The Gift of Music, by linda.ljc (T)
Dec. 25th, 2010 09:15 pm![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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stargateficrecShow: Stargate Atlantis
Rec Category: Rodney McKay
Characters: Rodney McKay, John Sheppard, Jeannie Miller, Radek Zelenka
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Warning/Spoilers: None | through 4x09 "Miller's Crossing"
Author on LJ: unknown
Author's Website: linda.ljc at Fanfiction.net
Link: The Gift of Music
Why this must be read:
Summary: A gift spurned? (16k words)
A few minor reader's warnings first: This is an unadvertised AU, in that Elizabeth is in charge but season four events are referenced (and it's not clear which version of Carson is around). Zelenka is spelled "Zalenka", and the author uses scare quotes rather than italics for emphasis, which normally drives me insane. Despite those minor factors, I found this a deeply engaging story. Jeannie has sent a piano to Atlantis, knowing better than to make it an overt gift to Rodney but hoping he will rediscover the music she remembers him once loving. He ignores it until the expedition discovers that Atlantis has an unexpected response to music within a particular room. This story highlights the careful precision and tedious experimentation demanded by science and the tension those cause with Rodney's own impatience. The snarking between Rodney and John as well as between Rodney and Radek is entertaining (and at one point touching), and the author doesn't forget that so many years away from the piano would limit Rodney's immediate selections — to ultimately powerful effect.
Excerpt:
Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne stood at the doorway taking it all in for a moment before John heaved a sigh and entered the fray.
"Alright, McKay. What's up?"
Rodney looked indignant, "Well, I could give you the short story, or do you expect the long one that we haven't had time to figure out yet, and which has generated more questions than answers?"
John lifted one eyebrow slowly.
Rodney sighed disgustedly, "Oh, alright then. Here's what we know ... the humming stopped when the performance stopped, and that's about it. Was the music the cause? One of the causes? We simply don't know for certain. You know the rest, and any more is just speculation."
"Got any good speculation?"
"You want me to guess?"
John drawled, "Yeah. Guess."
Rodney's mouth thinned and he crossed his arms. "All right. You're aware that there are connections that make this room interconnected with the Chair Room, 'Gate Room, and the ZedPMs … so my guess is that there's a reason ... Unfortunately I don't have a good guess as to 'what the reason might be' or 'how it affects any of those areas or us'. Is that of any help, Colonel?"
"Well, no. Not really."
"What I'd like to know is, if it started when I think it did, why did it?"
Sheppard looked like he had to think through that statement before he asked, "You mean, it didn't start with the performance tonight? That could be useful information, McKay."
Rodney looked disgusted. "But it still doesn't tell us why it's connected the way it is. I've checked the readings all the way back to our arrival. I thought that maybe it's been going on for a long time and we just never noticed. I'd like to know what set it off tonight so that Major Lorne heard it. Was he … or his ATA gene ... just in the right place at the right time? Did he somehow activate it? But that doesn't make much sense because it stopped approximately when the performance stopped, not when he left the area."
Rodney seemed ever more frustrated as he continued. "Unfortunately we've all learned the hard way that sometimes it isn't easy to 'turn off' Ancient tech once initialized. So … why isn't it working now?"
Rodney gestured wildly as he spoke ever more sharply, "Then there are the energy spikes themselves. They can barely be called 'spikes'. They're barely above the norm. They were easy enough to find in the records when I went looking for them, so why were they overlooked? Someone should have been looking hard enough to notice before today."
Sheppard knew McKay's frustration wasn't only with the situation, or even with his 'minions'. It was with himself, too. "You mean, no one was watching as closely as you'd have been watching? As it is, I never see you sleep unless you pass out on your laptop."
"I don't ..."
"Ah, ah, ah! You did."
Rodney sighed in dignified self-control. "Once. It was a difficult time."
John smirked knowingly. "Yeah, for everyone. I remember waking you up once. I thought you'd invented a strange new computer code from what was visible on your screen."
Rodney sniffed disgustedly. He glared at the science team members that had stopped to listen, and said loud enough for everyone present to hear, "My people sleep when I tell them to, Colonel." Turning to Sheppard, he said, "Now, if you don't mind, I'll 'carry on' as requested."
Rec Category: Rodney McKay
Characters: Rodney McKay, John Sheppard, Jeannie Miller, Radek Zelenka
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Warning/Spoilers: None | through 4x09 "Miller's Crossing"
Author on LJ: unknown
Author's Website: linda.ljc at Fanfiction.net
Link: The Gift of Music
Why this must be read:
Summary: A gift spurned? (16k words)
A few minor reader's warnings first: This is an unadvertised AU, in that Elizabeth is in charge but season four events are referenced (and it's not clear which version of Carson is around). Zelenka is spelled "Zalenka", and the author uses scare quotes rather than italics for emphasis, which normally drives me insane. Despite those minor factors, I found this a deeply engaging story. Jeannie has sent a piano to Atlantis, knowing better than to make it an overt gift to Rodney but hoping he will rediscover the music she remembers him once loving. He ignores it until the expedition discovers that Atlantis has an unexpected response to music within a particular room. This story highlights the careful precision and tedious experimentation demanded by science and the tension those cause with Rodney's own impatience. The snarking between Rodney and John as well as between Rodney and Radek is entertaining (and at one point touching), and the author doesn't forget that so many years away from the piano would limit Rodney's immediate selections — to ultimately powerful effect.
Excerpt:
Colonel Sheppard and Major Lorne stood at the doorway taking it all in for a moment before John heaved a sigh and entered the fray.
"Alright, McKay. What's up?"
Rodney looked indignant, "Well, I could give you the short story, or do you expect the long one that we haven't had time to figure out yet, and which has generated more questions than answers?"
John lifted one eyebrow slowly.
Rodney sighed disgustedly, "Oh, alright then. Here's what we know ... the humming stopped when the performance stopped, and that's about it. Was the music the cause? One of the causes? We simply don't know for certain. You know the rest, and any more is just speculation."
"Got any good speculation?"
"You want me to guess?"
John drawled, "Yeah. Guess."
Rodney's mouth thinned and he crossed his arms. "All right. You're aware that there are connections that make this room interconnected with the Chair Room, 'Gate Room, and the ZedPMs … so my guess is that there's a reason ... Unfortunately I don't have a good guess as to 'what the reason might be' or 'how it affects any of those areas or us'. Is that of any help, Colonel?"
"Well, no. Not really."
"What I'd like to know is, if it started when I think it did, why did it?"
Sheppard looked like he had to think through that statement before he asked, "You mean, it didn't start with the performance tonight? That could be useful information, McKay."
Rodney looked disgusted. "But it still doesn't tell us why it's connected the way it is. I've checked the readings all the way back to our arrival. I thought that maybe it's been going on for a long time and we just never noticed. I'd like to know what set it off tonight so that Major Lorne heard it. Was he … or his ATA gene ... just in the right place at the right time? Did he somehow activate it? But that doesn't make much sense because it stopped approximately when the performance stopped, not when he left the area."
Rodney seemed ever more frustrated as he continued. "Unfortunately we've all learned the hard way that sometimes it isn't easy to 'turn off' Ancient tech once initialized. So … why isn't it working now?"
Rodney gestured wildly as he spoke ever more sharply, "Then there are the energy spikes themselves. They can barely be called 'spikes'. They're barely above the norm. They were easy enough to find in the records when I went looking for them, so why were they overlooked? Someone should have been looking hard enough to notice before today."
Sheppard knew McKay's frustration wasn't only with the situation, or even with his 'minions'. It was with himself, too. "You mean, no one was watching as closely as you'd have been watching? As it is, I never see you sleep unless you pass out on your laptop."
"I don't ..."
"Ah, ah, ah! You did."
Rodney sighed in dignified self-control. "Once. It was a difficult time."
John smirked knowingly. "Yeah, for everyone. I remember waking you up once. I thought you'd invented a strange new computer code from what was visible on your screen."
Rodney sniffed disgustedly. He glared at the science team members that had stopped to listen, and said loud enough for everyone present to hear, "My people sleep when I tell them to, Colonel." Turning to Sheppard, he said, "Now, if you don't mind, I'll 'carry on' as requested."
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Date: 2010-12-26 03:56 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-07 02:41 am (UTC)