Brimstone

Chapter Seven

Saul led them down the wide main stairway into another hall on the level directly below. It was equally run down. He stopped at the end of the corridor, pressed his hand into an intricately carved bit of masonry, and a crack opened in the wall. It widened slowly and they all waited to see what it would reveal.

“If you don’t mind my saying so,” Sheppard said, glancing up and down the hall, “you guys could use a good housekeeper.”

Saul smiled. “You’ll find the lower levels better tended,” he said. “When the Wraith threatened, we managed to fight them off — but we found it simpler to allow them to believe we’d been wiped out than to make ourselves a target for repeat attacks. We retreated to the lower levels and we left the main floors and the outer grounds untouched. We had sufficient shielding to prevent detection from long range scans, and the appearance of the planet’s surface acted as a shield against visual searches. A very simple ploy, I know, but it has served us well.”

“Oh really?” Rodney said. “That’s interesting, because I had no trouble detecting your power signatures, or your life signs. If I can tell you’re here, what’s to prevent the Wraith?”

“We’ve turned the shields off,” Saul said with a smile. “We no longer fear the Wraith, or any other form of attack.”

“Why not?” Ronon said. “Wraith are active again. Didn’t you know that?”

“Yes, of course we do, and I’ll be happy to explain what has changed for us in good time,” Saul replied. “But first, please, allow me to offer a proper welcome. You are our guests. There will be plenty of time for talk.”

He stepped through the opening in the wall into a lift beyond. Sheppard looked at the others, shrugged, and followed. One by one, they stepped in, and when the last of them had crossed the threshold, the opening in the wall closed cleanly behind them, cutting them off from the dead, vacant halls beyond.

Rodney wasn’t willing to give up on his inquiries so soon, or to be distracted by a welcome to the city. He was still studying readouts on his computer screen, and he pushed forward so that he walked closely beside Saul.

“The city,” Rodney said. “It has a star drive?”

“It does,” Saul agreed. “How did you know that? Were you able to detect it as well?”

“We’ve come from the city of Atlantis,” Sheppard replied. “Admah is very… similar.”

“Almost identical,” Saul said. “Two cities with incredibly similar architecture and technology, but so different in other ways. Some used to call them the light and the dark. But I’d heard Atlantis was abandoned, sunken beneath the waves and forgotten?”

“The rumors of her demise were, exaggerated,” Sheppard said. “Atlantis is very much active and inhabited.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Saul said. “I never expected anyone from that city to visit us again. It is an honor.”

Teyla eyed him speculatively, eyes slightly narrowed. “Which were you?”

“What do you mean?”

“You said they referred to Admah and Atlantis as ‘the dark and the light.’ Which were you?”

“That would depend on who you asked, I suppose,” Saul smiled.

When the lift doors opened, they stepped into another corridor. This one was clean and cheerful. There were colorful lights running along the ceiling and the floor was polished stone. The walls were lined with tapestries and, in stark contrast to the corridors of Atlantis, each doorway was ornate.

“Welcome to the real Admah,” Saul said.

The team stood in the center of the corridor, turned in a circle, and stared. Ronon walked over to one wall and examined something more closely.

Sheppard followed him, and then turned back to Saul. “We saw a lot of these on the upper floor. This one seems newer, though. They’re advertisements?”

The poster showed a beast with the head of a great cat and the body of something similar to a horse. Its fangs dripped saliva and its eyes gleamed as if lit from within. It was squared off against a tall, slender warrior with long blonde hair and a spear twice his own height. The spear had some sort of sphere midway down its shaft. The sphere glowed, and the man’s hand disappeared into its center.

“We’ve been here in this city for a very long time,” Saul said. “We’ve found ways to amuse ourselves. Entertainments, we call them. The problem with entertainment in any form is that they are limited unless you change either the milieu, or the stakes. Variety is the key. We have become quite adept at changing things up and avoiding boredom.”

“But what is this thing?” Cumby said, stepping up beside Ronon. “This creature? It can’t be real? I mean, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“You never will,” Saul replied cryptically. “It was one of a kind. If you like, I’ll tell you about it later on, but for now, if you will all follow me, I’d like to introduce you to some of the other citizens of Admah.”

“I’d like to get back out to the gate and get a report through to Atlantis,” Sheppard said.

“First, I must insist that you come with me,” Saul said. “I’ll arrange to have one of your people taken to the surface later — they can establish contact and set your people’s mind at ease. Will that be acceptable?”

He smiled at Sheppard, but there was something odd in the expression. They all caught it, but managed not to react, though Ronon glared at him openly. Teyla looked perplexed, Rodney turned from Saul, to Sheppard, and back to Saul.

“Alright,” Sheppard said at last. “Let’s go. It will have to be soon, though,” he added. “Commander Woolsey directed us to report in every three to four hours. If we don’t make contact, he won’t wait long before sending another team.”

Saul smiled and led them on down the hall. Ronon dropped back beside Sheppard. “I don’t like this,” he said.

“I don’t either, but we don’t have much time to find out what we need to know. If we return to the surface now…”

Ronon met Sheppard’s gaze and held it, then nodded. They passed by a number of the colorful posters. There were more warriors and more creatures, some familiar, others incredible, and still others that appeared to be amalgams of creatures they knew — sometimes mixed with those they didn’t. Rodney studied the images, scanning a few as he passed, and then hurrying to catch up.

“What do you think they are?” Cumby asked Rodney, his voice low. “Surely they aren’t images of actual creatures.”

“I don’t know,” Rodney admitted. “I’ve tried to scan farther out to see if I can locate any other life signs, but the signal seems to be dampened. The range of what I can reach is limited.”

“Have you analyzed the signal dampeners?”

Rodney turned, irritated. “How would you suggest I go about that? Let’s see, I use a signal to analyze it, but…oh! It’s dampened. Of course I’m trying to analyze it.”

Cumby frowned. It wasn’t an expression of irritation, he was thinking.

“What?” Rodney snapped.

“I’m remembering something. Almost everything I’ve learned as an adult is crystal clear…eerily so, I suppose. Things I saw and read when I was younger are still there, but it’s like the data is running in the background.”

Ahead, Saul had opened a door on the right side of the hallway. Light and sound spilled out of it. Cumby looked almost frantic and Rodney hung back, waiting.

“What’s not there!” Cumby said, snapping his fingers in relief. “Instead of trying to find what is available and what is there — scan for signals and think about what should be there. It’s an old game I learned as a boy. To find something that is there, you remove all of the things you expect to be there first. Whatever is left, that’s what’s different. I don’t know if it will help, but…”

Rodney was already walking, following Saul, Sheppard, and the others. Cumby followed after quickly. “Rodney,” he called. “Dr. McKay?”

The group disappeared through the doorway and Cumby scuttled to catch up. He entered the room just as the door closed behind them.