Addresses

[Quadhelix]

The Atlantis gate still would have needed to be connected to the Pegasus network for correlative updates and in the episode where Weir goes back in time to when the Ancients are evacuating to Earth, Janus said that they had hoped that their kind would one day return to Atlantis. The Ancients needed to evacuate to Earth through the stargate and given what was going on in the galaxy, copying the code to a separate crystal and deleting it from the DHD's could have been the fastest option before the Wraith could use a stolen ZPM to dial another galaxy.

That still doesn't explain why they would put it on a new crystal on Atlantis's DHD, instead of just using a software patch to remove it from the other DHDs.

Well not all gates would need the ability but alot of worlds could have used it. Tantalus was the meeting place of the alliance, Vis Uban was supposed to be the Ancients' crown jewel before the plague, Dakara is where the Ancients seeded all life in the Milky Way, all those Ancient knowledge repositories, maybe the Nox planet, etc.

Good point on Tantalus, not so much though for the Ancient repositories. As for Dakara, that was the point where they first arrived in the Milky Way, why would that need intergalactic dialing? It was their arrival point, not their capitol

Also, if Milky Way gates needed the control crystal for 8-chevron addresses, then Earth's Antarctic DHD would have had to have it but if it's been lying around in Area 51 for a decade, I'm pretty sure someone would have noticed a large, extra crystal compared to other Milky Way DHD's.

Why would the Antarctic DHD have to have intergalactic dialing capability?

JANIS: We are about to evacuate this city in the hope that it will lie safe for many years and then, one day, our kind will return.

I'm not getting the point of this quote. Yes, they were evacuating Pegasus for the Milky Way. However, this does not change the fact that, once back in the Milky Way, they were still faced with the task of rebuilding Ancient civilization in Milky Way, given that it had previously devastated by the plague.

In other words, it wasn't like there was a thriving Ancient civilization in the Milky Way for them to need constant connection. Although, now that I think about it, there is also reason to believe that the Alliance wasn't formed until well after the Ancients left for Pegasus.

Well its dependence on shield for atmosphere would have been irrelevant to Ancients since power generation wouldn't have been a problem for them.

True.

In fact, it seems like Destiny, which is definitely a space ship first, also somewhat relies on its shield for atmosphere because of its observation deck.

That isn't a glass window?

I'd also like to point out that Atlantis is the only Ancient ship we've seen (until Destiny) that comes with intergalactic hyperdrive engines.

This could be interpreted either way. For the "ship" argument, the interpretation is obvious. For the "city" argument, I would say that the intergalactic hyperdrive was so that it could spend as little time in space as possible.

So because we've only seen one that means there weren't others?

No, but we have seen only that one and it didn't have a Stargate. Thus, we cannot blithely assume that all cityships had Stargates, let alone eight-chevron-dial capabilities.

Well this is kind of paraphrasing Col. Telford's statement in an SGU preview, why do all stargates have 9 chevrons if they can't use them all.

Eli Whitney gave us the answer several centuries ago: interchangeable parts.

Creating tens of thousands of stargates and DHD's and placing them throughout several galaxies would have taken an incredible amount of resources even for the Ancients so why not just seed the galaxy with 7-chevron stargates and build a few 8- or 9-chevron gates where you need them?

Maybe because it was easier to mass-produce a single design, rather than to mass-produce one design and special make a few specialized Stargates. Also, oh yeah, interchangeable parts.

[Control_Chair]

Hi everyone

I have just signed up but have been viewing the forums for some time and reading with interest, however to the point:-

According to Stargate Wiki (I know it not always accurate) the 8 symbol address for Atlantis goes:-

Glyph 19 Glyph 21 Glyph 2 Glyph 16 Glyph 15 Glyph 8 Glyph 20
Pegasus Pisces Carter Pisces Capricorn Norma Sculptor
Austrinus

Now if you are going to have a galaxy code for the Pegasus galaxy it seems logical that it would be the Pegasus glyph, but as that glyph is the first one in the address that would imply that the "area code / distance calculator" is the 1st glyph to be dialled, not the 7th. Any thoughts?

[Quadhelix]

Now if you are going to have a galaxy code for the Pegasus galaxy it seems logical that it would be the Pegasus glyph, but as that glyph is the first one in the address that would imply that the "area code / distance calculator" is the 1st glyph to be dialled, not the 7th. Any thoughts?

Fun fact: there are two Pegasus galaxies in the Local Group. One is the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy, the other is the Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy. Even funner fact: the reason that these galaxies go by the name "Pegasus" is because they are in the constellation Pegasus.

Thus, if anything, the first glyph in Atlantis's address represents the direction to the galaxy in which Atlantis resides. This implies (far from proves, however) that the whole eight-chevron address codes for a whole galaxy: the first six symbols determine direction (and, at least for closer galaxies, the first glyph would appear to be highly dominant), while the last glyph determines distance.

[Control_Chair]

Fun fact: there are two Pegasus galaxies in the Local Group. One is the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy, the other is the Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy.

Good point but we have absouly no idea is the Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy even has a gate network.

Even funner fact: the reason that these galaxies go by the name "Pegasus" is because they are in the constellation Pegasus.

So, I am not suggesting the Ancients called them the Pegasus galaxies, but it appears that they used the glyph representing the constellation in which the PG resides to represent it in some way.

Thus, if anything, the first glyph in Atlantis's address represents the direction to the galaxy in which Atlantis resides. This implies (far from proves, however) that the whole eight-chevron address codes for a whole galaxy: the first six symbols determine direction (and, at least for closer galaxies, the first glyph would appear to be highly dominant), while the last glyph determines distance.

I agree the 1st glyph appears to be significant, however I am unsure about how the other six work.

Theory 1 - The 1st glyph indicates the direction in which to send the wormhole and the other six code for the whole galaxy (your theory Quadhelix), however how do you connect to a specific stargate in that network, e.g. Lantea?

Theory 2 - The 1st glyph again indicates the direction in which to send the wormhole and the other six code for a specific point within that galaxy i.e. Lantea.

The only way I can see to settle is to how much the address changed when they moved Atlantis from Lantea to M35-177 at the end of SGA season 3/beginning of season 4. If the address from Earth to Atlantis didn't change at all then it would support theory 1, however if it did change then that would support theory 2. However we never saw the address from Earth after Atlantis moved so we will never know.

[Quadhelix]

Good point but we have absouly no idea is the Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal Galaxy even has a gate network.

When the Ancients first built the Milky Way 'Gates, neither did the Pegasus Dwarf Irregular Galaxy.

So, I am not suggesting the Ancients called them the Pegasus galaxies, but it appears that they used the glyph representing the constellation in which the PG resides to represent it in some way.

Ah, okay.

I agree the 1st glyph appears to be significant, however I am unsure about how the other six work.

I'm going to go out on a limb and suggest the possibility that the use of "Pegasus" as the first symbol in Atlantis's address may be a coincidence.

Theory 1 - The 1st glyph indicates the direction in which to send the wormhole and the other six code for the whole galaxy (your theory Quadhelix), however how do you connect to a specific stargate in that network, e.g. Lantea?

Actually, my theory is that the first six code for the direction to the galaxy, while the one immediately before the point of origin defines distance. Atlantis's/Pegasus's address would indicate that, at least for nearby galaxies, the first glyph is strongly dominant in determining direction, though it might just be that most of the other five symbols "cancel out."

As for how you would select a specific planet, you wouldn't. Instead, much like how one Stargate becomes dominant on a planet with multiple Stargates, so too would one Stargate become the dominant 'Gate in a galaxy. If you wanted to reach a specific planet, you would first travel to that 'Gate, and then use it to dial the planet you wanted to reach.

Theory 2 - The 1st glyph again indicates the direction in which to send the wormhole and the other six code for a specific point within that galaxy i.e. Lantea.

I must admit that a lot of the evidence points to this being the case.

[Ed]

i think its more likely that the first six (or 2 through 7) are an six synbol adress that give a point int the galaxy you dial from (x degrees around x degrees up x light years from centre) and the extra symbol overlays that onto the other galaxy

the only problem is dialling a bigger galaxy from a smaller one no idea how you would do that maybe you just cant dial the very outer edges

[Quadhelix]

the only problem is dialling a bigger galaxy from a smaller one no idea how you would do that maybe you just cant dial the very outer edges

Well, let us take Pegasus and Milky Way as an example. Pegasus is 4,000 light-years across. Milky Way is 100,000 light-years across. Earth itself is something like 25,000 light-years from the center of the galaxy.


Also, another problem that you forgot with any "galaxy code" eighth chevron is that such a system would have extremely limited range: its limit wold be the roughly 10 million diameter of the Local Group.

[Serenity000]

why would galaxy code be limited? My thought is that the 8th chevron is an area code that just transfers the wormhole to another network, it's hard to describe. like you are calling an operator on the phone back when they physically had to direct your call.

[Quadhelix]

why would galaxy code be limited? My thought is that the 8th chevron is an area code that just transfers the wormhole to another network, it's hard to describe. like you are calling an operator on the phone back when they physically had to direct your call.

I understand the idea perfectly, which is why I can say with absolute confidence that such a system would be limited to the Local Group.

Basically, the "galaxy code" conjecture for the eighth chevron says that each eight-chevron address consists of a regular seven-chevron address that has been "forwarded" to another galaxy by an extra symbol, which corresponds to that galaxy.

The reason that a "galaxy code" eighth chevron would be limited to the Local Group is because there are only 38 symbols on the Stargate, yet ~40 galaxies in the Local Group. This means that the Stargate has roughly one symbol to correspond to each galaxy in the Local Group, and none left over to dial anywhere else.


Of course, given what we now know of the ninth chevron, it would seem likely that it is a

Spoiler:

combination lock code,

which would make most of my objections to the eighth being a galaxy code somewhat irrelevant.

[K^2]

8th chevron cannot be a simple "area code". It has to be a level of hierarchy code.

The 6-chevron address names 6 points in 3D space. However, each constellation is just a general direction. For local travel, a star is picked from each constellation to work as the specific point in 3-space.

But stars aren't the only objects located in constellations. There are plenty of other, far more distant objects. By taking objects (read galaxies) from local group, for example, travel around the cluster can easily be achieved.

Naturally, the resolution is going to drop, and you will have to switch to a local network if you want a specific star. But if you only travel to one of the neighboring galaxies, resolution should still be high enough to allow choosing a specific region within the galaxy.