Story Stargate Reimagined: Part II

Author: Duragizer

Characters: Daniel Jackson; Samantha Carter; Sha'ure

Genre: Action

Summary: Four months after his ill-fated interplanetary trip to Abdju, Egyptologist Daniel Jackson lives in quarantine in the Cheyenne Mountain Complex. But when Captain Samantha Carter of the USAF reactivates Project Giza, Daniel is called back to lead an expedition to the barren interior of the Rub' al Khali. There they discover a hidden facility built by the renegade god who instigated the Rebellion on Earth ten-thousand years ago. In that facility: the keys to the stargate network.

Notes: This will be the first of two sequels I plan on writing to the Stargate remake I finished some months back. It will be loosely based on the tie-in novel Stargate: Rebellion written by Bill McCay.

 

...

 

After four years, I've resumed work on this script.

Before reading this, you may want to read the sixth draft of Stargate Reimagined: Part I, which I finished recently. The version I serialized on these boards years ago is the first draft; suffice to say, I've put a lot of work into polishing the script since then. It isn't absolutely necessary, as the main beats between the two drafts haven't changed, though I've updated the setting to the present decade, changed some character names, improved/cut a lot of weak dialogue, and made miscellaneous other tweaks which I feel have improved the storytelling. Here's the PDF for anyone wanting to check it out:

• Stargate Reimagined: Part I (Sixth Draft)

 

FADE IN

On catacomb walls.

Upon the walls, bathed in torchlight, are painted murals. Though similar in style to those created by the ancient Egyptians, these are cruder and less colourful. The scenes they depict are of Atum's underlords expanding the Imperium beyond Earth and Abdju, establishing colonies on multiple worlds, each with their own stargates.

TITLE: STARGATE II

FADE TO

A funeral.

EXT. CEMETERY — DAY

It is a rainy day. A wooden casket rests upon the ground above where it's to be buried, surrounded by bouquets of flowers. Thirty-odd mourners are present, shielding themselves beneath black umbrellas. Among them is SERGEANT ADAM KAWALSKY. In his blue dress uniform, he stands out from the rest.

Standing at the head of the casket, across from the mourners, a Lutheran pastor delivers a eulogy.

PASTOR

(cont'd) Karin Langford was more than just kind and generous. She had a gift … of an endless, open minded, childlike curiosity. She saw the world not for what it was, but for what it could be. And she saw potential in people that others failed to recognize. Like her father before her, her contributions to Egyptology have changed the world more than most people know….​

Time passes. The mourners are dispersing, leaving Kawalsky standing near the casket. A 25-YEAR-OLD WOMAN with long, wavy red hair and blue eyes approaches the sergeant from behind.

SABRINA

Uh, Sergeant Kawalsky?​

Kawalsky turns to face her.

SABRINA

Hi. I'm Sabrina Gosling. Karin's grandniece?

KAWALSKY

Oh, hi.​

Kawalsky shakes Sabrina's hand, returning her smile.

SABRINA

Thank you for coming.

KAWALSKY

I'm sorry Daniel couldn't be here. He really wishes he could've made it. He had nothing but the utmost respect for Ms. Langford.

SABRINA

He's tied up in a government project. I understand. Thank you for coming on his behalf. I know she would've really appreciated it.​

Sabrina opens her purse. Reaching in, she brings out a familiar trinket: Karin's Eye of Atum pendant.

SABRINA

She wanted Dr. Jackson to have this.​

Sabrina hands the pendant to Kawalsky. He accepts it.

EXT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN — SUNSET

Guards patrol the entrance to the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 15/DANIEL'S QUARTERS

Inside the medium-sized quarters we find DANIEL JACKSON. Clad in a tank top and boxers, he performs a set of push-ups while opera music plays from the stereo atop his table. Through the one-month growth of hair on his head, a number of small, fresh biopsy scars mark his cranium.

Hearing the lock on his door disengage, Daniel sits up. The door opens, admitting Kawalsky. The sergeant is garbed in a hazmat suit.

DANIEL

Adam. How went the funeral?

KAWALSKY

About as well as those things can go.​

Approaching Daniel, the sergeant brings out the pendant.

KAWALSKY

She had this for you.​

Daniel takes the pendant, staring at it.

DANIEL

She was her family. She should've kept this.

KAWALSKY

Karin thought of you like a son.​

Daniel sets the pendant aside.

DANIEL

How's Sha'ure?

KAWALSKY

Good. Her English's coming along nicely.

DANIEL

(tapping head) If she had my little pals, she'd have a better grasp of the language than either of us, instantly. (beat) Of course, if she did, she'd be locked in this cell here with me.​

Daniel begins a set of sit-ups.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/EMBARKATION ROOM

The embarkation room's been heavily fortified since the survivors of the Abdju Mission returned. Three Browning .50 calibre machine guns have been set up facing the stargate. Along the ramp have been planted claymore mines. A metal plug's been inserted through the stargate itself, obstructing the crystal torus. Canisters of nerve gas have even been installed in case the other deterrents fail.

Near the left exit, THREE AIRMEN are seated around a card table playing poker.

AIRMAN #1

Oh, man, this hand's as lousy as this detail. (beat) Alright, everybody, ante up. (dealing cards) Seven to the deuce, nothin' there. Boss and the eight, nothin' happenin'. And the jack gets a box.

FEMALE AIRMAN

(antsy) Aren't you guys afraid of somethin' coming through?

AIRMAN #2

It's been idle since the plug was put in. Trust me, nobody's coming through.

AIRMAN #1

(scoffing) All this fortification, and all it did was cost money. They've been shippin' personnel outta here for months.​

EXT. PENTAGON — NIGHT

An aerial view of the Pentagon.

INT. PENTAGON/GEN. WEST'S OFFICE

GENERAL W. O. WEST is at his desk going over paperwork. A knock is heard at the door.

GEN. WEST

Come.​

CAPTAIN SAMANTHA CARTER enters. Closing the door, she approaches the general's desk, bringing her hand up in salute. Though blonde, blue-eyed, and very beautiful, Carter is no stereotypical Hollywood ditz. Everything about the captain's manner — her disciplined stance, her keen, attentive gaze — indicates she is quite the intelligent, resourceful woman.

GEN. WEST

(saluting) Capt. Carter.

CARTER

(saluting) Sir.

GEN. WEST

Not much for small talk, are you, Captain? (beat) I'm rejecting your request to release Daniel Jackson from quarantine.

CARTER

Sir, Project Giza can't continue without his assistance.

GEN. WEST

He can assist you quite well from where he is.

CARTER

I may need him in the field.

GEN. WEST

Lest you forget, Jackson's carrying technology from a hostile and very formidable enemy inside his body.

CARTER

Lingual nanites, sir.

GEN. WEST

Are you 100% positive that's all they are?

CARTER

Research on the nanites is preliminary. However —

GEN. WEST

Dr. Jackson will remain in quarantine until our people are assured he poses no risk to the general population.

CARTER

With all due respect, General —

GEN. WEST

Dismissed, Captain.​

Carter stiffens. Nodding her obeisance, she leaves.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 15/DANIEL'S QUARTERS

Daniel and SHA'URE cling to one another in his bed, their breath coming in tight gasps as their bodies writh in passion. Sha'ure's pale skin seems to glow in the darkness, her flesh soft but sturdy … and very, very active. There's a frantic quality to their coupling, as if they fear interruption at any moment. No time for encouragement, endearments, or words at all.

Blood pounds as they race towards climax. Then the moment comes. Sha'ure gives a great, wounded cry —

Daniel awakes with a convulsive shudder, sitting bolt upright on his cot. He glances down at the crotch of his underwear; he's disgraced himself.

DANIEL

****….​

There's another couple knocks at the door. Daniel repositions himself, taking care to hide the wet spot on his boxers.

CARTER

(O.S.) Dr. Jackson?

DANIEL

(irate) I'm up.​

Carter enters, clad in a hazmat suit like the one Kawalsky wore earlier.

DANIEL

We met before?​

She steps forward, offering her hand.

CARTER

(grinning) We haven't, no. I'm Capt. Samantha Carter, director of Project Giza.

DANIEL

(shaking her hand) Karin Langford was director.

CARTER

I succeeded her after the project was fully militarized.

DANIEL

I can't imagine the last four months have given you much to show for it.

CARTER

That's why I've come to you.

DANIEL

Please sit down, Capt. Carter.​

The captain takes Daniel's chair, turning it to face him before taking a seat. She sits there, eyes twinkling like those of a star-struck teen. Daniel shifts uncomfortably under her gaze.

CARTER

I'm sorry. It's just … you're the rarest of all seekers after truth — the crackpot who's proven correct. I predict your name will feature heavily in scientific literature of the future. You'll be another Galileo or Semmelweis, reviled by the so-called experts of their day, but shown to be right.

DANIEL

I hope I'm still alive and sane to enjoy the fame. (beat) Thanks for your good wishes, Captain. But if we could move along…?

CARTER

After the Abdju Mission, my team was asked to research alternative applications for the gate. We didn't get anywhere before word came from the Pentagon to shutter the gate competely. But it came to me: If the ancient astronauts theory is, at least in some points, correct, if they were here for two thousand years, they must've left behind more than just the stargate. I made my proposal to West; I've been granted approval to begin the search.

DANIEL

That's where I come in.

CARTER

You're a brilliant archaeologist. You're fluent in twenty-three languages — twelve of which no one else alive on Earth understands. You're an invaluable asset.

DANIEL

I also probably killed a planet.

CARTER

Dr. Jackson — Daniel — what if I get you out of quarantine? Reunite you with Sha'ure?

DANIEL

(skeptical) West'll never let me out.

CARTER

(grinning) West isn't highest on the totem pole; I have my connections. Just give the word, and you'll be out of this room yesterday.​

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 18/CORRIDOR

Capt. Carter leads Daniel along the corridor. He's exchanged his tank top/boxers combo for an olive green jumpsuit.

CARTER

You can go pretty much wherever you want. The gym, locker room, and mess halls are all open to you. But Level 28 is completely off-limits, and you can't leave the base without written permission and a military escort. I'm sorry; I couldn't bypass the general on that one.​

Carter brings Daniel to a door. Taking out her keycard, she swipes it through the lock, disengaging it.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 18/DANIEL'S LAB

Opening the door, Carter holds it open for Daniel. He steps inside his new laboratory. It's equipped with a desk, several packed bookshelves, and a state-of-the-art computer setup complete with 3D printer. Daniel's mouth falls agape.

CARTER

It's alright?

DANIEL

Just feeling a bit agoraphobic.​

Daniel steps deeper into the lab, thumbing through the books on the shelves, examining the 3D printer.

SHA'URE

(O.S.) Daniel.​

Daniel spins 'round. Kawalsky's arrived with Sha'ure. Like a deer caught in headlights, Daniel freezes, just staring at his lover. Four months have elapsed since she arrived on Earth; aside from the blue jumpsuit she now wears, she hasn't changed in the interim.

DANIEL

Sha'ure….​

Embracing, they hold each other close, tears forming in their eyes. After several moments, they finally work up the courage to let go. Eyes of richest brown meeting eyes of intense blue, they come together again, kissing deeply, passionately.

Kawalsky smiles warmly.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 15/SHA'URE'S QUARTERS

The lights've been turned low. Daniel and Sha'ure lie together atop her sheets, spooning. Sha'ure kisses his hand. He, in turn, kisses her shoulder.

SHA'URE

In the days before, my people had only rumours — vague traditions of other worlds beyond the stargate. When you arrived, you made those traditions real.

DANIEL

Are you afraid Imperium troops will come through the stargate? That's what Carter and the soldiers are guarding against.

SHA'URE

We have brothers out there, Daniel. They're still slaves to the vultures who served Atum. But I hope to change that.

DANIEL

Change? How?

SHA'URE

You're the one who knows the stargate best. I know you could find the keys to other worlds. Then we could take the struggle to those living enslaved, and bring them freedom!

DANIEL

(sighing) Sha'ure, you were there when we found the cartouche holding the glyphs for Earth. From our troubles then you must know how hard it is to find the routes between stargates.

SHA'URE

But, Daniel, your wisdom —

DANIEL

(interrupting) I'm merely a scholar; I'm not Atum. And I'll tell you honestly, even if West unsealed the ring, I could spend all the rest of my life trying to find stargate addresses for somewhere — anywhere — and not find the key to another world. (beat) Besides, it may be in everyone's best interest if we keep to our corner of the universe. We don't need another Abdju.​

Bitter disappointment shows on Sha'ure's face.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 27/CARTER'S OFFICE

Carter is at her desk.

SUPERIMPOSE: "TWO WEEKS LATER"

There comes a knock at the door.

CARTER

Come in.​

Daniel enters, a file folder in his hand.

CARTER

You've found something.

DANIEL

The Imperium uses a cursive script unrelated to Egyptian hieroglyphs. I didn't recognize any demonstrable similiarites to scripts I was familiar with, but my speciality's with the Afro-Asiatic languages. I sent samples of the script to universities and institutes around the world to learn whether or not it correlated with any non-Erythraean writing systems.
​

Daniel places the folder on the desk. Opening it, Carter begins looking through the print-outs. There're photos of a shattered stele, descriptions, and a sketched map.

DANIEL

(cont'd) There was one find, a stele, which carried some of the script. According to this, the find was made by a German expedition that went to the eastern delta of the Nile back in the '60s. The location seemed to be the ruins of a temple, but they were unable to place the dynasty. And, after discovering the dubious signs in the inscription, there was some suspicion of fraud.

CARTER

What does it say?

DANIEL

The hieroglyphic portion contains an invocation to Sutekh.​

Carter raises an eyebrow.

DANIEL

Otherwise known as Setesh, Set, Seteh, Seth. Ancient Egyptian god of chaos, embodiment of hostility and outright evil. (beat) Then follows a reference to the god's centre of power to the east, where his strength was measured. The portion in Imperial script seems to be about "godpowers".

CARTER

Godpowers?

DANIEL

Power ratings and constants.

CARTER

You mean derived units? For technology? Weapon yields?

DANIEL

(shrugging) I wish those Germans had recovered the whole stele. (beat) The delta was one of the strongest areas of Sutekh-worship. And, because it's low-lying, often flooded, and still the seat of Egypt's agricultural production, proportionally less has been found there in terms of archaeological sites.​

The captain's interest's definitely been aroused.

CARTER

We'll have to re-excavate where they dug.​

 

EXT. RIVER — ISLAND — DAY

A modest island rises from the waters of the Nile.

SUPERIMPOSE: "NILE DELTA"

EXT. ISLAND — EXCAVATION SITE — DAY

The most promising areas of the site have been marked off with a grid work of stakes and string. Under the supervision of DOCTOR ROBERT ROTHMAN, the diggers have cleared the forecourt of a small temple.

DANIEL

I wouldn't say this represented Sutekh's fastness.

ROTHMAN

We found the base where the stele had been erected. It says some pious Hyksos pharaoh brought it from down south — the town Nagada.​

Daniel's lips quirk at the sound of that name.

DANIEL

So, a re-erected monument.

ROTHMAN

(nodding) As far as we can figure out, this place was levelled when the Hyksos invaders were defeated. The stele was knocked down, and the pieces were shifted around in the floods. The Germans were lucky to find as many as they did.

DANIEL

And how did we do?

ROTHMAN

What we've found is all in here.​

Rothman leads Daniel to a nearby tent.

INT. STELE TENT — DAY

A metal table occupies the centre of the tent, chunks of rock arranged atop it like an archaeological jigsaw puzzle. Sha'ure stands over them, looking excited.

ROTHMAN

We've just fit these together. It's at least the beginning of a place reference.​

Looking over Sha'ure's shoulder, Daniel reads the inscription.

DANIEL

"BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS OF BEKHEN." Well, it's a start.​

EXCAVATION SITE — MONTAGE

The remorseless excavation at the dig enlarges the collection of rock shards. Every evening, Daniel joins Rothman and the other translators as they try to fit the shattered carvings together.

INT. STELE TENT — NIGHT

Kawalsky has joined Daniel, Rothman, Sha'ure, and the others at the table. It's reminiscent of a family evening over the old jigsaw puzzle.

DANIEL

Beyond the Mountains of Bekhen. In later days that was the location of the granite quarries for the pink stone in the Thebes temples. They were along the Wadi Hammamat, the route the ancient Egyptians used to reach the Red Sea.

ROTHMAN

That seems to narrow down the choices for the location of this "fastness." There's not much of Egypt left beyond those mountains.

DANIEL

Even the ancient Egyptians were trading beyond the Red Sea. And we're talking about the predecessor culture. If they had gliders on Abdju, they must've had antigravity here on Earth. They might've set up things all over the world.

SHA'URE

Look! This piece could fit in here.​

More fragments come together, a new corner of the wrecked stele taking shape.

DANIEL

We're missing a section in between, but this gives us a direction. "TO THE SOUTH AND EAST, ON…" something.​

More bits of shattered granite are fitted together.

DANIEL

"ON THE GREAT PENINSULA."

ROTHMAN

The Sinai?

DANIEL

(shaking head) The directions are wrong. The Sinai is north and east of the Mountains of Bekhen. We've got to find the bit that goes between these two sections.

ROTHMAN

Looks like that's the part that took the hit from the battering ram or whatever they used to knock the stele down.​

Sha'ure fingers her way through the smaller fragments.

SHA'URE

(holding up chunk) Here's a weathered face.​

Daniel and Rothman join in, looking for chips smashed from the stele. It's a far more delicate job of jigsaw work, but they gather enough pieces to suggest what the missing inscription might've been.

DANIEL

I make it out as "BEYOND THE MOUNTAINS OF BEKHEN, 160 SCHENES TO THE SOUTH AND EAST, ON THE GREAT PENINSULA." (beat) The schene is a lot more than a mile. The Greeks estimated it as sixty stadia. Depending on which city-state's stade you choose, you could wind up with as many as 630 feet to a stadium. The most commonly accepted is the Attic stade, 607 ft., which makes the Egyptian schene something like 6.9 miles. (doing math in head) More than a thousand…

SHA'URE

One-thousand, one-hundred and four miles.

DANIEL

Looks like we'll need a map.​

Kawalsky produces a tablet. Accepting it, Daniel sets it on the table. Bringing up a detailed representation of the Middle East, he submits the distance they'd calculated, sweeping it in an arc around the map.

DANIEL

(reading map) Due south would put us somewhere in Ethiopia. Due east leaves us in the Persian Gulf off the coast of Kuwait. South and east … well, it would definitely be on the Arabian Peninsula.

SHA'URE

The great peninsula.

DANIEL

(squinting at map) We're either in Saudi Arabia or Yemen. I can't tell which, because there's apparently no defined boundary. We'll be searching through the Rub' al Khali.

KAWALSKY

The Empty Quarter. Biggest sandy desert in the world. (beat) My dad was along for the ride in Desert Storm.

DANIEL

A long, dry search. Unless we can figure a way to narrow down the haystack — or is that the sandpit?​

INT. CAMP HUCKSTEP/CARTER'S QUARTERS — NIGHT

An Egyptian officer opens the door to Carter's quarters, allowing Daniel inside.

CARTER

Did you find something new out there?

DANIEL

Right now I think we found a riddle wrapped in an enigma.​

Daniel quickly sums up the results of his dig.

DANIEL

(cont'd) When I began to read about the archaeology of Arabia, I found this interesting story about how some people found the lost city of Ubar in Oman.

CARTER

Sounds like something out of Edgar Rich Burroughs. (beat) Wait a second. That strikes a note….

DANIEL

The searchers zeroed in on the location with the help of some people from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and something called Space Imaging Radar.

CARTER

(snapping fingers) That's right. They used orbital imaging from the Challenger in 1984.

DANIEL

(nodding) Plus a couple of satellites.​

Opening the briefcase he'd been carrying, Daniel produces a large map. He unfolds it across the captain's table.

DANIEL

I'd like to get some new pictures — of this area here.​

He indicates a large crescent scrawled across the desert area.

DANIEL

(cont'd) It may not be as easy as Ubar. They were able to trace old caravan routes through the desert. Whoever built this site probably flew in.​

INT. BOSTON UNIVERSITY/CENTER FOR REMOTE SENSING/PROFESSOR EL-BAZ'S OFFICE — DAY

At his computer, Professor Farouk El-Baz opens an e-mail. It contains the map of the Rub' al Khali.

EXT. SPACE — EARTH

Satellites overflying the Arabian Peninsula focus in on the Empty Quarter, taking image after image of the vast desert.

INT. CAMP HUCKSTEP/CARTER'S QUARTERS — DAY

It's another day. Daniel stands beside the seated Carter, staring with the captain at the screen of her laptop. On-screen are the images captured by the satellites.

CARTER

There's a large, extinct river that cuts across the whole of the peninsula, perhaps as recently as five thousand years ago. It intersects part of our search area.

DANIEL

Hmph. If this river really was flowing five thousand years ago, who knows what we'll find? There may be traces of all sorts of settlements along the banks.

CARTER

That's odd.

DANIEL

(leaning over her shoulder) What?​

Carter runs a finger along a shadowy line in the middle of the picture.

CARTER

(cont'd) This is — or was — the river. (beat) As you were saying, you'd expect to find remains on the shore, but this … (pointing at sharp-angled blob) that's an artificial structure — man-made.

DANIEL

What's so odd about it?

CARTER

That would be smack-dab in the middle of the river. In the deepest channel. No signs of any other settlements nearby. It doesn't seem to be a dam, or part of any irrigation system….

DANIEL

I think it may be just what we're looking for. (beat) Can you get us some coordinates?​

EXT. DESERT — DAY

We're afforded a panoramic view of an undulating landscape of sun-bleached sand dunes.

SUPERIMPOSE: "THE RUB' AL KHALI"

EXT. DESERT — EXCAVATION SITE — DAY

In the lee of a dune over 243 metres high we find Project Giza's camp — trucks, Humvees, and tents huddled in the relatively quiet area at the base. A clot of earthmoving vehicles tear into the depression in the ground beyond the sand mountain. Carter and Daniel — she in the Army Combat Uniform, he in sweat-stained khakis — stare off into the deepening excavation.

DANIEL

I'm impressed we got all this stuff out here into the back of beyond.

CARTER

Sergeant Kawalsky manages miracles as transportation officer.​

A bulldozer comes roaring up, creating a rampway out of the enormous dig.

DANIEL

(flinching) Looks like the Giovanni Battista Belzoni school of archaeology.

CARTER

This isn't exactly a case of straining the sand for pot shards. Whoever was capable of constructing this place in the middle of a river had to have used techniques that were faster and more advanced than anything we know about. (beat) We figure another day or so, and we'll have dug down to the fastness.

DANIEL

(glum) I hope we don't have to pull a Belzoni to get in.​

INT. DANIEL & SHA'URE'S TENT — NIGHT

Daniel and Sha'ure lie curled together in the darkness.

Eyes opening, Sha'ure sits up stiffly, like a mummy rising from its sarcophagus. She disturbs Daniel as she climbs off their cot, rousing him from his sleep.

DANIEL

(confused) Huh?​

Without saying a word, Sha'ure robotically walks out of the tent.

EXT. DESERT — EXCAVATION SITE — NIGHT

Daniel follows Sha'ure outside. The Abdjan woman leaves the row of tents, following the moon into the open desert.

A ways away from the excavation site, Sha'ure finally stops. Looking up at the moon, she raises her arms to it, basking in its cold light. Daniel follows her gaze. High, thin clouds wisp across the full moon, like the thinnest of veils across the face of an Arab beauty.

Then, inexplicably, a crack appears in the crust of the moon. It enlargens, extending itself across the dwarf planet. Clouds of ash spread across the landmass with unnatural swiftness, changing its white aspect to a mottled, ugly red. Even through the dust and smoke, the continent-long line of volcanic activity glows like a lurid scar. The disc of the moon then becomes a face — the red-furred, snouted visage of the god Sutekh. Gazing upon the two humans coldly, the typhonic deity laughs.

Looking away from Sutekh, Daniel finds he and Sha'ure back on Abdju. Standing outside the city gates of Nagada, they face the open desert, the pyramid housing the Nagadan stargate off in the distance. Lowering her arms, Sha'ure turns to Daniel. With that glassy look still in her eyes, she begins singing an old Nagadan tune softly.

Daniel looks past Sha'ure to the pyramid. The stone edifice suddenly disappears in a lambent gout of energy. Instead of following through with the expected mushroom cloud/shockwave, the space around the blasted pyramid becomes subtly wrong, engulfing the desert in an unearthly blue radiance. Daniel looks upon Sha'ure in horror. She's become frozen, flickering like the paused image on a degraded videotape. Then everything winks out of existence in an incandescent blast.

INT. DANIEL & SHA'URE'S TENT — NIGHT

Daniel awakes with a jolt. Sha'ure reposes under the covers peacefully beside him.

 

EXT. DESERT — EXCAVATION SITE — DAY

The earthmovers have cleared away the overburden of sand, exposing the bare rock where the long-vanished river cut its course. Now it's down to manual labour as the workers remove sand from the mound remaining in the centre of the excavation. We begin to discern regular outlines — a flat roof, sloping walls. Sutekh's fastness looks like a mastaba of vitrified stone, plain and undecorated.

Daniel and Kawalsky are shovelling sand into the maw of an earthmover when a cry sounds out from one side of the mastaba. They race over. Rothman's found an indentation. Working like fiends, the trio clears away the rest of the sand.

ROTHMAN

Looks like an entrance.​

Indeed it does. An inset slab of vitrified stone blocks it, a round red gemstone inset with the icon of Sutekh in the centre.

KAWALSKY

The opening's a bit too narrow to send a bulldozer against it. We'll need to bring in C-4.

ROTHMAN

You're going to blow your way in‽

KAWALSKY

I don't see a doorknob, and there's no keyhole — even if we had a key. What else is left?​

Daniel standing close to the gemstone, both it and his Eye of Atum pendant begin glowing, resonating with amber light. The sergeant and doctors step back as the panel trembles, ancient machinery groaning in protest as it begins rising, opening a doorway into blackness. Rothman and Kawalsky look to Daniel; he looks down at his pendant; the glow subsides, leaving it an inert piece of jewellery once more.

ROTHMAN

I take it this has never happened before.
​

Time passes.

A reconnaissance team's been assembled. Suited up in ABUs, the airmen armed with P90s, Carter, Daniel, Kawalsky, Sha'ure, Rothman, and four non-coms stand before the dark doorway to Sutekh's fastness.

SHA'URE

(looking at doorway; wary) I imagine that thing could come down much quickly than it went up.​

Carter takes point. Raising her P90, she cautiously steps past the threshold.

INT. SUTEKH'S FASTNESS/ENTRANCE HALL — DAY

Detecting the captain's presence, light panels on the walls/ceiling activate, chasing the shadows away. Carter finds herself inside a low, narrow tunnel, the end hidden in the distance. Switching off her light, she looks back through the door.

CARTER

Step into my parlour, said the spider to the fly.​

The eight others file inside.

INT. SUTEKH'S FASTNESS/ROTUNDA

Reaching the end of the tunnel, the team emerges in a small rotunda. Congregating in the centre of the room, they examine their surroundings. The walls are blank; the only passage leads back the way they came.

CARTER

Daniel, now what?

DANIEL

(looking up) Now that.​

As if triggered by his voice, the ring transporter activates. Aperture opening in the ceiling overhead, ten rings of black naqahdah descend onto the nine. With a flash of pearlescent light, they disappear.

INT. SUTEKH'S FASTNESS/ANTECHAMBER

As the ring transporter deactivates, the team finds itself in absolute darkness.

A shaft of soft light comes into existence metres across from them. Within it stands an intimidating figure. He wears tall metal sandals, a red kilt, decorative metal arm-&-wristbands, and a pectoral collar; the exposed skin of his arms and legs is dusky; the helm of gold naqahdah resting atop the collar is fashioned in the likeness of the enigmatic Set animal. The mechanical head of SUTEKH looks up, eyes blazing white as he addresses the intruders in High Kemetic.

Their past experience with Imperial guardsmen unforgotten, Kawalsky reacts automatically; bringing up his P90, he opens fire. The hailstorm of lead cuts through Sutekh.

DANIEL

(awed) It's fascinating.

CARTER

No kidding.​

Sutekh remains standing, unmarked. Lowering her gun, Carter walks up to him. She brings up her hand; it passes right through him, distorting the light which makes up his being.

CARTER

(cont'd) A projected hologram with no silver-halide coated plates, no photo-polymer film, no —​

The hologram blooms. The glare is intense, but subsides quickly. The image of Sutekh stands altered. The crystal helm is gone, revealing Sutekh's true face. Eyes accented with kohl, thick-lipped, wearing the distinctive skullcap of Imperial guardsmen, his is the likeness of an Olmec stone head brought to life. The hologram resumes speaking. Life-like though it is, it's only a recording, without any sentience.

CARTER

Daniel, what's he saying?​

EXT. IUNU — STREETS — DAY (FLASHBACK)

Iunu, the first human city. A resplendent metropolis in its heyday, it's fallen into squalor in the centuries since Atum's abdication. The citizens have lined the streets for a special event. With them is THABIT and his MOTHER. In a tattered, soiled dress and shawl, the emaciated woman holds her son's hand. Twelve years old but small for his age, naked and filthy, he's only slightly better fed than his parent.

DANIEL

(V.O.) His name was Thabit. He lived 2306 years after Atum's arrival on Earth.​

At the controls of an antigrav chariot, the falcon god HERU directs a REGIMENT OF ARMOURED HERU GUARDS into the city.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) One day, Heru arrived from the stargate. Moving through the city with his corp of bodyguards, he selected hundreds of people for a "special honour."​

The zealots of the city are at the forefront of the lines, begging to be chosen; these volunteers, mostly older people, are passed over by Heru in favour of stronger, younger bodies.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) Thabit's father was dead. His mother was ill, barely able to care for herself.​

Taking her son in her arms, Thabit's mother holds him high for the guardsmen, crying out for them to take him. Finding him acceptable, the Heru Guards collect him.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) She had no idea what was in store for her son, but she was prepared to embrace any fate for him other than her own.​

EXT. GREAT PYRAMID — DAY (FLASHBACK)

The captives are shepherded across the grasslands to the Great Pyramid. Thabit looks up. The sun situated directly overtop the polished white pyramid, the boy's struck dumb by the edifice's awesomeness.

THABIT'S P.O.V. — BEAM (FLASHBACK)

Entering the stargate, Thabit's caught in an extradimensional slipstream. Whizzing through a starfield, Thabit passes a number of rainbow halos along the way. Before long, He's carried through one of these halos.

EXT. BEHDET — STARGATE PLATFORM — DAY (FLASHBACK)

Thabit emerges from the stargate. Doubling over, he retches.

ZOOM OUT

As the stargate disengages.

The stargate's situated atop a tall stone platform, a pair of ramps leading down from either side of the gate. Surrounding the platform, a compact city. Colossal metal towers flank the stargate, with Heru's pyramidal palace-ship in the distance behind. Beyond the city limits is nothing but barren salt pan.

MONTAGE — VARIOUS (FLASHBACK)

We watch as Thabit grows up under the tutelage of the Heru Guards, the feeble youth reforged into a brawny man as he receives brutal instruction in hand-to-hand combat, wilderness survival, and knife and gunfighting.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) He was conscripted and trained in the art of war.​

INT. WADJET'S PALACE-SHIP/THRONE ROOM (FLASHBACK)

Flanked by her Nekhbet Guards, servants huddled at her feet, the muscular WADJET is seated in her throne, her semitranslucent gold asp helm deployed. Before her stand two men, Thabit and her FIRST PRIME. Each armed with a dagger, neither men wear any bodily protection, standing completely naked. Saluting their mistress, the men face each other, saluting each other in turn. Then they enter battle stance.

The duel commences. Wadjet's first prime is a mighty warrior, earning Thabit many lacerations and bruises, but in the end, Thabit's the victor. Seizing the other man in a full nelson, Thabit applies pressure, dislocating his opponent's shoulder. The man howls. Grabbing him by the hair, Thabit then slams his face into the polished marble floor repeatedly.

Time passes.

Thabit and Wadjet are now alone together. Suited up in the armour of an Imperial guardsman, Thabit kneels at Wadjet's feet, gazing up at her. Helm retracted, her handsome ebony face revealed, Wadjet places her hand upon the crown of Thabit's head, sealing her crest in place over his skullcap. As she removes her hand, his silver naqahdah helm deploys, assuming the likeness of an asp.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) Inducted into the goddess Wadjet's elite entourage, he became her first prime.
​

EXT. NUBT — SETTLEMENT — NIGHT

Nubt, a planet currently experiencing an ice age. In a region cleared of glacial ice, a stone pyramid rises from the permafrost. Close to the pyramid, a sprawling city of pre-fab buildings. A fierce blizzard buffeting the structures, a pyramid ship's descended through the clouds. An immense vessel, twice the size of any of the luxurious palace-ships seen thus far, it bears down on the city, deploying its udajeets. The inhabitants below, tiny and indistinct in the windblown snowfall and glow of the warship's drive, flee as the automated fighters open fire with their blasters, laying waste to the settlement.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) That was until reports of a rebellion on the planet Nubt spread throughout the empire. Sekhmet had slaughtered the entire colony in a sea of blood.​

INT. PYRAMID/STARGATE CHAMBER (FLASHBACK)

Activating the stargate, Thabit steps into the shimmering puddle.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) He defected. Returning to Earth, he claimed a new name: Sutekh.​

INT. MUD-BRICK BUILDING — NIGHT (FLASHBACK)

Shed of his Imperial raiment, Sutekh sits on the floor, writing on pages of papyrus by lamplight.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) Sutekh kept a hidden journal, detailing the truth of Atum and his origins.​

INT. GREAT PYRAMID/STARGATE CHAMBER (FLASHBACK)

Heru Guards are taking yet another group of colonists through the active stargate.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) As disaffection grew, he began to organize a resistance.​

One of the colonists takes care that their copy of Sutekh's journal is hidden on their person before they're shepherded into the energy field.

EXT. GREAT PYRAMID — DAY (FLASHBACK)

The Rebellion on Earth's concluded. Numbering in the thousands, the rebels have overwhelmed the guardsmen patrolling the pyramid. Revelling, they victoriously hoist the mangled corpses of their oppressors in the air for all to see.

DANIEL

(V.O.; cont'd) Revolutions sprang up across the Imperium, but only the rebels on Earth were successful in throwing off their chains.​

EXT. GIZA PLATEAU — SUNSET (FLASHBACK)

The rebels haul the stargate out here. Under Sutekh's direction, they drag the gate to a large pit dug deep to the bedrock, pushing it in.

INT. SUTEKH'S FASTNESS/ANTECHAMBER

DANIEL

(cont'd) He knew one day he'd leave our region of space. He left the stargate and the key to his fastness for us to find. The Imperium's wealth of knowledge is stored here. (beat) "Use wisdom with this knowledge. Liberate our brethen seeded across the stars."​

At that, the hologram disincorporates, the shaft of light winking out. As it vanishes, hidden light fixtures illuminate. The team's in an antechamber much like the rotunda they left — without doors. Then, as if by magic, doorways appear in the walls, opening passages to the greater compound.

CARTER

Teams One & Two, secure the immediate area.
​

INT. SUTEKH'S FASTNESS/ATRIUM

Following one of the passages, Team One comes to the atrium. The atrium is a rectangular silo, consisting of eight levels. Kawalsky, Rothman, and one of the airmen stand on the fourth level. Situated overhead is a transparent dome. They can view sunlight filtered through green seawater.

ROTHMAN

(awed) I've a feeling we're not in the Empty Quarter anymore.​

INT. SUTEKH'S FASTNESS/HUB

Carter, Daniel, and Sha'ure enter the room. Within is a hexagonal platform bearing a metal chair.

 

Edited the last post. I decided to flesh out Sutekh's backstory into a flashback.

 

INT. CARTER'S TRAILER — DAY

The captain is at her desk, typing away at her laptop when she's interrupted by Daniel, who bursts in without announcing himself. The Egyptologist's clearly upset.

DANIEL

I thought we had an understanding. I was to try the chair.

CARTER

West vetoed it. Your knowledge is too valuable —

DANIEL

(interrupting) Don't patronize me! We both know West's true concern.

CARTER

(sighing) And maybe the only hope you have of dissuading him of it lies within that database.

DANIEL

Sha'ure's not a guinea pig!

CARTER

She's the only other one we have who can read the Imperial script.

DANIEL

How about we put this operation on hold awhile? I can start a class, teach others the language. In that time, maybe we'll learn more about my nanites. The fastness has lain undisturbed for more than eight thousand years; I'm sure it isn't going anywhere.​

Closing the laptop, Carter rises.

CARTER

That was the consensus mindset before COVID-19; look at the world now. We don't know where we'll be in another six years. (beat) Relay to Sha'ure the possible risks in store for her. Take care that she understands well enough to make an informed decision. Remember, Daniel, why you're both here now; it isn't very far back to your separate rooms beneath Cheyenne Mountain.​

INT. SUTEKH'S FASTNESS/HUB

More personnel and equipment have been brought in. Carter and Daniel stand watch as technicians attach sensors to Sha'ure. Once she's fully wired up and the technicians have given their thumbs-up, Sha'ure lies back in the chair. The chair responds to her immediately, readjusting to conform with her anatomy. A mechanized arm extends from the side, attaching an adhesive disc to her left temple. Carter looks to the technicians monitoring Sha'ure's biotelemetry; readings remain normal.

SHA'URE

What should I do?

CARTER

Sha'ure, think about where we are in this facility.

SHA'URE

(to Daniel; puzzled) Facility?​

Daniel translates the word. Nodding with comprehension, she closes her eyes and concentrates. A holographic schematic of the fastness appears overhead. It resembles an oversize blockhouse; the hub itself is only a small chamber within.

Sha'ure opens her eyes. The hologram winks out. Replacing it, columns of cartouches. The cartouches contain place names, all in Imperial script. By thought alone, Sha'ure scrolls through these cartouches, selecting one. It opens a link to five sub-cartouches, each containing eight figures — stargate addresses.

 

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 27/BRIEFING ROOM

In wait around the conference table are Carter, Daniel, Kawalsky, West's aide MAJOR SILAS ANDERMAN, and THREE OTHER OFFICERS. While the airmen stand behind their chairs, Daniel's at the bay window, looking down into the embarkation room at the sealed, guarded stargate below, askance.

SUPERIMPOSE: "ONE MONTH LATER"

Door opening, Gen. West enters.

MAJ. ANDERMAN

Ten-hut.​

Snapping to attention, the airmen salute their commanding officer.

GEN. WEST

Gentlemen, take your seats.​

The eight occupants of the room sit down around the table.

GEN. WEST

Captain, what do we know about this "fastness" we didn't a month ago?

CARTER

It contains a repository of the Imperium's knowledge as it stood ten thousand years ago. Historical records … technical schematics and textbooks … military treatises. And only a fraction of the fastness' dedicated toward that purpose. Most of the facility consists of armories and manufactories.

GEN. WEST

(hopeful) Armories?

DANIEL

They're empty.​

The disappointment shows in the general's face.

CARTER

We'll have to adjust for their base-38 system. I can't promise production-line manufacturing of pulse rifles in two weeks, but the technology's accessible. (beat) The only bottleneck's that that technology depends on the stargate crystal to work.

GEN. WEST

And the only source of that crystal on Earth is the stargate. (beat) How many blasters could we make if we broke the matter transmitter into small pieces, do you speculate?

CARTER

Sir, there's a sizeable deposit beyond the stargate.

MAJ. ANDERMAN

We sent MALPs to Abdju, using two of the four new addresses you provided. The first probe was destroyed instantly; the second detected a mean surface temperature of 227 °C before it went off-line. Obviously, Abdju's no longer a viable mining operation.

CARTER

We have to stop thinking of the stargate as an intercom. Remember, it's attached to a whole network, a vast network of stargates — stargates that are all over the galaxy.

OFFICER #1

How vast a network are we talking?

DANIEL

From all the records we were able to pick up, it looks as though Atum ruled about twenty planets, but the fastness database has thousands of stargate addresses. (beat) Ten millennia gives plenty of time for an empire to expand.

CARTER

Or contract. Abdju may've been the last Imperial stronghold.

GEN. WEST

People, let's not fool ourselves here. This thing is both vast and dangerous, and we are so far over our heads we can barely see daylight. We would all be much better off if the stargate had been left in the ground.

CARTER

With respect, sir, we can't bury our heads in the sand. With a ready supply of the crystal element, Earth's technical base could advance by a quantum leap. Even better, the US would have an absolute lock on this new technology. The Japanese wouldn't be able to horn in and usurp production, because the raw material would be available only from America. So what if it has to traverse a million light-years to get here?

GEN. WEST

The stargate had almost been used as the delivery system for an amplified tactical nuclear device which would've ended civilization on this planet. The possible advantages of leaving the door open are not worth the all-too-concrete risks.

CARTER

We have a way of locking our stargate, sir. It'll insure us against any more surprises.​

West considers this new information.

GEN. WEST

Captain, you're confident you can find us another Abdju?

CARTER

Positive.​

Daniel facepalms.

 

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/EMBARKATION ROOM

A MALP rests at the bottom of the ramp, facing the stargate. The claymores, gas canisters, plug, and one of the Brownings have all been removed, permitting passage through the portal.

Six of its chevrons locked on, the gate's inner ring circles. As the next symbol comes into alignment, the topmost chevron flashes, the left-hand chevron opening/closing.

CMSGT. DAVIS-HARRIMAN

(over intercom; cont'd) Chevron Seven encoded.​

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/OPERATIONS ROOM

Seated at the computer console are Capt. Carter and the gate technician, CHIEF MASTER SERGEANT WALTER DAVIS-HARRIMAN. Behind Carter stands Daniel, arms crossed over his chest.

CMSGT. DAVIS-HARRIMAN

(cont'd) Chevron Eight encoded.

DANIEL

This'll be, what, the fourth MALP lost in as many worlds? Not sure this is the best way to spend taxpayer dollars, Sam.​

Carter throws Daniel a hateful look.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/EMBARKATION ROOM

The final symbol, the "ENTER" glyph, slides into position. The topmost chevron lighting up, the surrounding chevrons open/close in unison.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/OPERATIONS ROOM

CMSGT. DAVIS-HARRIMAN

(cont'd) Chevron Nine locked.​

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/EMBARKATION ROOM

The pearlescent kawoosh inverts into a rippling pond standing at right angles to the pull of gravity. The way open, the MALP's directed into the energy lens.

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/OPERATIONS ROOM

The three watch the monitors. In the light provided by the open gate, it can be seen that the probe's in a stargate chamber the exact match of the Abdju chamber.

DANIEL

I guess that settles one thing. Atum had no imagination.​

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 27/BRIEFING ROOM

West, Anderman, Carter, Daniel, and Kawalsky are back around the conference table, joined by Sha'ure this time around. They're reviewing the video footage retrieved from the other side of the gate.

CARTER

(cont'd) The UAV picked this up a mile from the pyramid.​

Aerial footage of the extraterrestrial landscape plays against a drawn screen. The climate is arid, the terrain dominated by tablelands and buttes. The land's reddish, speckled green by juniper-type shrubs and trees. As an unnatural white fissure in the soil appears on-screen, Carter pauses the video and zooms in. Expanding to fill the screen, details enhanced, the fissure's revealed to be a large pit mine. Though indistinctly minute even blown up, living beings are certainly down there working the mine, in great enough numbers to be seen from the UAV's altitude.

MAJ. ANDERMAN

Naqahdah mine?

CARTER

I couldn't say, sir. (beat) Sha'ure?

SHA'URE

(shaking head) My people had not been miners in centuries, and I'm not a … a….​

Stymied, Sha'ure says the Abdjan word.

DANIEL

Geologist.

SHA'URE

Geologist. Correct.

CARTER

(cont'd) And six miles from the mine….​

Carter jumps ahead in the video. On-screen now is a walled city. It resembles lost Nagada, though of much more primitive construction.

DANIEL

Looks to be Chalcolithic (taking notice of others' unknowing stares) Copper Age.

GEN. WEST

Human?

DANIEL

I'd say so.

CARTER

General, Haraga has a sparse population, a single, accessible stargate —

DANIEL

(interrupting) According to a hopelessly outdated list.

CARTER

(cont'd) And is habitable to boot. (beat) Of these seven worlds we've checked out, it's our most promising candidate.

DANIEL

If they have an active naqahdah mine, they must still be in regular contact with the Imperium.

MAJ. ANDERMAN

Then we'll safeguard their stargate just like we did ours and make it impossible for the aliens to return.

KAWALSKY

Except it won't work.

GEN. WEST

Why?

KAWALSKY

They've got ships, General. Menhit had one the size of the Great Pyramids. They don't need the stargate to get there. They can do it the old-fashioned way.

CARTER

No. Haraga's 2000 light-years away from Imperial centre.

KAWALSKY

And?

CARTER

The special theory of relativity implies that only particles with zero rest mass may travel at the speed of light, and that nothing may travel faster.​

Bemused, Kawalsky looks to Daniel. The Egyptologist shrugs, no more capable of decyphering Carter's astrophysical jargon.

CARTER

Warp drive's a pipe dream. Nothing we found in Sutekh's science records indicates otherwise.

DANIEL

It did take Atum two-and-a-half million years to reach our galaxy….​

West ponders a moment. Nodding to himself, he looks to Anderman; the major nods back. West rises, straightening his dress jacket.

GEN. WEST

You leave tomorrow at 0600 hours.​

 

Revised/expanded the last post.

 

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 18/DANIEL'S LAB

Daniel's seated in his office chair. Leaning back, he holds his familar Eye of Atum pendant, turning it over in his fingers, contemplative.

Kawalsky steps in the open door. Back turned to him, Daniel doesn't notice the sergeant.

KAWALSKY

(knocking on jamb) Hey.​

Daniel swivels around.

KAWALSKY

C'mon, let's get out of here.​

EXT. KAWALSKY'S HOUSE/FRONT YARD — NIGHT

Kawalsky's Jeep pulls up to his house, a cozy one-storey suburban home.

INT. KAWALSKY'S JEEP — NIGHT

Daniel sneezes, catching it with his handerchief before he can get it all over Kawalsky's dash.

KAWALSKY

Nice catch.

DANIEL

Sorry. Car travel always seems to make my allergies … (blowing nose) Sorry.​

Kawalsky cuts power to the engine.

EXT. KAWALSKY'S HOUSE/PATIO — NIGHT

Wooden stairs lead from the patio to a small observation deck adjacent to the roof. Daniel's up on the deck, peering at the stars through a telescope. Kawalsky steps out of the house, two bottles of beer in-hand.

DANIEL

You never told me you were an amateur astronomer.

KAWALSKY

Took it up after we got back from Abdju.​

Climbing down, Daniel accepts one of the beers from Kawalsky.

DANIEL

Thank you.​

They sit down in patio chairs, cracking open their beers.

KAWALSKY

Thought about getting re-assed to NASA when the gate was in mothballs. That's where all the action's gonna be. (taking swig; gesturing) Up there.

DANIEL

(forlorn) Sha'ure's developed a desire to see these worlds on the other side of the stargate, to tell their peoples that Atum's a false god, to join with us and fight for freedom, as we'd done on Abdju. (wiping nose) This is going straight to my head. (taking swig)

KAWALSKY

Daniel, for crying out loud, you've had one beer. You're a cheaper date than my ex was.

DANIEL

Speaking of dates, how're things working out with Sabrina?​

Kawalsky takes a moment, thinking.

KAWALSKY

I like her. (smiling) Yeah.​

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/EMBARKATION ROOM

The stargate stands open. At the base of the ramp wait four of the six away team members. Carter and Kawalsky are at the controls of a pair of ATVs, with NCOs CURREN and SWOPE manning all-terrain motorcycles. They're armed with pulse rifles and zat guns retrieved from Sutekh's fastness. Their ACUs bear shoulder patches emblazoned with the Eye of Atum.

As a FRED is fed into the puddle, Daniel enters the chamber, visibly distressed.

CARTER

Where's Sha'ure?​

Sha'ure comes in right behind Daniel. Pushing past him, she strides up to Carter, angrily holding up her Eye of Atum patch.

SHA'URE

I won't wear this!

CARTER

Daniel, didn't you explain —

SHA'URE

(interrupting) By this, my people took you for gods. (contemptuous) You'd deceive the Haragans.

MAJ. ANDERMAN

(over intercom) Is there a problem?​

Carter looks towards the operations room window. The major is standing beside Davis-Harriman, watching them keenly.

CARTER

No problem, sir. (to Sha'ure) You took us as gods? In spite of being a developed industrial society? The Haragans are still in the Dark Ages.

DANIEL

You shouldn't use that term. Modern scholarship considers the Dark Ages concept misleading and inaccurate.​

Carter glares at Daniel fiercely.

DANIEL

(cont'd; subdued) But that's neither here nor there.

CARTER

(to Sha'ure; cont'd) We can't overturn their religion overnight, regardless of how false we both know it to be. We'll have to work with it until they're ready for the truth.

SHA'URE

(fuming) Do what you will. I won't wear it.​

Tossing the patch aside, Sha'ure joins Carter on her ATV. Daniel does likewise with Kawalsky.

EXT. PYRAMID/ENTRANCE — DAY

The motorcycles emerge from the pyramid first, followed by the compact ATVs moments later. They park between the obelisks flanking the stone ramp, taking in their surroundings. The pyramid is composed of cinnabar sandstone, the same colour as the desert vista which encompasses them.

KAWALSKY

Dammit, it's cold.​

The visible breath of all present attests to the frigid temperature.

CARTER

Okay, people, let's move.

DANIEL

(sneezing) Anybody have Kleenex?​

EXT. DESERT — DAY

The four Terran vehicles cross the rocky desert landscape. The natural topsoil gives way to whitish crystal dust, indicating the mine's not too far off.

Daniel reaches into a front pocket, taking out one of his favoured 5th Avenue bars. As he unwraps it and takes a satisfied bite, he spots a conspicuous shape in the distance.

DANIEL

(mouth full) What's that? (swallowing) Adam, stop!​

The sergeant comes to a halt.

DANIEL

Binoculars.​

Kawalsky fishes out a pair of binoculars, handing them to Daniel. Raising them, Daniel gets a clear look at what he saw.

DANIEL

(awestruck) I don't believe it.​

Climbing off the ATV, Daniel jogs towards the shape. Crossing several metres, he stops. Less than a stone's throw away is a large, hairy beast. A strange cross of mastodon, camel, and water buffalo, the MASTADGE roots around a shrub, kicking up big sprays of earth as it burrows.

Slowly and cautiously, Daniel starts to make his way towards it. The mastadge turns, spotting Daniel. Daniel freezes in his tracks. He notices something around the head and neck of the mastadge: a harness.

DANIEL

(softly) It's okay. It's okay. Sh-sh-sh. That's a good girl.​

He holds out his palm for the animal to sniff. She rears her head, growling in warning.

DANIEL

(cont'd) It's okay. Good girl.​

At Daniel's soothing, reassuring tones, the mastadge calms down. With its great nostrils, the mastadge sniffs his other hand, the one with the candy bar.

DANIEL

What? What d'you want? You want some of this?​

Breaking off a piece, he holds it out. The mastadge takes it gently in her teeth.

DANIEL

(cont'd) Here you go. You like that?

CARTER

(O.C.) I wouldn't feed that thing!​

Daniel turns around. Standing at a distance are the four airmen. Carter, Curren, and Swope have their pulse rifles trained on the mastadge.

DANIEL

It's a mastadge, like the ones on Abdju! (lifting reins) It's got a harness! It's domesticated!​

Daniel pats the mastadge's sensitive ear. Distressed, she rears up, roaring. Daniel backs up, entangling his ankle in the loose rope attached to the mastadge's harness. As the mastadge takes off running, Daniel's swooped off his feet and dragged off behind her.

CARTER

Dammit!

KAWALSKY

(cupping mouth; shouting) Let go of it!​

The airmen lower their guns and race to their vehicles.

Daniel yells as he's dragged along across the ground, unable to gain purchase on anything or reach the ropes.

DANIEL

Help me!​

The ATVs and motorcycles race after the mastadge, but their speed's not great enough to overtake the beast. As the dust on the ground thickens, forming small dunes, the airmen hit the breaks. They watch the mastadge, still going strong, Daniel dragged behind, yelling.

EXT. CRYSTAL DUNE — DAY

Daniel lies on the sand unconscious. The mastadge leans over and begins licking his face, rousing him with her fetid breath.

Carter, Kawalsky, Curren, Swope, and Sha'ure arrive.

KAWALSKY

You okay, Daniel?​

As her men and Sha'ure check on Daniel, Carter notices something over the crest of the dune.

CARTER

Curren, Swope.​

As the two NCOs follow the captain, the mastadge nuzzles Daniel.

DANIEL

Get away from me.​

Carter and the others pause at the top of the dune. With Kawalsky and Sha'ure's help, Daniel stands. Sighing, the Egyptologist pets the mastadge absently as he watches Swope and Curren drop, weapons ready on either side of the standing captain. They join the other three.

EXT. MINE — DAY

The away team looks down a deep ravine which ends in a spectacular set of white cliffs. Crawling across the faces of the cliffs, marching in lines across the valley's flat bottom, and climbing up a series of giagantic ladders are THOUSANDS UPON THOUSANDS OF HUMAN FELLAHIN, their work kicking up clouds of thick white dust. Carter lifts a pair of binoculars, scanning the area.

CARTER'S P.O.V. — MINE

Ragged, dirty men organized into large groups of two hundred or more work on the narrow shelves cut into the chalky cliffs. Dark-skinned people like the Nagadans, some work shirtless, but most wear thick robes that cover them shoulders to ankles, heads covered by hoods or scarves wrapped in a fashion similar to the Bedouin of the Syria and Jordan.

EXT. MINE — DAY

Carter lowers her glasses. Mastadges harnessed to huge carts carry the ore to half a dozen processing pavilions spread across the dusty floor of the pit. These workstations are marked by a small obelisk rising through the canvas roof of a large tent. This is where women and children are sifting, sorting, and cleaning the ore.

Suddenly, a fellah in the foreground turns and looks directly at the Earthlings.

FELLAH #1

(pointing) Shien mow! Shien mow!​

The fellahin all start looking up, spotting them. The news spreads; more-and-more workers put down their tools and turn to the hillside. Several of the labourers crowd closer, staring up at the strange visitors.

Carter signals for the others to follow her down the dune. The team cautiously makes its way down the sloping hillside. The mastadge follows Daniel closely as they head down the hill.

EXT. PAVILION — DAY

The team arrives, metres in front of the assembled crowd. The fellahin have gathered close, quiet, staring at them with a mixture of awe and fear. Wind whistles through the pit, punctuating the tense silence.

CARTER

Okay, Daniel, Sha'ure, it's your turn.​

Daniel takes Sha'ure aside. They converse under their breath in her language. She then points to one of the workers. Daniel regards him, nodding. Slowly, they walk over. This one is distinctive-looking, cleaner and younger than the miners, his hair worn in dreadlocks. The foreman IMISEBA.

The thin, handsome nineteen-year-old exchanges glances with Sha'ure. There is an instant, mutual attraction. Then Imiseba's eyes fall upon Daniel's Eye of Atum patch.

IMISEBA

Naturru ya ya! (turning to fellahin) Naturru ya ya!​

Hearing Imiseba's loud proclamation, the workers gathered in the pit quickly get down on their hands and knees, prostrating themselves before the offworlders. Imiseba's quick to join them.

KAWALSKY

Déjà vu.

DANIEL

Folie à deux.​

Behind them, Swope leans over one of the nearby piles of ore. He lowers a scanner over it, taking readings. Once finished, he approaches Carter.

SWOPE

Captain, I took some readings of what they're mining back there. It's the same material as the stargate.​

Carter nods.

 

CROSSFADE TO

The walled city of Ezer, some weeks later.

EXT. EZER — CITY GATE — DAY

As a pair of ATVs draw near the city, the watchmen in the twin towers flanking the entrance spot them. Going to their gigantic horns, they blow into them, sounding a low-pitched, penetrating mooing sound.

Passing through the enormous gate, Carter, Kawalsky, Maj. Anderman, and LIEUTENANT MARTIN PRESTON are greeted by a smiling, cheering throng of Haragans.

PRESTON

(dry) Seems like a very demonstrative culture.​

As the Terrans climb off their ATVs, familiar faces appear in the crowd. At Imiseba's authoritative command, the crowd parts to allow himself, Daniel, and Sha'ure through to greet the arrivants.

EXT. EZER — STREETS — DAY

Imiseba leads the Terrans through the city streets. Anderman scrutinizes the dilapidated mud structures around them.

ANDERMAN

This world could use a generous infusion of American capital and modern conveniences.

DANIEL

(frowning) This isn't Disneyland. These people have a culture thousands of years old. They aren't going to roll over for summer blockbusters and fast food.

ANDERMAN

How about modern building materials and medical supplies? And shouldn't the local leaders make the decision for their people?​

They've come to one of the adobe buildings. The city elders stand gathered outside. Daniel gestures to one of the elders, a villainous-looking character with a seamed face and a black beard marked on one side by a white blaze.

DANIEL

Nakeer, chief elder of the city of Ezer.​

NAKEER and the other elders bow their heads, greeting Anderman & co. with reverence.

INT. COUNCIL CHAMBERS — DAY

At a long, rough-hewn wooden table sit the Terrans and Haragans — the officers/NCOs on one side, the elders on the other, with Daniel between them serving as translator.

Nakeer's going into a long, detailed spiel.

DANIEL

Do you want this word-for-word, or short and sweet? He's going back to the beginning of the mines, about ten thousand years ago.

ANDERMAN

You might want to keep to the high points.

DANIEL

Okay. (beat) Under Imperial rule, the mine's a civic obligation — consider it sort of a sweaty local version of jury duty. These people are farmers and shepherds six months out of the year, but for forty days after the harvest, the whole community works whenever they're needed. At the end of the forty-day work cycle, the ore's brought to the pyramid and sent through the stargate.

ANDERMAN

They send the shipments. They aren't collected?​

Daniel asks Nakeer for clarification.

DANIEL

No one in living memory has seen the gods. But they continue the shipments on schedule, every year.

ANDERMAN

Perhaps our first order of business is to set wages for those who work in the mine.

DANIEL

They don't pay wages. Theirs is a gift economy.

ANDERMAN

(nodding; smiling) Since our money isn't any good to the people here, we can offer health care workers and a complete immunization project for the city's children — a mere token payment. I think a fair arrangement would be to offer the government here a percentage of the ore's value on the world — our world — market. A royalty, if you will. Royalty payments will allow the elders to buy modern conveniences the city really needs — a hospital, for instance. Clean water. Plumbing.​

The discussion goes back and forth. The round of negotiations end with effusive compliments on both sides.

DANIEL

We'll want the agreement in writing.

ANDERMAN

I'm sure the elders would see no need for a written document. Certainly a bond of honour is sufficient between men and gods of good will.​

Daniel clenches his jaw.

EXT. EZER — CITY SQUARE — NIGHT

The entire city's come out for a celebration. A group of women carry trays of food over to the platform where the Terrans sit with the elders. As the food arrives, Daniel, too disgusted to enjoy the obligatory feast, leaves, pushing through the crowd until he finds a spot bereft of activity.

Sha'ure finds Daniel. Taking his arm in hers, the two look up at the three moons burning bright in the night sky.

EXT. MINE — DAY

The next morning, Preston and Anderman — escorted by Kawalsky, Daniel, Nakeer, some other elders, and Imiseba — have set off towards the mine on mastadges. One riderless mastadge accompanies them: the same monster that had dragged Daniel across the desert. The beast walks alongside him, trying to nuzzle up to him affectionately.

DANIEL

(irate) Get away.​

Daniel swats at the mastadge. She bleats like a ten-tonne goat, then nuzzles him again in a sensitive area. Daniel quickly pulls his last 5th Avenue bar out of his pocket.

DANIEL

(shaking bar at mastadge) A little bit.​

As he unwraps the treat, the big fleshy lips reach out and snatch the bar away.

DANIEL

(angry) A little bit, I said!

PRESTON

I want to examine the mine workings. It's hard enough translating the expected tonnage of material from the ancient Egyptian system of weights and measures. (beat) I understand this is a pit mine.

DANIEL

I suppose you'd call it that. They bring the ore up from a deep hole in the ground.​

Ahead of them rises a large, billowing shape — a homespun tent erected on posts as tall as telephone poles.

DANIEL

That's the Tent of Rest.​

Beyond the tent are the works themselves. A thin line of men wait to descend one ladder while a matching line rises from the deep, dust-streaming ravine. The members of the climbing line each carry satchels full of naqahdah ore. The satchels on those waiting to descend are empty.

Nakeer speaks.

DANIEL

They're working with a skeleton crew right now. Most of the farmers have been diverted back to crop planting and irrigation work.​

Preston gazes over the lip of the ravine, mouth wide open as he takes in the mining operation.

PRESTON

My God. They told me it was crude … but this is downright primitive.​

A frown appears on the lieutenant's round red face.

KAWALSKY

Something wrong?

PRESTON

This isn't natural.

KAWALSKY

Of course not. They've been digging here for ten thousand years.

PRESTON

That wouldn't account for this ravine.

KAWALSKY

Okay, so there was a fissure here in the first place, and the locals have just enlarged it.

PRESTON

(shaking head) There's no natural reason there should be a canyon here in the first place — no water, and this couldn't be done by wind erosion. (beat) Look, I know enough about geology — I'm a mining engineer, for heaven's sake. (beat) It's as though the hand of God gouged a chasm in the rock right where the ore would be. And these folks have been digging and enlarging it ever since.

KAWALSKY

(somber) Not God, but aliens with the powers of gods.​

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 27/CAPT. LOCKWOOD'S OFFICE

Seated at his desk is CAPT. EUGENE LOCKWOOD of the United States Army Corp of Engineers. He is long and thin, his face hatchet-liked. Preston sits across from him.

LOCKWOOD

Let me introduce you to the US's first offworld base. The Alpha Site will be a totally self-sufficient installation located on 390 square miles of Haragan land.​

On Lockwood's desk is an artist's conceptual rendering of a brand new military base. The aerial view of the base revolves around a series of complexes spread around a wide open space. In the centre of the base, four large buildings form what's labelled as Alpha Site HQ. Near the naqahdah mine, a massive collection of industrial buildings are marked as refineries, power plants, factories, and foundries. Located near the edge of the base, between the pyramid and industrial buildings, is a large building marked "Gateway Center".

LOCKWOOD

(cont'd) The general has tasked me with four directives. One, I'm supposed to get the mine up and modernized. Two, I'm to supervise the construction of Alpha Site. Three, I'm to handle any disruptions from outside sources — that includes marginalizing this Daniel Jackson character. I don't see any problem there. He's teaching the locals English, but we'll offer English classes that'll knock the natives' socks off. (beat) And finally, I'm supposed to do all this while managing a profitable production of ore from the mine operation as it exists now.

PRESTON

But you're holding to production figures I told you were too high. I thought the figures cited by the elders at Ezer were excessive, and you've inflated them.

LOCKWOOD

My mandate's to achieve the highest production possible from the get-go. You copy? This naqahdah stuff is apparently very valuable, judging from its price per ton. It's also very versatile, because research centres all over the country are screaming for it. And we've got to provide the stuff — in bulk. So I'll have to ask you and the local labour force to sweat a little until we get modern methods in to pick up some of the slack.

PRESTON

Pick up the slack‽ There's no way we can modernize part of that operation without disrupting the rest of it. These people have been working that deposit in the same manner for thousands of years. There's no way you're going to come in with hoists and ore conveyors and not joggle their elbows. You're not even considering a training curve for using your new technology. Production at that mine is going to do down — perhaps steeply — before it heads up.

LOCKWOOD

Thank you for your consultation, Lieutenant. I think you're wrong. Why don't you let me worry about modernizing the place while you do the job I need you to do. You just keep these Haraga people as productive as possible during our teething pains. (smiling) Until we have the machines in and can afford to get rid of most of them.​

 

INT. CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN/LEVEL 28/EMBARKATION ROOM

The converted missle silo's been remodelled. Massive excavation work's been done to enlarge the room; it's now big enough to accommodate three freight elevators with room to spare for as many trucks. An expanded and reinforced ramp leads into the stargate.

SUPERIMPOSE: "THREE MONTHS LATER"

Lockwood stands before the black ring as it's being dialled. The second glyph comes into alignment.

CMSGT. DAVIS-HARRIMAN

(over intercom; cont'd) Chevron Two encoded.​

INT. PYRAMID/STARGATE CHAMBER

The walls of the chamber have been fitted with a temporary light system, wired to a noisy electric generator. Carter, Swope, and Curren stand before the stardial, overlooking the gate.

The ring powers up. Curren and Swope step forward. Moments later, Lockwood emerges from the puddle, momentum propelling him into Curren's arms.

LOCKWOOD

(nauseous) Ugh. I think I'm gonna be sick. Ugh.

CURREN

Maybe you shouldn't have had that big lunch, huh?​

Lockwood regains his composure, shaking off the worst of the gate sickness symptoms.

LOCKWOOD

The trip through hadn't been what I expected. Not that I assumed it would be some rhapsodic, beam-me-up-Scotty experience, but neither had I expected to have the crap beat out of me.

CARTER

That's a result of the compression your molecules undergo during the millisecond required for reconstitution. (smiling) You adjust to it following a few transits.​

INT. PYRAMID/ENTRANCE HALL — DAY

The USACE blasting team is assembling demolition charges around the narrow exit to the outside world. Carter casts an anxious glance at the planted explosives as the team wires up the detonators.

CARTER

(nervous) You sure this'll work?

HEAD BLASTER

We've checked the load-bearing limits of the stones, ma'am. All our shaped charges'll do is widen that doorway — unless you want to bring all the equipment you send to this joint in small pieces.

CARTER

But it won't harm the stargate?

HEAD BLASTER

That doodad's about as far from the discharge as you can get, but we're gonna set up some blast shields just in case.​

INT. PYRAMID/STARGATE CHAMBER

They unspool detonator wires backwards to the stargate chamber, where Lockwood stands by the stardial. More men and materials are arriving from Earth. Heavy steel shields and braces are moved forward to block the entrances to the gate chamber and antechamber.

HEAD BLASTER

We're ready to go.​

Lockwood gives the signal.

INT. DANIEL'S CLASSROOM — DAY

Daniel and Sha'ure stand at the front of the repurposed storeroom, working on an English lesson when a massive sonic boom strikes the building. Their pupils are taken aback by the unfamiliar sound.

DANIEL

What the hell could that be‽​

EXT. WATCHTOWER — DAY

Daniel, Sha'ure, several of the elders, and Imiseba climb one of the watchtowers, hoping to get a long-range glimpse of whatever caused the dull boom. A couple fellahin come into view, running madly across the desert, gesticulating in the direction of the pyramid.

Nakeer draws himself up, calling an order.

EXT. EZER — CITY GATE — DAY

The massive gate of the city opening, a cavalcade of mastadges set off.

EXT. PYRAMID — DAY

The mastadges top a ridge, coming into sight of the pyramid. The front face of the pyramid is no longer pristine sandstone. The severe, tight arch of the old entrance has been blasted, a huge rent torn in the stone, the rubble being shoved to either side of the entrance ramp. Among the wreckage are the pair of stone obelisks which had once flanked the ramp. Nakeer and his compatriots suck air between their teeth in shock as Daniel's face turns red.

Angry, Daniel flings himself out of the howdah and begins running for the ramp.

DANIEL

What the hell are you guys do—‽​

He skids to a stop. Soldiers are aiming XM5 rifles at him.

DANIEL

(raising hands) Hey, guys. No gun, see? I speak the same language you do, right? You can't shoot me. I'm the translator.​

Lockwood and Carter come storming down the ramp.

LOCKWOOD

What are you people playing at — Lawrence of Arabia on mutated camels‽ You could've gotten hurt, wandering into a construction zone.

DANIEL

Yeah, well, we didn't get any warning signs up about getting crushed or shot. Our only clue was the explosion when you blasted our pyramid.

LOCKWOOD

Your pyramid? I believe we made it clear that we required unlimited access to the stargate.

DANIEL

But we didn't know "unlimited access" meant blowing holes in a 10,000-year-old monument so your bulldozers could roll. The least you might've done is given us some warning.

LOCKWOOD

You must be Jackson.

DANIEL

Daniel Jackson, Ph.D. And you?

LOCKWOOD

Capt. Eugene Lockwood. I'm the USACE site manager. And right now we're preparing the site.

DANIEL

Way to go, Lockwood. You've got a start on your truck route, and all it cost you was any goodwill Anderman built up among the people who live here. Take a look at them.​

Daniel gestures to Nakeer and the other elders, who stare at the debris. Their expressions are ones of bewilderment, to say the least.

LOCKWOOD

On the other hand, the sooner we get into production on the mine, the sooner we can offer things this world needs. You might tell them that.
​

INT. DANIEL'S CLASSROOM — DAY

Imiseba takes his seat. Daniel makes a headcount; there're only six students present.

DANIEL

(to Sha'ure) Is it something I said? I may not have the world's greatest accent in their dialect. That's why I asked you to join me.

SHA'URE

It's not your teaching — or your accent, which is better than mine. It's the classes those others are giving at their camp.

DANIEL

So what have they got that we don't? Prettier teachers?​

Sha'ure's eyes wander to Imiseba. The young man's looking right back at her, intently.

DANIEL

(cont'd) Or are they grading on the curve? (waving hand) I'm sorry. I'm making bad jokes — and nobody here even understands what I'm joking about. (beat) So let's start working on some things we can understand.
​

EXT. CAMP/STARGATE — DAY

A military camp's sprung up 457 metres from the now-derelict pyramid. Around the size of two football fields, tents surround the transplanted stargate in a horseshoe configuration. The stardial's housed in a security booth twenty-five metres at an odd angle from the gate.

Kawalsky's talking with a bald supply officer.

SUPPLY OFFICER

(cont'd) Meals, Ready to Eat. (scrutinizing clipboard) For the number of men you're receiving, this'll be a six-month supply.

KAWALSKY

We don't know if reinforcements will be needed.

SUPPLY OFFICER

I thought you were expecting to get supplies from the local people.

KAWALSKY

We expect to, but I want to make sure we don't strain their resources — and I want a reserve.

SUPPLY OFFICER

Now, about all this ammunition. (squinting) You intend to run a whole lot of live-fire exercises?

KAWALSKY

I don't know who or what we may end up shooting at, but I don't want the balloon to go up and have us stuck without enough ordnance to handle whatever happens. Besides, we may get reinforcements, and I want bullets for them as well as food.

SUPPLY OFFICER

Um-hmmm. A chicken in every pot, and a Stinger missile for every man. (beat) You want more Stingers than we sent to Afghanistan. And the *********s on this planet are so backward they'd probably think a bow and arrow was hopelessly high-tech. Why do you think you'll need so many hand-held missiles?

KAWALSKY

(frowning) I need the Stingers because Capt. Carter turned me down on building some hardened SAM sites.

SUPPLY OFFICER

(incredulous) You wanted to set up fortified surface-to-air missile sites on this planet‽ What for‽ You think the Russians are going to sell the *********s —​

This time he catches Kawalsky's disapproving look.

SUPPLY OFFICER

(cont'd) Ah, the natives have a couple of Air Force-surplus MiGs that we'll have to defend ourselves against? (beat) Oh, maybe you're concerned about flybys from the people who built the stargate. (smirking) Are you sure Stingers are effective against flying saucers?

KAWALSKY

(somber) I could give a rat's ass about flying saucers. It's the big flying pyramids that worry the crap out of me.
​

EXT. CAMP/WATCH POINT — DAY

Astride a mastadge, Imiseba comes to the camp. He addresses two guards standing watch.

IMISEBA

Loo-ten-et Kwal — Kawalsky.​

INT. KAWALSKY'S TENT

Kawalsky's surprised to see Imiseba standing in the entrance to his tent.

IMISEBA

Hello, Lieutenant.

KAWALSKY

Hello, Imiseba.

IMISEBA

Sha'ure teaches me. Daniel, too.

KAWALSKY

(smiling) They're doing a very good job.

IMISEBA

They teach here, too. (frowning) People Daniel teaches. They come here….

KAWALSKY

You want to know why?​

Imiseba nods.

KAWALSKY

Good idea, General.​

The young man looks confused.

KAWALSKY

General. (saluting) You General, I salute.

IMISEBA

(touching chest) General.

KAWALSKY

You're scouting. (shading eyes) We call that intelligence.​

Imiseba looks totally lost.

KAWALSKY

I'll show you the classes. You look around.​

INT. INSTRUCTION TENT — DAY

Imiseba enters a large, airy tent. His eyes go wide as he takes in the banks of computer and video monitors. Some show earthmoving vehicles and other motorized equipment. On other screens, brightly animated figures move around English letters and words to cheerful music.

One of the teaching staff approaches Imiseba.

INSTRUCTOR

You want to learn my tongue? You must help teach me yours.

IMISEBA

The teacher in the city speaks my tongue better. Why shouldn't I learn from him?

INSTRUCTOR

That one is not … (tapping head) In my place, he is a failure.​

Imiseba's face is noncommittal.

 

Revised the last two posts.