"On my planet, we didn't either, until I came to Earth," he says, raising his voice a little so Sam can hear. "But ... I wouldn't trade exploring for anything."

He'd joined the Stargate Program as a way of trying to help his own people not destroy themselves through ignorance of the world out there, but it turned into so much more. He'd had no idea of the potential that was out there until he saw it.

He grins at Sheppard.

"You're the first person I've met here who's even heard of them."

What Sheppard says next makes him frown, though. "We haven't sent anyone to anywhere called Atlantis. That's out of an Earth myth."