"You are confusing application with technology," Gavan tells Naseem and Sarah. "The Alterants had superior technology, but outside of doing everything telepathically, they still have to use control screens to view other areas and control them."

"Tollan technology is slightly more advanced than that of the Tau'ri, but we still use a knife to do the same things you use it for. Ours may stay sharper longer and never rust, but it is still just a knife."

"As for interpreting any of these readouts, we'd have to activate something and observe what it does so that we can then translate the screen readouts into a form we understand."

“No idea Hilda. That’s why we brought all the smart people with.” Lucky smirked as they continued to look around. “There is one other option. An observation room, kind of like a movie theatre back on Earth. If they recorded somehow when they explored, this could be a place to review it. Either after or before the next group was off. The navy has rooms kind of like this aboard their carriers, except the seats are all in rows, and the chairs all looked like ejected seats from planes.”

Hilda thought on this, tried to picture it, and at last said 'I have never seen any of those things. But you are probably right.' Losing interest in this strange room, the latest in a long line of odd but bland base facilities, she headed to the entrance. 'Let's go to the next one.' she said to Lucky, but paused with a playful grin. 'Hey, let's make this interesting – how about a bet on what we find next?'

Lucky arched a brow in interest. "And what is the wager?" He was not much of a gambler, but this seemed harmless enough.

Hilda had to think about that, having not thought that far ahead. 'I don't have any of your money... What about the loser carries the other's pack back?' she proposed, a minor chore for a minor bet.

"I suppose, Major, it all depends on what you are trying to accomplish," Tate says, as he gestures at the controls.

"It's not like these Alterants just rushed out while they were drinking coffee. Why ever they abandoned it, they did so in an orderly fashion, simply shutting everything down. In a way, it almost seems as if they were planning on coming back someday."

"As for the advanced technology, Naseem... how long has all this been sitting here? Can we really get something from Best Buy that will last 700 years? Actually, how long has this been shut down? Maybe Asherrra or her people know how long it's been?"

Lucky considered Hilda’s suggestion, then smirked a bit as he had another idea. “No offense, but I get the impression you would be about as likely to let me carry your shield as me let you carry my Remington. Here’s my counter offer. Next downtime, if I’m right, you teach me to use an axe for something other than chopping wood. You win, I’ll teach how I shoot targets you can barely see. Never know, something might happen and you have to do it because Major Ansari can’t. I’m sure we’ll have plenty downtime for some extra training once we get back.” He  smirked  “Deal?”

Hilda stuck out her hand to shake on it; Lucky would find she had a grip as strong as any Marine. 'Deal. But I think you don't want me to teach you how to use an axe for air-guitar.' she remarked with a grin, though Lucky had probably just missed her performance in the Rec Room. 'So instead I will teach you to throw an axe.' the Viking vowed, before clarifying 'And hit a target, not just have the haft bounce off. That's the most important part.'

She pointed off to the next door in their path. 'Do you want to choose first?'

[The "Control Room", Alterant Moon Base]



     "ahem....Well, we currently have the weapon systems called up on the main screen." Kaspar points out, "And it is part of our mandate to try to locate technology to be used in the defense of Earth against the Goa'uld.  However, having said that, I would feel rather uncomfortable just firing off a weapon--even as a controlled test--just to observe the readouts on the screen."

     "Freyda pointed out a screen displaying Communications systems, I believe?" Kaspar suggested, then continued, "And I recall Asherrra telling us that her people would receive advice and instruction from their Creators--though I don't recall, at the moment, how.  Asherrra, did the Creators come to your City, or did they suddenly appear to you, or did you just hear their voices?"

     "What I'm thinking is, perhaps the Alterants communicated with Asherrra's people from here.  So why don't we call up the Communications menu, see if we can find the City of the First People there, and try to call them?  Then we can observe the power requirements and the signal strength, and whatnot, and convert it to our units, or whatever.  Yes?"

"The Creators talk to us from the Computer," Asherrra replies to Kaspar. "At first, we just called it a magic box, and while we now know it is a technological device, we still do not understand how it works."

"However, we are pretty sure that it is a sophisticated memory device since they don't always answer our questions, and sometimes they say the same thing over and over again."

In reply to Asherrra (msg # 928):

     "Thank you, Asherrra.  Exactly what I wanted to know." Kaspar thanks the young feline woman.

     "So, even better," Kaspar says to the others, "We should look to see if we can remote interface with the central computer system down in the City of The First.  Not only do we get to observe and analyze the Alterant communication system, but we also get to interact with their data systems.  Hopefully."

     Kaspar gives a little frown of self-doubt, and adds,

     "I mean, it makes sense that the Alterants would want to monitor the computer that's running the City that their charges are living in, and interacting with...doesn't it?"

Naseem nodded her head in deference to Gavan's words. "You are right, of course, Gavan. I suppose I was expecting to see technology of a more advanced nature given what I have heard of the Alterans. This entire ship has been somewhat contradictory and fits nothing of what I know of the Goa'uld which also has Hecate somewhat stumped."

She walked over to Tate and gave him a hard look. "I may be Tok'ra but I am also an officer in the United States Marine Corp, current status being what it is or not. I expect and demand proper military decorum, is that understood, Staff Sergeant?" She asked in a voice pitched to carry only to him.

"Not necessarily, Major," Gavan responds to Kaspar's comments.

"It really depends on the time frame. If the Alterants set up the computer in the First City just as they were leaving, then there wouldn't be any need to monitor the First Ones because nobody would have been here to do that."

"As for communications helping us decipher their systems, I doubt if that will do it. We have to know a basic datum first. For example, is their communications using radio waves, gamma rays, microwaves, etc. Even if it's radio waves, what frequency do they use? Is it scrambled? Is it a rotating frequency?"

"Without knowing any of that, we can't tell what the symbols mean. If we knew that they broadcast on 250 megahertz, and the monitor showed 72 framistats, then we'd have a basis for correlation."

"There's also no reason to think that their database is going to be compatible with ours. It could take months if not years to decipher it."

"In any case, I suspect the computer here will turn out to be more sophisticated than that in the First City."

"As near as we know, Major Ansari, the Alterants were more or less human. So, regardless of their technology, they still needed the things we need, still did the things we do. Even the later Ancients were the same way. It wasn't until they ascended that it changed."

     "We Terrans are familiar with the concept of Research, Gavan." Kaspar responds drily, "We may hope for rapid results, but we know that it often takes long-term study to get the information we want.  I didn't think we would get the data we want just by pressing a single button."

     "In fact, I believe it was you who said--and I quote--'As for interpreting any of these readouts, we'd have to activate something and observe what it does so that we can then translate the screen readouts into a form we understand'."

     "All I did was make a suggestion that the communications system--as a least potentially destructive choice--might be the 'something' to 'activate' and 'observe'.  Apparently you disagree--and I always defer to the technical experts.  So, then, Gavan, what system would you have us activate and observe?"

"I did not mean to offend, Major," Gavan answers.

"I was just making the observation that long term research is potentially useful, but your mandate is to find something of immediate use."

"Also, that there is nothing about the communications that we can observe, record, or otherwise perceive."

"Perhaps something dealing with the interior. Not necessarily security, but, for instance, turning on a range or a microwave. We would at least have semi-empirical data on the results. If we observe and record a temperature of 200 degrees, then we can perhaps see what the monitors indicate. If it says the temperature is 68 kronars, then we can calculate what 1 kronar is equivalent to."

"For that matter, Sarah, Freyda, Major Ansari... do you know of any Ancient terminology for measuring temperature? Or weight? Or height? Or distance?"

"I'm not the Ancient expert here but from what I understand our Latin is derived from their language so it might be similar once you account for linguistic drift. I'll let someone who may have some more insight sound off about this though I imagine Freyda is the true voice of authority."

Naseem lowered her head and let Hecate come forward to answer the question.

"The Asgard know the Ancient language, but not necessarily the Alteran language," Freyda answers.

"Yes, there is much similarity, but just as idioms and new words come into existence in English, so, too, did that happen with the Ancients. For instance, we know that the Ancients had a word for 'ice cream'--seleca, but we do not believe the Alterans had such a word. None of the records we have ever found have given any indication that the Alterans knew what ice cream was."

"Some measurements are: inke, inch, but it's not quite the same length; cozarna, yard, though closer to a meter and essential means the length of a leg; millia, mile, about 1.1 miles; gradia, degree... of temperature, which equates to your Kelvin scale."

"In that regard, Gavan's suggestion about measuring heat makes sense."

In reply to Freyda (msg # 935):

     "Environmental controls...wasn't there something like that on one of the first screens?  On, or near, that screen that looked like the power output levels?" Kaspar asks, thinking out loud,

     "So, this is a base on an airless moon, right?  So there should be an air pressure monitor.  If we can find such a monitor for the air pressure, as well as the temperature, our hand-held environmental equipment will tell us what the air pressure is--in both PSI and Millibars.  Then we'd have measurements for both temperature and pressure."

"You have a deal." Lucas replied with a smile and a nod to Hilda. Well, we got a control room of some sort, and now a meeting  room of some sort. I'm gonna guess the next one is an office, kinda of like General Hammonds. What do you think?"

Staring at the next door, as if trying to see through it, Hilda chewed her lip and thought on the options, the places she'd found already. 'Já, that is a good choice.' she began agreeably, 'But are you sure you want to go with that? I have already been looked up here a while – I may already have peeked inside.' she pointed out with a mischievous grin for Lucky, trying to needle him.

Sarah can point to the lower right screen and inform Kaspar that it's the Life Support display and controls, and then to the upper extreme right and point out that's the Base Internal Sensors.

Either one of them should be able to show the information Kaspar mentioned.

Which Sarah duly does... "The lower right takes you to Life Support, the far upper right to the base's internal sensors."

Lucky shook his head slightly before shaking a finger at Hilda, "You'll have to try harder to bait me, Hilda. So what do you think is next door?"

'Hmm.' Hilda began obviously, drawing it out, mostly because they were just wasting time whilst the others fiddled with the control room. 'Over there were rec rooms and training rooms, then a dining room and kitchen. Then a control room, and maybe a briefing room.' she summarised what they'd found so far in an effort to come up with the next thing along that was different from Lucky's. 'You know, this is unfair. I grew up in a wooden hut with a jarl ruling from a big mead-halls... But I will say... stationery room. You know, papers, printers, or whatever they use instead of chisels and runestones.'

Bouncing back and forth between the screens, Sarah is starting to get a better sense the displays. Because the information displayed is more technical than conversational, she isn't able to determine a direct or literal translation of the words, but once the others pointed out the points about the internal conditions, she can get a rough idea of what the indicated temperature, pressure, and atmospheric content is. From there, she can figure out the same for the external conditions. That, in turns, lets her call up the individual henges and get a reading on them.

Clearly, the internal conditions of the base mostly conform to those of the henges. The main difference is the temperature. Another readout she finally realizes is radiation. Only one reading is different from the 'norm'... that's the external conditions. Pressure is zero, temperature is zero, there's no readout for atmospheric content, and the radiation level is rather high.