Taggart's theory is that solar flares caused by the eclipse, or the 'Phoenix Effect', are to blame when people start to spontaneously combust. When Carter discovers that a blast of radiation from the artifact had penetrated the wall of the chamber and is actually to blame for the spontaneous combustion, it becomes a race against time to save the other two people exposed - Nathan and Kevin!

Carter suffers a blow to the head, and after arguing with Zoe, he suddenly finds himself in a parallel Eureka, where the residents seem to be mysteriously vanishing.