Priors of the Ori

Prior's staff bears symbol of the Ori

Summary

Priors of the Ori are advanced humans who possess amazing powers bestowed upon them by the Ori, Ascended Beings who manifest themselves in a wall of fire in a far galaxy believed to be the home of the original Ancients (also known as the Altera). They were introduced in the episode, 9.02 "Avalon Part 2".

Stargate References

A Prior of the Ori will not identify himself by a unique name, but instead refer to himself as "a Prior of the Ori". Although human, he does have some distinguishing features which identify him as a Prior. He has decorative scarification on his chin and cheeks and the pupils of his eyes appear to be totally dilated and covered in cataracts, giving them an eerie white opaque appearance. The Priors' hair is also made increasingly gray when he is given his powers by the Ori.

Priors are missionaries who preach the word of the Ori from The Book of Origin. This religion is called Origin.

The first Prior of the Ori encountered was met by Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran when they were caught in a psychic link with two villagers on the planet thought to be the original home of the Ancients:

Prior first met by Daniel and Vala

This link was caused by the use of the Ancient communications stones (8.15 "Citizen Joe") in conjunction with an Ancient intergalactic communications terminal discovered in the caverns of Avalon in the Glastonbury Tor, left there by the Ancients who returned to the Milky Way Galaxy from the Pegasus Galaxy 10,000 years ago. Because the terminals were meant to be used in tandom, the lack of a receiving terminal in the villagers' home resulted in the burying of their consciousnesses as Daniel and Vala took over their bodies. The two villagers, Harrid and Sallis, were a married couple who had hidden away Ancient communications stones which caused this one-sided link. (9.02 "Avalon Part 2")

When Vala, in the body of Sallis, was thought to be "overcome", the Administrator of the village sent her to the altar in the middle of the village to be judged by the Ori by fire:

Administrator of the Village of Ver Ager

Vala and Sallis died in the fire while Daniel, in Harrid's body, was held back by the villagers. The Prior entered the village and put out the fire. As soon as the villagers saw him, they bowed in reverence. As Daniel/Harrid held the charred remains of Vala/Sallis, the Prior activated the orb on his staff and pointed it at the body. Soon, Vala/Sallis were resurrected. Daniel thanked the Prior for his intervention, but the Prior told him to thank the Ori instead. (9.02 "Avalon Part 2")

This Prior took Daniel and Vala to the City of the Gods on the Plains of Celestis via a ring transporter. He closed them in a room with food and a copy of the Ori's sacred book, The Book of Origin. While Vala ate, Daniel read the book, discovering the nature of the religion. The Prior returned to the room and asked that they reveal the names of other unbelievers in the village Ver Ager. He said that they would be rewarded for their devotion, but neither Daniel nor Vala revealed anyone, although they had met Fannis, one of the few heretics in the village who, along with Harrid and Sallis, had been collecting Ancient artifacts which proved that the Ori's claim of being the creators of humanity was not true. The Prior then gave them an hour-long sermon on repentence, after which Daniel finally said that they weren't in the market for new gods. Daniel had already tried to explain that he was from another galaxy, but the Prior finally listened to him when he started to use the words of The Book of Origin in stating his request to talk with the Ori. Impressed with Daniel's use of the scripture, the Prior immediately took him to see the Doci, the one who speaks the word of the Ori. (9.03 "Origin Part 3")

Doci of the Ori

After Daniel's encounter with the Doci and with the Ori themselves, the Prior took them back to the village of Ver Ager to use them as bait in discovering the identities of other heretics. Fannis sought them out and took them to where he had hidden the communications terminal. As Daniel and Vala formed a complete link, Harris and Sallis became aware of what was happening. The Prior, however, had followed them there and he subsequently turned off the terminal, killed Fannis, and thrust Daniel against a wall and held him there. These powers appeared to be all from the Prior's mind, with the orb of the staff glowing as if amplifying them. The Prior then had Daniel/Harrid and Vala/Sallis taken back to the sacrificial altar and started the fire through his own mental powers. While this sacrifice was going on, Daniel and Vala, whose bodies were in the SGC infirmary, were going into cardiac arrest and Mitchell and Teal'c, in their effort to save them, destroyed the terminal by throwing it into the unstable vortex of a forming wormhole of the Stargate. Daniel and Vala immediately recovered, but Harrid and Sallis burned to death in the altar. (9.03 "Origin Part 3")

The Prior took the Administrator of the village of Ver Ager to see the Doci in person after his vigilance in weeding out the unbelievers. The Ori rewarded him by advancing him in his evolution and making him a Prior. After his conversion, the Doci announced that the Ori intended to build spaceships to invade the Milky Way Galaxy and spread "Origin" far and wide. (9.03 "Origin Part 3")

Administrator becomes a Prior

While Daniel and Vala were linked, the Doci sent a Prior through the Stargate to a planet designated as P3X-421. (9.03 "Origin Part 3")

First Prior in the Milky Way Galaxy

The SGC had an anthropologist working with the humans who were once slaves to a Goa'uld. While waiting for someone from the SGC to take him to Daniel's homeworld, Earth, the Prior started preaching to the people and performing miracles to back up his claims. He promised to show them the Path to Enlightenment where they could use their minds to control nature. Mitchell and SG-12 escorted the Prior back to the SGC base with the hope that he could free Daniel and Vala from the link, but the Prior said that it was the will of the Ori for the link to continue. (9.03 "Origin Part 3")

While at the SGC, the Prior gained the attention of Gerak, the new leader of the Free Jaffa Nation, who was in a meeting with Gen. Landry and Teal'c concerning an alliance between the Tau'ri and the Free Jaffa. Gerak asked to hear what the Prior had to say because he was concerned that the Prior was going to interfere with his new position of power. Gerak said that the Jaffa had long believed in the Path to Enlightenment (through their reverence of Kheb and Ascended Beings) and the Prior told him that Origin would help them on that Path. While the Prior spoke to everyone in the briefing room, Daniel and Vala awoke after forming the complete link and warned Dr. Lam and Dr. Lee of the Ori and the Priors. Mitchell had the Prior put under guard, but the Prior, seeing that he had no other means of escape, set himself on fire and left nothing of himself behind. (9.03 "Origin Part 3")

Prior sets himself on fire

Priors are now coming through the Stargate to other planets to spread the word of Origin in advance of the armies which are to be sent via spaceships. The members of the SGC are not aware of the spaceships, but know that the Priors are coming through the Stargates and are in the position of causing many who had been devoted to one false god to turn to other, more powerful, false gods. The Goa'uld held the power of technological knowledge, but the Ori and their Priors hold the power of the knowledge of the universe. Although Gen. Landry, Teal'c, and Daniel advised Senator Fisher of the Senate Appropriations Committee about the dangers the Ori and their representatives pose, the Senator dismissed their warnings because he felt it was a desperate attempt to prevent the reduction of the funding of Stargate Command. This reduction will terminate new exploration of the galaxy through the Stargate. The Committee is advising the President and the International Oversight Committee that funding should be focused on Earth's defenses through the building of more Daedalus-class starships and on the Atlantis Expedition where the majority of Ancient technology is known to exist. (9.03 "Origin Part 3", 9.04 "The Ties That Bind")

Notable Characters

• Administrator - He was a human who was advanced in his evolution by the Ori to become a Prior. Daniel and Vala both met the Administrator in the village Ver Ager while in the link with the bodies of Harrid and Sallis.
• Doci - He is the leader of the Priors, most probably having been one himself. He permits his body to be used by an Ori entity to communicate. The Doci is the one who also commissioned building of spaceships to send armies to the Milky Way Galaxy to spread Origin. Daniel spoke directly to the Doci and then to the Ori who had taken possession of the Doci's body.

Alliances

• Ori - The Ori are Ascended Beings who claim to be the creators of humanity and demand that they be worshipped. Anyone who rejects them will be destroyed. The Ori did not know of humanity's existence in the Milky Way Galaxy because the Ascended Ancients kept it from them. Now that the Ori know, they have decided to send their missionaries and armies in spaceships to spread the word of Origin or destroy those who reject them.

Enemies

• Ascended Ancients - The Ancients who left their home galaxy several million years ago were called the Altera. They found the Milky Way Galaxy as a new home and built their Stargates. After they ascended, they came to be known as the Ancients and The Others. They have kept the second evolution of humanity in the Milky Way a secret from the Ori because they believe that humanity must evolve naturally in order to ascend, whereas the Ori believe that as creators of humanity they have every right to show humans the Path to Enlightenment and share the knowledge of the universe and all they ask in return is to be worshipped as gods.
• SGC - Members of Stargate Command (SGC) have come to know personally the threat that the Ori and their representative pose. It has become part of their mission to educate the many humans who were once slaves to the Goa'uld on the doctrine of "Origin" and the pitfalls following this religion brings.
• Free Jaffa Nation - The Jaffa have long believed in the Path to Enlightenment and have held Kheb as sacred ground. Already throwing off the yoke of slavery to the Goa'uld, most are aware of the threat the Ori pose, but some may be swayed and tempted to see the Ori as their true gods.

Episodes

• 9.02 "Avalon Part 2"
• 9.03 "Origin Part 3"
• 9.04 "The Ties That Bind"

Related Articles

Characters

• Dr. Daniel Jackson
• Teal'c
• Lt. Col. Cameron Mitchell
• Gen. Hank Landry
• Administrator
• Doci
• Fannis
• Senator Fisher
• Gerak
• Harrid
• Dr. Carolyn Lam
• Dr. Bill Lee
• Sallis
• Vala Mal Doran

Keywords

• Altera
• Ancient Communications Stones
• Ancient Communications Terminal
• Ancients
• Ascended Beings
• Avalon
• Atlantis Expedition
• Daedalus
• Free Jaffa Nation
• Goa'uld
• International Oversight Committee
• Kheb
• Ori
• P3X-421
• Ring Transporter
• Senate Appropriations Committee
• SG-12
• Stargate
• Stargate Command (SGC)

Other

• 8.15 "Citizen Joe"

Related Links

• Solutions: Making a New Enemy

---

--DeeKayP 19:42, 6 Aug 2005 (PDT)