1. Jack doesn’t want Daniel to go to Atlantis until Daniel persuades him to spend some of his retirement there. They have adjoining quarters in a quiet part of the city. Most people don’t want to live there – it’s a little too creepy on the outskirts – but Daniel says the peace and quiet helps him work and Jack is there for when he’s had enough peace and quiet. The General seems okay with this plan, and when Daniel is buried deep in a deskful of coffee and scrolls, he wanders Atlantis seemingly at random. He never offers advice until he is asked, but whenever his advice is needed he just happens to be around.
Jack’s presence affects Atlantis in myriad ways. Competence at hand-to-hand combat goes way up; the food gets better and more varied; when good people have died and the burden of her responsibilities is getting to Elizabeth, she knows someone she can talk to in the quiet part of the city.
It’s not all good; Ronon now deals with boredom on missions by practising his newly-developed Simpsons impressions, and since Ronon’s idea of boredom is not getting to shoot anyone, it quickly starts to grate on his team’s nerves. After one excruciatingly non-violent mission, Teyla goes to the General’s quarters to ask politely if he would consider asking Ronon to return his dvd boxsets. He isn’t in and when Teyla explains the problem to Daniel, he stands in his doorway looking as aloof as a man can when dressed only in a bathrobe, folds his arms and says in a suspiciously loud voice: “Tell me it’s irritating when you’ve endured it for ten years.”
2. It takes a while for Doctors Jackson and McKay to get talking, but one day they are seen sitting on their own in the corner of the mess hall, clearly having an intense discussion. As Lorne and the others approach, Rodney is making short choppy gestures with his hand and Daniel responds by frowning and waving both hands wildly. Entertainment is usually in short supply in the city, so Lorne and co. sit at the nearest table and eavesdrop with no pretence at subtlety. These guys are both notorious firebrands, so this should be good.
“But Rodney, if the dimensions in spacetime aren’t fixed concepts but fluid entities that shift with our point of view, then how can you be right? The p-branes…”
“Oh please, the only pea-brain in action here is you! The type IIA theory may appear at first to be a ten dimensional theory in the normal perturbative limit, but it actually reveals an extra space dimension…”
And they go on like that for several incomprehensible minutes, maybe longer, Lorne doesn’t know because by then he’s got bored and gone in search of chocolate pudding. It doesn’t take long before the space around them is empty again.
The two of them are seen having a set-to about once a week, and every time it’s about some convoluted theory or obscure philosophical point. Their colleagues regret the lack of a more interesting showdown, but still regard it as a plus because McKay’s intellectual spats with Jackson seem to have a calming effect on him; for a couple of days after he’ll be bearable, if not tractable. People who need anything from McKay tend to wait for a day when they’ve seen him at the corner table with Doctor Jackson arguing ferociously about who-cares-what.
12.09 Five ways Daniel improves Atlantis.
Jack’s presence affects Atlantis in myriad ways. Competence at hand-to-hand combat goes way up; the food gets better and more varied; when good people have died and the burden of her responsibilities is getting to Elizabeth, she knows someone she can talk to in the quiet part of the city.
It’s not all good; Ronon now deals with boredom on missions by practising his newly-developed Simpsons impressions, and since Ronon’s idea of boredom is not getting to shoot anyone, it quickly starts to grate on his team’s nerves. After one excruciatingly non-violent mission, Teyla goes to the General’s quarters to ask politely if he would consider asking Ronon to return his dvd boxsets. He isn’t in and when Teyla explains the problem to Daniel, he stands in his doorway looking as aloof as a man can when dressed only in a bathrobe, folds his arms and says in a suspiciously loud voice: “Tell me it’s irritating when you’ve endured it for ten years.”
2. It takes a while for Doctors Jackson and McKay to get talking, but one day they are seen sitting on their own in the corner of the mess hall, clearly having an intense discussion. As Lorne and the others approach, Rodney is making short choppy gestures with his hand and Daniel responds by frowning and waving both hands wildly. Entertainment is usually in short supply in the city, so Lorne and co. sit at the nearest table and eavesdrop with no pretence at subtlety. These guys are both notorious firebrands, so this should be good.
“But Rodney, if the dimensions in spacetime aren’t fixed concepts but fluid entities that shift with our point of view, then how can you be right? The p-branes…”
“Oh please, the only pea-brain in action here is you! The type IIA theory may appear at first to be a ten dimensional theory in the normal perturbative limit, but it actually reveals an extra space dimension…”
And they go on like that for several incomprehensible minutes, maybe longer, Lorne doesn’t know because by then he’s got bored and gone in search of chocolate pudding. It doesn’t take long before the space around them is empty again.
The two of them are seen having a set-to about once a week, and every time it’s about some convoluted theory or obscure philosophical point. Their colleagues regret the lack of a more interesting showdown, but still regard it as a plus because McKay’s intellectual spats with Jackson seem to have a calming effect on him; for a couple of days after he’ll be bearable, if not tractable. People who need anything from McKay tend to wait for a day when they’ve seen him at the corner table with Doctor Jackson arguing ferociously about who-cares-what.