Read SG1-17 Sunrise for Free Online Page A

mean?”
    “Funny.”
    “Anyway, you’re missing the point.
Sunrise
is just the vehicle for the Message, it’s not worshipped in and of itself. It’s a tool.”
    “Yeah, a propaganda tool.”
    “Or a proselytizing tool; it’s just a matter of perspective.”
    “
It’s my honor to serve
,” Jack said and cut Daniel a flat look. “Call me cynical, but I don’t like being told what to think by the folks in charge.”
    Ahead of them Ennis lifted his arm and pointed. “The library is in there.”
    At first Jack thought he was gesturing toward the gleaming white building right in front of them, but when Ennis walked past its broad-stepped entrance he realized that the Pastor meant another, shabbier building skulking in its shadow. Unlike the rest of the city the library was gray and blocky, narrowing from a broad base to a spindly tower that reached toward the sky. The lower levels were windowless and the casements further up were thin, suspicious slits that squinted like narrowed eyes. It was decidedly unwelcoming.
    “Has this always been your library?” asked Daniel, his tone dubious. “Its architecture is different from the rest of the city.”
    Ennis smiled and spread his hands. “I believe so,” he said. “Certainly as long as I remember.”
    Daniel nodded, studying the library as they walked around to the entrance. He trailed a finger along its gray concrete wall, as he almost always did when encountering something new—as if he had to touch it in order to understand it. Jack might have done the same, but he needed no such contact this time. He could tell just by looking that the building was utilitarian and prefabricated; the library had ‘military’ stamped all over it.
    As they turned the corner, they came to a narrow doorway, around which the now familiar stylized image of the sun had been painted. He shared a look with Daniel, who merely shrugged; Ra wasn’t the only sun god out there, but still… Jack’s hands suddenly felt a lot more comfortable resting on his weapon, and he braced himself for trouble as Ennis pushed open the heavy door.
    There was a soft creak, then…nothing.
    “The Archivist is waiting for us upstairs,” Ennis said and disappeared inside.
    Gesturing for Daniel to go first, Jack took one quick look behind him then ducked inside the building and followed.
    He found himself in a narrow corridor and snatched off his sunglasses so he could see properly. Definitely military, he thought, noticing a gun rack bolted to the wall. It was empty, but for a couple of coats hanging from its corners.
    Ennis led them through in silence and, at the end of the corridor, a set of doors slid open to reveal an elevator. Jack stopped dead, an adrenaline pulse making his heart race. It took a moment to figure out why.
    “This way, Colonel. We have much to show you. As Major Carter has correctly surmised, the source of our city’s power lies far beneath the planet’s surface…”
    And then doors closing. Hands holding him down. A fierce pain, suffocating darkness. A hammer blow to the mind and everything shatters. Then…nothing. Then Jonah.
    “Jack?” Daniel was peering at him through Karlan’s eyes.
    “What?”
    “You stopped.”
    At the door of the elevator, Ennis stood with his hands folded. >From somewhere, Jack could hear the tinny drone of the
Sunrise
theme tune. “The library is on the twentieth floor,” Ennis offered, by way of explanation.
    Goosebumps pricked Jack’s skin and he shook his head to get rid of them, gesturing for Daniel to go first. Stepping into the elevator he toggled his radio; as he’d suspected, the bunker was shielded. The squawk of static made Ennis jump. Jack didn’t apologize, just turned to face the closing doors and curled his fingers around the grip of his weapon.
    To his disgust, the increasingly familiar faces of the
Sunrise
cast beamed out their Message on a thin strip of screen above the doors. There was no escaping the bastards.
    With a smooth