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“Now that’s a fine kettle of fish you’ve gotten us into, isn’t it John?” Harvey was smirking.
“Now it’s us, is it? And since when did you pickup the English accent?” John was staring at Harvey, and at John, mouths’ somewhat slack.
“You watched way too much BBC. Monty Python was the best.” Harvey started in on the silly walks, followed by John, and John. Aeryn, who was standing by ready to intercede to prevent them from shooting each other, threw her hands in the air and walked out.
“Stop it. This is serious.” John said.
“John, just think of all the things you can do now that you are two people. You can be in two places at once.” Harvey said.
“But I don’t want to be.” Both Johns sat down heavily.
“Neither does he. You know, you might be able to develop the wormhole technology twice as fast now. I’m sure his Harvey is going to do research too. You’ve got to let me talk to him.” Harvey said.
“Why? So I can do twice the damage I’ve already done. Haven’t I set enough records already?” John said.
“You got a point there. Hmm, I wonder……” Harvey said.
“No Harvey, you can’t be thinking that. I won’t agree, and I’m sure the other John won’t agree.” John looked and John and they both nodded together. “You see, he doesn’t agree.” John said.
“You should talk it over and think about it. If one of us becomes ‘Harvey’ and the other remains ‘John’, then we’ll be two distinct people, we will only look alike.” John and John frowned together.
“Nah, it won’t happen! Besides, you wouldn’t be comfortable in my skin.” John said.
“Well, I don’t know about that. Scorpius was always envious of the Sebacean’s physical appearance. I would have a chance to look the way he desired. That would be a sweet bit of revenge for me.” Harvey said.
“Jealous?” both Johns’ were smirking, again.
“Really, think about it. You’re both going to go nuts if one of you doesn’t somehow disappear, and that could mean one dying. It could also mean that I get to have full control of both bodies. Why don’t you devise a contest where the loser gets to be me?” Harvey said.
“What kind of contest? Look at us! We try a simple child’s game and can only tie at rock, paper, scissors.” John said.
“I think I have a way, and the contest should be chess. Suppose, for the purpose of the contest, one of you lets me take over. Who ever is John, will wear the letter ‘J’, and Harvey, ‘H’. We will play chess until there is a Checkmate declared. The winner gets to be John, and the loser Harvey.”
Ficlet: Crichton’s Dilemma, Part 2
“You know Harvey, you just may have something there. But how do we decide who is to be John, and who, Harvey?” Both John’s stared into each other’s eyes.
“Simple, ask someone to write the letters J and H on separate pieces of paper, put it in a bag, and then one of you picks. The other gets the remaining letter. Who ever gets H, must allow Harvey to be dominant, and Harvey must make himself scarce in the other.” Harvey looked really pleased with himself for devising this solution.
John and John walked out to find Aeryn, D’Argo, Chiana, Rygel, and Stark hovering near by. “Uh, we think we’ve come up with a solution. But we need some help.” Both John’s said in unison.
“Yotz, it’s about time. Yes, yes, tell us, I’ll help if no one else does.” Rygel said.
“Okay, here’s what I want you to do.” Both John’s explained the setup.
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“Do you think this is going to work?” Aeryn asked D’Argo. “I mean, we’ll still have two people who look just like John after they are done. I don’t know how much of this I can take myself. I’m nearly ready to go off with Crais as soon as he’s better.”
“Aeryn! Stop being so selfish. Why don’t you share? After all, what woman wouldn’t want two hunks like John after her?” Chiana said.
“That’s the problem, they’re both John.” Aeryn said.
“Quiet out there. We’re trying to concentrate, this is important.” Harvey and John called out.
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“Checkmate” Harvey said.
“Okay, you choose.” John said.
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“What do you mean you want me to transfer Harvey into him, and John back to you?” Stark asked.
“That was our deal. The winner gets to choose his identity. But we want to complete it. We don’t want a remnant of one in the other.” A Crichton said.
“If you asked me in the first place, I would have told you that I couldn’t do that. I can ease pain, help the dying, but I can’t transfer beings from one body to the next. What will you do now?” Stark said.
“You mean Scorpius is our only answer?” John said.
“Not Scorpius directly, we need his device.” Harvey said.
Ficlet: Crichton’s Dilemma, Part 3
“Aeryn! Please don’t go. I need you.” John pleaded with Aeryn. She was going to Talyn.
“I’m sorry. I really am. I can’t handle this. Not two of you. I can’t divide my love between you.” Aeryn’s eyes reflected the pain she was in.
“But we’re keeping our agreement. He really is Harvey. You don’t have to divide your love. Harvey doesn’t love you. I do.” John said.
“It’s not that simple. John is still there. I can feel him, and I feel he is in pain. I don’t think this is going to work. You have to come up with a better plan. Frell! What am I saying? Forget I said anything about a plan.” Aeryn said.
“Help us, Aeryn. Talyn could use some more time with Moya. He still hasn’t completely healed. And Crais is shaky. I don’t trust him. I see how he looks at you. Were you and Crais ever…, um,… you know….,er…..” John was not sure he could bear the answer.
“I’ll give it another weeken. But you have to do something.” Aeryn saw John hesitate and decided not to speak further.
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“Harvey, we gotta talk. We need to resolve this quickly. My Harvey is not very happy about being suborned this way. What about your John?” John asked.
“You are correct. But we need that device. Can we risk another encounter with Scorpius? We are in a weakened state at present with Talyn. We don’t even know if Crais and Talyn would agree. And Scorpius has many resources at his disposal.” Harvey said.
“I have two questions. Were you ever flesh before you inhabited my mind, and now my body? And is that device the only one in the galaxy? Where did Scorpius get his device?” John asked.
“Scorpius had the device made to specifications. So it probably is the only one in existence. There is an elite group of scientists and engineers in the Peace Keeper organization. They are the ones who made it. And they are now working on developing the wormhole technology Scorpius wrested from your, our brain. I wouldn’t get too close to the Gammak Base. You, we won’t get out alive. He might even want us again if he’s having difficulty with the technology. Can you risk that?” Harvey said.
“You haven’t answered my other question.” John said.
“No, no I haven’t.” Harvey said.
Ficlet: Crichton’s Dilemma, Part 4
All the crew on Moya, including Harvey, just finished eating dinner. One by one, they all left the area except Harvey and John. Standing up, John turned to Harvey, “Help me clean up, then we’ll go to the terrace to talk.”
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“Ah, John, this is quite pleasant. What did you want to talk about?” Harvey said.
“You know a lot more about me, than I you. It’s been bothering me. Can I ask you some things?” John said.
“As you humans would say, ask away.” Harvey said.
“Are you Scorpius? I know I’ve been calling you Harvey. It’s mostly because you claimed not to be Scorpius in the past. But I can’t get the thought out of my head. You acted in his behalf. And if you’re not Scorpius, who or what are you?” John said.
“That is hard to answer, John. I am not Scorpius. You have given me an identity. But I was part of Scorpius. There is part of him in me. You are more a part of me at this time.” Harvey said.
“But where did you come from? When did your existence start?” John said.
“I came from Scorpius. He split me off from his mind to go into yours when he planted the neural chip. He didn’t need to give me instructions, as I knew his mind. My existence began when Scorpius was born. I have his memories which I’ve kept hidden from you.” Harvey said. “I’ve absorbed your sensibilities. Scorpius was hated and ignored as a child, being neither Sebacean nor Scarran. He is brilliant, both scientifically and strategically, but his motivations are revenge and hate. He is in a position where he has power, and does what he wants. I suppose you could call him happy, though I doubt he really understands that emotion.”
“And you say you have my sensibilities. What do you mean by that?” John said.
“You have shown me what a child should experience, your parents loved you, your sisters loved you, you had friends on Earth, you have friends here, you care, you love, and you are compassionate. These are all new experiences for me. It was overwhelming at first; I rejected it. I am getting used to being flesh and blood. To answer your question again, I now think my real existence began at the end of the chess game. Before that, I was just a shadow.” Harvey said.
“You know my feelings for Aeryn, my desire to find Earth. What do you want?” John said
“My home is here, in this part of the universe. I have no desire to make Moya my permanent home. I like Aeryn, as I do everyone else here, but I have no desire for her. The part that is still John does.” Harvey said. “What does Aeryn want? What do you want?” What do your friends want?”
Replies to Crichton’s Dilemma:
Suzzy:
This is an interesting scenario. I've been wondering if Harvey is really so benign. He was a real nasty. Could he really have changed that much? In fact, I'm wondering if in the coming eps will see Mr. Nasty reemerge.
But to answer your questions.
What should they do? Has Harvey earned the right to be flesh and blood?
My first reaction is no. He was an intruder in John's mind, very willing to have John killed once the chip was out and, of course, he killed Aeryn. Why should he get control of that, very attractive, Sebacean looking body?
If they are successful in making each one person, will the one that is Harvey maintain the goodness that was once John?
Harvey has not demonstrated any goodness to maintain. I think Scorpius' mind in John's body could be a very deadly force in the UT. The ultimate PeaceKeeper with John's memories and knowledge.
Will John still try to find Earth (I think he will)? What will Aeryn do? Will Harvey be allowed to continue? If so, what will he do?
I think Harvey would be a threat to Earth. Imagine, Harvey has tricked the Johns into giving up a body. He pretends to be good. But, he is just as ambitious and brilliant as Scorpius. He wants that wormhole technology and there is a world waiting for him that he now fits in. No more half-breed. Aeryn will side with John to stop him. I would imagine Harvey would be somekind of abomination to her. In fact, I see her being totally against the entire body switching thing. Time for pay back. I see Aeryn killing Harvey.
Lassievorc:
I really like your take on Harvey, unohoo. I think it fits well with what we've been shown of Harvey so far is season 3. From Harvey's arrogant demand in SOD that John die so he couold be "free" to the point where he's actually giving John helpful advice in SIW-2. Hatvey has been finding John's experiences and memories to be interesting; the wormhole discussions, tuxedos and old westerns to college experiences. I think it's clear that Scorpius never had much of a life, and that was all Harvey knew. He is being changed by John's life and character. Now that he is no longer being supervised by Scorpius, everything has changed. It's kind of the old "nature vs. nurture" argument I guess.
I have no idea what can be done with the 2 of them, the 4 of them! It would seem cruel to let Harvey have one body if there is still a remnant of John along for the ride! A good idea to think of Stark "switching" them completely. I guess that would be too easy. I can't imagine what TPTB will do about this, and it makes me anxious! Lookig forward to seeing where you take this!
Smeginfrell:
Having not seen any of season three yet I'm not sure what to make of the whole two Johns thing, also it hadn't occured to me that there'd be two Harveys as well. That's just asking for trouble. I like your take on the situation and wait to find out if your ideas will be close to what happens in the show.
Kyscaper:
I think that Harvey (at least in the eps.) is totally evil and does not deserve to be flesh and blood. I'm not sure where you're planning to go with this...but my take is that he is trying to trick John. He sees the "two Crichtons" as his big break.
Grammykins:
Is John going to Earth and leave Harvey on Moya ? Will Harvey then let John out when he is with Aeryn?? John- within-Harvey will become schizophrenic living like that!! If not, what is the plan?? Both Johns and Harvey have to make peace first. Then Aeryn could get off her high horse and stop adding to the problem with her attitude. Right now the Johns and Harvey need help to resolve this dilemma. Does Aeryn truly understand about Harvey and that he lives inside of John but is a separate being? If there is a lot of Scorpy inside of Harvey, will he(Harvey) be willing to suborn that part and it's desire for revenge and hatred? I think that there is no right answer here. each decision has many pitfalls and probably unhappiness for all concerned. Scenario 1-John going back to Earth alone will I think, be unsatisfactory for him. He envisions himself the savior of Earth but chances are, the military will not really pay much attention to what he tells them because it sounds like a flying saucer story. Seriously, can you picture what the press would do with that kind of story if it were to make front pages today?? He would be the laughing-stock of the astronaut program, which I am sure, would promptly kick him out!!If he told anyone in the military about translator microbes- Well, does the word vivisection sound all too real to you?? If John came back to Earth, his life would be miserable. Scenario 2- Once Aeryn understands that even though she looks and sees John's face and body, Harvey is really the mind in charge, can you envision her wanting anything to do with "IT"???? No happiness or satisfaction there either.Unless John is John, Aeryn won't want to be with him. The only thing left would be to somehow reconcile the 2 Johns but then how would Harvey fit into that equation? If the John personality can leave and Harvey could take the body of John and move on, that would help. But then where would the 2nd John go? Unohoo, I love your stories because they make me think but this time I can't find a way out. Is there a way??