Stargate SG-1 (1997–2007): Season 2, Episode 7 - Message in a Bottle - full transcript

SG-1 discovers an ancient artifact and brings it back to the SGC. Ariving at the SGC, it becomes active, pins O'Neill to the gate room wall, and unleashes a virus into him.

(O'Neill) Anybody home?

(Daniel) Jack, it may as well
be the moon out here.

If there ever was anybody home,
they've been gone 100,000 years or more.

(Teal'c)
This world is most definitely Tal lak.

Though it once supported life,
it is now extinct.

Well, the probe picked up
an EM source coming from something.

(bleeping)

My guess,...

..that thing.

(instruments bleeping)

(Carter) I have the same EM frequencies
we picked up from the probe.



Sir, this artefact, or whatever it is,
is definitely the source.

Are we in danger?

No, sir, I don't think so.
Not at the moment.

But... I mean, this is incredible!

If Daniel's right, this has been doing this
since Neanderthals were on Earth.

Ah, that takes me back!

(Daniel) Look at this writing. It's so tiny.

(O'Neill) What does it do?

(Carter) It's maintaining an interior
temperature of 33st Fahrenheit.

It's generating an electromagnetic field
and emitting small amounts ofradiation.

Well, I knew that.

Why does it do that?

- I'm trying to make a threat assessment.
- I don't know what it is,...

..but it's got a power source more
advanced than anything we've ever seen.



It's a time capsule.

Well, that's an educated guess, but...

Imagine your civilisation is facing
a great cataclysm and you know it.

Wouldn't you leave something behind that
told whoever came after who you were?

- Or how you died.
- Imagine what you could learn...

..about your own fate.

When a Goa'uld's world
is taken by another,...

..he may leave behind the means
to destroy the conqueror.

It might be a booby trap?

Booby?

(Daniel)
We're not talking about the Goa'uld here.

This civilisation went to greatpains
to leave this artefact behind.

Like a... message in a bottle.

- You buyin' this, Teal'c?
- The benefit may outweigh the risk.

Earth could sure use a power source
that lasts for thousands ofyears.

All right. Pack it up. Let's go home.

Yes, sir.

(O'Neill) We have the package, sir.
I advise level-3 precautions.

(technician) Wormhole disengaged.
Support teams, go!

(O'Neill) Careful. It's heavy!

Start a spectral analysis right away.

And input an imaging
of the outer surface into the computer.

(Hammond) Everything go as planned?

Oh, one small step, one giant leap, sir.

We'll debrief in one hour.
Welcome home, SG-1 .

Well, we can add two more elements
to the periodic table.

Lieutenant, I'd like to record this.

Whatever you say, Captain.

Try to relax, Graham,
or it's gonna be a long day.

It's not the artefact.

He gets nervous like that
every time he's around you.

Maybe a crush.

Uh... we're recording now.

Thank you, Lieutenant.

Oops.

Hey, the artefact!
Notice the writing.

So tiny it can't be read by the naked eye.

- (Hammond) What does it say?
- Uh, we think it's a set of instructions.

On... how to...?

Open it. We think it, uh... opens.

There's the equivalent of 1 ,000 pages
of text on the exterior surface alone.

What about the interior?

We know very little. Dr Fraiser's
running a positron emission topography.

You know I have the highest respect
for your abilities,...

..but the NID wants a look at the thing.

I recommend against shipping
the artefact anywhere just yet, General.

Since the orb's function
has yet to be confirmed,...

..it is best for it to remain
in close proximity to the Stargate.

You're scheduled to visit P4G-881 .

A primordial world with no civilisation,
so no need for an archaeologist.

I'm willing to delay that mission
for 24 hours...

..in order to confirm your theory.

- That's not enough time.
- But we'll take it.

(Carter) Thank you.

Okay, let's try another X-ray series.

Y-axis this time.

(Daniel) Sam?

Yeah.

Okay.

Up until now I've been assuming
that this is a sort of page one.

It's isolated from the other groupings.
Now I'm thinking it's numerical.

- It may be the basis of their mathematics.
- Right. That's what I thought.

So if these smaller symbols
represent exponents...

Then this sequence grows exponentially
to become a very big number.

Right. And that is...

..information I can't use.

Good morning, campers!
Sleep well? I did!

- Oh, it can't be morning.
- Ah, but it is. We ship out at 1300 hours.

Jack, talk to General Hammond.

Nope. I want you both rested
and ready to go. That's an order.

Yes, sir.

Jack, come on!

Daniel,...

..SG-1 is a field unit, you know that.
Can't have it both ways.

When we get back, you can... visit.

We've got a spike!
An EM spike across the wide band!

What?

Interior temperature is increasing -
40st Fahrenheit.

Captain?

- We haven't done anything.
- (Daniel) Maybe we woke it up.

- 60st!
- Radiation levels?

Uh, alpha particle generation
within the object's...

- ..magnetic field has increased4... 600%!
- (alarm)

Sir, I recommend
we return the artefact to P5C-353 now!

Go tell them to start dialling.

Go!

(lieutenant) 100st!

Any idea what we're dealing with here?

No, sir.

Whoa!

I think we can rule out time capsule.

- (alarm)
- Start dialling in P5C-353!

- By whose orders?
- Colonel O'Neill.

- Do it.
- Yes, sir.

- Dr Jackson?
- It's the artefact, sir. Something's wrong.

Temperature is still increasing - 110st.

We'll need to put our suits back on.

We'll just open the gate
and throw it back through.

Teal'c, give me a hand here.

It does not wish to be removed.

That's too damn bad.

(humming)

(Stargate alarm)

Chevron six encoded.

(O'Neill) Out of the way, people!

(technician) Chevron seven locked.

Get outta there!

(O'Neill screams)

- Put the base on full alert!
- We need a medical team.

Security to the embarkation room!
Medical team to the embarkation room!

Teal'c...

Kill it!

Oh, God...

Sir, the uh... Stargate.

Shut it down.

Colonel!

It goes right through his shoulder
into the concrete.

- Oh, my God!
- Get something to support his legs.

- Okay, what can you tell me?
- (Carter) I don't know, but it's still hot.

Temperature's 133.

This wound is too clean.
There should be more trauma.

Where's Teal'c?

It's gone through the scapula.

Teal'c!

Shoot it!

- Sir!
- Shoot it!

I suggest you observe
from the control room.

Everybody out of here!

Teal'c, fire when ready.

With respect, General, this is a mistake.

Why?

We don't know how much staff energy
will go through into the colonel.

Your objection is noted.

Do it!

Again!

(screams)

- No change.
- Sir, it just absorbed the energy.

This weapon is ineffective.
I shall try another.

No!

Sir, that staff energy's gone somewhere.
We could be feeding it what it wants.

I want a cutting torch down there.

If it's made of the same alloys
as the shell on the orb itself,...

..then it is several hundred times
stronger than steel.

Sir, with your permission?

Colonel O'Neill,...

..this is going to take some time.

(Hammond) I don't give a damn...

..what Colonel Maybourne says.
I've made my decision.

Unless I am ordered otherwise, I'm not
allowing anyone in or out of this facility...

..until we can send the damn thing
back where it came from.

No, General. Thank you.

The NID people want to see it.

After what it's done to the colonel?

Especially after what it's done.

They're hoping we've found a weapon
to use against the Goa'uld.

- All I can tell them is what it isn't.
- General, I don't know what to say.

I wanted the artefact
to be something wonderful.

You have nothing to apologise for, son.

We've brought things back
from all over the galaxy.

One of them's finally
snapped us in the ass.

We managed to collect
a significant amount of data, sir.

Then I suggest you get to it.
Dismissed.

This is Hammond. Lock up the mountain.
Authorisation code red-beta.

Initiate Wildfire.

(PA) Attention.
Level-4 quarantine is now in effect.

(alarm)

Switching to internal power
and life support.

Hot.

I know.

You've a very high fever
caused by an infection.

I'm gonna give you a broad-spectrum
antibiotic to help fight it.

The artefact's internal temperature
just levelled offat 149st Fahrenheit.

Sergeant.

Your progress here is unsatisfactory.

Can't go any faster, sir. This is
the hardest stuff I've ever come across.

Then I will delay you no further.

We're gonna need everyone's help.
Colonel O'Neill is alive but in trouble.

The data we've managed to gather
is all in the base computer.

It's not much but it's all we have.
Use it.

Don't rule anything out
or make assumptions.

I'll lead the translation team.

And we'll be working
out of the astrophysics lab.

Any questions?

- So we're dealing with a weapon.
- That's an assumption, Captain.

All right, let's get to work.

- How is he?
- He's developed an infection.

I've given him antibiotics which,
amazingly, have slowed its progress.

- Why is that amazing?
- I think you should see this.

It's mobile, like a bacteria.

But small, like a virus,
and slightly radioactive.

Definitely alien.
And they also seem to bond in chains.

(Carter) And it's infected the colonel.

This is why I wanted you to see it.

I took this from the colonel's uniform
around his wound.

It's infected his clothes
as well as living tissue?

It's metabolising the fibres
as if it was living tissue.

Like a form of necrotising fasciitis.

Flesh-eating disease?

- Okay, you said slightly radioactive.
- Yep.

Lieutenant!

We used ultraviolet when we tested
the iris's structural integrity.

- Right.
- Yep.

Uh... Let's get some UV units
in the gate room.

Teal'c? Colonel?

It's gonna get a little dark in there
for a few seconds while we try something.

Bringing up the UV lights...

..now.

Oh, my God!

This is an even bigger problem
than we thought.

(lieutenant) Captain Carter?

What's happening to me?

(Carter) This organism can eat through
virtually any substance. Even concrete.

This entire complex is made of concrete.

Worse than that,
it's got a taste for the base wiring.

Which means it'll affect or rather infect
our computers and communications.

Then we need to kill it.
How do we do that?

(Fraiser) We've sprayed around
the mainframe with a pesticide,...

..but it hasn't even slowed it down.

What was that you just gave me?

Tetracycline. It's kept the infection at bay
in Colonel O'Neill...

..and it seems to work prophylactically.
But, sir, I'll need more...

Absolutely not! A Wildfire directive
means nothing in or out. You know that.

Sir, Simmons's infection is even more
far gone than Colonel O'Neill's.

But he's allergic to tetracycline,
and the alternatives I have on base...

Don't make me repeat myself, Doctor.

With your permission, sir,
I'd better get back to the infirmary.

- Captain...
- Sir?

I need your honest assessment.

Can we beat this?

Like the colonel always says -
never give up.

I'm not sure, sir.

Maybe it's time to consider evacuating
personnel through the Stargate.

I've thought of that, but to where?

There's no guarantee that we can stop
the organism coming with us.

We don't have the right
to infect another world.

There are a number
of uninhabited worlds.

Albeit most are uninhabited
for good reason.

Even if we could evacuate,...

..practically every one of us is now
infected by the organism to some degree.

Without antibiotics we'd all be like
Lieutenant Simmons by now.

The survivors would run out of supplies
in a few days.

They'd have that much time
to find a solution.

It's not worth the risk in my opinion.

We don't know what the orb would do
if we tried to activate the Stargate again.

Very well.
We'll make our stand right here, Captain.

Yes, sir.

It won't take us without a fight, sir.

Damn right it won't.

(groans)

- Teal'c...
- I am here, O'Neill.

- It's hot.
- The fever burns within you.

You?

The symbiote I carry
appears to protect me.

Way to go, junior.

Doctor Fraiser will find a cure.

Teal'c, you don't have to stick around.

Undomesticated equines
could not remove me.

Wild horses, Teal'c.

It's...

That's a joke.

You told a joke.

Don't make me laugh, please.

Very well.

You're a good man, my friend.

As are you,... my friend.

(sergeant) Sir!

I'm just about through here.

- It's moving!
- (O'Neill screams)

Teal'c...

It will not allow us to free you, O'Neill.

God... help...

(Daniel) All right.

If this is page one and this sequence of
numbers indicates exponential growth,...

..what does that mean?

It could represent
the growth pattern of the alien organism.

So far its spread has followed
an exponential curve.

All right. So from that
we can extrapolate that it's a warning.

This organism will continue
to expand exponentially until...

..what?

Until we die?

I mean, if that's what it says,...

..what's the point of saying it?

Try turning the page.
Maybe the answer's there.

Right.

Hey...

How's the pain?

It's not too bad.

Well, I'm gonna give you
something for it anyway.

Hey!

If you see Captain Carter...

Tell you what, Lieutenant,...

..she has to come down soon
for her booster so...

..I'll make sure I send her over.

I was right. The staff blast gave
the organism energy it needed to spread.

It's reproducing because we fed it.

- Damn! Why did I let them do that?
- Okay, so it feeds on energy.

How do we use that?
It feeds on everything.

- Have the CO2 levels gone up?
- Yeah. The scrubbers are handling it.

Like fire. Add energy and fuel,
it burns hotter and longer,...

..but it can't live without one thing.

- Oxygen.
- Yes!

- We can't either.
- But at least we can slow it down.

(bleeping)

- What's happening?
- It's gotten into our computers.

Keep working.

(man) This way! This way!

You can't come this way, Captain.
It's eaten through a steam pipe.

(metallic clang)

Hello!

Somebody!

- Somebody!
- Hello?

Daniel!

I'm stuck in here. Get the doors open.

Hurry up!

It's eating through the control panel.

- Sam!
- I'm okay. I'll explain later.

General, sir, I have something.

(Carter) What is he doing?

Teal'c is trying to stop
the spread of the organism.

- Tell him to stop.
- Why? It's working.

Only because the fire is consuming
the oxygen in the room.

It feeds on energy.

Sir, I'm asking you to trust me.

Teal'c!

Stand down.

We're going to try another approach.

Okay. The organism
needs oxygen to reproduce.

Since we're on internal life support,...

..we can adjust the CO2
and lower the oxygen levels.

How low are we talking?

We'll start at 8%,
but we have to start now.

- Do it.
- Yes, sir.

General Hammond!
You should see this.

Auto self-destruct has been initiated.

I didn't touch it. The self-destruct
countdown just started on its own.

General?

In the event of containment failure,
Wildfire kicks in automatically.

We have to stop the autodestruct.

We have a duty to make sure the
organism does not leave the mountain.

With all due respect, sir,
you don't understand.

It can feed on a staff blast's energy.
How far do you think it will spread...

..if the autodestruct goes off?

I need two officers to override.

(bleeping)

The organism's invaded our computers.
It won't recognise our codes.

The internal clock's been activated.
We can't stop it without the computer.

Then the organism will be fed enough
energy to spread across the whole Earth.

(O'Neill) I blew it.

I screwed up.

I also believed
we should retrieve the object.

It was my decision.

If we are to meet the challenge
of the Goa'uld and further your race,...

..risks must be taken.

Your decision was correct.

(Fraiser) Your idea seems to be working.

It slowed the progress
of the organism by almost 90%.

Don't jump up and down now
or you'll get my other patients excited.

In a completely anaerobic environment,
the organism just goes dormant.

All we've done is buy ourselves
a little time before...

I gotta get back to work.

Before you do, would you stop by
to see Lieutenant Simmons?

How's he doin'?

Thanks.

Graham?

Captain Carter!

We're fighting this thing.
You just gotta hang in there.

Before I...

I just wanted to say...

..how much...

(coughs)

How am I doin' so far?

You're doin' just fine.

(bleeping and buzzing)

Come here!

- (man) Who?
- What? Anybody. Just... come here.

Look at this.

Wait for it...

There.

- That symbol's on the artefact.
- Yes, it is.

It's trying to communicate with us.

What we thought was gibberish may be
the aliens' attempt to communicate.

The symbols could also be from the
random files from our earlier research.

No. I didn't start working on this
until after the computers went down.

What might they be trying
to communicate?

They could be saying, "Take me to your
leader", for all I know. I have no idea.

The point is that they're trying.

We haven't considered that we may be
up against an alien intelligence.

We've treated it like a disease, a plague.
Not once have we stopped to listen.

How do we do that?

- We let it grow.
- What?

We increase the oxygen levels.
We hit it with another staff weapon blast.

We let it do what it's been trying to do.

The opposite of the advice
you've been giving me up to now.

Which is it, Captain?

General, we both know what will happen
if we don't try something.

(buzzer, door opens)

The organism bonds together in chains.

What if it can only express that
intelligence once it reaches critical mass?

But even then it'll be communicating
in a language that I can't translate...

..without a point of reference.

Maybe Colonel O'Neill
didn't just get in the way.

Dr Fraiser said there was no blood.

There is practically no trauma
around that wound.

Yet that's just not possible.

- Unless it did it on purpose.
- Yes!

We have to cut off his medication, sir.

Are you out of your mind?

If you do so, O'Neill will die.

He'd want us to try, I know it.

Communicate with the organism
through Jack?

Yes! I think that's what
it's been trying to do all along.

Oxygen levels now 30% above normal.

Sir?

Sir, I don't know if what we're about to try
is a good idea or not.

But you have a right to know.
You might not survive it.

(Carter) Okay, Teal'c.

Again.

We have to. Again.

No pulse.

(distorted) Good morning, campers.

This...

..is truly a strange feeling.

Colonel?

Yes. He is here.

Who else are we talking to?

We...

..are also here.

- My name is...
- Hammond.

Yes.

O'Neill knows.

Then you should also know
we mean you no harm.

You awoke us.

We have only recently
become aware of your existence.

You would have returned us...

..to our former world.

- We believed you were a threat to us.
- We feared you.

And your fear would have destroyed us.

Millennia ago...

..our world was dying.

We could no longer...

..live there.

For this reason,...

..we created the orb.

Where you have slept for 100,000 years.

Yes, Daniel.

Waiting for someone to come along,
like us, and take you through the Stargate.

So it was written on the orb.

Once exposed to the atmosphere
of a living world,...

..we went forth.

And multiplied.

So it was written.

Auto self-destruct in four minutes.

- We cannot go back.
- And we cannot allow you to stay.

O'Neill feels this as well.

However,...

..you have allowed us no alternatives.

General, we're almost out of time.

This place,
admittedly out of our ignorance,...

..is about to be destroyed by an explosion.

Such energy only serves...

..to nourish us.

We will multiply...

..and consume...

..your world.

If you would allow us
to restore our communications,...

..we could stop that from happening.

We would survive.

O'Neill desires this...

..as well.

He wishes...

..to live.

But what of us?

P4G-881 !

It's primordial.
Lots of oxygen and sunlight.

Like this world was
a quarter of a billion years ago.

We can't open the Stargate
without the computers.

You would send us there?

Through your Stargate?

We would.

- For what reason?
- So that we both may survive.

We'll take you there ourselves!
Please!

(technician) Everything just shut down!

God help us.

Auto self-destruct in two minutes.

Sir, I think the computers are rebooting!

Start dialling P4G-881
as soon as they're up!

Yes, sir.

(Stargate alarm)

Auto self-destruct
in one minute 30 seconds.

Chevron one engaged.

Chevron two engaged.

Chevron three engaged.

Chevron four engaged.

Auto self-destruct in one minute.

Chevron five engaged.

Chevron six engaged.

Chevron seven locked.

Auto self-destruct in 30 seconds.

20 seconds.

10,...

..9,...

..4, 3,...

Autodestruct is aborted.

Auto self-destruct aborted.

Nice work.

It is good to see you
alive and well, O'Neill.

- Welcome back, Jack.
- We thought you were gone for good, sir.

Wild horses, Captain.

Visiontext subtitles: Susan Voas