Sub-level 8
Langford Foundation Annex
Bozeman, Montana
February 8th, 1990
After a long drive and a few hours sleep, Colonel Christopher felt that he was ready for whatever the Langford Foundation was going to throw at him.
He was wrong.
When he was shown into the control room, where the new supercomputers resided, he looked through the blast window into the bay beyond. Connected to a few electrical superconductors was a stone-like circular device easily twenty foot across. There were symbols along the inner circumference and it had a blue-green colour to it. He turned to face Captain Sloane and Doctor Cochrane, an unusual scientist with some odd theories.
‘What is this thing?’
‘A Stargate,’ Cochrane answered.
‘A device for creating an artificial wormhole between two points in space. If we can connect, then we go through and find a new world to explore, and maybe an alien race,’ Sloane added.
‘Do we know if there will be a way to return home?’
‘We’ll have to figure out the constellations on the other side and then, yes, we’ll be able to return home.’
‘If you can’t?’
‘Then it’ll be a one-way trip.’
‘I’m not comfortable with that,’ Christopher replied.
‘Neither am I,’ a new voice added.
They all turned as one.
‘General,’ said the colonel stiffly.
‘Doctor Cochrane, do you honestly believe that you can bring the team back?’
‘Yes, General,’ Cochrane replied without hesitation. ‘It may take some time but I can do it.’
‘You will have twenty four hours once on the other side. If you do not make it back, we will bury the gate once again and you will be trapped on the other side.’
Cochrane narrowed his eyes. ‘I can do it.’
Sloane and the colonel shared a look before Langford interjected. ‘I was told I would have full autonomy here, General, by yourself.’
‘The orders come from above my pay-grade, Ms Langford. I am now in administrative and operational command of this facility. You may of course stay on board in an advisory capacity.’
‘How generous of you,’ she replied and turned to the Ambassador. ‘We should stay.’
‘Agreed,’ Skonn replied. ‘It would only be logical.’
‘Is the system ready?’ General Christopher asked.
‘It is,’ Langford gestured around. ‘We should also be able to pinpoint the planetary system the wormhole connects to.’
‘We don’t have starships so what good does that do us, Ms Langford?’ the general asked sourly.
‘Scientific knowledge is never useless,’ she replied equally as sourly. ‘Captain, please begin the dialling sequence.’
‘Programming the sequence into the computer now,’ Sloane said and stood by a workstation where all the technicians were working.
‘You had all better suit up and stand by,’ the general ordered. ‘Standard jumpsuits have been placed in the prep bay for you.’
‘We know,’ Cochrane said marching past the general. ‘We’ve been ready for days.’
‘Chevron one, locked,’ a technician added as the room began to vibrate.
Colonel Christopher glanced through the window on his way to the prep bay and saw that the inner circumference was rotating.
‘Chevron two, locked.’
‘Get going, Shaun. We don’t know how much power this is going to take.’
‘General, we’re going to have to talk about this when I get back.’
‘I look forward to it, Colonel,’ he replied stiffly.
‘Chevron three, locked. MALP is standing by.’
‘Ms Langford, what are they likely to find?’ the general asked.
‘On that, I can’t tell you. There’s nothing on the cover stone or the stargate which might answer that question.’
‘Chevron four, locked.’
‘If the MALP provides telemetry that you have a viable atmosphere, I expect you to go through straight away. We don’t know how much power we’ll need.’
‘General, they have been ready for some time. You don’t need to treat them like children,’ Langford said.
General Christopher tore his gaze away from the stargate. ‘I’m worried about what happens when they go through. No one knows what they will find. Not even your “Ambassador” here. Everything he’s told you could be a lie.’
‘Chevron five, locked.’
‘It isn’t,’ Skonn said. ‘I have told you all the truth. There is no logic in a lie. You will find alien life on the side of the wormhole and they will be courteous to you, as I am. Do not mention my existence for they will surely find some excuse to come and find me.’
‘This is new,’ the general said. ‘Is there something else you should be telling us?’
‘My people are not the same in my time as they are in yours. There have been several fundamental shifts in the culture. The meeting between our two peoples is historically important, since without it, some of the cultural shifts would not occur.’
‘For my people to evolve, they must meet yours.’
‘Chevron six, locked,’ the technician said. ‘You should get ready,’ he added, looking at Colonel Christopher, Captain Sloane and Doctor Cochrane. The three walked away, but the colonel kept an ear open as long as he could.
‘I take it that your people know they are not alone in the galaxy?’
‘By this time they have known that for several centuries.’
‘So there are other races out there?’
‘There are, and not all are as friendly as my people will be. I am quite different to many of my people. You might almost not recognise us as the same.’
‘Because you’re half human?’ the colonel heard Langford ask.
He didn’t hear the answer because the seventh chevron locked into place and the wormhole opened. He was awestruck at the effect. One second he could see through the stargate and the next this water-like effect rippled into existence with a whoosh of energy. He quickly donned his jumpsuit and picked up his utility jacket, containing a radio, an energy bar and a few other useful tools. He saw Sloane and Cochrane do the same but the latter left his P90 where it lay on the bench. Clearly the scholar was not used to guns.
‘Doctor, please pick up the gun. You may need it.’
‘I have never used a gun in my life and I don’t intend to start now.’
‘Pick it up or you stay behind.’
‘Leave him alone, Shaun. I don’t think he’ll need it if we have guns.’
‘It’s standard procedure when entering hostile territory,’ he retorted. ‘Or have you forgotten that while sitting in your lab?’
‘We don’t know what we’ll find and we may just need his help. If he’s not carrying guns and we are, he may be the one to handle the talking.’
‘If we meet anyone, it is unlikely that they’ll understand us,’ Cochrane replied.
‘The MALP reads a viable atmosphere, people,’ the general called out over the public address system. ‘Slightly lower oxygen than you’re used to so try not to exert yourselves too much.’
‘Easy for him to say.’
The colonel clipped his P90 to his jacket and strode toward the bulkhead which slid open at his approach. ‘Let’s go.’
Sloane and Cochrane followed him up the ramp toward the stargate. He turned, saluted his father and strode through. Sloane followed and Cochrane turned to smile at Langford before he too disappeared through the rippling energy.
Christopher felt his entire body writhe as something completely unusual happened to him and for the first time in almost twenty years, he felt fear.
Langford Foundation Annex
Bozeman, Montana
February 8th, 1990
After a long drive and a few hours sleep, Colonel Christopher felt that he was ready for whatever the Langford Foundation was going to throw at him.
He was wrong.
When he was shown into the control room, where the new supercomputers resided, he looked through the blast window into the bay beyond. Connected to a few electrical superconductors was a stone-like circular device easily twenty foot across. There were symbols along the inner circumference and it had a blue-green colour to it. He turned to face Captain Sloane and Doctor Cochrane, an unusual scientist with some odd theories.
‘What is this thing?’
‘A Stargate,’ Cochrane answered.
‘A device for creating an artificial wormhole between two points in space. If we can connect, then we go through and find a new world to explore, and maybe an alien race,’ Sloane added.
‘Do we know if there will be a way to return home?’
‘We’ll have to figure out the constellations on the other side and then, yes, we’ll be able to return home.’
‘If you can’t?’
‘Then it’ll be a one-way trip.’
‘I’m not comfortable with that,’ Christopher replied.
‘Neither am I,’ a new voice added.
They all turned as one.
‘General,’ said the colonel stiffly.
‘Doctor Cochrane, do you honestly believe that you can bring the team back?’
‘Yes, General,’ Cochrane replied without hesitation. ‘It may take some time but I can do it.’
‘You will have twenty four hours once on the other side. If you do not make it back, we will bury the gate once again and you will be trapped on the other side.’
Cochrane narrowed his eyes. ‘I can do it.’
Sloane and the colonel shared a look before Langford interjected. ‘I was told I would have full autonomy here, General, by yourself.’
‘The orders come from above my pay-grade, Ms Langford. I am now in administrative and operational command of this facility. You may of course stay on board in an advisory capacity.’
‘How generous of you,’ she replied and turned to the Ambassador. ‘We should stay.’
‘Agreed,’ Skonn replied. ‘It would only be logical.’
‘Is the system ready?’ General Christopher asked.
‘It is,’ Langford gestured around. ‘We should also be able to pinpoint the planetary system the wormhole connects to.’
‘We don’t have starships so what good does that do us, Ms Langford?’ the general asked sourly.
‘Scientific knowledge is never useless,’ she replied equally as sourly. ‘Captain, please begin the dialling sequence.’
‘Programming the sequence into the computer now,’ Sloane said and stood by a workstation where all the technicians were working.
‘You had all better suit up and stand by,’ the general ordered. ‘Standard jumpsuits have been placed in the prep bay for you.’
‘We know,’ Cochrane said marching past the general. ‘We’ve been ready for days.’
‘Chevron one, locked,’ a technician added as the room began to vibrate.
Colonel Christopher glanced through the window on his way to the prep bay and saw that the inner circumference was rotating.
‘Chevron two, locked.’
‘Get going, Shaun. We don’t know how much power this is going to take.’
‘General, we’re going to have to talk about this when I get back.’
‘I look forward to it, Colonel,’ he replied stiffly.
‘Chevron three, locked. MALP is standing by.’
‘Ms Langford, what are they likely to find?’ the general asked.
‘On that, I can’t tell you. There’s nothing on the cover stone or the stargate which might answer that question.’
‘Chevron four, locked.’
‘If the MALP provides telemetry that you have a viable atmosphere, I expect you to go through straight away. We don’t know how much power we’ll need.’
‘General, they have been ready for some time. You don’t need to treat them like children,’ Langford said.
General Christopher tore his gaze away from the stargate. ‘I’m worried about what happens when they go through. No one knows what they will find. Not even your “Ambassador” here. Everything he’s told you could be a lie.’
‘Chevron five, locked.’
‘It isn’t,’ Skonn said. ‘I have told you all the truth. There is no logic in a lie. You will find alien life on the side of the wormhole and they will be courteous to you, as I am. Do not mention my existence for they will surely find some excuse to come and find me.’
‘This is new,’ the general said. ‘Is there something else you should be telling us?’
‘My people are not the same in my time as they are in yours. There have been several fundamental shifts in the culture. The meeting between our two peoples is historically important, since without it, some of the cultural shifts would not occur.’
‘For my people to evolve, they must meet yours.’
‘Chevron six, locked,’ the technician said. ‘You should get ready,’ he added, looking at Colonel Christopher, Captain Sloane and Doctor Cochrane. The three walked away, but the colonel kept an ear open as long as he could.
‘I take it that your people know they are not alone in the galaxy?’
‘By this time they have known that for several centuries.’
‘So there are other races out there?’
‘There are, and not all are as friendly as my people will be. I am quite different to many of my people. You might almost not recognise us as the same.’
‘Because you’re half human?’ the colonel heard Langford ask.
He didn’t hear the answer because the seventh chevron locked into place and the wormhole opened. He was awestruck at the effect. One second he could see through the stargate and the next this water-like effect rippled into existence with a whoosh of energy. He quickly donned his jumpsuit and picked up his utility jacket, containing a radio, an energy bar and a few other useful tools. He saw Sloane and Cochrane do the same but the latter left his P90 where it lay on the bench. Clearly the scholar was not used to guns.
‘Doctor, please pick up the gun. You may need it.’
‘I have never used a gun in my life and I don’t intend to start now.’
‘Pick it up or you stay behind.’
‘Leave him alone, Shaun. I don’t think he’ll need it if we have guns.’
‘It’s standard procedure when entering hostile territory,’ he retorted. ‘Or have you forgotten that while sitting in your lab?’
‘We don’t know what we’ll find and we may just need his help. If he’s not carrying guns and we are, he may be the one to handle the talking.’
‘If we meet anyone, it is unlikely that they’ll understand us,’ Cochrane replied.
‘The MALP reads a viable atmosphere, people,’ the general called out over the public address system. ‘Slightly lower oxygen than you’re used to so try not to exert yourselves too much.’
‘Easy for him to say.’
The colonel clipped his P90 to his jacket and strode toward the bulkhead which slid open at his approach. ‘Let’s go.’
Sloane and Cochrane followed him up the ramp toward the stargate. He turned, saluted his father and strode through. Sloane followed and Cochrane turned to smile at Langford before he too disappeared through the rippling energy.
Christopher felt his entire body writhe as something completely unusual happened to him and for the first time in almost twenty years, he felt fear.
It'll be interesting seeing how far they get...right now, I'd say they'd be doing well to just get out of their cell...
