STARGATE SG1
Episode 108
"BRIEF CANDLE"
By
Katharyn Michaelian Powers
Brief Candle Transcript
The scene opens offworld, inside a Grecian style building. A
man is dressed in a Toga and has a wreath on his head. he is
praying to a statue of Pelops.
ALEKOS
Give them strength, Lord. Let their
hearts beat as one.
The stargate activates and SG1 come through
JACK
And, who might this be, Daniel?
DANIEL
I'm not sure, maybe early Greek, but
I don't recognize the god form.
A woman screams. The team head towards the sound and find a woman
in labour with the man kneeling by her
DANIEL
Sorry we didn't mean to scare anyone.
ALEKOS
You are not Pelops.
DANIEL
No, you mean him? Uh, no, we're, we're
visitors. Friends.
THETYES
Husband, the child is near,please.
ALEKOS
The midwife is gone, I do not know the
birthing mysteries and the village is
too far. Please. help us.
SAM
What? Don't look at me, I don't know
what to do.
Titles
Daniel is helping to deliver the baby.Sam is with him, while
Jack and Teal'c wait elsewhere
DANIEL
Push, push, push.You're doing just fine.
SAM
Where did you learn how to do this?
DANIEL
On a dig in the Yucatan. Um, after the
first one, I made friends with the local
midwives and they taught me a lot.
SAM
How many babies have you delivered?
DANIEL
Two counting today.
Jack, Teal'c and the husband are waiting outside. The sound of
a baby crying can be heard, as Daniel walks out
DANIEL
Alekos. it's a boy.
Alekos hugs him and then goes to see the baby
JACK
Hey, congratulations.
TEAL'C
May he grow strong and bring you honor.
JACK
You never cease to amaze me with all
your talents.
DANIEL
Thank you. Wow, this place is incredible.
It's like we just stepped into the citadel
at Mycenae.
JACK
I thought you said it was Greek?
DANIEL
Oh, Mycenae was an ancient city in the
southern Peloponnesus region.
JACK
Where's that?
DANIEL
Greece.
JACK
Why do I do that?
CARTER
Wait, I don't think you should be walking
right now, I mean.Shouldn't you be resting?
Daniel, shouldn't she...
The happy family walk out.
THETYES
I'm fine. I'm fine. We wish for you
all to be the first to see.
The baby has a red triangular birthmark
DANIEL
A birthmark.
ALEKOS
A tri-point. It will bring him luck.
I would call him Danel, to honor the
stranger who birthed him.
DANIEL
Oh, you don't have to do that.
THETYES
May we offer you the hospitality of
our village?
JACK
Well, that'd be nice. Who are you folks?
ALEKOS
We are the Chosen.
TEAL'C
Where do the gods reside?
ALEKOS
Doesn't everyone know?
THETYES
In the sky of course.
DANIEL
Of course.
The baby is introduced to the rest of the Argosians
ALEKOS
I have a son.
Look at this. What a lovely child, lovely child.
A party is held outside
DANIEL
Look at these people. I guess they've
never hear the word unattractive here.
TEAL'C
They all look as healthy as a Jaffa.
JACK
That's a good thing, right?
CARTER
I don't see anyone who looks like they're
over 40.
JACK
Do things feel a little off here?
DANIEL
Are you crazy? It's a paradise.
JACK
Yeah, sure, have an apple. What could
happen?
Kynthia approaches Jack. She is holding a covered dish
KYNTHIA
I am Kynthia. Welcome to our village.
JACK
Thank you.Jack O'Neill.
She offers him some cake, which he accepts
KYNTHIA
It is pleasing?
JACK
Very.You should have some.
Daniel tries to take a piece, but Kynthia won't let him
KYNTHIA
It is only for you.
JACK
Only for me?Thanks.
Kynthia walks away
DANIEL
'It is only for you.
SAM
I think you have a fan, Colonel.
TEAL'C
I believe this woman wishes to spend
time with O'Neill.
JACK
Thank you, Teal'c.
DANIEL
This place must be loaded with artifacts.
That statue in there, for example, must
be the Mycenaean hero, Pelops, who fought
from his winged chariot, hurling lightning
bolts.
SAM
Poetic way to describe a Goa'uld Death
Glider.
DANIEL
Yeah, probably.
TEAL'C
These people are obviously not laborers.I
must wonder why a Goa'uld would bring
them to this planet. Perhaps it was
a good Goa'uld.
Jack laughs
JACK
Right! Like there is such a thing.
TEAL'C
I did not intend for my statement to
be humorous.
JACK
Trust me, they weren't.Hello, girls.
Jack is led away
SAM
Colonel? Where're you going? Hello?
ARGOSIAN
Please, sit down.
Jack is sat on a bench. Kynthia comes out and dances in front
of him
She's beautiful.
ALEKOS
Unto ever man the creator gives 100
blissful days. It is a sin not to celebrate
each and every one.
DANIEL
A hundred day celebration? Guess we
should pace ourselves.
Later, Jack wakes up in bed with Kynthia
JACK
What, exactly, just happened?
A bell is rung and Kynthia falls into a deep sleep
JACK
Kynthia?
SG1 come into the room
JACK
Um...what happened?
SAM
To them or,you?
JACK
We'll talk about that later.
SAM
I've seen parties end abruptly, but
never like this.
DANIEL
They all just collapsed.
TEAL'C
It happened just as the sun set.
JACK
Kynthia did the same thing. What is
it? Some kind of sleeping sickness?
What?
SAM
There's no sign of fever or pain, breathing's
shallow, heartbeat's slow but regular.
A disease can't affect everyone all
at once.
TEAL'C
It seems to be nothing more than a deep
state of sleep.
SAM
Nowk, how about you?
JACK
Let's just stick to the matter at hand.
How does an entire village pass out?
Something in the food?
TEAL'C
We all partook of the same food.
SAM
Except for that cake.
DANIEL
Which was only for you.
JACK
Damn, she drugged me. Whoa!
DANIEL
Oh, he's still feeling the effects of
the drug.
JACK
No, I'm just a little tired.
SAM
Colonel?
JACK
From now on, we stick to rations.
SAM
No fever, shallow breathing, slow heartbeat,just
like the others.
DANIEL
What the hell is going on here?
The next morning, Jack comes outside
SAM
Hey, Colonel...how you feeling?
JACK
Hung over,but okay.Getting' any answers
out here?
He ducks his head in the water
DANIEL
No. They all act as if what happened
last night was normal. They party until
sundown. Then they fall asleep and they
wake when the sun rises
JACK
I'd like an explanation. Daniel, get
back to that temple. See what you can
find out. Take Teal'c with you. Go on.Carter,
keep asking questions out here.
He lies down
Daniel and Elekos are inside the temple
ALEKOS
He is the creator, Pelops, the giver
of days. This was his home when he lived
among us. We keep it as it was then
and will do so until he returns.
DANIEL
And when will that be?
ALEKOS
Well, that is a mystery. Until it is
revealed, it is the duty of the Chosen
to rejoice and wait.
TEAL'C
Why are your people called the Chosen?
ALEKOS
My ancestors were so beloved by Pelops
that he fashioned this garden for us.
It is said he chose us and brought us
here from beyond the stars.
DANIEL
Are there any writings of your history?
ALEKOS
Writings? I do not know this word.
DANIEL
Ummm, more of this. Writings. Do you
know what this is?
ALEKOS
It is of Pelops.
TEAL'C
It is Goa'uld, an obscure dialect.
DANIEL
Why didn't you tell me that before?
TEAL'C
You never before inquired.
DANIEL
Well you call it Goa'uld. I call it
linear A script. We found pictographics
like this in ancient Greece and ancient
Cretan, but we never completely deciphered
this form.
TEAL'C
The symbols are a sequence.
DANIEL
What, like a combination?
TEAL'C
What is a combination?
DANIEL
Well, it's a sequence of symbols or
motions.
A panel opens and Teal'c takes out a Goa'uld device
DANIEL
Can you read this?
TEAL'C
I believe I can. It seems to be some
sort of record, an archaic dialect.
Very difficult to decipher.
Sam is collecting Samples. Some children are nearby
CHILD 1
Come on, I want to show you something.
CHILD 2
Okay, I-I'm coming.
Thetyes walks over carrying a small child
SAM
Hi. I found this shell this morning
and, uh, I thought maybe Danel might
like it.He can use it as a rattle. You
want to give it to him for me?
THETYES
Oh, you can do so yourself. This is
Danel.
SAM
No, no, I meant the baby.
THETYES
This is baby Danel.
Sam see's the birthmark.
They sit around the well
JACK
Okay that's not possible
THETYES
Do you not have children who change
and grow?
JACK
Well, yeah, sure we do,but not like
that.
SAM
Thetyes, how old is that boy?
THETYES
That is Phillippos. He is 12.
SAM
Okay, well, he's a little big for 12
years old, but.
THETYES
Years, what are years?
SAM
Uh, well I guess it would be a little
different for each planet, but a year
is basically the time it takes for the
globe to complete one orbit around the
sun.
JACK
Right, let's just keep this keep this
simple, okay? Where we come from, there
are 365 days in one year.
THETYES
No, we have no such counting of time
on Argos. Phillippos is 12 days old.
SAM
What. How old are you?
THETYES
Twenty-one days.
JACK
And, Kynthia?
THETYES
Thirty-one days.
Daniel, Teal'c and Sam are inside the temple
DANIEL
I think Pelops brought humans here to
be lab rats. From what we've been able
to translate so far he wanted to know
how humans evolve, so he shortened the
life span to about 1/250th of normal.
SAM
So, instead of having to wait a hundred
thousand years to see how human physiology
evolves, he could do it in a hundred?
TEAL'C
That is correct. Pelops wanted to determine
what the human host body would become
in the future, and perhaps accelerate
the process.
SAM
How did he do it? Was it genetic alteration?
TEAL'C
We do not know. It is an archaic dialect.
SAM
Daniel?
DANIEL
Okay,I didn't want to say this until
I was absolutely sure but I think he
may have created some kind of virus...and
viruses are often spread through bodily
contact.
SAM
Some are and some are airborne.
DANIEL
But I think that this one isn't.
TEAL'C
What has drawn you to this conclusion?
DANIEL
Because only one of us passed out last
night, and that was Jack.
Back in the village
DANIEL
You have to give them credit for one
thing, they do enjoy life.
TEAL'C
Perhaps it is because they do not have
much life to enjoy.
JACK
Great! So now what you're telling me
is this virus which, by the way, I do
not have, is deadly?
DANIEL
Well, if the kids age five years in
five days, what happens when they reach
100 days?
Jack collapses
SAM
Colonel? Colonel?
JACK
I guess it wasn't the cake.
SAM
Maybe it was your physical contact with
Kynthia.
JACK
Get back to Earth, Captain. Figure this
thing out.
Janet and sam are in the lab
JANET
Tell me you brought the blood back in
sealed containers.
SAM
Yeah, of course I did. What is it?
JANET
I'm not sure. First I ran a routine
check for antibodies...nothing. So then
I thought, all right, maybe this alien
bug found a way to hide from the immune
system, so I ran a protein analysis.Take
a look at what I found.All right, these
are the blood samples you brought back.
Now, look at the strange particulate
in there. So that's from one of the
Argosians? (Sam nods. Janet presses
a key on the keyboard. The screen changes
again and we see magnification of the
image as well.) Now...that's from Colonel
O'Neill.
SAM
Wow,what is it?
JANET
Something we don't have a word for,yet.
SAM
Well, how come the Colonel has way more
of it than the Argosians?
JANET
Maybe because he started out older than
they did,sort of like a head start for
whatever this thing is.
SAM
I'd better wake up General Hammond.
JANET
Yeah.
The gate activates on Argos. Daniel runs towards it
DANIEL
Jack! Carter's comin' back!Jack.
Sam comes through the gate. Jack walks out and has aged a lot
JACK
Welcome back, Captain. So, what did
you find out?Come on now, don't keep
the elderly waiting. It's rude.
SAM
It isn't a virus.
JACK
All right,what is it?
SAM
Well, Dr. Fraiser and I came up empty.
She's still working on it, but it's
gonna take time.
DANIEL
Time is something these people don't
have, Captain.
JACK
Nor do I.
SAM
Colonel, there's something else. You're
blood sample showed way more organisms
compared to the Argosians.
JACK
How many more?
SAM
Maybe on the level of a hundred times
more, and they are multiplying.
JACK
Which means?
SAM
It means the organism or what ever it
is, seems to be compensating for your
natural age. You've already lived way
longer than anyone with this, for lack
of a better word, disease, ever should.
JACK
Cut to it, Captain.
SAM
At the rate your changing, by the end
of two weeks, you'll be the equivalent
of 100 years old.
JACK
So, in two weeks I'll be dead?
SAM
Not if I can help it. I'd like to set
up a lab here.Jack: Negative, Captain.
SAM
We may be able to retard the aging process
long enough to find a cure.Jack: I want
you to pack up and head back to Earth.
Now. All of you. That's an order. We're
not gonna bring another disease back
through that gate.
TEAL'C
I will remain here, with O'Neill. I
cannot be affected by whatever this
is.
JACK
I don't need company. I need a cure...and
Daniel needs help translating that Goa'uld
tablet thing. It might hold the answer.
DANIEL
Jack..
JACK
And don't you dare say good bye because
you damn will better be coming back
soon. Now, get outta here. All of you.
Sam is in the lab, looking at the blood samples. Teal'c and Daniel
watch from the observation room
SAM
Oh my God.
JANET
What?
SAM
They're not multiplying. They're replicating.
DANIEL
What's the difference?
SAM
Living organism multiply,machines replicate.
TEAL'C
Machines inside the body? How is that
possible?
SAM
They're molecular devices that take
atomic particles from their environment
and use them to make more of themselves.
JANET
You're talking nanotechnology.
DANIEL
You know anything about that?
JANET
No.
SAM
Yes. When I was at the Pentagon, I worked
for a year with a group that studied
nanotechnology. We were looking at it
for a lot of different uses. One of
them was medicine, creating artificial
immune systems, repairing individual
cells, even manipulating DNA to stop
the aging process.
JANET
It sounds like Pelops succeeded in what
you were experimenting with, only in
reverse. Nice guy.
Jack is alone in the temple, looking at the statue
JACK
What're you lookin' at? Think you're
hot stuff, doing this to me from six
billion light years away?
KYNTHIA
Can you really talk to the great Pelops?
JACK
Sure, why not? Just a piece of rock.
Not so great, anyway.
KYNTHIA
You're people, they have gone?
JACK
Yeah, they have gone.
KYNTHIA
Then, you will leave also?
JACK
No, I'll be here for a while.
KYNTHIA
I am glad.I would like to learn of your
customs.
JACK
Maybe some other time, hmm? I've kinda
got a lot on my mind.
KYNTHIA
But you ate the marriage cake,came to
my bed.
JACK
Marriage cake?Kynthia, you thought we
were married?
KYNTHIA
By all our customs, yes.
JACK
Sweet.Kynthia, what you were feeling
wasn't really love. That takes time.
I mean, you can't get to know someone
in one day.
KYNTHIA
Unto every woman the creator gives 100
blissful days.
JACK
Kynthia, will you stop that? You're
creator was not a God, and he certainly
didn't give you life. He took it away.
KYNTHIA
We are the Chosen. He made this place
for us to be happy, to love.
JACK
To be experimented on! I mean, look
at me! I'm 40 years old, or I was. That's
thousands and thousands of days.
KYNTHIA
You do not tell the truth.
JACK
The average human life span is 60 or
70 years. Some people live to be 100
years.
KYNTHIA
It is not possible.
JACK
Pelops was an alien who used your people!
He shortened your lives to satisfy his
curiosity!
KYNTHIA
No.
She runs out of the temple
Sam and Janet are still working on a solution
SAM
We've given the nanocytes some live
tissue to interact with, but they aren't
touching it. The only thing they appear
to do is make more of themselves. So,
how are they causing the ageing on Argos?
JANET
Maybe there's something on Argos that
they need to make them do another task,
something in the air or in the food.
The nannites are eating through her rubber gloves
TEAL'C
Is there a problem, Captain Carter?
SAM
I don't know!
JANET
It's eating through the rubber.
SAM
Oh, God!
JANET
What? What is it?
SAM
They're trying to spread.
Jack is in the temple. He begins to write a letter to Sarah,
but can't finish it
ALEKOS
Is it true that you have lived thousands
of days?
JACK
I should have kept my mouth shut. But
wouldn't you rather know the truth.
ALEKOS
Why do we deserve this?
JACK
He can't hear you.
ALEKOS
We are good people. We love each other
and this land you have given us. Why?
JACK
Science, progress, knowledge. Alekos,
what would you do if you had thousands
of days ahead of you?
ALEKOS
I would walk out into the world, beyond
the borders of the Chosen.
JACK
Why?
ALEKOS
To see what is there. Now one knows.
Pelops has forbidden us ever to leave.
JACK
And how has he done that? He's nothing
but a big piece of rock. He's a statue.
ALEKOS
He will strike us down, it is taught.
JACK
No, he will not strike you down. Trust
me on that, will you? Look, go on out
there. Take a walk. See what's there.
Go on.
ALEKOS
Then I could return and teach the people
what I know, and in their thousands
of days they would learn more and teach
their children.
JACK
Now you're talking.
Kynthia goes to find Jack, who is now looking very old
KYNTHIA
Come back to the village. It is not
good to be always alone.
JACK
Whatever time I have left, let me spend
it in my own way.
KYNTHIA
But you do not spend it. You waste it.
JACK
I don't think reflecting on my life,
or trying to figure out how to get the
rest of it back, is a waste.
KYNTHIA
You are angry.
JACK
Yes. Yes I am. Aren't you now that you
know the truth?
KYNTHIA
What can we do but live in the way we
always have? We do not have thousands
of days. But we treasure every moment.
JACK
I know, Kynthia. But in my heart, I'm
a military man, a warrior. That's my
life. To which my ex wife will attest.
KYNTHIA
You love her still? And now, because
of me, you will never see her again.
JACK
You mean't no harm.
KYNTHIA
Then let me give what I have taken.
The time of one heartbeat can become
an eternity.
Briefing Room
HAMMOND
I'm sorry, people, my decision is final.
JANET
Sir, neither of us show any evidence
of the nanocyte.
SAM
We can keep working here in total isolation.
HAMMOND
All blood and tissue samples are to
be incinerated and pulverized. Work
on the Argos project stops now.
DANIEL
General, you are condemning Colonel
O'Neill and the Argosians to death.
HAMMOND
Captain Carter, these thing appear to
possess artificial intelligence. Correct?
SAM
Yes, sir. That's the only way they could
adapt their programming to their situation.
HAMMOND
Which means they could adapt themselves
right out of this facility.
SAM
Sir, if we destroy the samples we will
have nothing to work from.
HAMMOND
I'm sorry. The risk is just too great.
The order is final.
DANIEL
Sir! We can't just leave him there.
HAMMOND
Dr. Jackson, Colonel O'Neill is one
of the finest men it has ever been my
pleasure to serve with. It will be a
great loss to this country and to all
of us in this room, but I am sure he
would not hesitate to make the same
decision for himself that I'm making
now.
Jack is watching a video recording sent from the rest of the
team
SAM
We're working with computer simulations
and practical simulations. Realistically,
sir, I'm afraid it might take years.
DANIEL
The General says that 'gate travel to
Argos is strictly off-limits for the
next few, uh, millennia...but we can
send objects through, so if you need
anything, just call.Say something.
TEAL'C
Colonel, I've learned much from you.
Thank you.
SAM
You know, goodbyes really suck.
Jack rewinds the tape
Jack see's the people bringing gifts to the statue
JACK
Excuse me, what are you doing?
ALEKOS
Your people do not have enough knowledge
to help us. We must ask Pelops to return.
JACK
Oh, for crying out loud! Ol' Pelops
doesn't give a rat's ass about things
like love! His kind kidnap people like
you and take them to other worlds to
be used as slaves!
ALEKOS
Pelops thinks of us as his slaves?Then
I will no longer be one of the Chosen.
THETYES
Nor will I.
JACK
That's the message you ought to be sending
The Argosians pull the statue down
ALEKOS
He did not strike us.
Jack and Kynthia walk on the beach
JACK
So, you like older men, do you? What
is it?
KYNTHIA
We should go back. We have gone too
far from the village. Pelops forbids
it.
JACK
He's gone, Kynthia. He's gone. It'll
be okay, I promise.
That night, Jack and Kynthia remain on the beach
JACK
Aw, hell. Have to teach you a game I
can win.
KYNTHIA
It is good to see you smile. Tell me,
will you live the rest of your days
without making love?
JACK
Oh, God, I hope not. Ah, we'd probably
just pass out.Why aren't we unconscious
yet? It should have happened already
Kynthia. Why aren't we asleep?
Jack and Kynthia go back to the village, where the people are
still asleep
KYNTHIA
No one has awakened.
JACK
Except for us. Why? How important is
this rule that no one can leave the
village?
KYNTHIA
It is Pelops first law.
JACK
Then whatever it is that knocks us all
out at night is right here.
KYNTHIA
What?
JACK
I'll bet you and I stayed awake because
we walked out of range. The cure could
be as simple as just getting' the hell
outta Dodge. We stay out of proximity,
no sleep. They all stay here, they get
no wake-up call. There's got to be some
other variable, some other change.
They go to the temple. Jack notices something on the bottom of
one of the stones
JACK
Excuse me. I've got a phone call to
make.
Later, the rest of the team arrive, wearing hazmat suits
JACK
Welcome back, kids. It's damn good to
see you again. Don't worry. Aside from
a little prostate problem we won't go
into, it's not so bad.
Later on
SAM
I was right. It's a transmitter.
DANIEL
There were two sets of glyphs that were
quite tough to translate until Teal'c
realized they weren't words.
TEAL'C
They were, in fact, numbers.
SAM
Two different frequencies: One to put
the villagers to sleep and to activate
the nanocytes, the second one to shut
it all off for the day.
DANIEL
When you broke the statue, you must
have damaged the wake-up call.
JACK
Can you recalibrate this thing to wake
these people up?
SAM
No, sir, it's useless. I'm gonna have
to use the equipment that we brought
with us. I've loaded the frequency.
I'm switching it on now.
The Argosians wake up
ARGOSIAN
The sun.
THETYES
Alekos, the sun is already turning.
ALEKOS
Why did we wake so late?
The team talk to Kynthia
TEAL'C
Our tests indicate that your body has
been cleansed of the machines that plagued
you.
SAM
I figure the immune system must attack
them if they aren't operating.
DANIEL
From now on, you and your people should
age at a normal rate.
KYNTHIA
What about Jack?
JACK
Me? Oh, I'll probably move to Florida,
get into a little retirement home of
some kind.
SAM
You'd look pretty out of place there
at your age.
JACK
Why? I look like my grandfather.
SAM
Look is the operative word here. If
our hypothesis is right, the nanocytes
in your system were only meant to imitate
aging. They weren't meant to start the
process in a full-grown adult.
JACK
What are you sayin' to me?
SAM
Without these little buggers in your
system to maintain the changes, you
should return to normal within a week
or two.
KYNTHIA
That is wonderful news.
JACK
I don't know. I was kinda looking forward
to a little shuffleboard with the fellas.
KYNTHIA
Then you are leaving?
Jack and Kynthia talk, alone
KYNTHIA
You will not be staying with me then?
JACK
No, I won't.
KYNTHIA
What will happen to us now if Pelops
returns?
JACK
Well, I don't think that's gonna happen.
But just in case, we'll send some folks
by now and again to check up on you.
KYNTHIA
My heart would be glad if you were one
of them.
JACK
Sweet Kythia, I've learned so much from
you. I'll treasure every day of my life,
because of you.
KYNTHIA
For thousands of days?
JACK
I sure hope so.
KYNTHIA
That is almost forever.
JACK
Almost.
He kisses her on the cheek
THE END
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