Mythology of Stargate

Most planets in the Stargate universe are populated by humans. This is largely because, in the distant past, the alien race known as the Goa'uld came to Earth and, posing as the Egyptian Gods, forced thousands of slaves to worship them. Humans were taken from Earth (by the Goa'uld), to other planets in the Milky Way, to perform forced labour for their "gods" (e.g., mining the rare (and fictitious) mineral naqahdah). After a rebellion on Earth, the Goa'uld fled, and indeed many of the peoples who were drafted to extraterrestrial planets also managed to free themselves of the Goa'uld - either by the Goa'uld losing interest in them, or by instigating a strong enough rebellion. For these reasons, humans of Earth are called the Tau'ri, meaning "those of the first world", whilst there are innumerable extraterrestrial human civilizations, often the only surviving remnants of ancient civilizations.

Aside from the abundance of human life throughout the Stargate universe, there is also a diversity of alien life. There are many minor species that have been encountered, but the most widespread and influential species include the Goa'uld in the Milky Way. In the Pegasus Galaxy, the Wraith hold dominance. Inter-galactic races include the Asgard, the deadly mechanical Replicators, and the all-powerful Ori. Ironically, the most influential race of all, the Ancients, have left this plane of existence.

A number of technologically advanced races and societies have produced a variety of highly advanced weapons, tools, and spacecraft. By liaising with these races and learning from them, Earth too has begun to create its own futuristic technology. All such technology is SCI-classified top secret, and is used solely by the SGC and its SG teams, or in Atlantis.

Humans

Main articles: Human civilizations in Stargate SG-1 and Human civilizations in Stargate Atlantis

Main articles: Tau'ri, Tau'ri characters in Stargate SG-1, Tau'ri characters in Stargate Atlantis, and Tau'ri technology in Stargate

In the Milky Way galaxy, the alien race known as Goa'uld used Stargates to transport large numbers of humans to other planets for use as slaves. Some of these groups were later abandoned (usually due to a decline of easily mined naqahdah deposits) and developed on their own to a level of technology far greater than that of contemporary Earth. The premise is that had this world not experienced the Dark Ages, it would also have developed to such advanced levels. The human population of the Pegasus Galaxy however is product of Alteran seeding. Also unlike in the Milky Way, no human civilization shown until now in Stargate Atlantis surpasses Earth in technological level (unless they use leftover Alteran technology), although a few come close. It seems that the Wraith eliminate any advanced civilizations in the Pegasus Galaxy as soon as they are discovered, perceiving them as potential threats to Wraith dominance; an advanced civilization might eventually invent the hyperdrive and build warships capable of challenging the Wraith. The Alterans long ago placed satellites in orbit of each human settlement for technological development but had to abandon the project after the Wraith war.

"Tau'ri" in Jaffa means First Born, referring to humans from Earth being the ancestors of all humans on Goa'uld-occupied worlds. Just as in the Milky Way, the Humans of Earth have become a major galactic power in Pegasus. Whilst Earth's level of technology prior even to Stargate travel far supersedes the level found on most planets throughout the galaxy (and indeed others), Earth's technology still remains crude compared to the larger races that they do not surpass. However, SG teams have brought back alien technology from trips to other planets on Earth to study, and with the exploration of the Ancient city of Atlantis and with the Asgard giving all their technology and knowledge to them before their destruction, Earth's technology will leap forward in the future.

Alliance of Four Great Races

In the Stargate series, the alliance of four great races is an extinct ancient alliance of four advanced species that was built over many millennia and existed before the rise of the Goa'uld. A planet with a facility where these races used to meet and interact as "a sharing of clans to share a common interest" was discovered by SG-1 in the Season 1 episode "The Torment of Tantalus", when the team was searching for Ernest Littlefield, who had disappeared through the Stargate in 1945. In a large castle-like structure, each race had scribed a wall of text in their own unique language (of which only two have been revealed as to which race they belong, Asgard & Ancients), and a central pedestal projected a hologram containing information composed of atomic forms. The four races developed a common language for communication with each other, using the 146 known (to them) chemical elements as basic symbols. As Dr. Jackson proclaimed, the four races broke everything down to the basics and created "a truly universal language".

In the Season 2 episode "The Fifth Race", O'Neill learns from the Asgard that the four races were the Alterans (or Ancients), who built the Stargates, the Asgard, the Furlings, and the Nox. The Alterans, Asgard, and Nox have all been seen during the series, but the Furlings remained absent except for a fantasy sequence in the spoof episode "200" (which are a fictional ewok like form imagined by Dr.Jackson). In the series finale, "Unending", Thor declares that the Tau'ri are the Fifth Race of the Great Alliance.

Ancients

Main articles: Ancient (Stargate), Ancient characters in Stargate, and Ancient technology in Stargate

An originally human race that learned to advance beyond their corporeal forms, the Ancients inhabited Earth millions of years ago after leaving their distant home galaxy in order to escape their brethren, the Ori. Before leaving for the Milky Way, the Ancients were known as the Alterans, a fact discovered by humans on Earth after the discovery of a great Ancient treasury in England. The same repository helped the SGC learn that Merlin the wizard was an ancient who helped King Arthur to ascend, and that the sword in the stone of legend truly existed to test purity of heart in order to determine whether a person was deserving of the secrets of the Ancients. They were the central party of the alliance of the Four Great Races, and are credited with building of the entire system of stargates. They possessed technology that still surpasses anything known throughout the Stargate science-fiction universe. Only the Ori are thought to match their understanding of the universe. As many other races are associated with civilizations on Earth, the Ancients are associated with the Romans. As the Romans built a network of highways and roads that connected their empire and the known world, the Ancients built a network of stargates in multiple galaxies connecting worlds within themselves and to those of others of different galaxies.

After establishing the gate system in the Milky Way galaxy, the vast majority of the Ancients were wiped out by a plague, and they left for the Pegasus galaxy in the flying city of Atlantis several million years ago, where they seeded an intricate system of planets with both stargates and humans. They were forced out of the Pegasus galaxy by the Wraith, who were a result of an unintended genetic mixture of a native Pegasus insect, the Iratus bug, and the humans seeded on the planet native to the bug.

Among their many achievements are the building of advanced ships, flying cities, and the entire Stargate network. Although their technology was far superior to the Wraith's, they were vastly outnumbered and the Wraith eventually culled them down until all the unascended Ancients left in Pegasus were kept under siege in Atlantis for many years. Finally accepting that they would never defeat the Wraith, they submerged the city of Atlantis and returned to Earth to live out the rest of their lives there some ten thousand years ago. There they passed on some of their genes to humans, including what came to be known as the Ancient Technology Activation gene (or ATA gene), allowing those in possession of it to use Ancient technology while those without cannot. Few Ancients are known to exist on the mortal plane of existence, most having ascended to a higher state of being.

Asgard

Main articles: Asgard (Stargate), Asgard characters in Stargate, and Asgard technology in Stargate

Physically identical to Roswell Greys, and, according to Stargate, accounting for them, the Asgard are a benevolent, highly advanced and evolved race who have visited Earth on many occasions from the galaxy Ida, and who also gave rise to the Norse legends. They were a prominent member of the alliance of the Four Great Races. Whilst still posing as Gods to many pretechnological races, they do this to help that race grow, and leave tests such that, when the race advances enough, they will return to them and show them their true forms. Their ships are capable of traversing thousands of light years of space in minutes, and are capable of operating with as few as one Asgard on board. The Asgard have also mastered advanced holographic projection and transporter technologies. While the Asgard once maintained a large fleet of ships with defensive capabilities, their fleet size has decreased due to their struggle with the Replicators. As a whole they are not a particularly militaristic race although they do enforce a protectorate that protects member planets from the Goa'uld. Despite their generally peaceful nature, the Asgard possess extremely advanced weapons technology, second only to the Ancients. Like the Ancients, they are willing to engage in battle if necessary, quite unlike the Nox, which are shown to be peaceful and not known to retaliate (the Nox, though, have been known to aid others in battle, if not by directly fighting).

Thor, as Supreme Commander of the Asgard, expressed to the Tau'ri the regret the Asgard had over allowing the Goa'uld to spread and enslave humans throughout the galaxy. If it hadn't been for the threat of the Replicators in the Ida Galaxy, they would have prevented the Goa'uld rise to power long before they became a serious threat.

The Asgard are no longer able to reproduce in the traditional sense, and must use cloning technology in order to survive by cloning their bodies and then transplanting their minds into the new one. During the transplant process the consciousness of the individual is "downloaded" into their ships' computers. They were constantly at war with the Replicators until the end of Season 8 of Stargate SG-1. At the end of SG-1, all the Asgard died on Orilla when they performed an act of mass euthanasia, and all Asgard technology was given to the Tau'ri as a gift. The only known Asgard unaccounted for is Hermiod.

Furlings

File:Transportationarch.jpg

A Furling Transportation Arch

Little is known about the Furlings, except that they are a member of the alliance of the Four Great Races, along with the Ancients, Asgard, and Nox. However, occasional artifacts attributed to the Furlings have been identified. In the episode "Paradise Lost", SG-1 discovered an old Utopian colony established by the Furlings and wiped out by a Goa'uld bearing a mind-altering drug. As the Furlings were never explicitly identified in Stargate SG-1, even their physical appearance remains a mystery. The Furling skeletons in "Paradise Lost" were originally planned to be featured in the episode, but the production of such proved to be too expensive. Jack O'Neill has concluded that the Furlings must be cute and cuddly creatures, based solely on their name. After hearing the name of the race in the episode "Citizen Joe", a character equated the Furlings to the Ewoks based on their name.

The length of time that the Furling nature has remained a mystery in the series has provided opportunity to tease fans with a running gag. When Executive Producer Robert C. Cooper was asked "Will we ever meet the Furlings?", his answer was "Who says we haven't?". However, the writers later went on to state that although we have seen Furling technology and the Furling legacy, no actual Furling has ever appeared on the show. Joseph Mallozzi claimed that more about the Furlings would finally be revealed in Stargate SG-1's tenth season. In a Sci Fi Channel advertisement for the "200th episode, Cooper stated "We're finally going to get to see the Furlings." What was actually shown was an imagined scene from a script for a movie based on the fictional television series "Wormhole X-Treme!", a parody of Stargate SG-1 within the Stargate SG-1 universe. The Furlings were shown as Ewok-like creatures which were destroyed by the Goa'uld soon after their contact by the Tau'ri.

Nox

File:StarGateNox.jpg

The Nox

The Nox are a peaceful and fairy-like people, who are capable of reviving the dead and rendering even large objects invisible and intangible. They are an entirely passive species, never fighting for any reason, although some Nox have been known to walk a very fine line, as shown by Lya's action in Template:Sgcite when she hid a Tollan Ion cannon to prevent it from being destroyed in a Goa'uld surprise attack. The Nox's homeworld is P3X-774, and the Nox appear to outsiders as primitive but wise forest-dwellers. Despite their apparent fragility, they are a race of great dormant power. Their technology appears to be nearly equal to that of the Ancients, as demonstrated by their ability to make anything invisible (including their cities), revive the dead, and build stargates compatible with Ancient technology. They were also a member of the alliance of four great races, along with the Ancients, Asgard, and Furlings. While their exact lifespan is unknown, the oldest of the Nox encountered was 432 years old. The Nox were prominent in the earlier seasons on Stargate SG-1, but, making their last appearance in Season 3, their significance in the series rapidly dwindled.

Milky Way aliens

Goa'uld

File:Apophis.jpg

Apophis: A Goa'uld in a Host

Main articles: Goa'uld, Goa'uld characters in Stargate, and Goa'uld technology in Stargate

The Goa'uld have been the dominant race in the galaxy for millennia. They are a parasitic species that resemble small snakes, which burrow into the upper spinal cords of other creatures, thereby taking control of their body and mind, turning them into "hosts". In general, they choose to use humans as hosts due to the simplicity of human physiology, which makes it easy to repair, such that they can sustain life almost indefinitely. Prior to using humans as hosts, they frequently used Unas, which were a very powerful species with regenerative capabilities; the transition to Humans was due in part to the fact that Goa'uld by nature are very vain, and value physical appearance highly. For centuries, they ruled Earth by claiming to be gods, and so they resemble the gods of Egyptian, Mayan, Aztec, Babylonian, and Indian mythology. The show consistently calls the Goa'uld a symbiote, even though most biologists would use the term symbiont.

The Goa'uld have a rigid rank system. The most powerful members of the race are the System Lords, who control massive fleets of interstellar motherships, massive armies of Jaffa, and are worshipped as gods by billions. Although all Human worlds were at one point ruled by the Goa'uld (since they were the ones that transported them through the Stargate), many worlds have since overthrown their Goa'uld aggressors or were abandoned by the Goa'uld after outliving their usefulness.

The Goa'uld are scavengers, and their technology is a conglomeration of the discoveries and ingenuity of multiple races, including the Ancients. Very few items they claim as their own were actually invented by them. Most of their technology contains, in some form or another, naqahdah, the material of which the Stargates are constructed. This material also flows in Goa'uld veins, and is often used as a key to their technology, much like the ATA gene of the Ancients. The devices of the Goa'uld, it will be noted, are mostly warlike in nature, reflecting the megalomanic nature of the species.

Jaffa

Main articles: Jaffa (Stargate) and Jaffa characters in Stargate

Strictly speaking, the Jaffa are not a separate species from humanity. They are the descendants of humans that were enslaved by the Goa'uld thousands of years ago. However, they have been genetically re-engineered by the Goa'uld so as to suppress their natural immune system, such that beyond a certain age they can only live with the aid of a Goa'uld symbiote, functioning as incubators for larval Goa'uld. All Jaffa have marsupial-like pouches in their stomachs which serve to incubate a Goa'uld larva for seven to ten years, providing them access to the long life and well-being that the Goa'uld possess. The Jaffa constituted the majority of the military strength of the Goa'uld. However, due to the Jaffa rebellion, some Goa'uld, most notably Anubis, began to use other forces, such as Kull Warriors, for their primary troops.

Kull warriors

Main article: Kull Warriors

These creatures were genetically engineered by the Goa'uld Anubis for use in his personal army. Given life and enhanced, they are essentially tabula rasa bred for obedience and war. Their suits, which they are almost welded into, are impervious to all main weapons and explosives, including C-4 and other highly explosive compounds. Small trinium darts, however, can penetrate the suit. The Kull Disruptor was eventually devised by the Tau'ri and the Tok'ra, using an Ancient healing device discovered by the Goa'uld Telchak, and is capable of bringing a Kull Warrior down in one or two shots.

After the defeat of Anubis, the System Lord Ba'al took control of Anubis's army, including the Kull Warriors. However, it was later revealed that Ba'al was a puppet for Anubis, who was still controlling the Kull Warriors. This is most likely how Anubis made Ba'al his puppet as Ba'al controlled them before Anubis's return. When Anubis returned they merely defaulted to him. Later, though, when Anubis was forcibly removed from our plane of existence by Oma Desala, the Kull Warriors lost their guidance from Anubis, and were quickly defeated. It is unknown if any remain alive.

Oranians

A gold-eyed alien species of which little is known. The only two members of this race the SGC has encountered so far are bumbling mercenaries Tenat and Jup working for the Lucian Alliance.("Prometheus Unbound", "The Ties That Bind", "Company of Thieves" and "Bounty"). However, several more members of the species were seen on the bridge of Tenat's ship in "Company of Thieves".

Reol

Almost wiped out by the Goa'uld, the Reol have a unique natural defense: one of their bodily secretions is used to create false memories and illusions when it comes into contact with a living creature. Reol are humanoid, and are very tall, lanky bipedal creatures with thick strands of hair and dark black eyes. Their heads appear almost skeletal in shape. The Reol have also decided not to embrace technology to the extent that no other species have. They only appeared in "The Fifth Man" when a Reol named Kaiael managed to infiltrate SG-1 as "Lt. Tyler".

This secretion is the only advantage the Reol have, as they are peaceful creatures and are hardly able to defend themselves. This defense mechanism can make an individual believe that the Reol is not a threat, and will allow a Reol to incorporate himself into the culture of the infected species to avoid detection. It also has the ability to alter memories and to make the Reol appear as one of the target's own species, and is therefore the perfect camouflage. Though it is an advantage, it is also the reason they are nearly extinct, as the Goa'uld fervently wish to discover the secret behind the substance. After the events of "The Fifth Man", there are only a handful of Reol left. However, a group has settled on a world unknown to the System Lords in the hope to rebuild their culture. With help from the Tau'ri, the Tok'ra have developed their own version of the Reol substance, which was used by Daniel Jackson to infiltrate a System Lord summit and later again by Cameron Mitchell to infiltrate the Lucian Alliance.

Reetou

The Reetou (also Re'tu) are a non-humanoid race whose molecules exist 180 degrees out of phase from our reality, which prevent humans from seeing them. They can only be interacted with physically to a limited degree, although they can see humans perfectly. The Reetou can become visible when exposed to radiation emitted from a Transphase Eradication Rod. The species have an arachnoid lower body with an insect-like humanoid upper body and a insectoid head. Adults are approximately two and a half meters (eight feet) tall. The Reetou only appear in "Show and Tell", but they are mentioned several times throughout the show. They were also scheduled to appear in the cancelled video game Stargate SG-1: The Alliance.

Because of their invisible nature, the Reetou were deemed a threat by the Goa'uld, who attempted to exterminate them. Reetou also emit a "vibe" that causes severe pain in a Goa'uld symbiote, which allows Goa'uld and Jaffa to detect their presence. The aggression of the Goa'uld has split the Reetou into two opposing factors: the pacifistic Reetou government who are non-hostile towards humans, and a splinter group of Reetou rebels. These Reetou rebels believed that the only way to fight the Goa'uld was to destroy all their potential hosts, including all human beings living in the galaxy, even though the legitimate Reetou government bears no ill-will towards humanity.

Reetou technology is fairly advanced. They possess powerful arm-mounted energy cannons that burn large holes through both flesh and metal, can create extremely powerful yet quite portable transphase explosives, and are able to create genetically engineered humans. Reetou rebels operate in 5-man suicide units, which infiltrate a target area with the purpose of causing as much damage as they can before setting off an explosion equivalent to a small tactical nuke.

Serrakin

An advanced race featured in "Forsaken" and "Space Race", the Serrakin helped free the human Hebridans from the Goa'uld millennia ago. Since then, the two peoples have lived together and there is frequent interspecies marriage, which is opposed by a minority of human racial purists. Serrakin bounty hunters are seen in "Bounty". The season 10 episode "Counterstrike" mentions that their homeworld has been conquered by the Ori.

Tok'ra

Main articles: Tok'ra, Tok'ra characters in Stargate, and Tok'ra technology in Stargate

Opposing the Goa'uld are the Tok'ra (Literal translation: "Against Ra", the ancient Supreme System Lord). Though the same biological species as the Goa'uld, the Tok'ra have fought the Goa'uld for millennia and have come to ally with the Tau'ri (humans from Earth) against the System Lords. Although the Tok'ra use much of the technology of the System Lords, they have developed some technology of their own. Unlike the Goa'uld, who dominate their host, the Tok'ra respect their hosts and freely share the body with the human mind that still inhabits it. A member of the Tok'ra is quite literally twofold; a voluntary human host, and a Tok'ra (strictly, Goa'uld) symbiote. The minds of the two "blend", which effectively means that they share memories and emotions and wisdom, but still remain distinct personalities. The mind in control of the body swaps around frequently, at the behest of either mind, and is usually signaled by lowering the head and closing the eyes for a moment. Furthermore, when the Tok'ra is in control, the person's voice becomes like that of a Goa'uld. The Tok'ra are a dying race, as the queen from which they all were spawned, Egeria, has died.

Unas

File:Stargate Unas.jpg

The Unas Chaka

The Unas, meaning the "First Ones", were first seen in "Thor's Hammer" and are the first race used as hosts for the Goa'uld. They coexisted with them on their original planet, which is referred to by the Tau'ri with the designation P3X-888. A race of large and primitive humanoids, the Unas possess great physical strength and, when taken as a host, have the ability to regenerate from almost any wound thanks to the healing powers of the Goa'uld. Although some Unas are still used as hosts, they have been abandoned in favor of Humans.

The Unas are a tribal society held together in close knit communities. Each tribe is led by a dominant alpha male leader. They have limited technology, similar to that of humans in the bronze age, and are sometimes exploited and used as slaves by Humans. One of their notable developments are necklaces that prevent a Goa'uld from taking an Unas as a host as they have done in the past. The Unas speak their own language that varies between planets but is close enough to be understandable by Unas from other planets. Even on a planet where humans and Unas coexisted, the Unas have not been observed to speak any language other than their own. However, Goa'uld-possessed Unas have spoken other languages. Daniel was able to befriend and establish a line of communication with an Unas named Chaka.

Lesser known alien races

These races have appeared only once so far.

• "Aliens of PJ2-445": Though humanoid in appearance, their internal organ structure suggests otherwise. They have no spoken language, primitive housing, and cover their bodies in a thick paint that becomes a second skin. They seem to unknowingly live in symbiosis with the flora around them. When the crash of a UAV disturbed the flora and the humanoid creatures, SG-1 was forced to set things right. They are a culture centered entirely around the human musical voice, and sing to heal themselves - this singing is in part what generates the synergy with the plants.
• Ataniks: An advanced race that predates the rise of the Goa'uld, mentioned in "Upgrades". The Ataniks created armbands that granted the user extraordinary speed and strength by means of a virus, but they died out after their population developed an immunity. The Tok'ra Anise brought several of the armbands to the SGC for testing.
• Gadmeer: A non-humanoid sulfur-based race from "Scorched Earth". Facing extinction in a war, the Gadmeer created a ship that would preserve elements of their civilization and terraform a new planet as their home. However, their chosen planet had been recently settled by Enkaran refugees. SG-1 brokered a deal by which the Gadmeer ship would transport the Enkarans to their original homeworld before resuming its work.
• "Giant Aliens": Name given by Nicholas Ballard (Daniel Jackson's grandfather) to the beings that live in a lepton-rich environment on planet P7X-377. They are not entirely humanoid, composing of a substance resembling mist. They can only be seen by those who have received a special radiation emanating from a special crystal skull present in an off world Mayan Ziggurat. They are enemies of the Goa'uld, and are friends with anyone who shares that in common with them..
• "Mimetic aliens": Mysterious aliens who tried to take over the SGC in "Foothold", using technology that allows them to mimic the appearance of other beings. It was discovered that a certain sound frequency disrupted that technology. To prevent a similar situation, ever since, that same sound is played every time the Stargate activates.
• Oannes: Nem and Omoroca are the only known members of this species. In the episode "Fire and Water", Daniel Jackson is kidnapped by an Oanne named Nem who wants to know what happened to his mate Omoroca, insisting that Daniel remember some old information he read in his predoctoral days. Omoroca obviously at some point visited earth, and influenced early Phoenecian mythology. He searches Daniel's mind for the information only to find out that his mate was killed a long time ago by the Goa'uld. The species is aquatic and refer to the mythological species Oannes.
• "Orb aliens of P5C-353": The only survivors of planet P5C-353, preserved within an orb. When the orb was taken back to Earth, strong spikes darted out from it, pinning Colonel O'Neill to the wall. Eventually, they grew strong enough to speak through O'Neill, and the SGC agreed to take them to a planet they could survive on, rather than, as they planned, take over Earth.
• R-75: Also known as Prior bugs, R-75 is the SGC's designation for a genetically engineered insect species used as bioweapons by the Ori. R-75 is an asexual, fast-reproducing insect species that has been unleashed by Priors on several occasions. They are genetically engineered to be as destructive as possible, and are omnivorous, depending on the available food source. When feeding on plants, they die in a matter of hours, essentially eating themselves to death, although their life cycles can be increased to three days by depriving them of food. R-75 functions during the day, but prefers darkness. They spend most of their life cycle underground, consuming crops at the roots. They see via echolocation, detecting their enemies and hunting their prey. However, this has made them sensitive to sound and vibration. When exposed to the taste of meat, their reproductive cycle spirals out of control at an exponential rate. After having become carnivorous, the creatures lay their eggs in the bodies of living victims. When the creatures hatch they use the internal organs as food until the host is dead.
• Salish Spirits: Seen in the episode "Spirits", the race defeated the Goa'uld occupying a particular planet several centuries, possibly millennia ago, and coexisted with the Salish on PXY-887 as the Salish gods. They have natural powers, including the ability to teleport either themselves or others to or from, seemingly, anywhere. Their appearance is distinctive - humanoid, although with unusual foreheads and layers of gill-like features on their face. As their race is fairly immaterial, they can assume many different forms, from mythical Salish animals to members of the SGC. They can make adversaries disappear to what has been described as a "place of nothingness", who can be later returned at will with no memories of where they were.
• The Shippers: After the destruction of its original naqadriah powered hyperdrive, the Prometheus encountered an unknown ship while it travelled back to Earth using an Al'kesh hyperdrive. The mysterious ship was superior in both size and technology, and launched an unprovoked attack upon the Prometheus. The ship suffered no damage during its attack and kidnapped the entirety of the human crew off the Prometheus with the exception of Major Carter, who was later able to barter for the release of her crewmates. The physical appearance, history, and personality of these aliens are currently unknown, as they have not been seen since their first appearance.
• Unity: A species of intelligent crystalline beings that was almost destroyed by the Goa'uld. The unity crystals are able to create a duplicate of any being that touches them. When SG-1 arrived at their planet, Colonel O'Neill touched one of the crystals and was knocked unconscious while the duplicate returned to Earth. The change was discovered after O'Neill woke up and returned to Earth. The duplicate had no ill intentions, and O'Neill himself helped him return home.
• "Unnamed 'computer virus' entity": A world with a surface covered in advanced technology turns out to be inhabited by, for want of a better description, software. The software entity(ies) transmit a 'weapon' - a sentient computer virus - back to the SGC, where it hijacks the computers and, eventually, Samantha Carter.
• "Unnamed energy fireflies": While not technological, and never proven intelligent, the behavior of the spark-like energy entities on the research outpost moon (M4C-862) in the episode "Prodigy" exhibit distinct signs of intelligence, that may be attributed to the planet's massive magnetic field. The same (or a similar) species has also been seen in the Pegasus Galaxy where it displayed a more insect like behavior and no signs of actual intelligence.
• "Water-beings": beings that lived in a water world in the form of a liquid and were able to transform into a gas at will. They can also take control of humans. They were found when Russian stargate personnel took a sample of the water back to Russia when they noticed that the water was emitting thermal energy.

Pegasus Galaxy aliens

Asurans

Main articles: Asuran, Artificial human characters in Stargate § Asuran, and Asuran technology in Stargate

The second "evil" race of aliens in the Pegasus Galaxy. They are artificial lifeforms, similar to the Replicators faced by SG-1, and may as well ultimately be the very first generation of Replicators, that evolved from a Lantean experiment to create powerful and aggressive nanites to attack the Wraith on a cellular level. But the microscopic creatures came together to form increasingly larger and more complex organisms, eventually imitating their creators to become human in appearance. When the Lanteans realized their experiment had gotten out of hand, they attacked this new race with their fleet of warships and nearly wiped them out ("Progeny").

Hybrids

A new race created by the Wraith Michael, first seen in "Vengeance". After being outcast by his own kind, Michael sought to create new followers by combining iratus bug and human DNA, hoping that the result would have the strengths of the Wraith without their weaknesses. He destroyed the Taranians, amongst others, as test subjects for his experiments. The first Hybrids were bestial in appearance, with carapaces and claws. In the two-part episode "The Kindred", it is revealed that Michael has created more "refined" Hybrids using the abducted Athosian population. These Hybrids resemble the Wraith, but do not need to feed on humans.

Wraith

Main articles: Wraith (Stargate), Wraith characters in Stargate, and Wraith technology in Stargate

The Wraith are the dominant species of the Pegasus Galaxy. This hive-based species drove the Ancients out of the Pegasus Galaxy around 8000 BC, and are currently the primary antagonists of Stargate Atlantis. They maintain thousands of worlds, populated by humans, as sources of food, and they feed off the life-force of other beings. The Wraith are part human-ancient and part insect. In the Pegasus Galaxy a genetic trait exists among certain species such that, by a complex chemical and enzymical process as yet not understood by man, they feed on either time or life (victims tend to "lose years"). This trait is enhanced in the Wraith. They still maintain vestigial human organs such as stomachs and are capable of eating human food but derive no sustenance from it. Since the Wraith are descended from Ancients they presumably had some Ancient technology which helped them to overcome the original Ancients and makes them a formidable adversary today.

Although Wraith technology is highly advanced, it did not surpass that of the Ancients; according to the records in Atlantis, the Ancients won almost every battle with the Wraith, but due to the Wraith's simply massive numbers, they managed to cause the Ancients to fall back to Atlantis and eventually leave the Pegasus Galaxy altogether.

Lesser known alien races

• Crystals: The crystals are in some way, similar to the 'Unity' in SG-1, however the crystal's intentions is somewhat hostile. The crystals glow and somehow makes people touch them. The entity will stay in the toucher until physical contact with other people, where they will create nightmares in the form personification of the first person touching the crystal. The nightmares will be more severe for each person and has the ability to kill them during the nightmares, causing the victims to die for real. The Atlantis expedition encountered them in a dark, jungle-like planet. The crystal actually killed an expedition member Dr Kate Heightmeyer, but was stopped before it could kill anyone else and the entity was sent back to the planet.
• Flagisalis: Named by the Ancients, this whale-like species is found in the ocean of Lantea. These creatures emit an intense low frequency pulse similar to a sonar and an electromagnetic field, which in combination are very dangerous to humans. Their echolocations can cause very powerful vibrations that may damage people's eardrums. The signals they emit are their way of communicating with each other. Sheppard and McKay compared their size to a American football field (100 yards (300 feet) long) or a Canadian football field (110 meters (360 feet) long).
• Iratus Bug: The Iratus Bug is a beetle-like insect found on at least two planets in the Pegasus galaxy, including the Wraith homeworld. It is believed, from information accessed in the Atlantean database, that the Wraith evolved when human DNA was combined with the DNA of the insect. Dr. Carson Beckett has developed a retrovirus that would, theoretically, strip all the insect DNA from a Wraith, leaving only human biology. (See also Wraith (Stargate)#Origin.)
• "Mist" Beings: Intelligences that compose the mist covering M5S-224. They are made mostly of energy. Whenever the Stargate is activated on their world, thousands of their species die from the Stargate's attempting to process their lifeforce as energy (the design of the gate is such that it seeks energy in any possible form). Because they are energy in nature, the life forms provided a brief power surge on Stargate activation. Rodney McKay devised a method to dial Earth from M5S-224; however this would have resulted in millions of alien deaths to establish the wormhole, thus the aliens placed the Atlantean team into a "fabricated reality" in a desperate attempt to save themselves. It took the diplomatic skills of Dr. Weir to convince the energy creatures to allow the expedition team to return to Atlantis and ensure the Atlantean expedition would not threaten their world in such a way again. It has been suggested that the stargate from M5S-224 was one of those used in the construction of the McKay-Carter Intergalactic Bridge, thereby preventing any further deaths.
• Shadow Creatures: A creature contained by the Ancients in Atlantis to research more on ascension. In 2004, the young Athosian Jinto accidentally released it while playing hide and seek. Dr. Rodney McKay managed to send to it through the Stargate to a barren planet.

Other galaxy aliens

Ori

Main articles: Ori (Stargate) and Ori technology in Stargate

A major threat in the cosmos, the Ori are Ascended beings who use their infinite knowledge of the universe to force lesser beings to worship them. In essence, they used to be Ancients, however they split into separate groups due to different views of life. The Ori are religious while the Ancients prefer science. The Ori sway lesser-developed planets into worshipping them by promising Ascension through an invented and empty religion called "Origin". This religion states that they created humanity and as such are to be worshipped by their creations. It also promises its followers that, on death, they will Ascend. However, Origin was designed to channel energy from the human worshippers to the Ori. As such, the Ori never help anyone else Ascend because then they would have to share the power that they sap from their worshippers. Their ultimate goal is to completely destroy the Ascended Ancients, who they know as "the Others". All of their efforts, including their technology, are for the purpose of garnering worshippers.

As Ascended beings, the Ori do not interfere directly in the mortal plane. They use instead humans called Priors, which they artificially evolve so that they are one step from Ascension, giving the Priors godly powers. Because the Ori have worshippers across the entire home galaxy of the Ancients, and using their knowledge to spread, they are nearly unstoppable.

Replicators

Main articles: Replicator (Stargate) and Artificial human characters in Stargate

A potent mechanical lifeform using a quiron-based technology composed of building blocks using nanotechnology. They strive to increase their numbers and spread across the universe by assimilating advanced technologies. They are hostile to all other lifeforms in the universe, but are opposed primarily by the Asgard. In the episode "Unnatural Selection", the Replicators had developed human-form Replicators, based on the technology they extracted from their Android creator, that appear just like humans and are able to change their form. Standard Replicators are resistant to energy weapons, and can only be destroyed by projectile weapons. Human-form Replicators, on the other hand, are resistant to projectile weapons as well due to the change in their nature from large blocks to smaller units the size of organic cells (cell blocks).

In the episode "New Order (Part 2)", an Ancient weapon called the Replicator Disruptor was developed by Jack O'Neill while he still had the knowledge of the Ancients in his mind. It works by blocking the cohesion between the blocks that make up the Replicators. The Replicators in the Milky Way galaxy were wiped out by the Dakara Superweapon in the two-part episode "Reckoning" at the climax of Season 8. It has been indicated that the Asgard used the same technology to defeat the Replicators in their own home galaxy as well.

See also

• Miscellaneous alien characters in Stargate
• Miscellaneous technology in Stargate