Chapter 10
O'Neill Farmhouse, Blaine County, MT
August 21, 2010
Thor looked entirely too satisfied as the boys disappeared from the kitchen. Jack gave an apologetic look to his wife, considering that the night before she had asked that no more toys be given. Sam huffed an exasperated but accepting sigh that slowly turned into a fond smile.
Toys were toys and boys were boys as the saying went.
At least this time it had not been spiders. In fact, it looked like those toys were of neutronium nanos considering their far more natural shape than the kiron spiders had.
"Well, I shall be on my way then," Thor turned his attention back to his hosts. "It was informative to talk with you as always Samantha. I look forward to your visit and what ideas you will have for us."
"So do I Thor," Sam returned.
"Have a good afternoon O'Neill," Thor stated before addressing the other two guests. "Daniel Jackson, it was good to see you again and Dr Fraiser it was a pleasure to meet you in person."
Giving a smile at their puzzled expressions Thor departed.
Mystified by the man and the gifts that he had just given—Daniel swore that the man's hands had been empty when he had made those fists and held them out—Daniel turned a questioning look on the O'Neills.
"Jack, who was that?"
"Thor," Jack said again.
"What's his last name? When'd we—or I—meet him?" Daniel asked still not understanding.
Jack looked very amused as he answered. "He doesn't have one. And you met him years ago."
"When? Where?" Daniel asked. "I don't remember him from anywhere!"
Sam took pity on the confused archaeologist as she cast her husband a chastising look, knowing that he was having too much fun with teasing Daniel again.
"Daniel," Sam began gently, "that was Supreme Commander Thor. And eleven years ago you met him onboard Bilskinir."
Janet was shocked as her mouth opened and closed with no words immerging. A glance at Daniel showed his eyes bulging comically behind his glasses at the news.
Taking some sympathy with their stunned expression Sam withdrew two beers from the fridge and after popping of the caps, set the bottles in front of Janet and Daniel. The two almost mechanically reached for the offered alcohol and each took a hearty swallow.
That human looking man had been Supreme Commander Thor of the Asgärd Fleet?
"Th-that man is human!" Daniel finally managed to stutter a response.
"Technically," Jack raised a finger into the air, "that was a human form replicator."
"A what!" Daniel's voice broke on the last word and he basically squeaked it.
"A human form replicator," Sam repeated. "An evolution in replicators that came from their assimilation of a human shaped AI unit found on a planet in the Nilor sector."
"I thought the Asgärd were fighting against the replicators," Janet said faintly. "When—how'd they become replicators?"
"They're not. Replicators." Jack stated.
Confusion was added to the expressions of Janet and Daniel.
"But," Janet protested, "you just said that the Thor we just saw is a human form replicator!"
"What Jack means is that the Asgärd are not replicators," Sam explained. "They just now inhabit forms made of kiron-based technology—most, like Thor have taken humanoid forms while others have constructed forms that are of interest to them."
"Like those toys he just gave your sons," Daniel realised. "Those were made of replicator blocks."
"Yes," Sam agreed.
"But Janet's right, the Asgärd were fighting the replicators. When'd they start using them instead?"
Jack lifted his shoulders in a shrug as he gave an enigmatic smile. "Well, you know the saying: can't beat 'em, join 'em."
Daniel gave Jack an exasperated look at the quip.
Sam tidied the plates that had been sitting in front of her sons' chairs and took a seat in the chair Josh had been in beside her husband. "About four months after the Alliance was signed by Earth we ended up living on Othala."
"Othala? As in the Asgärd homeworld in the Ida Galaxy?" Daniel questioned incredulously.
"Yes," Sam responded patiently to his interruption. "While living on Othala we got involved in their fight against the replicators. While not precisely at an impasse, the war between them wasn't progressing with any real advances on either side until an android was discovered in the Nilor sector. The Asgärd had taken it to study but the ship was compromised and lost to the replicators and the replicators started advancing and creating human form replicators.
"During a battle there was an incident that ended up with Thor's consciousness in one of the battleships. That led Jack to asking the Asgärd that if their minds could inhabit machines and operate them, why couldn't they just upload themselves into a human form replicator—as they control the block forms."
"Why would you suggest something like that?" Daniel asked curiously.
"The Asgärd as a culture continues to exist through cloning which was originally devised as a method of life extension," Sam searched for the words to explain. "Each time they clone a clone from a clone, the Asgärd genome disintegrated a little more."
Janet nodded in understanding being familiar with a theory regarding why cells aged, in that telomeres, which are at the end of chromosomes, shorten with every division and eventually become too short for mitosis to occur.
Sam carried on with her lecture, "The cloning allows the perpetuation of their culture but there is no true reproduction or population growth. In fact, until eight years ago, there were no new citizens born to the Asgärd."
"So, why'd they decide to try Jack's idea?" Daniel questioned.
"If they could end the war with the replicators they would be able to devote their full attention to their genetic problem. The Council felt a volunteer was an acceptable risk and even made a duplicate of the volunteer's mind in case the uploading didn't succeed."
"Who volunteered?" Janet inquired.
"Skuld," Sam replied.
"A valkrja?" Daniel asked correctly saying valkyrie in Old Norse.
Jack and Sam just exchanged looks as Jack shrugged. They had lived among the Asgärd for a time but that did not mean they were any more familiar with Norse mythology.
"Skuld was successful in taking control of the human form replicator chosen and with the uploading of four more Asgärd minds into the remaining four, the Asgärd had in essence conquered the replicators. With the war over they returned their attention to their genetic research, even though a majority of their population at the moment inhabits replicator forms, as their main goal is to become Asgärd again not just in culture, but in physiology."