Chapter 6
Main Street, Turner, Blaine County, MT
August 20, 2010
Parking the car outside the building with its old style frontier false front, Daniel checked the address against the Google map printout even though he recognised the façade of the building from the gallery's website. A sign with cursive script proudly proclaimed the building as O'Neill Originals Gallery & Studio with some ceramics artistically displayed in the large front window.
Daniel and Janet climbed from their rented vehicle and approached the gallery door. That morning they had taken a transport from Chicago and Washington respectively to Great Falls International Transport Terminal. After renting a car at the terminal, they had driven the three and half hours to the small farm town.
Allowing Janet to precede him into the gallery, Daniel found the interior well lit and rather modern in appearance with lightly creamed coloured pedestals and shelves artfully displaying various ceramics with no overcrowding of items.
A young looking woman whose nametag read Sally Kasdan smiled at them invitingly upon their entrance as she moved towards them from behind the counter. "Welcome to O'Neill Originals. Is there anything I can help you with today or have you just come to browse?"
"A little bit of both," Daniel admitted as Janet moved towards one of the artistically shaped shelves on the walls displaying figurines.
"Well, enjoy looking and feel free to ask me anything when you are ready," Sally said graciously before she moved back towards the counter area.
Hearing Janet chuckle as she examined one of the small sculptures, he moved up behind her and looked at the figurine as well.
A curiously cute dog-bird-like animal was holding a book in his mouth and looking sorrowfully up at an observer. The book had Daniel's Field Journal in small script on the cover. Seeing the creature and after a minute remembering the incident, a snort of laughter was invoked from him as well. "I can't believe Jack made that."
"When was that?" Janet inquired.
"It was with the Taychelas of P6X-456: the creature was what they used to herd their sheep-like animals. That particular one, not only did it take a particular liking for Jack, was one of the more persistent ones in stealing my journals—behind my back or right out of my hands—and then teasing me mercilessly when I tried to get them back." Daniel explained as he remembered also that whenever Jack had asked any of the animals to 'drop' a book they had done so instantly. He, however, had always been led on a merry chase throughout the ruins the team had been there investigating while the laughing natives watched.
"Ah yes, Sam did told me about that," Janet smiled at the memory, "though she laughed more than she told the story!"
Looking at the other figurines, Daniel chuckled or smiled fondly as various memories that were invoked by seeing the creatures. Sharing the particularly amusing stories with Janet as they browsed.
After looking at the statuettes they moved onto examining the some of the more classic ceramics, as in dishes, and Daniel mentioned the planetary origins if he recognised it or the Earth cultural influence. In his research before coming here, he had learned that Jack—as J. O'Neill—was quite renowned for reproducing and restoring ceramics for archaeological and acquired collections. He himself in some of his lectures had unknowingly used, or referred to, some of Jack's reproductions as he had not associated the artist—because of how the name had been written—with his old friend.
When their browsing of the gallery collection done, Daniel had to pull Janet away from examining again a statuette that she swore was of Boomer, the dog Jack had given Cassie upon her adoption, to approach the exhibitioner Sally.
"Hello," Sally smiled charmingly. "See in anything in particular you liked?"
Janet nodded as her eyes strayed back to the dog figurine but Daniel smoothly got down to business.
"I noticed that door to the studio has a closed sign on it. Are tours usually given where O'Neill works?"
"The studio is one of Mr O'Neill's secondary studios and is primarily used for the pottery classes he instructs. No tours are given."
"He teaches?" Daniel asked, surprised yet wondering why he was surprised. Teaching was not very different from leading in a sense.
"Yes, most of Mr O'Neill's classes are for the school's art program but he does offer adult classes and other private instruction on occasions."
"When will those be offered?"
"It varies but I don't believe that there are any adult classes scheduled at this time."
"And the private ones?" Daniel asked.
"Those are by invitation by Mr O'Neill only," Sally explained even as she studied them. "I'm sorry if this is rude, but you are Dr Jackson and Dr Fraiser are you not?"
Daniel nodded, well accustomed to being recognised because of the media coverage during Disclosure and his continual presence being the forefront of alien archaeology. He saw that Janet was a little more surprised, as medical CMO even if it was of SGC; her face was not very well known.
"I'm surprised you know me," Janet admitted as she gave a self-conscious smile.
Sally just smiled brighter. "Well, anyone seeing Mr O'Neill's figure of you wouldn't have any doubt. I have also attended many of the instructional classes he offers and am quite familiar with certain stories that Mr relates while teaching."
"He has a statue of me?" Janet was incredulous.
"Yes, if it helps to picture it, think of the doctor in Robert Munsch's Show and Tell if you're familiar with it," Sally said helpfully.
Janet's incredulousness turned into a laugh of understanding as she said wryly, "Let me guess, I'm that enormous 'Ah, JUST RIGHT' needle?"
Looking faintly embarrassed to confirm it, Sally nodded.
Daniel however was clueless. When he gave Janet a quizzical look, she squeezed his arm.
"I'll give you the book to read later—I think I still have Cassie's copy from when she was younger but basically the story is the adventure of a boy that brought his baby sister to show and tell at school and how his sister had cried so loudly and how they had tried to calm her, eventually calling in the doctor that pulled out bigger and bigger needles to use." Janet explained and then turned back to the exhibitioner. "I'd like to see the statue if possible?"
Sally visibly hesitated and then offered: "I could give you the directions to Mr O'Neill's farmhouse if you would like? I understand that's where that particular sculpture is kept when he doesn't bring it in for certain classes."
"Would you?" Janet said with real enthusiasm. "We'd really appreciate that."
Sally nodded and picking up a pen set it to paper and began drafting a rough map, making sure to include approximate distances along the roads. "Are you driving a hover or an electric?"
"Hover," Daniel said wondering why she had asked.
"Okay," Sally marked a thick line on the road about two kilometres from where she had marked Jack's farmhouse. "You'll have to walk from here as most of the O'Neill property is in a dead zone."
"A dead zone?" Janet asked curiously before Daniel could.
"Yeah, areas where Aschen technology doesn't work," the woman explained as she detached the map from the notepad.
Daniel and Janet exchanged startled and curious looks.
"Aschen tech doesn't work in certain areas?" Daniel questioned.
"Yeah, there are actually quite a few places throughout the area that Aschen stuff doesn't work. It's why people around here use electric," Sally explained as she handed the map over.
Accepting the map and expressing their thanks, the two made their way out of the gallery. Each thinking and wondering in particular about the nature of these reported dead zones. They had never heard of them before and if one of the zones was on Jack's property... coincidence or deliberate?