"...Help us!"
"Carter? Carter?"
Shaking himself back awake, Jack realised he was sprawled on the floor of the lab. He looked up to see Grelmin's image was glowing atop the device. The image looked rather pleased which was, in itself, not a good sign.
He had a bitter taste in his mouth and, as he rose, he shivered at the memory of his nightmare... the terrified voice of Carter screaming for help. Steadying himself against the desk, he approached Grelmin's device cautiously.
He halted as his hand hovered above the controls. Something was wrong. He'd never cut the neural link, had he? So, if he hadn't, why was pint-size Gizmo there rather than the one that could walk about? And, come to think about it, why did the image look pleased with itself? In the time since they'd first found the device, the image had never displayed any emotion until it started to move.
Suspicious now, he said, "Gizmo?"
The image turned to look at him.
"Apologies, Ha'ranas. I cannot resume full-form until such time as power levels rise again."
Power levels rise again? The guy was hooked up to a naquadha reactor. What could have made his power drop so much he...?
Carter screaming for him to help from somewhere so near and yet so far away.
"You son of a bitch! What did you do?!"
"I went into your mind in search of the other Occupiers. Unexpected anomalies are causing drainage to my systems. I shall not be able to reattempt for some time. It shall slow us down quite considerably"
Carter's terrified voice echoing desperately from somewhere he couldn't reach.
He doubted Grelmin would tell him what he'd been up to but his statement had given Jack an idea.
"Can you put me in there? Can you put me into my own head to find the others?"
Grelmin looked like he was going to say no but, then, slowly, he looked up at him and replied, "A most excellent idea, Ha'ranas. However, you would have to increase the power flow."
Unconsciously reaching for the laptop attached to the naquadha reactor, he tapped several buttons before he realised that he had no idea how to increase the power flow. Obviously, his hand knew more than he did though, because the percentage on the screen increased. Before he could contemplate that, however, another bolt of energy from the device hit him and he crumpled, lifelessly, to the floor.
Severely disorientated, Jack raised his head. Where the hell was he? Huh? But this was...
Climbing to his feet, he tried to shake himself awake. He couldn't really be here, could he? Had he managed to come the whole way here without realising it? No way, he was restricted to base... they'd never have let him just wander out. Something else had to be happening.
Looking around in the half-light of this place, Jack wondered why it was so quiet. This arcade always used to be buzzing with kids. When he was nine, Charlie had taken a liking to coming here with his friends after school. Countless days, he'd been sent down here by Sara to drag their son home to get his dinner only to spend the next hour playing the games as well. They'd been playing games here just the week before... and, well, after Charlie had... this place had become a hideous place in his mind for a long time; a place that filled a kid's mind with ideas about how great it was to play with guns. Later, though, when he'd forgiven the world for its part in Charlie's death, it'd become a sacred place; a place where Charlie had staked those first claims to independence and where they'd spent some precious hours just playing together. It still looked the same as it had all those years ago... aside from the emptiness. The arcade machines stood eerily silent.
However, gradually, Jack became aware of music playing in the distance. Still unsure what was going on, he walked deeper into the arcade. As he walked, the music grew louder. It was one of those tinny little tunes that you got on the archaic arcade games. Sounded vaguely Egyptian.
Turning the corner, he saw an adult figure standing in front of one of the arcade machines. From here, Jack couldn't see which game it was. Curious, but cautious, Jack edged nearer. It was definitely where the Egyptian tune was coming from. The screen had become slightly visible. The graphics weren't any more impressive than the music. There was a desert in the background with pyramids dotted around at random intervals. It appeared to be an Egypt-themed platform game. No, wait, weren't those Jaffa? That... that wasn't Egypt... It was Abydos. What in the hell was going on?
Suddenly, he realised that the figure was Daniel. He hadn't originally recognised him because he was wearing a baseball cap and shirt.
"Daniel..."
"I made it to level three!"
"Daniel, what's going on?"
There were three figures on the screen. Jack thought that the figure on the far right of the screen looked vaguely reminiscent of Daniel in his fatigues. As the figure took a staff blast to the chest, he fell to the ground and the continue option appeared upon the screen. Looking vaguely unwell, his friend delved down into his pocket and pulled out a quarter. Dropping it into the slot, the game came alive again. Looking revitalised, he got back to playing.
"Daniel, tell me what is going on here."
His friend whined, "Dad, I'm on level three. I'll come home later."
Jack was stunned for a second.
"D...dad?"
"Come on, come on, come on..."
"Why did you call me ‘Dad'?"
"I said I'd be home later, Dad."
"Daniel, something really weird is going on here..."
This time, another of the characters went down and the continue screen flashed up. Quickly inserting another quarter, his friend snapped childishly, "You're getting me killed."
Flicking his attention to the screen, Jack saw that ‘Daniel' and his eerily familiar companion figures were again under attack by Jaffa.
"Daniel..."
Suddenly, he felt something move past him and Daniel looked round for a moment.
"Dad, go home! You're getting me killed!"
Jack went to say something when movement caught his eye. Following it further along the corridor, he found that the smell of hotdogs was gradually being overcome by a mustier odour. Looking around, he realised that this corridor was lined with books now. The lighting was gradually changing from the neon glare of the arcade to the dust-filled shade of a darkened library. Heading through the plaster arch on his left, he saw a figure hunched over a desk with a lamp providing the only light. Walking over, Jack saw that the figure was reading two books at once whilst also typing on two separate computers. How he was able to do that was puzzling Jack as he could only see one pair of hands. The figure was also muttering to itself.
"Hello?"
Near enough to make out the muttering now, Jack heard the figure say, "...busy... always too busy... gotta get this done... gotta get this done..."
"Daniel?!"
Finally, the figure turned round and looked at him and Jack saw that it was, indeed, Daniel. That made no sense. Hadn't he just left Daniel?"
Jack asked, "How the hell did you get here so fast?"
When Daniel's mind was racing, he spoke at a sprint.
"Get here? How could I get here? I've been working flat-out for days trying to get the translations done for the artefact from P2Q86534689649450704022894595966959484494954...."
His friend's face seemed to be moving unnaturally fast as he cut him off.
"Daniel, what are you talking about?"
"Can't talk, Jack, gotta get this done; always so busy."
He found himself backing out of the room. It looked like he was going to get even less sense out of Daniel than he'd got out of him in the arcade. Deciding to see what else there was round here; he headed back into the corridor. He didn't see the shadow that passed across the archway.
There weren't books in the corridor anymore. Now, it looked be the corridor of a hotel. Jack vaguely recognised it. He was pretty sure this was that place he'd stayed with Sara on their first vacation together. There hadn't been all these white balloons and ribbons everywhere, though. He was just about to head onwards down the corridor when he heard a woman crying. He realised it was coming through the same archway he just come back through only now it was made of white marble and was covered over by a glass door. Concernedly looking through the glass, he saw a veiled bride sobbing bitterly. Heading in, he saw that there was a multi-tiered wedding cake sitting on the table. It was a beautiful thing but Jack noticed that only the figurine of the bride was on top of the cake. He made it over to her and, gently, said, "Uh, hi... You okay?"
Wiping her eyes beneath her veil, the bride nodded. Idly, she played with something held in her hand.
Kneeling down, he said, "What's wrong?"
In response, she opened her hand. Looking down, he realised it was the missing groom from the cake... and he appeared to be missing his head.
Reaching under her veil, the woman pushed it upwards. Jack shifted back in surprise.
"Carter?"
He barely recognised her with mascara dripping down her face as the tears flowed freely.
Tearfully, she demanded, "Why do they always break?"
Sitting down next to her, Jack waved a hand in front of her face.
"Carter? Carter, you in there?"
Ignoring him, the despondent bride-not-to-be threw the headless figure into a box. Following its path, Jack peered into the small plastic box to see several similarly headless grooms already in there.
He wasn't quite sure how long he sat staring at the decapitated grooms but, eventually, he snapped himself from his contemplation and looked back at the black tear-tracked face of the jilted Carter. She began sobbing bitterly into her hands.
Suddenly, he became aware of a scritching noise from somewhere nearby. Looking up, he saw a figure standing by a chalkboard busily scribbling scrawling formulae across it. Straightening back up, he started to tread across towards the person. Despite the white coat and the general impossibility of it, he had a feeling he knew who it was that stood before him.
Nevertheless, he was still shocked when he tapped the figure on the shoulder and she span round.
"Carter?"
Brightly, she replied, "Hi, sir!"
Hope rising at the fact she'd actually appeared to recognise him, he said, "Carter, is that you?"
"Of course it's me, sir. Who else am I going to be?"
"I only ask because you also appear to be over there."
As he gestured toward the sobbing bride, Carter looked over his shoulder and, eyes brightening, she replied excitedly, "Great!"
Demandingly, he growled, "Focus, Carter. Tell me how this is possible."
But then, momentarily, his attention was distracted as something shifted behind him and, suddenly, the sound of sobbing ceased. Looking behind him, he saw the bride and the wedding cake had gone.
He turned back to ‘Doctor' Carter.
"Carter, what just happened?"
"Well, the laws of quantum dictate that I can be in two places at the same as long as I don't observe myself because then the waves all break down and... ooh, that's good. I should put that in here somewhere."
She made some more nonsensical marks on the board.
"I just need a few more factors and I'll have it figured."
"Carter? Have what figured?"
Turning to look at him with those bright blue eyes for a moment, she smiled before replying simply, "Everything."
Jack sighed. Seemed this Carter was as wacko as the recently vanished one. Now she'd got into her scritching again, she seemed to have forgotten he was even there. Movement just behind him caught his eye and he turned quickly to see something... odd... it was like a shadow but with no obvious object casting the shade. Slowly, it was making its way across the room to where the two of them stood. Turning, he tried to make out some possible source of the shadow but nothing was apparent. Then, as it reached Doctor Carter, something very strange happened. As it passed across her, it turned darker and, suddenly, she vanished along with the chalkboard.
In shock, he stood frozen and watched the shadow slowly slide back towards the door. Shaking himself out of his comatose, he headed back out of the hotel room and after the shadow. He followed it down several corridors; now giving no heed as they twisted and morphed into various guises. At one moment, he was in the corridors deep in the base and, the next, he was walking through the grand corridors of the Pentagon. One time, he was sure he'd glimpsed Teal'c in his full First Prime regalia but, stubbornly, he'd carried on. Ignoring noises coming from various doors, he determinedly headed after the shadow. Somehow, he knew that he should be afraid of that shadow but the rage that had descended on him now was keeping any apprehension at bay. However, he slowed as he realised what this corridor was now becoming...
No longer a corridor but the wall of a pit; no longer a journey but an end. This was Baal's gravity-defying fortress where he'd been tortured and killed only to be brought to life again more times than he cared to recall. The harsh memories that instantly assaulted him, however, were swiftly swept aside as he slid down to the floor and a more powerful wave of terror hit him. Maybe this wasn't just another dream place. Maybe the reason there'd been so little sense to all this was because none of it had been real and he was only now beginning to notice. What if they'd never even gone on that last mission? Or the one before that? What if Teal'c had never lost Junior? What if they'd never gotten Daniel back? What if Daniel was still ascended and... and he was still... here.
He pressed his hand against what had recently been the floor and tried to will it to dissolve away but it felt horrifyingly real beneath his clammy palm. He closed his eyes and tried to suppress the rising panic. This couldn't be real...
But what if it was? What if everything after here had just been a delusion? Or a dream that his still-ascended friend had pushed him into to take him out of this place mentally even if he couldn't help him physically leave? God, say that wasn't true. Say this was a bad dream, please....
Pinching himself as hard as he could, he tried to will himself awake and, for a moment, the walls around him seemed to twist and fade before becoming horrifyingly solid again. Needing out of this place more desperately than he had ever needed anything before, he closed his eyes and ran full pelt into the wall and...
Snapping awake, Jack blinked uncertainly for a moment at the bright whiteness around him. Belatedly, he realised he was lying on a bed in the Infirmary with Janet buzzing about in a concerned manner. It took several moments for the panic of his recent nightmare to recede enough for him to get his breathing back under control. Then, pulling himself upright, he said, "Doc?"
Doctor Fraiser looked round.
"Colonel! You're awake again."
"Yeah, what happened?"
"I'm not sure, sir. You collapsed in the middle of the lab and were brought down here but I've no idea what caused it."
Jack growled, "Yeah, well I've got my suspicions. Janet?"
"Sir?"
"I need back down to the lab."
Hesitating for a moment, she nodded and replied, "Let me get a wheelchair and I'll take you down myself."
As she went to get one, he said, "Doc?"
"Sir?"
"No protest about me staying in the infirmary?"
Sadly, she shook her head.
"Sir, you and I both know that medical knowledge isn't going to give us an answer to all this."
Then she headed out through the door. Sitting back, Jack knew that he complained more vocally than anyone when kept longer than he wanted in the Infirmary... but, somehow, the fact that the Doctor wasn't suggesting he remain here made this whole situation even more unsettling.
Sitting in the wheelchair, Jack activated Grelmin's device. Janet was waiting outside for him as he still wasn't a hundred percent sure what would happen if someone else was in proximity when the neural link was originally activated.
As it activated fully, Grelmin appeared. However, looking down to where he sat, his eyes widened and, in a panicked voice, he said, "Has something happened to the legs of your body?"
Sighing, Jack pulled himself up out of the chair.
"No, my legs are just fine. What I'd like to talk about is what happened last time we were linked up."
Looking relieved, Grelmin replied, "I was attempting to help you when you threw yourself into full unconsciousness and broke the link between us."
"Before that. I'm talking about the weird place I was in."
"You were merely in a dream state. You had requested to navigate your mind in some manner."
"No, that wasn't just a dream. Tell me what the hell those freaks were that were masquerading as my friends."
"These... freaks, as you call them, are not the Occupiers."
"All right, what are they?"
"Aspects."
"What?"
"When you underwent Ha'ran, you absorbed all the Aspects of the Occupiers."
"Quit calling them that!"
"What else should I call them?"
"They're my team."
"Very well, you absorbed all Aspects of your team."
"And?"
"This initial absorption is indiscriminate. It takes no account of whether an Aspect will be beneficial, surplus to requirements or, indeed, detrimental."
"Huh?"
Looking frustrated, he replied, "I cannot imagine how you came to dominate the other Occupiers. All had a mental capacity far exceeding yours."
"Right, I've now officially had it with you! Answer my question: if those freaks aren't them then where the hell are my friends?"
"The other Occu... your team have been sorted into Aspects which can then be either absorbed or discarded."
"What the...?! Are you saying you took them to pieces?"
"It is a crude way to explain it but basically correct. It is a usual part of the process. You seem somewhat displeased by the prospect."
"Displeased?! You shredded up my friends' minds and you think I should be happy about it?!"
"I do not understand this hostility towards your improvement. As Awareness, you receive all the benefits of being Ha'ranas. The knowledge of all occupiers shall soon be yours to command. Or is it merely your inferior mental capacity which does not allow you to grasp the concept? Do not worry. As I have promised before, I shall instruct you on how to use the mental capacity of your Occupiers to increase your own to a more acceptable level."
"Look, I'll explain this to you one more time. I don't want to be ‘Haraned'. I don't care about ‘benefits'. What I want is for you to get my friends back!"
"I do not understand."
"All right, let me make it complicated for you: I want you to bring back the ‘Awarenesses' of all the other ‘Occupiers'. I want you to find all the ‘Aspects' you ‘discarded' and ‘absorbed' and put the ‘Occupiers' back together. I want you to put all the ‘Occupiers' back into their own bodies. Unclear enough for you?"
"But... but you are Ha'ranas..."
Defeatedly, Jack slammed the device off. Carter's scream for help still echoed around his skull but he had no idea how to answer that call. How could he save her without her here to help him figure out how to save her?
Glancing up at the chalkboard set beyond the device, though, he stumbled backwards. After a few moments of utter shock, however, he cautiously stepped towards it. He looked round to where Grelmin's notes sat on the table then back towards that board again.
George Hammond was watching a presentation with growing annoyance. One of the science team, Doctor Felger, had come to him to say that he had a viable way of reversing what had happened to SG-1. Foolishly, it now seemed, he'd immediately called a briefing and eagerly awaited the findings. However, the more he listened, the less hopeful he felt. After a stilted initial presentation that made little sense, Felger then appeared incapable of answering a single query about his plan, mostly thrown at him by the newly-returned McKay, without referring to the papers in front of him and, even then, not particularly satisfactorily. Sitting to his left, Jack was looking understandably annoyed at the random mumblings of the scientist and seemed to be growing more frustrated with every moment that passed.
Trying to summarize what little he'd actually understood of Felger's explanation, he said, "Okay, Doctor. So you're saying that, with these alterations, if you connect the device inhabited by Grelmin into the pedestal device with an appropriate power source attached then..."
Looking as flustered as he had since he'd first stood in front of them, Felger said, "It'll reverse the process."
McKay, flicking backwards through the report, asked, without looking up, "And how would that work, exactly?"
"Well, I mean obviously..."
As he began to flick through the pages again, Hammond turned to see Jack's head was in his hands. He wished he hadn't called him down for this but the scientist had just sounded so confident about this when he'd come bursting into his office.
He turned back to Felger.
"Doctor?"
"I... if you could bear with me for just one moment..."
Shutting the report up, McKay looked up.
"Okay, who came up with this?"
Hammond turned to where the sceptical scientist sat.
"Doctor?"
Opening the report and pointing to a random section by way of demonstration, he replied, "Seriously, this is genius. I mean, I could've written this. Now, I'm sure this guy's pretty clever in his own field of whatever it is he does but this isn't it."
Felger blinked uncertainly.
"But I..."
McKay turned back to him and pointedly repeated his earlier question.
"So, how would that work, exactly?"
Looking blank, Felger flicked through his report, "Well, I mean, obviously it... I... um..."
As he continued flicking manically through the pages, Hammond heard a voice behind him growl, "Aw, for cryin' out loud, Felger! I told you this bit like a thousand times!"
Hammond turned, astonished, to see Jack on his feet glaring angrily at the now cowering scientist. Slamming his hands down on the table, the Colonel continued, "It's simple! It's not a case of reversing it as such. The device works in an oscillating pattern and everything's centred on the polarisation between these points. Grelmin's device will function as a conduit to replace and control..."
Only one member of SG-1 talked like and it certainly wasn't Jack O'Neill.
"Major Carter?"
Freezing in his rant, Jack looked round at him and slowly shook his head before grumbling at the cowed scientist.
"I ask you to do one little thing for me..."
Shifting away from the table, he went to gaze out onto the gateroom.
Hammond wanted some sort of explanation to what just happened and Jack didn't appear to be forthcoming with such an answer so he turned to the shell-shocked Felger.
"Doctor, what's going on here?"
Helplessly, Felger stuttered, "I... I... there may have been a small... I mean, it wasn't my idea but... and I did my best and..."
Then, quietly, from over next to the window, Jack's voice cut in.
"What he's trying and failing to say is that this was my idea, sir."
Dismissing the other occupants of the room quickly, including Felger and a protesting McKay, Hammond walked over to where Jack stood.
"Colonel, what's going on?"
Jack shoved his hands in his pockets.
"I just would've rather you thought one of the eggheads had thought it up. But, god they're so slow compared to..."
"Jack, I don't understand."
Sighing, the Colonel walked over to the table and, sitting back down, picked up one of the folders.
"This proposal is mine. It was me that came up with it. I told Felger to tell you it was his idea...but..."
"It's your idea, Jack? Have the others resurfaced? Is this Major...?"
He shook his head wearily again.
"No, it's just me, sir."
"But, how could you...?"
"I'm not smart, sir, if that's what you're asking..."
He said it with such bitterness that the General couldn't quite decide how to respond. Eventually, he continued, "Look, it's part of this whole damn Hairyness thing. I just know what they know, sir, that's all. I think about a problem and I know the solution... but it's not my solution... it's theirs."
"If you're saying that this idea is the result of knowledge possessed by the rest of your team then why wouldn't they have suggested this before they submerged?"
Almost spitting the words, like they were poison in his mouth, Jack replied, "Oh, that's just the ‘wonder of Ha'ran' at work. Carter couldn't read the language; Daniel didn't know the scientific significance of the information he'd read... It's just what they'd have come up with if they'd had more time. If I'd given them more time."
Sliding back into his seat and trying to get back to the matter in hand, Hammond said, "So, if this is your plan, then maybe you can answer this for me... If Grelmin's device is used as a ‘conduit', does the plan depend on his co-operation?"
Jack had obviously read the additional query in his tone because he nodded.
"Yes, sir, and, believe me I don't like that fact anymore than you do but the time it would take to reverse engineer the vital facets of his device..."
Shaking his head, he continued, "...I don't think the others've got that sort of time."
"Jack, I want the rest of SG-1 back as much as you do but I can't just willingly let you sacrifice yourself in a hopeless attempt to retrieve them."
"Sir, I swear, that's not what this is. I admit that it's a bit of an insane plan but would you even have thought twice about it if it'd really had been Carter or Daniel or one of the eggheads who came up with it?"
Hammond paused uncertainly so Jack encouragingly stated, "Sir, the uncertainty involved in the recalibration of the device shouldn't be a problem given that it was originally an integral part of it. Power is the major factor here but the design of the capacitors should be enough to cope with any fluctuation in..."
Then, wincing, he looked up, "Besides, think SG-1's already lost its fourth. I mean, does any of this sound like me?"
"I think it could work."
They both turned to where McKay stood, report under his arm, in the doorway.
"Doctor, you were dismissed."
Ignoring the pointed comment, he stepped back into the room and, gesturing as he spoke, said, "I won't say the equations are at their most elegant and it's not without some serious basic flaws but I don't think it'd take that much to fix that. Well, actually it'll take a genius to make it work but luckily for you..."
Hammond held up a hand to cut him off.
"All right. Convince me that this is viable and you have a go."
Soldering the connection back into place, Jack stood back.
"All right, test each connection individually. We can't afford to accidentally trip the device."
The technician he'd directed the instruction at just looked at him until he growled, "Preferably, in this lifetime."
As the technician actually did what he'd asked, he slunk over to the other side of the room and, sitting on a box of equipment, lowered his head into his hands. He knew that there was something unnatural and parasitical about all of this. Jack O'Neill had no idea how to get everyone back into their bodies. These snatches of knowledge came with no background. Although slightly more consciously aware this time, it felt almost like when he'd had the knowledge of the Ancients downloaded into him... if there was a problem then he could somehow solve it but how he did it was a mystery; even to him. He felt like some sort of knowledge vampire... sucking the soul out of his friends. This was what Grelmin wanted to do to people? This was his ideal?
He looked up to see McKay poring over the output readings from the naquadha reactor. Certainly not a person he would ever have envisioned as the guy who backed him up. Perhaps, if this plan worked like he hoped, he might see his way to recommending McKay for a better position. Preferably, however, one a long, long way away from him - he might not be the worst guy in the universe but he certainly ranked amongst the most annoying.
Presumably sensing he was being watched, the scientist glanced up briefly before turning back to the reactor.
"What's it like?"
It took a moment to realise the question was directed at him and, even then, he wasn't quite sure what McKay was asking.
"What's what like?"
"Y'know," McKay tapped gently on his right temple as he continued, "knowing things you never learned."
He didn't really want to get into a conversation with the scientist about this.
"Weird. It's weird and unsettling so I'd like it if we could just get this over with and I can go back to only being renowned for my knowledge of The Simpsons. Sorry if you wanted me to say how fascinating and cool it is."
"I didn't," he replied. "If it was me I'd hate it."
"You would? Thought you'd be all for technology that could give you loads of knowledge."
McKay turned back to his task.
"If there was a technology out there that could make me smarter than I already am, then that might be cool but, seriously, I've spent my whole life learning all this stuff and I understand it inside out and upside down. There's experience and trial and error and lessons learned. There's a lot more to knowing something than just knowing it."
Jack found himself a little taken aback by the comment from the scientist. Maybe there was a depth to this guy that he'd never seen.
"Plus," McKay continued, "having other people's knowledge in your head would be like someone hanging over your shoulder when you were doing a crossword telling you letters and giving you clues."
Getting a little more insight on McKay's viewpoint, Jack clarified, "Y'mean if you were sharing a head then you couldn't really get all the credit especially if you were sharing with someone smarter than you."
The look of distaste that crossed the scientist's face confirmed his suspicion but before he could continue the conversation, Major Castleman stepped in through the door at the head of a stretcher. As he shifted further into the room, the body of Teal'c came into view. His not-corpse was swiftly followed by those of his other friends. He prayed fervently that this was really going to work. He knew Grelmin had only agreed to this under threat of his device being smashed into a million pieces if he didn't comply and wasn't sure that that was going to motivate him to try his hardest to make this work
The bodies of his friends now laid out around the device was an unnerving sight; especially as he could feel the echoes of them in his own mind. He could still hear Carter's wail for help... it was never loud but never seemed to fade away either.
As the technician nodded to him to confirm all the connections were working, Jack gestured for everyone to leave and looked over at McKay. The scientist's gaze rested on Major Carter for a moment before he looked up.
"It's ready, I think."
"You think?"
"Well, there's a high probability that this won't work and about a thousand different scenarios that end in very unpretty pictures."
"Aw, come on, that's just the optimist in you talking. Look, just switch it on and get out of here. You end up in my head and I swear you won't get back out alive."
Nodding, the scientist initiated the activation sequence and beat a hasty retreat down the narrow passage to outside. As the lights came on around Grelmin's device, Jack saw his pint-sized version flicker into life.
"Okay, let's go over this again, shall we? What's going to happen?"
"We are going to sort all the Occupiers back into their bodies using the plan you conceived with you rising intellect."
"And?"
"We shall ensure nothing goes wrong."
"And if it does?"
"You will use your ability as a Ha'ranas to discover a way in which it is possible for you insert this corporeal device into an orifice of my non-corporeal body. The orifice shall be of your choosing."
His earlier threat sounded odd paraphrased like that so he replied, "Um... yeah... okay, so we're clear on the no screwing this up to try and keep me as a Ha'ranas?"
"We are clear on all points, Awareness."
He set the naquadha reactor to maximum output.
"Then let's get this show on the road."
He glanced round at the scanners attached to each of his friends. He could see the EEG readings which showed nothing but the minimal activity of the autonomic systems and those other scanners which showed that their bodies were alive even if their minds were absent.
As the energy built in the pedestal device, he heard a high whine go out and a beam shot up from Grelmin's device to the ceiling. This one was white rather than purple which was because of the difference in the power source this time around. Then, he was caught in the first wave of energy that flew out from the device.
Now frozen in place, his gaze was fixed on Carter's monitors. They flickered and hissed for a moment but, as McKay had promised, the shielding meant the energy pulse failed to knock them out altogether. He watched for something on that EEG. Some sign of life...
A second pulse flew out from the device and, this time, he felt like lightning had cleaved his skull in two. Unable to scream, he could only endure the agony. Then, the agony was forgotten in the wave of euphoria as Carter's EEG began blipping like crazy. It was working!
The euphoria only lasted moments, however, before the other monitors began to show the wrong pictures. Carter's whole body arched up before the EKG flatlined completely. He could hear the resonance from the other two EKGs. Their hearts... no... it'd been working! They couldn't... they couldn't...
He had no more time to contemplate anything, however, because he could feel something pulling at him. Pulling him down and down and down into nothingness. Down and down and down...