Chapter 134

Athos

Within the city of Emege, nonstop changes had occurred in the previous six weeks. What had once been a containment chamber of Ancient design, had undergone extreme modification. Janus's ascended ability to create functioning material objects and matter at will had greatly accelerated the project. Ultra durable nanotube based power conduits now ran throughout the chamber building, branching off towards the stargate far beyond the abandoned city. Within the chamber resided a four spiked vacuum exciter, mounted atop perturbation synchronizer. On the walls of the chamber could be seen the quantum harmonic oscillators that would provide assist in containing any experienced particle displacement, and channeling these particle/antiparticle pairs into the protective shielding itself.

The chamber control room was illuminated with a faint glow from the myriad of control panels, and display screens. Janus and Eli, over the preceding three days, had run countless simulations of reactor startup. Each and every time, these simulations showed the system was prepared for its initial ignition. In anticipation of startup, the ignition systems were powered up and awaiting activation. As a safety precaution, Lieutenant Scott's team was evacuated back to Borealis for the duration of the systems test.

Putting away his Ipod, Eli took a deep breath to calm his nerves. Despite the assurances of pending success from his partner Janus, Eli's mind kept returning to the mission report he had read regarding McKay's attempt with Project Arcturus on Doranda. Everything was much simpler when life and limb were not on the line, as in a video game the young man thought. The knowledge that he could very possibly be about to change the world was all that managed to calm him down. While Eli had his brief internal crisis, Janus stood across the room studying the young man. With a wistful smile, the ascended being thought back to his early years as a scientist and the feelings of uncertainty.

Ten thousand years, Janus had sat on the Lantean Council and voted for testing of Arcturus under field conditions. At the time it had seemed like the logical decision to protect the Dorandan people. Just how wrong they had all been came as a traumatic shock. The failure of Arcturus served to spur Janus towards development of the Aterro device, which had also been a failure in its own right. So much had changed since then. From the emotionally devastating evacuation of Atlantis flashing forward to current events, Janus felt like a phoenix rising from the ashes to reclaim a galaxy once called home.

"Eli, its time" prompted Janus.

"If you say so, but I've got a queasy stomach about this. Blowing up a solar system won't earn me many cool points with the SGC" m.o.a.ned Eli.

"Have no fear, this will work. I've spent thousands of years perfecting this design, and with your assistance it's now a workable prototype. Sometimes, one must believe to accomplish great things" Janus said in affirmation.

"I'm ready when you are boss man" replied Eli.

"Then let us begin. Powering up harmonic oscillators and directional couplers" announced Janus.

"Collectors coming on line now" replied Eli.

Within the containment chamber an intense flash of golden hued light appeared. As the flash morphed into an orb encompassing the vacuum exciter, vibrations translated throughout the city. As vacuum energy built, vacuum fluctuations and perturbation began to make their presence known. Power output surged spontaneous symmetry breaking was noted. As energy wave flux built, the dynamic wave couplers engaged, providing order to the chaotic particle/antiparticle pairs that were appearing and destroying themselves within the chamber.

"Shield strength is building" said Eli.

"Feynman predictions are constant. I'm increasing power" replied Janus.

The protective shield around the vacuum exciter flashed much like a strobe light. The writhing spherical forms shape morphed incessantly. With each strobe of light, the protective shield grew stronger. As more and more vacuum energy was withdrawn from the area within the chamber, ever increasing numbers of particle/antiparticle pairs were created and annihilated. The toxic environment surrounded by this field crackled with harnessed power.

"I'm detecting nonlinear effects and birefringence Eli. Power draw is approaching fifty percent of predicted" stated Janus jubilantly.

"Vacuum properties are analogous to the properties of the harmonic oscillator ground state. Generated power flow is beginning to level out" replied Eli.

"The automatic gate dialing protocol is engaging" announced Janus.

At that moment a subroutine initiated. This specific subroutine was directly tied to the newly integrated DHD. With the original Project Arcturus, a Dorandan energy weapon acted as the release valve to staunch the flow of unchecked power buildup. Aware of the sheer scope of power that would be generated; a program had been written to dial a distant stargate along Destiny's path. The line of thinking being that a wormhole created to cover such a vast distance would easily consume a large percentage of available power.

As the Pegasus model gate dialed, incredible amounts of power channeled through the recently added power conduit towards the ancient device. The naquadah composition of the gate began to absorb the energy channeled into it. Repeating an act that had before led to the destruction of naqaudria cored planets, the wormhole formed leading to the far corner of the universe.

"We have a stable wormhole" exclaimed Eli.

"You've done it, we've done it really, but as far as your people need be concerned you did it Eli. Once we present this to your government, we can get down to some very exciting work" said Janus with a smile.

"I'm looking at the energy output and this is incredible! Thirteen hundred and seventy three zettajoules! Annual global energy consumption on Earth is only half a zettajoules" proclaimed an astonished Eli.

After that statement, Eli's mind began to drift. What were the true ramifications of this project? Unlimited clean energy on a planetary scale, stronger shields and weapons, faster hyper drives; the possibilities were endless. Many discoveries throughout the life of the program had yielded advancements for mankind, but this one was possibly the largest game changer of them all.

Doolittle Hall, United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado

A steady progression of the worlds leading scientists and researchers arrived at the hall normally reserved for induction briefings for new cadets of the US Air Force Academy. Faces such as Neil deGrasse Tyson, were easily recognizable to any who regularly watched a science program on the Discovery Channel. Others, such as leading materials science researchers and pharmacologists, were less recognizable as they signed the overly intimidating nondisclosure agreement. Without considerable effort from the US State Department, this conference might never have been possible.

At the President's request, Doctor Rodney McKay returned to the Milky Way to act as the presenting host of the function. Having no published a scientific paper in more than a decade; Rodney intended to take smug satisfaction from this gathering. Long time rivalries from Doctoral programs would be silenced once and for all, of that Rodney was certain.

Walking to the podium on stage, Rodney felt a twinge of nervousness grip his stomach in its icy clutches. Only the knowledge that he was about to deliver a crippling blow to the ego's of several of his detractors in the crowd carried him through the momentary crisis. Looking out into the crowd, he locked eyes with his long time rival in the front row. Malcolm Tooney was the one guest the chief scientist of the Borealis expedition had insisted upon. Stepping to the lectern, he cleared his throat before beginning.

"I want to thank you all for coming. Looking out over the crowd, I see many faces from the past. When we set out to conquer the world with our shiny new doctorates, many of us were in the mad dash to publish paper after paper. A number of you have maintained that trend over the years. Sadly, not all of us have been so fortunate. While I haven't published a paper under my own name in a number of years that is not to say I haven't published. This conference should clear that up nicely. I'm going to ask that you hold all questions until after the presentation. Without further adieu, let's just jump right into the thick of it, shall we? We are not alone in the universe" Rodney began boldly.

Uttering his last sentence, a hush fell over the crowd. Several stared at him with a look of disbelief, others with a look of amus.e.m.e.nt, and several nodded their head. Sensing that this could very well be his make it or break it moment, Rodney charged ahead. Armed with a very well laid out power point presentation, along with digital photos of objects he was discussing, Rodney gave the most thorough briefing regarding science and technology, heavily classified by the SGC, to anyone outside of the program in its history. For the next three hours, everything from Zero Point Modules to hyper drives was covered. No stone was left unturned. Looking out over the crowd, Rodney knew an unpleasant question and answer session awaited him. Stealing himself for the fury sure to ensue, he took a deep breath.

"I'm going to open up the floor for questions" said McKay with a smug grin.

Several raised hands went up in seconds. Trying to give the appearance of selecting at random, Rodney looked around for ten seconds before selecting the one he was most interested in. Pointing a finger at the man in the front row, he motioned for the man to speak.

"Doctor McKay, your lecture was interesting to say the least. My question isn't so much focused on the topic as it is around events surrounding the topic. Did you cook all this up to explain away just why it is you haven't published in a decade? Are we really to believe that instead of becoming a recluse you've been exploring different galaxies" asked Malcolm Tunney.

"That's rich coming from the guy who stole my Time Space Bridge paper and claimed it as his own" snorted McKay.

"That isn't an answer to the question posed" retorted Tunney.

"And you neatly avoided the matter of my paper you stole. Next question! Tyson, go ahead" countered Rodney in a haughty tone.

"While I have several questions I would love the answer to, I'm actually interested in your answer to the question Doctor Tunney posed to you" said DeGrasse Tyson with a smile.

"This is ridiculous" protested McKay.

"Is that your final answer" asked Tyson.

"Tyson, your claim to fame is reclassifying Pluto from a planet to a Plutoid. Not to rain on your parade but you downgraded our shipyard from a planet to a rock. I won't even bother to dignify that" added McKay.

"Is anyone we all know willing to corroborate everything you've said here" demanded Tunney.

"I'll gladly do just that" rang out a voice from the rear of the hall.

Eager to see who was willing to commit career suicide in defense of McKay, the crowd quickly turned in their seats. Gasps could be heard from the rear of the hall, but whoever had offered to back up the story was still out of the line of sight to those in the front row.

"And who sir might you be" demanded Tunney with sarcasm dripping from his voice.

"Some call me Henry, but you can call me The President of the United States" replied Hayes while trying to retain his widening smile.

Jaws dropped around Doolittle Hall. While politicians were not known to be the most honest bunch, the odds of the sitting President cosigning on such a tale if fabricated were slim to none. Taking to the stage, and taking the Podium as McKay surrendered it to him, Hayes began to speak to the crowd.

"Folks, I know it's crazy, and I thought the very same thing as you when I was first told. Honestly, I thought it was a practical joke since I was told on my first day in the White House. It's no joke, and that's the honest truth. Welcome to the new reality" said Hayes.