Human civilizations in Stargate Atlantis

Like its parent series "Stargate SG-1", the television series "Stargate Atlantis" features a number of extra-terrestrial human civilizations.

Unlike what happened in the Milky Way (see Human civilizations in Stargate SG-1), the human population of the Pegasus Galaxy is a product of Ancient seeding. As there was seldom interbreeding between the Ancients and humans, the ATA gene is virtually non-existent amongst the natives of Pegasus. Very few human races in Pegasus surpass Earth in technological advancement, as the Wraith destroy any such civilizations as potential future threats to their dominance.

People of Earth (Atlanteans)

The people of Earth, known as the Atlanteans to the inhabitants of the Pegasus galaxy, arrive in Pegasus in the episode sgcite|Rising|Atlantis. Occupying the Ancient city ship of Atlantis, the technology and resources of the Atlantis Expedition have made them a major player in the galaxy. As they inhabit the fabled City of the Ancestors, some Pegasus cultures believe the Atlanteans to be the Ancients returned.sgcite|Rising|Atlantis|show=ref] sgcite|The Brotherhood|Atlantis|show=ref] The Atlantis Expedition is composed of military and civilian personnel from many Earth nations, and is led by Dr. Elizabeth Weir in seasons 1-3, Colonel Samantha Carter in season 4, and Richard Woolsey in season 5.

Recurring human civilizations

Athosians

The Athosians are a group of hunters, farmers, and traders from the planet Athos. First introduced in "Rising", they are the first humans encountered by the Atlantis Expedition in the Pegasus galaxy. The Athosians were once technologically advanced, but reverted to a pre-industrial state to avoid the Wraith. Following their contact with the Expedition, the Athosians move to Lantea and their leader, Teyla Emmagan, joins Major Sheppard's team. In "The Gift", it is revealed that some Athosians possess Wraith DNA, resulting from an old Wraith experiment to make humans more "palatable". This allows these individuals to sense the presence of Wraith, to tap into their telepathic communications, and to control Wraith technology.

In the third season episode "The Return", the Athosians are asked to leave Lantea by a group of surviving Ancients reclaiming Atlantis from Earth. The Athosian population is subsequently found to have disappeared from New Athos in "Missing". The search for the missing Athosians and their fate at the hands of the rogue Wraith Michael contributes to a major plot arc near the end of the fourth season.

Genii

The Genii appear to be simple farmers, but are in fact a military society with technology comparable to 1940s Earth. First appearing in "Underground", the Genii were forced to hide in underground bunkers due to Wraith attacks. They have since devoted their efforts to developing fission bombs with which to strike back at the Wraith. They become enemies of the Atlantis Expedition in the first season and once try to invade Atlantis,sgcite|Underground|Atlantis|show=ref] sgcite|The Storm|Atlantis|show=ref] though after a coup d'etat in the second season they have been more favorable towards the city.sgcite|Coup D'etat|Atlantis|show=ref]

atedans

The Satedans are the people of Specialist Ronon Dex, who joins the Atlantis Expedition in the season 2 episode "Runner". In that episode, it is revealed that the Satedans were a civilization comparable in technology to Earth in the mid-20th century, but met the fate of all advanced civilizations in Pegasus when their homeworld Sateda was devastated seven years ago by the Wraith. In "Trinity", Ronan discovers that some 300 Satedans survived the attack in shelters west of the capital and later moved onto other planets like Ballkan and Manaria. In "Reunion", Ronan encounters more Satedans, his former military comrades, who have been converted into Wraith worshipers.

Minor human civilizations

*Ballkans A medieval human race who trade with the Athosians. Some Satedan survivors fled to Ballkan after the fall of Sateda.sgcite|Trinity|Atlantis|show=ref]

*Bola Kai A fierce tribe of warriors believed to engage in cannibalism. In sgcite|Missing|Atlantis, a group of Bola Kai raid New Athos after the Athosians disappear.

*Daganians The people of the planet Dagan, an old Lantean outpost, featured in sgcite|The Brotherhood|Atlantis. Their ancestors, the Sudarians, were entrusted with a ZPM some 10,000 years ago. The Sudarians worshipped the ZPM, calling it the "Potentia", but it was lost after the order of monks that protected it, the Quindosim, were culled by the Wraith. The Atlantis team help the Daganians rediscover the ZPM, but they take it for safekeeping after learning that the team are not Ancients despite being from Atlantis.

*Hoffans An industrial-age civilization from the planet Hoff, seen in "Poisoning the Well". In that episode, Dr. Carson Beckett helps them complete a drug that would poison any Wraith attempting to feed on them. Despite a 50% mortality rate and a warning from the Atlanteans that the Wraith are likely to destroy them as a potential threat, the Hoffans elect to take the drug. In "The Kindred", it is revealed that the Hoffans were indeed wiped out by the Wraith. However, Michael recovers the anti-Wraith drug and distributes it secretly to several human worlds as part of his campaign against the Wraith.

*Manarians A race of humans from Manaria, first mentioned in "Underground" as trading food to Atlantis in an agreement made by Sergeant Bates. In "The Storm", they reluctantly give shelter to most of the Atlantis Expedition and the Athosians when Atlantis and the mainland are threatened by a massive hurricane, only to sell them out to the Genii, informing Cowen that Atlantis had been evacuated and helping Commander Kolya find a way past the city's defenses.

*Olesians The people of the planet Olesia, who have been allowed to become technologically advanced thanks to a secret arrangement between the Olesian Magistrate and the Wraith to supply their convicts for feeding. However, this punishment is too effective and the crime rate drops, forcing the Olesians to start sentencing petty criminals and innocent people to the Wraith. In sgcite|Condemned|Atlantis, Sheppard's team help the prisoners escape through the Stargate after being shot down over the Olesian prison island. With the arrangement broken, the Wraith descend upon the Olesian city.

*People of Geldar and Hallona Inhabitants of opposing nations on a planet in sgcite|The Game|Atlantis. They were once guided by the Ancients through a network of satellites, who interpreted their instructions as orders from an oracle. McKay and Sheppard discover the Ancients' control system on Atlantis and, thinking it was only a simulation, inadvertently begin controlling the two countries' development. This nearly leads to war between Geldar and Hallona.

*People of M7G-677 A primitive planet from sgcite|Childhood's End|Atlantis, where no one is older than twenty-five because they commit suicide upon reaching that age in the belief that it keeps the Wraith from returning. Dr. McKay discovers that they are in fact being protected by an Ancient electromagnetic shield. After some trouble with a Wraith scout, the Atlantis team convinces them to stop the ritual suicides. In sgcite|Critical Mass|Atlantis, Dr. Zelenka leads an Atlantis team to their planet to assist with difficulties in their shield.

*People of Proculus A pacifistic, pre-technological human civilization from sgcite|Sanctuary|Atlantis. They worship a goddess named Athar, in fact the Ascended Ancient Chaya Sar, who protects them from the Wraith. Ten thousand years ago, Chaya used her Ascended powers to destroy an invading Wraith fleet. For this act of interference, the Others punished her with eternal protection over Proculus, to the exclusion of all other peoples in the Pegasus galaxy.

*People of the Ark A race with technology comparable to 1960s Earth (McKay describes it as "vintage"). Centuries ago, they enacted a radical plan to escape the Wraith: within a hollowed-out moon, they intended to store the patterns two thousand people within two devices reverse-engineered from the beaming technology of Wraith darts. They then instigated an unwinnable war with the Wraith, knowing that their use of atomic weapons would render their homeworld uninhabitable. Their belief was that afterwards the Wraith would never return, leaving those hidden in the moon to rebuild in peace once the radiation dissipated. In sgcite|The Ark|Atlantis, the Atlantis team accidentally rematerializes the shuttle pilot, who, after learning his family on the second shuttle did not survive, commits suicide by using the shuttle's engines to burn through the facility's outer doors, exposing him to space. This also destabilizes the moon's orbit, but Sheppard is able to fly the shuttle and the storage device safely to the surface

*Taranians A low-level technological people from Taranis, first encountered in "Inferno", where they invite the Atlantis Expedition to help repair an Ancient facility (including an intact "Aurora"-class battleship) built atop a supervolcano. Dr. McKay discovers that the Taranians' continuous use of the facility's shield, which is powered by geothermal energy, has destabilized the volcano. Facing an imminent eruption that would destroy most of the continent and render Taranis uninhabitable, the Taranians are forced to evacuate. The Atlanteans help them relocate to a new planet, and they allow the Expedition use of the Ancient warship in gratitude. The later episode "Vengeance" reveals that the resettled Taranian population has been destroyed by the Wraith Michael, as part of his efforts to create a human-iratus bug hybrid.

*Travelers Humans who live on a fleet of ships to avoid the Wraith, introduced in "Travelers". Although not as technologically advanced as the Ancients, the Travelers possess hyperdrives and advanced weapons. Due to their population outgrowing their available space, the Travelers had been forced to abandon some of their people on planets. Their discovery of an "Aurora"-class battleship promised to solve this problem, but without the ATA gene they were unable to operate it. They kidnap John Sheppard and extort him to create an interface for them. Though uncooperative at first on account of his abduction, Sheppard and the Traveler leader Larrin eventually came to an understanding after a mutual experience with the Wraith. In "Be All My Sins Remember'd", the Travelers become concerned by the Asuran Replicator threat after one of their trading partners is wiped out. Several of their ships, including their Ancient battleship, join the Atlanteans and the Wraith in battling the Replicators over their homeworld. According to producers Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie, the Travelers were created as a "wild card" along the lines of the Genii, but with advanced technology that would make them a "challenge" for the Atlantis team. Their lifestyle was devised as a way around the established fact that the Wraith wipe out any civilizations that approach them in technological advancement. [cite web |author=Sumner, Darren and Read, David |url=http://www.gateworld.net/interviews/taking_the_reins.shtml |title=Taking the Reins – GateWorld talks with Joseph Mallozzi and Paul Mullie |publisher=gateworld.net |date=June 2007 |accessdate=2008-06-20]

*Vedeenans A primitive civilization from sgcite|The Seer|Atlantis. They conduct some trade but mainly keep to themselves. They are led by a man named Davos, who due to a mutation is able to see the future. These visions allow the Vedeenans to escape culling by the Wraith.

References