In 1994, Roland Emmerich gave us “Stargate”, an autonomous science fiction adventure filled with lost civilizations through the galaxy and an antagonist posing as a god. Although the plans of a “Stargate” trilogy unfortunately failed, the film has caused a long-standing franchise for beloved television and comic book programs. Among these entries, the “Stargate SG-1” and “Stargate Atlantis” show most of the increase in heavy, widening the fundamental tradition of Emmerich’s film in a substantial way. Although all the “Stargate” stories are linked to a vaguely connection, the only common denominator that binds them is the Stargate titular, a device that allows an instant journey between two remote locations through the galaxies. But what exactly is Stargate and how does it work?
In Emmerich’s film, the Stargate expedition team is assembled years after a cornerstone (also known as the cover) is discovered in Giza, in Egypt in 1928. Although the cornerstone is found engraved with hieroglyphs, archaeologists also find a massive metal ring below, and are spared by its objective and its relationship with the artifact. The mystery surrounding these objects is resolved once Dr. Daniel Jackson (James Spader) is on board, deducting that the ring and the Capstone form a green hole once calibrated. Being a brilliant linguist and archaeologist, Jackson solves the puzzle and helps to create the first functional stargate of the earth, which transports the expedition team to the desert planet of Abydos.
Although the science fiction adventure of 1994 does not reveal too much about this device, its series in a row “Stargate SG-1” injects it with enough traditions and prevents it from becoming MacGuffin. As the “Stargate” tradition can be quite convoluted, let’s look at the simple origins of the device, as well as the basic characteristics that have defined it over the years.
Who built the Stargate apparatus and what is its goal?
You may have heard the term “Einstein-Roser Bridge” thrown into science fiction media, and the Stargate can be understood as a variation of this. In the simplest terms, an Einstein – Rosend bridge is a worm hole (a shortcut, if you want) which allows you to travel between points A and B, which are located far enough to be in different points of space -time. “SG-1” provides us with a necessary context by revealing that these stars were made by the ancients, which are a breed of ascended beings with an almost infinite knowledge of life, galaxy and what is beyond. The portals themselves have been perfected over time by other breeds, including Tollan and Ori, which used them for their convenience.
“SG-1” also explains Why The Stargate command was established in the first place: it was a defense front line against invading it from a vicious extraterrestrial species known as Goa’uld. Shipping teams (such as SG-1 and Atlantis teams) were sent by stars to help collect information on other species that could help humans fight Goa’uld and protect the land. In season 6 of “SG-1”, Daniel Jackson (played by Michael Shanks) learns the truth buried on the ancients, their role in the manufacture of stars and their underwater city of Atlantis. These revelations completely modify the history of the galaxy without limits, the sculpture of the space for a deeper tradition which is differentiated between the variable prototypes of the Stargate device. For example, the events of “Stargate Universe” point to a third generation of Stargates who have a limited beach and work very differently from the traditional portals that we know.
Remember the cornerstone of the cornerstone that must be calibrated to activate a Stargate? Well, a combination of these symbols forms unique addresses, which are essentially coordinates at various points across the universe. In most cases, the composition of these symbols in the right order allows shipping teams to travel through the door. In this spirit, let’s look at how these devices work.
How the stars work in the expansion universe of the franchise
Without becoming too much in the convoluted science of all this, let’s see how the stargate apparatus facilitates the hop from point A to B. If you examine these doors more closely, you will notice a blue and shimmering vortex fueling the gate at both ends. This shimmering energy acts as the fuel necessary to keep the connected doors open and send people through, which means that lower energy levels could cause complications (like people trapped somewhere in the galaxy, or worse, disintegration). The glyphs mentioned above help to identify the exact coordinates, locking a destination (known and unknown) that a designated team can go directly to travel. Of course, the scientific aspect of this process is much more complex, but the best way to understand it is to divide the trip into three parts: dematerialization, transmission and reintegration.
When a person or an object goes through the door, it must be dematerialized or decomposed into a “hyperspatial stamp” which can easily make the trip from A to B. The trip itself is the transmission, and at the moment when a person / object emerges through the arrival portal, the reintegration occurs. The reintegration guarantees that all the states of matter remained in their original form, stabilizing everything that could have penetrated during the landing process. Any type of time jumping or movement through space-time is required to change you, so it often creates alternative deadlines or deaths that affect these branched realities (this has happened in “SG-1” several times).
Is this kind of time (potentially) of time altering viable in real life, even at a purely theoretical level? Mika McKinnon, Official Science Consultant of the franchise on the set said it is possibleWith a few limitations, of course. We may not live in the unlimited fictitious world of “Stargate”, where humans have the chance of improved genes that can easily adapt to such travel methods, but we can do. That said, these portals in “Stargate” are used as often as we would make a taxi or take a train, so caution is informed!