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Daniel Jackson dressed in his normal attire, a set of SG-1 issued fatigues. A utility blouse that looked like it had seen better days even before Daniel was born, absent the SGC patch and his ever present glasses. As he'd wandered about the empty base, dust had settled into his hair and the floating particles were driving his allergies crazy. <Hell> thought the archeologist <There's more dust in this place then on Abydos.> he wasn't far from wrong; it floated about the abandoned base in waves. Making matters worse was the lack of light. Daniel has brought a single flashlight and the empty corridors seem to absorb light like a sponge. Daniel stumbled over something in the darkness and fell to his knees, stirring up even more dust. A violent sneeze erupted from the man.
"God bless you," a voice rang out in the darkness.
"Thank you." Daniel said absentmindedly as he reached for the handkerchief, "Merlin… right?"
"Indeed Doctor Jackson. May I ask what you are doing down here. These rooms haven't been visited in over 10,000 years."
Daniel spoke without really thinking about it. "That would explain all the dust I'm… Well you see… I'm looking for a library."
"All of my files are stored internally."
"Still…" Daniel blew his nose and replaced the handkerchief in his pocket. "They must have developed a written language before you were invented."They had to keep written records, that one of the precursors to civilization."
"The Atlantean people had a robust verbal and written language." Merlin sounded almost defensive.
"Then they must have written books. That's what I'm interested in." Another sneeze racked Daniel, "And I hope the climate control is a little better, wherever they stored their books."
"Very well, The Commander has ordered that I give you complete access, if you would follow me please, the library is located further down."
"Sure." Daniel shrugged to himself. As he followed the AI, over head lights, preceded him, lighting his way. "That a hell of a lot better than this damn flashlight," He muttered to himself.
"Had you bothered to get this little jaunt authorized, I would have provided a light source."
Daniel wasn't sure just how a computer AI could be so sarcastic. He followed the Ai down the hall muttering to him self about smartassed computers.
Merlin led the archeologist to a small elevator and waited for Daniel to board. "I feel I must warn you Doctor Jackson, the facilities are a bit spartan. Even in the heyday of the republic, few found it necessary to handle the physical medium itself. Most of what is available is also stored on a digital format. We are here," Merlin announced after just a few minutes." Daniel never felt the elevator move.
Daniel Jackson stepped out of the elevator into a hallway that was a steep contrast to the rest of Avalon. The hallway was a bright white, uncontaminated by dust. The entire area was well lit, indeed so well lit that Daniel found it almost painful. He had to remove his glasses, and add the sunglass that he normally carried on missions. "A bit bright down here isn't it?
Merlin led Daniel past several doorways into another hallway, there he waved his hand dramatically and a door opened up, revealing a small study room.
Daniel stepped into the room and was shocked at what he found. The small windowless room contained only a chair set in front of a table surface and a small, well the only word Daniel could come up with was keypad that rested in the wall next to the chair.
"Umm Merlin, I really appreciate all of you help so far but… Where are the books?"
"This is one of the small study rooms. The entire catalog is available thought the main selection menu there on the wall. Press the lowest button on the right. Daniel shrugged and did as he was instructed. In a glare of light, a much smaller hologram, poorer in quality than Merlin, materialized on the desk top and began speaking in a strange language.
"Ok." Daniel muttered to himself, "What's he saying?"
"That is Atlantean. The equivalent would be; Welcome to the library; please make your selection."
"The keypad device baffled the scientist."Where's the card catalog system? There has to be some equivalent to the Dewey decimal system.
"Each book is coded with a 127 digit encryption code and may be called for from the keypad.
Frustration began to grow in Daniel's voice, "But that's insane, there has to be some way to do general research without knowing which book you would need ahead of time.
"Doctor Jackson," Merlin began in a tone more suitable to addressing a small child, "The storage system presupposes that you've done your homework ahead of time and know," Merlin stressed the word know, "Which books would be required. Then each book is delivered to the study room as needed. I could easily set up a monitor for you in your quarters and you could start from there"
Daniel reacted poorly to Merlin's suggestion, "That would eliminate the whole flavor. There is something about holding a book, something that that allows you to feel the culture that wrote it. I… I… I…"
"Really Doctor Jackson, sure a scientist of your stature would repudiate such sheer emotionalism."
"There is some truth in what you say, but at the same time, there's a physical impact from directly handling artifacts. This," He waived his hands around the sterile room, "This is a picture of a picture of a bad picture. I need to see the books or tablets or however they stored things, I need to feel them so they become real to me… I know this won't make much sense to you, but your have to trust me on this one. It's important to my understanding of them as a people and as a culture. I need to see the books."
Doctor Jackson's request, aided by the Commanders order that he be allowed to see everything set up a conflict with the standing policies of Avalon. Merlin hesitated for a quarter second, which was a lifetime to the AI, as his secondary conflict resolution routines calculated the best outcome, "Very well Doctor Jackson."
"Please call me Daniel. I keep expecting to see my father when some calls me Doctor Jackson."
"Very well Daniel, though I fear you will find the experience, unpleasant."
A few minutes later, Merlin led Daniel into another small room. This one was even more of an enigma that the study room. "Please remove your clothes and store them in the locker on the right." Two small doors opened up.
"STRIP???" Jack O'Neil would have paid good money to see the shocked look on Daniel's face.
"That's usually required when you remove your clothes, if I understand the colloquialism correctly."
"But…but… but…, He stammered, Why?"
"All the volumes that you so are so desperate to touch are maintained in a sterile environment, In order to enter the library you must be cleansed of all contaminants. Really Daniel, we can always go back, in fact I suggest that we do just that."
"No, I've come this far, I guess I can wear an isolation suit. Daniel began removing his clothes. When he was naked and his uniform was stored in the locker, "Ok, What now?"
"Place the helmet over your head and please close your eyes tightly. Sterilization commences in fifteen seconds."
Daniel barely had enough time to don the helmet before thousand of bright lights energized in the small room. The exposed hair on Daniels body began to burn off and when the stench reached his nose be started to gag. "Do not be concerned Daniel, This phase is nearly finished. Even as Merlin spoke the intense heat faded, only to be replaced but an icy cold shower that smelled faintly of some unidentifiable medicine."
"The disinfectant will wash away all of the dead skin and hair particles. Be careful not to…"
Before Merlin could finish his warning, Daniel inadvertently inhaled some of the spray and began coughing wildly.
"Breathe any of it in."
With liquid dripping from his skin, Daniel spoke, "Gee thanks. Is this really necessary?"
"We are almost done, and yes if you insist on this course of action, that it is necessary. You may remove the helmet now Daniel. Please get dressed. There is a garment in the second locker." Daniel finished dressing and followed Merlin over to a second door that had been concealed from view. The door opened as he approached it and it was another small room. This time the purpose was perfectly clear. There were pressure gauges near the door that would lead out of the room and there were breathing devices mounted on the wall. "Let me guess, the book are stored in vacuum?"
"Close but not precisely. The entire room is filled with inert gas. The breathing device will allow you several hours to explore. I would caution you that nothing can be removed from the vault.
"No why does that just figure. Daniel fitted the mask to his face. "Merlin can you hear me?"
"Of course Daniel, The door opened slowly, a victim of age and lack of maintenance, when it was fully retracted, it reveled a room seeped in complete darkness, save what illumination leaked through the door way."Welcome to the library of Avalon," Merlin said in a plain tone of voice. "No one has been in this room for more that 15,000 years."
"But I cant see anything," Daniel whined.
"Wait for it…"
From the far left a clunking sound was heard echoing though the cavernous room. Then a small glow of light showed again the ceiling which Daniel estimated to be twenty feet over his head. In the time it took for that thought to expire light fixtures, long dead, flied the room, exposing row after row after row of books.
"Holy shit," Daniel swore softly. "There must be hundreds of thousands of books in here."
"One million, two hundred and eight thousand, seven hundred and sixteen books to be precise. As of the last inventory taken. You wanted the books of Avalon, well here they are. Untouched since before your recorded history began."
Daniel was overwhelmed. This was an archeologist's wet dream and he was lost. "I don't know where to start." He confessed.
"May I suggest that you start with the history of this base? It would seem to be the most relevant given the current situation."
Daniel nodded his head wordlessly and headed into the stacks.
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