Dec 7, Atlantis
Dear Jane,
What good timing you have! Laura Cadman had her baby. It's a healthy boy, just
shy of nine pounds. The rumor mill has been going nuts since it came out two weeks
ago that Carson's the father. It certainly explains why she didn't return to Earth.
And also why she was so quiet about him. The city held together like it has for the
last ten thousand years, so maybe it's not as foolhardy a risk as I thought to remain
here. It's the off-world teams that end up in the infirmary. We've only had a few
city-related incidents since I arrived: lab burns, contusions from sports games on
the mainland, and allergic reactions to new foods for the most part. I hear there
was a nanovirus that got loose a few months after the original expedition arrived,
but we've had nothing like that happen.
I've concluded that there must be an unwritten rule that babies in the Pegasus
Galaxy must be born in the middle of the night. At least on this planet. Last
month we had an Athosian woman who ended up requiring evac to the city because she
was breech (And of course she had to be a week past her due date. Big baby).
Thank god the therapy took with Halling, because I'd have hated trying to fly and keep
her calm.
Then last night, technically this morning, Lieutenant Cadman quick-delivers at 0200.
At least it won't be a problem with Dr. Parrish. We're scheduling him for a C-Section
two weeks before his estimated due date. And Dr. Kirnov isn't due for another seven
months. The Athosians seem to be on a breeding binge, but I have my suspicions that
our marine contingent may have something to do with that. Dr. Weir's been muttering
about the need for a policy on the relationships, and she's right. Legally this
could get messy back home. I know at least two of the soldiers have been courting
Athosians. I know that Kyra, the Athosian due in roughly four weeks, owes her
current status to a marine. I hear they're thinking about marriage after the
baby's born. The Athosians don't believe in shotgun weddings the way they do in
Texas, but I think there's a hope for permanence and a further blending of our
peoples.
David has been handling his situation as well as can be expected. Until Elaine
came down pregnant we'd been working under the assumption that there must have
been a virus of some kind in the resin from the plant that bit him. A remnant of
someone's twisted sense of humor in the genetic engineering field. Now we're
reasonably sure it was the energy beam. I've got a working theory on it, but I
want to do a bit more research before committing anything to paper. Even to you.
In clinical terms, he's got his very own parasite developing independently in his
abdomen. Fun stuff, right? It just happens to have generated from his and Major
Lorne's DNA. We still haven't determined how genetic material was collected. I've
been bracing myself for the talk we need to have about what exactly they were doing
in the period during and immediately after getting hit with the beam of energy.
Then I get to have the same talk with Kirnov and Pulaski. I need a new job. Right
now, however, I need sleep more.
~ Laura
- - -
December 17, Atlantis
Dear Jane,
Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy New Year. Whatever you celebrate. We had a
combined celebration last night since there's such a range of nations and cultures
represented by our little family. Jason dragged me there kicking and screaming
(I've never been one for the holidays. Most of the last ten years I haven't been
anywhere that celebrated the Christmas I grew up with. And mom's family was Baha'i,
which meant that Dad's family were the only ones who actively celebrated). I'll
admit, I had a good time. It was nice to just relax and not worry about anything.
The Athosian moonshine didn't hurt either. They've got a good quality still going
on the mainland. It's a little high proof, but sweet to go with the burn.
Woke up this morning in bed with Jason. Not completely sure how I feel about that.
We didn't have sex, which is a relief. I think we were so drunk last night near the
end that protection wouldn't have even occurred to us. I'm worried about where this
is going, though. Because I really care for him, but I'm scared this will blow up in
my face. If it does, I can't just request a transfer to India at the next eval. And
it's such a small community, everyone knows everything. It wouldn't be just ours,
even for the first few weeks of acclimation. It's possible the damage has already
been done, though. It's late enough in the morning that someone's going to see him
coming out of my quarters. And I don't have the heart to wake him, he looks so
peaceful.
I sound like a sap. This is not getting things done. I need to get down to the lab,
get some coffee to clear out the hangover, and get back to work on the analysis of the
effects of that beam of light. Because there has to be something in the post-
mission physicals to indicate something had changed. Maybe another half hour of sleep,
though. And some water.
~ Laura
- - -
December 28, Atlantis
Dear Jane,
I keep meaning to tell you about the city and other things keep coming up! You
asked about the war. I'm not sure you can call it that, but I guess it's close to
accurate. I'm reasonably certain I've never gotten the full story, even after six
months here. I know that after the expedition arrived, some of their members were
captured in a Culling on Athos (It's where the Athosians are originally from). A
Culling is exactly what it sounds like, humans are sucked up into Wraith ships using
a transportation device like a wolf removes the sick from a herd. They take whoever
they can get. Colonel Sheppard led a group to rescue the captured people, and in
getting them out of the Hive Ship (something akin to a mothership, from what I
understand) he 'woke' the Wraith. Apparently they hibernate as a species for
centuries at a time, allowing the human populations to grow before feasting. That's
right, they eat people. Not the flesh, they pull out your energy or something.
I've never seen it done, and Carson still hasn't figured out how it works, but I've
heard some pretty gory things. The Athosians say the Wraith suck away years of your
life, leaving those that they don't kill old and withered. It's enough to give you
nightmares.
The city itself has stood for over ten thousand years, though most of them
were spent on the floor of the sea here. There's a shield that protects us, but
most of the time we don't use it. It takes a lot of power, and our supplies are
limited. Oh, and the alpha-numerics are the designations for planets we visit.
If it starts with a P then it's a planet, an M is a moon. The rest of the name
deals with either the representations of the symbols entered or the mathematical
description of the location of the celestial body. I'm not terribly certain. We
just dial and go, we're not told how it works. To go somewhere with the 'Gate you
enter seven symbols on a dialing pad, six are the address of where you're going and
the final is where you are traveling from. It has to do with three dimensional
coordinates or something. I'm not a physicist, so I don't know the details. I
keep meaning to hunt one of them down, but I haven't had the opportunity yet.
~ Laura
- - - - - - - - - -
December 13, Calgary, AB
Dear Laura,
Pap Season? Oh, you poor thing. You must have had a terrible time getting
everyone to come in for their exams. I generally put mine off as long as I can,
and with our healthcare system that's easier than you'd think. And I can just
imagine the lab work. Jason sounds like a godsend. How have the trips to the
mainland been going? Are you still getting 'anonymous' gifts? Give me details.
My husband's out of town all week, let me live vicariously.
Now, on the topic of Elaine... Are you serious here? You're not playing with the
nice Canadian paralegal, trying to break her brain? Because I'd just about hit the
point where Dr. Parrish's pregnancy was making sense. And now you tell me this. I
understand that you're in another galaxy. But honestly, this is ridiculous.
You're spot on about this reading like a cosmic bad joke. It's a shame that it's
real people getting caught in the middle of it. It sounds like you're making progress
in discovering what's causing it, at least. And just think, in future it could be
a positive thing for same-sex couples. It would just be better if it wasn't in the
middle of whatever it is you're stuck in at the moment.
Bruce and Thomassina send their love, and their fur. They've been shedding all
over as I've been writing. Do you have any cats over there? Or something similar?
And when am I getting a picture of Sarah? She's got to be getting close to a year
now, yes?
~ Jane
- - - - - - - - - -
Back to November
Forward to January
Back to the Beginning