Chapter 19: Tao of Rodney
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Loros woke up after John and Lorne had, heading straight to the Control Room with Elizabeth and he was eager to get to work. Rodney was leading a team of scientists into some of the damaged areas of the city to deactivate all of the systems that the Ancients had turned on during their brief period of control. Evan and John meanwhile were leading several repair crews to deal with the damaged dealt by the drones when they were avoiding the weapons on their way in.
"How are they progressing?" Elizabeth asked him when he walked in.
"Two of the four damaged sections have been repaired completely. Myself and Lorne will be taking a team to the Underwater Bay to begin making repairs" he reported.
"What about Rodney's progress?"
"Well the section he is in now was formerly flooded and the sensors have been damaged"
"So you can't detect or influence the systems?" she asked and he shook his head.
"Due to the damage, no, I cannot. If I could then I would shut them down, prevent them from possibly running into one of my ancestors more dangerous machines. The best I can do was make sure that all of the more dangerous technology was not in the pier they were investigating" Loros said.
"Dr. Weir, Loros, you may want to come down to the Infirmary…" Beckett said.
"I just had to say something…" the Ancient sighed.
"What's the matter, Carson?" Elizabeth asked.
"Rodney encountered a machine that appears to have zapped him with some sort of energy beam in one of the labs he was deactivating. According to Radek, he got a little bit ahead of himself and fully activated the system that the lab focused on. I've already contacted Colonel Sheppard and he is on his way" the Scot explained.
"Alright, we'll head down now" Elizabeth said and they began walking.
"I honestly believed that all dangerous technology had been removed…" Loros said nervously.
"It's alright, Loros. From the sound of Beckett's voice, he doesn't seem all that concerned which means he has already preformed a scan"
"I suppose I am just worried…"
"You worry almost as much as Lorne and Sheppard put together" she chuckled and he resisted the blush that threatened to make an appearance. She more than likely knew about his relationship with John, as for him and Lorne? She gave no indication that she knew, but then again, Elizabeth had a way of knowing things but not telling others.
"Have you see where we live, Elizabeth?" he asked with a grin.
"I have. But John and even Lorne have gradually gotten use to the chaos of this galaxy. Therefore you worry more and more than them" she said and he chuckled.
"Well let us hope that this piece of technology has not damaged him in any way. Rodney come in" Loros tapped his radio.
"Yes, yes, what is it?" he asked impatiently.
"Is Radek still with the device that you accidentally activated?"
"Yes he is. He's trying to repair it"
"Thank you. Elizabeth, with your permission-" she cuts him off, knowing what he was going to ask and nodding.
"Go… Report back in a couple of hours"
Due to the damage in that pier, Loros had to walk down there and he was walking at a brisk pace to reach the lab that was now illuminated by temporary lighting. The console and the screen had no power whatsoever and some of the equipment looked to be entirely friend by the overload when it was activated.
"Know what it is?" Radek asked and Loros laughed humourlessly.
"Of course I do…Oh Rodney…you poor soul"
"What is it?"
"It is a device that was built long after we submerged the city but a while before the evacuation. We began to lose hope of winning the war and sought to escape it in a different way, through the well-known process of Ascension. Of course, to Ascend it takes time, time that we did not have with the Wraith encroaching. This machine was built to alter the subjects DNA and set him or her on the path to Ascension at an accelerated rate" he said and Radek's eyes widened.
"So Rodney…?"
"Could be on the route to Ascension whether he likes it or not" Loros finished.
"What was the success rate?"
"That was the one thing that I was not privy to. I noticed that some of my people were missing, but it seemed to have work. They were able to escape the war and Ascend to a higher plain of existence. It is the path that I am on, only I can make the choice. I can either stay with some advanced abilities or I can shed my physical form and Ascend"
"Can Rodney make the choice?" Radek asked.
"I honestly do not know, Radek. He might be able to, given that he possesses the Lantean gene, even if it is artificial. This is also going to boost his ego to an incredible height. His intelligence will increase and he will gain multiple powers as a result of him using more than ten percent of his brain. It would be needless to say that for the time being, he will be impossible to live with. Of course this all depends if the device has done it"
"When is he not?" Radek asked and he chuckled.
"Let me know if you can repair the device so we can conduct more research"
"Will do" he said, before muttering in his native language.
Later, he was back with John and Rodney, who was cleared for active duty despite his concerns for himself. Loros decided not to tell him what it was, just in case it happened to have no affected him as all of his medical scans had shown up without any problems present not to mention, John would be bored otherwise.
"What are you saying?" Rodney asked after Radek had made some sort of statement.
"That you were showing off" Radek said before chuckling. "Normally, if Doctor Esposito weren't around, I doubt you would have been as reckless as you were" Radek pointed out and Loros had to wrack his mind for the name.
"Are you insane?" McKay asked, seemingly astonished.
"Which one's Esposito?" John asked.
"Oh, the long dark hair" Radek explained.
"The one who often smiles flirtatiously at John and I?" Loros asked, remembering her all of a sudden.
"Ah, right. The one with the perfect little, uh..." he was cut off by Rodney.
"Do you mind? We're trying to work here"
"For the record I was also going to say 'smile'" John grinned and Loros rolled his eyes, although it was true. Whilst flirtatious and the fact that he was not interested, she did look beautiful with that smile of hers.
"I have to go and report to Elizabeth" Loros said with a small smile.
"What do you think of the whole thing?" Elizabeth asked as he sat down after giving a full report and he sighed. In truth, he didn't know what to think. Rodney wasn't showing many signs of evolutionary advancement. The only sign of anything remotely different was somewhat enhanced hearing. So either the device didn't work properly or it's a delayed reaction. Most subjects displayed their powers sooner. He'd briefed Elizabeth on the nature of the device and had also had a small meeting with Rodney and Carson.
"I do not know what to make of it… If Rodney is indeed on the path to Ascension, then it will be quite difficult. He is human, so far behind evolution compared to me or my kind and this kind of 'jump start' as you refer to it might advance him too quickly"
"How so?"
"Humans have not gone through the necessary mental preparations to handle the process of Ascension and with Rodney, he is not exactly the type to believe in the mystic side of it. He will think of it as a scientific process rather than a natural one. The kind of meditation that it takes to bring a being to Ascension is long, constant and Rodney has extreme difficulty staying still as it is. Once his intelligence increases, I believe it will be damn near impossible to get him to stay still at all as his mind will constantly be working"
"What are his options?"
"Until we conduct more research on it, his options are limited"
"Okay then, I suppose we should get on it" she said and they both got up just as the Stargate activated. It was an unscheduled off-world activation, as per usual.
"We are receiving a transmission from Major Lorne's team" Chuck reported. It was over radio.
"Atlantis base, repeat: we are under attack and cut off from the Gate. I counted at least twenty, maybe more. Request back-up immediately!" Lorne had said.
"Get Sheppard's team up here" Elizabeth ordered.
They were briefed on what had happened and soon the team was away. In the meanwhile, Radek had managed to access the lab's research logs so they would have a more in-depth understanding of the device and its effects. However he wanted a second opinion and Loros said that Elizabeth could use it as an opportunity to practice Ancient.
"Doctor Weir, Loros. Any word?" he asked, concerned.
"Not yet. It has only been an hour. You wanted to see me?"
"Yes. I could use your help. I managed to get power to part of the console to access the lab's research logs" Radek explained.
"Well that's good news" she smiled slightly.
"Well, I'm not so sure. I could use a second opinion" he said and she stepped up to the console and accessed a page of the text. Loros stood next to the console and read it alongside her.
"It seems much of this refers to different elements of human physiology. It mentions the mutation of base genetic coding" she said and he rose a brow. Ancient physiology was similar to that of a human's, being the first evolution of humanity, however, there were some differences. The gene being chief amongst them.
"I realise Doctor Beckett said that there were no evident effects from Rodney's exposure to the device. It seems..." he let it hang.
"…meant to manipulate human DNA" Elizabeth said and they all looked concerned.
"Doctor Weir to the Jumper Bay. The rescue team has returned" Chuck reported over the radio and the three of them rushed down to see the rear hatch of the Puddle Jumper opening and both McKay and Sheppard were arguing.
"What else could it be?!" Rodney had asked.
"You're losing your mind!" John retorted.
"I'm telling you, it's a bit of a coincidence!"
"Well, then prove it!"
"Colonel?" Elizabeth got them back on track.
"Everyone's present and accounted for" John said as Carson rushed in with three other medics, asking if anyone was actually hurt.
"No-one, Doc. We're all fine...thanks to McKay" Lorne said sarcastically.
"So he says" John replied.
"Rodney?" Elizabeth asked.
"Well, to be honest, I'm not entirely sure. I wasn't even sure it was me at first, but the correlation's impossible to ignore. I saw Lorne's team pinned down, the bad guys closing in - I just thought, you know, wouldn't it be great if all their weapons jammed at the same time?" he explained and Loros raised a brow with the others. "Next thing I know, they're all running away, so…"
"So you think because you wanted it to happen, it just did" Elizabeth said cynically.
"It was a little more than that" he retorted and she nods sarcastically. "OK. You know what? Watch this. I'll, uh..." he suddenly gestured to Carson who began to levitate in mid-air.
"He's manifesting…" Loros said.
"Rodney!" Carson protested.
"Rodney?" Elizabeth asked, amazed at the sight that she was seeing.
"Believe me, I find this just as disturbing as you do" the Canadian said, earning a retort from the Scot was still floating. At Elizabeth's urging he lowered the MD down to the ground and he sighed in relief whilst Loros shook his head.
Later, Evan and Loros were in Elizabeth's office where she explained that Rodney's synaptic activity was increasing dramatically above human levels. Loros realised that he was in fact on the path to Ascension now, but the question was whether or not it would work.
"You seem familiar with this" Loros noted.
"SG-1 discovered a highly-evolved human being in stasis. It turned out he was a result of experimentation by a Goa'uld named Anubis. He was trying to create a means of artificially accelerating human physiology to the point of ascension" she explained.
"I guess that proves McKay did help save our asses out there" Lorne said.
"And it also proves he is on the path to Ascension" Loros added on.
In the lab, John was working on a console just as Elizabeth was and Loros and Lorne were with them, looking at the information they found.
"Look we all agree that the Ancients were pretty screwed up" John began.
"Ahem!" Loros cleared his throat.
"Well aside from one I know. All the ones I met were arrogant, condescending - and not for good reason. They made giant mistakes and never fixed 'em" he said and once more had to defend himself from Loros' patented eyebrow raise. "Again except for one I know" he said sheepishly and the other carried on working with a grin.
"They were still human" she said.
"But then there were all those crazy rules"
"Oh allow me to simplify as my empathy and telepathy is manifesting. Providing the device works, he wants you to allow him to use it in the hope that he can gain the abilities of a near-Ascended being like myself and Rodney"
"Yes you can be next" she said.
"Thank you" he grinned and carried on.
"You know, if you're compiling a list, I'd…" he's cut off.
"Could we stay focused please?" she pleaded.
Later, Loros was working at a console in the Control Room, once more with Evan by his side when they discovered that Rodney could read minds. Loros sighed as he read Rodney's own mind and discovered what he intended to do in the Chair Room which would more than likely impede his research on that blasted device. The Control Room had access to all of the files on all of the devices within the city, so he may be able to find out more.
"There really will be no living with him…" Loros muttered.
"Patience already wearing thin?" Evan asked with a grin.
"Not only is his intelligence increasing vastly, but his ego is beginning to wear down my patience faster than the non-evolved Rodney ever could. Soon we'll be dealing with flickering lights, panels and screens. And if he affects power in the area where Radek is working, well we will be hearing angry muttering in his native language" Loros said as Elizabeth radioed him.
"Loros…I'm getting to the good bit" she said and he rose a brow.
"You could not come over to tell me?" he asked with a grin.
"It's like a good novel…you can't look away" was how she explained it and he headed over just as John came in with them.
"Well how's it coming?"
"She's getting to the good bit, sir" Lorne said.
"Don't you hate it when people interrupt right when things are getting good?" he asked just as the lights began to flicker again. "I know McKay is some super-genius now, but I find the flickering lights incredibly unnerving" he said.
"Doctor Coleman has, however reluctantly, admitted it does seem as if Rodney is significantly improving the city's power system" she said and Loros agreed.
"Whatever. Anyway, you were saying?"
"Well, we know the Ancients evolved physiologically to a certain point where they could transform into a state of pure energy"
"Ancient History 101" John grinned.
"Yes. We also know that not all of them managed to get there" she said.
"Hence this device. They needed a kick in the pants" Evan said.
"So to speak. I think this machine was not meant to help them fight the war against the Wraith but rather to help them escape it"
"Hence the supposedly benign effect" Loros said.
"It's definitely like the one they tried to make in the Milky Way" Elizabeth said.
"Are you saying that McKay is going to Ascend?" John asked with a frown.
"Loros explained to me that it is not all about being physically evolved. He has to be in the right mental state for it" Elizabeth said and he knew. "Like I said, just getting to the good bit"
"We will leave you to it" Loros smiled, needing to take a breath.
"You three, wait" she said, moving forward. "We need to talk to Rodney right away" Elizabeth said.
The conversation was mainly one sided as Rodney was capable of reading all of their minds. His evolution was accelerated and he needed to be mentally capable as well as physically capable of Ascending and unlike Loros, he didn't have a choice in the matter. The machine was a one of many failures of the Ancients and if he doesn't Ascend, he is very much a dead man.
During his mind reading tirade, there were power surges across the city and soon Loros was able to sense Radek in severe pain and soon it felt like he was fading. It manifested in the form of pain which caused him to collapse to his knees.
"What is it?" Elizabeth asked.
"Radek. He was hit by a power surge" he breathed out.
Loros was in his room, recovering from the bout of pain he had received as a result of Radek's near death. According to Elizabeth who had visited him, Rodney's healing power had manifested and he had saved the Czech. Loros breathed a sigh of relief, for his own healing powers had yet to manifest themselves. Physically he was fine, but mentally he was a little shaken up as he had not only felt the pain of another, but he could feel their life fading from him.
"Here…" Evan offered him a drink.
"Thank you…"
"What was that?" Evan asked.
"Hyper-empathy. I can sense everyone's emotions and feel their physical pain. I felt a burning pain in my chest, the exact place where Radek had been hit and I could feel his life fading…" Loros said, hands shaking a little. "I have never felt something like that in all my life…And I am not sure that I want to…"
"If it wasn't for you discovering his injury, he'd have been found much later…" Evan wrapped his arms around him from behind. "You helped save him…"
"How is he now?" Loros asked, concerned.
"All normal, as though it hadn't happened…"
"And Rodney?"
"Just as shaken as you…" he said and pecked his cheek. "You may have felt pain for it, but you did help to save the man's life. It's a small price to pay don't you think?"
"I suppose so…" he said with a sigh. "I just hope that I do not have an experience like that again. To feel someone's pain is one thing, but to feel their life fading fast is another…it is frightening. You can feel what they are feeling…"
"A gift as well as a curse?" John asked when he came in.
"Very much so… Have you spoken to Rodney?" Loros asked.
"He's sealed himself in his lab. Elizabeth's trying to talk to him, see if we can get him to Ascend so he has a chance of re-taking human form after the fact"
The next day, John, Elizabeth and Loros were in the Mess Hall having lunch together and discussing their options with Rodney. His EEG was far too high for him to Ascend and Loros knew he had to be considerably relaxed and in the right mental state in order to complete the process. And with Rodney, those levels may not come down at all.
"I think he's having a hard time accepting this can't be solved with science, no matter how brilliant he is" Elizabeth said.
"You know what he needs? He needs to release his burden" John said.
"Yeah, well, you know McKay" she said and they nodded.
"Perhaps Doctor Heightmeyer would be able to assist?" Loros suggested.
"Actually I was thinking more along the lines of you two" she said and they rose their brows. "Well, you are one of the obvious choices. Not only are you an Ancient, but you yourself are going through this evolutionary advancement. John you spent six months with them on the brink of Ascension. You helped them face their fears and they final Ascended"
"I fought a scary monster, that's what I do best"
"And for Rodney, I'm sure this seems like a pretty scary monster"
"We obviously need to reduce his EEG, but you know what Rodney is like Elizabeth. The man can hardly sit still when he was an unaltered human. He is always working. Now that his intelligence has increased, he will not stop working and getting him to sit still will be next to impossible…"
"We'll find a way to get him to relax"
Loros was the first to make the attempt. He took the Canadian and the device that monitors his brain to his room which was closest to the sea. He found that during his meditation to bring out his powers, all he had to do was listen to the relaxing sounds of the ocean so perhaps it might work on Rodney.
"I really don't think this will work" Rodney protested.
"It is better to try than not at all. Lie on the bed and make yourself as comfortable as you can" he started, setting up the laptop and the Ancient device. "The idea of this exercise is to make you as comfortable as you can be and get you to relax as much as possible to drop your EEG. I merely listen to the waves and relish in the peace and quiet when I meditate for this"
"Yeah but you're you. You're so laidback about everything"
"Because there is no sense in panicking or worrying about every little thing"
"We live in a Galaxy populated by aliens that feed on you with their hands"
"Panicking may have saved you in the past, but in some cases, a clear mind and a relaxed demeanour also has numerous benefits. The more you panic, the higher your EEG. Close your eyes and drown out everything but the sounds of the ocean and my voice" he said and Rodney sighed. "Do not think about your reading…merely take slow, deep breaths and clear your mind of any anxieties. Allow yourself to drift into more positive memories…"
"You know I just thought of a way to improve the Puddle Jumper's shield…"
"Rodney…" Loros said exasperatedly. "Relax…"
"I've never relaxed so much…not to the point that we're attempting…"
"Then might I suggest a lower intake of caffeine? Lie back down and start trying to relax. You need to do this in order to Ascend so you can retake human form…" He began to relax, dropping his level a couple of times before his anxiety got the better of him.
"How am I doing?"
"If you think about it…then it will not work" Loros said softly.
"Maybe Sheppard can help. If not, then I don't have much time left…" he said, leaving the room with the equipment. Evan came in not long after.
"No luck?"
"I was surprised I was able to get him to lie down and relax a little. John may have more luck than what I do, having known him a lot longer" Loros sighed. "I think I may help Zelenka work on a more technical solution. There has to be a way to reverse the effects of this device. It cannot be a case of being hit with it and then dying because you are not able to Ascend. Not even my kind would leave a technology that could kill themselves…"
Rodney had spent the day going around to the members of his team and performing sentimental deeds. Elizabeth had received a five hundred page book on all the good things she had done whilst she was in command, he performed a memorial tea service for Teyla's father and he even healed Ronon's scars. He had apologised for snapping at Loros during the siege but the Ancient had quickly forgiven him. The last thing he had given him was the last known coordinates of the Tria, so he could bring it back for repairs and so it could be used again. He made one last attempt at trying to lower his EEG before he collapsed in Sheppard's room and Elizabeth called him to be at Rodney's bedside as he slowly faded.
"The synaptic activity in your brain has reached over ninety percent. I don't know why, but it seems the more pervasive evolved state of the cortex is causing lapses in the lower brain function. It's almost as if your body's losing its natural ability to keep itself alive" Carson explained.
"When Ascension occurs as it should…the physical body is no longer needed" Loros said softly.
"Rodney, I don't know how much more you can take…" Carson said.
"About six percent?" he smiled faintly.
"There must be something we can do" John pleaded with Carson and Loros, but the Lantean could only look down in sadness and mutter a prayer in the hope that his Ascended brethren would listen.
"It's OK. You know, I'm actually feeling a sense of peace... interspersed with moments of sheer terror, of course" Rodney said.
"Rodney, as far as this ascension thing, I know you didn't have much success but at this point, what've you got to lose?" John asked.
"May as well go out fighting, huh?"
"Absolutely" John smiled slightly.
"Hook me up" Rodney said and Carson put the band on his head. "Carson? Thank you. Thank you for everything" he said softly.
"I only wished I could have done more, my friend" the Scot replied.
"Clear blue skies. All my troubles, just drifting away. Ocean waves, all my anxieties just leaving my mind. OK... stop talking now" he said and John smiled to himself, just as Loros did as well.
"Rodney, you're a good person. Know that we love you" Elizabeth said gently.
"You love me? Really? All of you?" he asked with a small smile.
"In a way a friend feels about another friend" John replied awkwardly.
"You're just saying that because I'm gonna die. Oh god. I can't believe I'm gonna die" he began to slip into a panic and John shared an alarmed look with Loros and Elizabeth
"Alright, just back to the blue skies and the ocean. Let your thoughts go. Concentrate on your breathing" John instructed. The EEG reading dropped to two and then to one. He was so close.
"Oh my god" Carson said quietly.
Suddenly Rodney surged up in the bed and grabbed Carson by the lapels of his medical coat. He stared frantically into Carson's eyes. As Carson gazed back in shock, the E.E.G. reading raced up to sixty two, then plummeted back downwards again. Rodney's eyes roll up into his head and he dropped back down onto the bed. Behind Carson, the E.E.G. reading showed zero and the message "No reading" flashed.
"He's not breathing, quick. Bag him, we need to get him on a ventilator" Carson said urgently.
"Carson he gave us strict orders not to…" Elizabeth is cut off.
"You don't understand, he just told me how to save him!"
Loros was in the lab with Elizabeth, Teyla and Zelenka, said Ancient helping the scientist to get the device ready to revert McKay back to his unevolved self. Carson radioed in that they were on their way but his pulse was very weak. Loros himself could feel Rodney's life slipping away and he began to work faster.
"Are you ready?" Carson asked.
"We will be" Elizabeth said and she looked at them both.
"Almost" they replied in unison.
Ronon came in then, carrying the unconscious Rodney before placing him in the middle of the room, right below the machine. With relief, Loros reports that the console is working and they are able to get it going. Radek urges them to stand back as the green energy stream floats down and swirls around the Canadian's body before returning to the machine. Rodney jerks up and looks around, all of them rushing to him.
Later, Loros was once more on his balcony and deep in thought. His predecessors had proven to be very complex. Arrogant and strong in the opening years and then weak and ready to give up in the latter years of their war. Evan and John came onto the balcony with him, clasping each of his hands and he smiled.
"What are you thinking about?" Evan asked.
"I am thinking I should walk around this city and shut down everything dangerous…"
"I think all of us should…" John said.
"Your people have lost lives to the supposed advanced technology of my kind. A nanovirus that later gave rise to the Asurans, a facility built in a super volcano, Project Arcturus and now a machine that forces a human to either Ascend or die. I knew my predecessors were willing to win the war for the benefit of the galaxy, but their weapons have proven barbaric. A nanovirus designed to terrorize the infectee before it ruptures an artery in the brain?" he asked rhetorically.
"And now they're not here to take responsibility…"
"No. Your people suffer for it now… It's time I made sure it was all shut off…"