SGU: CODA - SIGNALS

FADE INTO:

* VOID SPACE. Not a star in sight. ULTIMATE Destiny (still BATTERED, still majestic) FLOATS in the darkness. No lights, so it's hard to discern the many changes/improvements: extra engines, garden Domes, solar panels, paint, mesh shielding, weapons...

[+]

Quiet. Peaceful. Boring?

Suddenly, many white STREAMS of light CRISS-CROSS the hull, FILLING every nook & cranny, until:

[+]

Destiny EXPLODES INTO a seething MASS of shiny white DOTS filling the screen.




S     *     G     *     U


               STARGATE   (@)   UNIVERSE              .


SIGNALS & PORT ENDS


# DESTINY. CORRIDORS & other SPACES. Old. Dark. Cluttered. Confined. Dead?

RUSH

(Off Screen)

[+] the true nature of Destiny's mission.


CAPTION:
12 hours earlier

Tiny lights TURN ON here & there.

A CONSOLE lights UP.

A familiar WHINE echoes around.



# GATE ROOM. Improved decor, mix Reception Hall / Quarantine Zone.

RING's SPINNING!

RING LOCKS. VORTEX whooshes. PUDDLE stabilizes.

CHEVRONS briefly BLINK. COUNTDOWN CLOCK spins, RESTS at BLANK.

Lights RIPPLE. GATE DEACTIVATES.

CONSOLES turn ON, flip screens at SPEED.

Entering:

RUSH

(greatly AGED)

C'mon, show yourself. We're waiting for you.


COALESCING (from ambient light):

ENERGY BEING

I'm Auditor. Came as fast as I could.


RUSH

(half-smile)

Of course, what's 4 centuries among friends!?


MATERIALIZING as human:

AUDITOR

Even with the Gate Trail, it's a long trip to the other side of the known Universe.


RUSH

You're an Ancient...!? Still around, after all these millennia...!?


AUDITOR

659 since Milky Way lost contact with the Novans who kept contact with Destiny for nearly 300.


RUSH

So, it wasn't just Destiny traveling faster than ever.


AUDITOR

Afraid not. Wish I had had time for more than rushing by. But Tau'ri always exceeded expectations. There's hope!

(beat)

Where's everybody else?


RUSH

I've been alone for the past, oh, 14 millennia.

(turns to EXIT)

There wasn't much to do anyway, but wait for the ship's AI to recreate the CMBR Signal into its original form, and sleep.


AUDITOR glances here & there, follows.



# DESTINY. CORRIDORS. Full of the SIGNS & ARTIFACTS of prolonged human habitation.

Guiding thru the maze:

RUSH

Stasis Pods were life-changing. Still, most crewmembers left when they found places they liked, to found new colonies, or whatever.


They pass a big (closed) room with a "SCHOOL" banner.

RUSH

Others raised their families onboard, or died in accidents, or wars. [+]


Ahead:


# OBSERVATION DECK. No scenery to see in the DIMNESS but Destiny & its 'improvements'.

FLASHBACK:

"FTL lights" in full effect.

Both noticeably AGED, arguing:

YOUNG

Eli's notes say the Signal's "informational density" rivals that of the Universe itself!? Destiny needs to study millions of galaxies to gather enough pieces of the puzzle!?


His back against the RAILING, arms crossed:

RUSH

Half the known Universe, more likely, if our numbers are right. But what will you have me do? Quit? Abort? Turn around?

(beat)

Isn't it enough that the engines, and the whole ship, work better than ever and we're making less and less stops?


YOUNG glares at him, storms OUT.

BACK TO:



RUSH

Eventually only the most determined stayed, and then only thanks to the many improvements we made with Earth and Novan and other help, to Life Support, Medical, Stasis, and all.

(gestures around)

Journey was far more eventful than the destination.


AUDITOR

We weren't bored either, while waiting for news... But Destiny's current position, away from everything?


RUSH

Minimizes noise, and visits. Makes the AI's job easier. To double the distance to the nearest galaxy, we used as bridge a Seedship rescued & refitted long ago.


FLASHBACK:


# SEED SHIP. Very old, quite DAMAGED, extensively REPAIRED.

Cavernous HOLD/ASSEMBLY LINE with many PARTS but only a few partly-completed GATES left, 1 of them PATCHED into working condition & ACTIVE.

AUDITOR (O.S)

Yeah. That surprised me a bit. Clever.


ARRIVING in much the same guise as seen earlier, his energy-form COALESCES "from thin air", INVOKES a HOLO-SCREEN, navigates TEXT & GRAPHS at speed.

BACK TO:



AUDITOR

So it worked? The database's unclear, even incoherent.


RUSH

Signal Integration hit some snags... The AI was having trouble... hence the call for help.


AUDITOR

I see... But Destiny wasn't programmed to send a summons unless a specific kind of answer was at hand. The automated message carried no known ID, no additional details.

(beat)

Which leads me to ask: Who are you!?


Slightly de-ageing:

RUSH-NOT

Seems I'm not your faithful servant, after all, but rather a... guest, in this strange and isolated vessel.

(STRAIGHTENS up)

I'm the supreme intellect and will of a realm so old and vast and cold it's beyond your puny comprehension.


AUDITOR

(thrilled yet wary?)

Awesome! Our high hopes for this far-fetched experiment are more than fulfilled, surpassed! You were there when our Universe start...!?


His eyes GLOWING bright BLUE:

RUSH-NOT

Worshippers trusted to me all their hopes, and their force! With them, after much effort, the ashes of the old were finally

(eyes turn BLACK-HOLE-y)

turned into a new chance to live and grow!


AUDITOR

A most enlightening story. But it's the future that matters.


RUSH-NOT

(firm)

This realm will become a glorious marvel of harmony, strength and wisdom under my guidance,

(STEPS forward)

once all inferior beings submit to me!


AUDITOR

(STEPS back)

What have you done with Dr. Rush?


RUSH-NOT

(gestures)

I only borrowed him as my... guide. But his matter's coarse, alien... his mind more voids than answers!


He SHINES/MORPHS into an imposing energy BEING, only vaguely humanoid.

SUPREME

Your energy, instead, is exactly what I need!! You're the real prize!


It LASHES out with a LIGHTNING strike!

Just in time to DODGE it, AUDITOR DISSOLVES into a glowing MIST of shiny energy DROPLETS, then FLEES!

SUPREME finishes turning into a fat multi-faceted LIGHTNING BUNDLE, lunges forward!

Wild CHASE ensues!

[+]



# CORRIDORS & other SPACES. Brief (chaotic) GLIMPSES of the FLEEING mist, closely followed by the lashing SUPREME.

ROOM by room, BLOW by blow, the pursuer USES the ship's SHORTCUTS & power systems to GAIN on its prey.

SUPREME

You cannot escape! It's only a matter of time!


The fleeing MIST vanishes behind a CLOSED DOOR, causing it to EXPLODE out of its place!

The pursuer DODGES it!

Auditor's mist CAUSES portions of the floor, ceiling and walls to EXPLODE (some of them TRAVERSED by significant static energy & SPARKS) as it rushes thru!

To no avail, as the pursuer swiftly DODGES the "electrified" debris or DISSOLVES thru the inert ones, still GAINING!

The continuing DEFLAGRATIONS take their toll: lights & Consoles FLICKER, go OUT; windows and rooms VENT to space; pipes BURST; the entire ship SHUDDERS...



# DARKENED corridor w/FLAMES at one end. Smoke aplenty.

Auditor's mist HUGS the ceiling as it HOPS from one wall to the opposite.

BARELY fast enough, as only a timely close-quarters EXPLOSION DEVIATES the lashing pursuer's BOLTS from their target!

SUPREME

I see what you're doing! You're desperate!


It now also HUGS the walls as it ADVANCES, avoids wildly SPARKING cables.

SUPREME

Not planning to stay here anyway!


Ahead:


# GATE ROOM. Explosion SCARS. Spark-y, smoke-y. As the pursuer ENTERS:

Auditor's mist ENVELOPS 1 of the Consoles, FRITZES it!

As he ENVELOPS another Console, a pursuing BOLT PIERCES him before he can completely DISENGAGE!

SPARKS fly, source unclear.

The (slightly diminished, in disarray) MIST flees thru the opposite door.

The pursuer STOPS, regains its vaguely-humanoid shape, PULSATING furiously.

SUPREME

Bwahahahahahahahahaha hahahahahahahahahah!!!!! The keys to the Gate!? This prison's way out!?


It ENVELOPS the closest working Console in a softly GLOWING flame (unburning).

Ring ACTIVATES, starts SPINNING!

Its flames FLOWING into/out the Console as CHEVRONS 'click':

SUPREME

You'll all be eternal with me, soon!!


Console (unstable) SCREEN:
A SEEDSHIP's schematic + a Gate ADDRESS + a STARMAP. It's almost out of range, HALFWAY between Destiny and the only GALAXY around (much farther away).

The Ring LOCKS, starts TREMBLING. VORTEX whooshes.

PUDDLE stabilizes. SUPREME darts INTO as Chevrons BLINK briefly.

Auditor's mist REAPPEARS, swirls around, ENVELOPS the Ring with a thin CLOUD (which eventually SEEPS inside).

The entire ROOM vibrates. Lights FLICKER, go OUT. Everything SHAKES!

Finally, both the Console and the Ring SPARK mightily before DEACTIVATING, smoke escaping both.

Behind the Ring:

RUSH unconscious on the floor, AUDITOR tending to him, both in quite BAD SHAPE.

Weakly OPENING his eyes:

RUSH

What... happened?


AUDITOR

A miracle... Not the good kind.


Exerting himself:

RUSH

That... thing!?


Helping Rush STAND:

AUDITOR

(looks around)

Gone... For good, I hope. I melted the receiver so it cannot Gate back.


RUSH

Gate!? The... Seed Ship!?


AUDITOR

It must be there right now, scrambling for an exit.


Console SCREEN:

CAPTION/ALARM:
       Gate Malfunction.
Critical Subspace Instability.




* VOID SPACE. Star-less but for the faint GLOW around a barely-glimpsed faraway GALAXY.

Old SEED SHIP's hull CRACKS under the internal PRESSURE of many clear-bluish STREAKS/PSEUDOPODS of (wavering) light until it CRUMBLES/IMPLODES into a small BRIGHT pulsating DOT that absorbs ALL nearby matter/energy, tries but FAILS to expand, then turns BLACK.

BACK TO:



The SEEDSHIP schematic BLINKS into oblivion. Scrolling DATA replaces it.

Reviewing:

AUDITOR

A new micro-blackhole's been detected at the Factory Ship's exact coordinates. Will evaporate in a few billion nanoseconds.

(beat)

No energy signature of any kind outside.

(smiles)

That ends it.


RUSH

Great. But... how?


RECOMPOSING himself:

AUDITOR

I rigged its Gate to... bleed any incoming wormhole, to encompass and resonate all matter onboard, and so collapse into a subspace singularity, unless countermanded.


RUSH

Mighty harsh... But that'd kill an Energy Being... from another Universe?


AUDITOR

I saw its thoughts when it... meshed with mine.

(shudders)

It planned to consume every last bit of energy and life to reach a kind of... soulless eternity.


RUSH

(struggling)

Lucky it... didn't see... your trap.


AUDITOR

I only offered it the briefest of openings. Its focus on its own wants and needs did the rest.

(shrugs)

Now whatever's left has been ousted from this Universe to never come back.


RUSH collapses to the floor!



# CHAIR Interface Room. Poorly lit. Less spark-y & smoke-y. AUDITOR looks better, checks EQUIPMENT, screens.

RUSH on the (inactive) chair, looks worse, older. He STIRS, tries to get up, FAINTS.

AUDITOR

(concerned, urgent)

Talk to me, Dr. Rush! The last you remember!?


RUSH

(eyes closed)

AI's changing, alien. Dangerous! Cannot stop it...! Rejects my codes to overload the engines!


Checking Rush's head & EYES:

AUDITOR

Signal Rebuilding process had checks, failsafes... But nobody expected this kind of... success.


GRABBING the other's hand:

RUSH

(whisper)

Cannot Gate out, lest... something... follows! Cannot hide! But ...isolate the sensors ...expunge the Database!?


AUDITOR

(ACTIVATES the chair)

Hold on! This will be quick.


RUSH

(spent)

Spend the fuel... strand Destiny! ...key data in my mind!? Erase it... with the Chair!?

(goes still)


AUDITOR

Wait! Don't... !!


But the chair is EMPTY, Rush GONE.



# CHAIR Interface Room. As it used to be. Low light.

FLASHBACK:
RUSH on the (ACTIVE) chair, eyes closed (with REM).

Console SCREEN:
Selective Memory
Rewrite 89%, 90%...


ALERT:
Quarantine meltdown
in 10, 9, 8, 7...


The screen goes BLANK!

A message SCROLLS:
What
Are
You
Doing!?


To RUSH's surprise (and pain), his body starts to vibrate/SHINE. He tries to RESIST, but finally DISSOLVES into a shiny energy MIST, not unlike the one when Dr. Franklin vanished, then VANISHES (thru the ceiling).


BACK TO:
"Medical SARCOPHAGUS" (advanced, extensively PATCHED up) CONNECTED to the CHAIR. A terminally AGED RUSH is inside!

RUSH

(creaky)

I was working in the virtual world, as usual, when it got me. So much for the higher speed.


AUDITOR

It was real enough. Had I not reacted quickly, it'd have escaped into me, and thru me into our Universe. It could have been... unstoppable.


RUSH

Of course the AI's function was to make the simulacrum real. No good answers otherwise, huh?

(coughs)

Oh, well, curiosity does often kill the cat.


TWEAKING the sarcophagus' CONTROLS:

AUDITOR

Had you left a clear warning at the Factory Ship, or anywhere, those risks could have been entirely avoided.


RUSH

No chance. Plan B was hoping nobody came to check, nobody cared about this anymore.


AUDITOR

Who would disregard how our Universe came to be, or how it may end?

(brightens)

Congratulations are in order, Dr. Rush: in true time-honored Tau'ri fashion, we tricked a god.


RUSH

(tired)

Not a god. No more than any of the others.

(sighs)

It was as much the product of the Signal's essence as of our limited accuracy in rebuilding it.


AUDITOR

Probably also took bits of your personality, knowledge and biases.


RUSH

(unhappy)

Not my humility, then. Nor the list of Gate Addresses, or... whatever the other stuff was.

(beat)

So this is how it ends.


AUDITOR

Destiny still has a few hours of energy left. I'm weakened out here. Need help.


RUSH

Haven't you learnt to be all-powerful yet?


Checking sarcophagus READOUTS:

AUDITOR

Obviously not. Now rest. With your consciousness away for so long, and the haste of the reintegration, your body has degraded...


RUSH

(calm)

Beyond repair? That's old news.


His hand slightly GLOWING against the other's TEMPLE:

AUDITOR

Beyond sustainability. The end is near. May be days, or hours.




# OBSERVATION DECK. AUDITOR at the Railing, eyes closed.

PAD screen shows ALERT:
Micro-wormhole
confirmed VANISHED.


Something MOVES behind him!?

He TURNS around: there's nothing/no-one.

He keeps looking, EXITS.



# CORRIDORS & other SPACES. No sign of the (virtual) RAVAGE, yet still pretty DARK.

AUDITOR (a faint GLOW projected ahead of him) CHECKS every door & corner.

Ahead:


# BRIDGE. At the (shutdown) Consoles (doing nothing): VOLKER, DR PERRY (somewhat aged), BRODY.

At the Captain's Chair: A middle-aged ELI WALLACE.

AUDITOR

Who...?


Holo-ELI

(stands, gestures)

The ship's Advisors. Based on real people Dr. Rush trusted.


VOLKER

(unstable?)

Or respected. We've worked with him for millennia.


DR PERRY

Kept him from going insane... mostly.


BRODY

(slightly blurry)

There's many other personalities in long-term storage at the Databanks.


AUDITOR

Destiny's AI is no longer under the crushing load of the Signal. Makes sense.

(brightens)

You embody all it learnt along the trip. Priceless!


BRODY

Until we were shut down. Priority simulation.


AUDITOR

Yeah, it spent nearly all the energy reserves. Everything else's mothballed. Let me tweak some...


LATER:

AUDITOR at Console. The Holo-people look better.

VOLKER

(stretching)

Feels weird to ... just be, without him ... poking around, pressing for answers.


DR PERRY

(worried)

The sarcophagus is unclear: How long has he left?


AUDITOR closes his eyes, signals 'wait a sec'.

AUDITOR

(eyes bright)

Good news: Destiny's going home!


BRODY

And the bad?


His hands GLOWING WHITE over the Console:

AUDITOR

It's gonna hurt. Hold on.


The ship SHAKES & RUMBLES. Bright SHAFTS of white light ERUPT here & there.

ELI

Wait, what do you mean 'hurt'...?


FADE TO WHITE

[+]


* VOID SPACE. Destiny EXPLODES INTO the seething MASS of shiny white DOTS filling the screen, as seen earlier.

[+]

The dots SWIRL, converge and VANISH thru:

[+]

The STARGATE's active PUDDLE, chevrons BLINKING madly. As it SHUTS down, then CRUMBLES to (flying) dust:

[+]

FADE TO BLACK


* Planet with GATE. Morning. Ring ACTIVATES, starts SPINNING.

Chevrons LOCK.

NO vortex. NO puddle. CHEVRONS start BLINKING, fast, at length...

Finally, Chevrons SHUT DOWN, but the Ring SPINS again, gathering speed!

Faster and FASTER, sparks traversing its OVERLOADING innards, making alarming SOUNDS, until:

The Ring COLLAPSES IN on itself, SUCKING the very light from its surroundings, then IMPLODEXPLODES into a SHOCKWAVE of (iridescent) light, engulfing everything!



* GALACTIC MAP: a fiery yellow LINE zig-zags FAST along the upper 3rd of the stars, leaving a TRAIL of light-up DOTS that VANISH shortly after.

Up to the very EDGE. Then:



* EDGE PLANET. Cloudy. Rainy. RING SPINNING. A powerful LIGHTNING BOLT reaches it!

Strong white LIGHT traverses its innards, repeatedly. The entire structure VIBRATES. Small debris comes loose!

Yet the RING still SPINS, LOCKS (amid TREMORS).

No VORTEX. No PUDDLE. CHEVRONS repeatedly BLINK like mad.

Ground SHAKES with a DEEP powerful RUMBLE. Deeper and deeper!



* INTERGALACTIC MAP: the yellow line JUMPS to the next Galaxy!

Behind, the Edge DOT burns bright(er), then VANISHES like the others.

Across another Galaxy, then the next, and the next... Of all sizes and shapes, they become a BLUR around the Jumping zig-zagging yellow LINE.

10s. 100s. 1000s. The journey/race goes on and on and ON.

[+]

Finally:


* SPIRAL GALAXY, not blurred. A few more Jumps (no exploding DOTS), then:



* SOLAR SYSTEM. Mostly unchanged. No evident signs of activity.

PAN TO:


* The MOON. A sprawling futuristic CITY (not unlike Ancient ATLANTIS) glimpsed in the distance near the horizon, GLITTERS in sunlight.

In orbit: ACTIVE GATE (PUDDLE + heavily BLINKING CHEVRONS).

IN JUMPS Destiny's swirling ENERGY CLOUD, which starts "coalescing".

Gate DEACTIVATES.

The energy cloud acquires (roughly) Destiny's SHAPE, gets DENSER, "solid".

Finally, the ship MATERIALIZES (in somewhat less disrepair)



# OBSERVATION DECK. Earth rising beyond the Moon's horizon.

ELI

Well, that was fast!


AUDITOR

Your internal clocks were frozen. The trip back took 12 years.


DR PERRY

But... !?


AUDITOR

(happy)

Much less than expected, thanks to the help we received.


DR PERRY

Help? Who?


AUDITOR

Ascended communities in most galaxies happily traded swift passage thru their space for our hard-won knowledge.

(checks MONITOR with unrecognizable PATTERNS)

Plus... the Signal from Before is now thoroughly scrambled beyond repair. No-one else will make the same mistake.


ELI

That could be the beginning of a fruitful friendship.

(as nobody else says anything)

A truly Universal consciousness, and all that...?

(shrugs)


VOLKER

At least it didn't hurt. Yay!


BRODY

(focused on Earth)

We're receiving nothing. Where's everybody?


AUDITOR

The last Tau'ri left Earth 430 millennia ago. The planet was a carefully protected preserve well before that. With luck, we may already be witnessing the next iteration of human evolution there.


DR PERRY

But, the colonies!? Alpha Site? Pegasus!?


AUDITOR

All abandoned, their cities and starships turned to dust. The old Tau'ri are now as legendary and as faded away as the Ancients themselves.


VOLKER

Man, that sucks major marbles. Is anybody left at all?


AUDITOR

The Nox are still around. As are the Furlings, the Jaffa, and the Goa'uld civilization descended from the Tok'ra.


BRODY

Still, home's empty. Why did you bother to bring us here?


AUDITOR

(smiles)

Why, they wanted you all back, of course.


Outside, 3-4 VERY BRIGHT rays of 'light' CROSS the view, almost too FAST to be noticed.

ELI

Wait, what do you mean, 'back'? Who...?


AUDITOR

Our Tau'ri friends, naturally. You're invited to listen as they make their offer to Rush.




# STASIS CORRIDORS. Barely lighted.

Around the dying RUSH's stasis POD, 3 different light-based HUMANOIDS MATERIALIZE.

FADE to WHITE



END !


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