Human civilizations in Stargate Atlantis
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This is a list of the human civilizations featured in the television series Stargate Atlantis.
Unlike what happened in the Milky Way galaxy (see Human civilizations in Stargate SG-1), the human population of the Pegasus Galaxy is product of Alteran seeding. Also unlike in the Milky Way, no human civilization shown until now in Stargate Atlantis surpasses Earth in technological level (unless they use leftover Alteran technology), although a few come close. It seems that the Wraith eliminate any advanced civilizations in the Pegasus Galaxy as soon as they are discovered, perceiving them as potential threats to Wraith dominance; an advanced civilization might eventually invent the hyperdrive and build warships capable of challenging the Wraith. The Alterans long ago placed satellites in orbit of each human settlement for technological development but had to abandon the project after the Wraith war.
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[edit] Technologically advanced civilizations
[edit] Atlanteans (Tau'ri)
The Atlanteans are the Humans of Earth from the Milky Way galaxy and now reside in the Alteran city-ship of Atlantis. Originally consisting of an exploratory team from Earth lead by Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the Atlanteans have since become a significant player in the affairs of the Pegasus galaxy. The current population of Atlantis consists of a civilian science team and a military branch made up mostly of soldiers from the United States, and is commanded by Colonel Samantha Carter.
The primary mission of the Atlanteans remains exploration and research in the Pegasus galaxy. They routinely visit planets through the stargate to explore and attempt to establish diplomatic relations with alien civilizations. The primary goal of this is to locate and research technology left behind by the Alterans after their defeat by the Wraith.
Recently, just as in the Milky Way, the Humans of Earth have become a major galactic power in Pegasus. Being that they inhabit the fabled "City of the Ancestors" and utilize technology much more advanced (Earth, Alteran, and Asgard) than most Pegasus Humans have seen, many have come to believe that the Atlanteans are indeed the Alterans returned, though the Atlanteans seem very reluctant to play this role. Though greatly outnumbered by the Wraith, their command of Alteran technology along with other technologies gained in the Milky Way (including the legacy of Asgard technology), they are likely the most technologically advanced race in Pegasus.
Earth had originally been the capital of the Alterans empire in the Milky Way and was their homeworld after they left their home galaxy. It was also the home of Atlantis before the outbreak of the plague in the Milky Way. This plague forced the Alterans to abandon this galaxy and they chose Lantea in Pegasus as a new home. After their defeat by the Wraith, the remaining Alterans evacuated back to Earth through the Atlantis stargate and interbred with the early human populations. The Alterans view the Tau'ri as their descendents and inheritors as they are the second evolution of their form and are the only humans they ever interbred with.
[edit] Genii
Humans from a planet in the Pegasus galaxy. To outsiders, they appear to be simple farmers, resembling the Amish of Earth. In truth, the Genii actually possess a technological level roughly equivalent to that of Earth in the 1940s: they have electricity, primitive monochrome television viewscreens, mass-produced firearms, and electronic computers more advanced than those of the equivalent Earth era. They were once a confederation of planets but since the Wraith culled them, they have fled to underground bunkers on one planet. Generations ago, survivors of a Wraith culling took refuge underground in bunkers left over from forgotten wars, and there rebuilt their civilization, expanding outwards into a massive series of secret underground facilities. Most importantly, the Genii have centered their efforts to fight the Wraith on a program to develop a fission bomb, to be delivered to Hive-ships. However, the Genii had not yet discovered how to make an effective trigger mechanism that would create an implosion, or an effective means of uranium enrichment, when the Atlantis expedition encountered them. The Genii were angered that the Atlantis team had woken the Wraith from their hibernation early, but agreed to help each other. A resulting joint Genii-Atlantis mission backfired, resulting in the death of a prominent Genii leader and the failure of the Genii's attempts to plant a fission-bomb in Wraith Hive-ships (although the Atlantis team feels that there are so many--over 60--that the Genii's plan would only have destroyed a few). The Genii now count themselves enemies of the Atlantis expeditionary team. Later the Genii, led by Commander Acastus Kolya, attempted to invade and capture Atlantis while the majority of the personnel were away escaping an oncoming storm, but they were thwarted by Sheppard. On the planet Dagan, Kolya and Sheppard challenged each other again in an effort to find a ZPM, but ultimately both the Genii and the Atlanteans left empty-handed. However, they did help the Atlantis team by trading two of their fission bomb prototypes to Atlantis in exchange for C4 explosives and the return of a Genii prisoner during the siege of Atlantis.
The Genii recently experienced a coup d'état; as the new leader, Ladon Radim, is indebted to the Atlantis Expedition both politically (for providing the catalyst for his coup) and personally (for saving his sister from radiation-induced lung cancer), he has been more favorable to the Expedition and has established a tenuous alliance with the Tau'ri.
[edit] Humans from the Ark
A race that had reached a level of technology comparable to 1960s Earth (McKay described their technology as "vintage"), with advancements in certain areas such as computers and artificial gravity. Centuries ago, they developed a radical plan to escape the Wraith: within a hollowed-out moon, they intended to store some two thousand people in dematerialized form within two devices reverse-engineered from the beaming technology of Wraith darts. They then instigated an unwinnable war with the Wraith, knowing that their use of atomic weapons would eventually render their homeworld uninhabitable. Their belief was that afterwards the Wraith would never return to the planet, leaving those hidden in the moon to rebuild in peace once the radiation dissipated.
While exploring the moon, a team from Atlantis accidentally rematerialized Herick, a shuttle pilot who was to ferry one of the two devices. However, distraught that one of the devices, containing his family, did not make it to the moon, he committed suicide by using the shuttle's engines to burn through the moon facility's outer doors, exposing him to space. This also destabilized the moon's orbit, but Sheppard was able to fly the shuttle and the storage device safely to the planet surface before the moon broke up in the atmosphere. ("The Ark")
[edit] Hoffans
A race of humans that have a technological level similar to early 20th century Earth; a member of the Expedition commented that a Hoffan research center resembled "Area 51, circa 1918". They have been working on an anti-Wraith drug for centuries, and Major Sheppard volunteers Dr. Beckett's help. The drug works, but has a severe side effect: a 50% mortality rate. After a planet-wide vote proved that the Hoffans are willing to risk it in the hopes the Wraith will leave the survivors alone, the Atlanteans leave with a parting warning to the Hoffans that the Wraith have a history of destroying all human civilizations that challenge them ("Poisoning the Well"). It was revealed in "The Kindred" that the Hoffans were wiped out by the Wraith. However, the Hoffan's anti-Wraith drug was distributed to a number of human worlds by Michael, causing many deaths. This version of the drug only had a 30% mortality rate after being further refined by Carson Beckett.
[edit] Olesians
A technologically advanced civilization from the planet Olesia. They claim to be a hospitable and civilized people. However, their form of punishment for their most violent criminals is expulsion to the island where the Stargate is located, so the Wraith will feed on them and leave the rest of the planet alone. After Col. Sheppard's team was captured by the prisoners, they realized that the punishment proved to be too good a deterrent for crime, so they didn't have enough people to feed the Wraith. Only a few are really murderers, and the majority are either culpable of lesser crimes or wrongfully convicted. Olesia's Magistrates forged a deal with one particular Wraith for generations that needed a steady stream of humans for his consumption, in exchange for leaving the rest of the planet alone. But after Sheppard and Weir managed to help all the prisoners escape through the Stargate, the Wraith began to cull the city ("Condemned").
[edit] Satedans
The Satedans once were a civilization with technology at least comparable with Earth at WWII. Despite their potentially very advanced nature, Ronon was unfamiliar with the concept of cameras upon his first appearance. They met the fate of all advanced civilizations in the Pegasus Galaxy when they were attacked and apparently destroyed seven years ago by the Wraith. Their main city fell, but about 300 people managed to make it to the shelters west of the capital and later moved to other planets like Ballkan and Manaria.
Specialist Ronon Dex from Sateda joined with the Atlantis expedition ("Runner").
A number of Satedans were captured by the Wraith and were offered eternal life in exchange for their services. Ronon killed most of that team
[edit] Travelers
A group of humans who live on a fleet of ships in order to avoid the Wraith. Although not as technologically advanced as the Alterans or Tau'ri, the Travelers possess hyperspace drives and advanced weapons. They were also the race that designed the gun which Ronon Dex uses. Over time, the Travelers' population began to outgrow the space available on their fleet, and they were forced to abandon some of them on planets. Their discovery of an Aurora-class battleship promised to solve this problem, but without the Alteran gene they were unable to operate it.
When they learned of another group of humans who use Alteran technology to combat the Wraith, a group of Travelers led by Larrin sought them out using a network of spy satellites. This way they managed to capture John Sheppard, who possesses the ATA gene, and extorted him to create an interface for them to operate the battleship. However, Sheppard was less than cooperative after his capture. The "Aurora"-class battleship was damaged during the war with the wraith and communications and the hyperdrive were damaged, which then emitted dangerous level of radiation. Whilst Colonel Sheppard was forced to co-operate, he was able to render his captors unconscious by engaging the sub-light engines without the inertial dampers, thus throwing the crew across the room. Larrin, however, was not badly hurt by this stunt, and removed the ship's shields, exposing Sheppard and her own crew to lethal radiation. Given this, Sheppard was forced to give control of the ship back to the travellers and placed in the ship's cell. After Larrin comments that Sheppard doesn't look slightly worried, she investigates the communication channels, and finds that he has sent out an SOS to Atlantis. However, the Wraith intercept the transmission and with the arrival of the Wraith, he and Larrin were forced to work together. During this time, Sheppard argued to Larrin that her people must take a more active role in the fate of the galaxy, or face eventual destruction. The Travelers were able to recover the ship and leave. ("Travelers")
During their journeys, the Travelers learnt that one of the worlds they traded with had been destroyed, at first they believed the Wraith were responsible but were proven wrong. It was eventually revealed that the Asurans were responsible for this act. The Travelers became concerned by the Asuran Replicator threat after one of their trading partners was wiped out. Several of their ships, including their Alteran battleship, joined the Tau'ri and the Wraith in battling the Replicators over their homeworld, on the condition that the Atlantis Expedition assist them in returning their battleship to combat readiness. ("Be All My Sins Remember'd")
[edit] Lesser advanced human civilizations
[edit] Athosians
Humans from the planet Athos in the Pegasus galaxy. The Athosians are likely to be one nation of the human life that has been "spread" by the Alterans after they moved to the Pegasus galaxy. The Athosians were once technologically advanced and still possess advanced technology, but due to the threat by the Wraith, were living in a pre-industrial culture on Athos. The leader of the Athosians is Teyla Emmagan. No Athosians are known to have the ATA gene, however after a discovery by Dr. Beckett several Athosians—including Teyla—have a small number of Wraith genes due to experimentation by a Wraith scientist long ago. (It had been hoped that such experiments would lead to a more palatable food-source.) These genes allow their possessors to sense the proximity of Wraith by subconsciously tapping in to their telepathic communications. In addition, it seems individuals with this gene can activate Wraith technology in a similar fashion to the ATA gene. However, specifics on this topic of the Wraith gene are unknown since it is still a relatively new concept introduced in "The Gift."
[edit] Ballkans
A Middle Ages-level human civilization the Athosians trade with. Some Satedan survivors fled to Ballkan after their city fell. ("Trinity")
[edit] Bola Kai
A fierce tribe of warriors believed to engage in cannibalism. A group of Bola Kai raided New Athos after the Athosians went missing. ("Missing")
[edit] Daganians
The people of the planet Dagan, an old Lantean outpost. Their ancestors, the Sudarians, were entrusted with a ZPM some 10,000 years ago. The Sudarians worshipped the ZPM, calling it the Potentia, but it was lost after the order of monks that protected it, the Quindosim, were culled by the Wraith. The Atlantis team helped the Daganians rediscover the ZPM, but they take it for safekeeping after learning that the team were not Alterans, even though they were from Atlantis. ("The Brotherhood")
[edit] Manarians
A race of humans in the Pegasus Galaxy who covertly work with the Genii when it suits both cultures to do so. The Manarians may have once been a part of the Genii confederation before it was destroyed by the Wraith millennia ago. Sergeant Bates made the first trade agreements over food with the people. With not-so-open arms, they admitted almost all of the Athosians and Atlantis expedition members to their world when Atlantis and the mainland were threatened by a massive hurricane only to sell them out to the Genii, informing Cowen that Atlantis had been evacuated and helping Commander Acastus Kolya find a way to get past the city's defenses with his raiding party.
[edit] Orin's people
Orin is an old family friend of Teyla. He and his family live in a farming world that happens to be in the path of the Wraith hiveships that are on its way to Atlantis. Teyla manages to extract from Sheppard the promise to save them from the Wraith, if they have time. Orin, his family and some neighbors are finally evacuated to Atlantis ("Letters from Pegasus").
[edit] People from Geldar and Hallona
Inhabitants of opposing nations on a planet once guided by the Alterans through a network of satellites, who interpreted their instructions as orders from an oracle. Dr. McKay and Col. Sheppard discovered the Alterans' control system on Atlantis and, thinking it was only a simulation, inadvertently began controlling the two countries' development. This nearly led to war between Geldar and Hallona. ("The Game")
[edit] People from M7G-677
A primitive planet where no one was older than twenty-five because upon turning twenty-five, they commit suicide in the belief that it keeps the Wraith from returning to their world. Dr. McKay discovers that, in fact, a ZPM-powered shield was protecting them. After some trouble with a Wraith scout, they managed to convince them of the truth and, at least for the village they visited, stopped the ritual suicides ("Childhood's End"). They were mentioned again in the episode "Critical Mass" when Atlantis sent a scientific team led by Dr. Zelenka to their planet due to difficulties with their EM shield.
[edit] People from Proculus
A pacifistic, pre-technological human civilization. They worship a goddess named Athar, in fact the Ascended Alteran Chaya Sar, who protects them from the Wraith. Ten thousand years ago, Chaya used her Ascended powers to destroy an invading Wraith fleet. For this act of interference, the Others punished her with eternal protection over Proculus, to the exclusion of all other peoples in the Pegasus Galaxy. ("Sanctuary")
[edit] Taranians
A low-level technological civilization that discovered an Alteran facility (including an Alteran warship) in their homeworld and managed to make it work partially. When they started having problems with their shield, they called for help and Atlantis answered. Dr. McKay discovered that the problem was they have used the shield for too long at maximum capacity. The facility was powered by the geothermal energy of the volcano below, and the overuse has de-stabilized it. All the population had to be evacuated because the volcano was about to explode, taking about half the continent with it and saturating the atmosphere with poisonous gases and ash. After some trouble, the people of Taranis were evacuated to Atlantis, and later relocated to a new planet, allowing the Atlanteans to use the Alteran ship in gratitude ("Inferno").
Dr. Beckett theorised that the planet wouldn't be inhabitable again for many years and in any case, it is now inaccessible to most cultures as the Stargate on the planet was buried by lava.
It has been revealed in the episode Vengeance that the resettled population has been destroyed by the Wraith Michael.
[edit] Vedeenans
A primitive civilization that conducts some trade but mainly keep to themselves. They were led by a man named Davos, who due to a mutation was able to see the future. These visions allowed the Vedeenans to escape culling by the Wraith. ("The Seer")
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