Rating: PG
Timeline: None
Category: Critical Thinking

Funny. Daniel Jackson looked at the piece of technology in his hands. It worked as some kind of force shield for the bearer. His eyes skimmed around his study. It was cramped with books telling of ancient times. Every free space was cramped with artifacts and technology from other worlds. Some of them have been used for war, others for research. Some were meant to make life easier. Again Daniel's eyes viewed the treasures. It was all that was left from these ancient cultures.
What good did it do them? Chased away from one Galaxy. Nothing helped them from dying. All they left behind were their technology and they culture. Is that why they vanished? Because they fought with their self-made weapons – and not with their heart? How come someone so weak like me could bear up against such powerful enemies? And win?! Is it because my heart still bleeds for every dying person?

If that was it... then I found the most powerful weapon I had ever heard of. It was so simple. And yet it was so hard a burden to carry. It was so easy to hide away and build a wall around one's heart. How many times had my heart stopped when I believed that my comrades were dead."

Daniel shook his head. He was filled with deep sorrow when thinking of the time he almost lost his friends. When he agreed to this mission called "SG1", he had set his mind on finding his wife. When she died... he didn't know why he stayed. His heart felt so empty without her to fight for. He knew that he could not survive loosing someone he truly loved again. He would not let anybody come so near again!

He was startled by the realization of what he had just thought. Wasn't it exactly this thinking that destroyed the Ancients? Now he realized that he could not blame them. They were afraid of failure. And they were afraid that whatever they did would turn out bad. It was so easy...