Applying his Scottish charm, Carson replied reassuringly, "My colleague and I are scientists." He lifted his pack and pulled it on. "Such things are of great interest to us."
Nodding approvingly, the Elder walked them to the door. "Gathering knowledge for its own sake is a worthy pursuit-something that I keep impressing upon my students. If nothing else, your being here will set a fine example for them."
Rodney had never been all that interested in architecture, but he'd already noted the use of Ancient-made metals and composites in the ceilings and doors. A few minutes into the group's walk through the village, decorated stone walls gave way to sleek gray corridors that closely resembled those of Atlantis. The laboratory couldn't be far.
According to Vend, the main facility had once been accessible from the top of the cliff-no doubt the structure Rodney had detected beneath that enormous mound of sand that they'd climbed on arrival. He was certain that half of the stuff was still inside his boots. Which raised an interesting point. The yellow sand was annoying, especially since it had worked its way into his socks, but it wasn't harmful. Presumably the rusty hue associated with the coarser granules was due to a highly acidic mineral, because oxidization alone could not be responsible for the burning.
"We'll need to get a sample of that red sand," he said to Carson. Its properties might also explain why his scanner had been unable to provide more detailed information on the Ancient building. The shield that surrounded the main lab unquestionably interfered with the signal, but the energy field couldn't account for everything.
Nodding absently, Carson replied, "I remember this place." At Rodney's look he amended, "You know what I mean. This was an Ancient outpost where their scientists monitored the planetary shaping and performed continuing research." He glanced around at the numerous doorways that lined the passage. "These were the living quarters for hundreds of technicians, most of whom were human."
"We believe we are descended from the people of which you speak. The buildings were extended by carving into the nearby cliffs." Uene stared at Carson curiously. "How is it that you `remember' such things?"
From the back of the group, Sheppard spoke up. "It's not exactly a memory."
"Aye," Carson added quickly. "It's something that I… saw."
Vene's expression shifted. "Ah! I have heard of such places. A room where an Ancestor stands on a podium and speaks of things past?"
Smiling weakly, Carson replied, "Something like that."
Rodney lengthened his stride, anxious to save time. He still didn't completely trust Carson's one-week estimate of Atlantis's situation. That aside, the prospect of securing as many as twelve ZPMs had provided an injection of adrenaline to his system that no amount of caffeine could match. His mind was already racing several steps ahead, exploring myriad possibilities.
Sheppard steered the conversation to a less ambiguous topic. "Uene, have your people settled elsewhere on the planet over the last ten thousand years?"
"Many communities have been established across Polrusso, all nestled within cliff faces. The eleven largest villages have been built around smaller laboratories where we believe the power modules to drive the terraforming are kept-the ZPMs, as you call them."
Which instantly rendered Rodney's budding plan inoperable. Or maybe not. "You do realize, of course, that once the water is released-"
"These areas, indeed, all of our homes, will be washed away, yes. Over the last ten generations, each village has built an entirely new settlement with extensive food and water storage facilities inland from their current location. This food and water is frequently replenished, but we cannot live there for any period of time, for we must plant new crops each season and we can only access the underground water from the cliff settlements. According to the Ancestors' maps, once the great flood begins, these new areas, which are on basement rock, will remain safe during the subsequent months of weather changes. At that point we will be able to plant the seeds we have acquired from other worlds to grow crops suitable to the newly generated climate."
Okay, that was promising. "How long would it take you to move there?"
"According to the texts, we should be alerted two weeks in advance of the release of all water. However, as we believe that there is something wrong with the machine, we fear that if-when-the time comes, we will be given little if any forewarning. Consequently, we have developed plans for immediate evacuation and methods of rapid communication between villages. If one area begins to collapse, we hope that, even if those villagers cannot save themselves, their warning will allow others to flee." Vend's voice became troubled. "It is not easy to live this way. Each dawn I wonder if this will be the day. And if so, will we have sufficient warning to escape with our lives?"
"Must be tough, in addition to coping with the Wraith and all," said Sheppard.
Beside Rodney, Vend's step faltered. He quickly recovered and kept moving. But if Rodney had noticed, there was no way Sheppard had missed it.
"Especially since they've become pretty active of late," the Colonel continued.
The Polrusson Elder was distinctly uncomfortable as he searched for a way to answer. A pause came and went before Ronon said, "One of the tales I heard was that this planet hosts a Wraith hive ship."
This time it was Rodney's turn to stumble. He wheeled on the Satedan. "Don't try to tell me you couldn't have mentioned that earlier."
"Does it change anything right now?"
"Other than my blood pressure?"
Ronon's look said something along the lines of my point exactly. The man appeared to delight in pushing Rodney's buttons, a hobby for which he seemed to have an unusual aptitude.
Their team leader didn't look thrilled, either. "Vene?" Sheppard asked, his tone pointed.
"Your friend speaks the truth," admitted the Elder, his voice heavy with regret. "We had hoped to conceal it from our trading partners and especially from you. It was when the Wraith came that Atlas and the other Ancestors abandoned our world."
"Well, we're not going anywhere just yet," Sheppard assured him. "But it's good to know these things so we can be prepared."
Apparently dealing with a berserker terraforming machine wasn't enough fun for the week. No, they had to run into some Wraith as well. Nobody could say the Pegasus Galaxy didn't have a sense of humor.
When the laboratory entrance came into view Rodney pushed his various thoughts of doom aside. Because the design so closely resembled many of the devices they'd found on Atlantis, it didn't take long for him to locate the control panel for the force field. "I'll just be a minute here," he told the others. "Feel free to keep discussing the minor problem of having life-sucking monsters in residence."
Taking Rodney up on his suggestion, Sheppard turned to Vend. "I have to say I'm a little surprised that your people have done so well."
"That is only because the hive ship appears not to have fully woken."
"Do you know where this ship is?"
Which was enough to make Rodney lose his grip on one of the crystals. Scrambling to recover it, he swung around to face the Colonel and demanded, "Tell me you're not contemplating-"
"No, Rodney, I'm not quite as dumb as I look," Sheppard replied with a tight smile. "Just curious. How about you get back to work?"
Rodney was absolutely certain that he could feel Ronon's smirk behind his back, but resisted the urge to comment. The sooner he could get them into this lab, the sooner they could find out what he needed to know-and make a strategic withdrawal before Sheppard went into hero mode.
"Nabu and his minions live in the great abyss that will one day become the deepest part of our oceans," Vene explained.