Oma Desala

Oma Desala at Kheb

Oma in Daniel's death encounters

Summary

Oma Desala is an Ascended Being who met Daniel Jackson on the planet Kheb (3.20 "Maternal Instinct") and later helped him to ascend when his body died of naquadria radiation poisoning (5.21 "Meridian"). She continued to watch over Daniel after she helped him retake human form (7.01 "Fallen Part 1"), and offered him ascension for a second time after he was killed by Replicator Carter (7.17 "Reckoning Part 2", 8.18 "Threads").

Character Biography

Season Three

Oma Desala, whose name means Mother Nature, built a temple on the planet Kheb and wrote on its walls the instructions on how to reach a higher plane of existence as an Ascended Being. She was the first Ascended Being which SG-1 met. Oma's attention was drawn to Daniel Jackson as he searched for Sha're's infant son. Before Sha're died, she asked that Daniel find the boy and keep him safe. Since the infant was the human offspring of two Goa'uld hosts, he inherited the genetic knowledge of the Goa'uld and was hunted by other Goa'uld who saw him as a threat to their positions of power.

Apophis, the father of the boy, searched for the baby on Chulak and killed indiscrimately many, many Jaffa. The fight was fierce and Master Bra'tac saw many of his Rebel Jaffa apprentices killed. He was tired of fighting and was prepared to die, feeling the battle was meant for younger warriors. Bra'tac repeated a story about Kheb which his father had told him: The planet Kheb was a mythical place, said to be where Jaffa could go to continue their journey once they could no longer carry symbiotes. The Ascended Beings were almost as gods to them because ascension was considered a great spiritual achievement.

While searching for the infant on Kheb, Daniel and Bra'tac encountered a monk in the temple. After discussing the conditions on continuing his journey, that he'd have to remove his symbiote, Bra'tac left the temple renewed, knowing that he had an exciting journey ahead of him. This hope gave him strength to continue the battle against the false gods.

Daniel stayed in the temple with the monk and it was there that Daniel opened his mind to the powers of the ascended. He trusted that the monk was being truthful with him and that he was safe there. Through the monk's words and demonstrations and Daniel's own desire to be given the powers of the ascended to protect the boy, Oma Desala recognized the purity of Daniel's soul. Daniel finally realized that he was not the one who had the powers, but that she did. She appeared to him in the form of a young woman, dressed in all white. Oma was radiant and shown with a bright light. She had the power to manipulate the weather (using lightning bolts to kill Apophis' hunting parties) and other forms of nature, such as fire. She was also able to levitate solid objects, like Jack's weapon. Even though she spoke no words, she and Daniel seemed to have communicated clearly. He desired above all that the boy remain safe and he realized that he was not the one who could adequately protect him, but that Oma demonstrated that she was. Daniel relinquished the baby's care to Oma and she saw in him the deep sadness and grief of letting the baby go—one of the last ties that he held with his beloved Sha're. (3.20 "Maternal Instinct")

Seasons Four and Five

Oma took the baby through the Stargate and it wasn't until a year later that Daniel saw him again. The boy, whose growth was accelerated through nanotechnology, contacted Kasuf, Sha're's father, on the planet Abydos, by calling out Sha're's name in the winds. Kasuf contacted SG-1 and upon their arrival to the spot where Kasuf had heard the wind speak, the wind called for Daniel. As soon as Daniel answered, Shifu, whose name means light, appeared in a whirlwind and was taken back to the SGC so that they could talk about Sha're and the Goa'uld genetic knowledge. Daniel found out that Oma had helped Shifu forget the knowledge, burying the memories deep inside his subconscious. The knowledge was evil, according to Teal'c and Shifu both. Shifu said that Oma had taught him that the evil in his subconscious was too great to resist and that the only way to win was to deny the battle—don't access the knowledge. In order for Daniel to truly understand the evil nature of the memories, Oma and Shifu gave him a dream in which he had the knowledge and it corrupted him. Daniel learned that there had to be another way to defeat the Goa'uld, since using the knowledge would only lead to his and many others' destruction. Shifu said that Daniel had to choose a new path and then he returned to ascended form and rejoined Oma. (4.17 "Absolute Power")

Not long after their encounter with Shifu, SG-1 met another Ascended Being named Orlin. He traveled through the Stargate back to Earth, having fallen in love with Carter at first sight. Orlin had been banished on the planet Velona because, as an Ascended Being, he had broken the most sacred rule of all: do not accelerate the natural ascension process of those beneath. He had given the people of Velona the knowledge to build a powerful weapon to defend themselves against the Goa'uld and once successful, these very same people decided to use the weapon on neighboring worlds for conquest. The collective of Ascended Beings to which Orlin belonged, The Others, destroyed Velona and banished him there as punishment for his interference. After four hundred years alone on the planet, Orlin realized how very important that rule was. Carter asked him if he knew Oma, and he said that he had never heard of her. When Carter said that Oma helped people to ascend, he assumed that Oma was an outcast. Orlin retook human form and prevented the SGC from powering up the weapon which he thought that he had disabled long ago. He was fatally shot in his effort to disengage the weapon from the power source the SGC had replaced. When The Others saw his sacrifice, they gave him a second chance and he was allowed to ascended once again to destroy the weapon for good, and then to rejoin the collective. (5.03 "Ascension")

Near the end of the fifth year of SG-1's existence, Daniel was exposed to a lethal dose of naquadria radiation on Jonas Quinn's homeworld, Kelowna. His actions saved millions of lives. He performed this heroic act with no thought of himself. This was the quality which attracted Oma to Daniel from the start. She must have admired him greatly because she offered him ascension, teaching him that his life was not a failure and that he deserved enlightenment because he was a good man. Daniel's body died, but Oma helped him ascend by transforming it and his spirit into an energy form. Daniel became an Ascended Being and followed Oma into the higher plane to continue his journey and learn from her. (5.21 "Meridian")

Seasons Six and Seven

Daniel, like Oma, worked his way around the rules as an Ascended Being. He walked a very fine line as one of Oma's followers who believed it was their duty to help people to ascend. For some unknown reason, The Others did not stop Oma from what she was doing although it clearly broke their rules of non-interference. Daniel said that even his talking with his friends was breaking the rules, but he couldn't stand by and watch when he had the power to help. Daniel passed on knowledge to his friends to help Jack escape from Ba'al's fortress, as well as comfort Jack with hope of an escape (6.06 "Abyss"). He kept Teal'c and Bra'tac alive by keeping Teal'c grounded as he and Bra'tac shared one symbiote to maintain themselves until a rescue arrived (6.19 "Changeling"), and he told the Abydonians and the SGC about Anubis's search for the Eye of Ra on Abydos (6.22 "Full Circle").

Daniel decided to cross the fine line he was walking and help SG-1 to protect Abydos by helping them search for the Eye of Ra. Their search led to Daniel's discovery of a tablet which spoke of the Ancients and a Lost City with powerful weapons. Daniel found out that The Others were the Ancients who had learned how to ascend. He recognized the importance of getting the tablet off of Abydos and bought time for SG-1 to make their escape, but they could only be given clear passage to the Stargate by Anubis by trading the Eye of Ra. (6.22 "Full Circle")

While buying time for SG-1 to get off of Abydos and to protect Abydos itself from the new superweapon, Daniel pushed the boundaries by directly confronting Anubis and using his powers as an Ascended Being to attempt to destroy Anubis's existence. As soon as he sent the destructive energy bolts toward Anubis, who recognized that he was powerless against them and cowered, Daniel was pulled out with detrimental force. He had told Jack that Oma would probably pull him out if The Others sensed his interference. After Daniel was pulled out of the fight, Anubis destroyed Abydos with his new superweapon, but Oma ascended the entire population. Skaara, who was now an Ascended Being, said that he had not seen Daniel after Anubis destroyed Abydos. Because of this, SG-1 assumed that Daniel had been destroyed by The Others. (6.22 "Full Circle")

Everyone believed that when they found Daniel in human form on Vis Uban that Oma had sent him there. They also assumed that he had been kicked out and that Oma, by the dictate of The Others, buried his memories of his life before and during ascension as punishment for his interference. However, they also believed that because Daniel's memories were returning, that Oma had bent the rules so that he could continue his journey as before. (7.01 "Fallen Part 1")

Daniel's memories gradually returned to him, but he had a feeling deep inside that he was sent back to human form because he had done something wrong (7.01 "Fallen Part 1"). He remembered early on, however, one instance during his ascension which helped Bra'tac and Rya'c escape captors (7.04 "Orpheus"). Because he recalled an instance of his time ascended, he theorized that Oma buried his memories deep into his subconscious just as she did with Shifu's Goa'uld genetic memory (7.15 "Chimera").

Season Eight

Daniel didn't hear from Oma again until after he was captured by Replicator Carter who was in search of Daniel's ascended knowledge. Replicator Carter had sophisticated mind probing technology and entered Daniel's mind to search for Ancient knowledge she theorized he had buried deep in his subconscious based on her memories she received from Samantha Carter in her creation. In order to trick him to open his mind to the possibility that his ascended memories were buried and not erased, Replicator Carter impersonated Oma Desala in Daniel's mind. Daniel talked with this version of Oma, but soon realized that it was Replicator Carter impersonating her. By that time, however, it was too late. Replicator Carter had discovered that Daniel's subconscious mind not only included memories of his time ascended, but also all of the Ancients' knowledge (similar to that found in a Repository of Knowledge). She forced Daniel's memory of his confrontation with Anubis over Abydos on him and told him that it was Oma who had pulled him away. Feeling that Daniel knew how to kill Anubis, and more, she kept him to probe his mind further. (8.16 "Reckoning Part 1", 8.17 "Reckoning Part 2")

While Relicator Carter began downloading the vast amount of Ancient knowledge stored in Daniel's mind, she sent her Replicator brethren (the first generation bug-like Replicators) to attack the SGC and the temple on the planet Dakara where an Ancient weapon was kept which could destroy her. She discovered this weapon in Daniel's mind. While she was busy in Daniel's mind, he used the Ancient knowledge she was retrieving to get into her mind and stop the Replicators in their tracks. This freezing of the Replicators gave Jacob Carter/Selmak and Carter the time they needed to calibrate the weapon on Dakara to emit an energy wave to destroy the Replicators. Replicator Carter pulled Daniel out of the mind probe and then killed him, and then the energy wave killed her and all of her brethren. (8.17 "Reckoning Part 2")

Oma Desala took Daniel from a final death and placed him into a semi-ascended plane so that he could have a second chance to decide if he wanted to ascend again. Daniel felt that he didn't have enough information about ascension to make an informed choice, so Oma gave him time to think about it and ask questions. Finally, with the help of Oma and, ironically, Anubis himself, Daniel found out some of the things that happened to him during his first ascension. As it turns out, Oma, Anubis, and Daniel were locked into a very strange relationship. Anubis had discovered some of the Ancients' research on ascension and went to Kheb where he tricked Oma into ascending him. When she discovered her mistake, she tried to undo it, but couldn't. The Others stepped in and sent Anubis to a lower plane of ascension and warned him that he could only do things that a "normal" Goa'uld would do. The Others forbade Oma from destroying Anubis and she was forced to watch him wreak havoc across the galaxy. (8.18 "Threads")

Oma told Daniel that she pulled him out of the confrontation with Anubis over Abydos because she feared that The Others would do something worse to him. When Daniel, as an Ascended Being, found out that it was Oma who helped Anubis ascend, he said that it was wrong for The Others to continue doing nothing and allow Anubis free-reign just to punish her. Because he was forbidden to use his powers as an Ascended Being to help humanity, Daniel chose to return to human form. The Others told Oma to erase Daniel's memories and place him on a planet other than Earth. Oma disobeyed the rules once more and merely buried his memories and sent him to Vis Uban. Most probably, she led the SGC to that planet in order to find him there and take him home. (7.01 "Fallen Part 1", 8.18 "Threads")

Daniel's time in this second ascension revealed more information about The Others. They were represented as customers being served by their waitress, Oma, in a roadside diner. Anubis entered the plane as a friendly businessman named Jim. Daniel discovered Jim's true identity and that Anubis was poised to push the button on the weapon on Dakara to end all life in the galaxy so that he could recreate it in his "grand design". Daniel pleaded with The Others, some, but not all, of whom were Ancients, to stop punishing Oma and stop Anubis from killing everyone in the Milky Way Galaxy. They ignored his empassioned plea, but Oma was moved by it. Even though she had tried to convince Daniel that life in the Milky Way Galaxy was small and insignificant, she couldn't allow Anubis to destroy it. She had seen humanity's potential in Daniel (6.06 "Abyss"), and desired to save as many as she could through offering ascension, even though it meant breaking the rules. Oma made her choice, saying that it was something she should have done a long time ago: she engaged Anubis in an eternal struggle to prevent him from taking any more actions against the corporeal plane. Her sacrifice drew the attention of The Others and Daniel was left standing along among them. He was returned to human form and deposited naked in Jack's office at the SGC after some mysterious power had miraculously stopped the SGC's self-destruct and confused the Kull Warriors on Dakara (they were then easily overcome by the Rebel Jaffa). Who actually did those things to save life in the corporeal plane remains a mystery. (8.18 "Threads")

Oma's eternal struggle with Anubis in the ascended plane means that she can no longer break the rules of the ascended by helping lowers, like Daniel, to ascend.

Episodes

• 3.20 "Maternal Instinct"
• 4.17 "Absolute Power"
• 5.03 "Ascension"
• 5.21 "Meridian"
• 6.06 "Abyss"
• 7.01 "Fallen Part 1"
• 7.04 "Orpheus"
• 7.15 "Chimera"
• 8.16 "Reckoning Part 1"
• 8.17 "Reckoning Part 2"
• 8.18 "Threads"

Gallery

• Ascended Beings Screencapture Gallery Contains images of Oma Desala, Shifu, Orlin, The Others, the ascended Daniel Jackson and the partially ascended Anubis. Clicking on each thumbnail will lead you to a larger image which you are welcome to download. If you click on the gallery's home button, you will be sent to the article on Ascended Beings.

Oma in energy form	Oma comforts Daniel after he relinquishes custody of Sha're's son	Oma leaves Kheb with Sha're's son
Oma as played by Replicator Carter	Oma as a waitress in Daniel's semi-ascended plane	Oma tells Daniel about his first ascension
Oma argues with Anubis (Jim)	Oma engages Anubis in an eternal battle	Daniel watches Oma and Anubis leave his plane of existence

Related Characters

• Col. Jack O'Neill
• Dr. Daniel Jackson
• Maj. Samantha Carter
• Teal'c
• Jonas Quinn
• Anubis
• Apophis
• Bra'tac
• Jacob Carter/Selmak
• Kasuf
• Orlin
• Replicator Samantha Carter
• Rya'c
• Sha're
• Shifu
• Skaara
• The Others

Related Articles

• Abydos and the Abydonian People
• Ancients
• Ascended Beings
• Chulak
• Dakara
• Kheb
• Lost City of the Ancients
• Rebel Jaffa
• Replicators
• Repository of Knowledge
• Velona (P4X-636)
• Vis Uban
• Weapon on Dakara

Actors

• Carla Boudreau as Oma Desala of Kheb
• Mel Harris as Oma Desala in Daniel's Death Encounters

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--DeeKayP 08:42, 27 Jun 2004 (PDT)