Stargate: Atlantis s05e16 Episode Script

You sure you don't want to spend your leave going back to Earth like McKay and the others? SGC doesn't have a ZPM, so two weeks on Earth means three weeks cooped up in the Daedalus.
That's five weeks of missing work.
We only get one of those every year-and-a-half, so I'd like to save mine for something more special.
So we're going camping instead? On a beach that's never been surfed or even touched.
You gotta get more excited about this.
Check that out.
- What? - Think he's ever gonna make a move? Who cares? Say I know we only get 14 days on Earth a year, and you miss your dad and all But See, one of my old A guy who was doing his doctorate at the same time as me, he's giving a big secret presentation about some new thing that he's working on, and everyone and anyone in the physics community is going to be there.
And Well See, the thing is there's this perception out there that I'm Like, a washout, recluse - Why? - Well, 'cause I do this for a living.
I mean, super double tip-top secret stuff.
I mean, I haven't published a paper in nearly a decade Not one that can be read by the general public And I'm kind of hard to get ahold of, what with living in another galaxy and all.
- Yeah, I know what that's like.
- Exactly.
They think I'm a shut-in.
So I was thinking That if I was to, say, show up with a woman A beautiful woman That they wouldn't maybe not think that I was like, a complete loser.
Like, it would be one day, the first night we were there, and then you could be off to Chippewa Falls.
I mean, it could be fun.
Well, let's see A room full of physicists, a long-winded presentation I probably won't understand Yeah, doesn't really sound like fun.
Well, there'll be drinks, probably, and maybe those little sandwiches And me.
I'll be there.
You don't have to fabricate all these reasons on why you need me to be with you.
You could just ask me out on a date.
I didn't want to I mean, I know you I'll probably say yes.
Well, you want to go to this thing with me? Sure.
I'd love to.
Well, I'd love I mean, that's Good.
Good.
Great.
That's It's a date.
It's a date.
So what's the presentation? I don't know.
He doesn't want to tell anyone until we all get there, but if I know this guy, it'll be, you know, first-class presentation With, like, second-rate science.
Probably some minor adjustment to someone else's work, - but the food'll be good.
- And the company.
- Malcolm, have you read this? - Yes.
Your staff thinks it's reckless to turn this thing on tomorrow.
Some of my staff They're just getting cold feet, that's all.
Do you remember all that stuff that came out before CERN turned on the LHC? You know, miniature black holes, exotic particles, strangelets, the instantaneous destruction of the planet? All unfounded histrionics.
We are going to be just fine.
So you're saying none of these potential catastrophes' gonna happen? Well, there is always the slight possibility that something might go wrong.
- The cause has a lot riding on this.
- Don't worry about it.
Your precious "cause" will come out of this squeaky clean tomorrow.
Some of these worst-case scenarios are terrifying Of course they're terrifying They're worst-case scenarios! They are the worst possible thing that could ever happen, ever.
Tomorrow will come off without a hitch.
We've done hundreds of tests.
There is zero possibility for failure.
Trust me.
Season 5 Episode 16 Brain Storm (v.
1.
00) This is exciting.
- Well, it's just a plane.
- Yeah, but I've never even flown first class.
This is amazing.
Have you tried these strawberries? When I was 10, I ate a bowl full of strawberries and threw up.
I haven't been able to stomach them since.
How does this guy afford all this? I thought he was just a physicist.
Well, he was always able to dupe guys with deep pockets in to backing his research, you know.
It's amazing what a nice smile and a power point presentation will get you.
- Well, I am impressed.
- Yes, I can see that.
Come on.
You should be happy for your friend's success.
Well, it's more of an acquaintance than a friend.
Acquaintances don't pick you up in private planes.
He didn't send the jet to be nice.
He sent the jet to rub it in my face.
I was always one step ahead of this guy during school, and now that we're in the "real world," he wants to show me that, as far as most of the planet is concerned, he's a lot more successful than I am.
And what is with the evening attire? I mean, we're going to a science talk, for God's sake.
Who the hell does he think he is? Is this what the whole day will be like? Are you going to be in a bad mood? 'Cause we're back on Earth on a private jet, drinking expensive champagne, and your date's wearing a fancy dress.
Most people would be having a good time, Rodney.
You're right.
You're right Yes.
Welcome.
I'll just need you both to sign this non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement.
- You're not serious.
- Is there a problem, Sir? This whole thing is a confidentiality agreement? Yes, sir.
What could they possibly be doing back there that needs to be kept 200 pages secret? If you want to go inside, sir, you need to sign the agreement.
Dinosaurs? - Excuse me? - Do they have living dinosaurs back there? Because I'll sign this if he's brought dinosaurs back to life.
But short of that, he is out of his mind if he thinks that I am going to pretend that whatever discovery he's made is so important and so secret that I have to sign the unabridged works of William Shakespeare here.
Just sign it.
Here you go.
You're just lucky the lady's here, aren't you? - Where do you think we are? - I don't know.
Arizona? Nevada? I didn't think people even built secret facilities anymore.
It seems so 1950s.
I had it on good authority that you were dead.
And this would be your sister? No, no, Neil.
You know, she's not my sister.
This is Jennifer Keller.
That's Bill Nye and Neil Degrasse Tyson.
You know, from television.
Yeah, of course.
- Very nice to meet you.
- No, the pleasure's mine.
- And she's taken, Neil.
- No, I didn't mean it that way Neil likes to steal things from me, things like women and theoretical physics ideas.
Yeah, but who hasn't stolen an idea from the great Rodney McKay? - Oh, so we admit it now.
- See, back in the day, whenever any one of these people came up with a new idea or published a new paper, Dr.
McKay here would swear that he was already working on something very similar, just hadn't gotten around to publishing it yet.
He'd say things like, "I was about to say that very same thing," or, "I was just about to have that same idea.
" At least I didn't declassify Pluto from planet status.
Way to make all the little kids cry, Neil.
That make you feel like a big man? See, thanks to Dr.
Tyson, Pluto is now the first of the Plutoids, a new class of celestial object.
It's cool.
Come on, Rodney.
- It's the 21st century.
- Actually, come to think of it, when was the last time you even published a paper? The '80s? - It hasn't been that long.
- I think I was listening to that band A Flock Of Seagulls while I was reading it.
- Actually, it might have been pre-Reagan.
- Well, it has been great running into you guys.
We should maybe get our seats.
Bye.
They can't possibly be dating.
I know.
Well, you're married, so Dibs.
She's all yours.
- I think maybe this was a bad idea.
- Why? Well, I just remembered I don't really like these people.
Is it that you don't like them, or maybe they don't like you? Possibly.
I mean, I used to be a little - abrasive? - Used to be.
Yeah.
It's hard to explain.
My field is very competitive.
Yeah, I went to med school for six years.
I wouldn't know anything about that.
Right.
Not everything has to be a competition, Rodney.
- They know how smart you are.
- I'm not sure they do.
Of course they do.
You don't have to keep reminding them.
It's called being humble.
Have you heard that word before? Look, we're on our first date and I've come to a physics talk, okay? You have to bend a little bit too.
Humble? I'll guess I can try anything once.
Earth Our home, our planet, the very vessel of life.
Our world Unique, irreplaceable.
And yet, at times, it seems like we are unrelenting in our quest to drive our ecosystem into catastrophic failure.
Gone unchecked, global warming will transform this lush world we know today into a lifeless and arid rock.
Friends, the stakes couldn't be higher, the situation no more dire.
It's time to act.
Hello.
I'm Malcolm Tunney.
If he's so worried about global warming, why did he fly us here on a private jet that spews out more CO2 than Sweden.
Thank you very much.
Very kind.
As many of you know, I am not an environmental scientist, nor do I pretend to be one.
For instance, I shower regularly.
No offense, Larry.
I'm just a concerned citizen, one who realizes that the Earth has carried us for so long, maybe it's time that we carried her.
That ratio would be accurate if his body was the size of his ego.
Yeah, it's a little much.
Solving a problem like global warming may seem impossibly complex.
So many nations, so many corporations, and John Q.
Public will have to agree on a dizzying number of issues.
So, then, what can one person really do to make a difference? What can I, with my particular and unique skill set, do to help? They think you're the arrogant one? I've been working on a number of projects over the last decade, and I realized that, if I were to combine them, I just may be able to achieve something unexpected So, ladies and gentlemen, with major funding from my friends at Kramer Innovations, I have been able to devise a means to cool our planet in a safe and controlled way.
This guy wouldn't know cool Now, the science behind this is immensely complex, but there will be detailed briefs handed out to you as you leave the lecture hall, but for right now, let me just give you the cliffs notes.
It begins with a massive heat-sink, one of my own design, which steadily draws heat from the surrounding environment.
- But where does the heat go? - Where does that heat go, you may ask.
Well, my friends, that is the hard part.
I give you the Tunney Space-Time Matter Bridge.
Wait.
What? Now, this isn't just some theoretical math proof.
This is a functioning piece of technology, one that literally moves heat from our space time and vents it out into another space time.
That's my bridge My sister and I came up with that.
- Sorry.
- And it works.
We've been testing the system for a few months now, and it has proved to be remarkably stable.
That's my idea! Rodney, now is not the time.
For the purposes of the demonstration today, I've surrounded this facility with an electrified plasma grid that will contain the reach of the heat-sink.
It will draw heat only from this facility.
Wait, he's going to turn it on with us here.
That's this is a bad idea.
- Rodney, please.
- And to prove the effectiveness of this system, I will lower the temperature within this facility by 10 degrees.
And don't worry, I've turned off the air conditioning, so there'll be no cheating, I promise.
I'm sorry, I can't let him do this Excuse me! Thank you for coming.
This is a bad idea.
Well, we're not quite ready for the Q&A session yet, - so if you could just wait till then - Let's just take a look at the data you've come up with and talk about this, because turning the device on with all these people here could be very dangerous.
Respectfully, I disagree.
You can't do something like this without our consent.
Sit down! You did sign the document when you entered, didn't you? - Well, yeah, I thought that was just - Then I have your consent.
Look, I've been doing work that is very, very similar to this Really? I don't think that's possible.
Look, these bridges to other space times can be very unpredictable.
Do you have any research you'd like to put forward right now? A paper, perhaps? Anything to back up your claim? Rodney, please.
Tell me this isn't just petty jealously.
- Okay.
- Well, no, no, I I just No, I didn't think so.
Don't worry, everyone.
This is completely safe.
And We're up and running.
Now, I'll be happy to answer all of your questions once you've had a chance to read the brief, but for now, why don't we all go back out to the lobby where hot cocoa is waiting, 'cause it's about to get very cold in here.
Thank you.
- I - Come on.
Let's go get some hot chocolate, okay? This is How did he even get a hold of my work? - You're sure this is your work? - Absolutely.
- Look, you believe me, don't you? - Of course I do.
There is no way that he came up with this on his own.
We've got to We've got to Come on.
- We shouldn't be in here.
- Okay, just stand guard there.
It'll take me a couple of seconds to hack into his computer.
What are you doing?! Thank you.
Thank you.
Thank you, but I don't think an achievement of this magnitude can truly be credited to one man.
- Dr.
Tunney, sir.
- Oh, excuse me.
Yes? What is it? Well, you told us to shut the device down once we reached 64.
Yes, that's right.
We can shut it down now.
Well, that's the problem, sir.
We've tried.
We've tried everything, in fact.
The device won't shut off.
I'm sorry, could you just give me a moment here? Let me in here.
All right, now, who's been in here? Just us, sir.
- What is it? - Well, the bridge won't deactivate.
I don't understand why it shouldn't.
- Shut down the power to the facility.
- That won't do anything.
The system self-generates its own power once it's up and running.
Then shut down the containment field.
We need to get these guests out of here.
That won't work either.
- Why not? - Why not? Well, it's impossibly complicated, but the containment field is tied into the basic operations of the device.
It literally can't shut down until we collapse the matter bridge.
It's a safety protocol, one that I can't reprogram until we power down the device.
So we're trapped in here until you can get this thing fixed? Yes.
What happens until then? The bridge will continue to draw heat from the heat-sink.
We just dropped 10 degrees in 10 minutes.
In an hour, we'll be below zero.
We're gonna freeze to death.
Well, I've activated the facility's heating system.
That should buy us a little bit of time.
You said "without a hitch," you'd run hundreds of tests.
Someone has messed with the system.
- That was out of line, man.
- He stole the work.
Hey, come on.
It was in the middle of his presentation.
He was about to start the thing up! It couldn't wait.
He brought you here as an olive branch.
- He wanted to bury the hatchet.
- Yeah, in my back.
Dr.
McKay? Dr.
Keller? Yes? Mr.
Tunney would like a word.
Well, I'm guessing that that word is "I apologize.
" That's two words, genius.
That's one odd duck, that guy.
Well, it takes a big man to admit that he's wrong, and much as I appreciate it, I really would prefer that this whole apology thing took place a little more publicly.
Are you kidding? You are the one who should be apologizing to me.
- What the hell for? - I invited you here as a courtesy.
Out of kindness.
You know, most people think you've lost your mind, that you've gone Howard Hughes.
Just because I don't call anymore doesn't mean I'm keeping my urine in jars.
- Look, I don't need you to - Shut up.
I don't have time for this.
What have you two done? What have we done? We can't shut the device down.
I told you not to turn it on.
I practically begged you.
But would you listen? No! Tell us what you did and how to undo it and I'll consider not pressing charges.
We didn't do anything.
Oh, really? Explain this, then.
- We shouldn't be in here.
- Stand guard there.
It'll take me a couple seconds to hack into his computer.
What are you doing?! If that son of a bitch thinks that he can humiliate me in front of my peers and get away with it, he's got another thing coming.
- I will destroy him.
- Now is not the time, Rodney.
Got to be something in here I can use to discredit the pretentious tool.
Hurry up, hurry up, somebody's coming.
Come on, come on, come on.
Now, look, I can see how, out of context, that could seem incriminating - Out of context? - What were you doing in there? I was looking for a paper I published a little over two years ago, one that dealt with a matter bridge.
You have not published a paper in a very long time.
- You probably didn't even know it was my work.
- You're publishing under a nom de plume now? Okay, here's how I think it went down You were working with the government.
Someone there trusted you a lot and let you see something you weren't supposed to see.
Or maybe you were sent something by accident, who knows.
You saw a paper about a matter bridge, a project that was shut down due to the adverse effects of exotic particles.
You read it, you realized that if the bridge was used merely as a transfer of energy, say heat, there would be no exotic particle creation and thus no adverse effects.
So You co-opted the science as your own, made a few changes to make yourself feel better, and got to work, dismissing the original authors' warnings about the inherent instability of time-space bridges.
- How am I doing so far? - That's preposterous.
Dr.
Tunney's been working on this for years.
That was my work, Malcolm.
I wrote that paper.
Terrence, these people may be able to help us.
This is bad.
- The sabotage? - Sabotage.
Please.
- But you said there was - I may have rushed to judgment.
- Can you shut it down? - Look, these matter bridges are the very definition of unpredictable.
You know, I think I remember you saying something about that before.
- Yes or no, Doctor? - I don't know yet.
- Have you turned up the heat? - Yes.
- Have you noticed this? - Yes.
What is it? The bridge isn't drawing a consistent load from the heat-sink.
Instead, it's wavering.
- Why is that bad? - I wouldn't necessarily call it bad.
It's definitely not good, but I don't know that I'd go so far as to call it bad.
- You're kidding me, right? - A regular bridge should draw the same amount of energy from the heat sink at all times.
This one is fluctuating greatly.
Maybe we can use that Wait for it to peak, then overload it and crash.
That's a good idea.
Yeah, I thought you'd like it What with it being my idea and all.
- It's freezing in here.
- We get it.
It works.
Shut it down.
I'm starting to freeze to my chair.
What the hell was that? A sudden and dramatic cooling beam.
- The irregular power pull from the bridge - So when the bridge makes a sudden demand on the heat-sink The heat-sink reacts by drawing power from a single, localized place inside the containment field.
And that beam would freeze anything in its path.
Oh, did not see this coming.
- It's freeze lightning.
- Freeze lightning I like that.
You can't have it.
It's mine.
It's copywritten.
How's he doing? He's in very bad shape.
It's like his whole left side has been flash-frozen.
I have never seen anything like this before.
Oh, man.
Look, this isn't entirely your fault.
I I really hope he signed his waiver.
Do you think this is the first time this has happened? Yeah, or maybe just the first time anyone's been around to notice it.
So this thing could be wreaking havoc all over the facility.
So this is gonna keep happening? Yes, and probably with greater frequency.
Okay, this little side effect is going to really hamper our attempts to shut this thing down.
And by "hamper", you mean "get us all killed.
" Yeah, something like that.
- We need to call in the military.
- I'd prefer not to do that just yet.
You're lucky that guy out there isn't dead.
I'm sure these two can get the device back into its proper operating mode.
It's a little late for that.
Terrence, things have gotten out of hand.
We need to make that call.
We make that call, the government shuts us down.
- Yeah, that's the idea.
- I don't understand.
When the device started to malfunction, the first thing you wanted to do was get everyone out of here safely.
To avoid the project being branded as too dangerous to move forward.
Well, the cat's out of the bag now.
Are you worried about all the money you sunk into this? 'Cause that's gone.
No, I'm not worried about the money.
We're close to coming up with a solution for global warming.
We could save the planet.
It's bigger than me, and it's bigger than you.
If we can get the device under control without calling the military, they're gonna let us continue our research.
I've got news for you.
You can't control it, and you shouldn't continue with your research.
We'll figure it out.
I have the utmost faith in both of you.
This is ridiculous.
Give me your cell.
It won't work, not with the containment field up.
- There's too much interference.
- You have a land line in your office.
- It's dead.
- Give me that.
It's dead.
- Kramer must have killed the phones.
- I don't suppose you have access to the communications room? It's a Kramer facility.
I just work here.
- Great.
- Looks like it's up to you and me.
We'd better get back to the control room, figure this out ourselves.
Wait.
Wait, wait.
Isn't there, like, a room full of geniuses out there? That's debatable.
If that freeze lightning thing happens again, people could die.
They'll slow me down.
What happened to that "humble" thing we were gonna try today? The result is what I am calling "freeze lightning.
" Unbelievable.
It is the sudden and immediate transfer of heat from a localized area, and it is potentially very lethal.
We need to figure out how to collapse the matter bridge, stop it from drawing energy from the heat-sink, otherwise it's going to get "unlivably" cold in here.
Why don't we just turn this containment field off and get out of here? Well, for one thing, it's tied into the basic function of the matter bridge, so we can't just shut it off.
Even if we could, it houses so much cool air now that it would create a sudden, massive cold front as soon as it drops.
We're talking high-speed winds, tornadoes An instant mega-storm.
Not to mention the fact that the heat-sink would start to draw heat not just from this facility, but from the entire planet.
We cannot allow that to happen.
Why don't we just destroy it, just bash it apart? Because that could create a tear in our space time.
Never mind, then.
Yeah.
Look, you guys are the best of the best.
I'm sure if you work together, you'll come up with something.
That will never work.
Look.
Just give me two seconds You're going about this all wrong.
Watch who you're correcting, "science guy.
" - My PhD Is not honorary.
- Hey, look, I'm an engineer.
I can do math! Just listen to my idea I have been listening to you, and that is what led me to believe that you are a moron! If it's any consolation, you're both wrong.
- What, and you're right? - We're supposed to listen to you? You're the jerk that got us into this mess.
- I have a workable theory.
- Yeah, a "theory".
Take into account that I have experience with this, that I've been doing work that is years ahead of anything you guys have even been dreaming about? I think that's kind of what I'm getting at! This is embarrassing.
Look at you The greatest minds this world has to offer, and if I didn't know any better, I'd think there was a bunch of sixth graders in here.
You guys need to suck it up and get along.
It's like I've always said, people are more alike than they are different Not now, Nye.
Okay.
Our lives are at stake here.
We need a solution, and we need this fast.
Please Come on, the rest of us are counting on you.
Yes, Rodney.
I think I'm onto something.
It just needs some ironing out.
Okay.
Great.
Guys Yeah, well, let's have a look at it and just Fresh eyes.
We'll start with Bill's theory They'll figure something out.
I'm sure they will.
Let's just hope it's before someone dies.
You know, my uncle George, he always hated the phrase "save the planet".
What? He just thought it was a little backwards, you know, 'cause the planet's gonna be here no matter what happens.
It might be a giant unlivable rock, but it's gonna survive.
So you're turning this into a discussion on semantics? What I mean is, Mr.
Kramer, the work you're doing isn't about saving the planet.
It's about saving lives.
And that's a noble pursuit, trying to save billions of people But it's no less noble to save a hundred.
These guys, no matter how smart they are, they could use some help.
One phone call could get that help here.
Now, please Please let me make that call.
Oh, don't tell me.
Oh, God.
Oh, I'm so sorry.
Can you fix this? No.
We're completely cut off.
That's terrible news.
- It's my fault.
I should have - Yes, you should have.
You need to see this.
The cold temperatures are affecting the containment field emitters.
When they're weak, they're on the verge of failing.
That's great.
We can get most of the people out of here, no? Make a call to the military? We're surrounded by desert air.
The temperatures inside the containment field has gotten very, very cold.
Introducing a sudden blast of icy air will create one hell of a vortex storm.
No way a cell transmission could make it through, let alone actually get people out of here safely.
We can ride out the storm.
If we can't shut down the device, the heat-sink's gonna keep feeding cold air into that weather system.
- It'll never stop.
- That's not good.
No, I'd rather that didn't happen.
This might be a good thing.
What is it? The containment field is dying a slow but consistent death.
It might be weak enough to actually punch a cell phone signal through now.
Oh, you know, you might be right.
Okay, this is probably our best bet.
These two emitters are the weakest.
It's a bit of a run from here, so I'd better get going right now.
Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait.
Give me your cell.
We need you here to help dismantle the bridge.
I'll make the call.
- Come on.
- All right.
- Fine.
- Thanks.
I'm gonna radio once I get through.
Good luck.
You too.
She seems like a very capable woman.
- She sure is.
- She's your sister, right? Is she single? All right, where were we? Your idea of overwhelming the bridge to the point of collapse, - it's a good one.
It's right on track.
- But Everybody here thinks it means we've got to dial up the heat-sink.
It's gonna get even colder.
And that could result in an unpredictable amount of freeze lightning - Which could kill us all.
- Right.
- The facility's furnace just went down.
- Well, how did that happen? We've been running at 120% for the last hour to compensate for falling temperatures.
We're in the middle of the desert.
The facility's not meant to be heated like this.
We'll get below freezing pretty darn quick now.
All right, well, we can't power it down 'cause it generates its own power.
And we can't wait for the containment field to collapse - because the storm will probably kill us.
- Guys, we don't have a choice, okay.
We've gotta wait for the bridge to peak, dial up the heat-sink, see if we can overwhelm it.
I know it's dangerous, but that's all we've got.
Okay, look.
There's too many people in here.
I have important work to do.
I do not need you in the way, so, everybody, out! Oh, come on.
Oh, thank God.
General Landry's office.
Yes, this is Dr.
Jennifer Keller.
I need to speak to the General immediately.
It's an emergency.
Hello? - Hello? - Hello? This is Dr.
Hello? Son of a bitch! Should we warn everyone we're about to do this? No that would just cause a panic.
It's probably better they don't know.
We have no way of moving people to a safe area, plus we have no idea where the next freeze lightning strike could hit.
"Freeze lightning " you know, that's a bad name.
Don't look at me.
It's his idea.
Here we go.
- All right, shut it off.
- I can't.
It hasn't collapsed the bridge yet.
I had a signal before.
Come on! It's not working! We just need a little more time, a little more time.
The lightning strikes are freezing off whole sections of the facility.
- Everyone is getting isolated.
- It doesn't matter.
They'll melt eventually if we can shut this thing down.
- You are gonna kill us all! - Look, I just need to keep doing What did you do? - I turned it down.
- What? Why? - It was too dangerous.
- But we were almost there.
It was peaking out! It was gonna work.
Yeah, and we'd all be dead.
We have to come up with something else.
Yeah, something fast! 'Cause the containment field is about to fail.
Great.
Oh, not good.
Rodney, can you hear me? Please tell me you got through to the SGC? You've got to keep trying.
I'd love to, but my phone got a little soaked.
It's not even turning on.
- What? - My hallway got hit by that freeze lightning thing.
Are you okay? I am now, but I won't be for long.
What happened? I'm frozen in.
And the pipes busted open.
My body temperature is dropping really fast.
Okay, I'll radio security.
I'll get someone out to her right away.
Look, security's on the way.
I need you just to sit tight and try to stay warm, okay? - Sorry I didn't get the call through.
- You did your best.
- Did you shut down that thing down? - Not yet.
We're working on it.
Hurry.
Okay, look, I've got to go.
Someone's on the way, all right.
- What is it? - Containment field failure in 3 2 1 Winds aloft.
Reaching dangerous levels.
If it continues like this, we'll have a mess of tornadoes on our hands.
Great.
Even less time before we die.
Look, this device is capable of generating its own power, right? Yeah, a small percentage of the energy we're transferring is siphoned off to power the device.
So once it's running, it's self-sustaining.
- Which is why we can't just pull the plug.
- Exactly.
But it's only capable of powering itself to a certain extent? It has a finite amount of power generation capability? Yes, of course.
Maybe we've been approaching this the wrong way.
We've been trying to force so much power through the bridge that it overloads it.
Maybe we should starve it Suck so much power from its generator that it stalls it out.
Technically, we could do that, but you'd have to draw an insane amount of power.
- The heat-sink could never do it.
- No But another space-time bridge could.
You want to open another space-time bridge? The device was rigged to power a single bridge.
We open another one And it overwhelms the system and it fails.
It'll work.
Yeah, but do you have any idea how difficult it will be to configure the system to open two concurrent space-time bridges? - I never said it was gonna be easy.
- It'll be impossible.
I'm Dr.
Rodney McKay, all right? "Difficult" takes a few seconds, "impossible," a few minutes.
Rodney, can you hear me? Have they got you out of there yet? Tunney, what's the deal? I thought you sent security.
- They can't get to her.
- What? Why not? That last round of freeze lightning, it sealed off a lot of the corridors.
See, they're making their way to her, but it'll take some time.
It's getting harder harder to stay awake.
I'm going into hypothermic shock.
Jennifer, just hang in there, all right? All right, we're here, right? So we can get to her.
It's a straight shot.
- They should have come this way, through the lab.
- They're cut off from us too.
- I've got to go get her.
- No, wait.
We're a bit busy right now.
- She'll die.
- If the storm keeps up like this, it'll rip the building apart, we'll all die! Last I checked, you were claiming to be a genius.
I already gave you the plan.
- A plan full of holes.
- So fill them! - What if I run into a problem? - Work around it! You're smarter than me.
I know.
Oh, this is outrageous! When we need him the most, he puts it on me, and I'm supposed to Man up.
I think that's it.
Before I run it, just check my math.
I have been! Why do you think I'm standing here? Do it! You're not breathing.
Oh, my God, you're not breathing.
Please don't be dead.
Please don't be dead.
Come back to me, please.
Please come back to me.
It worked! The second space-time bridge blew the power supply.
Both bridges collapsed.
I did it! Please Oh, thank God.
You're okay.
You're okay I'm really cold.
Me too You saved me.
I guess that makes us even.
- I used an ax.
- A big ax.
I really wish you were conscious, 'cause I think it's the coolest thing I've ever done I don't know what I would have done if I'd lost you I love you.
I have for some time now.
I just wanted you to know.
At least your friends don't think you're a washout anymore.
Stupid Bill Nye is telling everyone who will listen that Tunney's the guy who turned the device off.
Because he was the one that shut off the device.
With my coding.
It was my idea.
Rodney, does it really matter? Yes, it does.
I'm sorry, I know I'm supposed to be humble, not supposed to care, but I do, I really do.
That's something you should know about me.
Well, quit, then.
Join the private sector.
Start doing work the whole world can see.
- I've been thinking about it.
- What? No, you haven't.
My contract with SGC is up this year.
Maybe it's time to move on, time to do other things.
Please I don't know anyone who loves their job more than you.
So you think the military is gonna let them keep experimenting? I think it's highly unlikely.
Besides, geoengineering is a dumb pursuit anyway.
No one person's gonna solve global warming.
We all have to do our part.
Like not take private jets.
Well, they were going our way anyway.
You know, it's kind of nice, just me and you back here.
Right.
Right! You were legally dead a few hours ago.
You were practically frozen.
You really wanna It's either that or you keep telling me how you, and only you, saved the day.
I'm trying out this whole "humble" thing out.
Seems to be quite a hit with the ladies