Are the Ancients Stupid?

[Falcon Horus]

Humans are neither offspring to the Wraith or the Ancients.
In SG1 it is said that humans were the second evolution on Earth - way after the Ancients the Romans called the Roadbuilders.

The Wraith are an unfortunate side effect of surplanting people on planets where the Iratus bug made its home also.

[bvanevery]

To answer the thread title question, the Ancients are not stupid. They are far smarter than the Wraith, as Rodney's increasing abilities as he nears ascention demionstrate. We should not confuse the limitations of delivering a TV show on screen, with live actors, for what a sentient being in that universe could actually do. The whole premise of Ancients vs. Wraith is a quality vs. quantity argument. The Ancients are vastly intellectually superior... but that doesn't mean an inferior enemy can't steal your secrets and make military headway against you. The Wraith surely suffered massive casualties with "waves of suicide troops" tactics. But they can do that, because their genetic and hence moral framework is totally different from that of an Ancient. These aren't enlightened beings at all, this is a race of drone killers.

[thekillman]

Keep in mind that the ancients have known apparently absolute peace for millions of years. The wraith on the other hand evolved from a race of parasites and had powerful murder instincts.

They had to get ready for war while being completely oblivious to what war actually is.

[bvanevery]

Asymmetric warfare is definitely the broad theme of the series. The real life analogues are the USA vs. the North Vietnamese, or the USA or Soviets vs. Islamic militants.

[Bhousden]

Yes, besides which your solution is immoral and I don't think the Ancients would do that. At any rate, we know they don't interfere.

The non-interference directive came AFTER they ascended

[bvanevery]

Even if the Ancients gave the Wraith perfect human cloning technology, so that the Wraith can farm as many humans as they want, why is this a solution? Over and over again in the series, it is stated that the Wraith do not tolerate anyone in a galaxy that has anything remotely like technological equality to themselves. Many episodes of SGA center around the strategies of various human civilizations for dealing with this fundamental reality. "The Wraith are a fact of life," so sayeth Teyla.

Heh, imagining Wraith might have internal politics about "wild caught" vs. "farm raised". LOL!

[Falcon Horus]

"The Wraith are a fact of life," so sayeth Teyla.

Which she says because the Athosians (and other people in the galaxy) haven't known anything else than that the Wraith come by every so often to cull to sustain their small population which is awake (not the one's asleep, later awakened by Sheppard).

The Ancients may have inadvertently created the Wraith, but I doubt they could have foreseen the fall-out, long after they were gone. Ripples in the pond as it were.

[garhkal]

Heh, imagining Wraith might have internal politics about "wild caught" vs. "farm raised". LOL!

I am sure if it came down to "starve, be eliminated by the earthens or go feed from farm raised clones" many wraith would take the latter option.

[Bhousden]

I am sure if it came down to "starve, be eliminated by the earthens or go feed from farm raised clones" many wraith would take the latter option.

Nobody mentioned the fourth path, the gene therapy.

[garhkal]

That is IF we ever perfect it..

[Bhousden]

That is IF we ever perfect it..

Michael perfected it. No feeding hand, and no cancer-like disease. McKay managed to retrieve his wiki just before the building imploded on them.

[garhkal]

However he was already a hybred, therefore the retrovirus removal of the feeding worked DIFFERENTLY on him than it would pure wraith.

[Bhousden]

However he was already a hybred, therefore the retrovirus removal of the feeding worked DIFFERENTLY on him than it would pure wraith.

But it was the retrovirus that started the whole thing, so your argument is invalid

[Falcon Horus]

But it was the retrovirus that started the whole thing, so your argument is invalid

Hold it right there, mister (unless you're a miss in which case my apologies)! His argument is as valid as yours is. Considering the fictional nature of this discussion, it will be hard to proof who's right and who's wrong.

[thekillman]

Considering that the therapy was used by Todd which then wrecked a hiveship and it's inhabitants, i'd say it's far from perfect.

It seems that Gharkal is correct: repeated retrovirusing and retro-retrovirusing made the therapy work better on him. Alternatively, what Michael developed works better on humans than on Wraith which is why it's so problematic for Wraith but not for humans.