A double-loop matrix
Within the eternal continuum."
Metaphysical Conclusions of Jacob,
All Systems University, Special Collections
CY 9030
"When Goes Around..." is episode 6 of Season 5.
Synopsis[]
The locals of Seefra-1 weather out a sweltering day in the Oasis Bar. An extended drought has sapped the water supply and Seamus Harper isn’t making any friends as he remains vigilant about his 1 drink maximum. A weary traveler walks through the door and nimbly dodges the chaos inside as though she is following a routine. She approaches the bar and calls Harper by name, which startles him because they’ve never met. She walks away pausing to suggest a patron move his bottle when a second later, an errant street Asteroid sails through the door and shatters it for him. Dylan Hunt's attention has been piqued by her behavior and he stands. When the traveler sees him, it is her turn to be surprised. She calls him by name but stops herself, figuring the Dylan Hunt she knew must be 300 years dead. The name draws the attention of the bar but the crew dismisses it as a joke. She introduces herself as Celine Milton but she balks when they ask how a local could know his real name or position in the High Guard. Dylan questions her as they take a walk outside. She doesn’t offer much at first, believing he can’t help her, but as the day wears she grows more at ease. They talk in his quarters and develop quite an attraction when she notices his High Guard uniform. She tells him how she met him at his parade before he assumed command of the Andromeda. She also heard about how his first officer betrayed him to the Nietzscheans at the Battle of Witchhead before he was trapped in the Black Hole. Meeting again after crossing such time draws them together and they fall on Dylan’s bed together. After the sun sets, Celine wakes and, after a moment’s hope that Dylan will remember, vanishes in a swirl of light.
(Error: Captain Dylan Hunt and the Andromeda Ascendant were not trapped at the Black Hole during the Battle of Witchhead but at the Battle of Hephaistos, at the beginning of the First Systems Commonwealth Civil War.)
Rewind: A new day dawns for everyone but Celine as she arrives at the bar. Unwilling to give up her hopes that Dylan will remember and help, she whisks through her familiar routine and approaches him. She convinces him by reciting his story and her own, then produces a Vedran Astroengineering Institute I.D., dated 300 years ago. She leads him underground to a hidden Vedran laboratory where she and the V.A.I. performed secret experiments in Slipstream, hoping to blockade themselves off from the Spirit of the Abyss. But her superiors had other designs; they used the funding to create their own portal to the Route of Ages. Making that portal demanded a planetary shift, and once Celine realized they were risking massive and damaging climate changes, she blew the whistle but they had already initiated the program. She tried to stop it, but they purposefully damaged the machine, breaking the Methus Crystal commands encoded with the program’s instructions, sucking her in and trapping her in an endless loop. Dylan has a hunch that the fragment given to Beka by Virgil Vox is the other half. Celine is running out of time and growing weaker when they are attacked by water scavengers as they leave the lab. Dylan dispatches them but Celine is knocked unconscious.
He brings her to Andromeda and places her under Trance Gemini's care, then consults Seefra’s orbit with Harper, determining the amount of time before Celine disappears again. Doyle begins analyzing the algorithms burned into the two fragments. She discovers some information is missing and without it, estimation is too risky. Celine is the only person capable of filling the gap but any cerebral memory boost might kill her in her condition, she is already severely weakened and dying from 300 years in the loop. She wakes to find Trace tending to her but feels too weak to rise and help the others. Trance lays a hand on her, giving over a little of her own energy so she may join Dylan in Command. She studies what they have, struggling to recollect the missing algorithm but the years have left her memory somewhat barren. Before she can recall she feels the familiar shift that will send her back in the loop but Dylan promises to remember as light flares around her and she disappears. The next day, the crew gets right to work, using the pieces of crystal and notes they left to themselves about Celine to stay on track. Harper bursts onto Command with the answer to the gap in the equation. Realizing the V.A.I. scientists were using the same slipstream technology the Andromeda employs, he pulls up the ship’s slipstream navigation system and he fills in the missing algorithm. Now they need to find Celine to translate the instructions and shift Seefra-1 back to its proper orbit.
Dylan waits at the bar, unsure of what he will recall but when she arrives and kisses him his memory floods back and they return to the lab. She is set on helping Seefra where she failed before, deciding to undergo cerebral acceleration despite Dylan’s protests. They arrive to find the crew already there with all the systems up and running. Doyle leads her to a chair equipped with a halo-like device that will help pull the information from her mind as Harper mounts the repaired crystal. They activate the machine and Celine is visibly shaken, Dylan rushes to her side to release her but she refuses and dictates directions to Doyle who enters them into the computer. As the algorithms run up the screen, she sees that they are slightly off. Her superior’s original program was close enough to shatter Seefra-1’s gravitational field but not precise enough to control the planetary shift. Instead it turned the planet’s climate horribly arid and trapped her in the time loop. She calls out the adjustments and slumps in her chair, exhausted. Her vitals are dropping as Dylan rushes to the computer to finish the program, ordering everyone out of the lab in case of a disaster. He inserts the Methus Crystal into the control panel and watches as a portal of light opens up, shooting straight through the ceiling. He carries Celine to the surface and she wakes as they approach the now stabilized pillar of light. Though she wants to stay with him, she has run out of time in this life. They share a kiss before she steps into the portal that sends her back to the life stolen from her. The next day, Dylan is half-expecting her to come by when they all feel the ground shake violently as the planet re-aligns and the rains begin to pour down onto the delirious locals.
Trivia[]
- The title appears to be a variation on the karmic theory that "what goes around, comes around". This version incorporates the strange temporal-spatial situation of the Seefra System.
- This episode is similar to the movie "Groundhog Day", in which the main character repeats a day numerous times. The repeat-and-reset nature of this episode also bears resemblance to the "Star Trek Discovery" episode "Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad", and the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" episode "Cause and Effect".
- Based on the dates involved, Celine has repeated her time loop over 110,000 times.
Memorable Quotes[]
Celine: You're wondering why a woman from more than 300 years ago is standing before you. I could ask you the same question.
Dylan: You could but I'm not a woman.
Doyle: And that's supposed to be a joke? (doesn't understand)
Harper: Yeah. It's an old Earth joke but it gets me everytime.
Doyle: Maybe it's your delivery.
Harper: Everyone's a critic.
Beka: Oh, come on. Buck up. The last thing you need in your life is another beautiful brainy blonde.
Dylan: Yeah. That's the last thing I need.
Production Information[]
| Production Number: | 506 |
| Aired: | October 29, 2004 |
| Writer By: | John Whelpley |
| Directed By: | Jorge Montesi |
| Created By: | Gene Roddenberry |
| Developed By: | Robert Hewitt Wolfe |
| Executive Producers: | Majel Roddenberry Josanne B. Lovick Adam Haight Kevin Sorbo Bob Engels |
| Producer | Sherry Gorval |
| Production Designer | Brian Kane |
| Intro | The Universe is a dangerous place. But in our future my crew and I fight to make it safe. I am Dylan Hunt, Captain of the Andromeda Ascendant, and these are our adventures. |
Starring[]
Regular Cast[]
- Kevin Sorbo as Dylan Hunt
- Lisa Ryder as Beka Valentine
- Steve Bacic as Telemachus Rhade
- Gordon Michael Woolvett as Seamus Harper
- Laura Bertram as Trance Gemini
- Lexa Doig as Rommie
- Brandy Ledford as Doyle