SG1-17 Sunrise Read Online Free PDF Page A

That question led to answers he couldn’t begin to deal with, and to rooms that were best left locked.
    “Ah…Jack?” Daniel was watching him with a curious expression and Jack nodded for him to carry on, irritated at his tangential thoughts. It wasn’t like him to lose focus, not on a mission. Troubled, he listened as Daniel carried on talking. “We really want to ask about one subject in particular, Brother Camus,” he said. “We found some writings–”
    “The
Sciath Dé
.” Camus’s tone was flat, almost bored, but Jack didn’t miss the ripple of unease that passed through the rest of the council, a lot of frowning and studying of clasped hands. “Yes, I was informed of your interest in that story.”
    “Story?” asked Daniel, his eyebrows raised.
    Camus smiled and spread his hands, a gesture that raised Jack’s hackles, but he kept silent, letting Daniel do his thing. “A myth from the Time Before,” said Camus. “Any child from the Ark could tell you the tale, Dr. Jackson.”
    “Um, with all due respect, Brother Camus, we’re not really interested in children’s stories.” From his pocket he retrieved his camera and set it on the table before the Elect; they regarded it like a mongoose eyeing a cobra. “See for yourselves,” Daniel said. “We found records on
Acarsaid Dorch
that said this shield technology is real, that it exists. As representatives of our planet, we’re willing to negotiate terms that would allow us access to that technology.”
    “It is Knowledge you seek!” burst out Channon, as if in outrage.
    “Well, yeah,” said Daniel with a shrug, clearly as bemused as Jack by the Pastor’s reaction.
    “Heresy!
And lo, the Damned shall seek to be as God, desiring wisdom which only He may possess, and they shall shun the Light he hath bestowed on the world
–”
    “Pastor.” Camus didn’t raise his voice, but one word was enough to silence Channon mid-sermon. The Pastor reddened and sat back in his seat. “Our visitor’s are clearly unfamiliar with the Message,” said Camus, and Jack decided that there were far too many capital letters floating around in these sentences.
    “The Message?”
    “The Message by which we live our lives. God’s word on Ierna. We will be happy to share it with you.”
    “You’ll tell us what you know?” asked Jack, with no small amount of cynicism.
    “We will tell you what you need to know, Colonel O’Neill,” said Camus. He rose, dignified in his flowing robes. “Come, join us in the light and partake of the Message.”
    Jack flung a look at Daniel who gave a small shrug. “Sounds like we’re invited to worship with them.”
    “And here’s me without a Bible…”
    * * *
    It was clear from the moment the hall doors reopened that the meeting with the Elect hadn’t gone to plan. The colonel and Daniel were led out by an imposing man in long robes, and from the glower on Colonel O’Neill’s face it was obvious they hadn’t gotten the answers they wanted. O’Neill didn’t slow his pace as he strode past her and Teal’c, merely jerked his head for them to follow.
    “They don’t know anything, sir?” Sam ventured, falling in next to him. She kept her voice low, aware of the other robed figures who surrounded them as they made their way through the cloisters.
    “Oh, they know something,” the colonel muttered. “They’re just not telling.”
    “About the shield?”
    “About the shield, and about those damn bodies we found in that grave.”
    “Daniel Jackson,” said Teal’c, “did you not estimate that the bodies are most likely over a century old?”
    “At least that,” Daniel agreed. “Jack, you can’t believe that these people had anything to do with what we found on
Acarsaid Dorch
.”
    “You’re damned right I believe it.”
    “Then we must confront them,” Teal’c said. “This time we must discover the truth before we become entangled with these people.”
    For a second, just a second, the colonel