THE
TECH. A team of scientists has been pouring over the Ancients'
Antarctic outpost since SG-1 discovered it buried a mile beneath the
ice in "The Lost City," and have learned that only people
with a very rare gene are able to operate the intuitive technology found
there -- one person in 16,000, to be exact. Dr. Benjamin Ingram is a
brilliant scientist who works to interface Earth technology with that
of the Ancients, but is frustrated by the fact that he himself does
not possess the gene. Another of the scientists, however -- Dr. Beckett
-- does possess the gene and accidentally launches an Ancient attack
drone from the outpost. They also quickly learn that Major Sheppard
has the gene; the ability to use the Ancients' tech will come in very
handy when the team reaches the lost city of Atlantis in the distant
Pegasus galaxy.
Vital
to the operation of the city (and to the team's ability to gate to another
galaxy) is the Z.P.M., an Ancient power module that was probably the
basis for the device O'Neill constructed in "The Fifth Race"
while under the influence of the Ancients' library of knowledge. Atlantis
is powered by three of the devices.
As
hoped, the lost city is indeed a treasure trove of advanced technology,
which includes such things as a universal translation device. Each team
member travelling off-world receives one, which is capable of instantly
translating virtually any language encountered.
THE
SHIPS. As
an accomplished pilot, Sheppard is particularly interested in a bay
filled with Ancient ships discovered in Atlantis. The ship of choice
is nicknamed "Puddle Jumper," as it is designed to travel
through the Stargate. In fact, the ship has a miniature dialing device
on the main console, allowing remote-access dialing of the Stargate.
It is also equipped with stealth mode, allowing it to become invisible.
The ship seems to operate in part by reading the pilot's thoughts. The
jumper is large enough to seat at least two at the forward controls,
and at least six in the rear.
The
enemy possesses advanced ships too, of course. The Wraith Dart is a
small, maneuverable ship capable of gate travel. It is described as
oily black, sharply pointed and with a glowing underside. The Wraith
planet has a Stargate in orbit, indicating that it's rather common to
travel the Stargate network by ship in this part of the universe.
ATLANTIS.
The lost city of the Ancients is an island unto itself, surrounded
by a vast body of water on the surface of a planet in the Pegasus galaxy
(... eventually). It has been abandoned by the Ancients but left in
perfect condition, and the team from Earth must begin the task of exploring
it. Atlantis is equipped with a powerful energy shield, which is vital
to protecting the new base of operations from enemy attack. Within the
city is, of course, a Stargate -- but one unlike any previously seen.
THE
STARGATE.
The chevrons are blue on the Atlantis gate, and, of course, the
symbols themselves are different in this galaxy. Instead of physically
spinning, the inner track spins in a pattern of light. The brightly-lit
symbols also rotate around much faster than Earth's gate.
The
team accesses the gate's control systems -- more like a computer than
a D.H.D. -- along with a new library of addresses, most of which are
presumably for the Pegasus galaxy's gate network. After dialing another
world, the tried-and-true system of M.A.L.P. probes and G.D.O. transmitters
are still used. At the touch of a button, the gate may be protected
by an iris-like energy shield.
THE
WRAITH. They
are the enemy that defeated the Ancients themselves long ago. The Wraith
are a hive-based species with a queen, and horrifically feed off the
life force of other beings. They maintain a thousand worlds populated
by beings used for food. The Wraith are described as having pale green-tinged
skin and black eyes, and have an incredible power to regenerate -- so
much so that Dr. Beckett speculates that they may not even die of old
age the same way that humans do. They also appear to have some form
of psionic ability.
