TECHNOLOGY OF THE GOA'ULD PART II
Ba'al: You dare mock me?
Jack: Ba'al, come on! You should know. Of COURSE I dare mock you.
- Stargate SG-1, "Zero Hour"
Healing Devices
Although the Goa'uld focus on technology as a means of punishing and dominating other races, they also have two devices that cause miraculous healing. They do not use their healing capabilities for the common good, however; they use their devices to maintain their own host bodies in good health and physical beauty. One of the reasons that the Goa'uld have come to prefer human bodies is that they are relatively simple to fix, and they respond well to the Goa'uld's healing technology.
-- The Sarcophagus --
The most miraculous agent of Goa'uld healing is the sarcophagus, which is a device that has several abilities. First, it is able to heal wounds so that no trace of a scar remains. It is also able to keep humans young. Most importantly, the sarcophagus can bring beings back from the dead, provided the body is relatively intact and it is placed inside before too much time has passed. When the sarcophagus raises people from the dead it does not raise them as unthinking zombies; they know and generally act as they did before. For all of these reasons, all of the System Lords possess their own sarcophagi, and less powerful Goa'uld yearn to have some of their own. By using a sarcophagus, a Goa'uld can keep the same human host body indefinitely.
The sarcophagus has side-effects, however, if it is used when a body is generally in good health. It is meant to heal injury, but when there is no injury present its energies begin to harm instead of help. The user is likely to develop a powerful addiction to the sarcophagus, needing it to sustain the "high" of feeling in perfect health - and unstoppable. The addict might become a little absent-minded. They certainly become self-centered in their desires. The worst traits of the user's personality will likely come to the fore as their hormones go through continual alteration.
A sarcophagus must be used on a regular basis to keep a body in the bloom of youth. This means that Goa'uld with access are likely to use their sarcophagi routinely - and they are all quite addicted. While this might account for some of their rude behavior, it does not account for all of it.
The sarcophagus was based on an earlier piece of technology I call the box device, pictured above. This device was discovered by Daniel Jackson at one point, but he did not learn much about it before having to flee from its presence. What he did see was roughly this: Once the box device was turned on it began to emit a glow and, apparently, an energy of some sort. When people died near it, their wounds did not heal but they would rise from the dead. The box appeared to have a radius effect, but just how far the radius went, we cannot be sure.
The box device seems to work by projecting energy outward; it is not focused on any single individual. This energy is powerful enough to bring back bodies from the dead but not much of the mind. This is because the energy is not focused on curing or on repairing, but on animating. The sarcophagus, therefore, is a definite upgrade in every respect.
-- The Ribbon Device (Healing Capabilities) --
The ribbon device is not merely a weapon. When activated, it can also heal deep wounds - if that is the user's wish. Although Sam Carter only had a symbiote for a short time before it died, the trace amounts of naquadah in her blood are enough to power a ribbon device to some extent. The healing she attempts in the picture above would be more easily done by a Goa'uld or a Tok'ra, however; the symbiote seems to help in such an instance.
Communication Devices
-- The Orb Device (Large) --
The large orb device is a metal ball that is able to float in the circle of the stargate (it is probably also made from naquadah). From that position, the orb is able to receive a transmission that viewers can see and hear, as in the picture above and just below.
It appears that the large orb device receives its transmission through the stargate, in some fashion. The Goa'uld are able to use these devices to communicate at a distance with their faithful and their military forces. While the orb is being used to broadcast a message, it does not receive signals, so the Goa'uld speaking through it cannot see or hear the audience that is watching.
-- The Orb Device (Small) --
The orb device also comes in a small, hand-held size (shown above). This is very handy for Goa'uld spies making reports. These small orbs do not float within the stargate, but they are not seen operating without one nearby.
Miscellaneous Devices
-- Power Crystals --
Goa'uld ships are run, at least in part, by a system of power crystals. How these crystals work is not outlined. We also are not told of their exact composition or origin. Power crystals appear to be very popular in Goa'uld transport vessels, however. The crystals are different colors, and are roughly uniform in size. They are often set into consoles that can be pulled out. In the show, these crystals are usually seen when they need to be replaced because of damage.
-- The Jaffa-Making Device --
The jaffa race has been bred over time to replicate itself sexually, even down to the pouch in the stomach that is made to hold a larval Goa'uld. A jaffa can also be made, however, through the intervention of what I call a jaffa-making device. The only time this device surfaced on the show, it was in the possession of the Goa'uld Hathor, who had been imprisoned for some time. It is logical to assume that this type of device was once common amongst the Goa'uld, especially when the jaffa race was young and there were only so many of them. Whether the device is common now that the jaffa race has flourished is anyone's guess.
The jaffa-making device is pressed against the stomach of a target, as shown below. It takes about a minute of continual contact to work but once it is done, the target is effectively a jaffa, complete with pouch. After the transformation, the new jaffa is left stunned for a time (presumably until they receive their new larval Goa'uld). If the new jaffa is placed in a sarcophagus without a symbiote, the sarcophagus will heal the effects of the jaffa-making device, erasing the pouch.
