A Question of Sentience

Part One of Eternity's Path

By SGC Gategirl

RATING: PG-13

CATEGORY: Angst, Hurt/comfort, Action/Adventure, team whumping, Jack whumping

SUMMARY: Knowledge and wisdom are not always in the hands of the technologically advanced—as SG-1 discover first-hand.

SPOILERS: Season two. Takes place immediately following "Holiday" and prior to "Serpent's Song".
This fic is also a homage to the ST:TOS Season Three episode "The Empath". I thought that this was a story that could be shifted into the SG universe…with some adjustments of course.

WARNINGS: The usual whumpage when I get going. And, well, Jack's mouth of course. Y'all know how he gets when Daniel doesn't listen.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Although this is the first in the "Eternity's Path" series, it can be read as a stand-alone story.

Much thanks goes to Lynette and Hoo this time around. I still haven't figured out how they put up with me and my paranoid chick personality, but I appreciate it whole-heartedly. Also, much thanks much go to Yllek for her patience and her daily support via YIM windows.

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A Question of Sentience

By SGC Gategirl

"Intelligence in isolation turns to aimless marauding."

—Mason Cooley, US aphorist. City Aphorisms, Fourteenth Selection, New York (1994)

"In my practice I've seen how people have allowed their humanity to drain away. Only it happens slowly instead of all at once. I didn't seem to mind... All of us, a little bit. We harden our hearts. Grow callous. Only when we have to fight to stay human do we realize how precious it is to us, how dear."

—Dr. Miles Bennel talking to Becky when they are hiding in his office from the "pod people" in the movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1955)

XXX

Doctor Daniel Jackson could hear the raised and heated voices as soon as he stepped out of the elevator on Level 27. Angry voices. Harsh tones.

Following the clamor, his booted feet barely made a sound against the gray concrete floor, his forehead furrowed as he strained to distinguish individual words, as he tried to recognize the voices.

One, though, came through loud and clear, and Daniel wasn't surprised.

"I couldn't care less that they're our allies. What exactly have they done for us lately? It's not like they trust us."

Colonel Jack O'Neill, friend and leader of SG-1, the SGC's flagship unit, was never shy about expressing his opinions on various matters. Daniel knew that many others in this command tended to hold their tongue when faced with a superior officer—especially one who was not afraid to inflict appropriate punishment if the actions called for it—but Jack was not one of them. That was ordinarily a good thing about Jack, Daniel mused, because you knew exactly where you stood with the man—even if you didn't particularly want to know. It made for easy relations at times, but not everyone appreciated Jack's outspokenness.

And one thing was perfectly clear, at least to Daniel: Jack was upset and he wasn't about ready to hide it—even if it meant that he was hollering at the top of his voice at his commanding officer, General George Hammond.

"Jack, I understand how you feel, but diplomatically we have no choice in the matter."

The General's reply, although measured, was much louder than usual. And from the sound of it, Daniel knew that he was holding his temper under tight control. Daniel could almost picture the General's face, the jaw held firmly shut, speaking through clenched teeth, his eyes flashing a warning to the man standing before him, a warning that was being ignored.

Rounding another corner, Daniel found himself outside the open door leading to the General's office.

"Diplomatically, my ass."

Daniel held back a laugh.

Coming to a halt, Daniel took in the scene before him—Jack and the General facing off across the large wooden desk. The atmosphere was tense, but there was nothing unusual about that, especially when these two were arguing about one thing or another. Why the General put up with Jack's outspokenness was another story entirely, and something that Daniel had yet to figure out completely.

The archeologist raised his hand to knock on the doorframe, but before he could make a sound, General Hammond caught his eye and waved him into the room. If Daniel caught a brief glimpse of relief in the General's eyes, it was gone as quickly as it came. "Doctor Jackson, please come in. Perhaps you'll be able to help me explain to the Colonel the merits of this mission."

Daniel felt his eyebrows rise in response to the General's comments but stepped into the room. It wasn't too often that he knew about a mission before Jack did, but this was something far from normal.

Two days ago while Jack was taking a few days leave after the last mission, the SGC received a transmission via its deep space transmitter. The Tok'ra were requesting the assistance of SG-1 and wanted to set up a meeting. While this wasn't unusual in any respect, their relationship was still very rocky at best.

After agreeing to meet, the Tok'ra sent their representatives—Jacob Carter and Martouf—two very familiar faces to the SGC. General Hammond, Captain Samantha Carter, Teal'c, and Doctor Jackson were there to welcome them when they arrived.

The news they brought was not encouraging.

Because of the military advance of some of the Goa'uld System Lords, the Tok'ra had found themselves hunting, once again, for new bases of operation, places that could serve as staging points for various covert missions.

Evidently, during the search of one section of the galaxy, a team of Tok'ra scientists had gone missing.

That was nearly two weeks ago, and now they were finally turning to the SGC for help. Apparently, they didn't have enough manpower, and with the war against the Goa'uld, every man, woman, and symbiote was needed on other missions. If the SGC couldn't help, this team was as good as dead.

A little dramatic, but typical for the Tok'ra.

The carrot they were dangling this time around was interesting.

Several of the planets on the Tok'ra's list had apparently been occupied by the Ancients at one time or another. After checking against the SGC's database, some of the coordinates Jacob had provided matched the addresses that had been entered by Colonel O'Neill into the computer mainframe after his download of the Ancient's repository of knowledge.

That simple revelation had put this search and rescue mission much higher on the list of priorities.

That fact, however, was obviously not enough to convince Jack that it was time to pack up and move out.

"Yes, Daniel," Jack said, turning to face the archeologist, his dark eyes hard, his jaw set, his lips a thin line. "Why don't you explain to me this hair-brained excuse for a rescue plan?"

"Don't you see, Jack?" Daniel said, his hands punctuating each point. "It's more than just finding the Tok'ra team—which we should do because it's the right thing to do, not just the diplomatic thing to do. But, that's beside the point. This will give us the opportunity to investigate these planets a little further. We haven't even begun to scratch the surface on the addresses you entered into the computer when you had the Ancient's download. You know, as well as I do, that the cold dialing program has only had limited success in finding viable connections. And now, the Tok'ra are essentially handing us known quantities: working addresses to worlds once inhabited by the Ancients—something we are looking to find to help us in our fight against the Goa'uld. Why are you so set against it?"

The look on Jack's face was just as stubborn as before, but Daniel could see a few cracks beginning to form. A slight muscle twitch here and there, his eyes shifting more than before.

"Something doesn't sound right. The Tok'ra just happen to misplace a team of scientists who happen to be investigating an area of the galaxy they don't know much about and those planets just happen to be some of the old stomping grounds for the Ancients. That's just too many coincidences for me."

"You're just biased because they happen to be implanted with a symbiote—"

"Of course I'm biased," Jack almost shouted back, throwing his hands in the air. "Anyone in their right mind would be biased and reluctant to jump at this chance. After all, they are just snakes!" Jack's brown eyes narrowed, their intensity increasing tenfold, while his voice took on a much darker timbre. "Don't you get it, Daniel? They're only going to call us when they need us for some kind of stupid and dangerous mission. This one qualifies—on both fronts."

Daniel inclined his head slightly, accepting Jack's opinion for what it was. His friend's paranoia and complaints about the Tok'ra were well founded, and they still didn't know them very well. "I agree that we and the Tok'ra have some issues to work out and if it was anyone other than Jacob and Martouf I might be inclined to agree with you, but what if they're right? What if we're the last hope for that team? Would you be able to leave them behind, lost for all intents and purposes, when you have the power to at least try and find them?"

Jack sighed, shifting his gaze away from the younger man, resting it briefly on the General's calm and thoughtful face before turning to look out the window into the darkened briefing room beyond.

Daniel knew that the Tok'ra's general disregard of the life of some of their operatives did not sit right with his friend. And now finally, it seemed as if Jack's motto of "no one gets left behind" had apparently gotten through the thick skulls of some members of the Tok'ra—and that had sent them directly to the SGC and into the arms of one bull-headed Jack O'Neill.

As soon as his friend's shoulders slumped slightly, Daniel knew that he had won. Jack's words, barely loud enough to reach his ears, only confirmed it. "You know, you're getting awfully good at this."

"Jack." The soft sound of Hammond's voice turned the Colonel around. "This is not an order, by any means, but before you decide against this mission, please keep a few things in mind. If I don't send SG-1, I will assign another team in your place. And like Doctor Jackson pointed out, this will be a chance for you to get a first-hand look at some of the worlds you entered into the dialing computer's database. It might give us some more information as to why the Ancients decided to leave and where they've gone."

"All that meaning of life stuff, Jack," Daniel added quietly several beats later as the silence grew between the three men.

Rubbing his hands briskly through his hair, Jack sighed again, the furrow between his eyes deep. When he finally looked up, locking gazes with the archeologist, Jack's eyes were hard and darker than Daniel had seen in a very long time. "I'm going to agree to this mission, but under protest. I assume that Carter and Teal'c agree with you?"

Daniel nodded once, a half-smile on his face.

Jack turned back to the General, a resigned expression crossing his face before the calm veneer reappeared. "You know, you could have warned me about this. Did you even consider calling me in to attend the briefing with the Tok'ra? I have some questions I'd like to ask them myself."

"I didn't want to interrupt your vacation, Jack, and besides," Hammond added, a slight twinkle in his eye, "we needed to return the Tok'ra in the same condition that we found them."

"Oh, for crying out loud."

XXX

It wasn't as if Jack didn't like Jacob Carter. He just didn't tend to trust the snake wrapped around the older man's brain stem. A minor detail to some, but one that Jack was not going to ignore.

Settling his gaze on the horizon, his eyes scanned the vista before him. There were trees, millions of them from Jack's standpoint, on the edge of the overlook, several yards from the remnants of the old city—if you wanted to call it that.

Destruction was widespread, the worst of it being along the edge of the city. Near the center, a few blocks radius from a huge monolith—a monument of sorts according to Daniel—most of the buildings still stood tall and proud and Jack could imagine the city as it had been once. As obviously alien as the architectural style was, there was something familiar about it, but Jack couldn't quite put his finger on it.

A shiver ran down his back and he shook it off, moving once again, his footfalls quiet on the undergrowth of the forest.

This was the third planet now that they had the pleasure to investigate. Three days and three planets, with another two on the way as soon as they returned.

Joy.

The entire story the Tok'ra had provided sounded way too convenient to him. And knowing the Tok'ra there was far more involved here in this little venture than they were letting on.

It's always fun when your allies don't trust you, giving you half-truths and vague explanations instead of facts and figures.

Daniel and Carter were scampering over the ruins, taking various readings and recording nearly everything in sight. There had been no indication that the Tok'ra had passed this way within the past few weeks. No one had been here in centuries—at least that's how it seemed.

Even though the city was serene, Jack still felt uneasy, tense, and paranoid. It was too quiet. Circling around the crumbling remnants of this once proud civilization, he and Teal'c had found only ruins and trees, with not a single blade of grass out of place. Frequent radio checks with the rest of his team only served to increase the twanging of his sixth sense.

Something was not right here.

Reaching up with his left hand, Jack toggled the button on his radio. "Teal'c, you out there buddy?"

The Jaffa's deep voice sounded indistinct and small through the earpiece settled firmly in Jack's ear. "Have you discovered something, O'Neill?"

"Nothing and that's what's bothering me."

"I agree that the silence is unsettling, but I have not encountered anything out of the ordinary," Teal'c continued. "Have Daniel Jackson or Captain Carter unearthed any sign to indicate the whereabouts of the inhabitants of the city?"

"Negative." Jack grimaced, his mind immediately making a decision. "Teal'c, I'm going to head back. Why don't you take another wider loop around the perimeter and then join us. I'm going to see if I can convince Carter and Daniel to hurry along."

"Understood, O'Neill, although I believe you have chosen the more difficult task for yourself."

Jack chuckled darkly, his feet already finding their way among the roots and foliage lining the path back to the city. "You know me too well, my friend."

XXX

Daniel Jackson gently swung the digital camcorder around the room, carefully trying to capture all of the inscriptions lining the walls. He knew that he had a short period of time before Jack came storming in proclaiming that it was time to go home.

It had been the same on all of the planets they'd visited this week. After a very thorough search of the area surrounding the Stargate and the closest city, Jack allowed him and Sam time to study the ruins. Instead of translating the inscriptions as he went, Daniel was trying to make the best use of his time by recording everything, holding back from a close inspection of the artifacts surrounding him. He didn't know if they would ever get the chance to come back here and study them in more detail. He had to get everything he could right now.

This city, so far, had been the best preserved, albeit still in ruins.

And strangely enough, at least to Daniel's eye, there was far more to this city than met the eye. The inscriptions, while plentiful, appeared to be different than the other two planets.

It was something that Daniel couldn't quite put his finger on either.

Making the complete circuit around the room, he shut the camera off and let his arm fall down to his side, his eyes squinting as he studied the last section of the wall.

A loud bang somewhere down the street shifted his attention to the door and the bright sunshine outside.

"Sam," Daniel asked, his left hand pressing the call button on his radio. Her voice replied immediately.

"Everything okay, Daniel?"

"Did you hear that weird sound?"

"Sound?"

"I'll take that as a no, then," he replied as he moved, his feet taking him into the street. "I thought I heard something. I'm going to check it out."

"Daniel, is that such a good idea?"

"Probably not, but I won't be long," he said, squinting slightly as he glanced around the deserted street, the wind picking up and blowing some of the dirt and debris against the nearest wall. "There's not much along this stretch of the city. It's probably just some rock tumbling off of a ledge or something."

Sam's concern and worry came through the speaker of the radio as if she was standing in front of him. "Where are you? I can be there in less than five minutes."

"I'm near the city center, probably about three blocks or so west of that monument where we all met earlier. And you don't have to rush over here. I'm just going to take a quick look next door."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Let me know what you find." Her tone boded no choice but for him to obey.

"Yes, mom," he chided, a smile on his face. "Daniel out."

Slowing down as he approached the next building, he peered in the window, squinting into the darkness beyond.

It didn't look any different than the other ten he'd investigated in this area already. To Daniel's eye, it seemed as if all of these buildings were part of a larger collective, something along the lines of a monastery. The interior of the next building in line was only one large room with inscriptions lining most of the walls. Whatever furniture had adorned the structure was long gone—either stolen or moved to another location, Daniel assumed.

Moving a few steps forward he paused in the doorway, trying to let his eyes adjust to the change in light so he could see everything a little clearer. As he stood there—half inside, half outside—on the cusp of actually stepping through the door, a glimmer caught his eye. Leaning forward, his feet took him deeper into the room, his curiosity piqued.

This was different.

Embedded in the back wall, approximately five feet up from the floor, was a crystal of some type, about the size of his hand, a dull green gleam of light shining from within. There was something about the muted glow that drew Daniel closer. The inscriptions on the stone wall around it were unfamiliar to him, not the bold, block strokes of the Ancient's writing, but something light and ethereal, flowing gracefully from one letter to another.

This did not belong.

XXX

Sam Carter glanced up from the device in her hand, her forehead furrowing as she tried to make heads or tails of the readings rushing across the screen.

Part of the problem, she guessed, might have something to do with the amount of naquadah in the soil and in the structures surrounding her. But even so, that did not entirely explain the strange readings.

And they were downright peculiar.

Sam held the scanner out once again, checking for the fourth time, watching the readings crossing its dial as it analyzed the energy signatures around her. Unfortunately, nothing changed.

This tiny piece of technology had never failed her in all the times she had used it, and she had a great respect for its ability to analyze just about anything she needed. She felt the corner of her mouth rise in a slight smile as she thought of the Colonel's names for it. He either insisted on calling it a doohickey—like he did to the majority of her scientific tools—or a tricorder. You just have to laugh at a man who can give you inappropriate cultural references at the drop of a hat—either that or you just end up annoyed and upset.

Sighing deeply, she glanced away from the screen, her eyes scanning the ruined buildings surrounding her. One out of six buildings remained with its walls and ceiling still intact. It was almost as if the destruction got worse the farther you got from the city center and that monument she'd seen earlier—where Daniel was. For the amount of damage to the city, it was a little surprising that that tall structure had remained standing. The obelisk-like landmark had proved useful since it was easily seen from nearly every part of the city.

Even as she stood there, something in the back of her mind clicked. She'd seen these readings once before, on that planet where they had found the Ancient's repository of knowledge.

Damn.

"Daniel," she said, keying the toggle on her radio. Waiting a beat, she spoke again. "Daniel, don't touch anything, especially anything on the wall."

Several beats went by, the seconds stretching into minutes, the minutes seeming like hours.

He wasn't answering.

Stowing her equipment in her pack, she slung it on her back, her quickened steps taking her to where she'd last seen Daniel. As she moved, her weapon came up, pointed outward, while her left hand immediately went to her radio, switching channels. "Colonel O'Neill?"

His reply was immediate. "Carter? What's wrong?"

"Daniel's not answering, Sir. He thought he heard something and went to investigate."

Her commanding officer's response was typical. "For crying out loud, when will he learn?" His sigh came across the radio loud and clear. "I'm already in the city. What was Daniel's last known position?"

"He said that he was near the city center, about three blocks west of the big monument. I still have a few blocks to go."

"I'm on it. Only about a block away."

"I'll meet you there."

"I copy you, Carter," he replied, clicking off. He was probably alerting Teal'c, she realized as she started moving faster.

About a minute later, she heard his voice again, this time going out across all the channels they were using. At least that's what she assumed. It was what she would have done in his shoes. "Daniel, this is O'Neill, report." He paused before repeating the command once again.

A few beats went by before he spoke again. "Carter, I'm coming up on the intersection you mentioned."

"Rounding the corner, Sir," she said as her feet turned the corner, half a block from the monument. A dark figure loitered near its base. "I see you, Sir. Coming up on your six."

He turned and waved her forward, his expression grim. His P90 was raised, pointed at the space beyond her and to her right, his hand curled around the weapon's black grip, his finger poised, ready to fire at any provocation.

He waited while she approached, his eyes never still, scanning the streets and buildings surrounding them. By the time she reached his side, he'd turned around twice, surveying the area. She could feel the tension pouring off of him.

"Sir?"

He turned to face her, his lips a thin line. "Yeah?"

"Why were you heading back in? Did you see something?"

"No, Carter, I didn't see anything and that was part of the problem. Something's off. I was coming to tell you both to pack it up."

"Oh." How he managed to have such an acute sixth sense, she never knew. It was that ability, however, that had gotten them out of more scrapes than she wanted to remember.

Shifting his P90 higher, his concerned eyes focused on her face. "Which way?"

She pointed toward one of the nearby cross streets, her right hand gripping her own weapon tightly. "This way, Sir. He was trying to get as much of the inscriptions recorded as possible before we left."

He nodded once, his eyes drifting toward the direction she pointed, focusing on the buildings that lay before them. "Take point."

"Yes, Sir," she replied automatically, raising the muzzle of her gun higher. O'Neill's measured tones from behind her were comforting.

"Teal'c, Carter and I are checking out Daniel's whereabouts. Where are you?"

When she didn't hear the reply immediately, she turned, glancing over her shoulder. Even though the Colonel was searching the ruins around them, she could tell that he was listening to Teal'c's response through the ear bud set deep within his ear. His eyes, although examining everything around him, were slightly unfocused as he concentrated on the Jaffa's voice.

"Fine. Keep me apprised of your location. O'Neill out."

"Sir?" she asked quietly, her voice barely carrying the few feet to her commanding officer.

"He's a good twenty minutes out yet, if not more. He was on a wide perimeter search. Said he'd radio once he got to the city limits."

She nodded, a twinge of fear gripping her belly. A lot could happen in twenty minutes.

XXX