Number 878: The Farthest Man From Home: Destiny

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From 2/10/1961 ( premiere US TV series episode "The Twilight Zone"::"Twenty Two" ) To 1/26/2015 ( ) is 19708 days

From 11/2/1965 ( my known birth date in Antlers, Oklahoma, USA, as Kerry Wayne Burgess ) To 10/18/2019 ( ) is 19708 days

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DSC06914 sgu.jpg, illustration by Kerry Burgess

Stargate Universe - Human - television series Season 1 Episode 14 - Aired Apr 23, 2010 on Syfy

(from internet transcript)

[ the tv series episode begins ]

In his home on Earth, Nicholas Rush lies in bed on a sunny morning as birds sing outside. Lying on his side, he fondly looks at his wife sleeping beside him. Eventually he props himself up on one elbow and looks over the top of her to see the clock on her bedside table. It reads 6:46. Sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he picks up his spectacles from his own bedside table and puts them on, then flicks through his ever-present notebook to find a blank sheet and writes himself a note. Standing up, he leaves the bedroom.

Later, his wife comes into the kitchen and finds him sitting at the table and scribbling in his notebook. Classical music featuring a single violin is playing on the stereo. He takes no notice of her as she picks up the kettle and fills it with water, puts it onto the cooker and lights the gas under it. She turns back to him.

GLORIA (in an English accent): Have you seen my glasses?

(He glances around the kitchen briefly.)

RUSH: Breadbox.

(Immediately he lowers his head and gets back to his writing. She looks at him for a moment, then turns to the breadbox, picks up her spectacles from the top of it and puts them on.)

GLORIA: You're up early.

RUSH: Am I?

GLORIA: I thought we'd sleep in.

RUSH: I've got things to do.

GLORIA: Four o'clock?

RUSH (finally looking up at her): What?

GLORIA: Doctor Browning.

RUSH: Oh yeah, that's today. Right.

(Turning to a new page in his notebook, he writes the number four in the middle of the page, then follows it with three question marks and double-underlines the note. Gloria stares in hurt disbelief, then turns away to look for something in a wall cupboard. Nicholas looks at her back for a moment, then stands up, gathers together the various papers and notebooks which he has spread over the kitchen table and walks towards the door.)

RUSH: Listen, I, um, I won't be able to make it today.

GLORIA (hurt): Nicholas.

(He looks at her and shrugs.)

RUSH: Nothing to worry about.

(As the kettle begins to whistle loudly as it boils, he leaves the kitchen and walks to the closed door of his office at the front of the house. He opens the door and steps inside. All four walls of the small room are covered with hundreds of overlapping sheets of paper which are covered with notes and scribbles and calculations. There is also a whiteboard which is full of calculations. He goes inside, closes the door, opens one of his notebooks and turns to the whiteboard.)

LATER. Nicholas is standing in front of a class of university students.

RUSH: OK, who can tell me the significance of Shor's Algorithm?

(He nods to a student who has raised his hand, and the young man stands up.)

STUDENT: Uh, it's a quantum algorithm used for integer factorisation. It's important because it can - in theory - be used to break the widely used public-key cryptography scheme known as R.S.A.

(As Nicholas looks at the student, his view of the room is overlaid with an illuminated stream of Ancient symbols swarming towards him. The boy's voice fades and echoes as the symbols continue to flood towards Nicholas.)

STUDENT: R.S.A. is based on the assumption that factoring large numbers is computationally infeasible.

(Nicholas closes his eyes in confusion and pinches the bridge of his nose. The boy's voice comes back into focus as he continues.)

STUDENT: This assumption is valid for classical computers; no classical algorithm is known that can factor in polynomial time.

(He stops and waits as Nicholas continues to stand there with his eyes closed and his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose. After a moment he lowers his hand and opens his eyes.)

STUDENT (hesitantly): Professor Rush?

RUSH: Yeah. Very good.

(Putting his glasses on, he turns towards the blackboard.)

Later, Nicholas is walking down a busy hallway in the university as students swarm all around him. He is writing in his notebook as he goes. A woman runs along to catch him up.

CONSTANCE: Nicholas? Nicholas? What are you doing here?

RUSH (continuing to write): I'm sorry, Constance, not now.

CONSTANCE: I thought you were taking Gloria to the oncologist today.

RUSH: She wanted to go by herself.

CONSTANCE: That doesn't sound like her. Are you sure she really meant it?

RUSH: Oh yes, quite sure.

CONSTANCE: Nick, what's wrong with you? I thought you'd be worried sick!

RUSH: I am. Very concerned.

(Appearing completely unconcerned, he continues down the corridor, not even noticing that Constance has stopped and is staring after him in disbelief.)

Later, Nicholas is sitting in his office at the university. This room is in the same state as his office at home: covered in notes stuck all over the walls, and the large blackboard on one wall is full of calculations. As Nicholas gazes at the blackboard, the shining Ancient symbols swarm towards him again. Pulling his eyes away from the blackboard for a moment, he looks through the open door of his office at a closed metallic-looking door on the other side of the corridor. Frowning as if there's something not quite right about the door, he looks away just as his phone rings. He picks it up.

RUSH: Yes?

(Gloria has just got home and still has her coat on. She hesitates for a long moment before she speaks.)

GLORIA: It's back.

(Glancing at the blackboard, Nicholas sinks back in his chair.)

RUSH: I had a feeling.

GLORIA: You did? You ... you never said so.

RUSH: No.

(Despite the shocking news, he is still constantly glancing at the blackboard and jotting notes. Unaware of this, Gloria fights back her tears.)

GLORIA: I can't go through this again. I can't.

(She sniffles.)

GLORIA: Nick?

(Nicholas is scribbling frantically in his notebook.)

GLORIA: Nick, are you there?

RUSH (hurriedly): Yes, yes.

(She looks hurt at his brusqueness.)

GLORIA: Are you coming home?

(He lowers the phone for a moment as he stares at the blackboard and the swarm of Ancient symbols sweeping towards him. He turns and looks out of the office door again. On the other side of the corridor is just a wall. At the other end of the phone, Gloria is still awaiting his answer.)

GLORIA: Nick?

(He looks in anguish at the blackboard.)

RUSH (into the phone): Yes, soon, soon.

(Quickly putting the phone down, he returns his gaze to the blackboard. Gloria lowers her head in despair.)