So when they said prison planet... [Open]

[hi_there_aliens]

Who| Daniel Jackson and you! [Open]
What| Daniel arrives at the Capitol, after thinking he and SG-1 were going to be sent off for "justice" after inadvertently aiding a criminal. This isn't what he expected. He begins to poke around.
Where| Close to the Tribute Training Center, wandering around outside.
When| Evening - he's arrived sometime after curfew is over.
Warnings/Notes| I'd like to avoid Daniel getting spoiled on the part where death isn't permanent in the Arena please.

It still hadn't quite set in. The horror that is, Daniel thought. He wandered out from the building that had been marked as a Training Center in a daze. The shock was probably stage one. Or was it denial? Both? He was definitely going for both right now.  Daniel was sure the sheer horror of it would eventually strike - it had to-  and hit him hard when it did, but he was still working on the part where the Taldor had made this their judgement for SG-1. Tributes, Districts, Hunger Games, gladiatorial combat. That's what you got for trespassing, carrying arms to defend yourself, and accidentally aiding a criminal. He hated to see what they did if you jaywalked. Maybe that was average prison material.

To think, all Daniel had been worried about this morning was whether Sha're would be on the other side of the gate this time, followed by getting Jack to see that the current planet might just have more to offer than trees and moss.

"And here I was expecting Botany Bay," he muttered under his breath. A woman strolled past Daniel. Her heels even gave that little click on the ground that seemed pretty universal; very classy, very smart it said. It was also the only familiarity about her. She was dressed to what he suspected was supposed to be to the nines in this place. It made his eyes want to tear up; orange, purple and green had no business mixing like that, topped off with a mix of feathers and fur.  Daniel looked around. No one else seemed to find it glaring; she looked as much at home as the other people wandering the pathways. She gave him a mildly interested look, but passed on. Certainly no criminal herself.

It was this that set off the chill that started to spread through his stomach.  This woman and people like her were going to  tune in and watch them die one by one. Only one could survive. He had no idea where the rest of SG-1 were; for all he knew, he'd ended up here alone.  Daniel licked at his lips nervously.  "I think I'd rather have the prison planet..."

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[hi_there_aliens]

Daniel almost regretted meeting Enjolras; there was something relieving, painfully familiar about meeting another man who had clearly come from Earth, and it didn't help getting ride of that homesickness. And one of them would likely be dead in a few days.

"And he'd be down a hand without Friday," Daniel's fledgling smile started to fade before it really started. "And he didn't have a bunch of other Tributes trying to actively hunt and kill him."

Daniel lead the way, keeping an eye on Enjolras, studying him, watching him look at the locals and buildings. "You have to sit on an entire population if you want the best view." It was like that with a good deal of governments, civilizations, the institutions that held the most power. In some cases, it was sitting on a time bomb waiting to go off. "I get the feeling it's not a topic most people want to go into in detail anyway. It's okay to reap the rewards, but it's better not to ask where it came from or what it cost."

[orestes]

"He had the natives. I sincerely doubt any of our fellows will be inclined to eat our remains after we're gone." Enjolras smirked wryly, the first sign of real humor visible through his icy demeanor. He matched step with Daniel, but allowed him to lead their expedition, not caring particularly where they went as long as they went somewhere. The people of the Capitol were a matter of morbid fascination to him, and it read on his face as he observed them.

There was truth to Daniel's observation about civilizations and the way the people here seemed to regard their history. It struck him as an awful sort of similarity to Louis Philippe's institution and the way the bourgeoisie prided themselves with their newly attained status, not bothering to show concern for what it had cost to get there. Or what it continued to cost the lower classes, for that matter. The very comparison and the fact that he could arrive at it so easily left him less than impressed. Humanity, in any age apparently, could be so willfully ignorant. "I hope that isn't a personal stance." He pulled his eyes away from the people moving around them to study Daniel's expression. "While it might be far easier to build a society on the backs of others, true power and enlightenment will come when all men can work together toward a common goal. There are no doubt good people in the Districts that will never be properly educated or have anything near the opportunity that these people seem to take for granted. Surely their potential contribution to the state would outweigh anything lost by their subservience."

[hi_there_aliens]

"Yes, he did, but it wasn't a last-man-standing situation from the beginning, now was it?" Daniel pointed out. Okay, so he was enjoying a good debate on the topic, maybe more than he should considering their own circumstances. It was nice to find someone who seemed to enjoy reading for reading's sake. Jack never struck him as much of a reader, and when Daniel did try to bring up classics or even refer to them in passing, Jack had a tendency to play dumb, even though Daniel was sure (almost) the colonel did actually get what Daniel was talking about.

Cannibalism was one of those topics that Daniel tried to remain neutral on but, despite the professionalism he always went for, found it hard not to be repulsed personally. A shudder went down his back at just the thought. Daniel hated to sit on the fence on the issue about the possibility of cannibalism within the Hunger Games. And wouldn't that be ironic considering the name anyway? Daniel was suddenly glad Eva wasn't there. He wanted to believe that no Tribute would do such a thing, and anyway, the natives in Robinson Crusoe had been cannibals due to cultural practices, not desperation, but still; "I want to say no one will but...then again, who knows, if someone is starved nearly to death in the Arena? Some people might find that good entertainment."

They wound their way down the streets, passing finally through a narrow alley. The wind whistled through the grey sides; a canyon had been formed by the buildings pressing in around them, grey and forbidding walls covered with brightly colored banners and flags. Floating advertisements hung in places, all neon and competing with the other as they approached the stores. They had just come out into a square leading into a massive marketplace when the other man pressed him on his stance.

Daniel met his eyes, and was pleased to find that Enjolras was searching him, as if wondering where Daniel stood on the matter. It pleased him more that he seemed to care a good deal about it in the first place. If it weren't for the fact that a fight to the death loomed in everyone's future, he would have gotten along well with this man, would have enjoyed talking to him much more.

The archaeologist shook his head. Daniel, mindful of Eva's warning, lowered his voice. "Not a personal stance, but a historical one. I don't think the Capitol cares about lost potential from the Districts as long as its power isn't threatened. From what I've seen, they're at best, a part of the body that's tolerated but not particularly liked. At worst, they're just a tool, a resource."

[orestes]

"Without proper development, they are an underused tool. Equality and prosperity are not entirely at odds with each other, though that would seem contrary to popular opinion here." The words erupted quickly, as though Enjolras had almost been expecting a disagreement rather than the vague disapproving bit of neutrality Daniel delivered. He caught himself, holding back a weary sigh. While he couldn't blame this man for not wanting to get personally involved, particularly when they'd been told constantly of the danger of dissenting opinions, it was slightly disappointing to hear so plainly.

For better or for worse, the howling wind had to express his discontent for him. It was colder than it had been in Paris, barely a week earlier, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable and somewhat awkward in the modern clothing they insisted he wear. Breathing deep, he pushed the feeling aside and continued down the road with his new acquaintance. Allies did not always need to agree completely, Enjolras reminded himself. Marius had been less than decisive as well.

"I'll be avoiding cannibalism for as long as possible. Actually, I think I might rather starve, if I'm to die anyway." Again, the wry look appeared, though less confidently. "And I most likely am."