"That's never going to happen, Rodney." Beckett shifted to sit more upright. "It's an exogenesis machine"
The word was not familiar to Teyla, but comprehension must have struck Rodney immediately. "Okay, that's a problem," he said, turning huge eyes toward them. "Ea doesn't mean to destroy just the city. She means to destroy the entire planet!"
"Hang on a minute," Colonel Sheppard demanded. "How did we go from blowing up a city to blowing up an entire planet?"
"Can you please for one minute tear your focus away from blowing up things? Exogenesis!" The scientist's hands moved fitfully as he no doubt searched for the best way to simplify his explanation.
Nodding, Dr. Beckett explained, "Exogenesis, or panspermia, essentially proposes that life was brought to Earth from elsewhere, which, as we now know, is an entirely feasible theory."
"By the Ancients," said Dr. Weir. "But there's already life on Atlantis."
"Yes, of course," retorted Rodney. "Except, what if you had a machine that imposed a completely different biosphere over one that's preexistent?"
"You get a teenaged Spock?" the Colonel suggested. The odd comment in no way eased Teyla's deepening concern.
Rodney scowled at Sheppard. "No! Well, yes, but over a considerably longer time frame. It makes sense that the Ancients had a machine that could terraform planets. It would certainly explain the preponderance of Earth-type planets in both galaxies. Oddly enough, I've always wondered why so many bear a remarkable resemblance to British Columbia "
"The Gadmeer." Dr. Weir spotted the Colonel's blank look and explained. "Several years ago SG-1 encountered a race that used a terraforming device to burn the surface of a planet, destroying its ecosystem before seeding it with life forms suited to their needs. If that's what Ea has in mind-"
"Then we have time to come up with countermeasures?" Even as Sheppard said it, his expression indicated that he doubted they would be so fortunate.
"Unlikely. For one thing, the Gadmeer weren't nearly as advanced as Ancients," Rodney said. "And while I have no idea how the Ancients terraformed planets, I think it's safe to assume that it would be considerably more efficient-and by that I mean making absolutely certain that none of the original biosphere remained intact."
"Carson?" Dr. Weir directed her gaze to the doctor.
"Forgive me if this isn't terribly thorough, but as far as I can tell, the terraforming process normally took around ten thousand years"
"Ten thousand?" Colonel Sheppard stared at him.
"The Ancients were extremely long-lived," Teyla reminded them all.
"And as near as we can tell, they flew here in Atlantis several million years ago," Dr. Weir added.
Ronon hooked his fingers into his belt. "So we've got nothing to worry about, right?"
"On the contrary," Beckett continued, his face creasing in concern. "In order to undertake their terraforming projects, machines powered by several ZPMs were placed in numerous strategic positions across a planet. Each world was allowed, even encouraged, to evolve a unique biota with the sole proviso that all such planets would ultimately sustain human life."
"Several ZPMs?" From his bed a short distance away, Dr. Zelenka joined the discussion. "Clearly the amount of power needed to accomplish a planet-wide transformation would be massive, but how-"
"That's what Atlas, Ea's husband, had been working on. To get away from relying on ZPMs, he'd experimented with a prototype device that incorporated a design feature used on some planets to control weather. Apparently he, or one of his predecessors, had invented such a device in the past"
"We've seen climate-controlling technology before," Dr. Weir said, sliding into a chair between Beckett and Zelenka's beds. "There's an SGC file about a similar machine found on a planet called Madrona. It was stolen by Colonel Mayboume's group and briefly used to manipulate Earth's weather a few years ago."
"I knew all that El Nino stuff sounded fishy," Sheppard commented under his breath.
Uncomprehending, Teyla dismissed the comment as yet another reference unique to Earth's culture. She did not, however, dismiss the implications for this world.
"I don't know how complex that version was," said Beckett, "but Atlas's exogenesis machine could be set to run different programs, depending on the preexisting conditions of the planet in question. He'd hoped to someday use the machine in other galaxies, allowing the Ancients to escape the Wraith and build new worlds quickly, without the ten-millennium delay."
"And by quickly, you mean how long?"
If it were possible, Carson's face fell even further. "A week. Less under the right circumstances."
Teyla's profound shock was echoed by words of dismay from the others, while Dr. Beckett continued to speak. "Atlas wanted to test the device on a planet already sanctioned for terraforming, but because Janus had assisted him during its development, the head of the Atlantis Council, Moros, considered it too dangerous. The Council forbade the test, and Atlas secretly defied them."
"Why, oh why, am I not surprised?" Rodney cast his gaze toward the ceiling.
The doctor rubbed a now-unmarked hand over his face. "Along with Ea and a team of his research associates, Atlas quietly slipped away to a suitable planet, one that had already undergone the initial terraforming process. The Wraith arrived soon after and blocked their access to the Stargate. Many of his team, including his and Ea's son, were killed, and the remainder terribly injured. Those who made it out alive escaped in a transport ship. Only a handful of them survived the Wraith blockade to reach Atlantis, but by then the inhabitants of the city had all left for Earth. Someone — Moros, presumably-had configured the city's force field to keep out all ships. The only option remaining to the last of Atlas's team was to use the stasis pods."
"Okay, so that explains how they got to be where we found them." Nervous energy radiated from Rodney as he paced the room. "What we need to know is what configuration Ea used on the machine when she set it to destroy this planet."
The earlier loss of blood had made Beckett pale, but now he looked positively ill. "All of the above," he answered quietly.
Rodney spun in mid-step, nearly losing his balance. "What you do mean, all of the above?"
"I'm not absolutely certain-it could just be that Ea's emotions were the focal point of her attention-but I get the impression that she'd never grasped the subtleties of the machine, so she set it to run in consecutive, open-ended programs. It will burrow into the planet's crust and set up a chemical reaction designed to release huge quantities of aerosols and water into the atmosphere. That program was designed for planets that didn't have water or air. Since this world already has both, the effect will be a deluge on the mainland the likes of which would terrify Noah himself"
Teyla inhaled sharply.
"Okay, that could be worse," Rodney said thoughtfully. "We thought this was a water world when we first arrived, anyway."
"And what of the Athosian settlement?" Teyla demanded. So much had been invested in this planet, both materially and emotionally, by her people since their arrival many months ago. To see another home destroyed-
"We'll evacuate them, obviously. It's not like it would be the first time." The scientist's hand flicked back and forth in a dismissive gesture. "The real concern is what else Ea programmed."
"Nanites," Beckett said simply.
The room stilled. Rodney and Zelenka traded glances filled with as much dread as Teyla had ever witnessed from them. She could hardly blame them. The chaos that had occurred the last time the miniature machines had been let loose upon the city was something Teyla did not wish to see repeated.