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    Ancient database? No way ! -Spoilers of course-

    At the beginning of The Storm - yeah yeah, spoilers, obviously, spoilers - McKay says "According to the Ancients' database".

    Ouch. It's only at my second viewing (today) that I noticed the problem. It is a database that can describe to you in details things like the meteorology of the planet. Not just an addresses database, a true encyclopedia, then. And they have access to it.

    The mere fact of the discovery of that database would have deserved a full episode of its own. And we first hear about that casually. And it is not an earthlings encyclopedia on dvd, it is the Ancients' immense knowledge. Think about O'Neill in SG1 receiving knowledge and just beginning to show his new talents.

    If they have access to that database, they have access not only to meteorological knowledge, but also to the whole functioning and equipment of Atlantis, they have access to history and literature, to science and ascencion theology, to intelligence against the wraith... Now wait a minute, if they already know all that, we're in a different series then, or four years ahead in the narration, they can't behave like helpless visitors in unchartered Atlantis any more, they can move it, they know all about Pegasus, the why of human settlement...

    That is wrong, isn't it?
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    #2
    Uh. We've probably had access to the database since we first touched an Ancient computer terminal.

    As for intellegence against the Wraith, It's 10,000 years out of date.

    Most of the science is beyond us. Ascention stuff is too, probably.
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      #3
      I had the same thought when I re-watched it the other night. I caught that line, and was thinking... hmm, what else have or could be learn from this database?! Need to explore that a little more.
      O'Neill: "Well, we'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it."
      Bra'tac: "No, the bridge is too well guarded."

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        #4
        What do you think the team of scientists (ie. everyone) have been doing all this time? They're probably trying to figure out how all that Ancient tech they found in the database works. How else would McKay know that one device provided a personal forcefield? They've most likely been in and out of the database all this time. I mean, it wouldn't be wise for all those scientists to blindly start testing the Atlantean equipment.

        As for history and literature... anyone else wish Daniel could be on both shows? At least he would've made a big deal out of it.

        The intelligence against the Wraith is a couple thousand years out of date, plus who's to say the Ancients knew a lot about them before they turned tail and went back to Earth?

        They can't move Atlantis. They don't have the power.
        It's a Fargate! It's different.

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          #5
          I assume that when Atlantis's power failed, a lot of the Database was lost, leaving only fragments behind, which thankfully included gate addresses.
          Rocky

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            #6
            Originally posted by rocket4477
            I assume that when Atlantis's power failed, a lot of the Database was lost, leaving only fragments behind, which thankfully included gate addresses.
            Not if they had a back up database.

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              #7
              Originally posted by rocket4477
              I assume that when Atlantis's power failed, a lot of the Database was lost, leaving only fragments behind, which thankfully included gate addresses.
              If the Ancients were advanced, they would've made an automatic back-up system. Compare it to a computer: When I turn off the power to my computer without shutting down, it still holds all my data next time I reboot the thing. And this is just with magnetic datastorage, the Ancients use crystals to store their data, so that should be far less sensative to powerfailure than a human HDD.

              What's more likely is that the SGA crew can't figure out to how to access the database properly. And that what McKay got from the Ancient Database might have been preprogrammed to show when the city was entered again. Plus they need to translate all that Ancients knowledge from the Ancient language to English, which is a huge (=understatement) job. It's like translating Latin to English without the help of someone who knows all about the language.
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                #8
                Originally posted by Gregorius
                What's more likely is that the SGA crew can't figure out to how to access the database properly. And that what McKay got from the Ancient Database might have been preprogrammed to show when the city was entered again. Plus they need to translate all that Ancients knowledge from the Ancient language to English, which is a huge (=understatement) job. It's like translating Latin to English without the help of someone who knows all about the language.
                I don't think it would be that difficult since Ancient can be translated to English letter by letter... just install some basic translation program and the database is ready for them to read...!


                Spoiler:
                [Weir] I'm still trying to understand how you thought it was a good idea to test this device by having someone throw you off a balcony
                [McKay] Oh believe me. That's not the first thing we tried
                [Sheppard, smiling] I shot him!

                LyneSparrow
                ** I do Believe in Furlings, I do, I do!**

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                  #9
                  Nobody ever said the database contained ALL the ancients knowledge, like the head-grabber. It's possible it only contains information important to running the city and gate travel. Now that doesn't really seem like something that should have an episode devoted to it.
                  My non-stargate related site: The Rabbit Archive

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                    #10
                    Originally posted by lyne_sparrow
                    I don't think it would be that difficult since Ancient can be translated to English letter by letter... just install some basic translation program and the database is ready for them to read...!
                    No. On the show, Ancient translates roughly to Latin.

                    The characters are just a gag for us hardcore fans


                    Also, A loss of power wouldn't have destroyed their database. I refuse to believe that the Ancients, 50 million years more advanced than us, don't have a very good method of non-volatile memory.
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                      #11
                      Even if they got it, remember Asgard took thousand of years just to decode few percent. So yeah, if McKay is still alive after few thousand years, I think he has a shot at it.

                      "ARRRG! My dry cleaning bill this month is over $10,000!"

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                        #12
                        I think that it was really not necessary to introduce that database thing in the episode, because they could say new character Zelenka was a meteorologist and had analyzed this all with his own instruments. Very acceptable considering the present state of meteorological technologies on Earth.

                        Now, every time they run into trouble in the next episodes, I will be tempted to say: "Look into the database and read the user guide, you fools". The suspense of the discovery of Atlantis is dead.

                        And as for the pleasure of watching the heroes discover archeological and civilization secrets and slowly solving mysteries episode after episode, well, now, just click on the Database icon. No suspense any more, no Daniel Jackson needed.

                        At least O'Neill could not talk when he had an Ancient mind, and he could not stay in that state long. That kept the suspense and the mystery in the show. It would have been much better to make the former hologramm appear, or a computer hologramm, or an Ancient or something, but at least revealing SLOWLY and scarcely the secrets of this universe.

                        And, last thing, of course the Ancients sunk Atlantis, and they thought it wise to let the strategic database opened to anybody who passed by. Not even a password, or an episode showing the access to that incredible new strategic tool.
                        No rep points, I'm out of the Karma now. No title would be perfect.
                        I apologize for not having time to read everything, and missing relevant contributions.
                        Please don't read my posts as important about real life issues, and don't reply as such.

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                          #13
                          Originally posted by Furling God
                          And, last thing, of course the Ancients sunk Atlantis, and they thought it wise to let the strategic database opened to anybody who passed by. Not even a password, or an episode showing the access to that incredible new strategic tool.
                          You must be referring to the DNA of the ancients past on to humans.

                          As for the database....
                          come on
                          You expect to have millions of years of knowledge assimilated in 3 months?
                          Damn, The US only has only 500 years of history and honestly most don't know jack $hit of any of it. A database can only offer you of what you ask it and only if it contains any data of it.
                          Thought in that case the question would be
                          Why not ask the database:

                          HOW DID THE ANCIENTS RECHARGE THE ZPM?
                          . . . .. . . .

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