Dr. Ford and General Hammond were shocked. Dr. Ford rose from his seat and placed a hand on Dr. Jackson's back in an attempt to calm him down. Daniel shied away from the hand and tried to remove his shirt, managing to free one arm. General Hammond also stood and called for Dr. Fraiser who came running and sedated him. The sedative worked quickly, Dr. Fraiser put his arm back in his shirt, tucked him in, and called another nurse in to have him restrained. Dr. Ford and General Hammond left the room.
Four hours later SG1 was called to the conference room. Dr. Fraiser after consultation with Major Carter had discovered something.
"There is a device in Dr. Jackson's brain influencing his actions. Major Carter and I have reviewed Dr. Jackson's scans and readings and found a low lying electronic signal. The reason I didn't detect it earlier is because it's self aware. During the scans it managed to turn itself off, or lowered itself enough that during tests or other periods that it escaped detection." Dr. Fraiser said
"Are you seriously suggesting that Daniel has a Hal 9000 in his head? That Daniel isn't suicidal it was this device making him wanting to kill himself." Jack asked skeptically but with a touch of hope
"Yes that exactly what we're thinking and, I'm afraid not Colonel, his captives on top of implanting this device did brainwash him. Daniel's own feelings of guilt and shame are a part of him now and while the machine is influencing and magnifying his guilt it is a very real part of his mind. His captors were able to convince him to believe in their black and white worldview and even after we deactivate the machine it will take time for him to return to normal. Dr. Ford said
"Is this device the reason why DanielJackson has not told us anything of his captivity or the people who abducted him?" Teal'c asked
"We think so; the people who made this device would not want anyone to know about them or their capabilities. Anytime Daniel would mention his captivity or what happened, the device would turn his thoughts to his own guilt and worthlessness." Sam said
"Are you sure about this Doctor Fraiser, Major Carter? Hammond asked
"Very sure, I noticed something off on his brain scans when he came back. But I was distracted by his other injuries and his depression. I thought it was due to whatever his captives gave him and the environment he was kept in. After his suicide attempt I scanned his brain again and found the same odd patterns. After Dr. Jackson woke up from the sedative I did a brain scan, while the scan was going on, I brought up Cassie and how pleased she was to hear that Daniel enjoyed her letters. Daniel started to smile and relax, his brain started to produce endorphins. Then suddenly his brain seemed to throw a switch and he grew depressed and sad. He stopped speaking and he completely shut down. He didn't even object when I restrained him to the bed. This kind of abrupt switch with no discernible cause is rarely seen even with those with mental conditions." Dr. Fraiser said
"So what do you two recommend?" Hammond asked addressing the two medical doctors
"I would put him in one of the VIP rooms, the nicest you can spare under constant surveillance. He needs to recover, and being in a nice cheerful space will help immensely. Any punishment or negativity will only reinforce what his captors told him, and what the machine wants him think. It would also be good if SG1 spends as much time with him as possible. I would also like to give him books on philosophy, morality; those should help him regain his own values and feelings on morality. "Dr. Ford said
"Major Carter and I are going to work on ways to remove this device or at least turn it off. As far as Daniel's recovery I concur with Dr. Ford's plan entirely." Dr. Fraiser said
"So who gets to tell Daniel theirs an evil computer in his head making him all emo?" Jack asked
"No one, we don't know a lot about of this device, but it is programmed to protect itself, and it is self aware. If we tell Daniel the device will know we found it and it could destroy Daniel's brain or do who knows what." Sam said unhappy but confident in her conclusion
With everyone in agreement they hammered out a plan and it was decided to wait until tomorrow morning to move Dr. Jackson's to his new quarters. This would Daniel time more time to recover and allow audio and visual recording devices to be installed. The next morning Jack helped Daniel get dressed and helped him into a wheelchair. SGI and Dr. Fraiser then took him to the finest VIP they had. It had a huge flat screen TV, a king size bed, a dresser, a comfy armchair, a table with four chairs, a book case, and a bathroom. Hammond was waiting to greet them when they got to the room, Daniel tried to get out of the wheelchair but Teal'c grabbed him and stopped him
"Dr. Jackson, I understand that you did what you did because you thought those were my orders. I am going to go over the list you gave me and when I render a judgment I will tell you in person. Until I do so, I want you to stay here and recover." Hammond said
"Yes sir." Daniel said in such a low subdued voice that everyone had trouble hearing him.
Dr. Fraiser helped Daniel out of the chair and onto the bed, then she and Hammond both left. After the door closed Daniel immediately stood and moved to sit on the floor. Teal'c gently guided him back to the bed and helped him sit on it. Sam brought some pillows together and Teal'c propped Daniel up and Sam even went to tuck him in before Daniel gently moved her hands away.
"Stop it, why are you wasting your time on me?"
"We're friends, and no matter what friends might do the people that care about them will never stop helping them." Sam said taking his hand
"Alright kids enough mush. Time for the ultimate cure for anything that ails you: The Simpsons." Jack announced after a couple of minutes had passed and popped in a DVD.
A/N A light heated moment after a lot of bad news. Please leave comments critical or questions I will try to answer. I read every review and they all have helped me so much with my writing. Thank you.