Stargate Atlantis

Previously on Stargate Atlantis.

Who are you?

Nabel Golan.

You're the one responsible for the death of the Athosians.

Unless I lied about that as well.

I believe I had a vision last night.

I saw Kanaan, the father of my son.

Where are you?

Dart!

Do not destroy the enemy ship.

Teyla may be on board.

Bad news, Sheppard.

The cruiser made the jump to hyperspace.

It's gone.

Kanaan. I came for you, just like you asked.

Like I asked.

Michael.

Any sign of her, sir?

She's not here.

Finally! It's about bloody time.

What took you so long?

It's just weird.

I'm sorry about all this, Doctor.

That's all right. I realize there's a protocol

when dealing with someone who's been a prisoner for a long time.

In fact, I wrote it.

Although, if you take much more blood, I think I might faint.

Oh, that's the last batch.

You should also check for trace narcotics.

Michael was giving me regular injections

of some sort of drug cocktail,

mostly sedatives, I think.

All right.

You sure he's not a Replicator?

No, scans would have picked it up right away.

- Then who the hell is he? - I don't know.

Look, I'm as freaked out about this as you are.

You don't really think it's him, do you?

No. Well, I mean... Maybe.

Look, so we've ruled out advanced robotics.

That still leaves us half a dozen possible other explanations.

- Like? - Well, like alternate timeline,

parallel universe, cloning, you know, take your pick.

Just another day in outer space.

Yeah.

Well,

we've completed the preliminary exam.

And?

Every test we've run confirms it.

That man down there is Dr. Carson Beckett.

- Rodney. - Carson.

So sorry I haven't come by before now.

It's been pretty hectic here the last few days.

That's all right. I understand.

Any word on when I can get out of here?

That might take a little time.

Oh. Really?

God, it's good to see you.

Think about how I feel.

I'm the one that's been a prisoner for almost two years.

Two years?

Aye. Since M8G-352.

The planet where we left Michael

and the other converted Wraith.

Right. That's where you were captured.

Well, yes.

You do remember, Rodney?

Yes. Yeah, I just...

Well, we need you to fill in some of the details.

Oh, all right.

Well, as you may have already guessed,

the treatment was less than 100% effective.

Despite the daily injections,

some of them began to revert,

including Michael.

I think they may have used their Wraith

telepathic abilities to summon a hive ship,

but I can't be certain.

All I know is I was being interrogated by Michael,

then he must have given me an injection of some kind,

because the next thing I remember, I woke up on another planet.

Why did he take you prisoner?

He wanted me to help with his research,

combining Wraith and human DNA.

Of course, I refused at first,

but then, one day,

he brought another prisoner into my cell.

A young lady.

Couldn't have been more than 20 years of age.

And he killed her in cold blood

right in front of my eyes.

He said every day I refused to help,

he'd kill another just like her.

From that moment on, I cooperated.

Carson, I'm so sorry.

It wasn't easy.

I'll admit, at times, I almost gave up hope.

But that's when I thought about you,

Colonel Sheppard, Teyla, and the rest of the team.

I knew you'd be out there somewhere looking for me.

Yeah.

See, the thing is, we weren't.

Weren't what?

We weren't looking for you. We didn't know you were missing.

Excuse me?

We went back to M8G-352.

We rescued you from Michael.

I mean, he got away, but we got you back to Atlantis

safe and sound.

What in the hell are you talking about?

Obviously, not you-you, but another you, another Carson Beckett.

Is this a joke?

I wish it was.

You're telling me there's another Carson Beckett

walking around this base?

- Well, no. - Rodney!

He came back from the planet.

He resumed his duties.

Everything went back to normal.

And about six months later, he was killed in an explosion.

To us, you weren't missing, Carson, you were dead.

Have you spoken to your Wraith contact?

He claims he's given us everything he knows about Michael,

but I assume he's lying.

Until we can come up with something that he can use,

he's not much good to us.

So we need to find our intel somewhere else.

Yeah, that's what I wanted to talk to you about.

You mean Beckett.

He has been inside Michael's operation and he may know something.

Or he could have been planted there for us to find.

Look, for all we know, this whole thing could be a set-up.

Oh, sure, anything's possible.

John, the Carson Beckett you knew was killed.

You were there. You all were.

I'm sorry to say it, but you need to remember that.

I know this is a lot for you to take in...

Aye, you're damn right it is.

First, you tell me I'm not the only Carson Beckett,

and then you tell me the other one died in a horrible explosion.

Oh, my God.

My mother! You didn't tell her, did you?

Well, yeah.

Good Lord.

You were dead. I mean, I'm sorry to be blunt, but we buried you.

I mean, there was a memorial service at her church. I was there.

This can't be happening.

I have to go back there. I have to talk to her.

No, you can't. I mean, do you have any idea

what kind of effect that could have?

Besides, what're you going to say to her?

I'll say the Air Force made a bloody mistake! That's what I'll say.

- Carson... - No, Rodney, this is too much.

Get Dr. Weir in here.

I need to speak to her now.

What?

- I can't do that. - Why not?

She's dead, Carson.

She was killed by the Replicators.

Sacrificed herself to save the rest of us.

I'm sorry, I...

I don't know what else to say.

You know, for the better part of the two years

I imagined what it would be like

the day I finally got back to Atlantis.

This isn't exactly how I pictured it.

What is this place?

Just another dead world. Destroyed by the Wraith,

abandoned by the survivors, forgotten by both.

A perfect place to conduct my work.

Open it.

I'll leave you to get re-acquainted.

Teyla?

Halling?

What have you got for me, Doctor?

I think I've solved the mystery.

You know what a telomere is, Colonel?

It's part of a human chromosome, right?

Yeah, that's right.

Each time a cell divides, the chromosome is torn apart and rebuilt,

and in the process, a small amount of the telomere

gets used up.

As a result, telomeres become shorter over time.

The more we age, the shorter they get.

And this is Dr. Beckett's?

Yeah.

According to the scan,

his telomeres are 30% shorter

than they should be for a man of his age.

The only explanation is that the original DNA came from an adult cell,

one where the telomeres had already started to degrade.

- So... - You can forget parallel universes.

He's a clone.

I did not ever think I would see you again.

Nor did we.

I just wish it were under happier circumstances.

Where are the rest of our people?

- They were taken. - Taken?

To be experimented upon,

converted into one of those...