What's up with the ninth chevron?
 

This is a Stargate thread. It's not a 5MSG thread, so it belongs here. As part of another thread I was reminded of the existence of a ninth chevron, and the possiblities of a nine-glyph address. Here's where we share our personal theories about what it does.

For me, they sort of break down into:
1. Since the eighth is an intergalactic area code, the ninth must relate to other dimensions, perhaps even the realm of Ascended beings.
2. A Stargate really can travel to other time periods through the use of nine-glyph addresses.
3. Perhaps with enough power and enough pinpoint accuracy through the use of a ninth coordiate, a Stargate can create a spontaneous, one-ended wormhole. You wouldn't be able to return, but...
4. A ninth glyph and more power can create a two-way wormhole.

Opinions?

Look how much power it takes for the eighth. Could they really handle a ninth? (Then again, if Project Arcturus got working...)

1. Highly doubtful. Sam's even said it's impossible to travel to other universes/dimensions without some kind of special rift, usually caused by a black hole or other large time distortion.

2. They can do that with solar flares.

3. What'd be the point of that?

4. That would be interesting, but think how much more power they'd have to use.

There's also the final problem: dialing crystals. Even the Earth and Atlantis gates only have eight dialing crystals. They have to figure out how to install another one, and there simply wouldn't be room most DHDs.

Uh, Sam's been wrong before. Besides, ten years ago Sam would've said deflecting a wormhole off a star experiencing solar flares could NEVER create time travel; it'd be too absurd.

There are plenty of planets that don't have Gates. Wouldn't it be a nice uberAlpha site to have a place that no one can reach without exhorbitant amounts of power?

I never did understand the dialing crystals, but that doesn't preclude there being a nine-glyph address crystal. I think the implication is that the eight-glyph crystal might be akin to the Expansion Pak on an N64: provides the same service, but with more capacity.

Oh, and I don't think that they ever perfected how far back you go with a flare-altered Gate. It's kinda like slingshotting around the sun at high warp: good for general time travel, but precision is impossible.

I personally would favour the multiverse theory on this one...cause it would be a straight continuation of the given principle...first six fix a spot in the own galaxy (plus the 7th that says where you start)..like when you dail a phone number in your own city that has 7 digits...you wouldnt need to dail the area code for your own city...the 8th one fixes the galaxy...like a code for a different city still inside the same country (in this case the same universe) and the 9th would fix the universe...like we fix the country with another area code

The ninth crystal's the only real problem. They've never even so much as mentioned it. Finding one would be essential, though, as they are needed to lock the chevrons.

It'd be great. Just implausible. And ten years ago, Sam would've said the Stargate itself was absurd.

I don't know. They've gotten pretty accurate results with solar flares before. See '2010' and '1969'.

How long was Sam working on the Gate before the series? She's not old enough to be a doctor AND to MacGuyver the Gate for fifteen years, is she?

Actually, she only looked about thirty when the series started, right? Okay, given the child prodigy thing, early doctorate, yada yada, she must've been transferred to Cheyenne Mountain only like five years before the series.

Given how important Earth is to the entire Stargate universe, if there's a nine-glyph crystall anywhere, it'd be either Earth, or maybe Dakarra, right?

Oh, and solar flares were never reliable for our guys. 2010 was alien technology. 1969 was a predestination paradox. In neither case could Sam come up with a way to predict flares without outside help.

Probably not at all. Remember how awed she was when it was first activated? At most, it would've been on a theoretical level.

Early-mid thirties was my guess. And probably not long before, if at all.

If there is one, it'd be on a)Earth, hidden somewhere, b)Dakarra, by the Ancient weapon, c)Atlantis. Period. And they haven't found one yet.

Not reliable, but they worked. If aliens could do it, the theory is that so could we at some point.

Sam insinuated that she was elsewhere during the first Abydos mission. Since that time (a year or so) they were trying different addresses and getting nowhere. Ergo she's never seen a Gate activate in person. Seeing a video recording isn't the same and you know it.

Uh, not period. Who says that these are the only three important worlds in the galaxy to the Ancients? They controlled the WHOLE galaxy, right? I never got the feeling that the Asgard established a huge toehold here, besides their protected worlds. And if we've never seen hide or hair of the Furlings except two references, then they probably come from another galaxy, just like the Asgard. Four races might mean four galaxies, for all we know. We may find other Nox elsewhere, right? They can probably open transgalactic wormholes with their own energy, for all we know.

It isn't? It's close enough that she wouldn't have that expression of awe on her face. I doubt she saw videos. Books, maybe.

The Ancients built the Stargates, therefore, worlds important to them. Okay, lets throw in Proclarush Taonas, plus the four 'Holy Grail Quest' worlds. There was very little left of most of them (although I do admit an anti-Orici planet would be an excellent place to hide a ninth crystal). Still. Why would they hide the last crystal? Why not just put it near one of the gates that could go to eight in the first place? Like the Earth one, and the Atlantis one. They didn't hide most of their stuff, why bother putting it on some totally irrelevant planet? Plus the Ancients come from a totally different galaxy than we've seen so far, too. The Milky Way they simply populated with life. Their 'child' galaxy, if you will. At no point was it said they controlled ALL of it.

It just occured to me, did they ever go back to Ernest's World? With the United Galaxies chamber and all that? For all we know, there's a ZPM there, and all we'd need is a ship to go get it, now that the Stargate is trashed. And Earth now has the Daedalus, they could ask the Jaffa for a ship, etc. Now that Daniel knows more about the Ancients and eight-glyph addresses, maybe he'd even find the addresses for the Furling homeworld while they're at it.

Who says it's hidden? For all we know, there was a museum dedicated to nine-glyph travel that was buried in an earthquake in the last couple thousand years. Hidden accidentally and hidden deliberately aren't the same.

I'd think that the combined effects of the early Gate activations can't be reproduced fully in a video. The earthquake, the steam, the sound, etc.

The Furlings suggested the ninth chevron. You'll have to ask them.

Oh, I will. Especially if they turn out to not be furry after all. :)

Well, I'm glad that Stargate Universe will finally address this issue. Should be interesting.

I hope the ninth Chevron is something parallel universy. You don't always need a rift, anyone recall the Quantum mirror on P3X-233? The gate could be made to function like that I reckon.

Or it do something crazy and fun, like make blue jello :D

That's a lot of blue jello. The thing's twentysomething feet wide, remember?

For me, a fun function would be to pick the color of the event horizon. Thirty-nine glyphs is thirty-nine possible colors.

Can't you just picture the Event Horizon solidifying mid-kawoosh and falling to the ground in a giant gob of blue jello? Mmm, jello...

Dammit, I've been Americanised (We dont say jello here).


Personally I agree with the multi-verse theory. It would make the most sense, although why they would then need a Dimensional Mirror (I think that's what it was called)?

Do you think we'll ever conclusively find out, i.e. in book continuations or the movies or anywhere?

Quantum Mirror.

I guess you say gelatin, huh?

Who said that the Ancients invented the Quantum Mirror? They might have needed to come up with their own method of interdimensional travel. For all we know, the Furlings invented the mirror (Zarquon, PLEASE let Stargate Universe deal with those guys!)

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You'd never believe me.

Dinner ready?

We say jelly, not jello. And jam, not jelly, except in special circumstances.

I was sure that the Ancients invented the Mirror... well I'll have to get around to watching that episode some time... soon.

My mum is now convinced that the Furlings are Ewoks crossed with koalas, and shall be forever on, amen.

Erm, huh? Jello is solid, jelly is...well, a gel. Jam contains fruit pulp, jelly doesn't.