"Listen," I grabbed Chaya by the hand and made her stop. The girl threw me a look full of pain and anger. "I'll repeat, I'm sorry for your people. But that doesn't mean that after the banya you should immediately dive headfirst into someone else's ice hole."
"I don't understand what you're…"
"About the fact that idiots can cut an ice hole not far from the shore and instead of immersing in water, replace a mole in the matter of digging holes with your whole body!"
"Still…"
"You lost your people, I understand. You want to help me figure out what's with Earth. But let's for a moment set aside emotions and think what could go wrong?" I suggested.
"It sounds like you don't want to return to your home planet and help your Earthlings," Sar tensed up.
"Chaya, emotions are speaking in you," I said. "My home, if you believe the Ascended — is in another universe."
"If they can be believed," she said in a trembling voice.
Well, if I have quite reasonable doubts, then they could arise in her too.
I think we both understood that the coincidences in the form of her return to human form and the practically instantaneous destruction of the people of the planet Proculus by the Wraith were too random.
I can still understand the Wraith attack on her world in the events known to me. Then she was Ascended, came to Atlantis and Proculus was attacked by the Wraith, which forced the girl to return and defend the planet.
At that time, the Wraith throughout the galaxy were awakened. But now, when the Wraith are sleeping… Or no longer sleeping, because they discovered my ship and unanimously decided that the old tasty Lantean lasagna has returned?
Either way, but only the second day has passed since my return to Atlantis from Sudaria. Too quickly for a Wraith ship to reach Proculus. Too many coincidences.
"Then, I think, you understand me," I said. "If what happened on your planet was really arranged by them… If you're right, and they planned to use me to provide the city with new energy supplies at the cost of my life, then the whole story starts to stink."
"What are you talking about?" Chaya asked.
"Ganos Lal and Melia communicated with me," I confessed. The Proculian's eyebrows arched in surprise. "According to them, an expedition from Earth was supposed to arrive in the city. But that didn't happen. Something happened in the Milky Way that changed the cause-and-effect connection. As well as killed or neutralized all the Ascended in that galaxy. And those who went there on reconnaissance. Whatever it was, it's expanding and someday, in the foreseeable future, will come to the Pegasus galaxy."
"A weapon against the Ascended?" Sar was surprised. "Is that possible? After all, they are pure energy."
I rummaged in my memory, searching for the cherished explanation.
"Energy necessarily has a certain charge. Imagine another discharge appears that can extinguish the existing one? Like two waves that, upon colliding with each other, neutralize each other."
"You have a very strange understanding of what Ascension is," Chaya yanked her hand out of my grip.
"Sorry, but no one left me instructions or manuals, I use what's in my head," I spread my hands. "But that doesn't change the essence of the matter. 'The Others lie.' You wrote that yourself and for yourself. What is this entry about?"
"I don't know."
"About the fact that they can't be trusted. Most likely — not a single one of their words. Their actions themselves point to the fact that stories about how they fear the unknown weapon don't match reality. One of them already allowed a violation of the rules: I'm here. An unknown weapon threatens them, but they do nothing to save themselves. Moreover, there is me, but they decided that it would be better to kill me and continue to keep Atlantis. Why? If I can help them, it would be more logical not to interfere with those who intend to join me as allies. Especially since you neither helped nor hindered their gang of non-interferers."
"It sounds correct, but I don't understand where you're leading."
"What if the Others are lying to us about not knowing what happened in the Milky Way?" I asked. "In my memory, Earth could have been destroyed entirely and completely twenty times, but it was always saved only by a miracle. What if the Ascended know about the danger of going to Earth? After all, notice, there could be anything — a black hole, an exploded planet, a dead planet, an occupied one, and so on. If the Ascended want to get rid of us, why wouldn't they try to send us right into the fire? After all, for reconnaissance, we need to go to the other side. And believe me, there are no ZPMs on Earth to open the gate to Atlantis."
"Because otherwise they would have already done it."
The finger snap happened by itself.
"Correct. See, we understand each other. So what will we do? Risk getting into trouble, or put it off for now?"
"What do you suggest?" Chaya asked.
"First of all, I want to remind you that there are neither your nor my descendants or friends on Earth. So we have nowhere to rush. There are only two of us in the city. In a malfunctioning city full of laboratories with all sorts of dangerous inventions. We have almost no food except the boring bars. We have no engines, we won't be able to get away if it gets really bad. The two of us against a whole galaxy teeming with Wraith. I don't think we should rush headlong to carry out the Ascended's assignments."
"What, sorry?" the girl was taken aback. "You… You yourself said that they gave you a task."
"Yes, and thanks to you I know that they tried to drown me for the sake of some of their plans," I reminded. "Do you think that adds to my desire to complete their assignment as soon as possible?"
"But… The threat, you said it yourself."
"The threat is coming for the Ascended, but not for us," I reminded. "At least I hope so. And therefore, when we become stronger, repair the city or, perhaps, find Ancient spaceships like the 'Aurora' or something similar, then, without doubt, we will go to the Milky Way. And try to understand how bad everything is there. Or, on the contrary, good. But not now, when we don't even have the opportunity to leave this planet. Don't you find it rather stupid to go to another galaxy just the two of us when we have neither resources nor a guarantee of return?"
Sar was somewhat embarrassed.
"Yes, most likely you're right," she said. "I… I grew up in times when Lantean orders were not discussed. And… The destruction of my people affected me more than I thought. I wanted to complete the mission of the Ascended that you talked about as soon as possible, so that… Perhaps…"
"You thought they would help save your people?" I clarified.
"Yes," the girl said, embarrassed. "Probably, I think too well of them. After all that happened…"
She didn't finish, but it became clear that she had her own skeletons in the closet in the past. Well, who doesn't have them?
"A perfectly understandable desire," I said. "In this regard, it's easier for me. This is not my universe, I have nothing to hold on to here except what's here and now. It so happened that Atlantis became my home. A wonderful, desirable home. But I don't want to risk it for the sake of some accidents that could happen due to haste and the desire to please the Ancients. No offense, guys," I tilted my head back, as if hoping that the control room ceiling would part and the Ascended, hovering on clouds, would listen to my words with interest, "but I have a whole baggage of knowledge and sad experience in matters done in a hurry. I will undoubtedly visit the neighboring galaxy, but later. You wait there a couple… m-m-m, years, perhaps centuries. And I will definitely resolve your issues. Don't worry, I won't abandon you as you did me."
Chaya looked curiously at what I was doing, after which, unable to hold back, she laughed.
"Do you really think that they are invisibly present here and eavesdropping on us?" she asked.
"The devil knows," I shrugged. "In any case," I spread my arms to the sides, "as you see, lightning didn't strike me, I didn't turn into photoplasma, didn't disintegrate into atoms…"
An awkward silence hung.
Honestly, I wasn't sure that the Pegasus Ascended wouldn't react, but… They have a policy of direct non-interference, right?
Nothing happened.
Specifically, as I hoped.
I think if I had directly refused to do what they want from me, there would be those willing, or "extremists," who would come to the human world and properly make me understand that I'm wrong. Most likely, those explanations would be lethal.
But we have what we have.
If the Ancients decided they can play with me, then why can't I do the same?
Really, I have no claims to the local Earth, but no reverent awe either. Yes, the heroes of the series that introduced me to this universe live there (possibly). But… So what? Should I dissolve into primary broth on the deck right now, prostrating before them? For what treats? They are no one to me. They didn't save my life. I'm neither friend, nor matchmaker, nor brother to them. Therefore, I definitely don't intend to rush to help Earth without preparing for the fact that in the Milky Way everything is very bad. Especially when the words of the Ascended cannot be trusted.
Specifically, like Chaya herself.
I need to be on guard, but not let my paranoia decide for me.
Either way, either the Ancients will give me a good thrashing for such willfulness, or they will be satisfied with the fact that I promised to fulfill the given promise someday and find out what happened.
I don't want to rush with the latter at least because… If some anomaly occurred due to which I ended up here, say, a time loop or something similar, then… Why fix it? So as not to appear here? No thank you, I like it here. I risked my life to bring this city back to life, so no offense, but this is my city. And I will decide how to live here and what to do. In the latter case, preferably do as little crap as possible to not breed enemies for myself.
I suspect they will appear on their own naturally.
"Well," Chaya, apparently, also expected a reaction from the Ancients and was satisfied with its absence. "Since you're actively demonstrating the leader's position, let it be so. You seem to have more knowledge about this time than I do. From my side, I promise to help you with whatever I can. I know Lantean technologies quite well, so… There will be some use from me."
"Even greater than you think," I smiled. Unable to hold back, I glanced at her figure. Average height, slender, with not very prominent "front and rear ninety."
Not that I was staring at her… Who am I deceiving, I was staring. A nice girl. Yes, she's years older than I've lived since maturing inside my father, but…
The past is done. I won't return to my universe, I can't bring Marina here…
What a fool! I could have at least asked the Voice to do it! But I didn't even think. Probably, Marina was right when during arguments she called me a complete egoist adapting to circumstances beneficial only to me. I didn't even have a thought in my head to drag her with me… Why? God knows…
***
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