Chapter 45: The Magic Question Part 1

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 27th, 1998

"And you saw no possibility to get the 'Asgard' to agree to share their technology with us?"

Samantha Carter didn't frown at the question of General Sidorov even though her report - which she had finished shortly before midnight - answered it succinctly. "No, Sir. Thor made it clear that the decision to share their technology was in the purview of their High Council - presumably their government."

"That's what Dr Jackson also said," General Petit added. "And the Etherians made their offer already."

Entrapta had, but the others hadn't seemed too put off by it.

"Yes. Without any regard for our interests," General Sidorov complained. "And the Etherians didn't state any conditions that the Asgard would have to legalise same-sex marriages!"

"Such conditions would likely be settled during the negotiations of any technology-sharing agreement," General Haig said.

Sam couldn't help feeling that the British officer sounded a little smug. Then again, many British officers tended to sound like him, so it might just be her impression. But the British and the French already had their alliance with the Etherians and they were looking forward to the advanced technology they were about to receive while the United States government was still trying to convince so-called patriots in Congress and state legislatures that the right to discriminate against homosexuals wasn't more important than the ability of the country to defend itself against alien threats.

"Yes," General Petit said. He did sound amused. "Of course, the Asgard might have their own conditions - they didn't share their advanced technology, or any technology, with the planets under their protection, did they?"

"Not to our knowledge," Sam replied. "And if they are responsible for keeping their protected planets from becoming a threat to the Goa'uld, then they wouldn't uplift the people on those planets."

"They might even sabotage the people under their so-called protection, should they advance past medieval technology." General Sidorov glowered. "We cannot trust them - they were clearly hiding something!"

"I don't know any country that is in the habit of sharing their secrets with strangers," General Li commented. "Except, possibly, for the Etherians." His lips twitched into a small smile.

Sam had to agree - the Etherians were very open about themselves. Arguably, too open - if they had been a bit more discreet about their culture and magic, maybe the reaction on Earth would have been a little less violent. Maybe. Or it might have been seen as an attempt to deceive Earth - people hadn't taken the fact that the United States had kept the Stargate and the war with the Goa'uld secret very well, to say the least.

"It's a ploy!" General Sidorov spat.

Sam was tempted to ask if he meant the Asgard or the Etherians, but refrained from doing so. The Russian officer didn't trust anyone, anyway, so he probably meant both.

"In any case, while the Asgard do not seem to be a threat to Earth or Etheria…" General Hammond said.

"Maybe not an immediate threat, but a threat anyway!" Sidorov interrupted him.

But General Hammond barely reacted to the slight. Sam couldn't help thinking that Hammond's patience and self-control were partially due to the Colonel's attitude. "...we did learn about potential threats left by the Ancients. Threats supposedly contained - those which are known to the Asgard, at least."

"Yes, Sir," Sam said. Of course, they only had the Asgard's word for that.

"And from what the Etherians have told us about the Heart of Etheria, a weapon of the Ancients, those threats could easily destroy a planet," General Hammond went on.

Or a sector. Sam had seen Entrapta's calculations.

"How much would it take to contain such a threat?" General Li asked.

"Without knowing the nature of the threat, I can't even make a guess," Sam replied. "The Heart of Etheria required direct intervention by Adora, but that was a special situation. Biological weapons might require quarantining a planet, which could require quite the resources." Or sterilising the planet. That was a theoretical option for Earth, but Sam thought that the Etherians and the Asgard would be able to do it. Not that she would mention it to Entrapta.

"Could such a commitment be what is keeping the Asgard from fighting the Goa'uld?" General Haig asked.

Sam inclined her head. "It's possible." They had considered that last night. But they didn't know enough to tell. We need more data, Sam thought, hearing it in Entrapta's voice.

"But we cannot say it with any certainty." General Haig nodded. "It's a little unnerving to know that such threats might be more common than we hoped."

General Petit chuckled at the understatement while General Sidorov kept glowering.

"We can't do anything about that for now, so I think we should focus on what we can do," General Hammond said.

"Exactly. We need to identify the other protected planets - and find out if the Asgard were telling us the truth about them," General Sidorov said.

"We have a list of the gate addresses," Sam pointed out. "And we matched them to systems." Which had taken her past midnight. She really needed more computing power.

"The Asgard didn't prohibit visits, so we should send teams to check those addresses," General Li said. "We need more information."

"But not SG-1," General Hammond said. "We cannot risk losing Teal'c - we have to assume they have such defence systems on every planet they protect."

"And, possibly, orbital defences," Sam added. "We need better sensor gear so we can check on a mission."

"Wouldn't orbital defences be hidden from sensors? As much as that is possible, anyway," General Haig said.

Sam nodded. "Yes. But a magically enhanced sensor might penetrate the Asgard's stealth systems." Entrapta hadn't had any trouble checking their technology on the ground, after all.

General Sidorov scoffed again, but the others nodded. "That requires the cooperation of the Etherians," General Li noted.

"At least until Magic is restored to Earth," General Petit said. "And we can train our own wizards." He grinned.

Sam thought the officer was a bit too optimistic. Training sorcerers would take years. And Etherian help.

And magic had to be restored first. Sam still wasn't sure how she felt about that.

Whitehall, Westminster, London, United Kingdom, Earth, September 28th, 1998

"...and here's how we plan to keep the information secure. We're using multiple layers of…"

Catra tuned the British intelligence officer doing the presentation out and looked at the files they had been given. It seemed to be a decent setup. A good mix between secure procedures and common sense - the factories had to be able to produce stuff without jumping through hoops, after all. Certainly better protected from spies than the usual horde factory.

But the real target wouldn't be factories but the people working in them - especially those who knew how to build advanced technology. She flipped through the folder, not caring how Adora frowned at her for obviously ignoring the presentation, and read up on how they tackled that. Ah. Strict surveillance of the engineers. And… She blinked. "A tracking device"?

Everyone stared at her as the officer stopped talking about sensors and patrols. "Err, yes. All crucial people with the highest clearance will be required to wear a tracking device so we can check their position at all times. We still encourage protection details and guarded housing, of course."

And so they could keep them under surveillance. Well, it was important to keep the technology out of the hands of hostile countries. And as far as Catra was concerned, a lot of the countries on Earth were hostile. She certainly didn't want countries where it was illegal for her to love Adora to get access to advanced technology. Hell, she was still wary of the United States after all she had seen of their conservative politicians.

At least most of the countries that couldn't be trusted didn't have the means to spy on their allies - with the notable exceptions of Russia and China. And those had access to the Stargate, which meant they wouldn't just be hunting for advanced technology like the Americans had been but would also have excuses for stolen technology turning up in their hands.

"Well, if they agree to that…" Adora looked like she wasn't entirely on board with that.

"It's for their own safety," the officer pointed out.

"Not everyone wants to be under permanent surveillance," Bow pointed out.

"It's strictly volunteer-only," the officer replied.

Of course, the chances for a scientist to get to work with advanced technology without agreeing to that wouldn't be high, Catra was sure.

"Any other comments?" the British admiral in the meeting asked.

Catra made a point of thinking for a moment, cocking her head, before answering: "No."

And the meeting continued.

"We really should hold those meetings together with the other countries," Catra said as the meeting had finally ended and they left the room. "We're going through three times the meetings otherwise."

"I've suggested it," Glimmer said. "But, apparently, each country's situation is different."

"I thought they were in the defence alliance," Catra mumbled. "But if we held them in space, they'd agree!"

"Probably." Bow grinned.

"I would certainly be in favour," the British admiral told them with a smile. "Although I do have to agree that the political situation in our allied countries is too different to combine such meetings."

"Great," Catra muttered. "We'll be dying from paperwork and old age before we get this war really going." She hadn't had to deal with so many meetings in the Horde. Not that that meant the Horde had been a good place. Still…

"Well, at least we got things straightened out," the admiral went on. "And the technological transfer should be able to commence on schedule."

"Yes!" Entrapta smiled. "And the Americans are making progress as well."

That didn't please the British officers, Catra noticed, though they kept smiling politely.

"It would facilitate things," Adora said. "It's already complicated with the Stargate controlled by the United Nations."

"Well," the general representing the British Army - which, for some weird historical reason, wasn't the Royal Army, unlike their Navy and Air Force - said, "If the United States joined the Alliance, members would have a majority in Stargate Command."

"Small mercies," the admiral commented with a chuckle. Apparently, they still carried grudges. "So, what's next on your schedule?"

"After the meetings with France and Germany about the same things we just discussed? A meeting with the United Nations regarding magic," Glimmer told him.

"Ah." The admiral nodded. "That is bound to be lively."

That must be the British understatement Catra had heard about. She shrugged. "Well, it's not as if they can outlaw magic."

"Last I heard, several countries have proposed a resolution doing exactly that," the general cut in.

"So?" Catra cocked her head at him. "How many such resolutions have been ignored so far?"

"If the United Nations Security Council actually passes a resolution, there's the question of whether or not such a resolution would be actually binding for us since we're not a country on Earth," Glimmer added. "Although it would be already a stretch to consider magic a threat to peace."

Glimmer must have studied the United Nations, Catra realised. Well, better her than Catra.

"So your stance is that magic doesn't fall under Chapter VII of the UN Charter?" the admiral asked.

"Yes." Glimmer nodded. "They might not agree, but even so - what are the odds that all permanent members of the Security Council will support such a resolution? The Americans still haven't sorted out what they think about magic."

"Well, they're in a bind."

More chuckling followed, but it sounded a little forced.

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 28th, 1998

Jack O'Neill suppressed the sudden and stupid urge to hum the melody of 'Monday Morning' when he approached the training field. Colonels didn't break out into a song as if life was a musical. Surely not when they came to check on how the training of the new guys was going.

And, on the off-chance that she knew Fleetwood Mac, he didn't want to give Lenkova any ideas. 'Monday morning you sure look fine' was more than a little suggestive, especially seen through the eyes of a Russian spy likely trained as a honey trap.

And as a special forces soldier, he reminded himself when he saw her squad was training in hand-to-hand combat. And doing better than most. Of course, he already knew that from her bout with Teal'c.

He looked at the rest of the field as he walked over to Major Warren, who was in charge for today.

"Sir!" Warren saluted.

Jack returned the salute, a little surprised. They usually weren't as formal, even if half the new guys were watching. Or especially - Jack didn't want to see Stargate Command turned into a unit where forms were more important than results, and the divide between enlisted and officers was too deep. That wouldn't work too well in the field, and Jack would hate it at the base. Saluting the foreign generals every time you saw them was bad enough.

But he wasn't here to complain about the brass. "So, how are they doing?" he asked, watching another squad go at it.

"As well as can be expected. Our new allies didn't send the worst of their forces." Warren frowned a little. "They learn quickly. Still wouldn't want to send them through the gate on their own any time soon," he added.

"Not even to a known location?" Jack tilted his head slightly. They had some 'baby's first Stargate' addresses to ease new guys into travelling the galaxy.

"Maybe the empty ones," Warren said.

Ah. Jack nodded. He wouldn't want to let the new guys loose on unsuspecting populations on alien planets. Especially not the Russians and Chinese - if they didn't have orders to acquire any advanced technology they could, no matter how, he'd eat his service cap. Just imagining what they would have done if faced with Thor made him want to curse. The only thing worse would have been the NID meeting Thor. The Asgard would have probably declared war on Earth in that case.

He watched the training for a few minutes. All of the teams had a good grounding in hand-to-hand combat, far better than regular soldiers - but he knew that already. And they were learning fast, as Warren had said.

His eyes caught Lenkova right after she smashed one of her team members into the ground, and the Russian spy smiled at him. Slyly. As if she had caught him at something inappropriate instead of watching the training. She was one of the most dangerous new guys, after all. Girls. Whatever. Jack made a point to watch the squad next to hers for a while.

"Have you heard anything about joint missions, Colonel?" Warren asked in a low voice after a few minutes.

The middle of training wasn't the best moment to spread rumours and fish for information, and Warren would know that. If he was asking anyway, he must be really concerned about something. Jack shrugged. "I haven't heard anything. They deployed us with SG-2, but that was mostly because we're friends with the Etherians." And none of the nations running the new Stargate Command wanted to annoy the aliens. "Of course, joint missions will either be very good for our unit cohesion or make us shoot each other no matter who gets to team up with whom." Someone even suggested splitting up all teams and forming new ones - mixed ones including forces from all nations. Fortunately for the fool, by the time Jack had heard about this nonsense - splitting up SG-1? Over his dead body! - the idea had been shot down by everyone else already. As if he'd let his team be split up. Or put experienced team members under the command of a new guy. Or girl.

"I see, Sir." Warren sounded as relieved as Jack had felt. After a moment, he added: "I've heard from a few old friends, Sir. They've been called up to head units training for deployment off-world. Expeditionary units."

"Someone's optimistic about our politicians," Jack commented. They would need an alliance with the Etherians to field Marines in those numbers.

"Yes, Sir."

Well, they might not be overly optimistic - the newspapers and TV pundits were hammering the conservative holdouts hard. Almost all of them, at least; some extremists were still ranting about godless aliens corrupting the American youth. But it looked like both public opinion and politics were shifting.

After a moment, Warren glanced at his watch and yelled: "Alright! Break for five!"

The squads on the field stopped hitting each other and headed to the break area, where the drinks and snacks were stored. None of them lingered to exchange a few more blows, Jack noted.

He and Warren watched them go before heading over themselves. Officers ate last, after all.

But when Jack approached the chow line, Lenkova joined him. He stopped and gestured, letting her go before him, and she smiled.

"An officer and a gentleman?"

"Didn't really like the movie," he replied. He was an Air Force officer; liking romances about a naval aviator came straight after 'dereliction of duty' in the 'things you aren't allowed to do in the Air Force' regulations.

"Movie?" She cocked her head at him.

Jack berated himself. He shouldn't have quipped; that only gave the spy an in. Well, it wasn't the first time his mouth got him into trouble. "It's a movie with Richard Gere about a romance between a Navy pilot candidate and a factory worker," he explained as they reached the snack box.

"Ah. A male officer and a working-class woman?" She sounded… well, not mocking, but there was a hint of disapproval. Or amusement.

Jack suppressed the urge to point out that back at the start of the eighties, movies featuring a female officer and a male factory worker wouldn't have sold. Not that he thought they'd sell today, either. "Yes," he said instead.

"And you didn't like it?" She wasn't dropping the topic.

"It was about a Navy pilot," he said.

"Ah. Service rivalry." She nodded, then grabbed a coke and a Snickers. "I've heard of it. Is it true that service rivalry is fostered by the government so they can have one branch shoot the other if they need to make an example?"

Jack smiled as sweetly as he could as he replied: "Well, without the NKVD, we have to make do."

She laughed at that. It was even a nice laugh, and her smile seemed genuine. "Your humour is almost Russian, Colonel."

That was probably meant to be a compliment. "Thank you," he said.

Then he heard Warren chuckle behind him and wanted to curse himself. And Lenkova.

Who was drinking her coke as if she were in a commercial where she was wearing a bikini instead of a striped t-shirt under Russian fatigues, with her back arched to emphasise her chest.

Well, there was no helping it - the rumour mill would grind on now. Jack grabbed a Mars bar and a coke for himself.

Palais des Nations, Geneva, Switzerland, September 28th, 1998 (Earth Time)

"...and why should we allow magic to return to Earth? It goes against our religion! It will destabilise society! Corrupt the youth! My country - the world - is still reeling from the revelation that aliens are real, with riots happening daily, and you want to introduce another shock? The United Nations need to take a stand and ban the practice!"

Adora frowned. That was the third ambassador in a row that wanted Earth - well, the United Nations - to ban magic. Or ban the return of magic.

The ambassador from India rose. Wasn't he supposed to wait until he was recognised? But the debate had grown more and more heated, and this was supposed to be an informational meeting with Adora and her friends. Maybe the rules were different here. "Magic is an important part of my country's religion. To ban magic would be an unacceptable violation of our religious freedom - and a blatant attempt to force your views and culture on us! India has not fought for her freedom from colonialist powers only to bow to them again!"

"You dare to call out others as colonialists when you attempt to force such evil on your own people?" Another glared at India's ambassador.

Adora checked the plate. Right. Pakistan and India had a violent history - she had learned that preparing for this meeting.

"The vast majority of our people want magic, our ancestors' legacy, restored to us. We won't let a minority oppress us just as we won't let foreigners oppress us!"

"But you want to force magic on the entire world - as a minority!" Pakistan's ambassador countered. A lot of ambassadors loudly voiced their support.

"No one forces you to practise magic!" the Indian shot back once things had calmed down a little. "You are free to ban it in your countries - you already have, after all, even though magic was taken from us a thousand years ago," he added with a sneer.

"It was taken from Earth with good reason! Magic is dangerous - it corrupts people!"

And if weaponised, it could blow up a sector. But that was a very special case.

"You're overreacting," Glimmer spoke up. "Magic is no more dangerous than technology."

"And we limit and ban dangerous technology! Like nuclear weapons!" Pakistan's ambassador exclaimed.

"That's rich coming from a country with nuclear weapons!" another ambassador - oh, that was Bangladesh - said.

"We do not proliferate the technology!"

"Wanna bet whether they go to war over this?" Catra whispered next to her. Not even she sounded amused, though.

Glimmer clenched her teeth and stood, her hands not quite slamming down on the table. "Listen! You keep talking about how magic is dangerous, but you have no idea what magic is! Don't you realise how… weird this looks?"

"You don't know what Earth magic will look like either! You said so yourself!" the man from Iran said with a deep sneer.

Adora frowned at him. He had openly called for executing 'witches' - and while he hadn't said it out loud, he had left no doubt he thought this should include Adora and her friends.

"That's because every planet's magic is unique," Glimmer pointed out. "It depends on your traditions. But no matter what your traditions are, you can't just do magic. You need to study how to work magic. And you need a talent for magic."

"And when you've done all that? What will stop a witch from cursing everyone?" Another of the African ambassadors scoffed. They were the majority of the countries backing a ban on magic, Adora knew.

"What is stopping anyone from taking a weapon and killing people?" Glimmer shook her head. "Magic isn't any different than technology. You can deal with it."

"It only requires sorcerers of your own," the British ambassador said.

That didn't placate the others at all - quite the contrary. It grew even louder in the room.

Once more, it took a little while until things calmed down enough so people could be heard again.

"You know, if Alliance meetings were like this, they would be a lot more entertaining," Catra whispered to her.

Adora frowned at her in response before listening to the Brazilian ambassador. "This is not merely a question of whether or not our religion prohibits magic, but of the danger magic represents. Imagine terrorists using magic to strike at their targets! How can you defend against a curse? No one would be safe! Many such attacks might not even be noticed if the victim merely suffers a fatal accident or illness!"

"If the attack doesn't get noticed, it's not terrorism!" someone cut in. "Spreading terror is the point of terrorism! You're talking about assassinations!"

"Whatever!" the Brazilian went on. "Imagine this power in the hands of insurgents! No government would be safe! We would be held hostage by extremists! For the good of us all, we need to ban magic!"

Adora heard Catra curse under her breath. She could understand the feeling - this argument was swaying people.

Once more, Glimmer spoke up. "Magic can protect you against magic!"

Another ambassador yelled: "At the cost of our souls!"

"Magic isn't evil just as technology isn't evil," Glimmer retorted. "Both can be abused. And as events on Earth have shown, even if you ban magic, you aren't safe from magitech."

Like the zombie plague generator, as Jack had called it. Adora nodded firmly.

"So, by banning magic, you would cripple your defences against it without being safe." Glimmer scoffed.

"What's magitech?" someone else asked.

"Magitech is advanced technology using magic effects but powered by non-magical sources," Bow explained. "You do not need to have magic restored on a planet to use it."

"Let's ban magitech!"

Catra rolled her eyes and spoke up. "You think you can ban that technology? And win the war against the Goa'uld?" She scoffed. "Really, you should be demanding magic be restored as soon as possible since most of you will have a much easier time getting magic to work for you than getting our advanced technology, especially the way you're acting."

Adora frowned - it would still take quite a lot of work to get a decent number of sorcerers in a country. You couldn't just snap your finger and do magic - it took years of study. But Glimmer was smiling as she nodded, and a number of the ambassadors had suddenly fallen silent.

"So that's why you want magic restored!" the ambassador from Pakistan yelled at India's ambassador. "You plan to attack us with it!"

"India has no plans to attack anyone!" the Indian shot back. "But yes, we are counting on magic to improve our country without having to be dependent on foreign powers. It's our heritage."

A number of ambassadors still protested, especially the ones from the Middle East countries, as far as Adora could tell, but several others who had vocally opposed magic were suddenly silent.

"Look how their concerns just vanished," Catra muttered with a grin.

Adora had to agree - but she also had to admit that the Brazilian had a point about the danger magic represented for those who had no defence against it. And yet… She was surprised how quickly religious concerns were brushed aside by so many, after everything that she had heard and seen before. "I guess it's really all about power," she whispered.

"Always was," Catra said.

It was hard to disagree with her as the discussion took a turn towards the practicability of magical education on Etheria.

"...and while our sorcerers can teach others, provided they have the talent, any students would be learning Etheria's traditions, not Earth's magical traditions," Glimmer explained for the second time.

"But your traditions do not teach people how to conjure evil spirits or make bargains with demons," an ambassador retorted. "Unlike magic here."

"None of our magical traditions require either!" India's ambassador cut in. He had been doing that a lot, together with the Japanese ambassador.

"So you claim! We know better!"

"Leaving religious disagreements aside," the Swedish ambassador spoke up, "We do have to consider that by relying on a foreign magical education, we might strangle our own cultural and magical heritage."

"That should be any country's decision," the ambassador from Liberia shot back.

"Of course. I was merely pointing out that this should require further consideration."

"Says the ambassador from a country that is asking for access to advanced technology."

"That has no bearing on the question of magical traditions and heritage," the Swede retorted.

"On the contrary! That's a crucial aspect of the entire question!"

"They're talking as if they can just send hundreds of people to Etheria to get trained," Glimmer muttered. "I've told them that Mystacor isn't an open university and that they would decide whom they would train!"

Catra leaned over, her head in front of Adora's chest, to answer Glimmer: "They're a little hard of hearing."

Adora had to agree once more. At least, it seemed that the resolution to ban magic from Earth - or ban its return - was no longer a concern, even though several countries still were pushing for it. Although as far as she knew, most of those ambassadors would have to check with their governments before making any binding statements or votes.

So the question of whether or not Adora should return magic at the request of India and Japan hadn't been answered. Sure, if the United Nations didn't ban magic, it would follow that it was allowed to restore magic to Earth. But if Adora had learned one thing from all the meetings of the Alliance and now on Earth, it was that politics were rarely logical.

Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States of America, Earth, September 29th, 1998

"...and in the General Assembly of the United Nations, the topic of a ban on magic continues to be hotly debated as tensions between Pakistan and India are rising. The Arab League has announced their full support of Pakistan in this growing conflict and reaffirmed their intent to ban all magic, though support for the stance is wavering amongst many African nations. The European Union released a statement that affirmed the right of any nation to decide their internal policies provided they did not violate human rights but didn't elaborate on whether or not they considered the restoration of magic to be covered by this. According to anonymous sources, several South and Central American member states have voiced reservations concerning magic on religious grounds, although this may change with the release of the Vatican's statement later today - an announcement which many experts expect to cover the Catholic Church's stance on magic, and…"

Samantha Carter switched the television off. She had heard the news twice already, and it hadn't changed significantly - the hosts and pundits were just growing more and more excited without anything to justify it.

She put the remote down and resisted the urge to stretch her arms over her head - it was barely mid-morning, and she didn't want to give the impression that she hadn't slept well or long enough. Especially not when both were true.

Although, she added to herself, Daniel doesn't look like he'd notice. Her friend had his nose buried in an older tome he had brought into her lab.

"Fascinating. I never really delved into all the various magical traditions in Europe; not my speciality, and it wasn't really relevant for our work - not until we met the Etherians, in any case, although some of it might give us insights into handling those Goa'uld using European myths as their cover. But with the Goa'uld using technology, I never really cared about the potential of actual magic. Just imagine if we could get the divination rituals of ancient Rome to work!"

Sam wasn't an expert on ancient history, but she had gone through college and the Air Force Academy, and she had worked with Daniel for a long time now, so… "You mean reading the future in the entrails of a sacrificed animal?"

"Ah, yes. Amongst other rituals," Daniel looked sheepish. "This would be messy, wouldn't it? Although if we could get the cooperation of a butcher, given how much meat we eat, it shouldn't be too hard to arrange a few experiments…"

"You would also need to find people with the talent for magic," she pointed out. The Etherians had been clear about that, and the data they had gathered at Research Site Alpha confirmed it: Not everyone could work magic.

"Right." He frowned. "Finding them might be a problem unless we can isolate the gene for magic talent." He looked at her with a hopeful smile.

"I'm no geneticist," she told him. "But, as far as I know, there are research projects working on identifying the Ancient gene." It was only logical after the revelation of the Colonel's ancestry, after all.

"Oh! Do you think Jack has magic potential? The Ancients - or First Ones - were working with magic, after all. And manipulated the Etherian genetics."

She pressed her lips together. Although the Colonel had never said anything about it, other than some off-colour jokes, she knew he wasn't happy about that particular revelation. And she didn't think he would like learning magic either. "We don't know enough about Ancients to know," she said.

"Right. Well, I hope we'll soon know more. With everyone preparing to jumpstart magic projects, it's bound to lead to some results." He nodded.

"Or to a debacle," Sam retorted. "If countries start identifying potential sorcerers through their genes…" She trailed off.

Daniel gasped. "Literal witch hunts using DNA testing!"

Sam nodded. Forced conscription of people with magic talents was the mildest problem she could imagine. But in those countries where 'witchcraft' was a capital crime, things would be much, much worse once magic was returned to Earth.

"Are the Etherians aware of that?" Daniel asked.

Sam sighed. "I don't know if they considered this." Sometimes, their friends were quite naive. Or just inexperienced with Earth's cultures and practices. Entrapta was both, of course.

"We need to tell them!" Daniel said. "They can't just return magic if it means people getting murdered for their ancestry."

People had been getting murdered for their ancestry for millennia, all over the world. And people were getting murdered for being called witches even with magic still absent from Earth. But Sam didn't say that. True as it might be, it wasn't relevant. "I don't think they can test for a gene. We don't even know what the gene or genes for magical talent is. We don't even know if it's tied to the Ancient heritage - and Colonel O'Neill's ancestry isn't exactly public knowledge either." Sure, with Stargate Command being transferred under the control of the United Nations Security Council, foreign countries had access to their files. But only Russia, China, Britain and France. Stargate Command hadn't been able to justify hiding the Colonel's special heritage, not when it could be revealed as soon as he walked into another Ancient facility. But the countries most likely to attempt to 'purge' witches wouldn't have access to that data. "People lack sufficient data to test for witches," she added. Of course, that might change if magic was restored and people started expressing a talent for it. She had to mention that to the Etherians.

"Right. But are we testing for the Ancient gene?" Daniel asked. "If we know it, of course - how close do you think we are to identifying it?"

"So far, we only know of two people who are descendants of Ancients: The Colonel and Adora," Sam said. "Without access to more samples, it will be hard to identify people with the same ancestry." They didn't have a sample of Adora. At least, Sam hoped no one had been as stupid as to steal a sample of her.

"There's his family," Daniel pointed out. "His extended family, I mean." He blinked. "Oh. Maybe… No. Too far-fetched."

Sam frowned. "What is too far-fetched, Daniel?"

"Nothing!" Daniel replied. Sam raised her eyebrows, and he caved. "I just wondered if Lieutenant Lenkova was less of a honey trap and more of a… family trap? Maybe the Russians want a child of Jack to compare genes? Ridiculous, I know!" He laughed - a little forcedly.

Sam clenched her jaws. It was ridiculous. Obviously so. The Colonel wouldn't… well, the odds of such a scheme working were so small as to be nonexistent. And they didn't know if it was even planned.

But she still felt the urge to test a few of her recent inventions on a certain Russian officer.

Earth Orbit, Solar System, September 29th, 1998

"...and that was a bombshell, wasn't it? Who would have expected this from the Pope? I certainly didn't! Terry?"

"Well, I'd say that nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, but I did. To claim that magic is part of God's creation and inherently neutral, not evil, that witches can be good Christians as long as they don't use their magic for evil goes against centuries of history!"

"Indeed, Terry! But we have an expert on the Vatican here, Dr Marconi. Dr Marconi, what do you say to this shocking development?"

"Well, Mr Smith, first, the Pope's declaration doesn't go against centuries of tradition. The Catholic Church's stance towards witches has never been as hostile as people claim - in fact, for centuries, the Church prohibited witch hunts! It was only after the protestant movement took off that witch hunts were conducted by the Church, and even then, they remained rare in the solidly Catholic countries. The infamous Spanish Inquisition, for example, despite popular myths, wasn't aimed at witches but at so-called heretics and 'hidden jews'. So, this declaration is not violating Church dogma - though, of course, the summoning of spirits and similar creatures has been explicitly restricted. So, today's declaration is no surprise for those who know the history and dogma of the Catholic Church. In fact, now that we know that magic was taken from Earth roughly a thousand years ago, the Church's stance back then that there were no witches has been confirmed, which has several interesting implications. And one cannot forget that the Catholic Church has proven to be very pragmatic and able to adapt to changing circumstances. I would actually focus on the first part as surprising - the Pope outright stated that aliens have souls. That is a revolutionary declaration I didn't expect, certainly not as explicitly. This has far greater effects on…"

Catra yawned as the 'expert' went into more details she didn't care for. "So, magic isn't evil unless you use it for evil, and we have souls. How shocking!" She scoffed as she leaned back in her seat and craned her head to look at the others.

"It is shocking for a lot of people, according to the news reports," Bow pointed out. "Obviously, they expected the Pope to condemn us."

"The Pope doesn't want to alienate us," Glimmer said with a grin - probably proud of her pun. But she quickly frowned.

"It's still a good thing." Adora smiled. "That's a lot of people who won't see us as evil now!"

Bow cleared his throat. "Well… He didn't say anything about homosexuality. And only the Catholics are listening to him, and not even all of them. Some are already claiming that he must be corrupt. Or possessed."

Catra scoffed again. "Typical! If you don't like a decision, attack your superior!"

"Well, they are responsible," Adora retorted. "But in this case, aren't they supposed to follow his rules?"

"Yes," Glimmer agreed. "In theory. But going against the Pope is a big thing, so this should help with the acceptance of magic."

Almost as much as the realisation that magic could give any country an advantage helped. Catra shook her head. "So what? It won't really affect us anyway." It wasn't as if they were going to listen to the idiots calling magic evil, anyway.

"The more people, especially religious people, accept magic, the better," Adora insisted. "That means the United Nations won't ban magic."

Catra shrugged. The odds of any such resolution not being defeated by a veto at the latest had been zero already before this, anyway. "So, are you going to restore magic now?"

"Uh…" Adora sighed and lowered her head. "I want to, and the Indians keep pushing for it. And the Japanese." Which also were pushing for a diplomatic meeting about advanced technology, Catra knew. "But with what Sam told us…" Adora pressed her lips together.

Catra nodded. Witch hunts based on your genes - your ancestry. People getting killed for… for simply existing. Well, the same people already wanted to kill her for loving Adora, and anyone else who loved the same sex.

"That would be genocide," Glimmer said. "A crime against humanity. The United Nations would intervene."

"Are we sure of that?" Bow asked. "They didn't intervene in the past."

"Well, they should know that we would intervene if they don't," Glimmer said.

"We would?" Catra's ears twitched. She wouldn't mind crushing those fools who threatened her and Adora, but… "What about not interfering with other countries?"

Glimmer huffed. "This is an exception, of course."

"But they are already killing witches!" Adora protested. "Well, people they claim are witches. Why don't we stop them?"

"Because that's a crime, but not a genocide," Glimmer said. "And it's not the country that is doing it, but parts of the population. We don't attack a kingdom for what bandits are doing."

"Not unless the princess is sponsoring and using the bandits." Catra grinned.

Glimmer frowned at her. "Yes, of course, there are exceptions. But they don't even know yet how to look for sorcerers with tests. So, that's not going to happen anyway."

"But once the magic is back, they'll be able to find sorcerers by looking for magic being done," Bow pointed out. "Anyone displaying magic powers would be a target."

"Just like anyone whom people don't like is currently a target," Catra retorted. "And was a target before." People would get hurt and killed anyway under any pretext.

"But if I return magic, any deaths that happen will be on my head," Adora said glumly.

Catra rolled her eyes, then reached over and smacked the back of Adora's head. "Stop being an idiot! Those people are already hunting 'witches', and they won't stop. They don't care that there's no magic around yet. And sooner or later, they'll get that test for magic talents. You're not saving anyone by keeping magic away - you're just ensuring that they won't be able to defend themselves."

"Well, technically…" Bow trailed off at Catra's glare. "I didn't say anything!"

"Catra's right," Glimmer said, and Catra preened. "It's not your fault. And Earth deserves to get its magic back. The entire planet without magic? It's unnatural."

Catra nodded. "And you don't give in to those people. They won't stop anyway." They were going for people like her and Adora already, magic or no magic. You couldn't placate them.

"And we need to restore magic to planets we invade anyway, so we can use our powers," Glimmer added.

"But there'll be trouble and more riots on Earth if magic is returned," Bow pointed out.

Catra rolled her eyes. "As opposed to right now? Better to ride that stuff out now, instead of when we're fighting the Goa'uld on multiple fronts."

Adora slowly nodded.