Cam nodded and looked up with a big shite eating grin on his face. "I'd say that proves it alright." He looked to the others, "So who is next? Dec, you want me to see if I can get rid of those silver eyes? I think I might be able to reverse some of the previous changes the machine made to you if you want. Don't think I could do anything about Red though." He put up his hands placatingly, "Not that I would want to of course big guy." His big smile became a grin.

"Same goes for anyone else. Now that I've used it once I think I might be able to reverse some of the Quantum Backlash stuff as Kyria calls it."

Yseult stared intently at Ryan as he placed his hand on the Ascension Device, squinting against the bright glow. She watched the cascade of genetic changes taking place, one after another in an escalating sequence that grew so quick even her hyper-efficient mind couldn't catalog all the modifications. Her lips thinned in annoyance, but she hadn't really expected to being able to rewrite someone's genetic code to such an extent, at least not in a way that would produce results such as this.

Her eyes widened, head cocked to the side as she saw Ryan telenavigate to the scanner. She glanced at Cameron considering, a finger tapping her lips. Hmmm, the genetics modifications required for specific abilities, they must be encoded within the device - it would be unfeasible for Cameron to write the required code on the moment, considering that I could not follow the changes myself.

"I would prefer to observe myself, Cameron." Though the capabilities of the Ascension Device filled her with foreboding, the possibility of viewing the mending of aberrant damage from channeling their powers was of great interest to her. In theory, it would be of great help to her in finding a way of countering it, developing an immunity to the effects such as Kyria possessed.

Dec shook his head, a smile he didn't feel on his lips. He wasn't fooling anyone: Sgt Declan Perault, U.S. Ranger, may have had some fine personal qualities and one or two outstanding ones, but everyone that knew him even casually was well aware that dissembling was not one of them. And anyone with the least amount of empathy could tell how he felt.

Declan was scared of the Device.

"Uh, like I said Cam, I'll give that a miss. Its not that I don't trust you, sir. It's just that I'm not comfortable with that thing." He shifted slightly in place. "Me and Red, well, we've got a good arrangement goin' right now. Even if the gizmo works right and gives us a boost, it might throw the balance out between me and him." He essayed a faint smile. "Besides, the silver eyes ain't so bad. I've got that on good authority from at least two sources."

Gwyn had been examining the readings from Ryan's before and after scans during Cam and Dec's exchange. Finally he made up his mind and broke the pause that had followed Dec's last comment.
"Ok Cam, I trust you've got it under control now. I'll give it a go." He stepped over to the device and went into a huddle with Cam and Tinni as they discussed the changes he was thinking of and how they would go about it. Shortly Gwyn stepped back with a, "Ok, let's do it." and with a nod from Cam he reached out to the Device.

Once again light sprang out from the Device, building in intensity to the level seen when Ryan had undegone his recent changes. To Gwyn there was a feeling of building pressure all over his body which suddenly released as it seemed to infuse his body. As a tingly-achey feeling encompassed his body his mind was bombarded by a stunning sequence of memories replaying at tremendous speed.

To the observers who could see him through the light emanating from the device he suddenly went rigid, followed by a long period of his muscles all over his body twitching in a seemingly random pattern. This went on for much longer than Ryan's 'treatment' and the others were just starting to become concerned when it stopped.

Gwyn winced at the headache induced by the flashing memories and stretched to help get rid of the fading tingly feeling. As he did so a huge grin spread across his face as understanding dawned upon him. He turned to Cam, "Well done, that seems to have worked out great."
%The scanner I presume?% he said to Tinni in Asgard as he turned and walked that way. Although the walk was short he could feel the headache fade away and one by one all the little muscle stresses and minor aches that everyone lives with day by day left his body as well. Stepping into the scanner he turned to watch the holo-display with new understanding or both the results and the Asgard labelling around it.

The display shows minor, subtle and pervasive changes to Gwyn's entire brain including to areas that had not been touched in most of the other Specialists. In response to Hermiod's request for him to activate a power Gwyn gave a brief grin and closed his eyes. When he opened them a second or two later a shimmering in the air coated his body. Unfortunately, it degraded the signal of the scanner and he had to quickly drop the force field again.
%Sorry, I forgot.% He said to Hermiod and instead started to hover an inch or two above the scanner's floor.

After the standard half an hour or so the scanner had finished and he floated out, moving quickly over to one of the Asgard terminals and started to work on the combined data on a system bette able to cope with it than his own laptop.

"Don't worry about it Dec. I just figured I had to offer, no one has to use the device if they don't want to, it's strictly volunteer."

Loki seemed to frown a little at Mitchell's words, but Cam ignored him, "Anyone else want to volunteer? 'The Lord helps those that help themselves' as my Grandma used to say, and you don't get much more helping yourself than this."

Kyria regarded the device and addressed Tinni, "Would it help you to see how it affects me? I have no real need to use it and no desire for it to change my genetic code, but I will if you think it could give you more insights."

She squeezed Declan's hand, trying to reassure him without being too obvious to the others. If it could cure or undo taint....that could be a first step towards that if it's not an end in and of itself. Something to consider, or maybe if the Asgard could come up with the same sort of serum that Andrew did.

Tinni nodded in her fragile way, "Yes, I believe it would help greatly. Each of the other specialists have very similar genetics, yours are unique and in some ways similar to our own."

Loki snorted then said, "Much less developed than ours."

Cam had about had enough of the snarky little twerp, "Isn't that the reason we're here? Because your genetics are too developed?"

Loki refused to take the bait and wandered over to his console.

Cam smiled at Kyria, a smile that said, score one for the team! "Anytime you are ready Kyria. Step over here and we'll program the device to do what you want."

With a final squeeze of Dec's hand for reassurance and a quick kiss that promised more when this was over, the young nova stepped over to consult with Cam and Tinni. They talked for a few minutes while the technical pair programmed the device. This time around it seemed to take a bit longer than for those who had already gone.

The same beam of light spilled out of the device and enveloped the nova, but unlike the pair before the light became more intense to the point of being almost too strong to look at. Worse, for Kyria there was considerably more discomfort than the others had seemed to feel. It climbed beyond the point of discomfort to mild pain, then higher until the Kyria was crying out.

Dec surged forward but, restrained himself at the last moment, unsure if interfering would do more damage than leaving her in the beam.

Just before Red was about to take control and thrash the device in order to stop what was happening the light began to fade. When it was finally gone Kyria stumbled into Dec's arms hardly able to hold herself upright. Cam was worried, but the readings were showing that everything had gone according to plan, it had just been more intense than expected.

He stepped closer, but then pulled up short at a look from Dec/Red. "Kyria are you ok?"

Yseult frowned deeper with each specialist that used the Ascension Device for the second time (or first time in the case of Kyria). She could perceive the changes from before and after their exposure, but the infinitude of genetic manipulations was beyond even her to follow, there were simply too many, too intricately bound. As well, it certainly didn't help her understanding, not knowing what each specialist asked for, she was seeing the changes without the context for those changes.


Yseult scowled at the comment. This wasn't about them helping themselves, this was a man and his machine playing God, giving a select few even more power than they needed. Didn't they have enough already? And who even said they were any more worthy of these 'gifts' than hundreds, thousands, millions of others, unless it just happened to be the luck of proximity?

When the device put the extra strain on Kyria and came staggering out of the beam of white light, Yseult had enough. She stepped forward, despite Loki's protests about integrity to the tests, placing a comforting hand Declan's shoulder. At his nod, she proceeded to do a brisk examination of Kyria, straining her biological awareness to the fullest. After several minutes, she pronounced Kyria to be fit, if suffering from strain.

"You are well, Kyrie. I conjecture, since your genetics have already been... aligned to a great degree, the device, it was needing to reach a certain energetic plateau before it capable of producing further genetic changes. Thus, the device needing more output and putting a strain on you. I believe, with your abilities, you should recover quickly."

Yseult looked at Cameron, fingers pointing to a side of the room, indicating she wanted a private word with him. She pulled him aside, her turquoise eyes blazing, her voice low with the effort of control.

"As I am understanding it, the device, it granted you great medical knowledge, Cameron, yes? It, perhaps, did not impart on you the responsibility such knowledge entails, hmm?" She turned her head curtly, pointing at the others with her delicately pointed chin. "When you are done offering these few lucky men and women a chance for even more unearned power, when we are done helping another race to augment their entire people, will you go back to Earth and use the device on others? The device, can it reproduce the structured genetic changes in Kyrie? If so, shouldn't we all, everyone go through it? Then we would no longer ever have to worry about the Quantum Backlash Syndrome. Perhaps, we should beginning sending the entire human race through it, I'm sure there are many others who would like the opportunity for superpowers, without the risk of madness or mutation - I believe I can replicate the ATA gene therapy simply enough. Or is the IOA correct, and we are simply a group of Elitists who believe we know better than everyone else?"

Yseult shook her head, exhaled sharply, then returned her gaze back to Cameron, the burning light replaced by something that almost looked like pleading. "Do you not believe I no nothing of the temptation of this device? I lay awake at nights, dreaming of helping my daughter with, ridding her of her mild case of autism. She is highly functional, it is not necessary, but it would make her... better. Then I think of what else I could change to help her even more. How about my husband? He is a good man, he would not abuse gifts like ours. If I ever get the chance to be with him again, should we not be equals?" Yseult's full lips tightened into a thin line. "It is a very slippery slope, yes? One with no end."

"If this device was the source of the Ancients means of ascension, I would think they would have the wisdom not to leave it behind for less advanced species to play with. And if it was not, then there must have been some flaw or other drawback to utilizing it freely. I do not believe a minuscule group of individuals should have the sole responsibility for its use. Either destroy it, or have a greater consensus in control of the device, with very strict check and balances - though I do not think anything feasible would work for our geopolitical situation."

Elitist? Cam certainly didn't view himself that way, but Yseult had a point, or rather she had several and all of them good. Who were they to deny these benefits to the rest of humanity, but at the same time, what would the rest of humanity be like with these powers? In just the few who had used the device already, changes had been made that had required some of them be locked away. At least that had been the consensus of the IOA and the current Administration in the White House.

"You're right. We need to decide what to do with the device, but we're here now, and we've committed to helping the Asgard so lets continue with this right now, then when we're done we'll figure out what to do next." Despite the fact that Yseult felt that Cam really did understand her concerns there was a certain light in his eyes that said maybe he just might open it up to all of humanity. "I want you to think about something while we finish up what we're doing here. Using the device, I am sure I could cure your daughters autism. It could just as easily be used to cure cancer or any number of other maladys. Before when it was just random and we never knew what would happen, it was far too dangerous to use or allow to be used. But now? Thanks to Tinni, Hermiod and Loki I know how to actually operate it and direct what happens. There won't be any more people suffering from Quantum Backlash, hell, I can even reverse some of that in the ones that have it. If they want it that is. You asked if we have the right to make these decisions? We don't, but we are the ones here and now with the ability to make that choice so 'right' or no right, we have the responsibility." He sighed, "When we get home though, the decision won't be ours. I can set this device to automatically cure all genetic malady's for anyone that touches it and not give super powers, but even that use of the device will be governed by what the President and the IOA decide. Making such a use would mean revealing the Stargate program to the people. Personally, I wouldn't mind seeing that happen. It will happen eventually, and this device is a hell of a good reason to make it sooner than later."

He finished with, "Before we leave here we'll discuss this with everyone so that we all have a chance to have a say."

Gwyn shakes his head, "I wouldn't count on that happening. Look how much good we could with cheap energy from the naquadah generators, or the impact we could have on electric vehicles with some of the high energy capacitors we have encountered on some worlds. Even with the technology we have already found we could do so much good in the world, but they keep it all hidden away."

He straightens and turns back to the Asgard console he is working at, "Anyway, we are here to help the Asgard, so let's get to it. I think we have all the data we should need, what do you think Doc?"