by Stargate
"Across?"
"Yup." Dabruzzi affirmed. "The original crater was probably about twenty miles in diameter. When the volcano blew, she would have shot a good chunk of Xalotcan into space. They call the volcano Popocatepetl, or Popo?" He glanced at Sam. When she nodded, he continued, "Okay, same as the one here on Earth. But on Xalotcan, Popo is like a tiny pimple hanging off the edge of a huge boil that's already ...uhm...popped."
Daniel was beginning to feel sick.
"Tell me again how this was safe?" Jack said, his face a mixture of incredulity and repugnance.
"Popped boil, no problem - until the orbit began decaying." Dabruzzi drew little dots all around the edge of the caldera. "All these mountains enclosing the valley? They're maars - old vents - likely to start going active anytime. Worse, the Stargate valley is a natural conduit for pyroclastic and lava flows." He put the lid back on the pen and sat down again.
Daniel turned to Hammond. "General, you suggested using the skull network to relocate them."
"It wasjust a suggestion, Dr Jackson. Clearly, you'll first need to discuss this with Quetzalcoatl."
"The Goa'uld may be responsible for the ritual sacrifices," Teal'c said. "However, these people appear to have killed the prior inhabitants. Quetzalcoatl may not wish to assist them."
"You're right." Daniel slumped back into his chair. "And we still have to convince them to leave. Quetzalcoatl might have been able to do that, but if he - it - is only a hologram - "
"The Xalotcans believe that O'Neill is Quetzalcoatl," Teal'c added.
"Thank you, Teal'c!" Jack cried in disbelief.
"You are welcome, O'Neill." Teal'c inclined his head.
Feeling a surge of hope, Daniel lowered his voice, injecting into his tone a level ofpersuasive reasoning that usually worked. Despite their philosophical differences, Jack always considered what he had to say and at the very least factored it into his decision making process. "Jack, Teal'c has a point. You want them to stop their ritual sacrifices, right? But you can't take away someone's belief structure without leaving a vacuum. And what fills that vacuum can be infinitely more dangerous. We're in a unique position."
"We?" Jack glared at him.
"The jaguar warriors will follow you," Daniel added quickly. "They've promised their lives to you!"
"Hey, dressing up like a Chinese New Year dragon is one thing, but playing evangelist - "
"Jack," said Daniel. "Right now we...okay, specifically you are probably the only one who can save them. You're not going to have to do much except just... be there. Gods are like emperors; they rarely, if ever, speak directly to people except through amouthpiece. The fire priests believe I'm Quetzalcoatl's voice. All you have to do is look the part. Once we relocate them, we can introduce them to people like the Salish. That will allow them to retain an animist religion, but one that respects and embraces life, not death."
Jack went to object, but Hammond said, "Washington wouldn't agree to our involvement if it were just about the Goa'uld. But as you pointed out, Dr Jackson, this is a humanitarian situation. I'm therefore authorizing a trip to P7X-377. Find out if Quetzalcoatl is prepared to let you use the skull network to evacuate these people."
"Uhm...Nick wants to return there as well," Daniel ventured.
"I think that's a good idea. He knows Quetzalcoatl and may be able to persuade him to help."
"Fine." Jack crossed his arms defiantly. "We're off to see the wizard. But there is no way in hell I'm dressing up in a bunch of chicken feathers."
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
e's not happy," yelled Daniel Jackson.
"Ya think?" O'Neill cried above the incredible noise and vibration inside the pyramid on P7X-377.
During the walk from the Stargate to the pyramid, there had been much discussion as to whether the Omeyocan were a product of Furling technology or living beings. In Teal'c's mind, all that mattered was that the Omeyocans acted like living beings, therefore they should be considered as such. He could not tell how many of them now flew around the chamber as the energy wind tore at them, but it felt as if the entire planet would soon shake itself apart. Nevertheless, he stood his ground, the calm center of a hurricane.
"This is amazing!" Major Carter's hair was whipping about her head. "It actually phase-shifts us so that we're not harmed by the radiation." She continued to observe the readouts from the hand held radiation detector. Beside her, Nicholas Ballard looked strangely wistful.
Daniel Jackson winced when a particularly large gust blew his boonie hat into the tenebrous depths of the vast pyramid.
"Yep, they're pissed!" called O'Neill.
"Coatlicue has stolen my beloved's name! Where is Coatlicue?" demanded the Omeyocan.
"She's dead!" replied Daniel Jackson. "She drowned when the Stargate valley flooded on Xalotcan."
The shaking ceased and the swirling clouds settled into a dense, white fog. Quetzalcoatl appeared before them once more, and moved close to stare into Daniel Jackson's eyes. Then he turned to Nicholas Ballard, and declared, "He speaks the truth. You have vanquished our enemy. Uy ah ual ing ual ing wetail."
As with the last time he had been there, Teal'c felt a force of great power reach into his mind. The Omeyocan extended a large white finger towards him. "Only those who relinquish the Goa'uld as gods, as you have done, may pass." The finger swirled to O'Neill, vaporous trails following in its wake. "You will lead them in my name." Then he slowly descended into the void.
"Lead them to where?" Daniel Jackson called.
"Yaxkin. Mixmaakyan siibil beora. Bin, ilik. When you return I will not be here. Look into the eyes of the skull."
"Wait!" Daniel Jackson cried, and reached out as if to stop him, but Quetzalcoatl had gone.
"Do as he says, Daniel."
"But Jack - "
"Sir, the readings went wild then ...I think I understand." Major Carter looked up, her eyes wide. "It's going to change us again, not send us anywhere. At least, not yet."
"But we don't know - "
"Daniel, just look into the damned skull!" O'Neill's voice brooked no argument.
Nicholas Ballard's eyes were sad and knowing, as if he had lost a great and wise friend. Perhaps he had. Daniel Jackson exhaled once, forcefully, and reluctantly stepped up to the slate pedestal. The light played around his head, and noise filled the pyramid. Then abruptly, it ceased, and all was quiet.
Teal'c watched with some amusement as O'Neill patted himself down, confirming that he was solid once more.
"Would someone explain what the hell just happened?" O'Neill turned and marched back along the narrow walkway. Major Carter went to speak, but O'Neill raised a gloved finger. "Ah! Five words or less, Carter."
"What happened to ten?" The glare O'Neill sent over his shoulder prompted Major Carter to add, "Sir. It's a quantum transportation device."
"Salutations and elisions count as additional words, Carter."
"Well," Daniel Jackson said, "I think that answers your question." When O'Neill shot him an incredulous look, he added, "About you impersonating him."
"I agree," said Teal'c. "Quetzalcoatl stated that you should lead them, O'Neill."
"Like Moses to the Promised Land!" Nicholas Ballard offered O'Neill a wide smile.
They stepped off the walkway and O'Neill turned around. "Now just a - "
"He was very clear about that, Jack." Daniel Jackson went to the wall and placed his hand on the keystone. "The Goa'uld queen is dead, and he granted our wish."
"Indeed he has." Teal'c made no attempt to hide his own amusement. But it was also filled with regard. O'Neill had proved his worth in such matters on many occasions.
O'Neill sent him a sour look. "Let's just say that I can convince everyone to shift house - remembering of course that this is maybe two million people we're talking about - what makes you think this planet, Yak Skin, is gonna want them?"
"Yaxkin," corrected Daniel Jackson. He stood back as a section of the stone wall opened.
"That's
what I said." O'Neill followed him down the marble steps and into the map room.
"Jack, don't be deliberately obtuse."
"Who said anything about deliberate?"
Daniel Jackson placed his hand on the pedestal in the center of the room. The holographic device activated, and light shone upwards. "Quetzalcoatl said, Mixnaaak yan siibil beora. Bin, ilik. `None live there now. Go, see'."
"He must have gone there looking for Coatlicue," said Major Carter, watching the spinning orbs of light coalesce into planets.
"Okay," said O'Neill. "But even ifYak Skin is suitable, there's still the little matter of getting everyone off Xylophone. We can fit what, maybe a dozen people at a time on that platform?" He motioned outside, in the direction of the skull pedestal.
Nicholas Ballard appeared confused by the question. "Why would you not take people directly from Xalotcan to Yaxkin?"
O'Neill stared at him. "And exactly how would we do that?"
"Hopefully, through the British or Paris skull," said Daniel Jackson.
"How do we know which one goes where?" asked Major Carter.
Daniel Jackson pointed to the lights on the holographic planets.
General Hammond walked in and placed an instrument box on the table. "The British crystal skull will be here tomorrow morning. The additional items that Dr Jackson thought would be useful should also be here by then."
Jack looked up gratefully. "How did you manage that, General? It's Christmas Eve." With any luck, Hammond's arrival would put an end to Carter's unabridged version of how leopards and mutants passed through everything. No matter how dense.
"I've called in more favors this past week than I care to think about." Hammond joined Daniel and Dabruzzi hovering over Carter's computer. "Vow, Major, exactly how does it work?"
Okay, maybe not. Jack turned to watch the lights flashing across the wall. What the hell was all this stuff, anyway? Part of the main computer?
"It's a basic Conservation of Energy Law, sir." Carter pointed to some squiggly things on the screen. "If energy is not emitted when neutrons decay into protons and electrons, then it must be emitting muon neutrinos and electron antineutrinos. In highenergy muon colliders - which is what the pyramid on P7X-377 appears to be - radiation is released when the escaping energy reacts with surrounding material, in our case, well ...us. The more intense the decay, the stronger the negative reaction. That's what caused - "
Hammond held up his hand to forestall her. "I just want the basics, Major."
"Yes, sir," said Carter, dropping her hand. "Okay, we know that the Stargate is like a giant superconductor that deconstructs an object at a subatomic level then sends a charged energy stream through the wormhole, and reconstructs it at the other end. Before sending matter anywhere, the crystal skulls trigger a molecular phase-shift which, among other things, renders the objects, or people, invisible to most of the electromagnetic spectrum."
"That would explain why no one could see me, even with infrared scanners," said Daniel.
"Exactly." Carter nodded. "Once phase-shifted, exciting the matter at just the right frequency in one resonating chamber sets up a parallel state in another chamber elsewhere in the universe."
"The caverns within or beneath the pyramids," said Hammond.
"That's right, sir. Imagine a tuning fork that's set to produce a frequency of, say, two hundred and fifty-six cycles a second."
"I'm sorry?" Hammond frowned.
"Middle C, sir. I doesn't matter what frequency, it's just an example. If you strike the fork, without making physical contact with other nearby forks, those set with the same natural frequency will vibrate in sympathetic resonance. Forks set to a different frequency won't. We know how to measure sound waves so we understand the process, but we can't measure, except by deduction, the resonance between these chambers."
Jack turned to her. "So the pyramid on P7X-377 is a honkin' great tuning fork?"
"Much more than that, sir. As Daniel said, it's also the primary power supply and network hub. Instead of different frequencies, each appears to use slightly different quantum states to transport phase-shifted matter through subspace."
"I'm not sure I follow," said Dabruzzi, scratching the wound on his face.
"Really?" Jack shoved his hands into his pockets and looked at him.
"I'm a geophysicist, not a quantum physicist."
"I thought you were a volcanologist."
"Same thing, more or less."
"If it's that sophisticated," said Jack. "You'd think they could have done something about all the shaking and rattling, like maybe adding a few shock absorbers." He looked down at the machine still parked on the floor of the lab. Generator for the X-302, huh. He hoped the engineers who'd built the '301 hadn't made this one, too.
"The network's obviously fallen into disrepair," Carter replied. "Just as a singer with perfect pitch can crack glass, the vibrations act with an almost explosive force."
Daniel was nodding. "Explaining why the temple in Belize and the cave and excavation tunnel at Teotihuacan collapsed."
"We had a similar problem on a smaller scale with the `gate. That's why we added frequency dampeners."
Dabruzzi looked skeptical. "How come when you're out of phase you can walk through walls, but you don't fall through the floor?"
Jack looked up. "Yeah, y'know, I've often wondered about that."
Carter shot him an odd look, but Daniel said, "Because you choose not to. I wasn't in that state very long but while I had no control over solid matter, I did have control over where I perceived myself to be in relation to things. I was used to seeing things from a certain height above the floor, so that's where I...was. It took me a while to figure out I could walk through walls, and then when I jumped down onto the floor, Sam heard me, so there is some interactivity with this world. I guess if I'd remained in that state long enough I could have learned to interact with matter and make it do things, and...I don't know, levitate or something."
"Cool." Jack sat on the edge of a stool. "Does that mean when we turn into anti-Nintendo mutants, I get to fly around?"
A smile tugged at Carter's lips. "No, sir. When you arrive, the resonating chamber reintegrates your particles, just like what happens at the other end of a Stargate-generated wormhole. In some ways the technology is more advanced than the Stargate, but in other aspects, it's not as efficient. I'd have to say it was created to perform a similar function by an equally advanced but entirely different race."
Daniel readjusted his glasses. "Convergent evolution. I don't think there's much doubt it was the Furlings."
"Which skull sends you where?" said Hammond.
"Each of the five planets in the map room on P7X-377 have one rose light and four other colored lights," explained Daniel. "The rose light represents skulls like the one Nick found in Belize. These send travelers to the hub on P7X-377."
Carter picked up a small block of clear crystal. Prismatic rainbow colors danced in the light. "The other skulls are also colored, although each is permanently set to a specific `frequency'. By noting which colored lights on the holographic maps are absent, we've deduced that the yellow British skull takes travelers to Yaxkin. However, once the evacuation is complete, we can't return to Earth from either Xalotcan or Yaxkin because we don't have the green skull. That's why we also needed the one that Dr Ballard found."
"So you can return here via P7X-377." Hammond opened the box he'd brought with him and withdrew the rose crystal skull. "The Smithsonian would like it returned in one piece."
"General, we really need to check out Yak Skin before we go taking anyone there," said Jack.
"I agree. That's why I'm authorizing you to return to P7X377. By the time you report back here, we should have everything you need to begin the evacuation."
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
he billowing dust began to dissipate. Something fluttered overhead, sending small pebbles to the ground. Teal'c instinctively lifted his staff weapon. Eyes narrowing against the bright
sunlight, he saw three brightly colored birds clutching the edges of a hole in the roof. Daniel Jackson sneezed. The birds squawked fearfully then flew outside.
Major Carter looked around the interior of the huge domed structure. "It's enormous!" Her voice echoed off the walls.
They were standing on a mound of dirt that had accumulated beneath the hole. O'Neill's boots clumped hollowly as he stepped down and made his way to a wide, open doorway. "Smells old," he observed.
Teal'c followed. Small lizards and insects scurried out of his path, taking refuge amidst the rubble. Here and there, weedy plants grew through the cracked terracotta floor.
"Over here." Daniel Jackson veered towards what appeared to be a second entrance. The closed doors might once have been pigmented in bright colors, but it was difficult to tell, for the deleterious effects of time and weather had taken their toll. "It looks like this place was purpose-built to transfer large numbers of people. You see these inscriptions on the posts?"
"Okay, Daniel," said O'Neill. "You stay here and find out what happened. Carter, work out where you want to put the skull so we can get back. Teal'c, you're with me."
They emerged from the rotunda into an even larger, covered plaza. "Tollana meets the Louvre - except fifty times larger," said O'Neill, looking up and around the inside of a glass pyramid that exceeded the dimensions of a Goa'uld mother ship.
Most of the glass panes were discolored or broken, and thick vines curled up and around the metal framework. Numerous birds and small animals had found a home amongst the vegetation.
O'Neill donned his sunglasses. "Let's check outside."
They spent several hours exploring the nearby buildings. Of the people who had once inhabited the city, there was no sign, nor was there any indication of what had befallen them. The only damage they saw had not come from any battle, or catastrophe such as an earthquake or flood, but from the encroachment of plants and animals.
When they returned, Major Carter was building a cairn of broken tiles on the mound in the center of the rotunda. Daniel Jackson squatted by the furthermost doorway, examining the glyphs.