Goa'uld
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Template:Stargate race The Goa'uld (pronounced go-ah-OOLD [goʊ˘ˈuːld] or [goˑɑˈʔuːld], commonly mispronounced or shortened to 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 insituate themselves into the brains of larger 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, and 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, synergistic 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 deaths of most of the System Lords.
History
Origins
On their native homeworld—known only by its SGC designation, P3X-888 and its address Template:Milky Way Gate Address —the Goa'uld begin their lifecycle as relatively helpless aquatic larvae, spawned in large numbers by 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 remain on their homeworld P3X-888, the Goa'uld, inside their Unas hosts, used that planet's Stargate to emigrate to other worlds. They then infiltrated and invaded other alien races until they had conquered the entire Milky Way Galaxy. Eventually, their race began to die 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 technological 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 native Goa'uld on their original world did not have naqahdah in their blood, but the ones on other worlds did. The show offered no backstory to explain how this happened and only stated it. The show has stated however that the presence of naqahdah in an individual's bloodstream allowed that individual to use certain elements of Goa'uld technology. Therefore it seems likely that at some point the Goa'uld deliberately introduced naqadah into themselves. This would allow them to create technology keyed to the presence of naquadah, that only they could use. They utilize this technology to further their claim to be gods, by passing off a technological marvel as a supernatural ability.
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 BCE and lasted until the Replicator invasion of the galaxy in 2005.
Goa'uld Empire
In 8,000 BCE, the Goa'uld were a dying race. They infested the native Unas and learned how to activate the Stargate. But even with their hosts, they couldn't sustain themselves for long. One Goa'uld, Ra, came upon a world called Earth and named the native sentient species Tau'ri (The First Born). Realising that within a human host the Goa'uld could remain alive indefinitely, they then enslaved Earth and took the people as hosts, using the Jaffa as incubators and the rest as slaves. They posed as Earth's pagan gods (excluding the Norse, whose roles were already taken by the Asgard). They transferred the humans across many planets to mine naquadah, later abandoning those planets when the mines ran out. However, the Tau'ri of Earth rebelled, forcing Ra to abandon the planet, and the Goa'uld forgot about Earth for almost 5,000 years.
The Tau'ri became a threat to the Goa'uld again in 1996, when Jack O'Neill and Daniel Jackson travelled through the Stargate, killed Ra, and later managed to thwart an invasion by Apophis. After the death of the Goa'uld queen Hathor, the Goa'uld System Lords—the governing body of all Goa'uld—made plans to attack Earth, but were forced to change their plans when the Protected Planets Treaty between the Goa'uld and the Asgard was amended to include Earth.
After the death of the Goa'uld Cronus and Apophis, there was a massive civil war between the remaining System Lords to fill the power void. A mysterious force was taking advantage of the war to gain power for themselves. At a meeting of the System Lords, a truce was settled on and an alliance discussed. The final guest who arrived, Osiris, claimed she (Osiris had a female host, despite typically having had male hosts before) was representing Anubis, a System Lord long thought dead who proposed to destroy the Tau'ri in exchange for being allowed to return as a System Lord. All of the major System Lords except Yu supported Osiris' proposal. Although, when Anubis failed, the System Lords then joined forces to destroy him, but his massive mother ship held a strategic advantage over them.
When Lord Yu was unable to lead the Alliance (He had to use the sarcophagus often, making him mentally unstable), Ba'al was chosen to lead them and successfully destroyed Anubis' mothership over the planet Langara. Still, Anubis' forces kept Ba'al's forces at bay.
Anubis later attacked Earth, thinking the humans knew the location of the Lost City of the Ancients. His defeat by the Ancient drone weapons in Antarctica only widened the power vacuum, and the System Lords tried to avoid further war by dividing his forces and territory. Ba'al then found Tartarus (The location of where the Kull Warriors are created) and reprogrammed the drones to serve him. Using all of Anubis' forces, Ba'al began a full scale assault against those Goa'uld, who were not loyal to him.
Fall of the Goa'uld
Desperate, the System Lords tried to convince the Tau'ri to use their weapons from the Ancients against Ba'al, but the Tau'ri had no interest in interfering with the Goa'uld affairs. The System Lords were then forced into a standoff. Soon thereafter, the Replicators began to defeat the System Lords and eventually killed almost every one. The Replicators were defeated by the Tau'ri, Tok'ra, Asgard, and Ba'al using an Ancient weapon on the planet Dakara, a place sacred to the Jaffa.
The taking of Dakara was a catalyst for the rebellion of the Jaffa, and the remaining Goa'ulds lost most of their Jaffa after it was liberated, thus ending the eight year conflict..
Trust
With the Goa'uld empire reduced to a fraction of its former glory, the remaining Goa'uld, mainly Ba'al, hid on Earth and took control of some of the world's most powerful corporations. They adopted some of Earth's lifestyle and mostly abandoned their old voices. Furthermore, Ba'al had cloned himself so his legacy would not die. He even brainwashed a number of Free Jaffa in order to rebuild his empire.
Characteristics
Most Goa'uld like to take the name of a classical pagan god from Earth, especially those of ancient Egypt, but not the Norse gods (whose identities were assumed by the Asgard). Only three Goa'uld, Cronus, Ares, and Athena have been seen to pose as Greek gods, as the Goa'uld predate the Olympian pantheon. No known Goa'uld has ever used a name from the Abrahamic religions, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, although one Goa'uld (Sokar) pretended to be Satan to a group of medieval Christians.
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. Sokar, Osiris, and Anubis, many of whom 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 "all the knowledge of the Goa'uld." Such a child is known as a Harcesis. Such a child would know the secrets of the Goa'uld, most importantly that they are not gods and the secrets of their technology, and could reveal to other humans that the Goa'uld were not gods and teach them about Goa'uld technology, which would cripple the Goa'uld's hold over their human and Jaffa slaves. For this reason, producing Harcesis children was strictly forbidden by the Goa'uld, and was one of the relatively few rules all Goa'uld abided by, and enforced by punishing Goa'uld who broke such rules. The genetic memory is considered to be a contributing factor to 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 when 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 may cause the host's eyes to briefly glow; this also happens when the Goa'uld takes control of its host and when the host is killed. Despite being one of the more notable aspects of their biology, exactly how they do this has never been addressed.
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 has 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 become insane. Most of the Goa'uld killed in Stargate SG-1 have been in a host which 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 bloodstream of the host, killing the hapless individual. Nevertheless, 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"). However, Selmak informs Samantha Carter that the Tokra's method of parasite extraction is safe only to the host, as it instantly kills the Goa'uld before it can release its deadly toxins. Extraction is usually unnecessary for removal Tokra symbiots, as they harbor no such anomosity nor thoughts of superiority toward their host.
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 technologies (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'ulds' position as gods in the minds of those who are ruled by them.
Possibly because the Goa'uld spend relatively little time developing new technologies, and because they likewise keep their servants from innovating and expanding, Goa'uld society has not changed noticeably in the millennia since they originally contacted the Tau'ri.
The Host
The Goa'ulds parasitic existence requires them to take a host in order to interact with the world around them. Originally, this was the Unas as well as a few other alien races but eventually spread to humanity. Hosts are usually collected from the many slave worlds within the domain of the Goa'uld, though, when desperate, they occupy the first host that is available even if it's the opposite gender than they prefer. This only occurs with mature parasites as the younger larvae remain within the symbiote pouches of the Jaffa.
Once taking over the body, the parasite exerts near total control, depending on its maturity, and gains the memories of the host itself. This can be a potent way of gaining information and infiltration as possessed by the symbiote allows the Goa'uld to blend within societies without drawing any suspicion.
The Goa'uld tended to perpetrate the myth to others that once a host was possessed by a symbiote then 'nothing of the host' survives. This was false as the host's personality was simply suppressed and dominated by the parasites mind. However, strong and powerful minds can fight the parasites influence which can cause momentary pauses as the two minds fight over the body. In some cases, the host can actually influence the symbiote itself as seen by Kendra who told her symbiote that the fact that Cimmeria was a banned Goa'uld world meant that there must be something important on that planet. Despite this, possession by a symbiote can be a traumatizing experience for the host who feel that they have been living a nightmare that they could not awaken from.
When taking the host body, the Goa'uld symbiote tends to be very invasive and uses its naturally evolved form to tear into the neck of the host. The symbiote almost never invades a potential host body through the mouth as they do not wish to 'remember' the look of horror on the hosts face when it was infested by the parasite.
The parasite also tend to use the host body as a form of hostage, especially when used against the people who cared for the host. This is simply because the symbiote can release a deadly poison within the body that is capable of killing the host and can serve as the Goa'ulds last act of spite against their enemies. However, there are occasions when the host survives the death of the Goa'uld. This can be done willingly by the Goa'uld itself, which is rare, or by removal by an advanced race such as the Tok'ra or Asgard. These surviving hosts tend to have naquada traces remaining in their blood allowng them access to Goa'uld technology. In addition to this, they also possess brief memories of their symbiotes knowledge though these can be scattered and erratic at best.
Society
The Goa'uld Empire spanned a large part of the Milky Way galaxy with the territory divided among numerous nobles. The greatest and most powerful of these would be titled System Lords who commanded great armies as well as rivalries with one another. The strongest among them, which was rare, were able to take the title of Supreme System Lord as was the case with Ra. These System Lords commanded numerous underlords who served to administrate their vast territory and had ambitions of their own. They were also entitled to vote on who joined their number and who should be expelled as well as administered death marks on enemies of the System Lords which would be done by the Ash'rak. Some formed minor organizations that opposed the ruling System Lords such as the Linvris. Another shadowy aspect of the Goa'uld would be the Tok'ra who were considered a separate, and despised, race.
A Goa'ulds life itself is one based on luxury and power that is supported by their slave armies consisting of Jaffa and their more loyal human followers. Fear and the belief that they are gods is what keeps these people in line. The fear is generated by threats of destruction and executions to keep the people in line. Furthermore, the followers are kept in check by 'Goa'uld magic' which is done through technology and is one of the reasons why their followers are kept at a primitive level of development in order to ensure that they do not suspect the truth.
Teal'c stated in "In the Line of Duty" that one of the weaknesses of the Goa'uld is their arrogance and that by assaulting their ego, the Goa'uld in question will at times reveal their plans in order to appear superior. He later went on by stating that he had seen many great battle plans fail because of a single Goa'uld attempting to make themselves appear superior by stating their 'brilliant' tactic. Another noted trait among members of the species is their desire for self preservation with it being very rare for a Goa'uld to willingly sacrifice its life for another. When faced with death, a Goa'uld typically would bargain with its enemies in order to survive; be it another race or another Goa'uld. When faced with captivity, a Goa'uld will also attempt to bargain with its captors by stating that they will share Goa'uld knowledge though they will form their own plans in order to escape. Among their fellow Goa'uld, a typical option for a defeated Goa'uld is either servitude to the victor or death. Regardless of the outcome, the defeated enemies' Jaffa army gets absorbed by the victors.
The Goa'uld tend to possess large territories and from these worlds, which are populated by thousands of humans from Earth, the parasites gain host bodies to use for their kind. Typically, perfect or beautiful hosts are gathered which is administered by the Jaffa or by a Goa'uld who single out those they wish to take. These raids also serve to instill terror into the populations and ensure their cooperation to their "gods".
Among the Goa'uld leaders, the most trusted of human followers serve as a "Lo-Tar" which is the highest rank a human slave can achieve. These are the trusted companions of the Goa'uld who, sometimes, are the opposite sex of their master. Some, if not all, appear to know the Goa'ulds origins and still follow them in hopes of being implanted with a symbiote.
The Goa'uld have practically no relations with other governments for they do not brook challenges to their authority, rather they tend to destroy them. The only exception to this rule is the Asgard, whose advanced technological capabilities make them superior to the Goa'uld, and thus are something they cannot win against. This is the only reason they agreed to the Protected Planets Treaty, and is the reason why those worlds, along with Earth when it was added, became immune from a full scale Goa'uld assault. The treaty compells the Goa'uld from attacking those worlds and prevents any offending Goa'uld from breaking the treaty, though on some occasions the Goa'uld System Lords will allow this in order to test their enemies' defenses.
Beyond this, there appear to be few universal laws among the Goa'uld, who mostly rule their own territorial holdings. However, one rule prevents the creation of a Harcesis, which is a child of two hosts of two symbiotes and would thus gain the genetic memory of all Goa'uld. These children are hunted down and killed, though Apophis planned to gain a child to use as a host. Furthermore, there are certain actions that are even despicable and considered evil by their comrades. Anubis, before his banishment, was known to be extremely evil and engaged in actions that horrified his fellow Goa'uld.
The Ash'rak
An Ash'rak is a highly trained, highly dangerous Goa'uld assassin, usually employed by a System Lord, whose name actually means 'hunter'. Ash'rak exhibit such techniques as technically advanced rings which can alter memories of those it is used upon, and one Ash'rak was seen to use a cloaking device similar in technology to that of the Goa'uld Nirrti.
An Ash'rak usually uses a Hara'kesh (also known as an Ash'rak 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 Ash'rak'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 Ash'rak's commands. Afterwards the victim remembers nothing of the Ash'rak.
Although Ash'raks have been important to the plot, and they have been mentioned numerous times, they have only been seen in two episodes - In the Line of Duty and Allegiance.
Tactics
The tactics used by the Goa'uld vary depending on the size of the army. In some ways, this gives the minor Goa'uld an advantage.
The powerful system lords with massive armies used the least effective tactic, a simple assault with all the jaffa attacking the enemy at once in a big push. This would often be supported by death gliders and in some cases, Al'kesh bombers.
The minor Goa'uld, however, would often employ tactics into the battles such as planting explosives in strategic positions or using stealth technologies.
On most occasions, the Goa'uld lord themself would lead the battle, equipped with their shield device for protection, whether it's by accompanying the Jaffa or by overseeing the battle on their mothership. Usually, orbital bombardment is employed to pacify resistance and to instill sheer terror in the populace by demonstrating to them what resistance would mean. Strike craft such as the Death Glider or Al'kesh would also be employed for this task and to hunt down sources of resistance or locations which the Jaffa army cannot breach. The Jaffa themselves were expected to fight to the death and failure would very well mean their execution and the disgrace or possibly exile of their family.
However, when encountering a more advanced and fortified race, the Goa'uld in command would often resort to more cunning means of dealing with their enemy. This can be by deploying deadly plagues or placing powerful explosives within children in order to destroy their enemies. When brute force is not an option; trickery is often the next alternative. One example of this can be seen when Klorel was on trial by the Tollan and Zipacna represented the Goa'uld in the matter; the proceedings were simply a delaying action until a weakness was sighted. Trickery and infiltration are also employed by their forces as Apophis formed a secret camp of Jaffa who trained to behave like the Tau'ri in order to better infiltrate Earth. Technology was also used to create sleeper agents to infiltrate their enemies as seen by Za'tarc agents. Another example of trickery and deception is seen in the use of Cassandra who was implanted by Nirrti with a naquadah bomb or R'yac when he was brainwashed and a deadly poison was implanted by Apophis within him. This shows clearly that the Goa'uld will use innocent life and their own followers in order to destroy an enemy. When the opportunity arises, Goa'uld may place a symbiote in their enemies. The resulting Goa'uld possesses all of the knowledge of their host, both technological and personal. Infiltration in this way can result in the Goa'uld taking over Governments or otherwise allow them to acquire the technology of their enemies. An example of this is Baal placing a symbiote in the Orici, giving him command of the Ori army and the many powers of his host.
When assaulting an enemy world, the Goa'uld tend to activate the stargate in order to prevent their population from escaping. Jaffa may be sent through the gate or it can simply be kept opened until the thirty-eight minute window is over after which the gate is quickly activated again to prevent the enemy from using their stargate while the invasion is taking place.
It's been stated during the Replicator invasion of the galaxy that Goa'uld tactics are somewhat stagnant and they tend to employ the same way of war that they use against their rivals. This can be seen when the Replicators were attacking the Milky Way and Ba'al began provoking a response rather than leave the Replicators alone for a time.
Some Goa'uld tend to act out of spite and destroy potential resources that they cannot possess.
Another problem with all Goa'uld tactics is that Jaffa are equipped with "outdated" technology. They are given only Staffs, Zats, and occasionly shock grenades. Although the Goa'uld have been seen with shields and sometimes, cloaking devices. The reason for this is that if the Goa'uld kept advancing then it may seem to the Jaffa that they are not gods. This is another downside to the "god" approach of Goa'uld control.
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 not much 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 Goa'uld 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 are mostly warlike in nature, reflecting the megalomaniacal nature of the species. Much of Goa'uld technology resembles real world Egyptian artifacts.
Other information
- 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 permanently suppresses the human user's immune system. The drug also enabled the Jaffa to abandon the use of symbiotes to stay alive.
- 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 force shields which allow specific one-way travel, a poison lethal solely to Goa'uld symbiotes, a derivative of the Re'ol chemical, and a method of artificial production of Tretonin. Although biologically the same species, Tok'ra prefer to not be referred to as Goa'uld.
- 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.
- Very few Goa'uld Queens have been encountered in the Stargate SG-1 series. Only three have been seen in the show's 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.
- In "Need", it is revealed that continued use of the Sarcophagus causes changes in the user's brain chemistry which makes them more aggressive, an effect which increases with each successive use of the device. Samantha Carter suggested that the Goa'uld became so warlike and uncivilized because of their frequent use of the sarcophagus, a belief which the Tok'ra share.
- The Stargate Atlantis episode "Critical Mass" marked the first appearance of the Goa'uld in the spin-off.
See also
External links
