PAST MISTAKES

By Enola Jones



Carson Beckett was a geneticist. Since he'd come to Atlantis, he'd altered the genetic codes of many, many people.

He had altered several of the Atlantis personnel so they could use the ATA gene. The most successful of those was Rodney McKay.

He carried a cloud of guilt over him for the alteration of a Wraith into a human. Had it worked, it would have been marvelous. But it hadn't, and that set in motion a chain of events that tormented Atlantis – and Beckett-- to the present day.

Nobody ever asked how Carson got so good at genetics. And he wouldn't have told them anyway.

He was on the Stargate program in exchange for information only he had. He had been the right-hand man – when he was in uni – to a Doctor Martin.

Martin had an obsession. He wanted to create super-powered clones. He chose to get the genetic material from the four Elementals that had arrived on the scene in the late sixties.

Carson had started to question what they were doing when Martin had informed him in September of 1984 they had the Air Elemental, injured in a battle. They were gong to get genetic material from him, and thus complete their collection.

But when Carson got to the hospital, instead of an injured Air Elemental, he found Who guitarist Pete Townshend laying on the bed with massive burns on his lower chest.

“There he is,” Martin ordered. “Get the sample.”

And Carson realised – this was no mistake. The Elementals were the Who.

But he never revealed his knowledge – to anyone. He merely took the sample, bending over Townshend as he did so.

“Heal, please...” he whispered.

He was rewarded with the eyes opening slightly. They flashed slightly and turned blue on blue -- a pupil in a sea of blue. Light blue streaks appeared in his hair. Then his eyes closed and he slid back into sleep.

Carson petted his arm as he stood up.

He worked side by side with Martin to create and empower the clones – only to be horrified to find that Martin intended them to be used for evil. The clones relished their roles even as Carson was increasingly repulsed by it all.

Years later, he would be horrified to find history repeating itself with a Wraith named Michael.

His consolation through all of this – betraying Martin, going to Atlantis – all of it – was that Pete Townshend had survived his horrific injury with nothing more than a few scars and a hell of a story to tell.

And sadly, four new enemies created partially by Carson Beckett.

THE END




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