Alien Race - 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 Keeper drains the life from Colonel Sumner. From "Rising, Part 2"
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. | Alien Race - Athosians | An agrarian society that long-resided on the planet Athos in the Pegasus Galaxy. Their leader is Teyla Emmagan, daughter of Tagan. Following the arrival of the Tau'ri from the recently re-discovered city of Atlantis and a Wraith attack, the surviving Athosians returned with Major John Sheppard and his team to Atlantis. There the displaced people lived for several weeks, until relocating to a nearby continent on the Atlantis planet to begin a new life. At first glance the Athosians might not appear technologically advanced, but they have certainly enhanced the most simplistic of chores in their daily lives with the use of small and conceilable technology, such as the fire-starter. They are not technologically unadvanced, as they appear to be, but rather choose not to advance too far for fear that it will bring the Wraith down upon them. The Athosians possess keen intellects and abilities, and some among them can even sense the Wraith when they are near.The Athosians are a deeply spiritual people who pray to the "ancestors," referring to the Ancients. They mastered Stargate travel long ago, and some, such as Teyla and Halling, have served as guides to Atlantis reconnaissance teams when travelling to other planets in their galaxy.
Athosians are not quick to trust, but have found a soft spot for the people of Earth. They are well-versed in the coordinates of several planets with Stargates, but never have they come across one that has not been besieged by the Wraith. | Alien Race - Genii | A race of humans in the Pegasus Galaxy who have used extreme measures to hide their technological advancements from the Wraith in order to eventually strike back with nuclear weapons. On the surface they appear to the outside observer as simple, Amish-equivalent farmers. Below, they are engaging in a massive military undertaking where they plan to have atomic weaponry completed in time to strike back during the next culling of their civilization. Approximately one thousand years ago the Genii were once the focal point of a great multi-planetary confederation. But the Wraith eventually drove them to the brink of annihilation. The ancestors of the Genii sought protection within concealed bunkers that were originally created for wars. It was there that a small number of Genii managed to survive, undetected by the Wraith, where they have made technological developments entirely in secret, even from many of their trading partners (with rare exceptions). Kolya, standing over the symbol of the Genii, addresses his elite strike team. From "The Storm." Many generations ago during a culling the Genii successfully disabled a Wraith Dart. Though lives were lost in the event, the ability to resist in the slightest way gave the Genii the seeds of hope. This Dart contained a Wraith data storage device which allowed the race to study their enemy's technology, as well as begin to mount plans against them.Dr. Rodney McKay suspected Earth was about sixty years ahead of the Genii technologically. Their underground bunkers have been designed to shield radio frequencies.For many years the Genii have been pushing forward their atomic weapons program, but they have had difficulty purifying uranium to bring it to a weapons-grade quality. According to Commander Cowen, the Genii have had difficulty identifying the molecular structure of the unwanted material, as it is very similar to that of the wanted material. Extended exposure to neutron radiation may have easily left several Genii scientists limited to a short lifespan.
Despite technological developments in atomic technology, the Genii have been greatly interested in Earth's weapons, particularly C4. Originally suggesting its primary use would be to help clear fields for tilling, Chief Cowen eventually added the C4 to Earth vaccines on the bargaining table. When Major John Sheppard and Dr. McKay discovered the truth about the Genii and their two-faced identity, Cowen revealed that typical trespassers would have swiftly been dealt with. But Sheppard pressed that both societies ultimate enemy was the Wraith, and that attacking each other would only rid the Wraith of possibly two of their foes.Dr. Weir returns to Atlantis with two Genii prototype warheads, which will be used against the Wraith's siege on Atlantis."The Siege, Part 2." A joint strike force was devised and executed on a hive ship, but with the loss of a Genii officer (believed to be because of Teyla Emmagan) the last seeds of mistrust were sewn. Since that time the Genii have executed an attack on the city of Atlantis during a hurricane, failing to take the city, and lost more than sixty soldiers in the process, most at the hands of John Sheppard himself.The Wraith finally came to cull the Genii homeworld, but their weapons were not prepared at the time. With advance knowledge of the incoming attack, the race was able to deactivate the underground reactors before they were detected. Though hundreds of lives were lost on the surface, thousands more survived in the bunkers below.The Genii eventually managed to test their nuclear warheads on the Wraith. Six days following the culling on their world Dr. Elizabeth Weir brokered an agreement with officer Prenum of the Genii. Prenum was resistant, as the Genii had already survived the Wraith attack. But Weir convinced him that his weapons needed to be tested before another attack could come and claim more Genii lives. Two warheads were sent to Atlantis, and one was used to successfully destroy a hive ship.The Genii are covert allies of the Manarians, a culture who may have once belonged in the Genii confederation. It is through the Manarians that the Genii successfully infiltrated Atlantis, but they themselves were forced to evacuate in fear that a tsunami would destroy the city.Throughout the galaxy the Genii are known for their tava beans, and frequently trade them with other worlds | Alien Race - Asurans | The evolutionary plateau of microscopic machines originally created by the Ancients to fight the Wraith. The Asuran race developed out of an Ancient experiment gone terribly wrong, a shining example of the Ancients' own underestimated ingenuity. Desperate, exhausted, and greatly outnumbered, the Ancients resorted to using their technological superiority go give them a needed advantage by creating the Asuran race. Initially the creatures were simple nanites programmed to destroy from within, causing a brain hemorrhage in any Wraith who came in contact with them.The deadly nanites from where the Asuran race sprang. From "Progeny" In the microscopic machines, the Ancients provided a base aggression that was even stronger than that of the Wraith. The technology allowed for organic assimilation and replication to increase their effectiveness. Soon the nanites grew in numbers, evolving at a rate that took their own creators by surprise. Eventually the molecular machines assembled to form more complex organisms, eventually evolving into an image akin to their creators. Despite this feat, the Ancients chose not to remove the aggression subroutines, hoping to still use the first Asurans as a weapon. Additionally, the Ancient scientists who developed them created directives that prevented the Asurans from removing the subroutine themselves, as well as preventing them from turning on their creators. When the Ancients decided that their experiment had gone too far, that the Asurans could never be used effectively as a weapon, they decided to try and cover up their mistake. They dispatched countless Ancient warships to Asuras to level the cities and leave no trace of the race behind. They also ensured, either originally or by a program update, that the Asurans would never be able to find their way back to Atlantis.Asurans communicate via powerful subspace frequencies, periodically updating their programming with "merges," where new information is exchanged. These merges can also allow a large number of Asurans to collectively rewrite the base code of a single individual, manipulating his or her core personality.Niam shows how the Ancients came to destroy Asuras in force. From "Progeny" The technological development of the civilization has thrived for so long that it now surpasses that of the Ancients during the height of their development on the material plane. They can create multiple Zero Point Modules with ease, ensuring a limitless power supply for themselves, and they have mastered hyperspace travel to make any civilization known to them within their grasp.Because of their subspace link, as well as their uncanny ability to replicate, the Atlantis expedition theorizes that they have discovered the ultimate origin of the Replicator race. This would explain how block Replicators, when provided with the technology left behind on an Asgard world, would be able to create advanced versions of themselves in the form of humanoids. It would also explain why the Ancient Repository of Knowledge possesses a weapon capable of defeating them.The only evidence of the Asuran race left behind was a small sample of the original nanites developed to destroy the Wraith (which broke containment during a Lantean flood and killed several Atlantis expedition members), as well as a single reference to Asuras' gate address in an Ancient outpost. | Alien Race - Lanteans | The Ancients who originally inhabited the city of Atlantis. The name is likely an abbreviation of "Atlanteans," and may be Pegasus Galaxy slang. The term is used by the Wraith, among others | Alien Race - 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 in the midst of the mess they have caused (Ascension"). 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.Ancients also have the ability to appear in human form or to reassume corporeal form permanently. Re-ascending then requires help from other Ancients.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.Though the Ancients are not physically present, their actions have visibly altered the efforts of SG-1, among others. The Atlantis expedition is living in the Ancients' advanced city, which they were forced to abandon when the Wraith attacked thousands of years ago. Despite the fact that they are non-corporeal, they are still a powerful force to be reckoned with. | Alien Race - Satedeans | A race of humans in the Pegasus Galaxy whose home world was destroyed by the Wraith some time ago. Several Satedan soldiers who had tried to defend their planet were culled by darts and taken to hive ships. Three hundred Satedans managed to escape and remain scattered throughout the galaxy |
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