Chapter 16 -The Palace of the Gods

Plains of Celestis

After patiently enduring more tests and scans insisted by Lam, Sheppard emerged in the other galaxy immersed in Jackson's consciousness again. The duo were inside a grandly appointed room with floors and walls made out of shiny marble. To the left, there was a massive set of ornately carved double doors that seemed to be locked. The tall windows, adorned with intricate patterns and carvings, overlooked a city that looked majestic with glowing walls and towering spires. The room was decorated with vibrant tapestries, steel armour and delicate overhung chandeliers. Small crackling fires burning in strategically placed scones lit up the entire place.

Jackson was seated by the large dining table, his head buried in the 'Book of the Ori' while Vala sat on the corner of the table, dangling her legs and eating a fruit from the basket which was placed in the middle.

"Plains of Celestis, hah," Vala said, looking around. "What does it mean?"

"As he said, the palace of the gods," Jackson mumbled distractedly, not looking up.

"I wasn't listening, Daniel, I was only half unconscious by then," Vala complained. "What did he call himself anyway?"

"A Prior, he is a Prior of the Ori."

Now, Sheppard had a name, well, a title. The word invoked a visceral reaction in him. He felt a sense of cold dread wrap around his mind, like an approaching dark cloud before a devastating storm.

"All right, Daniel," Vala opened her mouth again after a while. He could tell she was bored to tears by then. "What does it say?"

Sheppard was also curious. While he could understand most things instinctively, the written words he was seeing through Jackson's eyes were gibberish to him.

"Well, it seems to follow suit with many of the religions I've studied. They tend to weave their doctrines into simple fable-like narratives with characters that are meant to be identifiable to a common individual–"

Vala groaned and stretched. "Well, why don't you read one to me? I love a good yarn."

Jackson turned a page. "Well, they all seem to teach meditation on one's worth and significance, the path of righteousness towards a state of higher being. The central icon of the religion seems to be fire."

"I don't need a book to tell me that." Vala shuddered. Then she picked up another fruit that looked like an apple and started to munch on it.

"That would make sense," Jackson said, thoughtfully. "Fire is light, energy, warmth…and yet, on Earth, at some point, fire became associated with demonic imagery. Things that are evil. Hell, not heaven."

Vala raised an eyebrow. "And?"

"I was just wondering if the Ancients had something to do with that," Jackson shrugged.

"Tell you what, why don't you flip to the end, and see how it all turns out, hmm?"

Before she could irritate him by starting to turn the pages herself, the locked door opened, admitting a Prior.

"The village of Ver Ager has been corrupted." the man intoned.

"We didn't do it. I promise," Vala swallowed down the fruit she had been munching and said earnestly.

"We are connected to these people, Harrid and Sallis, by means of a communication device that was brought to our galaxy a long time ago by a race of people called the Alterans-" Jackson tried again to explain.

"Also known as the Ancients?" Vala added helpfully.

"Look, the point is, we meant no harm," Jackson insisted. "Um, we're explorers."

"Do you know of others in Ver Ager?"

"Others?" Jackson frowned.

"Unbelievers."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Do you want us to tell on people who don't believe in the Ori?" Vala asked, trying to clarify.

"Devotion is rewarded." Prior Drone replied. "Those who stray must be guided back to the path.

"Seems to me that those who stray get burned to death," Vala said acidly.

"The Ori gave all men and women free will." Prior declared.

"If the Ori are so powerful, why do they need us to tell them who believes in them and who doesn't?" Vala challenged. Understandably, she wasn't in the mood to indulge the religious nut with strange powers.

"The Ori need nothing from us." he quoted.

"It is we who must seek the truth of the universe in order to achieve enlightenment." Jackson quoted right back. When Vala aimed him a look, he smiled. "Been down this road before."

Isolation Area
Level 21
SGC

Mitchell stood from his chair and straightened when Landry strode into the isolation room.

"At ease, Colonel. How are they doing?"

"There's no change, sir."

"I know you're concerned for them. So am I, but I've got something else for you to do." Landry said.

"Sir?

"Just got a report from Dr Lindsay on P3X-421–"

Mitchell thought about it. The name sounded familiar."Lindsay…anthropologist, right?"

Landry nodded. "She's been working with the human population on 421, helping them get over the loss of their former false god."

Mitchell had a feeling where this was going. "Trouble?"

"Well, it seems a missionary of sorts had come through the Gate yesterday and started spouting a religion we haven't encountered before. His second visit, according to the villagers," Landry said, letting his gaze wander over to the three silent, unmoving figures. "I mean, not that we have a problem with people exploring different faiths–"

"I suspect we'll see a lot of opportunists try to fill the void by the Goa'uld, sir." Mitchell completed the thought.

Landry hummed. "This newfound freedom is quickly going to bring about desperation if people don't learn to fend for themselves. A lot of these, uh shall we say, 'sheltered civilizations' could potentially be taken advantage of by a charlatan with a flashy bag of tricks."

"And in this case?"

"Well, this missionary's apparently trying to prove the validity of his claims by performing miracles." Landry scoffed.

"Miracles?"

Landry nodded. Then patted his back. "I'd like you to take SG-12 and check it out."

Mitchell was grateful for the chance to finally do something productive than sitting around, watching his friends, and wallowing in 'what ifs'

"Yes, sir." He accepted the order.

Plains of Celestis

The next time the Prior visited, which was after about an hour, Jackson managed to cajole him to let him speak to the lead Prior, of a sort. Jackson's main goal was to have an audience with the Ori themselves. But the Prior started preaching to him to reach out to them the way you did with any other god; by praying.

Since Jackson was after something a little more tangible than that, his persistence finally won him facetime with a guy going by the title, The Doci, the one who spoke the word of the Ori.

Prior only took Jackson out of the dining room for the meeting, leaving Vala behind.

They went through another set of tall doors identical to the one they had left behind to enter a chamber designed like the interior of a temple. A statue of an ankh-like symbol with a light purple smooth oval stone sat between two pillars at the far end. It is otherwise unfurnished. The Doci, the man who was dressed better than the Priors, with a massive-sleeved, light-coloured robe and the strangest neck accessory Sheppard had ever seen, stood in front of the symbol. One side of the room was decorated with a tall, ornate, cast iron fence with a double gate in its centre.

Beyond that fence was a wall of fire.

Doci's face was also marked, scarred with signs and symbols, just like Priors. He had the same pasty complexion and milky white eyes, and he glared at Jackson as he was escorted into the chamber.

The bad feeling Sheppard felt whenever he was near a Prior kind of doubled.

Their guide exited the chamber at Doci's order.

"Daniel Jackson," he monotoned, cutting off Jackson's stuttered greeting. "From the planet Earth."

"Okay. So you know my name and where I'm from, so I assume you'll also know how I'm connected to this man's mind," Jackson got to the point. "Why am I here…uh. You see, we're…we're explorers. We'd very much like to get to know you. Um. Your society. How you came to be."

"A Prior has been dispatched to the place from whence you come," Jackson was informed in the manner of a drone giving him a weather report.

"Really? You can-you can do that?" Jackson was nonplussed. So was Sheppard. For a good reason. "I thought we were in another galaxy?"

"It is the will of the Ori that we should spread Origin to all those blessed by their creation."

"Okay, well, I think you should understand that there are many different kinds of people in the place 'from whence I come'…um…people who believe in many different things."

"They shall find the path to enlightenment." Was delivered with conviction only a fanatic could wield.

"Right. Well I-I think you should also understand that they may not see your way as the only way," Jackson tried to reason with the drone, to no avail.

"The power and the greatness of the Ori cannot be denied," the guy rambled on. It was like trying to have a conversation with a robot with only a few pre-programmed responses. It was unnerving and frustrating.

"...those who reject the path to enlightenment must be destroyed."

Wait. What?

"Right," Jackson sighed as if he had been expecting and dreading exactly that. "I was afraid of that."