Travis nods all interesting questions
"To most of those I would have to save simply I do not know. But I know some people that may be able to answer them for you"

"I... I... caaaaa...not say...say...say... either," Sarnak also replies from the gurney. "Sssssome... thing... we did... not... an... an... an... tissssss... eh... pate."

OOC: There is more of the same, but I'll just post as normal. It would be too hard to write and even harder to read...

"Our mental connection was able to bypass language. Each of our minds simply translated the thought into words in a language it understood."

"I do not know this language the body... I am speaking, except what I picked up from conversing with you, Travis. Plus, there seems to be some residual memory stored in this brain that knows the language. I do not understand that any more than I understand how I could have existed in a machine."

"Please give me some allowance if I mispronounce words or use the wrong one. I perceive that you use words that have multiple definitions."

"As to your other question, I think I still have mental powers... they feel like they are there, but it is one of those neural paths I haven't been able to trace yet."

"I would tell you that I can assure you that there is no other mind in this body other than mine, but when you considered the source, that assurance would be highly suspect."

"It seems as if it will take a bit for me to master this body's movement capability."

In reply to Sarnak (msg # 525):

Travis nods, "Time you will have friend Sarnak. That and my aid in adjusting to your new body."

"Do you think you could try to sit up and then we will try with the medical help to get you adjusted to your new body"

"I... am... trying," Sarnak replies. "I know how, but this body does not want to cooperate."

"However, now that I am in a physical body, sadly I know that much of my memory... my former memory... is permanently lost. The neural pathways that constituted memories did not exist in the machine. I cannot say where they went because I cannot say how they were stored there in the first place."

"It would seem unlikely that I will recover them. While conversing with the Library, some memories returned, though, so it is possible that the machine had actually stored all of my memory engrams. I do not believe all of them were transferred into this body."

Suddenly, with a spasm, his body jerks upright and even continues forward. He would have smacked his head against the gurney if Al didn't stop him.

When the 'corpse' sat up, a chill ran up and down Al's spine. Although he honestly believed they were doing the 'right thing', he recognized that they were on very shaky moral grounds in a number of ways. They were pushing the boundaries of science in unusual and extreme ways... perhaps getting the horse before the cart.

Was the person truly 'brain dead'? Did they truly know that the person who'd once been alive and vibrant was completely and utterly gone? They knew so little about the Goa'uld abilities... mostly just the bad stuff. For instance, while the Goa'uld could take over a human host and totally suppress that person's mind, if the Goa'uld subsequently left that body, could it leave that mind in a suppressed state? Would that be the same as brain dead?

So, then, could a Tok'ra (one of the 'good guy' Goa'uld) then enter this body and release the trapped mind?

Did Earth... Tau'ri science have the ability to detect such a mind? Know the difference?

Would Sarnak's mind function like a Goa'uld mind? What if the man hadn't really been dead? Would Sarnak's presence 'wake' him up? And then what?

Humans weren't trained or educated or... or what? Conditioned? ...to handle that situation. Could the dual mind drive both of them crazy?

He'd been thinking these thoughts since the mission had first been presented to him. They'd just coalesced in his mind when the body sat up.

"I just got a chill," he said to the others. "Can you say 'Dr. Frankenstein'?"

And what about Sarnak? Was that really his mind trapped in the machine? Was he still really alive? Cause that was the other can of worms... how do you define 'alive'?

The part that he felt was wrong was for Sarnak to have been trapped in a machine for a thousand years! You'd think it would have driven him insane! But, then again, that would have been true of a human perhaps... or someone in a flesh-and-blood body. Did it even apply to a man in a machine?

In reply to Alexander Parker (msg # 528):

"I just got a chill," he said to the others. "Can you say 'Dr. Frankenstein'?"

 And what about Sarnak? Was that really his mind trapped in the machine? Was he still really alive? Cause that was the other can of worms... how do you define 'alive'?<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Fox watches Sarnak as he learns about his new body and replies to Parker with a
"All I can say is that I felt what I considered to be a living entity."
"The same feel is with in this body now."
"But I take your point and it is well and accurately made"

So Carter and Kyle were able to learn something about the Sha'kri.

Kyle still needs to make that Intelligence check to see how many skills he is able to enhance.

Carter managed to do so to 9 skills. (OOC: You should mark them on your character sheet.)


After spending several hours going through the library, you know a lot about the Sha'kri, but you have found out one important thing: there is no technical data on anything that the Sha'kri ever developed or invented. The items are described, how and when the discoveries were made and the subsequent development, but no specs.

In retrospect, of course, it makes sense. No information was left behind that the Goa'uld could possibly use, in case they discovered the library. Also, it was the history and culture of the species that was being preserved, not the technology.

The information isn't completely useless. There are clues mentioned here and there that techs might be able to use to make a new discovery. It seems as if these were intentional. It would not have been something that the Goa'uld could ever have discovered on their own. Researchers they aren't.

The most fascinating aspect of Carter's and Kyle's efforts is learning about the Sha'kri's psionic abilities. They seemed to have reached a stage roughly equivalent to Earth technology in the 1950s, with the development of nuclear energy. Soon after, people began developing psionic powers, sporadic at first, seemingly random.

The Sha'kri discovered that there was a new gene that was the cause of the psionics. While gene splicing wasn't yet possible, they were able to breed for psionics. It wasn't forced; it was just encouraged. It was helped by psionics tending to like other psionics.

Rather than fear or persecute such people, they were considered a valuable resource and tool. It wasn't long after that the Goa'uld appeared, and thus began a centuries-long war against them. Nearly half the planet had been enslaved before they were able to drive the Goa'uld off, taking the war into space.

The Goa'uld were slow to adapt to this, and that gave the Sha'kri enough time to develop their intergalactic starships driven by the power of the mind. The mass exodus took place over a month's period, after a decisive space battle against the Goa'uld. There was a lull period while the Goa'uld regrouped.

When they returned, the Sha'kri were all gone. When the Goa'uld tried to enter the cities to loot the technology, they found psionic traps waiting for them--some sort of psionic bomb. At the mere approach of a Goa'uld, a powerful psionic pulse fried the brains of any Goa'uld in the area.

In retaliation, the Goa'uld had used orbital bombardment to destroy many of the cities before tiring of the effort and leaving.

After several hours of standing watch, Jason was starting to get impatient. He could have studied in the library, too, of course, but then who would have stood watch? It wasn't something he was good at, anyway.

He made one more circle of the perimeter around the entrance before going back down the stairs.

"Are you about done down here?" he asked Carter and Kyle.

He was really hoping that they'd say 'yes', but had the feeling that they wouldn't.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:04, Fri 08 July 2016.

In reply to Jason Bjorn (msg # 531):

Jackie shrugs. Knowing Jason will never understand one can never be done learning.

"Kyle, are you able to move on?"

"If I must..."

Kyle dragged himself back to the real world, stood up and streched.

In reply to Kyle McGuinness (msg # 533):

Jackie sighs and speaks as she begins walking back to the others.

" I know Kyle. I could stay here for years. Major, reluctantly we are done for now. Coming to you."

Kyle followed, looking a bit unhappy.

"Copy that, Carter," the Major replies. "We're about done here ourselves. So far, it's looking like a success. I just don't know if that's good or bad."


At that point, he turns to Al and the med-techs.

"What's the prognosis? The body sounds and acts like it has a mind in it again."

"I'm sure you've considered all the ramifications already. After all, that's why they pay you the big bucks. But, what are the chances of the previous mind regenerating somehow and then trying to take its body back? We've given Sarnak this body; it is going to be right to take it away from him then? For that matter, can we? And is it right to deny the original mind if that happens?"

"Secondly, any idea what the chances are for Sarnak's mind to start deteriorating? I mean, I know you're all on shaky science here. It's one of the reasons we're out here among the stars now. Well, that, and defend against the Goa'uld."

He'd mostly kept silent the whole time the transfer was going on. There was nothing he could do about it anyway. If it didn't work, those questions were all moot. Now that it looked like it had worked... well, that was a mighty large can of worms they'd just opened.

He didn't even want to think about the possibility of transferring someone else's mind into another body. That was a mucho dark path to go down. It was always possible, though, that it could only happen with this machine and with this species, and even then, Sarnak might be an exception among his kind. The other possibility was that centuries trapped in the machine had altered his... 'mind'... in such a way that it could happen.

In one way, he hated being dependent on Travis to 'connect' with Sarnak. He was wondering now just how this new status would play out. He had to be careful--anything he said, Sarnak could now hear.

"Even I cannot answer that, Major," Sarnak says as he swings his legs off the gurney, apparently finally getting them under control.

"If the mind that was once in this body somehow returns, I will not attempt to prevent it. At the very least, there would be two minds occupying the same body. I cannot say how that will function, whether one would be dominate, or one would be stable. It would most likely be what you call 'schizophrenia'. Perhaps, though, in a nice way."

"There is some residual memory here... I believe you call it 'muscle memory'? That is how I am able to speak this language... I think, though I admit I learned some of it from Travis as we were communicating... mentally."

"Hmmmm. I do not seem to have any psionic abilities... at the moment. Without our normal brains scans, I cannot say whether this physical brain is capable of... supporting those abilities. It may take a bit of re-training for it to do so."

He then gets off the gurney, manages to stand without help, and then attempts to walk. That he needs help with at first, as the leg muscles have atrophied a bit and his command of his leg muscles is still developing. However, within a few minutes, he is able to walk reasonably normally. He still has a slight stagger, and a minor limp, but both are sporadic and should work themselves out.

"I still do not understand why I am not irrevocably insane from spending so much time in... isolation. Perhaps it is due to the deterioration of my memories. I consulted with the library while I waited for your return. It is on record that higher functions... technical knowledge, mathematics, etc... deteriorate fastest, presumably because they are not needed for survival."

"For that reason, I fear I may not be able to provide you with any useful technology to defend against the Goa'uld. We were not successful anyway, which is why we chose to flee to another galaxy."

"It is always possible that we did not last long in the new galaxy anyway."

"Oh, you have no idea how much... joy it gives me to be able to walk and talk again!"

Finally wrangling the geeks away from the library, Jason makes sure the library is sealed up and hidden again. Fortunately, they didn't have any devices that could use GPS to pinpoint the site--not surprising since there weren't any satellites in orbit.

At that thought, though, he glanced up at the sky. How did they know that there weren't any satellites? He wasn't aware of the Goa'uld ever using satellites, but then there was a huge bucket of knowledge about the Goa'uld that they still didn't know.

He made a mental note to ask Sarnak if his people had used satellites. Even if they had, he suspected the Goa'uld would have destroyed them all. He still found it... odd... that the Goa'uld hadn't destroyed the city.

"So, Carter, Kyle, did you find out anything useful?" he asked them as they reached the city and building where the others were.

"I'm sure it was all interesting, but anything new to help us?"

In reply to Jason Bjorn (msg # 538):

Jackie smiles.

I understand the need of a soldier to have everything be finite and useful. And the answer to your question will always be Yes and No. Yes, we found useful and no we still need more time. "

Casually Fox joins the conversation
"Knowledge of what is useful and what is not useful is only obvious in hind sight".
"The circle of existence is wide and our path though it long". "And no one sees the end of things from the beginning of a journey".
"Do not seal your peoples fate through lack of information"
He leads Sarnak to the door, ready to support him if needed "it is time to set your feet on a new path"

"There's masses of information there... it's sifting through, finding out what is there and where that takes the time," said Kyle, whose eyes were shining.

"The Librarian was quite helpful to me when I was in communication with her," Sarnak says as he half-staggers out the door into the sunlight. He blinks his eyes rapidly and squints against the brightness.

"Not all of us were warriors, or telekinetics. Those that weren't imminently useful against the Goa'uld, or worked to keep our people fed and clothed and entertained were put to use at the Library. A new profession was created that we called an Archivist. They were responsible for gathering and securing the information about our society and culture."

"It does seem like the height of hubris--now--that we felt we were so important that we needed to preserve that knowledge in some small way."

"How many such civilizations have come and gone across a million worlds? What made us think that we were special?"

"We could very well be thriving in the new galaxy, but we did not have the ability to... reconnoiter it before we had to flee. So we did not know what might lie there. There could have been something much worse than the Goa'uld, though I am at a loss as to imagine what that could possibly be."

"So now what do we do? I realize that you cannot take me back to your world... at least not just yet, and perhaps never, but does that make me a member of your team? Or do you plan on leaving me behind here on this world?"
This message was last edited by the player at 07:41, Sat 30 July 2016.

Fox considers his answers knowing that in reality it is up to command decisions above his grade.
"For a time I think we will be here" he answers.
"As to how long I do not know we are an explorer group, for our planet."
Fox continues
"But I am just a soldier Sarnak and those that command me make the real big decisions"

"Yes, I suppose you are a member of our team for the foreseeable future," Coleman says to Sarnak.

"I think our next option is to finish exploring this city. Do you have any memory of this city, that you can direct us to different places?"

He next addresses Carter and Kyle.

"Did you get anything from the library? Anything that might help you decipher some of this machinery?"

"I was inquring into the history of the race," said Kyle, "But if you want me to ask about machinery I'm sure it will come up with something of interest."

In reply to Kyle McGuinness (msg # 545):

" As Kyle here was focused on History, I was focused on Social Anthropology. We really need a bigger team on this."
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:39, Sat 30 July 2016.

"That is one of the reasons we are here... to assess that possibility," Coleman replies to Carter.

"Until and unless we can establish that there is some benefit to be gained by studying the library or these machines, it was deemed too great of a risk to send a larger contingent through because the Goa'uld could return."

"When you encountered them before, they were here for the Otterfolk. If... or possibly when... they return, they will be prepared for our presence. And, to be honest, I don't know that we can stop them. There is the possibility of escape through the gate, but I do not know if the Otterfolk would go. I'm not even sure we could or should take them back to Earth. ET not withstanding, we aren't ready for First Contact yet."

He turns to Sarnak then.

"Mr. Sarnak, sir. Are there any other cities or facilities within walking distance?"

"And we should introduce you to Crom. Don't panic, but he's a Goa'uld. Supposedly a nice one, though not a Tok'ra. It's against my better judgment, but if we are forced to leave you behind, you should be able to take shelter with him. I don't know that he could protect you, but he might know of another world you could travel to through the stargate."

"As near as I can recall," Sarnak replies to the major, "by the time we were able to build our exodus fleet, we'd all been driven back to this planet, and to this city. Our defenses were protecting this city... perhaps because we had to... but just barely. All the other cities had been destroyed by aerial bombardment."

"That's what I knew. Or what I remember I knew. I suppose others could have survived."

"As it is, I'm mildly astounded that this one was intact. I don't know why the Goa'uld didn't destroy it like all the rest."

"On the other hand, other civilizations could have grown up on this planet in the intervening centuries. Perhaps this Crom would know about that."