Archive for the ‘Stargate SG-1’ Tag
What’s your preferred method of space travel? Is it this?
Or this?
I know, I know. Pretty hard to decide which one to choose.
Allow me to provide you with a clearer example. This is a depiction of the first equation:
CorvinZahn – Gallery of Space Time Travel (self-made, panorama of the dunes: Philippe E. Hurbain)
This is the second:
Credit: Allen McC
Give up? Here’s a clue: There’s a connection between this:
…and the space it occupies.
And the answer is…WORMHOLES!
Okay, okay, maybe I’ve gotten a bit esoteric for you. I’ll get simple.
The first mathematical equation is otherwise known as traversable wormhole, or one that allows you to move from one end of the universe to the other. The second one represents a Schwartschild wormhole that, for the most part, is a black hole that allows travel usually in one direction, but also connects one universe to the other.
The definition of a wormhole is a method within the theory of relatively of moving from one point in space to another without crossing the space in between. To properly explain a wormhole properly means one has to drag out the big guns (i.e. Einstein) and spew forth a lot of verbiage that’s guaranteed to gloss over the heartiest of eyeballs. A short history of the term is this: Albert Einstein and his colleague Nathan Rosen came up with the basic principles of wormholes and their relation to time and space in the 1935 and called their concept the “Einstein-Rosen” bridge. John A. Wheeler, an American theoretical physicist coined the term wormhole in 1957.
Science fiction writers have jumped on the concept ever since. Carl Sagan, Arthur C. Clarke, Iain M. Banks, John G. Cramer, Stephen Baxter and many, many others have all used wormhole technology to develop their plots, as well as popular shows as the Stargate franchise.
With wormholes, one easily solves the problem of traveling great distances in short times, as long as you don’t exceed the speed of light (a wormhole no-no). Just about anything can travel through them as well. The mightiest of space vehicles right down to tiny gnats can zoom through distant reaches to discover, conquer or just make new friends. It’s a simple device that captures everyone’s imagination because it’s so freeing and limitless. Need to get someplace? Hook up to a wormhole, and in seconds, you’re there.
In Stargate SG-1, the cast would travel so quickly through these things that bullets came flying right out of the gate, thanks to the wormhole. Conversely, robotic probes made their way out into the new planet, seeking information regarding conditions. True, a proper stargate was needed to connect two points together. It wasn’t without its risks, either. Wormholes invite all sorts of malfeasance, if one isn’t careful. Evil characters often took advantage of this plot device and wreaked havoc, threatening Earth and its inhabitants over and over again.
Next time you look up at the sky and gaze at the stars, think about this: somewhere out there lurks a bridge to another time. One day, maybe soon, some thing might be transversing it to visit.
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All right. I’ll confess. I was a diehard Stargate SG-1 fan. Not so much Stargate Atlantis, although I adored Rodney McKay. There was nothing false about him; he met at the intersection of reckless bravery and shameless coward. And Stargate Universe? Highly underrated. It wasn’t as lighthearted as the other two, but it made you think. I’m also a fan of Robert Carlyle.
I digress. Back to SG-1.
All the cast members on that show shared a real chemistry, and it could be serious and funny at the same time. The gate spun as if a Wheel of Fortune, upon which the SG-1 team gambled their fates each time with each threshold crossing. Stepping into that endless whirling stream of psychedelic colors gave Jack, Sam, Teal’c, Dan and and whoever else they dragged along, the appearance of a magic tunnel ride, forever in length. Yet, when they came out on the other side, it was as if they were out for a Sunday stroll, only two seconds later, if that. Okay, they were armed to the teeth and occasionally they’d have to dodge flying missiles, unknown assailants, and, of course, those pesky Goa’uld.
Now it’s time to go home. Either Jack’s gang saved the day or got the hell out. They’d go flying back, hurling their bodies through the stargate once more, fighting against all odds to dial the correct address to open that slurpy rush of wormhole matter. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it wasn’t entirely unheard of to have alien weaponry zing through that very wormhole. And again, traveling that eternal length of wormhole only took, what, two seconds on the return trip. Hmm.
So tell me: how’s that possible? Do wormholes stretch and contract? Now, I haven’t yet had the opportunity to leap through one of those and find out for myself, although it is on my bucket list. I am of the opinion that wormholes are a function of time meeting distance. Sort of like pulling the middle of a length of chain, and the ends become closer. Time is the chain, in this instance. Yes, I know, the chain is the same length, but suppose there was a way to skip across from one end to its opposite?
The stargate connected to other stargates in the universe, offering limitless opportunities for adventure. And convenience. Take, for example, who taught all those off-world races to speak English so beautifully? Was one of the Ancients, say, a past life of Noah Webster? Their history, beautifully preserved in the pyramids of Egypt, could have traveled through those wormholes and planted the seeds of English to the ancient Saxons. Ancients pierced the mind of Earthly citizens everywhere, giving rise to English’s seeming dominance throughout the globe. Bilingualism is an Ancient trait.
When I’m stuck at my desk, going adrift staring at the pile resting on it, I long to take a journey through a stargate. Perhaps one day on lunch break, during a mind-clearing stroll through the park, fluttering leaves in the woods might attract my attention. A bend of branches in a peculiar manner carves a path to a smoldering circle, holding open its gate to unknown possibilities, as vast as space.
I wouldn’t say no. I’d go.
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Moon, Stars and Beyond 