United We Stand, a Stargate Alternate Universe

by LHB

One of the main tropes of Stargate was that it could be happening Right Now, hidden from the public by government secrecy. This alternate universe assumes Stargate is happening in our world as we know it with a heavier dose of realism and harder sci fi. It tells the story of the SGC, Earth, and humanity in a universe full of aliens, technological wonders, and galactic conflict.

2. Chapter 2: Looking to the Stars

Chapter 2: Looking to the Stars

Corporal Terry Winters fidgeted in his seat in the briefing room with the rest of Bravo Company and three SG teams. When I signed up for the Marines like Pa did back in Nam, he thought, I never dreamed we'd be fighting space aliens. Everything from the day he was selected for transfer to a top secret branch of the newly-formed USSF to finishing additional Gate Corps special training at Gamma Site two weeks before still felt like he was living in a dream. From the sounds and lack of chatter in the room Winters guessed he was far from the only soldier reflecting on the sheer weirdness of their current assignment. The collective walk down memory lane came to an abrupt halt as every person in the room leapt to their feet as Colonel Jack O'Neil, Major Samantha Carter, Dr. Daniel Jackson, and Teal'c entered the room. Almost as soon as they were up O'Neil was already saying, "At ease troops."

"Is everyone good and comfortable? I hope I don't make this too boring for all of you so let's get to it," said Col. O'Neil. "As you are all know this raid is key to the success of HIGHLINE. Our intel says P4X-298 is home to one of Heru'ur's maintenance depots. With the recent fighting between the System Lords Central thinks we have a shot at taking something really valuable from the Snakes. Major Carter will explain more, Carter?" The screen behind Carter and SG-1 lights up with a picture of a deep red crystal the size of a spray can mounted in an interface as the Major steps forward.

"So far we've only been making limited progress in understanding Goa'uld technology and gathering information on their movements. From what we've managed to uncover we have learned Goa'uld computers store their information on artificially-grown crystals like this one. Our objective is to acquire some of these crystals and their interface devices so we can better understand how this technology works and, if we're lucky, find out more about Goa'uld movements and operations."

"The raid," says Col. O'Neil, "is a pretty standard smash and grab. Bravo Company will charge through the gate, secure the area, and hold it against Heru'ur's Jaffa. The Operations Group, consisting of SG-1, SG-3, SG-13, and SG-19, will make for the depot once the gate is secure, infiltrate the enemy compound, locate the crystals, and make for the gate. We expect to be in, out, and on our way home in an hour, tops. Any questions?"
His eyes sweep the room before saying, "Remember that we leave no one behind. Dismissed!"

After suiting up Winters and his squad moved into position in the Alpha Site gateroom watching as the gate spun up a wormhole. As quickly as the process always went it felt like each chevron took ages to lock in. Before he knew it the gate exploded to life with its characteristic whoosh scaring a jump out of half of the room. "Gets me every time," mutters Private Tyson Brooks, one of his squadmates who like Winters was from a North Carolina military family and a Marine. Winters grins a little before replying, "I don't think it will ever stop getting' me Ty. You ready to go?" "Ready as I'll ever be," says Brooks just as Sergeant Sadler's sharp voice cut through, "Cut the chatter children! We go in two!"

The Iris slowly slid its way open as Third Platoon stepped into semicircle formation and opened up, filling the gateroom with the cacophony of battle as bullets, grenades, and rockets poured into the wormhole. As suddenly as they began the fire broke off. Winters gulped down a breath as Sergeant Sadler said, "Ready everyone? Just like we practiced, let's do this!" With that Blue Squad charged up the ramp alongside SG-1 leading the way for Second Platoon screaming bloody murder, part to empty their lungs before going through the gate and part to silence their own fears. Winters instinctively tensed up as his body slammed into the event horizon. Heat and cold, nausea, vertigo, and an indescribable stretching sensation raced through his body as the Stargate's mechanisms converted matter into energy, shot it across space, and pulled him back together.

Terry Winters stumbled a brief second, blinking and drawing in breath, as the momentary fog of gate travel passed. Brooks materializing next to him shook his brain into action. Turning to the rest of his fire team he shouted, "Take up supporting positions!" Winters and his team charged over the side of the gate mount just as the rest of Blue Squad and SG-1 came through. He anxiously scanned the freshly-cratered embankments and broken Jaffa bodies when a sudden flash caught his eye. "Contact! Bogie at ten o'clock!" he shouted into his radio before taking aim and firing. Some of the Jaffa, in spite of all odds, managed to survive the preparatory barrage from Third Platoon and were filling the air with the distinctive deadly zip zip of staff blasts. SG-1 and the rest of Blue Squad hit the deck and were taking up firing positions when Sadler and his team came through firing. The Sergeant flinched for just a moment, like any gate traveler would, and in that single instant caught a staff blast full in the chest. As Sadler's body slumped forward Winters shouted, "Come on! We have to secure the perimeter! Blue Squad on me!"

Winters charged forward with Brooks and the others close behind, firing from the hip and darting from one small piece of cover to the next. The air was thick with ozone and gunpowder as the soldiers of Blue Squad moved forward, SG-1 taking advantage of their movement to make for the nearest berm and flank the Jaffa. Winters and his men rushed forward, flanking and blasting the Jaffa line just as Red and Green Squads jumped through the gate guns blazing. More Jaffa came up over the lip of the valley just as the rest of First Platoon poured out and into position joining the melee.

For the next five minutes humans and Jaffa did their level best to destroy the other but the Gate Corps was made of far sterner stuff than Heru'ur's warriors expected. Jaffa staff line tactics, while optimal for the weapon's design, could not stand against the withering volume and variety of fire Bravo Company and Stargate Operations Group One brought to bear. Victory didn't come cheap but when the dust settled the SGC's personnel secured P4X-298's gate and were digging in. Next came the hard wait while the SG Teams, led by Col. O'Neil, moved out for the repair depot while Second Platoon fanned out in all directions watching for additional enemy troops.

"Man I hate this part," muttered Tyson Brooks as the troops of Blue Squad dug in. Acquisitions raids depended on swiftly securing the gate, using the unexpected violence that came with a forced entry as a distraction, and holding position until the SG Teams made it back through with the objective. "No matter how many times we ran through this," he continued, "it never got any better." Private Andy Garcia, an Army recruit from Ohio, grumbled, "And your griping about it never makes it go any faster Tyson. It's not like your belly-aching is going to speed up time." Just as Tyson was warming up for a comeback all their radios shrieked. "This is O'Neil we're coming in hot!" followed by an urgent, "This is Lt. Carson with Second Platoon we have contact and the SOG in sight. We're pulling back to the gate under heavy fire!" Winters turns to the rest of his squad and shouts, "Playtime's over, we got company!" as the gate hummed to life.

The rest of Bravo Company tensed up as a pair of Death Gliders roared overhead. Massive energy blasts thundered from the sky blowing apart trenches, foxholes, and men as the Gate Corps personnel dove for cover. As the Gliders soared past a fire team from Third Platoon brought missile launchers to bear, aimed, and fired. The Goa'uld aircraft tumbled out of the sky, training smoke and fire as they fell. O'Neil, the SG Teams, and Second Platoon came scrambling over the hill chased close behind by hissing staff blasts and screaming Jaffa warriors.

Bravo Company got to work as they had drilled into them by months of practice laying down covering fire, pulling back to the Gate while keeping the way clear. SG-1 halted just at the gate as the rest of the Operations Group and Bravo Company started jumping through. Winters and Blue Squad formed up behind the DHD keeping up the fire on the approaching Jaffa. For a few intense, seemingly endless, minutes Terry, Tyson, Sydney, and their squadmates kept up the fire as the number of Jaffa swelled.

Finally O'Neil's voice cut through the din, "You can stop being heroes now, it's time to go!" Winters nodded to his troops shouting, "You heard the man, pull out!" One by one they clambered up the steps and leapt through the event horizon coming crashing down on the Alpha site gateroom ramp moments later. As Terry coughed and gasped, catching his breath, SG-1 stepped on through just as the gate winked shut. A hand reached down to him as O'Neil helped the winded corporal to his feet. "Winters, right?" asks Jack. After nervously nodding in reply O'Neil looks him squarely in the eye saying, "You did a good job back there, thanks for keeping the door open for everyone." Terry wordlessly opened his mouth before stuttering, "Thank you sir!" Jack smiles and says, "Relax son. I think you'll do just fine."

"In the first few years following reorganization until full disclosure Stargate Command's operations continued at a rapid, unceasing pace. Some officers, like George Hammond, Jack O'Neil and Robert Makepeace, argued for a slower pace to give time for the newly-inducted SG Teams and the Gate Corps to be properly trained for the task ahead. These concerns were overridden by the fears of the IOC inspired by Apophis' assault on Earth. As the members of the IOC believed there was no time to waste and the Goa'uld could be returning at any moment. This haste, while understandable in the moment, was later discovered to be unfounded when further information on the state of the Goa'uld Empire was uncovered.

One key concession won by the IOC was the establishment of the Scientific Corps. Prior to the founding of this new branch within the SGC all scientists, regardless of field, were civilian contractors under the direct employ of the Pentagon. The now-international nature of Stargate Command coupled with the information sharing provisions guiding the organization's mandate meant such an arrangement was no longer workable. It may have been possible, as some like the disgraced Colonel Maybourne argued, to bring in other specialists attached to other governments but this was shot down by the IOC in interests of information transparency.

The Scientific Corps would resolve all these problems with a fairly simple solution. All academics attached to the Stargate Command would be considered directly under the jurisdiction of the IOC and for the purposes of military regulations be commissioned officers at the rank of Major much like medical doctors and chaplains. This created a much broader, more comprehensive body for research, development, and coordination whose presence would be a major influence on the IOC's decision-making.

One of the first examples of the influence of the Scientific Corps and the IOC was Operation HIGHLINE. As is well-known the SGC's mandate was, and still is, to acquire alien technology to aid in the defense of Earth and the human race. Many military officials argued, based on these grounds, the best targets for such operations involved the capture of weapons, starships, and other items with direct military applications. The Scientific Corps and other, more forward-thinking officers, pushed back pointing out that having captured enemy equipment did not guarantee such technology could be used sustainably in Earth's defense. HIGHLINE was one of many operations born out of these arguments. HIGHLINE's goal was to acquire the necessary parts, working examples, and specifications to build a computer capable of processing Goa'uld crystal-stored data. While far less flashy than later operations HIGHLINE's impact on the developing galactic war has been compared by some military historians to the work of the Bletchley Park cryptographers in breaking the Enigma Machine.

The humble goals of HIGHLINE and other acquisitions campaigns during these first few years were a critical proving ground for the SGC's personnel. The theory of gate-based operations had been explored during the program's first year by the SG Teams but operating in larger formations and close coordination were elements Command had not yet worked out. HIGHLINE and BROADWAY raids, though small in size and aimed at backwater Goa'uld outposts, were critical in working out and refining the doctrine of forcing a hostile gate and refining offworld operations. One major change over previous operations was the cessation of direct Earth-based operations into hostile territory. IOC reviews of prior SGC cases along with very sober-headed analysis of available data concluded exposing Terra itself to enemy attack or unknown contagions during any kind of operation was too great a risk to take. As a direct result of this conclusion SG Teams and Gate Corps units assigned to off-world operations would be transferred to the Alpha and Beta Sites for the duration of their tours of duty.

These years were also critical in establishing the unique espirit d'corps the SGC is famous for to this day. Gate assaults and evacuations, being focused on a small and easily constricted area, quickly became seen as highly risky operations with greater danger than anything seen since the amphibious campaigns of the Pacific War. Members of the Gate Corps and SG Teams quickly acquired a reputation for ferocious courage and tight bonds of camaraderie forged through heated, gate-based combat. Under the influence of leaders like Jack O'Neil it became an accepted truism that no one in Stargate Command ever left a fellow soldier behind, dead or alive, for any reason."

From Chapter 4: Cat and Mouse, The History of Stargate Command Volume I: Once More Into the Breach! by Major Kyle Schroeder, SGC, published in 54 M12

"Sen. Robert Kinsey (D-IN): General Hammond are you meaning to tell me that you feel this body has no right to question the operations of your top-secret section of the United States Space Forces?

Lt. Gen. George Hammond: As you are well aware Senator Kinsey the details of some of the operations of the Space Forces are heavily classified and cannot be discussed in an open hearing like this. I can assure you, however, there is no need for an audit or anything similar to the USSF's activities. What would be the point of such a top to bottom investigation when my branch has only just been established?

Sen. Kinsey: I don't like your attitude or your tone General. This committee and the United States Senate have the authority to investigate any matters it feels are worthy of attention. Civilian control of the military is essential to the freedom of our great Republic and I, for one, will not allow for it to be openly flouted.

Gen. Hammond: I can assure you, Senator, just as I did earlier during the classified briefing, there is nothing untoward happening at the Space Forces or in Cheyenne Mountain. These appropriations are kept classified for reasons of national and planetary security.

Sen. Ted Stevens, Subcommittee Chair (R-AK): Senator Kinsey do you have any further questions for General Hammond? I feel between his testimony here and earlier this morning he's more than answered your concerns.

Sen. Kinsey: With all due respect Mr. Chairman I feel the US Space Forces have something to hide and I will not rest until I get to the bottom of what they are up to! Secrecy like the Cheyenne Mountain operation cannot be tolerated in any kind of democratic society.

Sen. Stevens: Unless you have grounds for your concerns I'm going to have to ask you to move along. The chair recognizes the Senator from California.

Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA): Thank you Mr. Chairman. General Hammond Senator Kinsey has raised a lot of questions regarding the accountability and transparency of such a secretive program as the Orion Project. How do you believe this secrecy and Orion's work benefits American national security?

Gen. Hammond: I'm glad you asked me that Madame Senator. The work of the Orion Project has made major steps forward, through analyzing crash debris and other finds, in understanding the nature of our enemy the Goa'uld. Currently much of the work we are doing is highly sensitive but I can promise it is already bearing fruit. The destruction of Apophis' attack fleet is one of many examples of the good work the people at Orion are doing."

C-SPAN transcript from the Senate Subcommittee on Defense Appropriation, February 8th, 999 M11

"After the pain, chaos, and upheaval of First Contact subsided Earth was now confronted with a much larger question: what do we do now? The discovery of an alien species, in particular one with hostile intent for humanity, was a major shock to everyone's systems. Humanity on Earth, for centuries before, had divided itself based on affiliations like religion, philosophy, nationalism, and political creeds that served to divide the species in a time when it was clear to many that only in our common humanity was survival possible. The general reactions people had in this vein could be grouped into one of three major tendencies: the Occidentalists, the Redemptionists, and the Globalists. These Contact ideologies played a key role in the developing consciousness of humanity on Earth and later off-world.

The Occidentalists were, in the immediate aftermath of Contact, the most influential in the halls of power of the Allied nations. Their argument was one that traced its roots to Francis Fukuyama's famous 992 M11 book The End of History and the Last Man. The Occidentalist tendency argued that it was to humanity's benefit First Contact happened in the time it did when the great question of socio-political organization had been finally answered. The clear superiority of Western liberalism, based on representative government, protection of political rights, nationalism, and late stage capitalism, was the way forward for the entire world.
How this was going to be achieved varied from group to group and nation to nation. Some, particularly those active in the developing European Union, favored the peaceful integration and slow change to bring about the necessary transformation of human social organization to make a truly united front possible. Others, represented by groups like the Project for the New American Century and individuals like Richard Cheney and Robert Kinsey, believed that circumstances required far more forceful action on the part of the liberal democracies to bring about history's end. They feared any delay in forcing the truth into effect would greatly endanger humanity's future and the survival of Earth.

The third group often associated by scholars with the Occidentalist tendency though the rest of this movement soundly rejected them in public were the White Nationalists. They argued the clear superiority of "white" nations had been vindicated by victory over the aliens and all other inferior races had to be subordinated to or, according to the more radical segments of this odious movement, wiped out completely. White Nationalist terrorism would rise in the years following First Contact with the notorious Biloxi and Frankfurt Massacres as two cases of their more infamous acts. The White Nationalist use of Occidentalist rhetoric and language cast something of a bad odor on the broader movement that it never fully managed to shake off in spite of the clear, vigorous denunciations of these fringe groups by more respectable voices in government.

The second major tendency were the Redemptionists. Seen by many as more extreme than the most hardline Occidentalist the Redemptionists drew the bulk of their support from religious extremists from around the world with the vast majority of their followers coming from Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The Redemptionists claimed the arrival of Apophis was a test from God and a sign of his displeasure with the state of humanity. They argued Apophis' defeat was thanks to direct heavenly intervention because God still believed that humanity could be redeemed of its sins. The Redemptionists argued for an establishment of a worldwide theocratic state to bring the human race into accord with God's Will. Only by procuring divine favor, they claimed, was it possible to defend Earth from the danger posed by the Goa'uld who, in most Redemptionist propaganda, were seen as a race of demons.

In spite of the seeming superficial unity of purpose the Redemptionists were a hopelessly fractured movement. All could agree that Apophis' attack was a sign from God but which religion had it right was a major bone of contention. Christian Redemptionists, particularly American evangelicals like Pat Robertson and Franklin Graham, claimed the arrival of Apophis was the first sign of the Second Coming of Christ. Islamic Redemptionists were hopelessly divided in vision and purpose between the Salafi movement, the highly influential Wahhabi preachers of Saudi Arabia, and the age-old division between Sunni and Shi'a. Jewish Redemptionists were bitterly divided over the question of Zionism. Some argued the founding of the State of Israel and securing of the provinces of Judea and Samaria was vital to paving the way for God's return of favor to his Chosen People. Others claimed that the State of Israel was why God sent Apophis to Earth in the first place, arguing Eretz Yisrael could only be granted by God and not the works of man. While most Redemptionists focused on evangelism there were many, as was the case many times in Earth's history, where holy fervor and righteousness would lead to bloodshed. Organizations like the Lord's Liberation Army, al-Dawla al-Islamiyya, and the Sons of Zion killed many in bloody terrorist attacks against the unbelievers or those seen as having strayed too far from the path.

The third major tendency were the Globalists. This group emerged from among post-colonial intellectuals and participants in the growing global justice movement. The Globalists, unlike the Redemptionists and the Occidentalists, took a more permissive attitude towards human culture and viewed the moment of destiny in a different light. As they saw it the arrival of Apophis was an act of chance, nothing more. Thinkers like Rebecca Solnit and Joseph Stiglitz argued adherence to any one, specific ideology or creed was not the answer. They claimed humanity had reached its current point of advance and sophistication thanks to the great diversity of Earth's populations and history. The Globalist argument essentially claimed that greater international structures were needed to better resolve the differences between Earth's nations standing in the way of a united front. Only through respecting the pluralism of Earth, the Globalists claimed, could humanity move forward.

The Globalists were, like the other major Contact tendencies, not without their own radical elements. Ranging from ecological radicals like the Earth Liberation Front and Earth First! to revolutionary organizations like the Industrial Workers of the World and the International Socialist Organization these more radical Globalist groups attracted as much, in some cases more, attention from the authorities than those affiliated with the Redemptionists and Occidentalists. Many have argued this was symptomatic of the short-sightedness of policy makers of the time but, given the stridently anti-capitalist tone of such groups in a strongly capitalist world, it is understandable why they would attract so much direct attention. The fact that the Globalist radicals were largely non-violent and most cases of Globalist extremism targeted property for destruction as opposed to causing harm to people was largely ignored in favor of their rhetoric and positions, a decision which in hindsight draws considerable condemnation from modern students of history especially in light of the proven violent acts of Redemptionist and Occidentalist extremists."

From Chapter 2: The Cosmic Renaissance, The Future is Out There: A Cultural History of the Turn of the Millennium by Prof. Travis Wingate, published in 59 M12

"The initial push in favor of tighter regional trade blocs throughout the world following the Contact Crash had come at the perfect time. New developments in communication technology like fax machines, mobile phones, and the Internet had greatly improved the speed and bandwidth of data that could be moved worldwide. First Contact's cultural impacts in the form of new, rising global movements further laid the groundwork for the establishment of stronger trade organizations.

The already formidable European Union saw a greatly increased speed of adoption of the Euro. Prior to the arrival of Apophis there was great resistance by countries like Britain and Sweden to adopting the new currency. The Contact Crash and recovery saw a major shift in public opinion in these holdouts and by 999 M11's end all moved to adopt the new currency. Over time these countries steadily phased out their old currencies with the Swedish Kroner completely replaced by 2 M12 and the British Pound removed from the market entirely in 4 M12 in favor of the Euro. In 1000 M11 all of the member-nations of the EU announced the Davos Treaty establishing a framework for standardizing all work, safety, environmental, and economic regulations throughout the Union. The number of countries seeking admission into the union swelled when much of the former Eastern Bloc nations like Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the Baltic States joined up by 3 M12 followed by Norway and Switzerland a year later.

Across the Atlantic the 999 M11 Bogota Conference bore fruit with the signing of the Treaty of Bogota a year later. This agreement formally merged the two main trade blocs in South America, the Andean Community and Mercosur, into a single bloc known as the Union of South American Nations. The newly-formed UNASUR established their headquarters in Qito, Ecuador with a continental parliament in Cochabamba, Bolivia. The provisional structure of UNASUR elected the Secretary-General of the organization from amongst the current or former heads of state of South America determined by the consensus of the current heads of state to be replaced by a firmer, more established structure. The first major work of UNASUR was establishing a single, unified set of border controls to ease the movement of people, goods, and capital across the continent. This took years of hard, grueling work that came to fruition with the epochal Caracas Accords of 2 M12 based on the principles of the EU Schengen Agreement.

In 3 M12 the UNASUR Parliament, elected by the legislatures of each participating country with two delegates given to each member-nation, was seated for the first time replacing the old provisional arrangement. From 3 M12 on the Parliament would elect the Secretary-General and their cabinet from among all eligible UNASUR member-nation citizens. This new structure was seen as a move towards legitimacy and accountability and as their first order of business the UNASUR Parliament passed legislation laying out a plan for the introduction of a continental currency, the Nuevo Peso, in 6 M12 to be regulated by the South American Central Bank.

Africa followed a similar path towards economic integration as Europe and South America. In 1 M12 at the Addis-Ababa summit members of the Organization for African Unity announced the dissolution of the OAU and its replacement by the African Union. This new organization's objectives were to heal the damage done to Africa and its peoples by colonialism. One of their first objectives was the establishment of an all-union currency similar to the Euro, known as the Afro, by 11M12 along with agreements guaranteeing freedom of movement.

In stark contrast to all of these growing trans-national blocs were the trade federations like the North American Free Trade Agreement established in 994 M11, the East Asian Free Trade Agreement founded in 1 M12, the renewed Commonwealth of Independent States, and the growing push by the Arab League for greater economic integration. Unlike the AU, the EU, and UNASUR these blocs were far more decentralized with their focus on relaxing trade barriers and promoting the free movement of goods. During the immediate post-Contact years there was no talk of adopting trans-national currencies, banks, or other institutions for increasing the harmony and accord between nations in terms of regulatory structures. Where UNASUR and the EU were pushing for highly ambitious plans of standardized, highly humane regulatory regimes NAFTA, EAFTA, the CIS, and the Arab League were engaging in an aggressive race to the bottom. The results of each were rather stark with the more neo-liberal trade agreements seeing declining standards of living alongside swelling profit margins & roaring stock markets while the EU and UNASUR saw less frantic but more equitably distributed economic growth.

Regardless of the particular philosophies driving these developments the aggregate result was critical in Terran history. The reduced trade and movement barriers, eased passport requirements, and increasing monetary and economic stability brought more people into direct contact with each other than ever before. A new global economy was developing that was increasingly global, integrated, and interdependent and these trade systems were critical in its foundations."

From Chapter 2: Building the New Global Economy, Globalization and First Contact by Prof. Dipesh Iyer, published in 48 M12

"The explosion of Internet access and cyberspace worldwide was thanks to a number of critical technological developments in the early years of the twelfth millennium. The patents held by Stargate Command, known as the Orion Patents, made a number of critical technological developments possible that previously were largely theoretical. New developments in computer technology saw its greatest leap since the integrated circuit. The Orion Patents were a system of patents for discoveries coming from the international Orion Project, the official cover for Stargate Command.

The use of Orion Patents was only permissible through direct, very stringent licensing agreements between the prospective end user and the Orion Project. High levels of security clearance were required prior to entering into Orion negotiations giving the IOC a degree of control over the release of alien-sourced technologies. Although this was not always perfect with later problems with attempted infiltration of Orion by corporate and certain political interests it proved to be highly useful for the IOC and the SGC. The funding received through these agreements was certainly appreciated by all involved and was used to sponsor further research and testing planetside.

One of the first key developments piggy-backed off of Goa'uld technology was the invention of the first room temperature superconductors in 1 M12. Prior to this major development superconducters had to be cooled to very low temperatures to work, greatly limiting their usage in the market and general public. Using recovered Goa'uld computers and staff weapons Terran scientists working at sites like Area 51, Portown Downs, the Kossa Complex, Hashima Island, and Research Station Prometheus unraveled this and other mysteries before passing them on to the general public through the Orion Patents system.

These new superconductors saw a huge number of industrial applications worldwide. One of the most critical was in transportation. In rail the far cheaper superconductors made maglev lines more than just an expensive concept. The first major maglev systems in the world would go into action in Japan and South Korea in 3 and 4 M12 respectively. In the world of personal transport the superconductor made cheap, highly efficient electrical vehicles far more popular as shown by the runaway successes of classic models like the 3 M12 Honda Electron and the 4 M12 Ford Lightning. This was made possible by a combination of the increased efficiency offered and the denser batteries made possible by superconducting materials. These developments laid the foundation for later research into more effective hover technology though the more famous discoveries common today were still years off.

Computer technology in particular would explode forward in terms of capacity, efficiency, and miniaturization. Though not in ways many would have expected. Duplicating the photon-based Goa'uld systems capable of interfacing with the crystals proved to be costly and difficult though in the end the core concepts would prove useful. As Dr. Rodney McKay famously quipped, "Just because it looks all nice and shiny doesn't mean it's a good design!" The photon computers, thanks to the added energy cost of so much light usage, were less power efficient than directly using the superconductors they ran on for energy and data transmission.

Yet even for the inefficiency of Goa'uld design the control circuits used in Goa'uld photonic systems were invaluable for researchers in developing solid state memory systems. Already in its infancy in this period these discoveries dramatically reduced the cost of production and the density of solid state drives pushing digital memory capacity forward at rates that completely blew away the long-standing prediction of More's Law. The best example of the results of these discoveries was Seagate's 3 M12 500 GB solid state drive that was the side of a human thumb.

Mobile technology also benefited as the release of the iPhone by Apple in 1 M12 and the greatly improved iPhone 4 in 4 M12 demonstrate. More compact memory coupled with highly efficient systems resulted in high-powered technology with enormous processing capacity. Cellular networks and internet, thanks to the greatly reduced cost compared to traditional land-lines, exploded with 80% of the world's population plugged in by 3 M12. These technological revolutions made communication, information sharing, and process far easier than at any other point in history bringing people together on a global basis in a truly unprecedented fashion."

From Chapter Two: Superconducters and Solid State Drives, The Interstellar Revolution by Prof. Eduardo Garza, published in 55 M12

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndtheFed

I know you all feel the same way about non-transparency and secrecy from our government and elected officials. What do you all think about the Orion Project and all the patents they're sitting on? What do you think they have to hide?"

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechSabby

Some of the stuff that's coming out from Orion is simply amazing and holds incredible promise for making people's lives better. What computers can do now is making the stuff from the 90s look like a bunch of oversized paperweights with screens and the other stuff like the maglev project in Japan is simply amazing.

However in spite of all that I have to wonder why this needs to be handled like some CIA black ops project. Selling this stuff to powerful corporations can't be good for people and who knows what they're holding back? It feels like something that's waiting to be abused to maintain the power of the corporate elite. With NAFTA and the EU they've got more global influence than ever and some of these technologies could be used to fatten their profit margins instead of helping people.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eco-Warrior

I don't care what new toys Orion is coming out with. All this tech is no good for anyone and is killing the planet!

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZapatistaFangirl

Come on we can't exactly go back to the stone age when we've got alien imperialists hanging over our heads. We can't exactly out-macho and tree spike space parasites into leaving the planet alone Eco-Warrior.

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveFreeorDie

How do we know the government isn't already secretly on their side? Maybe that's why they're handing out all that technology like candy so they can better control us and further their alien overlords!

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndtheFed

If they're doing that then why did the Guld send two ships to attack us in '98?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DemBones

Yeah that makes no sense LiveFreeorDie. It's not like everything is being secretly run by space lizards. Still I do have to worry about all the secrecy surrounding the project and the sweet deals companies like Microsoft are getting from Orion.

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndtheFed

There's nothing to worry about as long as proper transparency and above board bidding is going on. I don't mind the companies most able to afford such projects getting ahead, that's just how the marketplace works. The problem is that Orion all happens behind closed doors when it should be open and public.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechSabby

They should be releasing this stuff to the public like when Salk refused to patent his polio vaccine. If this stuff is supposed to be for the benefit of all the people then it should be released to the people free of charge.

From General Discussion Forum Thread "What are your thoughts on the Orion Project?" dated January 8th, 2 M12

"The rise of the pan-national Occidentalist, Redemptionist, and Globalist movements in the years immediately following First Contact is, even with the enormous differences between life at the dawn of the twelfth millennium, almost inexplicable to modern readers. How, many have asked, was it possible for several movements running contrary to the vast majority of Earth's history of regional strife, nationalism, and sectarian struggles to smooth over these divides so easily. What students often miss, likely thanks to spending so much time covering the strife and bloodshed of pre-Contact Earth history, is the enormous material changes taking place during this period.

The growth of continental trade blocs like NAFTA, the EU, the AU, UNASUR, the Arab League, the CIS, and EAFTA with the rise of their associated monetary unions greatly eased the movement of people and goods, bringing communities in contact with one another as businesspeople, workers, and products moved more freely and quickly than ever. Superprojects like the Europe Maglev Network, begun in 6 M12, and investment in airports, roads, and rail lines in other continents made travel faster, cheaper, and easier than ever before. This was made even smoother by the exponential spread of Internet access as cellular technology, smartphones, and more powerful computers built a global, fully-interactive form of mass media that remains the foundation of communications technologies to this day. These major changes eased barriers to the sharing of ideas, goods, and personal experiences.

It further cannot be understated how critical the collective experience of First Contact was. As many other scholars have argued the shared trauma of Contact and the immediate aftermath was an experience that touched the lives of every single person alive on Earth. The digital revolution in communications technology meant, in the years following, it was far easier for people to share and discuss this mutual experience lending further resilience to this common cultural touchstone. All of this was critical in laying the foundation for the three proto-Terranist movements that defined political, social, and cultural life in the Contact Period.
This is not to say the proto-Terranists of the Contact years did not meet serious resistance. Nationalism and sectarianism were rife with conflicts inspired by them a constant problem. Earlier in the year of Contact US military forces under President Clinton would bomb locations in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sudan and see three major embassies in Africa demolished by religious terrorist attacks. Four years earlier Rwanda was the site of a truly brutal example of ethnic cleansing. In the cities of Europe and the Americas demonstrations from all sides of the political spectrum rallied against the growing free trade movements, fearing the impact of multinational corporate influence would have on public life. Anti-immigration rallies, some turning violent, throughout the world were quite common with many fearing the loss of employment due to the arrival of new migrants. Some especially notorious examples of such xenophobic groups were the United Kingdom Independence Party, the American White Worker's Party, Pravi Yor, and the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging.

These instances of opposition, some violent, to the growing globalized world were countered by the growth of proto-Terranist movements and other critical events in world history. Two, both taking place in 999 M11, were especially important in the forging of strong worldwide bonds. The first took place in Europe in the Balkans region only a few months before the second followed up on the American West Coast.

In the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia ethnic tensions between the Kosovoar Albanians and the dominant Serb majority were rising. Beginning in 995 M11 members of the Kosovo Liberation Army began a series of attacks, sabotage, and other operations against Yugoslav personnel. Federal forces retaliated and Serb paramilitaries grew leading to an escalating cycle of violence in the region. In 998 M11 tensions reached the boiling point thanks to these pre-existing problems and First Contact brought everything to head. Where other parts of the world were gripped in street violence and in some cases, like Egypt, revolution Kosovo would explode into war. Under the shadow of Apophis the KLA launched a full-scale attack on Serbian paramilitaries in Kosovo leading immediately to a declaration of martial law by the government in Belgrade.

The escalating violence would trigger a strong regional response. In the summer of 998 M11 the European Union sent a joint delegation to Belgrade in an attempt to negotiate an immediate cease-fire. When this failed to achieve results EU authorities called a summit of the British, French, German, Italian, Swedish, and Spanish governments discussing what options they had. In the fall of 998 the EU bloc petitioned the UN Security Council to approve a humanitarian military action only to be vetoed by the Russian representative. The EU, working in conjunction with the United States, seeing all other international avenues had been exhausted prepared to act on their own. In April 999 M11 the newly-organized EU Force and US European Command launched the first of many airstrikes against Yugoslav forces. After two months of aerial bombardment US and EU ground forces moved in swiftly to push out the remaining Yugoslav forces, occupy Kosovo, and force a cease-fire to the conflict.

The next year in Seattle, USA fierce demonstrations at the WTO Summit would be the spark for a much larger, globally cohesive movement. Activists from every continent arrived and succeeded in shutting down the conference, a major first for the global justice movement. The young Globalist tendency in the proto-Terranists really came together as a result of the WTO demonstrations, demonstrating great cohesion, shared values, and a strong uniting sense of purpose. The discovery of life on other planets lent further urgency to their work convincing many it was vital for the sake of humanity that the resources of the world be distributed in the most equitable fashion possible. The Seattle WTO demonstrations, dubbed by some commentators the Battle of Seattle for the now-infamous actions of the Seattle Police Department, would spark off a wave of anti-corporate activism the world over. People speaking dozens of different languages from numerous walks of life were all coming together for a shared purpose, creating a populist discourse for pan-human unity."

From Chapter 1: First Contact, The Origins of the Modern World by Prof. Andrea Masters, published in 61 M12

William Kristol, Co-founder of the Project for a New American Century: Thank you for that illuminating briefing on the status of our research efforts Don. Now we move on to what Bob has to say about what's really going on with the Orion Project.

Robert Kinsey, Democratic Senator for Indiana: Thank you Bill. Orion, as you are all aware, officially is a program dedicated to uncovering alien technology from crash sites and digs all around the world. This is a cover for the real work the Orion Project is up to and the danger they have placed our great nation, and our planet, in.

Robert Kagan, Director of the Project for a New American Century: You are referring to this Stargate device.

Kinsey: That's correct Robert. The Stargate makes near-instantaneous interplanetary travel possible. Through this the people at Stargate Command have been exploring new worlds, making contact with offworld human populations, and acquiring alien technology. This alien device has incredible potential that I believe the idealists at the SGC are wasting.

Prof. Paul Wolfowitz, School for Advanced International Studies: How do you mean?

Kinsey: The fools at Stargate Command place maintaining diplomatic relations with primitive offworld human societies and dangerous aliens ahead of taking whatever it is we need to better defeat the Goa'uld threat. On more than one occasion they have placed the welfare of offworlders ahead of our planet's defense and our national interest. Furthermore their priorities are misguided, placing acquiring technological curiosities ahead of obtaining new weapons and defenses. I am afraid if nothing is done about this the SGC will leave us exposed to alien invasion and conquest.

Donald Rumsfeld, Chairman of Gilead Sciences: Is there anything you can do about this Bob?

Kinsey: Not at the moment Don. The rest of the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee is quite happy with the Orion arrangement, confident the SGC is doing their job thanks to all these developments. The President, furthermore, is just too popular for us to do anything about him.
Richard Cheney, Chairman and CEO of Halliburton: It sounds like we'll need to take matters into our own hands. I know some people in the Pentagon from my time as Defense Secretary who would be friendlier to our objectives. We need to get some of our people inside the SGC and do whatever we can to get our own people in charge.

Kinsey: Hammond and the SGC are too popular for anyone to move against him that directly.

Cheney: Then we take matters into our own hands, one way or the other. We cannot accept any obstacles or make any compromises in the defense of our planet.

Taken from the transcript for the September 11, 1 M12 New York Summit of the Project for a New American Century, unsealed in 29 M12

"Along with the highly celebrated quest for alien technology one of the main missions assigned to the SGC was establishing diplomatic contact with potential allies in the struggle against the Goa'uld. The first real contact made with resisting elements was through the unexpected and fortuitous defection of the famous Teal'c of the Jaffa. Teal'c, motivated by his discovery of the true nature of the Goa'uld through his long service as Apophis' First Prime, became the latest of the long, often poorly understood, tradition in Jaffa society of the shol'vah. To better understand Teal'c of Chulak and what he faced we must first understand this phenomenon.

Shol'vah is a Goa'uld word commonly translated as, "traitor". On the surface this is true but the word has a far deeper meaning to it with connotations of damnation. Some linguists, following the example of Dr. Jackson, render it more poetically as, "the forsaken one." These meanings are profoundly critical for understanding the classical Goa'uld mentality regarding their Jaffa janissaries. Jaffa changing their allegiances or abandoning one master for another was not unheard of in Goa'uld society. If anything it seems to have been encouraged with the Jaffa who belong to a defeated or slain Goa'uld regularly being offered the opportunity to swear their allegiance to the victor. The children of exiles, a common punishment for the families of Jaffa officers who failed the Goa'uld in some way or another, were especially known for their ferocious dedication to their lords. Jaffa were as much a resource as they were soldiers and Goa'uld warfare reflected this as seen in their regular practices of capturing enemy vessels and subduing rather than slaughtering the Jaffa and slaves of their enemies. For Jaffa to change masters was not unheard of and played a key role in the Goa'uld's control of their soldiers, giving them a safety valve for dissent.

What was utterly unacceptable in this world was to reject the Goa'uld completely. A Jaffa who swore to a new master was, while still on shaky ground, ultimately a warrior who was in a position of needing to prove their honor and trustworthiness. Condoned defectors made excellent soldiers in part because of this. Shol'vah like Teal'c and Bra'tac were a completely different matter. By turning their backs on the Goa'uld completely they had proven they could not be trusted by any Goa'uld, a condition comparable to the mid 11th millennium legal term hostis humanii generis. Shol'vah suffered far worse punishments than failures or those who displeased their masters who died, often painfully, and saw their families exiled from their world. Shol'vah were tortured slowly and publicly at the temples of the Goa'uld with all Jaffa called to watch. Their families would be forced to watch before being banished to the outskirts of the temple cities. Unlike the exiled Jaffa the families of the shol'vah were not permitted to ever leave their now barely tolerable homes and forced to live lives of scorn, ridicule, and worst of all losing the right to implant a symbiont in their children upon coming of age condemning them to death. The fate of a shol'vah and their survivors was a brutal example that Teal'c and other participants in the Free Jaffa movement would have been well aware of.

Yet in spite of all this there is evidence the Jaffa Revolution was not the first Jaffa uprising in galactic history. Bra'tac of the Jaffa, Teal'c master, had come to a similar conclusion long before and originally argued the best any Jaffa could do is steer their masters away from excessive cruelty or truly foolish actions. This concept of a loyal opposition was a well-rooted yet dangerous tradition among the Jaffa and gave rise to a number of rebellions throughout history inspired by Goa'uld actions. The rise of the Hak'tyl Moloc, led by Ishta years before Teal'c's defection, has similar parallels throughout Goa'uld records with the term hak'tyl, translated as liberation, used by other instances of revolts in Goa'uld history. Probably the most radical example of anti-Goa'uld resistance were independent freebooting groups like the Sodan who bore the mark of no master and survived by raiding Goa'uld holdings for new symbionts.

The main difference between these earlier attempts and Teal'c's revolt was the presence of an outside force, Earth, that could provide them support and shelter. It was thanks to the offworld sites, efforts by the SGC to establish further contact and alliances, and the steady melding of all the different movements and dissenting currents into a single force that the Jaffa Revolution would come to pass. Yet in these early years it was still very much in its infancy. The resources Earth could offer were quite limited and the Jaffa rebels too widely separated by distance, lack of information, and the legacies of wars and feuds waged by the Goa'uld. Even still these early contacts would prove critical in sowing the seeds of broader revolt and aspiring revolutionaries learned much of more effective tactics in fighting their masters from service in the SGC's SG Teams. Within three years of his defection the framework of the rebel network was coming together and dozens of veteran Jaffa were serving under arms with the SGC.

The first steps with the Jaffa were not the only ones. First contact was made with another anti-Goa'uld movement, this one consisting of symbionts who were opposed to the Socially Darwinian philosophy dominant in the empire. Facilitated by Samantha Carter and her father and later host Jacob Carter first contact with the Tok'ra was a pivotal moment in galactic history. The Tok'ra consisted of a group of Goa'uld symbionts descended from the Goa'uld Queen Egeria. The Tok'ra advocated true symbiosis over domination with the hosts, eschewed the use of sarcophagi, and argued the Goa'uld should use their gifts for the betterment of lesser races. For espousing these views Egeria was imprisoned by Ra and the Tok'ra banished from the Empire. In the following centuries the Tok'ra slowly grew, steadily infiltrated the Goa'uld Empire, and plotted its downfall. This three millennia long struggle was a difficult one with enormous obstacles arrayed against those who stood against Ra.

Contact with Earth gave them a useful ally in launching more militaristic operations than the Tok'ra were capable of sustaining. Most critically the people of Terra offered the Tok'ra something that was in very short supply for them: viable hosts. The nature of their movement made it difficult to acquire hosts and the Tok'ra requirement that all be willing prevented them from using tactics like the Goa'uld of raiding worlds for prospective hosts. These voluntary hosts were, at first, older members of the Allied military establishments, critical researchers, and others who were suffering from terminal diseases or debilitating medical conditions. These volunteers became part of the Tok'ra's struggle providing an invaluable link between the Tok'ra and humanity. The Tok'ra, in turn, provided intelligence and technical assistance that would prove to be invaluable in the early years. It was thanks to the Tok'ra that early raids for technology would soon bear fruit through increasing precision and efficacy.

In comparison with these other contacts by far the most critical was with the Asgard. A powerful, highly advanced race of extragalactic beings who had watched humanity for much of its history first contact was made, indirectly, on the world of Cimmeria by SG-1. This contact was later followed up by more direct contact by Jack O'Neil following his exposure to an Ancient archive paving the way for one of the most critical relationships in galactic history. Initially the Asgard, due to other commitments in their home galaxy, were limited in their interactions with the SGC but even these interactions would bear fruit when the Asgard High Council opened negotiations with the Goa'uld to add Earth to the Protected Planets Treaty.

To support these and other operations the SGC engaged in a massive effort for increasing offworld capacity. The Alpha Site, previously established as a fallback outpost in the event of invasion, was expanded and transformed into a major military base for launching Stargate Command operations into uncharted and hostile space. The Beta Site was founded shortly in 999 M11 after the Apophis attack as a second base for operations for the SGC. These bases housed barracks, armories, and basic scientific facilities used to screen all discoveries before passing them on to planetside research facilities or Prometheus. Delta Site, better known as Nova Terra today, was established in the same year as the new refuge world with an engineer detachment dispatched to prepare infrastructure for hosting large numbers of human beings in relative comfort and the necessary defenses. Gamma Site was founded shortly after to serve as the new training center, taking advantage of the uninhabited and highly varied climates and terrain found at Gamma Site.

The most secretive of all is the famous Omega Site, the home of Research Station Prometheus. While these other offworld sites, eventually expanded to a massive network of twenty-five bases and a number of refuge worlds, are all known to the general public the coordinates and gate address of Omega Site are still a closely guarded secret. It is rumored some of the most critical advances in scientific research in post-Contact history were made in this secret installation. It is also claimed, and implied from the memoirs of Rodney McKay, Samantha Carter, and others who worked at Omega Site, some of the most dangerous experiments ever conceived of were conducted there. At Prometheus the best and brightest minds humanity had to offer worked frantically to unravel the mysteries of the universe knowing their work would be the difference between victory and defeat. These offworld sites played a pivotal role in the Terran struggle against the Goa'uld and in laying the foundation for humanity's leap into the stars."

From Chapter Three: The Search for Offworld Allies, A Political History of Our Galaxy by Prof. Li Feng, published in 59 M12