The Gamekeeper
Written By: Jonathan Glassner & Brad Wright
Directed By: Martin Wood
Guest Stars: Dwight Schultz, Teryl Rothery & Jay Acovone
SG-1 travel to the planet designated PJ7-989 where there is a large technological looking dome. Entering the building they find lots of people hooked up to machines. While examining some empty machines, the machines grab them and hook them up like the other people.
SG-1 look around the dome.
Jack and Teal'c suddenly find themselves dressed in older style military uniforms on what appears to be Earth. Suddenly Kawalsky and a man named John turn up in a truck, Jack can't believe it, there both dead! It appears Jack and Teal'c are reliving a mission from Jack's past, the extraction of a Russian agent from East Germany that went badly wrong. As they go through the mission Jack tries to correct errors that they made which ended up with John being killed, but he still gets killed anyway in another fashion. As they fall back the mission starts over again with Kawalsky and John arriving in the truck.
Jack is surprised to see Kawalsky again.
Daniel and Sam meanwhile find themselves in the New York Museum of Art during Daniel's childhood. Daniel has to watch as his parents are killed by an exhibit they are assembling that falls on them.
Daniel has to relive a painful memory.
As both loops continue both Jack and Daniel try different things, to no avail. Both Jack and Sam then notice that they are being watched by people dressed in black, the same people that were in the machines in the dome. Jack tells Teal'c they will not carry on and suddenly a man appears, he calls himself the keeper and he tells Jack the game must go on, there are infinite ways to do the mission and he hasn't explored them all yet, Jack refuses. In Daniel's loop the Keeper also appears to them and tells Daniel the same thing, in the end though Daniel also refuses to co-operate. An angry keeper brings Jack and Teal'c to Sam and Daniel's location.
SG-1 confront the keeper.
The Keeper tells them all that they are in a VR world created by their memories, the world gives them the chance to try and change things in their past. The residents, the people in black, have been in the machines for over 1000 years and they are glad of the new situations SG-1's minds bring. Daniel says that therefore they are using SG-1 like new software on a computer. The Keeper tells SG-1 that the residents can't leave as their world was destroyed 1022 years ago in a chemical disaster, so the Keeper created this VR world and put them in it. SG-1 tell the residents that their world is now fertile and free of the chemical disaster, the Keeper argues it is not and send the residents away so SG-1 won't poison their minds. SG-1 then find themselves back in the dome.
Returning to the SGC, Dr Frasier examines them and finds they are all fine. In a briefing Daniel suggests that they return to PJ7-989 and free the residents, Hammond and Frasier both disagree. Hammond is really pushing for them to return to the VR world and Jack gets very suspicious, SG-1 work out that they are still in the simulation and Jack confronts Hammond who must really be the Keeper. Hammond has them locked up for insubordination.
Is that you General Hammond?
In the cell Kawalsky turns up, now they know they are still on PJ7-989. Escaping from the cell they are confronted by the residents who want to know if their world really is clean now, Jack decides to show them by taking them back threw the gate to PJ7-989 to show them what SG-1 remembered it as.
The residents confront SG-1.
As the gate opens, Hammond shuts it down and runs off, SG-1 chase him and he morphs into the Keeper and exits into the real world via a doorway, SG-1 follow. Waking up for real they catch up with the Keeper, he tells them that he has been tending the gardens for years, he didn't want the others free as they would surely destroy it again. Suddenly the residents arrive, they also found the doorway. SG-1 take their leave as the Keeper gets his pants in a twist over the residents picking flowers.
The Keeper panics at the residents actions.