Shifu

Summary

Shifu is the son of Sha're, Daniel Jackson's wife, and of the host of the Goa'uld Apophis. Shifu was conceived while Sha're was the host to the Goa'uld Amaunet and he was intended to become Apophis' new host. Because he was the offspring of two Goa'uld hosts, Shifu possessed the Goa'uld genetic memory and was referred to as "Harsesis." Shifu was born in the episode, 2.09 "Secrets", and was introduced as "Shifu" in the episode, 4.17 "Absolute Power".

Character Biography

According to Jaffa legend, when the hosts of two Goa’uld mate and conceive a child, the offspring will be born with the genetic knowledge of the Goa’uld. This is strictly forbidden under Goa’uld law, and any such child, known as a Harsesis, lives under an immediate sentence of death. After a year of searching for his wife, Sha’re, who had been taken as a host by the Goa’uld Amaunet, Apophis' Queen, Daniel Jackson returned to Abydos only to discover that Sha’re was there with her father and was heavily pregnant with a Harsesis child. He delivered the child and hid it from Heru'ur, an enemy of Apophis. Sha're told Daniel that Apophis had fathered the child and intended to take it for a new host when the boy matured. (2.09 "Secrets")

Hidden safely on Abydos for a little while, the boy’s whereabouts were eventually discovered by Amaunet and she took him, along with a group of other Abydonians as a cover for her kidnapping. She sent her closest aide to Kheb with the Harsesis child in an attempt to keep him safe from Heru'ur and the other Goa’uld who wanted the child killed. (3.10 "Forever in a Day")

With help from Master Bra'tac and Teal'c, Daniel determined the location of Kheb, long rumored to be a mythical place, and the team went there in search of the child. There Daniel discovered that the boy was in the keeping of a powerful energy being called Oma Desala, the source of the Mother Earth mythos on Earth. Believing the child would be safer with her than on Earth, Daniel left the child there. (3.20 "Maternal Instinct")

Manifesting himself as a tornado, the Haresis child returned to Abydos, calling for Daniel, who was summoned to return by Kasuf. When Daniel answered the call, the tornado dissolved into the form of a young boy, much older than he should've been. SG-1 speculated whether this was the design of Oma Desala or of Apophis, who had engineered the Harsesis as a future host. What was clear was that Shifu shared the same immense powers as ascended being Oma Desala.

The boy gave his name to Daniel - Shifu, meaning light, and returned to Earth with him in order to learn more about his mother Sha'uri. The SGC - and Tok'ra Aldwin - were much more interested in the genetic knowledge Shifu possessed than the family reunion, and proceeded to inquire about technologies the boy might give them in defense of the planet against the Goa’uld. When Daniel was the one to take this proposal to Shifu while they were talking about Sha'uri, the boy told him that the evil within him was too strong to resist, that Oma had taught him that the only way to win was to deny the battle.

Shifu chose to help Daniel understand the truth of this by placing him in a coma-like state in which he lived out a dream where he possessed all the knowledge he sought from the Harsesis, made his life choices freely, and learned the potential consequences of accessing Goa’uld knowledge - his knowledge and power corrupted him terribly.

Upon awakening, Daniel understood that the knowledge was far too dangerous and that Oma - and Shifu - were right. The only way to win was to deny the battle. Shifu was proud of Sha'uri and of Daniel, deepening their emotional bond. The boy returned to his mentor Oma Desala, leaving Daniel with the hope that they would meet again on the Great Path. (4.17 "Absolute Power").

Although his name was not mentioned, Shifu was the topic of conversation between Daniel and Anna, a woman who was unsuccessfully genetically engineered as a Harsesis. Daniel spoke of burying Shifu's Goa'uld memories and hoped that the SGC could help Anna do the same. Unfortunately, Anna committed suicide because she knew she could not be helped. (7.19 "Resurrection")

Episodes

Gallery

Shifu as infant on Kheb	Daniel finds Shifu on Kheb	Shifu visits Abydos from within a tornado
Shifu teaches Daniel in a dream	Shifu is interviewed by Tok'ra Aldwin	Shifu returns to being an Ascended Being