Chapter Three
"Daniel Jackson!" Jack snarled. "Stop reading that gibberish, you're driving me crazy!"
"Jack?"
"Oh God...it's happened," Jack said in horror "...hasn't it?"
"Considering we not currently in the same room, and I can hear you like you're next to me? Yeah, I'd say it's happened."
Daniel looked around the VIP room to double check that he was alone. They had all agreed to sleep on Base until they figured out exactly what was going on. General Hammond would be back in the morning and they could talk to him about it. At the moment they were trying to keep it to themselves. Although Dr. Frasier didn't really seem to buy that Sam had 'accidentally' shot Teal'c.
"This is creepy." Jack muttered.
"At least we seem to have a little bit of control over what the other hears."
"Well not enough control."
"I wonder if we tried if we could access each other's memories."
"Don't even think about it." Jack growled dangerously.
"It's too late for that..."
"Look, can't you just go to sleep so that I can?" Jack asked plaintively. "At the very least stop translating."
"I was just trying to block out the equations." Daniel replied defensively.
"The what?"
"These physics equations keep running through my mind, their stuck there like a bad song."
"Sorry about that." Sam's 'voice' entered the conversation. "When I can't sleep I try to rework the math behind faster than light travel."
"Of course you do." Jack muttered darkly. "Why can't you two just count sheep like normal people?"
"Is that what that was?" Daniel mused. "I had sheep in my mind, but felt it safer not to pry into why."
"Same here." Sam chuckled.
"You two seem to be taking this nightmare well." Jack hissed.
"It's an amazing opportunity, Jack, it completely changes everything we know about how the brain works."
"And physics." Sam added with excitement. "I mean, unless the human brain has the ability to send off some sort of radiation or energy it shouldn't be able to effect another. Since there is no evidence that it can...we may have stumbled upon some 'Unwritten Law' of physics or maybe just a loophole. Either way, it's amazing."
"This fiasco does confirm one thing that I've long suspected." Jack muttered.
"What's that?"
"That even if I ever found myself in your minds I'd still never understand either of you."
"Well I can't speak for Sam, at least not yet, but I don't considered myself a very complicated person, Jack."
"Then you've never really considered yourself." Jack retorted with a mental snarl. "Does anyone else have a headache?"
"Yes." Sam and Daniel answered in unison.
"Don't do that."
"Sorry." They chimed.
"For crying out loud!" Jack exclaimed. "Wait...where's Teal'c."
"He's still recovering from me shooting him, Sir." Sam answered meekly.
"I bet he's being shielded from all of this by his meditating." Daniel reasoned. "In such a deep relaxing state he basically thinks about nothing while his symbiot heals him. The symbiot is probably busy with it as well."
"Then perhaps we should all try that, and get some sleep." Jack suggested. "Teal'c taught me how, I can teach you two."
"You probably don't even have to." Daniel pointed out. "Just the fact that you know how means we do as well."
"Then have at it."
"Good idea." Sam agreed.
"No...wait..." Daniel paused. "Bad idea."
"Why?"
"I just had a frightening thought, I'm surprised you can't hear it."
"I'm trying not to." Sam and Jack replied simultaneously.
"Well, that's part of my point. If we fall into a meditative state we'll stop fighting to keep our thoughts to ourselves."
"And?" Jack asked still not seeing Daniel's point.
"We could lose our individuality." Sam explained.
"Exactly." Daniel agreed. "We might wake up as the same person."
Sam and Daniel winced in pain as they felt Jack tearing himself away from the current line of thought. It wasn't long before Daniel felt him storming down the hall. Jack invited himself into Daniel's room.
"Say that again?" Jack demanded vocally.
"Think about it, if we all have access to the same memories, same skills, same knowledge base...in effect we'll be one person."
"And just who will 'we' be?"
"Someone new." Daniel replied. "Someone dangerous."
"Dangerous?"
"Imagine you've got five glasses, each with a different flavour of juice. Pour them all into one container and then back into the glasses. They will all taste different than before, but now they'll all taste the same."
"Why would we be dangerous?"
"Because one of those glasses holds a Gou'ald, I doubt Teal'c can't shield himself from this forever, or even for much longer. And what happens when you add one shot of alcohol to a mix?"
"It spikes the whole thing."
"Right."
"We need to figure out what's causing this fast." Jack said as he scratched at his throat.
Daniel saw a flash of silver peeking out from under Jack's black shirt. He got up to check it out. Jack backed away, putting his hands up defensively.
"Hold still," Daniel grumbled "I just want to see your necklace, I'm not going to kiss you again."
"Again?" Sam's voice giggled.
"Keep out of this Carter!" Jack ordered.
"I don't think she can, Jack."
"Keep away from me." Jack insisted. "You're wearing one too, just look at that."
"I am?" Daniel asked and then reached up. "I am...Sam, do you have one?"
"I do, were did we get them?"
"They...they were a gift." Daniel struggled to remember. "They must be what's causing all of this, something about them makes us forget we're wearing them. Where did we get them? A forest planet..."
"Who cares?" Jack interrupted. "Let's just take them off while we're still thinking about it."
Daniel searched for a clasp, but couldn't find one. The chain was so thin he should have been able to simply break it. However when he tried the chain began to cut into his hand, it had no intention of breaking. He looked up and found Jack in a similar struggle.
"Guys," Sam voiced "I can't get it off."
"We know." Jack and Daniel answered together.