Teyla introduces the Atlantis team to a simple agrarian society known as the Genii. Sheppard leads a team to bargain with the Genii for food, but their leader, Cowen, seems more interested in trading for explosives than the medicines that are offered. Sheppard and McKay return to Atlantis to discuss the altered terms of the trade with Dr. Weir, who is understandably upset at the prospect that her expedition is becoming arms dealers. As they make their way back to the Genii village, McKay and Sheppard find traces of radioactivity, and follow those readings to a hatch leading to an underground bunker that, while still primitive by Atlantis’ standards, is evidence of a higher technology than what the Genii seem to have on the surface of their planet. With the truth exposed, the Genii drop the pretense of being simple farmers – or of welcoming Sheppard’s team. Their society lives in vast underground chambers, where they hide from the Wraith and are slowly developing the equivalent of early Cold War-era atomic weapons. McKay’s tactless criticism of the Genii nukes convinces Cowen that there may be some value in joining forces with Atlantis after all, but trust seems to be in short supply in the well-stocked Genii arsenal.
written by Peter DeLuise
directed by Brad Turner
music by Joel GoldsmithGuest Cast: Erin Chambers (Sora), Ari Cohen (Tyrus), Colm Meaney (Cowen), Darren Hird (Cocooned Victim), Craig Veroni (Dr. Grodin)
Notes: Guest star Colm Meaney is a genre favorite, having co-starred in all seven seasons of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as Chief O’Brien, a role that he originated as an unnamed Enterprise crewmember in the very first episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987.
LogBook entry by Earl Green