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“I don’t have time for this,” Daniel said. “My team is in danger.”
“We’re kind of outside of time right now,” the woman answered. “You’ve got plenty of time to wait and think and consider. But right now, I am incredibly done with so-called higher beings yanking around humans without asking permission. You have free will, and they are all supposed to respect that, but for some reason the concept of free will including fully informed choice seems to be just a little too hard to grasp.”
“I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
The young woman sighed. The unformed space they were in seemed to rearrange until they were in a brightly lit, homey kitchen decorated in blues and yellows, and she gestured toward a stool where the counter curved and formed a cozy sitting area. Daniel sat, still a little mystified by what was happening. She sat a mug of steaming coffee in front of him before doctoring one up for herself with cream and sugar. “Your body is dying right now, Daniel Jackson. You managed to get the thing contained so that the rest of your team and the people that they were visiting got out safely, but you are currently dying of acute radiation poisoning, which is a rough way to go.”
Daniel sipped his coffee cautiously, his mind making connections. He remembered that now, remembered the pain as every system in his body was turning against itself. “So I’m not dead yet.”
“No. Oma is trying to teach you to ascend. The Alterans are pretty fascinated by the way your brain works and they want to be able to access it, but if you die it’s lost to them.”
The coffee was perfect, exactly how he liked it, and Daniel couldn’t help but be suspicious. “That’s a good thing, though.”
“It’s a very good thing for the Alterans,” she agreed. “But it probably won’t be a good thing for your soul. They preach non-interference, and I’m pretty sure that you’re going to find that idea too frustrating to stand for long. It sounds nice and peaceful, but human souls are designed to rest when they’re done, not keep an eye on things without planning to interfere.”
Daniel sipped again, thinking. “Who are you?”
The young woman smiled, the expression joyful and just a touch relieved. “Finally, the right question! I’m Joan.”
“That answer doesn’t actually help.”
“The question you really want is who am I not, which is a better definition for what you really want to know. I’m not an Alteran, and I’m not a higher being. Just a girl who knows how to listen, and very much wants people to respect free will.”
“So how are you here, outside of time with me?”
“I died when I was nineteen,” she said, matter-of-factly. “I was in the way of someone that wanted things to be a specific way, and he had me killed so I would stop messing with his plans. I rested, and then I asked if there was anything that I could do. So when people are being asked to make a decision that will affect a lot of people, and they are being pressured and not being told the whole truth, I step in. There isn’t actually a right or wrong decision that I’m promoting. I just want you to be told everything and be given the time to breathe and think before you make that decision.” Joan stepped away from him, and then turned back with a serving of tiramisu on a plate. “So drink your coffee and eat your dessert and really think about what will happen if you ascend. When you’re done, you can make your choice and things will go on.”