Daniel smiled at Kalimac and Razanur and ventured another phrase. The two of them listened carefully, then shrugged their shoulders. Kalimac -- the older one, Daniel thought -- voiced a few words in reply. Daniel tilted his head, eyes half-closed, concentrating on the syllables. He could just begin to sense a familiarity, the first faint hints of a common base, something that he might be able to --

"All right, that's it," Jack suddenly announced. He got to his feet, dusting grass and dirt off his BDU trousers. "Time to go."

"What?" Daniel, distracted, frowned up at him. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing to see here, Daniel," Jack said firmly. "Let's keep moving."

"Nothing to see?" Daniel waved an indignant hand in the direction of the village, a half mile away at the end of a gentle slope. "Jack, look at the architecture! Even with most of their buildings underground, it's clear that they prefer a circular design. Did you notice that even the doors are round? The Gate must have a major influence on their culture. They might be able to help us with --"

"Aht!" Jack held up a warning finger. "Look, these little guys are very friendly and all, but you can't speak to them, right?"

Daniel huffed with frustration. "If you'd give me some more time... I'm certain there are traces of Germanic roots in their speech. Kalimac and Razanur seem friendly, hospitable. I'm sure they'd be willing to try."

"Well, sure they would. They're not going to let an easy mark like you out of their sight. It's not often you find someone willing to swap chocolate bars for mushrooms." Jack poked dubiously at the brown fungi piled on the checkered cloth lying on the grass. "And we'll have to wait until Carter checks them out before we'll know if they're even edible."

"How could Sam tell if the mushrooms are poisonous are not? She's not a --" Daniel caught himself, realizing that Jack had managed to change the subject again. "Forget the mushrooms, okay? Let me talk to these people!"

"I still think they're kids. Look at them, running around barefoot in the grass." Jack frowned down at the two curly-headed tykes, then realized what he was doing and transformed his scowl into a smile. Kalimac and Razanur looked uncertain, but gamely smiled back.

"Those doors don't look adult-sized to me," Daniel retorted. "I still say they might have knowledge of the Gate."

Jack sighed. "Look, Daniel, even if they traipse through the Gate on a daily basis, it's not going to help us if we can't also figure out how to get back to our own time. This is a nice little rustic place, and if we weren't trapped who-knows-when, I'd be happy to find out if they have good fishing here. But it's pretty obvious that these folks don't have much scientific knowledge."

"We said the same thing about the Nox," Daniel argued.

"The Nox were pint-sized, yeah, but not this small."

"Oh, come on! What does size have to do with --"

Jack reached down and yanked Daniel to his feet. "Teal'c and Carter are waiting for us. We're half an hour late for our rendezvous as it is. Sorry, Daniel, but we have got to go."

Half-towed by Jack, Daniel looked back at the two natives who had been so friendly despite their inability to communicate. "Uh, thanks anyway," he called. "You can keep the mushrooms." Then, with a final resigned wave, he turned to follow Jack.

He'd left the rest of the team at the campsite a few miles back while he went to the nearest town to scrounge some supplies. Teal'c had been especially fascinated that they'd gone back to a time only two decades before his own birth, yet the Tau'ri were so little advanced in comparison to the era they'd left behind through the Stargate. He'd been deep in conversation with Daniel when Jack left, discussing the Industrial Revolution and the uncanny ability of human beings to keep their feet so firmly on the technological accelerator. Carter had promised to keep guard, though, so Jack trusted that they'd all be safe and sound when he got back.

Now Jack walked steadily along the path -- nothing more than a double track of wagon wheels, really -- and tried to figure out what they were going to do next.

They couldn't stay. Not with Junior maturing in a few years, not with the sense of responsibility to the future that they all shared. Part of him wished there was some way to hang around, though. Much as he loved the Minnesota of his time, the untamed woods and prairies of this era were even more beautiful.

Slowly, he became aware of a sound -- still faint, but in the absolute silence of this wilderness, the smallest noise was magnified. Hoof beats, clopping on the path ahead and quickly approaching. Stifling the impulse to reach for his concealed knife, Jack stepped a pace off the track and waited.

A wagon pulled by a single horse appeared over a slight rise. Relaxing a little, Jack raised a hand in greeting at the driver, who responded with a friendly call and reined in his horse. The large bay stopped, blowing a little, and Jack walked toward the wagon with his hands held out at his sides, unarmed and nonthreatening.

"Evening," the man smiled. He had bright eyes in a deeply tanned face, his hair and beard neatly trimmed. "Need a place for the night, stranger?"

"Name's Jack," Jack replied easily. He jerked his head eastward, across the prairie. "I've got a few friends camped back there, although I thank you for the offer. If you could just tell me if I'm headed in the right direction to get to town...?"

"You are, Jack," the man confirmed. "It's about two miles further up the road. But are you sure I can't offer you and your friends a place to stay? Caroline and I are always pleased to have company."

Jack had a sudden, almost irresistible vision of Carter in her BDUs striding into this man's farmhouse, not to mention Teal'c with his tattoo. He knew they'd need better intel, eventually, but even if they could obtain a proper dress for Carter -- and persuade her to wear it -- this friendly fellow was hardly likely to know how they could access the Stargate. The thought of a hot meal and Minnesota-style hospitality was tempting, but regretfully, Jack realized he'd have to pass it up.

"Thank you," he said again, "but I'd best be on my way."

"I'll wish you luck, then," the man said. He gave a final friendly nod, then picked up the reins, clicked his tongue at the bay, and rode onwards into the night.

The two women had long since abandoned the formality of their doctoral titles and their last names. They sat in the quiet bar, each nursing a glass of beer, talking animatedly about quantum physics and the conundrums of time travel. Donna had reacted a bit oddly at a casual reference to string theory, but Sam, who could easily spot when someone was running their words through a top security buffer, chose not to question her further.

"Out there," Donna said at one point, waving her hand vaguely skywards, "that's what so many people see as the ultimate frontier. Up in space."

"Sounds good to me," Sam said, remembering the incredible view she'd had after they'd saved the planet from Apophis and his motherships. "There's an entire galaxy out there. Maybe more than one." I should know.

"Going to follow in Sally Ride's footsteps?" Donna asked, arching an eyebrow. "Somehow, I don't think they'll send another woman up on the Challenger all that quickly."

Sam jolted a little, slopping her beer over her hand. She took a quick swallow to hide her confusion. Of course -- in this time, Sally Ride's first momentous trip into space had taken place only the month before. The tragedy of the Challenger 7 was still three years in the future.

"I know it's hard for women to advance in the space program," she said quickly. "But if Sally could do it, what's to stop us from doing it, too?"

Donna eyed her for a moment, but only said, "It's just that I don't believe that space travel is the ultimate barrier. Time travel, now -- that is the real challenge. Moving through time, observing the past. Discovering the truth of historical events."

"Only the past?" Sam asked carefully, wondering if this was a hint. "You don't think there's a way to time travel to the future?"

Donna leaned back in her chair, looking thoughtful. "I think that it would be too risky," she said at last. "How would you know where you'd end up, or if the Earth is even there any more?"

Oh, it's there, all right. And I need to get back there. "From the point of view of the future, this is the past," she said aloud, daring to venture a hint of her own. "So I suppose that someone from the future could visit this era, and go back. So why not go forward in the first place?"

"But wouldn't you need to know first that you're going to live that long?"

Sam frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well." Donna hesitated, staring down at her empty glass. "It's just a theory I've heard," she said finally. "That time travel would be restricted to your own lifetime."

Sam blinked at this. "Why would that be the case?"

Donna flushed a little -- at some memory, perhaps. "Look, imagine a piece of string..."

As she listened, Sam wished she could confide in Donna. They needed help, even if the Colonel was understandably wary of getting the people of this era involved. She herself had warned him about the dangers of time paradoxes. But which paradox would be worse? Telling Donna they were from the future and needed access to the equipment that Donna had in her top secret project , which wasn't so secret at Sam's level of security clearance in 1999... or remaining sixteen years in the past, until their future history finally caught up with them?

Sighing, Sam ordered another round for them both. Getting a little drunk probably wouldn't help much, but at this point, it couldn't hurt, either.

"I shall be discreet," Teal'c promised O'Neil before slipping away to join the throng on the main street.

How strange to be considered the most likely of their team to blend with these other Tau'ri! Yet his very alienness, Daniel Jackson suggested, would serve him well: these Earth people of the future would view him as an innocent foreigner, rather than suspiciously ignorant of the most basic concepts. His unfamiliarity with the planet was thus transformed into an asset. Teal'c, reflecting on this, decided that Bra'tac would be most amused.

Bra'tac. It was sobering to think that the old man would be long dead by now, along with everyone else he knew. His great-grandchildren might still live, carrying on his legacy, proud Jaffa and skilled warriors... He glanced skywards, wondering if there might be some way to discover if his people had ever achieved their freedom. Teal'c longed to return to his own time and resume the struggle against Apophis and the rest of the System Lords.

As he stepped into the seething mass of humanity and carefully mounted the moving sidewalk, he considered his options. His task was a simple one: find a guide to the nearest library, so Captain Carter might research this era's knowledge of time travel and find a way to return them to 1999. He scanned the sea of faces, looking for one that appeared friendly and open. He settled on a woman who appeared to be Captain Carter's age, or perhaps a bit younger. Something in her bright blue eyes reminded him of both of his younger teammates, with their enthusiasm for knowledge and eagerness to share it with others.

He watched the others on the moving sidewalk for a moment. It would not be unusual, he decided, if he edged his way towards his chosen quarry. He moved smoothly through the crowd, faltering only once at the moving surface under his feet, and ventured a gentle tap on the woman's shoulder.

She turned, her face showing polite but wary interest. "Yes?" she inquired.

"I am sorry to disturb you," Teal'c said politely. "I am a stranger here, in need of assistance."

The wariness disappeared from her expression. She smiled widely. "You must be an exchange student at the university!" she exclaimed. "How marvelous -- I haven't met anyone from offworld before this. What planet are you from?"

"Chulak," Teal'c replied automatically, utterly nonplussed by this casual reference to other planets. Had the Stargate been revealed in this future era? Could it really be so simple?

"Chulak. Chulak," the woman mused, tapping her chin with a thoughtful forefinger. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with..."

"There are very few of us here," Teal'c improvised hurriedly. "I fear I have lost my way. Could you direct me towards the nearest library?"

"Library?" the woman repeated, her forehead furrowing. "What's -- oh! Library, yes, that's the old word for repository, isn't it?" She tilted her head to one side, studying him with frank interest. "How fascinating that the translator used the more ancient term. I would love to hear --" She stopped, flushing a little. "I'm sorry. I tend to get carried away with my enthusiasm for the study of offworld cultures."

"Your interest speaks well of you," Teal'c said courteously. "If you could direct me towards this repository, I would be most grateful."

"Certainly." She turned and pointed further up the block. "If you take the next slidewalk to the east and follow it for three blocks, you'll be right in front of the Great Repository. They say that there's a chip for every single book ever published on Earth, and a growing collection of offworld works, too. I'm sure you'll find what you need there."

Teal'c nodded gravely, filing the word slidewalk in his head. This Great Repository sounded most promising. "Thank you, ma'am."

"Call me Amanda," she said, and reached out to grasp his hand in a warm, friendly grip. "It was a pleasure to meet you."

The fellow wore his formal green uniform like a second skin, the perfect poster child for recruitment to the military that apparently still persisted in this time. Tall, good-looking, wavy hair perfectly styled, teeth flashing in a dazzling smile -- he was everything that Sam normally despised, but for some reason, she only felt amused. For all his blatant flirting, she sensed that if she made her rejection clear, he wouldn't try to persist. And the bland innocence of his eyes was simply too good to be true. Ivan, she decided, was a lot more intelligent than he pretended to be. She wondered why he chose to hide his talents behind a facade of vague incompetence.

"I'd be delighted to show you around London, m'lady," he purred, trying to take her arm. "I'm a galactic myself, of course, but I've managed to discover some quite delightful nooks and crannies. Much nicer than the arcade, I assure you. Perhaps you and I could sample some of the city's pleasures together."

Sam pulled her arm away and eyed him. "You're very kind," she said evenly. "But as I said, I'm trying to do some research and I seem to be a bit lost."

He blinked at her guilelessly. "Surely you tried the information panel at the main lift tube station?"

"I can't say I did." After all, she hadn't known it existed in the first place.

"I'll be happy to show you," Ivan beamed. He took her arm again. "And once we've done that, perhaps you'd be interested in --"

"Sam!" Daniel came hurrying towards them, squinting a little in the bright sunlight slanting through the glass roof. He'd taken off his glasses once they'd realized what an anachronism his poor eyesight seemed to be in this advanced century, but he seemed to have little trouble spotting her. Perhaps, Sam though wryly, he'd followed the gleam of Ivan's polished boots.

"Ah, yes," Sam said brightly, gently pulling her arm away. "Ivan, this is my very good friend, Daniel."

"Pleased to meet you," Daniel said, a little distracted.

"And you, I'm sure," Ivan replied, looking a little crestfallen. "A very good friend, you say?"

"Certainly. As good a friend as him --" Sam pointed at Colonel O'Neill, only a few paces behind Daniel. "And him, too," she added sweetly, as Teal'c suddenly loomed in Ivan's face.

Ivan stepped back a pace, although Sam couldn't help but admire the way his flustered look quickly shifted to one of polite civility. "I'm glad a lady of your quality has such worthy companions," he said, smoothly turning his disappointment into a suave compliment. "Until we meet again, m'lady." He gave her a flawless, practiced bow, nodded politely at the others, and backed away.

"Is all well, Captain Carter?"

"No problem, Teal'c," Sam assured him. She patted him on the arm. "Thank you, though."

"A little bit of local color?" the colonel muttered in her ear.

"Not really," she answered. Despite herself, she realized she was still smiling at Ivan's rapidly departing back. "He's from a planet several wormhole jumps from here."

Daniel blinked at her. "Did you say wormhole jumps? That doesn't sound like the Stargate."

"No, it doesn't," Sam admitted, shifting gears. "But with space travel so advanced, there's bound to be research into time travel, too. Come on, Daniel -- I'll need your help in the library. Let's go."