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Aberrant: Stargate Universe - Astrogation and the Star Map Room [FIN]


Adrian Moss

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Now that he put his mind to it, the science called to him. He knew things now that he hadn't known before and with that knowledge came the hunger to know more. The reality that this was an alien hunger no longer bothered the soldier.

"I was in Afghanistan just a few weeks after 9/11. We knew what was what and who was responsible. I was with the local Tajiks - good fighters and as ancient in their customs as Alexander the Great."

"I know now I didn't appreciate this place when I first came here. It's one of the ways I know I've been changed. I have this ... new outlook about learning and remembering. I don't think I'm as gifted as you, but my knowlege is pretty extensive about a whole list of subjects."

"I imagine seeing the room will be something like the first time - again for me," he smiles warmly with some small understanding.

He comes to the door and shows his ID badge to the guard. the Sgt. comes to attention after handing the badge back, but looks totally unimpressed by anything and everything. Damien puts his ID into the locking mechanism, the light turns green and the door opens.

"After you, Doctor," he says.

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The first glance of the room stole Olivia's breath away. "Oh, my," she whispered, her eyes growing ever wider. She stepped into the room with an almost reverent air. Most of the room was pretty ordinary and didn't merit her awe. Even the large glass wall marked and notated with the positions of the stars didn't look that impressive.

"But like any object worth value, it's significance rests in the eye of the beholder. Ancient civilizations revered salt for its ability to preserve and its purity. Once, the world's greatest empire paid its soldiers, its strong, conquering arm, in salt. Today, it is sold cheaply in stores; everyone can afford to have salt on their table. We're even warned about consuming too much salt, a statement that would have confused and horrified a Roman soldier.

"To most, this is a plate of glass, marked with strange names and numbers. To someone who knows what it represents, it is an invaluable guide to planets beyond our own."

Olivia forced herself to stop writing. She glanced back at Caine, her eyes shining and her face glowing with joy. "This is... awesome!"

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The words were simple enough, but they carried a lot of meaning. They were heartfelt and spur of the moment. They were also insightful and inquisitive. For the young Captain, it was probably the best thing he could say,

"Tell me, Olivia, what do you see?"

Objects were more than physical props. They were keys to the mind and how it thought - who it interpreted the world at large. Married to words, they were the structure of knowledge, and Damien Caine wanted to learn.

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"I see the universe," Olivia said, "laid out in a way that the human mind can comprehend. I mean, look at it, Caine. I can point to any part of this map and tell you, 'This is a planet' and that becomes the reference, the symbol for us to talk about in a concrete manner. Pointing to a star - if we can even see its light from here - is pointing to an abstract. It is a dot of light. And that is all.

"But the map is designed to give us a reference point to see something that is otherwise unavailable." Olivia laughed. "Is that what you were expect? Some mumbo-jumbo about symbols and pins of light?"

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"Well ... mumbo-jumbo science stuff that I used to not be able to wrap my mind around - yes. Kind of like I avoided this place because it didn't have value to me then. Now, I understand how mono-focussed I was.

"Hey," he says, steering her toward the map. He walks her all the way up until they are about a foot away from the starscape. Gently, delicately he extends a finger out and let's it over a few milimeters away from the glass.

"I've been to that world. My second mission on my old SG team. Nothing but ruins, some signs of an orbital bombardment over a thousand years ago. It was kind of sad, but the terrain around the stargate there was temperate rain forest with the most beautiful rainbows in the afternoons."

He scans the map some more.

"You will be able to see these worlds and put memories to these engravings on the map too. You'll see."

The exisite gentelman looked down on his date,

"Won't that be something."

He almost suggested that she might name a world, but remembered the SG only named planets after fallen scientists and officers, and then not very often.

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"Yes, I'm sure I will," Olivia said, her fingers brushing over one of the lines. They came a little too close to his fingers, but she didn't seem to be that aware of it. Her hand dropped just before they touched his. "I just... I hope they're good memories. I don't want to remember ugly things. I don't want to see them with perfect clarity forever."

She looked up at him, her dark eyes searching out his. "I used to have a bad memory," she admitted. "I always wanted to have a better one. I guess you should be careful what you wish for."

She looked again at the map. "But I do want to see these places. I've often dreamed of seeing new places, and now... I can. Or I will, soon."

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Those beautiful eyes of his became clouded with sadness. There would be bad memories. There was a war going on out there. If only there was a way to protect her - somehow, but he couldn't think of it.

"Olivia, there are going to be rough times out there. We are at war and the Goa'uld. Keep focused on the good though. There are sunsets to see on dozens of world, each one different and saved forever by your mind. Look for the good. Let the warriors of the SGC keep you safe. Okay?"

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"I know," Olivia said sadly. "It should, where things right in the world, just pure exploration and discovery. The StarGate is wondrous - and they're using it for war. I know that we have to answer with war, or be overrun, but..." She hugged herself. "It's hard to think about it as a weapon, but there are people who see the StarGate exactly that way."

She shrugged off the mood. "Oh well, I'll fix that when I'm Queen of the Universe. Until then, I'll cope." She tilted her head at him. "What does the StarGate mean to you?"

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The handsome young officer's brow furrows in thought. He comes to some sort of decision, or maybe an epiphany.

"It used to mean our war with the Goa'uld and the adventure that was, but ..."

He looks deep into Olivia's deep and meaningful orbs,

"I think now it is the forefront of man's evolutionary struggle. Both the peaceful enlightened side of it as we discover things that let us be better people as a race, and the dark gritty side of things when we can be forced to face ourselves at our worst."

Caine looks at the map,

"It's like this is the place we grow up."

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  • 2 weeks later...

Olivia nodded, standing a little closer to him. To her, it was natural to stand closer to a human being when facing something of awe. "Yeah," she agreed, feeling a lump in her throat. "This is where we prove we're adults in the galaxy, or bratty children." She was quiet for a moment, then she said, "I can't wait, Damien. I have wanted this since I heard about the StarGate."

She smiled at him. She wasn't sure what she was going to say, but it was lost in the moment, as she realized how close he was, how attractive he was. Is he going to kiss me?

Am I going to let him?

He might be on my team tomorrow.

That's tomorrow, Olivia.

Oh, yes, she was going to let him.

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