- "You're cute. And you're funny too. And you're a genius... And... you're a good friend."
- ―Chloe Armstrong
Eli Wallace is a male Tau'ri who was considered to be both a complete slacker, yet an utter genius, who could put his mind to anything he wanted including computers, mathematics, and video games. Due to his lack of confidence, he developed an acerbic sense of humor.
Biography
Early life
- "...And then some kid - some big child - with no meaningful education is gonna jump in at the last moment... and solve it just like that. No sense of ambition; spends most of his time playing ridiculous games, yet he's the genius I'll never be."
- ―Nicholas Rush on Eli's help with the Icarus Project
As a child, Eli once expressed an interest in being a vet, but apparently gave this up after his father stepped on a hamster that his mother had brought him to teach him responsibility when Eli left the cage door open, leaving him doubting his ability to cope with that kind of responsibility. When Eli was fourteen years old his mother, Maryann Wallace, contracted HIV working as a nurse, when she was trying to restrain a drug addict. His father, who could not deal with the stress, left both of them behind. From then on Eli's mother took sole responsibility for raising her son until the point where he left to study at MIT. Unfortunately, Eli dropped out and did not receive his degree. Prior to his dealings with the United States Air Force, Eli was unemployed and spent a large amount of time playing video games, namely Prometheus. He is a science-fiction fan who commonly referencing movies such as Planet of the Apes and Star Wars even when they are wildly out of context. For example, he made parallels between the ice planet, which the team was visiting as a last ditch effort to extract potable water and Hoth, right in the middle of an intense power struggle between Nicholas Rush and Everett Young.
2009
- "Give me a break, this is my second spaceship...and my first was yesterday."
- ―Eli Wallace
Sometime in 2009, Dr. Nicholas Rush and others placed an actual astro-physical Stargate problem into a video game to see if anyone outside the Stargate program could solve it. After a month of trying, Eli Wallace was able to solve this problem and gained the attention of Lieutenant General Jack O'Neill and Dr. Rush, who approached him about joining the program. At first, he believed they were after him for something, and claimed to have not been responsible for anything. However, they actually needed his help, and moments later, he was beamed aboard the Tau'ri vessel George Hammond, which was situated in Earth orbit. Rush presented him with an incentive to join the Stargate program: The Air Force would pay for his sick mother's medical bills and treatment. Eli agreed. (SGU: "Air, Part 1")
During the trip to the Icarus Base, Eli watched a very long instructional video (though it appears that there were several that were not shown to him), starring Daniel Jackson and was briefed on the Icarus Project. He also struck up a friendship with Chloe Armstrong which would later grow into a case of unrequited love on his part. He arrived at the Icarus Base and watched the first attempt to dial the Stargate's nine chevron address. When the base was attacked by a fleet of Ha'tak vessels and Death Gliders, he and the team were forced to evacuate. As military personnel dialed the Earth gate to escape, Eli helped Rush solve the mystery surrounding the ninth chevron, stating that the point of origin meant Earth, not the planet they're on. Rush impulsively dialed the ninth chevron address instead of the Earth address, which forced the personnel at Icarus Base to evacuate to the Ancient starship, Destiny, several billion light years away from Earth. Eli and the other evacuees are stranded as they do not have enough power to dial Earth and return home. (SGU: "Air, Part 1")
Once aboard the Destiny, Eli assisted Doctor Rush in locating the leaks responsible for draining the ship's air supply. He witnessed his first death when Senator Alan Armstrong sacrificed himself to seal the last leak. (SGU: "Air, Part 2")
He volunteered to travel to a desert planet with Matthew Scott, Ronald Greer, Andrea Palmer, Nicholas Rush, Jeremy Franklin and Curtis but quickly proved himself - though willing - less than capable of making the journey. Scott later put Eli in charge of one of two exploration teams, partly to cover more ground, but also so that Eli wouldn't slow him down. Eli was the only member of his team who decided to trust Rush and not go to another planet through the Stargate. (SGU: "Air, Part 3")
After discovering Kinos aboard Destiny Eli started recording himself walking around and describing parts of ship in case if someone else would find it. He also asked fellow crew members to record Kino messages about themselves (Kino, SGU: "Darkness", "Light")
Shortly after arrival in the Hoth system, Eli constructed a "hover board" using several Kinos, placed under a stretcher to achieve levitation. Colonel Young and Lieutenant Scott successfully used it to carry ice back through the Stargate to Destiny, and it was also used to carry Scott when he was injured on the planet. (SGU: "Water")
After Eli returned from his trip to Earth, Colonel Young asked him to run simulations and review Rush's calculations regarding dialling the Stargate within a star. Unfortunately, Eli couldn't find a solution that didn't end very badly. While reviewing Rush's work, Eli discovered that Rush had invented the story about an Icarus-Class planet in the database, spurring false hopes among the Destiny crew. It's also around this time Eli is seen practicing yoga with Chloe. (SGU: "Life")
A week later, Eli was among those present when Greer taste tested the Alien sweet potato. After discovering Sgt. Spencer dead, he was part of the group that started the search for the missing gun. He located the weapon in Col. Young's quarters, an action he regretted. He thoroughly investigated the footage of a searching Kino. When Franklin sat in the Destiny interface chair chair, he looked again. An error on a timestamp led him to discover the original video on his laptop contained footage of Spencer's suicide what exonerated Young. Eli also kept the video of Rush hiding the gun secret and helped Young to conceal the truth. (SGU: "Justice")
After Young marooned Dr. Rush on the Gravel pit planet, he put Eli in charge of figuring out everything Rush was working on. Eli operated Destiny's weapon systems during both battles with the Nakai. He disagreed with Young's order to use the main gun, as it would drain the shields, but complied anyway. (SGU: "Space")
During the mutiny, Eli sided with the military. He was exchanged to the civilians in return for food and water, both to prevent him from gaining control of Destiny's systems, and so he could help Rush transfer power to the shields. When the Nakai attacked, Eli once again operated the weapon systems. Eli did not go down to Eden. (SGU: "Divided", "Faith")
Eli, along with Chloe, Lt Scott, and Sgt Greer, went exploring a planet that obviously supported intelligent life at one point. When they explored an underground structure, Greer shot at a giant spider causing a cave-in and trapping them. After a while of digging the rescue team was forced to leave them stranded on the planet. They eventually found a way out and started to travel through the gates to try to catch up to Destiny. When they got to the last planet they missed the ship by a few seconds. They were able to make it back after Destiny was sabotaged. Eli subsequently aided Rush and Amanda Perry in repairing the FTL drive. (SGU: "Human", "Lost", "Sabotage")
When the Lucian Alliance invaded, Eli took refuge in the kino room with Chloe. After the Alliance managed to break through, Chloe and Eli escaped using an elevator that took them near the front of the ship. Chloe was shot in the leg during the escape. Eli carried her through the ship until they reached a working console. After contacting Rush, Eli was forced to leave to help Scott and Greer. Before he left he said "Whatever happens, you know, right?", kissed her on the cheek, and left. (SGU: "Incursion, Part 1", "Incursion, Part 2")
He arrived at the airlock but Scott and Greer were not inside. He assumed they did not make it in time but they moved to the underside of the ship and were protected from the radiation. Once the radiation had subsided, they entered the airlock and Eli let them inside. He and Chloe then met up with Nicholas Rush and Adam Brody. They then fled to the Hydroponics lab, and sealed the door to protect them from the radiation. Rush was able to convince the Alliance to lay down the weapons and return control to the expedition. (SGU: "Intervention")
Shortly after the invasion, he was part of a team that was sent to an unnamed planet in the Ancient shuttle to replenish the food and water supply. During reentry the shuttle lost power and crashed on the planet. After Scott and the rest of the team unburied the Stargate, he returned to Destiny. (SGU: "Aftermath")
During a subsequent return trip to Earth, Eli learned that his mother was in hospital as her disease had become worse due to her lack of knowledge about what had happened to him. After he was unable to convince her of his true identity, Eli called Camille Wray- also visiting Earth- to ask her for help. Reminding her superiors that they would never have found Destiny without Eli- to the extent that she described him as possibly the most important person on the ship-, Wray was able to arrange for Eli's mother to be given a chance to use the communication stones to see her son on board Destiny, Eli assuring his mother that he was doing everything he could to come home. (SGU: "Pathogen")
Later Camile Wray assigned Eli to work with a Lucian Alliance operative, Ginn, and go over different equations regarding the ship's power reserves. Eli quickly developed feelings for her and Sgt. Greer offered to help him take the initiative. One day Ginn discovered Eli's video log he recorded after last seeing his mother and felt a level of sympathy toward him. The two then became involved in an intimate relationship. (SGU: "Trial and Error")
Following the death of Ginn at the hands of Simeon, Eli became very dispondant and angry. He attempted to take a weapon from the armory and join Lt. Scott's team in hunting down Ginn's killer. When Colonel Young confronted Eli, he convinced Eli that he was not the sort of person who could take another persons life no matter what the cost and that if he did travel down that path, it would change who he is.
Afterwards, Eli was ordered to find a way to reset the Jump countdown so the Destiny could remain in range of the planet where Scott's team was hunting Simeon. After many failures and a number of Rush-like outbursts against other members of the Destiny expedition to achieve the same goal, Eli reluctantly allowed Chloe to assist in the job. (SGU: "Malice")
During the Drone attack on Destiny, Eli let Chloe know what was happening and was alarmed when she escaped. He then manned one of the consoles on the bridge and helped to control weapons. He came up with a plan to jam the Control Ship's link with the berzerker drones, allowing Destiny to approach and destroy the Control Ship. When they learned that a second Control Ship was coming, Eli came up with the idea to capture one of the drones so he and Rush could study it and succeeded in tricking the first wave of drones into attacking the second, buying the crew time to repair their shields and escape to FTL, although Eli expressed doubt about being able to jump with shields under ten percent power. (SGU: "Resurgence", "Deliverance")
As a result of the severe damage taken in the attack and the inability to repair it, Eli suggested trying to dial Earth from inside a star again, believing that he'd succeeded in figuring out how to do so safely with Ginn's help before her death. Eli switched bodies with Dr. Bill Lee to report his plan to Earth and got the go-ahead from Homeworld Command, despite Rush's reservations. Before an attempt could be made, a Dr. Nicholas Rush from twelve hours in the future showed up to warn the crew about making the attempt and Eli listened to his story and Young called off Eli's plan after learning that only Colonel David Telford made it home and everyone else died. Thanks to a raid on Future Rush's derelict Destiny the crew was able to get the parts they needed to repair Destiny so they could continue on. (SGU: "Twin Destinies")
Personality
When he was either seven or eight years old, when his grandfather passed away, he became aware of his own mortality, and ever since then, was scared at the thought that his consciousness would end, and not see what would happen in the world, thus making Eli question, or disbelieve the existence of an afterlife. (SGU: "Time")
Eli has expressed doubts about his ability to cope with responsibility,although he has shown himself to be capable when forced into difficult positions, such as when he found himself in control of Destiny's weapons during their first fight with the Nakai ships (SGU: "Space").
Although he lacks formal education, characters have compared him favourably to other geniuses in the employ of Stargate Command, such as Samantha Carter, Daniel Jackson, and Rodney McKay. Adam Brody admited to Bill Lee that Eli was the smartest person he knew, presumably including Rush in that, and asked Lee not to tell Eli, not realizing that it was Eli himself he admitted it to, although he claimed he was talking about Einstein since Eli didn't know exactly who he was talking about. (SGU: "Twin Destinies").
Relationships
Ginn
Ginn joined the crew after the Lucian Alliance launched their attack. She and Eli quickly formed a bond after she was chosen to stay behind on Destiny . Eli and her first kissed after she looked at his Kino recording of him after he had said goodbye to his mother . When Simeon killed Ginn,
Eli and Ginn
he demanded to be allowed to go to the planet that he had escaped to. He was overjoyed to find out that she her consciousness had not been lost, and suggested to her that they could use the chair to have a physical relationship and was devestated when he was forced to lock her away in quarantine. (SGU: "Trial and Error", "Malice", "Hope")
Chloe Armstrong
Chloe Armstrong thinks of Eli as a friend, but when they were first stranded on the ship, Eli wished for them to further their relationship. This idea was cut short when Chloe and Matthew Scott developed feelings for each other. Their relationship was strained after Chloe purposly distracted him during the Mutiny on Destiny, but Eli eventually forgave her. He still harbored feelings for her even after her relationship with Scott started while Chloe only considered him her truest friend, although she indicated that she was aware of what he really felt for her. Eli kissed Chloe on the cheek during the Lucian Alliance invasion of Destiny, but later turned his affections to Ginn and abandoned his feelings for Chloe. (SGU: "Darkness", "Light", "Divided", "Human", "Incursion, Part 2", "Trial and Error")
Nicholas Rush
Although Rush is much older than Eli, the two have worked together several times, first on the 9th chevron problem, and then many more times on different problems that occured on the Destiny. Eli first viewed Rush in some sort of awe, but later came to resent him on some topics, including the decision to not tell the crew about the bridge. Eli finally recognised that he was smarter than Rush, choosing to remain behind to fix the final stasis pod because he believed that Rush might remain out beyond the two week deadline. In return, Rush seems to respect his abilities as he has trusted Eli's calculations on several occasions and admitted that Eli had great potential that he wished not to see wasted. (SGU: "Air, Part 1", "Air, Part 2", "Air, Part 3", "Blockade", "Gauntlet", "The Greater Good", "Gauntlet")
Camile Wray
Despite the obvious contrast between his more 'slacker' attitude and her professional one, Camile Wray has shown a certain fondness for Eli over time. When the planet Eden was found, Eli and Camile seemed to develop a friendship over the course of the month they were in the solar system. Eli shared a fruit he secretly kept with her and the two sat on the observation deck couch together and discussed their thoughts on the recent discovery. When Eli's mother's illness took a turn for the worst due to her concern over her son, Wray convinced the IOA to waive policy and allow Mrs Wallace to use the communication stones so that she could see her son, arguing that Eli had earned the right to such a favour after unlocking the ninth chevron. When she discovered that Eli was involved with Ginn, a member of the Lucian Alliance who had become part of Destiny's crew after their recent invasion, she simply smiled after learning of the relationship despite the potential problems of such a connection (although the fact that she had originally introduced the two may have lessened her concerns about it). After Simeon killed Ginn, a worried Wray spoke to Eli about it and tried to get him to open up to her. (SGU: "Faith", "Pathogen", "Trial and Error", "The Greater Good", "Resurgence")
Alternate timelines
- In an alternate timeline, Eli was on the Jungle planet when the Squigglers attacked. Greer showed him how to use an M4 Rifle. He survived the first night, but was killed sometime later on. He recorded everything on a Kino which became useful to the crew from another reality were able to discover exactly what happened. (SGU: "Time")
- In a second alternate timeline, Eli and others went to the same Jungle planet and discovered the Kino sent through from the first timeline. They also found human remains, presumably those of Nicholas Rush who also went back in time when he jumped through the Gate. Eli and other senior members watched the Kino recordings and discovered the Hoth virus and the potential cure. Unfortunately by this time Chloe had already fallen ill. Eli, at her bedside, decided to confess all of his feelings towards her. She, along with James, Volker and Franklin were all killed by the virus in this timeline. (SGU: "Time")
Eli after ten years on planet Novus
- In a third alternate timeline, after discovering how to dial Earth from inside a star safely with Ginn's help, Eli planned to return home. However, when Dr. Nicholas Rush and Colonel Everett Young called for volunteers to remain behind and complete Destiny's mission, Eli volunteered to stay. Eli's plan worked, although unknown to the crew caused them to be thrown 12 hours back in time and Colonel David Telford safely made it through to Earth before the wormhole began to destabilize. Eli and Rush managed to fix the problem and all the evacuees left, but the ship's systems started to overload and everyone was forced to abandon ship, with Eli taking a Kino with him. Later Rush, who was forced to stay behind, learned that only Telford made it through to Earth and was led to believe that everyone else died in transit, including Eli but actually they had actually traveled approximately two thousand years into the past on a nearby planet , where they founded a new civilization. He kept his habit of recording events on kino and narrate them. On a record made 10 years after settling on Novus he mentioned that he has a son with Corporal Barnes. Eli also wrote many educational textbooks which were used to teach children in a classroom setting, and became a teacher, which Wray said he was wonderful at. His practice of recording everything continued to be a key practice 2000 years later. Sometime after his death, Eli's grandson would become principal of a new school building that was named after him. (SGU: "Twin Destinies", "Common Descent", "Epilogue")
Notes
- The best thing to do before entering a wormhole is to exhale, as the first instinct upon reaching the other side is to inhale. That said, Eli inhaled deeply and held his breath before entering his first wormhole. (SG1: "Prisoners", SGU: "Air, Part 1")
- When using the Ancient communication stones to speak to his mother, Eli goes under the alias 'Philip Fry'. This is the name of the main character of the animated science fiction/comedy series Futurama, a show by the same creators as The Simpsons, which is another animated series that has been referenced numerous times in the Stargate continuity. (SGU: "Earth")
- The name Eli is of Hebrew origin and means "uplifted, ascended". It also means "ascend" in Basque and in English.
Behind the scenes
Eli was originally given the surname of Hitchcock,[1] but this was later changed to Wallace before he appeared in Stargate Universe.[2]
External links
- Eli Wallace on the official MGM website. (backup link)
- Template:Syfy
- GateWorld's article on Eli Wallace in The Stargate Omnipedia
References and notes
| Military | Ronald Greer · Vanessa James · Tamara Johansen · Hunter Riley · Matthew Scott · David Telford · Everett Young |
| Civilian | Chloe Armstrong · Adam Brody · Lisa Park · Nicholas Rush · Dale Volker · Eli Wallace · Camile Wray |