Neural Interface Chair
Summary
The Ancients' Neural Interface Chair has been theorized to be a precursor to the Repositories of Knowledge, devices that download a mass amount of information into the mind of the user. One such Chair was discovered on the exploratory vessel Destiny. (SGU 1.09 "Life")
Stargate References
Before the Ancients ascended and left the Milky Way galaxy behind, they launched an unmanned exploratory vessel called Destiny. The ship contains many technological wonders, those that predate most of that found in the city-ship Atlantis. Among these wonders is the Neural Interface Chair, a precursor to the "head grabbing" Repositories of Knowledge. The function of these two devices are basically the same: to download knowledge directly into the user's mind. The technology, of course, was meant to be used by Ancients, advanced humans whose physiology is very similar to modern-day humans', but there is enough of a difference to make the Ancient technology incompatible and unsafe for humans to use. (SGU 1.09 "Life")
When the Neural Interface Chair was discovered on Destiny, the team of scientists—Dr. Nicholas Rush (lead), Dr. Dale Volker, Dr. Jeremy Franklin, Dr. Lisa Park, engineer Adam Brody, and civilian consultant Eli Wallace—began to speculate the kind of information the data stream contained. Franklin believed that it was a pilot's seat, similar to the Ancient Chair found in Atlantis. Rush believed that it had the access code to unlock the navigation and propulsion systems of the ship so that they could take control of the Destiny's preprogrammed course. Based on Jack O'Neill's two near-fatal Repository downloads, everyone on the team was very cautious about sitting in the Chair, knowing that there were no Asgard who could save them like what was done for O'Neill. Because of the dangers it posed, Col. Everett Young, the military leader of the marooned Destiny crew, forbade that anyone sit in the Chair until it could be proven safe. (SGU 1.09 "Life"; see "Repository of Knowledge" article for O'Neill's history with the technology)
Rush made the Chair his team's highest priority and they each took turns studying the device. While alone on his shift, Franklin decided to sit in the Chair. Fortunately, he was discovered before the Chair killed him, but unfortunately, the exposure caused convulsions that left him in a deep catatonic state. Since that time, the scientist has remained in a coma. (SGU 1.10 "Justice", SGU 1.13 "Faith")
Franklin's intense desire to get home overrode his reasoning and his patience, but his experience may have given Rush and Brody more understanding of the technology. They developed a buffering system that slowed down the data stream and programmed the Chair to target specific areas of the brain, specifically portions of the subconscious mind where memories are stored and dreams occur. Rush then sat in the Chair with Brody and Lt. Tamara Johansen, the ship's medic, in attendance to monitor his progress. (SGU 1.14 "Human")
Inside his memories, Rush had a lucid dream that recounted the time when he was recruited into the Stargate Program by Dr. Daniel Jackson. It was also around this time that his wife Gloria was dying from cancer. But because Rush knew he was dreaming, he was able to manipulate the players and the course the memories took. Jackson and Gloria became the figures of Rush's interface with the Destiny, and it was through his interaction with them that he was able to narrow down his search and understand the context of the data he was receiving. Although neither gave him the exact access code, there was enough of a hint within the interface for Rush to determine that the access code was based off of a specific portion of the Ancients' own DNA sequence (the number 46 was a recurring theme in his dream and corresponds to the number of chromosomes in human DNA). Rush exited the interface by walking through a special door, and soon thereafter, he wrote a program to go through the permutations of the genetic code. Optimistically, they could crack the code in a matter of days. Realistically, according to Volker, it could take several years since there are billions of possibilities. (SGU 1.14 "Human")
Rush and his team had to redefine their priorities when one of the faster-than-light modules exploded. The ship sat for three weeks in the void between galaxies while the crew managed its repair. It was discovered that the ship had been sabotaged by the aliens who had tried to board her in an earlier attack. They had used the communication stones to do this. Soon they caught up with the ship in the void and began an attack. The crew had before relied on the Destiny to reach the end of its planetary visit countdowns to evade the attacks, but because their systems were off-line, they were sitting ducks. Indescribably partially shaken out of his catatonic state, Franklin offered to sit in the Chair in order to activate the FTL drives. He ordered that Young and Rush leave the room, and they watched through the closed door's window as the room's temperature plummeted and Franklin began to freeze. The two men had to leave the area to take care of the ship during the attack, but Young ordered Sgt. Riley to watch the door. Franklin, who had originally thought that the Chair was a pilot's seat, relatively proved his point when he successfully engaged the FTL drives through the interface, and the ship once again managed to escape the aliens' reach. When Young returned to check on Franklin, he was shocked to find that the scientist had vanished. Riley insisted that no one had entered or left the room. There was no sign of Franklin anywhere, and eventually, Young called off the search for him, leaving his fate undetermined. (SGU 1.16 "Sabotage", SGU 1.17 "Pain")
Episodes
- SGU 1.09 "Life"
- SGU 1.10 "Justice"
- SGU 1.13 "Faith"
- SGU 1.14 "Human"
- SGU 1.16 "Sabotage"
- SGU 1.17 "Pain"
Related Characters
- Adam Brody
- Dr. Jeremy Franklin
- Dr. Daniel Jackson
- Lt. Tamara Johansen
- Gen. Jack O'Neill
- Dr. Lisa Park
- Gloria Rush
- Dr. Nicholas Rush
- Dr. Dale Volker
- Eli Wallace
- Col. Everett Young
Related Articles
--DeeKayP 02:31, 28 April 2010 (UTC)