Daniel ran his eyes up and down the perplexing object. He lifted his fingers to the raised writing, as if the feel of it could reveal some secret that the appearance did not. The artifact stood out against the wall, mocking his inability to decipher its use.
"Figured it out, yet?" Jack stuck his head over Daniel's shoulder and barked into his ear.
Daniel leapt a foot in the air at the unexpected break in his concentration. "Jack!" Daniel raised his hand to his forehead, attempting to massage away his frustration. "No, I haven't. But something might occur to me if I were left alone for 30 seconds." Jack harrumphed.
Daniel returned his gaze to the artifact. The native guide they encountered indicated they would be able to make the object work by examining the inscriptions. He ran his fingers over the raised marks, attempting to coax out their secrets. The script was a mix of forms, half the writing in a series of dots, half the writings in normal Arabic letters. Though the letters were familiar, the words meant nothing to him.
"We need to figure this out in order to get out of here, Daniel. And I'd like to be ready to move out by the time Major Carter and Teal'c return from their meeting." Daniel sighed and redoubled his efforts. Perhaps the colors had some significance?
Daniel remained lost in thought until he heard Sam's cheerful greeting. He turned to watch her and Teal'c descend the sloping path into the cool gray cave that contained the artifact.
"Are you ready to go?" she asked.
"No, Daniel hasn't figured it out yet."
Sam pushed past the men with a longsuffering sigh. "Oh fer crying out loud."
Jack's eyebrows shot up at her use of his trademark phrase.
"It's perfectly simple. You put the money in here, 'til you get to the proper amount, then hit the white button. It's just the D.C. subway system, not rocket science." Sam took her card from the farecard machine and turned to walk to the turnstiles, muttering.
"Tourists!"
© June 18, 2000 The characters mentioned in this story are the property of Showtime and Gekko Film Corp. The Stargate, SG-I, the Goa'uld and all other characters who have appeared in the series STARGATE SG-1 together with the names, titles and backstory are the sole copyright property of MGM-UA Worldwide Television, Gekko Film Corp, Glassner/Wright Double Secret Productions and Stargate SG-I Prod. Ltd. Partnership. This fanfic is not intended as an infringement upon those rights and solely meant for entertainment. All other characters, the story idea and the story itself are the sole property of the author.
Author's Notes: Auntie Val, I'll have a whipped up mudslide in a frosty glass, please... And Auntie Joyce? I'll have those, ahem, "special" photos of Daniel I know you keep.