Stargate SG-1 (novel)

Stargate SG-1 (1998) is the novelization of "Children of the Gods" written by Ashley McConnell. The book may be titled Stargate SG-1 rather the Children of the Gods. The episode's title may not have yet been developed when the novel was written.

Jack O'Neill
O'Neill has passed through Rome on his way to bases in Germany, Turkey and Spain. He enjoyed spending his off-hours wandering through the city and Chulak reminded him of how Rome may have been a thousand years ago. When Jackson says the "When in Rome..." line O'Neill thinks that there is such a thing as taking a resemblance too far, but notes that the last time he bowed to anyone was probably the last time he had been in Rome.
 * Jack O'Neill's house is a "medium-long drive" from Cheyenne Mountain.
 * O'Neill’s memories of Charlie's death involve the pistol lying on a pale white carpet with Charlie’s empty hand lying nearby.
 * When Skaara offers him his lighter back, O'Neill states that he quit smoking. This would account for the fact that he appears smoking cigarette several times in the film, but never in the series.
 * Daniel Jackson notes that in O'Neill’s house there are no pictures of his wife. In several episodes, there are pictures of Sara in his house, but he could have put them in later.
 * O'Neill hates asking for directions and notes how Daniel has no trouble asking the monks for directions to the nearest city.
 * O'Neill stayed up all night to watch the Apollo landing and keeps up on current space programs. He was interested in becoming an astronaut, but gave up as the space program was cut back.

Samantha Carter

 * Samantha Carter felt a brief, quickly suppressed flash of jealousy when she first saw Sha're and noted Daniel's feelings for her.
 * Carter flew an F-16 in the Gulf War, but was not involved in any ground action.
 * Carter is the first to suggest the Goa’uld are parasitical in form.

General Hammond

 * Samuels considers Hammond a "solid, by-the-book crusty career man" whose whole life was the Air Force and service to his country.
 * Hammond considers standing up to Democrats very difficult, implying that he is a Republican.
 * Hammond was determined to not cheat O'Neill and the team out of a single second.

Charles Kawalsky

 * Kawalsky is either O'Neill or Ferretti’s best friend. The way the sentence was structured doesn't make it clear who the pronoun "he" was referring to. Based on the context of the scene, it's probably Ferretti, but he could still be O'Neill's best friend as well. In "Point of View," the alternate Kawalsky states that O’Neill was his best friend.

Major Samuels

 * Major Samuels' first name is Bert.
 * Samuels apparently drinks alcohol at least somewhat regularly.
 * Samuels resents being sent to retrieve O'Neill and looks forward to being promoted to the position where he will be able to "send junior officers on errands like this one." He is portrayed as being rather self-important and enjoying his position as Hammond’s executive officer. He seems to be interested primarily in career advancement.
 * Hammond thinks Samuels might make a decent half of an interrogation team.
 * Samuels feels intimidated by O'Neill and seems to be contemptuous of him.
 * Samuels tried to make conversation with O’Neill while they were heading to the base, but O’Neill ignored him.
 * Samuels did not know that Hammond was planning to retire until he told O’Neill about it.
 * Samuels was planning to send a bomb through to Chulak if the team didn’t return on time. (possibly he wanted it sent before the time limit was up)

Kidnapped Air Force sergeant

 * The kidnapped sergeant is named Carol Ketering. The first letter of the name on her uniform is never fully visible in the episode, but it clearly ends with "eterings." Note the "s" is not in the name of the character as it appears in the novel.
 * Ketering was determined that her captors wouldn’t get anything out of her "but her name, rank, and serial number."
 * As was implied in the episode, Apophis killed Ketering after Amonet rejected her.

Other Characters

 * Samuels' driver was an airman.
 * Warren is an airman.

Additional Information on Abydos

 * Daniel and the Abydosians scrapped the probe sent to the planet and salvaged a dish from it. They used the dish as cookware, which is convenient since it was made of non-stick titanium.
 * Carter speculates that the women on Abydos may eat separately from the men.
 * Daniel refers to the cartouche chamber in Abydosian with the words vili tao an.
 * Carter estimates the Abydosian pyramid to be ten times larger than Cheops' monument on Earth.
 * Carter speculates that in the city on Abydos there is a spring where their food is grown.
 * The Abydos cartouche is located inside a cave entered through a fissure in the rock. A few steps from the cave, the pyramid with the Stargate can still be seen.

Additional Information on Chulak and the Goa’uld

 * Teal'c states that many Jaffa are questioning whether the Goa'uld actually built the Stargates.
 * What Teal'c said that Skaara translated as "We’re going to choose who will be the children of the gods" was "Shaka, ha! Kree hol mel, Goa’uld." What he says before "Kneel before your masters!" is "Benna! Ya wan, yu duru!"
 * After being kidnapped, Ketering was stripped and bathed by slaves. She struggled at first, but then decided there was no point in exhausting herself resisting a hot, perfumed bath. She was then dressed in the diaphanous gown seen in the episode.
 * Chulak is described, in relation to Rome, as having "the same wide boulevards branched out into narrow little twisting streets with laundry hanging out the windows, ripe smells hanging like miasma in rubbled corners. The same marble columns, in less disrepair, graced the monuments. It looked like the kind of place a man could find a halfway decent bar but no ice."

Miscellaneous Additional Information

 * Samuels was only authorized to mention the Stargate outside of the base only if it was absolutely necessary.
 * The portion of O'Neill's report from the first mission dealing with travel through the Stargate read: "Passage through the Gate proved to be unsettling and detrimental to combat readiness. This effect lasted only a short time, however, and knowledge of what to expect made the return to Earth much easier."
 * The scene where Samuels shows up at O'Neill's house takes place just past midnight.
 * O'Neill gave the fur-clad man his gun to use against the Jaffa, but, instead of firing it, he threw it like a javelin, which was nonetheless effective.

Other notes

 * Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin are credited on the front and inside cover for "story and characters" while Jonathan Glassner and Brad Wright, who actually wrote the episode, are listed only under the acknowledgments.
 * There is a spelling error in the book when, on page 82, it says Carter spent time "poring" over Daniel Jackson’s reports. It should say "pouring."
 * The spelling "Chaapa-ai" and "Chaapa’ai" are both used. When the first spelling is used it's capitalized, but this is not so with the second spelling.
 * Staff weapons are twice referred to as "death sticks."
 * Serpent guards are referred to as "Snakeheads" once.
 * Ribbon devises are twice referred to as "serpent devises."
 * The term "Chulakians" is used. Later two Jaffa are each referred to as "a Chulak."
 * No technician is ever mentioned by name.
 * It is never mentioned that the base containing the Stargate is inside Cheyenne Mountain, although it is mentioned that it's inside a mountain.
 * Although in the episode Daniel only refers to Carter as "Captain Doctor" once, she is frequently referred to in the novel as "the Captain Doctor."
 * O'Neill says the Goa’uld are "way smarter than we are," which Jackson would later twice say of the Tollans in the episode "Pretense."
 * Ferretti wonders how Apophis and Teal’c know English and decides "well, why not English? Who knew what aliens could do?" Daniel Jackson later notes this when the team encounters Teal'c for the first time. This indicates they really are speaking English and that it’s not merely translated for the benefit of the audience.