First Aired On: August 11, 2000
Written By: Robert C. Cooper
Directed By: Martin Wood
Guest Stars: Marina Sirtis (Markov), Tom McBeath (Mayborne), Gary Jones (Technician), Darryl Scheelar (Co-Pilot)
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Related Episodes:
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:
Carter: It looks like there was an energy spike in our power log about eight minutes before we first tried dialing out.
Daniel: Uh, correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that something we've seen before when another gate is being used on Earth?Carter: There was a minor seismic event that matches the time in our power log exactly.
O'Neill (looking at the computer map): Is that Siberia?
Carter: Yes, sir, and there's only one explanation I can think of.
Daniel: The Russians have a Stargate?Hammond: The Russians recovered the Stargate from the bottom of the ocean.
O'Neill: I thought we swept that entire area.
Hammond: We're talking about hundreds of square miles, Colonel. The Russian navy was on alert because they picked up Thor's ship on satellite. They must have got lucky and beat us to it.
Carter: And they're admitting it?
Hammond: We didn't give them much choice, Major. The Pentagon said we had the evidence that could prove it.
Daniel: Obviously they figured out how it worked.
Carter: It took us years.
Hammond: Apparently, the Russians know quite a bit about the SGC.O'Neill: Dr. Markov, I presume?
Markov: Sorry I'm late.
Carter: Doctor, it's an honor. I've read your work.
Markov: And I yours, Major Carter. I had hoped we would meet under different circumstances.
O'Neill: Jack O'Neill.
Markov: Yes, and Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c.
Carter: How do you know about the SGC?
Markov: I have read extensive files on all of you.
O'Neill: The question was, how?
Markov: I learned to read English at the age of six, it is not difficult.
O'Neill: Russian humor.
Markov: I will tell you what I can on the way.Markov: I was first contacted shortly after Russian satellites picked up what we believed was an alien spaceship entering the atmosphere.
O'Neill: Alien spaceship, huh?
Markov: About two months ago. It disintegrated during entry and crashed in the Pacific. The Stargate was recovered after an extensive sweep of the ocean floor. During that search, one of our Fox-trot submarines went missing. You may be familiar with the incident.
O'Neill: Not a clue.Daniel: How did you activate it?
Markov: We have a dialing device.
Daniel: A DHD. You found the one from Giza.
Markov: It was confiscated from the Germans after the second World War.
Carter: Now I understand how you could send your people through and get them to return to your gate instead of ours.
O'Neill: That makes one of us.
Markov: Our gate superseded yours as long as the dialing device was connected. We only kept it connected when we were using it to prevent any crossover. It required precise timing, but it worked.
O'Neill: Until now.Airman: Sir, we have a visual of the target runway. It appears to be iced over, and there's no response from the control tower.
Markov: We're going to have to jump.
Daniel: Out of the plane?
Markov: I'm going with or without you, Colonel.
O'Neill: I suppose you expect my male bravado to kick in right about now.
Markov: I've read your file.
O'Neill: No mention of bravado, eh?
Markov: There are 47 people down there who may need our help.
O'Neill: Look, you don't have to tell me what's at stake here. We've got seven teams off-world who can't get home until we fix what you screwed up.Teal'c: I do not understand, O'Neill.
O'Neill: It's called a parachute.
Carter: It slows your descent after you jump out of the plane.
Teal'c: This device seems to be poorly designed to provide such a function.
O'Neill: It opens after you jump. Don't worry about it, I've done it hundreds of times.
Markov: I assume you brought haz-mat?
O'Neill: Yeah. I thought somebody should be prepared.
Markov: Is he always like this?
Carter: Actually, this is quite charming.O'Neill: It's easy. You just jump, and pull this (he gestures at the ripcord).
Teal'c: This does not seem wise, O'Neill!
O'Neill: I said it was easy, not wise.
Markov: If we get separated, we'll rendezvous at the base. (She jumps, followed by Carter)
Teal'c: This does not seem wise! (O'Neill pushes him out of the airplane)Markov (removing her gas mask): It's safe.
Teal'c: The air is indeed clean.
Carter (noticing that Markov is trying to control her tears): You ok?
Markov: I knew these men and women, Major. Some of them quite well.
O'Neill: So what happened here?
Markov: Colonel Sakolov enacted the extreme measures protocol.
Daniel: What's that?
Markov: The Stargate room is sealed and substance 35 is released throughout the base.
Carter: Nerve gas.
O'Neill: NERVE GAS?
Markov: It's ok, Colonel. It's a non persistent gas, it evaporates after three hours. According to the computer, the protocol was enacted yesterday.
Teal'c: For what reason?
Markov: The computer doesn't say.Markov: It's an outgoing wormhole, but that doesn't make sense. The EM protocol cuts off the dialing device. If the protocol was enacted yesterday, where has the outgoing wormhole been drawing its power from since then?
Carter: We've seen one draw power from the source at the destination.
Markov: Of course, the black hole incident.Markov: It's gone!
O'Neill: If I ask what, and you say it's classified, I'm gonna shoot you.
Markov: The seventh address we successfully dialed led to a Stargate entirely submerged underwater. We sent a reconnaissance drone and found a dialing device, so it decided that the manned mini-submarine would go next. A sample of the water was retrieved. It seemed to have unbelievable properties.
Carter: Like what?
Markov: It was spontaneously emitting energy in the form of heat.Carter: Can you shut off the drone's transmitter from here?
Markov: Why?
Carter: Well, even though the wormhole only allows matter to travel one way, we are able to send radio signals back and forth.
Markov: You think the drone's radio transmission is what's keeping the gate open?
Carter: The gate won't close if the drone is aiming a strong enough signal directly into the event horizon.
Markov: And the energy being emitted by the water has allowed the gate to stay open this long.
Carter: Exactly. It's a combination of factors, but all we have to do is shut off the drone.
Markov: It's not responding to my command. I can't shut it down.
Carter: How long before its batteries die?
Markov: The drone is nuclear powered.
O'Neill: A nuclear powered drone?
Markov: We built several of them. We thought we might want to leave them on other planets for long term observation.
Carter: How long term?
Markov: Ten years.O'Neill (gesturing at the mini-sub): How many people does that thing hold?
Markov: Three.
O'Neill: Oh, dang. I've never been in a submarine before.Daniel (looking around at the confines of the mini-sub): Spacious. Roomy. Very nice. So exactly how much air do we have in this thing?
Markov: Over a day's worth. We won't need more than an hour. (activates radio) Colonel, can you hear us?
O'Neill: Yeah, I read you.
Markov: Pressurizing and proceeding through the gate.
O'Neill: Good luck.
Carter: Thank you.O'Neill (seeing Maybourne standing in the freezer, frozen stiff): Holy frozen bad guys.
Daniel: How's it going?
Markov: I think I can fix it.
Daniel: Wait, five minutes ago you said you definitely could fix it, and now you just think you can?
Markov: What do you want to hear? I don't understand why this happened.
Daniel (sarcastically): Well, given the obvious solid craftsmanship that went into this thing, I don't see how this could possibly have happened.
Markov: If you're implying that everything Russian-made is of poor quality, actually, the sub is Swiss.
Daniel: So they occasionally catch fire, but they keep perfect time? Sorry. I've been hanging around Jack O'Neill too much.
Markov: There was nothing impeding us! It shouldn't have happened.
Carter: Well, here's something else that shouldn't be happening. The outside pressure is increasing.
Markov: What? The gauge must be malfunctioning.
Daniel: But it's Swiss.
Carter: Our depth is constant, and pressure should be relative to depth.
Daniel: And if it keeps increasing?
Markov: The sub will implode.Teal'c (looking at Maybourne's body): Now we know how the Russians acquired their information.
O'Neill (knocking his fist against Maybourne's head): Solid. (Maybourne exhales) Whoa! (takes out his gun)
Teal'c: Do not humans usually die when they are frozen?
O'Neill: Usually. They usually don't breathe when they're dead, either.Daniel: What are you doing?
Markov: Pushing the engines will only burn them out again. Next time I may not be able to fix them.
Daniel: And if we stay here we'll run out of air.
Markov: If the pressure keeps increasing at the current rate, the sub will implode long before we run out of air.
Daniel: Or that.
Carter: I figure we have maybe an hour.
Markov: I agree. The front bubble will be most susceptible. It will be the first to go.
Daniel: Can we stop agreeing on how we're going to die, and start doing something about it?Maybourne (coming to his feet after vomiting a stream of vapor and water, a REALLY disgusting visual): Jack, the freezer!
O'Neill (keeping his gun trained on Maybourne): What?
Maybourne: Move if you want to live. Shoot me if you want to, we're dead if we don't move now!Daniel: You said it's like we're being held here.
Carter: Like something is squeezing the sub.
Markov: But, there's only water out there.
Daniel: What if it's not water?
Carter: Exactly what tests did you run on the sample when you brought it back?
Markov: As I said, we had begun preliminary analysis. It was being kept in a sealed container. It hadn't even been opened yet when I went away.
Carter: How did you know it was giving off energy.
Markov: The container maintained a temperature several degrees above room temperature.
Carter: And you never performed a chemical analysis?
Markov: I insisted the proper controls be set up. They were supposed to wait until I got back.
Carter: But they didn't.
Markov: Colonel Sakolov was under a lot of pressure to prove that the money being spent was going to be worth it.
Daniel: So we don't know that's actually water out there.Maybourne: It's alive.
O'Neill: What?
Maybourne: The water. When they exposed it to the air to start chemical analysis, it just evaporated. Turned into vapor.
O'Neill: You were there?
Maybourne: We inhaled it. Didn't give us a choice.
O'Neill: Who's us?
Maybourne: Scientists in the lab. I knew what was going on but I couldn't control myself. They wanted to go back through the Stargate.
O'Neill: Who's they?
Maybourne: Life forms. In the water. Countless numbers of microscopic organisms, intelligent life forms.
O'Neill: Are you trying to tell me this water thinks?Carter: Daniel? (Daniel walks towards the water, which strangely enough, is not rushing into the sub despite the fact that the front bubble imploded and broke away)
Markov: What are you doing? (turning to Carter) What's he doing?
Carter: Daniel!
Daniel: I think it just wants to understand.
Markov: What?
Daniel: Us.Teal'c: They had no wish to kill me, O'Neill. They only wanted to travel home.
O'Neill: That's good. You all right?
Teal'c: I will be. (The Stargate activates)
O'Neill: Ok. I think we should duck. (They hit the floor, and the gate activates just a foot or so above them. Daniel, Carter, and Markov are thrown out of the event horizon, bouncing rather spectacularly on the gate ramp) Ah! That had to hurt. Didn't you guys leave here in a submarine?
Carter (dazed and confused): We, uh...
Daniel: Last thing I remember, we were being pulled into...
Carter: Not really sure what happened, sir.
O'Neill: Here's a thought. We just exchanged hostages. It's just a thought.
Window of Opportunity The First Ones
