Chapter 83: Educational Issues Part 2
Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado, United States, Earth, January 18th, 1999
"..and while the benefits such a 'dumb symbiont' would provide are obvious, there are several important issues with this proposal you might not have considered, in our opinion," Martouf said.
His expression lacked the usual subtle longing when he was looking at her, Samantha Carter noticed.
"Like that having such an option would compete with Tok'ra recruitment?" the Colonel cut in.
"That is one of our concerns, yes." Martouf nodded at him. "Although only one, and not the most important."
Sam could see the issue there, of course. How many potential hosts would want to share their body with a Tok'ra if there was an alternative that provided most of the benefits while the recipient retained full control over their body? But she was sure that there were enough potential hosts even if the symbionts would reach a level of advancement where their benefits were equal to those granted by a Tok'ra symbiont.
"There is also the fact that you would basically create a new, dumb species from a Goa'uld or Tok'ra template," Anise said. "Imagine if, say, we would want to create 'dumb hosts' using your DNA as a base. Human origin, but deliberately reduced in sapience to the level of an animal."
Sam drew a surprised breath through her clenched teeth. She hadn't considered this - she and Entrapta were planning to experiment with a fellow sapient species. If they were doing this with humans… She grimaced as she suddenly felt slightly ill. How had she missed this? She should have seen this! It was unethical!
Daniel looked struck as well. And why hadn't he realised this? Had he been so busy with trying to keep Sadiki's people from being exploited to miss this?
"Uh…" Entrapta, unfortunately, looked confused. "I thought you needed sapient hosts."
Martouf grimaced as well. "It was merely an example."
"Imagine if we would create brainless clones from humans to use as donors for organ transplants," Sam said.
"Oh." Entrapta blinked. Then she tilted her head to the side and looked at Sam. "But without a brain, it's not a human, right?"
"I think that is disproven by several politicians and pundits I know," the Colonel quipped. But he didn't look like he actually was amused any more - he looked a bit queasy himself, Sam noticed.
"He's joking," she told Entrapta.
"Ah." Her friend nodded. "But without a brain, it's just… biomass shaped like a human. Not even a proto-human."
Sam sighed softly. Entrapta was one of the nicest women she knew, a great friend and a brilliant scientist, but she struggled with some things. Such as certain ethical questions. Of course, some questions everyone struggled with. "It's not that simple," she said. "If someone suffers brain damage, they're still a human. No matter how much brain damage they suffer." Of course, there was also the question of when exactly someone became a human in the first place, but that question had been answered pretty succinctly as 'at birth', for a variety of sound reasons, and Sam didn't give a damn about those who disagreed with this - she knew exactly what those people actually wanted when they tried to redefine when a fetus became a human.
"And if they die?"
"Then they are a dead human. But they don't stop being a human," Sam replied. "And if we started treating humans who aren't smart enough as not human, then that could have dire consequences."
"Yeah." The Colonel looked very serious. "Some people would jump at the chance to draw a line like that and then do away with those who wouldn't be considered human anymore. And they might be a little fuzzy about where they would draw the line."
"Yes." Daniel nodded firmly. "It's not a line we want to cross. History teaches us what happens when humans are considered subhumans."
Entrapta still looked confused. "Which part of history do you mean?"
"Slavery and the Holocaust are the most known," Daniel replied.
"Ah. Oh." Entrapta's eyes widened. "You mean… This would lead to people murdering each other?"
"Ah…" Daniel winced. "Not directly. But it's a concern - it's mostly an example to show why it's bad to experiment with humans. Or Tok'ra. Or Goa'uld. Any sapient species, actually."
"And horses, I guess," the Colonel added. "At least according to Swift Wind."
"This is a very simplified view. There are other ethical questions we haven't touched, and human cells are used in experiments by scientists on Earth, although some consider that unethical as well," Daniel said.
"Oh." Entrapta slowly nodded. "So, if we just use the cells, that would be OK?"
Daniel grimaced again. "As I said, it's a very complex issue. Using human - or Goa'uld - cells for research is generally considered alright. But creating an organism based on those cells for experimentation… That's a much murkier question."
"So, it's a matter of intent." Entrapta nodded again. "And it means we have to find another way to save the Jaffa we captured than what we originally planned. But we can use cells for research as long as we don't clone actual specimens out of them. Or clone specimens for experimentation. We need an artificial symbiont, then."
"Most will agree with that view, yes." Daniel smiled.
Her friend was correct, though Sam would still expect some backlash if those experiments were publicised. Although if they managed to create an artificial symbiont, then the majority of the people would want to use it and would likely silence dissenters.
Entrapta pouted. "That will be more difficult than I thought, then. We won't be able to use an existing working template and alter it - we'll have to build up an organism from scratch that will emulate the effects. And we can only use the cell samples from Goa'uld as models, not as a source, since we need a non-sapient organism not based on any sapient species." Entrapta nodded again. "I think we need to visit Alpha for that."
"The Ancient AI?" Anise beamed at them.
"Yes. Want to visit?" Entrapta matched their friend's smile.
"I would be delighted!"
Sam winced. She didn't have to look at the Colonel to know that he was scowling.
Bright Moon, Etheria, January 18th, 1999 (Earth Time)
"...and that's why we need to go to the First Moon of Enchantment!" Entrapta finished her explanation. "We need to talk to Alpha about the First Ones' research into genetic engineering so we can help the Jaffa without experimenting with people. Because that's bad, but creating a new life form not based on people is good."
Catra blinked, then nodded. It made sense. Sort of. And, of course, Entrapta would bring her friends from the Tok'ra along without asking beforehand. And SG-1 would tag along.
"I see." Glimmer slowly nodded.
"We hadn't considered that!" Adora, though, shook her head. "We should have realised that this was bad. I should haOw…"
Catra rolled her eyes as she withdrew her leg. "Don't blame yourself for everything, idiot." If the others wanted to feel guilty, that was their problem - Sam certainly looked like she did - but Catra wouldn't let Adora blame herself for this.
Adora rubbed her calf - which wasn't even bleeding; Catra knew how to use her claws - and pouted at her. "But I should have realised that this was wrong."
"Well, no one realised it." O'Neill shrugged. "Not even Daniel, and that's usually his thing."
Daniel grimaced instead of laughing at the comment.
Catra sighed. "Nobody's perfect, we all should have realised that experimenting with people to make a new life form is bad since the First Ones did it, we won't do it, blah blah blah. No one did actually do it, so no harm done. You were talking about heading to Research Station Alpha?"
Adora pouted some more at her, and Martouf frowned, but everyone else seemed to be ready to move on. Good.
"Yes!" Enttapta, unfazed by the whole issue, nodded. "And we need Glimmer's permission since it's her moon. And Adora and Jack's, since it's their base. Well, it's Alpha's base, but she answers to you. And we need a shuttle to fly there. So… we need quite a few things."
"Of course, you have my permission to travel to the First Moon of Enchantment," Glimmer said. Then she blinked. "Although… you're not going to start experimenting there, are you?"
"Oh, could we?" Anise beamed at her. "To work in a research base of the Ancients…"
"Research Station Alpha is where the people of Etheria were born, kind of," Bow told her. "It is of immense historical and cultural importance."
Catra doubted that most people on Etheria shared that view - or were aware of the base - but Anise looked suitably taken aback.
"Oh, yes, I understand," she said, grimacing. "Still, the knowledge to be found there, the inspiration…" She sighed.
Catra suppressed a snort at O'Neill's expression.
"Yes!" Entrpata nodded enthusiastically. "Alpha could have immensely helpful data! And it'll be good to talk to her again - she might feel lonely on the moon."
"She's been talking with my dads," Bow said. "They're working on a book on the creation of Etheria."
"That's nice!" Adora smiled.
Bow nodded. "They said they had to distract themselves when we were gone for so long."
And Adora's face fell. Catra glared at Bow, who had the grace to blush. "Err… well, they usually fly with a shuttle from Second Fleet, so… we can ask them to hitch a ride?" he suggested.
"Yeah, let's go." Catra stood. "And we can ask them about their book as well." Bow looked surprised, so she rolled her eyes and added: "Because I think we'll need to know if the book will start a ruckus on Etheria."
"Oh."
The way most of her friends looked surprised at her comment wasn't a good sign.
At least Glimmer was on the ball - then again, she was a queen. "Yes. Princess Sweet Bee will probably consider it propaganda or try to claim the base 'for all of Etheria' - or both. Probably both." She scowled.
"Well, realising that you're the result of an experiment by the Ancients can be a shock to people," Daniel said. "It certainly would be on Earth."
"Heh, just realising that you're not alone in the universe was a great shock to you," Catra pointed out. "Or that magic is real."
"Well…" Daniel shrugged.
"Yeah, yeah, it was a big shock, and we got over it. Those who matter, at least. Let's hope you'll get over having started as 'test subjects', as the computer in the station told us," O'Neill said.
Catra narrowed her eyes at him. "Yeah, Mister First One." When he glared at her, she flashed her fangs at him in return. At least on Etheria, people didn't expect you to follow their stupid religion's rules about who you were allowed to love.
"Let's just go meet your dads and ask if we can tag along with them, OK?" Adora smiled.
"Yes."
Martouf and Anise looked a bit confused. Catra's ears twitched as she caught them whispering to each other. Ah, they wondered why they weren't taking a shuttle from Bright Moon.
Well, wasn't there a saying that to confuse your enemies, you had to start with your allies, or something?
The First Moon of Enchantment, January 18th, 1999 (Earth Time)
Jack O'Neill considered himself to be a tolerant man. Different strokes for different folks was a perfectly fine way to live your life. What consenting adults did in the privacy of their homes, and with whom, was their business, and none of Jack's, or anyone else's. But some lines shouldn't be crossed in public, no matter whether you were an alien or not, and Bow's parents… Jack forced himself to smile and tried not to look at Lance and George as their shuttle entered their final approach to Research Site Alpha's hangar. They were just so… Well, public displays of affection were OK, even if Jack didn't like seeing two men his age exchange glances straight out of a romance novel. But Lance…
You didn't wear socks with sandals! That was a universal rule, no matter what Daniel claimed. Just ask anyone who had ever met a German tourist!
"And here we are! Hello, Alpha!" Bow's taller dad announced as they stepped out of the shuttle.
"Hello, Lance. Hello, George." A projection of the computer appeared in front of the ramp. Smiling widely.
"Hello, Alpha!" George smiled. "Did you finish refurbishing the new area?"
"I did, yes. Hello, Adora, Colonel O'Neill." The projection bowed towards them, then turned to address the others. "Entrapta. Glimmer. Bow. Catra. Daniel Jackson. Samantha Carter. Teal'c." Then she cocked her head. "There are two people infected with parasites with you. Should I remove them before they contaminate the site, or are they test subjects? Should I set up a containment area?"
Jack blinked, then snorted - and had to remind himself that having the two snakes locked up by the Ancient computer would be a terrible faux pas since they were allies. Even though it would be funny.
"Uh, no, they are our guests, Alpha," Adora said, looking flustered. "They aren't parasites but Symbionts - they aren't Goa'uld but Tok'ra."
"According to my scans, they match all the parameters that define a Goa'uld."
"That's just, uh, biological. But they really aren't Goa'uld, and it's rude to mix them up."
"My scanners aren't set to detect non-biological differences. This presents a grave security threat. I suggest treating them as Goa'uld and detaining them until a verifiable method to differentiate them from Goa'uld can be implemented."
Alpha was his kind of girl, Jack decided. Computer. Whatever.
"We oppose the Goa'uld. We are not like them!" Anise protested. Her voice changed, and Freya added: "We are partners."
"That is a verbal statement which cannot be proven or disproven with the currently available data."
That was the computer version of 'of course a Goa'uld would say that', Jack guessed.
Catra snorted behind him.
"They're our friends. Register them as that!" Adora ordered.
The projection turned to look at Jack.
Was it waiting for him in case he wanted to countermand this? He nodded. "Uh, yes, register them as friends." He ignored the smile aimed at him by Anise.
"Very well. Please state your names for the data banks." The projection managed to sound like a suffering clerk.
"We are Anise and Freya."
"Lantash and Martouf."
"Noted."
Lance coughed. "Now that that's settled, let's proceed to the archives, shall we?
"Of course." Alpha bowed again. "I've prepared the records you asked for."
"Oh, great! You found them?" Lance beamed at the projection.
"Yes."
"Were they misfiled?" George asked.
"Yes." The projection frowned. "The mistake has been corrected." Once more, she turned to look at Jack and Adora. "I recommend logging a reprimand for the person responsible, Assistant Researcher Talar Junas. Faulty or misfiled data is unacceptable in a research site."
"Yes!" Entrapta nodded emphatically. "If you can't trust your data, you can't trust your experiment! It's sabotaging science!"
She sounded as if that was a much worse crime than taking over someone's body, Jack couldn't help feeling. He glanced at Carter, who nodded in agreement. No joking about it, then. So he shrugged. "Well, we don't know if that Talar guy - or girl - is still alive to get reprimanded, but if we see them…" He shrugged, then winced when Adora briefly looked sad. No joking about the death of her people.
"Noted." Behind the projection, the door opened. "Will you join Lance and George in the archives?"
"It's a lovely place," Lance told them with a smile. "We've remodelled, so it's much more comfortable now. Alpha did a great job."
"Enhancing a workplace's ergonomics is a logical way to improve the efficiency of the workers," Alpha added. But she sounded rather pleased.
Damn. Jack pressed his lips together. Now he was, what was the word, humanising machines?
"Oh, nice!" Entrapta beamed. "Let's go check it out! We can check the research data there for our project!"
Alpha perked up. "I stand ready to assist with any and all research projects," she announced.
"Uh, that's good:" Adora smiled a bit weakly. "We can use the help, I think. But… ask us before you assist with potentially dangerous experiments, OK?"
"Define 'dangerous', please."
Alpha had been built by people who created a planet full of 'test subjects' and were willing to destroy it and a big part of the entire sector to win a war, Jack reminded himself.
"Uh… anything that could hurt people if it went wrong?" Adora asked more than answered.
"Define 'hurt', please. Almost any action, even a purely verbal one, has the potential to hurt someone."
Adora looked at Jack.
Jack looked at Daniel. Explaining things so that the nice computer wouldn't accidentally wipe out a world or two trying to help mad scientists sounded like the perfect job for Jack's friend. And it might help him stop feeling sorry for not catching the troublesome nature of Entrapta and Carter's original plans.
"...so, it's a matter of scale. An experiment that could lead to negative consequences for a single person's mental or physical health is not problematic, but if more people are potentially affected, it requires approval from a legitimate authority." Alpha nodded.
Adora winced. That wasn't entirely what they wanted Alpha to understand. Perhaps they should have asked Lance and George to help, but Bow's dads were already in the archives, researching their own project.
"Not quite," Daniel tried again. "In the first case, it's only not problematic if said person gave consent to the experiment - and if it was an informed decision, meaning the person at risk was aware of the danger and the probability of a negative outcome."
"Ah." Once more, Alpha's projection nodded.
"Yes! You need reliable data to deduce anything! That's how science works!" Entrapta chimed in with a happy smile.
Adora glanced at Sam and Anise, who also nodded in agreement.
"But experiments are how you gather data. If you already had reliable data about the outcome, there would be no need for the experiment in the first place," Alpha said.
That was… well, it was true, but still not correct.
"That's correct, yes." Sam nodded. "But you don't need to know the results of an experiment to make informed decisions about it - you just need reliable estimates of the range of potential consequences."
"Blast radius, for example," Entrapta added. "Calculate the blast radius based on the materials involved so you can determine the safe distance." She cocked her head. "Of course, stuff like Naquadah-enhancements to explosives kind of mess with that, so you should start with tiny quantities and do it in space where shockwaves don't travel well and slowly build up your data."
"Yes." Daniel glanced at Jack, Adora noted. "If you're experimenting with explosives, you should start small. Very small."
"Almost anything can be an explosive if used correctly. Or incorrectly," Anise cut in. "And some processes need to overcome a threshold to result in an explosion."
"Yes," Sam agreed again. "Critical mass."
"I think we were talking about genetic engineering, not explosives," Jack commented. "Unless you want to create explosive tomatoes."
"Well, biological explosives are entirely possible," Entrapta said, scrunching her nose. "Many explosive materials could be grown. It wouldn't be very efficient compared to mass-processing in chemical plants, but it's possible." She perked up. "And if it is a plant, Perfuma should be able to control it, so that would add instant mass-production potential to it!"
Perfuma letting explosive plants sprout from the ground all over an area… Adora felt her stomach drop at the thought. That was…
"Good job," Catra, standing next to her, hissed at Jack, who had the grace to look embarrassed.
"I don't think creating plants that can explode is a good idea," Bow spoke up. "Imagine if those plants spread across a world?"
Adora winced.
"I see," Alpha slowly nodded. "So, that would be an experiment where the scale for requiring approval by authorities would be met since it would potentially endanger an entire world."
"Uh… yes, I think," Entrapta said. "One could do such experiments inside a space lab, of course, so specimens can't spread, but that's not perfectly safe - spores might escape anyway. And we know that some plants can survive and grow in space."
And now everyone was looking at Adora. It wasn't her fault that her magic had transformed Horde Prime's flagship into a plant! Well, kind of it was, but she hadn't known what she was doing. She should have known, of course, but…
"Well," Daniel spoke up, drawing the attention back to him, "it also depends on which authorities you're asking for approval. They might not actually have the authority to approve of such experiments."
"Absent any other representative of the First Ones, Adora and Colonel O'Neill are the legitimate authority with regard to experiments conducted on Research Station Alpha."
Adora winced again.
"Great. It's up to us to keep the mad scientists in check," Jack muttered.
"Yes." Alpha nodded.
Adora looked at Daniel, but he didn't look as if he was going to argue this. Nor was any of the others. Not even Glimmer, even though the First Moon of Enchantment belonged to her. Adora glanced at Catra.
Her lover snorted. "Don't look at me. I don't know anyone better suited to rein in Entrapta and her friends than you."
Adora flushed. Well, Catra was terribly biased. Adora wasn't some… some paragon of wisdom, or something. She didn't know more about these things than anyone else. Just because she was born a First One didn't make her qualified for such decisions - especially not about ethics. The First Ones had proven that they weren't any better than others when they planned to sacrifice Etheria to win the war.
But qualified or not, it was her responsibility - and Jack's - and she would not fail that duty. Straightening, she nodded at Alpha. "Yes." She had to do this. And she would do this.
"So, can we research this?" Entrapta asked. "I mean, the odds of anything exploding are pretty low. And we're not researching plants - not now, at least - but immune system replacements. Perfectly harmless!"
"Unless you create something that replaces the immune system like a symbiont in a Jaffa- and spreads to non-Jaffa," Catra pointed out.
Entrapta blinked, then cocked her head to the side. "Well… that's theoretically possible, I guess. We'd have to create an organism that could replicate outside a lab, perhaps by taking over a host body and using its reproductive system…"
Jack groaned, and Adora closed her eyes.
Why couldn't things be simple - and safe - for once?
Samantha Carter had to agree with Entrapta. She wasn't a biologist or geneticist, but she knew enough about Goa'uld biology to imagine a similar parasite that would permanently alter the host's body to, if not remove, then at least cripple the immune system - like AIDS - and replace it. The trick would be to get it to reproduce inside the host…
She shook her head. They didn't need a plague version of the Goa'uld. Thinking about how to create one was a waste of time. Even if it was an interesting thought experiment. But they had better, more important projects. Much more important projects.
And she wasn't a geneticist. She was a physicist. And a specialist in Ancient technology, though even that would be of limited use here. Probably. But first, she had to remind Entrapta of their priorities. "While we might consider this as a potential threat so we can plan safeguards and countermeasures, we should focus on our reason for coming here."
"Standard precautions against biological weapons should suffice against such a threat," Alpha commented. "Although I fail to see what use one would get out of such an organism. Unless reproduction is controlled in some way, anyone infected will not be dependent on regular supplies of the symbiont. Therefore, it cannot be used to gain leverage over others. And there are more effective biological weapon systems to reduce an enemy's combat capability."
"Why am I not surprised that the Ancients already thought of the best way to use biological weapons?" the Colonel commented.
Alpha's projection turned to face him. "The logical explanation would be that you are already aware of the research data contained in my data banks."
Sam winced. The Ancients had researched biological weapons here? What was she thinking; of course, they did.
"This day gets better and better," the Colonel muttered.
"This station has biological weapon research data? Samples as well?" Glimmer asked.
"Please answer the question, Alpha," Adora told the A.I. when she didn't reply to the question.
"We have the data for eleven research projects that would qualify as biological weapons, but only seven of them were deemed complete and ready for production, and only five have samples left over from testing. Do you wish me to start producing more samples?"
"Seven weapons? Five samples? What, no, no - don't produce biological weapons!" Adora almost frantically shook her head, and the Colonel had gone quite silent.
"I don't remember seeing this data when we visited the last time," Entrapta said.
"We can produce biological weapons here?" Glimmer looked alarmed as well.
Sam… wasn't really surprised. A species willing to destroy an entire planet to win a war wouldn't baulk at producing and using biological weapons. She only wondered why they were, apparently, not used.
"Were any of them used in the war against Horde Prime?" Anise asked, mirroring Sam's own thoughts.
Once more, Adora had to tell Alpha to answer.
"Yes. Three weapon systems were used in response to invasions by the Horde, but while they were successful in denying the planet to the enemy, the Horde fleet was not significantly affected after the first such attack. Analysis deduced that the Horde's policy of keeping their fleets separate and without contact with each other except for Horde Prime's orders granted them effective resistance even against agents with a long period of incubation, and when the Horde stopped recovering their ground troops after an invasion and started purging affected planets, the research into biological weapons was stopped as not viable."
"Of course, the bastard would just waste his troops like that!" Catra hissed. "If they're written off from the start, they can't infect the rest of a fleet."
"And he was safe from infection himself since he could possess any clone and so didn't need to physically visit. And even if he were infected, he could get a new body," Glimmer added with a grim expression.
Alpha didn't react to their comments, Sam noted.
"So… we probably should look into those projects," Entrapta suggested. "Since they might be aimed at clones, we might need a cure in case we find the locations where they were used." She looked concerned. "We can't risk our friends like that, can we?"
She was right, Sam realised. The Alliance wasn't using Horde Prime's tactics and policies, and if the fleet got infected with such a weapon… She nodded. "Yes. We need to be prepared for this. If the Goa'uld acquire such weapons, they won't hesitate to use them."
"Yes. Alpha, we need the data - not the samples - for all those weapons," Adora said.
"Of course. Will you limit access to the data to this facility's terminals, or do you wish to download the data?"
"Uh…" Adora glanced at the others. "I think we should limit access to the terminals on this station, yes."
That was probably the best course of action. If such knowledge and data spread… Sam glanced at Anise and Martouf, but they looked taken aback as well.
"You can access them in the archive, then."
"Good." Adora sighed. "We need to check the archives for more research data anyway."
"Yes!" Entrapta smiled.
"Are there any such weapons intended to be used against the Goa'uld?" Anise asked. "Weapons that exclusively target them?"
Which would, therefore, also affect the Tok'ra.
"Please answer the question," the Colonel said, rolling his eyes.
"There are two biological weapons that would be effective against the Goa'uld, but they are effective against all biological organisms. The First Ones did not deem it necessary to develop specific biological weapons against the Goa'uld," Alpha said.
Anise and Martouf looked relieved. Sam was as well. If such a weapon existed, some people in the Alliance would advocate for using it - despite the risk it posed for the Tok'ra. Or, worse, because of the risk.
"Let's go take a look," Entrapta said.
"Yeah…" The Colonel still looked tense. And Daniel looked, well, more than a little disturbed. Like the others here, Sam noted.
Well, she could have also done without hearing those revelations. But as a scientist, she wouldn't shy away from facts no matter how disturbing. Reality didn't change if one tried to ignore it. Reality only changed if you made it change. And you needed facts for that. And science.
"Why is everyone so shocked?" Catra asked as they entered the archives. "Didn't we already find out that the First Ones were not really nice people when we discovered what they had done to the Heart of Etheria?" She saw Adora flinching and clenched her teeth. Adora might be a First One, but she wasn't responsible for their deeds. She had been a baby when she had been taken from them by Hordak and Shadow Weaver.
But Catra should have known better than to bring this up. Even if that wasn't her fault, either.
"Well, in hindsight, maybe this was or should have been obvious," Bow said, grimacing a little. "But I don't think anyone really considered this."
"Ah, I am afraid you're wrong, Bow!" Lance looked up from the terminal he was staring at. "We were already aware of this." His smile looked a little embarrassed.
"You were? And you didn't tell us?" Glimmer frowned at them.
Catra was tempted to make a comment about not feuding with your future father-in-law but held her tongue. That was… a touchy subject. For a variety of reasons Catra wouldn't go into. Not even in her mind.
"We assumed that you knew." George took a step to stand next to Lance and frowned in return at Glimmer. "You had access to this facility for months before we started our project."
"We didn't actually have the time to go through all the data," Glimmer defended herself. "There was so much to organise, and then we left for Earth."
"Well, we had the time - we just focused on other things," Entrapta added. "And I think we all thought that the data about the origin of Etheria - well, of the people of Etheria, or at least of a major part of it - was more important." She cocked her head to the side. "Was that wrong?"
"No," Glimmer told her. "Our origin - the origin of our powers - was more important. We already knew that the First Ones were willing to destroy Etheria to win the war."
Catra grinned. "Which is what I said." She put her arms behind her head and stretched. "We shouldn't be surprised by this. If you're willing to blow up one planet, you're pretty much willing to do anything to win. And the First Ones were ready to destroy many planets," she reminded the others. It wasn't as if the Heart of Etheria would have just killed Horde Prime - or just him and his clones. Horde Prime had been ready to wipe out half the sector, or more, with it.
"Yes. Still, it's one thing to expect something like this and another to find out that there are biological weapons around that," Bow said.
"Yes! We need to ensure that we have an antidote or a cure!" Entrapta said. "And for that, we need the data on those weapons."
Catra nodded. "Yes. Especially if they only affect clones - those weapons could be hiding on populated planets, and we might not notice them since everything would appear fine until the first clone visits."
Sam nodded. "Yes. We need to prepare countermeasures. And adapt our protocols."
"Yes, that would be wise," George said. He still looked slightly disapproving - a bit like Shadow Weaver, Catra couldn't help thinking.
Glimmer must have been thinking the same thing since she frowned at him in return. "And we'll require everything you know about those weapons. And your promise that you won't spread this."
"Spread it?" Entrapta blinked. "Do you mean you have those samples?"
"I meant spreading the news about this," Glimmer said. "We don't need a panic about biological weapons."
"Of course not!" Lance said. "We're not irresponsible. We're historians!"
"Yes." George was frowning again.
"Looks like there's some trouble in paradise," Catra mumbled.
"What?" Adora asked.
Bow cleared his throat before Catra could explain. "Anyway, let's get to work?" He smiled a little weakly at everyone, but the others nodded.
Catra looked around, then picked one of the comfier-looking seats someone had installed in the room - on Lance and George's request since they were in the Bright Moon style, not the First Ones style. That one would do nicely. "Let's sit down!" she said, then grabbed Adora's hand.
"But there's no terminal there," her love protested.
"Are you a scientist?" Catra asked, raising her eyebrows.
"No!" Adora pouted. "But I took the Horde course for dealing with biological hazards. So did you."
Catra winced. "That was about dealing with Etherian plants and animals! And monsters!"
"And it included diseases!" Adora nodded firmly and started dragging her to the terminals lined up at the wall.
"But not biological weapons!" Catra protested.
"Close enough! We're just gathering data, anyway."
Catra hung her head and did her best to ignore the snickering from Glimmer. It didn't look like she'd be able to make out with Adora while the others worked. Though, to be fair, this was important work.
And she could still amuse herself by seeing if she could distract her lover if the work turned out too boring.
Jack O'Neill hated alien bioweapons. Well, bioweapons in general. It was one thing to die in combat, shot to death. Or stabbed to death. Or beaten to death, maybe choked to death - Jaffa had a lot of options. But it was another thing to die while your lungs filled with pus or from bleeding sores all over and inside your body. Of course, chemical weapons could have the same effect. And dying from radiation poisoning wasn't exactly a quick death, either. That stuff was why you tried to save your last bullet for yourself. And sooner or later, they would have to deal with this kind of shit. The Goa'uld would certainly not hold back once they realised that this was a war to the knife, and Jack was sure that the lab Jakar had destroyed when they met wasn't the only one in the Snake Empire. Not by far.
Although with magical healing, you might not die from such an attack. If someone able to heal was around, and if you were alive enough to make it to that someone. And if you were important enough to get healed, in case a whole world was infected. Jack had his doubts that even Adora could heal an entire world. Even if she would try anyway. But while he hadn't met any other people who could heal with magic, he was pretty sure that they weren't in her league. The Etherians had confirmed that.
And he was also pretty sure that they wouldn't be able to get enough 'healers' from Etheria, by recruiting or training, to make such a difference. Not for the scale the war was going to reach. It wasn't quite going to be the total war World War III would have been, but the mobilisation was already dwarfing Desert Storm levels and was expected to rise a lot more.
That meant Earth needed counteragents. Cures. Maybe even some healing devices, provided they didn't turn you into zombies. And that meant finding out what was hidden in those Ancient databanks. Which boiled down to letting Carter and Entrapta - and probably Bow and Anise, though Jack wasn't so keen on allowing the latter access to this data - do their thing while staying out of their way.
Jack surely had no illusions that he would be of any help just because he had taken a course on dealing with NBC attacks. So he grinned at Catra behind Adora's back and wandered over to where Daniel was chatting with Bow's dads.
"...so you think the Ancients simply left, even though their, ah, experiments were not finished?" Jack heard Daniel ask in a low voice as he approached the three men.
"Yes," Lance replied. "At least, that's what the records we have found and analysed so far tell us."
"If they had left an automated system like Alpha or Light Hope on Etheria to keep an eye on everyone, there should have been some data about it," George added. "Unlike Light Hope, it would have been directly related to this research station, and so it would have needed access to the data here. It wouldn't have made sense to isolate it."
"In my experience, the Ancients had some weird notions about what made sense," Jack cut in with a grin. They certainly had weird experiments. Merging animals and people? Jack suppressed a shudder.
"Well, they had a different culture," Daniel said. "What is considered common sense is often heavily influenced by cultural norms."
"Not letting dangerous stuff lie around and making sure that it won't endanger anyone else seems like a pretty general thing," Jack commented.
But all three men frowned at him. "Jack! Do you know how often that happens on Earth? I mean, doesn't happen as it should?" Daniel shook his head.
"And we have to consider the fact that the First Ones were fighting a war against Horde Prime at the time - a war they were losing," George added. "That will also have influenced their thinking."
"If they were ready to sacrifice Etheria, they would likely not have cared about the experiments on it any more. Or about ensuring that it would be safe." Lance looked grim. "Short of some scientists wanting to save their data for future experiments, maybe."
"Yeah, wars tend to put things into perspective," Jack admitted. "Not always a good thing."
Daniel nodded with a frown. "We have to ensure that we're not falling into the same trap. We can't allow us to justify atrocities in the hope that it would help us win the war."
His friend must be feeling guilty about the whole 'Goa'uld experimentation' plan, Jack guessed. As if that had been his fault.
Lance and George nodded. "It wouldn't help, anyway - the First Ones tried it, and they still lost," George said. "They might have won, had they had allies instead of…" He scowled. "...'test subjects'."
"Yep. Allies are a good thing. Crucial thing, too," Jack agreed. Provided you could trust them not to stab you in the back.
He looked at the rest of the room, where the others were busy with the bioweapon data search. They could trust the Etherians. At least the bunch of princesses they had met so far - that 'Princess Sweet Bee' didn't sound like someone Jack would trust to watch his back. But what about the next generation?
And what about the Tok'ra?
Well, the priority was to win the war against the Goa'uld. Odds were, whatever problems cropped up afterwards would be political ones, and so none of Jack's business anyway. He didn't have to worry about them.
But sometimes, he couldn't help worrying anyway.