Jack went upsteam as far as he could, where the water was clean. He had passed the major sources of industry and work on this side of the river. The stockyards were miles off in the plains but the slaughterhouse was here, as was the accompanying tannery and rendering plant. These were the chief source of pollution of the meandering stream; the effluent from the factories and the sewage from the slum proved to be a deadly brew. The factories were located on a spit of land that was south of the pristine river, north of the stream and down wind of the city. As he waded into the cool water, he marveled at the beautiful city shimmering in the heat of the early evening and he felt a deep contempt those who fouled the stream and subjugated the poor.
Jack wondered which Goa'uld had brought these people here to build temples to worship them. Why? Was there mineral wealth? Did the mines play out or did the Goa'uld grow bored and just to abandon them?
The people here had learn nothing from their former masters. There was a very low level of technology, slightly above the horse and buggy stage. There were primitive means of communication and transportation and, of course, there were rifles and explosives. But the toys that Carter liked to play with were absent. With a wealth of cheap labor, labor saving devices were not even imagined certainly not deemed necessities. Jack wanted to find things to keep her fertile, restless mind occupied but didn't want to draw attention to themselves. In the midst of abject poverty any one with the slightest of luxuries was envied and detested.
The local were not the friendliest of people. While they suffered the same retched existence they envied their neighbors every crumb of bread. The means of procuring that bread was also jealously guarded. The mindless, backbreaking jobs at the three plants were handed down from father to son, even as they cause the workers sickness, injury or even death. Occasionally meat was procured from the slaughterhouse and sold to the peasants. But more often than not it was from diseased bloated carcasses that could not be sold to the general population. Jack wondered if they would ever be force to eat it in order to survive.
Jack wondered why the slum dweller didn't just go off to the fertile plains or the mountain sides to carve out a living for themselves. He soon found out it was strictly forbidden and any trespassing on the land of the entitled brought a swift and deadly reaction. This was, of course, unless laborers of the lowest order were needed and then the proper permits were obtained. Workers were transported in and out of the restricted areas.
And to top off the joys of this planet women were looked upon as chattel, they walked behind the men, their domain was the home to cook and clean and bear children. Male children, that is, another useless female was regarded as a failure - a waste of resources and one's time unless, of course, she was pretty enough to expect a tidy sum when sold to the highest bidder. Sam hated this place and Jack mused that he wasn't any too fond of it himself but he had no solution to the problem of getting home. Every waking minute, when he wasn't busy just trying to keep them alive, he sought the answer.