Sheppard Speculation

[AutumnDream]

There are clearly some unnatural connections between Sheppard, Ancient technology and ancients themselves. We've seen this in episodes where he's been incredibly adept with the technology, and twice where there's been an ancient with a strong attraction to him. In Epiphany, it was even noted that he is "very close to ascension", and he was given the chance to do it right then and there. There's definitely something weird going on.

A theory of mine sprung up when I was watching the Siege Part 1 again and Halling said, "We cannot hope to know the ancestors' plans for Atlantis." The Ori interfere indirectly with our plane of existence by granting humans advanced abilities and technology (their staves), thus turning them into Priors, so we know it's not completely out of the question for those on the higher plane to interact with us in that way. It could be possible that Sheppard is part of a "plan" set in motion by the ascended ancients to revive Atlantis and he doesn't even know it. In Letters From Pegasus, he spoke of family and mentioned that "Not all of us have one". Maybe he never had one because he was willed into existence by the "ancestors"? For all we know, he could have lived as an orphan from the start.

A discussion began in the Epiphany thread about weird Sheppard-related things. Yeade pitched some interesting theories.

a) he's genetically an Ancient via freak mutation or eugenics
b) time-traveling Janus or another Ancient of your choice is somehow closely related to him
c) he was an Ascended Ancient but got booted out because of his smartass attitude, memory erased
d) some terrible plot twist I can't begin to describe involving fate, destiny, cosmic purposes, blahblahblah, and Atlantis

I liked the eugenics theory, and figured it would have been possible for the ancients to have kept a small group of "pure-breed" evolved humans so if in the future earth needed to use the remaining ancient technology, we wouldn't be completely dead in the water against some bad guy. (They probably assumed the wraith would eventually find earth.) Alternatively, they could have done it because they expected us to find Atlantis and they wanted us to be able to use it and revive it.

Anyway, I think it'd be fun to expound on these and for everyone to make up more theories and discuss those, too. So, go for it!~

[Atlantis1]

I was wondering how this fits in with the ep "Before I Sleep"?

[Whatazarian]

If the writers do have such a purpose for Sheppard, it could really spice up the story lines for Atlantis, but at this point I doubt it, what he meant about the family stuff was probably just a cold O'Neill like military thing where he had a sad childhood or something.

[FoolishPleasure]

There is a Sheppard Discussion thread (under Characters and Relationships) that has been discussing these scenarios for awhile. It isn't a drooling thunk thread - it is for discussing Sheppard intelligently (or so we try).

[jazz!]

Interesting speculation!

This gives quite a new twist to Atlantis;
O'neill was special maybe Sheppard even more so!

[Yeade]

I'm linking this LJ discussion of the biology behind Beckett's ATA gene therapy and the gene itself for reference. Also of interest is the ATA gene thread.

Anyways, while I obviously find it interesting to speculate about Sheppard and his Ancient connection, I feel like I can only go so far because there's simply not enough to work with in canon. And much of that is my interpretation of things like, say, the acting.

That said, a fair number of people all seemed to have gotten the impression there's something up with Sheppard, Atlantis, and the Ancients, and I think (hope) this points to TPTB purposely dropping hints, both textual and subtextual, of a revelation that's been scripted since the beginning.* I think this thread would be a good place to start collecting together all the circumstantial evidence. Maybe a transcript of the relevant sections from "Sanctuary" and "Epiphany"? And I know I'd certainly appreciate any and all information about the Ancients and ATA from SG-1.

In fact, there's another idea I'm not sure I discussed with anyone here. If, as Beckett says, we humans are the "second evolution" in the form of the Ancients, the widely varied expression of the Ancient gene can be explained by, so to speak, attacking the problem from both ends.

As I understand it, the Ancients seeded life in both the Milky Way and Pegasus to develop as they did. Which is to say we'll eventually be the Ancients, presumably with all the fancy ATA stuff. The weaker and much more common gene expression is the result of natural evolution, and the ATA gene therapy only works on some because it doesn't so much as cleanly give you the gene as it helps you along. Beckett has perhaps found the key to the key--the missing evolutionary piece a certain percentage of the population needs to have a complete ATA gene.

This might also explain why so few in Pegasus seem to have the ATA gene. The Ancients went to Pegasus after the Milky Way and that, combined with population and technology control in the form of the Wraith, has slowed both the evolution of the Ancient gene and the means to scientifically investigate it.

The unusually strong expressions of the gene, however, in O'Neill (I presume) and Sheppard are not the result of evolution but descent. If everyone else is evolutionarily chasing after the Ancients, O'Neill and Sheppard are the living remnants the Ancients left behind in their haste to get away from their screaming fans.

Yet another interesting point of speculation is the reaction of the Pegasus natives now that Weir's told Kolya of the ATA gene, which the Genii at least apparently didn't know of before. The presence of the expedition has already upsetted the balance of power in Pegasus (see how news that the Athosians are in league with the Atlanteans has traveled in "Trinity" and raised the stakes in Teyla's trade agreement), and I'm practically drooling over, lol, the prospect of expedition members becoming hotly contested human commodities of sorts in a galaxy where the ability to work and understand the random pieces of advanced technology lying around has got to be considered extremely valuable.

...can we openly talk spoilers for upcoming episodes in this thread?

Anyways, speaking of the Athosians, I wonder what Halling and the more religious think of Sheppard and the other natural ATA carriers. And, boy, the gene therapy! If they were uncomfortable merely living in Atlantis...

Oh. Um, you know, it occurs to me I'm heading off-topic. Er. Sorry. That is... Erm.

Slightly more relevant, besides speculation of how Sheppard got whatever-Ancient-thing-it-is he's got, how would he react to finding out there's more?

Personally, while I think he's oddly comfortable with the technology because of his Ancient-whatever (he seems more at home in Atlantis, in another galaxy, than he is on Earth), he's nowhere near as comfortable with people singling him out because of what he can do with his "mutant gene." He's probably glad the writers have more or less forgotten this whole point. I, of course, want him to be totally out of his depth if it means more adorkable confusion and possibilities for angst... So predictable.

Let me see. What other crap can I write about in this post?

Well, there's always my pet crack theory about sentient!Atlantis. And how the city loooves John, lol. Nobody wants to read about that though, I think. So, yes, you've reached the end of this post. (Except the footnote. Why did I write one again?)


*In some ways, this setup reminds me of the build behind one of the central mysteries in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. Nothing explicit, but details scattered all over that don't seem to make sense until you stare at them long and hard. Then, suddenly, you see the light. Except maybe you're just seeing things. Only it's so damn cool!

[Atlantis1]

It could be a neat idea but how do we explain the fact that the city didn't rise the first time they when there as seen in "Before I Sleep"?

[Yeade]

You mean the idea of sentient!Atlantis? It's, er, complicated. And you can read all about it here. Though I'll try to field your question anyways. Please forgive me if I ramble.

Basically, I figure Atlantis isn't sentient in the traditional sci-fi sense, i.e. a supercomputer or AI. Atlantis has more of an emotional sentience, and even then it's not something that's easily explained in human terms because the city is a collective of many, many systems and is possibly a stranger to most of our feelings.

Mainly, I suppose, my theory of sentient!Atlantis means the ATA connection is deeper and more responsive and interactive than has been shown thus far. And on an individual basis.

There's a bit of this in canon.

That the jumper, which is sort of an extension of Atlantis, and the shield in "Hide and Seek" responded to almost subconscious wishes.

And the question of how the weapons chair actually works. It appears to have a mainly mental interface. How then does someone access all the different functions? Or even know what functions are available? Does the chair give feedback? If so, how? In what form? When Sheppard fires off the drones, is he at all directing the things? The drones seek targets on their own but suppose you wanted a specific strategy.

Plus if the city has a sort of different relationship with every ATA gene carrier, it would go a ways toward explaining the variances in how the gene expresses with the Ancient technology.

But! Back to your question!

Assuming Atlantis is sentient in this... soft way, I don't think the Ancients actually designed the city to turn out the way it (she) did.

The Ancient hybrid physical/mental/emotional interface, IMO, is the logical extension of the drive for ever more user-friendly technology. These days, I tend to speculate that somewhere along the way the thoughts and feelings of all the thousands and thousands of ATA-endowed inhabitants imprinted on Atlantis.

Anyways, the point is that if the Ancients didn't build the city as a fully aware AI or supercomputer, Atlantis probably can't act outside of whatever protocols there are. The best the city could do, I think, is try to convey through the ATA connection that there's a serious problem and nudge people toward fixing it. This is then further hampered by the fact that this sort of feedback is probably very weak and undirected unless the person is interfacing with Atlantis through, say, the control chair. (With the possible exception of Sheppard, yadda yadda.)

So, Atlantis can't do something like set the failsafe because that would be working outside the limits of her original design but, for example, the Ancients probably allowed for automatic power distribution, so Atlantis can route power to one system over another if need be. In fact, you can use that as an explanation for why and how the deep space sensors popped up in "The Brotherhood."

Finally, also consider that Atlantis had been in a state of power-starved hibernation for 10,000 years. Maybe the city was groggy.

[AutumnDream]

Yeade, I love you. I'll edit this post later with my response because right now I gotta run!

[Yeade]

Though it's probably good that you do because, clearly, I'm going to stalk you.

[Shep'sSocks]

It could be a neat idea but how do we explain the fact that the city didn't rise the first time they when there as seen in "Before I Sleep"?

Because it wasn't supposed to rise due to not enough power and that wossname, who befriended Weir, had to set it to rise manually.

[Atlantis1]

Because it wasn't supposed to rise due to not enough power and that wossname, who befriended Weir, had to set it to rise manually.

Perhaps I am reading this thread wrong. I just got the feeling that if Sheppard did have the speculated ties to Atlantis the city should have either risen at his present or perhaps once he reached Atlantis something would have triggered in his mind to know how to make the city rise (even if he didn't quite realize why he was compelled to turn on the right controls.

I wish I was better at presenting what I am trying to say. Sheppard is my favorite character and I think there is something special in that he possess' such a strong link with the ata gene and his ability to use it.

[Shep'sSocks]

I don't think when he popped through the gate the city went 'Sheppard! Here at last!' but that like any Ancient technology it recognises its own. Note that in Rising when we had shots of the security teams in the Gateroom, only the emergency lights were on. The stairs were unlit. A second after Sheppard walked through the gate, the lights went on and the stairs lit up as he went up them. The lights in the control room went on as he went up those stairs. The city recognises the gene but I doubt if it's more than that. It's a control mechanism.

[Yeade]

Atlantis1, it's not so much Sheppard, specifically, as whoever is genetically closest to the Ancients. However that came about. Sheppard happens to be this person.

I just got the feeling that if Sheppard did have the speculated ties to Atlantis the city should have either risen at his present or perhaps once he reached Atlantis something would have triggered in his mind to know how to make the city rise (even if he didn't quite realize why he was compelled to turn on the right controls.

Whoa, whoa. There are limits to how far we can take this.

Again, it's not Sheppard, the individual, that wakes the city but, as Shep'sSocks points out, the presence of the ATA gene. Though Atlantis may not have reacted as well to anyone else.

Next, while the Ancient technology is incredibly responsive to Sheppard, it does seem to need from him at least a vague desire to do whatever-it-is. Sheppard had to be thinking about what to do next and the problems of finding Sumner et al.--first on the planet and then more locally--before the jumper pulled out the relevant display and life signs detector. In this case, he left to find an alternate energy source and only returned in time for the shield to fail. You could say there was no time to commune with the city.

In addition, as Sheppard wasn't sitting in a control chair or comparably interfacing with Atlantis, there's no telling whether the city would've been able to give him feedback about what to do.

That the technology is interactively guiding Sheppard and the other ATA users is, I think, a lot more believable than anyone just knowing what to do. The ease with which Sheppard works Ancient tech is then two-fold: he "hears" it better because of his Ancient-whatever, and the feedback loop between him and the technology is more open and stable because of anything and everything from his mindset and professional training (pilots have to take in and respond to a lot of information all at once) to his Ancient-whatever.

A final consideration is that Sheppard hadn't really been in Atlantis for very long. And this after stepping through a wormhole to another galaxy. He likely had other things on his mind and wouldn't know to, well, listen to Atlantis. I imagine even Sheppard's baseline ATA connection to Atlantis registers as a shifting sea-presence, i.e. easy to overlook, ignore, or become accustomed to.

Of course, Sheppard might be the only one who "hears" the sea-presence. Or maybe he "hears" it constantly whereas the weaker natural gene carriers and the gene therapy recipients only get sporadic bursts of psychic noise.

And, naturally, if Sheppard does experience anything like this, no one would ever know. He's probably afraid to ask the others with the ATA gene for fear of sounding insane and being packed off to see Heightmeyer posthaste.

I wish I was better at presenting what I am trying to say. Sheppard is my favorite character and I think there is something special in that he possess' such a strong link with the ata gene and his ability to use it.

No worries. You were more than clear enough. And, yeah, I think there's something to Sheppard and his magic gene, too.

The city recognises the gene but I doubt if it's more than that.

Agreed. At least in "Rising." I think as the expedition members spend more time in Atlantis, the city starts to differentiate between the individual gene carriers and personalizes the interface. Again, this is the logical end of making technology user-friendly.

This, then, is when Atlantis realizes she loves John best. And that idea is really fun to play with.


edit: tags

[Shep'sSocks]

Agreed. At least in "Rising." I think as the expedition members spend more time in Atlantis, the city starts to differentiate between the individual gene carriers and personalizes the interface. Again, this is the logical end of making technology user-friendly.

This, then, is when Atlantis realizes she loves John best. And that idea is really fun to play with.

That's taking it further than I said or meant. I don't personalise Atlantis. The city is run by its Ancient programming and that's it. It will recognise those with the gene and light up rooms or whatever but I don't think it recognises individuals at all.