The Program - Part Six
"Sir, we have in coming darts," Reed's voice came over the radio.
"Major Lorne is indisposed at the moment," Teyla responded. "We have detected an approaching cruiser as well,"
"The Major isn't in a position to issue orders?" Caughlin asked.
"I'm afraid not," Teyla told them.
"Then we'll remain by the gate, so we can dial Atlantis as soon as the Wraith close it up from their end."
"No!" Zelenka interrupted.
"Doctor, we need to secure a route home, with no puddlejumpers to dial-"
"There is DHD here and building is more shielded than open field yes?" Zelenka cut him off.
"We'll be able to dial the gate from there?" Reed asked.
"Yes!"
"On our way. Reed out."
"They need to hurry things along in there," Beckett said, glancing nervously at the unconscious men.
"If you find way to tell them, please do not hesitate. Otherwise is waiting game," Zelenka said as he returned to one of the terminals.
"Do you know where you're going Major?" Sheppard asked as they emerged from the lift into a corridor with three doors leading off it and a stairwell at each end.
"You're one to talk," Rodney muttered.
"Well, it's either this end, or that end," Lorne said, glancing up the corridor.
"It's not this one," Rodney said dismissively as he began walking down the corridor.
"How do you know?" Lorne asked as he and Sheppard followed McKay towards the other staircase.
"That's the helicopter pad, we brought a guy in via there yesterday. I was there, it didn't feel like the escape route home to me, more like the high roof of a building," he told them.
They followed Rodney to the stairs and began to walk up them, at the top of the stairs was an Emergency Exit door.
"That's it," Lorne said, gesturing towards the door. Sheppard and McKay looked at it, before starting forward. But in a blink of an eye it had disappeared, along with everything else.
"What happened?" Teyla asked, standing up and reaching a hand to touch the monitor besides Rodney.
"I do not know," Zelenka frowned at the blank white screen. Suddenly, a dangerous sounding ringing sound resounded throughout the lab.
"What's that?" Beckett asked, looking startled.
"I-" Zelenka looked intensely at the screen for a moment. "We have in coming darts, but…"
"But what?" Ronon demanded.
"It appears we have a cloak," Zelenka said with wide eyes.
"Well that's good," Caughlin commented.
"Very good," Beckett added.
"Yes, for the moment," Zelenka said.
"What do you mean?" Teyla asked.
"This," Zelenka waved a hand around the room, sweeping over Lorne, McKay and Sheppard, "Uses much power. If they scan concentrated in this area, it is possible they may detect some of the power usage, even through the cloak."
"So we're still against the clock?" Ronon questioned.
"I'm afraid so, yes."
"What the-?" Sheppard blinked against the stark whiteness that surrounded them. There was literally nothing for as far as the eye could see.
"Was that, erm, s'posed to happen?" Lorne asked as he looked around pointlessly; there was nothing to look at.
"You're the one who led us here Major. You should be answering that question. Not asking it!" Rodney snapped.
"Rodney," Sheppard said warningly before turning to Lorne. "Did Doctor Zelenka say this would happen?" he asked.
"Well," Lorne paused. "He didn't really say what would happened." Rodney rolled his eyes. "But it was implied that we'd escape," he added.
"So nothing about a big white room?" Sheppard asked, rhetorically.
"No, sir," Lorne answered anyway.
"This is not a room Colonel," Rodney said imperiously, spinning round with his arms outstretched. "Do you see a door? Or walls?" he asked.
"So what is it then?" Sheppard asked.
"It is nothing," an unfamiliar voice said. Sheppard looked round; he, Rodney and Lorne were still the only ones there.
"You'd think a disembodied voice might have something a little more helpful to say," Rodney muttered as the three of them took careful steps, gravitating closer together.
A flash of bright white light - which would have probably been far more impressive anywhere other than a stark white non-room - coalesced before them, gradually changing into the form of a man.
When he had finished 'glowing', he stood in front of them and surveyed them serenely.
After a few moments of silence, Rodney elbowed Sheppard in the ribs, who glared at him but stepped forward nonetheless.
"Er, hi," he said lamely. But it appeared to be the conversation starter the man was looking for.
"Greetings, I apologise if my explanation seemed limited, but it was accurate," he said with a tight smile in Rodney's direction. Rodney opened his mouth to speak but he was cut off before he could. "This is, in essence, nothing," he said with a smile. "I brought you here, because I believe with more time spent inside the 'virtual environment' as you call it, you could be the first of the second race to succeed," he said earnestly.
"Second race?" John asked with a frown.
"Succeed at what?" Rodney questioned, almost simultaneously.
The man threw a look at Lorne and frowned.
"You have the capacity for growth, as well as the genetic link. But you should not be here."
"Major Lorne came to help us out," Sheppard explained as he watched Lorne tense at the accusatory inflection in the man's voice. "Could you explain the 'second race' comment, please?" he said with a smile.
"Don't be ridiculous Colonel, it's obvious. He's an Ancient," Rodney said impatiently.
"Of course he is," Sheppard replied slowly, with a disarming smiling. "He's an Ancient, by the name of…..?"
"My apologies, I am named Duyell, Abelard Duyell."
"Doctor?" Teyla asked in concern as Zelenka muttered increasingly more stunned sounding things in his native tongue.
"This place, this 'virtual environment', it was built by the Ancient's in order to research ascension," he said with wide eyes.
"You said something about succeeding," Rodney prompted now that the pleasantries were out of the way. "Succeed at what?" Duyell smiled, all teeth and no kindness.
"This place was created in order to assist our kind in to 'ascend', as you phrase it," he explained.
"And you think we-?" Sheppard paused and gestured at Rodney and himself. "Are glowly-higher-plane-of-existence material?" he asked sceptically. Duyell smiled, somewhat condescendingly.
"Yes," he answered. "And even if you are not," he said, his tone indicating that that was in fact most probably the case, "The virtual environment can make you so."
"And how, pray tell, can it do that?" Rodney asked doubtfully.
"Oh dear," Zelenka muttered.
"What?" Beckett asked.
"It appears the creator was obsessed with finding the best path to ascension,"
"Best?" Teyla asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes, and by that I mean quickest; most efficient," he clarified. "This programme is amazingly complex, but from what I can tell he established very specific perameters from records of Ancients who had in fact ascended," Zelenka paused.
"And?" Beckett prompted.
"This machine is designed to assess which of these requirements the individuals fulfil and those which they do not, via simulation created by their minds that best facilitates it. Then it will effectively re-programme them, based on this information, so they will be able to ascend."
"Re-programme?" Ronon asked.
"That does not sound good," Teyla stated.
"No," Beckett agreed, with a concerned look at the three men trapped in the machine. "It doesn't."
Ooooo, way to state the obvious, silly Teyla and Carson... :) And things just seem to be going from bad to worse for Rodney and Sheppard dont they? ... Ah well:)
Thank you so much for the reviews. Ditzyleo, Hettie, Cyllwen, Delka, drufan, neptune60, Splitbeak, Jules47, E. Nagrom and highmaintenancegrrl! Thank you all! You are all beautiful, wonderful people! REVIEW again and make me smile!