Stargate Atlantis
107 POISONING THE WELL
Transcript by Callie Sullivan.
Additions, amendments and improvements by Calico.
The Planet HOFF.
The scene opens to an exterior shot of a modern cityscape with a river running
through it and distance mountains.
The scene changes to an interior. The planet’s leader, Chancellor Druhin,
escorts Sheppard’s team along a corridor. A man ahead of Druhin opens bar
doors and stands off to the side. Druhin is talking while the team follows.
DRUHIN: Reliable power generation is one of our greatest concerns. With this
project, we hope, soon, to be able to convert and utilise the intense heat trap
beneath the surface of our planet. (He opens a door and shows them into a
laboratory.)
McKAY: Geo-thermo energy. What? Using this?
Huh! Do you have any idea how complex
geo-thermo energy is...
SHEPPARD (in a warning voice): McKay ...
McKAY: I mean ... (realising that he’s insulting the locals) It’s
gonna work like a charm.
SHEPPARD: Looks like you’re accomplishing great things here, Chancellor.
DRUHIN: Since the last Wraith culling we have worked diligently to rebuild our
society.
TEYLA: Are you not concerned that your efforts will attract the attention of
the Wraith?
DRUHIN: Yes ... but we refuse to let that stop us from striving to reach our
potential. To do otherwise would simply mean victory for them. However, we
currently are working on a viable defence.
SHEPPARD: Defence? Really? (Rodney, who was looking
around the lab, walks back looking interested.) We’ve been here for two
days before you mention that?
DRUHIN: I had to learn that you could be trusted.
McKAY: Huh!
FORD: You’re talking about some sort of defensive weapon?
DRUHIN: You could call it that. Something that we hope will protect us from the
next Wraith culling.
McKAY: So you are expecting
it to happen again?
DRUHIN: Of course. But if the Wraith return as they
have historically, they won’t be here for at least another fifty years.
McKAY (throwing a dark look at John): Fifty years, you say.
SHEPPARD (embarrassed): How ‘bout that weapon?
DRUHIN: Yes, yes – if you’ll just come this way.
(He leads the way and Aidan and Teyla follow him. Rodney turns to John.)
McKAY: You haven’t told them that we practically woke the Wraith from
hibernation, have you?
SHEPPARD: Well ... I really haven’t had the chance(!)
McKAY: We’ve been here two days!
SHEPPARD: One and a half, really.
(They start to follow the others.)
McKAY: Major, they’re not expecting the Wraith for another fifty years.
We have to let them know they could show up at any time now.
SHEPPARD: If you’re so eager, why don’t you tell them!
LATER.
Chancellor Druhin has led the team to another part of the complex. This part
has lots of white corridors. Armed guards stand outside a room which Druhin
leads the team into.
McKAY: Reminds you of Area 51, doesn’t it?
SHEPPARD: Circa 1918.
FORD: I don’t think Area 51 was around in 1918, sir.
SHEPPARD: Well, the area was.
McKAY: True!
(Druhin leads them into a laboratory.)
FORD: I don’t think there’s a hope in hell these people could have
a weapon that ...
SHEPPARD: Weapons come in all shapes and sizes, Lieutenant.
(A Hoffan scientist picks up a test tube full of liquid and hands it to Druhin.
He holds it up to show John.)
DRUHIN: Major Sheppard, I think you’ll find this intriguing.
(John takes the test tube and looks at it.)
SHEPPARD: OK, I’m intrigued. What is it?
DRUHIN: Something that we hope will one day make us completely immune to the
Wraith.
ATLANTIS.
CONFERENCE ROOM. The team, sitting around the table,
reports to Doctor Weir.
TEYLA: According to Chancellor Druhin the drug is still several years away from
being finished.
McKAY: I’d say, given their current level of
technology, that, er, could be an under-statement. Just because they believe
they’re close to a breakthrough, it doesn’t mean that they are.
TEYLA: You saw for yourself – their entire civilisation is based upon the
completion of that goal, Doctor McKay. I would not under-estimate them.
WEIR: Do we even know for certain that the Wraith are
an immediate threat?
SHEPPARD: We can probably bet they don’t have fifty years.
McKAY: Hence Major Sheppard has generously offered our help to the Hoffans.
WEIR: Has he?
SHEPPARD: Look, the fact is, if they’re onto something, maybe we can
speed up the process.
WEIR: OK, Major, you have a go. But if the drug really is just a pipe dream ...
SHEPPARD: Our Doctor Beckett’s already volunteered to help us find that
out.
WEIR: Oh, he has, huh?
SHEPPARD (shrugging nonchalantly): He will.
GATE TRAVEL.
HOFF.
The team, together with Doctor Beckett, is walking along the dark corridors in
the complex.
BECKETT: It’s not that I mind lending people a hand ...
SHEPPARD: No, of course not.
McKAY: You’re a generous man, Carson.
BECKETT: ... but it’s the principle of the thing, isn’t it? You
can’t go volunteering someone for something without consulting them
first. That’s not even volunteering, is it? It’s being pressed into service. Not to mention
the fact that I’m not ...
SHEPPARD: ... not military, I can’t give you orders. I know.
McKAY: Nonononono – he just doesn’t like going through the
Stargate.
SHEPPARD: He’s worse than Doctor McCoy.
TEYLA: Who?
SHEPPARD: The TV character that Doctor Beckett plays in real life.
BECKETT: Converting a human body into energy and sending it millions of light
years through a wormhole – bloody insanity.
McKAY: C’mon, how often do you get to travel to an alien planet?
BECKETT: I was already on an
alien planet!
HOFFAN SCIENCE LAB.
SHEPPARD: Should you be messing with that stuff?
BECKETT: I know what I’m doing, Major, thank you. From the looks of
things they’ve mastered a few basics – biochemistry, physiology,
perhaps even some form of molecular biology. Fairly impressive considering ...
(A female Hoffan scientist interrupts him.)
PERNA: It is our people’s legacy. This room represents hundreds of years
of medical knowledge. (
(John and Rodney also seem taken with her.)
SHEPPARD: John Sheppard. Uh, and this is Teyla, and Lieutenant Ford ...
BECKETT (smiling in a soppy way):
McKAY: I’m, uh, Doctor McKay, Doctor Rodney McKay. (He smiles and holds out
his hand for her to shake. She looks at him, confused, ignoring his hand, then
turns to
PERNA: I hope you will find our facilities suitable.
BECKETT: Oh, they’re charming! Perfectly charming! (He grins at her
again.)
DARK CORRIDORS.
Druhin is escorting the team, minus
DRUHIN: Long ago, this city was once a testament to our imagination, our
creative spirit, to endless possibility.
McKAY: How long ago was that?
DRUHIN: It is true that we have been forced to rebuild many times and never to
our potential. That is why perfecting the drug is so important. It is more than
just a defence against the Wraith – it is our future.
TEYLA: With respect, Chancellor, you cannot prevent the culling – it is a
fact of existence.
DRUHIN: A fact we challenge. We will always search for a way to end the cycle
of destruction.
TEYLA: The Wraith will always prevent any race from advancing too far.
SHEPPARD: You figure you can beat ‘em?
DRUHIN: Yes, through knowledge.
(They reach a guarded door. Druhin indicates to the guard, who unlocks the
heavily barred door. Inside is a huge library.)
DRUHIN: A number of archives like this one are hidden throughout the city.
Their existence is known only to a few.
SHEPPARD: This is very impressive.
DRUHIN: We meticulously preserve the accomplishments of each generation before
they are wiped out by the Wraith.
SHEPPARD: So everything your people ever learned is in here?
DRUHIN: And in other archives identical to this one.
McKAY: In case they destroy one. You guys are serious about this.
DRUHIN: Standing on the shoulders of our forefathers.
TEYLA: How long have you been working on this Wraith drug?
DRUHIN: One hundred and fifty years ago, our scientists were close to creating
a viable prototype, only to die before seeing its fruition.
SHEPPARD: So you’re hoping that, if this world’s no good to them,
they’re just gonna move on?
DRUHIN: The Wraith cannot possibly perceive us as a threat.
SHEPPARD: Y’know, to tell you the truth, I don’t know how they
would react.
TEYLA: If they choose to wipe you out of existence, you will be helpless.
DRUHIN: We cannot hope to control their actions. We can only do what we can to
end the cycle that has gone on for far too long.
LAB.
Perna takes down a book from the top of a cupboard and brings it over to show
to
PERNA: His name was Ferrel Mylan. Before he died in the last culling, he was
one of our most celebrated medical researchers. He was the one who found it.
BECKETT: Found what?
PERNA: The key. (She opens the book.) His journals tell of one man who survived
an encounter with the Wraith. Ferrel and his team discovered that this man
possessed a unique protein, one that enabled him to resist the chemical
released by the Wraith to precipitate draining of life from their victims.
After painstaking trial and error ...
BECKETT (looking at the book): Ferrel made a copy of the protein.
PERNA: He was eventually able to create a prototype of a drug designed to
interfere with the Wraith feeding process.
BECKETT: And it worked?
PERNA: Ferrel was killed before the drug could be used to defend Hoff.
BECKETT: And it’s been your job to make certain his work wasn’t in
vain. Quite the responsibility.
PERNA: It is a great honour.
BECKETT (looking through more pages): How do you know for certain that this
Ferrel wasn’t just embellishing his results, or for that matter making
them up? I mean, all you have to go on are his notes.
PERNA: He and his team worked until the last possible moment. They knew the
Wraith ships were overhead and still they worked through the night, hoping to
provide one more insight, one last thread of knowledge – not for
themselves but for the generation that would survive. Ten thousand soldiers
gave their lives to give them those last few hours. The last words of Ferrel’s
journal are known to all Hoffans.
BECKETT: I meant no disrespect, Perna.
PERNA: It’s alright. More than just his journals survived the culling.
(She goes over to another desk to collect a slide.) His research materials were
safeguarded as well, including carefully-preserved Wraith cell samples which we
still use in our work today. (She puts the slide down.
(
BECKETT: Oh! (He looks up at Perna.) That’s incredible!
(She smiles at him. He looks back into the microscope.)
ATLANTIS.
Doctors Weir and Beckett are walking along together down the stairs and into
corridors, discussing the Hoffans’ discovery.
BECKETT: I saw it with my own eyes, Doctor Weir.
WEIR: Yes, in a Petri dish, and we are talking about a
hundred and fifty year old Wraith cells. I mean, for all we know, they could be
immune to the drug by now, or come up with defences against it.
BECKETT: Well, I don’t think so, Doctor. I took the liberty of running a
few tests of my own using cells taken from the Wraith arm Major Sheppard
brought back from Athos. The results were the same: near complete resistance. They’ve
definitely got something. Believe me, I’m more
surprised than anyone.
WEIR: So what do you recommend?
BECKETT: That we take their work to the next level. I’ve informed the
Hoffans of our guest in the brig.
WEIR: You realise what you’re asking for?
(
BECKETT: I do.
BRIG.
Sergeant Bates is standing outside the Wraith’s cell. He turns as John
walks in.
SHEPPARD: Anything I should know about, Sergeant?
BATES: No, sir, he’s been quiet.
SHEPPARD: Still trying to make you see things?
BATES: He’s given up on that.
(John looks at the Wraith sitting quietly in his cell.)
SHEPPARD: I didn’t think he’d last this long. (He walks over to the
bars. The Wraith looks up at him.)
WRAITH: Hello again, Major Sheppard.
(John nods to him. The Wraith stands up.)
SHEPPARD: Sorry if I woke you. Just came by to see if there’s anything
you needed – magazine, fresh towels.
WRAITH: You hide your fear poorly, Major.
SHEPPARD: Y’know, we’ve been having these conversations for a
couple of weeks now, and I don’t even know your name. You guys do have names, right? (The Wraith just
looks at him.) Let me guess ... (he looks away for a moment as if thinking) ...
Steve?
WRAITH: I am your death. That is all you need to know.
SHEPPARD: I prefer Steve.
(The Wraith walks closer so that he is standing just the other side of the bars
to John.)
WRAITH: What do you hope to gain from this?
SHEPPARD: Just trying to bridge the gap between our two cultures; get to know
you better. That and try to figure out how to keep your kind from sucking the
life out of millions of innocent people.
WRAITH: Even if I told you what you want to know, it would change nothing. You
are doomed – as are any humans that stand in our way.
SHEPPARD: Can’t be a nice way to die – hungry, slow, knowing your
food source is just ... (he holds up a hand and grasps at the air) out of
reach.
(The Wraith roars and tries to strike at John but only hits the forcefield. He
roars in rage.)
WRAITH (furiously): Why do you keep me here? (He starts angrily pacing back and
forth.)
SHEPPARD: I need to know what we’re up against. For example, how many of
those big hive ships have you got and where are they?
WRAITH: You have nothing to offer me in return. (He finally stops pacing.)
SHEPPARD: We could talk about
easing your hunger ... (the Wraith looks at him) ... Steve.
WRAITH: You would never sacrifice one of your own kind.
And yet, it is all that stands between you and the information you seek.
ATLANTIS CONFERENCE ROOM.
We follow a female member of Atlantis up the stairs and into the conference
room, where she hands a report to Dr Beckett, who is walking around the table
giving his report.
BECKETT: Using living Wraith cells is our only recourse at this juncture.
Without them we have no way of knowing for certain if the drug is actually
viable.
TEYLA: You said it worked effectively on the cells of the severed Wraith arm we
brought back.
BECKETT: It did – but those were already in a partially decayed state. We
need live samples.
WEIR: And with new samples you think it’s possible to create a prototype?
BECKETT: Given enough time, yes I do.
McKAY: He’s got a good point – the Hoffans are practically
obsessed.
BECKETT: Thank you, Rodney.
TEYLA (to Rodney): I agree, Doctor. (To
McKAY: Well, even if they do ... undo, it’d be good for us. I mean, given
the choice, wouldn’t you want to be immune?
TEYLA: Not if it meant the lives the Wraith might otherwise spare. This drug
would only be of value if everyone, everywhere, possessed the same immunity.
SHEPPARD (pointing at her in agreement): There’s a thought worth
pursuing.
WEIR: I agree. Major, have you made any progress with your prisoner?
SHEPPARD: Well, not yet, but he just blinked.
McKAY: He blinked? What does that mean?
SHEPPARD: It means he’s still holding on but he’s indicated to me
that he may break soon.
McKAY: And he indicated this to you by ... blinking?
SHEPPARD: Yes.
BECKETT: No offence, Major, but so far he hasn’t told you a thing. For
all we know he could linger this way for months and ultimately we’ll learn
nothing.
TEYLA: The Wraith could be on their way to Hoff as we speak. If your prisoner
holds the key to the creation of this drug, should we not take advantage of
this?
WEIR: How can we get the sample off him safely?
TEYLA: We still possess the weapons used in his capture. It would be a simple
matter of incapacitating him again.
WEIR: So, then, it’s possible?
SHEPPARD: It’s possible.
BRIG.
The Wraith is crouched on the floor with his back to the door of his cage as it
slides open. John takes a couple of steps forward.
SHEPPARD: Hi, Steve.
(The Wraith growls, stands and turns around.)
FORD: Bye, Steve.
(The Wraith runs towards them but Aidan shoots him with the Wraith gun. The
Wraith falls to his knees, grunting with pain, then stands up and hurls himself
towards the men again. Aidan shoots him a second time and this time he
collapses to the floor. John, Aidan and Sergeant Bates walk cautiously forward,
all aiming weapons at him.)
SHEPPARD: Doctor.
(
BECKETT: Is he – I mean, you’re certain he’s ...
FORD: He’s down, Doc. Do your thing.
(
FORD: Almost looks peaceful, doesn’t he?
BECKETT: Peaceful?! You’re out of your bloody mind!
HOFF.
LAB.
PERNA: I have never seen devices such as these!
BECKETT: The work you’ve done refining the drug has been good up til now.
With all this (he switches on the laptop which shows enlarged microscopic
images from the microscope that’s in front of him) we can make it better.
(He looks into the microscope.) From what I can tell, your biggest problem is
that the test inoculations failed to show enough of a presence in human cells
to be effective.
PERNA: What we need is a better delivery system.
BECKETT: Exactly. And the best place to start is to recreate the key protein in
the serum and work our way up from there. If we can avoid having to re-engineer
it from a natural source, and make an entirely synthetic version, it should
ultimately increase the efficiency.
PERNA: Such a thing is possible?
BECKETT: Anything’s possible if you’re willing to give it a go. (He
claps his hands together.) C’mon then, a bald head is soon shaved. (He
looks into the microscope again.)
PERNA: You speak differently than the others.
BECKETT (looking up from the microscope and laughing sheepishly): Noticed that,
did you?! Sorry if I confuse you. Trust me, where I come from, it all makes
perfect sense.
PERNA: What is it like?
BECKETT:
PERNA: I meant your world. It must be so peaceful there, knowing that the
Wraith will not come.
BECKETT: Oh, you’d be surprised how not
peaceful it is. We’re spoiled rotten, now that I think of it.
PERNA: You miss it – I’m sorry for enquiring.
BECKETT: Oh, no, no. Don’t be, love.
(A montage of scenes follows as
BECKETT: Perna!
(Perna gets up and comes over to look at what he has written. She turns to him,
her face a picture of delight, then throws herself into his arms, laughing in
joy and relief.
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE. Chancellor Druhin is
looking at the results as Carson and Perna stand nearby.
DRUHIN (reading the paper): “One hundred percent cellular penetration in
all five test inoculations” – incredible!
BECKETT: There’s still a lot of data to be analysed but the initial
results are very promising, I agree.
PERNA: Doctor Beckett’s efforts have advanced the project by decades.
BECKETT: Perna’s formula was right on track. It was just a matter of
changing its molecular design so it could be better absorbed by the body.
DRUHIN: This is an enormous victory for our people, Doctor. I don’t know
how to thank you.
BECKETT: No need. Of course, it’s only a preliminary.
DRUHIN: How soon until you can set up the next stage of testing?
PERNA: You’ll have a schedule later today, Chancellor.
(
BECKETT: I’m sorry – next stage?
DRUHIN: Your report makes it abundantly clear that the project is ready to
proceed to its next phase.
PERNA: We want to test the serum’s effectiveness against your prisoner.
ATLANTIS.
Elizabeth and John are walking along the upper walkway that encircles the
Gateroom toward and into
WEIR: And you support this?
SHEPPARD: Well, I know for certain he’s gonna die so we might as well
make good use of him while he’s still alive.
WEIR: You do understand the Geneva Convention prohibits using prisoners for
scientific experiments?
SHEPPARD: No offence, Doc, but had the Wraith attended the Geneva Convention,
they would have tried to feed
on everyone there.
WEIR: Beckett’s report indicates that we have no idea what the long-term
effect of this drug on humans might be.
SHEPPARD: Well, we know damn well what the long-term effects of Wraith culling
are, don’t we?
WEIR: We’re talking about putting a human being in the same room as a
starving Wraith. Now once we start down that road ...
SHEPPARD: Which road did you think we were headed down?
WEIR: Not this one. At least not this fast.
SHEPPARD: Having spent time with the prisoner, I don’t pity him.
He’s gonna die anyway. This drug could be useful some day.
WEIR: Some day.
SHEPPARD: The point is, we don’t get a lot of
opportunities like this. Do you know how obsessed with this the Hoffans are
when they found out we had a live Wraith prisoner? He’s going to die. I tried to feed him all sorts of
live stuff but apparently there’s only one item on his menu.
WEIR: What of the test subject? If the drug fails ...
SHEPPARD: We’re not just grabbing anybody off the street. The test
subject is a terminally ill patient who has volunteered himself.
(
WEIR: These are not exactly the type of decisions I was expecting to make on
this expedition. (John shakes his head and stands back, crossing his arms.
BRIG.
Sheppard comes into the brig and walks over to the cage.
SHEPPARD: Hi, Steve.
WRAITH (not looking at him): More samples?
SHEPPARD: I was thinking more along the lines of a field trip. You want
sustenance? I want information.
WRAITH (turning his head to look at John): You are incapable of offering such a
trade.
SHEPPARD: You tell me something of value – I let you eat. That’s
the deal. Take it or leave it.
(The Wraith turns to face John.)
WRAITH: Very well.
CONTROL ROOM.
WEIR: Are they ready?
TECHNICIAN: Major Sheppard and Lieutenant Ford are loading the prisoner into
Jumper Two. (He watches a screen as three white dots move into the rear of a
graphic of a Puddlejumper.) Sergeant Bates is already on the ground and
standing by for their arrival at the rendezvous site.
(In the
WEIR: Jumper Two, this is Weir. What’s your status?
SHEPPARD (over radio): Nice and cosy in here. We’re ready to depart.
WEIR: Be safe, Major.
SHEPPARD: That’s the plan.
TECHNICIAN: Jumper Two, you are go for launch.
SHEPPARD: Roger that. (In the Jumper, John turns to Aidan who is sitting
alongside him.) Dial it up.
(Aidan taps in the symbols, then turns and looks at the Wraith, who appears to
have a grin on his face.)
FORD: Hey, man, this isn’t supposed to be fun.
(The Wraith turns and looks at him, still grinning, before turning away again.
Aidan turns back to the front. Outside the window, the Stargate whooshes as the
Jumper lowers into position, and goes through the Gate. In the Control Room,
HOFF.
MEDICAL CENTRE CANTEEN. Carson and Perna are sitting
at a table with the volunteer.
BECKETT: Perna explained to me about your illness. I want you to know how sorry
I am. I wish there was something I could do for you.
(We see Merell for the first time – he’s only in his twenties.)
MERELL: It’s my time, Doctor Beckett. I’m at peace with my fate.
BECKETT: I think it’s important you know that we may be talking about a
less than peaceful ending here.
PERNA: I have explained to Merell in great detail what may befall him.
BECKETT: You should also understand that this drug has never worked in anything
other than a laboratory simulation. We don’t know for certain what will
happen.
MERELL: Even if it doesn’t work, you’ll learn something of value
– how to perfect it in the future?
BECKETT: Possibly, but that’s no reason for you to face that creature.
MERELL: Doctor Beckett, I’m not afraid. No matter what happens, my death will have
meaning. Is that not something we all strive for, to die knowing we made a
difference? I want to do this. Please don’t deny me the chance to help my
people.
(Perna looks at
LATER.
Carson and Perna leave the canteen and walk down a corridor.
PERNA: What do you think?
BECKETT: That it goes against everything I believe in. There’s an oath
among medical people where I come from. It begins, “First, do no
harm.”
PERNA: Important words to you.
BECKETT: More than words,
Perna.
PERNA: “The battle rages at the very threshold of our laboratory now.
Those of us working to the last know that these few final hours have been
dearly purchased, yet our concentration has not waned. We cannot hope to save
ourselves but we can hope that one last insight, one last revelation before we
take our dying breaths, may prevent this terrible day from happening
again.”
BECKETT: Ferrel’s last journal entry.
PERNA: More than words,
BECKETT: I understand that. I do. But there are too many unknowns. We need time
to determine the possible side-effects ...
PERNA: There is no time! Are
you so afraid of making a mistake that you can no longer see what we’re
up against?
BECKETT: This isn’t about making mistakes, Perna – it’s about
the end justifying the means, and in our profession that’s a very
slippery slope. We have no idea if this’ll work. We could be sacrificing
that man to a monster.
PERNA: There will be another to take his place.
BECKETT: That’s just what I’m afraid of.
HOFFAN CELL BLOCK.
The Wraith is sitting inside a similar-looking cage to the one he inhabited on
Atlantis, except this one doesn’t have a forcefield. Teyla comes into the
room and goes over to John.
TEYLA: They are ready.
(John walks closer to the cell.)
FORD: Careful, sir.
(Perna, Carson and Merell come into the room. The Wraith looks up, and realises
that Merell is his ‘meal’. He also realises that Merell is unwell.)
WRAITH (dismissively): This
is the sustenance you promised?
SHEPPARD: Little change in plans. You tell me something right now, or the
dinner party’s cancelled.
WRAITH: What do you want to know?
SHEPPARD: How many hive ships have become operational since we awakened the
first one?
WRAITH: All of them, Major
Sheppard. First, they will travel to their own feeding grounds and gather
strength. We are a patient race, Major. When we have taken our fill and
gathered our strength, we will join force and come for you.
SHEPPARD: D’you have any idea when that’ll
be? Morning? Afternoon?
(The Wraith makes an exasperated sound. John turns to the marines.)
SHEPPARD: Open it up.
(One of the marines steps forward, unlocks the door
and opens it. Merell, wearing what looks like a nightgown, with a blanket over
his shoulders, steps forward.
BECKETT: You don’t have to do this.
MERELL: I know. (He looks at Perna.) I’m ready. (He takes the blanket off
his shoulders.
(In the cage, the Wraith takes in a deep expectant breath. Merell walks inside
the cage. As the marine closes the door behind him, Merell starts to unbutton
his nightgown. As the door slams shut, the Wraith stands and faces Merell. He
walks closer and inspects him for a few moments.)
WRAITH: He is weak.
(Outside the cage, Perna looks terrified, afraid that the Wraith will reject
the ‘offering’. However, after a few seconds the Wraith slams his
open hand onto Merell’s bare chest and snarls. Perna looks horrified,
finally realising what she has brought about. The Wraith stands with his nails
piercing Merell’s chest, but after a few moments he snarls again and
pulls away, clutching his hand as if it hurts him. Merell looks down at the
wounds on his chest, then looks up at the Wraith
again. The Wraith turns away in disgust. Perna gasps,
overcome by what she has just witnessed.)
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE. Chancellor Druhin is
filling three glasses with what looks like champagne. He puts the bottle back
into an ice bucket and picks up two of the glasses to give to Carson and Perna.
DRUHIN: You are both heroes of the Hoffan people.
BECKETT: I’ll admit, it was amazing.
(Druhin picks up his own glass.)
DRUHIN: I hope your friends will join us for a celebratory banquet to honour
your work.
BECKETT: We’ll be glad to attend, but don’t you think celebrations
are a bit premature?
DRUHIN: The results speak for themselves. (To Perna) I intend to ask the
Council to approve mass production of the serum, effective immediately. After
what happened today, I doubt they will offer any resistance.
PERNA: That is wonderful news, Chancellor.
BECKETT: With all due respect, no it isn’t. We’re talking about one
test here. Now I’m as pleased as anyone with the results but we still
have a lot of work to do before we can start using it.
PERNA: Doctor Beckett wishes to run a full series of tests on Merell prior to
issuing his final report. (She frowns at Druhin, clearly not understanding
BECKETT: There may have been mitigating circumstances – the man was
dying, for one.
DRUHIN (a little condescendingly): Of course. I’ll bring it up with
Council. (He raises his glass.) To success. (The three
of them clink glasses.)
CELL BLOCK. John and Teyla come in, clearly having
been summoned.
SHEPPARD: What is it?
FORD: It’s Steve – he doesn’t look so good.
(In the cage, the Wraith is crouched in the corner, gasping in apparent pain.)
TEYLA: How long has he been like this?
FORD: Since the test.
SHEPPARD: Think it’s a ruse?
TEYLA: It is not their way.
(The Wraith painfully hauls himself to his feet.)
SHEPPARD: Hey.
WRAITH: What have you done to me? (He convulses with pain. As the others watch,
part-sympathetically, he roars and races across the cage to where they’re
standing. He’s so fast that John only just has time to dodge backwards as
the Wraith slams his arm through the bars, grabbing for John’s throat and
missing by mere inches. This last moment of effort is too much for the Wraith,
and he collapses to the floor where he lies half propped up on one elbow,
clearly in genuine pain.)
SHEPPARD: We need Beckett in here.
FORD (to one of the marines): Go.
(The marine hurries out. John crouches down to look closer at the Wraith, who
is gasping in pain.)
SHEPPARD: We’re gonna help you.
(The Wraith looks up at him, a snarl on his face.)
WRAITH: Don’t feel pity for me. You will suffer far worse when the others
come for you. (Gasping in agony, he collapses backwards onto the floor, dead.)
LATER.
The Wraith’s body has been brought to a morgue. John walks around the
table that the body is laying on, staring down at it.
BECKETT: Major. I was just about to cut him open.
SHEPPARD: Then, I was just leaving.
BECKETT: I’ve already done a series of tests you might like to know the
results of.
SHEPPARD: You know what killed him?
BECKETT: I’m gonna go out on a limb here and say that it was all of his
vital organs shutting down almost simultaneously.
SHEPPARD: Did he starve to death?
BECKETT: No. Based on the condition his body’s in, I don’t think he
died from a lack of nourishment.
SHEPPARD: Well, then, what was it?
BECKETT: Initial tests revealed a significant amount of Hoffan serum in his
bloodstream. I’m guessing we’ll find similar trace amounts in each
of his organs once we analyse those as well.
SHEPPARD: Why did the Hoffan drug end up in his
blood?
BECKETT: From the Hoffans’ research, we know that when the Wraith feed,
they release a chemical into their victims’ bodies. What it actually
does, we don’t yet understand, but I can only assume that it prepares the
human body in some way to be drained of life. The serum is designed to shield
the victim from that initial chemical release, blocking it.
SHEPPARD: OK.
BECKETT: I think the serum protein may have mutated when it was exposed to the
Wraith chemical, triggering some sort of toxic reaction.
SHEPPARD: So instead of feeding off of him ...
BECKETT: ... he was poisoned. So if the serum did this, then it’s more
than just a defence against the Wraith.
SHEPPARD: It kills ‘em.
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE. Druhin is talking with John
and Teyla.
DRUHIN: I fail to see cause for alarm, Major. If anything, this development
dramatically increases the value of the serum.
SHEPPARD: No – it just takes away any doubt about what the
Wraith’ll do when they eventually come here.
DRUHIN: I fail to see the difference.
TEYLA: Once they learn you possess a weapon such as this, the Wraith will wipe your people from existence in
retaliation for the Wraith deaths.
DRUHIN: Or they may simply leave us alone once they learn we are ...
unpalatable.
SHEPPARD (sarcastically): Cos they’re such an easy-going
live-and-let-live kind of race. (Seriously) Y’know, maybe there was half
a chance of that when you were talking about this being defensive, but now ...
DRUHIN: You fail to see the larger picture, Major. For the first time we have a
way to not just defend ourselves but to strike back.
SHEPPARD: Is this about revenge, or saving your people?
DRUHIN: You can’t hope to understand the generations of suffering ...
SHEPPARD (interrupting): I’ve been in one of their hives and I’ve
fought against their ships and, trust me, when the first Wraith dies because of
this drug, they’re not gonna simply move on. They’re gonna make
their problem go away.
TEYLA: Once your world has been destroyed, they will seek out any who have had contact with you. They
will spare no-one.
SHEPPARD: Listen, I know how passionate you are about this – this drug is
sort of your Holy Grail, but you’re gonna have to shelve it til we get a
better idea ...
DRUHIN (interrupting): No, no.
SHEPPARD: I’m serious – otherwise we can’t help you any more.
DRUHIN: You don’t understand, Major, it’s
too late. I have made my recommendation to the Council and they’ve
agreed. We have already begun inoculating our people.
PERNA’S LAB.
PERNA: You are leaving?
BECKETT: Unless you’re willing to go back to formula on the serum
there’s no point my staying, is there?
PERNA: Carson ...
BECKETT: Perna, you need to re-open the project. With more work, maybe you
could prevent the mutation – maintain it as a defensive drug only.
PERNA: Merell is dead. They found him this morning – the cause of death
is still to be determined.
BECKETT: There’s still time – they need to stop the inoculations.
PERNA: They won’t.
BECKETT: A man is dead.
PERNA: Which doesn’t necessarily mean more will follow. (
(
BECKETT: Perna – you’re one of the brightest people I’ve ever
met. For your own sake, I beg
you, have no more part in this, at least until we know
more.
PERNA: I can’t do that.
BECKETT: Why not?
PERNA: Because I was among the first to be inoculated.
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE. Carson and Perna are
sitting at the table with Chancellor Druhin. John is standing nearby.
DRUHIN: I appreciate your sense of urgency, Doctor, but at this point it would
be unwise to rush to any conclusions.
SHEPPARD: Now you wanna
exercise caution? Are you serious?!
DRUHIN: Major, you yourself have told us the Wraith could be on their way here
right now. We have no choice
but to move forward.
SHEPPARD: You’re speaking on behalf of a lot of people, Chancellor.
DRUHIN: You think I would force this choice upon my own people? No, sir, our
people are in complete agreement.
SHEPPARD: Your people may be dead
before the Wraith even get
here for all you know.
BECKETT: Chancellor, please, it’s not too late. Suspend the inoculations
at least until we know what killed Merell.
PERNA: He was terminal. We don’t know for certain the serum played any
part in his death.
BECKETT: He suffered a sudden and complete respiratory breakdown.
PERNA: Which could well have been due to his condition.
His sickness had spread through most of his body.
BECKETT: Are you willing to risk thousands of people’s lives based on
that assumption, because I’m not!
(Teyla’s voice comes over John’s radio.)
TEYLA (over radio): Major Sheppard?
SHEPPARD (into radio): Go ahead, Teyla.
(We see Teyla – she’s in a ward at the centre. There is frantic
activity going on around her.)
TEYLA (into radio): We’re in the medical centre. We need help.
(In the Chancellor’s office, everyone gets up and heads out.)
MEDICAL CENTRE.
Druhin, John, Carson and Perna walk in behind a patient being wheeled in on a
gurney.
BECKETT: My God!
(As they walk into the ward, we see that there are many patients, together with
nurses and doctors rushing around.)
TEYLA: Major Sheppard. The doctors say they began arriving last night, and
their numbers have been increasing by the hour.
BECKETT: Major.
SHEPPARD: I’m on it – go. (
FORD: Roger that. (He leaves to carry out John’s orders.)
(John looks around the ward. Everywhere patients are sitting on beds or lying
down, coughing painfully. Chancellor Druhin looks around, then
walks away. Perna is examining one patient.
BECKETT: Perna. Perna – I need help here! (She rushes over to him.)
Oxygen! (Perna grabs a mask as the man on the gurney gasps for breath.
CHANCELLOR’S OFFICE. John barges through the
office doors to confront Druhin. A security guard rushes forward but Druhin
holds his arm out to stop him.
DRUHIN (to the guard): Leave us. (The guard bows and leaves.)
SHEPPARD: D’you have any idea what’s going
on out there?
DRUHIN: I do, Major.
SHEPPARD: Half the people you gave that drug to are dying.
DRUHIN: Half of them, Major, half. The statistics are clear and the
numbers are holding at that level, it’s just been confirmed, which means
the other fifty percent of those we inoculated will live, and destroy any
Wraith who try to feed on them.
SHEPPARD: I don’t believe this!
DRUHIN: Now the Wraith will know the full
conviction of the Hoffan people.
SHEPPARD: Conviction?!
DRUHIN: Do you realise that if we could spread this drug to every human in the
galaxy, future generations would never know the horror of a culling.
SHEPPARD: You’re deliberately sacrificing millions of lives.
DRUHIN: An end to the Wraith!
You can’t comprehend the bargain in that?
SHEPPARD: You can’t make a bargain like that for your entire people!
DRUHIN: Do you think I’m alone in this conviction?
SHEPPARD: I think you’re delusional!
DRUHIN: You shall see. We are putting it to a vote as we speak. I will stand by
the decision of the majority. Does that satisfy you?
SHEPPARD: Do they have any idea what they’re voting on?
DRUHIN: Yes. I promise you.
SHEPPARD: And you’ll back off if it doesn’t go your way?
DRUHIN: You have my word.
MEDICAL CENTRE.
BECKETT: Use whatever rooms you need for overflow. We need to keep this area
clear for triage. (The marine leaves.
TEYLA: Doctor.
BECKETT (walking towards a patient but still talking to Teyla): Have
non-critical patients use it in turns – just long enough to stabilise
their breathing. (Teyla follows him. He turns back to her when he realises that
she isn’t following his instructions.) Teyla, what are you doing here? You’re
not listening to me. Now where’s Perna? I need her here.
TEYLA (putting her hand on his arm and looking at him meaningfully):
(Finally noticing her expression,
(
PERNA (weakly): I would ... like to have seen Atlantis.
BECKETT: Perna. I’m so sorry.
PERNA: Don’t be. I am at peace with what I have done, as you should be.
(She struggles to breathe.)
BECKETT: I wish I’d had no part in this.
PERNA: You gave us hope. For ... years, our people have been working ...
towards this ... very moment. (She gasps for breath.) We didn’t betray
the forefathers. We have fulfilled their destiny, their promise.
(
BECKETT: Aye. (He kisses her head.)
PERNA (struggling for breath): Stay. Stay. I want you to stay with me.
BECKETT (whispering tearfully): I’m here. It’s OK.
(She looks into his eyes for a moment, then closes her
eyes and dies. Weeping,
CORRIDOR OUTSIDE THE MEDICAL
CENTRE. A body, covered with a blanket, is carried out on a
stretcher as Rodney and Aidan stand aside.
FORD: You OK?
BECKETT: Aye.
(Druhin approaches.)
DRUHIN: I am told you are leaving.
SHEPPARD: Yes, we are.
McKAY (sarcastically): Not that it hasn’t been ... lovely.
DRUHIN: I wanted you to see the results of the vote before you left. (He hands
a piece of paper to John. John looks at it, then hands
it to
BECKETT: Ninety-six percent in favour.
TEYLA: Does the vote include all
your people?
DRUHIN: Every one. So you see, Major, we speak with one voice, and we are
resolute.
SHEPPARD: Yeah. I can see that.
(
DRUHIN: When next we meet, I would like to discuss the best way to disseminate
the drug on as many worlds as possible.
(
SHEPPARD: We won’t be doing that any time soon.
DRUHIN: Perhaps our victory will change your mind.
SHEPPARD: If and when we ever return, I don’t imagine you’ll be
here. I don’t imagine anybody else will be, either. (
(The Atlantis team turn and walk away.)
BECKETT (to John): “Victory at all costs.” That
sound familiar, Major?
SHEPPARD: Churchill.
BECKETT: Aye. Never thought I’d disagree.