Ladies and gentlemen, this is your colonel speaking. Welcome to... P3X-989,
where it's a balmy... room temperature.
Fan it out.
Well, the lights are on but there's nobody home.
The technology's advanced compared to most human-inhabited planets,
maybe even more advanced than Earth.
- How much more? - Well, it feels older, somehow.
I know how it feels.
This place has seen better days.
It doesn't appear to be of Goa'uld origin.
- Teal'c, ever see anythin' like it? - I have not.
A computer.
Well, that sounds ominous. Let's fall back.
- What the hell...? - Colonel?
- Carter? - Whoa.
How'd we get into these outfits?
I don't know.
Welcome to PX3-989.
The transmitter's gone.
Daniel?
Teal'c! You guys OK?
- 1am well. - Yeah, I'm fine.
Better than fine, actually, when you consider the fact that we were just...
Ah! Com-traya!
Com-traya!
- Daniel? - I think that's a greeting.
Yes. It is.
Oh, well, then, um...
Com-traya! We are explorers from a place called Earth.
I'm Daniel. Hello.
Oh! This is your custom, yes?
Hello!
- You are the leader? - Oh, no. That would be...
Me. Colonel Jack O'Neill. Kum Ba Yah.
- Com-traya. - Whatever.
- Why'd you attack us? - Attack?
Oh, attack. Yes, of course. It would seem that way from your perspective.
Yes. I did that.
- Why? - It could not be helped.
Oh, are you suffering any pain?
Aftereffects? Occasionally the heart must be restarted.
Uh, no. I think we feel fine.
Oh, com-traya!
You are all such wonderful specimens.
You in particular. A female.
- Colonel? - Easy, Captain.
Listen, we had some things when we got here - some weapons.
Oh, those. Mm, yes. Very dangerous.
Very. Can we have them back?
And our uniforms?
Sorry, but they are gone. This is better, yes?
- No. - Um...
I am Harlan.
I am the last survivor of Altair.
Excuse me? The last survi...?
- You're the only one on this planet? - Yes.
And your weapons are this way.
We are in section three. There has been trouble here lately.
- What kind? - Mechanical breakdowns.
Very difficult to maintain this complex all alone.
Listen, Harlan. Is there an outside to this place?
- Outside is above. We are under. - Under... the surface?
Oh, yes. On the surface we could not survive.
Mm. Radiation. Very, very bad.
Ah! This way to section four.
Um... what happened to your civilisation?
Surely you started on the surface and then moved under?
Oh, yes. Long ago.
We're curious about other worlds. We'd love to hear what happened up there.
- All in time. - We've got all the time in the world.
Yes, you do. You understand. Com-traya!
What is that? "Com-traya"? Is that like "aloha"?
Harlan, how long have you been on your own?
Ah, now, let me see.
Wallace was the last one to go. I miss him.
But you all remind me a little of Wallace.
Um... except for you, of course. You are female.
And you are... whatever you are.
Hubald. He was the creator of all this.
But he died very early. Too early. Took many secrets with him. So long ago.
How long... exactly?
Uh, exactly? 99,207,000 of your hours.
That's 11,000 years.
How did you know that?
It's right?
- Yeah. - Wait. How did you know that?
See? Everything is better, even your minds. You are all much, much better.
- Better than what? - Do you not feel it? Are you not stronger?
- Smarter? - Jack, I think he's right. I feel great.
Of course you do. Because I have given you a great gift!
- I have made you all... better! - Better how?
Oh, I have not hurt you. I have only made you... better!
All right. Listen. Listen closely.
I'm gonna ask you one more time, very simply.
Better... how?
- We're gone. We're outta here. - Wh...
Carter, dial us home.
Wait! You...
You cannot leave! I cannot leave either. It is unsafe.
What isn't safe? Tell us.
All in time. There is so much you must know first.
Oh... If...
You will be back! You will!
You cannot leave me here all...
alone!
Oh, dear.
- Colonel, how do you feel? - Never felt better in my life.
- It's got me a little worried, actually. - Well, this has got me a little worried.
Listen.
I don't hear anything.
What, this is better? I'm dead?
Look, Colonel, to make sense of this I'm gonna have to do a blood sample.
My God. What the hell is that? Get that outta me.
Look, uh, I'm gonna need x-rays on all of them.
- What did he do to us? - I don't know. Just let's stay calm.
I no longer possess a Goa'uld.
- Colonel, what the hell are you doing? - Colonel!
My God.
Alert. Security to the infirmary.
Whoa! Security? Dr Fraiser, it is us.
Just don't come any closer.
Stand down, airmen. It's a little misunderstanding. That's an order.
Belay that order.
- General, that is not Colonel O'Neill. - Oh, for cryin' out loud. General, it's me.
Would you call that human blood?
I believe they're all impostors.
He, or whatever he is, has no detectable heartbeat.
- Take them to the holding room. Guard it. - General Hammond.
- I don't know what that son of a bitch did. - Follow the instructions...
- Your wife died of cancer. - ..and you will not be hurt.
Your granddaughters are Tessa and Kayla.
Any resistance by any of you will be met with deadly force. Is that understood?
Understood.
Perfectly.
Looks and sounds like our people.
- They certainly believe they're SG-1. - It may be another Goa'uld trick.
I don't know what to believe.
He was right about the names of my grandchildren.
How would he know if he isn't Jack O'Neill?
Given our history with the Goa'uld, keeping them here would be dangerous.
I'll take that under advisement, Doctor.
It's incredible. It looks like mine, it feels like mine. It is mine.
I mean, I don't feel any different. If anything, I feel better.
- That's what Harlan said. - Why didn't he just tell us?
- Probably afraid we'd damage him. - Perceptive little runt.
You know, Colonel, you can't blame General Hammond for confining us.
Hey. I know who I am.
Well, so do I. In every respect I feel like Sam Carter.
But the evidence... Harlan must have transferred our consciousness
- into these bodies. - Bodies?
Did you see the inside of this arm?
We're machines, Carter.
Teal'c, are you OK?
Why?
Well... for starters, you've lost your... infant Goa'uld.
- I still feel its presence. - Really?
That must be like continuing to feel a limb after it's been... lost.
Oh, for cryin' out loud. Daniel!
I'm glad you're so fascinated by all this, but it's time for a little reality check, OK?
We are being held prisoner by our own people.
- They can't keep us in here for ever... - Why not?
What do you think is gonna happen?
You really think military intelligence is gonna let us continue as SG-I like this?
- We still have our rights, Jack. - What rights?
No matter what he's done to us, we're still...
Human? Is that what you were gonna say?
Harlan said we'd be back.
Now we know why.
Colonel O'Neill... Whoever you are.
I have decided to send SG-5 to PX3-989 to see if they can shed some light on this.
- That's a mistake. - Why?
- Harlan'll do to them what he did to us. - Harlan?
The indigenous person we encountered on the other side, sir.
We do believe that he transferred our consciousness into these artificial bodies.
- Why would anyone do that? - He thought he was doing us a favour.
He thinks this is "better".
I never thought about it at the time, but he must be artificial too.
It would explain how he got to be 11,000 years old.
- What? - General.
I think it's imperative that we go back...
- Get Dr Fraiser! - Yes, sir!
General, we've gotta go back.
- We'll send another team within the hour. - Negative! Don't risk any more.
Get this gate open.
My strength returns.
- We ran out of energy. - What?
Well, if these bodies are machines, they need a power source. It's here.
Com-traya!
Here is where you belong now.
Here is the only place you can be.
You son of a bitch!
You nearly waited too long. I was worried. Feel better?
- Better? What the hell did you do to us? - You are angry.
Yes! Give me one good reason why I shouldn't break you in half!
Only he can put our consciousness back into our bodies.
Oh, no, no, no. I cannot do that.
In time you will see. I have transferred your consciousness to the synthetic.
- Well, transfer us back, now! - No, I cannot. It is permanent.
I do not wanna hear that!
You are damaging me.
I am sorry, but there is no way to do what you ask.
Your bodies are all gone. It is all part of the process.
This is what you are now!
You will see. It is better!
This way. Around the corner.
Just a few more steps and home again!
You should all rest now. Your internal systems are not yet fully recharged,
and they were allowed to drain far too low.
Attention.
Coolant leak in secondary coil, section two.
Immediate attention is required.
Section two. You see now why I needed you?
This place is more than one man can maintain.
There's so much to do.
You will see. You will all feel much better soon.
This will not take long at all.
Jack, he said we should rest. You don't wanna run out of energy again.
He was right about this place.
Half the stuff in this complex isn't working, the rest is marginal.
Look around. He's been Jerry-rigging things for centuries.
- He was desperate. - I say let the place fall down.
To condemn Harlan would be to condemn ourselves.
Your point being?
- What is done is done. - Oh, please.
Has it occurred to anyone that all we are now is robots?
- Where are you going? - To find Harlan. Don't worry!
Just to talk. Robot to robot.
- What? - Oh, it's nothing.
Um... The notion of living 11,000 years entered my mind for a moment,
and I couldn't...
It's a lot to take in.
Apparently, we've got time to adjust.
We really have the same sensations and perceptions we did in our human form.
Well, if you think about it, the human body is just a machine.
It's just a vessel for our consciousness. I mean, it's just an organic one.
- I mean, it performs work, requires fuel. - It's not the same.
No, it isn't, but... Maybe, in a way, Harlan was right.
Maybe this is... better.
I mean, we're still us, we're still unique. I mean, every thought, every feeling...
Have you felt hungry or thirsty since this happened?
No.
Teal'c!
You still OK?
- Where'd he go? - He probably wants to be alone.
I don't blame him. That way.
I do not understand this obsession of yours.
It's not an obsession. I just wanna know what you did with our bodies.
You have no further use for them. Oh, good. You are exploring.
Yes, good, good. There is much to see. Much to learn from the station.
And you are feeling better, yes?
No. Colonel, have you seen Teal'c?
I left him with you.
Perhaps he is best left alone.
- He is... different, yes? - Yes!
Look, Harlan, I wanna know why you did this. Why you did all of this.
Our race was facing destruction.
The biosphere of this planet could no longer support us.
This project was undertaken to allow some of our people to live,
even if our planet could not.
Our former bodies would... never have survived this.
- How many were there originally? - Uh...
- A thousand. - What happened to them?
There were problems with the transfer process. Some were lost.
Sekura, Marith, Tira. Very, very sad.
We could not repair Hubald, the creator of all this. His secrets were lost.
- But many survived... for a while. - Where are they?
Some left through the ring we discovered, the ring you went through.
They carried smaller, more portable power sources with them.
I expected them to come home. I waited.
This is home, after all.
But they... didn't.
And the rest did not accept the gift. They... ended their existence.
How?
They walked above the surface, far from here,
outside of the range of the power source.
Wallace, he was the last one. He gave his life for this station. An accident.
And I have been alone since Wallace.
But you are here now.
And everything is better now.
Will you hold this for me?
Com-traya! Very helpful.
We work together well. There, see? We accomplish things.
So, we must remain near the power source in case it breaks down again.
Without the continuous stream of energy from the emitter,
these bodies could not function for more than a few hours.
That is why I knew you would come back.
Harlan, we want to go home.
Oh, no, no. You must stay. You are friends.
New friends!
Friends? I don't even like you.
- Chances are, I'll never like you. - Colonel.
If we are ever going home, we need him.
You still do not appreciate the gift. Immortality.
11,000 going on infinity, I always say.
Attention. Coolant leak in primary coil.
Very bad. Very bad.
- What is it? - The power source... for us.
I spent too much time away from repairing the station to create you.
Hurry. There's not much time. We must repair it or else we will all... die!
I think the thermal capacitor has malfunctioned again.
Aha.
Tube 18 is blocked. It draws heat in from the planetary core.
It must be vented. The wind drives irradiated rain into the ventilation system.
It rusts the valves closed.
- So what's keeping us going? - Reserve power, like when you went...
Not much time!
Has this ever happened before?
Not since Wallace was still alive.
It is the reason I created you. We must work together.
Please help!
All right. I'll help.
- Where's Teal'c? We could use him. - It does not matter. He is... different.
- OK, so what do we do? - I had to shut down most of the vents.
We have to open more and reroute the ventilation.
There and there.
I will stay here to operate the computer.
How do we find these vents? How do we open them?
The automatic controls no longer work. The vents are rusted closed.
You will have to open up the vent shafts and do it manually.
Search your minds. It is all there, I made sure of it.
You have all the answers you need. Now go! Go!
Go!
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
This way.
Warning. Pressure rising to critical levels.
Pressure level at four Hubald units.
Pressure rising to six Hubald units.
Warning.
There it is.
- Did you see that? - Daniel.
Harlan was right. It's rusted shut.
There. I got it.
Warning. Pressure rising to eight Hubald units.
Pressure rising to ten Hubald units.
Override anti-steam valve.
Not yet, Harlan, not yet!
Teal'c! Thank God. Where have you been?
Twelve Hubald units.
What are you doing?
Catastrophic coolant failure is imminent.
Come on, Teal'c. Come on.
Teal'c!
You have succeeded in venting sufficient pressure.
Com-traya!
We did it.
Teal'c! Don't!
Colonel.
- I'm all right. - I'm sorry, but you're not.
It is only damage. I can repair it.
All will be well. You will see. And your friend, too.
- What, Teal'c? - You killed him!
He was malfunctioning.
How will all be well with him if he's dead?
You will see. Now the station is repaired, go back to your quarters and wait.
You... you will see.
Keep an eye on him.
Harlan! Open up!
Harlan!
- No, no, no, go away! - Harlan, what the hell are you doing?
- All will be well. Please. - He's making a new synthetic of Teal'c.
Go back to your quarters and I will bring him to you.
- How is this possible? - Ah, yes. There were two minds before.
The creature he carried within. Two beings.
The two minds could not coexist and your friend malfunctioned.
I did not know he was different. I won't make that mistake again.
Answer my question. How can you make a synthetic Teal'c without the original?
Captain Carter, stand aside.
- Harlan, turn off that machine. - The process is incomplete.
Turn it off!
Now answer the captain's question.
Please. If you destroy me,
you will destroy the last survivor of an entire people, and yourselves.
I'm gonna ask this question once.
Do our bodies, our real bodies, exist somewhere?
Yes.
Then I want you to put us back. Now.
- I could not do that, even if I wanted to. - Why?
If you can transfer our consciousness into these bodies,
surely you can reverse the process.
- No. It is impossible. - Why?
I will show you.
I meant no harm. I would have returned them through the ring
as soon as I was certain you had accepted your transference.
Except that it's not really a transference, is it? From one to the other.
- We're copies. - Yes.
As good as the original. Better, even.
If you had not been so insistent, you would never have seen each other.
Once the transfer was successful,
I intended to send your organic selves back to your world.
Um... Their world.
They would never have known of your existence.
And, in time, I hoped that you would have accepted yours.
We... can never go back.
No, you belong here.
You are welcome here.
- Teal'c? - Captain Carter.
Colonel, he's all right.
That's great, Captain.
- Daniel? - Uh...
Sort of.
Here, let me get that.
Harlan, where've you been?
- Extremely busy. - I can see that. Doing what?
Oh, uh... creating your synthetic others, saving the planet. Busy, busy.
- Synthetic? - Yes.
Sorry for having restrained you for so long.
I am afraid my plan has failed rather... miserably.
But as I promised, you are free to go.
This is impossible.
It's true. At first, we didn't even know we'd been changed.
- Recreating the neural structure on a... - It defies the uncertainty principle.
But we are identical.
- Right down to the mole on our... - Hey, hey, hey. Shut up.
- Was not a copy made of me? - Oh. Yes. Uh...
Yes, uh... But, uh...
I had to disintegrate you.
I see.
- You get it. You just don't like it. - Uh, well...
I think, in time, our separate experiences will make us different.
Listen, I'm not too happy about this either, you know.
You think you know how I feel?
Well, yeah.
We're basically the same guy, aren't we?
- Have a look. - Ow.
- Sorry. - Yeah.
So, um... What the hell happened here?
Somebody stole my life. That's what happened.
- You talking about my life? - Hey!
I've got every right to it that you do.
I was hopin' I could figure out a way to undo all this,
get back into my body where I belong.
Well, it's occupied, thank you.
I noticed that.
What does that make me?
- What do you want? - They're all debating the meaning of life.
Both Daniels think this is all fascinating. The Carters are arguing already.
Teal'c feels left out.
You and I have got a few things to talk about.
I won't give you a hard time about who gets to go back, if that's what you mean.
- Thank you. - It has nothing to do with generosity.
I can't go back.
- If I could, it might be a different story. - Yeah, well...
There is the little issue of security.
You know everything I know about Earth. Codes, defences.
We'll bury the gate. Don't worry.
Don't even think about sending a bomb to make sure.
- I wasn't. - Yes, you were. I know you.
All right. All right. You have my word... Colonel.
Call me Jack.
Colonel O'Neill?
Oh, for cryin' out loud.
I'll handle this.
Ah! There you are. I was worried about you. Where is the other one?
He's... gettin' ready to go home.
Yes, all for the best. I hope, in time, you will forgive me.
- You were just tryin' to survive. - Yes! And we will!
All will be well, you will see!
Harlan...
people are not supposed to live for ever.
Maybe not. But if you try just a few hundred years,
perhaps you might change your mind, yes?
So... don't forget to bury the gate when we're gone.
Like that's something I'd forget.
Well.
See you.
And, uh... you should have that looked at. It's...
Whoo.
Have a good life.
See you.