: Disclaimer : I do not own Stargate SG-1 or any of the characters in the show. The only character I claim any rights to is Priscilla. Also, the concept I will present here as the way the Stargate system "really" works is my own idea. Just FYI, this story takes place during Season 7 of the show, sometime before the episode "Heroes." Please review, and hope you enjoy!
P.S. – I now accept anonymous reviews, so please please please review!!
When the Gate Room cleared, Jack stared at the huddled form in front of the Gate. Priscilla looked up at the iris, looked around at the marines, and promptly fainted.
"Get a medical team in here," Jack yelled.
In minutes a team of medics was rushing the gurney to the infirmary as Dr. Frasier examined the unconscious woman. Jack was hurrying along on the opposite side of the gurney. "I'm telling you, Doc, she just smacked into the floor and then the Gate did that…whooshy…thing it does, and she was right there, in the way."
"Well, other than some slight bruising and a few scrapes on her hands, she seems to be fine."
"Yeah, plus she's unconscious," Jack replied sarcastically.
Priscilla began to stir as the medical team lifted her from gurney onto a bed in the infirmary. "What happened," she asked.
Speaking over whatever medical babble Frasier was surely about to produce, Jack asked, "how did you not get disintegrated?"
Blinking, Priscilla tried to sit up. "Now try not to move, you may be bleeding internally," Janet insisted. Priscilla, still somewhat disoriented, relaxed.
"I am fine, Doctor….I am unsure what to call you. I do not quite understand the 'first name basis' interactions that Daniel described."
"You can call me Janet, but right now we need to start examining you. We have to make sure there are no internal injuries. From what Colonel O'Neill says, you took quite a fall."
"There are no internal injuries, Janet. I must get back to my work." Priscilla started to sit up again.
"Not until I've given the OK." Janet pushed Priscilla firmly back against the pillow.
Jack piped in. "Might as well give up. You can't win this one."
"Why not," Priscilla asked sourly.
"Because I'm the doctor," Janet replied, cutting off Jack's comment.
Priscilla frowned. "Very well. But you will find nothing."
Jack and Daniel went to watch from the observation room while Dr. Frasier began to examine an unwilling Priscilla. Sam, who had stayed in the Control Room during the incident, suddenly joined them in the room.
"That was Teal'c coming in hot," she said, before anyone could ask.
"Didn't he just leave?" asked Jack.
"Not long before, ah, whats-her-name started examining the iris, as a matter of fact."
"Priscilla," said Jack. "Her name's Priscilla."
"What went wrong?" Daniel asked simultaneously.
Sam chose to ignore Jack for the moment. "Well, as you know, Teal'c and Bra'tac were to make contact with a group of rebel Jaffa within Ba'al's ranks. It seems that the rebels were discovered about a day or so ago, and Ba'al set up a trap. But both Teal'c and Bra'tac are fine; actually, they're on their way to the infirmary right now." As if on cue, Teal'c and Bra'tac walked through the door, where some nurses, warned by a phone call from the Control Room, met them and directed them to unoccupied hospital beds for their examinations. Janet was still busy with Priscilla.
Priscilla stared up at the ceiling. Her fingers were twitching slightly with the need to be about her business. Patient, she kept telling herself. Just be patient. She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth against a sudden urge to scream. When she opened her eyes, Teal'c was standing over her bed.
"Doctor Frasier says you have been uncooperative," he stated.
"There is nothing wrong with me aside from the slight effects of jumping from that height. I need to perform my function."
"Doctor Frasier is concerned that you may have received some form of radiation from the energy you were exposed to."
"The natural effect of that energy causes normal tissue to disintegrate. My cells are immune to that effect. There are no alternative effects. I am quite undamaged." Priscilla began tapping her fingernails against the bedrails on either side of her. When she continued, her voice was strained. "I beg you to speak to whomever must make the decision. I have a function to perform. Please allow me to perform it."
"That decision will likely not be considered until Doctor Frasier has determined that you are healthy enough." Teal'c turned to go.
Sitting up, Priscilla grabbed Teal'c's arm. "You do not understand. Just as the immunity is built into my cells, so is the Need to perform my function in a timely fashion. Every moment that I am forced to lie here and do nothing, the Need grows stronger." She held up her other hand. "My hands have begun to shake. I must fight not to scream in frustration." Tears began to form in her eyes. "I believe that I will become increasingly irrational if I am inactive much longer. I fear…I fear that I may become violent. I have no desire to be disrespectful of this world's hospitality. But I may be unable to restrain the Need much longer. Please, Teal'c, speak to whomever is in charge. I beg you."
Teal'c locked gazes with Priscilla, searching for any signs of deception or manipulation. After a moment, he bowed his head slightly. "Very well. I cannot promise anything, but I will see what I can do."
"I believe she was telling the truth, General Hammond," Teal'c said.
Hammond, sitting at the head of the table in the briefing room, frowned. "But if that's all true, then we're going to have to reach a decision soon."
"And if it's not the one she wants," Jack continued, "we might be forced to take drastic action."
"But why would the Ancients do that," Sam asked. "I mean, she's a component of the Gate network. So why would they feel the need to genetically encode her duties so strongly that it almost amounts to an addiction?"
"Because the Makers feared the humanity within me," Priscilla replied, having heard the question as she and Daniel entered the room.
At a glance from Hammond, Daniel assured everyone that Doctor Frasier had given the woman a clean bill of health.
Priscilla continued. "I was created to be automatically generated if any Gateway within my branch of the network required maintenance that could not be handled by the computation systems, or if physical labor was necessary. Once my task is complete, a chemical will be triggered in my brain that will force a reintegration instinct. I will be compelled to return to the system. But given the potential need for physical labor, the Makers found it necessary to include human DNA. They created me to be as close to genetically perfect as possible, but that did not solve the problem of my individuality. To finish my task is, in essence, to die, to lose that individuality. I suspect that is the reason they did not supply me with a name for myself, and why they ensured that I would be accustomed to operating in the plural. It is human nature to fear death, and there is a part of me that is terrified. But that part is overridden by the Need to perform the task for which I was created. Genetically encoding the Need was the only way the Makers could be confident that all repairs would be carried out in a timely fashion."
Jack was the first to find his voice. "So…basically, if you never finished your job, you could live out your life like any other human being."
"Precisely, Jack." There was not a trace of self-pity in Priscilla's voice. The same genetic encoding that gave her the need also overrode her ability to feel sorry for herself. "General Hammond, I beg you to allow me to fulfill my purpose."
"That's not an easy decision, Priscilla," Hammond replied. "The people in charge aren't comfortable with the idea of your gaining access to all of our records."
"As to that, General," Daniel interjected.
"I'm open to any suggestions you may have, Doctor Jackson," said Hammond.
"Ok, granted, I don't know much about computers, especially networking. But couldn't we just put the dialing program on a separate network, with absolutely no connection to the network that contains everything else? I mean, it doesn't have to be a permanent thing, just long enough for her to look it over and make the necessary changes. She doesn't gain access to our records, but she can still do whatever it is she needs to do. Everybody wins."
Hammond looked at Sam. "Can we do that?"
"Yeah," she replied, sounding a little startled. "Actually, that's a really good idea."
"I'll go call the President," said Hammond.