ASGARD TRANSPORT BEAM

Asgard technology includes a molecular transportation device which uses a beam to transport objects instantaneously over significant distances. Asgard motherships were equipped with beam technology which was activated from a control panel using the stone-like control devices. The beam appears as a sudden vertical flash of light within which an object materializes or dematerializes. Although it is most often used to transport people or objects between nearby ships in space or between an orbiting ship and a planet's surface, beaming technology has also been used to deliver people from place to place on a planet, even allowing for instantaneous travel from the SGC to the White House. Extremely versatile, the transport beam uses sensors to pinpoint specific targets to be transported and is capable of transporting individual people, or objects as large as an entire building.

On planets such as Cimmeria and K'tau, SG-1 encountered a similar type of beam technology which appeared as a moving ray of light and transported individuals into the Hall of Thor's Might or the Hall of Wisdom. A third type of beam technology uses a continuous beam which scans a surface as it transports multiple objects. Such technology was used to remove the Goa'uld from Cimmeria, and to recover stolen artifacts from the NID off-world base.

By using a mind probe on Thor, Anubis and Osiris gained access to Asgard technology which Osiris used to secretly beam into Daniel's home in order to probe his mind for Ancient knowledge. She controlled the transport beam remotely with a wrist device, but SG-1 was able to adapt a jamming device which blocked the frequencies used by the remote control signal. Osiris was captured and the wrist device confiscated for study. The Asgard had installed beam technology in the Prometheus, but without Asgard sensors, the Prometheus relied on locator beacons to pinpoint specific targets, and SG-1 carried small portable locator beacons to signal the beaming technology remotely. Rogue elements of the NID known as the Trust also acquired this technology through Dr. Bricksdale at Area 51 when his experiments with Osiris's wrist device succeeded in activating the transport beam and locating Osiris's abandoned ship. Guided by a locator beacon, the Trust used the technology to steal the stargate from the SGC, but the Prometheus was able to beam the gate aboard and return it.

The beaming technology was also acquired by others with access to Asgard technology including Ba'al, who benefited from Anubis's technology and has used the Asgard beam regularly to escape capture by the Rebel Jaffa, the SGC, or the Replicators. The Replicators themselves had consumed both Asgard and Goa'uld technology and used the Asgard beam to capture both Carter and Daniel.

Prometheus made frequent use of the Asgard beaming technology, particularly in situations where the transport rings were not practical. Crew members continued to carry portable locator beacons to make them identifiable to the transport sensors, and even objects as large as the Halcyon Tower in Seattle could be beamed away into space.

Following the destruction of the Prometheus, Asgard beaming technology became an integral part of the Odyssey. Also because of the incident on Tegalus, in which Daniel was taken prisoner and his locator beacon was confiscated, making rescue impossible, the SGC began using new locator chip implants. These subcutaneous transmitters made it possible to locate and target individuals, and portable locator beacons could still be used to tag individuals or objects, such as a stargate, which had not been implanted. Sensors can detect life signs as well, and distinguish them from those that have been tagged by a transmitter. The transport beam allows for near pinpoint accuracy, making it possible to transport individuals almost anywhere without the need for a specific beaming location, station, or platform such as that required by transport rings. Transporting within the Odyssey itself is a dangerous maneuver, however, due to the risk of materializing within a solid structure, but people can materialize as easily on the bridge as in any other section of the ship. The technology does have certain limitations, however. The sensors can be affected by radioactive interference, and the beam does not readily penetrate a ship's protective shields, so beaming is impossible in a battle situation during which a ship's shields have been activated.

Cross Reference: Asgard, Asgard Mothership, Asgard Stones, Ba'al, Biliskner, Dr. Bricksdale, Halcyon Tower, Hall of Mjollnir, Hall of Thor's Might, Hall of Wisdom, Locator Beacon, Odyssey, Osiris, Prometheus, Subcutaneous Transmitter, Trust

Episode Reference: Thor's Chariot, Fair Game, Point of View, Shades of Grey, Nemesis, Small Victories, Red Sky, Revelations, Prometheus, Unnatural Selection, Disclosure, Fragile Balance, Chimera, New Order, Covenant, Endgame, Full Alert, Reckoning, Beachhead, Ex Deus Machina, Ripple Effect, Ethon, Off the Grid, The Scourge, Camelot, Flesh and Blood, Insiders, Counterstrike, Company of Thieves, The Shroud, Talion, Dominion, Undending