The 2008 movie Stargate: The Ark of Truth put a capstone on Stargate SG-1‘s final story arc. SG-1 takes the Odyssey through the Supergate to the Ori’s home galaxy, searching for a legendary piece of technology left behind by the Ancients long ago — all while the villainous Adria (Morena Baccarin) tries to thwart their efforts and complete her conquest of our own galaxy.
The Ark of Truth was written and directed by Robert C. Cooper — and the film ultimately concludes the Ori storyline in a way that, like much great science fiction, raises ethical questions. “Dial the Gate” host David Read asked Cooper about it in an upcoming interview premiering this weekend.
In short: Is the Ark of Truth itself just a brainwashing device? Does it convince people of an objective truth — or just whatever its programmers have input?
“It was not a ‘repository of true facts,'” Cooper explained. “It was a device that gave you the ability to see the truth. So if you had a multiple choice test and there were five answers, and four of them were lies and one of them was the truth, you would know which one was the truth.
“And I know that sounds like magic, but that’s essentially what it was: a way of convincing you that what you were believing in was a lie.”
The film opens many millions of years ago, when the Alterans decided not to use the device on the Ori. The Alterans favored the objective, scientific exploration of the universe — while the Ori were becoming increasingly zealous fanatics bent on imposing their will upon others.
Ultimately the Alterans chose to leave their galaxy to avoid a conflict. They migrated to the Milky Way, where they seeded human life and eventually built the Stargate network. After millions of years they came to be called “the Ancients” by their allies.
In the present day, after the Ori send their followers to invade our galaxy on a crusade to force conversions to the religion of Origin, SG-1 decides that using the Ancients’ lost technology is morally necessary.
Cooper explains that, in effect, the use of the Ark would cause the zealot’s blinders to fall away — instantly showing the Doci and the Priors, for instance, that the Ori’s promise of ascending their followers was a lie.
For more from Robert C. Cooper don’t miss this weekend’s premiere of the full conversation on “Dial the Gate!” The interview will premiere Saturday, January 7 at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. Eastern time) on YouTube. Another brand new interview, with Star Trek: Deep Space Nine actor Armin Shimerman (who played the Nox Anteaus on Stargate) following at 12 p.m. (PT).
While you’re there, be sure to also subscribe to GateWorld’s YouTube channel for new videos every week!
On Twitter: @dial_the_gate
Stargate's VFX supervisor James Tichenor talks about recreating the Stargate's signature puddle effects from the…
Five Stargate ship models are available now, with the next three announced and more to…
BlueBrixx's new LEGO-compatible Stargate construction sets are here. So how are they?
"T.J." actress Alaina Huffman reveals the other role she auditioned for, and why she fought…
Actor David Nykl looks back on Stargate Atlantis, being part of the fan community, and…
EXCLUSIVE: A classic Atlantis ship is now in the works from Master Replicas – one…
View Comments
I'll always remember that movie with the scene Teal'c was walking on the mountain :D
Yes, the music in that sequence was beautiful.
Looking forward to the interview, Always do a great job
Clearly it was an anti-brainwashing device, such as one would use in deprogramming cultists. Basic knowledge of Ancient devices should make that much clear, and the debate over its use was less a debate about whether to change people's minds forcibly and more about whether individuals have a right to dangerous beliefs. Obviously the answer is that individuals do not have rights and that the debate is irrelevant, but I may be biased.
Less obvious and not really mentioned in ancient records is that it had a significant failure rate. Many people simply chose to continue believing in false gods despite evidence and indeed knowing otherwise, as they would later with the Goa'uld. This is what made humanity such an easily-exploited resource; you must remember that parasitic false gods are simply thieves of mortal brilliance, with a few notable exceptions of course.
More interestingly is something I am unsure the Ancients ever realized, but became apparent in hok'tar research: some use of the device would also have interfered with a not negligible amount of unevolved humans to arise later. Of course the technical details of this are beyond Tau'ri comprehension.