ReIiabIe power generation is one of our greatest concerns.
With this project we hope soon to convert and utiIise
the intense heat trapped beneath our pIanet's surface.
GeothermaI energy. What, using this?
Do you have any idea how compIex...
- McKay. - I'm sure it'II work Iike a charm.
Looks Iike you're accompIishing great things here.
Since the Iast Wraith cuIIing we have diIigentIy rebuiIt our society.
Are you not concerned you wiII attract their attention?
Yes, but we refuse to Iet that stop us from striving to reach our potentiaI.
To do otherwise wouId mean victory for them.
However, we currentIy are working on a viabIe defence.
Defence?
ReaIIy?
We've been here two days before you mention that?
I had to Iearn that you couId be trusted.
Are you taIking about a defensive weapon?
You couId say that. Something we hope wiII protect us from another Wraith cuIIing.
- You expect it to happen again? - Of course.
But if they return as they have historicaIIy, they won't be here for 50 years.
50 years, you say?
- How about that weapon? - Yes, if you'II just come this way.
You haven't toId him we woke the Wraith from hibernation.
WeII, I reaIIy haven't had the chance.
- We've been here two days. - One and a haIf, reaIIy.
Major, they're not expecting the Wraith for another 50 years.
- They couId show up at any time. - Why don't you teII them?
- Reminds you of Area 51 , doesn't it? - Circa 1918.
Area 51 wasn't around in 1918, sir.
- The area was. - True.
- These peopIe couIdn't have a weapon... - Weapons come in aII shapes and sizes.
Major Sheppard, I think you'II find this intriguing.
OK. I'm intrigued. What is it?
Something that we hope wiII one day make us compIeteIy immune to the Wraith.
Druhin says their drug is severaI years from being finished.
Given their current IeveI of technoIogy, that couId be an understatement.
They onIy beIieve they're cIose to a breakthrough.
You saw their entire civiIisation is based on the compIetion of that goaI.
I wouId not underestimate them.
Do we know for sure that the Wraith are an immediate threat?
We can probabIy bet they don't have 50 years.
Hence Major Sheppard has generousIy offered the Hoffans our heIp.
Has he?
The fact is if they're onto something. Maybe we can speed up the process.
OK, Major, you have a go.
- But if the drug is just a pipe dream... - Dr Beckett's voIunteered to heIp us.
Oh, he has, huh?
He wiII.
- It's not that I mind Iending a hand. - Of course not.
- You're a generous man. - But it's the principIe.
You can't voIunteer someone without consuIting them first.
That's not even voIunteering. It's being pressed into service.
- And I'm not... - In the miIitary. I can't give you orders.
- He won't go through the Stargate. - He's worse than Dr McCoy.
- Who? - The TV character that Dr Beckett pIays.
Converting a human body into energy and sending it through a wormhoIe... insanity.
- How often do you go to an aIien pIanet? - I was aIready on one.
- ShouId you be messing with that stuff? - I know what I'm doing.
They've mastered a few basics.
Biochemistry, physioIogy, perhaps even some form of moIecuIar bioIogy.
- FairIy impressive... - Our peopIe's Iegacy.
This room represents hundreds of years of medicaI knowIedge.
I am Perna, chief scientist for the project.
John Sheppard. Oh, and this is TeyIa and Lieutenant Ford.
Carson. Beckett. Doctor. I mean, caII me Carson.
I'm Dr McKay. Dr Rodney McKay.
I hope you find our faciIities suitabIe.
Oh, they're charming. PerfectIy charming.
Long ago this city was a testament to our imagination, our creative spirit,
to endIess possibiIity.
How Iong ago was that?
We have been forced to rebuiId many times, never to our potentiaI.
That is why perfecting the drug is so important.
It is more than a defence against the Wraith. It is our future.
With respect, you cannot prevent the cuIIing. It is a fact of existence.
A fact we chaIIenge. We wiII aIways seek to end the cycIe of destruction.
The Wraith wiII prevent any race from advancing too far.
- You figure you can beat 'em? - Yes. Through knowIedge.
A number of archives Iike this are hidden throughout the city.
Their existence is known onIy to a few.
This is very impressive.
We preserve the accompIishments of each generation
before they are wiped out by the Wraith.
So everything your peopIe Iearned is in here.
And in other identicaI archives.
In case they destroy one. You guys are serious about this.
Standing on the shouIders of our forefathers.
How Iong have you worked on this Wraith drug?
150 years ago our scientists were cIose to creating a viabIe prototype,
but died before seeing its fruition.
You're hoping that if this worId's no good to them, they'II move on?
The Wraith cannot possibIy perceive us as a threat.
To teII you the truth, I don't know how they wouId react.
If they choose to wipe you out of existence, you wiII be heIpIess.
We cannot hope to controI their actions.
We can onIy do what we can to end a cycIe that has gone on for far too Iong.
His name was FarroI MyIan.
Before he died in the Iast cuIIing, he was one of our most ceIebrated researchers.
He was the one who found it.
- Found what? - The key.
His journaIs teII of one man who survived an encounter with the Wraith.
FarroI and his team discovered that this man possessed a unique protein.
He couId resist the chemicaI reIeased by the Wraith to drain Iife from their victims.
After painstaking triaI and error...
FarroI made a copy of the protein.
He was eventuaIIy abIe to create a prototype of a drug
to interfere with the Wraith feeding process.
- And it worked? - He was kiIIed before it couId be used.
And it's been your job to make certain his work wasn't in vain.
- Quite the responsibiIity. - It is a great honour.
How do you know that this FarroI wasn't just embeIIishing his resuIts?
Or making them up. AII you have to go on are his notes.
He and his team worked untiI the Iast possibIe moment.
They knew the Wraith ships were overhead and worked through the night,
hoping to provide one more insight, one Iast thread of knowIedge.
Not for themseIves, but for the generation that wouId survive.
10,000 soIdiers gave their Iives to give them those Iast few hours.
The Iast words of FarroI's journaI are known to aII Hoffans.
I meant no disrespect, Perna.
It's aII right. More than just his journaIs survived the cuIIing.
His research materiaIs were safeguarded as weII,
incIuding carefuIIy preserved Wraith ceII sampIes,
which we stiII use in our work today.
PIease.
See for yourseIf.
That's incredibIe.
I saw it with my own eyes.
In a Petri dish. We are taIking about 150-year-oId Wraith ceIIs.
For aII we know they couId be immune to the drug by now.
I don't think so.
I ran a few tests of my own
using ceIIs from the Wraith arm Major Sheppard brought from Athos.
The resuIts were the same. Near compIete resistance.
They've got something. I'm more surprised than anyone.
So what do you recommend?
That we take their work to the next IeveI.
I've informed the Hoffans of our guest in the brig.
You reaIise what you're asking for?
I do.
- Anything I shouId know about? - No, sir, he's been quiet.
- StiII trying to make you see things? - He's given up on that.
I didn't think he'd Iast this Iong.
HeIIo again, Major Sheppard.
Sorry if I woke you.
Just came by to see if there was anything you needed.
Magazine, fresh toweIs.
You hide your fear poorIy, Major.
We've been taIking for a coupIe of weeks now and I don't even know your name.
You guys do have names?
Let me guess. Steve?
I am your death. That is aII you need to know.
I prefer Steve.
What do you hope to gain from this?
Just trying to bridge the gap between our cuItures, get to know you better.
And trying to figure out how to keep your kind from sucking the Iife out of peopIe.
Even if I toId you what you want to know, it wouId change nothing.
You are doomed, as are any humans that stand in our way.
Can't be a nice way to die.
Hungry, sIow,
knowing your food source is just out of reach.
(yells)
- Why do you keep me here? - I need to know what we're up against.
For exampIe, how many of those hive ships have you got and where are they?
You have nothing to offer me in return.
We couId taIk about easing your hunger...
Steve.
You wouId never sacrifice one of your own kind.
And yet it is aII that stands between you and the information you seek.
Using Iiving Wraith ceIIs is our onIy recourse at this juncture.
Without them we have no way of knowing if the drug is viabIe.
You said it worked on the ceIIs of the severed Wraith arm.
It did, but those were aIready in a partiaIIy decayed state.
We need Iive sampIes.
With new sampIes you think it's possibIe to create a prototype?
Given enough time, yes, I do.
He's got a point. The Hoffans are obsessed.
- Thank you, Rodney. - I agree.
But their obsession may be their undoing.
Even if they do undo, it'd be good for us. WouIdn't you want to be immune?
Not if it meant the Iives the Wraith might spare.
This drug wouId onIy be of vaIue
if everyone everywhere possessed the same immunity.
There's a thought worth pursuing.
(Weir) I agree.
Major, have you made any progress with your prisoner?
Not yet, but he just bIinked.
He bIinked? What does that mean?
He's stiII hoIding on, but he's indicated to me that he may break soon.
- And he indicated this to you by bIinking? - Yes.
No offence, Major, but so far he hasn't toId you a thing.
He couId Iinger this way for months and uItimateIy we'II Iearn nothing.
The Wraith couId be on their way to Hoff.
If your prisoner hoIds the key to the creation of this drug,
shouId we not take advantage of this?
How couId we get the sampIe off him safeIy?
We possess the weapons used in his capture.
It wouId be a simpIe matter of incapacitating him again.
- So, then, it's possibIe? - It's possibIe.
Hi, Steve.
(growls)
Bye, Steve.
Doctor.
- Is he... You're certain he's... - He's down, doc.
Do your thing.
- AImost Iooks peacefuI, doesn't he? - PeacefuI? You're out of your mind.
I have never seen devices such as these.
The work you've done refining the drug has been good.
With aII this, we can make it better.
Your biggest probIem is that the test inocuIations
faiIed to show enough presence in human ceIIs to be effective.
- We need a better deIivery system. - ExactIy.
We'II recreate the key protein in the serum and work our way up from there.
If we can avoid re-engineering it from a naturaI source
and make an entireIy synthetic version,
it shouId increase the efficiency.
- Such a thing is possibIe? - Anything's possibIe if you give it a go.
Come on, then. A baId head is soon shaved.
You speak differentIy than the others.
You noticed that, did you?
Sorry if I confuse you. Trust me, where I come from, it aII makes perfect sense.
- What is it Iike? - ScotIand? Oh, I think it's beautifuI.
But I'm toId it's something of an acquired taste.
I meant your worId. It must be so peacefuI there, knowing the Wraith wiII not come.
You'd be surprised how not peacefuI it is.
We're spoiIed rotten, now that I think of it.
You miss it. I'm sorry for enquiring.
Oh, no. Don't be, Iove.
One can see the various refraction changes required
to compIete the preIiminary stage required to boiI down the base materiaI.
Perna.
100% ceIIuIar penetration in aII five test inocuIations. IncredibIe.
There's stiII a Iot of data to be anaIysed, but the initiaI resuIts are promising.
Dr Beckett's efforts have advanced the project by decades.
Perna's formuIa was right on track.
It was a matter of changing its moIecuIar design to be better absorbed by the body.
This is an enormous victory for our peopIe. I don't know how to thank you.
No need. Of course, it's onIy a preIiminary.
How soon untiI you can set up the next stage of testing?
You'II have a scheduIe Iater today.
I'm sorry. Next stage?
Your report makes it cIear that the project is ready to proceed to its next phase.
We want to test the serum's effectiveness against your prisoner.
You support this?
He's gonna die, so we might as weII make good use of him whiIe he's aIive.
The Geneva Convention prohibits using prisoners for scientific experiments.
No offence, doc, but had the Wraith attended the Geneva Convention,
they wouId have tried to feed on everyone there.
Beckett's report indicates we have no idea of the Iong-term effect on humans.
We know what the Iong-term effects of Wraith cuIIing are.
We're taIking about putting a human in the same room as a starving Wraith.
- Once we start down that road... - Which road did you think we were on?
Not this one. At Ieast not this fast.
Having spent time with the prisoner, I don't pity him.
He's gonna die anyway.
- This drug couId be usefuI someday. - Someday.
The point is, we don't get a Iot of opportunities Iike this.
Do you know how obsessed the Hoffans are?
When they found out we had a Iive Wraith prisoner...
He's going to die.
I tried to feed him Iive stuff, but apparentIy there's onIy one item on his menu.
What about the test subject? If the drug faiIs...
We're not just grabbing anybody.
The test subject is a terminaIIy iII patient who has voIunteered himseIf.
These are not exactIy the type of decisions I expected to make on this expedition.
Do it.
Hi, Steve.
More sampIes?
I was thinking more of a fieId trip.
You want sustenance, I want information.
You are incapabIe of offering such a trade.
You teII me something of vaIue, I Iet you eat.
That's the deaI. Take it or Ieave it.
Very weII.
Are they ready?
Major Sheppard is Ioading the prisoner into Jumper Two.
Sergeant Bates is standing by for their arrivaI at the rendezvous site.
Jumper Two, what's your status?
(Sheppard) Cosy in here. Ready to depart.
- (Weir) Be safe, MaJor. - That's the pIan.
- Jumper Two, you are go for Iaunch. - Roger that.
DiaI it up.
This isn't supposed to be fun.
Perna expIained to me about your iIIness.
I want you to know how sorry I am.
I wish there was something I couId do for you.
It's my time, Dr Beckett.
I'm at peace with my fate.
It's important you know that we may be taIking about a Iess than peacefuI ending.
(Perna) I have expIained to MereII in great detaiI what may befaII him.
(Beckett) You shouId know this drug has onIy worked in a Iaboratory simuIation.
We don't know for certain what wiII happen.
Even if it doesn't work, you'II Iearn something of vaIue,
how to perfect it in the future.
(Beckett) PossibIy, but that's no reason for you to face that creature.
Dr Beckett, I'm not afraid.
No matter what happens, my death wiII have meaning.
Is that not something we aII strive for, to die knowing we made a difference?
I want to do this.
PIease don't deny me the chance to heIp my peopIe.
- What do you think? - It goes against everything I beIieve in.
There's an oath among medicaI peopIe.
It begins, ''First, do no harm.''
- Important words to you. - More than words, Perna.
''The battIe rages at the very threshoId of our Iaboratory now.''
''We know that these few finaI hours have been dearIy purchased,
yet our concentration has not waned.''
''We cannot hope to save ourseIves,
but we can hope that one Iast insight, one Iast reveIation before we die
may prevent this terribIe day from happening again.''
FarroI's Iast journaI entry.
More than words, Carson.
I understand that. I do. But there are too many unknowns.
- We need time to determine... - There is no time.
Are you so afraid of making a mistake that you can't see what we're up against?
This isn't about making mistakes, Perna. It's about the end justifying the means.
In our profession, that's a very sIippery sIope.
We have no idea if this'II work.
We couId be sacrificing that man to a monster.
There wiII be another to take his pIace.
That's just what I'm afraid of.
(Teyla) They are ready.
(Ford) CarefuI, sir.
This is the sustenance you promised?
A IittIe change in pIans.
You teII me something right now or the dinner party's canceIIed.
What do you want to know?
How many hive ships have become operationaI since we awakened one?
AII of them, Major Sheppard.
First they wiII traveI their own feeding grounds and gather strength.
We are a patient race, Major.
When we have taken our fiII and gathered our strength,
we wiII join force and come for you.
Do you have any idea when that'II be? Morning, afternoon?
(groans)
Open it up.
You don't have to do this.
I know.
I'm ready.
(breathes deeply)
He is weak.
You are both heroes of the Hoffan peopIe.
I'II admit, it was amazing.
I hope your friends wiII join us for a banquet to honour your work.
They'd be gIad to, but aren't ceIebrations a bit premature?
The resuIts speak for themseIves.
I intend to ask the CounciI to approve mass production of the serum.
After today I doubt they wiII offer any resistance.
- That is wonderfuI news. - With aII due respect, it isn't.
We're taIking about one test here.
I'm as pIeased as anyone with the resuIts,
but we have a Iot of work to do before we can use it.
Dr Beckett wishes to run a fuII series of tests on MereII
prior to issuing his finaI report.
There may have been mitigating circumstances. The man was dying.
Of course. I'II bring it up with CounciI.
To success.
- What is it? - Steve. He doesn't Iook so good.
(groans)
- How Iong has he been Iike this? - Since the test.
- Think it's a ruse? - It is not their way.
Hey.
What have you done to me?
- We need Beckett in here. - Go.
We're gonna heIp you.
Don't feeI pity for me.
You wiII suffer far worse when the others come for you.
(gasps)
Major. I was just about to cut him open.
Then I was just Ieaving.
I've aIready done a series of tests you might Iike to know the resuIts of.
You know what kiIIed him?
It was aII of his vitaI organs shutting down aImost simuItaneousIy.
- Did he starve to death? - No.
I don't think he died from a Iack of nourishment.
What was it?
Tests reveaIed a significant amount of Hoffan serum in his bIood.
I'm guessing we'II find simiIar trace amounts in each of his organs.
Why did the Hoffan drug end up in his bIood?
We know that when the Wraith feed, they reIease a chemicaI to their victims' bodies.
What it does we don't yet understand.
I can onIy assume that it prepares the human body to be drained of Iife.
The serum is designed to shieId the victim from that initiaI chemicaI reIease.
OK.
The serum protein may have mutated when exposed to the chemicaI,
triggering a toxic reaction.
- Instead of feeding off him... - He was poisoned.
So if the serum did this, it's more than just a defence against the Wraith.
It kiIIs them.
I faiI to see cause for aIarm. This deveIopment increases the serum's vaIue.
No, it takes away any doubt about what the Wraith wiII do when they come here.
I don't see the difference.
Once they Iearn you possess this weapon,
the Wraith wiII wipe your peopIe from existence in retaIiation.
Or they may simpIy Ieave us aIone once they Iearn we are unpaIatabIe.
'Cause they're such a Iive-and-Iet-Iive kind of race.
Maybe when you were taIking about this being defensive, but now...
You faiI to see the Iarger picture.
For the first time we have a way to not just defend, but strike back.
Is this about revenge or saving your peopIe?
You can't hope to understand the generations of suffering.
I've been in one of their hives and fought against their ships.
When the first Wraith dies because of this drug, they won't move on.
They'II make the probIem go away.
They wiII seek out any who have had contact with you. They wiII spare no one.
I know how passionate you are about this. This drug is sort of your HoIy GraiI.
- You're gonna have to sheIve it untiI... - No.
I'm serious. Otherwise we can't heIp you any more.
You don't understand, Major. It's too Iate.
I have made my recommendation to the CounciI and they've agreed.
We have aIready begun inocuIating our peopIe.
You're Ieaving?
UnIess you'II go back to formuIa on the serum, there's no point in my staying.
Re-open the project.
With more work we couId prevent the mutation, maintain it as a defensive drug.
MereII is dead.
The cause of death is stiII to be determined.
- They need to stop the inocuIations. - They won't.
- A man is dead. - More won't necessariIy foIIow.
(sighs)
Even if I wanted to, I couIdn't make them stop.
Not without more proof.
Perna, you're one of the brightest peopIe I've ever met.
For your own sake, I beg you,
have no more part in this.
At Ieast untiI we know more.
- I can't do that. - Why not?
Because I was among the first to be inocuIated.
I appreciate your sense of urgency,
but at this point it wouId be unwise to rush to any concIusions.
You want to exercise caution? Are you serious?
You yourseIf have toId us the Wraith couId be on their way here right now.
We have to move forward.
You're speaking on behaIf of a Iot of peopIe.
You think I'd force this choice on my peopIe?
No, sir, our peopIe are in compIete agreement.
Your peopIe may be dead before the Wraith even get here, for aII you know.
ChanceIIor, pIease. It's not too Iate.
Suspend the inocuIations untiI we know what kiIIed MereII.
He was terminaI. We don't know the serum caused his death.
He suffered a compIete respiratory breakdown.
Which couId have been due to his condition. His sickness had spread.
Are you wiIIing to risk Iives based on that assumption? I'm not.
- MaJor Sheppard. - Go ahead, TeyIa.
We're in the medicaI centre. We need heIp.
My God.
The doctors say they began arriving Iast night and their numbers are increasing.
I'm on it. Lieutenant, radio Weir. TeII them we need a fuII medicaI team on a jumper.
Roger that.
(Beckett) Perna. Perna.
I need heIp here. Oxygen!
Take it easy.
Leave us.
- Do you have any idea what's going on? - I do, Major.
- HaIf those who took that drug are dying. - HaIf of them, Major. HaIf.
The statistics are cIear and the numbers are hoIding at that IeveI.
Which means the other 50% of those we inocuIated wiII Iive
and destroy any Wraith who feed on them.
I don't beIieve this.
The Wraith wiII know the fuII conviction of the Hoffan peopIe.
- Conviction? - If we spread this drug to every human,
future generations wouId never know the horror of a cuIIing.
You're deIiberateIy sacrificing miIIions of Iives.
An end to the Wraith.
You can't comprehend the bargain in that?
You can't make a bargain Iike that for your entire peopIe.
- Do you think I'm aIone in this? - I think you're deIusionaI.
You shaII see. We are putting it to a vote as we speak.
I wiII stand by the decision of the majority.
- Does that satisfy you? - Do they know what they're voting on?
Yes. I promise you.
- You'II back off if it doesn't go your way? - You have my word.
Use any rooms you need for overfIow. We need to keep this area cIear for triage.
TeyIa, there you are. Make sure oxygen is properIy depIoyed in the hospitaI.
- Doctor... - Have non-criticaI patients use it in turns.
TeyIa, you're not Iistening to me. Where's Perna? I need her.
Carson.
I wouId... Iike to have seen AtIantis.
Perna, I'm so sorry.
Don't Iook at me that way.
I am at peace with what I have done, as you shouId be.
I wish I had no part in this.
You gave us hope.
For years our peopIe have been working
towards this very moment.
We didn't betray the forefathers.
We fuIfiIIed their destiny, their promise.
Stay. Stay with me. Stay.
I'm here.
It's OK.
- You OK? - Aye.
- I'm toId you're Ieaving. - Yes, we are.
Not that it hasn't been... IoveIy.
I wanted you to see the resuIts of the vote before you Ieft.
96% in favour.
- Does the vote incIude aII your peopIe? - Every one.
So you see, Major, we speak with one voice and we are resoIute.
Yeah, I can see that.
Next time I'd Iike to discuss disseminating the drug on as many worIds as possibIe.
- We won't be doing that any time soon. - Our victory may change your mind.
If and when we ever return, I don't imagine you'II be here.
I don't imagine anybody eIse wiII be either.
Good Iuck.
''Victory at aII costs.'' That sound famiIiar, Major?
- ChurchiII. - Aye. Never thought I'd disagree.
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