"The entered query is not correct. Please try again."
"And that's all you want to say to me?" I inquired.
"The entered query is not correct. Please try again," Ganos Lal repeated.
"Well, fine," I sighed, stepping off the pedestal and sitting down by the wall. I didn't even bother to notice that the "hologram" hadn't disappeared. "How about I tell you a story instead?"
"Should I activate the mode for recording a new file?" the Ascended one clarified, continuing her strange game.
"As you wish," I shrugged, pulling another piece of plasticine-like hematogen from my backpack. "So. Once upon a time, there were the Ancients. That's what their descendants from Earth called them. In their home galaxy, this race was called the Alterans. In the Milky Way—the Others or the Ancients. In Pegasus—Lanteans. And so, the Lanteans, having tasted misery in the Pegasus galaxy, departed for Earth. Every last one of them. They lived there, evolving their descendants. And then, one of them, named Moros"—the corner of the light-woman's left eye twitched slightly—"came up with the idea that the ancient enemies of this civilization, kinsmen of the Alterans calling themselves the Ori, would decide to kill all the Ancients. The other Ancients, who had already Ascended by that time, didn't believe in his ideas. And so, Moros, also known as Merlin, also known as Myrddin, decided to create a weapon to fight the Ori. And since every last one of the Ori had Ascended, the weapon was dangerous to the Ascended Ancients as well. Therefore, they sent one of their own to watch over Merlin's experiments. To stop him. And when the weapon, which received the name Sangraal, was created, the observer destroyed it. Is that a fairly entertaining story?" I took a larger bite, working my jaws vigorously.
"An interesting story," the Ancient agreed.
"It will become more interesting when I tell you what actually happened to the creator of the weapon," I pointed my fingers at the ceiling, hinting at the Ascended. "I'm sure those guys will be extremely interested to find out exactly how you tricked them. Of course, they won't interfere; that's not in your rules. Но ты уже не сможешь играть в свою игру, прикидываясь созданной тобой же голограммой для обучения детей. And you won't be able to suggest the names of planets at a key point in history, which will affect the search for the weapon against the Ori…"
The "hologram," poorly hiding her interest in what I had told, looked at me openly. It seemed that, as I had hoped, the story had piqued her interest.
Primarily because her plan might be revealed. The Ascended, of course, won't destroy what she has prepared for the future searches of the people from Earth, but there is a nuance—in order for the search to go in the right direction, Ganos Lal herself is needed. Here, on Atlantis. And not in the form of a hologram, but under that very same guise under which she herself is present here.
An Ascended who is passing herself off as a hologram.
"Well, what do you say?" I asked. "Will you deign to enlighten me, or should I start talking about your treachery so that the others will listen?"
Once again, the only response was silence. The lady clearly knows her worth and is weighing the options for the consequences of various actions.
Well, once again, I am convinced of the thought that even in a moment of serious danger, the Ascended will not interfere. Even if the fate of the legacy they adore so much depends on it. Including the people they created on a multitude of planets in various galaxies.
"Something is definitely happening here," I finished my snack and began pacing the room. "Let's reason logically while we still have time. Among the Ascended, there are do-gooders who are ready to break their own rules and directly interfere in a crisis situation to help those fighting for a good cause. As for how good it is, we won't discuss. The main thing is that when it concerns your interests, you find a way to correct events with the help of one person or another. Visions, hints, riddles, puzzles, and so on... All for the sake of achieving your goals. And now, I appear on Atlantis. Let's not insult each other's intelligence and pretend that the 'Stargate' universe includes the version of Earth on which I lived. Consequently, one of yours"—I pointed at the ceiling again—"one of the Ascended, was so horrified by what is happening in your universe that they decided to turn to another universe for help. And they chose not the alternative heroes known for their deeds, but me. A person who, in principle, knows and can do very little in this universe. You gave me a young and strong body, probably even grafted on your ATA gene. And you stuck me not somewhere in the backwoods, but on Atlantis, in the Pegasus galaxy. Why not on Earth, in the Milky Way?"
The "hologram" remained silent.
She stood in her former place, her eyes closed. I suspect she is conducting mental negotiations with her associates on the higher planes of existence to receive either a prohibition or approval for a conversation with me.
"I suspect the problem lies in the fact that the trouble is exactly in the Pegasus galaxy," I continued my brainstorming. "Something happened. Or didn't happen. Because of which one of you panicked and did what they did. A pity for that do-gooder, of course. But he knew what he was getting into. So, let's go by the process of elimination. You aren't bothered by the Wraith and the fact that they hunt humans—otherwise you would have intervened sooner. You aren't bothered by the other problems of this galaxy—for the same reason. That means something extraordinary has happened... Something that has completely destroyed your plans for the future. Correct me if I'm wrong. I suspect that everything happening is by no means accidental. I have a thought that the interferences are part of a plan and…"
"Stop."
From the unexpectedness, I actually froze in place upon hearing the voice of the Ascended Ancient. First, I was glad that she had made contact. And then, I realized: she did it so that I wouldn't voice my theory of the predetermination of all events.
She didn't want me to say that.
Because the other Ascended would hear. And take measures. After all, that was exactly what I was blackmailing her with—revealing to her kinsmen Ganos Lal's secret plan for helping the people from Earth in the war with the ancient Alteran relatives, the Ori. And I was counting on the fact that she would interrupt me for the sake of the others not hearing... Because the other Ascended would counteract.
Is it already time to put on a tinfoil hat and think that the Ascended won't like me very much if they find out what I think about them and their plans? I don't know, I don't know... Но такие тайны обычно уносят с собой в могилу.
"So, have you matured for a candid conversation?" I clarified.
"Within the limits of what is permitted by the rules of Ascension," she said indifferently.
"And is it possible to have a look at the manual so I can properly formulate the questions?" I inquired.
"You will learn all those rules if you ever become an Ascended," she said.
"I could use a spiritual mentor to shorten the path. Can't you give me the address of Oma Desala? She's a specialist in that sort of thing."
Another silence, accompanied by the blinking of virtual eyelids.
Well, naturally.
Ascension is a complex spiritual-mutational process. Both the body and world perception are changed, becoming completely alien to human nature and logic. One can traverse this path independently, or one can—cheat, receiving "brotherly help" from someone who has already Ascended.
In the literal sense—seeing a worthy candidate for Ascension, an Ascended could help them become the same. It seems this doesn't even violate the rules and is widely practiced by individual Ancients.
Oma Desala is exactly among the latter "do-gooders." Although the others don't like her. Because one time, she helped someone who was not at all the right person to almost Ascend.
Not at all a kind and inquisitive investigative mind.
But a parasite taking over the bodies of sentient species, including humans. The Goa'uld are like that. And parasitism in their case isn't even the biggest sin. I would even say—the least of them. Mass murders, genocide, enslavement, the destruction of planets, stars, and so on—here is a more expanded list of why one might dislike these guys.
Oma made a mistake and helped one of them almost become an Ascended. She stopped in time, but the process can no longer be reversed.
"You had questions," she reminded me. "I am ready to hear them."
"But not answer, is that it?" I smiled.
"I have no right to interfere in the life and events of mortals," the Ancient voiced one of the primary rules of the Ascended.
"But a conversation doesn't count," I noted.
"Up to a certain point," she replied after thinking.
Digging through my memories, I suggested:
"Correct me if I'm wrong. One cannot give direct instructions or apply the powers, knowledge, or technologies of the Ascended to help humans? But no one forbids us from discussing general matters, right?"
"Simplified, but correct," she said.
Alright, we'll deal with that later.
"I am not from this universe, right?" In principle, the Voice had spoken about this, but knowing the Ancients, they could have seriously messed up. All the more so because the other Ascended could have thwarted the Voice's plan…
"Yes," she replied.
Not bad. That means I'm doing quite well with logical thinking. Let's continue getting information. All the more since it doesn't particularly affect the situation as a whole. Energy isn't being consumed, which means a catastrophe is not approaching with seven-league strides.
"Who sent me here?" I inquired.
"I am not at liberty to disclose that information," she said.
Interesting. And how exactly can one name affect what might happen? Probably it is someone very, very powerful, authoritative, and well-known. And just their name might set me on a certain path.
A path the Ascended do not desire.
"What am I supposed to do?"
The question point-blank. And I'm sure I won't get an answer.
"That, I also cannot tell you," she admitted.
Nothing else was expected.
"Maybe then, you'll tell me what kind of problem occurred that made it necessary to violate the rules to such an extent?" I inquired. "You could have turned to any of the Earthlings for help. General O'Neill, Samantha Carter, Dr. Jackson, Colonel Sheppard, Dr. McKay, and a good hundred others, more experienced and skillful…"
They could have… if they could have. And what if they couldn't? What if the expedition to Atlantis I was talking about never arrives? And if that's the case, then something happened on Earth because of which the chain of events turned out to be broken?!
An interesting hunch.
Ganos Lal looked at me indifferently. Demonstratively indifferently. But something made it seem to me that she didn't want to play the silent treatment. Although she knows what the consequences would be. "Willing but afraid" in all its glory.
"You already have the answer to that question," she said, carefully choosing her words. "I suggest you proceed from it."
A-ha…
It seems I'm right after all. And wrong at the same time.
A problem exists. One so gargantuan that one of the Ascended decided to to hell with the rules and seek help outside the known "habitats." Went into another universe… Но, почему именно в мою? Where "Stargate" is merely a television and literary universe, not reality. And why did the choice fall on me? I'm not the best connoisseur of this universe, and I don't have a fanatical obsession. I don't know how to read, write, or count in the Ancient language, and I don't understand the technologies or sciences. Just at a basic level.
Or… is it because I agreed without conditions that the Voice couldn't fulfill without violating the rules very severely? Whoever he was, he was clearly playing on the edge of a knife until he "slipped."
The Ancients allowed him to penetrate into another universe, to pull me out of there... my consciousness? Мою душу? In short, he took something that makes me me. The Voice gave me a body better than the one I had at the moment of death. I don't think he did that out of gratitude or because of having free time. During our conversation, he was in a hurry, as if he didn't have all that much time. Probably there is some basis for this.
For example, the Ascended were already moving after him to call him to account for the violation of the rules.
"Do you know why the Voice pulled me here?" I inquired. I doubt Morgana will lie to my face.
The answer to this question will let me find out a lot.
"Yes," she shifted her gaze slightly to the side.
"And you can't tell me about it?"
"Yes."
"Can't, or don't want to?" I blurted out.
Ganos Lal closed her eyes, and her face was distorted for a moment by a grimace of irritation. That happens when a persistent little ant, before the boot descends on it, frays the nerves of the owner of the footwear for a long time.
But no answer followed. And that means she doesn't want to answer. To both questions.
"As you say," I stopped next to my backpack and swung it onto my back. "It was nice talking. Don't think ill of me. When everything here is flooded with water and Atlantis becomes unusable, please don't forget that it is exactly you who is to blame for my departure. Alaverdi!"
A provocateur, of course, is worse than most representatives of sexual deviations, but there are moments when it's simply impossible to do otherwise.
She wouldn't have made contact with me if there were no necessity for it. And that means not only she, but all the Ascended, need my help. I think that after they heard that Ganos Lal has been tricking them for thousands of years, they could "pull" her out of here for a private conversation with "Comrade Major."
"You're leaving?" the surprised voice sounded at my back.
"Yes," I simply replied.
"But… Why?" bewilderment reigned on the face of the Ascended one.
"Because I have legs and I know how to use them," my shrugging forced her to mimic a heavy sigh of irritation. "I asked you for a conversation, I agreed to the fact that I wouldn't hear the most important thing. But you decided that, in principle, I shouldn't hear anything concrete at all. So why should I waste time playing a guessing game with you?"
"Because you asked for it yourself," she said.
"Oh, don't get me worked up, Morgana," I smiled. "The Ancients, and especially the Ascended, are not altruists to respond to requests. Before giving even a hint of an answer, you test a person so that he demonstrates his true self. Well, maybe I failed the test, but thanks to you, I know for sure—you have very big problems. So big that one of your brothers went into another universe and started looking for someone who would decide to get involved in this business. And I wasn't the first one he turned to. But I was the only one who agreed. And that means you have no alternative."
"What makes you think that?" the Ascended one's eyes flashed. "We can replace you at any moment…"
"Well," I spread my hands, "go ahead. Go on, replace me. Or let someone else among the Ascended take responsibility for direct interference in my fate. It seems you are punished for that. And I doubt they simply put you in a corner."
"Impudent man," it was as if she spat out those words.
"I don't like it when people try to pull one over on me," I admitted. "You talk to me as if I were a nobody. Logically, in response, I demonstrate the same to you. And unlike you, I can go to the hangar, take any of the ships, and get the hell out of this city. Remind me, how long does it have left before it sinks? Hours? Days? Is the gate blocked from dialing any other incoming wormholes besides from Earth? Will anyone at all come here to save the city? Will they make it in time or perish together with all your knowledge?"
"You won't receive an answer to a single one of the questions just voiced," Ganos Lal cut me off. "Your self-importance has blinded you."
"Or else," I smiled, "I am taking advantage of the situation and getting what I need. Haven't you thought about that?"
"I don't understand what you want to say."
"What I want to say is that if you had the opportunity to replace me with someone more obedient, you would have done so. If your problem were not so large-scale, then you wouldn't have sent me to Atlantis. In this galaxy, there are quite a few other ruins of your civilization. Any of such planets could have worked. But no, the Voice embodied me in the capital of your fallen state. In a place where there are thousands of laboratories with projects ranging from the most harmless, like communicating with local whales, to amoral ones, like social experiments in controlling human settlements across the galaxy. Or, for example, let's remember the nanovirus that causes fatal hallucinations in everyone who doesn't have the ATA gene? Including the very humans you created. I can list examples for as long as you like. But you've already caught the essence—you're clutching at a straw. And that is quite curious. You needed to drag a person from another universe, even though you could easily have taken any other person in this galaxy, since the Milky Way is inaccessible, graft the ATA gene onto him, teach him how to use your technologies, and send him to perform the set task. So…"
"Enough!" Ganos Lal cut off my monologue in a quiet but commanding tone, poorly restraining her anger. "Get out of here!"
"Gladly!" I promised. "Right now, I'll take Janus's time machine and experiment with it. Most likely not right away, but I'll definitely end up in Atlantis after your departure and live happily ever after for the rest of my days. And there will still be about nine thousand years left until the catastrophe... A good plan, eh, Morgana?"
The figure of the Ascended one lit up as if someone had sharply added a couple of hundred lumens per square meter to her. Looking at her became painful…
"I will not tolerate this!" she cried out, throwing up her hands, in which she clutched something resembling snow-white spheres. "He made a mistake, and I will correct that mistake! Now!"
Honestly, everything inside me clenched. Numb, I watched as the Ascended one, who could essentially destroy a planet with a snap of her fingers, intended to bring her wrath down upon me.
But she didn't have time.
Her figure became blurred as if something invisible but unstoppable had pulled her back and up…
"No-o-o!" Ganos Lal screamed.
Her silhouette blurred and began to multiply. But each copy of it became smaller and smaller than the original…
With a light pop and a flash of light, the "hologram" of Morgana le Fay disappeared from the holographic hall.
Left alone, I felt pangs of conscience. My character is far from perfect, but life has taught me not to let anyone sit on my neck. And especially—not to use me blindly.
And Ganos Lal had intended to do exactly that.
Which is strange. From the series, I remembered her as a fairly peace-loving woman who sympathized with the cause of the Earthlings. She risked and violated the rules of Ascension more than once to help in a difficult moment. Even if she knew for a guarantee that she wouldn't like the consequences.
I was counting on exactly that kind of attitude.
But we clearly couldn't find a common language. With every cell of my body, I felt that it was unpleasant for her to talk to me. As if I were standing before her in the mud and staining the light of the sun with myself.
Of course, it's possible that I'm only exaggerating, but…
Fine, it was worth a try to get answers. It didn't work.
That means there isn't much of a choice—it's time to leave the city before…
The podium over which Ganos Lal had just disappeared suddenly lit up. In the center of the room, a shapeless snow-white something appeared, very much like the Voice.
And just as I was glad that an Ancient familiar to me had arrived, the "cloud" took on the already familiar outlines of a hologram.
"I offer apologies for the actions of my compatriot," said… Melia, with a slight smile only on her lips. "We didn't start off right, Mikhail. I suppose there's no need for introductions?"
I suppose… Something extraordinary is happening here.
Taking a deep breath, I turned my head toward the nearby snow-white figure of the Ascended one.
"Tell me this is a joke."
"Unfortunately," sorrow appeared on Melia's face. "It is not so. The very threat to the existence of all living things... That is no reason for jokes."
I can't but agree.
What the Ancient told me… Made my brain boil.
"That doesn't explain why your Hippocrates called me from another universe," I muttered.
"Hippaforalkus," Melia corrected me. An interesting woman. Calm, kind, non-confrontational. I would have classified her as a dyed-in-the-wool phlegmatic if it weren't for the emotions appearing on her face. To say they were fake—the words wouldn't come to my tongue. "His name is Hippaforalkus. He was a general of our army during the war with the Wraith…"