Chapter Nine: First Day
Clark muffled a yawn with the back of his hand, as he was called over the inter communication system set up around the city. Sitting up on what passed as a bed, he moved over to the system's console.
"Kent." He replied, pressing the button.
"Good. You're finally up." Came the rough voice of Major Sheppard, "Come down to the gate room when you're ready, Rodney's found something."
Clark nodded to himself, muffling yet another yawn. "Sure, sure. Kent Out."
Using super-speed, Clark was ready and heading up to the gate room in five minutes; his assault rifle clipped to the buckle on his vest, and his ear piece switched on, ready for his first official day working in the Atlantis Armed Forces. Technically speaking, he was the only person worthy of being in the Atlantis Military, if Mckay was right in his assessment that he was in fact, not a Kryptonian, but an Ancient.
Clark passed many people in the halls, all of them running around doing god knows what. Come to think of it, he didn't have much of a clue to what his general duties were, because he was sure they wouldn't be going off-world every day.
Frowning slightly, he quickly ascended the steps and entered the gate room where Carter, Sheppard and Mckay were hovering over a flat screen console watching information scroll rapidly up the screen.
They appeared to be in the middle of a conversation that Mckay was heading.
"Well, see, before, we didn't know about the Ancients hierarchy, we thought that this was a city, not a huge laboratory...And if it is, then it would stand to reason that there would be one chief scientist."
Sheppard fidgeted slightly, moving his weight onto the other foot as he stared at Mckay. "So, your saying that one person had control of the whole city?...Sorry, Laboratory?" He asked, eyebrows raised.
"Well, essentially, yes. I mean, for all we know, the Ancient's didn't know that Atlantis even existed. For all we know, a village worth of ancients could have built this place and repopulated it."
Sheppard's head moved in a weird circle, before he shrugged. "So...?"
"Well, this...this Jor-El fellow, he pops up in almost every project. It's possible, no, quite probable, that he's the person that created Atlantis. And if this is true, well, let's just say he's a pure scientific genius, but maybe, just maybe, he was smart enough to escape before it went under. Maybe, and it's a big maybe, he's still out there?"
"He's not."
All the faces in the room turned to stare at Clark, who had been standing in the door way.
Mckay shook his head, dismissing him instantly. "What? You wouldn't know...you only found out you were an ancient yesterday..." He muttered to himself as he turned back around and began keying in some buttons on the console.
Carter wasn't so quick to dismiss him, however. "What do you mean, Clark?"
Clark walked into the room and stared at the screen, watching the information fly by.
"Jor-El..." He repeated to himself. "He left Atlantis. Went back to their home planet, which was destroyed by a nuclear device made by the Wraith. I'm guessing it was the Wraith..."
"How do you know?" Sam reiterated quickly.
"Because...if Jor-El was still out there, I wouldn't have been sent to Earth."
"You've heard of the name before...Jor-El?" She asked uncertainly.
Clark nodded. "Yes. He was my Father."
Carter's eyes went wide, as she turned to Mckay, who again, dismissed the notion.
"Again, you can't possibly know that...there's no proof."
Clark shook his head and walked over to the console, pushing McKay's chair away, before typing something in. He then moved back, as the information changed, and a man's head appeared on all the screen's in the room.
He began talking through the speakers, and Clark instantly began saying every word that was being said along with him.
""You will travel far, my little Kal-El. But we will never leave you... even in the face of our deaths... the richness of our lives shall be yours. All that I have, all that I've learned, everything I feel... all this, and more... I bequeath you, my son. You will carry me inside you all the days of your life. You will make my strength your own, and see my life through your own eyes, as your life will be seen through mine. The son becomes the father, and the father the son. This is all I can send you, Kal-El.
My son, you will not remember me. I am Jor-El. I am your father. By the time you reach Earth, by their reckoning, I will have been dead for many thousands of years. The knowledge that I have, matters physical and historic, I will give to you fully on your voyage to your new home. These are important matters to be sure, but still matters of mere fact. How does a Good man live? What is virtue'? When does a man's obligation to those around him exceed his obligation to himself'? These are not simple questions - even on Krypton there is no precise science which provides us with the answers. I can only tell you what I myself believe. To this end, I have tried to anticipate your questions, and in -the order of their importance to you.
Your name is Kal-El. You are the only survivor of the planet Krypton. Even though you will be raised as a human being, you are not one of them. You will have great powers, which you will grow into with age.
You are superior to others. You can only become inferior by setting yourself above them. Lead by inspiration. Let your actions and ideals become a touchstone against which mankind may learn how to serve the common good. While it is forbidden for you to interfere with human history itself, your leadership can stir others to their own capacity for moral betterment
The virtuous spirit has no need for thanks or approval. Only the certain conviction that what has been done is right. Develop such conviction in yourself, Kal-El. The human heart on your planet is still subject to small jealousies, lies, and monstrous deceptions. Resist these temptations as you inevitably find them - and your ethical power will then properly outweigh your physical advantage over others...
Live as one of them, Kal-El, to discover where your strength and power are needed - but always hold in your heart the pride of your special heritage. Your being is both separate and your own , but I have caused your earthly presence and must share responsibility for your actions. They can be a great people, Kal-El. They wish to be. They only lack the light to show the way. For this reason above all - their capacity for good - I have sent them you…my only son. The Last Son of Krypton."
"So Dr. Swann was right...about Krypton." Clark added slightly, as an afterthought.
The group stared at Clark, gobsmacked.
"So...so, your Kal-El?" Sam asked.
"Yes." Was his one worded reply.
"How did you know how to do that?" McKay asked, as he stared down at the keyboard like console. "You've heard that message before?" he added.
Clark nodded. "It was repeated over and over again in my spaceship on the way to earth. The name...Jor-El. It triggered my memory, and I instantly thought it of...What more proof do you need, Dr.?"
McKay remained silent, still staring at the console, so Sam intervened.
"Ok. So, Jor-El was the Chief Scientist of Atlantis? If that's true; because most things are activated due to blood, and how much of the Ancient gene you have in you; you should be able to control every aspect of Atlantis. Not even other Ancient's would have as much power as you, Clark...because as Chief, he'd want to be able to secure things himself, and as your his Son...you're the only person who has near, to exact matching genes as him."
Clark shrugged. "I guess..."
McKay stared at him for a second, before standing up and ushering him to a console further into the room, in the corner. "Now try and unlock everything...just touch the panel, and think about unlocking everything..." He said hurriedly, before rushing back to his own console.
Clark raised an eyebrow at Sam, who just shrugged. He placed his hand on what looked like a big version of a piano key, which glowed red for a brief second, before changing colour to green, and remaining lit up. He glanced at McKay, who was busy typing away.
A few seconds later McKay jumped up and punched the air.
"Unbelievable..." McKay said, as he went back to typing.
"What is it, Rodney?" Sam asked, going to stand next to him.
"Ken...I mean, Kal-El...you know the 3rd and 5th Pier?" He asked Sheppard, stopping and turning conversations as he tried to get out what he was trying to say.
Sheppard gave a slight nod. "Yeah, they've been on lockdown ever since we've arrived."
"Exactly." McKay said. "Now they're not." He quickly typed in something else, before sitting back and staring at the screen. "All Primary and Secondary Systems online...All Outer and Inner City Scanners are fully Functional...every where's come off lockdown." He said smugly.
The information on the screen changed as a scanner came up, and then McKay's eyes bugged out.
"Oh Lord in Heaven..." He muttered, he gaped at the screen for another few seconds before saying, "We've been so stupid...We've been so preoccupied looking for them off-world that we never thought about if the Ancient's would have kept a spare, which would have been an obvious thing for them to do! But then again, it's been in a locked down area...and we would still need to have someone powerful enough with the gene to active it..." He muttered.
He then turned to the team.
"Kal-El's just activated a fully functional ZPM..." he said in disbelief, pointing to a glowing orange dot that beeped and sent ripples going over the whole layout of Atlantis.
