Stargate Command
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- For more information on this series and its accompanying fictional universe, see Stargate SG-1.
- Stargate Program redirects here, for other uses of the term see Stargate (disambiguation)
Stargate Command (abbreviated to SGC), is a fictional top-secret military organization tasked with operating the Stargate device and all matters pertaining to things offworld, such as threats to Earth or missions to procure new technology from extraterrestrial civilizations, in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. It is based inside the Cheyenne Mountain complex in Colorado, codenamed "Area 52"[1]. It is also featured occasionally on Stargate Atlantis, a spin off series set in the Ancients' lost city of Atlantis.
The SGC base acts as the secure ground station for all Stargate activities. It is typically commanded by a General and is staffed by subject matter experts and military support personnel, several elite special operations teams, and several SG teams, including SG-1. With few exceptions, any episode of SG-1 will begin and end at the SGC.
Prior to the broadcasting of the ninth season of Stargate SG-1, the writers had considered renewing the show as Stargate Command, a new show continuing after the end of the events of season 8 (possibly to fall in line with the naming of its sister show Stargate Atlantis, where the name after "Stargate" refers to the base of operations). This idea however never came to fruition.
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[edit] Overview
The SGC is located one thousand metres beneath the Cheyenne Mountain. This protects it from most forms of attack, including indirect nuclear detonations, and allows containment of biological or chemical hazards generated by gate travel (the base may be 'locked down'). However, it was shown in an alternate universe (seen via the use of an alien device in the episode "There But For the Grace of God") to be unable to withstand a direct Goa'uld attack.
The primary function of the base is to secure the Stargate (by locking it under 1000 metres of rock inside a secure military base) and protect the Earth. Simultaneously, it exists to coordinate exploration and diplomatic relationships through the Stargate; i.e. it is the core of the Stargate Program, the mission of which is to procure technology that can defend Earth, and make offworld allies.
The SGC serves as one location for researching alien technology with larger or longer term research projects being conducted at Area 51 off-site in Nevada. On more than one occasion, SGC personnel have had to recapture alien technology that has escaped into the outside world. Many cover stories have been generated to keep the general populace, even high-ranking government officials, unaware of the goings on within the SGC.
[edit] History of the SGC
The Stargate, originally found in 1928 in Giza, Egypt, was stored in various locations by the United States Air Force—including Washington, DC—before it was installed in the Creek Mountain facility. While the Stargate had been previously studied (most notably in the 1940s as a potential weapon), no one was able to make it reliably function until Egyptologist and Archaeologist Daniel Jackson was introduced to Project Giza, predecessor to the SGC in the mid 1990s. Jackson intuited the strange symbols around the perimeter of the Stargate device were actually representations of constellations rather than hieroglyphs, and the device could 'dial' another Stargate by 'locking' seven (or, much later, up to eight) of its chevrons onto these symbols, like a combination lock. This 'dialing' activates a wormhole between the dialer's Stargate and one of thousands of other Stargates across the cosmos, allowing for near-instantaneous travel to other planets.
Subsequently, Major General West ordered USAF Colonel Jack O'Neill and a team of military personnel accompanied by Daniel Jackson through the Stargate from the Creek Mountain Facility to Abydos, where they encountered Ra. Ra was a Goa'uld, an alien race that uses Stargates to transport slaves and goods throughout the galaxy.
The name and location of the Stargate changed between the movie and the Stargate SG-1 TV series. It was changed from the Creek Mountain Facility to Cheyenne Mountain. This is just one of many inconsistencies between SG1 and the movie. It is long pointed out in SG-1 that the current SGC facility in Cheyenne Mountain is the same facility used in the movie. In the period between the movie and SG-1, the Stargate Program was mothballed since the Air Force inaccurately believed the only connecting point for the Stargate (the Abydos gate) was inaccessible.
The Stargate and any related programs remained dormant until 1997, when the Goa'uld Apophis dialed the Earth Stargate and kidnapped a female member of the United States Air Force Security Forces as well as killing four male personnel who were playing poker near it. When it was confirmed that Apophis had not arrived via the Abydos Stargate but instead a planet called Chulak, it was realized that the Stargate was capable of connecting with multiple destinations. Colonel O'Neill, since retired, was recalled to active duty and assigned to head the rescue mission where he convinced Teal'c, Apophis' First Prime, to defect from the service of the Goa'uld.
Realizing the Goa'uld threat, Stargate Command (SGC) was formed with a contingent of SG teams, of which the primary team, SG-1, consisted of Jack O'Neill, Daniel Jackson, Samantha Carter and Teal'c. Their standing orders, along with the SGC, were to acquire weapons or technology that could help Earth in the fight against the Goa'uld, including establishing alliances.
From that point forward, the SGC began exploring hundreds of worlds using an ancient Goa'uld map found on Abydos, in addition to calculations of galactic drift since when the map was made, and after encountering a few advanced races, researching and developing many alien/human-hybrid devices, such as fighter-jets capable of spaceflight, and Earth-designed battlecruisers, late in Season 6.
About a year and a half after the first activation of the Stargate and the mission to Abydos (about half a year after the creation of the SGC and the SG teams), a second Stargate was found on Earth, in Antarctica. This Stargate was sealed until Season 4, when it was unsealed after the original Giza gate had crashed into the Pacific Ocean aboard the Asgard vessel Beliskner. Russia, performing deep-sea research in the area, discovered the Giza gate and began using it in conjunction with the DHD they had captured from Germany after World War II. Eventually, the Antarctic gate was destroyed by a device controlled by Anubis, and the Giza gate was returned to the United States from Russia for rent and an agreement to share plans for the F-302 space fighter-interceptor and BC-303 interstellar battlecruiser (by this point, however, the DHD was destroyed rescuing Teal'C.) This agreement also called for the formation of a Russian SG team at the SGC. Renewal of this agreement in Season 9 led to Russia acquiring a Daedalus class battlecruiser, the Korolev.
[edit] SGC Facilities and Technology
[edit] Levels
The SGC extends many levels beneath the ground, officially called sub-levels. At level 27 is the briefing room and the SGC Commander's office. The Gate Room with the Stargate is at level 28. The Gate is dialed from a Control Room above using the Dialing Computer, from where Commanders are also able to use a microphone to give orders. There is a long ramp in the middle of the Gateroom leading up to the Stargate, allowing vehicles (such as the MALP robot probe) to enter the Stargate. As a relic of the days when the complex was a missile silo, the ceiling opens and the Stargate may be lifted in and out of the Embarkation Room and allowing Puddle Jumpers to access the room.
[edit] Iris Technology
Hostile aliens such as the Goa'uld are usually prevented from entering the SGC through the Stargate by use of 'the Iris'. This is a device that creates a barrier a few micrometers in front of the event horizon of the Stargate, keeping any matter from fully rematerializing, thus preventing the passage of dangerous objects and/or entities. The iris also prevents the formation of the 'kawoosh' usually seen when the wormhole is first established. It can be opened for the return of an SG team, but is closed if there is an alien attack. The Iris is made up of a trinium-titanium alloy, replacing the titanium Iris in season 2.
In the event that either the Iris is penetrated or must be kept open because an SG team is returning under enemy fire, standard procedure dictates that a heavily armed defense team must be present, with their weapons ready, in order to provide defense in case of hostiles coming through the Stargate.
The Embarkation Room was originally a Missile Silo, the Stargate was lowered down through the missile shaft and is now nested on four clamps, which supposedly supply power to the gate.
[edit] Self-Destruct
If the SGC is threatened with invasion, the facility has a self-destruct mechanism which has been activated more than once. It requires at least two high-ranking officers to initiate or deactivate (although the computer system may be manipulated so as to avoid this requirement). Alien takeover of the SGC is referred to as a "foothold" situation (see the episode "Foothold"). However, according to Col. Carter, the self-destruct is not powerful enough to destroy the Stargate and has only a minimal chance of disconnecting an active wormhole. It would bury the gate under 1000 meters of rock so it would stop any more incoming travelers. Even with these shortcomings, it remains the best backup plan available in the event of a hostile alien takeover of the SGC.
[edit] Alternative Sites
- Alpha Site - The last line of defense for the SGC is an off-world base, called the "Alpha Site", which was initially set up as a settlement to evacuate a select number of the academic elite of the United States to in case of Goa'uld invasion. It was later established as a back-up in case anything were to happen to the SGC. The Alpha Site was also known as the "Beta Site" in the alternate universe mentioned in the episode "There But For the Grace of God". After the first and second Alpha Sites were destroyed, the replacement was built into a mountain much like the SGC.
- Beta Site - The second base set up by the SGC was called the Beta Site. Mentioned as the fall back position of the Alpha Site in the episode Death Knell.
- Gamma Site - The Gamma Site was an off-world research base equipped with F-302 fighters but was destroyed via self-destruct after the events unfolding in the episode "The Scourge". However the Gamma Site was mentioned in "The Pegasus Project," so it appears to have been rebuilt and/or relocated.
[edit] Alien Technology
The SGC has been shown to possess various different technologies acquired from offworld. The presence of naqahdah generators, supplementing the bases' power supply, was confirmed in the season eight episode 'Avatar'. In 'Prototype' the base is shown to have Tok'ra force fields protecting the isolation rooms, Carter also states that 'the emergency force fields are in effect'. Suggesting that the force field technology is not limited to one specific section of the base.
[edit] Politics
[edit] Attempted shutdowns and takeovers of the SGC
On many occasions the very existence or control of the SGC has been in threat. Senator Robert Kinsey has often made strong efforts to close down the entire Stargate Program (succeeding in the episode "Politics", only for it to be reopened), arguing that the existence of the Stargate is far too great a threat to Earth. Richard Woolsey, an inspector, recommended the closure of the SGC to the President of the United States, arguing that SG-1 were a reckless team that more than once had caused the Earth great threat. Kinsey later on tried various methods of putting himself in power of the SGC, mainly through links with rogue NID leaders, who have tried to sabotage the base on many occasions, once even succeeding in stealing the Stargate itself.
On a few occasions, aliens have managed to permeate the Iris. The Tollan possess technology capable of allowing people to pass through matter, but were never considered a threat owing to their friendship with Earth. At least once, the base was compromised by aliens with unforeseen abilities (for instance in the episode "Foothold"). Anubis, a powerful System Lord with access to Ancient technology, has tried to destroy the SGC via various methods, including the detonation of the Stargate itself. All attempts to subsume or destroy the SGC to date have failed.
[edit] Commanders
In chronological order, the leaders of the SGC:
- Major General West (1994-1996 - "Present Day" in Stargate is 1994) Then known as the "Giza Project" and then the "Stargate Project".
- Major General George S. Hammond (1997-2001) — Hammond briefly retired under duress in 2001[2] .
- Major General Bauer - (briefly replaced General Hammond in 2001)
- Major General George S. Hammond (2001-2004) — Promoted to Lieutenant General to head of what is now called the "Department of Homeworld Security", and has now retired as of season 9.
- Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the SGC's first civilian commander (2004), left to be in charge of the Atlantis Expedition.
- Brigadier General Jack O'Neill (2004-2005) — Promoted to Major General and replaced Hammond as commander of the Department of Homeworld Security.
- Major General Hank Landry (2005-Present)
[edit] Department of Homeworld Security
Stargate Command was originally overseen directly by the President and the Joint Chiefs of Staff (as stated in Children of the Gods), but after Anubis's attack on Earth (in Lost City), Henry Hayes established the top-secret Department of Homeworld Security. Its first leader was Lieutenant General George Hammond, but later he retired from USAF active service, eventually moved on to another position. Major General Jack O'Neill is currently its commander since Hammond's retirement. The Department of Homeworld Security controls the Stargate Program as well as the F-302/BC-304 program. Direct authority over the Antarctic base and the Atlantis expedition is held by the International Oversight Advisory (IOA). Since the US military still provides the vast majority of logistical and personnel support to those outposts via the Department of Homeworld Security, the IOA's control is more political than anything else.
[edit] External links
- "Stargate Command" at GateWorld Omnipedia.
- "Stargate Command" at StargateWiki.
- SciFi.com's Stargate Subpage
[edit] References
- ^ "Politics". Stargate SG-1.
- ^ "Chain Reaction". Stargate SG-1. 2001-01-05. No. 15, season 4.
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