“If you could connect it, though, make it power our systems,” Cai said. “How much power are we talking about? How long to light the center city, or to heat it?”
Radek glanced at Ronon, looking like he was torn about how honestly to answer that.
“It may not be possible to know until we know how fully charged the ZPM is,” Teyla said.
“But suppose you find it charged enough for it to be useful to you,” Cai said. “Otherwise, there’s no reason to talk of trading, is there?”
Radek let out a breath. “It is highly unlikely that it could be used to power your city at all,” he said. “The amount of power required to light and heat this small part of the city would be very small compared to the ZPM’s capacity, yes, but creating an interface that would conserve the power in transmission and not cause the ZPM to overload destructively in the process… I am not sure it can be done.”
“Overload as in explode,” Cai said, not sounding particularly daunted by the prospect. Steam power generation wasn’t exactly risk-free, although it didn’t have the potential that some of the Ancestors’ stuff had to blow up large parts of cities.
“It could happen,” Radek said. “I would not recommend playing around with it if you have no idea what you are doing.”
“It’s possible that there are improvements to your power generation that we could help you make,” Lynn said. “Hydroelectric power — do you use dams for power generation?”
“You mean Avedan wheels? Water wheels? We’ve replaced those in most industries with steam turbines.”
“No, using water-powered turbines as a means of electrical power generation. I’m no expert, but we have experts, and there may be other improvements we could suggest as well.”
“That’s worth finding out more about,” Cai said. “I’ll see when my engineers have time for that. But I think there’s only one thing we want in exchange for letting you continue to rifle through our historic treasures for things that might prove useful to you.”
“I can’t promise we’ll fight the Genii for you,” Ronon said.
Cai looked undaunted. “Then who can promise that?”
“Colonel Sheppard is willing to set up a meeting between you and the leaders of the Genii,” Teyla said. “He believes we may be able to help you to come to some peaceful resolution to the situation.”
“Only if they’ll agree to leave without us putting up a fight,” Cai said. “I don’t think that’s very likely.”
“We might be able to make a deal,” Ronon said.
“We’re not willing to pay extortion to the Genii,” Cai said. “If they get our artifacts and our goods without even having to work to salvage them, we’re no better off than we are with them camped here robbing the dead.”
“It may not be a matter of payment,” Teyla said. “We may be able to persuade the Genii that it is in their interest to deal fairly with the Satedans.”
Cai considered her for a moment. “You mean you’ve got something to hold over them.”
“We can end our alliance with them,” Ronon said.
“I had not heard that the Lanteans and the Genii were allies.”
“Our interests have often been similar,” Teyla said. “I believe the Genii would like for that to continue to be true.”
“I’m not sure it’ll do any good,” Cai said. He shook his head, looking Ronon and the team over, and then shrugged. “But I don’t see that it’ll do any harm, either. Tell Colonel Sheppard that we’re willing to talk to the Genii.”
“We need to have the meeting here,” Ronon said. “The Genii don’t like having visitors, and we don’t want the Genii running around the city of the Ancestors.” He wasn’t planning to explain the reasons behind the last, and he hoped Cai would take it as an insult to the Genii and not to him.
“Nor do we want them here, but we seem to have them already despite our wishes,” Cai said. “Tell Colonel Sheppard that the Genii are welcome here to negotiate as our guests. With the understanding that guests eventually outstay their welcome.”
“I’ll tell him,” Ronon said. “We’ll leave a radio here so that we can get in touch with you once we’ve heard from the Genii.”
“I’ll be waiting to hear from you,” Cai said.
Radek and Lynn both looked intensely disappointed. “I don’t suppose we could just have another look around the museum, with your people along, of course?” Lynn tried.
“I think that’s not a good idea,” Cai said. “I wouldn’t want you to run into the Genii and wind up in a situation with them that might jeopardize your alliance. Or that might end with your valuable power source in Genii hands.”
Ronon felt he couldn’t very well say that they’d fight the Genii if the Genii tried to take the ZPM, not when he wasn’t promising to fight the Genii for trying to take over Sateda. He tried not to grit his teeth. Diplomacy was something Teyla was good at, something Dr. Weir had been good at. He’d rather be out in the field with something to shoot.
His only small comfort was that he was pretty sure that Sheppard felt exactly the same way.
Sora paced at the edge of her camp, staring at the now-familiar wreckage of the street in hopes of catching some sign of movement. Ambrus had made it abundantly clear that he intended to keep them bottled up while Radim made nice to the Lanteans, but of course if the Satedans came poking around she’d have to run them off. That might get things moving again.
It was maddening having so much to do and being unable to do any of it. She’d never been good at being idle, not since she was a child tagging along after her father, learning to work machinery and to fight like a boy when most of the other girls were playing with dolls. It was tiresome enough having to play farmer’s daughter when they had visitors from offworld, weaving flowers in her hair and letting silly fools like Teyla Emmagan tell her how much she’d grown.
She tried to put both Teyla and the Lanteans out of her mind. They were here to scavenge too, as far as she could tell, and hopefully once they’d found whatever they wanted, they’d go back to Atlantis and stay there. It was hard not to dwell on what they might be making off with, though. It was like them to think that any artifact of the Ancients belonged by right to them.
She’d explained as patiently as she could to Ambrus that she couldn’t afford to wait. The museum was a treasure trove of devices that they’d be able to use as soon as Radim’s experiments in activating the Ancient gene paid off. Or as soon as they found someone who could use Ancient technology naturally and who could be trusted to work for them. The devices could take them years ahead in their development of weapons, or make Radim’s space program more than a long-term gamble.
The problem was that Radim was too narrowly focused on his own plans to see how anyone else’s ideas could fit into them. That was the problem when scientists presumed to be soldiers as well. He was more sensible than Kolya had ever been, that she would be the first to admit, but at least Kolya had never been over-cautious.
A movement caught her eye, and she drew her pistol in one smooth motion, but it was only one of the birds that seemed to be everywhere in the ruined city. She aimed and fired, and the bird dropped like a stone.
There was the sound of feet hurrying toward her, and she turned as Jan came up behind her, shouldering his rifle to cover the empty street. “No excitement,” she said. “Just a little target practice.”
He lowered his rifle, but didn’t visibly relax. “There’s a call for you on the radio.”
She let out a frustrated breath. “I hope this means we can get back to work.” She thought it was more likely that it would be another reminder to stay within the boundaries of their camp and do nothing. She had already pointed out that their supply of fresh water wouldn’t make that practical forever, apparently to no effect.