Orlin stared at the computer screen.  He knew with each passing moment critical information was continuing to slip away.  Even now, he was already having difficulty concentrating.  He slumped his chin in the palm of his hand and stared off into space for a moment.

I wonder how many hours I've been doing this without any additional progress.  Orlin thought to himself.

It had only been a couple Earth years since The Others had allowed Orlin to ascend again, and now here he was again interacting with non-ascended beings.

I destroyed an entire civilization by interfering with their affairs.  Why did they choose me of all people to help the humans?

Orlin realized he was getting distracted from his work again.  He shook his head and blinked his eyes, trying to regain his focus.  Still, the DNA sequences on the screen were beginning to look less and less comprehensible.  Orlin entered only a couple keystrokes before he heard footsteps outside the opened door to the room he was in.

Orlin rubbed his eyes and looked up at the doorway as she entered.  Samantha Carter.  She was as beautiful as ever as she entered the room.  He knew there was no time for extraneous thoughts, but he could not help his love for her.

"What are you doing?" she asked.  "I thought you were going to get some rest."

He knew rest was another thing there was no time for in their current situation.
"As soon as I finish the DNA sequencing program.  That way when we get the sample from the Prior, we can plug in the decoded strand, and we'll know if it's going to help."

He saw her expression change when he said this.  He knew he must have said or done something wrong again.

Did I forget some human convention?  He thought.

"Orlin, you've already done it."

"What?" Orlin asked, puzzled.

"The sequencing program.  You finished it a couple hours ago.  You were going to get some rest."

Orlin was momentarliy stunned.  Was it really true?  He struggled to remember the past few hours.  Even things that had just happened were becoming fuzzier with each passing moment.  He did remember getting up from the computer a while back, and looking for somewhere to lie down, but then coming back.

"I...was on my way, and...I felt like...I had forgotten something."

---------

Orlin walked into the hallway.  He turned to his right and took a couple steps then stopped.  He turned around towards Sam, who was walking the other way.

"Sam," he said slightly raising his voice, as she was about to turn a corner.

She stopped and turned around.

"Which way is the infirmary?"

She walked back