On his blog, Mallozzi wrote at length about the different directions the season 2 finale took before finalizing the version of events we know, with Rush initially intended to be the one awake on the ship and being psychologically impacted by the experience. However, this was changed, as the implications of a happily solitary, self-sufficient person like Rush being negatively impacted by extended isolation were not nearly as compelling as that of someone who actively craved a sense of community. Thus Eli came to bear the weight of this sacrifice, and Mallozzi proposed six scenarios that could resolve the tension evoked by the season 2 finale:
#1. POD-FIXING AND STASIS
The most straightforward solution to the issue is that Eli succeeds in fixing his faulty pod and goes into stasis, but this event occurs after a time jump of several years. Mallozzi talks about the rest of the crew waking up “three to one thousand years later,” which could have completely recontextualized the temporal framework of the series.
#2. POWER-REROUTING AND ISOLATION
Alternatively, Eli could have taken advantage of the ship’s unique structure by rerouting the craft’s power to a lone shuttle, which could have helped him stay awake for three years. While this is a very challenging survival situation akin to the one in “The Martian,” it would have made for an interesting opener for the next season.
#3. ELI’S CONSCIOUSNESS LIVES ON
The ship has a powerful mega-computer, through which Eli could stay alive by uploading his consciousness. This route would undoubtedly have been controversial, as it completely changes how the character is perceived, but raises pertinent questions about existence and mankind’s persistence.
#4 & #5. OUTSIDE RESCUE OPERATION
What’s a better deus-ex-machina than an intervention from Earth, who could send a rescue team via the Stargate? With the ship being off-radar for years, the good folks on Earth would probably have helped solve the crisis, with experts like Samantha Carter or Rodney McKay taking the initiative. Conversely, an alien race could stumble upon the slumbering ship and either a) take over the craft and threaten to eliminate the crew, or b) offer help with power recharging, allowing Eli to enter stasis without worrying about himself or the crew.
Apart from these Eli-focused routes, Mallozzi also talked about some twists that could have been cool, such as the Novans — human descendants who are duplicates of the crew sent back in time — coming to the ship’s rescue. “They save us but their motives turn out to be less than honorable, as it turns out, they have designs on Destiny,” Mallozzi writes, while stating that this scenario was one of his personal favorites. Although these ideas are just dreams now, it is fun to speculate about a future that was not allowed to bloom and is forever frozen in stasis. Solana Token Creator
