A/N: The Antikythera device is real, as is the basic idea of what it does. Beyond that, I got creative. Also, this chapter is another short one, but I'll be posting again tomorrow night.



Chapter 6

"Antikythera!"

Sam mumbled something under her breath about hyperactive archeologists, and slowly set down the soldering iron. Daniel's expression was both apologetic and excited, a combination that only he could manage to pull off successfully.

"Sorry, Sam."

"Uh huh," she said, switching off a nearby piece of equipment with a tolerant half smile. "Now. Antique… what?"

"Not antique," he corrected patiently. "Antikythera."

"Okay," she answered, wondering if he actually expected her to know what he was talking about. "Who's Antikythera?"

"Not who. What."

She sighed. "Okay, then. What is Antikythera?"

"It's a…" he struggled for the right words. "A calendar. Sort of."

"Sort of?" Sam was feeling more bewildered by the moment. What could possibly be so exciting about a calendar?

"You don't understand. It's more than just a calendar." Daniel's enthusiasm bubbled over again. "I remembered reading something about a device that looked a little like what we found on Dakara. Took me a day and a half to find the reference, but I finally did!"

Sam raised her hands in self defense. "Slow down, will you?"

"I'll show you." He pointed at her computer. "May I?"

She turned back to her soldering iron. "Help yourself."

"This'll only take a sec."

Sighing, she placed the tool back on its stand and set her project to one side. It didn't look like she'd be working on it again for a while.

"There!" he said triumphantly.

Daniel had pulled up a web page that showed several images of what appeared to be a rather complex gear-driven mechanism. "I see, but I still don't understand," she said.

"These are line drawings of a device divers found off the coast of an island called Antikythera in 1901."

"That explains the name." Jackism! Her mind screamed almost as soon as the words were out. She slammed a lid on the thought and refocused her attention. Damn that man, anyway.

Daniel barely spared her a glance before rushing on with his explanation. "Anyway, the theory is that the ancient Greeks used the Antikythera device to predict the movements of the moon and the sun against a static background of stars."

"You're joking, right? This is way beyond any technology they would have had at the time."

"I know! I know! That's what made it all so exciting! It threw everything we thought we knew about ancient Greek engineering out the window!"

Sam moved closer to get a better look. There were pictures of the device as it had looked when it was found, covered in calcium deposits and badly fragmented. She glanced briefly at them, and then turned her attention to the line drawings that showed the internal design of the mechanism. She let out a low whistle.

"How many gears are there?"

"Thirty-two."

"And you're sure about the age?"

He nodded.

Fascinated, she spent a few more minutes examining the images before straightening and looking over at Daniel. "I'm guessing you think this is what that device on Dakara is for?"

"Yes!" Daniel ran a hand through his already disheveled hair. He glanced over at the computer screen again. "I mean, it makes sense, except…"

"Except?"

"I couldn't see the inside, so I can't be absolutely sure. I've translated the figures on the outer wall, and they pretty much match what we're seeing here, except that the ones on Dakara aren't in Greek."

"What language are they in?"

"Ancient. Which isn't so surprising, considering."

"So it's a sort of high tech calendar?"

"Well, I'm not sure of all the details yet, but basically, yes. At least – I think it does the same thing the original Antikythera device did."

"I'm sorry, Daniel, but this just doesn't make any sense. Why would they build a calendar into the side of a cliff?"

"What if there's more behind what we saw?"

"Inside, you mean?"

"Yeah."

"Did you see anything that made you think there might be?"

"I'm working on that, but there are still some symbols that I haven't been able to translate. It makes sense, though, doesn't it?"

She nodded. "Seems to."

"So now we wait for SG-7 to come back. Then we beg for a chance to go play."

"Daniel," Sam grinned. "I like the way you think."