Okay, last installment. Happy holidays everyone!
THE END
DIALING WITHOUT A DHD
On some worlds, a DHD may be nonfunctional, destroyed, or simply missing. In these cases, the Stargate may still be dialed and activated, although this is difficult and can be dangerous. First, a charge must be delivered into the gate, powering its energy lattice. (See ENERGIZING A STARGATE.)
Once the gate is charged, an address may be manually dialed, by rotating the ring by hand and engaging each of the seven chevrons in order. Normally this requires a minimum of three people — at least two to turn the massive inner ring and one to engage the chevrons. (Other persons or resources may be required in order to reach all the chevrons, as they are often out of reach.) Turning the ring to engage each chevron requires a Strength check with a DC of 20. The entire process of dialing manually also requires a Stargate skill check, with a DC determined by the referee.
Aside from dialing manually, it is possible to create an external interface and dial with it, using a computer or other appropriate hardware. Connecting and using an external interface requires both a Computer Use check and a Stargate check, but these checks only need to be made one time, as long as the connections remain in place. (A power source must still be connected to the Stargate, per the rules in ENERGIZING A STARGATE.)
A DHD is always faster than any form of external dialing. If two Stargates attempt to reach the same destination and only one uses a DHD, the DHD will always beat the other dialer unless there are extenuating circumstances. Additionally, a DHD is capable of defeating an external interface. If a properly programmed DHD is within range of a gate with an external interface wired up, the DHD can override commands given by the interface. (It is possible for an interface to override a DHD, but it must be specifically programmed to do so.)
If a DHD has no power but is otherwise whole, an Electronics check can be made to repower it for a single dialing. This is a much trickier procedure than manually energizing the Stargate, as the DHD is a much more sensitive device. The DC is typically higher than the check for energizing the gate. However, this method has the advantage of requiring only a single check. Once the DHD is powered, it takes over energizing the gate, and dialing can proceed as normal. It is not recommended to simply leave an external power supply permanently connected to the DHD, due to the risk of damage.
Power is always required to establish an outgoing wormhole, but any functional Stargate can receive a wormhole whether it has a power supply or not. The dialing gate supplies power to both. (See BLOCKING A STARGATE for rules on whether a receiving gate counts as “functional”.)
Other side effects are possible when dialing without a DHD, due to the lack of feedback between the two devices. (In order to get a lock, it is possible to ignore or circumvent the majority of the 400+ feedback signals typically exchanged between gate and DHD. The effectiveness or safety of this sort of circumvention can vary widely.)
Known side effects of this circumvention include being expelled from the receiving gate at high speed, while frost forms on the traveler’s skin. This effect is a mistranslation of heat into increased momentum. Other mistranslations may be possible, such as increased heat accompanied by the draining of batteries or power sources. Mistranslation may also occur due to a faulty interface, from inaccurate drift corrections, or from too much power being applied to the wormhole.
Also, without the DHD to control the path of the wormhole, it may pass near or through a gravitational source or solid body. This can adversely affect both the body and the wormhole. (An unadjusted Stargate will tend to cause minor seismic effects when dialing, due to the uncorrected wormhole passing through the planet’s mass.)
Many other (potentially severe) side effects are possible.
Some civilizations possess handheld technology which can energize a Stargate and automatically dial it. The Goa’uld, the Asgard, and the Nox have all been observed to use technology of this kind. The Asgard are capable of dialing between galaxies with this technology, but otherwise the capabilities of the Asgard and the Nox are unknown.
STELLAR DRIFT CORRECTIONS WITHOUT A DHD
Since the time the Stargate network was put in place, the movement of the galaxy, its component star systems, and individual planets have rendered the coordinate system slightly inaccurate. A DHD corrects for this stellar drift, so that any valid address can be dialed accurately.
Once the DHD has compensated for the drift, the Stargate is automatically activated and the data transferred to another gate, which calculates its own updates and passes it on again until all of the gates are up to date. (This protocol does not use the “multiple dialing” technique. Only one gate is dialed at a time.) The total time for a given update to distribute through the entire Stargate network is an average of two hundred years.
Without using a DHD, directly dialing a valid address can only work if the address is within a few hundred light-years of the dialer (possibly up to a thousand light-years in some cases). Beyond that distance, the inaccuracy posed by stellar drift renders most addresses invalid, so that dialing them does nothing.
It is possible to compensate for stellar drift before dialing, but this requires another Stargate skill check. Compensation involves reprogramming each glyph (or certain pairs) to point to the correct location in space. Compensation, when required, must be performed before each dial.)
ENERGIZING A STARGATE
In cases where no DHD is present, it may be necessary to energize the Stargate manually. The simplest way of doing this involves using an electrical current, from either a man-made or a natural source (such as lightning). Other energy sources can be used, but this is more difficult.
Charging a Stargate requires an Electronics check, with a DC determined by the referee. (The check must be repeated every time a non-continuous source is used to power the gate. If a continuous source of power is connected, the check only needs to be made the first time.)
The inner ring can only unlock and rotate freely when the Stargate has achieved a certain threshold of energy storage. Until this time, the ring cannot be rotated. This is a safety measure. If the Stargate were activated without enough energy, the wormhole would be unstable, with a considerable risk of losing the traveler’s pattern.
Note that a Stargate tends to hold enough power to unlock the inner ring and establish one wormhole even after being disconnected from its power source. (However, a destination Stargate does not retain a charge after merely receiving an incoming wormhole from an originating Stargate.)
Because the Stargate contains the equivalent of a large superconductor, very little hardware is required to charge it. A simple coil of wire wrapped around the gate will induce a current into the gate, when a current flows through the coil. The coil can be powered by any electrical source, such as a truck alternator, a diesel generator, a high-voltage transmission line, or even a lightning rod. The Stargate’s crystal lattice will retain this energy.
It should be noted that this sort of charging is not perfectly efficient. The Stargate absorbs energy more efficiently when it is charged all at once. Charging over time will result in the “bleed” of energy, generally as heat. Smaller power sources which charge the gate slowly will also charge far less efficiently. A naquadah generator or a lightning bolt tend to have almost no loss. AC line power has a loss of approximately 10%. Smaller sources can range up to 50% inefficiency. The combination of heat build-up and increased charging time may result in the source (or the coils) failing before the gate is charged.
It is possible to energize a Stargate using other, non-electrical energy sources, but it is difficult to gauge the power or time requirements, or the efficiency, for charging with other sources.
Example:
A Goa’uld staff weapon does not normally deliver enough energy to power a Stargate. However, if its naquadah power cell is rigged to be drained all at once, in combination with another modest power source (such as a diesel generator), it can open a wormhole for a brief duration. Two staff weapons rigged this way can open a wormhole briefly without the use of another power source. The power cells are useless afterward, of course. (The gate must be used quickly when supplied with limited power. See ENTERING A STARGATE for the hazards of running out of power.)
Example:
The core from a Goa'uld naquadah bomb will establish a secure connection for up to the 38-minute limit. (See DURATION OF A WORMHOLE.) It will deplete the bomb's power source. If the bomb happens to be armed at the time, this will disarm it. (A Demolitions check may be required to safely open the bomb, but it is made with a bonus of +4.)
Finally:
Energy can travel either direction through a wormhole (see TRANSIT). For this reason, an energy source from the destination of an open wormhole can induce power into the originating Stargate on the other end of the wormhole. A sufficiently powerful energy source, such as strong ambient radiation, can maintain the wormhole without help from the originating gate. (The power requirements for maintaining a wormhole are far less than the requirements for establishing one. See DURATION OF A WORMHOLE.)
WARNINGS ON ENERGIZING A STARGATE
Mishandling of the Stargate’s energy flow is dangerous. This rarely occurs from misuse of the Stargate itself, but could easily occur from misuse of a DHD or external interface. For example, it is known that removing a DHD's master control crystal and then dialing will result in random signals and currents being sent throughout the system. A critical failure on a Stargate check when using a DHD may constitute mishandling.
This sort of abuse can cause permanent damage to the DHD and may result in the self-discharge of the Stargate’s entire energy store, an event which can easily kill anyone standing nearby. (There is an extremely minor chance that the Stargate itself could be damaged.)
The internal capacitance of the Stargate is designed to store a staggering amount of power, but it its capacity is not infinite. If it is exceeded, the naquadah may become saturated and explode with a tremendous blast. Such a blast has been estimated to deliver 2000 to 3000 megatons, enough to wipe out all life on the planet.
The massively high energy requirements to destroy a stargate are not easily met. In one instance, a constant radiation beam was fired into an outgoing Stargate, causing the radiation to build up in the destination gate’s lattice. Special equipment used in conjunction with the radiation beam successfully overrode the Stargate’s safeguards, allowing the wormhole to remain active over the 38-minute maximum. Once the capacitance was exceeded (after a period of several days), the gate exploded.
In a simpler application (in theory), it should be possible to fire a similar radiation beam into an incoming wormhole. Since radiation can travel either direction, the beam would travel backward through the wormhole. A sufficiently powerful beam would serve as an energy source for the wormhole. The originating Stargate would not be able to disengage the wormhole and the 38-minute limit would not apply, since the energy would be supplied from the other end. Meanwhile, the radiation would continue to build up in the outgoing Stargate until it exploded.
TRANSPORTATION RINGS
These devices originated with the race known as the Ancients, just as the Stargates did. Unlike the Stargates, the technology for building new transportation rings is still in wide use. The Goa’uld and many other races have built new rings and integrated them aboard their ships.
Transportation rings function similarly to a Stargate. The transmitter breaks down anything surrounded by the rings into subatomic particles and sends them out in the form of a stream of matter. Upon reaching their target, the receiver then reintegrates the particles into solid matter again.
Transportation rings have panel-mounted controls. (With an Electronics check, it is possible to hot-wire these controls.) They also have an access panel built into the perimeter, with controls in the form of elongated crystals, and with glowing indicators which indicate when a receiver is in range (among other things). It is worth noting that unlike a Stargate, a ring transporter is dependent on its controls even when receiving transmissions. If the controls are damaged, it may not be able to send OR receive transmissions.
Transportation rings are constructed from naquadah and appear in the form of a platform with retractable emitters built into the perimeter. The platform is about six feet in diameter. A ring transporter weighs about 13 tons.
The platform can be mounted on either the floor or ceiling (if sufficiently reinforced). When the transporter is activated, the emitter materializes a set of five thick rings which rise up, evenly spaced, to a total height of eight feet, surrounding whatever is on the platform. If the platform is mounted on the ceiling, the rings drop from the emitter to surround whatever is on the floor below, to a height of eight feet. This is true even if the ceiling is more than eight feet high. If other heights are required, such as with a taller target or a shorter ceiling, the ring platform must be programmed accordingly.
The act of either dematerialization or reintegration requires one full round. The time for transport varies with the distance, but is typically measured in seconds.
The rings themselves are not material. They are projections of force which perform multiple functions. The act of moving up or down into position allows the rings to scan the column of space contained within them. Once the rings are in position, they also act as a “lens” for the dematerializing energies projected by the ring platform.
The rings are invulnerable to normal forces. Overwhelming forces can knock them out of position (which causes them to vanish) or can destroy them outright, but the platform can always generate new rings as long as it is not damaged. If either platform is destroyed while transportation is occurring, any rings which have manifested will immediately disappear. The transported objects will generally be lost, although the referee may allow a saving throw.
The rings only scan and dematerialize matter that is within their radius and height. There are no safety protocols preventing partial transmissions; thus, if an object is lying only partway on the ring platform, the rings are likely to dematerialize the part that is on the platform and leave the rest behind. (Kurt Russell: “Give my regards to King Tut…”)
There are no known limits on the amount of weight or mass a transporter can send, as long as it fits within the rings’ radius and height. A ring transporter that is underwater will dematerialize and transmit the entire volume of water within its radius. (Upon reintegration, the uncontained water will swamp the entire area around the receiving platform, of course.)
Once the target has been dematerialized, the rings disappear. (They appear to sink, which makes it look as if they are retracting into the platform.) The platform then projects a matter-stream to the receiver (usually another ring platform).
At the receiver, the rings appear to rise (or drop) from the platform, moving into position in the same manner as before, scanning the available space to prepare for reintegration. Once they are in place, the platform’s projector rematerializes the transported material within the space defined by the rings. If the rings scan other items in the same location, the transported material will be shifted to one side or the other, or will materialize on top of the other items. The rings will not rematerialize one object inside another. If not enough space exists to rematerialize safely, the transmitter will not dematerialize the material in the first place.
The matter-stream generated by a ring transporter can go directly through solid objects, so that a target can be “beamed” into a receiving platform inside a building, for example. (The rebel Tok’ra often use a pair of platforms to transfer between the surface and an underground base without using an entrance.) If two platforms are in use, it is possible to send objects in both directions at the same time.
If no receiver is present on the other end, it is possible to use a single platform as both transmitter and receiver. In this case, the rings do not disappear after dematerialization. Instead, the rings are physically transferred along the matter-stream to the arrival point. When they arrive, they focus the reintegrating energies of the sending platform to rematerialize the target. After rematerialization is complete, the rings disappear. (A ring transporter can retrieve objects in the same way, sending rings all the way to the target point for dematerialization, then bringing them back to the platform.) It is not possible to transport objects simultaneously in two directions with only one transporter.
A single ring transporter used as a transceiver has considerable range. For example, it can send objects to the surface from an orbiting ship, or retrieve them. However, it does not have as great a range as a pair of transporters working in tandem. A single transporter is also unable to beam a target through solid objects. Usually a transporter used this way requires direct line-of-sight with the target point. However, it is sometimes able to crash the rings through intervening material, if it is thin enough. If the surface is not thin or weak, the rings will materialize on top of it instead of crashing through. (The ability to dematerialize an object inside a ship and send it outside the ship seems like an exception, but this is because the matter-stream mechanism is removed from the platform and built into the outside of the ship.)
The rings are much simpler than a Stargate in many ways. They do not send the matter-stream through subspace, which means that both range and travel speed are limited. (The maximum range of transporters working in tandem is measured in millions of miles.) This also means that it is possible to block the matter-stream under certain conditions.
In addition, the rings do not use a coordinate system. A ring transporter will generally send its target to the nearest set of receiving rings within range. Alternately, a ring transporter can be set to send the target to a designated set of rings, even if they are not the nearest.
Exceptions:
It is possible to intercept a target in mid-transport, by physically interposing a ring platform (usually mounted aboard a ship) into the matter-stream while a target is being transferred. It does not matter whether the target is being transferred between two ring platforms or is being handled by a transceiver platform. However, the intercepting platform must be functional, must be set as a receiver (requiring a Stargate check, DC 10), and must be physically aligned so that the matter-stream strikes it at the correct angle for receiving.
An intercepting platform aboard a ship cannot intercept a ring transmission if the ship is cloaked. The matter-stream will bend around the cloak.
It is possible to jam the frequencies used by ring transporters and other devices. Since ring transporters and Stargates are based on the same technology, it is possible that this sort of jamming will also work on a Stargate. This has not been confirmed.
THE END
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The rules in my document would say that he lived.
