-7-
Daniel stumbled into his room in a frenzied stupor. Never had he had such an arousing examination. Doctor Frasier did nothing out of line per se, but everything she did suggested her interest in him. Every touch of her hand had lingered a bit too long; she seemed to position herself a little too close; she prolonged every procedure and taunted him with suggestive words that had provocative double-meanings. Ordinarily he would take this as innocent, playful, flirtatious behavior, but he had known Janet far too long as a friend and colleague for this to be believable. Or was it? Didn't Janet admit to Sam that she'had a crush' on him? And Sam… what was up with her in the examination room? The two of them were fighting over me!
Daniel shook his head as if to clear his mind. None of this made any sense. Was the world around him going mad? Or was he?
Daniel was frustrated and needed to cool off. He stripped off his clothes and stepped into the shower, hoping to emerge from the shower a new man or at least a calmer one. He turned the CD player on and listened to his favorite music as he let the cold-water pound rhythmically against his back, seemingly to the beat of the music.
"Daniel?" a female voice called from just outside the bathroom.
Daniel froze. Naked in the shower was the last place he wished to hold a conversation with an uninvited female right now.
"Daniel? Is that you in the shower?" the voice inquired.
"Um...yeah. It's me. Can you wait a minute?" he answered, hurriedly rinsing the soap from his body.
"I don't suppose you need any help in there…" his visitor called.
"Uh…no." Daniel moved faster, nearly slipping in the shower on the bar of soap he had dropped.
Daniel heard giggling. Not a good sign.
He wished he had brought his clothes into the room; somehow, a single bath towel didn't seem modest enough.
His discomfort grew as he stepped from the bathroom and spotted Sam reclining comfortably on his bed.
"My-my what a sight you make!" she commented smiling.
"Uh… what are you doing here?" Daniel asked, nervously holding the towel tightly against his body.
"Don't be so nervous Daniel, I'm a doctor… You don't have anything I haven't seen before," she teased.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you aren't that kind of doctor," he said flatly.
"Neither are you, so we're even," she answered back, flirtatiously. "I came here because you said you had something you wanted to show me…" she said, slipping off the bed and moving closer to him.
"Um, I don't think now is the time…" Daniel objected.
Sam ignored his objections and threw her arms around him. With his hands holding tightly onto the bath towel, Daniel dared not to attempt to push her away.
"Daniel, there is something about you that is completely irresistible." Sam pressed her cheek against his.
Daniel stepped back. "I'm sorry, Sam, I've got to…"
Sam pressed her lips against his and quickly released him. "Not a good time?" she asked innocently. "Maybe tomorrow then," she said sweetly, and calmly walked out the door.
Daniel locked the door behind her, headed back to the shower, and turned it on full blast.
-8-
Emerging from the shower a second time, Daniel slowly opened the door to his room, being careful to peek through the crack to confirm the room was void of any females. With a sigh of relief, he confidently entered the room and headed to the closet for a change of clothes. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a glowing light emanating from something on his desk.
Turning his head to confirm what he thought he saw, he focused his attention to the objects on his desk. The circular tablet that he brought back from his first expedition at Neona was dark at first glance, but began to glow brightly and quickly fade.
"Daniel," a familiar feminine voice called tenderly.
The room filled with the strong scent of lilac.
"Tatarina?" Daniel asked, searching the room. The name slipped from his lips without conscious thought.
"I am so glad to see you, Daniel, my besheret."
Daniel turned around and found Tatarina standing beside the bookcase. She looked as lovely as she did the night before.
Daniel was confused. Tatarina was a dream, wasn't she?
Without a word, she drew closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her lips against his into a deeply passionate kiss. Daniel's heart pounded and all the frustrated passion he had been fighting off seemed to return with overwhelming power. He must have lost his mind because any sense of control was completely gone and he was powerless to hold himself back any longer. He carefully lifted her off her feet and placed her gently on the bed, where their kisses became more insistent.
"Daniel," she said, as he caressed her face.
He pulled her closer and held her tightly against him, unable to bear the thought of releasing her for even a moment.
"Daniel, you have passed the first test. I am so pleased," she whispered gently.
"Test? What test?" he murmured, his eyes closed breathing in the intoxicating scent of her perfume.
"The test of fidelity, my love," she answered, lightly kissing the corner of his lips. "I have seen you refuse the attentions of other women. Your faithfulness will be rewarded."
"How could I want anyone but you?" The words escaped his lips seemingly without his control. What mesmerizing spell this woman has cast upon him? he wondered.
"Daniel, my love, you have returned with the urn containing my Neshama. Now you must open it and release me," she begged; desperation was evident in her voice.
"Neshama… soul," Daniel mumbled. "You want me to free your soul?" he asked in a daze.
"Yes, you are my chosen one, my besheret. You must release me so that we can be together forever," she said quietly, sprinkling kisses, along the edge of his jaw, between her words.
"Mmmm," Daniel answered pressing his lips against hers once again.
The glow of the circular stone on Daniel's desk began to fade.
-9-
Daniel awoke to the sounds of someone pounding on his door.
"Daniel! Do you hear me? Daniel, I said unlock this door!" shouted Jack.
Daniel opened his eyes. He was wide-awake. This was very strange; he didn't feel like he had been asleep.
"Daniel, if you don't open this door right now…" Jack continued.
"Hold on a second, I'm coming," he called across the room. Daniel was fully dressed, had he gone to bed this way? He tried to remember the last thing he did, but couldn't remember anything after his second shower.
"What's the fuss about Jack?" Daniel asked looking at the worried expression on Jack's face.
"Daniel, I've been pounding on your door for the last 15 minutes. What are you doing in here?" Jack asked, looking around the room.
"I guess I fell asleep," Daniel answered, scratching his head. He looked around the room for some clue as to what happened. This is strange, he thought.
"When you didn't show up for the debriefing I figured you lost track of time mulling over those souvenirs from Neona," Jack commented, folding his arms across his chest.
"Artifacts. And no, I haven't even had time to unpack them," Daniel answered, reaching for his bag. "Want to see?"
"Uh- no. I'll wait for the final report," Jack answered. "Daniel, are you okay?" he asked, with a worried expression on his face.
"Sure, Jack," he responded, carefully placing the urn on his desk. "Why do you ask?"
"Well, it's just not like you to miss a debriefing and you're acting kind of strange," Jack admitted, staring at the urn. "What is that?" he asked.
"This?" Daniel asked pointing to the urn. "It's an urn. It probably belonged to a Queen, Princess or some notable lady of Neona. The shape of the urn is meant to resemble one of two things: the identity of the one contained within; or, in some cases the god or goddess who protects the contents of the urn until the day of their resurrection."
"There are ashes of a cremated woman in there?" Jack asked, looking disgusted.
"Oh no, not ashes," Daniel replied. "The Neonans preserve an individual's spirit and soul in these urns until the time that the one's specially chosen 'besheret' …or 'soul mate'… arrives and releases them. They believe that once one's spirit and soul have been preserved in an urn, the physical body vanishes. They look forward to a new and perfect physical body that is given when the spirit and soul have been reunited with their besheret. On the day the besheret releases their intended's soul and spirit from the urn, it is believed, the couple become fused together by a spiritual bond and are considered a unity of one. They exchange vows declaring their eternal love, receive their new perfect eternal physical bodies, and are granted the power and wisdom of the gods."
"You haven't opened that have you?" Jack asked suspiciously.
"This? Oh no, I haven't even had a chance to examine it. It looks like the cover stone on this urn has been removed already," Daniel remarked.
"Oh, so the Genie has been let of out the bottle. There go our three wishes!" Jack joked.
"No- no. Just because the top cover stone has been removed doesn't mean this urn is empty; there is still a sealed cover inside this one. It's contents may still be intact, see?" Daniel held the urn up for Jack to observe for himself.
"That's okay, I don't want anything to do with dead Genies," Jack remarked, taking a step back.
"There's nothing to be afraid of," Daniel said.
"Whose afraid? I'm just being 'cautious'. Don't forget, I'm the one who got his head stuffed with alien knowledge because I got too close to that…'head grabber' …thing," Jack grumbled. "Why don't you put that thing down now, Daniel," Jack suggested.
"Yes, well, we can't all be the adventurous type," Daniel shot back, carefully placing the urn back down on his desk.
"Hey! I'm just as adventurous as the next guy. How do you think I ever made it to 'General'?" Jack answered.
Daniel chose to remain silent. There are some questions better off not answered.
-10-
"Okay gang, are we all ready to begin this debriefing?" Jack asked looking from face to face of those seated at the conference table.
Somewhere in the middle of Major William's report on Neonan's political structure and defense weapons, Daniel's mind began to wander. Usually he found these debriefings fascinating. In fact, he rather enjoyed hearing details of alliances forming and trade negotiations, but today he felt distracted. Daniel's mind continued to drift back to his quarters… back to the urn sitting on his desk. He couldn't help but ponder on the whereabouts of the urn's missing cover stone. There were so many artifacts to sort through in the cave, could the missing cover stone still be there? What happened to it? Had the besheret come to release its loved one's spirit and soul? Why remove only the outer cap of the urn and not the inner seal?
"Sounds like things are going according to plan, Major Williams." The sound of Jack's stern voice brought Daniel back to the discussion at hand.
"Daniel, what great mysteries have you uncovered for us in the Neonan caverns?" Jack asked, staring at Daniel expectantly.
"Uh, well, sir, as you know, I've been working on deciphering the writings of the artifacts in the caves of Neona," Daniel began.
"Yes, Daniel. And what have you come up with?" Jack replied, attempting to hurry Daniel along on his report.
"Well. Without getting into a detailed explanation on the language history of ancient writings, suffice it to say that their tablets describe a detailed history of a group of people who mastered the ability to transcend their original human existence and achieve a higher form of life."
"You mean they have learned the secret to ascension? As in the 'Ascension of the Ancients'?" Jack queried.
"Well, yes, in a manner of speaking. From what I have deciphered, their records precisely document what appear to be the very beginnings of the people we refer to as The Ancients, specifically The Ancients from planet Earth. In fact, the records describe what I believe to be the preparation and execution of the first globe-wide ascension of our planet's inhabitants. The Neonan's historical chronicles began with life on Earth continuing on up until the time of the great deluge during the time of Noah. After a massive exodus which takes place just before the flood, their documented history details their escape and settlement on their new home planet, Neona. General, these people not only have thorough directions of preparation for Ascension, but detailed sketches of the construction of a Stargate. I believe we have discovered the origins of Ascension and the Stargate," Daniel explained excitedly.
"This is ludicrous, General," Major Williams interjected. "I know my Bible history and nowhere do the scriptures allow for the theory of anyone outside Noah and his family surviving the world-wide flood. Why flood the Earth if all civilization escapes? No one but Noah and his family survive. Period. It's a given."
"I'm suggesting that Noah and his family may have been the only ones to actually survive the flood and REMAIN on Earth, but many others discovered a way of escape to Neona. General, I know about ascension, it's a given," Daniel said, throwing Major Williams a dirty look. "I believe it is not only possible, but likely that many people managed to ascend; and those who were not able to, escaped their demise by traveling through the Stargate to Neona."
"Interesting theory, Daniel," Jack commented.
"Don't tell me you are actually considering this nonsense!" Major Williams complained.
"Daniel, I assume you have evidence to back up what you say?" Jack said calmly.
"Yes, sir, I do. In fact, that urn I showed you may bear further evidence of an ascension process," Daniel replied. As the words tumbled out of his mouth, he regretted saying them. What was he thinking? How could he make such an assertion before finishing his work? He wasn't anywhere near completion yet and it was never wise to jump to conclusions so early in the game. Thinking back, he wondered how he could be so sure of it all. All he knew was that he was sure he was right.
"I thought those urns were merely for a 'wedding' process. Where does ascension come into this?" Jack asked.
"The spiritual joining of two people is just part and parcel of the package. In the end, when one receives their new eternal body and is granted the power and wisdom of the gods, it is implied that they will also have to power to ascend, among other things. Jack, think about it… the ability to receive the power and wisdom of the gods… before ascension… if this is true, it may be the very thing we've been looking for to battle against enemies such as the Goa'ulds and the Replicators. Wisdom is power," Daniel explained, the excitement building within him.
"General…" Major Williams objected. "Doesn't anyone else around this table see the contradiction here? If Almighty God, the one and only, sends a world-wide flood to Earth in order to destroy man and then man escapes the flood that God sends… why bother to build the ark and flood the Earth? Was it to chase man through the Stargate? or push them to ascension? No, of course not! Mankind was evil, people! The fact is, God hates evil, judges and punishes evil. Mankind was doing evil; judgment and destruction came with the flood wiping out all the rest of mankind. He did not allow anyone to escape the flood except those who trusted in Him by boarding the ark."
"Major Williams, I'm not arguing about God's intent," Daniel answered, trying to stay calm. "I'm merely stating that the historical records on Neona suggest that much of mankind escaped the flood by traveling to Neona through the Stargate. Whether God allowed that because of His mercy, or took it as an opportunity to punish and judge the survivors on Neona, I can't say. The Stargate isn't mentioned in the Bible, but it does exist. Wouldn't it be beneficial to learn more about the origins of the Stargate and the people who built it? Surely there must be something we can learn from a people who have access to this kind of knowledge?"
"That's certainly reason enough to continue your work at the Neona caves," Jack stated. "Get back to me when you have something more," he instructed. "It looks like that wraps it up for now," he said ending the meeting.
"Hrumpf!" Major Williams grumbled, rising from his seat.
Daniel glanced around the room, watching everyone slowly exit the room, until he was alone with Jack.
"Thanks, Jack," Daniel said, patting his commanding officer on the arm.
"Sure thing. Just don't let the Genie out of the bottle," he warned.
-11-
Back in his quarters, Daniel sat at his desk sipping a cup of coffee, his eyes locked on the urn set before him. He needed to learn more about this urn. What did he really know about this smooth, brightly painted urn? It was a remarkable piece of art, if nothing else, Daniel observed.
The clay jar before him was in the form of what appeared to be a beautiful young woman dressed in a long flowing gown, reminiscent of an angel. Her lengthy red hair framed her delicate face. If the soul within this jar looked anything like the image it portrayed, her flawless feminine beauty could incite men to battle over possessing her, Daniel surmised. What was it about this jar that affects me? he wondered. He sensed that he already knew this woman. How could that be?
The large painted forest green eyes on the urn stared back at him. It was uncanny how they seemed alive and aware of his presence. "Tell me what secrets you've got hidden behind those tempting green eyes," he said to the jar.
"My-my, Dr. Jackson, you little devil. What do you want to know? I'll have no secrets from you. And my eyes… are blue… not green," Sam cooed into Daniel's ear.
"Oh!" Daniel shouted. Startled by her unexpected appearance, he jumped up out of his seat and nervously stepped away. "S-Sam, h-how long have you been standing there?" he asked, gripping the edge of the desk to steady himself.
"Only a few moments, Daniel. Why? What's wrong?" she asked, moving closer to him. She reached out and gently stroked his face.
"Um, nothing. Nothing's wrong, Sam." Daniel took a deep breath and stepped away.
Looking for a distraction, he picked up the engraved circular stone he had obtained from his first trip to the Neonan caves and began studying it. "What can I do for you?" he asked nonchalantly, keeping his eyes locked on the stone.
"I missed you," she answered shyly.
"You… uh.. missed me," Daniel repeated. He shifted his eyes back and forth, refusing to look directly at her. "Sam...we see each other every day."
"Yes Daniel. We often go out on missions together but these past few days you've been so busy on Neona that… Well, frankly Daniel, I miss your company. We work well together, don't we?" she asked.
Daniel HAD to address her face to face. "Well, Sam, I… uh… yes, we do work well together, but sometimes… uh…I mean… we sometimes have to work separately. We don't have control over that." Daniel took a deep breath.
"But, Daniel, I think it would be beneficial for everyone if we were to collaborate more. Don't you think?" Sam didn't bother to wait for an answer. "I think I'll have a talk with the General about it. I'm sure he won't object if you don't," Sam said, slipping her arms around Daniel's neck to draw him into a kiss.
"Uh- wait…!" Daniel ordered, politely refusing her advances by handing her the stone. "Why don't you give me a hand with these artifacts," Daniel suggested. Maybe if I keep her attention on something besides me, she'll cool down, Daniel reasoned.
"I thought you'd agree," she answered gleefully, but not before giving Daniel a hug and a kiss on the cheek.
Daniel's face turned bright red. "Okay then…" he began.
Directing Sam's attention to the artifacts seemed to work, at least in the beginning. Daniel displayed the various artifacts before her, explaining what he had learned so far. She listened quietly, hanging on every word he said.
"Daniel, this urn… Do you have any idea who she is?" Sam asked, bending down to get a closer look.
"That's just it, Sam, I'm not sure…" Daniel answered uneasily. "I have nothing concrete…"
"But you have suspicions," Sam responded.
"I've been having dreams. Actually, I thought they were dreams, but I can't be sure."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"Well, I'm never tired and I don't sleep… at least I don't remember going to sleep or waking up. It's more like I 'blackout' and have vague memories of what happened while I was out," Daniel explained.
"Have you told Janet about these black-outs?"
"No. Besides, she's run every test imaginable on me and has given me a clean bill of health. I really don't think there's anything else she could do…" Daniel stopped. He knew he was going to have to see Janet again.
"Daniel, if there is something else going on with you, you've got to get to the bottom of it. Tell me about your black-outs. Maybe I can help," Sam said, gently rubbing Daniel's back to help him relax.
Daniel sighed. "Sam, I dream of a beautiful, angelic woman with dazzling green eyes, and long red hair. She wears a flowing, sparkling white gown and bears the scent of lilacs. From the moment she arrives, I am captivated by her beauty and want nothing more than to... be with her. Her name is Tatarina and she calls me her besheret, rather her soul-mate, and asks me to release her so we may be together forever." Daniel blushed at the intimate details he was sharing with Sam.
"Release her? you mean, she's in this urn?" Sam asked, already knowing the answer.
Daniel nodded slowly. "The Neonan tablets speak of a process of Ascension. It describes the sealing of one's spirit and soul into an urn until the time when the soul-mate comes and releases them. Once released, the couple gains the wisdom and power of the gods, and is joined together eternally."
"Are you going to open the urn?" Sam asked, staring at it.
"I can't," Daniel replied, picking up the urn. "This belongs to the Neonans. I don't have the right to open it," he said sadly.
-12-
After more than an hour of tests in Dr. Frasier's office, Daniel was ready to go. He had been poked and prodded, more than he thought humanly possible. Surely, Dr. Frasier was through examining him by now.
"Can I get dressed now?" Daniel pleaded lying back on the infirmary's examination table sans everything but his boxer shorts.
"No, Daniel, I'm not through yet," Janet answered evenly, as she picked up his right foot and began examining his toes.
"Hey! That tickles!" Daniel complained, yanking his foot out of the doctor's grasp.
"Daniel…" she answered with authority. "Let me finish," she commanded, calmly grabbing his foot and carefully placing it back down in front of her. "I'll try not to tickle," she added, smiling.
"How can examining my toes possibly tell you anything about my black-outs?" Daniel demanded.
"Daniel, there are medical conditions that effect... Oh, never mind," she said, returning her attention to his toes.
Daniel closed his eyes, gritting his teeth. He could barely stand her ticklish touch.
"Hello?" Jack's voice rang out.
"Hi General O'Neill, in here," Janet called.
"Nice boxers, Daniel," Jack said, upon entering the room.
"Thanks, Jack." Just what Daniel needed, an audience for his torture session. "You want a turn?" he offered.
"No, thanks. I've had more than my share," Jack answered.
"What can I do for you, General?" Janet asked, removing the latex gloves from her hands.
"Carter mentioned that Daniel's been suffering from black-outs. Have you found anything?"
"I'm just finishing up my exam right now, let me get the lab results," she said exiting the area.
"Can I put my clothes back on NOW?" shouted Daniel.
No answer. Dr. Frasier had left the room already.
"Daniel, I'm ordering you restricted to base until the black-outs cease," Jack ordered.
"But Jack… there are still so many more artifacts in the caves to examine!" Daniel retorted.
"Are you refusing to obey an order Dr. Jackson?" Jack asked, folding his arms across his chest.
"No, sir."
"General," Janet began, upon returning. "I've got the results."
Daniel sat up.
"All the results confirm that Daniel is in the best of health. The results are consistent with the past two exams I have conducted. In fact, they are identical," Janet informed.
"So…?" Daniel asked, wondering why this is a concern.
"It is not normal for every test to show identical results. Day to day, moment to moment our blood pressure, sugar levels, body chemistry changes. Sometimes more so than others, but the fact is, this should be reflected in tests that are conducted at different times of the day, but in Daniel's case… this isn't true. His vitals are not only good, their optimal. What's more, the results don't reflect even the slightest change."
"That's good, isn't it?" Jack asked.
"Look at it this way, it's as if he were a car operating on a full tank of gas… no matter how far he drives without a refill, his gage continually reflects a full tank of gas. Daniel, when was the last time you ate anything?" Janet asked.
"Uh… I don't remember. I haven't been hungry. I drank a cup of coffee before though," Daniel answered. "But, it isn't unusual for me to skip meals or go without sleep when I'm working on a project."
"You haven't had any sleep either," Janet reminded him. "You said so before."
"You haven't eaten or slept since when?" Jack asked in wonder.
Daniel shrugged, "I remember trying to sleep the night we came back from the first expedition at Neona. Remember? We had been gone for a straight 48 hour tour."
"Yes, I had to order you to get some rest. You were so insistent about getting to work on the artifacts you brought back," Janet explained. "Didn't you go to sleep then?"
"I remember trying to fall asleep… I just couldn't… but nine hours later I 'came to' with you banging at my door," Daniel remembered.
"Yes, I remember that… you were all disoriented when you opened the door. You couldn't find your glasses and then when you did…" Jack turned to Janet. "Didn't you examine him then?"
"Yes, I did. I didn't find anything wrong. It did look suspicious for his eyesight to be 20/20, but I'm trained to look for abnormalities that something is wrong, not question why a patient is complaining of good health," Janet explained.
"So… where does this bring us?" Jack asked.
"As I was saying, Daniel is in perfect health. Too perfect. I ran additional tests and found that there is one abnormality that I have never seen before. His pheromone level was off-the-chart," Janet answered.
"Pheromones?" Jack looked at Daniel and then to Janet.
"Pheromones are naturally occurring substances the body excretes to trigger a sexual response from the opposite sex, you might say it is an invitation to mate," Janet answered.
"Daniel?" Jack's eyes widened. "How?"
"We don't know, sir," Janet answered, blushing.
"Is it true? Do you… er… feel anything?" Jack asked Janet.
Daniel's gaze fell to the floor, where he took a sudden interest in its construction.
"Uh, sir, I-I believe the results are accurate," Janet answered, turning away.
"I see." Jack glanced at his two colleagues. "Any idea on the cause of his black-outs?" he asked.
"No sir, perhaps if we were to keep him under supervision 24 hours a day, we might observe what happens when Daniel black's-out," Janet suggested.
"Oh-no… I'm not staying here around the clock indefinitely!" Daniel argued.
"Perhaps we can place surveillance cameras in his quarters," Jack suggested.
"As long as he remains restricted to his quarters and the cameras are manned," Janet answered.
"Restricted? Watched?" Daniel said in disbelief.
"You got a problem with that Dr. Jackson?" Jack asked firmly.
"Uh, no sir. I suppose not," Daniel answered quietly. "Can I get dressed now?"
-13-
Daniel paced the floor in his room. Back and forth. Forth and back. Normally he wouldn't think twice about spending hours focused on studying artifacts holed away in his quarters. He usually looked forward to some uninterrupted time for research. But now, now that he was restricted to his quarters, he felt locked in, caged like a wild animal.
He looked at his watch. What time was it? How long had it been? Only 15 minutes!
Daniel sighed.
They had let him go to the commissary for a quick meal, but Daniel couldn't eat a bite. He just wasn't hungry. The best he could do was grab a cup of coffee. He nursed it, relishing every sip knowing that when he was done, he would be condemned to isolation for who knows how long. The room was abuzz around him, but he ignored the others, concentrating on the steam rising above his cup. He was sure they would be done installing the cameras in his room by the time he finished his coffee. He probably should have taken the time to chat with some of the others knowing he was condemned to spend eternity alone, but he just didn't feel up to it. What happened to that wonderful feeling of exuberance? he wondered. He was beginning to feel tired.
"Daniel?" a voice drew him out of his thoughts, bringing him back to reality.
"Sam? Is that you?" he asked, waiting for the guard outside his door to permit Sam to enter.
"Hi Daniel. How are you doing?" Sam asked with concern, as she entered. "Jack filled me in on all the details."
"I'm okay. At least this gives me some time to study these artifacts," he said trying to sound cheerful.
"Well, let's get started," she said, taking a seat.
"Is that why you're here?" Daniel asked.
"Look, I said I'd help. Would you rather do something else?" she asked, winking at him.
"Uh-no… working on the artifacts is good," he answered quickly.
"How about we get back to this urn?" Sam suggested.
"We can't open it, you know," he warned.
Sam shrugged. "That isn't the only way to find out what's inside, you know," Sam reminded him.
"I don't know…" Daniel answered doubtfully. He knew she was dying to x-ray, run chemical tests, and analyze every atom of this urn until there was nothing else to know about it.
"I can take it to the lab and…" Sam began, assuming Daniel would agree with her suggestion.
"I don't know what effect x-rays or other chemicals would have on the contents of the urn," he said worriedly. "If there is a soul inside…"
"Daniel, did the Neonans agree to let you study their artifacts or not?" Sam demanded.
"Well…. yes, but…" Daniel stammered.
"Okay then," she said reaching over to the circular stone and placing it carefully on top of the urn.
"What are you doing?" Daniel asked.
"Isn't this the lid for the urn?" she replied.
Daniel's eyes narrowed, as he considered the possibility. Looking closer, he realized that the circular stone did indeed fit the top of the urn.
"How did you know?" he asked.
"What do you mean, aren't these pieces part of the urn?" she asked, picking up the small palm-sized jade stone.
"I didn't… I mean… They weren't attached to the urn when I brought them here," Daniel explained.
"Oh."
"But it does look like this piece is the cover stone for this urn…" Daniel answered. "I would really need to get a closer look at another urn to compare its cover stone with this one," he said thoughtfully.
"You can't if you're stuck here," Sam replied, studying the green stone she held in her hand. "This is a beautiful stone, do you recognize its markings?"
"Let me see, I haven't looked at that one yet," he said, taking the stone from her.
Sam gently removed the cover stone from the urn and turned it over. "Look at the pocket carved into the back of this stone," she said.
Daniel looked up from the stone to see to what she was referring. It was the same size and shape of the stone he was holding in his hand.
"The markings on this stone symbolize life, marriage, and death. This symbol represents two lovers together; the symbol beneath it represents the Hebrew word 'besheret' meaning 'soul-mate'. It could very well be related to an urn," he explained. He gently laid the stone into the pocket of the urn's cover stone.
Immediately the green stone began to vibrate and the cover stone began to glow.
Daniel and Sam watched in fascination.
"Daniel, if you're not going to open that thing then I'm going to take it back to my lab and run some tests on that urn," Sam informed.
"No! Don't touch the urn," Daniel warned. "We can't do that. It's like desecrating a grave," Daniel explained, carefully replacing the glowing cover stone on top of the urn.
"Something's going on with that urn. The smart thing to do would be to examine it under controlled conditions and determine if it is safe to open," Sam suggested.
"You can't take the urn."
"What? Why not?" Sam asked.
"You can't experiment on it like it's a piece of Naquadah or something," Daniel argued.
"How about if I take the cover stone?" Sam suggested.
"No. We don't know the relationship between the two," Daniel answered adamantly.
"But Daniel, the cover stone has already been removed…" Sam said, reaching over to take the cover stone from the urn.
"Ow!" Sam shouted, retracting her hands quickly. "That stone is hot!" Sam held out her hands. The tips of her fingers were red and beginning to blister.
Daniel stared at her hands, "But it wasn't hot when I picked it up…" he said. He reached out and tentatively touched the stone. It wasn't warm at all, in fact, he thought it was cool to the touch. He laid his hand on the top of the stone and looked back at Sam.
"Sam?"
Sam reached toward the stone, as she drew near she could feel the heat emanating from the stone. "I feel the heat," she said, "Don't you feel it?"
"No. It's not the least bit hot," he said, holding his hand flat on the top of the cover stone.
