioned arrived on Atlantis with the Ancient gene, but if Colonel Sheppard hasn't been affected, surely it must be something else?'

'And Rodney?'

'He doesn't have the gene naturally,' Carson continued to explore the theme. 'I think I'd better take a look at those affected, see if there's anything that connects them other than the gene. I'd like to see Colonel Sheppard as well, if he's immune to it that would be worth exploring as well.'

'Just a moment,' Elizabeth was distracted for a moment as she listened to her headset before turning back to Beckett. 'It appears that Colonel Sheppard may have been affected after all, just a little differently from everyone else. Apparently he's just returned from an unscheduled visit to the mainland.'

'How does that connect him to what's going on here?'

'He's returned with a full load of plants – apparently he wants to create some kind of garden here.'

'I'd better take a look at him first,' Carson said as he followed Elizabeth towards the Jumper bay.

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