Origin of the Sodan
This meta was initially inspired by a comment left behind by kedd on the discussion for Moebius: Teal’c was the founder of the Sodan… Here’s the discussion if you’re interested. Now please note that this is mostly speculation based on a few well placed coincidences.
Before we get started here are a few facts:
Alternate Teal’c
Sodan Warriors
Former First Prime of Apophis
Former Jaffa of Ishkur
Believes in freedom for all Jaffa
Believe in ascension and that the Ancients are true gods
Live on Earth, free from the Goa’uld with his new friends Jack, Sam and Daniel
Live on a planet formally inhabited by the Ancients
Has access to ancient ship (Gateship /Puddle Jumper)
Use Ancient technology (obelisk, Sodan cloaks, etc…)
Time traveled 5000 years to Egypt 3000 BC
Free for over 5000 years
Assisted in delivering Earth from Ra
Isolated from Goa’uld
Here’s a recap of what Haikon told Mitchell of the history of the Sodan: as the elite warriors of Ishkur, the Sodan ascended the ranks and were able to see for themselves that the Goa’uld are not gods. (Quote: “The further they ascended among the ranks, the more they were able to discern the truth. That he was not a god at all, but merely an imposter”.) They fled for their lives and sought out Kheb, but found a planet once inhabited by the Ancients. They were able to decipher the Ancient language and use their technology.
How here’s what we know about the alternate Teal’c, the alternate SG-1 picked up on the alternate Chulak… Teal’c like his counterpart believed in freedom for all Jaffa and put his trust in the Tau’ri. Just like SG-1 he remained in Ancient Egypt to most likely live out the rest of his life.
Now, here are some assumptions that I made when developing this theory:
Daniel, who was the closest to the actual Daniel in the show, most likely shared with alternate SG-1 as much of his knowledge as possible, which must have included his knowledge on the Ancients and ascension. Sam must have learned as much as she could by studying the time ship and passed on that knowledge to whoever would listen to her.
As many had previously discussed, Teal’c might have gotten restless of waiting out the rest of his life in Egypt and could have found a way to take the time ship and leave the planet in search of other Jaffa seeking freedom from their oppressors. I’m guessing he most likely would have done so after Jack, Sam and Daniel died. What’s 50 years to a Jaffa compared to humans? I’m also assuming that a number of Ra’s Jaffa remained on Earth once he left and could have easily decided to side with Teal’c and SG-1. Perhaps some of these Jaffa left with Teal’c.
Now there’s the issue of who could fly the ship. Since I assumed Teal’c left once Jack died, he would have needed someone else to fly it. Let’s assume for this, that Carter, along with Daniel, searched for and tested anyone they could to see if anyone had the ancient gene (then again you can assume that Jack and Sam got together and had a child, your choice - to me it’s irrelevant). And found a few, perhaps one or more of them were Jaffa. I haven’t come across anything contradicting this… yet…
Now, let’s see where were we? Oh yes, Teal’c found someone to operate the time ship and left Earth once SG-1 passed on ;(, and found himself on a planet where he encountered these first Sodan warriors who began to doubt the godness of their ‘god’. Using his greater knowledge and wisdom, Teal’c could have fostered the seeds of doubt planted in their hearts and encourage them to rebel.
Of course, there is no doubt that Teal’c in any universe would pledge to support those who sought freedom from the domination of the Goa’uld and encouraged to rebel and so he would have been there to assist the fleeing Sodan. I think there are three possibilities how this was accomplished:
- Firstly that the Sodan escaped using Teal’c Ancient ship, which would only mean that a rather small number escaped;
- Secondly the Sodan escaped through a Stargate, then again, this would still mean a small number escaped and they would still be at the mercy of the Goa’uld who would attempt to hunt them down; or
- They escaped by commandeering a Hata’k taking with them as many supplies and warriors they could. Thus ensuring their survival over time.
Personally I believe that with Teal’c help, there was a large enough number of Sodan who wanted freedom they were able to flee using Hata’k vessel they could have commandeered. Now of course, it’s most likely that not all Jaffa desiring to rebel against Ishkur were able to leave with Teal’c and the other Sodan warriors. They might have been executed, but it is unlikely that all of them were weeded out. I’m guessing that these Jaffa were the ones that began to spread stories of the Sodan warriors and of their ability to free themselves from the oppression of the Goa’uld, thus permitting the “real” Teal’c to hear about them and seek out an alliance along with the Tau’ri.
Just like all Jaffa, Teal’c knew of Kheb, but very few of them would have had knowledge of the ancients, especially 5000 years ago. And so when the Sodan spoke of their desire to seek out Kheb, Teal’c could have spoken to them what he knew of the Ancients and suggested they try to find a planet outside the known Goa’uld gate network and thus not on the Abydos cartouche and let’s assume that the planet is one from the ancient data base. Perhaps even, they might have stolen a gate (why not? Especially if they had a Hata’k) and relocated to another home.
And so Teal’c and the Sodan arrive on their fair planet with remnants of the Ancients. These include such technology as the Obelisk used to transport them from the Stargate to their village and I’m also running under the assumption that the Sodan cloaks are also of Ancient design… why not? How many other Jaffa have invisibility cloaks? The other we knew of was Nirtti and it wasn’t common among the Goa’uld.
Once they were on the planet they most likely used up all the supplies they brought with them from the Hata’k and most likely cannibalized both the Hata’k and the Ancient ship for parts. Teal’c most likely acquired the ability to read Ancient from Daniel Jackson and was therefore able to decipher the writings on the Obelisk (there might have been more than one and plenty other ruins with writings on them) and thus able to help the Sodan build devices to defend themselves and build their homes. (Quote: “The writings of our gods instructed us how to construct many of their devices. We use them to protect our sacred ground.”)
There is also the appearance that for a people living on the same planet for over 5000 years, there are very few of them. I have a theory for that too. We can assume that once the Sodan arrived at the planet, many of them may have died. It was mentioned that it would take many months to travel from the ‘gate to the village (they could have gone and explored) and the terrain is very harsh. (Quote: “But to reach the Chappa'ai would take months on foot to the mountains of Dor'ta'nak. No one who's attempted the journey has ever survived”.)Yes, even Jaffa can die of exposure to elements, though of course this would take more time than us little humans. You can assume also that not many female Jaffa were present, thus creating a society with a small population growth. Of course, we can also assume that there are many more Sodan villages spread out on the planet.
Now the Sodan have escaped the oppression of the Goa’uld with Teal’c as their leader, who taught them about freedom, the Ancients and ascension. Let’s not forget that Teal’c’s view is probably a little skewed from the actual Teal’c so he may not carry the same values as him such as refusal to kill his fellow Jaffa for symbiotes and offer them freedom. He might have tried, but lacked the experience and wisdom of spending so many years fighting for the freedom of all Jaffa with Brata’c, the Tau’ri and the Tok’ra that he could have stopped after his first successful attempt.
And so with their newfound freedom and new leader, the Sodan warriors progressed in their way of life, always keeping their traditions close at hand and creating new ones, constantly fighting for survival by raiding Goa’uld strongholds for shipments of symbiotes to keep on living and honing their skills to remain the elite warriors they were known for through jomo se telek and Kel shak lo, until one day 5000 years later, the Sodan reconnect with the outside world when a party of Tau’ri and one Jaffa chance upon them… and as they say, the rest is history.
Now, dear reader, do you agree with this? Do you not? Did I miss something? Do you think something should be added subtracted or (what the heck…) multiplied? Love it, hate it, have something to say, please do so. That’s what the comments are for!
Thanks for reading! Phew! Now that I’m done, I’m off to Greece! Ciao!