The Program - Part Seven (of seven)
"The programme I designed is very complex Doctor McKay. I'm afraid even an individual of your intelligence would find it difficult to fully understand," he said with a toothy smile.
"How 'bout you just give us the simple version then?" John asked, allowing a hint of anger to creep into his voice. Duyell smiled again, ascended enamel glinting at them cruelly.
"I think not," he said firmly. "You're curiosity is admirable amongst those of your own species, but it's not a trait we value."
"Sorry about that, but it's not exactly something we can change," John said.
"That's where you're wrong," Duyell said with a smile.
"What are you-?" John began but stopped as he was struck by a pain so intense it had him falling to his knees. It felt as if his mind was being split in two, and he felt a deep wrenching ache in his heart. Distantly he could hear Rodney screaming nearby and vaguely wondered why he couldn't hear Lorne.
Throughout it all, Duyell smiled down serenely on them. Only now, through the haze of pain, could John see the hint of insanity in his eyes.
"Get them out of there!" Beckett shouted at Zelenka as Sheppard and McKay started convulsing.
"It might do more harm than good!" Zelenka exclaimed.
"I am sure that they would much rather deal with those consequences than be reprogrammed," Teyla said. Zelenka hesitated for a moment before he reached out towards the console. But before he could do anything, the convulsions stopped.
Rodney lay on the floor, and stared at the ceiling. Except that it wasn't a floor or a ceiling, it was nothing. He took a deep breath as the pain receded, but still remained in the background, along with the same pain in his chest. A pain that wasn't really tangible, but more like emotional heartache. Rodney shook his head, but there was something that felt a little off about it as well.
"McKay?" Lorne's voice interrupted his musings. Rodney blinked as Lorne's face swam into focus above him. He sat up slowly, and winced at the returning pain in his head. "You okay Doc?" Lorne asked.
Stupid question, Rodney thought idly as he frowned against the pain.
"Fine," he said, despite the pain he was in.
"Well you got off lightly then," he heard Sheppard say, and turned to see him sitting cross-legged with his head in his hands. "I've got the mother of all headaches," he said, looking up.
"Well, now that you mention it…." Rodney trailed off as the others frowned at him.
"And you didn't feel the need to complain about this bitterly from the second you woke up?" Lorne asked, Sheppard nodded in agreement.
"Huh," Rodney said, they were right. "I didn't." Sheppard and Lorne exchanged a look. "Colonel, how are you feeling?" Rodney asked.
"Like hell," he muttered. "And what's with feeling like I've been punched in the gut?" he asked.
"That's not just me then?" Rodney asked as he glanced around. "Where'd Duyell go?" he asked.
"He disappeared right after you guys stopped screaming," Lorne told him.
"Question," Rodney said. "Why weren't you screaming in agony with us?" Lorne shrugged.
"Maybe because the Major wasn't invited to the original party," Sheppard said.
"What now?" Lorne asked.
"I guess we wait for-" Sheppard began, but was interrupted by a familiar bright white light. He blinked against it, before opening his eyes, expecting to see Duyell standing before them, and so standing to 'greet him'.
"Who are you?" Rodney, also standing now, asked, the willowy brunette women, who had appeared instead. Sheppard sent him a reproachful look, admittedly he'd been wondering the same thing, but he intended to ask more tactfully.
"I am Amaysha," she smiled at Rodney.
"Where's Duyell?" Sheppard asked.
"He is convening with the others," she told them.
"About?" Rodney questioned.
"About you, Doctor McKay," she smiled at his shocked look, and added, "All of you."
"And by other, you mean other Ancients?" Lorne asked.
"That is correct, Major. But it is merely a distraction, so that we can successfully destroy this machine of his once and for all," she explained.
"Erm, if you think that's necessary I'm sure we're all right behind you. But…" Rodney trailed off.
"But we're still in this machine, and it's destruction would most likely mean out destruction." John finished for him and Rodney nodded in agreement.
"Oh but we'd remove you from it first, of course!" She exclaimed. "We would not leave you to be killed!"
"Really?" Sheppard asked sceptically.
"Really," Amaysha repeated earnestly. "You are the greatest hope that our children in Pegasus have. Which is why we have interfered with Duyell's interfacing," she smiled.
"I don't know about that-" Sheppard began, but Rodney cut him off.
"Why not just destroy the machine before he could use it?" He asked.
"I'm afraid that was rather selfish of us," she said, looking embarrassed. At their aquiring looks she continued. "While the machine was here, so was Duyell, thus meaning he was not with us."
"Bit of a pain in the ass, is he?" Sheppard asked lightly.
"More than that," she said. "His first experiments were conducted on himself. He created the machine to help him ascend. And whilst he succeeded, the process of reprogramming left him slightly…unbalanced."
"So you left the crazy man, with super powers, and a soul destroying machine, to his own devices, because you didn't want him to pollute your higher plane of existence with his own special brand of self created insanity?" Rodney asked derisively.
"In essence…" Amaysha nodded, looking guilt-ridden. "But we intervene whenever we can to stop him," she defended.
"Oh great!" Rodney exclaimed angrily. "So when we've already been, how did you put it? 'Reprogrammed', we still have the reassurance that you'll turn up to give us a heartfelt apology!" He shouted.
"Rodney!" Sheppard snapped, hoping to prevent any further hysteria. "Cut it out."
Rodney took a deep calming breath. "Sorry," he muttered.
"We may be able to reverse the damage," Amaysha said contemplatively. "But I will release you first and destroy the machine, and then discuss this matter with others," she promised.
"Thank you," Sheppard said gratefully.
"I will release you now," she said, before they were all engulfed in the eretheal white light.
"What's going on?" Beckett asked.
"The programme has ceased running," Zelenka said.
"So they're just unconscious now?" Beckett questioned.
"No, readings indicate," he said, pressing a few buttons so an image appeared on one of the screens that previously showed the video feed.
"Their brain waves are the same as if they were awake," Beckett interrupted.
"If their minds are no longer occupied by the machine, then how is that possible?" Teyla asked.
"I've no-" Zelenka began, but what cut off as they were engulfed in white light. When the light dissipated the group found themselves in an open field.
The whirring noise of a dart filled the air.
"Take cover!" Reed yelled, and they began sprinting towards the tree line, but it was too far away.
"Scatter!" Ronon shouted; they all ran and jumped in opposite directions.
Suddenly, the noise of the dart stopped. They looked up to see it encompassed in tendrils of white light.
"The light resembles that which defended Proculus from attack," Teyla stated, just before the dart exploded.
"It did kinda didn't it?" Sheppard asked from behind them. They all stood up quickly and turned to face Rodney, Lorne and Sheppard.
"Who's she?" Ronon demanded.
"My name is Amaysha," she smiled. "It is a great pleasure to meet you Ronon Dex," she nodded to the others. "To meet you all."
"She's an Ancient for the slow one's among you," Rodney added.
"I'm afraid I must return and make an effort to try and restrain Duyell," she said regretfully.
"Duyell?" Beckett asked. "The Loranian scientist?"
"No, a crazy, crazy Ancient," Sheppard corrected.
"What-?" Teyla began.
"I really must go, I will leave you to explain," she nodded to Rodney, Sheppard and Lorne.
"But you said you'd…" Sheppard trailed off.
"Yes I did, and I will fulfil my promise Colonel Sheppard. But I'm afraid this must take precedence for the moment. You will be fine until then," she assured them.
"Right," Rodney muttered.
"I will come to you when I can," she promised, before disappearing in a flash of white light.
Sheppard took a deep breath and tried to ignore the deep pain inside him. He glanced at Rodney and saw him struggling to keep his composure.
"C'mon Rodney," he said, his smile was brittle. "Let's go home," he said, as reassuringly as he could before he lead the way back to the gate. Rodney fell in step besides him shortly thereafter, the others following behind them.
I think this story is my favourite, out of all those I've written! And do you know why? Well, because it was really fun to write, but also because of the fanatastic people reviewed! Thanks to Cyllwen, Ditzyleo, E. Nagrom, Splitbeak, angw and Delka for reviewing part 6! And to everyone who reviewed any part of the story!
Obviously I've left it as a bit of a cliffhanger! They'll probably be a sequel (a shortish one), seeing as I've already written an opener for it! But it might not be for a while because I have many essays due soon:( It'll definitely be around by Christmas though!
Thanks again for reading!