*Nods* It's an idea I'd been toying around with for a while - what if the coin had said "no" and John had listened? Because SGC wouldn't let someone with that level of ATA gene sit stagnant as a taxi driver in Antarctica.

Yeah, one of the things behind the way this ended up is the fact that to the John on Earth, it looks like a no brainer that his doppleganger has the better life, but I'm not sure that's actually true. Yes, John has a place and a purpose, but he's also got a hell of a lot of guilt driving that purpose.