The DC-10 touched down about fifteen minutes early due to the favorable winds. Renato Cardinal Angelo was pleased enough to think through an appropriate prayer of thanksgiving. A longtime member of the Vatican's diplomatic service, he was accustomed to long flights, but that wasn't quite the same as enjoying them. He wore his red- "cardinal"- and black suit that was actually more akin to an official uniform, and not a conspicuously comfortable one at that, despite the custom tailoring that came from one of Rome's better shops. One of the drawbacks to his clerical and diplomatic status was that he'd been unable to shed his suitcoat for the flight, but he'd been able to kick off his shoes, only to find that his feet had swollen on the flight, and getting them back on was more difficult than usual. That evoked a sigh rather than a curse, as the plane taxied to the parking slot. The senior flight attendant ushered him to the forward door and allowed him to leave the aircraft first.
He was met at the end of the mobile staircase attached to the aircraft by a mid-sized man wearing the dark blue uniform of the United States Air Force. He only had a passing familiarity with the rank system of the American military, but the oak leaves on the shoulders told him the man was a Major and the single row of colorful adornment on the left chest showed him that the military man in front of him was more an administrator than a combat veteran.
"Your Eminence," greeted the man, offering a salute, "Welcome to the United States, I am Major Paul Davis, I will be your escort for today." The Major kept his head slightly bowed towards the Papal Nuncio and it allowed Angelo to make the correct deduction towards the religion he practiced; he offered him his right hand. The Major kissed the ring on it and stood erect for the first time.
"It's a pleasure to be here," said Angelo, meaning it only in terms of the country he was in, though his presence at Andrews Air Force base aroused somewhat different feelings. Cardinal Angelo did not much care for the military of any country, though they performed sadly necessary duties in this day and age.
The Major waved to a small group of men dressed in black suits with dark sunglasses covering their eyes and the cords of earpieces sticking from their ears. They were standing around two nearby-parked limousines. They moved with assured precision of training and entered the vehicles while two remained to open the door for Angelo.
"How was your flight, Eminence?" asked Davis politely.
"Lengthy but not unpleasant," replied Angelo, diplomats had to act as though they loved flying, though even the flight crews found journeys of this length tiresome. He had come all the way directly from Rome as the President of the United States had made a direct phone call to the Pope a few weeks ago and asked for a direct representative to attend a meeting where an issue of global significance was to be discussed.
Personally, Angelo thought it something to do with the truly amazing astronomical event not a few weeks ago; where a second moon had suddenly appeared in the night sky. NASA had quickly released a statement that it had actually been a rogue asteroid that had been snagged into a roughly elliptical high orbit by Earth's gravity…that it had not impacted on the planet was being hailed as 'a miracle' by NASA.
Angelo gave thanks to God every day for not sending humanity the way of the dinosaurs after he had seen the news report in Rome. The close call however was having some repercussions though. NASA and every other space agency in the world was asking for a more heavy funding commitment to be pored into space, and their voices were being backed many ordinary people around the globe, as they too realized how close they had come to planetary Armageddon. Then there was the extremist reaction; hailing that the Apocalypse was upon them…that the Book of Revelations was coming to fruition…a few cult mass suicides had also been discovered…to name but a few…however the incidents were trailing off as it readily became apparent that no other cataclysms were occurring.
He sat in the backseat of the comfortable vehicle and Major Davis sat next to him only after removing his brimmed hat. The door closed and immediately the two cars sped off along the designated road space on the massive flat runways of the Air base.
"Eminence," said Major Davis, "I just want to apologize for the discreetness of your arrival, in the Military we don't underestimate the resourcefulness of our news media."
"Is there a reason you can give me for the secrecy?" asked the Cardinal.
"All I can say Eminence for the moment, is that you are not the only statesman at this meeting," said Davis with an apologetic look on his face. "All will become clear once we arrive at the Pentagon."
"A highly secret meeting of world leaders," murmured Angelo to himself in Attic Greek. Such an event had not really happened since the meeting of the Big Three; Roosevelt, Churchhill and Stalin…and that had been to decide a mutual course of action for fighting the Axis Powers during World War 2. It rang all sorts of alarm bells in the highly educated mind of the Cardinal.
It took a total of thirty-eight minutes of moving through the beltways and highways to finally reach the Pentagon; the administrative center of the most powerful military in the world. Incidentally it was also the building with highest capacity of office space anywhere on the planet. It had five floors above ground and two basement floors and twenty six thousand personnel called it their place of work both military and civilian.
Angelo could only see the southern face of the building from out the window and the Potomac River beyond and even the white obelisk of the Washington Monument further away, until the cars eventually turned into the parking areas and roads that snaked around the building. They passed numerous security checkpoints where Angelo had to show his Diplomatic Passport…finally they turned right on a road that seemed to lead directly into the Pentagon itself. Until the Cardinal realized they were actually going through a tunnel that probably led into the basement floors.
The darkness outside the cars was absolute and they slowed down to a stop.
"Your Eminence," said Major Davis, "we are about to undergo a scan of the cars, standard procedure for anything going in this way, it's completely harmless but very bright. I advise you close your eyes."
"Very well," said Angelo eventually, considering that the Americans were being overly paranoid; these were their own vehicles after all. He closed his eyes and at that moment he felt and saw a bright white light even through his closed eyelids unlike anything he had ever experienced. It felt as if it had resonated throughout his entire body and then just as quickly left.
"We're clear," reported the Secret Service driver. Angelo opened his eyes as he felt the car moving again and just as quickly stop and the engine switch off. The door at his side was opened by the driver and with a grunt he climbed out and regarded the large area around him. Numerous other limousines were parked neatly in a large room with a gleaming metallic construction and black obsidian floors. The car entrance had seeming sealed itself was a solid metal door. The air was resounding with the hum of machinery.
"This way, Eminence," said Davis, guiding them to a nearby door, while the Secret Service agents remained behind. The door parted automatically at their approach with a soft sound and they walked into a long lit curving corridor with numerous other doors dotted along it. The interior and architecture was not something Angelo had ever expected to find underneath the Pentagon, geometric shapes were everywhere and the lights came from some of these geometric fixtures to bathe everything in an almost eerie blue glow. Despite this, everything combined to form a strange beauty to his eyes.
It was driven from his mind when Major Davis stopped at a rather larger door and after waving his hand over a blue light next to the door (no doubt a sensor of some kind) the doors parted with a hiss of air. The room beyond was large and circular with numerous soft leather chairs with a small desk ergonomically blending into it arranged in a similar narrower circle. At one end, the circle was interrupted to allow a large plasma television screen to be visible to all those seated in the chairs. Each attendee had a small plaque on their desk showing their country, title, and name.
The din of conversation that had been in the room by its occupants had stilled for a moment to see who entered the room and promptly resumed when they realized who Angelo was.
"Over here, Eminence," said Davis and gestured to an empty chair in the circle, in which Angelo sat after Davis pulled it out for him. This finally allowed Angelo to see his other fellow attendees…and Davis wasn't kidding when he said statesmen (the occasional stateswoman as well). Angelo didn't recognize some of them, though he knew many…the Defense Ministers of Britain, Switzerland, France, China…even a few Heads of State; Indonesia, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Saudi Arabia…then he even recognized a few Intelligence Chiefs from MI6, MOSSAD, FSB, CIA…and most amazingly were those seated to his immediate left…the Secretary General of the OIC (Organization of the Islamic Conference), beyond him was the Chairman of the Rabbinical Assembly (Jewish), and further down was the Archbishop of Canterbury.
Angelo knew the Secretary General of the OIC rather well, as they often met when the Pope wanted to convey inter-faith and/or political issues that affected both the Christian and Islamic worlds.
"Greetings Angelo," said Melledin with a nod and a polite smile on his face.
"Greetings," said Angelo, still distracted from his cataloguing of everyone who was gathered, "any idea why we are here?"
"Looking at the Spymasters, Heads of State and Defense Ministers I would say we're here to talk about something that affects the entire planet," said Melledin, but whose face turned thoughtful, "however, our presence and those of our immediate 'colleagues' worries me."
Angelo only nodded in agreement. He then noticed that there were still four empty seats just to the left of the plasma screen. He strained his mid-aged eyes to make out the plaques on those seats and sighed in frustration, pulling out his glasses and putting them on.
"Age is catching up with us, my friend," chuckled Melledin, gesturing to his own rimmed spectacles perched on his nose. Angelo only gave a grunt of agreement and finally managed to make out the names.
The Cardinal's eyebrows rose in astonishment; it seemed the President of United States himself was attending the meeting as well, those who would be seated to his left would be a Major General Hammond, Major Davis and an Ambassador Harry Potter…however the plaque didn't indicate which country he hailed from.
Before Angelo could further ponder this a few soft chimes were heard and the doors swished open to permit entry to the four men who would occupy those chairs. The din of conversation ceased immediately. Angelo had never had an opportunity to meet William Jefferson Clinton but the man did carry a near aura of presence about him that filled a room.
General Hammond struck Angelo at first glance as a no-nonsense man that carried command on his shoulders as naturally as a duck takes to water. The slightly portly General walked with a perfect step and the amount of decoration on his chest meant he had hard experience to back his orders and intentions.
Major Davis walked crisply behind his superior officers but didn't follow them as they sat down, instead he walked over into the large circle and stood next to the plasma screen, holding a complicated looking remote in his hand – no doubt to control the screen itself with.
Ambassador Harry Potter however was a quantity that Angelo couldn't begin to quantify in his mind. It didn't stop him from trying though; the rather muscular man walked with a grace of fluidity that Angelo had often seen coming from Shaolin Monks. And strangely enough he wore intricately cut pure white robes with gold and gray trim that were partially open to reveal intricate tunics and leggings with calf length boots. Angelo couldn't fathom where the style came from. Nor could he understand how a person could have such bright emerald eyes that practically glowed. Angelo thought that according to his name, he probably hailed from England…but a glance at where Tony Blair himself was sitting with the Head of MI6 showed that the Prime Minister was rather startled at the appearance of the Ambassador.
The President of the US stood as everyone finally was at their places and seats and declared, "Ladies and Gentlemen, on behalf of myself and the United States I welcome you to this conference. I thank you for your patience regarding the secrecy, but as the meeting unfolds you will understand its necessity. We are here to decide on a course of action that will affect the lives of every single person on our planet, now and in the indeterminate future. However, to understand the present, we must first be aware of our past. I now call upon Major Paul Davis, United States Air Force, to deliver a briefing on the pertinent facts that require our attention today. Major…" The President nodded and sat down.
"Thank you, Mr President," said Davis. "Ladies and Gentlemen, my briefing begins on events in the 1920s. During the time, we all know that a fervor of archeology was taking place, and the appetite for artifacts dating from Antiquity was at an all time high. Egypt, most especially. Then in 1928 an American funded expedition led by Professor Carl Langford discovered a literal find of a lifetime on the Giza Plateau." The Major thumbed the remote and the plasma flared to life to show a circular arrangement of stones with large numbers of hieroglyphs all over. What intrigued Angelo was the angular symbols in the center… that didn't conform to anything around it.
"This is what he initially found," said Davis, "and subsequent on site translation showed that it was coverstones and that they were dedicated to the Egyptian sun god Ra. More intriguingly, it said that there was something underneath the stones that belonged to Ra himself. Prof Langford removed the stones and this is what he found buried underneath."
The remote clicked again and a black and white picture of a large thick circular ring easily more than twenty two feet in diameter, that was raised to stand mightily on the desert plain with numerous people standing around it with tether ropes everywhere.
"The circular artifact you see was according the initial translation a 'Doorway to Heaven'," said Davis. Angelo gasped inwardly and a few murmurs amongst the conference members were heard but quieted down quickly. "The scientific analysis of the artifact was baffling to the expedition members. The artifact was one solid piece; it didn't have any apparent constituent parts and was apparently made from a hard black metal at first glance. Something which was way beyond the technical capabilities of the Ancient Egyptians to build. Professor Langford also measured the artifact and determined it as a perfect circle to a degree he couldn't hope to work out in his lifetime."
Angelo digested this carefully…that meant something more than the Ancient Egyptians were at work in that part of the world during the time…another hitherto unknown highly advanced civilization?
"The artifact was brought back to the US for more in depth study. Where attempts to understand its composition were made, but it was nigh on impossible at the time. No matter what scientists did to try to chip off a piece of it for elemental and chemical analysis, it never budged or broke. They even detonated a stick of TNT against it and it barely left a scorch mark."
The plasma screen changed to show a grainy color picture typical of the 30s and 40s of the artifact sitting in a large hanger on its side with various white lab coated scientists around it. Then it changed to show two close-ups.
"On the left you will see that the artifact is marked with the strange angular symbols that match no known written language of the era, there is 39 of them all arranged along an inner ring…and it matches the symbols on the coverstones…7 of them. Research on the artifact was stopped when funding dried up and no more progress was made."
The screen showed a slightly better color picture of the artifact on its side again within a military concrete environment.
"However, during World War 2 it was started again as one of many secret projects of the time aimed at ensuring Allied victory. It was here that some more progress was made in divining the function of the artifact. They discovered that by applying a sufficient electrical current to the artifact they could turn the inner ring manually and that when you aligned the symbols with the upper chevron and applied a burst of power that the nine chevrons you see lit up and a single one would remain lit as long as a steady current was maintained."
A black and white film was now played on the screen of men standing on ladders and turning the artifact's inner ring by hand and it showed how the chevrons would move. A ripple of astonishment and wonder passed through the conference. Angelo was amazed already. An artifact dating back to Ancient Egypt that utilized electricity!
"The experiments with the artifact continued until an 'apparent' accidental generator explosion caused the death of one of the project members, Dr Ernest Littlefield. I call it apparent because the research team either failed to understand what actually happened or didn't want to be held accountable for Littlefield's 'death'. This is what happened."
The screen showed the artifact now except there was a 'big' difference. Inside the circular ring was a wall of shimmering water that rippled with a near ethereal bright light. Angelo couldn't see how it could actually be water though…water didn't stand upright against gravity…yet the artifact was clearly achieving this somehow! The next scene showed a bright-eyed young man with glasses being fitted in old copper diving gear and oxygen feed lines trailing along to a generator and compressor. Angelo had to admire the courage of the man…here he was preparing to walk into an artifact that was by all appearances a doorway to heaven. The next scene showed him walking towards the vertical wall of water and going through…the camera rocked and next the wall of water suddenly disappeared, cutting the oxygen lines…and Littlefield was nowhere to be found.
"The research was again stopped after the accident, everything was classified and confined to archives. Those involved in the incident believed Littlefield dead. With the end of World War 2 the impetus for further experimentation on the device and its mysteries ended. However, the fiancé of Dr Littlefield and daughter of Professor Langford, Catherine, continued to petition successive administrations for research to be continued, in the hopes of finding out what happened."
"In 1990, Catherine finally succeeded, and was made head of a research team under Air Force jurisdiction. With the advent of the IT age, Cray Supercomputers were harnessed and further metallurgical analysis with mass spectrometers was carried out. It was determined that the element that the device was constructed out of didn't fit into the current Periodic table. Structural testing showed that the device was as impervious to harm as it was back in 1928. High powered lasers, nuclear detonators, didn't do a thing."
Angelo frowned as a clear conclusion began to build in his mind as to the device's origin. The screen now showed modern high color video of the giant ring clamped to superconductors and massive power feeds running from it. The inner ring began to spin and finally stopped…the chevron flexed and lit up…the ring began to spin again, like a massive combination lock. It continued until it six chevrons were lit up…but something was wrong, the area shook as if a small-localized earthquake was occurring.
"The research team using trial and error over a period of four years managed to build a computer program that could control the device's inner ring. They 'dialed' the symbols on the coverstones but met with frustration when they couldn't identify the seventh symbol. Which was when Catherine Langford turned to this man for help…" the screen showed a photo of a rather academic looking yet handsome young man with thin glasses… "Dr Daniel Jackson, a prodigy in language, mythology and ancient cultures with numerous degrees and doctorates to his name. He held very controversial views on the true reasons behind the emergence of civilization in Antiquity and contended that a very advanced civilization was responsible for this…he was laughed out of the Academic community, but Catherine saw his lecture as promising to her work…as essentially she had proof that he was right."
Angelo looked around to see the rather incredulous yet astonished looks that were beginning to develop on the conference attendees' faces… they were also clearly developing the same conclusion, that Major Davis was slowly but surely working towards.
"Dr Jackson, worked in Cheyenne Mountain on the coverstones and the device for two weeks before he reported that he had made a breakthrough. The mysterious symbols that are on both coverstone and device were in fact…star constellations…"
The screen now showed a complex symbol on the device…and how it perfectly lined up with the Aquarius constellation. A murmur of amazement swept through the conference.
"…he further posited that the six symbols referred to a location in space…to chart any course in a three dimensional plain you need six points of reference to calculate your position…" the screen showed a beautiful rendering of the Galaxy, that zoomed in and a cube was highlighted with six points… "the seventh symbol represents the point of origin…in this case…Earth." Another point on the Orion arm of the Galaxy was highlighted with a caption to indicate Earth's location and a red line was drawn from it to meet the cube.
"The device was finally renamed to what it truly is…a Stargate. As long as there is another Stargate in another location in the Galaxy…we can activate it…and people can walk through the one we have on Earth and within seconds cross vast interstellar distances to walk out onto another planet."
The screen now showed the 'Stargate' in full high definition video, as it burst to life and a group of four people walked up a metallic ramp and without pausing went through the rippling 'water' without flinching. The water vanished with a flash and the people were gone…yet clearly there was nowhere they could've gone…a wall was right behind the Stargate.
Angelo blinked…it felt like his mind had suddenly taken a backseat and said 'Sorry pal, you're on your own on this one!'. A look around showed similar expressions on everyone else except for the Americans, who were looking dead serious.
The President now stood again and said, "I understand your predicament right now. I remember vividly how I felt when fully briefed myself on what my country's Air Force achieved. Right now you can't believe it, because it's seems right out of the realms of science fiction…well I give you my solemn word that it is science fact. For the past five years the US Air Force in conjunction with select civilian consultants have been exploring the Galaxy through use of the Stargate. And we will all see the Stargate itself in action…before this conference ends. We will now have a fifteen-minute break where refreshments will be served. Thank you."
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"What do you think?"
Angelo gave a deep sigh over the small plate he held in his hands in which a variety of snacks were piled from the buffet table that had been wheeled in.
"Honestly, Melledin, I think its amazing, fantastic…and terrifying. The idea that we already can and are moving amongst the stars its…"
"Overwhelming," said the man from Saudi Arabia.
"Yes."
"I, however, am waiting for the other shoe to drop," said Melledin with a sarcastic grin.
"Oh?"
"You don't think the Americans would do this 'disclosure' if they weren't in over heads with something? This Stargate…is not only means for exploration, but a boon for knowledge I believe, it's a valuable asset, probably the most valuable strategic asset on this planet at the moment…you can't tell me that these politicians aren't planning to wrangle over who has possession of it. Since it can be argued that the benefit of the Stargate must go to all humanity, not just the Americans."
His argument reminded Angelo why he respected Melledin so much, as the Muslim man had an education and intelligence to rival his own.
"You're probably right," sighed Angelo. "I'm worried though about the true reason why we religious men were brought in."
"You think the Americans have discovered something 'out there' that would result in a crisis of faith?"
"It's a possibility," admitted Angelo, "most likely I think they are worried about the fallout if and when this new 'reality' we are in becomes public knowledge. They probably see us as a means of assuaging the public in general."
"But who's going to assuage us?" asked Melledin with a chuckle, looking at the Archbishop and the Rabbi conversing rather intently.
The soft chime again resounded through the room and everyone returned to their seats as the Americans sat down in theirs. Angelo brought his plate with him, the leftover snacks still unfinished.
President Clinton stood again, "Now that we've been fed and watered somewhat I turn this briefing over to Ambassador Harry Potter. His credentials and who he is an Ambassador of will become known to you as his briefing continues…Ambassador?"
"Thank you Mr President," said Potter and he stood and walked over to the screen while Major Davis took his seat. "Ladies and Gentlemen, a pleasure to meet all of you," he said in a steady even voice, "I am here to tell you of what and who is out there in the Galaxy and even beyond." Angelo felt his heart begin to hammer somewhat faster as his imagination brought forth images of the movie 'War of the Worlds', 'Star Wars' and numerous others, of aliens and creatures beyond imagination.
"In the five years of the Stargate Program we have made friends, allies, and unfortunately, inevitably we have made enemies. I will begin with our enemies so we can get worst out of the way." Potter nodded to the screen beside him and it changed to show a picture of…a snake…no, a snake did not have mandible sharp exterior claws nor such strange crystalline eyes. "This, Ladies and Gentlemen, is called a Goa'uld. It's a parasitic species that attaches itself to any humanoid's spinal chord and extends neural probes into the brain of its host…essentially possessing the affected person outright and controlling his or her actions, subsuming their will completely." The screen changed to show a virtual diagram of the creature twirling itself around a spinal chord. Angelo felt a twinge of horror start creep up his spine at the mere thought of it.
"About eight to ten thousand years ago the Goa'uld were primarily in hosts native to their own planet, a reptilian humanoid, the Unas, but these hosts had massively strong immune systems and after successive generations of possession the Unas were beginning to grow resistant to implantation. So the Goa'uld traveled amongst the stars and through the Stargate system…and managed to find Earth. There a Goa'uld found our ancestors and leapt from his Unas host to a young Egyptian boy. This Goa'uld decided to pass himself off as the deity's they worshiped as a means to gain power and fashioned himself after the sun god, Ra."
"Where Ra, began, others of his race followed and soon the entire Egyptian pantheon was represented in the flesh. As far as we have been able to discover, some of the Incan, Greek, Celtic, and Japanese pantheons were also impersonated."
"Earth was the center of Ra's domain in the Galaxy, but the Goa'uld were not happy with just Earth, so they took numerous of our ancestors through the Stargate to other worlds to be used as slaves, hosts and even warriors. Walking through the Stargate to these worlds today is like walking into the past, this Galaxy is full of people descended from Earth."
Angelo felt amazed and sick at the same time.
"The Goa'uld took the strongest humans they could find as well, mostly from Africa genetically engineered them into a subservient warrior race…the Jaffa." The screen changed to show a tall thick muscled dark man wearing a type of metallic armor and neckpiece with a type of tall bulbous staff. "The weapon you see him carrying is generally known as a 'Staff' a Jaffa is trained to handle it with lethality in a close quarter fight and for long range work in the tip is an emitter that fires a directed energy weapon. Notice on his right arm is slung another hand held weapon, called a 'Zatnickatel' or 'Zat gun' it fires a coiling pulsed electrical discharge that can stun a person into unconsciousness with a single shot, kill with a second consecutive, and vaporize with a third. The armor that a Jaffa wears is also impervious to standard ammunition that Earth's armies use according to the Geneva Convention. Armor Piercing and Shredder ammunition is required to pierce the armor."
"The various Goa'uld have entire armies of Jaffa at their command and dominate most of the Galaxy." The screen showed a political outlay of the Galaxy with the majority colored in an angry red to represent the Goa'uld.
Angelo was sure he must have been blanching.
"Next we have their primary air and space superiority fighter, called a Death Glider," said Potter and the screen changed to show a black curved C-shaped fighter from above and the side. "It has two large directed energy weapons at each wing and can outfly and maneuver any standard terrestrial aircraft, mainly due to the fact that G-forces are not an issue for the Glider. They don't have missiles for long range engagement, though."
"Then we have the Al'kesh," said Potter, and the screen showed the large flat teardrop shaped craft, "basically the B-52 of the Goa'uld, only more versatile and can travel at over five hundred times the speed of light. And before you quote me Einstein, the ship enters another layer of space 'sub space' to avoid the speed limit of light in 'real space'. It has an energy turret on the bottom hull and drops plasma bombs."
The screen changed to show an enormous ship easily five hundred plus meters in width, two hundred in height and looking eerily pyramidal.
"This is the mainstay of the Goa'uld Fleet, the mothership, or Ha'tak, it can carry thousands of Jaffa, hundreds of Gliders, and multiple Al'kesh. It has a powerful energy shield to protect it from harm that can easily withstand standard nukes, and has large ship-to-ship energy cannons that can easily be used to bombard a planet's surface from space."
Angelo started to shake his head, trying not to imagine the Vatican being bombarded out of nowhere by energy weapons.
"Finally, we have the Cargo Ship," a small looking pyramidal craft came into view, "mainly used, as it's name applies, for high value cargo transport, but these little things can turn themselves invisible from most sensors and radar, which allow them free reign for covert operations…but their range is limited as their top speed is generally only five times the speed of light; although there have been major upgrades in speed recently."
"The motives behind the Goa'uld are simply power, evil, a desire to dominate. They will attack and enslave us just because we exist or because we are a potential threat. There is no negotiation with them, we fight to defend ourselves, end of story," said Potter with a hard voice.
"I have just painted you the picture of a dark cloud." Angelo couldn't disagree with that. "Now I will give you the silver lining."
"The Goa'uld are not a unified foe, they are more a Hegemony of Feudal Lords with different parts of the Galaxy divided like a pie between them. They will battle each other for territory and resources. So Earth is not their sole focus or priority."
"I mentioned that we have allies amongst the stars. One of these is a subspecies of Goa'uld, if you will, though they don't like to be called that. The Tok'ra are not parasitic in nature but more symbiotic. I say this, because they take human hosts who are willing to host the Tok'ra, usually these are humans suffering from terminal illness, which the symbiote can cure. The Tok'ra does not subsume the human they share consciousness and memory equally."
Angelo blinked at that. Though the concept of hosting an alien organism was rather repulsive, but his mind flitted to his mother who had died of cancer twenty years ago.
"The Tok'ra are limited in what they can do. They don't have the military resources of the Goa'uld. They are more along the line of spies, infiltrators, manipulators and so forth. They use the feudal nature of the Goa'uld against them."
He spoke of the Jaffa Rebellion and went on to explain the Asgard, the Protected Planets Treaty; the thin black line that kept Earth safe. And that he acted as a representative between the Asgard and Earth. He explained their extra-galactic origin, their limitations in actually policing the treaty.
"At this point I want to pause and qualify this entire briefing with some proof with your own eyes, while you will see the Stargate, I'm sure you all with appreciate this," he said. Angelo felt that the Ambassador's smile was somewhat foreboding. "You believe you are all in a room under the Pentagon…in fact, we are somewhat far away from that location…" he waved his hand and the curved walls behind the screen retracted to reveal…reveal…
Angelo had seen the Earth from space in pictures, and he had never imagined such a beautiful and peaceful sight as he was beholding now. He could see the curve of the horn of Africa and the blue of the Indian Ocean, and a stormy weather front swooping over it. Everyone else had risen in their seats and were staring rather mesmerized at the sight of their home. President Clinton walked towards the 'window' and pushed his hand towards it, only for an electric blue light field to suddenly appear at the threshold.
"No transparent material can survive the speeds the ship we are on can travel," commented Potter lightly. "You are all aboard my starship, the Achilles. You were brought here limousine and all once you were underneath the Pentagon through a near instantaneous method of matter-energy conversion, which transported you into my cargo bay."
Angelo could see that Potter had just broken a few peoples minds by what he had just revealed. The Ambassador further did this by waving his hand towards the empty buffet table, which suddenly blossomed with white light and was consumed with it and abruptly vanished.
"And now for some more," he continued, a near musical ringing sang through the air and a white light reappeared, and then there was flash and the buffet table was back, except it was fully stocked again. It took another ten minutes for the hubbub to die down and Potter gave an open floor for questions. Personally, Angelo couldn't find a thing to ask, everything was beginning to overwhelm him. The scope of the information was…beyond words.
For the next half an hour Ambassador Potter fielded questions ranging from under whose authority did the ship fall, its capabilities, the typical things politicians ask. Potter's answer on that left no room for interpretation; "This ship is mine, it doesn't belong to the United States or anyone else. I use it to defend this planet, not a single country on it."
"The SGC and the Air Force have not been sitting on its laurels. We have been fighting the Goa'uld through the Stargate whenever possible in special operations strategic warfare, in conjunction with our interstellar allies. The SGC as its mandate also tries to acquire advanced and new technologies to defend Earth and free the enslaved descendants of our world across the Galaxy. It has been somewhat successful in this regard."
He showed a diagram and picture of a F-302 space superiority fighter, its capabilities and this included a fly-by by the said fighter past the Achilles. Two squadrons were already online and patrolling the Solar System. Angelo couldn't help but see how it was similar in overall design to a Death Glider, but was clearly more capable.
Typically this enraged most of the Defense ministers present. The Chinese Minister was most vocal. He complained that this would alter the perceived balance of power between the nations…and all but demanded that the schematics for the F-302 be shared amongst everyone present.
"Silence!" snapped Potter and his eyes became like two ice cold emeralds, his command carried a tone that seemed to insinuate itself into the mind and bypass it altogether. Everyone who was arguing mouth snapped shut and not a peep was heard. "If you had waited for me to finish, you would have heard that the schematics of the F-302 would be handed over and that it will be part of general technology packages you will all receive if you commit to an agreement at the end of this meeting."
"In addition to the F-302, just a few weeks ago, Earth launched its answer to the Ha'tak," said Potter, and at that moment a behemoth of ship came into view, the Prometheus. Angelo thought it a fitting name; named after the Greek hero that stole fire from the gods for mankind.
"And before you bellyache any more Minister Li," said Potter with narrowed eyes, glaring at the Chinese Minister. "The Prometheus only has a skeleton crew, there aren't enough qualified people in the US Air Force who can be vetted with Top secret clearance to fly her. She should be crewed by eight hundred. Another purpose of this conference is to get those people…the Prometheus will have an International crew. America can no longer shoulder the financial and resource burden of defending the planet. Therefore the United States is putting a call for you to contribute combat units to the SGC and the growing Earth space fleet."
President Clinton stood and all attention turned to him.
"What the United States is proposing is that a new international scientific and military organization be formed…with NATO as a model. We propose that the Stargate Treaty Organization (STO) be established by this conference. A Supreme council of military, civilian and scientific leaders will lead the STO's strategic decisions. Below the council there will be five divisions; Field Ops: covering all ground forces that work through the Stargate, Fleet Ops: governing the starships and space forces that will be constructed in the future, Science Engineering Division, Medical Core, Intelligence and finally Culture and Religion (CR): to prepare the world for eventual full disclosure of the new reality we face."
"If all of you contribute financially and through the provision of well trained personnel, each of your countries will receive schematics of every piece of advanced military technology we have developed and others. However, if its found that you are misusing it; such as aiming it against other people on this planet…" said Clinton darkly, "well, you saw how the Ambassador made the buffet table disappear…picture that."
Angelo had to hand it to the President; he certainly knew how to use the carrot and stick approach effectively. Clinton nodded to the Ambassador and sat down.
"Thank you, Mr President," he said and snapped his fingers, multiple ringing sounds of the matter-energy transporter were heard and laptops appeared in front of each delegate. "Inside, you will find the technology schematics that was spoken of. You can leave with it today…if you sign the agreement to begin the process of establishing the STO."
"How can we possibly accept that?" asked the Russian delegate. "When we don't even know the fine print of the STO."
"The final treaty will be hammered out by all you fine folks," said Potter. "Its merely a commitment to accept the broad framework of the STO, the specifics are up to you. But be warned, any under the table nonsense and backroom deals to get yourselves a bigger piece of the pie and…" he snapped his fingers and the laptops disappeared and then reappeared. "You get the picture."
Angelo stood looking up at the Stargate within the Spartan concrete environment within Cheyenne Mountain with a sense of humbleness. No, he didn't feel reverence for the device itself, but rather of what was beyond the gate and out there…how utterly small this new perspective on the Universe made him feel. And how all the struggles of the past century seemed insignificant compared to the scale of things out there.
The Conference was winding to a close. After the draft STO agreement had been signed, Major Davis had gone on to recount all the major missions and events that had occurred over the past five years and which Earth had been involved in. It amazed and frightened him; the sheer ingenuity displayed by the people of the SGC in dealing with numerous seemingly unsolvable calamities boggled the mind. Blowing up a star to wipe out an enemy fleet, detonating a specially designed explosive to stop a Black Hole from gulping up the planet, the Earth's second moon was actually a cleverly disguised attack that had been thwarted; it was enough for him to think through a quick prayer for God to give him the strength to cope.
"Penny for your thoughts, Eminence," said a voice at his side. Angelo broke out of his reverie and prayer to see that Ambassador Potter was the owner of the voice.
"I rather doubt that they'd be worth such a small price, Ambassador," said Angelo. The presence of the Ambassador brought up a rather sticky issue, at least it would be for the future CR division. The actual Builders of the Stargates, or as they were colloquially known, the Ancients, and their origins was a contentious issue among the religious delegates at the STO conference and it had been the only item that had been rigorously debated between them. The fact that he was apparently standing right next to a full blooded descendant of the Builders that had been born on Earth was rather disconcerting.
"Quite," said Potter with a grin. "I rather think though that your mind is on the issue of the Second Evolution." Angelo balked, was he that transparent? Potter chuckled. "I am good at reading people, Eminence. But hard proof will be shown to the Holy See, and don't worry about a crisis of faith. I think it will please you to know, that despite the fact that the Ancients believed in science, that they also had a very subtle religion. They believed that the Universe was Infinite and they acknowledged the Creator of that Infiniteness, they were Theists. They however, had little use for sacraments and rites, because of a very traumatic incident in their past where they had to defend themselves against a genocidal crusade that tore their society apart. That experience led them to 'tone down' their religion considerably."
Angelo winced inwardly at that. If there was one thing that had briefly made him ashamed of wearing his Cardinal robes, then it was when he had learned of the Church's own bloody past in inspiring the numerous Crusades to the Holy Land, the Inquisitions and so forth. Those excesses and corruption had led to the Reformation and the creation of the Church of England and Protestantism.
"I myself also believe in God," said Potter, "I pray and meditate but do not follow in any specific 'religion'. No religion has it right or wrong. Because to say otherwise is impossible, if the Universe is Infinite and God created it, therefore God must be beyond Infinite, it follows then that God is utterly beyond human understanding, we try our best, but its like the three blind men touching the elephant…"
"I understand what you are trying to say," said Angelo with his hands held up.
"Good," said Potter his face turning serious and eyes hard as emeralds, "because I would hate to have to evacuate the descendants of the Gatebuilders living out their lives on this planet because they faced another round of Witch hunts."