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| − | [[File:Greatattack.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A |
+ | [[File:Greatattack.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A depicted Culling from [[Great Attack|Athosian history]]]] |
| − | {{quote|It happens again and again. The Wraith allow our kind to grow in numbers, and when that number reaches a certain point they return to cull their human herd.|[[Teyla Emmagan]]}} |
+ | {{quote|It happens again and again. The Wraith allow our kind to grow in numbers, and when that number reaches a certain point they return to cull their human herd.|[[Teyla Emmagan]]|Rising}} |
| − | '''Culling''' is |
+ | A '''Culling''' is an event in the [[Pegasus]] [[galaxy]] when the [[Wraith]] attack the human population of a planet and take portions of the inhabitants to feed upon. |
==Overview== |
==Overview== |
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| + | Cullings occur in a variety of ways and can range greatly in severity. During the periods of extended hibernation that occur in Wraith society, the scope of cullings is generally small. These cullings may only consist of a handful of [[Wraith Dart]]s that arrive via [[Stargate]]. During such events, only a handful of people are generally taken and the damage to a planet's infrastructure is minimal. These cullings largely only serve to remind the [[Human]] populations of the Pegasus galaxy of the persistent Wraith presence, and to instill fear among them. {{Cite|SGA|Rising|The Pegasus Project|Underground}} |
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| − | Their strategy in a culling includes the arrival of Wraith [[Hive Ship]]s over the planets. The Wraith would later send [[Wraith Dart|darts]] to the surface and "scoop" up anybody they can find until only a handful of people are left. Then legions of [[Wraith Warriors]] are sent down to find any large number of humans hiding in the shadows often feeding on them as they go. To prevent the inhabitants from escaping the planet by [[Stargate]], the Wraith would dial another Stargate to the planet. Apparently after a certain amount of time, the Wraith stop dialing in, presumably as by that point there's pretty much no one left to use it. {{Cite|atl|Letters from Pegasus}} |
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| + | [[File:WraithFleet11.jpg|thumb|left|An orbiting [[Wraith fleet]] begins a culling.]] |
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| − | The Wraith purposefully leave some of the planet's population alive so they can repopulate in time for the next culling. |
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| + | Between periods of hibernation, however, Cullings may be much more severe. During full-scale cullings, [[Hive ship]]s and [[Wraith cruiser|cruisers]] are utilized - arriving in orbit and deploying waves of darts to the planet below. These cullings can devastate entire civilizations in terms of the number of people taken and the sheer destruction caused by weapons fire from the atmosphere. {{Cite|atl|Letters from Pegasus|The Hive}} Ground forces are usually also deployed in order to locate any who may be hiding. {{cite|SGA|Outsiders}} In some instances, the Wraith dial in to the planet's [[Stargate]] in order to prevent escape. When the culling is over, these forces then return to the Hive Ships, where the captured humans are placed in cocoons to preserve them for later feedings. However, despite the severity of the cullings, the Wraith always leave behind survivors that will be able to repopulate the planet, and therefore be able to replenish the Wraith's food supply. |
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| + | Once the Wraith have culled a sufficient number of worlds as to adequately replenish their society, they enter a period of hibernation that can last up to 50 years. During this time, [[Hive ship]]s land on planets, individual Wraith enter [[hibernation pod]]s, and only a handful of 'caretakers' are left behind to maintain the society. {{cite|SGA|Rising}} |
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| − | If a planet's technology becomes advanced enough to potentially threaten the [[Wraith domain|Wraith’s dominance]] over the galaxy then that planet will immediately be culled down to as few remaining as can escape the wraith, then the planet will be bombarded with [[Wraith energy weapon]]s from orbit, destroying all traces of the civilization and ensuring none of them survive. Some worlds have hidden their advancements from the Wraith in order to prevent this, most notably the [[Genii]]. According to [[Dr.]] [[Elizabeth Weir]], there's more advanced societies out there then anyone realizes. {{cite|ATL|The Siege, Part 2|Ghost in the Machine}} |
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| + | ===Cultural Effects=== |
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| − | ==Instances of Cullings== |
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| + | [[File:Sateda01.jpg|thumb|right|The ruined skyline of [[Sateda]].]] |
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| − | In [[2005]], [[Major]] [[John Sheppard]] and [[Teyla Emmagan]] witnessed a culling from a [[cloak]]ed [[Puddle Jumper]], where there was nothing they could do except watch. The two were able to rescue a small group of survivors and eventually were able to dial out once the Stargate shut down and the Wraith apparently stopped dialing in. Teyla, who had apparently seen many cullings before, said she'd never seen a culling so bad or one that had taken as many people. {{Cite|atl|Letters from Pegasus}} |
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| + | Races including the [[Satedan]]s, [[Athosian]]s, and countless others have faced almost complete destruction from such events. Because of the unpredictable nature of such cullings, and the limited technological advancement of most Pegasus-galaxy cultures, little can usually be done to prepare for a culling. This has caused several societies to take what few precautions they can. To this end, the [[Hoffan]]s constructed massive archives hidden throughout their planet in order to ensure that [[Hoffan]] history and knowledge wouldn't be lost for the remaining survivors left to rebuild. {{cite|SGA|Poisoning the Well}} |
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| + | The [[Genii]] built entire subterranean cities in order to advance technologically while not attracting the attention of the wraith. This has enabled them to make such advances as projectile and atomic weaponry, making them among the few societies in the Pegasus galaxy capable of 'effectively' resisting the Wraith. {{cite|SGA|Underground|The Return, Part 1}} The [[Traveler]]s travel the galaxy in [[Traveler generational ship|generational ships]] in order to evade being culled. {{cite|SGA|Travelers}} Many other races simply hide in order to avoid attack. {{cite|SGA|Travelers|The Lost Tribe|Ghost in the Machine}} |
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| − | In 2009, the [[Wraith underling]] betrayed [[Todd]], seizing the [[ZPM powered Hive Ship]], and tried to use it to cull [[Earth]]. During the event, [[Colonel]] [[Samantha Carter]] said that their usual procedure is to first scan the surface for military installations, then target them with weapons fired from orbit, then continue with the power grid to send the population into a panic, and finally to launch the Darts to cull the population. During this attempted culling, Earth launched everything they had at the improved hive ship (the only one that knew of Earth's location), including [[Atlantis]], but the attack failed. Atlantis was nearly destroyed and with it gone, the Wraith would have been able to cull Earth unopposed, but the ZPM powered hive ship was destroyed from the inside with a [[nuclear warhead]] planted onboard by [[Lt. Colonel]] [[John Sheppard]]. He and his team were able to use the hive ship's Stargate to escape to the Milky Way [[P4X-650|Alpha Site]] while the bomb destroyed the hive ship. Afterwards, Atlantis landed near the [[Golden Gate Bridge]], [[cloak]]ed to maintain its secrecy. {{cite|ATL|Enemy at the Gate}} |
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| + | The [[Atlantis expedition]] has worked towards creating a 'treatment' that would allow Wraith to receive nourishment from 'real food', thus eliminating the need to feed on humans and cull planets. However, initial tests proved unsuccessful. Furthermore, the act of culling and feeding has become such a core part of Wraith society that receiving sustenance from any other method would be a radical change that many Wraith would be wary of. {{cite|SGA|Infection|The Queen}} |
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[[Category:Activities]] |
[[Category:Activities]] |
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Revision as of 01:51, 4 April 2018
A depicted Culling from Athosian history
- "It happens again and again. The Wraith allow our kind to grow in numbers, and when that number reaches a certain point they return to cull their human herd."
- ―Teyla Emmagan[src]
A Culling is an event in the Pegasus galaxy when the Wraith attack the human population of a planet and take portions of the inhabitants to feed upon.
Overview
Cullings occur in a variety of ways and can range greatly in severity. During the periods of extended hibernation that occur in Wraith society, the scope of cullings is generally small. These cullings may only consist of a handful of Wraith Darts that arrive via Stargate. During such events, only a handful of people are generally taken and the damage to a planet's infrastructure is minimal. These cullings largely only serve to remind the Human populations of the Pegasus galaxy of the persistent Wraith presence, and to instill fear among them. (SGA: "Rising", "The Pegasus Project", "Underground")
An orbiting Wraith fleet begins a culling.
Between periods of hibernation, however, Cullings may be much more severe. During full-scale cullings, Hive ships and cruisers are utilized - arriving in orbit and deploying waves of darts to the planet below. These cullings can devastate entire civilizations in terms of the number of people taken and the sheer destruction caused by weapons fire from the atmosphere. (SGA: "Letters from Pegasus", "The Hive") Ground forces are usually also deployed in order to locate any who may be hiding. (SGA: "Outsiders") In some instances, the Wraith dial in to the planet's Stargate in order to prevent escape. When the culling is over, these forces then return to the Hive Ships, where the captured humans are placed in cocoons to preserve them for later feedings. However, despite the severity of the cullings, the Wraith always leave behind survivors that will be able to repopulate the planet, and therefore be able to replenish the Wraith's food supply.
Once the Wraith have culled a sufficient number of worlds as to adequately replenish their society, they enter a period of hibernation that can last up to 50 years. During this time, Hive ships land on planets, individual Wraith enter hibernation pods, and only a handful of 'caretakers' are left behind to maintain the society. (SGA: "Rising")
Cultural Effects
The ruined skyline of Sateda.
Races including the Satedans, Athosians, and countless others have faced almost complete destruction from such events. Because of the unpredictable nature of such cullings, and the limited technological advancement of most Pegasus-galaxy cultures, little can usually be done to prepare for a culling. This has caused several societies to take what few precautions they can. To this end, the Hoffans constructed massive archives hidden throughout their planet in order to ensure that Hoffan history and knowledge wouldn't be lost for the remaining survivors left to rebuild. (SGA: "Poisoning the Well")
The Genii built entire subterranean cities in order to advance technologically while not attracting the attention of the wraith. This has enabled them to make such advances as projectile and atomic weaponry, making them among the few societies in the Pegasus galaxy capable of 'effectively' resisting the Wraith. (SGA: "Underground", "The Return, Part 1") The Travelers travel the galaxy in generational ships in order to evade being culled. (SGA: "Travelers") Many other races simply hide in order to avoid attack. (SGA: "Travelers", "The Lost Tribe", "Ghost in the Machine")
The Atlantis expedition has worked towards creating a 'treatment' that would allow Wraith to receive nourishment from 'real food', thus eliminating the need to feed on humans and cull planets. However, initial tests proved unsuccessful. Furthermore, the act of culling and feeding has become such a core part of Wraith society that receiving sustenance from any other method would be a radical change that many Wraith would be wary of. (SGA: "Infection", "The Queen")