STARGATE SG-1 29 Hall of the Two Truths (41 page)

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Authors: Susannah Parker Sinard

BOOK: STARGATE SG-1 29 Hall of the Two Truths

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“You’re right, Jack. You’re absolutely right. They did use us. And no, I would not consider my encounter with that Sha’re to be one of the high points of my life —” Hammond heard his voice catch slightly. “But that doesn’t make me any less sorry that they’re gone. And not because of the technology they had, but because they were on the verge of accomplishing something truly amazing.”

“Oh for crying out loud, you’re not going to tell me that you think they actually ascended.” Jack’s eyebrows creased together with annoyance.

“I honestly don’t know,” Dr. Jackson replied. “But can you tell me, with absolute certainty, that they didn’t?”

Jack said nothing but merely glowered at Daniel. Hammond wondered if he should intervene, but Dr. Jackson continued before he could.

“That place where we ended up — the place every one of our guides kept telling us we had to get to — was the Hall of the Two Truths,” Dr. Jackson spoke hurriedly, as if he were afraid Jack might jump in and say something. “In the Book of the Dead it is also known as the Hall of the Two Maats. Maat was an Egyptian goddess of Truth and Order. In Ancient Egyptian culture, Maat represented the principle of balance and harmony, which is why the feather of Maat was used in the weighing of the heart.”

Hammond could tell Dr. Jackson had already given a great deal of thought to what he was saying. For his part, the colonel continued to look unconvinced, although he was letting Daniel continue.

“To the Ancient Egyptians, the heart was the location of the soul. It was also where they believed all thought and decision making took place. It’s why, of all the internal organs, it, and it alone, was returned to the body before mummification.” Dr. Jackson pushed on, perhaps encouraged by Jack’s lack of rebuttal. “When the dead arrived at the Hall of the Two Truths, the final judgment of whether or not they were truly worthy of eternal life was when their heart was weighed against the feather of Truth, because it was believed that the heart could hide no secrets. That one’s deeds — good or bad — would win out in the end.
Those
are the two Truths, Jack. The truth of one’s words, and the truth of one’s deeds.”

“All of that is
fascinating
, Daniel.” Jack’s tone was still irritable. He cast a sidelong look at Major Carter, which she did not see. “Except for the fact that
we
were the ones up there getting our hearts weighed, not the Djedu.”

“I know, Jack.” Daniel closed his eyes. Either he was searching for patience or the right words. Quite possibly both. “It’s just — The point I’m trying to make is that the Djedu must have had very strong ties to that belief system. And if, in the end, their deeds came into balance with their words, then it’s very possible they were able to find the afterlife they were looking for.”

“You’re saying, what they learned from us changed them enough that they were able to ascend,” clarified Major Carter.

“They did face the certainty of their fate with great courage,” Teal’c observed.

“And NebtHet sacrificed herself so that we could make it back to the gate,” the major added, looking thoughtful.

Jack was shaking his head. “Fine. If you folks want to believe they all drifted off to some higher plane of existence,” he fluttered his fingers in the air like a sideshow magician, “then go right ahead. And maybe they did ascend. You’re right, Daniel. I don’t know.” His voice was calmer now. He glanced at Major Carter again. “NebtHet did seem to be on the right track there, at the end,” he conceded. “But it doesn’t excuse what they did to us. That’s all I’m saying.”

“No. No it doesn’t. It’s just —” Dr. Jackson slumped back in his chair. “Well, it’d be nice to think something good came out of it, in the end. But I suppose that’s just me.”

No one said anything, and for a few awkward moments the only sound in the room was the ticking of the second hand on the wall clock. Hammond wasn’t sure what had just happened, but he sensed there were deeper ramifications to Dr. Jackson’s comments than he was able to grasp just yet.

Finally Jack cleared his throat and turned toward the head of the table.

“Not that we’re not all enjoying this immensely, sir.” Jack’s tone was just on the edge of sarcasm. Hammond could hear the fatigue behind it. “But I’m not sure there’s anything more we can tell you at the moment.”

There was a silent plea implicit in Jack’s words which Hammond understood. They’d had enough. He was inclined to agree.

“I think we can let you all rest for now,” he replied, pushing his notes back into the folder on the table in front of him. “And I’m sure you’ll each provide me with a thorough and complete written report, when the time comes.”

“Absolutely, General.” Jack’s palms smacked the table. “You know me. Thoroughnicity and completeness are my middle name when it comes to reports. Or is it ‘names?’” His brow furrowed in feigned confusion.

“Thank you, sir.” Major Carter made to stand, but Hammond waved her back to her seat.

“I have a feeling Dr. Fraiser would like you back in the infirmary ASAP, Major.”

“I’m fine, sir. Really.”

“Oh, Carter, you’re about as fine as I am. Fraiser’ll hunt us both down if we don’t go back.” Jack pushed himself to his feet. “Besides. I hear they’ve got Jell-O on the menu today.”

Back in his office, Hammond watched his people as they filed out of the briefing room. Major Carter wasn’t the only one who was going to need a little down time. Teal’c had already expressed a desire to visit his son, and by the way Jack was limping, he wouldn’t be going anywhere soon. Well, they’d more than earned it. He wouldn’t deny it was a relief to have them back again, all in one piece — more or less.

The statuette of NebtHet was still on his desk. Hammond picked it up, studying the worn image. Whether the Djedu had succeeded in ascending or not, he supposed they’d never really know. SG-1 hadn’t exactly been forthcoming on what, precisely, NebtHet and the others had learned from studying them, but personally, he couldn’t think of any finer examples of humanity than the four individuals who’d just left the room.

Hammond watched his people disappear down the stairway at the other end of the conference room, talking amongst themselves. He could never condone what the Djedu had done, of course. But if the unintended consequence was that SG-1 had regained some of the confidence and rapport that had been missing these past few months, then perhaps he owed this NebtHet a begrudging nod for succeeding where he had failed.

If for no other reason than that, Hammond hoped Dr. Jackson was right. Maybe, when all was said and done, they’d all found peace in the end.

At the very least, it was nice to think so.

Acknowledgments

FIRST and foremost, I would like to express my deepest and most heartfelt gratitude to Mara Pheonix for suffering through every chapter of this book as it was conceived and written, and for the many (many!) hours of discussion which helped me so much along the way. I could never have accomplished this without her input, encouragement and enduring friendship.

This book would still be languishing on my hard drive were it not for the efforts of Marian Trupiano, whose persistence made this happen, and Diana Dru Botsford, whose insight and guidance helped make it a better story than it otherwise might have been. Of course none of this would have seen the light of day without the support of Sally Malcolm, who took a chance on a new writer and ever so graciously taught her that less is oftentimes more.

My passion for and understanding of the Stargate universe has also been greatly enhanced by innumerable enjoyable conversations with my Gateworld friends: Melissa McDonald, Jane Rawson, Amy Sharpe and Megyn Stacey. And I would especially like to thank Jennifer Fischer, for always making me dig deeper, Mary Boyle, whose own determination and perseverance continue to inspire me, and runway aficionado, Claudia Henry, for being my technical advisor on all things USAF.

Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Wilfred and Doras Parker, for believing this day would come, and most especially my family, Jim, Thomas and Claire, for putting up with — and occasionally indulging — my science fiction obsessions.

Ad astra per aspera.

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Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two