Stargate Program Disclosure

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Stargate Program Disclosure

Summary

In the episode, 6.17 "Disclosure", Major Paul Davis and General George Hammond disclosed the existence of the Stargate Program to national representatives of Earth's countries with the strongest military capability at a meeting held in the Pentagon.

Stargate Program Representatives

Gen. George Hammond
Major Paul Davis
Col. Chekov

Ambassadors

British Ambassador
Chinese Ambassador
French Ambassador

The five countries represented in this meeting hold the permanent member positions of the United Nations' Security Council and possess Earth's most powerful military capabilities.

Additional Attendees

Senator Robert Kinsey
Thor of the Asgard

Senator Robert Kinsey learned about the Stargate Program as a member of the Appropriations Committee during the first year of the SGC's full operational status. He then transferred to the Intelligence Oversight Committee. During his time knowing of the existence of the Stargate Program, he has had a hidden agenda wherein he would take control of the program, placing it under the control of the NID.

Thor of the Asgard has been the primary representative of the Asgard, one of the SGC's most powerful allies in the war against the Goa'uld. The SGC, especially SG-1, has come to the rescue of the entire Asgard civilization on several occasions in their war against the Replicators. In return, the Asgard have placed Earth in their Protected Planets Treaty with the Goa'uld System Lords and have given the SGC shield and weapons technology.

Details of the Disclosure

General Hammond invited the leaders of Earth's largest military powers to tell them of the Stargate Program and the Goa'uld. Along with Major Paul Davis and Russian Air Force Colonel Chekov, he revealed the Stargate Program and the threat of Anubis to the representatives of China, Great Britain, and France. At first, the three representatives thought that it was all a joke, but soon realized that what the General was saying was indeed the truth.

Major Davis presented a brief history of the Stargate Program, starting with the discovery of the Giza Stargate in 1928 ("Stargate: The Movie") and the successful, but accidental, activation of a wormhole in 1945 (1.11 "The Torment of Tantalus"). He stated, however, that Dr. Daniel Jackson was the one who made regular travel possible through the stargate by deciphering the symbols and determining how the stargate operated ("Stargate: The Movie" and 1.01-1.02 "Children of the Gods").

Placed into question during this meeting was Russia's role in the cover-up of the Stargate Program. What amazed the other representatives even more was the fact that Russia had operated a Stargate Program of their own for a short while. Now, with only one stargate left on Earth (6.02 "Redemption Part 2"), the United States and Russia conduct the program jointly. Russia has an SG team of its own (6.16 "Metamorphosis" and 8.03 "Lockdown") and Colonel Chekov serves as the Russian liaison to ensure that his country's interests are met, since they are leasing the Giza Stargate to the SGC after having recovered it from the bottom of the ocean (3.22 "Nemesis Part 1", 4.01 "Small Victories Part 2", 4.07 "Watergate", and 6.02 "Redemption Part 2").

Russia has offered cover stories on the SGC's behalf to explain some of the alien encounters, the most recent being that their nuclear-powered submarine Rostov blew up near Alaska when it was actually the Goa'uld mothership which was abandoned by Anubis and Osiris when they couldn't override Thor's reprogramming of their ship's computer (5.22 "Revelations" and 6.03 "Descent"). The cover story claimed that the alien ship was a meteor and that the submarine was destroyed from the shockwave of the meteor impact. In actuality, the Rostov was never near the downed Goa'uld ship, something the Chinese already knew and were planning to reveal to discredit the Americans and Russians. It was because of this threat of disclosure that Senator Robert Kinsey, now a member of the Intelligence Oversight Committee, attended the meeting.

Major Davis continued his presentation by explaining who the Goa'uld are and how they operate. Since they were discussing the various types of alien ships which exist, Davis noted these three types of Goa'uld ships encountered thus far:

  • Ha'tak - the large pyramid ship, or mothership, which can come in various sizes. The Goa'uld System Lords may have entire fleets of these. Davis told of the time that Heru'ur and Apophis had gathered their fleets in order to combine their forces against the other System Lords. They had met in the Tobin System, but the Tok'ra's plan to destroy both was thwarted when Apophis had brought his entire fleet and had cloaked them in the process. Apophis destroyed Heru'ur and absorbed what remained into his army (4.13 "Serpent's Venom").
  • Al'kesh - mid-range bombers which SG-1 first encountered when helping the Tok'ra move their base from Vorash (4.22 "Exodus Part 1").
  • Death Gliders - the interceptor fighter jets which seat two. SG-1 brought two of these back with them from Apophis' ship when Apophis and Klorel attempted to destroy Earth (1.22 "Within the Serpent's Grasp Part 1", 2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2", and 2.14 "Touchstone").

Davis did not mention the Tel'tak (the cargo or scout ships) that the Goa'uld use, but are very popular, especially among the Tok'ra and Rebel Jaffa. He did, however, review with the ambassadors the Goa'uld's modus operandi concerning the invasion and subjugation of a planet:

  • they begin with a long range assault launched from orbit (in the Ha'tak) designed to take out planetary defenses and instill fear in the population. An example of this tactic was when the Goa'uld System Lord Svarog attacked the planet Latona (5.20 "The Sentinel").
  • once they've completed their orbital assault, they'll then be free to move in for tactical strikes against any remaining ground position (usually done from within Al'kesh and Death Gliders). Since the Al'kesh can carry several troops, they are most likely deposited on the planet from these ships. Goa'uld System Lord Zipacna's destruction of the Tok'ra base on Ravanna was an example of this tactic (5.15 "Summit Part 1").

General Hammond and Major Davis continued in their presentation by introducing the current threat of Anubis:

  • Anubis and Osiris captured Thor of the Asgard in order to obtain information on Asgard technology. Anubis had reappeared in the ranks among the System Lords after being thought dead (5.15 "Summit Part 1" and 5.16 "Last Stand Part 2") and had used advanced technology which the Asgard were not even aware of (5.22 "Revelations").
  • Anubis attempted to destroy Earth by sending an asteroid on a collision course. He knew that the Asgard could not help Earth because of the terms of the Protected Planets Treaty by making this collision look like a natural disaster. SG-1 was able to send the asteroid through a hyperspace window, effectively going through the Earth and coming out on the other side (5.17 "Failsafe").

Interestingly enough, although they mentioned that the second stargate (the one found in Antarctica in the episode, 1.18 "Solitudes") had been destroyed, they did not mention that it was due to an attack by Anubis (6.01 "Redemption Part 1" and 6.02 "Redemption Part 2"). They might have gotten to this point in their briefing, but by this time, the ambassadors were appalled that the United States had been fighting such a war in secret. Hammond stressed again that the reason for their being told about the Stargate Program was to form a military coalition, but the ambassadors were insistent that they should reveal the existence of the program to their citizens. Hammond and Davis stressed that telling the populace about these aliens would only cause widespread panic. They insisted that Earth could effectively defend against the Goa'uld, even if their weapons were inferior. As an example of their ingenuity, they explained that they had blown up a sun in order to take out Apophis' entire fleet (4.22 "Exodus Part 1"), but the ambassadors were not impressed, stating that this particular instance was not applicable if the Goa'uld attacked Earth.

Davis told them that they had been effective in using their inferior technology by launching attacks through the stargate itself. An example of this tactic was when they sent two missiles to destroy Jaffa encampments near the stargate on the planet Latona. They sent a UAV through the stargate first in order to acquire the targets and then took out the encampments with the two missiles. This tactic allowed SG-1 and SG-3 to have clear access to search for SG-9 and help reactivate the planet's defense system (5.20 "The Sentinel").

Even though the ambassadors were impressed, they felt that Earth still did not have the advanced technology needed to defeat a mothership. To that point, Major Davis discussed the development of experimental spacecraft using alien technology acquired through 'gate travel:

  • X-301 - hybrid fighter-interceptor based on a combination of human technology and parts from two salvaged Death Gliders (from 2.01 "The Serpent's Lair Part 2"). Davis, reported, however, that this experimental ship failed to meet expectations (4.12 "Tangent"), but helped in the development of its successor.
  • X-302 - an entirely man-made craft, with similar ability of the X-301 (6.01 "Redemption Part 1").
  • X-303 - Prometheus battle cruiser capable of interstellar travel (6.11 "Prometheus"). It is designed to carry a complement of eight X-302 fighters and is one of several planned.

At this point, the ambassadors are beside themselves with the knowledge that the United States has the technologically advanced craft capable of taking them out. General Hammond assured them that they only intended to use these craft in the fight against the Goa'uld and in defense of the planet, but the ambassadors felt that Hammond and the U.S. military held too much power to be ignored. It was at this point that Senator Kinsey proposed a compromise so that the other countries would be equally represented in the protection of Earth. Kinsey's goal was to turn the Stargate Program into a civilian-run operation with the National Intelligence Division (NID) in control. Since the Intelligence Oversight Committee supervised the NID, this proposal would, in effect, give Kinsey control of the program—something he has wanted ever since he learned of the stargate's existence while serving as the chairman of the Appropriations Committee (1.21 "Politics").

General Hammond pointed out that the NID has not had a very good track record, bringing up the fact that it was the NID who attempted to assassinate Kinsey (6.14 "Smoke and Mirrors"), to have Hammond replaced with a puppet in control of the SGC by threatening his granddaughters (4.15 "Chain Reaction"), and by stealing technology from Earth's allies (2.14 "Touchstone" and 3.18 "Shades of Grey").

To argue his case, Senator Kinsey tried to discredit General Hammond's leadership abilities and the credibility of SG-1, the SGC's flaship team. He stated examples of when he felt that having a program under the control of the military and such "incompetence" had nearly destroyed the world or led to its invasion on several occasions. And, the Senator stressed, all of this was done while the rest of the world remained totally ignorant of the threat.

  • the blackhole incident which could have torn the Earth apart (2.15 "A Matter of Time")
  • the orb entities' infection of both the SGC computer system and personnel (2.07 "Message in a Bottle")
  • the invasion of Replicators (5.19 "Menace")
  • the invasion of aliens with mimicking devices (3.14 "Foothold")

Kinsey had a stack of files with which to back up his claims and he, no doubt, would have continued to argue his case, but the conference broke for a recess. At this point, Colonel Chekov took the opportunity to argue on Hammond's behalf with the Chinese ambassador. He stressed that the Stargate Program is costing the United States over seven billion dollars per year, and that Russia, as a junior partner, reaps the benefits through the SGC's efforts. Any advanced technology developed during the program, such as the X-302 and X-303, is researched and developed by the United States, while the Russians can save time and money by merely waiting for the blueprints. He privately proposed to the Chinese ambassador that China and the other two nations could have the same arrangement.

After the conference reconvened, Hammond acknowledged that Earth had made some enemies while operating the stargate, but that they had made several strong allies as well. He said that they have operated honorably and that he stood by the record. Seemingly on cue, Thor of the Asgard beamed into the conference room and told the ambassadors that he preferred that Stargate Command remain under Hammond's and SG-1's able leadership. Thor mentioned that they had helped the Asgard on several occasions and the Asgard, in return, were installing Asgard-designed shields and weapons on the Prometheus as a small token of thanks for SG-1's recent efforts in securing the galaxy (he most likely was speaking of the threat of the Replicators in their most recent encounter in the episode, 6.12 "Unnatural Selection", in which SG-1 used the Prometheus on their mission).

Thor's argument won out. The ambassadors agreed to allow the United States Air Force to continue to operate the Stargate Program in secret in Cheyenne Mountain. The actual arrangements, if any, made with the governments of these three countries have not been discussed since this meeting, however, it is known that the Russians continue to maintain their presence in the SGC (8.03 "Lockdown").

Subsequent Disclosure

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--DeeKayP 19:10, 4 Sep 2004 (PDT)

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