Chapter 8 – Plans
Jack presented his plan to the others. The SGC members were elated to stay in the action, their spouses were tentative but unsure what other course of action was open to them, and the children didn’t care, so long as they got off the ship...soon.
Jack was surprised that he didn’t receive more arguments. Perhaps he was used to the years he spent debating every detail with Daniel. Perhaps he was certain that someone in the group would protest abandoning the planet of their birth. But the questions directed at him were more for clarification than for protest and Daniel was strangely quiet on the subject.
So the group began their planning in earnest. Daniel researched the history of Meropis. Jack, Teal’c, and the other SGC members hashed out which allies to approach first and how. Sam learned all she could about the capabilities of the Valkyrie. The group was so busy planning the future that they were able to temporarily forget about more pressing changes; physical changes.
The children were the first to shape shift. One morning the youngest of the children simply shifted while playing tag, her small form slipping easily into her wolf shape. Her older companions, upon seeing her shift were eager to try their own forms. Soon, all the children were cavorting as wolves, startling their watching parents. One by one the worried parents also changed, soon followed by the single adults, until every human soul on the ship was in canine form, with SG-1 shifting in a show of moral support.
But the situation was far from ideal. An Asgard ship wasn’t made for the comfort or freedom of wolves. Eventually, the new shifters learned how to reverse the changes and return once more to human form. Jack was the quickest, soon followed by the children. Shifting was an instinctual action and the more logical the mind the more distracted it had to be for the change to occur. Soon the novelty of the change wore off and the adults returned to planning, while the children played with their new shapes. By late afternoon, the children had collapsed into an exhausted heap that included both human and wolf forms.
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Daniel had dutifully researched the history behind the city of Meropis and was becoming concerned with the gaps in the written history. Jack had given Daniel all the details about the city in a small electronic notebook. Daniel poured over the information and cross-referenced it with what little was know of the Greek myth of Meropis.
Terran history had assumed that Meropis was a political allegory, a parody of Plato’s Atlantis story. But since Daniel had discovered that Atlantis was a real city, with bits of the myth closely aligning with the reality of the city’s history. He assumed that Meropis also had similarities between myth and history.
According to the myth, Meropis was an island situated beyond the world-ocean. Its inhabitants were supposed to grow twice as tall as the average human and grow twice as old. It had two primary cities, Eusebes and Machimos. Eusebes was a city of opulence where one would never grow hungry or fat. Machimos was a town of battle where everyone was born with weapons in hand and were warring constantly with each other. A third place was mentioned, Anostos, the place of no return. It was reportedly a yawning abyss with neither night nor day and was constantly covered with red, cloudy fumes.
According to the Ancient Database, the myth was mostly correct. Meropis was a huge island on a planet that was mostly ocean. It did have two main cities. Eusebes was not a place of gross opulence, so much as it was wealthy. It was the agricultural center of the island. It was also the learning center for the sciences. Machimos wasn’t a town of constant battle so much as a training center for their military leadership and the weapons research and development area. And Anostos was merely an active volcano at the outer edge of the island. At least the volcano had been active when the Ancients had abandoned the city around the time of the plague. Ten thousand years later it was unlikely to be the smoking crater that was mentioned in such great detail in the Ancient Database.
The problem was the complete lack of details in the Ancient’s written history. The database had files on Eusebes’ crop yield, shipping issues, and record profits, but failed to detail what crops were grown and their best growing conditions. Likewise, Machimos was detailed about which military leader graduated from which class and their class standing, but very little about the courses those people took to graduate and why. All in all, Anostos was the only place that the Ancient’s seemed to document in any detail, and it was the one place that Daniel was certain had changed the most in the passage of time.
So, Daniel took careful notes of the similarities and the differences between the myth and the database. He speculated on possible reasons for the differences and highlighted the areas he thought warranted careful observation before the group took up permanent residence.
“Daniel, love, it’s time for bed,” Vala greeted him as she entered the room.
Daniel carefully saved his notes and placed the small tablet computer on the desk. He turned an affectionate smile to his lover, “I’m coming.”
“Oh, promises, promises,” Vala teased as she pulled him up and gave him a deep kiss.
Daniel could barely remember the time before, when he didn’t have Vala in his life. She was now so much a part of him that he felt like he was missing a piece of himself when she wasn’t nearby. He couldn’t remember why he had resisted her advances for so long. Or even why he didn’t like her at first sight.
But then, he never had been very logical in his love life. Instead he had let fate dictate whom he was with at the time. Sarah Gardner and Sha’re had been relationships of chance and coincidence more than the result of any active pursuit on Daniel’s part. His relationship with Vala wasn’t much different, except that he had fought tooth and nail to avoid it.
Daniel wasn’t fighting any more. He no longer felt the need to fight it. Vala’s scent was addictive to him. He couldn’t get enough of it. His original fear was contradictory. He had been afraid that he liked her too much. That she wouldn’t need him, like he needed her. So he pushed her away to avoid the pain of losing her.
Now, he could smell her desire and her love as strongly as if her very essence was trying to reassure him of her love. He no longer doubted her feelings for him and that knowledge freed him to love her in return. In Vala, Daniel had finally found someone who loved life as deeply as he did. She felt everything as deeply as he did. In spite of all the horrors that she had witnessed and experienced, she still held on to life with both hands and pushed to experience it to its fullest. Daniel had truly found his soul mate.
“So, is it good news?” Vala asked as he joined her.
Daniel gave her a tired smile, “I don’t know...Maybe...”
She arched one eyebrow in his direction, “Maybe good, or maybe bad?”
He chuckled and pulled the covers over them both, “Maybe both. There are quite a few discrepancies between the myth and the Ancient records. We’ll just have to go and see it for ourselves.”
“Oooh, another adventure to a mysterious and possibly dangerous planet...Do you think they have any jewelry on this Meropis place? For once, I’d like to find some nice expensive trinket that I can use for trade. All this dusty history is good for the mind, but not so good for the purse...” she trailed off as she noticed him giving her a contemplative smile. “What? Do I have something in my teeth?” she asked.
“No,” Daniel said still smiling, “Just enjoying the view.”
Vala beamed at his compliment, “I’m glad. But did you know that the view is much better up close?”
“Really?” he replied sarcastically, as he snuggled in closer to her.
“Really,” she stated firmly as she moved in for a kiss.
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Doctor Carolyn Lam was quickly becoming fascinated with the discoveries she was making about the group’s new physiology. Now that all the members of their group were fully shifted, she had the opportunity to see the changes on a microscopic level.
The DNA changes made by the virus were very pronounced. While each cell had retained the 26 chromosomes that are uniquely identified as human, large parts of the ‘junk DNA’ had been reactivated. In addition to having ‘extras’ in the DNA, each individual cell had regressed into a stem cell state. This allowed the cell to ‘parent’ cells that were not identical to it. However, instead of the cell splitting and differentiating at a normal pace, the new Lupus virus allowed the individual’s mind to manipulate the bodies at a cellular level.
Essentially, the person infected with the virus could control the splitting and differentiate of their cells and direct the change and speed of the cellular division. The rate and extent of the change generated an electrical charge that was dissipated into the ground and surrounding air, similar to a static charge generated by rubbing socks on a rug. This electrical charge accounted for the ‘tingling’ sensation that accompanied a change. The bigger the change, the larger the tingle.
A large shift would institute a mass change of all the cells in the body to change into the desired configuration and type and subdivide at an astounding rate. Once the shift was complete, the cells would return to a normal division rate. Smaller shifts were a more localized version of a complete shift. Essentially the individual would will only one part of the body to change, so only that part would receive the command to change and divide rapidly. The rapid healing that Carolyn had observed was not healing at all, but an unconscious shift by the injured person to restore the body to an uninjured state.
Her extensive testing had proven that all the old wives tales for killing a werewolf were completely ineffective against the Lupus virus. Silver was not toxic in the least. Neither were trinium, naquada, lead, iron, steel, gold, or any other metal commonly used to form knives, tools, weapons, or devices. Fire, heat, radiation, and electrical charges only damaged the immediate cells, but did not inhibit the rapid healing the individual experienced after the injury. Carolyn was certain that a staff blast would also have a similar effect. However, a zat charge would momentarily stun the individual and did inhibit cellular regeneration. Carolyn didn’t want to speculate what a second or third charge would do. Unfortunately, she was sure that they would eventually find out.
However, upon discovering that each shift was a semi-conscious choice by the individual, Carolyn couldn’t figure out why everyone in the group continued to shift into a wolf form as a default second shape. Nor could she determine why everyone shifted every 24 to 48 hours regardless of the individual’s desire to shift. It seemed that the mind unconsciously decided on the change and enforced the change.
Today, one week after she had experienced her first shift, Carolyn approached the planning meeting with the sole purpose of presenting her findings. She could never recall being this nervous before. Only Cam’s calming presence at her side was allowing her to keep her calm façade.
“Alright, Dave, I think we’ve hashed out our plan to approached the Cimmerians to the point of beating a dead horse. Anyone have any questions?” Jack asked as he surveyed the conference room. The unofficial leadership of the group stared back at him. SG-1 were formed up on one side, with Carolyn sitting on the edge next to Cam and Sam sitting on the opposite edge next to Jack. Rounding off the group were Colonel Reynolds and Colonel Dixon, the team leaders for SG-3 and SG-13, respectively.
Colonel Steve Reynolds gave Jack a wry grin, “No, Sir. I think we are ready for the mission tomorrow.”
“I’m good, Jack,” Daniel added, as the others quietly shook their heads.
“Okay, Doc, you’re up,” Jack turned to Carolyn expectantly.
Carolyn took a deep calming breath. Just before she stood up, Cam gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. She was gratified for his support and finally stood up to begin the summary of her findings.
Carolyn breezed through her descriptions and her initial summary with no problem. However, she was only halfway through her analysis of the DNA changes when she noticed Cam and Jack. They wore identical bored expressions and were even tilting their heads in the same direction, as if the double helix would make more sense from an angle. But she pressed on and finished without either of them actually falling asleep.
“...I’ll continue testing various plants, drugs, and minerals as I can against my samples. Hopefully, I’ll be able to identify anything toxic to our new forms before we encounter a reaction. Questions?” she asked as she finished.
However, because of his apparent lack of attention, she was surprised when Jack asked the first question.
“So, if the changes are kinda conscious, why a wolf?” Jack asked confused.
“I don’t know. I can only guess that at some point we all assumed that we would change into a wolf form so when we needed to shift, our unconscious minds chose that shape. I can’t find a logical reason for any specific shape,” she replied truthfully.
Colonel Dave Dixon nodded, “Yeah, that makes sense. I assumed I was going to change into a wolf, because I had seen Teal’c and Mitchell change into one. Hell, we’ve all watched them spar.”
Daniel frowned, “But that still doesn’t answer the question of why SG-1 turned into wolves on their first change. I don’t remember thinking about wolves.”
“What were you doing before the change? Maybe you were all watching a documentary and that triggered the selection,” Carolyn tossed out a guess.
Daniel blushed and Vala grinned, “We weren’t watching the television at the time.”
“Me neither,” Sam answered knowingly, “I was thinking and pacing. But...do you guys remember those dreams?”
“Do you refer to the dream we shared while in isolation?” Teal’c asked.
“Yeah. We all had the same weird dream about hunting in the woods as wolves,” Sam pointed out. “Maybe that was it.”
Vala laughed, “If that was it, then we all have Daniel to blame. I’m absolutely sure it was his ‘fascinating’ lecture that drove us to it.”
Jack smirked and looked at Daniel, “Do tell, Daniel. When did this ‘lecture’ take place?”
Cam groaned, “Oh please, don’t get him started again. We were all dying and Jackson decides that it is the perfect time to go on and on and on about the wolf chain of command. If I hadn’t been so weak, I would have smothered him with my pillow.”
“Indeed,” Teal’c echoed, “I had been intrigued by the social and leadership structure of the wild canine for the first 30 minutes, as it helped me ignore the discomfort of my illness. However, after several hours, I too was planning on terminating Daniel Jackson’s lecture permanently.”
Sam let out a short giggle at Daniel’s obvious indignation before she successfully smothered it behind her hand. “Sorry, Daniel. I wasn’t taking notes. I was doing complex wormhole calculations. It helped me tune you out.”
Finally, Daniel turned to Vala who returned his glare with a wicked grin, “Oh, don’t worry Daniel. I listened to every word. I found it absolutely fascinating...once I pictured you giving the whole thing naked. Very inspiring.”
“Ew...T. M. I,” Jack countered with a shudder. “So...Daniel...” he spared a brief glare at the archeologist, “implants the suggestion about wolves to SG-1. SG-1 then changes into wolves. The rest of us get infected. We see that SG-1 changed into wolves, so that implants the suggestion that we will change into wolves as well. Then we all actually change into wolves confirming our suspicions...So does that mean that we don’t have to change into a wolf form? But, we can choose the form?”
Carolyn thought about it, “I don’t see why not. There is no medical reason for a set form.”
“Interesting,” Jack stated, before he turned to Sam, “I am so doing Homer on the next change.”
Sam returned a cheeky grin, “That’s fine, Jack. As long as you realize that 6 foot 4 inch tall, yellow cartoon characters are not coming anywhere near me.”
“You are such a spoil sport,” Jack replied, before turning back to the group. “Anything else, Doc?”
Carolyn sighed, “Well, just one other oddity that I can’t explain. I know that we’ve all experienced some behavior changes that are...different from our usual human behaviors. The best way to explain them is ‘primal’. And frankly, I don’t know what is causing them. They aren’t exactly the same as what happened with the Broca virus, but they aren’t exactly normal either. There isn’t evidence of a hormonal imbalance, but everyone shows a larger amount of electrical energy present in the brain. This could account for the changes or I could be completely wrong. Either way, I’ve taken a baseline reading on everyone, including the children, so if things get worse...or better, I can track the changes.”
“Are the new levels dangerous?” Sam asked.
Carolyn sighed, “To humans, maybe. But we aren’t exactly human any more. Those old norms no longer apply. For all I know it is completely normal for us now...as are the behaviors.”
Carolyn looked around the room, looking for more questions. Finally, she nodded to Jack and sat back down next to Cam. She gently leaned into him seeking his reassurance and Cam gently slipped his arm around her in response.
“If there isn’t anything else,” Jack glanced around the room before continuing, “we’ll be in orbit around Cimmeria tonight. Get some rest. We have a big day tomorrow.”
The group responded with a chorus of ‘Yes, Sirs’ and everyone rose to leave. Jack nodded to everyone as they made their way out, finally leaving just himself, Sam, Daniel and Vala.
Jack turned a questioning look to Daniel, “Yes, Daniel?”
“Yeah, Jack,” Daniel shifted nervously, “I was...ah, thinking. How exactly are we going to introduce ourselves tomorrow? I don’t think we should use ‘Tau’ri’ any more. You know...make a clean break and all...”
Jack sniffed in consideration, “Ya got something in mind?” he asked.
“Ah...no. I thought you might,” Daniel replied, embarrassed.
“Oh,” Jack looked around to Sam and Vala. “What about the Wolf Clan?” he asked the girls.
Sam smiled a feral grin and Vala considered it, “It’s strong and aggressive. I like it,” she replied with certainty.
Sam nodded in agreement, “Yes, we feel more like a family then anything else. ‘Clan’ is a good description and ‘wolf’...” her eyes flashed with humor, “that kind of goes without saying.”
“It’s, ah, kinda plain...” Daniel added with a frown.
“Good grief, Daniel. Not everything has to have a fancy name. Would you be happier if we used the Ancient form ‘Gen’Lup’? Does that pretty it up enough for you?” Jack growled in an exasperated tone.
Daniel immediately bared his throat to Jack and nodded, “Yeah, it sounds great.”
Jack noted Daniel’s response and backed off a bit, “Really?”
Daniel gave him a small reassuring smile, “Really. I like it.”
“Good. Then you get to brief everyone else. You two have fun,” Jack said in dismissal.
Sam followed him with a smile and a nod, “Daniel, Vala, don’t stay up too late.”
“You either, Sam,” Vala replied with a wink.
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TBC
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