Daniel was in lecture mode. Even without listening to what he was saying, Jack could tell by the animated way in which he kept gesturing at the screen behind him. He was enthusing about the video playback of some probe telemetry he had spent all afternoon analysing. The planet it had come from, designated P4X-725, was one of the ones Jack himself had entered into the computer while the knowledge of the Ancients was clogging up his brain. It still gave Jack a headache to think about that, but Daniel had been adamant ever since that those planets would be more likely to lead to significant discoveries than the ones from the Abydos cartouche, since they were unknown to the Goa-uld. This meant that they would be home to alien species rather than the descendants of humans, aliens who might have been allied with the Ancients.
Daniel said something about a seemingly abandoned city and Jack’s attention snapped immediately back to the briefing. He cleared his throat, and Daniel stopped mid-sentence to look at him expectantly.
"No evidence of giant bugs, I hope?" he asked, and received a look from Teal’c that suggested the Jaffa would rather not have been reminded of that particular experience. General Hammond was also regarding him somewhat askance. "All I’m saying," he elaborated hastily, "is that apparently deserted cities have been known to hide nasty surprises. I mean, people don’t just up and vanish without good reason." Jack gestured at the video footage being projected onto the large screen behind Daniel. "There’s no bomb damage or evidence of attack. Where did all the inhabitants go?"
"Good point," Daniel stipulated, "but we’d have to go to the planet to have any hope of answering that question. The atmosphere is perfectly breathable, and there’s no obvious threat so the risk seems fairly low. And the possibility of finding something worthwhile is good; the size and architecture of the buildings suggest a society at least on a level with our own, and there’s no telling what kind of technology we might find inside them."
"Well, I’m convinced it’s worth investigating," General Hammond announced, "so, unless you have any further objections, Colonel…?"
"Oh, I wasn’t objecting, sir," Jack explained. "I was just pointing out that this planet may not be as inviting as it looks, so we should proceed with caution."
"Always," Hammond agreed. "SG-1, you have a go. Be ready to ship out at 0800 tomorrow morning."
* * * * *
The following morning, Jack met Sam coming out of the locker room half an hour before they were due to leave for P4X-725. "Hey, Carter," he greeted her. "All set?"
"Yes, sir," she replied. "I’m going to run a routine diagnostic on the dialling computer before we go."
"Okay," Jack acknowledged, marvelling at how enthusiastic she sounded about it. "Teal’c’s finishing off some early morning meditation or something. You seen Daniel?"
"No, sir, but his car was already in the parking lot when I arrived so he must be around somewhere." With that, she gave him a parting grin and disappeared off down the corridor.
If Daniel had come in early to work on something, the chances were he’d be so wrapped up in it that he’d forget the time. Jack knew he hated it when he was late for something, because it highlighted the fact that he wasn’t military, so Jack decided to go and find him. He took the elevator up to the level on which Daniel’s office was situated, and found the door closed. After rapping on it twice with his knuckles, he opened it to discover Daniel slumped over his desk, asleep. There were various books scattered around him and the screen saver on his computer cast a flickering light on his face.
"Daniel!" Jack called sharply, and the younger man snapped awake, jerking upright at the sound of his name.
"Wha-?" He turned his head and looked blearily at Jack. "What time is it?"
"Twenty minutes to mission time!" Jack announced. "You been here all night?"
Daniel rubbed his eyes and replaced his glasses, then stood up and joined Jack at the door. "Not intentionally," he admitted with a sheepish grin. "I was trying to make out the engraved inscriptions on some of the buildings on P4X-725, and I must have fallen asleep. I’ll get my gear together and meet you in the gate room."
Less than twenty minutes later, all four member of SG-1 were assembled in the embarkation room, listening as the technician up at the controls called out the usual sequence as the gate spun round in front of them. Just as the last chevron engaged and the vortex wave pulsed outwards before forming the now familiar rippling surface of the wormhole, Daniel yawned widely, then muttered, "Sorry," when Jack threw him a dirty look. They strode up the ramp together and passed through the event horizon.
* * * * *
The first impression of the planet they got was one of dazzling brightness. The late afternoon sun was shining directly at the gate and thus into their eyes. Pulling out their sunglasses, they all trooped down the steps to look around. The stargate was situated in the exact centre of a large plaza, with patterned paving spread out all around it. There were various buildings of different designs along each side of the open area, with a number of streets heading off into the city in every direction.
Jack scanned the immediate surroundings before turning to Daniel. "This is your show. Where do you want to go?" he asked.
"I suggest we take a look inside there," Daniel replied, pointing at the structure that faced the gate head on. It was certainly an impressive building, one of the largest, with columns lined along the top of the steps that ran around its base. They made their way across the plaza and climbed up to a pair of massive double doors that opened with a smoothness and ease that belied their size.
Daniel stopped just inside and stood transfixed, his mouth open, gazing up and around at the astounding sight that lay before them. The hall stretched out at least two hundred metres and up several storeys to a series of glass-roofed domes. The sunlight poured in from outside and reflected off sparkling walls that looked like marble, white with veins of purple and green. There were spiral staircases that led up to walkways running the length and breadth of the room on several levels, and the vast space of the ground floor was interspersed with shelving units. Every vertical surface was lined with books.
"Wow!" Daniel breathed and slowly walked forwards.
Jack rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well, we’ve lost him for the next six months." The he spoke aloud to Sam and Teal’c. "Stay alert, kids. Daniel may think this is heaven, but that doesn’t mean it’s safe."
Sam nodded curtly and proceeded into the room, while Teal’c stayed at the entrance with Jack, his staff weapon ready in his hand. A few paces in, Sam came to a broad counter with what looked like monitor screens and electronic controls on it. She circled around it to get a better idea of its structure, her face alight with fascination. "I wonder if this still works," she mused.
Jack rolled his eyes at Teal’c in acknowledgement that they had lost another member of the team to the wonders of the building. He quickly switched his expression back to one of polite interest as Sam caught his eye with the obvious intention of sharing her thoughts on the device. That was what always amazed Jack about Daniel and Carter; even after all the time they’d known him, they were still convinced that he would be as fascinated by the things they found as they were. Their enthusiasm and energy were boundless but, instead of infecting Jack with the same feelings, they usually just made him feel old and tired. He raised his eyebrows in enquiry and tried to concentrate on whatever Carter was about to say.
"It looks like this might be some kind of computer system, sir, maybe a database or catalogue of all these books," she told him. "If there’s a power source here that’s still active, I should be able to get it working. It looks undamaged."
Jack was about to tell her to be careful, when another voice sounded from nowhere. "I believe you will find this unit is in excellent working order."
Jack and Sam automatically brought up their weapons as a figure materialised between them. He was human in form, with close-cropped brown hair and skin several shades lighter than Teal’c’s. He wore a loose grey tunic and wide slacks, and regarded them impassively with a benign expression on his regular features.
Daniel had rejoined the others at the appearance of the newcomer, and took his usual role as spokesman. "We are explorers from a place called Earth," he explained. "We don’t mean to trespass, but we weren’t expecting to find anyone here. We thought this whole area was deserted."
"And so it is," the figure responded with a slight inclination of his head. "Nobody has visited the repository in a long time. There has been no new information for me to process until your arrival here."
"You’re an artificial projection, right?" Sam guessed.
"What you see is as you describe it, yes," the figure replied, "but my being incorporates the computer core that maintains the entire repository. This," he gestured at his body, "is merely a customer interface."
"How is it that you look human and speak English?" Daniel wanted to know.
"I created this form to be familiar to you and I extrapolated your language from a scan of your surface thoughts."
"You can read our minds?" Jack didn’t like the sound of that.
"The scan was directly focused on the language centre of your brain," the hologram explained. "I cannot extract memory stored information in that way but I would be eager to accept information from you since the collection of knowledge is my primary function and I have not been able to perform it in some time."
"Our primary function is the exchange of knowledge with others that we meet in our explorations," Daniel said, excitedly. "I will gladly tell you about our culture and society and I would very much like to find out about yours. I’m Daniel Jackson, by the way, and this is Colonel Jack O’Neill, Major Samantha Carter and Teal’c. What should we call you?"
"My name is Evim," the hologram revealed.
"Okay, Evim, before you and Daniel get started on the great knowledge exchange project," Jack interjected, "can you tell us what happened to all the folks that used to live around here?"
Evim shook his head, frustration clear on his face. "The inhabitants simply stopped coming to the repository. I have no sensors external to this building and my customer interface cannot leave the confines of these walls so I do not know what happened to them. Such a lack of information is very disturbing to me and I would like an answer to that question."
"Well, if we find out anything, we’ll let you know," Jack promised. "Carter, Teal’c, let’s go look around some of the other buildings. I assume you’ll be wanting to stay here, Daniel?"
Daniel nodded vigorously and Jack turned to leave. "We’ll keep in touch and come back in a couple of hours to see how you’re getting on. Have fun!" With that, the three of them exited the building, leaving Daniel alone with Evim.
The hologram leaned forwards, his hands on the console in front of him. "Which of you has the most knowledge?" he asked eagerly.
Daniel grinned. "I guess it depends what subjects you’re interested in," he replied. "One of the best things about my race is that we all have knowledge of different things. Major Carter is an expert in science and mathematics, but I guess those things are fairly constant across the universe so she may not be able to tell you anything new. I’m more knowledgeable about history, culture and languages, of which there is tremendous diversity just on our one planet, so I suppose I’m your guy."
"Excellent!" Evim exclaimed. "We will begin the transfer immediately!" He beckoned Daniel to follow him and turned away.
"What transfer?" Daniel wanted to know, but Evim was already moving quickly towards a door in the side wall of the room. Intrigued, Daniel went after him and followed him through into what looked like a laboratory of some kind. There were bizarre machines all over the place and what appeared to be an operating table in the centre. As soon as Daniel stepped through the doorway, a solid metal barrier sealed itself in place behind him and a hissing sound heralded the release of a gas into the air.
"At last, new knowledge after so long…" Evim rejoiced as everything went black before Daniel’s eyes and he fell, senseless, to the floor.
* * * * *
Out in the city, Jack, Sam and Teal’c had found no sign of violence or flight. All the buildings were neatly arranged and there were no personal belongings in evidence.
"Well, wherever they all went, it looks like they had time to pack," Jack observed. "See anything lying about that might make the Secretary of Defence happy if we took it back with us?"
Sam smiled. "I don’t know, sir. There’s not much loose stuff lying around. The inhabitants seem to have taken pretty much everything with them when they left. I think the only useful information we’re going to get from this planet is whatever Daniel can get out of Evim and the repository."
"Let’s head back and see how he’s getting on," Jack decided. He flipped on his radio. "Daniel? We’re on our way back. Progress report?" He paused to listen for a response but none came. "Daniel? You there?" Still nothing. Jack turned to the other two. "He’s probably just got his nose stuck in a book, but we’d better go and check."
They made their way back to the repository but, on entering the library chamber, could see neither Evim nor Daniel. Walking up to the computer console, Jack called out for Daniel but there was no reply. After a few seconds, though, Evim suddenly materialised right next to him, making him jump. The hologram seemed agitated but glad to see them. "There has been an accident," Evim told them. "I told your friend the machine was not meant for your physiology but he would not listen. He was determined that I try to make it work."
"What machine? Where’s Daniel?" Jack demanded. Evim beckoned and led them to the room where he had taken Daniel. The young archaeologist was lying unconscious on the table in the centre of the room. Sam immediately went to check on him while Jack rounded on the hologram. "What did you do to him?"
Evim cringed away from the angry colonel. "The machine is designed to input information straight into the brain," he explained nervously. "Daniel wanted to use it to learn the language of my creators quickly so that he could read the books in the repository. I told him it might prove dangerous for him by he said the potential gain was worth the risk."
Jack cursed volubly. "That does sound like something he’d do. Why is he always messing around with things while me back is turned?" He turned back to Sam. "Major?"
She looked up, anxiety clear on her face. "His pulse is steady, but weak. There’s no way to tell what kind of damage the machine might have done." She glanced at Evim. "What can you tell me about how it works?"
He seemed to consider the question. "In basic terms, it uses electrical currents to transfer information between the brain and the database. Obviously the process is far more complex than that but, to understand it fully, you would have to undergo it yourself to obtain the scientific knowledge."
"Well, that’s obviously not an option," Jack pointed out. "The information we’ve got will have to be enough. Teal’c, grab Daniel and let’s get out of here."
Evim followed them back out to the main room. "I am sorry your friend has been damaged," he said.
"Yeah, whatever." Jack was unimpressed with the hologram’s apparent remorse. "I think we’ve heard just about enough from you." Inwardly, he was cursing himself for leaving Daniel alone without properly assessing the risks of the planet.
* * * * *
Back at the SGC, Daniel wasn’t unconscious for very long. Jack was just dragging over a chair to his bedside, ready to install himself for the usual long wait, when he looked up to see Daniel’s confused blue eyes looking back at him.
"Hey!" Jack exclaimed softly. "That’s got to be a record! How do you feel?"
"Strange," came the reply, Daniel’s brow furrowing in consternation. "Like I’ve forgotten something really important but I can’t figure out what it is." He sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Other than that, I feel fine," he stated. "What happened?"
"That hologram guy said you wanted to learn his language really fast and insisted he plug you into some machine that knocked you out," Jack told him. "It didn’t sound totally out of character for you and we needed to get you back here as soon as possible so I didn’t challenge him at the time, but I wasn’t sure he was telling us everything. Don’t you remember?"
"No." Daniel’s face clouded over as he tried to focus on what had occurred on the planet. "You guys left to look round the city. Evim said he wanted to show me something, he led me into a room off the main hall, and that’s the last thing I remember. Did you find anything to tell you where the inhabitants went?"
"Not a thing," Jack admitted ruefully. "There’s something very odd about that place, though - whoever the people were who lived there, they packed up all their stuff and left, but they didn’t take any of the books out of that library and they didn’t deactivate the artificial librarian. It just doesn’t make sense."
At that point, Dr Frasier came in to check on her patient and was gratified to see that he was awake, although she insisted he let her give him a thorough examination before allowing him to leave the infirmary. After several minutes, she had to concede that there appeared to be absolutely nothing wrong with him.
"I’ll discharge you for now," she consented, "but don’t go too far away, and be sure to come back if you experience any symptoms."
Daniel promised faithfully that he would, then made his way to his office, while Jack went to report to General Hammond. Daniel sat down at his desk, still experiencing the nagging feeling that there was something really important just out of reach of his memory. He shook his head to try to dispel the sensation, then pulled over his most recent journal, picking up a pen as he did so, with the intention of recording what he could remember of SG-1’s latest mission. Resting the nib on the first line of a clean page, he formulated the first sentence of his account in his head, then was suddenly brought up short when he couldn’t seem to transfer the thoughts into written words. He knew what he wanted to say, but couldn’t remember how to write it down. Unable to understand what was going on, Daniel turned back to the last entry and stared numbly down at his own handwriting. The words on the page appeared to be nothing more than incomprehensible squiggles; it was as if they were written in a language completely unknown to him. Stunned, he rifled back through the book, but none of it made sense to him; he had somehow lost the ability to read.
* * * * *
A couple of hours later, the rest of SG-1 assembled in the briefing room to discuss what further action should be taken regarding the repository on P4X-725. Clearly, it was a valuable source of information, but there was still no explanation as to where the planet’s inhabitants had gone and there was suspicion in Jack’s mind at least about the motives and intentions of the hologram, Evim.
However, a more immediate problem presented itself when Daniel failed to turn up. Worried that he might have suffered some kind of continuing adverse effect from Evim’s machine, Sam volunteered to go and find him. She left the others in the briefing room and headed up the four levels to Daniel’s office. The door was closed so she knocked and called out, "Daniel! Are you there?"
Receiving no reply, Sam opened the door to what, at first glance, appeared to be a completely empty room. She was about to turn straight round and go to look for Daniel elsewhere when she noticed several books scattered about the floor and one of the artefacts that usually stood on Daniel’s desk in pieces amongst them. Stepping inside the doorway, she caught sight of Daniel himself, sitting on the floor in the corner of the room, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head resting on his arms. Immediately concerned, Sam crossed quickly over to him and knelt down at his side. "Daniel?" she said again, softly, laying a gentle hand on his arm.
At her touch, he slowly lifted his head and turned to look up at her. He didn’t say anything, but his eyes were glazed and there were tear tracks evident on his cheeks.
"Daniel! What’s wrong?"
Finally, he focused on her face and uttered in a harsh whisper, "It’s all gone, Sam. Everything. He took it all."
Sam was totally confused. "What are you talking about?"
Daniel stared bleakly round the room at all his books and artefacts. "Evim," he explained, brokenly. "Somehow he’s stolen all my knowledge. All the languages, history, mythology, everything." He looked back at Sam, shock and despair clear in his eyes. "I can’t even read, Sam. It’s all gone."
Sam’s grip tightened on his arm. "What?" She couldn’t quite comprehend what he meant, but he was clearly very distressed. She slowly rose to her feet, her hand under Daniel’s elbow, and he got up with her, although he still seemed rather dazed and unfocused. "Come on," she encouraged. "Let’s go back to the infirmary. Whatever’s wrong, we’ll sort it out."
* * * * *
Daniel sat on a bed in the overly familiar surroundings of the SGC infirmary, but he wasn’t paying attention to what was going on around him. He was vaguely aware of Sam standing to one side of the bed, and he was glad she was there - the tacit support of her presence was very comforting. Dr Frasier had done an MRI when they had arrived and told her the problem, and now she was analysing the results. Daniel sat with his elbows on his knees, hands pressed against his face, still trying to come to terms with what was going on inside his head.
As far as he could tell, his memory was intact - he knew who he was and could recall all the events of his life. He remembered attending college and he remembered doing all the studying that had gained him much of his knowledge, he just no longer possessed any of it. It made him acutely aware of just how much he had lost; he felt as if everything that defined who he was had been brutally stripped away, leaving behind only a useless shell. He had dedicated his life to the pursuit of knowledge and, in a split second, an alien machine had rendered it all non-existent. He kept searching his mind frantically for information he knew ought to be there but it was no use - it was all gone.
Jack entered the infirmary just as Dr Frasier finished her examination of Daniel’s MRI so he joined the two women at the younger man’s bedside to listen to her report. Daniel didn’t react at all to their approach, so Janet addressed her comments to Jack and Sam.
"The scan is completely normal," she told them. "There’s no evidence that anything is blocking his memory or that anything foreign has been introduced to his brain chemistry. Whatever the machine did to him, it’s not something I can reverse. It’s as if the knowledge has quite literally been lifted out of his mind and transferred somewhere else. You’ll have to go back to the planet to retrieve the information and put it back where it belongs."
At these words, Daniel took his hands away from his face and locked gazes with Jack. The intensity of the fear and anguish in Daniel’s eyes shocked him. Jack had never really understood Daniel’s obsessive thirst for knowledge but it was blatantly obvious that he was totally lost without it. After all that had happened to them in the last few years, Jack realised that the one unshakeable constant in Daniel’s life was his knowledge and now that it had been taken away from him, he had nothing left to hold on to.
Overlaying the pain in Daniel’s gaze was something else, something that drove straight to Jack’s heart and hardened into a solid knot of determination. It was a desperate plea for help and, with it, the certainty that Jack would be able to provide it. The way Daniel automatically looked to him in times of need was a heavy responsibility, but one which Jack did not intend to shirk. He would find a way to put things right, no matter what it took.
* * * * *
Jack strode forcefully back into the repository on P4X-725. Seeing no sign of the hologram, he walked up to the computer console and rapped loudly on it with the butt of his rifle. "Evim!" he called, his tone authoritative. "Get out here! Now!"
The nondescript figure of the artificial librarian shimmered into view in front of him, flickering slightly as if in uncertainty. "I had not thought to see you again," he murmured.
By this time, the other three members of SG-1 had caught up with their angry leader and gathered round the console with him. "Of course you didn’t." Jack’s eyes flashed dangerously. "You evidently thought you could suck out Daniel’s brain and we’d just let you get away with it!"
The hologram feigned innocence. "I do not know what you are talking about," he maintained. "I was about to say that I am glad to see that Daniel is alright."
"Well he’s not alright!" Jack’s temper was beginning to fray. "And you know damn well what I mean! Now, whatever you took from him, I want you to put it back right now!"
Evim’s eyes flickered away from Jack to the still distraught archaeologist standing next to him. "Why did you do it, Evim?" Daniel asked him quietly. "I would gladly have shared everything I knew with you."
The hologram said nothing. Jack slammed his gun into the console again, causing the remarkably human projection to jump. "I for one don’t care why you did it," Jack announced. "I just want you to undo it!"
"I can’t!" Evim protested. "The process is irreversible." He looked wildly from one man to the other, his whole demeanour screaming that he was lying.
"That’s not what I want to hear." Jack turned to the Jaffa warrior standing just behind him. "Okay, Teal’c," he instructed, "shoot one of the bookcases. Let’s see how he likes having his knowledge destroyed." Jack’s tone left no room for the possibility that he might be bluffing.
Teal’c took two steps to the side and raised his staff weapon. Daniel winced as an energy bolt ripped into the books on the first shelving unit, setting them alight. Evim’s face went slack with horror and he stared at Jack as if unable to believe what had just happened.
"Now you know I’m serious," Jack said firmly, "you will give Daniel back everything you took, or I will burn this place to the ground and have Major Carter work on your hard drive until she figures out how to erase every single bit of information you have stored in there."
"No!" The hologram was appalled at the prospect. "You can’t! Nobody would do such a thing."
Jack snapped, his arm shooting out to point at Daniel. "That’s exactly what you’ve already done to him!" he yelled. "His knowledge means just as much to him as yours does to you. Now put it right!"
Stunned, Evim stumbled backwards, beckoning for them to follow him as he made his way to the laboratory where he had taken Daniel before. He directed Daniel to lie down on the table and a mask descended from the ceiling to cover the young man’s face, some kind of gas rendering him unconscious in a few seconds.
"Now," Jack instructed, "while you’re at it, you can make good on what you said you were going to do in the first place and give him a crash course in your planet’s language."
"Is that a good idea, sir?" Sam interjected. "We don’t know if it would be safe to insert extra knowledge into Daniel’s mind."
Jack looked questioningly at Evim, who gulped nervously under his stern gaze. "It would not harm him."
"It’d better not," Jack declared, looking meaningfully at the staff weapon clutched in Teal'c’s strong hands. "Now, do it."
* * * * *
Some time later, Jack looked down at his friend anxiously as Daniel regained consciousness again. "Everything back where it should be?" he asked.
Daniel’s eyes unfocused briefly as he inventoried his knowledge, and the relieved smile that brightened his face gave Jack all the answer he needed. He gave Daniel a quick pat on the shoulder and they both headed back out to the main chamber where Sam and Teal’c were waiting. Evim had vanished as soon as the process was complete and had not reappeared.
Crossing to the nearest bookcase, Jack selected a volume at random and tossed it to a startled Daniel. "Take a look through that," Jack told him.
Confused, Daniel opened the book somewhere in the middle and his eyes widened in surprise as he discovered that he could read it. He looked up at Jack in wonderment. "How?" he spluttered.
"Little present from a repentant hologram," Jack explained.
The familiar expression of excited enthusiasm swept across Daniel’s features and Jack grinned broadly as his young friend began to wander between the shelves, immediately enthralled by all the new knowledge that had suddenly been laid before him. Daniel was most definitely back to normal, and Jack wouldn’t have him any other way.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Born out of a temping job where I had nothing to do.
© February 19, 2003 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.