Chapter Thirteen

The interview

Part I

-An IWN and ABC news exclusive: Exploring our interstellar neighbors-

"Good evening everyone, I'm your host, Natasha Klopton and tonight, we present to you the third in our expanded series of special broadcasts on interstellar allies and cultures of our galaxy. We are here at the Kobollian Embassy in New York, speaking to the Colonial missionaries of the Colonies of Kobol located in the Cyrannus star system. And as a bonus, IWN's own reporter (Julian Donovan) will conduct a special interview with Ambassador Richard Adar, former President of the Colonies of the Cyrannus system. If you've been watching the news then y know that two days ago these visitors and other dignitaries from the Kobollian consulate were the subject of a terrorists attack by Islamic radicals, and as we've just discovered the attackers were joined by family members of a pilot that was lost in the battle against Colonials forces that invaded our system. In that battle three years ago the Colonial military lost more than four thousand combatants. In contrast, combined Earth force losses amounted to less than thirty men and women. Since the attack, tensions between the two nations have fluctuated between open hostility and the beginnings of a coming together to improve relations. Both nations came together and have built a small but significant trading station, a sort of way point where, despite the tensions, trade has begun and slowly increased. In a surprise move, several countries have invited Colonial religious representatives to Earth in a sort of cultural exchange as to better improve our relational and cultural understanding. That attempt at improved communication between our nations has taken a setback when one member of the small entourage was killed Saturday. In that attack, Colonial missionary Linus Abner was killed his contemporary Julian Soter was injured and is now hospitalized at an undisclosed location. Thousands of people across the globe have condemned this vicious attack, one that has embarrassed security forces scrambling to ensure that all the perpetrators and any others that aided them are swiftly caught and brought to justice.

This terrorist action has come as a great embarrassment to the security forces of Earth. Several of our new interstellar allies have condemned the attack and have expressed concern for the safety of the people of their own consulates. Our of respect, this scheduled interview was almost postponed to a later date, however Father Patreneus insisted that the interview proceed saying that terrorists should never be allowed to dictate the actions of innocent citizens. We've had terrorist attacks in the colonies and we've learned this maxim. 'There are differences between martyrs and terrorists. A martyr will be willing to die for their cause. A terrorists will kill you for their cause and they are never satisfied. They are animals to be put down and to be stood up against'. With those words, he chose to proceed with this interview."

Tonight, we will speak to two members of the religious leadership of the colonies of Kobol, High Priest Tyberi Patrenus leader of the Kobollian missionaries and Priestess Elosha Gale about their culture and beliefs as well as their plans while staying on Earth. We also have special guest Doctor Daniel Jackson who will join our guests live via satellite, in the third of our hour long conversations with our extraterrestrial neighbors. Thank you Doctor Jackson for being here once more."

"Thank you for having me again. I thought you'd be tired of me by now."

"Nonsense. You're the premier expert of first contacts involving Earth for the last twenty-five years which includes the Asgard and the Kobollians of the Cyrannus system. Can you explain the events that occurred during the first contact with the Colonies and the war involving the Asgard that placed you near the Cyrannus system in the first place?"

"Well, as you well know that some of those actions and events have been un-classified, but not all of it. But that does mean that I have been authorized to tell you a lot more that you already know."

"We know very little about the war that Earth participated in with the Asgard other than the fact that the enemy used organic ships and threatened a large portion of the galaxy."

"Which is one of the reasons why I'm here as you know. There was an incursion by aliens that looked at this portion of the galaxy as new experimental territory. We'd never directly encountered them but once they discovered our presence, they weren't happy. In their, I use the word 'section' of the galaxy there is a human Alliance that these aliens have genetically modified so that they would be perceived as beings of light or angels to the local populations. Most of the species in that sector were modified by these aliens and, we suspect another group in opposition to these aliens did the same thing to others in some grand experiment. When our vessels unintentionally visited that sector we unknowingly caught their attention. Apparently, we contaminated their experiment by our mere presence. At the same time we intrigued them and they followed us. With our section of the galaxy teeming with unmodified life, they considered us a fertile playground."

"So, are you saying that these aliens intended to modify us in the same way as they had with this Alliance?" The young reporter looked aghast as Jackson nodded. "That's horrible."

"Well, to be accurate, they didn't what to modify us as much as kill us all, and by that I mean everyone on Earth. We caused them a few problems earlier and they apparently thought things would be better for them if we were all dead. Thor told me that these aliens described the Asgard as a Middle Race that although matured still required their guidance."

"And once more for our audience, who is Thor?"

"Thor was the supreme head of the Asgard fleet. These aliens…"

"Whose name you refuse to say…" she dryly muttered, having gone through this conversation many times previously.

"It's still classified," Daniel Jackson answered matter-of-factly. "Anyway, when they entered our sector of space their fleet proceeded to interfere with the first two inhabited worlds that they encountered. One of these planets was under the Protected Planets Treaty. The Asgard warned the aliens off but were ignored. The Asgard were still recovering from the replicator invasion but they went to war with the invaders and they called on us for help."

"Why did they ask us?"

Because we were already at war with them and we were the only ones willing and able to help, even with our tiny forces. It was all or nothing. We sent everything we had, six ships at that time, and fought alongside the Asgard. Three populated worlds which included the planet Orillia the home of the Asgard, were destroyed before we pushed them back through the rift. Those worlds were destroyed because we, meaning our contact teams had visited them and as such the enemy considered those worlds 'contaminated'."

"What do you mean rift?" Latasha looked horrified as the implications sunk in. "How many people died, including the Asgard?"

"Ah, yes," he smiled sheepishly. "That's what we call their section of space. We know over four hundred thousand people on two planets died. We don't know the numbers of Asgard lost at the Battle or Orillia. That was where the final fettle occurred; that's where we broke them. We wiped out their fleet but in the process the Asgard home world was destroyed. The few Asgard that survived entrusted us to keep their legacy as well as enforce and honor the Protected Planets Treaty. Thor's fleet engaged and destroyed the enemy at the cost of their lives. Our surviving ships were returning home when the Prometheus suffered a malfunction in their hyperdrive and found themselves in the Cyrannus system."

"That's where the Kobollians were first encountered."

"Yes. At first, the contact went well while we fixed our drive system. But all of that changed when we told the Colonials that we weren't really interested in joining them as the Thirteenth Tribe, which we weren't, that we weren't interested or required by their reasoning to share any of our technology, and that we were not followers of their gods, and that we weren't cylon infiltrators or pirates, things went downhill from there. Their reaction, well it didn't inspire us with confidence. I think they believed if we were their Thirteenth Tribe, we would fall over ourselves trying to join them and when we didn't, they were very upset to put it mildly. When we tried to leave they tried to stop us and we were forced to defend ourselves. Several of their warships were damaged or destroyed and we left the system in a hurry. They didn't know where Earth was located but they searched for us. When the Cylons found us and the Colonial war fleet found the Cylons, their military tried to bring us into the fold by force of arms."

"That battle was years ago. Relations between our two nations have since improved."

"They've improved somewhat," Jackson admitted, "And faster than I anticipated. At least we're not shooting at each other. The trade station is doing well and we have embassies on both sides. Things are improving slowly but we still have a ways to go."

"The death and injury of the missionaries has caused a political embarrassment for Earth. Will the Colonials consider this a deliberate act, designed to keep tension between our two governments high?"

"Well, I'm not privy to the thoughts of the Colonials since they're here to answer questions on their own. But I can say that we will do everything in our power to keep from having anything like this ever happening again. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people on both sides out there who are more than willing to go and try to kill someone whose views and opinions differ from themselves."

"It's been suggested that one of the ways to relieve the tension between the two governments is to give the Cylon people back to the Colonies. Do you believe that Earth is willing to do this?"

"Absolutely not!" said Daniel Jackson. "Under no circumstances would Earth even consider doing something like that. Despite what the Colonials have told us and despite the fact that the Colonials basically created the Cylons in the first place, they are living entities, accorded the rights of sentient beings just like any other. They are not something that you try to simply barter with in order to achieve a peaceful resolution. Granted they did planned to destroy the Colonial people, but there were at war and they lost. You don't have to exterminate a group of people to get your point across and that's exactly what they are, people."

"There are people like the Kinseys, who believe that Earth should isolate itself from the rest of the galaxy because of the incidents and threats that you've described. They have stated for the record that the people of Earth should not get involved in affairs of other worlds. In fact, they are staunchly against continuing to enforce the Protected Planets Treaty or associating with any of those worlds having to do with what the treaty represents, stating that their safety and security is none of our concern. They've also have raised the question as to why aren't we talking to the current System Lords to try to calm the fears of our growing militaristic attitudes and expansionists ways."

"These are the same people who demanded the Asgard give all of their technology to us simply because we were Terrans. As the record shows, these same people were in association with elements that attempted to steal several artifacts and pieces of technology from some of those lesser advanced worlds leaving them their worlds totally defenseless. They stole from the Asgard which threatened our relationship with them as well as the Tollanians. Disgraced Vice-President Kinsey was accused of treason for those very reason."

"I can hear it in your voice. You enjoyed saying that, didn't you?"

"It's public record. The Vice-President and I crossed paths several times and in each instance it wasn't pleasant. But getting back to your question, I personally think that Earth becoming an isolationist state or trying to make a deal with the goa'uld at this point in time is one of the worst things we could possibly do. Not only would we be reneging on a promise to the Asgard, it'll destroy our credibility with the other stellar nations, not to mention it would weaken our overall status. These same people forget that we are newcomers in the galactic community. Latasha, I want to do a recap of the history that we know of concerning the System Lords."

"Please do."

For more than ten thousand years the goa'uld have subjugated, destroyed, or tried to destroy every race they have come into to contact with. They have made slaves of humanity for ten thousand years, using our human bodies as basically nothing more than playthings for their amusement. They care nothing for our species other than the fact that we could be used for their benefit. When I talked to Ra, the Supreme System Lord, before we blew him up," he added, "he told me that humanity was very useful because we were so easily to repair. At one time, the goa'uld race was dying. Now there was some speculation as to why they were dying in first place and it was initially believed that some disease or natural occurring malfunction in the genetic code that was causing them to slowly die out. But what we found out later was that they were at war with another species that nearly wiped them out before they were all killed off. Ra was wounded, his host body dying, and in escaping his enemies, he discovered Earth. His spaceship landed somewhere in the Middle East in the county we now know as Egypt and took over the body of a young boy. Of course we were primitive back then and he made himself a god to the people. Now what's interesting, is that Ra played the role of a god but he never actually believed it; he used it only as a means to an end. The other System Lords and the goa'uld as a whole actually begin to believe that they were and acted as such. Anyway, these creatures spread mankind throughout the stars to be used as slaves and incubators for their young. Reading and writing was forbidden by them upon pain of death. Their entire history was lost to those slaves. These humans were experimented upon, and I won't go into that. Any form of rebellion was put down mercilessly and those slaves killed. Entire villages were destroyed; entire cities bombed from orbit in order to keep any hint of rebellion from reaching any of the other human populations. Any civilization that the goa'uld came across, they either subjugated or destroyed if they were considered a threat of any kind or had something that the goa'uld wanted. There's more than ten thousand years of history and blood to support my conclusions. And these are the people that the Kinseys want to try to have a peaceful relationship with? I don't think so. What I mean by that is, I don't believe we can have a peaceful relationship with them at this point in time. For a lack of a better word the goa'uld are evil. You have to understand that the goa'uld pass on the genetic memory of their progenitors as well as their attitude and their desire for conquest and subjugation. The Ashtorath Lords are no different than their predecessors in believing that they are gods. Everybody and anybody who is willing to stand up against them, including the Colonials are considered a threat by them and they will try to destroy us because that's what they do. As I said before I think it would be at grave mistake if we tried to make a deal with them at this point in time. I whole-heartedly support the Protected Planets Treaty and I support protecting those who cannot protect themselves and also for gathering allies from the other planetary nations so that we can be strong enough to fight against those who will be coming to destroy us. The Asgard did it for us. We should do it for others. But I see, I've gone off onto a tangent - again."

"But Dr. Jackson, if you believe this to be true, then what is it that is keeping them from attacking us?"

"I'm not sure," Dr. Jackson stated for the record although it wasn't exactly true. The Terran battleship Resolution was actively tracking a large Ashtorath fleet headed away from Earth and most known worlds. This was the second fleet deployed on that vector. Something had their attention and the cloaked, stealth class Resolution was tasked to find out why they were in such a hurry to join up with the first fleet. "There must be some reason why they have decided not to attack us, however we are not sure why but we are keeping a close eye on them."

"Well we want to thank you very much for this most interesting interview Dr. Jackson. And, we look forward to speaking to you some more on this subject."

"You're very welcomed."

"Don't go away."

I'll be here."

"Dr. Jackson will be joining us later in our discussion with the Colonial missionaries of the Cyrannus star system. But first let me introduce to you two members of the missionary group, Father Tyberi Patrenus a senior Priest of the order of Athena of the Colonies of Kobol, and High Priestess Elosha Gale of the Colonial missionary group visiting our planet.

The Colonies of Kobol consists of twelve major worlds unified by their political and religious values. That religion is best described as a Hellenic Polytheistic culture similar to our Roman/Greek cultures of more than twenty-five hundred years earlier with a smattering of other religious such as the worship of the Nordic god's and other Earth-based religions. Their primary worlds are named after variations of the twelve signs of the zodiac and they are convinced that Earth is their Thirteenth Colony called Apellai. High Priest Tyberi Patrenus who represents the world of Gemenom or what we could call Gemini is here tonight. Priest Patrenus called by some of those in his order Father, has been a priest for forty-three years, a High Priest for the last twenty. High Priestess Elosha Gale, retired only five years ago, has served for the last fifty one of her sixty years, who having entered service at age of thirteen. Although retired from the Synod she is still active and the acknowledged expert of the writings of the sacred scrolls of Kobol. They are both natives of the Colonies and speak a complex version of Latin and Greek languages evolved over the past four thousand years. They are learning English and Terran Greek, but aren't yet fluent. In this interview we will be translating their words audience as some of our audience don't have the automatic translation programs apps on their television monitors.

"To both of our guests, thank you for being with us tonight under these difficult circumstances."

"Thank you for allowing us to participate," Patrenus said through the translator while Gale nodded graciously. "It's a difficult time but we felt that this interview was important not only for us but for the people of Earth who will be watching us. Despite the death of our beloved brother and the grievous injury of another one of my flock, I perceive the will of the god at work."

"And what are they trying to say?"

"They want us to persevere, to continue despite the troubles and obstacles thrown our way. Understanding your people is far more important than allowing ignorance to hold sway in our most holy mission."

"There's a lot of speculation of exactly what you mission is here on Earth. Could you clarify it for us?"

"Oh, yes. Well, our mission is threefold," the Priest began. "The first is to connect with the world of our brethren, to see, feel, hear, taste, and smell what it is like to be here on this planet; a place of fables and myth. We wanted to see it for ourselves, to know it was real. The next was to help create a bridge between our two nations. The first contact between our two people ended in bloodshed as did our second contact which ended in the death of thousands and the budding of true enmity between us. It was something that shouldn't have ever happened but circumstances forced us onto a path where our people fought and died. Sometimes governments fail to communicate and it falls to the responsibility of the common people to do what the governments cannot. Lastly and maybe most importantly, we are here to meet our brothers and sisters and lead them towards the righteousness that is the true religion, the cultural religion of humanity no matter where they are located; the religion that is the uniting force of the human race."

"So, you've come to Earth to convert its people to your religion," Latasha stated. "Do you believe that such a huge undertaking will be successful? You have been here on Earth for little more than a week…"

"Nine of your days," Elosha clarified.

"Yes. Well, has anything you've seen or heard caused you to modify your plans or are you still pushing forward?"

"We have faith in our gods and our religion, and although we have seen some rather surprising pieces of evidence that seemingly contradicts what we know to be true, it hasn't changed our ultimate goal of bring the true light to this world," the High Priest announced. "When the people of Earth hear our divine message, they will understand what's been missing in their hearts and lives. The hunger that our truth brings will convict them and drive them towards the truth. Your people will purge themselves of their false religions and re-embrace the gods of their fathers and mothers once more."

"You make it sound so easy. Do you really believe that Earth would simply turn away from our various beliefs and embrace the Greek and Roman gods of old because of what your people perceive it the correct religion, especially when your military tried to destroy several of our population centers using weapons of mass destruction?"

"No," Elosha answered before her counterpart could. "Not all of us came here to convert you.

"That is good because the use of nuclear weapons and intent to conquer our world is not a good incentive for converting people to your religion. How does that makes you any better than the goa'uld?"

"True," she freely admitted. "Forcing one's beliefs onto another by use of violence is wrong in my opinion. Many of us came to learn about you and to be seen as representatives of our people. We want to be an example of what the Colonials people are and we do want to learn about your very diverse people."

Father Tyberi Patrenus looked strained as he answered that question. What Priestess Gale says is correct. Force is not the answer and I am sorry that we've met on such terrible circumstances. I dream of bringing your billions into the gentle folds of the true faith, but I see this is more complicated than I first imagined. It's taken me some time to adjust to this world. It is unlike anything I've ever experienced before. If you were to ask me how do I personally like being on your world, I'm not sure if I could answer you. This world is beautiful and so like the worlds of my home system, but there are little things, such as the food, the culture, and of course, the mountainous numbers of religions, and a thousand other little things that forces me every moment to acknowledge that I am on an alien world.

"But that is to be expected," the reporter countered. "This world is alien to you. So not knowing what to expect, has it come up to your expectation or has it surprised you in some way?

"What has most surprised me is that there is so much compacted into such a small place. On our worlds, the different ethnic groups are essentially located on their own world. It is fascinating to see so many different kinds of people interacting in this great city as if it was the most natural thing in the world. That is not to say that the people of the colonies don't get along, however the massive grouping together of so many different kinds of people is well, fascinating."

"That is very interesting answer. This sounds to me as if the different ethnic groups that that the colonies don't seem to get along as well as I imagined."

"I apologize, as I have missed stated. The people of Kobol don't have racialized segregation that you have on this planet. We do have cultural differences that define us and are fairly unique to each and every planet. But what we do have is our religious beliefs that binds us together as a family, and as a culture."

"You've implied earlier that you were here to get a better understanding about our culture as a whole but also it is your intention, or should I say it is your desire to blend our cultures together, and you want to do this by implementing religion; specifically the religion of the Colonies.The question that comes to mind is: are you attempting this joining of our cultures through religion because you want to help us become a unified whole, or are you really doing this because you are having difficulty accepting the fact that we are different? Is this in some way your attempt to try to erase a culture that you do not understand from existence because what we represent is too alien for you to accept? You claim to have approximately forty-eight billion people located in the colonies and from what I see that as a huge number of people that can be used to try to influence the cultures of Earth to conform to what you think we should become. You've been here a little more than a week, and how much have you actually learned about us and our people?"

"As a high priest of the colonies, I can understand your concern. On this world there are many religions, thousands if I understand correctly and all of them seem to be against each other. Even religious groups within the same religion seem to disagree and fight with one another causing confusion and disruption of your culture. Since I've been here I've read of your religious wars from the ancient past to the present day and I am not impressed by the confusion and sometimes dare I say insanity, running rampant on your world when it comes to religion. I personally believe that this is due to lack of organization, the lack of oneness and unity which we in the Colonies enjoy. Since I've been here on Earth, I have learned a few things that has greatly disturbed me. I am reluctant to say that some of the evidence presented to me about this world not being the fable 13th colony seems to indicate that this may well be true. Earth, this world called Earth, may not be the world of legend. I'm very hesitant to say that we may be wrong in some of our assumptions about Earth. However, I cannot ignore the facts that have been presented to me during our short stay here. This admission does not preclude the fact that this world, whether it is the Earth we believe it to be, or just another world named Earth, has a need to step forward and join our community, to allow our people to become one. Religious unity is one of those ways they can help achieve this."

High priestess Elosha Gale decided to comment. "High priest Patrenus is correct in some of his assertions. It is our desire that the colonies of Kobol and Terra will be able to unite and become as one unified in culture as well as in religion. But we are not here to force our religion onto your world. We are here to learn about your culture, about your people, and who you really are. For more than 4000 years we have not interacted with each other and in the colonies as well as on Earth this saying true 'we fear what we don't understand'. Our people don't understand each other and we missionaries are trying to correct each in our own way. Your religions are strange to us but we do want to understand. And, I acknowledge your concern. By us being a much larger culture is possible that we can overwhelm you but that is not our intention."

"It may not be your intention however your government's actions seems to say otherwise. I listen to multiple communications between our people and yours. Most of the time your president seems very insistent in trying" to force us into accepting your culture as ours whether we agree to it or not. The incident involving your space station Makaria which is fairly close to our space and can be used as a staging area for attack shows that your government tried to hold a gun to our heads using intimidation to try to force us to conform to some of your demands."

"I'm unaware of that particular incident but I don't believe that we can hold onto your heads without that gun been blown apart by your people. It's obvious that your military technology is more advanced than ours. We have little interest in trying to start a war that we cannot win and we have no desire or want to start a war with our brothers especially when there's so many of the things out in the galaxy that we should be far more concerned about. But we are challenging your belief systems because I personally believe ours is better and your planet can do better in learning ways and adapting to our culture."

"Granted there will be a few people on Earth that would be interested in adapting to your culture. Most people will not have any intentions of doing so. We are proud of our culture and for you to come and say that yours is better and try to force it upon us can only be a recipe for disaster."

"I understand that this is how you may feel right now, but in a few hundred years when our nations are united this antagonistic attitude will be a thing of the past."

"High Priest Patreneus that may well be true however what would happen if instead of my people adapting to your culture it may be that your culture may adapt to become part of us instead. Instead of one cultural and religion you may wind up having many thousands of religions on the colonial worlds. How would that make you feel?"

The answer to that question plastered itself across the Colonial's face. The man glared at the reporter with distaste. The very thought of something like that happening was repugnant to him but at the same time everyone watching could see the fear in his eyes. Mono theistic religions running rampant in the colonies as it did on Earth was the stuff of nightmares to him. He couldn't even phantom how much the various polytheistic cults on this world would hurt his worlds. The Colonies had more people, but Earth was so incredibly diverse and humans everywhere so loved new things. The cultural clash could tear both sides apart. "I must confess that the very thought disturbs me."

Elosha commented. "I must confess that that possibility also disturbs me; however, I will have the trust in the Lord of Kobol that they know what they're doing and is such a thing were to occur and will be in the best interests of all of our people not just the Colonies but as Earth and the other worlds."

"Exactly who are these Lords of Kobol?"

"'Lords of Kobol'," Patrenus said reverently. "That is the collective name that we use for our gods. For example, there is a Zeus, Aphrodite, Apollo, Ares, Artemis, Athena, Hera, and Poseidon. These are the gods that you know as the Greek Parthenon. There are more but those are some that I know that you are familiar with. And like your culture, we have different names for the same gods; for example, Zeus is also named Jupiter and so on. It's another reason why we know that our cultures are connected because we worship the same deities. I have gone through Earth's internet and I am aware that many of our deities are already known to you."

"There are some people of Earth who do worship those gods however their religion is nearly extinct. There are only a very few, less than 5000 people that still believe in those gods and those people are really relegated to the Greek islands. Most of the people considered a debt religion, or some historical artifact."

"Well, the humans of Terra might be wise to get back to their roots," explained the priest.

"That could well be an area of contention between our two world cultures," countered the interviewer. "There are many polytheistic religions other than the Greek that exist on Earth and many of these are thriving with millions upon millions of followers. Then there are the monotheistic religions such as Christianity, Judaism, and Islam whose populations have no intention of changing their belief to follow the ways of what they consider an archaic belief system. Furthermore as you're no doubt aware, we've had a conflict with the System Lords and I might add that you've seen the trial of one of them, the prisoner Athena. How do you respond to this?" This question was directed towards Patrenus.

"As I stated before, we understand that you have many different religions on this world and as much as I would love to bring you back to the true religion this very instant, I see that it would take time, effort and cooperation between both our cultures in order to do so. But I am convinced in my heart that the people of Earth would make the right decision and come into the light. And yes I'm aware of the trial that is going on with this creature known as Athena. We watch the proceeding carefully and it has been very, very disturbing to us. This creature is an abomination, a false deity using the name of our beloved Lord to commit violent acts of depravity and evil. It should be destroyed because all the things that has done in Her name and daring to imitate a true Lord of Kobol."

"There are a few other System Lords still out there. Some of them like Poseidon are using the names of your gods to rule millions upon millions of people. What is your reaction going to be if you encounter one of these system Lords who is masquerading as to true Lords of Kobol?"

"They are abominations," Tyberi hissed. "We would do everything in our power to destroy him and his servants and rescue the people from the abominations."

"What if these people that you've saved choose not to follow your belief system? Will they be forced to join the colonies, where they have the freedom to choose their own destiny?"

The High Priest thought about his answer for a few moments. Coming to a decision that was true to his beliefs he stated, "if the gods were to allow these people to be blessed, then I believe that they should be brought into the knowledge of the gods, the true gods that is, not the false ones that kidnapped them and forced them into blasphemy. Because of the dangers in the galaxy at large, like your Protective Planets treaty, it may be wise for the Colonial people to encourage those worlds to join us and I speak of those worlds not protected by the treaty," he quickly amended. "Those worlds would need our protection as much anyone else and it would be criminal of us not to extend that hand of protection to them if we are able to. I think that they would be encouraged maybe even be eager to join us for their mutual protection."

"So are you saying they would or should be forced to join the Colonies?"

"I am but a humble missionary, and I cannot speak for the government, but I believe that if we were to encounter a lesser advanced world that was once a victim of the goa'uld, the people there would want to free themselves from the yoke those abominations both in body and mind."

"But isn't Earth more advanced in some ways than the Colonies?" asked Natasha. "By your reasoning The Colonies of Kobol should be forced to reflect Earth culture and religions. Earth was attacked by you people because in the final analysis you believed that we were less advanced and weaker than your forces. We proved otherwise."

Tyberi looked as he'd just been slapped. "That is not what–"

It was at this point Elosha Gale broke into the conversation. "Although I agree with much that my fellow colleague has said, I will give you my own personal opinion." Immediately, Tyberi looked aghast. For a moment, there was genuine fear in his eyes as his fellow priest appeared to prepare to contradict him. "I came here to acquire some sort of understanding of the Terran people. Like so many I assumed that your people and mine were very similar in culture as well as religious beliefs. I also assumed that although Earth has a large number of monotheists, there couldn't amount to more than twenty five or thirty percent of the population." She paused for a moment gathering her thoughts. "Most of us, including the College of Pontiffs, were sure that Earth would be overjoyed to finally return to the true religion and reunite with their brethren from the Twelve Colonies. We would be one people stretching ourselves towards the stars in both body and spirit. We've been on Earth less than two weeks and I'm stunned by the differences between our two worlds. I admit I felt uncomfortable being on a world that had little respect for the gods of Kobol and was dominated by followers of the One God of so many variations. On Caprica and Picon and other colony worlds the monotheists were terrorists and murderers and in my heart, I still carry some of the fear of those acts perpetrated by them. My husband of forty-seven years was nearly killed by bomb planted by mono-terrorists. Just two days ago, my fellow missionary and friend was killed and another seriously injured from a bomb planted by believers of the One God. I'm not afraid to admit that I was terrified. So many people could have been killed. However, I've been battling something else. The trial of the false Athena, the museum experience, speaking to your religious leaders… I say all of this because the writing of the Sacred Scrolls, which is the equivalent to your Bible, doesn't necessarily apply to this world."

"High Priestess Gale!" hissed Tyberi.

"I'm sorry," interrupted Latasha Klopton. "We have to take a commercial break. We'll be back in a moment."