Wow, I loved this. I loved this so much. The explination slowly unfolded, with all the different pieces fitting neatly into their places, everything creating so much coherency. I think you do a beautiful job of showing the various weaknesses of the Atlanteans; John with his helplessness, Elizabeth with her focus on power and Rodney's quest for knowledge. It is almost allegorical, I really love it.

Also, this was effective enough that I'm contemplating the possible future for this universe where John kills Rodney and I'm totally digging that. That's strange, freaky and frankly, insidious.