Healing Device
Summary
The Healing Device is a portable Goa'uld instrument that is able to repair illness and injuries in living beings. The circular device is worn on the palm of the hand, and the wearer moves it slowly over the body of the injured to invoke its repair functions. To become active, the device must sense naquadah in the wearer's blood. Thus the operator must either be a current or former host to a Goa'uld or Tok'ra symbiote. Additionally, the wearer must be able to direct the healing with his or her mind, or the injured person will not be helped and may even be harmed. The mental control required to use the device is great, and years are required to master its power. The healing device is not as powerful as a Sarcophagus. It cannot completely heal severe, systemic injuries, and it cannot bring the dead back to life. We first saw a healing device in 1.10 "Thor's Hammer".
Stargate References
SG-1 first encountered a healing device on Cimmeria. Daniel and Carter watched former Goa'uld host Kendra use hers to heal a boy's broken arm. At first they thought it was a weapon, but after a moment realized it truly was healing the boy's injuries. Kendra's use of the device showed that a former host could use Goa'uld technology. (1.10 "Thor's Hammer")
Gairwyn gave Kendra's healing device and ribbon device to Carter after Kendra was killed by Jaffa on Cimmeria. Carter discovered she could use them by accident after she tried on the ribbon device and it activated. Daniel surmised that because Sam had been host to a Tok'ra, she had the capacity to activate and use the devices. Carter tried to activate the healing device on the planet, but it did not respond to her. Gairwyn urged her to keep trying, and SG-1 took the devices with them. (2.06 "Thor's Chariot").
When Cronus and his host were dying, Carter took the healing device out of storage, and Daniel gave it to Nirrti so she could heal Cronus. She claimed his injuries were too severe, and that he required a sarcophagus, but she was lying. Carter then tried the healing device herself. She acknowledged she'd never got it to work on a living being, but after a false start, she was able to activate it and heal the host and Cronus, who awoke immediately, in good health. (3.03 "Fair Game")
After Daniel was exposed to a lethal dose of radiation and Dr. Fraiser assured Carter there was nothing that could be done for him, Sam retrieved the healing device from storage once again. As Fraiser, Hammond, O'Neill and Teal'c looked on, she asked Daniel's permission to try to use the device on him, saying, "I'm not really sure what I'm doing with this thing," and he nodded yes. She activated the device, but it did in fact make things worse, and Daniel went into a seizure. The SGC then summoned Jacob, and he and Selmak tried to heal Daniel again. Afer a moment using the device, Selmak declared that he didn't know if he could save Daniel, and if he did, whether Daniel would be restored to his full health. Selmak did begin to try again, but then Daniel told Jack (mentally) that he wanted Jacob to stop, because he was ready to move on with Oma. Jacob stopped, Daniel's heart failed immediately, and he ascended. (5.21 "Meridian")
As a former host to Qetesh, Vala was very skilled in using the healing device. When the Priors started a plague on the planet Vala had once ruled, P8X-412, Vala used the device to begin healing the villagers who fell ill. But soon the number of infected people went beyond what Vala could process. She became fatigued, and each new case took longer for her to heal. Exhausted, she told Daniel she feared she could not stay ahead of the plague. This became a certainty when people she'd already healed started falling ill again, including Vachna. Finally the device stopped working for Vala at all, and she gave it to Daniel in defeat. The ill people were not cured until the villagers agreed to accept "Origin". (9.05 "The Powers That Be")
Vala may have become a regular user of the device at the SGC. When the members of SG-25 were injured by an interdimensional creature on P9J-333, Vala healed them with the device, back at the SGC. Carter assured Vala that Dr. Lam must "appreciate the help". (10.05 "Uninvited")
Gallery
Episodes
- 1.10 "Thor's Hammer"
- 2.06 "Thor's Chariot"
- 3.03 "Fair Game"
- 5.21 "Meridian"
- 9.05 "The Powers That Be"
- 10.05 "Uninvited"
Related Characters
- Lt. Col. Samantha Carter
- Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Vala Mal Doran
- Jacob Carter
- Cronus
- Dr. Janet Fraiser
- Nirrti
- Prior of the Ori
- Qetesh
- Selmak
- Vachna
Related Articles
--Michelle 23:06, 19 March 2008 (PDT)