In the quiet of the gleaming laboratory, where the aura of novelty from the deployed equipment still hung in the air, Megan immersed herself in studying the latest reports. Ten by one hundred square meters—her personal scientific kingdom, located on the nineteenth floor of Tower N, named for nanotechnology. Here, on Urvashi, an island-state lost between two continents, lay Chofesh—the city of free Tok'ra, where everyone found a chance for self-realization. Megan, a true scientist, valued certainty, but the very idea of coexistence seemed less appealing to her than the control of her own, newly acquired body. True, she lacked volunteers among the people willing to share her "symbiosis," but, as she joked, she was "simply unlucky."
Recalling her transformation, Megan felt a slight irritation—the process had been far from easy. Once in a special vat, she was given a neural interface that allowed her to choose a name and a new shell. Now she was a twenty-year-old blonde, statuesque, six feet tall, with a toned figure. Mastering her new body, though "a real hell," gave her an incomparable sense of mastery.
"Nanotechnology isn't a magic wand," Megan muttered, having a habit of talking to herself. "Computer, bring those candies and tea, heated to exactly sixty degrees."
"Please clarify which candies exactly?" the machine's dispassionate voice responded.
"The ones on the stick," the scientist replied with a hint of impatience. Her mind was occupied with the problem Szarekh had posed ten years ago, after the discovery of Pelops's nanites: repairing equipment, armor, and ships using microscopic machines.
Soon, an antigravity drone flew silently into the lab, delivering a tray of coveted candies and steaming tea. Megan, taking the treat, returned to work. Her department had already created several repair drone prototypes and developed concepts for their use. Her tasks included testing these developments, testing scenarios, and evaluating their effectiveness.
Department "N"'s research had enormous civilian potential: it could be used to repair buildings, pipelines, electrical systems—indeed, anything, including breaches in the hulls of civilian ships. In space, where anything can happen, and on Urvashi, civilian achievements are valued, these nanites could be a real breakthrough. However, if he so chose, Szarekh could transform any invention into a weapon. This reluctance to acknowledge the military implications may have been passed down to Megan from her mother, for whom she had complex feelings despite never having met an Urvashi phaeron. He was neither fully Tok'ra nor fully Goa'uld, which perplexed a scientist who valued certainty. However, he saved Egeria, giving it the opportunity to develop and work—and that, ultimately, was what mattered most.
"Okay, I'm going to need some armor plates used in technology," Megan said, heading for her equipment. "Even though I got something salable, poor teleportation department... Replicating the Asgardian beam teleportation is a real joke. Although, what can you expect from those who tried to figure out teleportation?"
After finishing work, she planned to go home, and then perhaps to a club or the countryside. Life was beautiful, and it should be enjoyed. Megan couldn't even imagine what life was like for her brothers and sisters, hidden away in the Empire, deprived of the opportunity to rest and relax, unlike the people of Urvashi.
— Computer, start recording. Test 1-1.