Transcript by Callie Sullivan

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Alec Colson, a British man, and Brian Vogler, an American, are in Colson's office, preparing to leave.

VOGLER: Once you walk through that door there's no turning back.

COLSON: Oh, I understand, Brian. I'm not having any doubts.

VOGLER: Alec, it is not just your credibility at stake here.

COLSON: You're right there. It's the leaders of the democratic free world who should be worried.

VOGLER: Think about the people who work for this company; the shareholders.

COLSON: I am, Brian. They have a right to know the truth, as does everybody else. Trust me -- we're doing the right thing.

COLSON INDUSTRIES. In a large room, many reporters and cameras are waiting. Colson and Vogler make their way through the crowd, Colson greeting some of the reporters as he goes. He walks up onto a podium and turns to face the microphones.

COLSON: Thank you all for coming. As you all know, about five months ago our planet suffered a horrible tragedy. Over two thousand American servicemen and women were killed when a meteor shower disrupted global communications and hit a United States naval carrier group on maneuvers in the Pacific Ocean. I'm here today to challenge the facts of that incident as they've been conveyed to the general public. (As the reporters murmur to each other, the view shifts to Daniel's lab at the S.G.C., where Daniel is watching the T.V. as Colson is being broadcast live.) On the day in question, none of our satellites detected a meteor shower.

(Sam walks in.)

CARTER: Hey, what's going on?

(Daniel turns and raises his finger to his lips, shushing her. Sam leans on the desk and starts to watch the T.V. with him.)

COLSON: Now I don't know how many governments around the world are in on this, but I do know we are being lied to and the truth is being covered up.

CARTER: Oh-oh.

COLSON: Ladies and gentlemen, there is life beyond our world. There are aliens out there, and they have a technology far beyond ours, and they have been intervening in our existence for quite some time. (Sam and Daniel look at each other.) I have proof -- and I am giving the governments of all the nations that are aware of this twenty-four hours to reveal the truth ... or I'm gonna do it for them. Thank you. (He leaves the podium as the reporters shout questions at him.)

JACKSON: Well -- there y'go. (He smiles ironically. He looks round to Sam who has her mouth open, then she blinks in disbelief.)

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. The T.V. is on and Julia Donovan (the reporter last seen in "Prometheus") is broadcasting from a studio. Sam, Daniel and Teal'c are watching.

DONOVAN: For those of you living on another planet for the past twenty years, Alec Colson, age forty-two, net worth over sixty billion dollars, runs a global empire of companies, including communications, biotechnology, aerospace and aviation. He's number eight on the Fortune Five Hundred. He personally holds over two hundred proprietary patents ...

(Jack comes up the stairs.)

O'NEILL: Shut it off. (Sam turns the T.V. off.) We know who he is -- some of us better than others.

CARTER: We worked together briefly, sir. Colson Aviation developed the multi-engine control systems for the F-302s. Colson didn't know what they were for, of course, but he is a brilliant engineer.

O'NEILL: He's also a little nuts, isn't he?

CARTER (shrugging): You've test-flown experimental aircraft.

JACKSON: We all go through the Gate.

O'NEILL: This isn't about us.

JACKSON: Well, in a way, it is.

CARTER: The point is, sir, he's not some loony cult leader. People are taking him seriously.

O'NEILL: So, what do we think he knows? (He opens a file and looks at a photograph inside of Colson in a flight suit.)

CARTER: He owns several Earth observer and weather satellites. It's possible they picked something up -- pictures of Anubis' fleet in orbit, or the battle over Antarctica.

JACKSON: What I don't understand is how it could have come this far.

O'NEILL (looking at another page in the file): He's gotten the National Security speech from the Pentagon several times. Apparently the President has called him personally.

TEAL'C: Why not merely tell him the truth?

CARTER: His personality was profiled and he was deemed a (she makes air-quotes) 'security risk'.

O'NEILL: For obvious reasons.

JACKSON: Apparently his father was a newspaper reporter who was jailed during the McCarthy era. He believes pretty strongly in the freedom of speech and the rights for people to know what their government is doing at all times.

CARTER: Leaking classified information could be considered treason.

O'NEILL: Alright -- see if he can be convinced not to go public. (He starts to walk away towards his office.)

JACKSON: Without actually telling him anything?

O'NEILL (over his shoulder): Right!

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Colson's office.

VOGLER: We've got all the major networks, over a dozen live radio broadcasts, and reporters from newspapers -- both legit and tabloids -- all waiting for the next shoe to drop.

COLSON: Brian, calm down. (He goes over to a table and starts pouring himself a drink.)

VOGLER: Our stock price is trading down twenty-five percent. We over-extended ourselves competing for that last round of contracts. That stock price is the only thing covering our debt and you are alienating our biggest client. We're gonna have to start selling off assets ...

COLSON (interrupting): What does that matter, Brian, given what we know?

VOGLER: I don't know -- I guess I'm just trying to hold onto some shred of reality.

COLSON: Well, you -- along with everyone else -- are going to have to start dealing with a whole new reality from now on.

VOGLER: What if the world can't handle it? What if Washington's right and we should just keep this thing in the bag?

COLSON: Trust me. The truth is always right.

VOGLER: We've already caused mass hysteria. You have no idea how much chaos this could cause.

(A female staffer comes in.)

STAFFER: Alec -- they're here.

COLSON: Oh, show them in, would you? (He takes Vogler's hand and puts his glass into it.) It'll be OK. (He pats Vogler on the shoulder and walks over to the door as Sam and Daniel walk in.) Lieutenant Colonel.

(Sam shakes his hand.)

CARTER: Alec.

COLSON: Radiant as ever.

JACKSON (holding out his own hand for Colson to shake): Daniel Jackson.

COLSON: Oh, Doc, I'm a big fan.

JACKSON: Really?

COLSON: Yes -- I've been following you since your early career. Pyramids as landing pads for alien ships? Fascinating.

JACKSON: Er, yeah, that was a long time ago.

COLSON: Yeah, what have you been up to since? It's like you just dropped off the map.

JACKSON: I've been around. (He smiles.)

COLSON (remembering Vogler lurking behind him): Oh, I beg your pardon -- may I introduce Brian Vogler.

CARTER: Thank you for seeing us today.

COLSON: Well, shall we? (He gestures towards sofas and leads the way.) Why don't we start with something I'm sure we can all agree on, hmm? (He walks towards a T.V. near the sofas and picks up a remote.) That meteor shower was a cover story, and a surprisingly weak one at that -- although under the circumstances I'm not so sure I'd have come up with a better one.

CARTER: What makes you say that?

(Colson pushes a button on the remote and the T.V. screen comes on. It shows a mothership coming out of hyperspace above Earth. He turns and smiles triumphantly at Sam and Daniel, then presses for the next picture. It's a high shot of part of the battle above Antarctica. He presses again, and the pictures moves closer. He presses again, and we see a clear shot of Prometheus hovering over the scout ship. Daniel looks at Sam in concern.)

COLSON: Oh -- (he points to the picture of Prometheus) I'm guessing that's one of ours?

VOGLER: We lost contact with twelve communications and weather mapping satellites for over six hours on the day in question. When we got them back on line, they were able to transmit images stored in the buffers.

CARTER: Images like these can be faked.

COLSON: Or made to seem fake. (He presses the button again and the image shows Anubis' fleet in space.) I know why you're here, Sam. The Pentagon wants me to know that people like you are gonna be trying to make me look like a fraud.

CARTER: "People like me".

COLSON: Very smart people. Oh, we have more than this. (He gestures towards the T.V.) Now, obviously I don't know everything but ... I do have a right to, as does everyone else.

CARTER: Anything we can say to stop you?

VOGLER (in a resigned voice): Believe me, I've tried.

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Sam and Daniel are coming out of the main entrance. Sam's mobile phone rings. She answers it.

CARTER: Carter.

(Julia Donovan is at her studios.)

DONOVAN: Sam, it's Julia Donovan.

CARTER: How did you get this number?

DONOVAN: I have my sources. Our camera track just caught you and a nice-looking young man going into Colson Industries' head office in Seattle an hour ago. I just saw the feed.

CARTER: And?

DONOVAN: Just wondering if you had an official comment.

CARTER: Yeah -- I think your coverage is a little one-sided.

DONOVAN: Come on, Sam -- Colson's gonna out the whole operation. You don't really think Washington can contain this.

CARTER: We'll see. Look, I don't have to remind you about the non-disclosure agreement you signed, do I? (She lowers the phone briefly to talk to Daniel.) It's the reporter from the Prometheus incident.

DONOVAN: Colson doesn't seem to be worried about going to jail.

(Sam and Daniel reach her car and get in.)

CARTER: Yeah, well he hasn't done anything illegal yet.

DONOVAN: We had an agreement. You said that if something big was gonna break, you would call me first.

CARTER: I will, OK? Bye-bye. (She hangs up. Next to her, Daniel has been looking at his own mobile.)

JACKSON: I've got thirteen messages from Emmet Bregman. (He grins at her. Sam sighs.)

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Colson is walking along with Vogler and a couple of staffers.

STAFFER: The switchboard's been jammed ever since the press conference. Every crackpot in the world is calling.

COLSON: Yeah, I've arranged security for all of you and your families.

STAFFER: Do you really think we need to be worried?

COLSON: I'd be more worried about the things we still don't know at this point.

VOGLER (to the staffers): I'm trying to convince him it's not too late.

COLSON: It is too late, Brian! Too late for the world to know there was a large-scale alien attack against our planet which was barely thwarted; too late for the general public to realize they've been lied to by two different elected administrations about the very nature of our existence!

STAFFER: So we're going public with everything?

COLSON: I was really hoping the Feds would come clean.

VOGLER: I can't believe Washington hasn't done more to try and stop us -- some sort of legal injunction.

COLSON: That would legitimize our claims. No, no, they're obviously gonna try to play this as if we can't be taken seriously.

STAFFER: We're one of the largest corporations in the world.

COLSON: And we're telling the truth.

VOGLER: Alec! It doesn't matter who we are, or how right we are. They can stop us if they really want to.

COLSON: Oh, come on, Brian, what are they gonna do, hmm? Have me killed? (He chuckles and walks away. Vogler looks at the staffers nervously.)

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. Jack and SG-1 are watching Julia Donovan broadcasting live on T.V. again.

DONOVAN: Alec Colson, age forty-two ...

CARTER: Well, he's gotta have something more significant than pictures.

JACKSON (looking at a file): I've been going over government contracts assigned to Colson's companies over the last few years. I haven't got through them all yet but there's quite a few loosely related to R&D of alien technologies that we procured off-world.

(Jack turns up the volume on the T.V.)

DONOVAN: ... We'll now head to Colson Industries.

(The feed goes to the live broadcast from Colson Industries. Colson is on the podium again.)

COLSON: Welcome, and thank you for coming.

(Sam looks at her watch.)

CARTER: Twenty-four hours to the minute.

COLSON: Yesterday I told you of our belief in the existence of intelligent life beyond our planet. I also told you that we believe several governments, including our own, have known about this and have been concealing the information for quite some time now. Yesterday, I challenged those governments to come clean -- reveal the truth. We got only silence, which gives me no choice but to present to you what evidence I have. (He nods to a man standing near a door on the other side of the room. The man speaks quietly into a microphone pinned to his jumper.) How do I know for sure that alien life really does exist? Ladies and gentlemen, seeing is believing. (He gestures towards the door. The press turn around to face the door. A man opens the door. A woman comes out ... followed by an Asgard. The reporters gasp, and flashbulbs start popping as everyone takes pictures. Back at S.G.C., Jack looks at the close-up image of the Asgard, then turns to the others.)

O'NEILL: Well I'd call that somethin'.

T.V. Julia Donovan is reporting.

DONOVAN: ... a lot of frenzy after yesterday's startling revelation of what appeared to be a live alien by billionaire industrialist Alec Colson. Thus far there's been no official statement from the White House, and sources inside Colson Industries promise that there is definitely more to come.

S.G.C. - DANIEL'S OFFICE. Sam is on the phone.

CARTER (into phone): OK, thank you, sir. (She hangs up.) Well, we just got a message back from Thor. As far as he knows, there are no Asgard currently on Earth.

JACKSON: Loki was here for years conducting experiments without the High Council knowing about it.

CARTER: OK -- here's a possibility. What if it wasn't really an Asgard?

JACKSON: Looked like one.

CARTER: Didn't sound like one.

JACKSON: Didn't say anything.

CARTER: That's my point. Colson wrapped things up pretty quickly without taking any questions.

JACKSON: It was a perfect likeness.

CARTER: Imagery of little grey aliens has been commonplace on Earth for years. For that matter, Colson could have a picture.

JACKSON: So not a real Asgard?

CARTER: No Asgard we know would allow himself to be used that way.

JACKSON: Did look a little vacant.

CARTER: Still -- as much as he wants the whole truth, I don't think Colson would perpetrate a hoax to get it.

JACKSON: Then what was it?

CARTER: I don't know.

COLSON INDUSTRIES.

VOGLER: The networks all want interviews.

COLSON: Too bad our friend can't talk.

STAFFER: Well, we know he's capable. The M.R.I. showed a larynx not too different from ours but he doesn't seem to have anything to say.

VOGLER: They also want full access for independent medical and scientific personnel to verify that it's really what we say it is.

STAFFER: How are we supposed to convince the world of alien intelligence when this guy doesn't seem to have any?

VOGLER: We can't just trot this thing out on television with wild claims we aren't gonna be able to back up! Granted, it's an amazing genetic experiment but we don't even know that the thing is really alien.

COLSON: What else could it be?

STAFFER: All we know is that the D.N.A. came from the Department of Defense.

COLSON: Look, we're trying to build a circumstantial case here. The more questions we can raise, the more the burden of proof is gonna shift to Washington. Sooner or later, they're gonna have to respond to the public pressure. Meanwhile, we stay quiet. The media's going nuts over this whole thing, so let's just sit tight and see what happens.

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. SG-1 come in. Jack is already sitting at the table.

JACKSON: Well, Sam was right -- there's something different about Colson's Asgard. (He puts a file down in front of Jack as the three of them sit down.) It seems that a Colson biotech research company was given a copy of Asgard D.N.A. for sequencing.

CARTER: We were trying to help with their cloning problem.

O'NEILL: Colson grew a clone?

JACKSON: They weren't told it was alien D.N.A. -- it was meant to be a blind study, but they obviously took their research a little further than the contract specified.

CARTER: Asgard D.N.A. is programmed to grow a clone to maturity in just three months, but they're essentially an empty shell until an existing consciousness can be transferred into them.

TEAL'C: It did not speak because it was not capable.

CARTER: Exactly. They probably spent what time they had with it teaching it how to walk.

O'NEILL: Well -- the Pentagon has lost all patience.

JACKSON: What are they gonna do?

O'NEILL: They want us to put a stop to it.

CARTER: How?

O'NEILL: We're calling in a marker. (He smiles in a satisfied way. The other three look blankly at him. Jack pauses, then looks at his watch, frowning.) Yep -- callin' in a marker. (He looks round the room. A few more moments pass, then Thor transports in.)

THOR: Greetings.

O'NEILL: Ah! (He gestures at Thor.)

COLSON INDUSTRIES. The staffer is running to Colson's office.

STAFFER (to somebody in her way): 'Scuse me. (She runs into Colson's office.) It's gone.

COLSON: What do you mean?

STAFFER: Just disappeared right out of the lab. (Colson looks at her, not understanding.) The alien! Computers, everything.

COLSON: How? What about security ...?

STAFFER: Nobody took it -- it disappeared. We were standing right there, there was a bright flash of light and it was all just ... gone.

COLSON (getting up and grabbing his jacket): Alright, have Ron send out the decoy car -- and get the plane ready for a trip to Washington. Have it ready by the time I get to the hangar! (He hurries out.)

DONOVAN'S STUDIO. Sam, in dress blues, is sitting next to Julia in the studio, having a microphone fitted to her jacket.

DONOVAN: You ready?

CARTER: Not really.

DONOVAN: Well, just try not to think about the camera. Focus on me.

CARTER: It's not that. I respect Alec Colson. I don't like being asked to discredit a man who has every right to want the truth.

DONOVAN: But you've been ordered to do this.

CARTER: Yeah.

DONOVAN: Well, if you wanna go against those orders, feel free. I'll go with it.

(The theme tune for "Inside Access" begins.)

STUDIO MANAGER: In five, four, three, two ...

DONOVAN (into the camera): We're here with Lieutenant Colonel Samantha Carter of the United States Air Force. (She turns to Sam.) Welcome.

CARTER: Thank you.

DONOVAN: Your background is astrophysics, and you're one of the military's leading scientific researchers. We're all very eager to finally hear some reaction from Washington regarding the revelation made by Alec Colson.

CARTER: Well, first of all, I can assure people that, if aliens really existed and were visiting the planet, we would know about it.

DONOVAN: So, are you saying his claims have no merit? We all saw an alien on live television.

CARTER: Yes, well, Hollywood's been helping us see things on T.V. for a long time now.

(In a car on the way to the hangar, Colson and Vogler are watching the interview on the T.V.)

DONOVAN: Are you saying that the alien wasn't real?

CARTER: It depends on what you mean by real.

COLSON (to Vogler): Notice she hasn't actually lied once.

CARTER: I can show you some advanced methods for creating realistic 3D images that we've been working on.

DONOVAN: By all means.

CARTER: We've been experimenting with technology that makes it possible for us to create anything you can imagine -- virtually.

(Thor appears out of thin air, standing beside Sam. In the car, Colson and Vogler look at each other.)

DONOVAN: Wow -- that looks just like the alien Alec Colson introduced to us.

THOR: Greetings, people of Earth.

DONOVAN: That's amazing -- he looks so real.

THOR: Though I look real, I have been created through the use of advanced holographic technology.

DONOVAN: That's just incredible.

(Sam reaches out and waves her hand through Thor.)

CARTER: It's just a projection. You'll probably be seeing technology like this in theme park rides in a few years.

(In the car, Colson chuckles.)

COLSON: Oh -- she's good.

LATER. The interview over, Julia is looking at the video replay. She turns to face Sam.

DONOVAN: Not quite the exclusive I had in mind, but it'll still do huge numbers.

CARTER: You're hilarious. After everything you've been through, you still care about ratings.

DONOVAN: How did you do it? I've seen visual effects before, Sam, and this was some sort of ... (she pauses as an assistant brings in a sheet of paper and hands it to her, and waits for her to leave) ... this was some sort of alien technology, wasn't it?

(Sam just looks at her. Irritated, Julia looks down at the paper she was just given, and frowns.)

CARTER: What is it?

DONOVAN (reading from the paper): Ten minutes ago, Alec Colson's private plane was forced into an emergency landing after almost crashing on take-off from Sea-Tac. The plane suffered sudden depressurization and loss of engine power but was able to land without serious incident. (She looks up at Sam.) 'Scuse me, Sam, I've gotta get on the air with this. (She leaves, calling out to an assistant.) I need something on Colson's wife and his daughter. (To Sam) They died in a plane crash when he was twenty-four. That's why he started Colson Aviation. (To her team) Let's go!

(Sam's mobile phone rings. She answers it.)

CARTER: Carter.

COLSON: Sam? It's Alec Colson. (He is sitting in a car at the airport.)

CARTER (walking away from the studio area): Are you OK?

COLSON: News travels fast. It was close. (Vogler gets into the car next to him.) Brian's still as white as a sheet.

CARTER: How did you get this number?

COLSON: Oh, I have my sources. (Sam looks at the phone in irritation.) Y'know, the ground crew here found evidence the plane had been tampered with.

CARTER: Someone tried to kill you?

COLSON: Seems that way. Any ideas?

CARTER: You think I know? Why would I go on T.V. to publicly discredit you if I knew you were about to be assassinated?

COLSON: To make sure it didn't look like Washington had anything to do with it. And a fine job you did too, by the way.

CARTER: I'm sorry -- I was following orders.

COLSON: Yeah, I know. Don't worry, Sam -- I don't believe for a second you were in on it. If it was our government, I'm sure you were just a pawn.

CARTER: That doesn't make me feel any better. Look, Alec, I can assure you ...

COLSON: It's OK, it's OK. It wasn't my first rough landing; I'm sure it won't be my last. I won't be stopped, Sam. I promise you, one way or another, the world is gonna learn the truth. (He hangs up.)

S.G.C. - JACK'S OFFICE. Jack, in his dress blues, is sitting at his desk with his fingers steepled in front of his mouth. He appears to be thinking hard.

O'NEILL: Umm ... how 'bout a hyperdrive for the Prometheus?

(The camera pans across and we see that Thor and Daniel are sitting in the chairs opposite.)

THOR: That is something I must discuss with the High Council.

O'NEILL: Thor, c'mon! You said you wanted to get something nice for the President.

(Sam comes to the door.)

O'NEILL: Carter?

CARTER: Sir, anything on who might have tried to kill Colson?

O'NEILL: It wasn't us.

JACKSON: We think that Colson may have fragments of downed Goa'uld ships recovered from the Antarctic. A subsidiary of his was involved in the salvage and the clean-up.

CARTER: Are we just gonna keep trying to discredit the man? I mean, aren't we the ones a little delusional to think that we could cover up an attack of this scale?

O'NEILL: What's the alternative?

CARTER: How 'bout tell the truth? (Daniel and Jack look at her, surprised.) I mean to Colson. I know he's been profiled and deemed a security risk and obviously that's an accurate assessment, but what have we got to lose at this point? He's already trying to go public -- let's show him why it's so important to keep the secret. Besides, think of the benefits of having a man with his resources on our side.

O'NEILL: Well, Thor and I are meeting with the President in five minutes. I'll bring it up. (He picks up his hat and tucks it under his arm, and starts to button his jacket.)

CARTER: Five minutes?

O'NEILL (smiling smugly): Oh yeah!

(He and Thor are transported out of the office.)

CARTER: Right! (She looks at Daniel, who shrugs.)

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Colson is in his office with Vogler and the staffer.

COLSON: Two o'clock, we go live with the pictures, pieces of the alien ship, everything we've got.

VOGLER: Alec, they tried to kill us!

COLSON: You think that didn't work in our favour?

VOGLER: Dying doesn't work in our favour!

(At that moment, a transporter beam envelops Colson and he disappears. Vogler and the staffer stand up, amazed.)

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. Colson is transported in, with Thor beside him. Colson looks around the room, then sees Thor beside him. He backs away nervously.

COLSON: OK -- what just happened?

(Sam and Daniel walk over.)

JACKSON: Well, in layman's terms, we beamed you up ... and then down again.

COLSON: Where am I?

CARTER: Cheyenne Mountain Complex, Colorado. You know Daniel, of course.

COLSON: Uh, yeah, hi. (He and Daniel shake hands.)

CARTER: And (gesturing to Thor) this is Thor.

THOR: Greetings.

COLSON: Oh, so this is a real one!

CARTER: Yep.

COLSON: What-what happened to the clone?

THOR: It will become a host to an Asgard consciousness whose physical body is failing.

COLSON: OK.

THOR: Now I must take my leave. General O'Neill said he will see you all tomorrow. (He is transported out.)

CARTER (to Colson): I wanna show you something. (She goes to the window of the briefing room, where the blast doors are closed. She pushes a button and the blast doors lift to show the Gate Room. Colson stands beside her, looking at the Gate. Sam turns to him.) We call it a Stargate.

S.G.C. - V.I.P. QUARTERS. Colson is on the phone.

COLSON: I'm OK, Brian. I promise you, I'm fine. I'll be back in a couple of days. (Someone knocks on the door.) I've gotta go. ... Alright, bye.

(As he hangs up, Sam comes in, geared up for Gate travel.)

CARTER: Ready?

COLSON: Woah -- look at you!

CARTER: Yeah -- Soldier Sam.

COLSON (noticing that Sam has another uniform tucked under her arm): Ooh, I get a uniform too?

CARTER: Yep. (She tosses it to him.)

COLSON: Alright!

S.G.C. - GATE ROOM. The Gate is dialing. Sam is waiting at the bottom of the ramp as Colson, geared up, comes in. The Gate whooshes and Colson flinches back. Sam grins at him, then heads up the ramp. Colson follows her, looking nervous.

COLSON: So, uh, where are we going?

CARTER: P4X-650. We have an off-world base there.

COLSON: And how far away is that? (He and Sam stop at the top of the ramp.)

CARTER: Six hundred and forty light years.

COLSON: Really?!

CARTER: Let's go. (She takes his arm and walks him into the event horizon.)

P4X-650. Sam and Colson come through the Gate, which is inside a concrete building. The Gate shuts down behind them. Colson turns to look at the Gate behind him, then turns to Sam, trying to look nonchalant.

COLSON: Didn't feel a thing.

CARTER: You were demolecularized.

(A man approaches them.)

SHEFIELD: Welcome to the Alpha site.

CARTER: Alec Colson, Captain Shefield.

COLSON: Hi. (They shake hands, then Colson looks around the structure.) Well, it's-it's ... nice.

CARTER: Our last Alpha site was destroyed in an attack. We decided to build this one inside a mountain like the S.G.C.

(The three of them walk across the room.)

SHEFIELD: This is all a bit spartan, but it's our home away from home.

COLSON: I guess I was just expecting something a little bit more, uh, I dunno ... other-worldly?

(Sam smiles as they reach a door. She takes out her card and swipes it through the reader and the door slides open. Colson walks a few steps, then stops and stares in amazement.)

COLSON: Oh! Now that ... that's more like it.

(In a hangar at the end of the building is an F-302.)

CARTER: It's called the F-302 -- alien-human hybrid. (They walk towards it.)

COLSON: So this is what the M.E.C.s were for.

CARTER: Yeah -- thanks to you it's capable of leaving the atmosphere and returning. We used a number of these to defend the Earth five months ago. This is just one of the many advancements we've made as a result of technology procured through the Stargate. (Colson is staring up at the F-302 in awe.) You wanna take a ride?

(Colson grins and nods.)

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Vogler is in Colson's office. The staffer walks in.

STAFFER: Brian, what are you doing?

VOGLER: Alec wants all the evidence that we have about the alien cover-up duplicated and secured off-premises. You can get started on whatever we have left on the clone research.

STAFFER: OK. (She leaves the room. Vogler's mobile phone rings. He answers it.)

VOGLER: Vogler. ... I told you, I don't know where he is. ... I have a meeting with the S.E.C. this afternoon. ... I understand. ... Don't worry, it'll work. (He hangs up, looking worried.)

ALPHA SITE. The F-302 rolls out of the hangar, takes off, and climbs steeply into the sky. Colson, in the rear seat, looks around.

COLSON: Beautiful!

CARTER: Yeah.

COLSON: Must be hard, keeping all this secret. I don't know how you do it.

CARTER: I think of all the fear it would cause, the potential chaos.

COLSON: Ah, but what about all the greater meaning you could bring to people's lives, just knowing that all this is-is out here?

CARTER: What's out here is an enemy so advanced, so evil, it's a miracle we haven't been wiped out or enslaved yet. We've been very lucky so far. I think most people would have a hard time living with the threat of constant impending doom.

COLSON: Oh, right, the old 'if you had cancer' argument. Would you want to know you were gonna die, or would you rather live out your final days in blissful ignorance?

CARTER: Yeah -- I guess I don't really buy it either.

COLSON: Well, I'd rather know -- try to cure it. If I couldn't do that, well, I'd try to make my final days as meaningful as possible.

CARTER: You want a turn?

COLSON: I thought I was gonna have to ask!

CARTER (pressing some buttons): Switching to co-pilot control. Go ahead -- she's all yours.

(Colson starts flying the craft, and flips it over in a victory roll.)

CARTER: So -- what do you think?

COLSON: Amazing! She maneuvers like an FA-22 and feels like a 747!

CARTER: Yeah, that's the inertial dampeners.

COLSON: Alright -- let's try this. (He puts the craft into a steep nosedive. After several seconds alarms sound and a "Main Engine Rocket Fuel Warning" comes up on Sam's screen.)

CARTER: Alec! (Colson continues to dive.) Alec, pull up! (Colson ignores her. Sam punches buttons to regain pilot control, and starts to pull the craft out of its dive. It levels out just in time, skimming right over the top of a forest.)

VOICE ON RADIO: Flight, this is Alpha Command. Is everything OK up there?

CARTER: It is now. We're fine. Bringing her back in. (She throws a black look over her shoulder, shakes her head and sighs.)

LATER. The F-302 taxis back into the hangar and stops. The canopy opens. Colson takes his helmet off.

CARTER: Well, that was reckless.

COLSON: Ah, the 302 can handle it. (He pats the craft.) I know. I may not have known its name but I helped you build it, remember?

CARTER (starting to get out of her seat): It was a joyride. I took you up for a little fun.

COLSON: This isn't a game, Sam. What you guys are doing up here -- this is life and death, for all of us.

CARTER: We know that.

COLSON: Wasn't much fun, feeling out of control like that, was it?

CARTER: You have to make your point with my life.

COLSON: Oh, come on, we were never gonna crash -- unlike my plane back on Earth.

CARTER: I told you -- we had nothing to do with it.

COLSON: Yeah, well, someone did. And if you think that -- or any of this -- is gonna prevent me from telling the world what they have a right to know, you're dead wrong.

ALPHA SITE - GATE ROOM. Colson is examining the Gate. Sam walks over.

CARTER: Alec, there's something else I need to talk to you about. There's a clandestine group of private businessmen like yourself who were informed of the Stargate programme over six years ago by rogue elements of the N.I.D. We've tried to identify them and bring them down but they are very highly connected. Former Vice President Kinsey's been linked to them. Now, instead of going public like you, they've been funding various secret endeavours all aimed at controlling alien technology for their own purposes.

COLSON: Which are?

CARTER: You'd have to ask them. Personal profit, or maybe they think they can do a better job of defending the planet than we can.

COLSON: Why are you telling me all this?

CARTER: Because I'm guessing that's who tried to kill you. They'll never get control of the Gate if the world finds out.

COLSON: Hmm. (He sits down on the steps to the Gate. Sam joins him.) When I was young, all I ever dreamed about was flying. I had every make of aeroplane ever built hanging from my ceiling. And then ... well, I take it you know about my wife and daughter. (Sam nods.) One of the downsides of celebrity -- we really do have no secrets. Anyway, after the crash, I vowed to make flying as safe as it possibly could be. I really thought that I could do it better than anyone else.

CARTER: You have made a difference.

COLSON: But nothing's perfect, is it?

CARTER: No.

COLSON: Intergalactic travel; advanced alien civilizations; humans living on other worlds. I do realize that there may be bad guys out there too.

CARTER: You have no idea how bad.

COLSON: But in the end, we have to believe in humanity. I mean, who knows, this might bring us all together as a planet.

CARTER: If we knew it would play out that way, then ... (She trails off.)

COLSON: You're afraid that knowing about the Stargate would fracture the world more than it already is.

CARTER: Yeah. Not just stop us fighting the Goa'uld but end things for good. We've seen it happen on other planets like Earth. In one case, public revelation of the Stargate caused an apocalyptic world war.

COLSON (laughing): Oh, that would be the ultimate irony, wouldn't it?! You secretly save the world from destruction at the hands of alien invaders, only for us to destroy ourselves out of fear, after the fact.

CARTER: Change your mind?

COLSON: Not really. I don't think it would happen. (He stands up and walks to the Stargate, gesturing at it.) And if a truth of this magnitude, about the very nature of human existence, could lead us to destroy ourselves, then I'd say we would deserve it, wouldn't you?

WORMHOLE TRAVEL

S.G.C. - BRIEFING ROOM. Daniel is watching Julia Donovan on the T.V.

DONOVAN: Investigators now believe that Alec Colson created the alien hoax in order to divert attention from his real corporate financial problems. (Sam and Colson come into the room.) Colson, who has still made no public statement ... (Daniel switches the T.V. off.)

COLSON: "Corporate financial problems." What's she talking about?

JACKSON: The story broke about an hour ago. The President's halted trading on the markets. Your company stock had fallen eighty percent; the Dow is down over five hundred points on the whole.

CARTER: What's going on?

JACKSON (to Colson): The S.E.C. is investigating you for securities fraud.

COLSON: That's ridiculous!

JACKSON: They're saying there are irregularities in your company's last two financial statements.

COLSON: It's not true! (Sam looks at him.) Come on! The timing of this ... I'm being set up!

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Vogler is sitting in Colson's office, drinking. He finishes a glass and reaches to pour another as Colson and Sam come in.

VOGLER (slightly slurred): What's she doing here?

COLSON: She wants to help, Brian.

VOGLER: Oh good! Why -- does she have a time machine so we can go back and undo everything?

COLSON: Brian. (He sits down.) Brian, what's going on?

VOGLER: You wouldn't listen. You wouldn't stop. (He stands up and moves away.)

COLSON: So you admit you did this?

VOGLER: Oh! (He gestures grandly.) You go off on your adventures, you fly your planes, you drop by every now and then with a bright idea. Ever since we were kids. You're always biting off more than you can chew ... and I'm always having to bail you out.

COLSON (standing up): So you doctored the books?!

VOGLER: I had to. I had to do something. I told you -- we were over-extended; the stock price was the only thing keeping us afloat and ... you wouldn't listen.

COLSON: No, I don't believe this.

VOGLER: Alec -- who do you think told the S.E.C.?

COLSON: Why? Why now? What difference could it make, Brian? Once the truth came out ...

VOGLER: Alec, I almost died in that plane too! I still have a family. They tried to kill us!

COLSON: Who?!

VOGLER: Did you really think that they were gonna let you tell a secret like this?

COLSON: Brian! What are you talking about?

VOGLER: They call themselves the Trust. (Alec looks at Sam. Vogler sinks down onto a sofa, tearful.) Look, all I know is, they're very powerful, and they think that Washington abdicated its duty to protect the planet, maybe even caused the problem in the first place. They see it as their responsibility to step in.

COLSON (sitting down): We can fix this.

VOGLER (whispering tearfully): It's too late -- it's done. It can't be undone.

COLSON: Brian, we'll both go to jail.

VOGLER: Yeah, but my family will be safe.

COLSON: What about the rest of the people that work for this company? What about their families?

VOGLER: Why weren't you thinking about them three days ago?

CARTER: How did they know? How did the people who threatened you know that you'd cooked the books? How did they know that there would be enough to indict both you and Alec?

(Vogler looks at her, crying. Colson finally realises what Sam is implying.)

COLSON (to Vogler): They got to you six months ago.

VOGLER: Alec, they knew what you had. Don't ask me how. They had to make sure they could stop you. You're wrong, Alec -- true or not, this shouldn't come out. World's not ready.

COLSON (getting up and turning to Sam): There must be something we can do.

CARTER: You signed false financial statements.

COLSON: No, I mean about the people who tried to kill us.

CARTER: All I know is that they operate above the law and that they've threatened people's lives before.

COLSON: Then we have to bring them down.

CARTER: We've tried, believe me.

COLSON: Well, we have to try again. (He looks down at Vogler, who is a picture of despair.)

S.G.C. - CORRIDOR. Jack and SG-1 get out of an elevator.

CARTER: So Colson's convinced Vogler to arrange a meeting with his contact and wear a wire. Hopefully we'll get enough to connect them to the rogue N.I.D. and then flip them for someone bigger. We're coordinating with Agent Barrett.

JACKSON: At the very least it may restore Colson's public image.

CARTER: Well, yeah, especially if it turns out that someone in direct corporate competition with Colson Industries was pulling the strings. (They go into Jack's office and sit down. Teal'c perches on the desk at the back of the room.) Unfortunately, without further evidence, Brian Vogler's word alone isn't gonna be enough to undo all the damage already done to the company.

TEAL'C: What of Brian Vogler's safety?

CARTER: He's under close surveillance. His family's been taken into protective custody.

O'NEILL: Well -- I guess the secret is safe ... again.

JACKSON: For now.

(Jack shrugs. His phone rings and he answers it.)

O'NEILL: O'Neill.

CARTER (to Daniel): You know, I wouldn't count Colson out just yet. He still feels really strongly that the world should know the truth.

O'NEILL (into the phone): Alright. Thank you. (He hangs up.) Surveillance just found Brian Vogler dead in his bathroom.

CARTER: What? How?

O'NEILL: He hanged himself.

COLSON INDUSTRIES. Sam walks into Colson's office. He is sitting on the sofa holding a pistol in his lap.

CARTER: Alec. (She sees what he's holding and walks cautiously forward and sits down next to him.) I'm so sorry about Brian.

COLSON: I killed him. (He lifts the pistol.) Might as well have put the gun against his head and pulled the trigger myself.

CARTER: You couldn't have known.

COLSON: You saw how scared he was. I know what his family meant to him. He was never going to do anything to put them in any danger.

CARTER (nervously eyeing the pistol): Alec ...

COLSON: He was my best friend.

CARTER: He betrayed you.

COLSON: No! I betrayed him. (He emphasizes the last word with the pistol. Sam flinches back.)

CARTER: Why don't you put the gun down?

(Colson looks at the pistol and sighs, then looks at Sam.)

COLSON: My life's over, Sam. Everything I worked for, everything I believed in, held to be true ...

CARTER: ... still exists. Apparently Congress is looking into providing relief. The companies, the employees, will survive.

COLSON: While I go to jail for something I didn't do?!

CARTER: Back on the Alpha site you said, no matter what, you would rather make whatever time you had left meaningful. I'm here to give you that chance.

COLSON: How? By making all the indictments against me just ... disappear?

CARTER: I was thinking more along the lines of making you disappear.

COLSON: Problem with a guy like me -- no place on Earth I can hide.

CARTER: Who's talking about Earth?

(Colson looks at her.)

COLSON: Oh, no. No, I couldn't let you do that.

CARTER: Believe me, I wouldn't be here without the approval of my superiors. Now, the President wasn't responsible for what happened to you but he's also not sorry that you were publicly discredited. (Colson looks away, unsure.) Please, Alec, come with me. You can still make a difference. He who fights and runs away ...

(Colson chuckles briefly, then looks down at the pistol. After a moment, he puts the pistol down.)

COLSON: ... lives to fight another day. (Sam nods. He chuckles again.) And no-one will ever know.

CARTER (smiling sympathetically): Welcome to my world.