P3X-289

P3X-289 is a world 6,000 light years from Earth. It had once been within the domain of Morrigan, and historical records refer to the discovery 563 years earlier of the ancient relic known as the Gate of Mahg Mar, believed to have been of ritual significance in the worship of the goddess Morrigan, which was taken from the ruins of Danaan and put on display in the National Museum of History.

The planet had once had great cities with tall buildings of glass and steel, however technology destroyed their world, and as industrial growth poisoned the air and water, and people began dying of disease and starvation, the survivors made a deliberate choice to simplify their lives. They built a dome shielded by a force field that allowed solid matter to pass through but acted as a barrier against the poisonous atmosphere outside. Over 100,000 survivors began a new life inside the dome, hoping that one day the poison would dissipate and they would be able to reclaim their planet. The quaint village within the dome was completely self-sufficient, drawing on energy from geothermal vents located beneath the town. A huge computer network housed in an underground control room maintained the integrity of the dome and also controlled the link, a direct neural interface to which every member of the population was connected.

When SG-1 arrived on the planet, the stargate stood amid the toxic atmosphere of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and ammonia, about a half-hour walk from the dome. The dome, which used holographic projection to simulate a garden world beyond the boundaries of the village, was approximately 2.2 kilometers wide and 500 meters high, and the population of 1373 insisted that no one had ventured outside the dome in 400 years. When SG-1 noticed that members of the population were mysteriously disappearing, Carter theorized that the geothermal vents that supply the town's power had started to cool about 200 years ago, and that to prevent the dome's collapse, the computer had found a way to compensate by gradually shrinking the size of the dome. In order to maintain a viable population, the inhabitants received revisions through the link which eliminated random inhabitants by instructing them to walk beyond the dome to their deaths. The computer then adjusted the memories of the remaining population so that the disappearance would not be noticed. Because their memories had been altered, the villagers refused to accept the warnings that individuals were being sacrificed for the good of the whole until Pallan was convinced by SG-1 to reprogram the link so that the population would recognize the threat to their society. The inhabitants agreed to leave their homeworld and were relocated to another planet.

Location: Fantasy Garden World, Richmond

Cross Reference: Councilman, Councilwoman, Evalla, Force Field, Hazmat, Holographic Projection, Kendrick, Link, Morrigan, Nevin, Pallan

Episode Reference: Revisions