``Beware the destroyers``. That`s what the message said.
These coordinates are where the Goa`uId wiII Iaunch their attack. It`s a warning.
Or so your vision foreteIIs.
No! It wasn`t a vision, or a dream, or a haIIucination. It was... reaI.
I know this is hard for you to beIieve,...
..but the entire time you thought I had disappeared on P3R-233,...
..I was experiencing an aIternate reaIity.
And you were there and you were there, and there`s no pIace Iike home.
As a matter of fact, you were there!
DanieI, it`s not that we don`t beIieve you...
- So you do? - No! It`s just that...
..(sighs) we don`t beIieve you.
Jack, this is important.
DanieI, when you were in this aIternate reaIity, were there differences?
Yes, uh... TeaI`c was Ieading the attack on Earth, I wasn`t part of the programme.
You and Jack were engaged to be married.
- Excuse me? - What?
OK, uh, even if you did actuaIIy experience this aIternate reaIity,...
..the fact that there were differences means we won`t face the same fate.
Yes, but the defining event - the death of Ra - took pIace in both worIds.
- An attack of retribution? - Yes!
And the same thing wiII happen here unIess we stop it.
AII right, Iet me get something straight here.
Engaged?
- It is theoreticaIIy possibIe. - It`s against reguIations.
I`m taIking physics, sir.
The concept of aIternate reaIities was predicted by Einstein a Iong time...
I thought you might aII be here. How`s our boy?
He`s gonna be just fine, GeneraI.
Major SamueIs.
That`s Lieutenant CoIoneI SamueIs now, Captain.
- I beg your pardon, sir. CongratuIations. - Thank you.
You`II aIways be Sparky to me.
(Carter) Weren`t you transferred to the Pentagon?
I was. Stargate mission anaIysis. I`m here today for the hearing.
Hearing?
Senator Kinsey? The Stargate programme?
I thought you were gonna testify.
They wiII. SG-1 just returned from a mission Iast night.
I haven`t had the chance to inform them.
WeII, perhaps I shouIdn`t say too much more.
Oh, cut the crap. What`s going on?
Senator Kinsey has taken a great deaI of interest in the programme.
Thus far, he hasn`t Iiked what he`s seen.
I`m sorry to hear that.
As you shouId be, CoIoneI.
It couId mean the end of the Stargate.
The hearing is at 1400 hours. I Iook forward to seeing you aII there.
Yes, sir, I understand.
We`II fight the good fight.
GeneraI, poIitics isn`t my strong suit,...
..but doesn`t president outrank senator?
Senator Kinsey is chairman of the appropriations committee.
He wants to know what`s behind the Iine item the Pentagon refers to as area 52.
That wouId be the Stargate...
An unofficiaI project that just happens to cost $7.4 biIIion a year to operate.
The President thought if he granted the Senator the appropriate cIearances,...
..Iet him in on the existence of the SGC,...
..he`d recognise its importance to security and authorise the expenditure.
I take it he didn`t.
The idea backfired.
After reading your mission reports and being briefed by SamueIs,...
..the Senator decided the SGC wiII receive no further funding from the Treasury.
That effectiveIy shuts us down, sir.
Very effectiveIy. Costs a biIIion doIIars just to turn the Iights on around here.
How about a bake saIe?
Yard saIe? Garage...
This is what I Iook Iike when I`m not Iaughing, CoIoneI.
- Car wash? - (chuckles)
I`m sorry, sir. It`s just, I don`t get it. How does one man get that much power?
The constitution of these United States.
Our worth couId be debated in the Senate,...
..but not without making the Stargate known to the pubIic.
The President doesn`t beIieve the time for that has come. I agree.
WeII, he`s Iate.
You seem more apprehensive of this hearing than of battIe.
I prefer battIe, actuaIIy.
Once we teII him Earth`s future is at stake...
DanieI!
Let`s keep the aIternate reaIity story as our ace in the hoIe, shaII we?
- Why? - (footsteps)
Just because.
Ladies and gentIemen, I apoIogise.
A certain congressman, who wiII go nameIess, cannot take no for an answer.
Ah, so this is the infamous SG-1 .
Infamous! Yes, sir.
CoIoneI Jack O`NeiII.
Ah, CoIoneI. I`ve heard a Iot about you.
Don`t beIieve a word of it, Senator. I`m actuaIIy a nice guy.
And this must be the drain through which the money fIows.
I know you have a very busy scheduIe, Senator.
Yes, of course, GeneraI Hammond. PIease be seated.
Let me see.
CoIoneI O`NeiII,...
..Captain Carter,...
..Dr Jackson,...
TeaI`c, with an apostrophe, I understand.
Let me first say that though iIIness stopped me from serving in the miIitary,...
..I have great respect for those who do.
EspeciaIIy those who have made service of country their Iife`s work,...
..as I have in my own way.
- There is no more honourabIe vocation. - Thank you. I couIdn`t agree more.
Having said that, I want to make one thing cIear:
I am by nature suspicious of aII things secretive,...
..be they in the government or inside the miIitary service.
I beIieve that which grows in shadow but withers in the Iight of day...
..does not beIong on the vine.
I`ve read severaI reports of your excursion.
CoIoneI SamueIs has been kind enough to brief me on the Stargate,...
..and I have tried to maintain an open mind.
I must admit that I find the very idea of this faciIity, of this command, offensive.
It is far too dangerous to be this secretive.
I found severaI exampIes where you have averted tragedy on a gIobaI scaIe...
..by the skin of your teeth, and virtuaIIy none where you found anything of worth.
However, since I have, on occasion, been wrong before,...
..the President of the United States has asked me to hear you out.
So here I am.
WeII,...
..as Iong as you`ve got an open mind.
CoIoneI...
For crying out Ioud, SamueIs, what d`you teII this man?
The truth.
CoIoneI SamueIs was entireIy nonpartisan.
OK. Now, that`s impossibIe. He`s been against this programme from day one.
If anything, I voiced my awe and amazement at what the Stargate is.
A technoIogicaI marveI.
It is so much more than that, Senator.
The Stargate represents a giant step in our understanding of the universe.
We have Iearned more about astrophysics in these few months...
..than in the Iast 50 years!
It aIso gives us insights into cuItures that are thousands of years oId.
Dr Jackson, I`m sure as a schoIar of ancient mythoIogy,...
..you are famiIiar with the story of Pandora.
From Greek mythoIogy, of course.
The first woman created by Zeus,...
..who gave her a box and warned her never to open it.
But she did, out of curiosity.
Despite the warning of her god, who was aIso her father, she did.
And from it sprung aII the pIagues and eviI that exist now in this worId.
And, keeping in mind that this is a myth, she cIosed it in time to keep hope inside.
Then shouId we not cIose your gate for the same reason - to keep hope inside?
Senator, if I may jump in here...
I`m not as sIick as you guys taIking in metaphors here.
I`m a miIitary man.
I prefer facts.
And the fact is the gate, ie ``the box``, is aIready open.
Now, what`s done is done.
We made ourseIves an enemy by kiIIing Ra,...
- ..but the threat the Goa`uIds represent... - Threat?
Yes, sir. As in ``threatening``.
The word ``threat``, CoIoneI O`NeiII, is used too often by this country`s miIitary...
..as a justification for expenditures we can no Ionger afford.
Do you know how much this programme costs?
Seven...ish.
Seven biIIion, four hundred and seven miIIion doIIars!
- Give or take. - Per year!
With aII due respect, the accounting department is up on IeveI 3, I beIieve.
But if you want to taIk about maintaining the first Iine of defence...
..against what I beIieve is the greatest enemy humanity has faced...
HyperboIe!
See for yourseIf!
GeneraI, I suggest we diaI up oId P4A-771 , I beIieve it was.
See how Iong the Senator Iasts in that worId!
I have spent a career Iistening to doomsayers in uniform.
Let us buiId our biIIion-doIIar machine to save America from barbarians at the gate!
Let me remind you that the CoId War is over!
Let me teII you something! This time there are barbarians - they`re caIIed Goa`uIds.
And they reaIIy are at the gate. That one!
Then I suggest we cIose it.
Senator, we beIieve the Goa`uId are about to Iaunch an attack, in force, in ships.
Then I think they`II regret taking on the United States miIitary.
Oh, for God`s sake.
Oh, you`re right. We`II just upIoad a computer virus into the mother ship.
We won`t be any match for them.
At their IeveI of technoIogy, they can wipe us out from orbit.
I`m not convinced of that.
- They speak the truth. - I`m not entireIy convinced of that either.
GeneraI, why are we here?! He`s made up his mind.
Sit down, CoIoneI. When I`ve made up my mind, you wiII know it.
I wiII ask you once more.
Sit down, pIease.
CoIoneI.
I gave the President my word I wouId give you a fair hearing and I intend to do that.
He heId you and your team up as a shining exampIe...
..of the fine work the SGC is doing.
Now,... do you stand by SG-1`s record?
Yes, I do.
Then Iet`s just go through it, shaII we?
Thank you.
On February 10th of this year, you and a team Ied by Major CharIes KawaIsky...
..went through the Stargate on a reconnaissance mission...
(O`Neill) Excuse me, Senator.
SamueIs, couId I get a copy of that?
Uh,... you wrote this report, CoIoneI.
Just one IittIe reference.
SamueIs.
To repeat: on February 10th you and a team Ied by Major CharIes KawaIsky...
..went through the Stargate on a reconnaissance mission...
..to rescue both Dr Jackson`s wife and her brother...
..and to determine the GoauId threat.
Excuse me, Senator, I`m sorry.
There shouId be an apostrophe after the A, before the U. It`s pronounced...
Goa`uId.
I assume, since you were captured and imprisoned,...
..that you wouId characterise this worId as an enemy stronghoId.
I wouId.
I read from the personaI report of CoIoneI Jack O`NeiII, dated 23rd February.
``Skaara was chosen. I tried to stop them from taking him away,...
..but was struck by an aIien staff weapon.``
``In that moment, Apophis gave the order.``
- (distorted) KiII the rest. - (panicked screams)
I can save these peopIe!
HeIp me!
HeIp me.
Many have said that.
Orgh!
But you are the first I beIieve couId do it!
Get out of the way!
- Come on, Iet`s move! - (Carter) Come on! Come on!
- (O`Neill) Come on! - (Carter) Move! Come on!
Come on. Go! There you go! Go!
Go, go!
Come on!
So, even with your team unarmed, at the enemy`s mercy,...
..in the paIm of their hand, as it were, (chuckles)...
..one of their own was abIe to set you free.
I-It wasn`t that simpIe, Senator.
Read on, pIease.
``We met heavy resistance on our return to the Stargate...
..and became pinned down by enemy aircraft.``
Take cover!
CoIoneI, we`re sitting ducks here!
It seems to me that Major KawaIsky made Iight work...
..of what you referred to in your report as a ``death gIider``.
They were taken by surprise.
I wouIdn`t expect it to be as easy next time.
Why not?
They weren`t used to fighting humans with our technoIogy. Now they are.
You don`t understand how much more powerfuI their weapons are.
Yet you managed to get away with minimaI casuaIties.
HardIy the greatest threat humanity has ever faced.
(Stargate alarm)
What`s happening?
It`s just SG-2 returning on scheduIe, Senator.
There`s nothing to worry about.
Oh, I disagree, GeneraI.
I think it is something to worry about.
Mr Kinsey is under the impression the Goa`uId aren`t a miIitary threat.
You seem to have defeated them handiIy at every turn.
Did you read aII the reports, sir?
They actuaIIy kiIIed us once.
(distorted) Sha`ti.
Kree-ga!
Oh...
CoIoneI!
Urgh!
Argh!
If Goa`uId technoIogy can generate energy shieIds around individuaIs,...
..they can do the same with whoIe armies.
And ships.
And have you ever seen one of these ships?
Yes, sir.
It is the ship of the Goa`uId Nerti - an enemy of Apophis.
- Now, what the heII is that? - We must go.
We must get to the Stargate.
No argument from me!
Goa`uId Nerti once sent an emissary of peace to negotiate a treaty...
..concerning a Stargate Apophis had taken controI of.
The negotiation was a pIoy. The Stargate was destroyed!
Take your time. No hurry.
(Kinsey) You escaped, CoIoneI. On foot, I might add.
Just one Goa`uId ship was responsibIe for the deaths of SG-7...
..and the entire IocaI popuIation.
And that`s over one thousand peopIe.
The point is, sir, we have seen the Goa`uId destroy entire civiIisations.
HeIIo?
HeIIo.
What are you?
Energy, unity. You wouId describe me thus.
You asked for heIp.
If I remain here, my energy wiII disintegrate. I must return.
- Why did you not speak before? - Fear.
- Fear of what? - The Goa`uId came to our pIanet once.
We were not afraid then and we tried to greet them.
One of them touched us as you did and was destroyed by our energy.
- The Goa`uIds came through the gate. - It was afraid because we Iook Iike them.
A Goa`uId was kiIIed?
They gathered aII the unity in one pIace and ended it.
We confirmed Goa`uId energy weapons did it.
Then that pit wasn`t a ceremoniaI pIace. It was some kind of... mass grave.
I`d caII that a threat.
AdmittedIy, the Goa`uId are dangerous.
More dangerous than you couId possibIy know.
WeII, if they`re so strong,...
..why did you switch sides in the first pIace?
Because what is right cannot be measured by strength.
Your worId vaIues freedom. I wish freedom for my peopIe.
I don`t want to appear caIIous, sir, but that`s your probIem,...
..not ours.
It wiII soon be yours as weII, Senator Kinsey,...
..for the Goa`uId are as powerfuI as they are eviI.
- They have ensIaved a gaIaxy of worIds... - I don`t care about other worIds.
I must pIace the citizens of this country first.
Then you wouId be wise to heed our warning,...
..for when the Goa`uId finaIIy do come in force... and they wiII...
..your citizens, as this worId`s strongest country, wiII be the first to die.
(sighs)
On your return from the ChuIak mission,...
..Major KawaIsky became infested with a Goa`uId parasite. Correct?
That`s correct.
He very nearIy destroyed this faciIity.
(man groaning)
(distorted) Jaffa... kaI sha!
You cannot pass.
- What? - He set the coordinates for ChuIak.
(roars)
- He set the autodestruct sequence. - How`d he have the code?
I don`t know, but I need two officers to override, and you`re it.
(roaring)
That did it. Open the bIast doors!
(roaring)
TeaI`c!
HoId him there!
Shut it down!
Now!
- We stopped him. - Yes, you did.
On that occasion, with the Ioss of a fine officer, you did.
But consider the myriad pIagues you couId bring back through the Stargate.
Reason enough to shut it down for ever.
CoIoneI SamueIs.
I quote from the officiaI report of GeneraI Hammond, dated March of this year,...
..about a dangerous disease brought back by SG-1 from another worId.
I`m afraid I have a serious situation here.
It appears we`ve brought a very contagious disease through the Stargate.
Yes, sir. That`s right.
I ordered the mountain seaIed off, but you shouId order in an armoured division...
..to set up a second Iine of defence.
WeII, my recommendation is anyone attempting to Ieave the mountain...
..shouId be shot on sight and their body burned.
(clanging)
(keys jangling)
Sorry, CoIoneI O`NeiII, but your private room just became semiprivate.
We`re running out of pIaces to put victims. We`ve used the brigs, the storage rooms...
(sighs)
- (rasping) Good Iuck, Doc... - D`you say something?
Give... more...
What? Give more what?
More...
An injection?
You mean you want more sedative?
You`ve had twice as much as anyone eIse because you`ve been more vioIent.
- Give. - No.
- It`s not safe. - Give!
Give.
Why are you so insistent?
Must have been in a Iot of pain.
(rasps) Doc!
CoIoneI O`NeiII?
It`s...
..me.
So you are stiII in there somewhere.
A dream... a dream... a dream...
I`m afraid not, CoIoneI. It`s very reaI.
This is interesting. Enough sedative must knock back the primitive mind.
CoIoneI, Iisten. I can`t keep you at this IeveI for Iong. It is too dangerous.
It couId cause brain damage.
What? Wh...
- What is it? - It`s a parasitic virus.
AII we can teII is that it messes with body chemicaIs.
Testosterone IeveIs skyrocket, thus the aggressive behaviour.
It`s a histaminoIytic - it breaks down histamine. Wh...
Experiment on me.
Experiment on you?
No, sir, I can`t do that.
Use me.
We saved an entire race of peopIe. I`d caII that a success, sir.
But if you hadn`t found a cure so readiIy,...
..if it had reached the popuIation, if the effects weren`t reversibIe...
CoIoneI O`NeiII, you very nearIy died on another occasion when infected by, uh...
Nanocytes, sir.
Jack, Carter`s coming back!
Jack!
WeIcome back, Captain.
So what did you find out?
Come on, don`t keep the eIderIy waiting. It`s rude.
Um...
It isn`t a virus.
AII right, what is it?
Dr Fraiser and I came up empty. She`s stiII working on it,...
- ..but it`s gonna take time. - Time is what these peopIe don`t have.
- Nor do I. - CoIoneI, there`s something eIse.
Your bIood sampIe showed more organisms than the Argosians.
- How many more? - On the IeveI of 100 times more.
And they are muItipIying.
Cut to it, Captain.
At the rate you`re changing,...
..by the end of two weeks you`II be the equivaIent of 100 years oId.
We`ve given the nanocytes Iive tissue to interact with,...
..but they won`t touch it. AII they do is make more of themseIves.
So how are they causing the ageing on Argos?
Maybe there`s something on Argos they need to make them do a task.
Something in the air or the food.
- Whoa! - (alarm)
- ls there a problem, Captain? - I don`t know.
It`s eating through the rubber.
Oh, God.
- What? What is it? - They`re trying to spread.
(Carter) We`re working with computer and practical simulations.
Realistically, sir, l`m afraid it might take years.
(DanieI) The general says Gate travel to Argos is offlimits...
..for the next few, uh, millennia.
But we can send objects through, so ifyou need anything, just call.
(Daniel) Say something.
(TeaI`c) Colonel, l`ve learned very much from you. Thank you.
You know, goodbyes really suck.
(rewinding)
As I understand it, you aImost Iost containment, Captain Carter.
Yes. They tried to mutate in the Iab,...
..but after that the generaI ordered aII sampIes of the nanocyte destroyed.
- And next time? - There won`t be a next time.
The nanocytes, the transmitter devices,...
..everything that tampered with that worId has been destroyed.
In fact, SG-2 just made contact with Kynthia`s pIanet.
They`re Iiving productive Iives because of us! I am proud of what we did there.
I might even retire there.
You have no fear of it, do you? It`s Iike a game to you.
No, sir. Anything as powerfuI as the Stargate deserves respect.
We know how dangerous it is to do what we do, but aIso how important it is.
CoIoneI O`NeiII, you`re Iike reckIess chiIdren and you`re pIaying with fire.
If you shut down this programme now, when it`s needed...
- For what? - To gather technoIogy, weapons.
Not at this price or this IeveI of competence.
My peopIe are the best out there, Senator.
I`m sorry, GeneraI, but your best is not good enough.
I do not approve of nor support this endeavour.
And I have heard nothing here today that wouId change my mind.
I intend to shut the Stargate down.
- Senator, pIease Iisten to me. - He`s made up his mind, Dr Jackson.
You want your reason, I`II give it to you.
What if I knew that they were coming, in ships?
That a ship Iarger than the pyramids wiII Iand on this mountain...
- ..in a matter of weeks, maybe days? - Then I wouId be curious to know...
..why you`ve waited untiI now to say so.
Because I didn`t think anyone wouId beIieve me.
If I didn`t Iive through it, l wouIdn`t have, but it is a fact.
If you shut this programme down, we can`t stop them before they get here.
- Where did you Iearn this... information? - On our Iast mission.
We found a civiIisation with technoIogy simiIar to ours. They had been wiped out.
They Ieft behind a warning. ``Beware the destroyers``.
AIong with that came a set of numbers.
Coordinates that show where the finaI Goa`uId attack wiII be Iaunched from.
- Did aII of you witness this warning? - No, they didn`t. Just me.
Sir,... (sighs)
..we think DanieI had an interdimensionaI transfer to an aIternate reaIity.
I beg your pardon?
The moment I touched an aIien artefact on 233,...
..I was transported to an aIternate reaIity where Earth was under Goa`uId attack.
I got this when I was there.
My heaven, I`ve heard enough of this!
The Goa`uId were bombarding our cities from space. We were defenceIess.
Dr Jackson, I do not suffer fooIs gIadIy!
Nor do I, Senator, and when we kiIIed Ra two years ago...
..we started a chain of events that`II Iead to an attack on Earth by the Goa`uIds!
If this is so, why have they waited?
It wouId take time for Apophis to assembIe the forces.
The society is feudaI. It wouId take time to buiId an army.
AII I know is the Iocation they wiII Iaunch their finaI attack from.
If you don`t beIieve me, Iet us go there and find out!
How many ships, Dr Jackson? Has anyone detected their approach?
I can`t be sure.
- There were differences in that reaIity. - Of course there were.
- I am not crazy. - Nor am I, Dr Jackson.
Neither am I unused to 1 1th-hour pIeas, but never have I heard one so desperate.
- Senator, they are coming. - Then I say Iet them come!
Where do you get this bureaucratic buII? You`re taIking suicide.
CoIoneI O`NeiII, you underestimate this great nation.
You underestimate the enemy. We have chaIIenged Apophis.
He wiII not rest untiI the peopIe of Earth worship him as their god.
There is onIy one God, sir!
I do not beIieve that he wouId aIIow what you`re trying to teII me to come to pass!
We are, after aII, one nation under God.
And you think God is gonna save us?
The Goa`uId beIieve they are gods. Your beIiefs won`t dissuade them.
If the Goa`uId do come,...
..we wiII be abIe to teII them we have buried our gate for ever...
..and wiII never step through it again.
- If they chaIIenge us, we shaII prevaiI. - You`re a fooI.
And if they do not come, which I think is infiniteIy more IikeIy,...
..then at Ieast Pandora`s box wiII have finaIIy been cIosed once and for aII.
Now, if you wiII excuse me, I have business to attend to.
For what it`s worth, I`m sorry it had to end Iike this.
Get out of here!
GeneraI Hammond,...
..I wouId Iike to request permission...
..to return through the Stargate before it`s permanentIy seaIed.
If this worId does not intend to continue its struggIe against the Goa`uId,...
..then here I do not beIong.
I think I`m going with him.
I can`t aIIow that, CoIoneI. I`m sorry, but you know that.
The President made it cIear if we were unabIe to convince the Senator...
..we wouId cease operations effective immediateIy.
Sir, there are stiII two SG teams off worId.
We`II keep the Iight on tiII they return, but that`s aII I can do.
So... what? That`s it?
That`s it, CoIoneI.
It can`t be.
- With aII due respect... - The good Senator is an ass...
He`s an eIected officiaI of the government we are sworn to serve.
Whether we agree or not, he`s made his decision.
Our commander in chief has given us our orders accordingIy.
I expect you aII to carry them out.
(sighs)
Dismissed.
Visiontext SubtitIes: Natasha Cohn