Goa'uld

The Goa'uld are a fictional parasitic alien race in the Stargate universe. They look like snakes, but they normally insinuate themselves into large animals, which they can control. They find humans particularly suitable as hosts. A singular Goa'uld is sometimes referred to as a symbiote. Most Goa'uld bear the names of classical gods, especially those of ancient Egypt. There is still debate as to whether the Goa'uld assumed the names of Egyptian gods already in existence or whether Egyptian mythology stems from the Goa'uld's one-time domination of (ancient) Earth. The most powerful Goa'uld are called System Lords. They rule whole planets, lead huge armies of Jaffa warriors, and maintain fleets of powerful spaceships that resemble pyramids. Major Goa'uld System Lords included Apophis, Ba'al, Heru'ur, Hathor, Osiris, and Anubis many of whom have since died during the progression of the show. The most powerful System Lord was Ra — until the Tau'ri killed him in the 1994 movie Stargate. The Goa'uld term for the Stargate is "Chaapa'ai". Goa'uld are able to pass their memories directly to their offspring through genetic memory. This can also occur when a pair of Goa'uld hosts mate and produce an offspring; the resulting child is biologically human but possesses the knowledge of the Goa'uld. Such a child is known as a Harcesis and is considered abominations by the Goa'uld, who do not normally choose to produce them. A Goa'uld-occupied host usually speaks in an eeriely flanged, bass-augmented register (except when allowing the host to act freely); extreme emotions in the Goa'uld cause the host's eyes to briefly glow. The Goa'uld instill increased strength in their hosts, and remarkable healing abilities; the host shrugs off injuries that would incapacitate or kill most humans, and experiences a lifespan of centuries (which System Lords commonly extend indefinitely through the technological means of a sarcophagus). Being a host is regarded as a living hell and those hosts who have been under the control of Goa'uld for extended periods of time are widely suspected of having gone insane. Most of the Goa'uld killed in Stargate SG-1 have been in a host at the time, who died along with them. The death of the host in these instances has generally been considered merciful. If any attempt is made to forcibly removed a Goa'uld from a host the Goa'uld may release a deadly toxin into the blood stream of the host, killing the hapless individual. Nevertheless, the Tollan possessed the technology to safely remove a Goa'uld, and the Tok'ra claimed to be able to accomplish this in some cases as well. A subculture exists within the Goa'uld called the Tok'ra, a group of Goa'uld who are opposed to the ways of the Goa'uld. They are a resistence movement to attempt to overthrow the System Lords and instill human rights into Goa'uld culture. Although biologically the same species, Tok'ra prefer to not be referred to as Goa'uld. Category:Stargate races