Goa'uld
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The Goa'uld (pronounced go-a-OOLD [ˈgoʊ˘uːld], commonly GOOLD, or go-OOLD) are a fictional parasitic alien race in the science fiction television series Stargate SG-1 universe. They look like snakes but they normally insinuate themselves into the brains of large animals, which they can then control. They find humans particularly suitable as hosts.
Most Goa'uld pose as gods to control slave armies and are considered evil, egocentric megalomaniacs by those who do not worship them. "Goa'uld" means "God" in the Goa'uld language. The higher echelon of Goa'uld formed a loose association of System Lords. However, there exists a rebellious offshoot of the species, the Tok'ra, that rejects the God/Slave paradigm of the mainstream Goa'uld and prefers to merge only with voluntary hosts. A singular Goa'uld is sometimes referred to as a symbiote, more often when the host and parasite have a free, benign, synergetic relationship as with the Tok'ra.
The Goa'uld were the primary enemies of SG-1 for most of the series, although in Season 9 they were supplanted in this role by the Ori after the fall of the System Lords.
Origins
On their native homeworld (known only by its SGC designation, P3X-888 and its address (
) the Goa'uld begin their lifecycle as relatively helpless aquatic larvae, spawned in large numbers from a Goa'uld queen. Those that survive to maturity develop elaborate fins that allow them to spring powerfully out of the water to burrow into a suitable creature's neck. The Unas evolved on the same world and were their original favoured host. Rather than develop on their homeworld P3X-888, the Goa'uld left inside their Unas hosts using that planet's Stargate. They then infiltrated and invaded other alien races until they had conquered the entire Milky Way Galaxy. Eventually, their race began dying out, until Supreme System Lord Ra discovered Earth and the ancient humans living there; humans proved to be a much more suitable host-race for the Goa'uld, as human bodies were easier to repair, and human hands and voices offered much greater opportunity for expression and technology use; use of the Unas as a host was phased out. Once a Goa'uld takes a host it is not easy for it to switch to another; it loses its fins and its body appears to atrophy significantly. Starfaring Goa'uld developed an alternative lifecycle from those in the wild; modifying a race of humans into Jaffa to act as incubators for their larvae. This was apparently done both to produce powerful warrior servants and to improve the ability of the larval Goa'uld to take a human host on maturity; Goa'uld larvae that grow up "in the wild" have only a fifty percent chance of being able to take a host whereas Jaffa-reared larvae are universally capable. Nevertheless, the Goa'uld are not a numerous species. Selmak estimated that there were "dozens of the ranks of System Lords, thousands of [adult] Goa'uld in general."The era of the political dominance of the Goa'uld over the galaxy is believed to have begun soon after Ra's discovery of human hosts sometime in the ninth or eighth millennium BC and lasted until the Replicator invasion of the galaxy in 2005.
Characteristics
Most Goa'uld like to take the name of a classical god from Earth, especially those of ancient Egypt, but not the Norse or Aztec gods (whose identities were assumed by other alien races). No known Goa'uld has ever used a name from the Abrahamic religions (i.e. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) either, though one Goa'uld (Sokar) pretended to be Satan to a group of medieval Christians. This is probably because of the fact that these faiths deny a pantheon of gods and explicitly state that God chooses not to show his face, while the average Goa'uld's egomania is inherently publicity-seeking .
The Goa'uld are so egomaniacal that the term Goa'uld means either "Children of the Gods" or "Gods" in their language. There is still debate as to whether the Goa'uld assumed the names of deities that humans already worshiped or if the Egyptian, Chinese, Japanese, Hindu, Mesopotamian, Greco-Roman, and other ancient mythologies stem from the Goa'uld's one-time domination of (ancient) Earth.
The most powerful Goa'uld are called System Lords. They rule several planets, lead huge armies of Jaffa warriors, and maintain fleets of powerful spaceships that resemble pyramids. Major Goa'uld System Lords included Apophis, Ba'al, Heru'ur, Cronus, Nirrti, and Yu. Osiris and Anubis were former system lords. Many of them have since died during the progression of the show. The most powerful System Lord was Ra — until the Tau'ri killed him in the 1994 movie Stargate.
Goa'uld are able to pass their memories directly to their offspring through genetic memory. This can also occur when a pair of Goa'uld hosts mate and produce an offspring; the resulting child is biologically human but possesses the knowledge of the Goa'uld. Such a child is known as a Harcesis and is considered an abomination by the Goa'uld, who do not normally choose to produce them. The genetic memory is considered to be a contributing factor in the cruel and power hungry nature of the Goa'uld—essentially, they are born evil.
A Goa'uld-occupied host usually speaks in an eerily flanged, bass-augmented register, except when allowing the host to act freely, or imitating a normal human- recently however, one Goa'uld has stated that the voice is not necessary, and that they can talk in normal tones. The voice may simply be used to differentiate between host and symbiote (as the Tok'ra do) or to frighten slaves; extreme emotions in the Goa'uld or when the goa'uld takes control causes the host's eyes to briefly glow. The Goa'uld instill increased strength and remarkable healing abilities in their hosts; the host can continue to function even after sustaining injuries that would incapacitate or kill most humans (although the destruction of their vital organs is still immediately fatal for them) and experiences a lifespan of centuries (which System Lords commonly extend almost indefinitely through the technological means of a sarcophagus). Being a host is regarded as a living hell and those hosts who have been under the control of Goa'uld for extended periods of time are widely suspected of having gone insane. Most of the Goa'uld killed in Stargate SG-1 have been in a host at the time, who died along with them. The death of the host in these instances has generally been considered merciful. If any attempt is made to forcibly remove a Goa'uld from a host the Goa'uld may release a deadly toxin into the blood stream of the host, killing the hapless individual. Nevertheless, the Tollan and the Tok'ra have found a surgical method of safely removing Goa'uld parasites with only minimal risk to either party, and the Asgard technician Hermiod recently discovered a method of removing a Goa'uld parasite using Asgard beam technology ("Critical Mass").
Goa'uld are parasitic in a technological sense as well. While many races in the galaxy, like the Asgard and the Ancients, developed their own technology over many thousands of years, the Goa'uld achieved their current level of technological strength by discovering or stealing the technology of other races and adapting it to their own use. It is unknown if any individual pieces of Goa'uld technology were actually developed originally by the Goa'uld themselves; more often than not, the Goa'uld, in their arrogance, will claim to have 'invented' a piece of technology that they in fact did not. There is little doubt, however, that the Goa'uld do have inventors and technicians, who have been seen to improve earlier technolgies (for example, extending a cloak around an entire Ha'tak mothership, as in "The Serpent's Venom") The Stargates themselves are a prime example of this; while they were created and built by the Ancients, the Goa'uld have controlled so many of the galaxy's Stargates for such a long period of time that they automatically take credit for their invention. This fiction is just another of the claims that helps reinforce the Goa'uld's position as gods in the minds of those who are ruled by them.
Possibly because the Goa'uld spend no time developing new technologies, only improving existing examples, and they likewise keep their servants from innovating and expanding, Goa'uld society has not changed in noticeable degrees in the millenia since they originally contacted the Tau'ri.
Technology
The Goa'uld are a strictly parasitic race. They rely on hosts for life, Jaffa for strength, and deception for power. Their technology is no different. The Goa'uld are scavengers, and their technology is a conglomeration of the discoveries and ingenuity of multiple races, including the Ancients.
All (or the vast majority) of their technology contains, in some form or another, naqahdah, the material of which the Stargates are constructed. This material also flows in Goa'uld veins, and is often used as a key to their technology, much like the ATA gene. The devices of the Goa'uld, it will be noted, are mostly warlike in nature, reflecting the megalomaniac nature of the species.
Other information
- A subfaction exists within the Goa'uld called the Tok'ra (meaning literally "Against Ra"), a group of Goa'uld who are opposed to the ways of the System Lords. Descended from the Goa'uld Queen Egeria, they share the desire to have a truly symbiotic relationship with their hosts. They are a resistance movement which attempts to overthrow the System Lords' tyranny. In addition, they have come up with several inventions that are truly their own, including one-way force shields, symbiote poison, Re'ol derivative and the method of artificial production of Tretonin. Although biologically the same species, Tok'ra prefer to not be referred to as Goa'uld.
- Goa'uld symbiotes can be ground up, refined, and used as a drug called Tretonin. When used, the user gains many of the same health advantages having a Goa'uld symbiote allows. However, use of the drug also kills the user's immune system.
- Jack O'Neill pejoratively refers to all Goa'uld (even the Tok'ra), as "snakes" or "snakeheads" because of the serpentine shape of the Goa'uld symbiote.
- In Need it is revealed that continued use of the Golden Sarcophagus causes changes in the user's brain chemistry which makes them more aggressive. Samantha Carter suggested that the Goa'uld became so warlike and uncivilized because of their need for the sarcophagus. The Tok'ra believe this as well, and do not use the sarcophagus.
- Very Few Goa'uld Queens have been encountered in the Stargate SG-1 series. Only three have been seen in the shows run, and all three have since been killed. The first encountered by the Tau'ri was Hathor who, based on dialogue within the episode, might have been the oldest of the Queens and the first to spawn the Goa'uld as they are known today. The second queen encountered was the Tok'ra Egeria, who literally gave birth to the Tok'ra rebellion. The last was a nameless Goa'uld who was in league with Anubis in his plot to create his newly formed Kull Warrior army.
The Ashrak
An Ashrak is a highly trained, highly dangerous Goa'uld assassin, usually employed by a System Lord. Ashrak exhibit such techniques as technically advanced rings which can alter memories of those it is used upon, and cloaking, similar in technology to the Goa'uld Nirrti.An Ashrak usually uses a Harakesh (aka Ashrak device), which is a smaller version of the Goa'uld hand device, taking the form of an elaborate ring. Its function is to kill the Ashrak's victim, but it is also frequently used to torture victims into releasing information. It is also capable of affecting other people to make them obey the Ashrak's commands. Afterwards the victim remembers nothing of the Ashrak.
See also
References
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