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| + | [[File:Great attack.jpg|thumb|right|250px|A depicted Culling from [[Great Attack|Athosian history]]]] |
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| + | {{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}} |
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| + | ==Overview== |
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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. [[John Sheppard]] and [[Teyla Emmagan]] witnessed a culling from a cloaked [[Puddle Jumper|Jumper]], where there was nothing they could do except watch. {{Cite|atl|Letters from Pegasus}} |
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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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| + | [[File:Wraith Fleet 11.jpg|thumb|left|An orbiting [[Wraith fleet]] begins a culling.]] |
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| − | The wraith purposefully leave some of the planets 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 planets technology becomes advanced enough to potentially threaten the 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]]. |
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| + | ===Cultural Effects=== |
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| − | Part of the Wraith's standard procedure is to block a planet's Stargate in order to prevent escape, usually by dialing in from another planet, but when they tried to cull Earth, they simply brought a Pegasus Stargate into orbit which overrode Earth's Gate. |
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| + | [[File:Sateda01.jpg|thumb|right|The ruined skyline of [[Sateda]].]] |
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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 tried to cull Earth using the [[ZPM powered Hive Ship]]. During the event, Colonel [[Samantha Carter]] said that their usual M.O. 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 by John Sheppard's nuclear weapon, that he snuck in by flying an F-302 carrying it in through the Dart Bay - it would have been useles on the outside. 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 nuke destroyed the hive ship. Destroying the hive ship prevented the culling and the people of Earth were unaware of how close they came to facing the horror of a culling by the Wraith. |
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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]] |
Revision as of 13:34, 5 October 2020
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")