Heart's Desire Read Online Free PDF Page B

come represent us. After we’ve spent the last few days being really firm about the fact that we can’t make any promises without checking with our superiors, we can’t change our minds now and tell them that we’re political leaders.”
    â€œExactly what are you suggesting, Dr. Jackson? I can’t very well get the President of the United States down here to make a deal for some clay tablets, no matter how interesting they are.”
    â€œWell, as far as I can tell no one’s actually mentioned to them that we have superiors other than you. I know it’s not exactly our standard operating procedure, but if you came out here yourself to sign the trade agreement, I think they’d accept you as our head of state.”
    â€œAs far as that goes, there’s no reason it has to be me,” Hammond pointed out. “I take it you haven’t provided them with names and descriptions of our political leaders.”
    â€œNo,” Daniel said. “And of course that’s a possibility. I’m just concerned that if we deceive them and they find out about it, as unlikely as I admit that probably is…”
    â€œThat’s all right,” Hammond said. “I don’t suppose it’ll hurt me to get out of the office for a change.”
    It wasn’t only that, although he had to admit that on a lot of days it was frustrating to sit in front of a fantastic gateway to other worlds and watch other people walk through it. There were enough situations in which they had no choice but to deceive the people they met on other worlds about who they were and what their world was really like. He didn’t like the idea of lying this time just to save himself the inconvenience of taking a walk.
    Â  “Great,” Daniel said. “We can go over the plans for the ceremonial signing when you get here. These things are traditionally public events here even when they’re dealing with people they’ve traded with in the past, so given that we’re more of an unknown quantity, I’m expecting this to draw quite a crowd.”
    Hammond frowned. “Are we sure that’s entirely wise, considering that we’re signing this agreement on a planet controlled by the Goa’uld?”
    â€œYeah, we asked them about that,” Daniel said. “They said that their goddess never actually pays attention to who they trade with. Apparently she hardly ever shows up, and when she does, she usually spends the whole time visiting her temples and having everybody tell her how wonderful she is. Then they give her a bunch of tribute gifts and she leaves again. It’s not a bad arrangement for them, except for the fact that the tribute is draining their economy and preventing them from having any kind of reliable agricultural surplus.”
    â€œWell, it’s their funeral,” Hammond said. “I just hope we don’t end up causing more trouble than this stuff we’re selling them is worth.”
    â€œSo do I,” Daniel said. He looked like he was struggling with his conscience, and also like it wasn’t winning. “I really want to find out what’s on those tablets, though,” he said. “From the two I’ve been able to look at so far, I think these are copies of much older original documents or inscriptions that may have already been here long before the Goa’uld ever brought humans to this planet. I’m hoping we may find an account of how the Stargates were originally installed, or find out why the Ancients were interested in this planet to begin with, or… who knows.”
    â€œAll right, you don’t have to convince me,” Hammond said. “I’ll come out there, and we can get this trade agreement signed so you can pack up your tablets.”
    â€œActually, I was just planning to videotape them,” Daniel said. “I’m not sure how we’d move some of them if we tried; the biggest ones