# Stargate Universe; 1.06, Water (open spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 31, 2009, 12:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792 "2009-10-31T00:31:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/41 "2009-10-31T19:13:01Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > For my own gripe about this episode, what was that twaddle Young was saying at the end about how Destiny needed to close the gate so he could dial out? Isn’t it a two-way conduit? I may be showing my ignorance of the canon here, I admit, but I’ve never seen anything about the gates being one-way travel only from the location that opened the connection. Yup, that’s canon. It’s one-way, except for radio (and video of course) communication or the occasional slip up. You can stick your hand in and wiggle it around then pull it back out. But you can’t go all the way through and back. Trivia, but gates are also capable of being selective about what they allow through. For instance, if a gate opens up underwater, it can tell whether water is supposed to go through, in that particular instance. If not, it holds it back. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Excellent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f19dbf/32.png) [@Mr.Excellent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Excellent)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/42 "2009-10-31T19:25:22Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Let’s see: > > I get the impression Young went because he has some experience with excavation. They didn’t talk about it explicitly, but he repeatedly mentioned that he’d done something like the ice mining several times before, so presumably he went because he knew how to get the most material efficiently. I think Young was joking when he said he’d done this sort of thing before. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/43 "2009-10-31T19:25:55Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > Yup, that’s canon. It’s one-way, except for radio (and video of course) communication or the occasional slip up. You can stick your hand in and wiggle it around then pull it back out. But you can’t go all the way through and back. Good to know. I loved SG-1, but I don’t think I ever saw even half the episodes, and I never watched Atlantis. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/44 "2009-10-31T19:27:00Z")
> [@Mr.Excellent](#): > > I think Young was joking when he said he’d done this sort of thing before. But he was giving what seemed like experienced advice to Scott. I suppose that comes with being the superior officer, but it wasn’t exactly a military situation. I could be wrong, but that was my impression. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/45 "2009-10-31T20:47:22Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > I get the impression Young went because he has some experience with excavation. They didn’t talk about it explicitly, but he repeatedly mentioned that he’d done something like the ice mining several times before, so presumably he went because he knew how to get the most material efficiently. That seemed like it was supposed to be a running joke between the two. “You’ve done this before.” “Millions of times!” “You’ve done this before.” “Dozens of times!” “You’ve done this before?” “Um, no this would be a first.” The problem for me was it seemed like they were trying to force us into believing Scott and Young have a long-term close familiarity you only get after having been together for a longer period of time than Young has with his current crew. As the audience, I’d like to see that develop over time especially since I know Icarus was Scott’s first assignment after training, so Scott and Young haven’t had time for many adventures together we know of. Jack & Daniel didn’t even like each other for awhile during the first season. > [@](#): > > Sure, they might have tried communication with the alien bugs, but frankly I don’t think that’s a luxury they could have afforded. If they had a bountiful supply of water, maybe, but as it was the bugs would drink the ship dry before anything meaningful could be established. **levdrakon** , I must admit I don’t recall seeing anything in this episode or Air that showed the bugs could _deposit_ water. I got the impression they simply absorbed water insanely fast, which makes some sense if they evolved on that desert planet. Seek out and suck up any trace of water they can. It’s more likely they would have just been a drain, not a help. Good point, and I’m not wedded to my theory but on the desert planet they made a little water pool bubble up out of the sand to wake up Scott. They’re evidently as intelligent and amicable as a dog licking your face or a dolphin pushing you to shore or something. They only took half the water on Destiny, right? They may have sensed humans need some water, and might be morally complex enough to want to put back what they took, given the opportunity. What did they do with the water they took? Something mysterious and alien, but that’s why I say they’ve got amazing water handling abilities, and not just absorbing abilities. Who knows how they move large volumes of water without anyone noticing. They were only a little swarm after all, and evidently weren’t just holding all the water they took in their little tummies. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/46 "2009-10-31T21:22:49Z")
> [@levdrakon](#): > > The problem for me was it seemed like they were trying to force us into believing Scott and Young have a long-term close familiarity you only get after having been together for a longer period of time than Young has with his current crew. What I got out of it was Young relaxing military discipline due to the circumstances and instead trying to foster stronger friendships with the younger soldiers under his command; he’s taken a liking to Greer, for example. Scott’s also the closest rank to Young and has been very active in maintaining the wellbeing of the group, so I can definitely see Young liking Scott and being more informal with him. > [@](#): > > They only took half the water on Destiny, right? They mentioned that the bugs were stealing water every time the storage hatch was opened, so presumably the bugs were darting in, sucking up what they could, and darting back out before the hatch could close. They were doing it at an awful fast rate for the drop in water level to be noticed, too. I think if there were free access to the water, it would have been gone within a day. I think the bugs were friendly, or at least curious, and you might be right that they wouldn’t have used up all the water. But in a survival situation like that, I don’t blame the humans for taking necessary precautions. At least they were let out onto a world completely saturated with (hopefully potable for them) water. 😛 Another thought that came up: I’m sympathizing more with Rush. As he said when giving TJ advice: “Always consider the greater good.” It’s not always the best course to take, but it is understandable, especially in a difficult situation like the one they’re in. Young accused Rush of being selfish when Rush advocated leaving Scott behind, of caring only about the water, but it stands to reason: if the choice becomes an increasingly binary one between letting one man die and letting everyone die through lack of water, the decision seems obvious, doesn’t it? It may be coldly logical, but I don’t think selfishness enters into it. But Rush gets painted as the bad guy for wanting to ensure the most number of people survive. ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/47 "2009-10-31T21:29:26Z")
> [@billfish678](#): > > As for toilet paper, don’t they clamshells on that vessel ? Gee, clamshells seem like they’d be rather… scrapey… for toilet paper. Of course, if those idiots are smart, they’ll be collecting their waste. Easy enough to rig a distillation setup to recover water, and they really need to start growing some _food_, so soil would be helpful. > [@Bosstone](#): > > It is galaxy to galaxy, and while I find the idea of one ice planet in an entire galaxy very hard to swallow, I do find it easier to believe that Destiny’s gate doesn’t have much range. It’s not a planet-based gate and the ship can’t run at full strength. If they’ve only got 12 hours before it’s FTL time again, then it makes some sense to pick one planet and swing near it. Apparently each season will be within the same galaxy, and they’re thinking of having the Destiny move to a new galaxy with each new season. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/48 "2009-10-31T21:40:08Z")
> [@cmyk](#): > > They put it in neutral, then the whole crew goes outside to push. So would they travel from Earth to Mars at FTL with some really serious significant figures on the braking, Newtonian physics in a year or so, or with a Gate? ---
**Author:** ![Tangent](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tangent/32/3098_2.png) [@Tangent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tangent)\ **Post date:** [October 31, 2009, 10:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/49 "2009-10-31T22:28:29Z")
> [@Lightray](#): > > Gee, clamshells seem like they’d be rather… scrapey… for toilet paper. ^ He doesn’t know how to use the clamshells! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![cmyk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmyk/32/3353_2.png) [@cmyk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmyk)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/50 "2009-11-01T00:17:29Z")
(I thought it was “the three shells”?) ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/51 "2009-11-01T01:31:34Z")
> [@Camus](#): > > Per the pilot, the Destiny is traveling from galaxy to galaxy, but it’s likely that several stops are being made within one galaxy also. And merely stopping when a needed gate is in range as opposed to simply traveling to the specific planet conceivably saves time having to go from one place to another, sometimes doubling back. With the autopilot course and the stargate countdown time, it seems that the ship was designed to explore as much as possible as fast as possible. > [@Lightray](#): > > Apparently each season will be within the same galaxy, and they’re thinking of having the Destiny move to a new galaxy with each new season. That sounds like it came from one of the producers. Good to know. Still leaves lots of questions but that’s part of the fun. I like the idea that “in range” really means “in range of sensors” but then again Destiny should have all the gates’ information the first time she gates in a new galaxy. She’d only have to sense gates when entering a new galaxy. So, Destiny’s mysterious gate dysfunction sucks, but this does mean they could gate back to the desert, ice, or any other planet they’ve been to simply by gating to Destiny’s nearest gate, then gating from there normally. Now all Eli needs to do is make a planetary core power adapter out of Kinos, and they’re gold. Or something. > [@](#): > > Of course, if those idiots are smart, they’ll be collecting their waste. Easy enough to rig a distillation setup to recover water, and they really need to start growing some _food_, so soil would be helpful. I think they did mention some reprocessing equipment they just need to oil and give a swift kick. Or do you mean collecting their waste like, right now? Ew! I suppose this week’s red shirt should get the composter treatment too? Like Rush says, “always consider the greater good.” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/52 "2009-11-01T01:40:43Z")
Has anyone but me noticed that Eli’s being pushed into a ‘loyalty police’ position? I certainly hope so, I’d like to see the innocent, ‘likable (for some reason? I think he’s a pushover and that’s not a likable characteristic for me…)’ kid being unknowingly forced into a position where absolutely everyone on board hates him because he’s doing what he thought was the right thing – serving the guy in charge. I can see a few situations of him abusing his power, like saying Scott was ring leader of some super-secret rebel organization. Oh please oh please turn the nerd into a jerk! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Controvert](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dec6dc/32.png) [@The\_Controvert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Controvert)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/53 "2009-11-01T02:12:19Z")
We don’t know that Destiny is currently in a standard sized galaxy. There could be fewer stars in the cluster they’re in which can affect distances and suitable planet availability. Carter’s statement about similar energy requirements to gate clear across the Milky Way may hold true for gates encountered in SG1, but we don’t know if SGU’s drone-deployed gates are the same model. I doubt it. The comment about the Lantean gene activation being a more recent development means they’re probably surrounded by earlier generation Ancient tech. And we’ve seen a newer, completely different looking stargate in Atlantis, so the producers are adhering to a semblance of technological progression. An earlier model gate could have different ranges and other limitations. I think the 12 hour FTL window is a somewhat transparent attempt to provide a dramatic timer each episode, but I’ll accept it for now. The swirley aliens did seem friendly like a puppy dog or porpoise. It needs an appropriate name, like “Swarley”. I hope it returns. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/54 "2009-11-01T02:18:02Z")
The explanation for the gate power requirements was that all gates were the same distance apart (within a galaxy, in subspace). As for the 12 hour FTL window, I’m fan-wanking that into the ship’s engines generate or store so much energy/given amount of time, and that if it’s not used then you get a catastrophic (read: explosive) failure, after a given amount of time. Maybe 12 hours is just shy of, or half way to, that catastrophic failure point… ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/55 "2009-11-01T02:28:19Z")
The Destiny was supposed to be used for colonizing other galaxies. So its program is that it moves around the gate-seeded galaxy, gathering information on planets as they come “in range”. Its crew would then have a brief window to scout out the planet to see if it was useful for colonization or whatever. Presumably, the intent was that had the crew discovered a useful planet, they’d tell Destiny to _stop_ there, and then they’d have more time to poke around. As it is, Rush can barely make the Destiny understand “moar H2O plz”… but from the Destiny’s perspective, he keeps forgetting to tell it to _stop_ at the water – so it finds the water, assumes that’s that, and moves on as programmed. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/56 "2009-11-01T02:35:44Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > Has anyone but me noticed that Eli’s being pushed into a ‘loyalty police’ position? > I certainly hope so, I’d like to see the innocent, ‘likable (for some reason? I think he’s a pushover and that’s not a likable characteristic for me…)’ kid being unknowingly forced into a position where absolutely everyone on board hates him because he’s doing what he thought was the right thing – serving the guy in charge. > > I can see a few situations of him abusing his power, like saying Scott was ring leader of some super-secret rebel organization. Oh please oh please turn the nerd into a jerk! I think a more appropriate term for Eli is harmless, rather than likable (although I kinda like the guy). I don’t think that’s what’s going to happen, though. Eli considers himself an everyman; he has more in common with the civilians on Destiny than the soldiers and Rush. However, he was brought onto the project by Rush, his calculations have been wholly reliable so far (to the point where people take him at his word), and he’s been active and instrumental in getting much of the ship working. Rush and Young respect his judgment, he’s one of the few (maybe the only one) Rush likes working with, and as such he’s usually in the center of things when big decisions are being made. So here’s the problem. We’ve already seen the grunts and civvies corner Eli and ask him for inside info. _They_ know he’s one of the inner circle, and they know the inner circle must be keeping some secrets from the rest of the group. Eli doesn’t see it that way; to him, he’s working with Rush and Young just like he might be working with Brody or…some other no-name. So he’s approaching the inner circle as one of the others, and the others are approaching him as one of the inner circle. He’s got to figure out if there’s secrets worth keeping, and if there are then that puts his friendship with the others at risk. TLDR version: Eli’s a manager who doesn’t think he’s a manager, and as such his behavior is not what either the workers or the other managers expect of him. If he doesn’t figure out how to strike a balance between himself and the role into which he’s been placed, he’s going to find himself on the outs with everyone pretty soon. But I really doubt he’s going to go mad with power. He’s really pretty humble except when it comes to math, and if he were forced into a position like loyalty officer he’d resist like woah. ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/57 "2009-11-01T02:45:11Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > But I really doubt he’s going to go mad with power. He’s really pretty humble except when it comes to math, and if he were forced into a position like loyalty officer he’d resist like woah. I don’t think he’ll go mad with power, either. I think, I _hope_ he makes a bad choice, and lies because he’s hurt that Chloe picked the guy who wasn’t a wuss over him (who is a wuss). The scene where he was spying on the two scientists, on behalf of Young (with the Kino) is the one I’m talking about, him being a secret police of sorts. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/58 "2009-11-01T03:08:43Z")
> [@The\_Controvert](#): > > The swirley aliens did seem friendly like a puppy dog or porpoise. It needs an appropriate name, like “Swarley”. I hope it returns. You don’t think it or they will be pissed about the flame thrower and frozen water planet? 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Todderbob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e47774/32.png) [@Todderbob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Todderbob)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/59 "2009-11-01T03:15:01Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > You don’t think it or they will be pissed about the flame thrower and frozen water planet? 🙂 But they really, really like water. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [November 1, 2009, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792/60 "2009-11-01T03:17:32Z")
> [@Todderbob](#): > > I don’t think he’ll go mad with power, either. I think, I _hope_ he makes a bad choice, and lies because he’s hurt that Chloe picked the guy who wasn’t a wuss over him (who is a wuss). > > The scene where he was spying on the two scientists, on behalf of Young (with the Kino) is the one I’m talking about, him being a secret police of sorts. Possible. But he _really_ didn’t like doing it. My guess is there’s going to be some kind of uprising among the crew once Rush pisses them off a bit too much and Eli will reluctantly take their side. Hard to tell, though. I suppose he could throw in with Rush, too. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/stargate-universe-1-06-water-open-spoilers/515792.md?page=4)