Hey kids I'm back!! Been a while but I've been slightly cut off from the net for a while but finally I've got broadband installed at home. It doesn't help that I'm working full time and so don't exactly get as much time to write anymore!!
I hope to post again in a slightly more timely fashion…hope being the operative word there.
Thanks so much to my wonderful beta reader Naliza, you rule!!
Thanks to everyone who has reviewed recently!! :D
Jack, Sam, Daniel and Teal'c were sitting in the infirmary, waiting for Janet to arrive. It was slightly strange for all of SG-1 to be together, ever since Jack had been taken into custody they had been separated to some degree.
Jack, Sam and Daniel had all chosen seats as far apart from each other as they could be while still being in earshot. The atmosphere was strained, none of the group were really talking much and only some of the silence could be explained by the SF's standing guard in the doorway. The relief when Janet and General Hammond entered the room was apparent.
"Dr Fraiser tells me you've all had flashbacks of some sort."
"Yes Sir. We all seemed to have remembered the same event," Daniel supplied.
"Which is?"
"Them drugging us and then approaching us with an object. Sam remembers a bit more."
"Major?"
"Yes Sir, they pressed the object against my head, I think that's when the device was implanted. Before I lost consciousness I heard one of them saying something about 'watching' and the other shouting 'later', which is what I remembered before."
"Where on your head?" Janet asked, approaching Sam, who indicated a spot on the back of her head.
Janet looked at the spot that Janet had indicated, it was just above where the sutures in her scalp were, there was no obvious damage but considering the fact that the area was bruised, Janet was not surprised.
"And neither of you two remember this?"
"No, I passed out before they reached me," Daniel said.
"Me too," Jack agreed. "You think that's another Jolinar thing?"
"Possibly, you did say that it took more than one shot in the initial fight to knock you out. It could be that your body chemistry reacted differently to their technology."
"So what now?" Jack asked.
"I'm working on a way to shut the devices off but the technology is very advanced."
"What about that pulse thing that got rid of Urgo for a while."
"An electro-magnetic pulse might work but I would like to run some more tests before I do anything."
"I thought that thing wasn't harmful," Jack said, suddenly slightly worried.
"It isn't but I want to analyse the device and the signals being emitted to make sure there are no anti-tamper devices before I do anything."
"Good idea," Daniel agreed.
"Doctor, is there a chance that SG-1 will experience more of these flashbacks?" Hammond asked.
"It's hard to say. The events of these flashbacks seem to coincide with the memory gaps but it seems impossible to predict and there doesn't seem to be any associated triggers."
"So that's a maybe?" Jack commented dryly.
"Yes Sir, I would like to keep SG-1 in the infirmary for the time being."
"If you think that's for the best Doctor," Hammond conceded. He had hoped to keep SG-1 separate to minimise the chance of any incident but he deferred to Fraiser's expertise.
"Wonderful, swapping one grey room for another," Jack said, less than thrilled over his change in location.
"I'm sure we can find room in the holding cell, Colonel," Hammond replied.
"The infirmary's fine. Good even. A change is as good as a rest and all that," Jack said, back-peddling quickly.
"Good. Major, you should get back to work. Keep me apprised of the progress."
"Yes Sir."
Hammond turned and left the infirmary. Janet went back to her office leaving SG-1 alone again. The awkwardness descended again.
"What do you think they meant by watching?" Daniel asked after a few seconds silence.
"What?" Jack asked, drawing his gaze away from, his finger nails.
"Sam said one of them said something about 'watching'. What does that mean?"
"Maybe they had cameras in the cells."
"It's possible I suppose," Sam agreed.
"Another thing, I can't get away from the fact that we got away so easily. I keep thinking that they let us escape. They wanted us to get away," Daniel added.
"I think you're right. They were to smart to let is get away so easily."
But why would they do that?"
"I don't know. Nothing about this makes sense. This whole situation is just one big mess."
"You could say that Sir," Carter agreed. "I should get back to my lab. I'll let you know if I get anywhere."
"Thanks Sam," Daniel agreed, smiling weakly.
Sam sat in her lab, staring at the laptop open in front of her, bars and waves filled the screen. Sam had managed to analyse some of the signals that were being emitted by the device. What was confusing her the most however was not the signals that were being emitted but the fact that the device seemed to be recording information.
Sam continued to analyse the signals, after a few minutes she managed to hack into the signals being emitted.
The display on the screen changed, a small window opened which showed a view of the computer and the desk. It was exactly what she was looking at, right at that moment. She shifted her gaze upwards, still watching as the picture on the screen showed her changing view. They really were not kidding when said they were watching, they were seeing everything they were.
"Oh God," she muttered, her eyes widening further as one of the bars registered a change. It seemed that they were listening to them as well.
After a few more minutes Sam managed to work out what signals were entering the device. Two more screens popped up, one showing a cup of coffee and a book in what appeared to be Latin, the other a Gameboy.
Sam sighed deeply and packed up her laptop, with her escort in tow she headed back to the infirmary.
"What?" Jack exploded as Sam explained what she had found.
"They're watching us, listening to us. Everything that's happened since we came home."
"That's sick, why would they do that?"
"Well, they've been introduced to the wonderful game of hockey and the life changing piece of technology that is the Gameboy," Jack offered lightly but his levity did not match his true feelings.
"They've seen exactly how the computer systems work, know everything about us, about Earth," Sam explained seriously.
"You think that's why they've been watching us?"
"Maybe, but why would they be influencing our behaviour if that's all they want?"
"I still reckon they're doing it for kicks."
There was a moment for silence before Daniel spoke, his voice betraying some excitement.
"I think that's it Jack, they are doing it for fun. The attempts to sabotage the computers, our behaviour, all of this. They're seeing how we react to it all, what we do. It's like a forced sociological experiment."
"Like an extreme version of Big Brother," Jack observed.
"Is George Orwell relevant here?" Daniel asked.
"Get a TV Daniel," Jack sighed.
"I have one."
"Watch it once in a while. Big Brother, the reality TV show."
"You watch Big Brother, Sir?" Sam asked, smiling broadly and biting back a laugh.
"No," he replied but everyone saw through the lie. "Okay, once or twice."
"So, you think this is like 'Must see TV' for them?"
"It's as probable as anything else. You got any better ideas?" Sam asked.
"Yes, let's go back and really find out what's going on," Jack said finally.
I've been sitting on this idea for a while, trying to find a way to bring it in to the story. I'd be really interested to hear what you think about it.