Ayiana
An unascended Ancient who was left behind on Earth when the Ancients left between five and 10 million years ago, taking the city of Atlantis to the distant Pegasus Galaxy. Ayiana was unearthed in a block of ice not far from where the second Stargate was discovered in Antarctica, where Atlantis was once located. Named by Dr. Francine Michaels, one of the scientists at the research base that found her, Ayiana's name is Cherokee for "eternal bloom." SG-1 and the scientists were shocked when, upon defrosting her, Ayiana came to life from a state of cryogenic suspension.
Originally Ayiana was amongst the Ancient population of Atlantis but, for reasons not known, she was deliberately left behind to fend for herself. It is likely that she later entered an Ancient stasis unit, which allowed her to survive for millions of years. Another possibility is that she was caught in an avalanche, her body encapsulated in ice and kept alive by the Ancients' remarkable self-healing abilities -- as the research team did not find her at the Atlantus outpost left behind when Atlantis left.
Ayiana was the first sign that Ancients were, in fact, earlier versions of advanced humans -- the first evolution of our form of life. Samantha Carter and Janet Fraiser theorized that the Ancients may have evolved millions of years before humans; our resemblance to them also implies that they played a deliberate role in our evolution.
Ayiana and Jonas Quinn developed a rapport, and his continued attempts to communicate with her revealed the potential within her. She was able to understand and interpret the English language only after hours of listening to it. More puzzling was her ability to take away the sickness that she brought with her -- perhaps the very plague that wiped the Ancients out, and perhaps the reason the residents of Atlantis left her behind so long ago. When the members of SG-1 and the Antarctic team began to fall victim to the sickness, Ayiana was able to heal them with a touch.
After saving almost all the members of the research base (with the exception of Jack O'Neill), Ayiana succumbed to the illness herself. Saving the others drained her, and she eventually passed away at the S.G.C.
DETAILS
PLAYED BY - Ona Grauer
FIRST APPEARED - Frozen
KEY EPISODES
Frozen - SG-1 travels to Antarctica to see the frozen form of a long-dead human. When the woman is unfrozen and comes to life, the team falls victim to a deadly plague she is carrying.
Rising, Part 1 - The Ancient, who would later be named Ayiana, is left abandoned in the Atlantus outpost on Earth after Atlantis' departure for the Pegasus Galaxy.