04x10 - This Mortal Coil

[bunniefuu]

Initiating secondary diagnostics... now.

- No variances.
- Are you sure?

- Yeah, positive.
- Well, check again.

- Rodney, there's nothing here.
- Okay, just get over here, and...

monitor power readings.

No variances.

You catching any discrepancies
on your end?

- Nothing.
- You sure?

- Rodney!
- Okay, just go back, go back...

All right, do we know
what the problem is?

- Yeah. The Gate's not working.
- I think we figured that much

- last week when you broke it?
- I did not break the Gate.

It just stopped working around the same
time you were screwing around with it.

I wasn't screwing around with it!
I was running a program

to boost its operating efficiency.

Yeah, well, good job.

It had nothing to do with
why the Gate malfunctioned!

We've been able to eliminate a number of
possible reasons, including my program,

I feel confident
we're making some progress,

and that things will be up
and running in... What was that?

An unidentified object
just struck the City.

- Why didn't the sensors pick it up?
- I don't know, it came in so fast.

We're getting
a low-level energy signature.

- What could it be?
- Let's find out.

- Any injuries?
- No, Sir.

Thank God it hit the reading library or
somebody really could have gotten hurt.

What is it?

It's obviously some kind
of mobile self-contained unit

a drone, possibly a probe.
It's definitely not wraith design.

Perhaps it's Lantean,

you know? A de-orbited satellite
or a device on a recall directive.

Maybe. It's still emanating
a trace energy field.

- Is it dangerous?
- No, it's just interesting.

Check that out.

It was damaged on re-entry. So what?

Re-entry wouldn't have caused that.

Looks like weapons fire.
Maybe it took a hit before it came down.

And yet it came out in one piece.

Tough little bastard!

Colonel.
Do we know what it is yet?

Looks like a probe of some kind.

- Any idea who sent it?
- McKay and Zelenka'll figure it out.

In the meantime,
who's working on the Gate?

The Gate can wait.
This is more important.

With all due respect, sir,
I think they're equally important.

Wouldn't it make more sense to keep
Zelenka working on this mystery object

and move McKay back
to his Gate diagnostics?

It's already been over a week now.

Not being able to use the Gate
is an inconvenience.

The possibility that someone may have
pinpointed our location is a thr*at.

The thr*at gets the priority.

Yes, Sir.

This is pointless.

Even though the object survived re-entry
physically intact,

its internal systems are sh*t.

These are just
incomprehensible readings.

By design.

There's no design here,
Rodney, just meaningless data.

But my instincts tell me that's because
they're running an advanced masking

program, to fool us.

- They're good, I'm better.
- Who's "they", Rodney?

Just...

do me a favour.
Re-launch your decryp sweep.

Humour me.

Fine.

We don't have to stand waiting
for the results. Could take hours.

- Why don't we go back to the Gate?
- Hang on.

It's working. I'm getting something.

Hey, don't touch anything!

- What happened? What did you do?
- Nothing!

- Told you not to touch anything!
- I didn't!

- The program must have crashed.
- You lost all the data!

- What did you see, Rodney?
- Nanite code.

It's the Replicators.

It's the Replicators. They've found us.

Are you sure?

The drone we recovered
contained nanites.

You cannot be certain of that. The
program went down before we had a chance

- to retrieve any significant data.
- I know what I saw.

It was nanite code a
split second before the system crashed.

- I saw nothing.
- You weren't looking.

Our laptops were retrieving
the same data stream.

If there had been anything,
I'd have seen it.

Obviously you didn't, otherwise we would
not be having this dis... Another one!

- Colonel Sheppard. Major Lorne here.
- Go ahead, Major.

There's been an expl*si*n in Dr. McKay's
lab. I suggest you get down here.

What the...

What happened?

Well,

either your sandwich exploded

or that mystery drone
had a built-in self-destruct protocol.

We must have inadvertently initiated it
when we ran our analysis.

Sorry, Doc.

At least you weren't around
when it went off.

Lucky us!

Something's not right.

That diagnostic program
should never have crashed.

It's perfectly capable of handling
any of the data coming from the probe.

then before we get a chance to get it
up and running again, what happens?

The probe gets destroyed.

- What are you talking about?
- I don't know. I just

it feels like someone or something
is working very hard to get in my way.

And yes, I know
what that sounds like. Just

do me a favour: keep an eye out, OK?

Think he's imagining it?

Maybe he needs a vacation.

I guess you disagree, huh?

I don't know. Just seems like people
are acting different lately.

- Different?
- I don't know how to explain it.

They just haven't been themselves.

Teyla's noticed it too.

Well,

maybe everyone's getting a little

stir crazy not being able
to get offworld. You know,

acting a little

- weird, getting a little paranoid.
- I'm not paranoid.

People have been acting weird lately.

You make a compelling argument!

I think you're gonna need stitches.

Here.

Sorry.

What happened?

Well, Ronon decided to knock
some sense into me.

Well, let me take a look.

You're fine.

No stitches?

No. Not even a Band-Aid.

There's nothing there.

Well, I'm bleeding.

Well, not from any head wound.
It was probably Ronon's blood.

No.

He hit me. I was bleeding.

Run a scan on me.

- A scan?
- If McKay's right

and there are nanites in that probe,
there's a good chance I got infected.

OK.

Hold still.

No nanites.

You're clean.

- Run a blood test.
- John,

- if you were infected with nanites...
- Forget the nanites.

Something like this happened to me
before. I got infected with a retrovirus

- and I was able to heal right away.
- I'm sure that's not the case now,

- since you haven't been exposed...
- Maybe it's a relapse. I don't know.

- I seriously doubt...
- Just run a blood test.

Okay.

I thought the problem was dealt with.
I destroyed the drone.

You made them suspicious in the process.

So what do you suggest we do?

They're still a long way
from knowing the truth.

For now, we just

need to be careful.

Colonel. I got your test results back.

I'm pleased to tell you
you're one hundred percent bug-free.

No sign of the retrovirus
in your system.

What's the matter?
I thought you'd be happy.

All that says is my blood's clean.
Doesn't explain the magical head wound.

Maybe it doesn't make sense because
you're refusing to consider the only

possible explanation for what happened.
You made a mistake.

Ronon wasn't bleeding.
I checked.

Well, maybe the blood
was already on the towel

and you mistakenly
transferred it to your forehead.

Ronon saw the cut.

He was the one
who said I needed stitches.

Unless he was wrong too.

All right. Well,
I'll run your blood work again and

if I still can't find anything,
we'll do a complete physical.

- Hey.
- Hey.

What are you all doing here?
What's going on?

I'll be right back. I just remembered I
forgot to unplug something, or plug...

- Wait, wait. What are you doing?
- This may hurt a little.

What?! No, no, no!
Wait, wait, wait!

- What is the matter with you?
- Here.

I'm gonna need more than that,
disinfectant and some stitches...

Shut up and hold on a second.

All right.

Let's take a look.

It's gone!
That's impossible! How could it...

That's the reaction we were hoping for.

If it's any consolation, I can assure
you we all underwent the same test.

Test? What test?
What the hell's going on here?

That's what we'd like to find out.

Rodney, you're not the only one
who's noticed the strange behaviour

of many of the people on this base.

They've been acting
unusually withdrawn, even secretive.

Yeah.

I wasn't sure what to make of it.

At first, I was ready to dismiss
Zelenka's screw-up as just gross

incompetence, but I thought
it didn't make sense, even for him.

No, no, that was no accident.

I mean, he crashed
that diagnostic system on purpose.

I'm assuming what happened
with that drone was no accident either.

What does this have to do
with my super-healing abilities?

Last night Ronon clubbed me in the head.

By accident...

- sort of.
- I was cut.

I went to the Infirmary to have
Keller check it out

by the time I got there
it was completely healed.

But the last time that happened,
it was the, it was the retrovirus.

That's what I thought,
so I had her run a blood test.

- And?
- She says she didn't find anything.

- What, you think she's lying?
- I don't know, but we gotta find out.

Well, I can access the Infirmary's
database from here. Just...

OK, I'm in.

Now...

And...

What?

There's no record of any blood test. If
she did, she didn't enter the results.

She did a full body scan too.

- Well, there's nothing here.
- That's impossible.

The scanner is wired directly
into the computer.

- Results are recorded automatically.
- It doesn't mean they can't be erased.

All right. We need to run our own tests.
Until we figure out what's going on,

we can't risk trusting anyone
outside this room.

We have to get to the infirmary
without anyone knowing.

I have an idea.

How's it goin', Rodney?

I've patched into the life signs
detector, but there's a problem.

What problem?

Just... I'm not sure.
Just hold on a minute.

- Looks like it's working fine to me.
- Right! Thank you for your input.

Is the infirmary clear?

Hold on.

Rodney!

This is bizarre. I can't get it
to give me a live feed. It's like

it's stuck in a loop.

Well, fix it!

All right, I got it.

What the hell?!

Oh, now you broke it.

I didn't break it!
It's working fine!

Is the infirmary clear or not?

Yeah, the infirmary,
the corridors, the surrounding towers.

According to this,
we're the only people on the base!

- How's that possible?
- Off-hand, I would say it's not,

but right now
I am reading four life signs.

Let's keep moving.

We have a problem.

All right. Let's make this quick.

I've got something.

It's another life sign.
It's the outer edge of the City.

Let's check it out. Come on.

Maybe we should...

Come on!

What the hell?

Nanites!

There's supposed to be a room here.

There is a room here.

Wait.

Easy, easy.

How did you get here?

- I don't know.
- I can answer that.

This is where we made her.

This is where we made you all.

This explains why
we can heal so rapidly.

We get injured
and the nanites effect repairs.

- We'd better tell the others.
- Yes.

That won't be necessary.

What the hell's going on?

I'm sorry, Colonel.

You're gonna have to come with us.

I don't think so.

That won't do you any good.

I'm warning you, Major. Stand down.

Go ahead. sh**t.

You see?

You're Replicators.

That's right.

Until you began making
changes to our base code,

we were forbidden from assuming
the form of any living human,

but now we can take any form we like.

You couldn't have replaced
everyone on the base. It's impossible!

Only because you believe
this is the real Atlantis,

and that you're the real Doctor McKay.

So you're saying that
we're also Replicators?

No.

You are flesh and blood

ordinary humans in every way

except that you were manufactured
from the inside out by nanites,

some of which remain in your system,
effecting repairs as necessary.

I'm not buying it.

All that you are

your thoughts, your memories

everything was taken
from the real John Sheppard

and his team when their minds
were probed over a year ago.

See, now I know you're lying,
because

a year ago Carson Beckett was
our Chief of Medicine, not Dr. Keller.

she hadn't even arrived yet.

This scenario was
updated with information

obtained from the last member
of your expedition

to be captured by the Replicators.

Elizabeth Weir.

You sure about this?

I need to see for myself.

Oh my God.

All right.
We're all infected by nanites.

Not infected with, constructed by.

- I don't believe it.
- I know it's tough to swallow.

I'm having a hard time wrapping
my head around it myself, but

- it would explain a couple of things.
- Such as?

Such as why the Gate's not working,
for one.

If none of this is real, if this is all
just a lab rat experiment,

then it stands to reason
the Gate's not real either.

If this is not the real Atlantis,

you of all people would have noticed.
The stars alone...

The whole time the Gate's been down,
it has been solid overcast.

That's over a week now.
Think about it:

when was the last time
any of you saw stars?

That's what you named me.

There's no point in
calling you anything else.

You're exactly like her in every way.

Except that I'm not her.

No.

The real Elizabeth Weir
was k*lled several months ago.

Part of her brain
had been replaced by nanites.

It was done to save her life but

it made her dangerous.

Whenever she linked
with other Replicators,

the human part of her exerted
an unhealthy influence

at least, that's the way Oberoth saw it.

But you don't agree?

Why do you think we did all this?

Your humanity is what
we're interested in.

Because the Ancients created us
with one fatal flaw.

You can't ascend.

That's what you're after, isn't it?

All right, I know this is a lot
for everyone to deal with,

but we're just gonna have to...

suck it up and

- re-focus.
- Re-focus on what?

- Getting the hell out of here.
- So we can go where?

Back to Atlantis to resume our lives?
Yeah, I forgot, they're not ours.

- Says them.
- There's no point in denying the facts.

They were telling the truth.
We're not who we thought we were.

Well, I may not be the original, but

you're gonna have a hard time convincing
me that I'm not pretty damned close.

Our origins do not make us
any less human,

not physically
and certainly not mentally.

Not while we can think for ourselves.

And in my heart there is no doubt,
we must return to Atlantis.

OK.

We'll go back,
take things from there.

Great! We're all in agreement,
we're gettin' out of here.

Now, all we have to do
is figure out how!

You're part of Niam's group.

Most were reprogrammed, but

some of us managed to stay hidden
within the collective.

You think by studying us,
you'll discover the secret ingredient?

You're all fully human.

You have the same minds as your
original selves, the same thoughts,

the same emotions.

More importantly, you have
something that's always eluded us,

something that kept your kind
apart from the very beginning and

made you special
in the eyes of our creators.

You would call it a soul.

It is that "secret ingredient"
you referred to,

the key to ascension.

That is not something you can learn
to acquire simply by studying us.

Why not?

The human brain is just
an electro-chemical machine,

biologically created, but

a machine nonetheless.

Everything is quantifiable.

Now you sound like Oberoth.

The others have given up on ascension.

They're destroying
human populations throughout

the galaxy as a tactic
in their w*r with the Wraith.

They're consumed
with hatred and revenge.

We believe there is another path.

Why are you telling me all this?

You're open-minded,

and it's important that we gauge your
reactions.

Why?

So we can avoid
the same mistakes next time.

They're gonna wipe our memories
and then start again on another planet.

That probe was sent by Oberoth
and the other Replicators.

Our friends tried to destroy it,

- but they only managed to disable it.
- If it hadn't crashed into the City,

- who knows how long it'd have gone on?
- Yeah, but the point is,

this position's been compromised.

Once the other Replicators find
this city, they'll destroy it.

Oh, yeah, and us too.

Is that any worse
than having our memories erased

and starting this whole process again?

We've gotta find a way out of here.

I'm sorry it's come to this.

Listen to me.

You have probed our minds.

You know everything
there is to know about us.

You should know,
we will never accept this.

No matter how many times you wipe our
memories, we'll always figure it out.

She's right. We're genetically
pre-disposed to being...

stubborn, really pesky.

You want to understand
what it means to be human, right?

You wanna know what qualities
might eventually lead to ascension?

You can start with compassion.

I understand what you're saying,

and under different circumstances
I might even agree with you.

Unfortunately, it's too late.

What are you talking about?

The other Replicators have found us.

They failed to break down
our mental defences

and bring us back into the collective,
so now they want to destroy us.

Well, you have to raise the shield!

We can't.

Your creation required too much power

and we couldn't get
our hands on multiple ZPMs

without drawing too much attention.

Let us out.

Your fellow Replicators
are targeting human worlds.

They are murdering thousands
of innocent people.

If you are serious about
following the footsteps

of your creators, you will
let us go so we can stop this.

Oberoth is too powerful.

If this city falls

and we're destroyed with it,
this will be nothing more

than a wasted opportunity

a failed experiment.

You know what that feels like.

That's what the Ancients considered us

failed experiments.

Well, now's your chance
to prove 'em wrong.

All we are asking is that you give us
a chance to make a difference.

Take this.

What's this?

It's the core drive
of a ship's tracking system.

With this, you should be able
to pinpoint the locations and movements

of every one of Oberoth's
Aurora-class vessels in this galaxy.

Take this to Atlantis... it will be
their best chance of stopping Oberoth.

Go up to the Bay... take a Jumper.

Come with us.

I can't.
Oberoth might be able to track me.

I'll only be a liability.

Go.

That's it.

The city's gone.

So now what?

Well,

we're already cloaked.

All we need to do is follow
the ship out of the atmosphere

and catch a ride before
it jumps into hyperspace.

"Catch a ride"?

Yeah.

Watch.

Re-appoint drive pods.

Nice and snug.

- You doing OK?
- Sure, all things considered.

Not bad for a dead woman.

Everything'll be fine.

My guess is we're headed back
to the replicator homeworld.

Once we get there,
we can find a ship with a hyperdrive.

And go where?

Well, obviously
we can't fly straight back to Atlantis.

They'd probably take us out before
we had a chance to explain but

maybe New Athos.

We can contact them once we get there.

And then what?

How do you think the real Sheppard's
gonna react when he sees you?

How would you react?

In a way, I'm lucky.

At least I know I'm the only
Elizabeth Weir out there.

You were right.

It's the replicator homeworld.
Looks like they've been busy.

What do you mean?

Remember those shipyards we destroyed?
That's one of them.

They rebuilt it.

- And then some!
- Good.

Then we should be able to find
a ship they won't miss.

It's a streamlining programme designed
to boost its operating efficiency.

Look, the Gate will be offline for,
what, one hour, two hours tops.

- We expecting someone?
- No, Sir,

but it's Major Jordan
reporting in from M34-227.

- You got video?
- Yes, Sir.

- What's the situation, Major?
- Well, Sir,

there's someone here
who would like to have a word with you.

Hello, John.

Elizabeth! What happened to you?
How did you get away?

I'm not Elizabeth.
Well, not the Elizabeth you knew.

I have all of her memories
and all of her thoughts...

everything that makes her me.

But I'm a duplicate.

I was created
by a faction of the Replicators

as a means to attaining ascension.

But you... look and sound just like her.

I'm sorry, Rodney, but it's true.

This group managed to isolate themselves

from the others in order
to pursue their study in secrecy,

but they were eventually
discovered and destroyed.

I... don't know what to say.

This is all very,

Strange?

Yeah, I know.

But we need to meet.

We have some information that
you can use against the Replicators.

"We"?

Well, I suppose introductions
aren't really necessary.

Great... Last time I came
face to face with myself,

I ended up kicking my own ass.

Nice jacket!

Yeah, it's new.

We got...

new versions of those uniforms.
The old ones used to...

bunch up under the arms.

Yeah.

- You said you've got something for us.
- Yeah!

No, my McKay.

Oh, yeah, right.

What is that?

This is the core drive
of a replicator ship tracking system.

Once it is up and running,
we'll be able to track

every Aurora-class replicator ship
in the Pegasus galaxy.

It's not much, but it's a start.

Are you kidding?! This is huge!

We can get working
on a modification program...

- reconfigure the sequencing...
- run it through an Ancient relays

so the information's automatically
adapted and outputted.

"Outputted"? Is that even a word?

- Of course it is!
- We can't both be wrong.

Look, we need
to get started on this now.

Not so fast.

Where do you plan on doing this?

We're too big of a security risk
to be allowed back on Atlantis.

He's got a...

I've got a point.

You two are gonna have
to find another way to do that.

Not a problem. I'll just go back
to Atlantis, get what we need.

- We can do the work here.
- Oh, this is great!

Finally, someone in whom
I can have 100% confidence!

I'm looking forward to working with you!

Just the beginning!

Humanity's about to benefit from one
of the greatest living scientific minds

times two!

- Can you imagine?!
- I'm trying not to.

We appreciate all this,
but the truth is,

we came here for another reason.

You were with the Replicators.

What do you know about our Elizabeth,
are you willing to help us get her back?

You think this other Keller
was telling the truth?

I don't know why she'd lie.

It's kinda weird, that's all.

I mean,

I don't see you for all this time,
then five minutes later I find out...

That I'm dead.

Yeah.

Don't worry...
the moment I learned the truth,

I knew there'd be no going back
the way things were... not for me,

not for any of us.

- I don't like him.
- I know, it's odd.

I know I'm me,
so who the hell's this other guy?

He's you as well.

No, there's only one me.

Apparently not!

He's nothing but a copy, then.

From what I understand,

even though he's not the original,
he's as much Ronon Dex as you are.

I don't like him.

I didn't really believe it...
not until we got out here.

I know.

I was holding out hope as well.

I thought that
the Replicators had captured us

and implanted the nanites
and that they were...

lying to us to keep us
from wanting to return.

Yeah, well, it worked.
I'm not going back with them.

What?

I've been on my own before.

At least, that's how I remember it.

Now I've got these nanites
that'll heal me if I get injured.

You are not invincible.
The nanites can only do so much.

Yeah, well, I'll take my chances.

I understand your anger
and your disappointment,

but it makes no difference
who came first.

You're as much Ronon as he is.

Oh yeah?

Why's he leading my life on Atlantis
while I'm treated like an outsider?

Their circumstances are different.

You mean we make them
feel uncomfortable,

so they'd rather not have us around.

Given our origins,
they see us as a potential thr*at.

Can you blame them?

I guess not.

I'd probably do the same.

Still, it doesn't change the...

- We'll go back to the camp.
- We'll go find Sheppard and Weir.

It's not like
this hasn't happened before.

The other Elizabeth got infected
by those little nanite things

and we figured out how to
stop them somehow.

Maybe we can do the same for you.

So we wouldn't be a security thr*at?

You can contribute.

Things'll just be...

different.

That's not really the issue, John.

I guess what really bothers me

is just knowing that you and the others

will always consider me less
than what I really am.

- That's not true.
- Of course it is...

and I don't blame you.

D'you hear something?

Colonel Sheppard, this is Teyla.
Please respond.

Go ahead, Teyla. What's wrong?

The Replicators are here.

They managed to track the ship.

- John, do you hear me?
- Oh, yeah, I heard you.

Our ship must have had
a hidden sub-space transponder.

All right, run.

What was that?

- That way. Come on.
- Ronon, wait!

- Where's McKay?
- He's still at the compound.

Rodney, this is Sheppard. We need you
to fall back to the Gate immediately.

Colonel, this is Major Jordan.
The Gate is a no-go.

I repeat, the Gate is a no-go.

There's a replicator ship in position

ready to take us out the second
we show ourselves.

All right, everybody
fall back to the Jumper.

- Rodney, did you hear me?
- Yeah,

I heard you. We're on our way.

Regarding the Gate:
they have us trapped.

Even cloaked, if the Jumper
so much as rustles a bush,

they will pinpoint our position
and blast us out of the sky.

We need a diversion.

- What happened?
- It's the Replicators. Let's go.

We'll all have a better chance this way.

I don't want you doing this
because you feel any less,

human?

From the beginning we've been
trying to convince ourselves

that we're just like you.

Now we've got a chance to prove it.

All right.

Let's go.

Yeah.

We tricked you,

but don't feel so bad. After all,
we almost had ourselves convinced.

Shut it down!

No-one else is coming.

Shall we take a break?

You go ahead.

Oh, Rodney, we've been working
for five hours straight.

- We should take a break.
- Yeah, I will... when I'm finished.

- I know what you're trying to do.
- Yeah, what's that?

Lose yourself in your work
to avoid thinking about Elizabeth.

You must realise
it's only a temporary distraction.

That's one of the perks of the job.
Something terrible happens,

you don't have time to dwell on it...
you're too busy trying to stop the next

terrible thing from happening.

Seriously, if it wasn't
for the Replicators and their

plan to wipe out
every human in the galaxy,

I'd be in pretty bad shape right now.

Now, this is Carson all over again
and I'm just not ready to deal.

Not yet.

You're not the only one who misses him,
Rodney.

- Don't suppose you wanna talk about it.
- Eventually, but not now.

- Shall I get you anything?
- No.

Thank you.

You're welcome, Rodney.

- How's it going?
- It's all right.

- Why don't you call it a night?
- No, I wanna finish this.

What about you...
isn't it past your bedtime?

I'll approve the removal
of her personal items tomorrow...

have everything shipped back to Earth.

I would have done it sooner,
but I actually thought we were gonna

bring her back.

Yeah.

Me too.

Let me know when
you get this thing working.

Will do.

Oh! Wait!

If this works,

we should be able to track
every Aurora-class replicator ship

in the galaxy in real-time.

That's not so bad. I guess
the Wraith have really taken a toll.

On the other hand, my duplicate
did say they were building more.

A lot more!

Oh, crap!