CRYSTAL SKULL

Written by Michael Greenburg & Jarrad Paul

Transcribed By: Dee

TEASER

FADE IN

EXT – ALIEN WORLD (DAY)

The STARGATE has been opened and a MALP is making its way down a vast walkway, heading towards an immense pyramid in the distance.

INT – CONTROL ROOM, SGC

SG1, watching the MALP’s progress on a computer, see the pyramid.

CARTER: This is well over a thousand metres high.

O’NEILL: And as pyramids go that’s…big?

TEAL’C: I know of no Goa’uld structure of that magnitude.

DANIEL: Definitely Mayan. This is a major find, I have to see this.

O’NEILL: Any signs of life there?

CARTER: There is a breathable atmosphere, Sir, but no complex life signs.

On the computer, the MALP enters the pyramid. It comes to a huge cavern, filled with stalagmites.

CARTER: This is a major find. I have to see this.

O’NEILL: You too?

CARTER: Well look at these readings, Sir. These are leptons.

O’NEILL: Get out.

CARTER: That means something inside this pyramid is slowing down neutrinos. Normally neutrinos pass right through ordinary matter, no matter how dense. I mean, something like five hundred million billion just passed through you.

O’NEILL: No matter how dense?

CARTER: A material that slows neutrinos could change everything we know about physics, the formation of the universe…

DANIEL (cutting her off): Wait a minute, SAM. Get uh, get closer.

The MALP’s camera shows a narrow bridge, leading to a stone island in the centre of the cavern.

CARTER: I can’t. The MALP’s too big to cross the span.

DANIEL: Zoom in. On that.

He points at the screen and CARTER zooms in. The camera focuses on a pink skull.

TEAL’C: It appears to be a human skull.

DANIEL: No that’s a crystal skull.

CARTER: How do you know?

DANIEL: Because it’s exactly like the one found in 1971 in Belize. By my grandfather.

END OF TEASER

INT – BRIEFING ROOM, SGC

DANIEL is standing before the projector, clicking each picture to the next. They show various archaeological digs and other crystal skulls found on Earth.

DANIEL: I could name at least a dozen different crystal skulls from various parts of the world, but the skull that NICK discovered in Belize was unique.

O’NEILL: NICK?

DANIEL: Uh, yeah, the uh…the great explorer, the not so great grandfather Nicholas Ballard. He preferred being called NICK even when I was a kid. It was uh…Anyway, the point is that no one can explain how the skull that NICK discovered was carved from a single piece of crystal, against the grain, given the technology of the day. He claimed that it possessed a certain…power.

HAMMOND: What kind of power?

DANIEL: That if one were to look into the eyes of the skull, one would be teleported to see…aliens.

TEAL’C: Your grandfather saw these aliens?

DANIEL: So he insisted to the entire academic community.

FRASIER: I take it his claim didn’t go over very well.

DANIEL: As you might imagine, no. Um, he tried for years under controlled conditions to make the skull teleport him again to where the aliens lived, but he…never could.

O’NEILL: Doesn’t mean he wasn’t right.

CARTER: The academic community didn’t believe your theory that the pyramids were landing sites for alien spaceships either.

O’NEILL: We have to see this.

HAMMOND: I’ll authorise a standard re-con mission.

FRASIER: Colonel I can only guess the effect this type of radiation may have on the human body. I recommend limited exposure, ten, fifteen minutes at most.

DANIEL: Wait a minute, that’s not enough time. I mean, there has to be some sort of radiation suit or…

O’NEILL: Hey. If you’d been listening, you’d know that Nintendo’s pass through everything.

DANIEL: I heard.

CARTER smiles.

O’NEILL: Everything.

EXT – ALIEN WORLD (DAY)

The STARGATE closes as SG1 walk towards the pyramid.

O’NEILL: Whoa.

INT – PYRAMID

SG1 find the MALP, still sitting at the end of the narrow bridge.

CARTER is checking radiation readings with a device.

CARTER: Muon radiation is increasing.

O’NEILL: Unhealthy?

CARTER: I don’t think so, Sir. Not if it stays at these levels.

They stand at the edge of the huge cavern, looking out across the bridge.

TEAL’C: Whoever the builders are, they appear to be a formidable race.

DANIEL: You could fit every pyramid on Earth inside this thing and still have room to spare.

O’NEILL: Can you imagine heating this place?

He steps out onto the bridge and they begin to cross towards the island.

O’NEILL: Major? Start the clock.

They reach the other side and DANIEL heads over to the skull, mounted on a stone pedestal.

DANIEL: It’s identical to the one NICK discovered in Belize.

TEAL’C: Can you determine if it is a means of transport as your grandfather believed?

DANIEL: Uh, I can’t be sure, there’s no writings of any kind on the pedestal.

CARTER (to the others): This cavern must act like some sort of containment body.

DANIEL (to himself): It’s no wonder NICK was so fascinated.

CARTER: If I can get a sample of the substance that’s slowing down these neutrinos, we can change the face of physics.

DANIEL: It’s like a living thing, it’s…

O’NEILL: I wonder how far down that it.

He cautiously glances over the edge as TEAL’C approaches DANIEL, who is staring into the skull’s eyes.

TEAL’C: DANIEL Jackson.

DANIEL doesn’t answer, seemingly engrossed. As TEAL’C watches, the skull is filled with tiny lights.

CARTER: Sir, radiation is spiking! It’s at three hundred percent.

O’NEILL: What?

CARTER: Four hundred.

O’NEILL: Right, that’s it, we’re outta here. DANIEL?

The lights explode from the skull in an energy field that engulfs DANIEL.

TEAL’C raises his zat and fires at the skull, knocking DANIEL away. The energy field collapses.

DANIEL is lying stunned on the floor, but none of the others go over to check on him.

O’NEILL: Where’d he go?

TEAL’C crosses over to the stone pedestal and steps right through DANIEL where he is lying unconscious on the floor.

TEAL’C: He seemed to disappear.

CARTER: Sir, these readings are off the scale now. If we don’t leave here soon…

She suddenly passes out and is caught by O’NEILL, who lifts her over his shoulder and starts running back across the bridge.

O’NEILL: TEAL’C, get out of there!

After a moment, TEAL’C turns and runs after them.

INT – CONTROL ROOM, SGC

TECHNICIAN: Incoming traveller, Sir. It’s SG1.

HAMMOND: Open the iris.

The iris is opened as HAMMOND runs into the Gateroom.

O’NEILL, CARTER and TEAL’C stumble through the STARGATE and collapse on the gate ramp. HAMMOND rushes up to them.

HAMMOND: Get a medical team in here!

An airman rushes off to get FRASIER.

CARTER appears unconscious, while O’NEILL and TEAL’C struggle to move.

HAMMOND: Where’s Doctor Jackson?

None of them can answer and O’NEILL passes out.

INT – INFIRMARY, SGC

O’NEILL, CARTER and TEAL’C are lying in the infirmary, while FRASIER and other medical personal attend to them.

TEAL’C is conscious as O’NEILL slowly wakes up, sweating, and puts a hand to his head.

FRASIER (to HAMMOND): He’s coming to, Sir.

O’NEILL: CARTER? DANIEL?

FRASIER: She’s still unconscious. TEAL’C is better off than both of you. His symbiote is helping him. It was close, Colonel. If you hadn’t left when you did…

O’NEILL: Hot.

FRASIER: Yes, I know. We’re trying to keep your temperature down. The Muon radiation affected your hypothalamus. (She pats him down with a damp cloth) Essentially, your internal thermostat went haywire. Your respiration, heartbeat and your temperature have been fluctuating wildly.

O’NEILL: No kidding.

HAMMOND: As for Dr Jackson, Colonel, he never returned with you.

TEAL’C (sitting up): He is no longer there, General HAMMOND. The skull enveloped him in an energy field. I fired my zat’nikatel, but it was too late. He seemed to disappear.

HAMMOND: What?

INT – PYRAMID

DANIEL is still lying on the floor, unconscious.

EXT – CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN (NIGHT)

Armed guards are patrolling the entrance to the mountain.

INT – CONTROL ROOM, SGC

The STARGATE is open and HAMMOND and a technician are looking through the MALP’s camera.

HAMMOND: Pan the camera left again.

He points to the screen and the technician obeys.

HAMMOND: Do the infrared sensors detect any sign of Dr Jackson?

TECHNICIAN: No, Sir.

TEAL’C enters the Control Room.

HAMMOND (to TEAL’C): You should be in the Infirmary.

TEAL’C: I am well again, General HAMMOND.

HAMMOND: Not according to Dr FRASIER.

TEAL’C: Nicholas Ballard believed the crystal skull to be a teleportation device. Recovering the skull may help us to determine the location to which he was teleported.

HAMMOND: The MALP telemetry suggests the radiation levels are still too high.

TEAL’C: My symbiote provides me with a greater tolerance against the effects of radiation.

HAMMOND: And if that thing zaps you to where it sent Dr Jackson?

TEAL’C: Then I will have succeeded in locating him.

HAMMOND appears to consider his offer.

INT – PYRAMID

TEAL’C is running across the narrow bridge towards the crystal skull and pedestal. He doesn’t see DANIEL lying on the floor.

DANIEL slowly wakes up and climbs to his feet as TEAL’C runs passed and begins to take off his pack

DANIEL: TEAL’C!

TEAL’C grabs the skull and puts it into his pack, not answering.

DANIEL: What happened? Where is everybody?

TEAL’C still doesn’t answer. He pauses to look around, then heads down the steps, passing straight through DANIEL on his way out.

DANIEL (shocked): You just ran right through me. TEAL’C!

He starts running after TEAL’C. TEAL’C pauses at the end of the bridge and looks back. DANIEL stops but it’s clear TEAL’C doesn’t see him.

DANIEL: What the hell is going on?

TEAL’C turns and starts running back to the STARGATE.

INT – GATEROOM, SGC

The STARGATE opens and TEAL’C steps through, closely followed by DANIEL. The STARGATE immediately closes behind them, almost catching DANIEL.

DANIEL (annoyed, to the technicians): Hey!

TEAL’C heads down to the bottom of the ramp where HAMMOND and SILER are waiting for him.

HAMMOND: Well done, TEAL’C.

TEAL’C: Regrettably, there was no sign of DANIEL Jackson.

TEAL’C hands the pack to SILER as DANIEL runs down to them.

DANIEL: So I take it nobody else can see me either?

He waves his hand in front of SILER, who doesn’t react.

HAMMOND (to SILER): Dr ROTHMAN is awaiting the artefact in Lab 3C.

SILER: Yes, Sir.

SILER heads off as DANIEL waves his hand through HAMMOND.

TEAL’C: Major CARTER will also want to study it.

HAMMOND: As soon as she’s fully recovered.

DANIEL glances at his hand, then at HAMMOND.

DANIEL: Recovered from what? What happened?

They fail to answer him and walk away.

INT – INFIRMARY, SGC

TEAL’C enters the Infirmary, followed by an invisible DANIEL, and heads over to CARTER’S bed.

FRASIER: She’s going to be fine, TEAL’C. Her exposure wasn’t long enough to cause any permanent damage.

O’NEILL: Doc!

FRASIER turns to the other bed and pulls back the curtain. O’NEILL is lying in the other bed, wrapped up to keep warm.

FRASIER: You can protest all you want, Colonel, but it’ll be a while before you get your strength back. So relax.

O’NEILL: Oh come on…

FRASIER: Ah! Doctor’s orders.

She leaves.

O’NEILL (muttering): Napoleonic power monger. (He rolls over to face TEAL’C) News?

TEAL’C: DANIEL Jackson was nowhere in the vicinity of the pyramid.

O’NEILL: What the hell happened to him?

TEAL’C: I do not believe the skull is a weapon, O’NEILL.

DANIEL (to himself): Well, you’re right about that, it’s not a weapon.

TEAL’C: It is indeed a teleportation device. I believe the artefact itself…

DANIEL (speaking over him): No, something else happened.

TEAL’C: Dr ROTHMAN is now studying it.

O’NEILL: ROTHMAN couldn’t figure out an ashtray. The guy we need working on that skull is DANIEL.

TEAL’C: It is he whom we endeavour to locate, O’NEILL.

O’NEILL: Look, I’m sick of laying around. Help me up.

TEAL’C: Dr FRASIER believes you are not strong enough to undertake such a mission.

O’NEILL: Yeah, whatever.

He tries to get up and succeeds in rolling off the bed and onto the floor.

TEAL’C: Dr FRASIER is usually correct in such matters.

He bends down and hauls O’NEILL back onto the bed to lie facedown.

O’NEILL (muffled): Thank you.

TEAL’C: You are welcome, O’NEILL.

INT – ROTHMAN’S OFFICE, SGC

ROTHMAN has the crystal skull on his desk and is flicking through papers. DANIEL is leaning on the desk, speaking to him.

DANIEL: Ok, you can do this Robert, I know you can. Focus on the Mayan legends, on the lost pyramids of Belize, the Ballard skull, that’s where the answer is.

ROTHMAN (sounding like he has a cold): Well, it’s a crystal skull.

HAMMOND: We knew that Doctor.

ROTHMAN: It’s almost identical to Nicholas Ballard’s skull in the Smithsonian.

DANIEL: He doesn’t know it was found on P7X 377.

ROTHMAN: Actually, the craftsmanship is very impressive. It’s probably made in Germany, early eighteen hundreds. What I don’t understand is what it has to do with DANIEL being missing?

TEAL’C: We believe it to be a teleportation device.

ROTHMAN: Are you serious?

DANIEL: That’s good, Robert. Be sceptical.

HAMMOND: We were hoping your archaeological expertise could help provide insight into where he may have been sent.

ROTHMAN inhales a nasal spray.

ROTHMAN (cynically): It’s a skull!

DANIEL (closing his eyes): Not that sceptical.

TEAL’C: I myself witnessed the artefact create a tremendous field of energy which engulfed DANIEL Jackson.

ROTHMAN: It’s made of crystal, not plutonium. I don’t see how this could…

HAMMOND (cutting him off): Humour me, Doctor! I want a full report within twelve hours.

ROTHMAN: Yes, Sir. I-I was…

TEAL’C: Do not look directly into its eyes.

ROTHMAN: Ok.

DANIEL: Don’t let me down Robert.

He follows TEAL’C and HAMMOND out of the door.

ROTHMAN: Teleportation device?

He looks to SILER, working opposite him.

ROTHMAN (cont’d): What do you think?

SILER: I think you’re gonna get fired.

INT – TEAL’C’S QUARTERS, SGC

TEAL’C is meditating in his quarters, sitting cross-legged and surrounded by dozens of lit candles. DANIEL, unseen, is sitting opposite him, watching.

DANIEL: TEAL’C. In case I don’t ever get the chance to…say this. If you hadn’t come back for me, I would have been stuck in that place forever so…thank you.

TEAL’C’S eyes snap open and he looks around.

TEAL’C: Is there someone present?

DANIEL (excitedly): Yes. (He gets to his feet and stands before TEAL’C) Yes, it, it’s me, it’s DANIEL. I’m right here. I’m right here, just don’t walk…

TEAL’C passes through him,

DANIEL: …through me, it’s very disconcerting.

TEAL’C opens the door and look out into the corridor. DANIEL follows him out.

DANIEL: You sensed I was in the room, you just can’t see or hear me. Which is a little frustrating as you may imagine.

TEAL’C returns to his quarters and closes the door. DANIEL appears disappointed.

INT – ROTHMAN’S OFFICE, SGC

ROTHMAN has his face close to the skull’s and he is gazing into its eyes.

CARTER: Stop!

He jumps and looks up as CARTER and FRASIER enter the room.

CARTER (cont’d): That is exactly what DANIEL was doing when he was absorbed by the energy field.

DANIEL is sitting on a table in the corner.

DANIEL (wearily): That’s what I’ve been trying to tell him.

He drops his head.

ROTHMAN: I-I know that. I was trying to prove something.

He takes off his glasses.

FRASIER: Prove what?

DANIEL: That the skull didn’t do this.

CARTER (to ROTHMAN): You don’t think the skull is responsible for what happened to DANIEL, do you?

ROTHMAN: I’m still here.

CARTER: There was intense Muon radiation at the time the energy…

ROTHMAN: There is no residual radiation.

CARTER: Look, I saw what that thing is capable of.

ROTHMAN: Hey, I wish it was a teleportation device. I could use it to go find DANIEL. He’s my friend too, you know. I don’t think that’s what we’ve got here. I think what we’ve got here is…a paperweight.

CARTER looks angry.

ROTHMAN (apologetic): I’m sorry. I…that’s my opinion.

He turns away, looking tired.

CARTER: It’s alright. I’ll take over from here. (To SILER) There may be properties within the crystalline structure that are invisible to the naked eye. We should run some diagnostic tests.

FRASIER goes over to a table to fetch CARTER a glass of water.

DANIEL: Wait a minute, I’m not hungry or thirsty. Why not?

CARTER (to FRASIER): Thank you.

DANIEL jumps off the table.

DANIEL: Because I’m dead?

CARTER stops drinking her water and appears disturbed.

ROTHMAN (looking around): What?

CARTER: Did anybody else feel that?

FRASIER: What?

DANIEL: What if I’m a ghost?

CARTER: I just got a shiver.

FRASIER: Well, you’re still feeling the after-effects of the radiation.

DANIEL: No, I think that was me.

He appears as disturbed as CARTER.

INT – GATEROOM, SGC

Technicians are preparing a UAV for launch.

INT – CONTROL ROOM, SGC

The STARGATE is dialling up.

TECHNICIAN: Chevron four encoded…

SG1 is present, along with FRASIER. DANIEL is sitting behind them on a piece of equipment.

CARTER (to HAMMOND): Sir, we’ve subjected the skull to every piece of diagnostic equipment we have.

TECHNICIAN: Chevron five encoded…

HAMMOND: What have you found?

CARTER: Nothing.

O’NEILL: We could take another look at that planet, Sir.

FRASIER: I’d strongly recommend against it. We’re still getting readings periodically from the MALP. The radiation levels have dropped slightly, but their still elevated.

TECHNICIAN: Chevron six encoded…

HAMMOND: We are preparing a UAV for a long-range search around the pyramid. I don’t see any point in risking another SG team unless that search turns up something.

TECHNICIAN: Chevron seven locked.

The STARGATE opens.

HAMMOND: Launch when ready, sergeant.

TECHNICIAN: Launching UAV in five, four, three, two, one…mark.

The UAV shoots into the wormhole.

CARTER: I can’t believe I’m gonna suggest this, but what about DANIEL’S grandfather?

DANIEL and O’NEILL (in unison): NICK?

CARTER: Well, he claimed that the skull teleported him somewhere. He may be the only person who actually knows where DANIEL is.

FRASIER: I’m not so sure, Major. I’ve already taken the liberty of looking him up.

DANIEL (cringing): Oh you didn’t.

FRASIER: His current address is a psychiatric institution in Oregon.

O’NEILL: Psychiatric?

FRASIER: Apparently his failure to prove the crystal skull was more than just a curiosity caused a severe mental breakdown from which he’s never been able to fully recover. NICK checked himself in.

CARTER: Why wouldn’t DANIEL have told us that?

DANIEL: Oh, yes, by the way he’s insane.

FRASIER: DANIEL was a regular visitor there up until four years ago, right before he joined the STARGATE program.

DANIEL: Oh please, he kicked me out. We had a huge fight.

FRASIER: Apparently, NICK still talks about him all the time.

DANIEL: He doesn’t want anything to do with me.

FRASIER: The doctor I spoke to says any friends of Dr Jackson’s are welcome.

DANIEL (surprised): What?

CARTER: We don’t have much else to go on.

HAMMOND: Find out what you can, but I needn’t remind you the details of this matter will have to remain classified. That means you won’t be able to tell him what happened to Dr Jackson or where the skull was found.

INT – PSYCHIATRIC INSTITUTION, OREGON (DAY)

O’NEILL is fetching himself a drink from a machine and being stared at intensely by an inmate.

NURSE (over intercom): Dr Nelson, please report to ward 2 East. Dr Nelson, please report to ward 2 East.

O’NEILL quickly walks away and heads over to CARTER and TEAL’C. DANIEL is leaning, unnoticed, against a wall.

A nurse comes out of a room to meet them.

NURSE: Sorry for the wait. Is there anything I can do for you?

TEAL’C: You may take us to Nicholas Ballard immediately.

The nurse appears taken aback at his abrupt manner.

O’NEILL: He’s just a little anxious to see old NICK.

NURSE: Oh, are you close?

O’NEILL: Yes.

TEAL’C (at the same time) No.

O’NEILL looks at him.

TEAL’C: Yes, extremely.

NURSE: Well, I’ll just check and see if he’s ready for you.

DANIEL: What am I waiting for?

He follows the nurse and passes through the doors to NICK’S room.

Inside, NICK and a doctor are present.

NURSE (to the DOCTOR): Colonel O’NEILL and his party are here.

DOCTOR (to NICK): Friends of DANIEL I told you about are here, just outside. Would you like to see them now?

DANIEL crosses the room and NICK seems to watch him.

NICK: I miss him.

DANIEL: Hi NICK, long time no see.

DOCTOR (to NURSE): Would you show them in please?

DANIEL crouches down before his grandfather.

DANIEL: NICK, I need your help. Friends of mine want to ask you about the skull you found in Belize. Tell them everything, just trust them.

The rest of SG1 enter the room.

DOCTOR: NICK, this Colonel Jack O’NEILL. He’s a friend of DANIEL’S.

O’NEILL: Doctor, would you mind if we…?

The doctor understands and leaves.

NICK (pointing to himself): NICK.

O’NEILL: Jack. (He offers his hand, but NICK doesn’t take it) O’NEILL. Colonel.

He sits opposite NICK.

NICK: DANIEL followed my footsteps.

O’NEILL: You must be very proud.

NICK: He made a fool of himself.

DANIEL: Oh yeah, here we go.

NICK: He staked his entire academic career on this belief that the great pyramids of Egypt were made by aliens.

O’NEILL: Yes, well, that’s…

NICK: He was more insane than I was. I told him so. I told him to forget all that nonsense.

DANIEL: Uh, it wasn’t nonsense. I was right.

NICK: He lost his apartment, his research grant, he hasn’t published a paper in two years. Now where is he? Where is he now?

CARTER: In a way, that’s what this is all about. We wanted to hear exactly what happened to you back in ’71 when you first found the skull.

NICK: Nothing happened. There were no aliens.

DANIEL: Trust them, NICK.

NICK: No one believed me.

O’NEILL: DANIEL believed you.

DANIEL: Oh, no, no, no don’t. Don’t.

NICK: He didn’t. He wanted to. He did listen. In the end he did not believe in my theories of the skull just as I did not believe his theories of the pyramids and the aliens.

DANIEL: I guess we both were right.

O’NEILL: NICK, can you tell us what happened when you found that skull?

NICK: Why?

O’NEILL: Because we’ve found another skull, identical to the one you found in Belize.

NICK: Show me.

CARTER: It’s in a high security facility at the moment. But if you tell us about your experiences, we…

NICK: Then take me there.

O’NEILL: We can’t do that. It’s classified.

DANIEL: You have to.

NICK: If you don’t, then I won’t tell you anything.

He gets up and goes over to the window, looking out.

NICK (cont’d): It is up to you.

INT – HAMMOND’S OFFICE, SGC

DANIEL is leaning, unobserved, against the window, while O’NEILL speaks with HAMMOND.

HAMMOND: Colonel, there is no greater secret in this nation than the STARGATE.

O’NEILL: So, we keep him away from level 28.

HAMMOND: A civilian? Who has spent the last twenty years of his life in a psychiatric institution?

O’NEILL: Exactly. Who’s gonna believe him if he says anything?

HAMMOND: Colonel, you walk a fine line.

O’NEILL: Thank you, Sir.

He walks out.

The phone rings.

HAMMOND (into the phone): HAMMOND.

DANIEL: General, I know you can’t hear me, but thank you.

HAMMOND (cont’d): Absolutely, put her through. Kayla, sweetheart, this is grandpa. Isn’t this past your bedtime? (He laughs at something his granddaughter says) You lost another tooth. Well, you put it under you pillow tonight. I bet your big sister Tessa wishes she lost a tooth. (He pauses as she speaks) I’d love to come to see you in your school play tomorrow night, sweetheart, but can’t. Well, a very close friend of mine is lost and he needs my help. Yes, he’s a very close friend. I hope so too.

DANIEL pauses, seemingly touched, then leaves.

INT – CARTER’S LABORATORY, SGC

NICK is escorted into the lab where the skull is being kept. He walks over to it and reaches out to touch it.

SILER: I don’t think you should touch that, Sir.

CARTER: Uh, it’s alright, sergeant, thank you. NICK, this is Doctor Robert ROTHMAN.

ROTHMAN (eagerly offering his hand): It’s, it’s a pleasure to meet you…

NICK (ignoring him completely): It’s exactly the same as the one I found in Belize. Where did you find it?

O’NEILL: We can’t tell you that.

DANIEL: You’re gonna have to tell him eventually, Jack.

NICK: The skull stood on a stone pedestal. (He interprets their knowing looks) You have been there, haven’t you?

CARTER: You mean Belize?

NICK: No, no, no. That was the ruins of the temple where I found the skull. But it’s all gone, collapsed. I am talking about a cavern.

TEAL’C: Do you know the location of this cavern?

NICK: Nowhere on this Earth. It was so enormous that…that the light of my torch never reached the bottom.

DANIEL: Yes, but how did you get there?

NICK: I don’t know how I got there. A field of energy surrounded me and suddenly I was simply there. And then they came.

CARTER: They?

NICK: The giants.

CARTER: Giants?

NICK: The giant aliens. They rose up as if they were made of mist. They flew around me like spectres.

DANIEL: Now you know why no one believed him.

NICK: They spoke ‘Oo ya waaling waaling wey tayil’.

ROTHMAN: That’s, that’s Mayan. The enemy of my enemy…

DANIEL (speaking over him): The enemy of my enemy is my friend, yes, but what does it mean?

NICK: I was afraid to answer. I just closed my eyes and suddenly I found myself back again under the temple in Belize. And the ground was shaking as if in an earthquake and I just grabbed the skull and…and climbed out and everything collapsed.

O’NEILL: Wow, that’s uh…giants.

CARTER: So, you were sent to this cavern and back again without ever knowing where it was, in the ruins where you found the skull?

NICK: I spent years trying to find it again, but it was as if the temple never existed.

CARTER: So I guess you couldn’t take us there either.

NICK: Can you imagine what it feels like to go on the most incredible journey of your life and have no one believe you?

No one answers.

O’NEILL: Uh, TEAL’C, you wanna escort NICK down to the VIP room?

TEAL’C: Nicholas Ballard, would you come with me please.

NICK tears himself away from the skull and follows him out of the room.

O’NEILL (to ROTHMAN): So. Tell you anything?

ROTHMAN: Oh, maybe. I mean, I…uh, no.

O’NEILL: Work on it.

He and CARTER leave.

INT – CORRIDOR, SGC

O’NEILL and CARTER are heading down the corridor towards the elevator.

CARTER: He described the cavern perfectly, Sir, he had to have been there.

O’NEILL: Uh, giants?

DANIEL: Yes, that’s weird I admit.

CARTER: Somebody built that place.

O’NEILL: Didn’t help us.

DANIEL: But if he really was transported to P7X 377, maybe this skull was trying to send me somewhere and something interrupted the process.

CARTER enters the elevator and turns to O’NEILL.

CARTER: Do you get the feeling that DANIEL is still around?

DANIEL: We have to go back there.

O’NEILL: Kinda.

CARTER: I guess it’s ‘cause we miss him.

DANIEL: And we have to talk to those giant aliens.

O’NEILL: Or radiation sickness.

CARTER smiles.

CARTER: Goodnight, Sir.

The lift doors close and O’NEILL heads back down the corridor.

DANIEL (calling after O’NEILL): What? That’s…that’s it? What ever happened to working through the night? (In a small voice) I’d do it for you.

INT – VIP ROOM, SGC

TEAL’C shows NICK to his room.

TEAL’C: There will be a guard posted outside your door should you require assistance.

NICK: When you see DANIEL, would you tell him I…? Well, never mind. It’s something I should tell him myself.

TEAL’C: Very well.

TEAL’C leaves and the airwoman closes the door.

NICK sits down on the bed. DANIEL is leaning against a wall, watching.

NICK: I am sorry.

DANIEL: For what?

NICK: For not adopting you when your parents died.

DANIEL: You were travelling all over the world.

NICK: It wasn’t your fault.

DANIEL: I was eight years old, how could it have been my fault?

NICK: I am sorry for allowing my obsession to drive me to madness. (He looks directly at DANIEL) Would you forgive me?

DANIEL (walking towards him): You can see me?

NICK: Yes DANIEL, I can see you.

DANIEL (exasperated): Why didn’t you say something?!

NICK: You’re not real so it doesn’t mean anything.

DANIEL (going to his knees before the bed): No, no, no no, NICK. NICK, I’m real, I’m real. You’re not hallucinating.

NICK: Hallucinations always say that.

DANIEL: Not this time, NICK. The skull, the skull did this to me. I’m trapped, I’m in another dimension, I’m out of phase, something. Look, all I know is I need your help. If you don’t help me, I don’t know how I’m gonna get home.

NICK appears shocked.

NICK: So what do you want me to do?

INT – BRIEFING ROOM, SGC

HAMMOND, FRASIER and O’NEILL are in conference when NICK comes down the stairs, escorted by an airwoman and followed closely by DANIEL.

AIRWOMAN: Sirs, Mr Ballard insisted on seeing both of you immediately.

NICK: Forgive me. He insisted. DANIEL is here.

HAMMOND: Here?

DANIEL: Repeat what I’m saying ‘I’m standing right beside you’.

NICK: Standing right beside me.

O’NEILL (sarcastically): He’s lost a few pounds.

DANIEL: Jack don’t be an ass.

NICK (repeating his words): Jack don’t be an ass.

They all seem surprised.

O’NEILL: DANIEL?

DANIEL: Yes. We have to go back to the planet and we have to let the skull finish what it started.

NICK: We must go back to the planet.

HAMMOND (to O’NEILL): Planet?

O’NEILL: Uh, not a word, Sir, I swear.

NICK: DANIEL told me all about the STARGATE. We must replace the skull on the pedestal so that the giant aliens will come. Something must have interrupted this process.

O’NEILL: Uh, TEAL’C fired his zat. That’s all I can imagine it would be, Sir.

DANIEL: That’s it. That’s what interrupted the process. We have to, we have to…let it happen, we have to trust it.

HAMMOND (to NICK): Why didn’t you say something sooner?

NICK: I thought I-I was hearing voices. It wouldn’t have been for the first time.

FRASIER: Forgive me, but why are you the only person who can see him?

NICK: Perhaps because I went through the same experience.

DANIEL: Tell General HAMMOND if we go back right now, he might be able to see his granddaughter’s school play after all.

NICK: General HAMMOND, if you let us go now, you may be able to see your granddaughter’s play.

HAMMOND: I was alone in my office when Kayla phoned. (To the air beside NICK) Uh, Dr Jackson, are you absolutely certain you and SG1 can safely return to the planet.

DANIEL: Say yes.

NICK: Yes.

O’NEILL: It’s good enough for me, Sir.

INT – CORRIDOR, SGC

O’NEILL and NICK are heading towards the Gateroom, trailed by DANIEL.

O’NEILL: So it wasn’t the skull alone that did this, it was its connection to the cavern.

DANIEL: Yes, I think the skull is just the icon that represents the human form.

NICK: Yes.

O’NEILL: And DANIEL said you should come along to make it work?

DANIEL: Wait, I never said that. You’re taking advantage of me.

NICK: Yes.

INT – GATEROOM

CARTER and TEAL’C are already waiting at the bottom of the ramp. The STARGATE opens and the event horizon shoots out, shocking NICK.

NICK (to DANIEL): So this is what you have been doing these past few years.

DANIEL: Exploring planets.

HAMMOND (over microphone): SG1, you have a go. Maintain radio contact.

O’NEILL and CARTER head up the ramp and disappear through the STARGATE.

NICK: DANIEL, behind that is another world? You must tell me everything.

DANIEL: As soon as we get back, I promise.

TEAL’C: After you, Nicholas Ballard.

They head up the ramp and enter the STARGATE.

VFX: SHOOTING THROUGH WORMHOLE.

EXT – ALIEN WORLD (DAY)

SG1, along with NICK cross the long expanse towards the pyramid.

INT – PYRAMID

They enter the pyramid and pause by the original MALP, looking out over the cavern.

NICK (excitedly): It’s just as I remembered it. This is where they live.

He starts to cross the narrow bridge, stumbles slightly and is steadied by O’NEILL.

They cross the bridge and reach the island. DANIEL walks over to the pedestal while TEAL’C retrieves the skull from his pack. He hands to NICK, who goes to the pedestal and places it on top.

NICK: Now we must wait for the giant aliens.

O’NEILL (dryly): That just has a nice ring to it.

NICK steps down from the pedestal.

O’NEILL (into his radio): General HAMMOND, we’re in position.

HAMMOND (over the radio): Understood Colonel. Proceed.

DANIEL bends forward and looks directly into the eyes of the skull. It starts to glow and the energy field springs up, enveloping all of them.

CARTER: Sir, radiation’s climbing again.

NICK (looking at the lights surrounding them): This is incredible.

O’NEILL: DANIEL said to let it happen.

DANIEL is still staring into the eyes of the skull, when the field collapses back into the skull.

CARTER (seeing him): DANIEL!

He turns round.

DANIEL: SAM.

He heads down the steps towards them.

DANIEL (cont’d): It worked.

TEAL’C is looking around.

TEAL’C: O’NEILL! Major CARTER!

He doesn’t appear to be able to see any of them.

O’NEILL waves his hand through TEAL’C.

O’NEILL: CARTER?

CARTER: It appears that we’re out of phase like DANIEL, but TEAL’C isn’t.

DANIEL: Why?

O’NEILL: You’re asking me?

TEAL’C (into his radio): General HAMMOND, I was not teleported with the others.

HAMMOND (over the radio): Return to base immediately.

After one last look around, TEAL’C obeys.

A mist suddenly rises up from below them, materialising into the form of a giant, human-shaped being.

O’NEILL (taking a step back): Holy smoke! Hello! What’s your name?

GIANT ALIEN: Oo ya waaling waaling wey tayil.

O’NEILL: DANIEL?

DANIEL: ‘The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’

O’NEILL: I know what it’s saying, why is it saying that?

DANIEL: It didn’t affect TEAL’C, why?

CARTER: Because he’s Jaffa.

DANIEL: He’s carrying a symbiote, a Goa’uld.

He steps towards the alien.

DANIEL (to the alien): We are enemies of the Goa’uld!

GIANT ALIEN (in English): Then you are welcome here.

O’NEILL (to DANIEL): Keep talking.

DANIEL: We’re travellers, we come in search of friendship. We’d like to exchange our knowledge and culture.

GIANT ALIEN: We accept your proposition. (He points to NICK) You may remain.

NICK: Me?

O’NEILL: Him?

GIANT ALIEN (to NICK): This is not the first time you have journeyed here.

NICK: You remember.

DANIEL (to the alien): There are others among our people who would gladly return.

NICK: No DANIEL. Let me.

DANIEL: NICK.

NICK: This was my life’s work. I’ve been hoping for another chance at this for twenty-nine years. Please.

DANIEL: You just came back into my life.

NICK: I’ll be back again.

GIANT ALIEN (to the others): Look again into the eyes of the skull.

O’NEILL: Well NICK…take notes.

NICK: I will.

CARTER waves goodbye as she and O’NEILL head towards the skull.

DANIEL: You have to tell me everything.

NICK: I promise. (He places his hands on DANIEL’S shoulders) DANIEL, I am proud of you.

DANIEL: Goodbye…(He smiles) Grandpa.

FADE OUT

THE END