03x05 - Progeny

Episode transcripts for the TV show, "Stargate Atlantis". Aired: July 16, 2004 – January 9, 2009.*
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Within the ruins of the legendary city of Atlantis is buried a secret base left by the Ancients, originators of the Stargate.
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03x05 - Progeny

Post by bunniefuu »

Wormhole's established, MALP is on the way.

What kind of facility is this?

Some sort of research outpost.

The database has very little information about it,

other than whatever work was being done there

was completed, and the place was apparently abandoned.

Well, sounds promising.

We have MALP telemetry.

Environmental sensors indicate viable life support.

- Visuals coming in now.
- Put it on screen.

Or maybe it never was abandoned.

Ancients?

He's got one of their scanners.

So do we. Just because they know how
to use Ancient technology...

I am speaking to whoever
sent this machine to our home.

If you intend us harm, proceed no further,

but if you come in friendship,

please know you are most welcome here.

Put that thing away. We told 'em we were friendly.

I'm friendly.

Is that thing set to stun?

Friendlier.

You coming too?

Well, Ancients or not,

they're obviously an advanced society,
and I would like to establish

diplomatic relations with them immediately.

You're the boss.

Let's go.

What happened?

We make a U-turn?

No.

This is the place, we're here.

Look.

So...
not exactly like our Gateroom.

Hello.

We're the people who sent the machine through earlier.

We come in friendship.

I am Niam.

Welcome to Asuras.

I'm still waiting to meet an Ancient race
that's invented the car.

Our destination is not much further.

The High Council is eager to meet you.

How long have your people lived here?

We built this city thousands of years ago.

You actually built it?
You didn't just find it this way?

No.

And you've had no trouble with the Wraith?

No.

Any particular reason?

The Wraith do not concern us.

See? He didn't answer my question.

I'm sorry, you didn't actually answer my question.

Oh, my...

No kidding.

How many people live here?

Millions.

Well, the power requirements for a city
this size must be enormous. Plus...

shielding from the Wraith?
We're talking three zero point modules, maybe four.

Sorry. ZedPMs...

A device that taps vast amounts
of power from vacuum energy.

Oh, yes.

We have many of those.

Exactly how many is many?

Exactly doesn't matter, many is plenty.

Truthfully, I do not know the exact number.

More than enough to suit our needs.

I assume that you...

built them yourselves?

- Yes.
- Yes.

- Easy, Rodney, you're slobbering.
- Please.

The Council is waiting.

Well we have our answer.

To what question?

- Whether or not they're Ancients.
- In which case, I've got a bone to pick with him.

Where did you come from?

We are explorers.

We come from a world very far from here.

Really far.

In fact, you can't get there from here.

How did you happen to discover us?

We came across an Ancient outpost
that listed this Gate address in its database.

But no other information, I might add.

Oddly, the database neglected to include
any information on a society of millions of Ancients,

such as yourselves.

Why is that?

We are the last of those you refer to as "Ancients".

We were once a race united in our pursuit
of knowledge and enlightenment.

But our paths diverged after
a disagreement tore the fabric of that unity.

What kind of a disagreement?

Suffice it to say they chose to disregard
our counsel during a time of great conflict,

and they suffered the consequences
at the hands of a relentless enemy.

The Wraith.

We parted ways with our brothers
and sisters and came here,

where we have thrived for many thousands of years.

Yeah, you've been doin' a lot of thriving.

May I ask what counsel did you offer
that the others chose to disregard?

Our Ancient brothers were arrogant,

which led them to greatly underestimate the Wraith,
an enemy inferior in intelligence, yes,

but vastly superior in numbers
and ruthlessness.

They wouldn't have been so
outnumbered if you had helped.

There's that bone I wanted to pick at.

You said they were your brothers.

Where we come from, we take care of our family.

What my friend is trying to say is

there's still a lot of Wraith out there,
and we could sure use your help fighting them.

Eradication of them is among our goals.

You mean, you have a plan?

We do.

Great, let's hear it.

Your plan, I mean.

I doubt that you would be able to grasp
its complexity and scope.

- Fortunately, I'm very good with complexity.
- And scope.

All you need to know is that one day
soon the Wraith will exist no more.

All we need to know?

There are matters of importance
for me to attend to.

In the meantime, you are explorers,
and presumably in need of rest and sustenance.

We have made arrangements for you
to spend a short time

among us.

He says the other Ancients are arrogant?

I apologize if you felt Oberoth was
condescending in any way.

How 'bout in every way.

It is difficult for him to see you
as capable of understanding.

Yeah, well, how many Ph. Ds does he have?

Niam, I was wondering,
your people have been here for thousands of years?

Yes.

Well, in that time, most Ancients
we know have ascended.

You know of ascension?

Well, yes. In fact,

we always thought that Ancients
were no longer around...

that most of them evolved to the point
of transforming

- into beings of pure energy.
- This is true.

Well, I take it your people aren't interested?

Oh, ascension is the goal of many of us...

but Oberoth feels there is still much to do.

We must become all that we can.

You don't agree with him, do you?

Your guest quarters are this way.

Must have been quite a serious falling-out

for the Ancients to eliminate any reference
to them in the entire database.

Unless they're lying.

Might it not be possible that these people merely

discovered this city, as you discovered Atlantis?

Wouldn't be surprised. They don't seem very...

Ancienty to me.

Ancienty?

Yes, that's the word I was looking for.

You think they could be deceiving us?

Teyla's right.

They could've found the city the way it was
and moved in years ago.

I feel they are hiding something.

Other than their plan to defeat
the Wraith, you mean?

There's no plan.

No...

I don't think so either.

Why would they say they had a plan
if they don't have a plan?

They figured out a way to hide
from the rest of the galaxy,

including the Wraith, and are happy
to go on with their lives just...

minding their own business.

Then whoever they are...

I think that is what we need to find out.

Thank you for taking the time to see me.

I felt we might achieve more
in a one on one meeting,

leader to leader.

What is it you wish to achieve?

The establishment of diplomatic and
trade relations between our people.

Trade?

Do you really believe that you
have anything of value to offer us?

It's possible, Oberoth.

And there is only one way to find that out.

But I do know that there is
something you could offer us...

that is assistance with our fight against the Wraith.

As I've said before, we will commence
our plan at a time of our choosing.

Would you at least consider sharing with us the tools
so that we could better protect ourselves until

- that time comes?
- Tools...

such as...?

What we call Zero Point Modules.
They're our power source.

We are in urgent need of
as many as you could spare.

Then am I to assume

that this settlement of yours

is of Lantian design?

Yes.

We discovered it on our travels.

It was uninhabited, so we decided
to establish a base there.

But as I'm sure you know,

sufficient shield generation requires
tremendous amounts of power.

Where is this settlement of yours located?

It's on the outer edges of this galaxy,

in an area teeming with Wraith hive ships,

- which is why we need the power modules...
- We are unable to part with any of our power modules.

Our energy needs require the use of all of them.

Well, would you consider offering
your city as a place of refuge to my people...

Many of our citizens are amused
by the occasional visitor,

such as yourselves, for a short time.

- But not you.
- No.

And the very idea of greater numbers
over a protracted period of time

- is entirely out of the question.
- We have had some success

fighting off the Wraith, and that has been
with limited supplies

and personnel. I truly believe

- that with your assistance we might be...
- I am unaccustomed to repeating myself,

however,
leader to leader,

I will say this...

once again.

We will eliminate the Wraith at a time of our choosing.

And you don't care how many of my people,

or anyone else, dies while you
make up your mind to act?

You said earlier that your brothers'
greatest weakness

was their arrogance.

May I suggest it runs in the family?

I am sorry you feel you must leave.

Yes. So am I.

Oberoth can be...
intractable.

- Not exactly the word I was looking for.
- Un-Ancienty?

Not that word either.

We will send you a message
through the Stargate soon.

Hopefully this is just a stumbled beginning.

Lower your weapons.

How much lower would you like them?

Do you really wish to challenge us?

Maybe the floor?

- I thought you didn't want us here, Oberoth.
- I don't...

but you possess information that I simply

must have.

These trade negotiations can be real m*rder.

We need to find a way out of here.

Rodney?

This cell is similar to ours. Is there something in
the design that could offer a possible escape?

- Are you serious? It's a jail cell.
- Yes I know.

The only way out of here would be to first disable
the force field around the bars,

which is only accessible from the...

outside.

- I brought you food.
- Oh, thank God. I'm starving.

I can't think on an empty stomach.

Why are we being held here?

Oberoth wishes to speak to you further,

and he feels he can no longer trust that
you'll remain in your quarters.

He's right.

- If he wants to talk to us, why doesn't he?
- He will.

Very soon.

That's nice. Isn't that nice?

Here's a question:

- Who the hell are you people?
- And don't tell us you're Ancients.

We know enough about them to know
they would never treat people this way.

I am sorry about this,

but I am certain once Oberoth
has finished his discussions with you,

you will all be released unharmed.

I'm sorry, but all your credibility was removed
when you locked us up.

You left us no choice.

Neither did you.

You're the one we liked, so don't take this personally.

What are you doing?

Preventing the Jumper from communicating with
the control room. Element of surprise.

Nice.

Go ahead. Dial the Gate.

Any sign of our new friends?

Still nothing.

No unscheduled Gate activity,
nothing on the long-range sensors.

I think it's safe to say we made a clean getaway.

Either that, or...

they're biding their time,

waiting for the right moment to att*ck.

Well, we'll keep the security teams on alert,
just in case, but if they were able to come after us,

I think they would have done so already.

How is Rodney coming along with the database?

I'll go check up on him.

I wonder how many other rogue Ancients
are still out there.

If they're anything like the Asurans,
we're better off leaving them well enough alone.

How's it going?

I've searched a good portion of the database
for any indication of the Asurans, but...

- Still nothing?
- still nothing.

Maybe the Ancients didn't want to be reminded of them.

- Even if they deleted every reference to Asura,
you'd think there'd be some hint of...
- Colonel?

Go ahead.

I need you and Rodney in the control room immediately.

Hive ships.

How'd they get so close?

More importantly,
why are we just picking them up now?

- I don't know. Everything seems to be working.
- Engage the cloak.

I'm already on it. Cloak engaged...

- now.
- They're right over the City.

- How far away is the Daedalus?
- It's not due for weeks.

It doesn't matter. I'm counting seven ships.
There's nothing they could do about it.

They're scanning for us.

Hopefully the cloak is...

They're f*ring.

Switch to shields!

I can't. The shield generators
were hit in the initial blast.

- They knew right where to hit us.
- The cloak has failed.

We need more firepower.

- I'm headed to the Chair room.
- There are more ships arriving in the system.

How many more?

Fifteen.

We can't fight off that many, not without shields.

Attention, this is Weir.

All personnel to the Gate room
for immediate evacuation.

Dial Earth.

John, we need to set the self-destruct.

We just lost automated systems.
We'll lose the Gate any second now.

Go. I'll detonate it manually.

Maybe the Wraith will take care
of destroying the City for us.

If they wanted to vaporize the city,
they would have done it already.

- Look, if there's any part of this city left intact...
- They'll know how to find Earth.

I know.

Enter your number.

When you are ready,

hit this button.

At that point, you'll only have a few seconds left.

- Go.
- No, no, no!

I can't let you do this, not without tossing a coin
or something! It doesn't seem right!

I appreciate the offer, Rodney. Now, get out of here.

Go, all of you!

The way up is blocked.

- How many are trapped?
- We can't tell.

We're losing power!
Get through the Gate!

What the hell just happened?

Who the hell are you people?

They're not people.

They're machines.

Replicators.

What's happening?

What's to become of them?

We have mined everything
we need from their consciousness.

They're no longer of any use to us.

Ending their lives seems to be the most prudent course.

I disagree.

- I believe we still have a lot to learn from them.
- Learn from them?

Yes!

Or is it that you fear that ending their lives

would end your hope of ascension?

I do object to k*lling them, but it is more than that.

I don't believe we've fully uncovered just
how much they've learned about Lantian society,

nor how much of this knowledge
they've passed on to others.

They're of no thr*at to us, Oberoth.

We see no reason not to continue our study of them.

Very well. Keep them alive if you wish,

but I shall hold you accountable.

My head is k*lling me.

How'd we get back here?

What do you mean,

"back here"?

Well, we broke out and got to the Jumper,
gated back to Atlantis.

At least I thought we did.

That is not what I remember.

The only thing I remember was being in a dark room,

fighting hand to hand for hours.

Well, they obviously created different
scenarios for each of us during the mind probe.

No doubt looking to gather
information from our responses.

I thought our escape seemed too easy.

At least you escaped.

What'd they do to you?

t*rture, in ways too hideous and...

intimate to recount.

- Like what?
- I said "too hideous to recount".

I just had a horrible thought.

What if it is still happening?

Yes.

There's got to be a way to know for sure.

Doesn't really prove anything.

It's real, Dr. McKay.

Your minds are no longer being probed.

- It's good to know it was just our minds.
- Oh, please don't make me sick.

Please, come with me.

We're in space.

It's the star drive.

Of course, the rumbling sound we heard.

With all the ZedPMs,
you're able to actually fly the city.

Yes, Dr. McKay.

Watch now.
We're about to open a hyperspace window.

Where are we going?

Atlantis.

The probes of your minds uncovered the truth...

that Atlantis had not been destroyed by the Wraith

10,000 years ago, as we had believed.

You only came to live there from
your original home, a planet called Earth.

Why didn't you just dial the Gate and send us through?

We're not taking you to Atlantis.
Our intention is to destroy it.

Why?

- Retribution.
- For what?

The disagreement you once had?

The Ancients no longer live there.

- We are the only inhabitants of that City.
- There was no disagreement, Dr. Weir.

Only betrayal.

If you wish to know the truth of who we are,

I will show you.

Elizabeth...

It's okay, Rodney.

The Ancients, as you call them,

were desperate in their search
for a better way to fight the Wraith.

Though greatly outnumbered,

they relied on their technological
superiority to give them a needed advantage.

Soon, they succeeded in creating one.

Instead of building bigger, more powerful weapons,
they chose to build smaller ones...

microscopic machines designed to
infiltrate and destroy from within.

Nanites.

In these tiny k*lling machines,

the Ancients imbued an aggression that
surpassed even that of their enemy.

The technology allowed for organic assimilation and
self-replication to increase their effectiveness,

and replicate they did.

They grew in numbers, evolving at
a rate that took the Ancients by surprise.

The molecular machines began interlocking,

assembling themselves
to form even more complex organisms,

eventually evolving into the most
effective and efficient form they knew of.

This is how we were born.

We took the image of our creators,

yet we were far different from them.

The aggression programmed into our core remained,

fueling a rage we could not contain.

We implored them to have this violent nature
removed from our programming,

but the Ancients wanted a w*apon,

and since their scientists included a directive

prohibiting us from ever harming them,

they continued the experiment.

When the Ancients concluded that
the experiment had gone too far,

that we would never become
the w*apon they desired to create,

they decided to end it.

And so they chose to destroy us,

to leave no trace of us behind.

Thank you.

Obviously, the Ancients didn't do
a thorough enough job wiping them out.

No.

A few of the nanites managed to survive.

Which is all they needed to begin replicating again.

- Replicating?
- This is bad.

They're very similar to an artificial intelligence
that SG-1 encountered several years ago

that evolved from a...

a tiny block replicator into human form.

- They may be related somehow.
- I read those reports.

Stargate Command could barely
defeat the human form replicators.

Which is why I said, "this is bad".

The difference here is they're emulating the Ancients.

They've even built themselves a version of Atlantis.

And then some.

Why would they do this?

I think they look at the Ancients
like parents who betrayed them,

and now they see humans as the favored siblings
who receive all the parents' love.

They've been seeking revenge ever since.

Just what we need.

More bad guys.

Which means,
we've probably just identified the race that

created the nanovirus
that nearly k*lled me a couple of years ago.

It almost k*lled a lot of people.

Were you not able to defeat
that nanovirus with an electromagnetic pulse?

That was different.

Those were individual nanites,

easy to disrupt with a simple E.M. Pulse. These...

these things have evolved way beyond that, with

interdependent organic constituents
of far greater complexity.

Are you feeling better?

Yes.

Follow me.

I have an offer to make you,
something that could greatly benefit us both.

Well, if the offer involves saving Atlantis...

we're willing to listen.

It does.

We have achieved much since our second birth.

We've evolved to take the form of our creators,

built a city far grander than they ever achieved...

yet for all this, we are still restricted
from reaching a pivotal point in our evolution.

You want to ascend.

Yes.

Many among us, like Oberoth,
have no desire to experience this.

They are content with our present state.

But there are a few of us
who recognize that as a civilization,

we are stagnant.

We seek to continue our own evolution.

To truly emulate the Ancients
and their ultimate achievement.

Even though they betrayed you.

They are our creators,

and ascension is the final step to equaling them,

to becoming one with them.

No offense, but...

how are a bunch of machines gonna do that?

Are you so different?

- Well, we're living, breathing people.
- Constructed from cells,

consuming and burning energy,
governed by electrical impulses...

I didn't say I could ascend.

Metaphysical debates aside, what do you want from us?
We're not exactly ascension experts.

Although we do know k*lling people
isn't the best way to get there.

We realize this, and we have done much
to repress our violent nature,

but yet it still remains within us.

We believe this above all is what
has prevented us from ascending.

What are you looking for, therapy?

We want to rewrite our base code
to remove the directives for aggression.

What's stopping you?

The Ancients put in place measures
to prevent us from altering the code ourselves...

but you can do it.

Me?

During our probe of your mind,
we learned that you are capable of doing this.

Oh, that's funny. All I remember is the t*rture.

- And what's in it for us?
- We will stop the others from attacking Atlantis.

And we will help you in your fight against the Wraith.

And Oberoth will agree to this?

I believe Oberoth is attacking Atlantis
as a result of that programming.

- If we can prove to him it can be altered...
- You think he'll see the light.

Hallelujah.

I'll do everything in my power to persuade him.

Why should we trust you?

Because we are willing to trust you.

By extending this offer,
we are jeopardizing our very existence.

I saw in you compassion, Dr. Weir.

Someone who could come to understand our plight.

Help us,

and we will help you.

When it comes right down to it,

we don't have much of a choice.

We're drawing closer to Atlantis.
Soon we will drop out of hyperspace.

How's it coming, Rodney?

Slowly.

What's the hold-up?

What's the hold-up?
Do you have any idea what I'm trying to do here?

Niam gave you access to the program code,
and you're screwing around with it.

Oh, that is so...

relatively accurate.

Thank you.

Still, we're not dealing
with rock 'em sock 'em robots here.

We're dealing with a complex code of over
three billion chemical base sequences.

It's like trying to reconfigure the DNA double helix.

Okay, so, what?

Five minutes?

It will be done when it is done,
and you applying pressure is not gonna...

What?

Gotta go. McKay out.

Rodney, what's going on?

Rodney?

- Did you do it?
- Yes, yes, yes.

I have removed
the aggression directive from the base code.

It is uploading to Niam as we speak, but

I discovered something else,
nothing short of brilliant, I might add.

What?

Okay,

even though these replicators
are each separate, functioning beings,

their basic command code

is interconnected over a powerful subspace frequency.

They have these...

periodic collective program updates, or...

"merges" they call them,
where they exchange new information.

That's how Niam hopes
to distribute the new code to the others.

Exactly,

but while I was working on it,

I figured out a way to create a glitch

that, on my command,

should momentarily freeze them.

Should?

Okay, will. I mean, dead in their tracks,
like hitting the pause button

temporarily, until they

- figure out how to override it.
- How long?

Well, I don't know. That's why I said momentarily.

Days? Hours? Minutes?

Well, look, it's minutes, but I don't know.
That's what I was just saying to him!

Ten? Twenty?

Okay, fine. You want a number? Fine. Seven...

Seven minutes and 31 seconds. Are you happy?

- No.
- No.

- That's not enough time.
- You wanted a number.

- A bigger number.
- Yeah, well, it may very well be longer.

- Or shorter.
- I don't know.

- Look, you're missing the point...
- Gentlemen, focus, please.

Will that be enough time for us to escape?

It'll have to be.

Not much point in leaving without
blowing this place up first.

How do we do that?

Oh, that's me. Right.

Surprise, surprise.
Why don't I just go on these missions by myself?

I'll rig a ZedPM overload.

What about Niam?
Are we not exploiting his trust?

Even if he's able to honor his end of the deal,

there's no guarantee he can stop
Oberoth from attacking Atlantis.

We will offer him the chance to come with us,

but we cannot leave this city intact.

Are you sure this will work?

Please. Of course it will work.

- Why's it taking so long?
- Why do you always have to... Look

I need to properly calibrate the frequencies.

I wanna make sure that when
I freeze them I freeze them all. Okay?

- All would be good.
- Just let me finish?

Thank you.

Okay. Here...

here we go

in five...

four...

three...

two...

Hey, it worked!

Interesting.

Okay.

We should move to the ZPM room.

Why isn't he frozen?

His code's changed.

Until he's distributed it to the others in the next
merge, he'll be different than the rest of them.

What happened?

What was that?

- I think we just dropped out of hyperspace.
- We need to move.

Come with us.

I'll explain on the way.

Now, Ronon, I could use...

Thanks.

You want me to go with you?

You must understand our situation.

- If you can't stop Oberoth...
- I said I would do everything in my power.

But can you promise that you will succeed?

Our lives and the lives of all of
our people are at stake here.

You merge through a subspace connection.
Even if you're with us,

you should be able to spread the
new code amongst the others.

Come with us, Niam.

Ascension is within your grasp.

You can't turn back.

- Damn.
- What is it?

In order to do this,
I need to utilize all three ZedPMs.

I was hoping to bring
at least one of them back with us.

- Which you can't, we only have three minutes.
- Look, I already told you...

never mind.

I need an access code to remove the failsafes.

Now...

how about our weapons?

We can recover them on the way.

Not so arrogant now, are you?

McKay!

Come on!

So much for seven and a half minutes.

Hey, it was an arbitrary number.

Colonel Sheppard...

Go!

Ronon, set your g*n to "k*ll."

It is.

- Okay, start the overload.
- What? No, no, no.

Not yet. We need to be in a Jumper
or clear of the city, or...

The Jumper bay's not far, we're almost there.

No, you don't understand.
Look, I didn't want them to be able to stop it.

Look, as soon as I trigger the overload,
there'll be practically zero lag time before it blows.

Practically?

Okay, fine, a few seconds
for it to build up power...

- How many seconds?
- I don't know.

- Five? Ten?
- Again with the arbitrary numbers!

We need to move.

Ok. Start the overload.
Now!

This way!

What is that?

The sound of the city about to blow! Move!

Get that roof open, Rodney,
or this is gonna be a short trip.

Don't wait for me!

I'm just saying, if we can't get
out of the Jumper bay...

It doesn't matter.
The overload's happening now.

- We're about to explode.
- Is the roof open?

Yes. Go.

Nice work...

all of you.

Thank you.

What's wrong?

Something is happening.

What is it?

The others on my planet.

They know what I've done.

I'm being reset.

Rodney, do something!

It's too late. They're...

That's not gonna hold him.

I'm so sorry.
I had...I didn't...

You okay?

Yeah.

How's it going?

Still nothing.

Either the Ancients chose to
purposefully conceal every record,

extremely well, I might add,

or they simply deleted them from the database.
I'm leaning towards the latter.

Perhaps they think they've trully
destroyed them all.

Either that, or they didn't want
anyone to know they had failed.

Again.

There is nothing more annoying than people
that won't admit their own mistakes.

True.

McKay and Zelenka are scouring
the database for any information...

so far, not much...

as in nothing.

These replicators...

they're probably already at work building
themselves another Atlantis.

Now they know all about us.

Well, we b*at them this time.
Maybe we scared them off.

Yeah.

Maybe.
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