They weren't particularly pleased.
However, neither reasoned arguments nor outright cajolery could dissuade Varayimshaeta from its plan to repopulate its planet with an intelligent species. The interview ended shortly thereafter, and SG-3 was escorted back to the elevator room then left to their own devices. Of course, none of the doors could be opened but the elevator, so the Marines settled for returning to their suite.
Makepeace wasn't surprised to see that the kitchen had been cleaned up and the dishes put away. His bed was self-making, so why shouldn't the rest of the place be self-cleaning? From the lack of commentary, he gathered that his men had already witnessed the phenomenon. Not too surprising, since they'd been living in these quarters longer than he had—and unlike him they'd managed to stay conscious.
In his childhood he'd read fairy tales that included mysterious, magical abodes with invisible servants. Had Varayimshaeta modeled their quarters on those stories, or was this the way its people had lived while they still ruled this world?
The question wasn't trivial. If only he could figure out how the computer thought, what patterns its reasoning processes followed... But so far it eluded human rationality and common sense.
Frustrated, he paced from one end of the common room to another, grinding his teeth and unable to think of a way out of this fix. Varayimshaeta had everything covered; they were completely at its mercy. He hated feeling helpless with such a burning intensity that his hatred of Varayimshaeta's plan came in a distant second. As he stalked back and forth he discarded one wild scheme after another, not noticing how quiet his teammates became as his temper grew more and more frayed.
On Makepeace's fifth trip across the room, Andrews started humming the tune to Paul Anka's "Having My Baby."
"Secure that, Gunnery Sergeant!" Makepeace snarled, almost simultaneously with Johnson's strident "Shut up!" and Henderson's weary and embarrassed "Give it a rest, Mike."
Looking oddly satisfied, Andrews dropped onto a couch and lounged comfortably. He didn't say a word.
Makepeace glared at him, but the man didn't even have the grace to squirm. Andrews always knew how far he could push things, and had an uncanny knack for breaking tension and demolishing stonewalls—a most useful trait when times got tough and tempers ran high. Like now. Makepeace bowed to his sergeant's wisdom and turned to Johnson. "No offense, Lieutenant, but I don't particularly want to have your baby."
Johnson looked pained, but after a moment a smile ghosted across his lips. "The feeling's mutual, sir." He slanted an evil glance at Henderson, who fidgeted at the scrutiny.
"Can I assume that no one is interested in founding a colony here?" Makepeace asked. "Especially the way Vara has in mind?"
His teammates all grumped out affirmative replies.
"All right then," he continued, "does anyone have any ideas?" He didn't really expect an answer; there didn't seem to be any options. Or maybe he was just too tired to see them.
"We need more information," Henderson said. He stared down at his tightly clasped hands. "We need to find out more about Vara and this place. I've been thinking—"
"I'm sure you were," Andrews sniped.
Henderson ignored him. He unclasped his hands, rubbed them on his trousers, and addressed his next remarks directly to Makepeace. "I want to talk with Vara, Colonel, let it do that whole information exchange it was talking about and—"
"Are you fucking crazy?" Johnson snapped, bolting out of his chair and coming to loom over Henderson.
Shocked, Makepeace stared at his subordinate and wondered the same thing.
"Oh, come on. You know someone has to try," Henderson said. His voice sounded tight. "There's too big a gulf between us and Vara. It doesn't have even the slightest comprehension why we object to what it wants to do. An exchange might be the only way to get through to it. Someone's got to do it."
"After what that thing did to the colonel?" Johnson said. "No fucking way."
On those words, both men shut up and glanced nervously at Makepeace. Andrews stared at his feet. Makepeace just gazed back at them, knowing he wasn't the most unbiased judge in this decision. He'd wanted ideas. He just hadn't considered that any of his men would come up with such a stupid scheme.
Swallowing, Henderson ventured, "Sir, what happened to you— Vara said it didn't have its equipment calibrated correctly for our brains. Now that it's got a physical scan..." He picked at his thumbnail. "Anyway, sir, it should be safe—safer—now. And maybe with the brain scan adjusted, I'll be able to retain more information than you did."
Makepeace said slowly, "What makes you think Vara will even consent to another of these 'exchanges'?"
Henderson looked up, startled, like he hadn't even considered that possibility. He shrugged a concession. "Maybe it won't, but it seems to like us—"
Johnson snorted. "Yeah, a little too much."
"—and there's no harm in asking it," he continued, glaring at the lieutenant. "At worst, it'll say no."
"No, that's the best case," Andrews put in. "At worst, it'll say yes. I can't believe you want to try it."
"You wanna learn more about medicine, Junior, go back to med school," Johnson growled. "Not volunteer to get your brains scrambled."
"You know this isn't the same thing, Lieutenant," Henderson snapped. "I'd like a look at that thing's knowledge base, yes. You should, too. That's what we're out here for, right?" Johnson didn't answer. Henderson appealed to Makepeace. "I've got the best general science background here, so there's a good chance I'll be able to hang on to some of that data." He took a breath, then added quietly, "Besides, sir, I just want us to get out of here and go home, and this looks like it might be our best shot."
Makepeace closed his eyes. Dispassionately, he thought that Henderson was probably right. This might be the only way to get through to the damned AI, and if Henderson could retain even a fraction of Vara's scientific and technological knowledge... Wasn't that worth the risk? Varayimshaeta had claimed that what had happened to Makepeace had been a mistake, that it had been corrected, but what if it hadn't? What if the process simply wasn't compatible with human physiology, no matter how much Varayimshaeta tinkered with it? And yet, if it was...
In spite of the comfortable room temperature, he felt cold. I can't believe I'm even considering this idiocy, he thought, appalled at himself. He realized that Godfrey hadn't put in an appearance to offer any opinions or information, despite the fact that the suite was certainly monitored. Was Varayimshaeta letting them make this decision for themselves, or had it already dismissed the idea out of hand? Did he really want to find out?
He rubbed the back of his neck to ease the tension there. His men all froze, staring at him.
It took him a moment to figure out what their problem was. Terrific. They probably figured he was about to have another seizure or something. Not too surprising, considering the topic of conversation. He noticed that Henderson looked even more worried than the others, to the point of appearing ill. Makepeace had to repress a nasty smile at that. Still think Vara's little brain exchange is a good idea, Tommy boy? he thought cynically.
It really wasn't very nice to be amused by his teammate's discomfort. And to judge by the expressions Johnson and Andrews were wearing, he was going to endure another round of heavy-handed coddling.
He let out a loud sigh. "Relax, will you? I'm just rubbing my neck. My head's not going to explode."
Johnson looked suspicious, but Andrews flashed him a relieved grin. "Can't blame us for being a little concerned, sir. I'd hate to be stuck cleaning up the mess in here if anything like that happened."
Makepeace stared at him for a moment, then let out a short laugh. "I'll try not to add to your workload." But he was careful not to rub his neck again.
"Well, sir, what do you think?" Henderson asked. He still looked a bit green around the gills.
"About what?" Makepeace said, deliberately obtuse. He couldn't deny the man had balls. It was pretty obvious Henderson didn't really want to do it, yet he had still volunteered. Unfortunately, he was like a dog with an old bone when he got an idea, no matter how bad.
"About my plan?"
"I think it sucks. The answer is no." He held up a hand to forestall the inevitable protest. "Not just yet, anyway. I can't believe we're out of other options." He gave each of his men a hard look. "I know you've already done some exploring, but it wasn't enough. We're going to tear this tower apart, looking for a way out or anything—anything at all—that might be useful? Understood?"
His teammates nodded. They all looked relieved—even Henderson, Makepeace noticed with grim amusement. It couldn't have been an easy thing offering to be the guinea pig like that, especially knowing what he did about what could happen.
Henderson still pressed, though. "And if we come up empty, sir?"
"I might reconsider the idea. But don't get your hopes up."