Tollan (Stargate)
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- This is about the Stargate race. For the Mesoamerican cities, see Tollan.
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| Tollan | |
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| Species | Human |
| Homeworld | Tollan (original), Tollana (new) |
| Governing body | Curia |
| Alliances as of season 10 | None |
| Prior Alliances | Tok'ra; Nox; marginally, Tau'ri |
| Key episodes | "Enigma" (first appearance) |
In the science fiction series Stargate SG-1, the Tollan are a human civilization.
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[edit] Overview
The Tollan are one of the most advanced civilizations of humans encountered by the SGC. This massive technological superiority, even over the Goa'uld, has resulted in them being stubborn to the point of arrogance, believing any species with lesser technology than theirs to be inferior. Also, they generally prefer isolation from the rest of the galaxy [1], depending on their advanced defensive technologies to keep their homeworld, Tollana, safe from external threats. However, this reliance on a single tactical advantage and arrogance made Teal'c note that the Tollan "do not think strategically".[2]
According to Tollan law, the sharing of technology with a less-advanced culture, such as the Tau'ri, is forbidden.[3] This often frustrating attitude however has its history. The original Tollan homeworld was destroyed by giving a neighboring planet, Serita, a device to produce unlimited productive energy. The people of Serita used this technology to make war and destroy themselves, shifting the orbital path of Tollan, forcing the Tollan to eventually evacuate to another world.[1]
The Tollan were governed by a panel of high-ranking Tollan officials, the Curia. However, this Curia has limited power. For example, it cannot make a contract with the Goa'uld. Many of the members believe strongly in their policy of isolation, sometimes even bordering on xenophobia. Even trade with other species is out of the question. All sessions of the Curia are, in theory, recorded and available publicly. Concealing such records, or tampering with them, is a crime of such magnitude that murder apparently pales in comparison. The High Chancellor is the head of the Curia and apparently the head of the Tollan government. The only one seen was High Chancellor Travell. Also, an official protest of Tollan policy is filed with every level of every branch of the government.[4]
Tollan legal disputes are settled in a so-called Triad, the Tollan version of a private law proceeding; it is unknown under what system matters of public law are settled. The system is adversarial. Two seekers (equivalent to parties in common law) argue their case, each defended by one or more archons (equivalent to an attorney in common law) of their choice. There is also a third archon, chosen to be neutral to the case. The seekers argue their case until the archons are ready to reach a decision. Each of the three archons casts a vote for one of the seekers; ordinarily, each seeker's archon will vote for his or her seeker, leaving the ultimate decision in the hands of the neutral archon. Thus far, the only witnessed triad took place in 2000, to determine whether Skaara or the Goa'uld within him, Klorel, had priority over their body. In this case, Daniel Jackson and Jack O'Neill were archons for Skaara, Zipacna was the archon for Klorel, and Lya of the Nox was the neutral archon. High Chancellor Travell of the Tollan Curia presided over the Triad.[2]
[edit] Technology
Tollan technology is extremely advanced, and superior to that of most other Milky Way civilizations. It is so far ahead of Tau'ri technology that even reverse-engineering their devices is impossible for Earth science.[4]
One of the most impressive examples of Tollan technology are their Ion cannons. These incredibly powerful weapons could destroy a Goa'uld Ha'tak with even a single shot and have served in Tollana's defense several times. With help from the Nox, they have also constructed their own Stargate, since their new homeworld did not originally possess one. The Tollans' Stargate was smaller than those built by the Ancients and prompted Jack O'Neill to remark "Ours is bigger". The most important Tollan buildings were protected by technology that disabled all weapons it detected, including Tau'ri projectile weapons and Goa'uld staff weapons. However, the weapons carried by Tollan security forces remained unaffected.[2] They also had developed emotion-recording technology, and phase-shifting devices that allowed the user to walk through solid matter, including Earth's iris.[1] Also, every Tollan had a small implant in his body, monitoring the wearer's health. In case of a medical emergency, this implant would automatically alert the emergency services. This small device could also be used to track one's position, although this was highly illegal.[4]
Tollan technology contains no wires, no moving parts, or anything found in normal mechanical devices, decreasing the possibility of compatibility with technology from other cultures.[1] Most of it is also made from trinium.[4]
[edit] History
The Tollan were the first advanced human civilization encountered by SG-1.
In 1998, the Tollans' original planet, called Tollan, was being destroyed by massive volcanic eruptions. A human society on the neighbouring planet, Serita, having reached a technological level comparable to that of Earth, was granted advanced power-production technology by the Tollan. Unexpectedly for the Tollan, the Seritans used this technology to wage war. This war lasted only one day but resulted in the utter destruction of the planet. Subsequently, the side-effects of this destruction knocked Tollan out of its standard orbit and caused it to become uninhabitable.
The Tollan were forced to evacuate the planet, and a final Tollan team were going to disable the Stargate, to ensure that nobody would come through the Gate and be injured on the now-harsh surface. However, due to volcanic activity they were incapacitated before they could reach their objective. SG-1, who had recently arrived through the Stargate, saved them, to the inexplicable dismay of their leader, Omoc. However, another Tollan, Narim, took a liking to Samantha Carter. It soon became apparent that their technology was overtly sought after by the US Military, particularly by the NID. Eventually, with the help of the Nox, SG-1 managed to get the Tollan survivors to safety. Before parting, Narim showed Tollan technological prowess by giving Samantha Carter a device which has a recording of his emotions for her on it.[1]
In 2000, Klorel, inhabiting the body of Skaara, fled to Tollana, hoping that the Goa'uld motherships, under the control of Heru-ur, pursuing him would be destroyed by the Tollan ion cannons defending the planet. Klorel subsequently crashed on Tollana. His host, Skaara, asked the Tollan to have the Goa'uld removed, and a Triad was organised to determine who could control the body. Skaara asked SG-1 to defend his interests during the Triad. However, the Goa'uld Apophis and his minion Zipacna used the opportunity to conquer the planet by targeting all canons at once, after being marked by their delegation on the surface. The attempt was thwarted by SG-1 and Lya, a Nox, and effectively saved the Tollan civilization.[2]
The Tollan were also mentioned briefly in the year 2010 of an alternate timeline where the Aschen had sterilised a large portion of the world's population. The now dissolved SG-1 considered the Tollan as potential candidates to aid Earth against the threat of de-population and Aschen retaliation.[5]
In 2000, the Tollan were one of several advanced civilizations who threatened to cut all diplomatic relations with Earth after some of their technology had been stolen by a rogue faction of the NID under the supervision of Harry Maybourne. However, the SGC, and specifically Jack O'Neill were able to expose this faction and shut down their activities.[3]
In 2001, Anubis developed shield technology (probably based on Ancient technology, as most of his technological breakthroughs were) capable of resisting the Tollan ion cannons. After the Tollan became aware of the negation of their only tactical advantage over the Goa'uld, the desperate Curia decided strike a deal with Tanith, representing his master. They agreed that the Tollan would produce weapons capable of penetrating solid matter, including Earth's iris. It was Anubis' intention to force the Tollan to attack Earth with these weapons, so the Asgard, who protected Earth according to the Protected Planets Treaty, would not intervene. However, Omoc, who was a member of the Curia, did not condone this deal and threatened to expose it to the Tollan public. He was subsequently murdered by the Curia.
After Omoc's death, the Curia suddenly decided to change its policy regarding technological exchanges, and contacted SG-1 to negotiate about trading trinium for their, albeit unknown to the SGC, now useless ion cannons. This trinium was required for the building of the phase-shifting weapons and therefore instrumental to Tollana's survival. However, after SG-1 discovered the existence and purpose of these weapons, they were able to convince Narim to stop building the devices and destroy the already-completed ones. Subsequently, Tanith, obeying Anubis' orders, attacked the planet with his fleet, and the defenseless Tollan were wiped out. Fleeing ships were also shot down, so it remains questionable the Tollan civilization survived. The Tollan ultimately fell victim to their own arrogance, believing the Goa'uld could never be a threat to them.[4]
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e "Enigma" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b c d "Pretense" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b "Shades of Grey" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ a b c d e "Between Two Fires" (Stargate SG-1)
- ^ "2010" (Stargate SG-1)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
| Alien races in the Stargate universe | Edit | |
| Four Great Races | Ancients, Asgard, Furling, Nox |
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| Humans | Tau'ri, Tollan, Aschen, Genii, Athosians, | |
| Jaffa | Sodan, Free Jaffa, Hak'tyl, Illac Renin | |
| Ascended beings | Ancient, Ori | |
| Goa'uld | System Lords, Tok'ra, Kull Warrior | |
| Other | Asurans, Iratus bug, R-75, Re'ol, Re'tu, Replicator, "Spirits", Unas, Wraith | |
| Topics in Stargate | ||
| Story of Stargate | Stargate, Stargate SG-1 (episodes), Stargate Atlantis (episodes), Stargate Infinity (episodes), Stargate Universe Stargate: The Ark of Truth, Stargate: Continuum, Comics, Literature |
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| Stargate Universe | Alien Races, Planets, Technology, Characters, The SGC, SG-1, SG Team, Atlantis, The Stargate, Ascension | |
| Factions in Stargate | Tau'ri, Jaffa Resistance, Tok'ra, Asgard, Ancients Goa'uld, Jaffa, System Lords, Replicators, Ori, Asuran, Wraith, Lucian Alliance, The Trust, NID, IOA |
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