" Is it safe?" " Yes, the chamber has been sealed." " Where are the others?" " The Brotherhood has fallen, Astrum." " We're all that remains." " My God." "If we die, then..." "Hurry." "They're getting closer." "Allina, I know I've said this before, but thank you for letting us in here, helping us through the material." "It's been utterly fascinating." "I'm happy to do it, Doctor." "I'm sorry this information is so scattered." "I'm afraid we're working on so many projects at once, reference materials tend to get misplaced." "Of course." "Look at that." " What is going on here?" " Just having a little fun." "Can we get back to work?" "I don't see how running through history books will find us our ZPM." "Really?" "See this?" "This is a charcoal rubbing from an Ancient temple built when Weir's list was written." "Notice anything familiar?" "Hm?" "It's a ZPM." "We are close." "Closer than we have ever been." "There may be hundreds of zero-point modules in this galaxy, but the only one we are remotely sure of is here." "Here." "Now, if you ever want to go home, if you ever want to protect Atlantis from the Wraith, we need to find this." "Do they have any idea where the ZPM could be?" "An Ancient from Atlantis came through the Stargate and entrusted a sect of Sudarian priests with a rare treasure, or Potentia, as they called it." "This Lantian told them to hide it from the Wraith." "The Sudarian people worshiped the Ancients and considered the Potentia their most sacred artefact." "They did as the Ancient requested." " The Potentia being..." " The ZPM." "They wouldn't have used it?" "I think they only displayed it on high holidays." "I'd be surprised if they knew it could be used." "If they didn't know how to use it, chances are it's still full." "The bad news is that after 10,000 years of Wraith culling," "Sudarian society is extinct." "The planet's inhabitants are at a Renaissance level of development, but with help they could make some headway." "All right." "I'm sold." "Major, take your team back to Dagan." "Try to get us a ticket home." "Does it still pain you?" "Leave us." " What do you have for me?" " The Atlanteans have returned to Dagan." " You're sure?" " Oh, yes." "Our operative just checked in." "It's only been 12 hours since they left." "They must be getting close to it." " Do we have any idea what "it" is yet?" " We know a little more." "Our offworld spies have been keeping an eye on the Atlantean teams from afar, but this is the first planet we've got this close to them." "They're looking for a Lantian-era power source." " Is Chief Cowen sending a team?" " Not yet." "His priorities are elsewhere." "Even if he was, he would never send you." "The last thing the Atlanteans need is more power." "Get me on that planet, with or without Cowen's blessing." "I don't know why, but it stopped working." "I got some of the functionality back, but not everything." "Maybe if people stop insisting on having food and liquid close to 10,000-year-old equipment..." "Hey, we're very careful." " We're not the problem here." " Ah." "Yes." "Uh-huh." " What did you touch?" " I didn't touch anything." "Then why is it...?" "What is this?" " I didn't know we had deep space sensors." " No one did." "They've been running in the background along with our other primary systems." "In the background?" "Why the sudden leap to the foreground?" "Excellent question." " We don't have an answer yet, do we?" " Not as of yet, no." " OK, well, keep me in the loop." " You are the loop." "Isn't that a nice thing to say?" "You're more than welcome to walk with me," " But if there's something you need to do..." " Yes." "Yes." "They called themselves the Quindosim, a brotherhood of 15 monks whose sole occupation was to keep the Potentia, or ZPM, safe." " It's fascinating." " Yes." "Fascinating." "Please go on." "The Brotherhood of the 15 consisted of a Master Handler, five Protectors, and nine Stone Carriers." "Their greatest fear was that the Brotherhood might one day be culled by the Wraith, with the ZPM going missing for ever." "Missing, yes, but it would not fall into enemy hands." "They were entrusted with the ZPM." "Their hope was that one day the Lantians would return to reclaim it and reward the Sudarians for their work." "So they left clues, should the Brotherhood be destroyed." "That's right." "The priests created nine stone markers that, if united, are supposed to reveal the resting place of the Quindosim's treasure." "So far, we've only found three." "The etching on the rocks involved many lines and dots." " We think it's a map." " Mm." "Amazing." "It is, actually." "This looks like an Ancient numbering system." "That's what we thought." "We think they're numbers three, six, and seven." " Excellent work." "I'm very impressed here." " That's very kind of you, Doctor." " Where did you find them?" " This building was their monastery." "We pieced together the information we found here and found the number six and seven stones." "We found the number three stone on an unrelated dig last week." " If we find the stones, we find the map?" " Yes, exactly." " Hm." "You see this?" " Under the design?" "I don't think anything is there just for aesthetics." "Here." "Yeah." "Each of the stones has a different part of the grid embossed." "Signifying where its placing should be in the final configurations." " Exactly." " So what?" ""So what?" Do you have a map?" "OK, where did you find them?" "We found the seven stone here..." "the six stone here... and most recently we stumbled on the number three stone here." "You have no idea how lucky a find that was." " I see it." " Doctor, I am not sure..." "They're buried in a grid." "We needed the number three stone." "That, along with the number seven stone, gives us two corners." "You can extrapolate how big the grid is and where the other stones should be buried." "All right, split up, two teams." "Let's start digging." "Do you think they'll find it?" "Many people have come to find the lost treasure of Quindosim." " Do you think they will find it?" " I do not know." "We'll wait for them to find the treasure, then take it by force." " Your men are not to act until I say." " Of course." "Which would make us... right, I think." "Can you believe the progress we've made, Sanir?" "How many years have we been searching for these stones?" " What's wrong?" " We should not be helping them, Allina." "They are helping us as much as we are helping them." "They will take the Potentia if they find it." "You must see that." "They have come to us from the great city of Atlantis." "It is for them that the Brotherhood of the 15 kept the treasure hidden." "I do not trust them, Allina." "If you would rather head back to your village than help us, I will not stop you." "Check this out." "Allina." " This is gonna work." " I think it just might." "It's a layout of the Sudarian villages." "This monastery has protected it for 10,000 years." "Hm." "It's beautiful." "It is... and yet my eye is drawn elsewhere." "Hm?" "How so?" "I'd like to restore it one day, but I'm afraid of damaging it." "Perhaps you could help me, Doctor." "Really, you need to start calling me Rodney." "Very well." " I don't bore you, do I?" " No." "No, no." "It's not you." "I just don't think I've ever been so tired." "But you're a scientist." "Are you not used to this?" "My kind of science is the good kind of science, the kind you can do sitting in a chair or lying on a couch." "What was it like?" "Growing up in the city of the Ancestors, Rodney?" " I'm sorry?" " Atlantis." "Oh, no, no, no, no, no, we didn't, uh..." "We come from a planet called Earth, in a different galaxy." "We only recently made Atlantis our home." " How recently?" " Just a matter of months, really." "You're tired." "Do not let me keep you from sleep." "If you insist, I'll, um..." "Yeah." "OK." " I'm heading to bed." " Which bed might that be?" "Hm..." "What?" "I think Allina might have a crush on you, Doc." " Oh, she does?" " It is very clear to us all." " It is?" " Well, everyone but you, apparently." "Should I have, um...?" "Are you sure about this?" " I'm very sure." " What should I do?" " You don't know what to do?" " I know what to do eventually." "What should I do now?" "Should I say something?" "Tell you what, Valentino, wait till tomorrow." "You'll be more on your game after some rest." "Right." "Right." "Good answer." "Goodnight." "It doesn't look much like a map." "I guess I was wrong." "Possibly, although just because you originally thought it was a map doesn't make your initial assumption bad or incorrect." "Well, incorrect, yes, but it was a good guess." "I'm sorry?" "You're... very, very smart, and, uh... and attractive and whatnot, and, um... you've got a lot of things going for you even when things don't..." " Is everything all right?" " Everything's great." "Why wouldn't it be?" "You sure we're in the right place?" "We've doubled the site and not found anything." "It's got to be the right place." "The other stones were where we thought." "Major!" " Tell me you found the stone." " Not quite, but McKay should look at this." "It carries the mark of the Brotherhood." "The writing's in Ancient." "Can you read it?" "It's a warning." ""Only the Brotherhood of the 15 should enter the chamber..."" " "Of the Quindosim."" " What chamber?" "So, who wants to go first?" "Seems sort of like a..." "Sheppard thing?" "We couldn't have planned it any better." "Oh." "Easy, Ford!" "God!" "All right, he's down." "I'll stay here, watch the descender." "I'll let you know if anything interesting happens." "Do you see this?" "This is the whole pattern." "The ninth stone must integrate into this piece." "May I?" "I believe we can rule out a map." " All right." "Any ideas?" " I'm getting there." "Take your team to Section Seven." "Dr. Weir, I've interfaced our computers with the Atlantean long-range sensors." "There's an unidentified craft the size of a Wraith dart heading for the city." " What?" " Yes." "I'm sorry." "The sensors picked it up days ago." "I've only just deciphered what they meant." " A dart?" "How is that possible?" " Maybe it was modified to move quickly." "The hive ships are light years away." "It could have used a neighbouring Stargate and been flying towards us since the Wraith discovered we were here." "At its current velocity, it will be here in 27 minutes." "We need to get jumpers in the air." "What don't you believe?" "It's a gate address, a six-symbol gate address." "Gate symbols?" "I see them now." "Yes." " Do you recognise the address?" " No." "I'm not familiar with this one either." "So the ninth stone is on another planet." " Is he dead?" " No, just unconscious." " He will be like that for hours." " Excellent." "We'll wait for them to..." "Put the weapon down, Lieutenant Ford." "Ford?" "Major Sheppard." "The lieutenant has had to step away for a moment." " Who's that?" " It can't be." " It sounds like..." " Kolya?" " Surprised?" " You're alive." "As far as I can tell." "Did you think a single bullet to the shoulder would kill me?" "I always thought you were smarter than that." " What did you do to Ford?" " He's fine." " Then what do you want?" " The same as you, Major." "The lost treasure of the Quindosim." "What possible use could that be to you?" "The Daganians have informed us that this ZPM is an object of great power, and great power is of use to all people, especially the Genii." " Sanir." " They offered us a great reward, Allina." "They agreed to let us keep the treasure if we..." "They're no use to you, Kolya." "ZPMs only work on Atlantis." "Perhaps, but I prefer hearing that from a Genii scientist." "We do not have it yet." "We have not found the ninth stone." "We have a large tactical advantage over you." "If you want me to cover the mouth of the chamber and forget the whole thing," "I'm willing to consider it." "She's right." "We're closer, but we're not there yet." "The ninth stone is on another planet." "We just have the gate address." "Dr. McKay." "So wonderful to hear your grating voice again." "How's the arm?" "Do you want to keep trading barbs or do you want to find the ZPM?" "Lift me out, I'll help you find it, but then you let us go." " Shut up, McKay." " You got a better idea?" "No." "Do we have a deal or not?" "You and two Daganians will be raised out... along with everyone's weapons and radios." "The rest of you will remain here." "If Dr. McKay finds the ZPM, the others will be let go." "I give you my word." "Well, we have his word." "I don't see that we have much choice." "I'm coming up." "The population are confined to their quarters, hopefully out of harm's way." " Any word from Sheppard yet?" " No." "His entire team is off radio." "It's still closing in very fast." "Who is going to fly the third jumper?" "I can barely make it to the mainland without crashing." "I'm a doctor, not a bloody fighter pilot." "A Wraith dart's gonna be here in ten minutes." "Our only fighter pilot is offworld." "I would like to mount the best defence we can." "Brilliant." "Jumper Two is away." "All three are out." " Good luck, Carson." " I'll need it." " It's not working." " Try it again." "Look, I've tried it twice, backwards and forwards." "We've played this game before, McKay." "Try other combinations of the symbols." " You know how long it would take?" " There are 720 possible gate addresses." " It's a waste of time." " The address is the ninth stone's location?" "The puzzle is 10,000 years old." "The gate may not exist any more." "Some cultures bury their gates to render them useless." "What about something else?" "What if these aren't Stargate symbols?" "Look at them." "What else would they be, huh?" "Actually, these symbols may not be gate-related." "Really?" "What are you thinking?" "Gentlemen, you should have visual in 30 seconds." " You ready?" " No, I'm not ready." " You're gonna do fine." " Is fine gonna be good enough?" "Coming right at you." " Do you see it?" " I can't see it anywhere." "Atlantis, Markham and Smith have been taken out." "It's headed for the city." "This monastery is where the 15 priests of the Brotherhood used to live." "The mural here is a map, a layout of Sudaria as it was in their time." "I should have thought of this." "The Sudarians worshipped the Ancestors." "The Stargate was considered a sacred portal and its symbols religious icons." " All 36 gate symbols are incorporated." " So, connect the symbols on the stones..." "And you can triangulate where the centre stone is buried." " You're a genius." " Thank you, Rodney." "OK, we're all very impressed, but let's get on with it." "Shoot it down!" "It's right in the middle of the city." "I don't have a clean shot." " What's it doing?" " It's scanning us." "Huh." "I was hoping it would narrow the area down a little more." "It was worth a shot." " How big an area does that represent?" " Several square miles." "Hold on a second." "It's part of their symbol." "The mark of the 15." "Yes." " What?" " It's a 15-line symbol. 15 lines." " Nine lines on the outside." " Representing the Stone Carriers." " Six on the inside." " The Protectors and the Master Handler." " Do you know where that is?" " Yes, I can take you there." "Hold on a second." "Hold tight." "One more second." "Yes!" "We didn't do that." "At least, I don't think we did." "Whatever happened, it's dead." "Atlantis, we have a kill." "Good news, Jumper Two." "Now head on home." "Someone give me a knife." "You all have guns." "Someone give me a knife." "All right." "Rodney." "It's not a map to where the centre stone is." "It is where the centre stone is." "Look." "We have all the pieces." "Congratulations, Dr. McKay." "You may live yet." "This is pointless." "No trapdoors or hidden passageways." "There may be more than one way in." "If you're trying to hide a chamber, you don't have lots of entrances and exits." "You'd rather wait for them to come back?" "What have you got that we can use?" "I've got a couple of MREs, some ammo and some med supplies." "That's a start." "I've got a couple of flash-bangs." "That's about it, though." "Flash-bangs?" "Work like grenades." "Pull the pin, depress the trigger." "Once the spoon pops, you've got 1.5 seconds before the room's filled with 2.4 million candlepower and a 175-decibel bang." "It'll stun anyone with their eyes and ears open for about ten seconds." "You gonna dig us out of here?" "Yeah, something like that." "Come over and give me a hand." "You want Sora back?" "Is that what this is about?" "Sora knew what she was doing, more so than most men." "Besides, the Genii do not make deals with terrorists." "Terrorists?" "You attacked us." "After you ambushed us on our own world." "This is crazy." "We're both trying to protect our people." "But if making your people the target buys my people more time, it's worth it." " Listen..." " I don't want to discuss it." "Find the ZPM and you can all return to Atlantis." "Fail and the deal's off." " What happened?" " We had a clean shot, it self-destructed." " Why?" " No idea." "I don't think it came here to fight." "It was only interested in the jumpers when we were blocking its way to the city." "Darts are not long-range fighters." "The fact it came so far alone... it was a scout." "But why self-destruct?" "Scouts should relay information." "But it did relay information." "Look." "Just before it exploded, the dart was transmitting data." " I don't suppose you could..." " Not any time soon." " Can we tell where it was sending it?" " I could direct the sensors to the area." "Give me a couple of hours." "I assumed we place the stones on the pedestal, put someone's hands on the palm prints and hopefully we get the ZPM." " But what order do we put the stones in?" " I think it's pretty straightforward." "Nothing has been yet." "What makes you think this would be?" "The last one has grooves that match the centre position." " So?" " So it fits snugly into place." "Complete the pattern, get the ZPM." " Why would they continue to play games?" " You don't understand how they thought." " Stop stalling." " We need to..." "Pranos, arrange the stones and retrieve the ZPM, please." " McKay." " What do you want me to do?" "What's this?" "He's dead." " You knew this would happen." " Yes." "Yes, I did." "I was telling you when you ordered him to activate the pedestal." "Look, you killed him, not me." " What's the correct order of the stones?" " I'm not sure yet." "Well, you have four chances to get it right." "You go first." " Any time you want to start..." " I'm thinking." " All right." "We tried one to nine." " Thank you, yes." " How about nine to one?" " Pranos was right." "The centre stone locks into place." "The others move round it." "I need a combination with five in the middle." "15." "It must have something to do with 15... or nine, or five..." "Shut up." "Please?" "I'm trying to think." " No." "My life's at stake." " Simmer down and let me save it." " Two heads are better than one." " That's a misconception." " Give me the gun." "I'll shoot him." " This is too slow." "Choose." " You got to be somewhere?" " Choose and go." " I've got nothing." " Thanks for the pep talk." "Nine to one." "It's all I can think of." " OK." "Step back." " I'm sorry." " I'm not dead yet." " Yeah." "Sorry." "Major." "Now." " I got it!" " What?" " The Brotherhood of 15." " And?" "Put the numbers one to nine in a grid so they add up to 15 in every direction." " You're right." "How did you know that?" " It was on a Mensa test." " You're a member?" " No, but I took the test." " When?" " You want to talk about this now, Rodney?" "Right." "Right." "OK." "Two, nine, four." "Seven, five, three." "Six, one, eight." " That's it." "That's got to be it." " Good luck." "Aargh!" "What the hell just happened?" " Are you OK?" " Yes." "Thank you." " Rodney, I had no way of telling you." " My eyes!" "I need my eyes for seeing." " Get the ZPM, Rodney." " It's a miracle I can still make out shapes." "Don't look at me." "All right." "We're getting out of here." "We'll send a villager to pick you up." "The smart thing would be to kill me now." "You're right." "I tell you what..." "I'm gonna want points for this in the future... but if you ever do this again, I will kill you." "Deal?" " Are we good?" " Yeah, as far as I can see." "Let's move out." "I can't believe you never mentioned Mensa." " I took the test." "I never joined." " You passed?" " Yes." " We have a chapter on Atlantis." " You could be an honorary..." " Up the rope." "I thought we'd never find one of those things." "I'm gonna sleep soundly tonight." "I'm gonna be up all night getting every system I can back online." "Allina, I don't think we'll ever be able to repay you for this." "You won't have to." "I'm sorry?" "All right, all right." "Easy." "Easy." "Allina... you involved the Genii?" "This has nothing to do with the Genii." "I'm a member of the New Brotherhood." "Then what is this about?" "Ten generations ago, after a severe culling, the Brotherhood was destroyed." "We found their writings and decided to complete the task handed down to us by the Ancestors." "I am the new Master Handler." "We thank you for helping us find the Potentia, but it must go into hiding again." "We come from the city of the Ancestors." "That ZPM was intended for us." "No." "You live in Atlantis but you are not the Ancestors." "What did you tell her?" "Atlantis might fall if we don't take this ZPM back." "Do you think the Ancestors would have wanted that?" " None of us can know their plan." " They don't have a plan." "Did they plan to get attacked by the Wraith and chased out of the galaxy?" "Allina, you're far too smart to think..." "The Potentia will be put into hiding on another world." "When the Ancestors return, our people will be greatly rewarded." "Allina, you can't believe that." "Look, come back with us." "Let me prove it to you." "This is how it must be." "Now it is time for you to leave." " Did you try to explain...?" " I tried." "Believe me, we tried." " We could have used it." " Of course." "You don't understand." "While you were offworld, a Wraith dart flew over our city." " I'm sorry?" " We lost a jumper, Markham and Smith." " We what?" " And it scanned us." "We lost two men and a jumper and this is the first I hear about it?" "You've been out of radio contact for over 12 hours." "The dart sent a transmission deep into space and then it self-destructed." "We scanned the area with our deep space sensors..." " We have deep space sensors?" " It's a long story." "And we found something else..." "rather unsettling." "I'm already unsettled." "Show me." " What are those?" " Wraith hive ships." "Three of them." " The system analysis just got back..." " Right." "Where are they headed?" "If they maintain direction and speed, they'll be over our planet in two weeks."