God’s Country

In the Year Five Journal for New Gods for Old, Keith Damron reveals the episode was actually commissioned for the fourth season. "The early version had Colin in the role of the nanite-infested Slider," he reveals. "But sometime after the initial purchase the story was shelved as the season arc veered off in a different direction."

"The reason we didn’t do it last season was that it held a certain similarity to one of our other episodes, so we couldn’t do them too closely together," says Marc Scott Zicree. “It will take some retooling now that the leads are different, but will still make a terrific episode, I think."

Alternatively referred to as God's Country, God in the Machine, and Semi-Colin, the fourth season adventure would eventually be rewritten as a character-driven vehicle for Mallory (Robert Floyd). But what happened in those earlier versions spoken of above? How different are they from what finally aired?

Below you'll find a brief synopsis of each version, along with a direct download to the documents pitched to production in 1997 and 1998. While the recipient of the Glow changes from draft to draft, the beats are largely the same. In a way, it's kind of impressive that Quinn, Colin, Rembrandt, and Mallory are so interchangeable in the role. What's less impressive is that writer David Gerrold's bona fides still weren't enough to get this made over The Chasm.

God's Country

Outline submitted December 11, 1997

The Sliders are on the run after Quinn expresses disbelief in a world under the thumb of the theocratic Double Cross religion. While fleeing, a church soldier shoots Quinn in the back, and he finds himself paralyzed on the next world. Fearful of his condition, he rejects Dr. Krislov's advice to seek out the Linkers—people with the technology to heal his injuries—and heads out of the village to their faire. As they travel Quinn and Colin get into a philosophical debate on the nature of God, with Colin supporting faith and Quinn leaning on science.

Krislov's twin brother Krislov-L greets them and offers to give Quinn back his legs—and more. "I welcome you and your friends. May you never thirst."

Krislov-L talks about the technology invented in the war between the Believers and the Linkers, including the "water of life" that is a combination of nanotechnology and biological engineering. He's also upfront about the hive mind that comes with drinking the water, but that the effects are temporary unless you drink enough water to make the connection permanent. Quinn's injuries will take one week to heal. He chooses to drink and passes out while the tranformation begins.

Once awake, the Sliders pepper Quinn with questions about the link he's now experiencing. They've learned Krislov was once part of the collective, but left when "he found out that the linkage is more than just a medical process. It's a transformational one." Still, Rembrandt is intrigued by the process.

Joe, an old man, approaches Krislov-L and asks to speak to his dead wife, who must have been part of the link before passing. Krislov-L is able to assume her persona and tell her husband she's okay, and that she hopes Joe will join her. Andrew, Joe's grandson, arrives and assaults Krislov-L for preying on Joe's vulnerability. After a charged confrontation, Joe abandons his grandson to join the link. This concerns the Sliders.

Now in recovery, Quinn sells the others on how he's feeling—and Rembrandt's biting. He drinks from the water and is transformed. Maggie and Colin back away instinctively; what are they going to do now?

"I come from a world where everybody had to be the, same," says Colin. I learned the value of being different. When you stand apart, Maggie, you see things that you can't see from inside. Maybe it is wonderful to be linked to everybody else—but right now, our job is to stand on the outside so Quinn can come back to us. And Remmy, too."

Quinn continues to heal, and the connection between him and Rembrandt continues to grow. Andrew warns Colin that the link will never let Quinn go. Looking for help, Colin and Maggie approach Dr. Krislov to learn how he was able to leave. Krislov talks about how the link was used to create efficient killing squads that knew each other's moves, and that using technology created to sever those connections would only lead to war again. Colin begs for his help, but that's a bridge Krislov isn't willing to cross. Back at the compound, Quinn and Rembrandt are able to cajole Maggie into drinking the waters as well. The link is now three, with only Colin trying to find a way to save them.

Krislov-L begins an immersion ceremony, where he will be bathed in the waters; Quinn, Rembrandt, and Maggie have gone to a place Colin "dare not follow." Krislov-L tries to convince Quinn his journey is over, that they should enter the tank together. Then the tank opens, and we see what immersion represents: the "naked nervous systems of every person who has ever joined the linkage, floating in a bath of nutrient solution." Joe's partially dissolved body is visible. Colin is horrified; Quinn is elated at what the transformation represents.

Colin steps into the tank, reveals a stun grenade, and detonates it. It flashes a red light that scrambles the linkage in the water; everyone in the link collapses. When they wake, they are enraged—Colin has broken the truce! Quinn, Maggie, and Rembrandt chase Colin back to the village, slowly coming to their senses. As they here violence erupting in the distance, the Sliders wax philosophical, open the vortex, and leave this world behind...

Semi-Colin

The Sliders flee the wrath of the Inquisition—but as they escape through the vortex, Colin is shot and paralyzed. While Quinn comforts his brother, Maggie and Rembrandt find a doctor, who tells them the Believers can heal him, at the cost of Colin's immortal soul.

Colin chooses to be healed by the Believers, and as the nanotechnology begins its work and connects Colin to the larger gestalt mind, he decides to stay as the glow would die without a larger collective. "The Sliders exchange a glance. Perfect. They grab Colin and take him through by force."

The story then largely plays out as aired.

God in the Machine

Outline submitted February 3, 1998

Rembrandt is critically injured when the Sliders escape a world "ruled by a strict theocracy that uses technology as 'the wrath of god' to keep an ignorant population living in fear." The story then largely plays out as aired; as Rembrandt looks back at the world they are leaving in the final moments, he wonders—was it real? Was it really God that he experienced? "He doesn't know. And he never will."