STARGATE SG1
Episode 819
"MOEBIUS I"
By
Joseph Mallozzi & Paul Mullie
Transcribed by
Callie Sullivan
SGC. SAM’S LAB. On a computer screen is an image of a battlecruiser.
Sam is talking to Daniel and Teal’c about it.
CARTER
The Daedalus. It has a few advantages
over the Prometheus. The more advanced
alien technologies were integrated into
the original design rather than tacked
on after the fact.
DANIEL
When’s it gonna be ready?
CARTER
Well, they’re already testing the Asgard
hyperdrive. As soon as that checks out,
it should be good to go.
DANIEL
Hopefully we all get to go this time.
CARTER
Last time they were worried about spreading
our resources too thin.
DANIEL
Yeah - now that Anubis is gone, the
Replicators are gone ...
CARTER
There are still a few System Lords out
there but without their Jaffa armies,
they’ve lost most of their power.
TEAL’C
Indeed.
(The phone rings. Sam answers.)
CARTER
Carter. ... Yeah, hold on. (She holds
the phone out to Daniel.) It’s for you.
(Daniel takes the phone.)
DANIEL
Hello? ... Yep, hi. ... (He sounds shocked.)
What? ... No, I was just talking to
her last week. ... (His voice becomes
sad.) Yeah, I-I-I’ll be there. Thank
you. (He takes the handset away from
his ear and stares down at it.)
CARTER
What is it?
DANIEL
Catherine Langford died last night.
CATHERINE’S FUNERAL. Daniel is addressing the other mourners.
DANIEL
Catherine Langford was more than just
kind and generous. She had a gift -
of an endless, open-minded, child-like
curiosity. She saw the world not for
what it was but for what it could be
- and she saw potential in people that
others failed to recognise. Like her
father before her, her contributions
to science have changed the world more
than most people know. I for one have
no idea where I would be today if I’d
never met her. She changed my life in
more ways than I ever could have imagined.
LATER. The ceremony has finished. The last mourner lays a rose
on Catherine’s coffin and walks away. Daniel is still standing
at the end of the coffin, looking down at it. A young woman walks
back to join him.
SABRINA
Uh, Doctor Jackson? (Daniel turns to
her.) Hi.
DANIEL
Hi.
SABRINA
I’m Sabrina Gosling. I’m Catherine’s
niece.
DANIEL
Oh, yes, of course. (He shakes her hand.)
SABRINA
I just wanted to thank you for coming
- and for speaking. I know she would
have really appreciated it.
DANIEL
No, it was a ... it was an honour.
SABRINA
You know, my aunt used to talk about
you all the time. (She laughs.) It’s
funny - I always used to picture some
Indiana Jones type with a bullwhip and
a pistol chasing bad guys through some
ancient temple!
DANIEL
Yeah, well, I generally leave the whip
at home, so ...
SABRINA
Right, well, me too. Um, she, uh, wanted
you to have this. (She takes something
out of her pocket and holds it out to
Daniel. It’s Catherine’s Ra locket.)
DANIEL
No, you’re-you’re family, you-you should
keep that.
SABRINA
She thought of you like a son.
(Daniel holds out his hand and Sabrina gives him the locket.)
DANIEL
Thank you.
SABRINA
There are a few other odds and ends
she wanted me to give you, but I wasn’t
able to bring them today. Is there an
address where I could send them?
DANIEL
Yeah, of course.
SABRINA
Great.
SGC. OUTSIDE DANIEL’S OFFICE. Jack is leaning against the doorjamb
as a technician comes out of the room wheeling an empty delivery
trolley. Daniel arrives as a second technician wheels out a second
empty trolley, followed by a third man with a trolley.
DANIEL
Jack?
O’NEILL
Daniel.
DANIEL
What’s goin’ on?
O’NEILL
You been shoppin’ online lately?
(Siler comes out of the room with a clipboard which he hands
to Jack.)
DANIEL
What are you talkin’ about?
O’NEILL
Well, you’ve got a little delivery here.
(He hands the clipboard to Daniel. Daniel
looks at it.)
DANIEL
It’s from Catherine’s estate.
O’NEILL
Yeah - kinda looks like she sent the
whole thing.
(Daniel walks into his office to find it full of a huge number
of boxes all over the floor and the desks.)
DANIEL
Holy ...! Looks like her entire collection!
(Jack gazes around the room for a moment, then puts his hand
on Daniel’s shoulder.)
O’NEILL
I prefer stamps. (He turns and walks
away.)
BRIEFING ROOM. Doctor Balinsky of SG-13 (last seen in “Heroes”)
is presenting his latest findings to Jack. He has a large number
of rocks on the desk and lifts one up to show Jack. He is very
excited about what he’s found.
BALINSKY
Now, in addition, we discovered several
grains of troilite, (he gives the rock
to Jack, who has his head propped up
with one hand and is clearly bored to
tears) and a meselstasis phase which
contained micrometer crystals. (He hands
that to Jack as well.)
O’NEILL
Mmmmm!
BALINSKY
Now, it’s undergoing further testing
but we hope to have the results on your
desk first thing tomorrow morning.
O’NEILL
Don’t you keep me waiting!
BALINSKY
No, sir! (Jack rolls his eyes in desperation
but Balinsky doesn’t notice. He picks
up another rock.) Now, here’s where
things get really interesting, because
you will notice in this ...
(Daniel hurries in.)
DANIEL
Jack! We need to talk! (He sees Balinsky.)
Oh, sorry for interrupting.
(Jack reaches out and grabs his arm.)
O’NEILL
No! It’s OK. If it’s important, you
must interrupt. You must.
DANIEL
I think we may have found a ZPM.
O’NEILL
Yes! (He turns to Balinsky and pats
him on the shoulder.) Great stuff with
the rocks. (Behind him, Daniel is almost
jumping up and down in his eagerness
to get Jack out of the room. Jack turns
to him.) Go! (They hurry out of the
room.)
DANIEL’S OFFICE. Jack and SG-1 are there. Daniel picks up a book.
DANIEL
Among the items Catherine left me, this
one in particular caught my attention.
It’s an original 1889 edition of “The
Eye of the Sun”. It’s, uh, the only
one in known existence. It details the
customs and the rituals observed by
the ancient worshippers of the sun god,
Ra. Now, while I was flipping through
the pages, I noticed this. (He opens
the book to the correct page and shows
it to the others. It contains a drawing
of Ra holding what looks like a ZPM.)
TEAL’C
It appears to be a Zero Point Module.
DANIEL
The worshippers of Ra referred to it
as the Heart of Light. This is a reproduction
of a wall painting discovered by a German
archaeologist in 1885. It was destroyed
in a museum fire ten years later.
CARTER
But the ZPM was never found.
DANIEL
No.
BRIEFING ROOM. Jack and SG-1 are sitting at the table. Sam hands
a file to Jack.
CARTER
We did an extensive satellite sweep
of the Giza plateau searching for an
energy signature like the one given
off by the ZPM we found at Taonas. Even
if it’s buried under dirt and rock,
we should have been able to detect it.
We found nothing. I’m sorry, Daniel,
but if it’s there, it’s probably been
depleted.
DANIEL
No, I don’t think so. According to the
text, it was a religious artefact, an
icon. It was never used as a power source.
TEAL’C
It is possible Ra simply took the device
with him when he left Earth.
CARTER
In which case, it could be anywhere
by now.
DANIEL
We don’t know where it is now, but we
do know where it was. Giza, three thousand
BC.
CARTER
You can’t be serious.
O’NEILL
What?
DANIEL
It’s the only way.
O’NEILL
What?
CARTER
No, we agreed.
O’NEILL
If I have to say “What?” one more time,
heads are gonna roll!
DANIEL
We have a time ship. We can go back
and get the ZPM.
O’NEILL
She wouldn’t let me go back and watch
the Cubs win the World Series!
DANIEL
Jack, this is a unique opportunity.
Ra never knew what he had, which means
we can go back and take it without adversely
affecting the timeline.
CARTER
Actually, sir, he may be right about
that.
O’NEILL
You’re onboard with this?!
CARTER
I’m not happy about it, but we don’t
have any historical evidence to show
that any Goa’uld has ever used a ZPM
- in which case, it wouldn’t be missed.
We would have to be extremely careful
to minimise our interaction with the
people of the period.
O’NEILL
Yeah, there’s that. But I thought you
said you couldn’t get it to work?
CARTER
No-one at Area 51 has been able to engage
the time device. In fact, they’ve barely
got the ship off the ground, but you
were able to fly it without too much
difficulty.
TEAL’C
Indeed. You have demonstrated an exceptional
ability to control Ancient devices.
DANIEL
Jack, think about it: with a fully functional
ZPM we could power Earth’s defences
and open up a wormhole to the Pegasus
galaxy.
(Jack looks at Sam, who nods.)
EARTH ORBIT. The Ancient time ship is flying above the planet.
DANIEL
Now remember, Jack, three thousand BC.
When Sam hooks up the power to the time
device, think about that date and nothing
else.
(We see that Jack is sitting in the pilot’s seat with Daniel
sitting alongside and Teal’c behind him. Sam is in the rear of
the ship tinkering with the time device. All of them are wearing
sand camo.)
O’NEILL
This thing’s Ancient. How’s it gonna
know from BC?
CARTER
Well, your mind is controlling it. The
Ancient computer should be able to extrapolate
from your concept of time.
O’NEILL
Well, shouldn’t we test it on a slightly
smaller leap - like, say, to 1908?
CARTER
Actually, sir, we were able to determine
from the data log that the technology
only works in time jumps longer than
a couple of hundred years. (At that
moment, the lights on the time device
come on.) I think that’s it.
DANIEL
Three thousand BC.
O’NEILL
Any particular day of this century for
ya?!
(Daniel gives him a look, then closes his eyes and mimics concentrating.
Jack sighs, turns to the controls and closes his own eyes, concentrating.
After a few seconds, a row of red lights begin to light up along
the side of the time device and it can be heard powering up.
Outside the ship, a distortion field of some sort passes over
the ship. Inside, Jack opens his eyes as the time device powers
down again.)
O’NEILL
What happened?
DANIEL
I didn’t feel anything.
CARTER
The time machine pulsed. Try the radio.
(She comes forward and looks out of
the windshield.)
(Daniel clears his throat and activates the radio.)
DANIEL
Stargate Command, this is Daniel Jackson,
do you read? Stargate Command, this
is Daniel Jackson, come in please.
(Sam is looking puzzled as she looks out of the window. Teal’c
stands up and stares out of the window at the stars.)
TEAL’C
The stars are different.
CARTER
Earth was in a different orbit around
the sun five thousand years ago. I think
we did it.
O’NEILL
Huh!
EARTH. EGYPT. The time ship has landed in a desert area. Inside,
Jack and SG-1 are covering their camo with pale coloured robes
and head dresses (think Abydonians). Daniel is tinkering with
a video camera.
DANIEL
Can’t believe I’m finally gonna get
proof that the Great Pyramids pre-date
the fourth dynasty.
CARTER
So what are you gonna do? Stand in the
picture holding a newspaper with today’s
date?!
DANIEL
This is an archaeologist’s dream. I
wanna get as much footage as I can.
CARTER
Just be careful. We’re here for the
ZPM. In and out - minimal interaction,
minimal impact.
DANIEL
No problem.
CARTER
I mean it. All of you, sir. (She looks
at Jack.)
O’NEILL
You’ve got it, you’ve got it!
CARTER
You’re gonna need this. (She hands a
wristband to Jack.) We’ve determined
that it remotely activates the ship’s
cloak.
O’NEILL
Nice!
(A few minutes later we see Jack and SG-1 walking away from the
ship. Jack turns and faces the ship again, and it cloaks.)
EGYPTIAN ENCAMPMENT. In a village of tents, Egyptians are going
about their everyday routine. Two large pyramids can be seen
in the distance. Jack, Sam and Teal’c watch as Daniel converses
with a couple of Egyptians. He bows to them and returns to the
team.
DANIEL
Well, my ancient Egyptian’s a little
rusty, but I think I got the gist of
what they’re saying. (He gestures back
to the two men he was just talking to.)
That’s Katep and his brother Selatis.
(Jack waves to them.)
O’NEILL
Hey, guys!
(Daniel pulls Jack’s hand down and shakes his head at him.)
DANIEL
They’re on a pilgrimage to the temple
of Ra to make an offering.
O’NEILL
Oh, there’s timing!
DANIEL
Tomorrow. I told them we were travellers
from the east and they offered to put
us up for the night.
CARTER
I was kinda hoping we wouldn’t have
to stay that long. (The others look
at her.) I’m sorry - I keep thinking
I’m gonna step on a bug and change the
future.
DANIEL
Well, we can’t just walk into the temple
unannounced. A public audience is the
perfect way to get inside.
CARTER
We just have to (she looks pointedly
at Jack) keep a low profile.
(Jack looks at her indignantly.)
O’NEILL
Yes. (He turns to Daniel.) But more
importantly, did they say what was for
dinner?
THE NEXT DAY. RA’S TEMPLE. Katep and Selatis carry in a large
lidded basket between them. Other Egyptians follow. Katep and
Selatis lead the way into the throneroom and walk up to the throne
where Jaffa guards are waiting for them. At the rear of the Egyptian
group, Jack and SG-1 enter the throneroom, keeping their heads
lowered.
JAFFA
Kree! Tel’lok!
(The Egyptians drop to their knees. Jack and SG-1 follow suit.
From the rear of the throneroom, Ra enters, wearing his ornate
gold mask and accompanied by two female slaves. As he approaches
the throne, Jack looks at him, his face unreadable as he remembers
the last time he met him. Ra sits down on his throne.)
JAFFA
Shal’ka!
(Selatis hurriedly takes off the lid of the basket and cowers
back down again. Ra leans forward to look inside. There are various
items of jewellery inside.)
RA
Rush’nel. Rush’nel jal’na!
(Selatis picks up a piece of jewellery, stands up and lifts it
towards Ra but the Jaffa uses his staff weapon to push him back
down to his knees.)
DANIEL
I don’t think he was too impressed with
the offering.
RA
Ta’mel a’kel mal’tal. Za’ra nak shon.
DANIEL
He says he will not tolerate such disrespect
from his followers.
(The Jaffa activates his staff weapon. Jack covertly reaches
for a pistol in his trousers. Sam sees what he’s doing.)
CARTER
Sir.
O’NEILL
Let me do it now - I won’t have to do
it in five thousand years.
CARTER
You can’t do that. There’s no telling
what effect it might have.
(Ra extends a finger. The Jaffa shoots Selatis. SG-1 flinch in
dismay while Jack gazes in hatred at Ra. Katep cowers down, expecting
to be next, but the Jaffa closes his staff weapon. Ra rises and
leaves the throneroom.)
JAFFA
Kree! Reela nak!
(Katep closes his eyes in grief. He and several other Egyptians
run forward to lift Selatis’ body and carry it from the throneroom.
All the Egyptians begin to leave. Jack and SG-1 move cautiously
around a corner. Katep looks back as a couple of Jaffa put the
lid back on the basket and carry it away. As the throneroom empties,
Jack looks around the corner to see which way the Jaffa go.)
A little later, the team are carefully following the two Jaffa
with the basket.
DANIEL
There’s gotta be some sort of treasure
room. If the ZPM is anywhere, it’ll
be in there.
(Jack looks round at the sound of another Jaffa clomping along
the corridor. As he walks past them, Jack zats him. Jack and
Teal’c run out and grab the Jaffa’s legs and pull him out of
sight.)
A little later, Teal’c is dressed in the Jaffa’s armour apart
from the helmet.
O’NEILL
You really think they’re gonna let him
just waltz in and take it?
DANIEL
Well, like I said, they don’t even know
what a ZPM is. To them it’s like any
number of dozens of ritualistic objects
they pull out for any number of occasions.
Besides, he’s wearing the shiny suit.
(Teal’c activates the helmet and it rises up out of nowhere and
wraps itself around his head.)
O’NEILL
Good luck!
(Teal’c bows to him and walks away.)
Some time later, Jack, Sam and Daniel are waiting for Teal’c
to return. Jack looks at his watch.
O’NEILL
C’mon, T!
DANIEL
We would have heard something if he
was in trouble.
(They hear the approaching footsteps of a Jaffa and duck out
of sight. The Jaffa clumps along the corridor and finally reaches
them. As he turns to face them, Daniel activates his zat gun.
The Jaffa stops and holds up the ZPM. Jack takes it.)
O’NEILL
Nice!
DESERT. The team are making their way back to the time ship.
They round a sand dune and then duck down at the sound of voices.
Looking cautiously over the top of the dune, they see that part
of the time ship is now visible, covered in sand. Many Jaffa
are surrounding it.
CARTER
Oh my God!
O’NEILL
Alright, we’ve got a little problem
here.
DANIEL
Must have been a sandstorm during the
night.
TEAL’C
The Jaffa will soon call for reinforcements
if they have not already done so. We
must move quickly.
(As Jack reaches for his sidearm, Sam grabs his arm.)
CARTER
Sir, we can’t.
O’NEILL
We’ve taken on more Jaffa than that.
CARTER
You know what I mean. This is exactly
the sort of high-impact event we’re
supposed to avoid.
TEAL’C
They have the ship. Will that not alter
the future more than anything that we
could do?
CARTER
Not necessarily. They don’t know what
it is, and even if they did, they can’t
use it. None of them have the gene -
even Ra won’t be able to make it work.
DANIEL
So what are we supposed to do?
CARTER
Nothing.
O’NEILL
Nothing?!
CARTER
Well, close to it.
O’NEILL
No, here’s a better idea: we take back
our ship!
CARTER
Sir, if we kill those Jaffa or, worse,
get captured, we could alter the future
immeasurably. If you’re thinking we
can go forward and then back again ...
O’NEILL
Just a couple of days! Then we park
that thing where nobody can find it.
CARTER
We alter this timeline, and the future
is already different. We could set into
motion a spiral of changes that we could
never fix. We’ve already done too much.
I’m sorry, sir - I should never have
allowed us to do this.
(The team carefully gets up, moves away and starts to walk across
the desert.)
O’NEILL
So, what? We live out the rest of our
lives here?
CARTER
Well, we know there’s gonna be a rebellion
eventually. The human slaves rise up
and Ra abandons Earth. Daniel learned
that on Abydos nine years ago. When
it happens, there is a chance that we
could get the Jumper back without creating
too big a ripple in the events of this
timeline.
O’NEILL
When does that happen?
DANIEL
I don’t know the exact date - it could
be years.
O’NEILL
What?! Years?!
CARTER
Sir, we don’t have a choice.
O’NEILL
Carter, what about the ZPM? I mean,
if we wait, we lose any chance of getting
it back to our time.
CARTER
Preserving the timeline is more important.
O’NEILL
For all you know, things could get better!
CARTER
Or they could be worse! We can’t take
that chance.
DANIEL
Well, I know a way we can get the ZPM
back to our time even if we don’t. About
a month before we left, there was an
archaeological dig that uncovered a
first dynasty tomb near Giza. All we
have to do is bury the ZPM in that tomb,
let them find it, and maybe our future
selves won’t have to take on this mission!
CARTER
Wow! That’s bizarre, but it just might
work.
O’NEILL
Carter, a lot of good people died when
Anubis attacked Earth. I don’t think
their families would mind if we futzed
with the timeline a little.
CARTER
Sir, I know this is hard for you; your
instincts are to change things - make
things better - but for once that’s
exactly what we can’t do. We have to
let things play out exactly the way
they’re meant to.
THE PRESENT. EARTH. A CLASSROOM. We see a blackboard with writing
on it which describes the meanings of the words “noun”, “adjective”,
“verb” and “adverb”. Daniel’s voice can be heard offscreen.
DANIEL
English is, uh, a complex language -
a hybrid of many different influences,
much like the culture it represents.
(The camera pans across and we see Daniel.
But this is not the Daniel Jackson we
know. His hair is longer and he is wearing
a terrible thick-rimmed pair of glasses.
He is wearing a short-sleeved shirt
and tie and a sleeveless cardigan.)
To understand it is to gain an insight
into that culture and the process of
integration that created it. (He pauses
and looks out at his class. We see that
they are adults of all ages, and are
a large number of different nationalities.
They are gazing at him blankly.) OK
- let’s start with a simple greeting.
Often the best way to begin interacting
with someone is to find a topic of common
interest. Everyone can relate to the
weather, so let’s start with that, shall
we? Introduce yourself and talk about
the weather! (After a moment, a young
man raises his hand. Daniel points to
him.) Yes.
(The man stands up.)
CARLOS
Hello, my name is Carlos. You make me
so hot.
(Daniel stares, trying to keep his smile.)
DANIEL
OK! (Carlos sits down again.) Umm, uh,
not quite right, but the introduction
part was good.
(The door to the classroom opens and a man, perhaps the principal
of the school, puts his head round the door.)
PRINCIPAL
Daniel? Sorry to bother you, but there
are some people here to see you.
DANIEL
Scuse me for just one second. (He walks
over to the principal and speaks quietly.)
What kind of people?
PRINCIPAL
Air Force people. (He steps aside to
show three Air Force personnel waiting
outside. One of them is Major Paul Davis.
He has a moustache.)
DEPARTMENT OF AEROSPACE RESEARCH HEADQUARTERS, WASHINGTON D.C.
In an office, Sam’s voice can be heard.
CARTER
This is totally unbelievable! (The camera
pans across and we see Sam. She too
is wearing very nerdy glasses. She is
gesturing angrily.) You are a small
and pathetic man! Those were my theories
on spinwave technology and the effects
of anti-gravity on electromagnetism
and you know it! (We see the desk that
she’s shouting at. Nobody is sitting
there.) Now, just because my reproductive
organs are on the inside instead of
the outside doesn’t ... (She grimaces
and turns away from the desk.) God,
that’s horrible! Who would ever say
that?!
(The door in front of her opens and a man comes in.)
HERSHFIELD
Carter. (He looks around the room.)
Who were you talking to?
CARTER
No-one.
HERSHFIELD
Were you talking to yourself?
CARTER
No.
HERSHFIELD
Have you proofread my review of the
solid fuel rockets yet?
CARTER
I’m almost done. (She gives him a double
thumbs-up.) Good job!
HERSHFIELD
Thank you. Keep up the good work, Carter
- you’ll be moving up around here.
(The door opens again and Major Davis and his two colleagues
come in.)
DAVIS
Scuse me. Major Davis, United States
Air Force.
HERSHFIELD
Doctor Hershfield. (He and Davis shake
hands.)
DAVIS
I know who you are.
HERSHFIELD
What’s this all about?
DAVIS
It’s a matter of national security.
I’m afraid I’m not at liberty to discuss
that here.
HERSHFIELD
Oh, of course. (He looks round at Sam
for a moment.) By all means. We can
talk privately in my office.
DAVIS
Oh no, I’m not here to talk to you.
I’d like to speak to Doctor Carter.
(Sam stares in amazement. Hershfield turns round to look at her.)
CARTER
Me?!
MARINA. Near a boat with “Homer” painted roughly on the bow,
a man pulls a fishing pot out of the water and walks away. On
the boat sits Jack O’Neill, looking bored. As he tosses an empty
beer can across the boat, three Air Force personnel approach.
One of them takes off his sunglasses and we see that this is
Colonel Samuels.
SAMUELS
Colonel O’Neill.
O’NEILL
Samuels. You and the boys looking to
charter a boat for the day?
SAMUELS
No, sir. I’ve been sent by the Pentagon
to escort you back to Washington.
O’NEILL
I could give a rat’s butt.
SAMUELS
It’s a matter of national security,
sir.
O’NEILL
Find someone else.
SAMUELS
We can’t. It has to be you. Now, if
you’ll allow me, I’ll try and explain
it on the way.
O’NEILL
Sammy, it just doesn’t sound like fun.
(He jumps up onto the top deck of the
boat, groaning with the effort.) Oh,
God! (He starts the boat and steers
it out of the marina. Samuels and his
colleagues watch, unable to do anything.
Jack takes his hands off the wheel and
stretches dramatically as the boat moves
away.)
[TRANSCRIBER’S NOTE
for most of the rest of the episode,
the main characters are these new alt-versions
of our heroes. I don’t like constantly
using “Alt-Daniel”, “Alt-Carter” etc
so will stick with their normal names
until it’s necessary to differentiate
between them and our usual heroes.]
SGC. BRIEFING ROOM. Daniel is alone in the room, gazing around
nervously. The door beside Jack’s office opens and Major Davis
gestures to Sam Carter to go in. Daniel turns round to look.
DAVIS
If you’ll just wait here, ma’am, General
Hammond will be with you in a moment.
(He closes the door, leaving Daniel
and Sam alone in the room. Daniel checks
Sam out, then, as she turns towards
him, walks over to her.)
DANIEL
Hi.
CARTER
Hi.
DANIEL
Doctor Daniel Jackson.
CARTER
Doctor Samantha Carter.
DANIEL
Oh! Uh, PhD.
CARTER
Oh, me too. Astrophysics.
DANIEL
Oh, Egyptology.
CARTER
You wouldn’t happen to know why we’re
here?
DANIEL
No. (He laughs.) Five thousand years
ago, maybe, but, uh, now, no. I was
kinda hoping you did.
CARTER
Sorry.
(They look around the room awkwardly for a few moments.)
DANIEL
I teach English as a second language.
CARTER
Department of Aerospace.
DANIEL
Oh!
CARTER
Oh, not as an astronaut. (She giggles
nervously.) No, I, uh, I check other
people’s scientific reports for factual
errors or omissions before they get
sent up to the Director.
DANIEL
That’s ... interesting.
CARTER
Yeah. (Then she shakes her head.) Not
really.
(General Hammond enters the room.)
HAMMOND
Doctor Jackson, Doctor Carter - I’m
General George Hammond. (He gestures
to the table.) Please.
(Sam looks at Daniel for a moment, then they both sit down at
the table. Hammond sits, and then puts a folder down in front
of each of them. A couple of pens are already lying on the table.
At this point we realise that, because of the number of stars
on his shoulders, Hammond is only a Brigadier General instead
of the Major General that we know. Daniel and Sam open their
folders.)
DANIEL
What’s this?
HAMMOND
A non-disclosure agreement. What we’re
about to discuss has been classified
top secret by the United States government.
(Daniel closes his folder and folds his hands over the top of
it.)
DANIEL
What if we don’t wanna sign it?
HAMMOND
Well then, you’re free to leave.
(Sam immediately grabs her pen and signs her agreement. Hammond
and Daniel look at each other for a moment, then Daniel rolls
his eyes, opens his folder again and signs it. Hammond collects
the folders back, then hands a file to each of them.)
HAMMOND
You have a background in archaeology,
isn’t that right, Doctor Jackson?
DANIEL
That’s right.
HAMMOND
But your theories failed to gain much
acceptance among your colleagues.
DANIEL
You could say that.
HAMMOND
Egyptian pyramids as landing pads for
alien spacecraft.
DANIEL
I did not say that unequivocally. Um,
I simply put forward the possibility
that, based on the knowledge that ...
HAMMOND
It’s alright, Doctor, you don’t have
to defend your theories here. A month
ago, a team of archaeologists from the
University of Chicago uncovered an ancient
Egyptian tomb near Giza. Inside, they
found artefacts typical of the period,
plus one or two objects that have yet
to be identified - and a video camera.
CARTER
A video camera?!
HAMMOND
It was perfectly preserved in a vacuum-sealed
Canopic jar. (He shows them a photograph
of the MRI scan showing the camera inside
the jar.) The technology is somewhat
different to what is commercially available
today, but we managed to charge the
battery. However, we didn’t bring you
here because we found the camera. We
brought you here because of what had
been recorded on the tape inside that
camera.
(He activates the screen behind him. At first all we can see
is the lower half of a man’s face as he sets up the camera. Then
he steps away and we see that it’s our Daniel.)
DANIEL
I think that’s right. (He walks away
from the camera and then turns to face
it.) OK, my name is Doctor Daniel Jackson.
I’m part of a team called SG-1 and we
have just travelled back in time five
thousand years.
(Hammond looks at Alt-Daniel. Alt-Sam turns and stares at him
as well. Alt-Daniel takes his glasses off and stares in disbelief
at the image of himself on the screen.)
DANIEL
See, the thing is, we’re not sure we’re
gonna make it back. Um, the chamber
where you discovered this tape should
be discovered shortly before we’re set
to leave - if the timeline hasn’t changed
at all. Let’s see, what are some recent
major events? Uh, communism recently
failed in Eastern Europe. Um, they should
be well on their way towards democracy
by now. Henry Hayes is President. What
else?
ALT-CARTER
Henry Hayes?!
HAMMOND
Secretary of the Interior. President
Kinsey was less than amused when he
saw that portion of the tape. (He activates
the tape again.)
DANIEL
Sam, help me out here. (Sam walks into
view.) Um, Samantha Carter, Lieutenant
Colonel, United States Air Force and
a member of SG-1. (Sam waves at the
camera as her alt-self stares in amazement.)
CARTER
Well, I suppose we should tell them
about the Stargate.
ALT-CARTER
Oh my God!
ALT-DANIEL
What’s SG-1?
HAMMOND
Watch.
DANIEL
Right. Colonel Carter and I work for
an organisation known as Stargate Command.
It is located under Cheyenne Mountain.
Now, for the past eight years we’ve
been regularly travelling through a
large ring-shaped device known as the
Stargate which should have been discovered
in 1928 somewhere near where this tape
was found.
CARTER
Now, by means of these offworld missions,
we’ve managed to acquire a lot of advanced
technology which has helped us protect
Earth against several alien attacks.
DANIEL
If, for whatever reason, the things
we’re talking about are not true, then
it is possible that we have somehow
inadvertently changed the future. Now,
the purpose of this tape is to provide
you with the tools you will need to
go back in time and set things right.
If, for whatever reason, the Stargate
has not been discovered, you will have
to find it and get it up and running.
(Alt-Daniel and Alt-Sam are staring
at the screen, unable to believe anything
they’re seeing. Alt-Sam shakes her head
in shock.) Uh, Jack, you should say
something here.
O’NEILL
No, no ...
DANIEL
We should all be here on the tape.
CARTER
We have no way of knowing how things
could have changed.
(Daniel steps aside and Jack walks into view and faces the camera.)
O’NEILL
Uh, uh, General Jack O’Neill, United
States Air Force. (Alt-Sam turns to
Alt-Daniel, who shakes his head to indicate
that he doesn’t know who this man is
either.) How you doin’? (On the screen,
Jack turns to Daniel, unsure of what
to say.)
DANIEL
Tell them about the future.
O’NEILL
Uh, college football is played on Saturdays;
pro on Sundays, (Alt-Sam and Alt-Daniel
stare at him) - and there are no fish
in my pond, at all, where I fish. (He
turns to the other two.) Uh, I think
that covers it for me.
(Hammond switches the tape off and turns to Sam and Daniel.)
DANIEL
Did he say “Stargate”?
CARTER
Time travel?!
DANIEL
What else did the tape say?
HAMMOND
Details of the Stargate, SG-1, including
a fourth member who appears to be some
kind of humanoid alien.
CARTER
Are you telling us that in some alternate
timeline, we’re part of a team that
... travels to other planets and defends
Earth against alien invasions?
HAMMOND
I know. It seems difficult to believe.
DANIEL
Wait-wait - what about the Stargate?
Did you look for it?
HAMMOND
We searched the co-ordinates provided
on the tape but we didn’t find anything.
The area had already been excavated
previously in 1934 by a Doctor Langford
but he found nothing but a tablet inscribed
with hieroglyphics that no-one’s ever
been able to translate. We were wondering
if you’d like to take a crack at it.
DANIEL
Are you kidding?!
COMMISSARY. Sam is sitting at a table drinking. Daniel comes
in.
DANIEL
Hey.
CARTER
Hi.
(Daniel sits down opposite her.)
DANIEL
So - what d’you think of all this?
CARTER
To be honest, I don’t know what to think.
I mean, it’s pretty overwhelming.
DANIEL
Yeah.
CARTER
Time travel is theoretically possible.
There’s been a lot of research in the
area of quantum gravity which suggests
that time flows like rotating fluid
within our galaxy, technically allowing
the traveller to journey backward and
forward at will but there’s a huge amount
of energy required.
(Daniel has been looking blankly at her and at last gets a chance
to get a word in edgeways.)
DANIEL
Actually, I was talking about us - the
other us. I guess you could call it
the us we’re supposed to be. (Sam looks
at him dubiously.) I mean, seriously,
didn’t you always think that you were
destined for something more - I mean,
something a hell of a lot more fulfilling
than a nine to five desk job?
CARTER
I suppose.
DANIEL
I don’t know, I just always felt like
my life was wrong.
CARTER
Well - life is what you make it, you
know, for better or worse.
DANIEL
Well, look at this as a way to change
everything - if we help them find this
- this Stargate.
CARTER
What do you think they’re gonna do -
ask us to join an elite team of intergalactic
space heroes?! (She laughs.) Look at
us! The only reason that they showed
us the tape is because we’re on it.
DANIEL
Exactly!
CARTER
Oh.
GUEST QUARTERS. Daniel, with lots of books scattered over the
desk in front of him, is watching the tape again on a screen
on the desk. His alternate self is speaking.
DANIEL
OK, that about covers the Gate dialling
system, the point of origin, the address
to Chulak, and the home address. What
else? Oh, right! (He picks up the ZPM.)
This is very important - it’s called
a ZPM, a Zero ...
(Offscreen, Teal’c interrupts.)
TEAL’C
Daniel Jackson.
DANIEL
What?
TEAL’C
I believe the battery is about to expire.
DANIEL
OK, this is very important - this is
called a Zero Point Module. Now, its
purpose is to, to ... (The tape ends.)
HAMMOND
How’s that for timing?!
(Daniel turns around to see Hammond standing behind him.)
DANIEL
Uh, this ZPM was recovered along with
the tape?
HAMMOND
Yes. We have a team of scientists studying
it as we speak. How’s the translation
coming?
DANIEL
Oh! (He makes some odd noises.) It’s
an obscure dialect - I can see why your
experts had trouble.
HAMMOND
But?
DANIEL
But it’s almost as if the person who
chiselled this tablet knew my research.
You see, in 2995 BC, about five years
after the team on this tape arrived
in the past, there was an uprising.
The ancient Egyptians rebelled against
the sun god Ra - or at least someone
who they believed to be an impostor.
Now apparently, whoever this impostor
was, he left in a great flying ship,
uh, and took the Stargate with him.
HAMMOND
That is unfortunate.
DANIEL
Yeah, but the tablet makes reference
to a location where there might be a
second Stargate here on Earth.
HAMMOND
Where?
DANIEL
Oh. I’m still workin’ on that.
HAMMOND
Thank you, Doctor. I look forward to
your report.
DANIEL
Uh, General, um, if it’s alright with
you, I’d like to join the expedition
to find the second Gate.
(Hammond looks at him for a moment, then sighs uncomfortably.)
COMMISSARY. Sam is eating a bowl of blue jelly. Daniel comes
and joins her.
DANIEL
You were right. They’re gonna shut us
out.
CARTER
Can’t say I’m surprised.
DANIEL
I still haven’t finished the entire
translation yet, which means we still
have some leverage.
CARTER
What else does it say?
DANIEL
It says the second Stargate is somewhere
in Antarctica.
CARTER
Somewhere in Antarctica?!
DANIEL
Well, it doesn’t even say that, it says
“the land of the cold in the south”
which I’m guessing means Antarctica.
CARTER
It’s a big place - lots of ice.
DANIEL
Yeah, I’m guessing whoever wrote the
tablet didn’t have a way of explaining
latitude and longitude in ancient Egyptian
hieroglyphs.
CARTER
Well, at least you’re still useful to
them. I don’t know why they’re keepin’
me around.
DANIEL
Whoa - I’m not gonna let them shut you
out either. I mean, we’re supposed to
be a team. We have to stick together.
CARTER
That’s nice, really.
DANIEL
Yeah. We need someone who’s willing
to go to bat for us - someone they can’t
say no to.
MARINA. On the quay by the “Homer” is a board advertising “Tours,
fishing, charters, parties” and showing the rates. Jack is doing
repairs in the bow and making angry noises. Sam and Daniel walk
up and glance nervously at each other. Jack finally looks up
and notices them.
O’NEILL
You folks lookin’ for a little tour?
DANIEL
Jack O’Neill?
O’NEILL
Yeah.
DANIEL
Uh, I’m Daniel Jackson, this is Samantha
Carter.
(Sam waves at Jack. He looks at her for a moment, then looks
at Daniel.)
O’NEILL
You two a couple?
DANIEL
No! No, no, we just - we just met.
O’NEILL
What do you want?
CARTER
Well, uh ... we were recently approached
by the military about a, uh, a matter
of, um, (she lowers her voice and whispers)
national security.
O’NEILL
Don’t care.
DANIEL
This is really important - all we’re
asking is a little bit of your time.
O’NEILL
A hundred and fifty bucks an hour to
rent the boat.
DANIEL
We don’t wanna go anywhere.
O’NEILL
It’s your money.
LATER. The boat is still in the marina. Daniel and Sam are now
on board, sitting in the bow wearing lifejackets. Jack is sitting
opposite them, doing some repairs to a fishing rod.
DANIEL
So ultimately what we have to do is
this: we have to find the Stargate and
then get hold of this time travel device.
CARTER
Locate this alien named Teal’c.
DANIEL
Right - get Teal’c first, then go back
in time to change the past and fix the
future. (He looks expectantly at Jack,
who carries on with his repairs as if
they’re not even there.) Are you listening?
O’NEILL
I was tryin’ not to.
(Daniel and Sam look at each other. Daniel sighs.)
DANIEL
Yeah, I suppose it does sound a little
crazy.
O’NEILL
Really? Which part? (He thinks about
it for a moment.) I have to say: the
moment I let you on board.
CARTER
You don’t have to believe us. All we
ask is that you watch the tape and decide
for yourself.
O’NEILL
You know, I have decided and, hey, look,
(he lifts his watch and speaks loudly)
your time’s up!
DANIEL
Aren’t you - aren’t you the least bit
intrigued that there might be something
else out there somewhere? Something
more than this?
(Jack looks at him, glances around his boat, then looks back
at Daniel.)
O’NEILL
No.
DANIEL
We’re supposed to be a team. We saved
the world.
CARTER
Several times!
O’NEILL
Yeah. OK. Sure! I buy that! Uh-huh!
The three of us - the world - we save
it, right? (He laughs.) OK!
CARTER
I can’t believe I wasted my frequent
flier miles on this.
(Daniel looks at Jack, who makes a circle of his thumb and finger
at him, grinning sarcastically.)
DANIEL
Sorry to bother you.
O’NEILL
Not a problem.
(Daniel and Sam stand up. Daniel gets out of the boat but Sam
starts to take her lifejacket off first.)
O’NEILL
Ah! Ah! (He raises a finger to her,
gesturing that she should get out of
the boat first. She sighs and gets out
of the boat, then takes her glasses
off and pulls the lifejacket off. Daniel
takes his off, then they drop them back
into the boat before starting to walk
away.)
O’NEILL
No worries, eh?
SGC. CORRIDOR. Sam and Daniel are being escorted along the corridor
by SFs.
CARTER
Do you have any idea what’s going on?
(Daniel shakes his head. They round the corner to be greeted
by Major Davis, who is standing in front of closed doors being
guarded by a couple of SFs.)
DAVIS
Doctor Carter, Doctor Jackson.
CARTER
Major, what’s this about?
DANIEL
Did you find the second Stargate?
DAVIS
No, we didn’t, but we decided to show
you something else. (He turns to the
SFs.) Airmen?
(The airmen open the door. Inside is an Ancient ship/Puddlejumper.
Sam and Daniel walk into the room, gazing in amazement.)
DANIEL
Woah!
DAVIS
We think this was the ship SG-1 used
to travel back in time.
CARTER
Where did you find it?
DAVIS
It was uncovered during an excavation
of the area around the tomb where the
tape was found. Please. (He gestures
towards the rear of the ship. They walk
around to the rear. The ramp is down
and technicians are working inside.
Sam and Daniel walk inside and stare.)
CARTER
This is incredible! Is it operational?
DAVIS
Not yet.
(The three of them walk to the front of the ship.)
CARTER
According to the tape, Jack O’Neill
had the special gene that makes him
able to fly this thing.
for non-“Atlantis” viewers, in between
the pilot’s and co-pilot’s seat is a
flat panel of triangular pieces which
have constellations on them. They operate
the nearest Stargate like the DHDs do
which we see in “SG-1”.])
DANIEL
These are constellations.
CARTER
The tape said that this was able to
go through the Stargate as well as time
travel.
DANIEL
So this must be what dials the Gate.
(They both reach forward to touch the DHD but a familiar man’s
voice interrupts them.)
MCKAY
Don’t touch anything, please! (Sam and
Daniel pull their hands back and turn
around. Doctor Rodney McKay comes onboard
the ship. He is wearing a blue T-shirt
with “Mr Fantastic” printed on it.)
Leave the touching to the experts.
DAVIS
Doctor Rodney McKay - he’s the lead
scientist on the project.
MCKAY
Hi.
DAVIS
This is Doctor Carter, Doctor Jackson.
(Daniel and Sam both offer their hands. Rodney takes Sam’s, then
continues to hold it, smiling at her, even though Daniel still
has his hand out.)
MCKAY
Pleased to meet you.
DAVIS
We were hoping they may be of assistance
to you.
(Daniel lowers his hand, embarrassed.)
MCKAY
Hmm, yes. (Sam finally pulls her hand
free.) Well, thank you.
DAVIS
I’ll leave you to it, then.
(Sam covertly wipes her hand on her skirt as Davis walks away.)
CARTER
So, did you try dialling the Stargate
address that the Daniel Jackson on the
tape mentioned?
MCKAY
No. Why would we do that?
CARTER
Well, just to see ...
MCKAY
Of course we tried. It’s called sarcasm.
We tried the address numerous times
- nothing happened.
DANIEL
Did you try any other combinations?
MCKAY
I’m sorry - what are your areas of expertise?
CARTER
Astrophysics.
DANIEL
Archaeology.
MCKAY
And I would listen to you because ...?
CARTER
We’re on the tape.
MCKAY
Now you - you I would listen to if you
were reading the phonebook.
CARTER
Oh, brother!
MCKAY
You see, I love this whole sexy librarian
thing. Look, why don’t I take you to
lunch, get you up to speed. (He takes
her arm and starts to usher her towards
the rear of the ship.) I hear it’s lemon
chicken today - it’s my favourite, hmm?
(As she walks past him, he puts his
hand on her backside.) Got a lot to
talk about.
(They walk away, leaving Daniel alone in the ship.)
LATER. Daniel is walking along a corridor as Sam hurries up behind
him.
CARTER
Daniel! (Daniel turns and walks towards
her.) Is he behind me?
DANIEL
Who?
CARTER
McKay. (Daniel looks past her, then
shakes his head.) Oh, thank God! I think
I lost him. The guy is driving me nuts!
DANIEL
Any progress with the ship?
CARTER
Well, the technology is way beyond us,
but I do have something - it could be
big.
DANIEL
What?
CARTER
Remember how McKay said that they tried
dialling the Stargate address several
times and nothing happened?
DANIEL
Yeah.
CARTER
I started thinking. Nothing happened
here.
BRIEFING ROOM. Sam and Daniel are sitting at the table with a
file in front of them as Major Davis walks in.
DAVIS
What have you got?
DANIEL
We’re waiting to see General Hammond.
(He and Sam look smug.)
DAVIS
He’s busy. Why don’t you tell me - I’ll
decide if it’s worth interrupting him.
(Sam and Daniel look at each other for a moment, then Daniel
slides the file across to Sam, who slides it across the table
to Davis. He looks at it and sees that it shows a map of Antarctica
with a series of concentric circles on it.)
CARTER
I cross-referenced our previous attempts
to dial the Gate with some recent seismic
activity in Antarctica. They’re a perfect
match. The epicentre in all eight cases
was exactly the same - approximately
fifty miles outside of McMurdo. (She
points to the centre of the concentric
circles.) That is where you’ll find
your second Gate. (She smiles smugly
up at Davis. Daniel does the same.)
DANIEL
Worth it?
DAVIS
Scuse me. (He picks up the file and
hurries out of the room. Sam and Daniel
look at each other with satisfied smiles
on their faces.)
A DAY OR TWO LATER (presumably). Sam and Daniel walk into what
we know as the Gateroom. It’s a hive of activity. They walk over
to General Hammond.
CARTER
General, you wanted to see us ... (She
trails off as she sees something. Hammond
smiles and turns to watch with her and
Daniel as the Stargate is lowered down
from the surface.)
HAMMOND
It was exactly where you said it would
be. Good work.
CARTER
Thank you, sir.
HAMMOND
I want you both to know that your help
on this project was most appreciated.
Your country owes you a debt of gratitude.
(Sam and Daniel look away from the Gate to stare at Hammond.)
DANIEL
But we’re not done yet.
HAMMOND
Actually, we’re not done. You two, however,
have a plane waiting to take you home.
I’m sure I don’t need to remind you
of the details of the non-disclosure
agreement.
CARTER
Wait a minute. You are gonna send a
team through the Gate, aren’t you?
HAMMOND
We’re assembling a team as we speak.
DANIEL
But you saw the tape - we are that team.
I mean, if anybody should be going,
it’s us!
HAMMOND
I’m sorry, Doctor Jackson, but neither
you nor Doctor Carter possess the training
or qualifications for a mission like
this. That’s just the way it is. (He
turns and walks away. Sam and Daniel
look at each other, then turn to watch
the Stargate as it is lowered into its
final position.)
TO BE CONTINUED.
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