| Synopsis | Review | Quotes |

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Synopsis: SG-1 is sitting in the debriefing room, discussing P3R 272, the latest world to explore. Daniel explains that they found some writing on the world that is the same as one of the languages used on Ernest's planet ("The Torment of Tantalus"). That means that the inhabitants of the planets might possibly have once had an alliance with others against the Goa'uld. They decide to go to it.

However, upon arriving on the planet, they find themselves in a single room with no windows or doors (i.e. no conceivable way of getting outside the room.) The only other thing in there is a circle on the floor. O'Neill feels the trip was a waste of time, but Carter counters that there must be some very advanced technology since the lights were on in the room even after apparently being abandoned for many, many years. O'Neill finally decides to order them home, and as he's stepping back toward the Stargate, he walks over the circle in the floor. On the back wall, a fancy device appears. Teal'c looks into it and reports seeing blackness filled with colored lights. O'Neill next looks into it, and, as he's backing away, the device grabs him in a headlock. When it finally lets him go, he falls unconscious to the floor. Carter orders Daniel to dial the gate and return home.

Back on Earth, O'Neill is awake once again, having been catatonic for over an hour. Fraiser tells him that there's nothing physically wrong with him. During the debriefing, O'Neill sits silently, drawing something on a pad of paper. The others discuss the events on P3R 272, stopping every now and then to ask O'Neill if he's okay because he's acting a tad bit...odd...ever since they came back. He becomes agitated and assures the others that there's nothing cruvus with him. Problem is, nobody knows what cruvus is and O'Neill doesn't even remember saying it. Hammond tells him to get some rest, but to stay on base.

Next we see, O'Neill is teaching Teal'c about boxing. Teal'c doesn't get it, and O'Neill explains he has to "dance" to avoid being hit. After exchanging a few practice blows, O'Neill says that Teal'c has to bend his cozars. Not surprisingly, Teal'c doesn't understand what a cozar is but he infers that O'Neill is talking about his legs. O'Neill is shocked by this and rushes off to find Daniel. While talking to Daniel, O'Neill lets another foreign word slip, falatis. Daniel says that the words sound like Medieval Latin and finds his Latin dictionary to try to translate what O'Neill is saying. As Daniel is looking up the word falatis, O'Neill begins reading the language on the planet that Daniel had previously been trying to translate. Daniel asks him if he's reading the inscription, O'Neill replies that he doesn't know.

Later, Daniel tells Carter what's going on with O'Neill. He also shows her a chalkboard filled with strange equations that O'Neill scribbled on the board in "30 seconds flat." They talk to Fraiser, and she says that a normal human uses only 5-10% of his or her brain capacity at any given time. O'Neill is now using 90% of his brain. Shortly thereafter, Carter discovers O'Neill taking a greenish tube from something and asks him what he's doing. He says he needs the tube, but doesn't know why.

Scene cuts to the rest of SG-1, who are talking about O'Neill's predicament. Daniel reveals that he believes the alien device they found on P3R 272 downloaded a new language into O'Neill's brain. They are interrupted by Teal'c, who reports that O'Neill is missing. They locate him in the control room, frantically entering data into the computer. Hammond orders him to stop; O'Neill replies that he can't. Finally, Teal'c yanks him away from the computer. Carter works at the computer to try to figure out what O'Neill was doing, and suddenly the map of all the known Stargates throughout the galaxy shows up on the screen. New Stargates appear on the map. As Carter compares them to the listings of previously known Stargates on the Abydos Cartouche, it's determined that not a single one of them matches the ones on their original list. O'Neill has entered new Stargate locations into the computer.

Daniel now suggests that the alien device not only downloaded a language into O'Neill's brain, but rather a database of knowledge of the Ancients. He explains that the Ancients were the race believed to teach the Romans how to build roads...or, perhaps more than that, the builders of the Stargate system. If Daniel's theory is true, then O'Neill has knowledge of the Ancients, the Stargate builders, downloaded into his brain. The others, however, are skeptical about this theory.

Next scene, Daniel is still trying to figure out how to help O'Neill, since now O'Neill's cannot speak in English but only in the alien language. He can still understand English, but if he doesn't receive help he may even lose that ability or, worse yet, his brain might ultimately shut down. Carter asks O'Neill to explain the equations he wrote on the chalkboard and he writes "10=8." Carter deduces this to mean that it's in Base 8 math.

Hammond, meanwhile, decides to send SG-1 to one of the planets O'Neill entered into the computer that looked like it might have help for O'Neill. Daniel insists that if O'Neill has to stay on Earth, that he stay with him and translate what he says. He will not leave O'Neill alone at the base with no one else who understands him. Instead, Major Kassemon would go with Carter and Teal'c to explore the planet.

However, we soon learn that SG-1 is in serious trouble on the planet. The DHD is stuck and a second sun is rising, meaning the planet is going to get very hot very quickly. Teal'c is trying to manually dial into the gate. Daniel and Hammond later discuss this problem and ask for Siler's and another man's input on what can be done to help them. Unfortunately, nobody has any great ideas. They dial up the planet again and Carter reports that the manual dial out failed, they're stuck. Daniel takes the tape of her transmission and shows it to O'Neill, who has just completed creating...whatever it is he's been trying to create this whole time. O'Neill starts drawing something on a piece of paper and tells Fraiser and Daniel to "shut up and go away."

O'Neill finally finishes his drawing and instructions on how to fix the DHD and takes them to the Stargate. They send it to SG-1 and, shortly thereafter, Carter, Teal'c, and the others trapped on the planet return, having successfully fixed the DHD. Teal'c sadly reports that they were unable to find anything to help O'Neill. Daniel shows Carter the device that O'Neill made, but no one can figure out what it does. While they're looking at it, the warning alarm sounds throughout the base. O'Neill rushes out of the room and Carter hurries to the Control room, where the Stargate is dialing out on its own. Daniel and Teal'c follow O'Neill to the power room where he hooks up his device to the power source. The gate dials seven coordinates, but the seventh isn't the point of origin. Instead it continues...to the eighth chevron! The point of origin locks, and the wormhole is established.

O'Neill by this time has arrived in the control room and heads toward the Stargate. Hammond asks him why he should let him go; Daniel replies that O'Neill can't understand them any more. Finally, Hammond allows him go through the Stargate, but with the warning that he may not be able to return to Earth because they can't afford can't give him the iris code device when they don't know where he's going. O'Neill leaves anyway. The SGC tracks him as long as they can, but he goes off the map--he's left their galaxy. Carter theorizes that the extra chevron entered worked like an area code, allowing them to dial outside of the galaxy. The reason it was able to do so was because the device O'Neill placed on the power source gave it an extra boost. However, that device is now dead. They can't follow him.

O'Neill, however, has arrived on the other world...where he's confronted by two Asgard, a.k.a. the Roswell Grays ("Thor's Chariot"). The Asgard understand his problem and remove the knowledge of the Ancients from his brain. He thanks them and they tell him that the information in the Ancients' database was not meant for him--human brains are not advanced enough to handle it. They talk, and in the process the Asgards acknowledge that humans are advancing more than they had anticipated. O'Neill has now taken the first steps in making human beings the Fifth Race allied against the Goa'uld. O'Neill returns to Earth, minus the knowledge of the Ancients and assures the others that all the "Meaning of Life Stuff" that Daniel keeps worrying about will turn out just fine.

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Review: 10/10
Plot:

Realism:

Action:

Angst Level:

Special Effects:

Set and Costumes:

O'Neill factor:

Daniel factor:

Carter factor:

Teal'c factor:

Overall Team factor:

My Thoughts:

Related Episodes: Lots of references to "The Torment of Tantalus," a brief reference to "Thor's Hammer," brief reference to the second Stargate found in "Solitudes" (which is then later dealt with in "Touchstone"), brief reference to "The Nox," and a very important reference to what we learned about the Asgard in "Thor's Chariot."

Daniel Jackson's History/Linguistic/Mythology Lesson:

Sam Carter's Physics Lesson:

Important Stargate Information:

Alien Species/Background:

Important everyday life stuff we learn from Stargate:

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Quotes:
Daniel: "When we found Ernest Littlefield on PB2 908 we also discovered a repository of information."
O'Neill: "Meaning of Life sort of stuff."
Daniel: "Yes. Based on the four distinct alien languages inscribed on the wall we concluded it was some sort of meeting place where these four races would...."
Hammond: "We already read the mission reports, Dr. Jackson."
Daniel: "Okay. Right. Well, two days ago the probe sent back this image from P3R 272. Now, if you look closely, you'll see that the symbols match on of the inscriptions from the meeting place." He watches the rest of the team for a long moment, as if expecting them to jump up and say "Woo hoo! I got it! I understand everything now!" Needless to say, no one does. "So you realize what this means?"
Hammond: "You know what the circle of symbols says?"
Daniel: "No, I...don't even know what it sounds like. But, based on the Norse rune at the bottom of this inscription, I am positive that one of the four races in the alliance is Thor's race, the Asgard. Obviously that would make the aliens that belong to this language...their allies." All the while, Daniel is having fun practicing his baton technique on a pen with his fingers.
Teal'c: "I do believe this world is worth exploring, Daniel Jackson."

O'Neill: "Well, this was an intergalactic waste of time."

Daniel, shouting to an empty room: "Helloo! Helloo! I'm Daniel Jackson. We're peaceful explorers from the planet Earth." O'Neill stares questioningly at him. "It's worth a try."
O'Neill: "Daniel, how long do you figure we ought to hang out here and scratch our cosmic heads?"
Daniel: "Well, we can't just give up. I mean...."
O'Neill: "Why not? Let's go home."

O'Neill, after he has insisted that there's nothing on the planet and a device has just appeared on the wall: "Okay, that's something."

Hammond: "So what caused this device to appear?"
Daniel: "We're not sure."
Teal'c: "Colonel O'Neill passed through a circle on the floor just before the device appeared. I was the first to look into it."
Hammond: "And what did you see?"
O'Neill, his voice mechanical: "Lights. He saw lights." There's a pause while everyone stares at him. "That's what he said he saw. Lights. We done?"
Hammond: "Not exactly. Why didn't the device react to Teal'c the same ways it did to you?"
O'Neill: "I don't know."
Teal'c: "Perhaps because I am a Jaffa."
Carter: "We've seen alien technologies that have been sensitive to the presence of a Goa'uld before. Like Thor's Hammer."
O'Neill, agitated: "Teal'c looked. I looked. It grabbed my head, I passed out, I cam to, we're here, we're home, can we go?"
Carter: "Sir? Are you okay?"
O'Neill: "I'm fine. Just fine. A little tired maybe."
Hammond: "Colonel? Are you sure you're okay?"
O'Neill: "I am absolutely fine. There is nothing cruvus with me." Everyone stares at him some more. "What?"
Daniel: "You just said there's nothing cruvus with you."
O'Neill: "I did not."
Daniel: "Yes, you did."
O'Neill: "No I didn't."
Daniel: "Yes, you did."
O'Neill: "Didn't."
Daniel: "Did."
O'Neill: "Didn't."
Daniel: "Did."
O'Neill, his voice very strange: "Cruvus? What is that?"
Daniel: "I don't know. Um, well, I'm guessing the context of what you were saying you were trying to say that there was nothing wrong with you."
Hammond: "Why don't you take some time to relax, Colonel. You're dismissed. But do me a favor and stay on the base."

Teal'c, looking at the boxing gloves: "What is the reason for these padded gloves, O'Neill?"
O'Neill: "So we don't hurt each other. I'll be honest with you, Teal'c, it's so you don't hurt me."
Teal'c: "If our purpose is to not cause each other harm, why then are we doing battle?"
O'Neill: "What can I tell ya, it's boxing. It's fun. Come on." He jumps around a bit. "Come on, Teal'c, you gotta move around a bit. You gotta dance."
Teal'c: "I do not understand, O'Neill. Are we preparing to dance or to do battle?"
O'Neill: "Teal'c, if you don't move around, you're a sitting duck. You're a target." He hits him in the stomach. "Ah, like that." Teal'c looks down where O'Neill hit him. O'Neill is concerned. "I'm sorry. Are you alright?"
Teal'c: "I am fine."
O'Neill: "Well, that's why you gotta move around." Teal'c smacks him on the head and he falls to the floor.
Teal'c: "How was that, O'Neill?"
O'Neill, standing and feeling his face: "It was good. It was good. But think about keeping your hands up. Is my nose bleeding?"
Teal'c: "You are fine."
O'Neill: "Keep your hands up. Gotta keep your feet moving. And...bend your cozars. Keep your cozars bent there."
Teal'c: "I am unfamiliar with that word."
O'Neill: "What? Cozars? Cozars." He points to his legs. "Gotta bend your cozars."
Teal'c: "I believe you are referring to your legs."

O'Neill, barging into Daniel's office: "Alright, what the hell is going on with me?"
Daniel: "What do you mean?"
O'Neill: "Well, apparently I've lost the falatis to speak properly! That wasn't a joke. I didn't do that on purpose."
Teal'c: "Several times now Colonel O'Neill has used strange words in place of common terms."
Daniel: "Okay. What was that word you just used?"
Teal'c: "I believe it was falatis."
Daniel: "Okay, sounds kinda close to medieval Latin. Some...possibly a derivation, maybe even a root." He looks through a really big dictionary. "Faculatis is Latin for ability. You said you lost the falatis to speak properly."
O'Neill, looking at the image of the circle of symbols on the computer screen: "Nu ani aquinatus."
Daniel: "What?"
O'Neill: "Nu ani aquinatus, ic quabi de un...."
Daniel: "Jack, are you reading this?"
O'Neill: "I don't know, you tell me!"
Daniel: "Well, I don't know. I haven't even been able to associate sounds to the symbols." O'Neill is rubbing his eyes with his hand. "Do you know what this means?"
O'Neill: "No! I mean, I'm just looking at it and the words pop right into my fron! Does anybody think this is odd?!"

Carter: "Colonel! What are you doing?"
O'Neill, playing with a little greenish yellowish tube: "I need this."
Carter: "What for?"
O'Neill: "I have no idea."

Hammond: "How is he?"
Carter: "He's with Teal'c."
Hammond: "Do you think his current condition poses any threat?"
Fraiser: "Sir, I don't even know what's wrong with him. All I can tell you is that his brain function has increased tenfold."
Daniel: "Jack was able to read the alien language, both the inscription from the wall of the meeting place on Ernest's planet and the circle of symbols from 272 where this happened to him."
Hammond: "What does it mean?"
Daniel: "Oh, well, my translation is a little bit vague. Um, I think the circle means 'the place of our legacy'...or it could be 'a piece of our leg' but the first seems to make more sense." He flashes a cute little half smile there.
Carter: "The point is Colonel O'Neill is unwillingly speaking an alien language."
Daniel: "We know the Asgard opposed the Goa'uld so it's possible all the members of this four-race alliance felt the same."
Carter: "Which might explain why the viewer locked out Teal'c."
Hammond: "What are you saying?"
Daniel: "What if this device somehow...downloaded an alien language into Jack's brain?"

Hammond, watching O'Neill type furiously into the computer: "Colonel?"
O'Neill: "Yes, Sir?"
Hammond: "What are you doing?"
O'Neill: "I don't know, Sir. You know me and computers."
Hammond: "Colonel, I'm ordering you to stop."
O'Neill: "I'd love to, Sir, but I can't."

Daniel: "Well, if Jack's not going then I have to stay."
Hammond: "Why is that, Doctor?"
Daniel: "Well, if Sam and Teal'c make contact with the Ancients, then they can report back and...and...then Jack and I will go. But...until then, I mean, translating this language may be the most important thing we've done since we opened the Stargate. You see, I'm pretty sure that Jack is speaking the language of the original Gate builders. At the very least I'm positive that it is one of the races who created the repository of knowledge on Ernest's planet. The, uh, meaning of life stuff."
Carter: "And Sir, I believe that the equation Colonel O'Neill wrote on the blackboard is a revolutionary formula for calculating the distance between planetary bodies."
Daniel: "And bottom line, Sir, what about Jack? I mean, right now I'm possibly his only hope for communicating on any serious level. I can't leave him like this. And I won't."

Hammond, after the scientists feed a lot of nonsense scientific terms to Hammond and Daniel: "Do you understand what he said?"
Daniel: "Sounds like they have no idea."

O'Neill, to Fraiser and Daniel in writing as he's drawing some stuff on a sheet of paper: "Shut up and go away."

Daniel, handing the scientists the device O'Neill made: "Here, you guys can, uh, work on this for awhile."
Siler: "What is it?"
Daniel: "No idea. Well, actually, not no idea, just not much of one yet. But...work on it."

Hammond: "Glad to have you back."
Carter: "I thought our goose was quite literally cooked this time, Sir. But these plans were perfect. Who came up with them?" Hammond smiles and motions to O'Neill. "Colonel?" He shrugs.
Teal'c, in a little moment of angst: "I am sorry, O'Neill. We could not find a way to help you."

Daniel, as O'Neill takes his device and heads toward the door: "I'm guessing we should follow him."

Teal'c, as O'Neill is hooking up the device to the main power source: "Should we not attempt to stop him?"
Daniel, hesitantly but also intrigued: "Wait a minute. Jack? What are you doing?"
O'Neill: "Ey yu jay."
Daniel: "I think that means 'good.' Jack, I really don't know if this is a good thing."
O'Neill: "Ey yu jay. Ey yu jay."
Daniel: "I don't think he understand us any more."

Hammond, as O'Neill is trying to get to the Stargate but is blocked by a soldier: "I'm just supposed to let you go?"
Daniel: "He's already gone, General. I don't think we have much of a choice."

Teal'c: "I will accompany you, O'Neill."
Daniel: "I really think he needs to do this alone, Teal'c."

O'Neill, after the Asgard has zapped him with his hand thingy: "Hello. Um, thank you."
Asgard #1: "You are welcome."
O'Neill: "You understand me?"
Asgard #2: "We speak many languages."
O'Neill: "You're the Asgard. Thor's race. Right?"
Asgard #1: "You have heard of us."
O'Neill: "Nothing but good things."
Asgard #2: "You looked into the archive that stores all the Ancients' knowledge."
O'Neill: "Apparently."
Asgard #2: "It was not meant for you."
O'Neill: "What? This was all an accident?"
Asgard #1: "Human physiology has not advanced to the point where your brain could handle that technology."
O'Neill: "Oh. Uh, so where am I?"
Asgard #1: "This is the Asgard planet, Othalla, in Galaxy Ida."
O'Neill: "Why did I come here?"
Asgard #2: "The Ancients moved on from our region of space long ago. But your subconscious mind used their knowledge to find us here where you could get help."
Asgard #1: "Very impressive."
O'Neill, shrugging off the compliment: "Well, you know..."
Asgard #1: "We did not think your brains had advanced even that far."
O'Neill: "How is it...you know so much about our brains?"
Asgard #1: "We have studied your race closely."
O'Neill: "Ah." He shrugs. "What did you learn?"
Asgard #2: "That your species has great potential."
O'Neill: "Great potential. That's good."
Asgard #1: "Understand this. There was once an alliance of four great races in the galaxy. The Asgard, the Nox..."
O'Neill: "Met them."
Asgard #1: "...the Furlings..."
O'Neill: "Don't know them..."
Asgard #1: "...and the Ancients, the builders of the Stargates."
O'Neill: "That's a pretty heady group."
Asgard #1: "The alliance was built over many millennia. Your race has much to prove before we may interact on that level."
O'Neill: "Ah," he stands and is a good two feet taller than any of the Asgard, "Look, you all seem to be quite...wonderful...people..." he kneels, "and, I don't want to sound ungrateful because I really, really appreciate you getting all that stuff out of my head, but you folks should understand that we're out there now. And we might not be ready for a lot of this stuff, but we're doing the best that we can. We are a very curious race." The Asgards exchange glances.
Asgard #2, extending its hand, which O'Neill takes: "You have already taken the first steps to becoming the fifth race."

O'Neill: "I'm back."
Daniel: "What happened?"
Teal'c, almost smiling: "Do you still possess the knowledge of the Ancients?"
O'Neill: "Nope. Don't remember a thing. But you know that meaning of life stuff?" Daniel nods. "I think we're going to be all right."

A Matter of Time

Serpent's Song