Cleaning Up After The Ancients - Chapter 33

Chapter 33 - Crossing Off Tasks

“Please be aware that access to that data in partition regulus nine is limited access only by order of the council.” The hologram warned as it stood on the core room's central platform.

“I know that.” Eventus groused as he glared at the thing, a completely meaningless gesture he knew, but it still made him feel better. “You know I know that. And I know you know I’m the current high councilor and can countermand that. Which I have actively done numerous times already the past twenty minutes we have been at this.”

The hologram stared at Eventus.

Eventus stared back at the hologram.

This continued for nearly a minute before he let out an annoyed growl. “Countermand council order and copy partition regulus nine to data crystal.”

“Limited access status of partition lifted.” The hologram responded. “Copying information to the indicated data crystal. Copying complete. Please issue your next request.”

This very much wasn’t the most optimum way to do things, but using a neural interface to do a deep dive into the city’s data substructure when it was still running through a cold boot sequence was completely out of the question given that doing so could very well fry his brain.

“Initiate data crystal disconnect.” He instructed as a card-like crystal popped out of the data reader that had risen up from the floor. “Then open a short range communications channel to orbiting vessel Daedalus using Asgard transmission code four two, source destination, this room.”

“Communications channel established.” The Hologram said.

“Hermiod.” Eventus began as he grabbed the crystal. “I have the–

A flash of white light lit the room before he finished speaking, leaving the Asgard in question standing about a meter away from him.

“Data crystal.” Eventus finished with an amused chuckle as he turned and offered offered the storage device to the Asgard.

“Thank you.” Hermiod said as he walked over and accepted the item, examining it for a moment before squeezing the teardrop shaped control crystal in his other hand and disappearing in another flash of light.

“Close communications channel.” Eventus ordered, more than a little amused at the sheer cheekiness of the Asgard’s prompt retrieval.

“Please be aware that utilization of unknown translocation technology to access a core interface room is not recommended for security reasons.”

Eventus rolled his eyes as he turned back to the hologram. “Tell you what, if you can figure out how to block the translocation without the use of shields or forcefields I promise I'll implement it in the core interface rooms as part of the next security update.”

Not that he expected the virtual intelligence to actually be able to do that given the limits of its programing, but if it was going to keep quoting the obvious at him he was going to be snarky back at it.

“Running comparative analysis of translocator energy signature.” The hologram announced, the response enough to have Eventus shoot the holographic representation an odd look.

“No similarities above sixty percent found in primary database.” It continued. “Expanding search to secondary and tertiary databases.”

“Is this a high councilor thing?” Eventus finally inquired, since the virtual intelligence has used to just ignore his sarcasm. “Because if they limited access to your higher level logic systems like that I'm going to smack Moras doubly hard if I ever see him again.”

“Core simulation runtimes are limited to council level access only due to high level processing requirements.” It answered without skipping a beat, leaving Eventus to move the council introductory primer to the top of his reading list.

“Eighty two point three percent match found in gate ship sensor logs... Sixty seven point nine percent match found in tertiary database McKay's Wraith Files... No technical analysis of 'culling beam’ present… Likelihood of brute force counter development twelve point five percent…”

“Do you wish to proceed, High Councilor Eventus?”

Frowning at the hologram, he considered its words. The Wraith hadn't had culling beams when his people had fought them, so he always had wondered just how they had come about. But he supposed that reverse engineering the technology from Vanir salvage might explain both that, and why they had ready go to jamming fields capable of blocking Asgard beaming technology. 

“No.” He finally told it, the words 'high level processing requirements’ enough to make him cautious given their limited power circumstances. “End session.”

The hologram vanished, leaving Eventus to stare at the now empty air for a moment before he stretched to remove the kink he could feel forming in his lower back.

“That's one thing down.” He muttered to himself as he turned and headed out of the room, the doors dutifully opening at his approach to reveal the thankfully still waiting form of Doctor Beckett.

“Sorry about the wait.” He apologized to the rather anxious seeming man.

“It's all right.” Beckett returned with a wane grin as he motioned to the blond haired soldier standing guard nearby. “Gave me and Lieutenant Crown here some time to catch up.”

“Thanks for saving me.” She put forward in an amused tone. “The Doc keeps trying to drag me back to his office in hopes I'll strip down for him.”

That couldn't be what it sounded like Eventus thought to himself as he glanced between the two with a confused look on his face.

“Aye.” Beckett confirmed, nodding to the woman with complete seriousness. “Yer nearly two weeks overdue for your biannual physical.”

“Come on Doctor Beckett.” Eventus said as he grabbed the man's arm and pulled him along. “You can flirt with the marine later.”

“I’m really not sure he can.” Crown offered in amusement as she fell in step behind them.

Eventus paused in his step to glance over his shoulder at the woman with a questioning look as a put upon frown found its way onto Beckett’s face.

“Sorry Councilor Devera.” Crown apologized, not looking nearly as put out as her words would suggest. “Colonel Caldwell wants me on Beckett duty today in case this experiment he’s volunteering for goes tits up.”

“It would be Councilor Eventus.” He corrected before continuing on to the transport booth. “Devera was my mother. And I have no problem with that, won’t really be much to look at though. Two minutes of me fiddling with settings, thirty seconds of Doctor Beckett sticking his head in the device, and then back to the medical bay for his people to spend the next several days studying him as the information is organized into a usable format by his brain.”

“Which hopefully won’t involve my brain shutting down.” Beckett muttered as the three of them entered the transporter and Eventus opened up the interface and selected the receiving point in the archive building.

“Look on the bright side.” Eventus offered as they disappeared in a flash to reappear in a similar booth inside the somewhat squat domed building. “If that somehow does start to happen you’ll have the knowledge and equipment to fix it yourself.”

It wouldn’t happen of course, but the direct confirmation that he would be able to fix any problems that might occur seemed to at least somewhat calm Beckett’s anxiety.

The inside of the archive building was very ‘classic library’ in design, though the books the shelves had used to contain hadn’t been made out of leather and paper so much as a complex synthetic that simulated the look and feel of those materials while allowing you to upload ‘books’ directly to the pages to give one the feel of reading a physical book while browsing through what in reality was just digital information.

“Feels like the ghost of librarian’s past are gonna come out and scold us for being here during off hours.” Crown muttered, clenching her weapon protectively as she glanced over the empty shelves.

Eventus rolled his eyes as he led the two to one of the learning rooms. “As I told Doctor Weir a few hours ago, Atlantis is hardened against ghosts.”

“Wait.” Beckett said as he jerked to a halt and gave their surroundings a much more cautious look than before. ”Ghosts are bloody real?”

Sighing, Eventus turned to the man. “If by ghosts you mean psionic echoes of the deceased? Then yes. They are real. And very very annoying to get rid of if they stabilize to a point where natural decay of their psionic field no longer occurs. But as I said, Atlantis is hardened against ghosts. And you probably don’t have enough psionically gifted people on Earth to generate more than a single stable entity every century or so.”

With that he continued on, leaving the doctor and lieutenant to exchange a brief glance before hurrying after him.

The learning rooms were generally unimpressive, an empty ten by ten room with cushioned benches lining the walls and a four sided stone like central pillar.

Walking up to the pillar, Eventus waited a moment for the mechanism's internal sensors to register his presence before one of the teaching devices rose through the decorative stonelike surface.

“Should be a couple minutes at most.” He told the two cautiously watching him as he leaned towards the device, it helpfully projecting forward to meet him halfway, and then began adjusting the data set it would provide to the standard twelve year medical course using the twin hand interface controls that rose up similarly.

“Your turn.” He finally said as the device pulled back from his head.

Beckett took a moment to examine him, his fingers twitching in a way that suggested he was holding himself back from pulling out some kind of medical instrument from the pockets of his coat. 

“I hope this bloody works.” He finally muttered as he steeled himself and walked up to the pillar, only to frown when nothing happened.

“I turned off the automatic engagement feature.” Eventus explained, giving the man a small smile. “Figured it would be less anxiety-inducing that way. So when you want it to start just put your hands on the interface controls like I was doing.”

Nodding the man visibly cringed as he reached his hands forward and set them on the controls. The teaching device dutifully extended out in response to engulf his head before a mild glow issued forth from the interior linkage points to show it was actively working.

Half a minute passed before it retracted, at which point Beckett began falling backwards only for Eventus to catch him.

“Congratulations.” He offered with a grin. “You now know Lantean Medicine.”

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Author’s Notes: Poor Beckett, as if he didn’t have enough anxiety issues without finding out ghosts can sometimes be real. Hums ghostbuster tune.