Chapter 11: Rhadamanthus
SG-1 were seated at a large round table in the centre of a huge room. All the faces that sat about them were new, save for Telamon who was seated to the left of Jack. The party around the table were obviously waiting for someone else to arrive, as there was an empty chair opposite Daniel.
"Waiting on your superiors huh?" Jack motioned to the empty chair, talking to no-one in particular.
"That is correct. I must inform you that it customary to be silent until the arrival of Rhadamanthus." Telamon lowered his voice to emphasise the point.
"Right..." Jack began to twiddle his thumbs and stare around the room in boredom.
Chairs of carved silver stone against each wall, plants of vibrant colours and size placed decoratively beside each doorway (of which there were many), tapestries of beautiful dancing figures and musicians draped over the age-worn silver walls. On the South side of the room there was no wall, but rather a row of pillars carved of silver-streaked white marble. The view beyond the pillars was amazing and similar to that which SG-1 first awed at when they had stepped through the gate, only they were now situated on the top of a magnificent mountain. A cool breeze was blowing from the South, rustling the leaves of the plants about the room. The same sparkling dust that was in the "dungeon" swirled about the floor in intricate patterns.
Jack turned to silently mention the rather nice surroundings to the rest of his team, when Telamon stood up and bowed. Everyone else around the table followed suit, except for SG-1. Telamon glanced sideways and deliberately coughed. Jack got the hint, and reluctantly stood. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c did the same.
Moments later a tall, aged man entered the room. He lifted his arms in a gesture of welcome and spoke.
"Friends, I welcome you all to this meeting. Please, be seated." His voice was soft and calm, but had a sense of authority in it none the less.
Once everyone was seated again, Rhadamanthus began the session.
"Telamon, I believe you have something to tell me in regards of the four unfamiliar faces I see before me? Would you be so kind as to enlighten us?" The old man passed a hand through his long white beard and shifted his weight in his chair.
Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Telamon beat him to it.
"That is correct my liege. The four before you claim to be travellers from a distant planet. They also claim that they serve no God, but are peaceful and willing to partake in this discussion." Telamon ended his statement with a bow of his head.
Rhadamanthus lent forward and rested his chin on the knuckles of his hands. "I see. May I then ask which one of you assumes responsibility?"
Jack finally had his chance to speak, "That would be me. And before you go damning us to certain death I'd appreciate it if we had a... say, humanly conversation about - "
He was cut off by a short cackle from Rhadamanthus, "Yes indeed. We are not inclined otherwise. But I think introductions are in order first." He stood extending his arm to point to each person as he named them "Aeneas, Anchises, Menelaus, Paris and my son Telamon, members of the High Council of Elysium. And I am Rhadamanthus, ruler and overseer of Elysium for many moons." He sat again, letting O'Neill make SG-1's introductions.
Jack set his jaw in attempt to keep his remarks pleasant, "Nice to meet you. I'm Colonel O'Neill, this is Major Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal'c. And as our buddy Telo here has mentioned, we're peaceful explorers who are....a little more than confused right now."
Rhadamanthus bowed his head, "All will be revealed soon enough Colonel. But for now, please tell us about yourselves. You say you do not worship a God. May I ask as to how that is possible?"
Jack let Daniel take over, "We've been fighting against the 'Gods' or Goa'uld as we know them for years. We know that they're parasites that infest a living body in order to survive. For this and many other reasons, we despise and fight against them. So far we've been pretty good at it." Daniel ended his little spiel with a proud grin.
Rhadamanthus almost laughed. Composing himself, he directed his attention to Sam. "It is rare that we encounter a woman's presence to this table let alone learn that she is one who would fight against the Gods. Forgive my bluntness, but what special...abilities do you poses that make you eligible to earn your place in your society?"
Jack raised his eyebrows and installed a smug look on his face as Carter explained her expertise in technical related matters.
Rhadamanthus continued to interrogate SG-1 for some hours after than, attempting to learn everything and anything he could. SG-1 were open, but made sure that they only gave out information on a need-to-know basis.
After what seemed like decades, Daniel decided to turn the tables.
"So Rhadamanthus, how about telling us a little about Elysium? Being explorers our goal is to find new allies in the fight against the Goa'uld..."
"...And to share technology and learn about new cultures." Sam added.
The old leader shifted uneasily in his chair. Narrowing his eyes and looking down on the four foreign people sitting before him, he made his remark.
"Here in Elysium, my people live in perfect happiness and peace. Never has blood been spilt on our soil, not even in our recorded history. Our Fields lie to the westernmost edge of the world and is where the souls of this planet's greatest heroes are sent to relive another life as reward for their good deeds. My son Telamon here, is one of them, as am I."
"Of course!" Daniel exclaimed suddenly.
"I do not understand." Came the reply from many of the people sitting around the table, including Jack.
"Like I told Sam earlier, Elysium is found in Greek history back on Earth. In the works of Homer, Elysium was a land at the farthest and westernmost edge of the world to which the great heroes were carried, body and soul, and made immortal. It was described as being the most beautiful place in existence, kinda like heaven. Now, even though extensive archaeological digs and endless searching, no one could find anything that linked Elysium to a real place on Earth. Those historical records must have been referring to this planet! People must have been taken from Earth for their good deads and brought here to live a life of luxury." Daniel grinned at the members of his team.
"Homer?" Jack returned Daniel a grin of his own.
Daniel ignored the attempted joke and tried to pry more information out of Rhadamanthus. It didn't go down well.
"I do not take kindly to being interrogated on my own soil. This meeting is over. I shall arrange for Telamon to show you around the city tomorrow."
Before Jack could protest, Pollux and another sturdy man entered the room to escort SG-1 back to their cells. Jack stood up and stretched his back before loudly declaring,
"D'oh."
SG-1 were seated at a large round table in the centre of a huge room. All the faces that sat about them were new, save for Telamon who was seated to the left of Jack. The party around the table were obviously waiting for someone else to arrive, as there was an empty chair opposite Daniel.
"Waiting on your superiors huh?" Jack motioned to the empty chair, talking to no-one in particular.
"That is correct. I must inform you that it customary to be silent until the arrival of Rhadamanthus." Telamon lowered his voice to emphasise the point.
"Right..." Jack began to twiddle his thumbs and stare around the room in boredom.
Chairs of carved silver stone against each wall, plants of vibrant colours and size placed decoratively beside each doorway (of which there were many), tapestries of beautiful dancing figures and musicians draped over the age-worn silver walls. On the South side of the room there was no wall, but rather a row of pillars carved of silver-streaked white marble. The view beyond the pillars was amazing and similar to that which SG-1 first awed at when they had stepped through the gate, only they were now situated on the top of a magnificent mountain. A cool breeze was blowing from the South, rustling the leaves of the plants about the room. The same sparkling dust that was in the "dungeon" swirled about the floor in intricate patterns.
Jack turned to silently mention the rather nice surroundings to the rest of his team, when Telamon stood up and bowed. Everyone else around the table followed suit, except for SG-1. Telamon glanced sideways and deliberately coughed. Jack got the hint, and reluctantly stood. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c did the same.
Moments later a tall, aged man entered the room. He lifted his arms in a gesture of welcome and spoke.
"Friends, I welcome you all to this meeting. Please, be seated." His voice was soft and calm, but had a sense of authority in it none the less.
Once everyone was seated again, Rhadamanthus began the session.
"Telamon, I believe you have something to tell me in regards of the four unfamiliar faces I see before me? Would you be so kind as to enlighten us?" The old man passed a hand through his long white beard and shifted his weight in his chair.
Jack opened his mouth to say something, but Telamon beat him to it.
"That is correct my liege. The four before you claim to be travellers from a distant planet. They also claim that they serve no God, but are peaceful and willing to partake in this discussion." Telamon ended his statement with a bow of his head.
Rhadamanthus lent forward and rested his chin on the knuckles of his hands. "I see. May I then ask which one of you assumes responsibility?"
Jack finally had his chance to speak, "That would be me. And before you go damning us to certain death I'd appreciate it if we had a... say, humanly conversation about - "
He was cut off by a short cackle from Rhadamanthus, "Yes indeed. We are not inclined otherwise. But I think introductions are in order first." He stood extending his arm to point to each person as he named them "Aeneas, Anchises, Menelaus, Paris and my son Telamon, members of the High Council of Elysium. And I am Rhadamanthus, ruler and overseer of Elysium for many moons." He sat again, letting O'Neill make SG-1's introductions.
Jack set his jaw in attempt to keep his remarks pleasant, "Nice to meet you. I'm Colonel O'Neill, this is Major Carter, Doctor Jackson and Teal'c. And as our buddy Telo here has mentioned, we're peaceful explorers who are....a little more than confused right now."
Rhadamanthus bowed his head, "All will be revealed soon enough Colonel. But for now, please tell us about yourselves. You say you do not worship a God. May I ask as to how that is possible?"
Jack let Daniel take over, "We've been fighting against the 'Gods' or Goa'uld as we know them for years. We know that they're parasites that infest a living body in order to survive. For this and many other reasons, we despise and fight against them. So far we've been pretty good at it." Daniel ended his little spiel with a proud grin.
Rhadamanthus almost laughed. Composing himself, he directed his attention to Sam. "It is rare that we encounter a woman's presence to this table let alone learn that she is one who would fight against the Gods. Forgive my bluntness, but what special...abilities do you poses that make you eligible to earn your place in your society?"
Jack raised his eyebrows and installed a smug look on his face as Carter explained her expertise in technical related matters.
Rhadamanthus continued to interrogate SG-1 for some hours after than, attempting to learn everything and anything he could. SG-1 were open, but made sure that they only gave out information on a need-to-know basis.
After what seemed like decades, Daniel decided to turn the tables.
"So Rhadamanthus, how about telling us a little about Elysium? Being explorers our goal is to find new allies in the fight against the Goa'uld..."
"...And to share technology and learn about new cultures." Sam added.
The old leader shifted uneasily in his chair. Narrowing his eyes and looking down on the four foreign people sitting before him, he made his remark.
"Here in Elysium, my people live in perfect happiness and peace. Never has blood been spilt on our soil, not even in our recorded history. Our Fields lie to the westernmost edge of the world and is where the souls of this planet's greatest heroes are sent to relive another life as reward for their good deeds. My son Telamon here, is one of them, as am I."
"Of course!" Daniel exclaimed suddenly.
"I do not understand." Came the reply from many of the people sitting around the table, including Jack.
"Like I told Sam earlier, Elysium is found in Greek history back on Earth. In the works of Homer, Elysium was a land at the farthest and westernmost edge of the world to which the great heroes were carried, body and soul, and made immortal. It was described as being the most beautiful place in existence, kinda like heaven. Now, even though extensive archaeological digs and endless searching, no one could find anything that linked Elysium to a real place on Earth. Those historical records must have been referring to this planet! People must have been taken from Earth for their good deads and brought here to live a life of luxury." Daniel grinned at the members of his team.
"Homer?" Jack returned Daniel a grin of his own.
Daniel ignored the attempted joke and tried to pry more information out of Rhadamanthus. It didn't go down well.
"I do not take kindly to being interrogated on my own soil. This meeting is over. I shall arrange for Telamon to show you around the city tomorrow."
Before Jack could protest, Pollux and another sturdy man entered the room to escort SG-1 back to their cells. Jack stood up and stretched his back before loudly declaring,
"D'oh."