Chapter Forty-Five: Aurora
Friday, 1st September 2000 - Anomaly Day 28.
Elizabeth shuffled downwards, trying to get comfortable in the horizontal pod of the ship. It was a very different experience from the one she had occupied down in the city. A very claustrophobic atmosphere. The pods in the city were open trapezoids that filled from the back first with a crystalline matrix that put the body into stasis.
These were a very different case as a long board poked out of the wall and one would lay on it before it retreated into the wall once more and a clear lid closed over the user's face.
"Are you ready?" Natalie asked in Alteran, watching her closely.
Elizabeth had already been proficient in the language before she had left Earth. Her skill with both the written and spoken forms of the language was one of the major reasons she had been chosen to lead the project investigating the Antarctic Outpost, and then the expedition to the City of the Ancients. But her short time with the Lanteans and the Aetherial had made it practically second nature to her now.
Weir nodded, trying not to let the small amount of apprehension show. This was an opportunity of a lifetime, and yet would be her second chance at doing so after her time in Atlantis ten thousand years previous. But those Lanteans had been terrified and on the verge of retreat. She hoped the occupants of the Aurora would be more open to general discussion, and wouldn't simply fob her off for something more important.
"I'm good." She finally replied, tucking her arms at her side.
"Ok. The pod has built-in medical scanners, so we can track your vital signs. But you will be mostly responsible for disconnecting. I can pull you out if we must, but the risk of possible side effects, if we do, are far greater than if you disconnect on purpose."
"I read the breakdown. I trust you. And I am ready."
Natalie glanced at her daughter and Carson, both of whom were standing by ready to assist if something did go wrong.
"Alright. Here we go." Natalie said as she activated the device and Elizabeth slid slowly into the small hole in the wall.
She could feel her heartbeat racing as the lid came down and she closed her eyes. She was unsure of what to expect exactly, but she had thought something was meant to happen. After several moments of nothing, she opened her eyes only to find that the pod was gone.
Weir was standing in a large open green field, one very much like the expanse surrounding Aedis she had seen during the weekend just past. Her clothing had changed from the robe that she had been provided upon waking in the infirmary. Now she was dressed in some very comfortable casual attire she figured was still of Lantean origin.
As she inspected her clothing, something far more interesting caught her attention. Her hands were smooth. Surprised by the change she quickly brought her hands up to her face and noticed that it too bore none of the signs of her extreme age. It seemed she appeared as her mind still thought of her, rather than as she strictly was.
"Who are you?" A voice came from behind her and Elizabeth spun on her heel.
Before her now was a small natural pool fed by a thin stream that stretched away into the distance. Four figures were in the water, looking up at her, most of them having turned at the question themselves. Weir figured the nearest one, the only one on the grass who was quickly standing was the one who had questioned her, but before she could reply, the figure raised their hand and a weapon of some description appeared in their grip.
"Please, I mean you no harm." She replied in Alteran, raising her hands to show she held no weapon. "My name is Elizabeth."
The five figures stared at her, seemingly confused by her very presence.
"How did you get here? This is our spot." The armed figure asked, waving the weapon slightly.
"I'm sorry. I did not mean to intrude. Some friends helped me connect to your virtual environment. We were hoping to speak with you. This was not what we had expected to find in here."
"Virtual environment?"
"Yes. Inside the stasis pods aboard the Aurora. I was actually hoping I might speak with the Captain if they were around."
The figure turned to face those in the pool and two of them shrugged before one of the women climbed out and joined the one holding her at gunpoint.
"The Captain. That is familiar." She said, staring at Weir as if she was trying to recall something long forgotten. "But he does not spend time here."
The sentence seemed to confuse its speaker as much as it did Elizabeth, but she pressed on nonetheless. "If you could point me to where I might find him, I can leave you to get back to your fun." She offered with a pleasant smile.
"Dawic?" The female said, pressing down on his arm and the weapon vanished as the man seemed to relax. The woman turned back to face Elizabeth and seemed to think hard for several moments. "I feel that you will find him in that direction."
The woman pointed to Weir's right, out past a nearby grouping of trees. "Thank you, very much," Elizabeth said as she slowly walked back away from the odd group and headed for the trees. As she went, she noticed that she could feel the long grass occasionally brush against her partially uncovered legs, the pale shorts she was wearing feeling odd, yet comfortable.
She was amazed at the realism of this virtual space, and the fact that it seemed the crew were mostly unaware that they were even in it at all. It took her several minutes of hiking to make it to the trees, and when she did, she noticed a small cabin in the midst of the copse.
Turning around to see her progress, she found she was unable to find the stream or pool that she had arrived at, and she wondered how dynamic this environment was. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the cabin and knocked firmly on the door.
A middle-aged man with short greying hair and piercing blue eyes opened the door, noticing her almost immediately. "Can I help you?" He asked, in the same ancient language, and Weir thanked the fact she had studied it so diligently before she left Earth. It had come in very handy since she had arrived in Pegasus.
"Hello, my name is Elizabeth. I was hoping that I might speak with you for a moment."
"Elizabeth? I don't think I know any Elizabeth. What do you want?" He asked, seeming suspicious of her for reasons she could not deduce.
"Well, some friends of mine, we found the Aurora and all of you within. We figured out how to connect to your virtual environment and we were hoping to speak with you about it." Weir said with a soft welcoming smile. Something she had used often to get unruly people to come to the table during her negotiations.
"Virtual? No, that cannot be. I'd assumed we had…" The man blinked hard several times, even shaking his head for a moment as if it might clear her away from his view.
"If it helps, we come from Atlantis. I personally spoke with the High Council. Moros, Melia, Trire. Though I'm actually more familiar with Janus myself."
"Janus." The man said, surprised to hear the name. "Where are my manners, come in. Have a seat."
Elizabeth was surprised at the change as the man moved behind her, closing the door as she stepped over to the nearby table. In a moment, he had a few small snacks that looked like biscuits on the table and poured her a drink that had a honey colouring and a matching sweet scent.
"Your words trigger memories I did not realize I had lost. Friends and companions back home in Atlantis. The name of my ship. I had honestly thought we had passed on." He said, joining her at the table.
"I can assure you, you are still very much alive."
"I don't understand, if that is the case, why do you not simply wake us?" He asked.
"Well, this is the part that will probably sound crazy. We found your ship adrift in space, heavily damaged. The Lantean Council gave up on the war and those in Atlantis retreated back to Earth." She took a deep breath and looked into the Captain's eyes as she said the next part. "Ten thousand years ago."
Shock passed over his features for a moment as that sank in and he slid back into his chair. "Oh my… So long? Our bodies must be…"
"Pretty old, yes. I myself was in stasis in the city for most of that time. I've only awakened in the last month."
"And yet, I do not recall your face." He said, a suddenly suspicious edge to his words.
"I first arrived in Atlantis after your mission had launched." She couldn't help the smile that spread on her face. "It was actually Janus's fault that I ended up there, in a roundabout way."
"Is that so? Which one of his crazy experiments was it that brought you there?"
It seemed the man before her was well familiar with her only friend from her time in the city. "It was the device he installed into one of the navi."
"Navi? I've never heard them shortened so. Though I admit, I like it. I don't recall exactly…"
"It was a time travel device."
"No! He actually built it." The Captain laughed at a memory Weir was not privy to and took a deep drink from his mug. "It figures. He never did listen to the council."
"I suppose that I am grateful that he did not. He not only saved my life when I arrived in the city in my time, but he personally fished me out of the wreckage of the crashed ship and nursed me back to health. The council only offered to take me with them back to Earth, but Janus came up with a plan that allowed me to return to my time, different as it has already proven to be."
"Of course. It was for that very reason the council ordered him to cease the experiments. Altering time, cannot be predicted. But I digress. Surely you did not locate us to talk about my once friend. Why are you here?"
"Believe it or not, talking to you is exactly my purpose here," Elizabeth replied, taking a bite of one of the biscuits and she was amazed at the flavours within. It almost tasted like her favourite meal. "This is incredible. What is it?"
"Honestly, I do not know. My neighbour… no, my former first officer." He said, shocked at the relationship he had clearly forgotten. "She makes them. Brings them by every now and then when she visits."
The man buried his head in his hands for a moment and Elizabeth felt his pain as he tried to pull long-dormant memories to the forefront.
"Argh," he groaned as he leant back quickly, his eyes opening and seeming even more alert. "How did we not notice? We've wasted our lives in this fantasy."
"I'm sure you had your reasons."
"Yes. The hyperdrive was taken out in the initial escape from Wraith territory. We managed to boost the sublight engines enough to outrun them, but one of their cruisers managed to jump ahead of us. We were unable to evade them. More and more craft joined the assault. We held them off as long as we could, but our life support was damaged in the process. Two of my crew gave their lives destroying the attackers with the last of our ferrum.
"With no hyperdrive, only the air left in the corridors to breathe and no hope of reaching a nearby stargate before we ran out of supplies, I ordered the crew into stasis, figuring we could wait it out until help arrived. I encoded a distress beacon on the secure frequency known only to the council and the ship captains. When I arrived at my pod, the crew were already within and Manus told me he had activated the alteration he'd been working on."
"This," Weir said, indicating the world around them.
"Yes. It seemed harmless enough at the time. Our mission was dangerous, and several of the crew needed an outlet as we plunged ever deeper into Wraith territory. I allowed them to create this artificial network between the pods, figuring we would never need to use them. When we climbed in, he activated it, to give our minds a source of entertainment while we waited."
"And the waiting never stopped. You've been conscious this entire time?"
"Apparently. No wonder we came to believe it. Unending days of bliss. The weather is never bad. There are no predators. Food is plentiful and divine. It's a perfect world. Many soon came to believe we were dead and that this was paradise. Life after death. I came to believe it myself."
"I'm so sorry."
"How long do we have?" He asked, staring at her with his penetrating gaze.
"Well, that is up to you." She replied.
"No, I mean, how much longer can the ship keep us alive? The Aurora's powerplant was beyond repair. The potentia must be virtually depleted."
"Oh, my friends restored the power of the ship. A fresh potentia is keeping you all sustained for now. And they have repaired the ship as best they could. Life support and engines are back online. But if you leave the pods now, your old age… Trust me, it's not the best."
"I doubt most would survive the process. These pods are not as refined as the ones in the city. Your waking would have been almost banal compared to what we would endure."
"We're not proposing to wake you. We wanted to see what was going on in here. Speak with you and find out if you were all still even aware. We could detect the activity, but we were unable to figure out what it was from outside. Now we know, we can see what options we have to help you. I know that my friends would certainly welcome you back in Atlantis."
"I don't see how that would be possible." He said, rubbing his face vigorously. "We doomed ourselves so many years ago. The best you could do is put us out of our misery."
"I had hoped you wouldn't give up so immediately," Weir said somewhat forcibly. "Your bodies may be frail, but your mind is clearly still your own. You have held a conversation with me, and shown the ability to recall past events. There may be options we've not yet considered. Please, don't give up on us until we're sure there are no other alternatives."
The Captain laughed. "I can see why he would have liked you. You've got that same fire he had."
Weir smiled. "Well, I refuse to let all I went through come to nothing. I survived it and succeeded in my goal of saving my people. And now I intend to live whatever is left of my life as best I can."
"Very well. I doubt the rest are aware of our situation. I will confide only in Trebal for the moment. We will consider the options we know of, and we will await any you can provide. But I will let my crew continue to enjoy themselves. They were a hardy bunch, but I cannot bring myself to destroy their peace unless I know I have something more than actual death to offer them."
"I suppose I can live with that," Weir said with a smirk, one that the man returned. "However, through all of this, I've not yet learned your name."
The man sighed heavily as he looked down at his hands. "My manners failed me regardless. I am Captain Seber Lal. It is a pleasure to meet you."
"Doctor Elizabeth Weir. The pleasure is all mine. I have to leave again for a while, but I hope we can talk some more when I return."
"As do I, Doctor," Seber replied. "As do I."
Elizabeth gave him a nod and placed her mug on the table. With one last smile, she closed her eyes and focused hard on disconnecting from the system. She heard the snap-hiss of the stasis pod lid releasing and she opened her eyes once again. She could already see the substantial difference in the quality of her vision, and she felt a chuckle run through her at the thought she almost wanted to go right back. It was far too easy to understand how the dream could be preferable to reality.
"Doctor Weir?" Carson said, kneeling beside her pod, a scanner in hand as he checked her over.
"I'm fine, Carson." She replied as she tried to extricate herself from the pod. Her voice once again hoarse with age. "And they are having quite the long party in there."
Hermione and Carson grabbed an arm each and helped her up until she was sitting on the board, looking at the trio. "Seems that I've got quite the story to tell you, again." She said with a smile as the others looked on with bated breath.
ϟ
Sunday, 3rd September 2000.
Thor patiently waited for the connection to be established, the past two attempts having failed. He was almost beginning to doubt the cypher that the Granger man had given him was correct.
He turned to watch Kvasir and Hermiod parsing the data streams from the last two probe attempts and he felt a wash of hope that their readings were accurate, but his attention left his companions as the connection finally went through and he initiated the broadcast.
It was a moment before the screen in front of him shifted from a readout about the gata to the images of his friends, smiling at him as they tended to whenever he called.
"Hello, Thor. It's very good to see you again." Hermione said, taking a seat in the image.
"And you as well. I hear that some of you are trapped within the anomaly." He replied, matching her Alteran speech. A language that he enjoyed conversing in, given that he usually had no one outside of the Asgard with whom he could do so, and they preferred to use their own native tongue.
As he refocused on the conversation, he noted how their faces fell. "Yeah," Harry said, looking most disturbed by the problem. "We've been unable to get any information. And we heard that you lost a ship and crew to it as well. Sorry."
"Glúm and Laga will truly be missed. They both had such vibrant personalities. I believe they and Luna would have gotten on well. However, their loss was not in vain." Thor paused, pushing down his own remorse at having allowed the eager scientist to investigate the disturbance. "We have been able to ascertain the nature of the anomaly. It is time-based."
"Time-based?" Natalie asked from the edge of the frame.
"That is correct. The Asgard have dabbled in time manipulation in the past. One of our greatest inventions was a device that could dilate the passage of time up or down within a static field. The readings Glúm and the various probes have been able to gather, especially in the moments before they vanished, matches quite closely to this technology. With one variation. We believe that time inside is not dilated, as we originally thought, but looping."
"So, if we're right about when this started, Earth has been in a time loop for a month already. And we cannot enter it to help them out?" Harry asked.
"I would highly advise against it. While gaining ingress is indeed possible, it seems that anything inside of the anomaly when a reset occurs, that was not present at the initial activation of this loop, simply ceases to exist. We are presently trying to map the edges of the anomaly with remote probes now that we know what to look for."
"Wait, it's not just Earth stuck in this thing?" Hermione asked.
"No. So far we have identified another seven star systems trapped inside of it."
"Bloody hell. "Harry swore. "How do we stop this thing?"
"We do not believe that the effect is spreading. We have a handful of probes along the border of the anomaly. It seems that the peak occurs approximately every ten hours. There are some minute variations in the field each time that we currently cannot account for, but other than that, it is remarkably stable, given the volume of space trapped within."
"There has to be something we can do."
"If there is, we have yet to find it. Several of our best scientists are working on the problem. However, I believe you have issues of your own needing correction there in Pegasus." Thor noted.
Harry seemed to lose a shade of his frustration at being unable to help, and he reminded Thor of the way O'Neill got when a problem moved beyond his own ability to correct.
"Yes, actually. We have got a few problems to sort out. Don't suppose the high council would be ok with you giving us assistance with any of it, would they?" Natalie asked, sending through a burst of information that Thor filed aside to look over later.
Thor felt a pinch of his cousin's mischief as he considered an option. "Perhaps I could do something for you, as a favour of course."
"A favour?" Harry asked, pausing for a moment before he looked at Thor with a look he was becoming familiar with on humans. "You need us to do something, but you can't ask directly either."
Thor smiled, as much as his species could. "Indeed. Before the Lanteans left the Pegasus galaxy for good, a small off-shoot of the Asgard travelled there. They had hoped that outside of the high council's oversight, they could do research that would resolve a genetic issue our people are dealing with."
"Thor!" Kvasir said suddenly, drawing his attention. "We do not speak of it to others."
"Isolation has only furthered our descent, Kvasir. Contact with these people is what has allowed us to momentarily push the Replicators back from our borders. Has brought us the first peace we've known in that fight in decades. Asking for help is not the weakness that the council seems to fear it to be." He replied forcibly.
"It is not done."
Thor shifted the necessary stone to send the Aetherial a huge data burst containing all the information on the genetic degradation the Asgard were suffering. "It has already been done," He said, turning back to the screen. "I will take full responsibility as Supreme Commander of the Fleet should this backfire on me, but I trust you to be delicate with what I have sent you."
He watched as Hermione opened the data packet and began to read the summary. "Oh no. That's terrible." She whispered, noting the issue and looking up at the screen. "We'll help however we can, but our resident healer is currently trapped on Earth."
Thor nodded solemnly. While his actions may cause his removal from the council, it was plain to him that several of the others on it were still not prepared to see reason on the matter of the Aetherial. "Any aid you can provide will be welcome. As for the favour, we ask simply that you keep watch for any sign of our brethren in the Pegasus galaxy. It is possible that in their long exile, they may have made leaps we ourselves missed."
"Of course, we will. You didn't need to do us a favour to ask it of us." Harry said.
"And yet, perhaps doing it this way will allow me to assist you in return. While they can be stubborn, the Asgard High Council does not like being in anyone's debt. They will always do something to balance the scales once more. Hence our allowance to investigate this time loop anomaly due to your providing us with the weapons that are currently allowing our ships to maintain a perimeter around our worlds strong enough to allow us a reprieve needed to do so."
"Thank you, Thor," Hermione said, looking at him with a compassion he never saw in any race but humanity. One of many reasons he believed both segments were fast approaching a level which the rest of the council would need to acknowledge sooner rather than later.
He bowed his head in reply. "Farewell for now my friends. I wish you all the best of luck."
ϟ
Tuesday, 5th September 2000 - Loop Day 32.
Luna stepped out of the transport cabinet and walked quietly down the hallway, stopping when she reached the doorway to the apartment, pinging those inside via the control panel. As the door slid open, she smiled at Hermione looking back at her.
"Luna. Come in." She said, stepping aside and letting her in. Luna saw Harry perched on the couch looking at her upside down from his lying position.
"Hey, Luna." He said as she sat in the armchair nearby.
"Drink?" Hermione asked, heading over to the nearby kitchen.
"Yes, thank you."
"To what do we owe this pleasure?" Hermione asked, handing Luna and Harry their drinks and sitting back in her place as Harry sat up to better participate in the conversation.
"I didn't mean to interrupt…" Luna said, noting the paused movie on their screen.
"Nonsense. You're always welcome, Luna." Harry said, leaning back and slipping an arm around Hermione's shoulders as she leaned into his side.
Luna smiled. "Well, I've been thinking. About Merlin really."
"You figured out a way to contact Earth?"
"No. I figured that maybe we could offer the crew of the Aurora something like Merlin. I was looking through the data the Asgard sent and it gave me a thought. If we were to transfer the crew's consciousness into a special databank in the city, similar to the way that the Asgard can apparently store their consciousnesses, then maybe they could take a holographic form like he does and interact with us. We could even allow them limited computer access so that they could read the database and operate basic systems."
The couple froze, Hermione her drink partway to her mouth as Luna finished her proposal and she tried not to smile at the looks on their faces.
"That's incredible," Harry said eventually and she did not even try to prevent the big beaming smirk that lit up her face. "It would basically offer them immortality of a kind."
"The way Elizabeth described their current environment, they've already spent thousands of years alive. Perhaps they would not be overly eager to embrace an existence with no chance of death. Or ascension as their peers achieved." Hermione noted, lowering her drink.
"Obviously it is not something we would force on them. Just an option to consider." Luna said. "Some might find it appealing. And given what we now know of how the Asgard transfer their minds into new bodies, it is possible that given time we could figure out a way to do that for the crew. Their bodies would still be in stasis aboard the Aurora. So there would be no shortage of genetic material to study."
Hermione turned to Harry and the pair shared one of their many silent conversations. It made Luna smile to see that they had both fully embraced what had simmered between them for so long. Ever since she had known them, the pair had been so in sync in so many ways.
"At the very least, we can offer it to them." Harry finally said, and the pair turned back to Luna. "You're a genius, you know that?"
"Just your typical Ravenclaw. I love to read." She shrugged in reply and the others chuckled at her humour. "Shall we continue with the movie?"
Harry smiled at her and held his remote forward so that Hermione could activate the playback and the three sat quietly as the video continued. Luna cherished these moments when she could simply relax with her closest friends, and she felt a huge smile etch itself onto her face deeply.
ϟ
Wednesday, 6th September 2000.
"That is not a decision I can make for my crew."
"It's not one we are asking you to," Elizabeth replied, watching Seber closely. "Just as we are not making it for you. It's one of the few options we've been able to figure out for the moment. As you are aware, the bodies of some of the crew could give out at any time, even in stasis. One has already passed since we found the ship."
Seber sighed. "It is a decision each would need to make for themselves. And to do that, I would need to inform them all of the reality we now face."
"They are your crew, surely you know them well enough to know if they can handle that. But ignoring reality will only see them all slowly pass into nothing."
"You do not mince words, Elizabeth." He replied with a smirk.
"Not when life is the cost. I've lost too much myself to simply allow apathy to cost more people their lives. Not when there are alternatives."
"Trebal?" Seber asked, turning to the blonde woman also seated at the table with them.
She too had piercingly blue eyes but she kept her long blonde hair tied back in a thick ponytail. She bore the look of a soldier who had seen many struggles and was still battling their own inner demons.
"I must admit, the full pitch does hold some merit. A chance to walk in a body once more is a heady promise. I believe that many would accept the offer for that alone. Others for the chance to once more return home to Atlantis. One not under constant siege or bombardment. A sight few of them have ever known. But I know some among the crew who would reject such an option outright."
"Really?" Seber asked.
Trebal smiled at him. "I get out more than you do, Captain. I know some feel there is something not right with this environment. And I have found that those who notice it do not fare long in here once they realize what it is."
"That must be why we found a handful of bodies in open pods," Weir noted, recalling the way the others had described it. "They must have figured out how to leave the environment, but they did so into a ship with no life support. Even if they survived the revival process, they would have died."
"And once these few learn that we've already been in a simulation for ten thousand years… I fear some would simply choose to end things finally, rather than transfer from one 'mental prison' to another."
"I suppose it will not help that we collectively chose this paradise," Seber said. "It will be difficult to convince them to give it up for the reality of a world where we failed to defeat the Wraith. I can only imagine what the galaxy must be like after ten thousand years of their reign."
"We're still figuring all of that out ourselves. But, if we are cautious, we can probably avoid dealing with that problem until we absolutely must. Or at least until we are more prepared for the fallout. Right now, we have two ships capable of battle. And precious few to fly them."
Seber looked at Weir closely. "If we take this path, I would want assurance from the council that my crew will not be pressed into service. They have suffered enough."
Weir understood what the Captain thought she was suggesting. "I did not mean to imply that. We want to help you in order to speak to you and learn from you. Not to have you fight the Wraith for us."
Seber and Trebal looked at each other for a moment, and Weir smiled as she thought it similar to the way that Harry and Hermione often seemed to communicate without words. A bond forged over years of closely working side by side through many hardships.
"Give us two weeks to discuss matters internally. I will need to inform my senior staff first. As a group, we will decide whether to bring the matter before the entire crew." Seber finally said.
"We can do that. There is no rush beyond the simple march of time. Ideally, we would hope to save as many of you as we can, but each of you should have the final say on your own lives."
"Thankfully, Manus is among the senior staff," Trebal noted. "I will speak with him and see if he can provide a way to communicate without one of you joining the simulation."
"I really don't mind," Weir said with a smile. "It's nice to move without ten-thousand-year-old arthritis."
Seber gave a chuckle before he sobered at the reminder of their state. "Well, you are always welcome. Thank you, for everything your people have already done for us."
"On behalf of the ones who actually did it all, you are most welcome." Weir nodded and stood from the table. "I wish you luck with your crew."
The pair nodded at her and she focused her way back out of the simulation once more.
