Applications of Replication

Disclaimer: I don't own Stargate SG-1 (apart from the DVDs), nor any of the galaxies in which this story takes place.� This is written for fun, not profit.� Much of the plot, and some of the characters (particularly Cynthia and two others introduced in this chapter) are mine, so please don't take them.
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Notes: This is a sequel to Aperture Science Applied, so it would be wise to read that first.
Some spoilers for Prometheus Unbound, Reckoning, and Threads (and Gemini), and familiarity with Season 8 is recommended since I don't always rehash every detail or scene if it's not necessary.� Anyhow, enjoy!

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Chapter 1 - Cynthia Unbound

"You've packed plenty of clothes?"

"Yes, Mom."

"Hat coat and boots?"

"Yesss."

"And all your computer cables?"

Cynthia gave her mother an 'are you crazy?' look. "Me without cables? Daniel's more likely to give up coffee."

Sam turned towards Daniel, who was giving his farewell to Doctor Janet Frasier, who he'd left until last. "Be careful around alien women," she was warning him.

"Janet, I'll be too busy missing you to notice anyone else," he told her honestly.

"You promise you'll come back intact?"

"If not, you can put me back together. Trust me - I'll be careful."

"Like you always are, Daniel. But please try to care for yourself this time. And go easy on that arm for at least a week."

"I will. Here, I want you to have something to look at so you can always remember I'm coming back." Daniel handed her a small black box.

Janet looked inside and involuntarily gasped. "Daniel? Is that... are you..."

"Janet Frasier, after I return, will you marry me?"

Janet collected herself and smiled slyly. "I'll answer when you get back."

"Janet! I... well... I suppose that's..."

She interrupted him with a kiss that caused Cynthia to look the other way and Jack to cheer rowdily. "On second thoughts, it's much better to look forward to a wedding."

Daniel looked a little lost. "Is that a yes?"

"It's a 'hurry back and marry me, you adorable man, or else I'll use you for medical testing'."

"Can't argue with that." He slowly slipped the ring onto her finder, and after one more lingering kiss and tight hug, he boarded Prometheus.

Jack stared after his newly-engaged departing friend. "That was unexpected."

"You two be good," Cynthia told her parents, who seemed to have become lost in their own thoughts.

"Stay out of mischief, and make me proud," Jack told his newly discovered daughter.

"You aren't proud of mischief?" he fifteen-year-old asked in mock astonishment.

"Depends on the result, which is usually bad, so... be careful and don't get too bored."

"Did you pa..."

"Yes, Mom. And yes, I'll say 'Hi' to Doctor Weir and try to be nice to McKay even though he's a..."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sam cut in.

"You remember all the emergency procedures?"

"Yes, Dad. And I'll bring you some pictures of Pegasus trees, if there are any. Mom, good luck with the replicator project."

"Thanks, Cynthia. I'm sure I'll find your ideas helpful. Remember to keep warm and don't stay up late."

"Late relative to what?" Cynthia asked cheekily. "Just think, next time you see me I'll be telling you all about what I did in the Pegasus galaxy! No other teenager can say that."

"No truthfully," Jack quipped. "You'd better get aboard.

"Goodbye, and give my thanks to the president." After a quick round of hugs, the young genius followed Daniel's footsteps into the space cruiser. She quickly found the man speaking to General George Hammond.

"You must be Cynthia. I've heard so much about you from your father," he said in a welcoming manner. "I'm glad to have a budding scientist aboard."

"Actually I'd say she's a flowering scientist, seeing that she's already created her own stargate and independently predicted the properties of naquadah, among other things," Daniel corrected.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sir," Cynthia said timidly.

"Please call me George, seeing that your mother is my goddaughter."

"Okay... George. You know, last time I was on this ship, I was a prisoner."

"So I've heard. I hope your stay is much more comfortable this time. Would you like to watch liftoff from the bridge?"

"I'd love to! And I promise I'll be quiet and keep out of the way."

"Naturally. Since my men are busy finalising the pre-flight checks, I have a few minutes to show you where things are."

"Sounds great."

It was. While Cynthia had seen floor plans and read technical specs the day before, nothing beat walking though the real thing. George's enthusiasm about the mission served to increase her own, and he struck her as a capable leader. She began to see why her parents spoke so highly of him.

The engine room and armoury were two of the most interesting stops on the tour. Her own room provided little of interest, and was only big enough for a fold-down bed and room to stand beside it. She didn't mind since there were plenty of corridors to walk in. Besides, she was fortunate to be going at all.

She checked her watch and saw that launch was ten minutes away. It seemed amazing that only a day ago she was out shopping like any regular person. It had been a fun day, getting to know her mother and her mother's friend Janet, as well as Cassie. Cassie was a fun person to have around, and if she hadn't known, she would not have guessed the young woman was not born on Earth. She was glad that Cassie had a few weeks off med-school, because it was obvious Janet would be greatly missing Daniel, to whom she was now surprisingly engaged. It was too bad she couldn't come to see them off.

Cynthia couldn't help but wonder who had won the betting pool on that one. Her mother and Janet had already won off each other's relationship – hence the shopping spree. If she had to guess, she would say the quiet but insightful Teal'c would be a likely candidate for the next pool winner.

Noticing the time, she decided she'd better get herself to the bridge if she didn't want to miss launch.

"So... this is hyperspace," she commented to Daniel after Earth had been left far behind. "Looks pretty."

"Uh, yes, it does," Daniel agreed after looking through the window. "I'm sure there's some scientific explanation for what we're seeing."

"I expect so, but it's not one of my priorities."

"Yeah, so... here we are, going to another galaxy."

"Another galaxy. Sounds... wild. The farthest I've been from home is the Alpha Site."

"It's a good way to escape, isn't it?" Daniel commented.

"Escape? From what?"

"It must be tough to lose your parents, have new parents appear, and be kidnapped as part of an alien invasion, only to be faced with an evil robot double of your mother who gave you away at birth. I though I had a bad childhood, but… well that must be overwhelming."

"You had a bad childhood, Daniel?"

Daniel nodded sadly. "I saw my parents die in an accident when I was much younger than you, and then I went through several foster homes."

"Oh. I guess this trip is partly a way to get away from it all for a while. Though considering where we're going…" Cynthia laughed at the situation. "We're probably heading into a lot more trouble than we left. I guess the whole galactic battling you do helps you put all the little problems of everyday life into perspective."

Daniel shook his head. "Actually, we need to remember that the reason we're fighting the 'galactic battle' is to protect all those little 'everyday life' things. All this jumping between planets might seem big, but it's the small simple things we are fighting for."

"Hmm… that's an interesting point. Thanks, Daniel. You're a smart guy."

"I have my moments. Speaking of which, I'm needed in a meeting in a few minutes, so I should be on my way."

"I guess I'll see you later. I'll be working in my room." The pair parted, and Cynthia took a roundabout route back to her cabin. On her travels, she crossed paths with another scientist. "Hi, I'm Cynthia," she greeted the woman.

"Doctor Lindsey Novak. You must be hic the one who invented your own stargate, right?"

"Yeah, that would be me. What's your field?"

"Alien technology, particularly hic engines. Sorry about that, I get hiccups when I'm hic nervous."

"So you'd know all about the hyperdrive?" Cynthia figured.

"That's right. hic Actually, I'm off to tell the hic general that it's operating at 100 hic efficiency."

"Great. We should talk some time, when you're not busy."

"I'd love to, if hic I get a chance." The woman quickly continued on her way.

Cynthia soon reached her room and began setting up her laptop. Once it was running and ready, she took out a vial of black goo which had several wires attached to it. She plugged a connector into a high-speed port in the laptop and continued her project of the last couple of days. The goo was the small collection of replicator cells she'd managed to pocket during the 'juggling' incident. Fortunately she'd succeeded in reprogramming them slightly so they didn't respond when Thor had searched for all remaining replicator cells.

After some time, she felt the ship change course. She paid little attention to this until an alarm sounded a while later. While she knew the best move would be to stay in her room, she couldn't easily work with the sound of the alarm, even though she often listened to music about as loud. The difference was that the music did not signify some unknown danger. Eventually the alarm fell silent, allowing her to work while she waited to someone to come and tell her all was clear and explain the problem.

No one came, making the teen rather suspicious. She waited another five minutes, but the silence and inactivity were constant. Deciding the situation warranted investigation, she quietly left her room and began to search the ship. Oddly, she didn't see anyone for the first few minutes, so she decided she should head for the bridge. There she found Daniel, tied by the wrists to a chair and struggling to get loose. He immediately signalled for her to be silent, and she complied.

Daniel wasn't having much success getting free. To save him the trouble, Cynthia pulled out her pocketknife and cut him free. He immediately scooped up a zat gun that had been left nearby and whispered softly, "Back to your room. One intruder. I'll take care of this."

Cynthia unwillingly obeyed… for a few minutes. She soon grew anxious and chose to find Daniel again. The sounds of a scuffle lead her to the engine room. She peeked around the corner in time to see a black-clad, black-haired woman leap onto Daniel and lean forward.

"Are we done?" the stranger asked.

"I am!" the pained Doctor Jackson replied. The woman pulled him up by his head and after stroking his cheek, leaned in as if to kiss him. Daniel anticipated this, and slapped her face rather hard. "You're a fruitcake!" he declared.

The woman head-butted him to the floor. Cynthia was about to run in to assist, but before she could get far, Daniel recovered and took the stranger down with the zat. "Are you alright?"

"I've been better," Daniel replied, feeling a few of the places that would soon become bruises. "She fights dirty."

"Who is she? And where's everyone else?"

"She decided to borrow our ship without asking. Transported everyone else to a disabled Al'kesh which we thought we were rescuing. Oh, and she's locked down the hyperdrive systems so I can't stop us from going to our home-world. Do you think you could find a way around whatever she's done to the computers?"

Cynthia shrugged. "Sure. Does she have a name?"

"Uh… Vala. Hey, before you do that, would you mind changing her clothes for me?"

"If you don't want to do it yourself."

Daniel didn't need to think to answer that question. "That would be a bad idea."

"Fine. Does this happen often?" Cynthia wondered.

"Far too often."

Back on Earth…

Ivan Sage sat moodily on his bed, strumming at his guitar. It was one of his few possessions, as his father didn't let him have much money. While he spent most of his time working at Sage General Store, he didn't earn much from it, because Markus, his father, felt the boy owed him for the previous seventeen years of his unhappy life.

Unbidden, a jumble of images appeared in the static of his mind. He fought them off, as he always did. If he paid them any attention, they would multiply and become clearer, and he didn't want that to happen. His father told him that he had been damaged before he was born. It was his mother's fault. Ivan had no memory of his mother, just a lot of bad words from his father. Actually, he had seen images of his mother in his mind a couple of times, but when he mistakenly told his father… the spanking had left him unable to sit comfortably for a few days.

Apparently, the visions were evil and wrong. Ivan did his best to deny them entry into his mind, in order to keep his father relatively happy. Sadly, the effort and the remaining static left him academically inferior. He'd dropped out of high school when he realised he would never get good grades, no matter how hard he tried. His father had been upset, but when he'd realised it meant his son could join him in the store, he'd warmed up to the situation.

Ivan was sick of the situation. While his father was usually pleasant to be around, and didn't have any bad habits such as drinking, he was a rather controlling and selfish man underneath. He claimed to be protecting Ivan from the world and from his mother's influence, but having few friends and little money left him fairly miserable. At least he had his music. And he was very nearly almost 18, at which time he had decided he was leaving. He wasn't sure where yet, but he had a bit of cash hidden away, having sold some of his things, and done occasional odd-jobs when his father was off fishing with his buddies.

He briefly wondered whether his mother was really bad as Markus regularly claimed. He guessed not, but there was no way to find out. Unless he let the pictures tell him. There was no way his father could find out, especially since Ivan would be gone very soon. Deciding it was worth a try, he attempted to concentrate on the idea of his mother, while allowing himself to see the pictures in his head. This was a lot harder to do that he expected, since pushing away the visions had become so ingrained.

Various pictures rushed through his mind, many of them snippets of memories. None were concerned with his mother, until he briefly saw a woman holding a bundle which he somehow knew to be himself. She looked normal enough. Then another vision appeared: himself walking through the airport. "Which gate do we need to be at?" a familiar female voice asked. He pulled out a ticket and read, "Gate 5".

The teen blinked and looked around. He was still sitting on his bed with his guitar. Somehow he'd experienced a memory of something he was sure hadn't happened. That was strange, but even stranger was that he had clearly seen the destination on the ticket: Colorado Springs. Perhaps it was meaningful, perhaps not. Either way, it seemed as good a place to go as any.

On the outskirts of town, Leah Lincoln moved silently through fields, holding her camera. She was hoping to spot some night creatures, or anything of interest, really. She'd found photography to be an interesting pastime and she had become quite skilled at it. Her pictures brought in a reasonable sum of money from various local publications.

She wasn't entirely sure what she might see tonight, but she was an adventurous sort. If she found something, she'd have some interesting pictures to show for it, and if not, it was still fun, and it was a bit of exercise. She'd recently upgraded her camera so she could use an infrared flash, which was useful if she didn't want anyone to know she was taking pictures, so long as she didn't care about colour.

Leah heard a sound and froze. She listened and identified it as an approaching truck. Soon its headlights were visible, fortunately not pointing towards her. It stopped in an empty field and two men jumped down from the cab. Impulsively she snapped a few pictures. Then she heard another sound. It seemed to be coming from the sky, possibly an airplane. However, she couldn't see any lights, and it seemed to be rather close.

The unexplained sound stopped on the ground near the truck, rather puzzling the young woman. However, it wasn't nearly as puzzling as what happened next. The air seemed to shift and an unidentifiable object appeared on the ground beside the truck. The shape appeared to be rather irregular. She remembered to take more pictures just as some sort of door opened. Two more men stepped out, and the four of them began transferring crates from the truck to the… whatever it was. Eventually the truck drove away and the occupants of the unknown thing returned.

Leah still succeeded in being surprised when the unknown object rose off the ground. She did however managed to snap some more pictures before it faded into invisibility. She could still hear it as it departed however. Whatever it was, it was unidentifiable, and it flew, logically making it a UFO. Clearly, she had a good reason to be up early in the morning. The reputable papers might not print any of these pictures, but she was sure the tabloids would pay good money for them.