Chapter 37

A gambit of emotion and confusion ran thru Daniel. The revelations of the last few days ultimately boiling over. He stood there, emoteless and immobile, until finally he found the courage to speak.

"What-the-hell-is-going-on?!"

"I know you must be very confused."

"Confused? Confused, doesn't begin to explain how I feel right now. I have had so much crap dumped on me the last few days I feel as if my head is about to explode!"

"And you deserve to know the reasons why. That is why you are here."

Aja walked up to Daniel and grabbed him by the hands, "Follow me."

"Where?"

"Just over to the console. There is something I want you to see."

"Why?"

"Because all anyone has been doing to either one of us is telling us things. I am not sure about you but I am tired of all the exposition. Besides, what I am about to show you I cannot readily explain it. It must be experienced to truly be understood. Will you come?"

Daniel looked into Aja's eyes. There was a kindness to them. Although everything within him told him to be weary, he could help but trust them too.

"Yes."

oooo

"Dammit Daniel!" Mitchell exclaimed as he materialized in the ring room of the Goa'uld ship.

The other members of the boarding party looked to Mitchell in momentary confusion. It took them only seconds to realize that there was someone missing.

"Where's Dr. Jackson?" Rodney asked as he looked around the room. "Wasn't he with us when we ringed aboard?"

"No," Mitchell replied as he held down the button on his radio. "Odyssey this Mitchell, come in."

"Yes, Colonel. This is Lieutenant Boggs. We read you loud and clear."

"Odyssey, Dr. Jackson is not with us is he still on the ship?"

Several seconds passed as they anxiously awaited their response.

"Negative, Colonel. Dr. Jackson ringed to the planet moments after you matierialized on the ship."

"And you just let him go!"

"He said it was important Colonel. And Dr. Jackson doesn't usually say something like that unless it really is."

"Dr. Jackson also rarely defies orders, or abadons his team. Would that tell you that something is not right with this situation?"

Silence fill the air as the Lieutenant realized he was right.

"Sorry, sir."

"Listen, Boggs, don't go beating yourself up over this. You're doing what everyone else does where Dr. Jackson is concerned: you ignore it, let the chips fall where they may, and hope it all works out in the end. Hell, SG1 does it, why shouldn't you?"

"Yes, sir. What are your orders sir?"

"There are three things I need you to do, ASAP. Are we clear?"

"Crystal. Anything you as want you, Colonel."

"First, you locate Colonel Carter, tell her she can pull her ass away from her experiments for two seconds and have her ring up to the ship immediately. When she asks why, and knowing Sam how could she not, you tell her to think about that colorful conversation we had in the elevator when this mess all started."

"Already working on it sir. Anything else?"

"Next, I want you to find Dr. Lam. Tell her whats going on and tell her to go over Daniel's test again. Especially anything she ran on that supposed memory burst."

"Is there anything specific you want her to look for?"

"A trigger."

"Consider it done."

"And, Boggs, this is the most important. Send a message to Atlantis. Find out if anything strange has happened since the last time we spoke to them. Be discreet about it a possible. Understood."

"As you wish Colonel."

"Mitchell out," as he let go of the radio button and turned to the rest of the boarding party.

"What's going on, Colonel?" Rodney asked trying not to let his anxiousness get the better of him. "Why did you have them contact Atlantis?"

"I'm not entirely sure, but I have a sinking suspicion that we may have just walked into a trap."

oooo

Daniel watched as Aja led him thru the colored glass corridors. It reminded him of the outpost they had discovered in Antartica, only on a much grander scale. Sensing his curiousity, she looked back and smiled before speaking.

"It was a museum."

"A museum?" he asked quizzically as they continued on thru the structure.

Aja nodded, "The size of an entire city. They called it Shambala."

"Like the mythical city of Buddhist lore. On our planet there are legends of a city of great enlightenment in which its citizens lived in peacefully tranquility and harmony."

"That it was."

"You said it was a museum. What was it dedicated to?"

"The Great Path."

"Ascension?"

Aja watched as Daniel's eyes went wide with excitement. Just as Netan's did when he made some great discovery. She couldn't help but giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"You remind me of my husband. He's a historian. He tends to beam in the same manner as you just did."

"Where is your husband, I would like to meet him."

"He is with your friends on our ship. I suspect they are getting better acquainted as we speak."

The manner in which she spoke struck Daniel as odd. It was a strange almost sing-songy tone. He was about to inquire as to exactly what she he realized they had suddenly stopped.

"We're here."

Daniel looked at the sight before him in momentary confusion. It looked to be nothing more than a large aquarium.

"I don't understand."

"Look closer."

Despite his internal objections, Daniel stepped closer until he was just inches from the glass. It was then he saw it. Floating at the bottom of the tank was a large whale-like creature.

"What is it?"

"An experiment."

"An experiment? What kind?"

"When the virus began wiping out the Ancients, Ascension was the last thing on any of their minds. They went about to find a cure thru more scientific means to cheat death. They had discovered a planet of reptile that contained amazing regenerative abilities. They felt that if they studied the creature hard enough, they could determine the means in which they did so and scientifically replicate it. The experiments they conducted were cruel and inhuman. They cared not for the well being of the creature or how it suffered. Only that it could mean the end of their suffering. They justified this behavior by saying that they were sentient and therefore, did not understand suffering. Eventually they came to realize this was not true and the experiments were abandoned."

"How did they discover they were sentient?"

"By accident. One of the reptiles escaped and was exposed to a highly radioactive substance. This substance caused the reptile to mutate, become intelligent. It soon produced offspring that showed not only intellect but the ability to learn. The experiments were deemed to be immoral and they were abandoned. They left the reptiles on a planet where they could flourish and evolve on their own. The Ancients eventually died out but these reptiles only continued their evolution. They crossed paths with the local inhabitants of the planet for which they were essentially abadoned and learned to take the next steps in their evolution thru symbiosis with these unfortunate creatures. It was at this time that they discovered the meaning of emotions and memories and you'll never forget the first thing they discovered."

"Pain. Suffering. The cruelty that the Ancients ahd inflicted on them."

Aja smiled softly, "I knew you would catch on."

Yeah," Daniel said as dread began to build in the pit of his stomach. "I think I know where this is headed."

Bending down so that he was now face to face with what he realized was a lifeless creature, he fought back the tears, the anger, the rage that was slowly building inside of him.

"Its a Goa'uld" he whispered as his voice cracked softly from the emotion of the revelation. "You're telling me that the Ancients were responsible for the creation of the Goa'uld."