Stargate Enermy and Ships
Daedalus
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The second generation of interstellar space craft developed by the United States military and its allies, and the pioneer in the Daedalus-class battlecruiser. Commanded by Colonel Steven Caldwell, her original mission was to render aid to the Atlantis expedition trapped in the Pegasus Galaxy and defeat a convoy of Wraith hive ships bent on destroying the Ancient city.
The Daedalus is armed with rail guns, Mark XIII tactical warheads and a bay of F-302 fighters. It also possesses Asgard shielding and transporter technology, but none of their weapons. To assure that these technologies are not abused an Asgard presence is aboard the ship at all times in the form of an engineering exper from their species. Presently that role is given to the Asgard Hermiod.
Propulsion consists of standard thrusters as well as an Asgard hyperdrive engine, capable of traveling one way between Earth and Atlantis in 18 days. The ship's primary mission is now to ferry personnel and supplies from Earth to Atlantis, and then to travel back again, but the Daedalus often stays in the vicinity of Atlantis for some time before making another loop
Extragalactic Ancient exploratory vessel launched from Earth several hundred thousand years ago, prior to when many Ancients began to focus on ascension.
Destiny, translated from its Ancient name, was designed to be a follow-up craft to numerous ships which preceded it in the universe. These other ships were sent out to gather data, resources, manufacture Stargates and deposit them on habitable worlds. Thus there may be hundreds to thousands of isolated Stargate networks in the universe.
Destiny possesses knowledge on the composition and resources of these worlds to aid the crew in retrieving the necessary supplies. All that is necessary are the proper queries to the database.
Destiny appears to be the reason the Ancients built Stargates with nine chevrons. According to what is presently known, only one nine-glyph combination is capable of connecting to the ship (like a telephone number). This makes sense, as the Destiny is always traveling through the universe and cannot be pinpointed by an address designed to seek out a specific point in three-dimensional space.
When the ship recognizes it is being contacted, Destiny drops out of its faster-than-light propulsion to allow the wormhole to connect.
Destiny's course is currently unalterable. It possesses at least two shuttles for short-range missions, but one is severely damaged. When stopping in range of a Stargate network the ship allots a specific number of hours to investigate the worlds in range. This too is unalterable.
Converted solar energy powers Destiny's systems. When low on fuel, the ship drops out of F.T.L. and pilots itself into a star, where energy collectors absorb the radiation. Despite this efficiency in design, Destiny is long past her expected operating lifespan, and her energy retention capacity is down to approximately 40 percent. This is believed to be insufficient for dialing a wormhole back to Earth.
Away teams not back aboard the ship by the time she re-enters F.T.L. become stranded, as most planets do not possess the massive power requirements to re-dial the ship.
Nicholas Rush risked the lives of more than 80 officers and visitors of Icarus Base to connect to the Destiny rather than return to Earth. While he has faith that the ship is their best hope at getting home, many believe the lives of the people are not his primary concern.
Cylindrical, multi-purpose craft created by the Ancients, and aerodynamically designed for transportation through Stargates.
Each mid-sized ship is armed with at lease six drone weapons, hidden in the drive pods that emerge from the ship's rear port and starboard sides. The drive pods themselves offer additional maneuverability and speed, and must be retracted into the sides of the ship in order for the vessel to fit through a Stargate.
The Puddle Jumper (nicknamed by Major John Sheppard -- its true Ancient name is unknown) possesses an invisibility cloak that, when engaged, makes the craft invisible to the naked eye and to advanced sensors. The cloak may be engaged when the ship is in flight, or when it has landed and powered down.
A large view port occupies the ship's forward section, with a smaller port at the stern for individuals in the back. The ship can support roughly a dozen individuals in the event of a rescue (including seats for the pilot and co-pilot in the forward compartment), though this is not recommended for extended travel time. There are no rest facilities aboard the craft, nor are there any emergency escape pods. A bulkhead may be closed to seperate the forward and rear compartments, and the rear contains junctions by which basic ship functions, such as drive pod control, may be accessed.
Though the Puddle Jumper can be piloted by hand controls, these may be secondary, as the craft interfaces with the mind of the pilot. On-screen geographical readouts as well as relevant technology may be immediately put at a pilot's disposal with a simple thought. A center console sits between the pilot and co-pilot seats and includes a modified dial-home device, allowing the ship to directly access a nearby Stargate and dial an address. Automated systems guide the ship through the event horizon when the ship draws within a few meters of the gate.
The craft is capable of impressive speeds -- but perhaps even more impressive are the breaking thrusters, which can bring the craft to a dead halt upon arriving through the Stargate into an extremely tight space, such as the Atlantis gate room. The ship must also therefore possess advanced inertial dampeners for the safety and comfort of its occupants.
The command tower in the city of Atlantis is equipped with at least one bay filled with Puddle Jumpers.
Small, ear-splitting interceptor craft piloted by at least one Wraith, though the exact numbers accomodated by each ship are not known. Each craft is capable of incredible speeds, and can travel from world to world through Stargates. Darts discharge the same blue paralyzing beams as that of standard Wraith stunner rifles.
The Wraith Dart can make its presence known by the way it sounds -- a deafening, high-pitched noise as it races by. It is equipped with a culling beam that transports targets to the ship and saves them in some form, be it energy or stasis in a cargo hold, to be returned to the hive ship for consumption by the hungry species.
A massive Wraith mothership, home to an untold number of Wraith who hibernate for centuries at a time. The large ships are capable of interstellar travel and of landing on the surface of a planet.
Most of the hive ship first encountered by the Atlantis expedition was concealed beneath the surface of their homeworld -- so much so that they did not realize it was a ship at all. It sat undisturbed on the surface for so long that tall trees grew on its dorsal surface. Only the Keeper and a small number of Wraith warriors were on guard to defend the sleeping race; when the Keeper was killed, the sleeping creatures began to awake.
The craft contains untold numbers of hibernation pods, and is equipped with at least one holding cell for individuals awaiting an audience with the Wraith before their life-force is consumed.
There are at least 21 hive ships in the same region of the Pegasus Galaxy that Atlantis is in, and at least 60 total.
Class of Ancient vessel in service during the first siege of Atlantis. The craft are defended with powerful shields and hyperspace engines, and armed with Ancient drones.
Three ships of this class have been discovered: the Aurora, Hippaforalkus (renamed Orion), and a ship still run by Lanteans who were returning home to Atlantis by near-lightspeed.
The second glider completely constructed by the U.S. Government, and the first to be the successful template for a series of spacecraft. The F-302 is renamed from the X-302 experimental class vessel. It is armed with advanced weaponry and is extremely durable.
The F-302 can be deconstructed and moved through the Stargate, to be reconstructed on the other side. It is propelled by two standard thrusters and one large booster rocket, as its predecessor. Colonel Jack O'Neill wanted to see what the craft was capable of, and successfully destroyed and evaded a three-pronged squadron of Goa'uld Death Gliders.
Like its predecessor, the F-302 cannot sustain a Hyperspace conduit for any extended period of time, due to the instability of Naquadria, used to power the hyperspace engine. But, also like its predecessor, it is capable of short bursts through hyperspace, covering several kilometers in an instant.
The F-302 fligh team aboard Prometheus was known as Blue Squadron, led by Colonel Cameron Mitchell during the battle over Antarctica. Blue Squadron was forced to divert to Caledonian territory when Prometheus was destroyed by an Ori satellite weapon.
A Goa'uld mothership, tetrahedral in shape. Ha'taks facilitate the transport of Goa'uld and their Jaffa armies.
Ha'taks are significant forces in attacking worlds from space, are capable of atmospheric flight and landing on a planet's surface. (Typically, pyramids are utilized as landing platforms.)
The Ha'tak is armed with powerful energy weapons, shields, ring transporters, and are capable of launching entire squadrons of death gliders. It utilizes crystal-based technology for ship's functions, and is built around a centralized engine room and a command bridge -- called the Pel'tac.
Massive Ori star craft capable of ferrying thongs of Ori warriors and their families into territories occupied by nonbelievers. its power source is not known. Activation is required by a Prior.
The warship's primary weapon, a parabolic indentation at the forward section of the craft, launches bursts of energy very similar to that of Ori satellite technology. These are fully capable of destroying Goa'uld Ha'tak-class motherships with a single shot. Smaller "pulse" weapons can fire from the ship at any side. Enough of these can also destroy a Goa'uld mothership.
Propulsion appears to be achieved via a ringed device which occupies the aft section of the craft. Powerful Ori shields protect the ship from all known forms of weaponry.
Living quarters appear to be located at the fore section, above the weapons array.
BRIDGE
The command center of the vessel, the bridge is maintained and flown by a Prior. At the center of the room sits a chair, not unlike the command interace which operates the Ancient defenses in Antarctica and Atlantis. The port side of the room includes numerous panels, as well as hardware which is compatible enough with Ancient hardware to be interfaced with Earth computers. The Orici herself is able to fly the ship remotely in the event the Prior becomes incapacitated.
ENGINE CORE
Little is known regarding the propulsion behind Ori technology. However, a core was discovered which appears to be responsible for the crafts ability to motivate itself. It is likely the technology possesses similar traits to Ancient ships such as their city ships, or Ancient warships.
ORICI CHAMBERS
At the very front of the ship is a room reserved exclusively for the Orici. Here she slumbers, is served her meals, and is tended to by servants. An observation portal lies at the forward section of her chambers, where she may look out onto the planet on which the craft has landed, and to issue commands to her subordinates. It is possible all Ori warships possess the same chamber for the Orici.
CHAPEL
Each Ori warship contains at least one chapel for ceremonial purposes such as Prostration. A large, bound copy of the Book of Origin sits upon a great altar at the center of this room. The chapel it likely secondary to the mission objectives of the Orici and her soldiers, who likely forgo Prostration in the event a battle of ground assault is ordered.
PERSONNEL CHAMBERS
Living space is provided for all personnel aboard Ori warships. Married couples are allowed to reside together. Single soldiers may possess only bunks and live in crew barracks, though this is not known.
Earth Deep Space Carrier, registry PB3865. Her first commander was Colonel Paul Emerson. Odyssey is the second Deep Space Carrier to enter service, only months behind the Daedalus.
With only 90 percent of her systems operating, the Odyssey was rushed into duty to rescue SG-1 from Worrel's control on P6G-452. Her shields were then tested in a brief conflict with the Lucian Alliance as Emerson stalled for time to allow SG-1 to complete their mission aboard Baal's mothership.
U.S.S. Odyssey likely assumed the duties of Prometheus, as that cruiser had recently been destroyed by an Ori satellite weapon. Several of that ship's crew, including Major Marks, transferred to the Odyssey.
The Odyssey was eventually followed by the Russian-manned Korolev. Both vessels fought side-by-side during the Ori fleet's first successful attempt to enter the Milky Way Galaxy. The Odyssey would later play a pivotal role in ending the war with the Ori when SG-1 took the ship into the enemy's home galaxy.
Wraith cruiser
Escort vessel for Wraith hive ships, substantially smaller in size compared to their counterparts. The primary purpose of the cruiser is for transporting and deploying ground assault teams.
Cruisers are armed with a number of Wraith weapons, but do not appear to have Dart bays. (If the hive ship is destroyed the Darts make kamikaze runs.)
Three cruisers attach themselves to the undercarriage of a hive ship while traveling with the mothership through hyperspace, likely to conserve energy.
In the event that all escorted hive ships are defeated the cruisers typically enter hyperspace to rejoin another fleet. It is not known if the ships are also required to make hyperspace "pit stops" like the hive ships.
Pyramid ship
An ancient Goa'uld mothership design, pyramidal in shape, which the parasitic race has used for thousands of years.
Ra himself used this type of craft to capture aboriginal humans from Earth many thousands of years ago. The vessels routinely use pyramids as their landing platforms on various planets -- which Daniel Jackson speculated was the reason for the construction of the pyramids.
Once landed, the pyramid ship's primary hull retracts into several distinct plates, as well as creating an optional "watch tower" at the top of the ship, presumably where the Goa'uld's throne room resides.
Pyramid ships are equipped with at least one set of transport rings, as well as at least one death glider bay. It is unknown if the vessel itself is armed with Goa'uld weapons, although this is highly likely.
Though this term describes a specific vessel class, it is also used as a general term for any Goa'uld ship that incorporates a pyramid into its design -- such as a Ha'tak.
Gadmeer terraformer
A massive vessel, roughly two miles across, capable of transforming the ecosystems of an entire planet to suit the needs of the sulfur-based Gadmeer species. The ship is much more than a terraformer: within it are the genetic records of countless species from the Gadmeer homeworld, as well as records of the race's entire history, art and culture. Upon the extinction of their species, the Gadmeer designed the ship so it could run entirely automated in search of a new homeworld, on which their civilization could be reborn.
In order for the terraformer to settle on a planet, 2,634 parameters had to be positively matched. It originally located the Enkaran homeworld, and would have chosen it, but three factores were incorrect: the core temperature was too warm, the size was too large, and there were intelligent lifeforms present. After scanning several million worlds throughout the universe for the correct specifications, it settled on the world to which SG-1 had settled a colony of Enkarans who had been enslaved by the Goa'uld. The Gadmeer and Enkarans need a very similar base environment because of each species' unique characteristics.
The terraformer launches enormous energy beams at the surface which destroys all the native organisms. Then it releases microbes which penetrate the soil, billowing sulfur dioxide. This is the foundation for the environment that will sustain the Gadmeer. From there, the ship can reintegrate the genetic stores to the surface to begin the rebuilding process. But once it begins the process, it does not have enough raw materials to stop and start again on another world. The computer-controlled vessel can also create an artificial lifeform of a species it analyzes, as it did with the Enkarans. The vessel is also equipped with matter transportation technology.
Wraith
A vampirous, hive-based species that harvest on the life-force of other beings for nourishment through suckers on their palms. Countless worlds in the Pegasus Galaxy live in constant fear of the Wraith, who return periodically to cull their human herds.
The Ancients first encountered the Wraith many thousands of years ago. At that time, the Ancients had established a vast network of Stargates with thousands of worlds in the Pegasus Galaxy, which they seeded with human life. They had never before encountered a race with technology that rivaled their own, until they met the Wraith.
Once awoken, the Wraith fed upon the people on these worlds -- until the city of Atlantis was all that remained untouched. The Wraith attacked Atlantis with their powerful weapons, but the Ancients' shield held. Defeated, the Ancients decided to submerge the city and leave through the Stargate to Earth.
The Wraith have a frighteningly efficient regenerative mechanism in their genetic makeup, allowing their bodies to heal themselves. Even bullet holes quickly seal themselves like evaporating water. Their regenerative abilities are so powerful that it is unlikely that the Wraith ever die from natural causes the way that humans do. The species also has advanced telepathic abilities: they can force their prey to see things that are not there, and can use their mental powers to forcefully interrogate humans.
The Wraith as a collective species go through long hibernation cycles, sometimes lasting centuries. Their massive hive ships contain untold numbers of hibernation pods. During this time only a small number of them move about, enough to keep their victim worlds on edge. The sleeping masses are watched over by the Keeper, one Wraith designated with their care whose death would signal their premature awakening -- as it did when she was killed by Major John Sheppard.
The Keeper interrogated Colonel Marshall Sumner and learned that a plentiful feeding ground -- Earth -- exists elsewhere in the universe, but she was unable to determine where. Upon her death, the entire hive reawakened. Now that the species is moving, feeding on planets throughout the Pegasus Galaxy, no one is safe.
The Wraith use stun weapons to incapacitate their prey, so that they can feed on their victims later. Their ships include the hive ships, which can land on planets during an extended hibernation cycle, and Wraith Darts -- small, fast-moving ships capable of travelling through Stargates and equipped with culling beams for transporting their prey aboard.
Wraith hive ships are governed by Queens who direct that specific vessel's mission. The Queens have a brittle relationship with one another, but regularly put this distrust aside to join forces and increase their success in a culling.
Ancients
The original "builders of roads," the Ancients were once a race of advanced humans who were the original architects of the Stargate network.
According to the Asgard, they moved on from our part of space long ago. In fact, the Ancients learned to ascend to a higher plane of existence when a great plague swept across the galaxy. Many died out, but those who learned to ascend shed their corporeal form gained a new sense of purpose.
The Ancients were once key members of an alliance of four great races in the galaxy, along with the Asgard, the Nox and the Furlings. The Ancients lived on Earth long ago -- or perhaps evolved on Earth itself, millions of years before our species did. One Ancient, Ayiana, was buried in ice in Antarctica for millions of years. Ayiana was left behind by the Ancients when they left Earth with the city of Atlantis, moving to the Pegasus Galaxy between five and 10 million years ago.
In Pegasus the Ancients seeded human life on many hundreds of worlds, as they had once done in our galaxy. They lived there for millions of years -- but then they came upon a planet where a powerful enemy slept. The Ancients had never before encountered a race with technology that rivaled their own. Awakened, the Wraith began feeding on the human-populated worlds, until only Atlantis remained untouched. The Wraith brought their powerful weapons to bear on the city, but the Ancients' shield held. Defeated, they submerged the great city into the ocean, and the last of them fled through the gate back to Earth. There they presumabley lived out their lives, telling stories that gave rise to the legend of the lost city. It is not known if these survivors ever ascended or had any contact with the ascended Ancients.
The Stargate network proves that the Ancients were one of the universe's most advanced species many millions of years ago, and had great minds into constructing a means to disperse many thousands of Stargates across the vastness of space -- even beyond our galaxy. They even had the technology to stop the movement of time itself (on several planets at once) and reverse it a number of hours, though they were unable to perfect that particular technology. Other advanced technologies left behind by the species include a device capable of altering human DNA to bring out advanced abilities, a healing device capable of restoring life and even animating non-living tissue, and more.
What is left of the Ancients, through gaining a higher moral center after ascension, is a hierarchy of somewhat omni-present, ethereal beings who feel they must remove themselves from interaction with all cultures beneath their non-corporeal plane. To merely interact with an individual beneath is breaking their law. Assisting a lower being in discovering ascension is punished by banishment. Meddling in circumstances that change the direction of a civilization is by far the most dire offense.
As punishment for breaking this law, the Ancients have been known to wipe out entire civilizations and abandon the one responsible (such as Orlin). They have also forced (or tried to force) transgressors to descend back to corporeal form. Ancients are, by every means, capable of drastically altering courses of events at will. But, aside from their often cruel behavior, the Ancients do possess a high moral center that governs the majority's actions.
Ascended beings have the ability to control weather conditions, turning a cloudless day into a hazardous lightning storm, and even using lightning as a weapon against enemies both in the air and on the ground.
Jaffa
Slaves of the Goa'uld, the Jaffa are humans from many different worlds, most of whom have been implanted with larval Goa'uld symbiotes. Jaffa have a great sense of honor and nobility backing their oppressed history. Due to their oppression by the Goa'uld, many have become strong and self-sufficient on the battlefield.
Though they are not especially superstitious, Jaffa are governed by strong religious beliefs. All believe in some form of afterlife. Goa'uld-serving Jaffa believe they will be greatly honored for their deeds in the afterlife. Rebel Jaffa believe their souls will be sent to Kheb, far beyond Goa'uld oppression, where their kalach (souls) will live without the prim'tah.
At the time of implantation (typically around 10 years of age), the Jaffa who are "honored" enough and possess a sufficient community status are granted the ceremony of the prim'tah, when the Goa'uld symbiote is implanted within a young warrior, granting him great strength and long life. Because of their genetic manipulation by the Goa'uld, Jaffa are forced to receive a symbiote upon reaching the Age of Prata (puberty), or die from a failing immune system. Without a symbiote, an adult Jaffa cannot survive more than a few hours.
When the Jaffa Teal'c betrayed his master Apophis and became shol'vah, many Jaffa began to question their beliefs that the Goa'uld were gods. Many were severely punished for going against the Goa'uld, but many survived to continue to bring others to the rebel cause -- the Jaffa Resistance, and the Hak'tyl resistance.
As the years passed, more Goa'uld were slain and more Jaffa began to recognize that their masters were nothing more than manipulative parasites. The introduction of a symbiote-based chemical called tretonin, later re-engineered without the need for symbiotes, proved that the Jaffa could survive in the absence of their oppressive masters.
The final blow was an all-out war between the Replicators and the Goa'uld, which devastated the Goa'uld dynasty. The Jaffa resistance took the opportunity to retake the temple at Dakara, a holy site where their enslavement began.
Without the Goa'uld, the Jaffa were faced with the prospect of freedom for the first time in their existence, and recognized that without government peace would be short-lived. Thus the Jaffa High Council was elected.
Despite meddling from the Goa'uld Baal, who managed to survive on Earth following the defeat of his race, and the destruction of the Dakara temple by the Ori, the Jaffa have become a thriving free society of men and women who may pursue a lifestyle away from the drums of war.
Goa'uld
One of the Milky Way Galaxy's most dominant species thousands of years, the Goa'uld are serpent parasites that forcibly take human hosts, and possess a thirst for power and worship. They have enslaved countless worlds, using their inhabitants as hosts, soldiers, miners, and personal slaves.
Biology and Development
The symbiotic creatures are birthed from asexual mothers, Goa'uld queens. In the process every newborn symbiote inherits the genetic memory of the one before it. It is approximately a decade after their creation before the Goa'uld are capable of being anything more than helpless, squealing snakes. They must be fed a steady electrical current in an aquatic container or incubated in pouches created in the abdomens of Jaffa, slave warriors in the service of the Goa'uld, to stay alive. After maturing, a symbiote is ready to take a host.
Physiologically, the Goa'uld differ somewhat from symbiote to symbiote. Younger Goa'uld tend to be far whiter with twin black eyes. The older and more mature, the more gray or green the serpents tend to be. The majority of the species has four bright eyes and short fins to propel them in an aquatic environment.
More mature symbiotes are capable of jumping significant distances, despite their form. Utilizing their powerful, four-pronged jaws, they burrow through the back of the neck (or through the soft tissue at the back of the mouth), wrapping themselves around the victim's upper spinal column and into the brain. Instantaneously the Goa'uld has control of the physical body, suppressing the original individual's consciousness.
Goa'uld symbiotes have incredible regenerative abilities and, with the aid of a sarcophagus, they are capable of living thousands of years in the body of a human host. Once a Goa'uld is old enough to begin utilizing its healing abilities, it is implanted within the incubating pouch of a Jaffa in a ceremony known as the prim'tah. (During the period the Goa'uld is within a Jaffa, the term "prim'tah" can also refer to the infant symbiote itself.) The Goa'uld and its Jaffa are unable to communicate by conventional means, unless the Jaffa is in a deep state of kelnorim meditation. On this level of the subconscious, the Goa'uld receives vital information necessary to repair most illnesses.
History
The origins of the Goa'uld lie on the planet designated P3X-888. Long ago the Goa'uld learned how to infest and possess the Unas, another species native to that world, and learned to operate the Stargate on their planet and leave.
For an untold number of years the species was supposedly a dying race, unable to find hosts for their serpent form to exist within -- until a few thousand years ago, when the Supreme System Lord Ra, in a desperate pilgrimage through space to uncover his species' salvation, stumbled upon a planet of primitive humans: Earth. Ra harvested among the primitives and took the body of a young boy, seeding the rest upon different worlds in the galaxy as slave laborers.
The Goa'uld created Jaffa to serve them, whom the Goa'uld queens transformed from normal humans. The Jaffa became incubators for the larvae form as well as serving as the army for their entire populations -- greatly increasing the symbiote's chances of surviving and successfully taking over a human host. It is even possible that the Goa'uld occupied Earth in ancient times, posing as the gods and goddesses of various civilizations.
Culture
The Goa'uld society was feudal in nature. Their hierarchy was governed by the System Lords, a few dozen of the most powerful Goa'uld who were usually warring with one another for worlds and resources. Despite their cruelty, there were several rules that most strictly follow. For instance, it was forbidden for two Goa'uld, within their host bodies, to sexually produce a child. The human child, called a Harcesis, possessed the Goa'uld genetic memory and was thus a great security risk.
The Goa'uld were opposed by the Tok'ra, a rebel subset of the species who, by nature of personal choice, differed from them on a philosophical level. The Tok'ra choose to co-exist with willing hosts, rather than take them by force.
The term "Goa'uld" is loosely used in that it is often mistaken as the primary definition of a symbiote; but the Tok'ra, who possess genetically identical creatures within, refuse to be known by the term "Goa'uld," believing it should only be used to define any symbiote demanding power and worship for themselves.
Without the Jaffa the Goa'uld were nothing more than parasites. To remain in control of the planets they conquered, the Goa'uld pose as various gods from Earth mythology, so that the masses (people whose ancestors were transplanted from Earth thousands of years ago) would follow and obey.
Final Years
During the final years of the last ruling dynasty, the Goa'uld began to show zero population growth, as the System Lords had literally been devouring symbiotes. Their desire for power and dominance, even over their Goa'uld brethren, was one of many reasons which led to their ultimate demise.
A major blow for the race came with the rebellion of the Jaffa [[Teal'c], who recognized the potential in the Tau'ri and chose to defect to them. Over the course of almost a decade Stargate Command and the Tok'ra worked to undermine Goa'uld authority. The Goa'uld, always overconfident, overestimated their chances.
The ultimate turning point was the arrival of the Replicators in the Milky Way Galaxy. The Goa'uld, whose tactics were unsuccessful against the mechanical "scourge," quickly lost their domains to the machines. The Replicators were defeated by the Dakara super-weapon at Dakara, but by then the damage to their dominion had been all but complete. The System Lords had been defeated, the remaining Goa'uld retreated and freedom was finally in the hands of the Jaffa.
Minor Goa'uld had to reevaluate their use in the new galactic landscape. The later arrival of the Ori provided them with a brief opportunity for a say, but ultimately this was not enough. Many Goa'uld now hide out on Earth in human beings responsible for governing many large firms and businesses, but are under the watchful eye of the N.I.D.
Replicators
Originally encountered by SG-1 as technologically advanced "bugs," the term "Replicator" refers to a number of different groups. They were originally engineered in nanite form by the Ancients in the Pegasus Galaxy as a weapon against the Wraith.
Programmed to replicate and evolve, they eventually emulated their creators by forming humanoid entities -- machines made up of many trillions of microscopic nanites. The Asuran race was born.
Thousands of years later the Replicators were reborn in the Milky Way Galaxy, when an android girl named Reese (presumably herself invented by an Ancient scientist) created more simplistic, spider-like "bugs" as toys to do her bidding ("Menace"). The insect-like Replicators are made up of much larger blocks, and continued to evolve and create Replicators in other, larger insect forms ("Enemies"). Eventually they discovered the deactivated Reese, and recognizing her as their creator they remade themselves in her image. Thus the first human-form Replicators, again made up of tiny nanites, were born in the Milky Way.
The insect-form Replicators are a keron-based technology, programmed with the objective of self-replication. Anything and everything that interferes with this plan of infestation, annihilation and duplication is immediately at risk.
Reese, a corrupt and childlike android, created the first insectoid Replicators to be her "toys," but they were also capable of defending her from threats. As their creator, she also passed on to them her own design flaw. As the inhabitants of her world feared the toys, and tried to destroy them, she ordered them to "replicate at all costs." She quickly lost control, and the Replicators annihilated her civilization, and her own creator in the process. After the Replicators left, Reese went into a deep depression and deactivated herself.
Replicators are composed of hundreds of individual blocks, which are comprised of whatever substance the original Replicator has consumed. It is unclear how many blocks make up a standard Replicator, but two Replicators are required to make a third, and thus exponential growth. It takes only a few blocks to replicate new blocks, and in a few hours Replicators can breed from a handful into hundreds.
There are different kinds of Replicators, depending on what the creatures require to achieve their goals. The most common was originally the "spider" Replicator, with four legs and wing-like flippers on its dorsal side. Another Replicator is much larger and insect-like, appearing in the general shape of a giant fly. It also has four legs, but enormous "wings" allowing it to roll on its back when it lands on the floor, then righting itself. It can also leap great distances.
A third type of Replicator is an assemblage of many thousands of Replicator blocks, which comprise a single, story-tall mother Replicator, capable of siphoning, regulating and energizing an enormous amount of power. Logically, the mother Replicator may also coordinate the activities of all other Replicators.
Replicators generally operate in groups, but it is unclear how their social structure is organized, and there seems to be no apparent means by which they transmit and receive information to and from one another. Despite this absence of information, they are very effective at cooperating with each other to achieve their objectives. If need be, Replicator blocks can simply form a "wall" to block aggressors who would impede their objectives.
Goa'uld and other energy weapons are incapable of stopping Replicators, though the sheer force of such a blast does "halt" them for less than a second. Human weapons, which launch projectiles, are much more effective, causing the blocks to break apart from one another. However, this can only solve problems for a few moments; the Replicators reassemble with a vengeance and come again. Once shot a second time, the blocks do not tend to reorganize.
Generally, Replicators will not attack unless they are threatened. They can, in fact, clamor over and past an individual without a hint of malice; but once they are fired upon, a vengeful subroutine in the Replicator makeup emerges, and the creature becomes a serious threat. Their highly acidic "spray," used to help break down metal alloys to create new blocks, is deadly.
Replicators migrated to the Ida Galaxy, where they were a serious threat to the technologically advanced Asgard empire. The Asgard exhausted all unilateral options within their arsenal of ships and weapons, and have come to Earth seeking help on more than one occasion.
The Asgard, through studying the android Reese, eventually located an additional command within her: "Come forth." The Asgard used this command on every known Replicator throughout the galaxies, and once they were all gathered in one place (the Asgard home planet, Halla), the Asgard intended to activate a time-dilation device and trap the Replicators in a time bubble. Unfortunately, the Replicators reversed the device before it could be activated, allotting themselves hundreds of years (in a matter of normal days, relatively speaking) to consume every technological component on the planet and conserve energy -- evolving into humanoid forms, made up of microscopic nanites rather than blocks. SG-1 infiltrated this world and successfully reversed the device with help from the Replicator Fifth, but not before billions of Replicator blocks were forged, covering the entire surface of Halla, perhaps miles beneath as well.
It took less than two years for the humanoid Replicators to escape the trap and resume their plans to destroy the Asgard empire and conquer the universe. Under the command of Fifth and his own creation, a Replicator duplicate of Samantha Carter, they sought neutronium, the raw material necessary to create more human-form Replicators. Replicator Carter soon turned on Fifth and destroyed him, taking control of the Replicator forces in the Milky Way.
The Replicators entered our galaxy and attacked the Goa'uld empire, crippling it. But SG-1 discovered an Ancient weapon on the planet Dakara, which they used to destroy all surviving Replicators throughout the Milky Way Galaxy. It was believed that the threat was gone once and for all until John Sheppard and the team from Earth's expedition to Atlantis met a massive, 10,000-year-old civilization of Replicators living in the Pegasus Galaxy. These are the original Replicators, the creation of the Ancients during their war with the Wraith.
Ori
A race of ascended entities who gained energy through the worship of mortal beings.
The Ori were once the same civilization as the Alterans, but (for want of a better term) believed in religion, where their brothers relied more heavily on science. A gap was eventually bridged between the cultures. In consequence the other Alterans left for the Milky Way Galaxy(to later be known as the Ancients).
The Ori used their ascension and knowledge of the universe as justification for praise and worship. They were still aware of the Ancients, and shunned them, for they abandoned the "path," and believed in the opposite philosophy. Not sharing the secrets of the universe to those on the lower planes of existence is an evil act and those who practice it must be eliminated.
The Ori conceived the Origin faith, one that placed them in the center of creation, and wrote down their guidelines in the Book of Origin to be administered to followers through Priors, missionaries and teachers of Origin.
Due to their numbers, the Ori possessed an equal level of power to the Ancients on the upper planes of existence. Dr. Daniel Jackson suspected that it was because of this deadlock in strength that the Ancients were able to prevent the Ori from the knowledge that the Milky Way galaxy is populated. But the Ancients will not stop free will, nor will they prevent unbelievers from converting.
The Ori used the Doci as their "mouthpiece" for communicating with lesser beings. They were to possess his body to spread their demands and will. During possession they could be identified with fiery eyes.
The entire purpose of Origin was a lie, as the Ori did not actually offer enlightenment. This was just a pretense to ensure the worship of lesser beings. This created a transfer of energy from the worshiper to the Ori. Only by having beings believe and worship in them could the Ori thrive, feeding off this energy field. When a believer died they were not taken to live among their gods, but instead unceremoniously winked out of existence. The Priors were not made aware of this truth, and most were so programmed in Origin that they were hopelessly lost.
The discovery of Merlin's weapon, a piece of technology capable of destroying ascended beings, proved to be the tide-turner for the struggle against the Ori. Using Merlin's knowledge Daniel Jackson rebuilt the device and sent it through to the Ori galaxy without interference from the Ancients. Once there the Ori themselves were annihilated.
This did not stop the human followers, however, and SG-1 traveled through the Ori supergate to Celestis to locate the Ark of Truth, and successfully brainwashed the Doci, his Priors and the followers under them of the Ori's true intentions.
Asgard
One of Earth's most powerful allies, the ancient and benevolent Asgard were aware of the Tau'ri for some time. They assumed the personae of Norse gods on many worlds, including Cimmeria (protected by Thor's Hammer), and K'Tau, a more progressive world but still heavily immersed in Norse beliefs.
The Asgard were once members of an ancient alliance with the Nox, the Furlings and the Ancients. The species was governed by the Asgard High Council, which monitored activity on protected worlds and formed decisions on actions taken against aggressors.
Physiologically, the Asgard averaged about one meter in height, with grayish skin tones, small, skinny limbs, large heads and black eyes -- bearing a striking resemblance to the Roswell Greys described in countless UFO abduction stories. The Asgard were incapable of meiosis (sexual reproduction) for thousands of years. They resorted to a solely enhanced mitosis (cloning) existence, forcing them down a path that eventually led to their extinction. Before that time, some Asgard took drastic steps to ensure the survival of the species, including kidnapping people from Earth to study human development.
Despite the Asgard's small physical stature, their size was no comparison to their intellect. They successfully developed a multitude of advanced technologies that dwarf those of the Goa'uld, including faster-than-light travel that can launch an Asgard vessel from one galaxy to another in minutes.
The Asgard established a Protected Planets Treaty with the Goa'uld System Lords, keeping planets such as Cimmeria, Earth and K'Tau safe from direct invasion. But the Goa'uld Anubis's advanced technologies (taken or adapted from the Ancients) rivaled the Asgard's, allowing him to eventually ignore the treaty altogether and render it unofficially void.
A chance encounter with Colonel Jack O'Neill of Earth forced the Asgard to reexamine humans and their role in the galaxy. They had studied human beings closely, determining that the species has great potential. However, O'Neill proved to them that humans were, in fact, ready to become a part of a bigger galactic picture, and the Asgard then designated him their representative from the human race.
All of the Asgard's technologies and intellectual capabilities forced them to a deadlock in a battle with an artificial species in their galaxy: the Replicators. The Asgard, having exhausted all possible alternatives, greatly depended on the Tau'ri to render aid to the species in attempting to defeat this enemy. It was ultimately the efforts of humans that put an end to the chapter of the Replicators permanently when the machines entered the Milky Way to wage war with the Goa'uld.
Through the potential of Jack O'Neill, the Asgard acknowledged that they considered humanity to be the fifth race. When their genetic degradation led to a point where their last attempt to halt it brought about a debilitating disease, they chose to put this to the test.
Before retreating to their planet, the Asgard endowed the Earth vessel Odyssey with a library computer containing the sum of their knowledge and technology. To prevent the rest of their technology from falling into the wrong hands, they detonated Orilla's core, completely irradiating the Asgard footprint from the universe -- or so it was believed.
More than a year later a splinter group of Asgard, who had broken off to solve their genetic degradation problem using less ethical means, were discovered in the Pegasus Galaxy. They were not surprised when they learned of the death of their brothers in the Othalla Galaxy, which seemed to only strengthen their resolve to fix their cloning problem by any means necessary.
The Races A-Z Index
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
P cont.
R
S
T
U
V
W
Z
