Chapter five

Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell was worried that he'd never get the band back together again. It had been weeks since Daniel had been taken by the Ori and days since Vala had been disappeared. And now Sam had disappeared along with General O'Neill! Only Teal'c was left to share his grief, but all the big guy wanted to do was meditate. The last thing Cameron wanted to do was sit still, so he headed for his CO's office.

He knocked lightly on the open door, feeling unsure whether or not he should bother the man right now. Landry looked pensive. And then his head jerked up, and he gave Cameron a little look which made him regret the intrusion even more.

"Sir, sorry to bother you, but I was just wondering…" He knew there was really no sense in asking; if Landry had heard anything, he would have told him.

"Me too, Mitchell. I've been wondering about quite a few things myself," Hank affirmed cryptically, waving the younger man over to a chair. What he'd been wondering about a lot lately was what ever possessed him to accept this position? He'd been CO at a quiet little base in Wyoming, when the call came that they wanted someone to head up a secret facility in Colorado. And instead of playing it safe, he had said he was interested. Now he thought his response had been a bit hasty. Maybe if he'd found out more about what went on here first… But he knew the subject was moot; it was too late for doubts now.

Cameron sat down in one of the two chairs facing Landry's desk.

"Wondering about what, Sir, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Why I'm here, to name just one," Hank said with an ironic laugh.

"I think we've all wondered about that from time to time, Sir," Cameron told him. "Me, I just figure I haven't quite paid my dues yet. The man upstairs wants me to suffer a little more first, before bringing me home," he said with a laugh.

He'd been raised in the South in a strict, religious family, and for the most part he still believed in the things he'd been taught as a child. The only thing he couldn't buy any longer was the self-centered notion that man was created in His image. What about the Asgard or the Nox? They were much smarter than humans and they were good folks too, so wasn't it possible they were closer to who or what God really was?

"I know what you mean, Colonel." And he did too. In fact, he was beginning to wonder what horrible things he'd done to deserve this much grief.

"How long before they're declared MIA?" Cameron asked, unable to push the thought from his mind.

"Not long now," Landry replied sadly. "I don't know about you, Mitchell, but I could sure use a change of scenery. What say we get out of here and have dinner at O'Malley's?"

"I'd like that, Sir."

In a genetics lab in another reality a blonde woman was laying on an examining table with her feet in stirrups, while doctors Frasier and Kenyon hovered around her like two worker bees buzzing around their queen. The doctors didn't usually work so late. In fact they were both supposed to be at a party at the general's home in less than an hour. But the urgency of their work, plus the fact that they had just found two perfect specimens for the procedure, had caused them to put their personal lives on hold for the time being. Even the promise of a nude, all male review at the party hadn't been enough to get them to postpone the experiment they were about to begin.

"It is just as you predicted. These sperm are very healthy, AND they are still very mobile too, even after the splicing procedure," Eve Kenyon said with glee, as she checked the sample under her microscope one final time.

"I just hope the modification will produce what we want this time. That last experiment was a total failure," Janet said with sorrow. She had felt totally crushed when she witnessed the two male children showing signs of aggression. She'd had so much hope that they had finally succeeded, so finding out they'd have to start over once again had been a bitter pill to swallow.

"This time just has to be a success!" Janet stated fervently.

"I have a really good feeling about this one," Eve told her.

The young woman on the table looked on with only slight interest, as one of the doctors inserted a long glass tube deep into her vagina. A few seconds later it was withdrawn.

"There! All done, Samantha! Now just remain still. It's very important that you don't get up for a while. Relax and I'll check on you in a little while," Janet said, as she helped Samantha lower her legs. Then she covered her with a warm blanket and gave her arm an affectionate pat.

Janet had hated losing the woman as a lab assistant, but she'd been thrilled when she was told that she could use her as a test subject. Samantha was healthy, smart and very pretty, and she was exactly the type of person they needed for this experiment. Unfortunately they oftentimes got stuck with dimwitted, plain women who weren't even qualified to be servants. Here in the genetics program Samantha would lead a pampered life, as long as she was fertile and produced healthy offspring.

After that, her fate would be the same as every other woman. Once you lost your youth and your beauty, and unless you had some special skills or knowledge, you lost you place in society. Then you were sent to work in the mines alongside the men. She heard that women sent there were raped and mistreated by their fellow workers, as well as by the guards.

Everyone knew, because they had been told since childhood, that citizens sent to the mines didn't live very long; it was the same as a death sentence, a fact that disturbed Janet greatly. No one knew what was mined there, or why mining was so important. They were just told that it was. Janet suspected that there was a lot more they weren't being told, but she didn't dare ask questions, for fear that her dedication to the cause would be questioned, and then she'd lose everything she'd worked for. And then even her intelligence would not be enough to keep her out of those dreaded mines.

Jack was back in the jail cell and wondering where Sam was, when the handsome young man from earlier that day approached him.

"You're back! I didn't expect to be seeing you again," he admitted.

"Why's that?"

"Well, a man your advanced age is usually sent to the mines first thing. So where did they take you?" he asked.

"To some lab. I think these women have a thing for my dick," Jack chuckled.

"Oh, THAT lab. Yeah, I've been there….quite a few times actually. Wouldn't mind going back, to tell you the truth," he admitted, grinning from ear to ear. "It makes me feel good to know those little beggars of mine are out there someplace," he said, waving one hand toward the door.

"Your what? Beggars?"

"My kids…offspring…progeny. That's why they take your sperm. Didn't you know? They play with it under their microscopes. Then they put it inside a woman and voila! Nine months later you're a father. …most likely of a daughter, although you never know for sure, 'cause you never get to see the kid or find out anything about them. I've got three kids that I know of," he stated proudly. "I hope they're girls, so they won't suffer the same fate as me."

Jack's face fell. Right now some woman could be pregnant with his baby, and he'd never even touched her! And what was worse was that he'd never know his child, nor would his child know him. The thought made him feel sick inside, as though he was losing Charlie all over again. His son had been only ten when he'd accidentally shot himself with Jack's sidearm. Jack and his wife had separated in the aftermath of their son's death. He would never get over the loss, but at least, thanks to his job and the friends he had made at the SGC, he had been able to stop thinking about it on a daily basis.

But now there would be one more thing to try and forget, unless there was some way he could find out who the woman was. Then, of course, he'd need to escape with her and find someplace where they could live, away from these barbaric women! But he wasn't stupid. The odds of doing any of that were overwhelmingly against him, and he knew it. This place was a lunatic asylum, and the nuts were in charge.

Jack finally noticed that the young man was addressing him.

"Hey, I asked you where you're from? Where were you born?" he repeated.

"In Chicago," Jack replied without thinking.

"What a coincidence! That's where I was born, but I haven't heard it called by that name in years."

"Oh really? What's it called?" Jack asked, a look of disbelief on his face. To him it was unthinkable that the great landmark city could be called anything else but Chicago!

"Clinton City," the man replied. At Jack's puzzled look he attempted to explain. "Man, don't you remember? About four years ago it was renamed for the president. …the first female president of the North American Democratic Union."

"Oh, yah. How could I forget that wonderful fact?" Jack asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Jack had been shocked to hear that his hometown had been renamed, and for a woman too! But then he reminded himself that a lot of things were simply wrong here. In this world women might be in power, but they weren't doing such a good job, and more importantly they weren't invincible. Jack was certain that he could escape. And when he did, he was going to find the woman who was carrying his child, and he was going to take care of her, either here or in his own reality. And what's more, if he had anything to say about it, his child was not going to grow up thinking his or her father was no better than a lab rat! He was a MAN, God damn it! And he was proud of it!

After the two doctors left her side, Sam looked around her, wondering why she couldn't remember much of anything. She knew her name was Samantha, but other than that, her memories were confusing and somewhat contradictory. She felt she shouldn't be here. She needed to be doing something else…..something very important. She needed to be someplace else, but she had no idea where that someplace was. Panic was beginning to set in, and she almost got up from the table. Only the doctor's warning kept her there.

Why was she here? What had they just done to her? She lifted her head a bit and looked down at her body. She wasn't in any pain, but she thought she could feel an odd sort of gurgling inside, down there where they'd put that tube. Did the funny feeling have something to do with the experiment the two women had talked about? What had they done to her? Suddenly, just when she began to grow fearful of what had happened, a calming thought came to her. She suddenly knew without a doubt that the experiment was important to the cause…HER cause. The doctors weren't hurting her; they were allowing her to participate in a very worthwhile project.

A short while later the petite doctor came back and gave her an injection. Then she told her to get up and follow her. The woman led her to a room where several other women lay peacefully sleeping. Sam got into bed with very little coaxing, feeling tired and ready to sleep.

The last thing she thought about before drifting off was a tall, thin man with graying hair. She recalled then that he was the man whose hair she had been assigned to cut. She smiled to herself as she recalled the kiss he'd given her. Then she felt into a deep, dreamless sleep.

TBC