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 (smiling): 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 (laughing): 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 (mock-enthusiastically): 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 (jumping to his feet): 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 (looking at Jack): 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 Khetep 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. Khetep and Selatis carry in a large
lidded basket between them. Other Egyptians follow. Khetep 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 (quietly): 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. Khetep cowers down,
expecting to be next, but the Jaffa closes his staff weapon. Ra
rises and leaves the throneroom.)
JAFFA: Kree! Reela nak!
(Khetep 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. Khetep 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 (in a Spanish accent): 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 (to his class, as he makes the `time out' gesture): 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 (offering his hand for her to shake): Doctor Daniel Jackson.
CARTER (shaking his hand): 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 (gesturing to the door): 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 (explaining to Sam): 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 (interrupting): 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 (onscreen): 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 (on the screen): 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 Hays is
President. What else?
ALT-CARTER: Henry Hays?!
HAMMOND (pausing the tape): Secretary of the Interior. President
Kinsey was less than amused when he saw that portion of the tape.
(He activates the tape again.)
DANIEL (on the screen): 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 (on the screen): Well, I suppose we should tell them about the
Stargate.
ALT-CARTER: Oh my God!
ALT-DANIEL: What's SG-1?
HAMMOND: Watch.
DANIEL (on the screen): 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 (on the screen): 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 (on the screen): 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 (offscreen): No, no ...
DANIEL (on the screen): We should all be here on the tape.
CARTER (on the screen): 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 (on the screen): Tell them about the future.
O'NEILL (on the screen): 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.
(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 (on the screen): 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 (speaking rapidly): 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 (leaning forward and speaking quietly so that others can't
hear): 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 (correcting him): 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 (sarcastically): 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 (quietly to Daniel): 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 (calling after them): 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.
(Daniel notices the DHD. [Note: 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 (to Daniel): And I would listen to you because ...?
CARTER: We're on the tape.
McKAY (to Sam): Now *you* – you I would listen to if you were reading
the phonebook.
CARTER (quietly): 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.
