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"Ra? But Ra wasn't buried on Earth, sir." Sam's face betrayed her confusion as she finished reading the journal entry.
The colonel's voice was grim as he responded. "Well, obviously someone thought he was. I assume you notic--"
"The symbol for Abydos right after the mention of Ra's tomb? Yes, sir, did you read the rest of the page?"
Jack looked mildly miffed. "Not yet. You have the journal."
"Oh, yeah, sorry, sir," she smiled as she returned the book to him. "But you probably ought to read the rest of entry."
Ra's tomb. I assume that's what the symbol stands for. While I am somewhat skeptical concerning the veracity of the occupant, the papyrus containing the map alludes to great wealth, unsurpassed treasures, greater than any found to date. The treasures alone make the journey worthwhile. Whoever is entombed there was obviously very wealthy, even by today's standards. If the tale is true. Big if there. The location is nowhere near any known tombs, although I suppose a rational explanation can be found for that.Everything I've seen so far points to the tomb as the resting place for Ra. Although the literal translation is 'healing' not resting, but that doesn't make any sense. Of course, it could be that the people who scribed this history were really referring to a temple to their god, not a tomb. But it mentions his sarcophagus. What else could it be but a tomb?
Daniel's eyes widened with horror as he saw the images playing on every monitor in his prison. His parents were dying on every television set in the room. He was surrounded by the deaths of his parents. This was worse ... much worse than the Gamekeeper's sadistic little game. This was ... had been ... real. His parents were really dying in the film. Screwing his eyes tightly shut, he tried to ignore what was playing silently around him, but the images had been seared into his mind. He simply couldn't stop them from racing around inside his skull.
Stifling the urge to scream, he leaped from the stool and started to pace, hands stuffed deeply into his jeans' pockets, shoulders slumped forward, and head bowed. He simply wouldn't look at the walls. That was it. He wouldn't look. No problem. Right.
It wasn't long before he realized what a dismal failure not looking was. No matter how hard he tried, his eyes were drawn, like obscene little magnets, to the horror playing out on the screen. Well, if he had to look, dammit-to-hell, he'd look at their work, not them. Taking a deep breath, he focused all his energy on the columns surrounding ... them. ... He wouldn't think about them, he wouldn't! ...
Wait a minute. These pictures were taken from a different angle than the one he'd seen back at the SGC. Could he...yes, he could. He could see symbols he'd been unable to see before. Drawn like a moth to a flame, Daniel moved closer to one of the large monitors, his hand reaching out to touch the symbol for Abydos ... for home.
Two pairs of eyes watched as Daniel touched the screen. "You were right."
"Don't sound so surprised."
"I'm impressed, not surprised. I would not have thought he would be so easily distracted."
"Oh, he's not. He's desperate."
"I don't see how you get that. He's studying the symbols."
"Look at his face. How stiff and cold it is. He's forcing himself not to see good old mom and dad."
The other man looked closely at Daniel's face on the view screen for a moment before replying doubtfully, "You could be right."
"I'm always right."
"Ah ha. But wouldn't it be quicker to beat the information out of him, or if you don't like violence, there are drugs..."
The shaggy gray head shook an emphatic negative as cold blue eyes stared at his ... friend. "Violence in this case would prove useless. He was a five year old child when he accompanied his parents. The memories of that event have long been buried behind the deaths of his parents, and time itself. To get what you want, first we have to recover the memories. Then we can extract them at will."
"But drugs--"
"Might damage him mentally as well as physically. Physically ... well, that can be dealt with, but I understood you to say that you needed his mind intact, Roland."
"True. He speaks twenty some-odd languages, did you know that? I've read his papers, the few I could find. Brilliant. Not mainstream by any means, but brilliant none-the-less. But it would also be a shame to damage him physically, however repairable. Did I ever tell you what a beautiful child he was?" Colonel Roland Parker smiled at the memory. "Such an absolutely beautiful child."
Abydos. God, to be back there, safe in... No, that wasn't right. She was gone too. Just like them. He wouldn't look. He wouldn't. Columns. Study the columns. Odd. That symbol next to Abydos looked like ... Ra? Yes, it was definitely Ra. Well, that made sense, Ra, Abydos. The false god had made the desert planet his new home when he'd been expelled from Earth. Daniel frowned as he continued down the line of symbols, suddenly realizing they were the Stargate address for Abydos, just reversed. His eyes widened as a thought rode roughshod over his brain. Was it possible? He recognized almost all the symbols in the pictures back at the SGC, but he hadn't seen them in a row. Could the symbols on the columns be the escape routes of the Goa'ulds who fled Egypt so long ago? If Ra was an average Goa'uld, whatever the hell that meant, would the other refugees still be located on their original planets? The tactical advantages were obvious even to him. Figure out which Goa'uld was where, and go on the offensive.
The ancient images on Abydos told of the uprising by the Tauri slaves. Of the vast treasures abandoned in their masters' haste to save their skins. The ivory statues, the golden necklaces, the jeweled headdresses, the elaborate sarcophagus.... His mind retreated into itself as he leaned against the wall.
"Claire!" The man's voice was barely above a whisper as he pulled his wife into his arms. "The maps were right. It was not a hoax."
The woman smiled skeptically as she stroked the silky blond hair of her little son. "Well, it's something, but I'm not sure it's Ra's tomb."
"Momma?"
"Yes, Daniel?"
"Wasn't Ra a god?" The child turned puzzled blue eyes toward his mother.
"Yes, darling, he was. At least that's what the ancient Egyptians believed."
The little one bit his lower lip in confusion. "Aren't tombs for dead people? How could he be a god if he died?"
A delighted giggle burst forth as his father swung him high into the air. "You're absolutely right, Daniel. Only false gods die."
Ra's tomb. His parents' last expedition had been in search of Ra's tomb. And they'd found it and he'd been with them. He remembered. Dear Lord, he remembered.
"Oh, this looks promising." Parker was watching Daniel's actions intently.
"What?" The older man turned around, his eyes lighting with delight as he saw Daniel's face. "Ah, he's beginning to remember. This is a good thing. A very good thing."