Ancients (Stargate)
The Ancients are a species that feature in Stargate.
Contents |
History
Origin
The Ancients were a race of advanced humans that existed in the universe and were the first evolution of that form. (SG1: Full Circle) Originally, they were known as the Altera who resided in a distant galaxy where they were he first evolution of the human form. (SG1: Avalon, Part 2) In time, a growing philosophical difference emerged among their kind between one faction that sought peaceful enlightenment and another known as the Ori. (SG1: Origin, Part 3) Millions of years ago, the Altera gathered in the Ortus Mallum region of their home galaxy. During this time, the Ori had gathered their armies in an effort to wipe out their opposition. They sought to destroy any evidence that opposed their fanatical beliefs. During this time, they had created the Ark of Truth but decided not to use it as it would have indoctrinated the Ori with this being against their beliefs. Instead, they decided to abandon their galaxy and seek a life elsewhere in the universe. (Movie: The Ark of Truth) Thus, they went through a long journey across the universe with the Alterans eventually arriving in what became known as the Milky Way Galaxy which they referred to as Avalon where thousands of years ago they found a great belt of stars that they decided to call their new home. Upon settling this new area of space, they began to construct many Astria Porta that became their Stargate network. (SG1: Avalon, Part 2) The first landing place for the Alteran starship in the Milky Way was on the planet Dakara. (Stargate: The Ark of Truth)
At some unknown point, they came to had encountered a number of other highly advanced races with these including the Asgard, the Nox and the Furlings. This led to them establishing an enclave on a world known as P3X-972 that was to be a meeting place for the four races. A library was present that used a universal language that depicted by way of pictorals the basic elements of the period table with this serving as the meaning of life itself. (SG1: The Torment Of Tantalus) According to the Asgard, the Ancients had moved from their region of space a long time ago. (SG1: The Fifth Race)
They were eventually stricken by a terrible plague that began to wipe out their kind in the galaxy whereby many learnt to ascend whilst others began to die out. (SG1: Full Circle) Several million years ago, the Ancients gathered at their city ship of Atlantis where they decided to depart the galaxy to start their civilization again. It was believed that they had departed the Milky Way between five and ten million years ago. This led to the survivors leaving and heading towards the Pegasus Galaxy. (SGA: Rising) During this time, they were known to had conducted experiments in achieving Ascension. (SGA: Hide And Seek)
The Ancients in the Pegasus Galaxy from the city-ship Atlantis seeded the galaxy with humanity and unwittingly created a new enemy called the Wraith. The Wraith were the result of the blending of the DNA of the iratus bug and humans. This blending resulted in the Wraith's need to feed on humans for their own survival. (SGA: Rising)
Lantian Ancients also decided that they had interact with their human creation so that they could exchange knowledge and friendship. Some of this interaction, however, was much more on the experimental level: they seeded human settlements on several planets and linked to them with a computer interface from which the people were given instructions on how to build their societies. Each planet in this 'sociological experiment' had an array of 100 satellites that communicated with a control center in a building on the east side of Atlantis. The people looked to their 'oracle', whom they deemed a deity, for guidance all the way down to how to dress and how far to develop. This experiment is in sharp contrast to the non-interference rules of the Lantians' ascended brethren who had joined in the collective of The Others. (SGA: The Game)
At some point, the Ancients made a discovery regarding cosmic microwave background radiation that was the noise left over from the Big Bang. They found evidence of a structure buried deep within the background radiation and believed the structure contained genuine complexity and coherence that meant that it could not have occurred naturally. Thus, they determined that this was a sign of intelligence from the beginning of time and desired to uncover the beings responsible for it. It was this question that led to them launching the Destiny with a mission at finding the mystery rooted in the foundation of reality with clues into uncovering the truth being scattered across the universe itself. (SGU: The Greater Good)
It was the intention of the Ancients to leave the Destiny unmanned and later use the Stargates to travel to the vessel during its journey. However, it was believed the the discovery of Ascension led to them abandoning this exploration initiative. (SGU: Air, Part 2)
Ascension
The plague was notable for sweeping across the galaxy and wiping out the Ancients. Many came to learn to ascend whilst the rest died out. (SG1: Full Circle) After Ascension, the Ancients began to shield the existence of the human races they had created from the Ori. (SG1: Origin, Part 3)
For many years, a lone Ascended named Oma Desala came to reside on the planet Kheb where she helped people on the path to Ascension despite the rules of the Others. One day, she was visited by a Goa'uld named Anubis who was badly injured by his rivals. He came to convince her to help him ascend where she came to realise her mistake too late and was unable to undo the process. This forced the Others to intervene where they tried to push Anubis back to the physical plane but instead left him in a half Ascended state thus denying him the full extent of his powers. Despite that, he was allowed to conduct any act that he would have done so as a Goa'uld. This was done so as punishment to Oma Desala for her defiance of their rules. (SG1: Threads)
The plague that killed off many of the Ancients had been speculated about over the course of SG-1's first years of exploration, but was not a definite event until Daniel discovered a tablet on Abydos written in one of the oldest dialects of the Ancients' language. This tablet provided some additional information about the Ancients who lived in the Milky Way: the Ancients were a race of humans who lived long before us; some of them learned to ascend to a higher plane of existence; those who did not ascend died of the plague. From this tablet, Daniel concluded that the collective of Ascended Beings known as The Others, were the ascended Ancients. (SG1: Full Circle)
After the war, the Stargate Program was able to resume exploration and that included figuring out the nine-chevron Stargate address of Destiny. Apparently, the Ancients included the code without providing information about what it was to be used for, so when the Icarus Project succeeded in dialing the code, they were surprised that they ended up on an extremely dilapidated, but still mostly functional, exploratory ship. Unfortunately, because of the great distance the Destiny had traveled over the millions of years since it was launched and the ship's substandard energy reserves, there is not enough power for the marooned crew to dial the Stargate back to Earth. Making things even more complicated was the attack on and loss of Icarus Base, the only place in the Milky Way that was powerful enough to dial the Stargate to Destiny. Additionally, password codes are needed by the crew to unlock its navigation, but until they are discovered, the crew is at the mercy of the Destiny's automated course, which only allows for brief stops to the worlds on which Stargates were planted. Fortunately, the use of Earth's version of the Ancient Communications Stones and Terminal allows contact with people back home, but for now, the approximately 80-member crew's highest priority is that of survival. (SGU: Air)
Overview
Biology
In appearance, the Ancients were a race of humans that were the first to had attained this form. (SG1: Full Circle) They were originally known as the Altera but in time came to be referred to as the Ancients and as the Gate Builders. (SG1: Avalon, Part 2) In their own language, they were known as the Anqueetus and were referred to as the teacher of the roads due to their role in building the Stargates. (SG1: The Fifth Race) To the humans of the Pegasus Galaxy, the race were referred to as the Ancestors. (SGA: Rising, Part 2)
They were said to ha evolved from a race of humans that lived long before those on Earth. (SG1: Full Circle)
At some point, they were note to had learnt the ability of Ascension where they came to become beings of energy that resided on a higher plane of existence. (SG1: Full Circle) Such was their power that they could destroy multiple starships and their fleet of fighters that could threaten a world. (SGA: Sanctuary)
Society
Alterans believed in the systematic understanding of the physical world through observation and experimentation. They believed that others could be persuaded through argument and debate. An important tenet of their kind was the sanctity of freedom of will and thus they opposed to any forced indoctrination with them unwilling to compromise this devotion even if it was an act to preserve it. (Movie: The Ark of Truth) Thus, they protected the denizens of the lower planes from being discovered by the Ori but allowed them to freely worship the Ori if they chose of their own free will. (SG1: Origin, Part 3)
They were held as the most powerful race to had ever inhabited the Milky Way Galaxy. (SG1: Avalon, Part 2)
A group of powerful Ascended Ancients were referred to as the Others. (SG1: Full Circle) Their highest law was to never interfere in the physical realms with all Ascended beings bound by those laws. (SGA: Sanctuary)
The Gate Builders were known to possess their own language that resembled a form of Latin. (SG1: The Fifth Race) It was known to possess multiple dialects some of which were older than others. (SG1: Full Circle)
Technology
There was much redundancy in Ancient technology that made it dangerous to experiment on them. Ancient systems were said to be highly advanced to the point that they did not allow for pilot error to occur. (SGA: Thirty-Eight Minutes)
This Ancient Technology Activation (A.T.A) was caused by a single gene that was always active and instructing the various cells in the body to produce a series of proteins and enzymes that interacted with the skin, nervous system and the brain. There was some variation on the use of the gene as some Ancient technology required the use to possess it whilst others simply needed the gene to initialise it whereupon after activation anyone could operate the controls. (SGA: Hide and Seek) It was believed that its development came as a result of conflict with the Wraith where they were designed as a security feature to prevent their enemy from accessing their technology. (SGA: The Defiant One)
A form of communication device was an altar shaped terminal that had stone tablets on it that worked in conjunction with it. These stones when attached to their users linked them psychically allowing them to see through each others eyes. (SG1: Avalon, Part 2)
The devices primary purpose was to heal but was so powerful that the effects of it on a human were ultimately proved devastating. (SG1: Evolution, Part 1)
They developed an internal-external biometric sensory array that allowed them to distinguish life-signs over a local area. (SGA: Sanctuary)
In terms of weapons, the Ancients made use of Drone weapons that were controlled through the chair rooms. (SGA: Rising)
Energy requirements were fulfilled through the use of Zero-Point Modules that generated enormous power from vacuum energy derived from a self-contained region of subspace time. (SGA: Rising, Part 1)
Ancient vessels came to incorporate inertial dampeners that prevented the occupants from being crushed to death by the ships rate of acceleration. (SGA: Suspicion) It was possible to alter the inertial dampener to increase the weigh of the ship to root it to the ground and prevent it from being blown away by strong winds. (SGA: The Eye)
These unmanned vessels were programmed to gather data, resources, manufacture Stargates and deposit them on habitable worlds. Any relevant information was relayed back to help in plotting the journey of any exploration ships. (SGU: Air, Part 2)
The Ancients had developed large weapons platforms the size of a Goa'uld Mothership that were designed to destroy enemy capital ships. (SGA: The Defiant One)
It was shown that their transformation into energy beings was the result of evolutionary intervention via experiments they conducted into Ascension. (SGA: Hide And Seek)
These archives were able to store the entirety of the knowledge of the Ancients. However, ordinary human physiology was not advanced to the point where their brains could handle the technology. (SG1: The Fifth Race)
Members
- Amelius :
- Janus :
- Merlin :
- Morgan Le Fay :
- Chaya Sar : a female Lantean who lived on Proculis when she Ascended but was unable to leave her ties to the humans she cared for leading to her being exiled to live out her existence as protector of that world. She came to be worshipped by the natives as a god named Athar with them not aware of her true nature and her guise as Chaya Sar. (SGA: Sanctuary)
Notes
- The Ancients featured in the setting of Stargate SG-1.
- Their existence was revealed in the second season episode "The Fifth Race" where they were identified by name.
- The sixth season finale "Full Circle" established that the Ascended Others were the same race as the Ancients.
Appearances
- Stargate: SG-1:
- Stargate: Atlantis:
- Stargate Universe:
External Links
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