Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Hopefully some of you physicist people could help me out on this one.
The Ancient Superweapon on Dakara.
It fires that huge sphere of energy off of the planet, and through the Stargate.
The Stargate is simultaneously connected to every other operational Stargate within the Galaxy.
They said that it could potentially wipe out all known life in the galaxy.
Four words: How does it work? :confused:
1) How much of the energy blast really passes through the Stargate? It certainly didn't look like much to me. (And what about the back half of Dakara? How does the energy wave get back there?) But back to the gate....how would that small amount of the blast alone capable of spreading across the entire planet? Does that tiny patch of the energy wave somehow continue expanding and renewing itself indefinitely? It not, then how could it still possibly be capable of "wiping out all life in the galaxy" if it can't even reach that far? :S
2) If the Stargate is connected to every other gate in the Galaxy, and the energy wave passes through, I assume that it automatically "copies" and sends that exact same amount of energy/information to every other known planet connected to the gate. What would happen if someone or something were to pass through the gate at that time? Would the gate send out a million bajillion copies of them all over the galaxy? :S
Sorry, but this is just bugging me way too much. :( I need answers!!! :p
Thanks in advance for any assistance that you guys might be able to provide. :)
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
As far as Im concerned there is no real answer, which is why I have come up with this theory:
Magic.
:p
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
No, not magic. MAGNETS :D
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartFox
No, not magic. MAGNETS :D
Well according to the episode it basically made the material lose chemical bonds if the energy level was up high enough and if the energy output was low enough it would just make Selmac feel woozy and make replicators lose their energy bonds... Basically I am not sure of anything in reality that would actually be able to do something like this... It's SciFi, so they just sorta make this strange weapon that does something seemingly (or perhaps even actually) impossible. ;)
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by American3.141592654
Well according to the episode it basically made the material lose chemical bonds if the energy level was up high enough and if the energy output was low enough it would just make Selmac feel woozy and make replicators lose their energy bonds... Basically I am not sure of anything in reality that would actually be able to do something like this... It's SciFi, so they just sorta make this strange weapon that does something seemingly (or perhaps even actually) impossible. ;)
So I take it my original joke-of-a-theory about "the energy wave somehow being able to continually expand and renew itself" is probably going to end up being the most likely (and yet simultaneously most improbable) plot hole filler we have so far. Woohoo. :rolleyes: ....Maybe magic/magnets wouldn't be such a bad explanation after all. :p Oh, well. Thanks guys! :)
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
They said that the wave was capable of reaching the entire galaxy - it just didnt travel fast enough. Therefore they opened all the stargates to hit all the replicators as fast as possible so they would have limited time to adapt-
as for the second question- i believe the person would be destroyed because the gate would try to devide them up- the reason the energy can pass thru is it doesnt matter if it is split becuz it is pure energy
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Magnets are always the answer. So the ancient weapon was pretty much the disruptor O'niell built, just on a larger scale. Right?
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Ok, what they said in the episode was the device was originally used to spread life in the universe. And at the current settings, it would destroy life in the universe.
Time for some basic bio and chem. Atoms are held together by the strong force. If you get the far enough appart, the strong force doesn't can't hold them together. Strange, I know. So, at one frequency, the device could be used to only bond certain chemical elements together to form amino acids, rhibosomes, DNA, and all the other good stuff. That would cause life to be formed. The way that makes sense is because communication between an cell in the body of a living organism is done by electrons, the same as in a computer. If you disrupt those signals, the life form dies. Think of it as put a AED on some whose heart hasn't stopped. You disrupt the certain signals of the heart and it stops, killing the person. On a smaller scale, that's disrupting the communication between cells of the body and you would stop functioning and die.
The reason for this belief is because the machine was programed in Reckoning to destory only a set pattern of molecules, the replicators. It didn't kill or disrupt any other form of life.
That's the reason Anubis wanted the machine, because at a random, unknown frequency, it could destroy communication between basic cellular matter and kill life in the universe. It wouldn't make that lifeform fall apart like the replicators did, but you would still die. The reason for this is that we are stuck together, by the forces I mentioned earlier. IF you're wondering why I say we would stay together when the replicators didn't, you'll notice that the replicators didn't turn to dust, they just fell into their individual blocks, which act as beings on thier own.
That's how the weapon works. It disrupts communication between cells or repicator blocks. At different frequencies it disrupts different communications.
As for how it passed through the gate and continued to expand. An energy feild can't expand with the same output without a continual source of energy, otherwise it would expand but it would get weaker and weaker. Think of a ripple in a pond, only a set amount of energy was put into the ripple so by the time it reaches the edge, it's faded to almost nothing.
We've seen that it doesn't take much energy to disrupt a replicator block, see jack device from beginning of S8. So, with the intial burst, the wave would expand. Going through the gate doesn't stop that expanding force, it still has all the initial K energy that it had when the device went off. Due to the fact that it was so close to the initial blast, the wave would still have the amount of K energy needed to expand around those planets the way the initial blast spread around the planet that the weapon was one. That way, it would destroy everything, even if it's initial energy was weakened.
If you're wondering why it might take so little energy to disrupt communications between replicator blocks, even at the right frequency, think about how a microwave can stop a pacemaker. The microwave doesn't have much power on it's own but it can disrupt the pacepaker because of the feild it emmits on a very small energy scale.
I hope that helped some. If I'm wrong on any of this, I beg your pardon. Please correct me.
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Anyone else think it looked exactly like the Ancient Time-loop device? Aka reused prop.
Phil
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by USS Thunderchild
Anyone else think it looked exactly like the Ancient Time-loop device? Aka reused prop.
Phil
it was the same prop. not a big deal, both devices were built by the ancients so it makes sense that some stuff weould look the same
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by spg_1983
it was the same prop. not a big deal, both devices were built by the ancients so it makes sense that some stuff weould look the same
Has anyone noticed that all this pre-Atlantis ancient stuff is all made out of rock? Maybe that's why Sam noted that the puddle jumper was made of different ancient tech then the other stuff. presumeably because it came after the ancients returned from Pegasus.
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
The Ancients can be noted to have been separated into separate 'races' or 'factions'.
The Ancients that lived in Atlantis refer to themselves as "Lantians".
Therefore, the MW Ancients could have used rock & Lantians used a harder metal like feel.
Another theory is that their tech just changed in style (they got sick of the stone age) and didnt bother to upgrade abandoned tech.
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
The control consol was rock, but the wall had the pretty pulsing lights like the wall in Atlantis. So their is both rock and metalic-ish stuff their
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by puddlejumper747
Hopefully some of you physicist people could help me out on this one.
The Ancient Superweapon on Dakara.
It fires that huge sphere of energy off of the planet, and through the Stargate.
The Stargate is simultaneously connected to every other operational Stargate within the Galaxy.
They said that it could potentially wipe out all known life in the galaxy.
Four words: How does it work? :confused:
1) How much of the energy blast really passes through the Stargate? It certainly didn't look like much to me. (And what about the back half of Dakara? How does the energy wave get back there?) But back to the gate....how would that small amount of the blast alone capable of spreading across the entire planet? Does that tiny patch of the energy wave somehow continue expanding and renewing itself indefinitely? It not, then how could it still possibly be capable of "wiping out all life in the galaxy" if it can't even reach that far? :S
2) If the Stargate is connected to every other gate in the Galaxy, and the energy wave passes through, I assume that it automatically "copies" and sends that exact same amount of energy/information to every other known planet connected to the gate. What would happen if someone or something were to pass through the gate at that time? Would the gate send out a million bajillion copies of them all over the galaxy? :S
Sorry, but this is just bugging me way too much. :( I need answers!!! :p
Thanks in advance for any assistance that you guys might be able to provide. :)
The truth of the matter is that we can only speculate on how it works. Carter never gave us a very detailed explanation of the device or how it works. Some of the posters have given very cool and detailed answers, but I think here are some basic points to consider:
1) It's not a weapon at all; it's a device that the Ancients used to "re-seed" the Milky Way galaxy with life on life-bearing planets. In short, this device is like the Genesis Torpedo used in Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan and Star Trek III: Search for Spock. If you've seen those movies, you know Dr. Carol Marcus' explanation that the device creates life from lifelessness. The Genesis torpedo was designed to a) create a life-bearing planet from a previously non-life-supporting planetoid (e.g., from dead moon to life-supporting planet) by creating an atmosphere, climate, stable geological base, etc.) and b) plant specific life forms on the planet by inserting a pre-programmed genetic protocol. So, if you wanted a human planet, you'd insert the appropriate bio and non-bio coded protocols to create your new life matrix.
2) In order for the new matrix to take effect, it must wipe out pre-existing matrices. Thus, if you program the device to insert a human life form, it will do so at the expense of any previously existing life forms. The matrix will overwrite and destroy other matrices before creating the new one. This is how it can appear to be a weapon.
3) In this case, the Ancients did not appear to care about creating life-supporting planets from dead moons or asteroids, but rather, to create human life where there was no human life before. This would work by sending the bio-matrix wave to a particular planet where there was no human life; the wave would seed the new bio-matrix into the planet's ecosystem and let nature take its course from there. If there was other "advanced" life on the planet, it would be wiped out in favour of the new matrix. Lesser life might not be effected, but it's possible it could be. It depends on how advanced the wave works. In other words, does it supplant only advanced life or does it create the basic life forms and allow "evolution" to take its course over millions of years? That's unclear.
4) Anubis' plan was this: He knew that things in the MW galaxy were messed up and that in order for him to take complete control over all life forms in this galaxy, he would have to expend a great deal of time and energy. He knew of this device on Ta'kara and figured he would use it to supplant all existing life with new life, which once evolved, would be ripe for his domination as the only true God of the Milky Way. Being an energy being, he would not be effected by the device and could bide his time, in ascension, until the time was right to descend and control this galaxy as his own. By using the device, all existing life would be destroyed by the wave and supplanted with the new bio-matrix. Anubis could also program the device to create any form of life he wished to create.
5) By altering the matrix of the device, it was enhanced to spread the Ancient replicator destroying wave used in "New Order", more or less, and this effectively eradicated all replicators and replicator technology in our galaxy without having an effect on any living organisms.
In regards to your first question, I think the device was designed to work on an individual planetary basis. I don't think the Ancients intended to use it en masse, but rather to seed particular worlds with life and monitor the progress of those worlds while seeding other worlds with life. Some of it human-form, while others may have been other life forms. I think the device is designed to work on one or two worlds at a time, but not the whole gate network. It's a surgical procedure, in other words, with surgical precision, not global. However, since the gates can be simultaneously dialed and controlled, it's possible to target all life-bearing planets or all gate-bearing planets at once. So, I don't think it was designed to do that, but since it's possible, it can do that.
About your second question, I think once the device has been programmed with a specific bio-matrix or energy pattern, it will transmit that wave matrix to wherever it is directed, so all the information is the same. That is how it can be used a weapon.
Of course, this is my interpretation of the device. Just my thoughts.
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by StanTheAncient
They said that the wave was capable of reaching the entire galaxy - it just didnt travel fast enough. Therefore they opened all the stargates to hit all the replicators as fast as possible so they would have limited time to adapt
Yeah, you're right. I guess that makes sense. But that's still kind of crazy, considering how many millions of light years that energy wave would require to spread throughout the entire galaxy!!! :eek: I think I was originally under the assumption that the whole Stargate simultaneous-networking situation that they set up here was supposed to work like that every time....but you're right. Carter only rigged it to work that way this one time. So that makes sense. But how that wave alone is capapble of reaching the entire galaxy....that's just crazy. Do you think it's possible that they could have translated it wrong? Maybe the weapon was only supposed to be able to wipe out all life on Dakara? Nah.... :S Or maybe the weapon actually fires several more energy bursts (exactly like that one) at the exact same time, but some of them are just launched at faster-than-light speeds so that they are able to spread across the galaxy faster. Could that work? Maybe? I'm guessing probably not, but it was worth the suggestion.... :rolleyes:
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by LordAnubis
In regards to your first question, I think the device was designed to work on an individual planetary basis. I don't think the Ancients intended to use it en masse, but rather to seed particular worlds with life and monitor the progress of those worlds while seeding other worlds with life. I think the device is designed to work on one or two worlds at a time, but not the whole gate network.
That would actually make the most sense to me. :) But unless we find out that the device was somehow capable of flying itself (or else being transported) around to other planets, we'll never really know for sure. Of course it's also entirely possible that the Ancients simply left it behind hidden on Dakara after they were done using it.... :rolleyes:
Different Question: ( I know it's slightly off-topic, but it can eventually be tied back into the main discussion if necessary.)
How many of the Replicators actually arrived to fight at the Battle of Dakara? Was it (except of course for the ones attacking Earth) all of them? How much of her full force did Replicarter actually decide to bring to this battle? :confused:
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Maybe that time difference is what accounts for the different levels of tech amongst species in the galaxy. I'm not talking about human derivitives here.
Oh and Lord Anubis, I thought I had mentioned it wasn't a weapon but a life seeder. Whoops. I just used the term weapon in context of what they wanted it to do.
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by puddlejumper747
Different Question: ( I know it's slightly off-topic, but it can eventually be tied back into the main discussion if necessary.)
How many of the Replicators actually arrived to fight at the Battle of Dakara? Was it (except of course for the ones attacking Earth) all of them? How much of her full force did Replicarter actually decide to bring to this battle? :confused:
I think it was almost all besides the ones in Earth. Because Replicarter knew this was the only weapon capable of destroying her kind.
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by SmartFox
I think it was almost all besides the ones in Earth. Because Replicarter knew this was the only weapon capable of destroying her kind.
OK. Good. That's kinda what I thought, but I wasn't sure. I think that makes sense. :) *prays they're all gone for good*
Re: Question About The Ancient Superweapon [[Spoilers: Reckoning Part 2]]
Quote:
Originally Posted by Im_just_guessing
As far as Im concerned there is no real answer, which is why I have come up with this theory:
Magic.
:p
Clarke's Law: Any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic.
Remember that Ancient tech is sufficiently advanced to leave even the Asgard scratching their heads. From our perspective, it might as well be magic.
