Even if I had offered to throw open the doors leading to the Council Chamber, it would hardly have reduced the tension reigning here.
"Have you lost your mind?" Panic was written all over Chaya's face.
"Cooperating with the Wraith," Teyla looked discouraged. "On Athos, they kill for such a thing. Accusing someone of it is the gravest of insults!"
It sounded a lot like: "In our neighborhood, snowflake, you'd get shivved for less!"
"As on most planets in the galaxy," Kiryk supported.
"I don't particularly like it either," Alvar admitted. "The Wraith cannot be trusted."
"Moreover, you offered to feed him our Genii prisoners," Chaya shook her head. "It's immoral!"
"If the Genii find out about this, there will be war," Teyla warned. "And they have atomic bombs!"
"Has everyone had their say?" I inquired. Seeing that no one wished to add a remark, I continued: "I am well aware that the Wraith cannot be trusted. That guy," I gestured toward the Atlantis brig, "may be trying to demonstrate a readiness to cooperate, but right now he's devising a plan to hoodwink us."
"Hood... what is that word even?" Alvar grimaced.
"It means 'to deceive,'" I explained.
"Then why not just say so?" the Ermen man asked in surprise.
"Leave the linguistics alone," Chaya sighed. "You promised him so much that we'll be working in the interests of the Wraith for ten years. For what!?"
"Do you really believe he'll want to cooperate?" I smirked. "Yes, at first he'll answer our questions—but only until he figures out how to escape and reach his own kind."
"And in the process, he'll seize knowledge about us," Kiryk added. "About our defenses, numbers, capabilities."
"That would be enough for the Wraith to destroy us," Teyla said.
"That is exactly why we installed hidden sensors in his cell," I explained. "While he's in there, we are studying him. His abilities, behavior, analyzing how he reacts to various proposals. I think if you watch the recording of our conversation, you'll see that none of them—not the promises of power, nor the help, nor anything of the sort—really interest him."
"Because the other Wraith would kill him for cooperating with us against them," Teyla said.
"Exactly," I nodded. "So his only chance for survival is to give up only the minimum that won't cause great harm to Wraith interests. But he won't be able to refuse quite specific actions."
"You're talking about reviving the crew of the *Aurora*," Chaya realized. "Restoring bodies after stasis."
"Exactly that," I nodded in agreement. "In fact, everything we're interested in—their physiology, biochemistry, mental capabilities, hierarchy, and much more—we'll get from him without his knowledge..."
"But you removed the scanners from his cell," Kiryk reminded me.
"That was a sham," Chaya admitted. "All the real sensors are built into the walls and are invisible to him."
"I suspect he assumes they exist," Kiryk suggested.
"I don't care what he assumes," I cut in. "I believe the time for questions was earlier, wasn't it? In that case, listen to me first, and then ask your questions. Agreed?"
The gathered group demonstrated their disagreement with the plan in their every look, yet no one cut in with their particularly valuable thoughts.
"As I said, there is no hope for this Wraith's prudence, nor for cooperation with any others; it was merely bait to demonstrate a readiness to trust on our part," I explained. "While we need him, he must believe that we intend to turn him into an ally. I deliberately put him in a framework where long-term cooperation with us would be disadvantageous to him. To him, we are too weak at the moment, and cooperating with us makes no sense. He will try to rid himself of us with maximum efficiency for himself anyway, so it's better to know that in advance and prepare. While he's in the cell, he's a source of information. And yes, with his help, I intend to revive the crew of the *Aurora*. Those are all the plans I have for this Wraith. I have no plans to destroy some Wraith just to exalt another. But I need the knowledge, and I need the Ancients he can bring back to life. After that, you can take him apart for tests or samples for all I care. But only after he's done his job."
"But you suggest that we *could* cooperate with the Wraith," Chaya noted.
"I'm not against pitting the Wraith against each other and finishing off the winner when they're weakened. This guy can help. As can any other Wraith, it doesn't matter," I explained. "But as long as there are only half a dozen of us, including a child, and only one engineer capable of handling Lantean technology—we are weak. And the weak are beaten by everyone who is stronger."
"Do you believe that restoring the viability of the *Aurora*'s crew will make us stronger?" Chaya specified. "Specifically, restoring them through the Wraith's gift-feeding method?"
"Are there other options?" I inquired.
But, as expected, I received no answer.
"To give life to someone, a Wraith must take it from someone else," Teyla observed.
"If Koschei is to be believed..."
The group looked at me in surprise.
"I can't very well call our prisoner 'hey, you, green-face!'" I explained. "He didn't give his name, so I had to invent one for him. He doesn't object."
"I bet," Alvar huffed.
"One way or another, for now he is our source of information," I said. "And according to him, to restore one Lantean, he will need to feed on several humans."
"He is misleading us," Teyla stated.
"Agreed," Kiryk spoke up. "We know nothing about whether that's true or not. What if he just wants more strength to escape?"
"And why are we scanning him?" I asked. "Hello, guys! He's in a cell; we'll deliver the food to the cell as well. Sensors will record how much his condition changes after feeding. We'll go by that data."
"I hadn't thought of that," Chaya admitted. "But yes, it could work. It's possible he isn't even lying. The Ancients—both the Lanteans and the younger races—are more physiologically advanced than ordinary humans. Longer lifespans, reinforced skeletons, more developed brains..."
"Sounded like an insult," Kiryk grumbled.
"We can't bring them back to life with our technology," I reminded them. "But the Wraith can help. One specific Wraith. In the shortest term, we can bring back dozens, if not hundreds, of Ancients. People who know no less about Lantean technology than Chaya. People capable of repairing the city, helping us secure ourselves and our allies. That is how we become stronger."
"And become a greater threat to the Wraith," Alvar noted. "And then they certainly won't ignore us."
It's hard to argue with the logic.
The sights of ruined Ermen were still fresh in memory.
"We'll solve problems as they come," I said. "You've heard the general plan. For now, we'll stick to it. Questions?"
"None," Jensen answered for everyone. "But you must realize that plans are only good until their implementation begins. After that... complete anarchy and chaos."
"The alternative is to sit and silently watch as the city slowly falls apart and we grow old and die," I countered. "I have a different vision of my future. Does anyone else have such plans for old age?"
The silence suggested they didn't.
"In that case, the meeting is adjourned," I summarized. "Back to work. Teyla, I believe you said the Athosians needed help in the camp? I think Alvar and Kiryk won't refuse. While they're at it, they can show the local militia a few new tricks for fighting the Wraith."
* * *
A couple of hours later, spent alone in the mess hall, I found what I was looking for. Or rather, her.
Wrapped in a warm blanket, an Ancient laptop on her lap, the girl sat on a small sofa with her legs tucked under her. This piece of furniture was located on an observation balcony adjacent to the control center. And from here, a breathtaking view of the city at night opened up.
Night, because light didn't really penetrate through the thickness of the water. Though, if you ignored the multi-ton layer of ocean overhead and the city lighting reflecting off the shield's surface, it really could seem like night outside. And like we were on the surface.
Atlantis at night. Frame from the series, when the city was already on the ocean surface.
"I thought you never left your laboratory," I said to Chaya. The girl was staring thoughtfully into the distance, but I was sure she was little interested in the architecture and the whimsically arranged lighting in the uninhabited parts of the city.
"I've done everything I could to turn off unnecessary power consumption in Atlantis," the Proculus woman said without taking her eyes away. "But thousands of compartments are still drawing battery power..."
"I thought we agreed to call it a ZPM," I settled beside her, shivering from the cold. Inside the city, the life support system, of course, maintained a comfortable temperature, humidity, and air circulation. But outside... even if there was no wind and the seasons didn't change, the fact remained—the icy temperature at the bottom of the ocean took its toll.
"Does it make a difference?" the girl asked. "I think once we find the *Aurora*'s crew and bring them back to life, it won't be me you'll have to negotiate with, but the Lanteans."
"Are you sure the crew consisted of them and not the younger races?" I specified.
"There is very little in the database regarding starship crews during the war," Chaya said. "Only the initial composition. The longer the war lasted, the more fragmentary the records became. The most typical phrase about a crew is something like: 'Before departure, a replenishment of seventy people lost during the last battle was carried out.' No specifics, no names... But by the end of the war, the Lanteans had already lost almost all their allies among the younger races. So it is most likely they who are in stasis."
"We'll see," I said conciliatorily. "And yes, if it interests you, I'm also afraid we might have to stand aside when the Lanteans arrive. I suspect the Ascended won't mind talking to their friends and explaining that you and I don't have much influence over people here."
"I don't," the girl corrected. "You, though you are a major thorn in their side, still find it hard not to take your genetics into account. You are a Lantean—their flesh, blood, and mental development, respectively. General Hippaphoralkus was a smart man. He probably foresaw something like this, which is why he gave you such a body."
"If he were foresighted, he would have sent me here earlier, so city failures wouldn't force me to swim and drown, and you to leave the Ascended," I noted.
"It's not his fault the city started sinking," Chaya sighed, showing me some diagrams on a small monitor. "It's yours. See these charts?"
"Yes. And no, don't ask me if I understand them. I'm likely the most useless Lantean in the galaxy."
The girl smirked, then looked somewhere upward.
"I've known even more useless ones," she said. "But even they wouldn't have started opening the gate through the city systems, knowing the energy shortage."
"I'm sorry?"
"When you went to Sudaria, you dialed the address using the city's dialing device," Chaya said. "That activated a number of additional systems."
"And I was praised for turning on few systems while reaching the control center," I lamented. "Did one dial really drain that much energy?"
I recalled the Earth expedition, upon arriving at the city, turning on everything they possibly could... and they survived. Well, the second time.
"Do you want an honest answer or one close to the truth?" Chaya inquired.
"Of all people, I didn't expect such options from you," I admitted. "Give it to me straight. Now and always."
I said the last just in case she had forgotten—we'd already had such a talk.
"I checked the city computer logs," Chaya said. "All three ZPMs were connected in parallel to each other."
"Which means we are in the time period when the first version of the expedition should have arrived, the city sank, time travel occurred, and so on," I concluded. "Tell me something I don't know."
"With a parallel connection, all three ZPMs consumed more energy than with a series connection," the girl said. "As a result, you had less energy in reserve to begin with."
"That's not news either."
"Furthermore, General Hippaphoralkus used city energy to create a body for you."
"And... was the consumption large?" I hadn't really thought about that.
"Large enough to take a lion's share of the remaining energy," Chaya explained. "That's why, despite your conservation, the shield started shrinking and the city started sinking."
"So, creating my body cost more energy than an entire team of researchers from Earth spent turning on everything in sight and dialing addresses left and right?"
When the team from Earth arrived at Atlantis the second time (after the time travel), they went to Athos. There, some of the Earthlings were captured by the Wraith and taken through the gate. The Earthlings remembered the symbols on the dialing device, but not the order of their activation. So they had to use a trial-and-error method to find the right combination that would lead to the Wraith planet. One of seven hundred and twenty, I think.
I suspect they opened the gate several times, so...
"Exactly so," Chaya said. "Moreover, you didn't turn off the device, and it consumed energy. Like everything else you didn't think to disconnect before your departure. So they drained the ZPMs until the shields began to shrink to the central spire, and then even less."
"So I'm to blame for the city sinking?"
"As you can see. But if you had raised the city to the surface, giving an impulse with the engines, you would have had a reserve for the trip to Sudaria—I specifically did the calculations."
"I don't recall any hints on the control panel, like 'press here and the city will surface.'"
"But they were there," Chaya sighed. "Apparently, the general managed to rearrange some of the crystals on the main consoles. You only needed to press a couple of keys... they were blinking, by the way."
"That's awkward," I admitted. "I bet the Ascended were facepalming themselves at that moment."
"Anything is possible," Chaya shrugged. "There is only one truth—the Universe is infinite."
Something familiar scratched in my head.
"A proverb?"
"An old scientific axiom that became an Ancient proverb," Chaya said. "No matter how much we try, because of its expansion, we can never reach its edge. It's the same with us—no matter how much we try, we can't have everything. I've already checked seventy addresses of Lantean outposts throughout the galaxy—either the end destinations are destroyed, or there is nothing left there."
"Worried that we won't be the first to collect a large number of Ancient artifacts?" I smirked.
" I'm afraid that by the time the Lanteans kick us out of Atlantis, the only refuge we'll be able to find will be on New Athos or Ermen," Chaya sighed.
"Aren't you being a bit too pessimistic, my friend?" I asked. "I look at you and I see—the closer we get to the appearance of new Ancients in our city, the less joy you have left."
"I've already said what I fear."
"I don't think that after ten thousand years of freezing, the Ancients will be so stupid as to show us the door in gratitude for their rescue," I admitted.
"Is that all you use to comfort yourself?"
"And I have Lantean genetics," I reminded her. "And surely there are their tricks like healing with hands, telepathy, telekinesis, and other phantasmagoria."
"No, otherwise they would have manifested themselves already," Chaya said.
"What makes you say that?"
"Because I know a bit about Ascension. The powers you speak of manifest when the body is in a state close to Ascension," Chaya explained. "And you aren't as close to it as you might hope."
"Well, then," I sighed heavily. "It turns out I won't have supernatural powers, won't be the Sorcerer Supreme of Earth, and all that."
"It's not magic," Chaya continued to stare at one point. "Just the evolution of the brain and body, allowing control of... Oh," the girl caught herself, looked at my smiling face, and gave a timid smile too. "That was a joke. Sorry, I didn't get it right away."
"I'm used to my jokes not being in high demand among those around me."
"We represent five levels of human development," Chaya said, resting her head on my shoulder. "No wonder it's hard for us to find common ground."
She's right, of course. She, I, Kiryk, Teyla, and Alvar all have completely different cultures. And while in the Milky Way you can find something in common with Earth culture on different planets—since most people were settled throughout the galaxy from Earth, after all—Pegasus... here there's more of a cultural abyss between us all than unity on the grounds of common origin. In this reality, the Ancients created humanity in all the galaxies it inhabits... Yeah, quite the thing...
"You know," I decided to support the girl, who had fallen into a strange despondency, "it's not even certain we'll manage to bring them back to life. When I turned on the ZPM, the *Aurora* sent a signal. The Wraith could have picked it up..."
"I've already said—it's unlikely," Chaya repeated. "Wraith activity in the galaxy is minimal. Moreover, I've retuned the long-range scanners and highlighted that region of the galaxy. There are no Wraith ships in the vicinity of the *Aurora*."
Wow... it seems the appearance of the Lanteans bothered the girl far more than I realized. I wonder what else she's been doing in secret?
"Besides, we don't have a ship to get there and, even if we did, we don't have parts to fix it. I told you about all the Ancient battleships in the galaxy. They're all damaged."
"I've looked through the data from the Atlantis database on Lantea-2," Chaya said, pressing against me so much she was practically lying on my chest. What's gotten into her!? What's actually going on with her!? "And I've also taken readings from your Jumper. There are minerals on the planet that we could use to power the workshops. Silicon, for example. We could make a large stock of simple crystals from it. There's a diamond mine on Ermen, so we can find higher-quality raw materials too. With metals... there are problems, but not critical ones. If there was time and the will to mine them... we could produce some spare parts..."
And she's only saying this now!? The woman has really gotten down in the dumps if she didn't tell such news immediately. It seems she's so worried about her place after the Lanteans return that she decided to be frank only on the threshold of complete despair.
And what difference does it make to her if we're kicked out? They won't be able to do that right away, as we'll be reviving them one by one. And there's somewhere to go—Athos is already abandoned, and there's Ancient technology there. We'll make it!
The more I listen to her, the more I suspect Chaya is worried about far more than just the Lanteans' return per se. Maybe she thinks I'll forget about her once I have "new friends"? Nonsense.
Which is what I told the girl.
"Thank you," she said. "It's always nice to be needed by someone as a technical specialist..."
She said it with a certain pain. It really smack of a soulful trauma. What happened to you, girl, to make you so sad?
"After all," I stroked her head. "You said yourself—you searched seventy outpost planets. And there's no interstellar ship in a hangar anywhere. Did you search the dwarf stars too?"
The fact is, one Ancient ship was left abandoned on the volcanic planet Taranis in an old outpost powered, like on Athos, by the geothermal energy of a supervolcano.
A second hung abandoned in the orbit of a dwarf star. It was found by an interesting race... A third ship was in flight at near-light speed far outside the Pegasus galaxies. But those are details.
"I found several hundred dwarf stars," Chaya said in the same colorless, sad tone. "I started a parallel search of the Ancient ship task list near them. No matches yet. And in systems with dwarf stars, you can hardly find a gate to fly to the star's orbit in a Jumper..."
"Well, see? That means we have no ships. And the Lanteans' return is postponed. We searched but didn't find..."
"That's not what I said," Chaya said after a second's silence.
"I'm sorry?"
"I searched the dwarf stars. I searched among the outposts with geothermal reactors and just among the outposts," the Proculus woman listed. "But, if you had told me there was a ship repair hangar there..."
Everything inside tightened into a hard knot.
"Are you saying...?"
"Yes, Misha," the girl stood up and looked at me with a sad gaze.
"Most likely I've found Taranis. And the battleship *Hippaphoralkus*..."