The Tomb (508)

[Dave2]

Plus if Marduk knew how to ring out of the tomb, why was he stuck in the sarcophagus?

[jelgate]

Didn't you watch the episode? It was sealed shut

[Dave2]

Yes, I did see it. But what is the purpose of sealing a sarcophagus as opposed to any other box, AND have a ringing device to get out of the tomb?

Didn't you watch the episode? It was sealed shut

[jelgate]

So the person inside can't get out

[fems]

And gets eaten over and over again, because the sarcophagus would keep them alive and heal the wounds while the creature stays alive as well and basically has an all you can eat buffet. It's a rather genius and cruel form of torture/revenge.

[Dave2]

You mean that the creature was stored with Marduk inside the sarcophagus?
In that case, what was the point of having the ringing transport system inside the tomb?

And gets eaten over and over again, because the sarcophagus would keep them alive and heal the wounds while the creature stays alive as well and basically has an all you can eat buffet. It's a rather genius and cruel form of torture/revenge.

[hedwig]

You mean that the creature was stored with Marduk inside the sarcophagus?
In that case, what was the point of having the ringing transport system inside the tomb?

It was there before Marduk got stuck in the sarcophagus. When Daniel read the history of the place, he said something about people seeing Marduk riding a beam of light from one place to another ... which immediately suggested to him ring transporters. And to quote Daniel it's a "ziggurat", not a tomb or pyramid. I think "The Tomb" simply referred to how many people had died in the thing.

[fems]

You mean that the creature was stored with Marduk inside the sarcophagus?

Yes, do you not listen to what they say?

DANIEL
Well, apparently, he was such an evil tyrant that his own priests rebelled against him. They sealed him in the sarcophagus and placed some thing in there with him. There's no direct translation for the word, but I'm assuming it's a reference to the creature that ate him.

CARTER
Are you saying he was eaten alive?

DANIEL
The sarcophagus would have done its best to continually keep him alive, so… it probably would have taken a while.

TOLINEV
(In Russian)
My God.

O'NEILL
Okay, that's officially the worst way to go.

TEAL'C
It would seem his fate is very well-deserved.

DANIEL
Marduk would have died eventually but the creature must have stayed alive in the sarcophagus until Major Kirensky and his men came along.

CARTER
They let it out; it killed them.

In that case, what was the point of having the ringing transport system inside the tomb?

Like Hedwig said, Daniel explained this too:

DANIEL
(a bit shaken)
I was going to say that I just finished translating a section of the text. It says that Marduk used to emerge from his temple and appear amongst his people riding a beam of white light.

CARTER
A ring transporter?

DANIEL
Yeah. And there's a good chance it might be right here in this room.


In the beginning of the episode Daniel mentioned the following:

O'NEILL
Have you figured out how to open that pyramid yet?

DANIEL
Ziggurat. And yes, I think I have. In order to expedite matters, the Russians e-mailed me the entire report of their archaeologist, Dr. Britski. The temple is dedicated to the Babylonian God, Marduk.

CARTER
And Marduk was a Goa'uld?

DANIEL
Well, it seems likely. The word "Babylon" literally means "Gate of the Gods," so if there is a connection, it wouldn't surprise me.


So, Marduk's followers hated his guts and to get rid of him they stuffed him in his own sarcophagus, in his own temple, with the creature in it and then closed it from the outside. Even if someone managed to open the sarcophagus the ziggurat was booby trapped to ensure the Goa'uld could not escape the temple (unless of course it also knew about the ring transport, knew where the hidden control panel was and how to activate it).

[Dave2]

I missed this part:
DANIEL
They sealed him in the sarcophagus and placed some thing in there with him. There's no direct translation for the word, but I'm assuming it's a reference to the creature that ate him.I also missed the idea that the zigurat was both a TEMPLE and a burial chamber. That's why I couldn't understand why there would be a ring transporter.....

While we're at it, what exactly was the nature of the device that the Russian colonel discovered on the body of Krensky and that the goa'uld Marduk wanted back from him??

[hedwig]

While we're at it, what exactly was the nature of the device that the Russian colonel discovered on the body of Krensky and that the goa'uld Marduk wanted back from him??

You'll find out when you get to Season 6, "Full Circle", but it seems to be a device that gives whoever has it and others a great deal more power than if they didn't have them.

And once again I have to ask why you want to know the answer to all these things before you get your answers in later episodes? You're spoiling later episodes with all these questions and wanting to know now what the answers are.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

You do seem to ask a lot of questions which are clearly explained in the episodes, or at least are easy to deduce with a bit of imagination! Concentrate, dude!

[Dave2]

How am I supposed to know whether something is covered in a later episode?

You'll find out when you get to Season 6, "Full Circle", but it seems to be a device that gives whoever has rtit and others a great deal more power than if they didn't have them.

And once again I have to ask why you want to know the answer to all these things before you get your answers in later episodes? You're spoiling later episodes with all these questions and wanting to know now what the answers are.

[fems]

Well, let's just say they're pretty good at continuity.

[hedwig]

How am I supposed to know whether something is covered in a later episode?

Wait and see? Like the rest of us did. I really don't want to know ahead of time how something works out. So the key is patience.

[Dave2]

Seriously, then, you are suggesting that we all wait to go through 10 years of episodes before wondering about issues on a given episode? Even this website has episode pages where questions are asked, although they are probably all questions that are never answered on the show itself.

Wait and see? Like the rest of us did. I really don't want to know ahead of time how something works out. So the key is patience.