All Things Wraith - Contains Spoilers

[teddybearnospaces]

Even with my cursory knowledge of history, it seems to me that whether societies/cultures come and go depend largely on whether they maintain the moral fabric of their society.

A great many advanced societies have fallen to more barbaric, more primitive ones. The Roman empire had a bit of difficutly with the Huns. Saying the Romans were less barbaric is a bit of a stretch considering whole species went extinct due to their use in gladiatoral games. But the huns were not an advanced society, not compared to the Romans. However the Huns had a very distinct comparative advantage in military. The Romans had better cities. The Huns had better cavalry. In a war, plumbing doesn't mean a whole lot.
~Teddy

[Raicho]

A great many advanced societies have fallen to more barbaric, more primitive ones. The Roman empire had a bit of difficutly with the Huns. Saying the Romans were less barbaric is a bit of a stretch considering whole species went extinct due to their use in gladiatoral games. But the huns were not an advanced society, not compared to the Romans. However the Huns had a very distinct comparative advantage in military. The Romans had better cities. The Huns had better cavalry. In a war, plumbing doesn't mean a whole lot.
~Teddy

I'm not sure of the specifics, but I believe the Revolutionary War was won by use of guerilla tactics. Apparently the British weren't prepared, and despite having significant numbers and advanced weaponry they still lost.

I definitely agree that thousands of years of advancement without opposition had nourished arrogance within the Ancient's ranks, which lead to their defeat. I think that complacency was also a major factor. The Ancient's had no real enemies in the Pegasus galaxy.

[Schrodinger's Cat]

The Tollan are Naive, The Nox refuse to fight, The Ancients are overconfident, and The Furlings, well, they built a utopia that became a dystopia when the goa'uld stopped by.

[teddybearnospaces]

Apparently the British weren't prepared, and despite having significant numbers and advanced weaponry they still lost.

In the revolutionary war the Colonials had better weapons and were better at using them. The brittish were still using muskets with smooth more barrels. the colonials were using rifles (i.e. muskets with rifled barrels). A smooth bore barrel is tremendously innaccurate. It doesn't matter how much you practice you can't decide where the musket ball will go. With a rifled barrel (spiralled grooves in the barrel cause the musket ball to spin) there is increased accuracy. The colonials had the luxury of being able to shoot from behind trees and hit what they aimed at. The Brittish (apart from the disadvantage of the fluffy red uniforms) had get in lines and fire a whole bunch of muskets at once in order to hit anything at a distance of more than a handful of yards.
~Teddy

[Panther]

WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY OT but, no. You're all absolutely myopic in your assesment of the Revolutionary War. It has been said that amatuers talk of weapons and tactics, professionals talk of logistics. Well my argument focuses on both. It will very abstract with little evidence but I know what I say is true (I just don't want to re-read the 12 books or so I've read on it again...)

Firstly, the British alienated the Colonials. Many American's don't know this but there was still a significant proportion of the Colonials who thought themselves Englishmen with a duty to the Crown. The estimated proportion is in the order of about even. Washington himself was reluctant about joining the rebellion. Now later on as the war progressed the British burned and pillaged the countryside, presumably to try to cow the enemy into submission. This of course, as always backfired and actually turned most of their supporters away to the rebel cause.

Secondly, the war was NOT decided by the Guerilla War. It was actually the battles where the British main forces were decisively defeated. After all the Battles of Trenton and Saratoga was pretty much where the war was won despite later operations before the formal surrender.

Lastly, the most critical factor was the blockade by the French Navy. This prevented the British from reinforcing their beleagured troops and getting supplies through. Had the French Navy not done this the British would certainly have won the war, because the Americans were always in a precarious supply position. Valley Forge is an excellent example of this. Many soldiers could have been saved had they simply had winter provisions. In fact the French entry to the war enabled resupply to the Americans expecially desperately needed muskets (the "Charleville" model). Which leads me to a further and contravertial remark. Without the French, the USA would not exist.

[TechnoWraith]

So go on... state the obvious.

Wraith eat people.

[akren]

LMFAO I wonder if anyone actually volunteers to be dinner to a Wraith (like how some lo'tars want to become hosts for Goa'uuld), it might be a source of religious Wraith-worship?

[akren]

Thankyou all for your insights, I have found them fascinating. Nice to see most of us can still respect one another & their opinions, even when we don't necesserily agree on things.

All these theories on the Wraith seem interesting to me, but the one question I have never seen asked is what do they Wraith REALLY want (besides to suck the life out of people)?

We have seen them motivated only by base emotions & needs thusfar : greed, anger, fear, arrogance & the like. We know some have amibtion, to attain higher standing; etc; but do we know if there any good Wraith? What drives them, or is all they ever think about is feeding?

Did they scrounge tech from other races like the Goa'uuld, or did they develop it on their own, & if so, has this 'borrowing' from other races effected them in some way (like the sarcophogus is rumored to have done to the Goa'uuld)?

Do they ever sleep normally (we know they hibernate for years, sometimes centuries, at a time), & if not would this give them bad mood swings (I know no sleep makes me cranky! )?

Is there a specific difference between the mind-sets of male & female Wraith (caring for the young whilst the men go to fight kind thing), & if so, how does this differ & why?

The whole Wraith mind-set is fascinating to me (hell, I think the Wraith are just plain cool! ^___^, & I personally believe that there has got to be more to them as a species & individually than just 'me wraith, you food' (although it would be hard to have respect for anything one considers a food source, or to look it @ it as having so-called higher forms of intelligence compairable to one's own; look how we take plants & animals, such as cows, for granted).

Thoughts anyone?

[Bloodthirsteve]

LMFAO I wonder if anyone actually volunteers to be dinner to a Wraith (like how some lo'tars want to become hosts for Goa'uuld), it might be a source of religious Wraith-worship?

I'd like to be a wraith's dinner... ^^

[steve17]

LMFAO I wonder if anyone actually volunteers to be dinner to a Wraith (like how some lo'tars want to become hosts for Goa'uuld), it might be a source of religious Wraith-worship?

Yeah, or like if you have a wraith feed off you, when you pass into the next world you are at peace with them or something. It could also be a form of suicide.

[steve17]

I'd like to be a wraith's dinner... ^^

i wonder what it would feel like?

[Bloodthirsteve]

Yeah, or like if you have a wraith feed off you, when you pass into the next world you are at peace with them or something. It could also be a form of suicide.

that's what i think. and it's a very useful suicide (may be the wraith have a thing like that, a sort of sect: "if you want to give a meaning to your life, come on, and feed us!"

i wonder what it would feel like?

it's certainly something very intense...

[Lysia]

i wonder what it would feel like?

I had a dream that a Wraith started feeding on me, and it was very, very painful. But then suddenly, I was the Wraith and I was feeding on someone else.

As cool as I think the Wraith are, I don't want to be their dinner

We have seen them motivated only by base emotions & needs thusfar : greed, anger, fear, arrogance & the like. We know some have amibtion, to attain higher standing; etc; but do we know if there any good Wraith? What drives them, or is all they ever think about is feeding?

If you put a human in an environment where food was scarce, they would be forced to spend most of their time getting food, or developing ways to get it. In a situation like that, humans are driven by their most primative instincts, just as the Wraith are. Their food situation has become so desperate that they are forced to hibernate for centuries. So of course they are going to become angry when their food tries to fight back.

Do they ever sleep normally (we know they hibernate for years, sometimes centuries, at a time), & if not would this give them bad mood swings (I know no sleep makes me cranky! )?

No idea! Since the Wraith are much stronger than humans, and can go weeks without food, I would guess that they can get by with only a minimal amount of sleep. Sheppard said to Steve (Poisoning the Well), "Sorry if I woke you" which could have been a joke like the "magazines and fresh towels", or maybe he does sleep. He was kind of kneeling with his eyes closed at the time, so it's hard to tell.

[srg]

that's what i think. and it's a very useful suicide (may be the wraith have a thing like that, a sort of sect: "if you want to give a meaning to your life, come on, and feed us!"



it's certainly something very intense...

hmm with slogans like "Do a good deed, feed a wraith". Infact that could be another featurette.

[Bloodthirsteve]

hmm with slogans like "Do a good deed, feed a wraith". Infact that could be another featurette.

yeah something like that
hmmm good idea, i'd like to see that