Daniel can't help it: he's always looking for traces of the past, wondering how the now has been influenced by the then.
Back at the beginning, as they stumble through the Stargate like blindfolded children, the Tau'ri only know of the Goa'uld's connections with Ancient Egypt mythology. Missions go by, the years pass, and their knowledge slowly accumulates. The Asgard and the Norse; Greek mythology, Japanese, Chinese. But even before Oma Desala becomes such a prominent figure in his own life, Daniel is particularly fascinated by the Ancients.
He never gets confirmation that the aliens were the Ancient Ones who instructed the Romans in the art of viae, but events during Jack's first exposure to the Ancient Repository do prove that they built the Stargates. Then there are the finds in Antarctica: the second Stargate, poor Aiyana, the Ancient Outpost. There's even Arthurian legend, which can arguably trace back to Roman England to maintain a tenuous connection with Daniel's developing theories. The Ancients clearly have a strong influence on Earth's past; how much of that influence still lingers in the human race?
Daniel considers the Stargate. Back in the early days, it is Sam who first suggests the obvious analogue of a telephone -- press the right sequence of symbols, make a connection. Teal'c informs them that the Jaffa refer to the alry'sai of the chappa'ai, and Daniel is fascinated to discover the similarities to the Ancient Egyptian word for "key." But in the SGC, with the Air Force's innate fondness for acronyms, the device quickly becomes known as the DHD -- the Dial Home Device. References to "dialing the Gate," "cold-calling," and "wrong number" abound. Daniel is absurdly charmed by this example of humanity's penchant for taking soaring wonder and relegating it to the commonplace.
But there's something there, Daniel thinks. Something that simmers below the level of actual consciousness, but is still part of their lives. The constellations are connect-the-dots, a product of human imagination, yet those same shapes stand in proud relief on Gate and DHD. Do Orion and Centaurus owe their design to idle speculation and visualization, or is there a deeper connotation to the Ancients and their own visions?
And the DHD's shape, with the symbols arcing in a ring to let them "dial" -- is it mere coincidence, or something more that makes them so similar to the classic rotary dial of the common telephone? When Almon Brown Strowger patents his design in 1891, is he simply choosing a form and shape that is pleasing and efficient, or is he responding to an Ancient echo buried deep in his psyche?
It's all idle speculation on Daniel's part, and he never gets around to discussing it with anyone. So when they first find the ship on Maybourne's planet with its built-in DHD, and he later learns that Atlantis has a similar set-up in its Gate room, he never bothers to explain the small grin that sneaks onto his face whenever he thinks about them.
From rotary dials to touch-tone keypads. Too bad the Ancients went glowy before they could advance to voice recognition.
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by Fig NewtonKapitel Bemerkung:
Daniel idly speculates on Ancient influence on the human psyche. Very vague references to events through much of the show, but no real spoilers.Site Navigation
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