Colson Industries
Summary
Colson Industries was a large global conglomerate created by American businessman, Alec Colson. Several of its companies were involved with government contracts that dealt with alien technology. (8.08 "Covenant")
Stargate References
When he was 24, Alec Colson's wife and daughter were killed in a plane crash. From then on out, he vowed that he'd make air travel safer and created Colson Aviation. Over time, Colson created several other companies: Biovail, a bio-tech research company; a communications and weather mapping satellite development company; and a wreckage salvaging company.
Biovail was given the contract by the Department of Defense to sequence DNA. It wasn't revealed to them that the DNA belonged to an Asgard and that the government was trying to help the aliens with their cloning problem (5.22 "Revelations").
Colson himself was considered a high security risk, so he was never considered for disclosure. His curiosity led to Biovail's creation of an actual Asgard clone using the DNA strands they were assigned to sequence. On top of this, Colson's satellites had recorded images of Anubis' fleet over Earth and one of his companies was involved in salvaging Goa'uld ship wreckage from Antarctica (7.22 "Lost City Part 2"). Putting all of this evidence together, Colson decided to go public and announce that alien life did exist and the that world's governments were keeping that knowledge from their people. His challenge was met with silence, so 24 hours after his initial press conference, he revealed his Asgard clone.
Colson's nature was not geared toward business as was his life-long friend Brian Volger's. Volger was the COO of Colson Industries, and he kept warning Colson that blackmailing the governments of the world was the wrong approach. Always it had been that Colson would rush in with some idea and Volger would be left to pick up the pieces. As a matter of fact, Colson Industries was suffering financially and the only thing keeping them afloat was the value of their stocks. With Colson's public disclosure, the stock market began to plummet. Confidence in Colson had reached an all-time low. Volger was guilty of "doctoring" the books, and soon the company came under investigation by the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) for securities fraud. Both Volger and Colson were looking at prison sentences if found guilty.
Someone had to tip the SEC to investigate Colson Industries. It just so happened that The Trust had found out about all the evidence Colson had about alien life and Anubis' attack and felt he was a threat to their very operations. They were operating "above the law" in protecting the planet and felt that everything needed to be kept a secret. The Trust threatened Volger, but Volger didn't tell Colson. Instead, he did everything he could to stop Colson from informing the public about alien life and the danger that Earth was in practically every day from alien attack. Unfortunately, when he failed to keep Colson silent, an attempt to kill both him and Colson was made by sabotaging their private airplane. If The Trust wanted them to die in an airplane crash, they could have certainly had made it so. More than likely, the rough landing was merely a warning for Colson not to go through with his second press conference.
After Colson's revelation of the Asgard in front of live television cameras, though, The Trust informed the SEC that Colson Industries was conducting securities fraud. The companies were about to go under. Volger volunteered to wear a wire to his next meeting with his Trust contact, but apparently committed suicide by hanging himself before the meeting could take place.
O'Neill informed Thor of the Asgard about the clone and Thor beamed it and all of the computers containing the genetic research directly out of the lab. The body would be used for an Asgard who needed a new one. Additionally, Thor helped Carter discredit Colson's proof of alien life by using his holographic technology to project his own identical-to-the-clone image in a televised segment. Carter quipped that the technology would probably be seen in amusement parks soon.
The companies were in serious trouble after all of this negative publicity and the SEC investigation, but the U.S. government made an arrangement to take care of the employees and their families. Colson, whose MEC (multiple engine control system) design was used to build the F-302s, was given a second chance to save the world, but this time, he'd do it in secret and in safety at the Alpha Site.
Episodes
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Actors
- Charles G. Shaughnessy as Alec Colson
- Tom O'Brien as Brian Vogler
- Ingrid Torrance as Staffer
--DeeKayP 19:12, 2 Sep 2004 (PDT)