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MedTech Echoes

Carson sees a vision of an agony of burned pilot on a patient plate

"Echoes" is the twelfth episode of the third season of Stargate: Atlantis.


Teyla Emmagan starts seeing "ghosts" of Ancients wandering Atlantis, and soon other people start seeing them also. The visit from a group of Flagisallus are related, when they use the "ghosts" to warn the expedition of a Coronal mass ejection.

Previously on Stargate: AtlantisEdit

Dr. Rodney McKay is trapped in the back of a sinking Puddle Jumper and encounters a Flagisallus. The creature inadvertently leads Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and Dr. Radek Zelenka's rescue Jumper to McKay's location and they are able to rescue him.


Teyla Ronon Meditate

Ronon snores while Teyla tries to meditate.

Dr. Radek Zelenka, Ronon Dex, and Lt. Colonel John Sheppard are in a Puddle Jumper returning from an expedition on the mainland to document and hunt local fauna. As they return, Zelenka notices that Atlantis does not appear on the sensors properly. After adjusting their direction by forty degrees they are on the proper course towards Atlantis again.

Teyla Emmagan begins to see repeat visions of Ancients on Atlantis. First she is assumed to be under stress, but after a while other people in the city begin to see the same visions.

Flagisallus Eye

A large Flagisallus passes the Puddle Jumper.

Meanwhile, Dr. Rodney McKay and Sheppard notice a sea creature which McKay has named "Sam" (after Lt. Colonel Samantha Carter), because he believes it to be the same one that led Sheppard and Zelenka to rescue McKay from a damaged Jumper on the ocean floor. After using Atlantis' sensors to find another of the sea creatures, much larger than "Sam", they decide to take a Puddle Jumper to investigate closer. During a close encounter with the sea creatures, Sheppard and McKay develop intense headaches and McKay falls unconscious.

In the infirmary, Zelenka explains that the sea creatures emit a low frequency pulse and an electromagnetic field which, in combination, are very dangerous to humans. Very soon, most of the city is affected by this. Many victims are transported to the Daedalus, now orbiting the planet, but there are too many in the city to all be relocated.

During his recovery, McKay uses his tablet to locate an Ancient Bio lab dedicated to studying the native marine life and manages to translate what the whales are saying. The Lantea whales are warning that the Lantean Star is about to send out a gigantic coronal mass ejection (similar to a solar flare) straight at the Lantean planet and although the shield will protect Atlantis, the radiation wave will kill all plant and animal life on the planet and destroy the atmosphere, thereby depleting any breathable oxygen. The whales are congregating underneath Atlantis' shield for protection.

Flagisallus Lantean visions

The vision of a Lantean trying to help the burned pilot of the Adaris.

The visions that people have been seeing are a genetic memory that the whales have of this catastrophe, which happens every 15,000 years. The Lanteans were experimenting with communicating with these creatures when this traumatic event occurred. An Ancient ship named Adaris was near to the sun when the ejection began and most of its crew were killed immediately by the radiation. The pilot managed to jump to hyperspace and overtake the radiation wave before it reached Atlantis and warn the people there.

Now knowing what is happening, the team consult the Atlantis database and discover that the last time this happened the Ancients managed to temporarily expand the city's shield to encompass a large percentage of the planet's surface. Unfortunately, with only one functioning Zero Point Module, McKay is only able to expand the shield by a radius of a few kilometers.

Daedalus Coronal Mass

The Daedalus is hit by the coronal mass ejection.

In order to save Atlantis as well as the planet, Sheppard comes up with the idea to transfer the ZPM to the Daedalus and move the ship into position between the sun and the planet. When the coronal mass ejection begins, the shields aboard the Daedalus (boosted by the ZPM) successfully deflect the emission away from the planet, with the Daedalus sustaining only minor thermal damage in the attempt.


Appearances for Echoes




Sentient Species





Notable QuotesEdit

(Ronon's first meditation lesson)
Teyla: Feel your mind clearing, open to all that surrounds you. Embrace the silence.
Ronon: (snores)
Teyla: Ronon?

Weir: And how do you know he's a "he"?
McKay: Oh, because I cross referenced the renderings in the database with the whale outside and you'll see...the males have a rather prominent-
Weir: Uh, that's okay, nevermind...I'll take your word for it.

Sheppard: So these whales, did the Ancients say they're good eating?
McKay: Oh, you wouldn't.
Sheppard: I would.

Beckett: Their eardrums have been perforated.
Weir: How?
Zelenka: The whales are emitting an intense low-frequency-pulse, like a sonar, as well as an EM field. The combination is very dangerous to humans, particularly in such close proximity.
McKay: (yelling) It's the whales.
Beckett: (of the yelling to Weir) Hearing's been impaired. It should heal soon.
McKay: (still yelling) It's their echolocation. It's creating very powerful vibrations. The closer we got, the worse it became.
Zelenka: (yelling back) Yes. Yes. Rodney, we know.
McKay: Oh.
Sheppard: (yelling) What?
Beckett: They should rest.
Weir: Agreed.

(Ronon visits Teyla in the infirmary)
Ronon: How're you doin'?
Teyla: I have felt better...
Ronon: D'you need any more pain medicine?
Teyla: No... It does not seem to help anymore...
Ronon: Just hang on, you're gonna be fine. ... Teyla, look at me. You gotta hold on. You gotta teach me those, eh, meditation lessons.
Teyla: (smiles) You are hopeless...
Ronon: Yeah, I know. (Teyla faints) Teyla?!

Sheppard: The pain's going away; I think my hearing is getting better too. (to McKay) How 'bout you? (yells) Rodney!
(McKay gives no response)
Sheppard: Canadian Football League's a joke. Celine Dion is overrated. (yells) Zelenka is smarter than you are!
McKay: (yelling) Hey! I found mention of a bio-lab in the database! Ancient scientists used it to study animal life, we should check it out!
Sheppard: Okay...Meredith.

Ronon: How are you feeling?
Teyla: Much better.
Ronon: I walked the whole way over here and didn't see one ghost.
Teyla: Nor did I.
Ronon: Mind if I join you?
Teyla: (pointing at Ronon) If you fall asleep one more time...
Ronon: (bangs a wooden sword into the wall and gives it to Teyla) Hit me with that.


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  • When Lt. Colonel John Sheppard removed the Zero Point Module the power in Atlantis did not shut down, however when the ZPM was depleted to give Rod enough time to beam back to his own universe after closing the matter stream, the city is plunged into darkness. However, during these events, the loss of power was expected while during those events it was not.
  • It seems unwise that the Daedalus would point its bow at the sun, where the most heat and radiation built-up would be, but a less important part of the ship instead. In case the plan would not work, the bridge would be the first to go.
    • If the plan didn't work it would make no difference what direction the ship was facing as it would be completely destroyed.

In other languages Edit

  • Russian: Миражи (Mirages)
  • Hungarian: Visszhangok (Echoes)

External linksEdit
