Atlantis (Stargate): Difference between revisions
m BOT - Reverted edits by 96.244.116.41 {possible vandalism} to last version by Huntster. |
|||
| Line 50: | Line 50: | ||
In the year 2006, the ''Daedalus'' found an Ancient spaceship with live Lanteans who reclaimed the city, forcing the expedition out. While General Jack O'Neill and Richard Woolsey were negotiating for human access to Atlantis, the [[Asuran]]s attacked, taking over the city and killing all the Ancients. While O'Neill and Woolsey hid themselves, a group of expedition members hatched an unauthorized plan to retake the city. Eventually, the city's shield emitters were modified with crystals from Anti-Replicator Guns, causing the destruction of the Asurans when they activated the shield<ref name="the return, part 1">{{cite episode| episodelink=The Return (Stargate Atlantis)| title=The Return, Part 1| series= Stargate Atlantis| serieslink=Stargate Atlantis}}</ref>. Three ZPMs were left to be recovered, with two being returned to Earth for use in its defense against the Ori<ref name="echoes">{{cite episode| episodelink=Echoes (Stargate Atlantis)| title=Echoes| series= Stargate Atlantis| serieslink=Stargate Atlantis}}</ref>. |
In the year 2006, the ''Daedalus'' found an Ancient spaceship with live Lanteans who reclaimed the city, forcing the expedition out. While General Jack O'Neill and Richard Woolsey were negotiating for human access to Atlantis, the [[Asuran]]s attacked, taking over the city and killing all the Ancients. While O'Neill and Woolsey hid themselves, a group of expedition members hatched an unauthorized plan to retake the city. Eventually, the city's shield emitters were modified with crystals from Anti-Replicator Guns, causing the destruction of the Asurans when they activated the shield<ref name="the return, part 1">{{cite episode| episodelink=The Return (Stargate Atlantis)| title=The Return, Part 1| series= Stargate Atlantis| serieslink=Stargate Atlantis}}</ref>. Three ZPMs were left to be recovered, with two being returned to Earth for use in its defense against the Ori<ref name="echoes">{{cite episode| episodelink=Echoes (Stargate Atlantis)| title=Echoes| series= Stargate Atlantis| serieslink=Stargate Atlantis}}</ref>. |
||
At the end of Season 3 Atlantis was attacked by the Asurans with a satellite that fired a beam through an active Stargate, thus preventing the use of the Atlantis Stargate. Although Atlantis' shield held off the beam |
At the end of Season 3 Atlantis was attacked by the Asurans with a satellite that fired a beam through an active Stargate, thus preventing the use of the Atlantis Stargate. Although Atlantis' shield held off the beam it greatly taxed the city's ZPM, so the expedition decided to escape the planet by using the city's stardrive. However, the beam hit the city while taking off of the planet which caused some damage to the central spire. The city managed to enter hyperspace but with limited power fell far short of the intended destination. The ZPM module was left with roughly 24 hours of power if the team could not think of a solution.<ref name="first strike">{{cite episode| episodelink=First Strike (Stargate Atlantis)| title=First Strike| series= Stargate Atlantis| serieslink=Stargate Atlantis}}</ref> After patching the damage to a power conduit that caused the engine to stall and fixing a damaged control array, the city was able to once again use its stardrive, but no longer had the needed power. A small team traveled to the Asuran homeworld and stole a ZPM in order to travel to Atlantis' new homeworld, M35-117. Colonel Samantha Carter was appointed as the new head of Atlantis after Dr. Weir was captured by the Asurans in the aforementioned ZPM recovery. |
||
The city's new home has a total of 5 moons. |
The city's new home has a total of 5 moons. |
||
Revision as of 14:57, 12 May 2008
| Atlantis | |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Atlantis | |
| First appearance | "Rising" |
| Information | |
| Affiliation | Ancients Asurans |
| Launched | Several million years ago |
| General characteristics | |
| Class | City ship |
| Armaments | Drones |
| Defenses | Ancient shield Cloak |
| Propulsion | Stardrive/Ancient hyperdrive |
| Power | 1-3 Zero Point Module |
In the science fiction television series Stargate Atlantis, the spin-off of Stargate SG-1, Atlantis is an Ancient City Ship, both of which are part of the Stargate science fiction setting. It is based on, and serves to explain, the Greek myth of the Lost City of Atlantis.
On the popular television series, the City of Atlantis resides on a planet located in the Pegasus galaxy, and was built by the Ancients and later abandoned. SG-1's seventh season was spent in search of the Lost City, and culminated in the Atlantis Expedition when its location was found. In the series premiere of Atlantis, this team from Earth used the Stargate to travel to the City in search of knowledge and possible contact with its builders, 10,000 years after it was abandoned.
This team of humans today makes up the bulk of Atlantis' urban inhabitants, and the city now acts as the secure main base for Stargate operations in the Pegasus Galaxy. With only a few exceptions, any episode of Stargate Atlantis begins and ends at Atlantis.
History
Early history
Atlantis was built by the Ancients, who called it Atlantus in their language, several million years ago. The city (which also functions as a huge spaceship) was once located on Earth in what is now Antarctica. Five to ten million years ago, apparently due to a plague (the same one with which Ayiana was infected), many of the Ancients who inhabited Earth at that time relocated the giant city to the planet Lantea in the Pegasus Galaxy. A small outpost was left behind, which contained the gate address to reach Atlantis' new location.
At their new home, the Ancients started to build a whole new Stargate network, using a new gate design, which is however still compatible with the old design. They also seeded the galaxy with human life, to whom the Ancients became known as the "Ancestors" and subsequently Atlantis is sometimes called the City of the Ancestors.
However their actions caused a powerful species to arise: the Wraith. This species quickly started to conquer the galaxy to feed upon the human population. The Ancients fought back and although they had more advanced technology than the Wraith, they were far outnumbered and after 100 years the whole galaxy was under Wraith control, save for Lantea. The planet itself came under attack from many Wraith ships, thus starting the First Siege of Atlantis. Although Atlantis was protected by its powerful shield and a network of Lagrangian point defense satellites, the Ancients (who now called themselves Lanteans) finally decided to sink their city to the ocean floor. In contrast to Plato's Timaeus, Atlantis in the series did not sink in destructive "earthquakes and floods", but rather did so in a controlled fashion with the protective shield keeping the city still intact underwater. The Ancients finally decided to leave their city, traveling back to Earth via the Stargate but hoped that one day their race would return.[1]
Atlantis's final resting place in the "Pegasus Galaxy" is ambiguous. The galaxy is referred to as a "dwarf galaxy in the Local Group". However, as there exist two dwarf galaxies within the Pegasus constellation, the Pegasus Dwarf (also called Pegasus Dwarf Irregular) and Pegasus Dwarf Spheroidal, it is not clear which galaxy is meant. A remark by General Landry in "The Return" that the Pegasus Galaxy is three million light years away from the Milky Way Galaxy suggests that it is the Pegasus Dwarf Galaxy that is being referred to.
Modern history
In the beginning of the first episode, Atlantis still sits on the floor of the ocean, several hundred feet below the surface. It was left like this to keep it intact and safe from the Wraith. Due to an energy shortage, the autonomous city released its clamps on the ocean floor and resurfaced.
In an alternate timeline, the city did not have a failsafe to raise it from the sea floor, and was destroyed shortly after the arrival of Weir's team. However, she managed to escape using a time machine, which allowed her to go back in time and convince one of the original Ancients to install the failsafe and devise a means to store enough power to make its use practical.[2]
In the new timeline, Atlantis was found by Earth. When they discovered the shield was failing, they tried looking for a safe planet. Major Sheppard returned with Athosian refugees who were fleeing from the Wraith. When the shield collapsed, the city suddenly rose to the top of the ocean. Since then, it was Earth's base of operations in the Pegasus Galaxy.
Eventually, in what was called the Second Siege of Atlantis, the Wraith came to take the city to get to Earth. After a long siege, the Tau'ri faked a self destruct, using a timed nuclear weapon and a cloak to make it appear that the city was destroyed. The Wraith fell for the ruse, and the Expedition members spent some time saying that the city was destroyed. However, the Genii were aware that the city survived, and keeping its survival a secret from the Wraith is now a top priority.[3]
In the year 2006, the Daedalus found an Ancient spaceship with live Lanteans who reclaimed the city, forcing the expedition out. While General Jack O'Neill and Richard Woolsey were negotiating for human access to Atlantis, the Asurans attacked, taking over the city and killing all the Ancients. While O'Neill and Woolsey hid themselves, a group of expedition members hatched an unauthorized plan to retake the city. Eventually, the city's shield emitters were modified with crystals from Anti-Replicator Guns, causing the destruction of the Asurans when they activated the shield[4]. Three ZPMs were left to be recovered, with two being returned to Earth for use in its defense against the Ori[5].
At the end of Season 3 Atlantis was attacked by the Asurans with a satellite that fired a beam through an active Stargate, thus preventing the use of the Atlantis Stargate. Although Atlantis' shield held off the beam it greatly taxed the city's ZPM, so the expedition decided to escape the planet by using the city's stardrive. However, the beam hit the city while taking off of the planet which caused some damage to the central spire. The city managed to enter hyperspace but with limited power fell far short of the intended destination. The ZPM module was left with roughly 24 hours of power if the team could not think of a solution.[6] After patching the damage to a power conduit that caused the engine to stall and fixing a damaged control array, the city was able to once again use its stardrive, but no longer had the needed power. A small team traveled to the Asuran homeworld and stole a ZPM in order to travel to Atlantis' new homeworld, M35-117. Colonel Samantha Carter was appointed as the new head of Atlantis after Dr. Weir was captured by the Asurans in the aforementioned ZPM recovery.
The city's new home has a total of 5 moons.
Architecture and structure
The shape of Atlantis is unlike that described in Plato's Critias.
Atlantis is a huge, snowflake-shaped, spacefaring platform with skyscrapers on it, lower buildings in the six outlying sections, and the highest building, the control tower, in the center. Below it, is an outpost. The shape of the city is in fact very similar to that of a self similar fractal. The "Gate Room", (referred to by the expedition as "Stargate Operations"), where the Stargate is located, and the expedition crew have their center of operations, is located in this tower, as is one Jumper bay and the control room. This is the most protected area of the city. Outlying parts of the city are easily accessible by using a system of internal teleporters which function similarly to Ring Transporters.
The Lantean buildings depicted in the series is probably best attributed as a postmodern architecture with elements from futurism. It retains and relies heavily on a prism shaped, functional form, while being very free to modify this in the detailed realization. The architecture is eager to include ornaments or other purely decorative, while still abstract forms, in an even more intensified form as most postmodern style buildings. Next to prism, diagonal and pyramidal forms are key elements on Lantean buildings, while curved forms are used with much restraint, unlike many buildings attributed to the modern futurism.
According to Visual Effects Artist Bruce Woloshyn the model of the city of Atlantis, when they first built it, was over four million polygons, which is feature film size. Thanks to this there is a lot of detail that they can back up, allowing the city to look really nice. Also they could get right up beside the buildings and there is still a large amount of detail. Also most of the city is modelled, not textured, which allows for the details to move when the city is turned around.[7]
Interior and Exterior
Many sets used for Atlantis (and also SG-1) are actually part of a massive sound stage which was built for almost 2 million dollars. This large stage is used for rooms like the brig, several balconies including the ones with the grounding stations or other interior parts of Atlantis. If they require outdoor views they use green screens to hide parts of the set.[7] Also some sets of Atlantis are part of the set which was used for Blade: Trinity, for example the bridge seen first in "The Storm" or the infirmary in "Michael".
Gate room
The gate room of Atlantis is a large two-floor room nearly on top (only the Puddle Jumper bay lies higher) of the central tower of Atlantis that houses the Stargate and has many exits to leave in different directions. The Stargate is located on a large platform which has space for many people. This platform also contains a hidden console that allows a person with the right knowledge to take control over the city.[4] Right on the opposite side of the Stargate a large stair leads to the upper floor that houses the operations center, the base commander's office, the conference rooms and several balconies to look down on the platform. Thus it is easy to keep an eye on the Stargate and the surrounding area. The ceiling above the platform contains a large panel to the Puddle Jumper bay from which the Jumpers are moved automatically from and to the gate room.[1] They have also put more Ancient control units in the control room since their arrival at the city.
Operations center
Also known as "Stargate Operations", the operations center is the main control room of Atlantis. It is located on the second floor of the gate room and holds all devices and control consoles to operate the city. Here the DHD of Atlantis is located (and the only one which can make a connection with Earth as it has a special control crystal to do so,[8]) as well as controls for the Stargate force field, city-wide communications,[9] external communications,[10] energy systems, city-wide sensors, space and planetary sensors, access to the Ancient database and much more. Later a console is found and installed in the operations center which turns out to be a biometric sensor to scan the city.[11] In the direction of the gate room, the center is enclosed with a glass façade and a balcony, which allows the people to watch the gate area. Lastly the room provides access to the Puddle Jumper bay and a balcony at the backside. Despite all the Ancient control consoles, the Atlantis expedition also uses Earth technology in conjunction with the more advanced technology.
Conference rooms
Atlantis houses two known conference rooms, that allows the leadership to discuss important matters. The two known rooms are located right beneath the gate room. The smaller one is used for only a few people and it contains only a larger triangle shaped table with chairs. Another bigger one, which contains a longer table, is used for large meetings in which many people can take part. Each of these rooms can be accessed by multi-panel doors.
Holo-room
This room allows people to watch entries in the Ancient database in the form of holographic pictures and videos. It is a round room that houses a platform in the middle as well as a control console to activate it. When the Atlantis Expedition first found the city, a message left behind by an Ancient council member was displayed. It told the history of the Ancients, explaining why they came to Pegasus, and why they left.[1]
The room uses a large amount of power relative to the database terminals, and its use was avoided nearly completely until the city was powered by a ZPM. Even then, due to its massive power requirements, it was used sparingly, as the Ancient database can be accessed from any number of terminals throughout the city. An Ancient by the name of Ganos Lal (Morgan le Fay) wrote a program to teach young children the Lantean systems. At one point, the ascended being, Morgan le Fay, posed as the holographic program in order to communicate the names of two planets, Castiana and Sahal known to the Ancients as Taoth Vaclarush and Valos Cor respectively to Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran in their search for Merlin's weapon.[12]
Puddle Jumper bays
The Puddle Jumper bay, which is located on top of the central tower of Atlantis, houses the small ships. The room is a large two-floor room which can store the Jumpers on the floor or on platforms on the upper area. The upper area also contains a gangway which runs on the walls and provides access to the platforms. The room provides two possibilities for the Jumpers to leave it: the first is a large panel in the middle of the floor which leads directly to the large platform of the gate room, so that the Jumper can fly immediately through the Stargate.[1] The second possibility is another panel of apparently the same size that is located in a small shaft in the ceiling and thus allows the Jumper to leave the city to fly to other locations on the planet or in the same solar system. This panel is however discovered later.[13] At the beginning of the series it is unknown how many jumpers existed - however In Episode 1 of Season 4 there are 15 shown on Lt. Col. John Sheppard's HUD when they are protecting Atlantis.
During the 1st season two were destroyed in the days before and during the Siege of Atlantis over the course of the series other jumpers have been damaged or lost at the bottom of the ocean. It is not known if these jumpers were retrieved. We can assume that the damaged jumpers were repaired and the jumper stolen by Lt. Ford was recovered, but we do not know about the other lost jumpers. During the second season in the episode The Tower, the Atlantis team more than doubled their fleet of jumpers when the Atlantis sister city gave them all of their jumpers in exchange for medicine and a IDC. As very few of them had the Ancient Technology Activation gene, they couldn't use the jumpers.
While the Asurans controlled Atlantis, Sheppard flew a Puddle jumper into the control room and dropped a payload. The explosive detonated and destroyed the control room and a good part of the tower. It presumably destroyed the jumper bay as well[14]. Two episodes later the Jumper bay was seen intact and its design was different from the first one: It was a much larger room and was not in a perfect circle, meaning that when the Asurans rebuilt the Jumper bay they may have changed the design[15].
It is later revealed that Atlantis has at least one jumper bay on its underside specifically designed for underwater entry and egress. The control station is dedicated to pressurization and pumping systems for the underwater bay. However, the bay itself has not been used in some time and automated jumper controls did not activate any pressurization mechanisms as expected. The bay's doors have also since been jammed shut after being used by Colonel Sheppard's team to infiltrate the city.[14] Also a few Jumpers were seen inside this bay.
Medical facilities
To treat ill or injured people, Atlantis has several medical facilities. These rooms house many different medical devices, most of them from Earth but some from the Ancients. There are also possibilities for medical and biological research. The primary medical facility is a large room with several beds to treat and watch over many people. But there are also extra rooms like an adjacent room where people can recover as well as a single room for treating only one person while other people can watch from above through a large glass façade. The medical facilities were under the command of Dr. Carson Beckett. After Beckett's death, he was replaced as chief medical officer by Dr. Jennifer Keller.
Brig
The brigs in Atlantis are used to lock dangerous people away. The brigs are rooms which have a cage in the middle. This cage is not only protected by horizontal running bars but also by a powerful force field which no one can penetrate. These fields only drop when the chamber is unlocked. The Atlantis expedition used the brigs several times to imprison captured Wraith and Genii.[13][10]
Chair room
Like the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, Atlantis also contains a control chair which allows people with the ATA gene to launch and control the Drone Weapons of the city. Since the chair needs a lot of energy it can only be activated when a ZPM is installed and thus the Atlantis expedition couldn't use the chair for a long time. When reinforcements arrived during the attack of the Wraith, they brought with them a Mark II Naquadah reactor which provides barely enough energy to activate the chair. The number of drones available in the city can be checked if the chair is activated or manually by going down into the drone storage rooms, thus the exact number of them was also unknown until it was activated (It's likely they didn't know where drone storage was at the time so manual checking was impossible). During the attack of the Wraith the Jumpers were modified to be remotely controlled by the chair, although this plan was never used due to the fact that the Mk II Naquadah generator's energy output was exhausted.[16] Also Atlantis can be flown from here as Sheppard launched the city into space and jumped it to hyperspace from the chair. This is apparently not necessary as the Asurans did so from the Auxiliary Control Room and when Atlantis jumped back into hyperspace to travel to M35-117 it wasn't done from the Chair. Sheppard did however land the city with the Chair and it is presumably the best way to do it to control the re-entry and landing of the city.
Zero Point Module (ZPM) outlet room
In this room the ZPM's which power Atlantis are connected to the city. To connect the ZPM's they must be inserted in one of three slots in a large triangular-shaped device which is located in the middle of the room. The ZPM's can then be controlled by a console near the device. According to McKay, it is located at the base of the Operations tower.[2][3]
Drone weapon storage rooms
These are large rooms in the underground of the city that house the Drone weapons of Atlantis. The rooms are filled with large honeycomb-like racks in which the inactive drones are stored. It is quite possible that the Drones are directly launched from these racks. Although only the drone storage room of Atlantis' sister city was seen, it is quite possible that Atlantis' room looks the same.[17] In the DVD-commentary of the episode "The Tower" it was revealed that the part of the room with the drones was a painting.[18]
Auxiliary control center
This is a large room in the underground of the city. It allows people to control the city if perhaps the main operations center is unavailable. From this room a person can for example use the communications system or power up the city's star drive.[17]
Laboratories
Atlantis houses a huge number of laboratories in which the Ancients were conducting many different experiments. Over time the Atlantis expedition stumbled upon some of them. The following laboratories were discovered so far:
- A laboratory in which a special device is stored that kept an energy being imprisoned so that the Ancients could study it during their studies on Ascension.[9]
- Another laboratory is discovered which contains devices of an Ancient sociological experiment that took place on another planet and was monitored by a network of satellites. McKay and Sheppard mistake this for a game but two years later they find out that they literally were playing with people's lives. This lab was later sealed off by the order of Dr Weir.[19]
- While checking the city for damage after a heavy storm[20], the expedition found a laboratory in which the Ancients created nanomachines which should attack the Wraith on a cellular level. The nanomachines however attacked the members of the expedition and killed a few of them.[21]
- In another one Sheppard's team found a stasis capsule (similar to that found in the Ancient outpost in Antarctica) which contained a Dr. Weir from an alternate timeline.[2]
- While checking the city for locations that drain energy from their new ZPM, the expedition stumbles across a laboratory that contains a device similar to a DNA Resequencer.[15]
- During a crisis the Atlantis expedition also found a bio laboratory in which the Ancients studied animals from the planet on which Atlantis is located.[5]
- On a Sunday the expedition finds a laboratory with an Ancient weapon device that uses an unusual type of radiation to create explosive tumors behind a person's lung. This device is responsible for the death of several expedition members, among them Dr. Carson Beckett.[22]
Some of these rooms are now used by the Atlantis expedition, but most of them are unused.
Other rooms
Carter's office: A large office which is connected through a short gangway to the operations center and which provides a sight on the gateroom. It is used as Col. Carter's personal office as well as a meeting room for small or unofficial meetings, most times between the Atlantis senior staff. According to Martin Gero, the room of the office was at first planned to be only some free space but when Dr. Weir put her bag into it in the pilot episode it was chosen to become her office. During the break between season one and two the room was expanded.[23]
This is now the office of Samantha Carter.
Mess hall: There exists a large mess hall in the city where the personnel of Atlantis can eat or spend their free time, for example playing chess.[24] The hall provides a spectacular view of the city.
Living quarters: Since Atlantis can house many people there are also a lot of living quarters. Some are rather small, can only house one person and do not have much free space,[9] while others are bigger and provide more room.[25]
Gym: An empty room which is used by the personnel to train. This room is often used by Teyla Emmagan and John Sheppard.
There are also many other rooms in the city which haven't been discovered so there could be many more different facilities that could help the Atlantis expedition team.
Ancient outpost
The bottom tower that is under the water in Atlantis which can be seen in many episodes on the monitors in Atlantis appears to be the Ancient outpost which is left behind when an Ancient city ship leaves the planet it was originally on. This is shown in "Rising (Part 1)" in the beginning and much more clearly visible in the episode "Progeny". A new outpost can be constructed as was done with Atlantis as shown by Atlantis having a replacement one after the original was left on Earth.
The encountered outposts, the Ancient outpost in Antarctica and the one on Proclarush Taonas, were powered by a single ZPM and had a complement of drone weapons and a control chair. The outposts were protected by a shield similar to the one on Atlantis, except much smaller. The shield had been activated on Proclarush Taonas, but eventually the shield failed and left a dome of hardened lava behind.[26]
Technology in the city
The city holds many secrets and technology far in advance of that mastered by the human expedition. In regular use are the transporters to move people and objects around the city and the Puddle Jumpers docked in Atlantis. But the city has not been fully explored due to its size, and search teams are finding new rooms and technology every day.
Energy
Like all Ancient City Ships, Atlantis is powered by Zero Point Modules. The city can operate on one but requires three to achieve full functionality. The city will automatically power up rooms depending on the number of people in the city.[1] The city shield is an enormous drain on the power and can deplete a ZPM much faster than normal. The city can also be powered by Naqahdah Generators, but at reduced power output. This is done by the Atlantis expedition, who has set up several generators in different rooms of Atlantis. In general, the less power the city has, the less technology is available for use in it, and indeed a large amount of technology and functionality was never even noticed until greater power was supplied. For these reasons, locating and acquiring ZPMs is one of the standing orders of any team from Atlantis, especially as these devices are now extremely rare and impossible to recharge. It was revealed in The Last Man that the city also has solar power generators which could power various minor systems, or if the solar energy output was extremely high, theoretically they could even power some of the city power drainers like the shield.
Offensive and defensive systems
The primary defensive measure of Atlantis is its all-encompassing shield. Whilst this shield is invaluable and can effectively hold back almost any threat, it requires so much energy that a ZPM must be installed to activate it. Earth's Naqahdah reactors don't generate enough energy to power it up.[1] However it has been proven that many flashes of lightning can temporarily power up the shields if the grounding stations are deactivated.[27][20] In season 3, when Atlantis was under threat from a 'Coronal Mass Ejection' from Lanteas's sun, McKay refers to the Ancients once using the shield (with three ZPM's) to encompass half of the planet and protect life on the mainland with the shield. At the start of series 4 in the episode "Adrift" McKay manages to shrink the shield around the control tower from its normal size. Atlantis's shields are also able to operate in hyperspace, which in the episode "The new order" Thor told Teal'c that Asgard and replicator shields can not operate in hyperspace.
Another means of protecting the city was developed by the Atlantis expedition during the siege of the Wraith. They decided to link the cloaking device of a Puddle Jumper with the city shields which makes the city invisible and thus undetectable. However, if this is done the cloaking replaces the shield, which means, when the cloaking is active, the shields can't be raised. This plan was used to fool the Wraith in believing Atlantis was destroyed,[3] and is used in the future to hide it from other Hive-Ships that arrived.[28][29]
The primary offensive measure of the city are its large number of Drone Weapons like those seen in SG-1 Season 7's finale, "Lost City".[16] After the war with the Wraith only a few dozen drones remained in the city but it was not noted until the chair was powered up. These last drones were depleted during the Siege on Atlantis but Sheppard's team managed to acquire more of them, together with a number of Puddle Jumpers (although the exact number is not known) from Atlantis' sister city since its ZPM was depleted and therefore useless to the planet.[17]
When SGC sent reinforcements to Atlantis, they also brought several anti-aircraft Railguns, mounted Machine guns, and SAM missiles.
Stardrive
Because Atlantis is not only a city but also a spacecraft in itself, it has a functioning stardrive. This stardrive was used to bring Atlantis from Earth to the Pegasus galaxy.[1] To protect the inhabitants of the city during starflight, Atlantis is equipped with inertial dampeners like all other spaceships.[28] The stardrive is most likely controlled by the main control room but it can also be activated from an alternate control room deep under the city's spires.[17] Despite this ability, the stardrive's power requirements are far beyond the means of the current inhabitants and even activating the stardrive uses much energy and can deplete a weak ZPM in a matter of seconds.[17]
The Atlantis stardrive has since been disabled and repaired by members of the Atlantis expedition following two Asuran attacks on the city. By removing the safeguards and writing new programming code for the city, Dr McKay and Colonel Sheppard managed to use a single ZPM and a geothermal power station to get the city off the surface and into hyperspace. Interestingly the stardrive configuration has changed. When leaving Earth Atlantis had three drives, one on every two piers. When leaving Lantea the drive clearly has the Asuran configuration of a stardrive engine on each pier. Whether this is because the Asurans repaired the damage done by Dr. Beckett and added these, or if the ship from The Tower was the original ship seen in Rising, or if the Ancients themselves upgraded it at some point while in Pegasus is unknown.
Ancient Database
Atlantis holds a huge database of Ancient knowledge. Even with all the hard drives the Atlantis expedition brought with them and using an efficient compression codec invented by Dr. McKay only about 9% of the translated database could be stored. The database holds a collection of Stargate addresses for both Pegasus and the Milky Way,[1] information about the Wraith, the Iratus bug,[30] information about other species,[31] and much scientific research, including zero-point module research, work on ascension, weapon schematics and notes on space travel. The database also has an incredible ability to back up data, so deleting it is difficult. The database can be accessed through many database terminals in the city.[10]
Sensors
The city is equipped with several types of sensors: first the long-range sensors which allow Atlantis to scan distant star systems. Thus the inhabitants can find out whether ships are on their way to the city and thus are warned if the Wraith are coming.[32][33] This set of sensors ran in the background and was discovered months after the arrival of the expedition. Another set of sensors are the internal sensors, which display detailed plans of the city and life-forms in it. Although it can distinguish between organic and energy life forms,[9] it cannot differentiate between organic life forms.
The third set of sensors are the biometric sensors that scan the city for irregularities in biometric rhythm. If people of different species are in the city, the sensors detect them.[10] These sensors were discovered by the Atlantis expedition about one month before the arrival of the Wraith.[11] However the biometric sensors need a lot of power so they were ordered to only scan the gate room.
Grounding stations
To protect the city from lightning, the city is equipped with lightning rods at the highest points of the city, which channel the electricity to four grounding stations, which then dispel the energy into the ocean. However, during a powerful storm that threatened Atlantis, Rodney McKay and Radek Zelenka devised a plan to reconfigure the grounding stations so that the energy could be diverted to power up the city's shield. To do this, the rods that usually directed the energy into the ocean needed to be separated; this was done by entering the code 031547 at each station's console. All four stations had to be disconnected this way, or insufficient power would be collected.
In any case, the plan was also extremely hazardous, as the electricity would have to be channelled along the corridors of the city to the power generators, potentially electrocuting anyone not in the shielded city control room. However, despite an attempted takeover of the city by the Genii, the plan was ultimately successful.[27][20]
Transporters
The transporters are the primary means of transport to move quickly between different parts of the city.[9] They are small chambers and if someone enters, a console opens in the back and reveals a map of the city with red lights that display the location of the other chambers. To be transported to another chamber a user only needs to press one of the red lights at the target location. Afterwards the people in the chamber are transported to this location in a blinding flash of light. This system functions in a similar manner as the Ring Transporters which doesn't come as a surprise since both systems were invented by the Ancients. The chambers also function as elevators to move people up and down in the same structure or building.
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Rising". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "rising" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c "Before I Sleep". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "The Siege, Part 3". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "The Return, Part 1". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Echoes". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "First Strike". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b DVD-Video "Behind the Gate" of the SGA Season 1 DVDs.
- ^ "Home". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d e "Hide and Seek". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d "The Siege, Part 1". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Sanctuary". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Pegasus Project". Stargate SG-1.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Suspicion". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "The Return, Part 2". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Tao of Rodney". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "The Siege, Part 2". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) Cite error: The named reference "the siege, part 2" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page). - ^ a b c d e "The Tower". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ DVD commentary of the episode "The Tower".
- ^ "The Game". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c "The Eye". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Hot Zone". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Sunday". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ SGA Season 2 Preview from the first DVD of Season 2.
- ^ "Aurora". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Duet". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Lost City" Stargate SG-1
- ^ a b "The Storm". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Critical Mass". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Allies". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Conversion". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Trinity". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "The Brotherhood". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help) - ^ "Inferno". Stargate Atlantis.
{{cite episode}}: Unknown parameter|episodelink=ignored (|episode-link=suggested) (help); Unknown parameter|serieslink=ignored (|series-link=suggested) (help)
