Chromosomes??? how is that the answer?

[wingsabre]

You're contradicting yourself here: the only basis that you have for the code being ATA is that that specific gene was needed to activate technology on Atlantis, and thus must also have been necessary to activate technology on the Destiny.

I'm not contradicting myself. There's clear evidence here that the rules that applied for the city ship Atlantis, does not apply here in Destiny. The equipment on Destiny is not as advance as Atlantis, the ability to access key systems are different, and even the way the gate works appear to be different.

The point that you are failing to make is why it would be the ATA gene specifically instead of, for example, the gene that codes for melanin or some other random gene.

Or even, for that matter, why it has to be a specific gene instead of larger genetic patterns.

It doesn't have to be the specific ATA gene sequence. I think it would make sense to try it, but in reality, if it would only make sense to use that if the ATA gene sequence is rather short, and is made up of a few codons. Otherwise, to simply memorize it would be rather difficult, even for Ancients. It could be a larger genetic pattern, I didn't rule that out immediately. What I think could make more sense is if they specifically treat the gene or genes like a gate address. This means, chromosome number, large arm or small arm of the chromosome, then specific locus of the gene. That's about 3 numerical codes, so to make it slightly more complicated they can add the first few codons into the code.

I doubt that the ancients would code for some thing like melanin or some random gene. The gene in question would have to have some significant, so it's either fundamental for ancient life, or something that the ancients uniquely had. Having something fundamental to life would rule out the ATA gene, for one can survive without it, and it's largely vestigial. However, having something like the DNA polymerase, or F0F1 ATP synthase as the gene would be rather ubiquitous, and it wouldn't be that useful as a secret code. For example, all species that we know of utilizes DNA. The Asguard had some common link with Humans, and was one of the reasons why they performed some research on Humans. Picking something very ubiquitous would be like putting a key under the doormat. Even something like melanin wouldn't make much sense, since multiple species has it, and it does not hole that great deal of significance. From a production perspective, it's introduction of techno-babble which is something the producers are trying to avoid. Additionally the Ancients are rather logical in their approach, and so it would make sense that they'd pick something of significance to Ancients, which would appear to be the ATA gene.

Having something like a gene specific to the ancients makes more sense, because you can explain that rather quickly, and it's a useful security code, for aliens that have not seen Ancients would not be able to know where to start.

[vszulc]

Well, let's just hope that the code happens to be the Atlantic gene for hubris or the one they had for overtly ambitious plans, and that Rush happens to have one of those laying around.

Spoiler:

Though by the time they come back to pick up the crew,

Eli will have probably eaten them all.

[pipi]

The password is "Destiny46". Open sesame!

[EllieVee]

And Becket could have been wrong, because his assumptions were on what he saw in Atlantis. Things could have been different when they were building the Destiny. A lot of things change over a few thousand years, and what was once useful then could have become taken for granted, or what was not useful then could have evolved to become useful. The set of rules on Atlantis are different than the set of rules on Destiny.

Except the evidence in the SGA episodes was that you physically had to have the gene in order to operate some of the technology. You can just retcon it because it doesn't suit your theory.

I think the use of an ATA gene sequence for something like Destiny is very logical. If they didn't have the technology to sense the person, then they would have to enter a common genetic sequence to unlock key features. This would be necessary for a ship in foreign and distance space where hostel aliens may potentially take over the ship and either steal advance technology they're not ready for, or gain information about the race that created it and invade them.

And again with the retcon. If people needed the gene to operate the technology on Destiny, nothing would work for them unless they had the gene. Everything on Destiny seems to be far more manual than shifting a couple of crystals around and lighting up a room like Sheppard did.

Except that, based on Beckett said in "Hide and Seek," I'm guessing the point of the ATA gene wasn't as a security encryption or anything like that, but rather a physical necessity for using most types of Ancient neural-interface technology.

Thank you!

If that is true, then they would have no reason to use ATA specifically as the password because, at that point, the gene itself had no particular significance (and may not have even existed yet, if it was an engineered gene).

I always thought it was manufactured during the Wraith war so they couldn't operate Atlantis if they managed to invade. A check of transcripts hasn't shown me anything to confirm that and I haven't seen S1 SGA for a while now.

[AVFan]

The password is "Destiny46". Open sesame!

That's a lie. This episode was all a smokescreen. The password is actually 'password'.

[hiro]

That's a lie. This episode was all a smokescreen. The password is actually 'password'.

you're wrong ! the password is 'ynitsed' sure !

[kymeric]

Makes sense to me. Even if some alien species were to gain access to Destiny they would never ever be able to guess that the password was the dna of its creator species, and even if they did they would have no access to that information from across the universe.

[garhkal]

Hence why i thik it is perfectly logical for them to have made the password linked to their genetic make up.

[Gollumpus]

That's a lie. This episode was all a smokescreen. The password is actually 'password'.

Piffle. Everyone knows the password is "friend". The number of letters in friend even divides into 46.

regards,
G.

[Wayston]

why isnt having the Ancient Gene not gonna do it? is Destiny's access more complicated than Atlantis's? and once Rush finds those specific genes, will he use it for gene therapy or will it be in the form of a password type of thing?

1) destiny predates atlantis, hence they don't have the fancy automatic gene verification thingy, destiny's password protection is very much like the one of your own computer
2) atlantis's access is more complicated than destiny, as e.g. the wraith couldn't operate atlantis's technology at all themselves (they could use captured ancients though) whereas I bet they could have cracked the destiny password fairly easily with their level of technology (it is just a numerical sequence), which is probably exactly the reason why the ancients switched away from numerical passwords towards an access method unique to their species

[pipi]

I think it has been established that the Ancient gene is not required to activate anything but since the password is based on the Ancient gene, then if someone onboard Destiny has been given the shot, they can take a blood sample and extract the genome and convert them into numbers to help crack the password. Or the easy way would be to use the stones and get Stargate Command to crack the password given the updated hints.

[ngewakl]

They are going to crack the encryption with Shor's algorithm.

[beafly]

That we could possibly crack the encryption or guess the password a race like the Ancients used to secure their most prized possessions is utterly ridiculous.

[garhkal]

They did it all the time with a lot of other tech though.

[pipi]

That we could possibly crack the encryption or guess the password a race like the Ancients used to secure their most prized possessions is utterly ridiculous.

It's the most likely plot line.