LINE IN THE SAND

10.12 Episode 206
Airdate: April 20, 2007

The people of P9C-882 have been visited by a Prior and have sought the aid of the SGC in resisting false gods. It is the perfect opportunity to test Carter's modifications to Arthur's Mantle, Merlin's inter-dimensional cloaking device. On the planet, the team is welcomed by Matar and Thilana, the village leader, and Carter succeeds in activating the device, expanding the field to shift the entire village into another dimension before the Prior's return. However, a power fluctuation triggers a failsafe, and as Carter struggles to stabilize the power and reactivate the device, soldiers of the Ori ring to the planet's surface and begin their conquest of the village.

SG-1 and the villagers resist the invading army, but they are easily overcome, and Carter is gravely wounded by an Ori staff weapon. Desperate to shield themselves and protect the device, Mitchell activates the cloak in a smaller field, and only the room in which he and Carter are hiding vanishes. The Ori Commander approaches, and Vala is startled to discover that it is Tomin. Mystified by what appears to be magic, he demands to know how the building was concealed, and in retaliation he orders that the prisoners be killed. Vala, however, is to be transported to his orbiting ship where he has been ordered to instruct her until she accepts the ways of Origin.

As Mitchell struggles to keep Carter alive, Teal'c, Thilana, and Matar face the interrogation of the Ori soldiers. Meanwhile, Vala's attempts to appeal to Tomin's compassion fail, but when the Prior distorts the scriptures to justify the obliteration of the village, Tomin begins to question his blind faith. Mitchell and Carter use an Ori crystal to boost power to Merlin's device, just as the Ori ship fires its weapons. Consumed by guilt, Tomin helps Vala to escape before the ship leaves orbit, but on the planet she finds only a smoldering crater. Suddenly, in a brilliant flash of light, the village reappears, spared by the phase-shifting device from the Ori's wrath.

Written by: Alan McCullough
Directed by: Peter DeLuise

Guest Starring: Tim Guinee as Tomin, Aisha Hinds as Thilana, Eric Breker as Colonel Reynolds, Aaron Craven as Matar, Greg Anderson as Prior, Sean Tyson as Ori Firstman

Reference: Alternate Dimension, Book of Origin, Samantha Carter, Invisibility, Matar, Merlin's Phase-Shift Device, Naquadah Generator, Ori, Ori Fighter, Ori Staff Weapon, Ori Stun Weapon, Ori Warriors, Ori Warship, P9C-882, Prior, Prior Staff, Colonel Reynolds, Ring Transporter, Thilana, Tomin

DESTINATIONS & INHABITANTS

NOTES OF INTEREST

• Daniel remains a prisoner of Adria.
• Carter has modified Arthur's Mantle, the phase-shifting device of Merlin. By using 3 naquadah generators for power and a laptop for control, it is now able to envelope and shift an entire area including all the people and objects within it.
• Parable of Markon from the Book of Origin: "So it came to pass that Ver Omesh was gripped by a great famine. So Markon went to the prophet Articus and asked to go to the forest for food. The prophet bade him be patient, for the Ori provide for all who have faith. But Markon did not believe. So the prophet drew a line in the sand and told him, 'Step across and you may do as you wish.' So Markon did, and left the village, and feasted on wild berries. But the food was bitter and did not satisfy him. He longed to return to the village, but found that the line had widened to a great chasm. He called out to the prophet in fear, but the prophet said, 'The line has not changed. It is you who have changed. Step across if you truly believe.' So Markon prayed for forgiveness and took the first step. And the hands of the Ori enveloped all those who welcomed him back."
• Carter's password for her personal computer is "FISHING."

MEMORABLE REMARKS

• We're going to try a little disappearing act here. Please remember to keep your arms and legs inside the village at all times until we come to a complete and final stop. [pause] Blank stares work, too. [Mitchell]
• [Electrical shock to Mitchell]
  That's a good sign. [critically wounded Carter]
  That's easy for you to say, you with the little flesh wound. [Mitchell]

FOR THE RECORD

• Injuries:
  • Carter: Ori staff weapon wound to the abdomen