Wraith (Stargate)

In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the Wraith are an alien species inspired by the mythological beings called Wraith. They are the main alien enemy, appearing in the first episode of the series and are the dominant species of the Pegasus galaxy, in a similar way to how the Goa'uld and the Ori are in Stargate SG-1. They are a species of anthropomorphic parasites similar to vampires, as they feed on the life force of their prey, live in biological ships and "cast out" to the Ancients of the Pegasus Galaxy around 8000 BC.

The Wraith are enemies of humanity because this is their food. They are sensitive and intelligent creatures who generally believe they are superior to humans (such as the Goa'uld, who use humans as hosts) whom they consider little more than livestock.

Biology

Origin

The Wraith are the result of a type of accidental or negligent genetic combination for which the ancients are responsible between humans and the Iratus, an arachnid indigenous to Pegasus that feeds on the "life force" of living beings. Of this "union" The wraith acquired human intelligence, in addition to a great physical resemblance and being able to walk bipedally and use their hands; From their arachnid ancestors they acquired the ability to extract "vital energy" of humans, ancients and in extreme cases other wraith (cannibalism) although they can also give it to others or return it to their victim until they revive. They also acquired great physical strength, a great capacity for regeneration, since they are not subject to the restrictions of human proteins, which means that, in addition to being very difficult to kill, they are immortal if they are well fed. In addition to this, they acquired from the Iratus (presumably) the capacity for telepathy and mental control with which they weaken the minds of their victims to obtain information, although sometimes, especially if the individual has a strong will, it does not work.

Dr. Carson Beckett created a retrovirus capable of eliminating the eratus insect part of the Wraith's DNA, leaving only the human part of them. During the development of the retrovirus, Beckett had problems, especially when Ellia, a young wraith Raised by a human, she took a test version that had the opposite effect to the desired one, turning her into a being more similar to Eratus. Later, with the development of a viable prototype of the retrovirus, it was discovered that females are immune to it. This latest prototype of the retrovirus, which can be delivered by injection or aerosol, is capable of turning male wraiths into humans in a few hours, erasing their memory in the process, but the effects are temporary and if they do not take a dose again, They turn back into a wraith with their previous memories. The first individual to receive the treatment was Michael (the name Sheppard gave him), this wraith did not take long to discover his true nature and refused the treatment. He later helped the expedition defeat a wraith that they no longer saw as such., shortly afterwards he was subjected to the treatment again against his will, which caused him great anger.

Anatomy

The anatomy of the wraith is similar to the human, its differences lie in its pale grayish-blue skin, its facial features, presenting more exaggerated features and some notches on its cheeks and in its hair color. The males have long white hair, with facial hair in some cases, they do not seem to have body hair and the females have more variety, females have been observed with different hair colors, such as black or red. In addition to these characteristics, wraiths have organs in their hands through which they can absorb the life of their victims, and a sac in their forearm where they store the enzyme that helps in the process. The wraith have shown to have notable physical strength, great agility, although the weakest can be surpassed by some humans in these aspects. They also have the ability to see in the dark and great physical resistance, which makes them very difficult to defeat. kill.

Although these creatures cannot die from natural aging, they can be killed, although it is quite difficult due to their aforementioned resistance. To kill a wraith physically, it is necessary to attack its vital organs so that they cannot regenerate, thus, they fall for example when shot in the head, or when pierced in the torso by a sharp object, they also die if they are their necks are broken or if enough bullets are fired into their bodies with a weapon like a P90, however, there is a parallel to the regeneration capacity of the wraith and the length of time they have been fed, in this way, a Wraith that has just fed is capable of resisting much more than one that has been fed for longer. Wraith can also die from poisoning, malnutrition and anoxia. They are susceptible to their own stun weapons, although they can withstand them more than the average human.

Psychology

Wraith psychology does not have to differ from human psychology if they are educated as such, an example is Ellia, a wraith educated by a human who rejected her native culture and wanted to be human. Wraith that know loyalty and companionship with each other and with humans have also been observed. But normally, wraith are cruel and sadistic beings who have no respect for human life or that of their fellow humans, capable of any betrayal to achieve their goals.

The Wraith do not seem to have names, so Sheppard usually baptizes one he is going to deal with, an example is Steve, Bob and Michael, among them they use pronouns, for example to refer to the queen they call her "her", although they have been seen referring by name to the wraith baptized by Sheppard. They are, however, capable of committing suicide for the good of their hive by immolating themselves before being captured or acting as kamikazes (suicides and/or immolators). The Wraith are proud and believe that their condition is not a disease that can be cured with a vaccine, so they strongly reject the Beckett retrovirus, and the treated Wraith are rejected by their intact peers even when they have recovered from the effects of the retrovirus..

Telepathy

The telepathic capacity of the wraith is what allows them to operate with some of their neural-based technology (such as hive ships), in addition to communicating with each other at short distances, or at long distances (light years) if there are several. they do it. It also allows them to obtain information from a human being by forcing their will, although whether they succeed depends on their strength.

This ability of telepathy was transferred to some humans when a wraith scientist tried to make the feeding process more efficient by inoculating wraith DNA to certain humans, who, upon being able to connect with them, were annihilated by the wraith as a preventive measure and by other humans. that showed psychotic behavior (the wraith were capable of possessing them), so the few survivors of this experiment were spread throughout the galaxy transmitting these genes. A possessor of this gene is capable, without training, of noticing the presence of the wraith before they are visible (the connection is at a distance) through a strange sensation and nightmares related to them, and someone with training can enter them. the mind of one of them, although there is a danger that the wraith will do the same, and in addition to operating with its technology in a basic way.

• Teyla Emmagan is a descendant of these people and has demonstrated the ability to connect to the wraith (and these to connect to it) as well as to operate their technology.

Development

The life cycle of the wraith is still completely unknown, it is known that in their childhood they are not very different from children other than in their appearance, they are incapable of absorbing vital force to feed themselves like adults, in their Instead they feed using their human digestive system, that is, they feed on normal food and water, when they reach puberty, their digestive system becomes unable to sustain them and they have to use the Eratus' food system, that is, absorb the life force. of their prey to survive.

Food

Young wraith eat the same way as humans, but upon reaching puberty, their human digestive system fails. Although wraith can continue to eat food, they do not obtain nutrients from it, so they are forced to use their Eratus food system, that is, absorbing the life of its victims. This feeding is carried out through a complex chemical and enzymatic process that is not yet understood by humans.

This feeding process is carried out through the hands of the wraith, which they attach to the body of their victim (usually the chest, but it doesn't matter) through them they create a wound through which they extract life to the victim, it is so painful for it that the wraith inject an enzyme, which they store in a sac inside their arm, which momentarily strengthens the body of the prey to ensure that the Their hearts do not stop, since if this happens, they cannot continue feeding. During the feeding process, the wraith appear to paralyze the victim, due to the intense pain caused; Furthermore, they are capable of obtaining information from them. But the most visible and main effect of an attack is the spontaneous aging of the victims, reaching death if the wraith does not cease its attack. In this case, they remain as dry bodies without a trace of life or with the appearance of very old people. old women The victims of a partial diet are left with the appearance of an elderly person regardless of their real age. These people usually die within a few hours or days, it is believed that this is due to the enormous drainage suffered by their systems; Although, if the diet has not been very severe, people can survive, but their life span has been shortened. To prevent the death of victims, a wraith can absorb their life in several sessions, giving their bodies a minimum of 3 hours to recover from the intense drainage of fluids suffered; This technique has been used in torture by the Genii.

• A civilization called Hoffanos investigated for years with a protein of a human who resisted the food process; this protein works by interfering with a substance that wraith inject into the body of its victims that prepares cells to "extract life." With the help of the Atlantis expedition and especially the Dr. Beckett got a functional prototype, but the results went further, not only to humans immune to the food process, but this substance passed to the body of the wraith, poisoning them and killing them shortly by general failure of the organism. On the other hand, this vaccine had fatal effects on half of the vaccines.

The wraith adult feeding process can however be used in reverse, this way a wraith can rejuvenate as quickly as it would age a human, whether or not it has fed on it. This amazing ability is carried out in the same way as the eating process, by placing the hand on the recipient's body and making a wound through which the process occurs, but in contrast it does not seem to be painful for the recipient. The wraith only use this quality with their fellow humans (presumably to save them from hunger) and with their most devout human worshipers, whom they can make live indefinitely. Although if he is an honest wraith, he may do it for someone he feels he is indebted to.

The "Enzyme"

The previously mentioned enzyme secreted by the wraith is addictive for humans, and a group of them led by Lieutenant Ford were dedicated to attacking the wraith as a "guerrilla" #3. 4; (or rebels) by kidnapping them to extract the enzyme from their arm, leaving them unconscious but alive to have a continuous supply of it. This enzyme acts like any drug, the addictive effect caused means that if addicts do not take their dose they feel physically ill and may even die. Also, it causes a slight psychosis making them unable to think very clearly; In addition, it generates tolerance, that is, the dose to be taken to be effective must be increasingly higher. On the other hand, it makes them very strong, stronger than the wraith, and resistant and insensitive to pain, in addition to sharpening their senses, at least their sight and hearing.

• The first known time someone used the enzyme this way was when a wraith tried to feed Lieutenant Ford, the process began but the wraith died suddenly because of the explosion of a grenade, as a result the enzyme flowed massively into the Ford body making it able to resist hours in icy water. Although Dr. Beckett tried to cure it, the psychosis that the enzyme produces made the Lieutenant flee from Atlantis.

Society

Wraith society is similar to that of social insects such as ants or bees. The social environment in which they live seems to be cold and harsh, although there are indications of the existence of feelings of companionship and similarity among them although it is not known if it is the norm. On a global level, they are not a very united species, in fact they are territorial beings that do not hesitate to attack each other if these territories are exceeded. Their society is divided into three types of individuals:

• The queens, seem to be the only female members of their kind, are the highest in the wraith society, their physical appearance is like that of a human with wraith traits; it possesses all the physical and psychic abilities of the males, apparently remain awake during the long periods of hibernation taking care of their wraith in rest. They're immune to Dr. Beckett's retrovirus.
• The normal males, seemingly the second in the wraith society, possess the same intelligence and skills of the queens, their role in society seems to be to pilot the ships, operate with technology and command battalions; their physical appearance is like that of the queen but in male.

Within the hierarchy of this gender of males, the wraith in command of the hive ship stand out, who have a pronounced military character and consider "theirs" the ship, without forgetting that the final decisions always fall to the queen.

• The welded males, are the last in society, possess a lot of strength, and due to their larger size, possibly more than the rest. They also have telepathic skills but their intelligence and imagination is inferior to that of the rest of their species, so they doubt their mental control capacity. They are corpulent, and they have their face covered by a mask that is put on them by normal males as they leave the cocoon.

It is not known how their reproduction is, but possibly the queen is in charge of creating new wraith of different types, as needed. Each wraith queen has at least one hive ship and a territory under her regency, apparently each one has a distinctive symbol in the form of a tattoo that both they and the soldiers wear.

The wraith can form alliances between kingdoms to confront a common enemy, being able to gather several hive ships and sharing territories; alliances have also occurred with humans. Generally, alliances of both types are fragile.

From what little has been seen about power in Wraith culture, it seems that tradition means that males require a female to direct them and this dependence means that a queen can gain power over a hive by murdering the female. previous queen since even though they are faithful to their previous queen, the wraith will accept the new leadership for fear of being left helpless, although the queen must demonstrate her ability and strength, since compassion and lack of firmness are considered weaknesses that according to What circumstances can lead to the revolt of the males against the queen who demonstrates them. However, there are hives without the protection of a queen, but they are considered inferior hives and outcasts. (Remember that Todd pretended to have a queen so he could even talk to other hives)

These creatures also have humans who worship them as gods and serve them as slaves (in a similar way to how some humans from the Milky Way did to the Goa'ulds), in exchange they receive the protection of the wraith. The most devout worshipers also benefit from the wraith's rejuvenating powers.

Technology

The technology of the wraith is organically based, and it is believed that it was developed through knowledge obtained from the ancients on whom they fed. It is quite advanced and, like that of the ancients, much requires a gene. specific that only the wraith possess, which allows them neural control of it. Among other things, they have:

• Various types of organic-based ships among which are by order of size beehive ships, cruises, supply ships, transport ships or explorers and darts. At least the hive ships are able to repair themselves thanks to their organic base.

• Guns of various sizes, soldiers only carry this type of weapons, although they have lethal weapons, especially those incorporated into their ships.

• Teleporting devices, the darts carry a built-in one that allows them to capture people by sweeping on the ground without having to land, as well as leaving troops using them in reverse, this conveyor stirs up users in the same way as wraith weapons.

• Explosives that all the wraith have incorporated and will use, immolating to not be interrogated in case of capture.

• Organic-based stasis chambers (hibernation) to keep their victims fresh and alive for subsequent satisfactory food.

• Low-light motors quite fast and hyper motors capable of interstellar travel although they can be modified to make intergalactic trips.

History

They are native to the Pegasus galaxy (although it is believed that they come from some type of failed experiment by the Ancients with some arachnid insects native to the Pegasus galaxy, the eratus, although they could also have arisen by accident) and are technologically superior to the Pegasus humanity, including the Tau'ri (terrestrials), but less advanced than the ancients and the asgards. It is believed that their relatively advanced technology is due to the fact that they have ancient ancestors or that by feeding on them they acquired part of their knowledge, which allowed them to obtain part of their technology without ever equaling it. But despite their technological inferiority, the Wraith vastly outnumbered the Ancients and managed to drive them away, so the Ancients sank Atlantis in the year 8000 BC and some of them left for Earth.

The Wraith, however, were left with a food field not as fertile as that of the years before the departure of the Ancients. Every few hundred years, the Wraith would return to terrorize and destroy human civilizations across the galaxy, leaving a minimal number of survivors to allow the population to regenerate. The humans of the Pegasus galaxy were abandoned without a unified defense system and each planet that reached a high technological level that could threaten the Wraith was singled out for annihilation, discouraging most civilizations from developing into a danger., a strategy also chosen by the Goa'ulds in the Milky Way.

In 2004, an expedition from Earth, led by Doctor Elizabeth Weir, entered a city of the ancients, Atlantis. When it became apparent that Atlantis was lost and its collapse was imminent, a team headed to the planet Athos as an escape alternative, but after 48 hours there they were surprised with an unexpected attack by the Wraith. The Athosians were evacuated to Atlantis - which was able to survive - for a few months. Members of the team were abducted by the Wraith, which allowed them to learn about the new feeding field that was hidden behind the Atlantis stargate and change their plans, especially when they were all awakened as a result of the death of the caretaker of the hive ship. which the prisoners had been taken. This awakening 50 years premature caused hunger in the wraith, since their breeding ground was not yet enough to feed them. Since then, the Wraith have been staunch enemies of the humans of Atlantis and have put the expedition in danger on more than one occasion by trying to take and destroy Atlantis in addition to reaching Earth, their new feeding ground.