Stargate Command
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Image:Cheyenne Mt base.jpg Image:Cheyenne Mt close.jpg Image:Stargate command within.jpg
- For more information on this series and its accompanying fictional universe, see Stargate SG-1.
Stargate Command (abbreviated to SGC), is a fictional top-secret military base 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 civilisations, in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1. It is located at the Cheyenne Mountain complex in Colorado. It also features occasionally on Stargate Atlantis.
The base acts as the secure ground station for all Stargate activities. It is populated by highly trained staff, a general, several elite special forces teams, and several SG teams, including SG-1. With only a 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 renaming the show to Stargate Command (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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Overview
The SGC is located one thousand metres beneath the Cheyenne Mountain. This protects it from most forms of attack, including nuclear detonations, and also prevents any diseases caught from escaping into the world (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") as unable to withstand a direct Goa'uld attack.
The primary function of the base is to keep the Stargate secure (by locking it under 1000 metres of rock inside a secure military base), to keep Earth safe. Simulataneously, it exists to coordinate explorations 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 also serves as a place for researching alien technology, but larger or longer term research projects are usually handed over to Area 51. On more than one occasion, SGC personnel have had to leave the base 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.
History of the SGC
Image:Sg1stargateside.jpg 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 brought to the Creek Mountain facility. While the Stargate had been previously tested (most notably in the 1940s), no one could make it reliably function until Egyptologist and Archeologist Daniel Jackson was summoned in the 1990s. Jackson intuited that the strange symbols around the Stargate device were actually representations of constellations (rather than hieroglyphs), and that the device could 'dial' another Stargate by 'locking' seven (or, much later, up to nine) of its chevrons onto these symbols, somewhat like a combination lock. This 'dialing' activates a wormhole between the dialer's Stargate and one of millions of other Stargates across the cosmos, allowing for near-instantaneous travel to other planets.
Subsequently, USAF Colonel Jack O'Neill and a team of soldiers with Daniel Jackson were sent from the Creek Mountain Facility through the Stargate 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.
At some point between 1994 and 1997, for reasons unknown, the Stargate and Dialing Computer were relocated to Cheyenne Mountain. It is in this period that the Stargate Program was mothballed (the Air Force innaccurately believing the only connecting point for the Stargate inaccessible).
The Stargate and any related programs remained dormant until 1997, when Goa'uld Apophis dialed the Earth Stargate, and kidnapped one of the Air Force personnel assigned to guard 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. O'Neill headed the attempted 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 quickly formed with a set 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 allies.
From that point forward, the SGC began exploring thousands of worlds, 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. 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 Deadalus-class vessel.
SGC Facilities and Technology
Levels
Image:Stargatesg1diallingcomputer.jpg The SGC extends many levels beneath the ground, officially called sub-levels.
- Level 3 hosts the accounting department, according to Col. O'Neill.
- Level 19 is host to Samantha Carter's lab.
- Level 28 is host to the Embarkation Room, also called the Gate Room, which houses the Stargate and Control Room (command deck). 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 (usually "Move out!").
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. - While not part of the SGC, NORAD is on the main level, accessed through Sub-level 2. The nearest secure phone above the SGC commander's office is there. ("A Matter of Time")
Iris Technology
Image:StargateIris.jpg 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.
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 first iris was destroyed by a black hole connected to the gate from offworld. A stronger, trinium enriched iris was later installed.
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 both of these cases have been seen to be enacted with just one officer; many cite this as an inconsistency). 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. Even with these shortcomings, it remains the best backup plan in available in the event of a hostile alien takeover of the SGC. In addition, the self-destruct can also be deactivated, or, in some cases, rigged.
Alternative Sites
- Alpha Site -The last line of defence for the SGC is an offworld 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.
- Gamma Site - The Gamma Site was an offworld research base equipped with F-302 fighters but was destroyed via self-destruct after the events unfolding in the episode "The Scourge".
Politics
Attempted shutdowns and takeovers of the SGC
Image:Politics (Stargate SG-1).jpg 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.
Commanders
In chronological order, the leaders of the SGC:
- Major General West (1994-1996 - "Present Day" in Stargate is 1994) Then known as the "Stargate Project".
- Major General George S. Hammond (1997-2004)
- Major General Bauer (briefly replaced General Hammond in 2000)
- Dr. Elizabeth Weir, the SGC's first civilian commander (2004)
- Brigadier General Jack O'Neill (2004-2005)
- Major General Hank Landry (2005-present)
Homeworld Security
Homeworld Security is a term used for Earth's defense against extraterrestrial attack. It is most likely a play on the phrase Homeland Security, a neologism referring to domestic governmental actions designed to prevent, detect, and respond to acts of terrorism, and also respond to natural disasters.
In chronological order:
- Lieutenant General George Hammond, who it appears has been promoted to Secretary of the Air Force. (2004-2005)
- Major General Jack O'Neill. (2005 - Present)
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