Ok... what was that?
Carter?
I don't know, sir.
The margin of error in calculating planetary shift
used to cause the rough ride, butwe fixed it.
Carter?
We did have to override some of
the dialing protocols in order to get a lock.
I'll checkthe dialing computer when we get home.
It's bright. Yes, sir.
This planet's much closer to its sun than earth.
Festive.
This is interesting.
I couldn't see these writings th rough the malp.
What's it say?
Their runic symbols are similarto the ones we found on cimmeria.
There could be a connection here to the asgard.
What's it say? I don't know.
You think it's a protected planet?
Well, Teal'c wasn't zapped away.
There is no Thor's hammer here.
Well, they wouldn't need one
if it was named in the goa'uld—asgard treaty.
Hey! You!
Come on out.
Jackson: We're not here to hurt you.
We're explorers from a place called earth.
You might know it as midgard.
I'm Daniel Jackson. This is...
I am elrad, flamen of the 39th order of k'tau.
My congregation and I were on our way here for morning prayer
when we saw a great wave burst forth from the annulus.
Annulus. I like that.
He is an enemy of the gods.
Not anymore.
Thor loves this guy.
You know of Thor?
Oh, yeah. He's a buddy.
Come forth! It is atime for rejoicing.
Freyr has sent us visitors from midgard.
Freyr is the god of sun and rain, right?
Yes, our protector, ally of Thor.
Friends of the gods are welcome here.
What do you got?
Please, come. Our village is this way.
Jackson: It's as if norse culture
evolved into relatively modern times
while continuing to worship the ancient gods.
This is brother malchus.
He is chief acolyte within our order.
You must leave. At once.
We just got here.
These are not just any strangers.
They came through the annulus.
This one bears the Mark of evil.
He is a friend of Thor.
The people will not stand for this.
You mean you will antagonize them
until they agree with you.
Friendly guy.
You must forgive malchus. He has a suspicious nature
and we have never before been visited by elves.
Elves?
You travel by way of the gods.
You say you know them well.
In norse mythology, freyr was the ruler of the elves.
They can bring good or bad tidings.
We certainly hope you have come to wish us well.
Carter, what just happened?
The eye of Odin grows dim.
Some sort of shift in the light frequency.
Good. I thought I was having a stroke.
You did this!
What?
Be calm. Is ittrue?
No!
Is it?
I don't know, sir.
It is no coincidence thatthis happens moments after they arrive.
The elves are the harbingers of our doom!
Leave us or be driven out!
Malchus, the darkening of the eye of Odin is the will of the gods.
You cannot blame the messengers.
We must go to the hall of wisdom
and pray for forgiveness.
Hall of wisdom——that sounds like the place
where the cimmerians communicated with Thor.
Carter, what the heck's going on?
Somehowthe light spectrum of the sun
has shifted toward infrared.
If it continues this way,
eventually all the green plants will die.
With the plants goes the oxygen supply—...
Ye—ah—ah.
The malp should give us more detailed data.
Its sensors are more sophisticated.
Good. You and Teal'c head back to the annulus,
see what you can find out.
Daniel, let's see if these folks have got an asgard phone.
We beseech thee, o freyr, to have mercy upon us.
Make peace with our great father Odin,
and in doing so, remove the terrible curse
from our gentle land.
In the name of our lord freyr,
be it so.
Sorry. Didn't mean to interrupt.
Haven'tyou done enough damage here, elf?
Some respect, malch us. They are sent by the gods.
We should hear their words.
We were just won dering if you ever
speak directly to freyr.
He hears us always.
Right. You mentioned a hall of wisdom.
This is it, isn't it?
No. This is atemple.
Right.
Malchus and I were about to go to the hall
to seek freyr's wisdom on behalf of our people.
Would you mind if we went with you?
We could put in a good word.
By all means, come.
Hello.
Bow your heads and prepare to meet our lord.
Lord freyr, lord of the aesir, god of k'tau,
Grant us an audience that we may share your wisdom.
I'd better get it back.
I am freyr.
For what reason have you come before me?
O lord freyr, forgive us for disturbing you,
but we seek your wisdom.
The arrival of these outsiders
has caused the eye of Odin to grow dim.
We fear it is ragnarok.
That's the end of time.
Thank you.
We beg you to restore Odin's light.
You are wise to seek my counsel,
but only th rough faith
will you prove worthy of my benevolence.
Do you desire us to put these outsiders to death?
They could be drawn and quartered before nightfall.
That's a bit harsh, isn't it?
In time, iwill sail to the plane of vigrid
where my battle will be fought
with surtur, the fire bringer.
He fights against surtur. It is the end time!
Patience!
Likewise, you must face your own fears
as you now enter the ultimate conflict.
How you deal with fear will prove your worthiness.
I wish you well on your voyage.
Jackson: It's a recording.
O'Neill: Really?
I told you.
It is ragnarok.
Lord freyr tells us to prepare for our death.
That's a bit of a negative spin
with the old paraphrasing, isn't it?
I have been interpreting the word of the gods for many years.
I'm afraid I must agree with malchus.
Hang on!
Look, I know I'm the outsider here.
You dare question the will of the gods?
No... just your interpretation.
Sure you want to get in the middle of this?
I'm not sure how to get out of the middle of this.
Look, folks,
does freyr plant your crops for you?
Does he, huh? Congregation: No.
Does he harvest them?
Does he build your homes for you?
Those are the tasks of our own hands.
Exactly! You've always had free will before,
why not now?
Maybe this ultimate conflict is just a test
of your ingenuity and courage?
Why do you tolerate this?
Jump in anytime here, by the way.
I don'tthink this is a good idea.
In the past,
lord freyr has always told us to face our fears
and not interfere with the ways of the gods.
I agree, malchus. We must do the gods' will,
but perhaps these strangers are a part of their plan.
Nonsense! They are the harbingers of our doom!
Elves cannot change the will of the gods.
Elrad, listen to me.
We can help your people.
We've been in this situation before.
Trust me. We can work miracles.
I trust in freyr.
If you are here to do his bidding,
either to doom us or to save us...
Then so be it.
Miracles?
Yeah. That's what it'll look like to them.
That's what what will look like to them?
Whatever Carter comes up with.
Hey, fellas.
I got a theory, sir.
Is it miraculous?
Actually it is.
I thinkthe wormhole that we used to travel here
passed directly through this planet's sun.
That might be why we had a problem
dialing here in the first place.
We should never have connected with this planet?
At least not with the current planetary alignment.
The light from the sun suddenly shifted
to the red spectrum after we got here.
As far as I know, the only way that could happen
was if an unstable super—heavy element,
probably plutonium,
was introduced to the sun's nuclear reaction.
Sort of a sub—atomic poisoning.
Ok, how did we do that?
Well, somehow,
the plutonium piggybacked
onto our wormhole from another star system,
then bonded with their sun as we passed through it.
I hope that doesn't mean it's our fault.
We could not have known, O'Neill.
The fact that the gate wouldn't dial here
when we firsttried leads me to believe
that there was some sort of safety protocol
built into the gate system,
designed to prevent exactly this sort of thing.
So... design flaw?
No. Sir, we bypassed
some of the normal dialing protocols.
Fact is, this planet is dying
and it's probably because of us.
But you can fix it, right?
Hey, Teal'c, maybe you should hang out here.
These asgard devices don't know you like we do.
Ok, let's see,
they bowed their heads and said a prayer.
Lord freyr, lord of the aesir—...
Or we could just go straight to that.
I am freyr.
For what reason have you come before me?
We'd like to talk to the real asgard.
Thor, if he's available.
You are wise to seek my counsel,
but only through faith will you prove worthy of my benevolence.
Yada, yada.
Carter, you want to pull the plug on this guy?
It looks like the emitter that's generating the—...
Well, we've either made contact with the asgard
or trapped ourselves deep within a vault of solid rock.
Much better.
I am freyr, protector of the k'tau world.
Uh, yeah, so, listen, sorry to bother you.
Can we talk to Thor?
Commander Thor is in a distant part
of the galaxy and unavailable.
You are the one called O'Neill.
I'm the one.
We named a warship after you.
Short—lived as it was.
Yes. That one.
Why have you come to this world?
Exploring. That's what we do.
K'tau falls under our protected planet treaty
with the Goa'uld.
I would hope you have not dispelled their current belief system.
The asgard felt it was essential.
Nah, don't worry. We haven't blown your cover.
However, we do have
a small little problem
that could use some of that asgard magic.
Are you implying that our technology
is some kind of trickery?
You sure Thor is not around somewhere?
Sir, if I may?
Yeah. Knock yourself out.
We may have inadvertently, totally accidentally,
caused a foreign element to enter the k'tau sun.
How?
Actually, iwas hoping you could help us on that one.
Is it possible that our wormhole picked up
a super—heavy element and carried it into the sun
as we passed through?
There are safety protocols
in place within the Stargate system
to prevent wormhole connections
that would result in such events.
Um, yeah. See, we have our own dialing computer
and sometimes we bypass a few steps
in order to get a lock.
We're still experimenting.
I see.
We could really use your help here.
I'm afraid I cannot assist you.
Why not?
It is not the asgard's responsibilityto undo
every error you make with technology
that is advanced beyond your knowledge.
Excuse me!
There is a whole planet full of people
that are going to die.
This may be our mistake,
but the k'tau people depend on you.
You set up their belief system.
They think that you're their god and you will protect them.
From the Goa'uld, yes.
Forget all that! Come on, we're friends.
We help you, you help us. That's the way it works.
Carter's idea saved you from the replicators.
Now we're calling in the marker.
Ultimately, the decision is not mine.
Then may I speak to whomever decides?
It is possible.
Prepare to meet with the asgard high council.
I'm prepared. Right now. Let's go.
Step into the place where I stand.
I'm sort of prepared.
Do you want me to—— I got it.
Hello?
Echo!
Colonel Jack O'Neill of earth,
welcome to the asgard high council chamber.
Yeah, listen, thanks for seeing me on such short notice.
I assume you can see me.
Chief archon: Yes.
Did freyr mention why I'm here?
Freyr: Yes, colonel. They're aware of the circumstances
surrounding your request.
Oh, hey, there you are. Didn't see you.
You guys all kind of look...
Thor's not here, right?
He is not.
As freyr explained, we are unable
to assistyou in this matter, O'Neill.
Though your actions were unintentional,
it will unfortunately mean
the k'tau people will perish.
Hey! This is not entirely our fault.
I mean, you could have warned us
about this crazy gate through the sun thing.
For that matter, you could have given us
a list of all the planets that are off limits.
Both points are true.
However, neither is reason enough to interfere.
You're interfering right now!
These people think you're their gods.
Granted, you're notthe Goa'uld,
but you're still pretending to be something you're not.
You are correct.
However, when we saved these people from the Goa'uld,
they were not ready to have their beliefs completely stripped away.
In time, when they are ready,
the k'tau will learn the truth.
Yeah, see, there's the snag.
They won't. They'll be dead.
I don't get it!
You obviously saved them once.
Why notthis time?
It is notthat simple.
Yes, it is! You've got the technology, don't you?
Yes.
Ok, fine.
We made a mistake.
A big mistake. And we're very, very sorry.
But we also saved your little gray butts
from the replicators and now we want your help.
I'm not asking you to change the course
of their cultural development.
Just fix the damn sun!
No one will know. We won't tell.
Unfortunately, we cannot.
Ok. Atthe risk of sounding like the petulant inferior race,
why not?
Little gray butts. Yeah.
It would be in violation of our treaty with the Goa'uld.
What?
The treaty states that the people of a planet categorized as protected
will be free from Goa'uld domination.
However, subsection 42 states that the people on those planets
cannot be artificially advanced
through asgard technological means.
Using our technology to prevent a natural disaster
would be aviolation of that order
and would nullify the treaty as a whole.
The Goa'uld would be free to invade
any of the protected plan ets...
Including earth.
You sure?
Yes. The war with the replicators
wages on here in our galaxy.
We do not have the military forces
to defend every planet covered under the treaty.
You would be vulnerable to Goa'uld attack.
Ok. What if I were to say
we're willing to take th e risk?
Even if you could make that decision
on behalf of your planet, O'Neill,
you cannot make it for every other planet
that would be affected.
I suppose not.
We are all greatly disturbed
thatthis disaster cannot be averted.
We wish there was a way.
Well, they're not dead yet.
Maybe there is.
If that is the case,
the solution will be up to you.
Fine.
That went well.
Sir, I've been thinking.
I'd be shocked if you ever stopped, Carter.
Here.
Let's say these are the unstable plutonium molecules
that are poisoning the sun.
What if these are molecules
of a more stable super—heavy element?
Say, something with an atomic weight above 200?
Sure. I can think of a few.
Actually, they don't occur in nature.
At least, not on earth, but I have read about
such elements being created in supercolliders.
At least in theory.
You realize you're mixing your apples and your...
Now, if we could introduce these stable
super—heavies into the k'tau sun,
they would bind with the unstable
plutonium molecules, rending them inert.
The sun could then be restored to its normal nuclear reaction.
Huh? How about that?
Well, this is all very th eoretical, sir.
I have great confidence in you, Carter.
Go on back to the sgc and confuse Hammond.
Yes, sir.
A rocket?
With a payload
of the super—heavy element I've indicated.
We send it in stages through the Stargate
to k'tau and assemble it there.
When it's complete, we launch it into their sun.
Will it getthere in time?
We have 3 months before the plutonium reaction
in the k'tau sun becomes irreversible.
If we can launch inside 3 weeks, we'll just make it.
Have you considered other options?
The other option we considered
turned outto be a one in a million shot, sir.
The rocket gives us better than 50—50 odds.
Rockets don't exactly grow on trees, major.
I know that, sir.
However, as you know, the air force
is currently preparing a launch from vandenberg.
Major, do you realize how much
has been invested in that project?
I'm aware of that, sir.
It's hard to put a price on the k'tau people.
Colonel!
Shouldn'tyou be off inciting a mob?
Look at the sky.
Ragnarok grows ever closer, your machine does nothing.
It's a rocket.
It won't work until we launch it.
We can't launch it until we build it.
Time still remains before
the sun does permanent damage to your world.
All they have done is bring more outsiders.
You have to be patient.
The problem grows ever worse
as long as you are here.
If you can't see that the gods wish you to leave,
then we will be forced to make it clear on their behalf.
Malchus, this is not the way of the k'tau.
If the gods did not wantthem here,
they wouldn't be here.
If their presence is truly part of a test,
then we have failed. Miserably.
General, we're ahead of schedule.
This should be the last shipment of parts.
Any word yet on the hu—2340?
Quite frankly, I never expected it
to be easier to get the rocket.
Sir, without the super—heavy element,
this whole thing will have been a giant waste of time.
Don't worry, major.
Dr. Maclaren.
Very impressive operation you've got here.
I hope you consider yourself lucky, major.
Dr. Maclaren finally decided
a peek at the sgc was worth the exchange.
It took me 5 years to make that much hu—2340.
Well, maybe one day you'll be able to visit the planet
that your maclarium is saving.
Did you say maclarium?
Sounds like a good name to me.
I'll use it in my official reportto the Pentagon.
I don't want to be in your way.
You've obviously got a job to do here.
Good luck, major. Thank you, doctor.
Man: Coming through! Coming through!
That's the last of it, sir.
We've got everything we need.
Good. Daniel an d Teal'c?
They're in the village.
Still trying to convince the folks we're friendly elves.
Ithinkthe sooner we get out of here, the better.
Is that smoke?
Jackson: What happened?
Carter: Somebody set a fire.
Is anybody hurt?
We lost 2 members of sg—6. The rocket was destroyed.
Stupid son of a bitch!
The gods have spoken.
You just killed 2 of my men and screwed your whole planet!
2 of our brothers also gave their lives to serve the gods.
You coward!
Why didn't you do it yourself? Why?
I would gladly die to serve the gods.
Maybe you should!
Jack! Sir!
Stop, please!
I'm truly sorry for what has happened,
butyou must believe me,
malch us acted without my knowledge!
He will be punished, but, please,
more death serves no one!
More death is exactly what you people are going to get.
Man: Get 'em back to the sgc.
Jackson: Jack, stop! We can't leave!
The hell we can't.
Carter, dial it up get these people home.
Sir—— that's an order!
Jack, would you stop?!
They killed 2 of my men!
Yes, they did, but not all these people
are responsible for that, and even the ones that were,
they were just doing what they believed was right.
I really don't care.
Well, I do!
And leaving right now would be irredeemable.
In whose eyes? The asgard? They had their chance.
Sir, I essentially pressed the button
that could end this civilization.
All right! We made the first mistake,
but we were going to fix it.
It is obvious only to me
that these people don't want help?
I couldn't live with myself if I just walked away now.
I do not believe
the majority of the people of this world
supportthe actions of malchus.
What, then?
Relocate them.
Their ties to this world are strong, Daniel Jackson.
Well, we have to give them the option.
Then it's their choice.
Carter: Sir, we still have the maclarium.
With your permission, I'd like to return
to the sgc and run a few more simulations.
Jackson: Ok... I know this world
has been your home for generations.
But it looks now like
the eye of Odin will not be restored.
That is for the gods to decide.
Right. But consider this,
that the gods are giving you another choice.
What is that?
The chance to move to another world.
You can come through the annulus with us.
It's really—— it's very simple.
If freyr wished us to leave this world,
he would come
to take us away in his chariot.
He does. He wishes you to leave.
He's very busy right now
and he sent us to take you our way.
If you don't go, you will all die.
Your efforts are noble.
But if our destruction is the will of the gods,
we must face our fate bravely.
Nowcan we go?
The k'tau were not convinced.
Nope.
Because you didn't say what needed to be said.
Well, what would you have said?
Wait. What are you going to say?
Hey, folks, you want to join me over here?
Come on!
Come on in here, folks.
I got a few things iwantto say.
Jackson: What are you doing?
Telling them the truth, Daniel.
Whether or not god really exists is not as important
as whether or not a belief in god really exists.
You wouldn't be saying that
if we were talking about a Goa'uld.
We're not talking about a Goa'uld.
Have we not made our position clear?
Yes. Yes, you have.
I just don't think we've made ourselvesclear.
Jack, the asgard—...
Are not gods.
Hi, folks. Listen, you all know freyr, right?
Big guy, kind of good—looking,
lot of fancy gold armor?
Well, here's a flash for you.
That's not what he looks like.
What do you mean?
He's an alien who's been preten ding to be your god.
He doesn't have a chariot.
He's got a spaceship.
Spaceship big machine like the one we were building?
Only his is way better and not blown up.
I'm not kidding you, folks!
This little feller is about 3 feet tall,
got clammy gray skin, big black eyes,
and skinny, tiny, little arms and legs like toothpicks.
Theythinkyou need to believe in a god,
that you're not developed enough as a culture
to think for you rselves.
Enough!
Elrad, listen to me!
These aliens have the power to help you!
They chose not to!
I am sorry for what happened to your people.
I know you think you are trying to help us,
but, please... it is time for you to leave.
Ok. Sorry to bother you.
Thanks for your time, folks.
There.
Gave 'em a choice, they chose. Let's go.
I thought the odds of success for this scenario
were one in a million, major.
Yes, sir, but I now think that we can
increase that estimate to I%.
It's your call, general.
I only understand about 1% of what she says half the time.
Run it by me again.
We send the maclarium through the wormhole to k'tau.
Now, based on the distance from earth and the rate of travel,
I've tried to calculate the exact time
we should shut down the gate
so the maclarium stops short of reaching the planet
and actually ends up in their sun.
I thought when something was in a wormhole
it existed only as energy,
that you needed another Stargate
to turn it back into solid matter.
Actually, you're absolutely correct, sir.
I am?
Yes. See, it's the Stargate on the other side
that actually reintegrates the matter
into its pre—organized form.
Without it, the energy in the wormhole
would rematerialize in its base form.
Now, in the case of a person, that would be very bad,
but in the case of an element,
it shouldn't be a problem.
I was right.
Ok. You have a "go," major.
I was right.
Carter: Sending the malp through.
Payload is en route.
Executing controlled sh utdown...
Now.
Well, there's only one way to know if it worked.
Brothers and sisters, in these troubled times
it is important for us to come together as a family.
We must remember the great gifts of freyr,
and we must be grateful
for the lives that he has given us.
In this, atroubled time, we must still remember...
They agreed to let us stay so long as
we stopped trying to tell them freyr is not a god.
I don'tthink we'll be staying.
Did your method not succeed, major Carter?
It doesn't look good. Ithinkwe missed.
I mean, you're sure it's notjusttaking longer than you thought?
We should have noticed a change by now.
Let's go.
I'm going to tell them.
And say good—bye.
Sorry it didn't work.
But it's not too late to change your mind about leaving.
Great protector, o freyr, our lord and savior,
accept our frailties and forgive our sins.
We beg you, Grant us your mercy
and return the light that gives us life.
Good—bye.
Am I having a stroke?
Blessed be freyr!
Bow your heads andthank him for granting our prayers.
I'm pretty sure we didn't do this, sir.
At least not on our own.
The asgard.
They said they wouldn't help.
Overtly.
Sir, you're saying that just by starting the process
we gave them the opportunity to step in
without the Goa'uld knowing?
A way of saving face. Technical loophole.
Or not.
Well, I mean, we'll never really know for sure, will we?