Everybody talking about "power corrupts"...Frank Herbert put it in correct context, "All governments suffer a recurring problem: power attracts pathological personalities. It is not that power corrupts but that it is magnetic to the corruptible."
This is why people need to just stop being lazy. Representative democracy is monarchy and dictators with extra steps and leeches. The only democracy that can actually exist is if everyone votes on everything and to effect any change you need a high percentage of people voting. Government is there to be your servant, not your leader. Anyone who calls for or calls themselves leaders deserves to be put in a hole in the ground and nothing else. All you need is people to do what the people have decreed. Any process in between those two steps is not actual democracy. How people let themselves be convinced that representative democracy should be a thing and that it isn't just the same thing they already had with extra garbage attached, I have no idea. It's literally just a series of kings and despots telling you they're the best one, and to please let them have power over you. But if you don't give people power over you, they don't have it to use. Stop being lazy and take your power back and there won't be power to corrupt. Stop pretending Russia and China and North Korea isn't just more obvious about it. Different country same flavor.
He's wrong. It's both... kind of. Those who seek power are attracted by positions of power, no question. But holding a position of power also carries with it the temptation of using it to achieve one's ends, and thus it reveals the corruption inherent in the human soul.
*Listen, we all know Jack has always been a asinine, dumbass who's only intellectually capable of pulling triggers on weapons, but Daniel allowed Jack to stay alive long enough to see him become the new system lord Anubis who destroyed Earth after starting WW3 first by killing all of the Russians, because it's 2021& its been long overdue time to get the WW3 party started, we prophecy believing doomsday group long for the fire.*
Even though this didn't actually happen, I've always appreciated the _Stargate_ writers for including characters that consistently do things that need to be done. Jack is making a terrible decision here, but a necessary one. All the characters are written with empathy and heart, and they are all very much relatable, but while some characters offer us a specifically compassionate viewpoint into the story, characters like Jack O'Neill, John Sheppard, and Everett Young are there to step up and make the ugly decisions. Often their choices are unsettling, but you realize they're right.
Daniel probably selected them for exactly that purpose from the beginning. He and Carter had episodes demonstrating that if given absolute power in some form they were scary smart with it Daniel's moment being this episode, and Carter's being her replicator clone.
@@benjaminbierley2074 Ironically Daniel actually did beat RepliCarter. If he had been set on controlling her rather than so many replicators she would have been unable to leave the 'dream space' and would have remained unable to kill him.
@@mnomadvfx SG1 Carters weakness was pretty clear. She was always hesitant when it came to making decisions. Battle is one thing your on auto pilot mode but in power situations where you can think she always needed help to steer in the right direction. This is the main reason carter is a lovable character. She has flaws like any other person. Shes super smart but she has very basic weakness anyone can exploit. Its a good lesson in writing a strong female character. All characters need weakness as well as strengths to be enjoyed by many. Jackson's weakness are pretty well shown also.
What is "power" though? Telling other monkeys to act like whatever monkey instincts you come up with? Or is it having a lot of wealth, so that your procreation and offspring well being monkey instincts could be satisfied? I disagree, I believe no life form in the history of earth has achieved real power, yet. It's all just instincts that boil down to; procreation and survival. We are close to creating something that has actual power. When we will create nanotechnology capable of matter conversion, and combine it with self improving general AI, then whatever will emerge, will have power, to do anything, be anything, and create everything.
@@Effect-Without-Cause If you had the opportunity to live in a perfect sanctuary without bothering anyone else, would you seize that opportunity? That is a kind of power.
Advanced weapons are easily the worst plot hole in SG1. If they could engineer an entire new destroyer class space ship then they could have done away with those projectile guns and missiles. Literally the only reason to keep projectile guns was replicators - and considering what the replicators were capable of that was easily the dumbest vulnerability in sci fi ever.
They'd slowly learned, between "Tangent" and "Absolute Power" the Tau'ri have learned what to use and what not to use. To quote/paraphrase Sel'mak from "Tangent;" "You can't just stick a US Air Force sticker on it and say 'this is ours.'" After each season and episode they learn lessons from each piece of advanced technology, unlike the AG satellites here the Prometheus and Daedalus were Earth-built with selective non-human systems
@@mnomadvfx like Thor said on the show, "The Asgard have tried to stop them. You have demonstrated their weakness may be found from a less sophisticated approach. We are no longer capable of such thinking."
Prometheus didn't have the most powerful Asgard weapons they weren't as strong as proper Asgard ships. Just enough to take on threats in the Milkyway. Even replicators weren't interested in Prometheus. The other ships were more powerful, that got developed in the series. But they had an Asgard on board the ships.
It wasnt about the weapons tech, it was about the genetic memory of the aliens and how our personalities are shaped by our memories. 30 years of Jacksons memories vs 50,000 years of G'ould memories x2 altered his personality
From what I seen with all this tension in our world. It is very rare to find groups who act out in violence that know what they truly were doing. No ideal of the consequences and of what could be lost is often missed till it is too late while often not learning from their mistakes.
It was all in dream sequence to demonstrate to Daniel that this ultimate power is not safe in any human’s grasp. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely!
The point of the episode was not that power corrupts, it was that it was impossible for Shifu to use his genetic Goa'Uld knowledge for good, because he also had all the bad stuff that came with said knowldge. Even if he wanted to be good, he would eventually succumb to his endless memories of other Goa'Uld taking great pleasure in torturing and killing people. He would be influenced by, and slowly become like all the other Goa'Uld. "The true nature of a man is determined in the battle between his conscious mind and his subconscious, and the evil in my subconscious (the Goa'Uld genetic memory), is too strong to resist. The only way to win, is to deny it battle" as Shifu and Daniel states when he comes out of the dream sequence after this scene.
No the point wasn't power per se - the point was that the knowledge of the Goauld comes with the price of the memories that contain it, and the corrupting influence of the personality that those memories belonged to. Oma Desala (through the harsesis) was showing Daniel that the knowledge to defend Earth would come at a price he would not care to pay prior to it.
The only way out of this mess is if Cater somehow figured out a way to time travel back to the past to that incident where Daniel becomes taken over by evil
I always had a love/hate with this episode, it was overall great, but wiping an entire city never seemed Daniels style when he could have done a precision shot and taken out something to prove the point without civilian deaths.
That is the thing about power, it can cloud your judgment. That is why you must be grounded to principles and basic truths that you don't break. You must be anchored to something, because you can't be anchored to yourself.
This outcome was in some way foreshadowed in the episode, if in the cryptic language of a being ascended at Keb. In his conversation with Shifu earlier in the pisode, Daniel asks for the knowledge of the Gua'ould, stating that the music doesn't play the musician. Shifu's answer; normally there's truth in that. So basically, this music, i.e. this knowledge, WILL play the musician, i.e. Daniel.
Actually, that was a part of Daniel’s true nature. One of Daniel’s side is more alike with the gua’uld than the humanist side we see usually. Jack is fully aware of that side of Daniel. Jack even shot him dead because of it, in one of the alternate realities episode.
@@bobbiusshadow6985 Well, that fits within the episode too I suppose, Shifu again refers to this; the evil on one's minde being to great to resist. I think there's very little further evidence for this thoughout the episodes of SG1 though, but does fit within this episode.
Multiple life sentences? Danny boi just became supreme ruler of Earth, didn't you know? Give it a few generations and he would become like Kim Jong Un in absolute power/control. Except for the entire planet.
Shooting down the ICBM's would not make it clear to the Russians. They would try to find other ways and war would still happen. Think of it as cancer, you just don't cut out the tendrils, you cut out all of it, even the healthy tissue around the cancer to prevent any future events. By targeting Moscow, Daniel removed all leadership in an instant that could commence war onto him and his allies. Sure, in WW2 we could of used only one nuke, but using two was a display of power that no one else had. It served as a message, telling your enemy you can remove them from this planet or they can submit to total defeat. It was biblical in every sense that type of power, and when you have the power of the gods, everyone will obey. Besides, for you socialist's out there, with Daniel knocking out every opposing countries military, they now can sink those funds that would of been for the military, into health care and homes. In a way, Daniel was saving the planet from itself. Even though the means was morally corrupt and evil.
There was no GOOD reason. It was a show of force and a warning to others not to try anything. It makes perfect sense within his plan and current mindset.
If they were targeting the US, certainly. But you can do sub-orbital shots on targets in Europe that might be much harder to intercept. Or similar short-range shots using forward-deployed ballistic-missile submarines. Or cruise-missiles. Lots of delivery options that aren't easy targets for orbital weapons.
(this episode was only a dream btw) He should have given the network a list of targets, scan the planet for nukes and target anyplace in Russia that has stored nukes, also all the subs / planes, most nukes are in storage, it would take months to work through waves of launches, with 15 or so targets from each ICBM, *this space based system was designed to shoot down FTL ships so even a hypersonic weapon would be standing still compared to FTL targeting.*
It’s crazy the amount of firepower this thing has. It literally wiped Moscow and most of its surroundings in a couple of seconds. From what I understand it’s based on goauld knowledge given by the kid, I wonder why they don’t have systems like this and are relying mostly on the Ha’tak class spaceships for most of their endeavours.
Because while the Goa'Uld have the technology to build incredibly devastating weapons, it doesn't fit their idea of warfare. Weapons of terror, and all that. They would rather take a thousand shots to level a city than only one. Objectively it's less dangerous, but subjectively it means many of the survivors will remember seeing a rain of fire from the sky as explosions go off all around them. And they'll tell others about that experience. They want to dominate, not annihilate. Except Anubis. Anubis was built different.
@Ragitsu It doesn't exist. The question is whether the Goa'Uld _could_ build it if they wanted to. I'm inclined to believe they could. If nothing else, we know that Ha'Tak easily tanked the naquadah-enhanced nukes used in the series 1 finale, yet their Artillery Staff weapons can take down a Ha'Tak's shields in a few minutes. Shifu had the genetic memory of the Goa'Uld, he could certainly have used it to construct a plausible scenario for Daniel.
It's honestly a bit of a forgettable episode, part of the also-forgettable Harcesis arc. Basically everything that happens in this episode is just Daniel being shown a spooky vision of a hypothetical future, which means we get a "It was all a dream"-ending, which makes the whole Harcesis storyline kind of pointless. It's an easy episode to forget as a result.
I doubt the government wouldn’t have a contingency plan for something like this. Probably either having undercover agents working inside the compound to keep eyes on Daniel. And to have a secret self-destruct button for the entire base. Heck, they should be able to directly command the security teams inside the compound in the first place.
Pocket Nuke in Sub-Basement 4, inside the locked cupboard labelled “Uninterruptible Power Supply Annexe”. Give it both a command detonate and timed capacity; if the carrier wave is lost it starts a 24h countdown.
Daniel was right oneal was not that bright, we all know those goauld shields are for high velocity defense so he could have walked up and shoved the gun in Daniels chest and shot him just fine
How ironic that Daniel says Jack wasn't that bright when Jack has the entire knowledge base of the ancients downloaded into his fron... I mean head... twice
That has more to do with his near compatibility to Ancient physiology than his intelligence which still isn't so great. The act of doing so would have killed him on both occasions. Both times it was the intervention of the Asgard prevented it - ie a super advanced alien race. Also Daniel had a similar level of knowledge unload into his brain while under duress from RepliCarter and ended up using it to temporarily control not just her, but the entire replicator horde thereby giving Carter and Selmac time to finish tuning the Dakara superweapon to wipe out replicators. To say that the feats are WILDLY different in difficulty is a dramatic understatement. I doubt Daniel would have survived the Ancient repository downloading into his brain much longer than Jack if he was compatible - but I do think that he would have retained more control over himself.
What I've wondered since "The Fifth Race" was whether O'Neill would have actually been able to acquire the data from the Repository if he didn't possess the ATA gene (or it granted better control). All that was made clear was that Teal'c could only see "colored lights" likely because the Repository sensed the Goa'uld presence
But modern version using Hypersonic maneuver nuclear reactor engine complex. It's now can't be normal tracking because of ping and light diffraction causes some desynchronized image. That's why hypersonic so deadly - 10min, mark 20, and possibly high energy resistance.
Oma helps Daniel Ascend a few times, she would not have done this if his nature was truly like this. Listen to Oma's teachings!! Anubis was her biggest regret.
Don't remember the episode. All I can say is.... Would not want me in Daniels chair. I would unite the world in peace under my iron boots. And keep a beauty from each nation in my harem. For posterity.
Goauld came for Earth and got their asses handed to them. Daniel's revamped and more aggressively expansionist SGC became the controlling force across the galaxy. Daniel becomes absolute ruler on Earth. The end.
I have seen and read about things where it is shown that absolute power corrupts but god who we consider all mighty is not seen as such why? Beside that even if we ensure that nobody has it and have checks and balances the people in position of power conspire together to have the power limited among themselves so in this case aboslute power belongs to a group who want it, this has been seen in governmental system both in elective and authoritive system. So what does this mean? I think rather than absolute power the fear of losing it corrupts people. And knowing that even with it one can't stop demise of oneself might be one more reason. If only god can all have it then being existence before and after us with unlimited time, power and knowledge make it uncorruptible. Who knows?
@@Ragitsu Well, first off, it was a very Anubis-centric season. Also, it was the introduction of Tealc's hair (which I loved by the way) It was also the dramatic return of the replicator Fifth and the introduction of Repli-Carter. The Jaffa finally broke free from their enslavement to the Goa'uld and started their own fledgling nation. We finally learned why Anubis was allowed to run amuck in the Milky Way Galaxy (being used to punish Oma for breaking the rules of the Ancients) We saw Anubis in his original host body 'Jim' which none of us saw coming. We also saw how ascended beings brawl with each other for the first time. We learned about the super weapon built by the Ancients on Dakara. And everything came full circle when the 'great' Lord Ra (tho in an old timeline) made one last return reminding us all how cool he is or was (whichever) Season 8 rocked! The perfect Swan-song for that original show before the rise of the Ori. ✌️
Daniel's actions would have sparked the very nuclear exchange he was trying to avoid. Russia's "Dead Hand" system is designed to retaliate with their nuclear arsenal, even if leadership is... unavailable to give the launch command.
It’s in all of us, like it or not, that “thing” that wants to conquer over others, that “urge” to squash things to smithereens. It has nothing to do with one’s level of intellect. .. tho someone intelligent would be fully aware of it.
Actually the lighting is excellent in this, great shadows and contrast while main tingling some ambient light that gives the whole place a futuristic look and feel
I don't like the takeaway of this episode very much. It goes the "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" way, but actually only proves that power corrupts when it is given for free and that knowledge bestowed in an unnatural (too quick) way is dangerous, because skipping the part where you contemplate the consequences of a discovery leads to making wrong decisions. It also completely breaks Daniel's character as Jack almost literally points out, so it is actually the residual Goa'Uld influence connected to the knowledge that is the problem here. Otherwise a bunch of later episodes would not make much sense... Compare that to when Jack gets the Datavault of the Ancients loaded in his brain, twice, he doesn't go rogue. Neither does Daniel in Season 10. Or Rodney in that one Atlantis episode.
I think the point was to show that the Goa'uld can not change, or be harnessed for good. The knowledge gained from their genetic memory is not just technical specs, but also centuries of existence at the apex of power. They are not built for compromise, coexistence, or collaboration with any but equals, few of which even exist in their minds. And they can't break out of this pattern because they carry all their mistakes, misconceptions, and character flaws forward every time a new Goa'uld is born. It's like trying to teach an old dog new tricks. Essentially it was not Daniel anymore. Power corrupting was not a new lesson for the audience. It was Daniel who needed to understand that, in this case, the music can indeed play the musician. You can also argue that this was one of Oma's lessons to try to help him understand that having power does not necessarily mean it should be used.
The idea that power corrupts is a misnomer. Power enables. It's a tool, a magnifier like a lever or a pulley. It amplifies everything, good and bad. a hammer in the hands of a craftsman builds, in the hands of a murderer it kills. Daniel wasn't corrupted. This darkness was always there but without the power to influence anything. And this was the lesson. That the evil exists, and that we are not ready for this power. It is thanka to this lesson that Daniel was able to later ascend having faced his darkness, dispelled it, and become pure of heart enough to ascend beyond mortality.
This was not "Power Corrupts". This was "The Knowledge held by the Harsiesis will corrupt you." The kid itself could not teach the knowledge, as he had purposefully blocked that memory to have a chance at having his own personality. And any transfer would brainwash you into a Goauld just as well as it would him. Omah taught him "how to forget" this knowledge.
But we see in the episode that Daniel envisions himself as a Goul'd in moments of anger, he has Teal'c killed, the knowledge of the Gouald came with their genetic memory - their personality
I get the meaning and premise of this scenario but I'm unconvinced that being in a position of authority(understanding) would corrupt someone like Daniel so completely.
@@Ragitsu Im thinking because the goauld has genetic memory and they have been using the sarcophogus for thousands of years, it has corrupted them and made them all evil, because of the genetic memory the evil is transferred to future generations, It would make sense it would include memories of being evil transferred to daniel as well, as he was having "flashbacks" of being a goauld.
@@matis9118 i do not believe that overused saying as a universal truth. those who seek and find power are more likely. but when power is forced on sumone who dues not seek it, they behave and adapt very differently to that new power.
Interresting part is he is not preventing global nuclear war. He actuaally starting it. Lack of regular response from Moscow is included in the parameters Perimetr sistem is monitoring.
@@Ragitsu Tere are a lot of problems with this teory. First, He wont gets there without receiving a lethal dose of radiation.. Second, she nuclear powerpland which supplies energy to stargate is blown off. And main is: outside the planet, a loner will not build an empire. He could try to take power in a small medieval village, maybe even successfully due to the difference in the technological level, but the first guauld that comes along will simply crush his "empire". And if the guaulds will not search for him purposefully, the residents of the Alpha base... And so on.
@@thehistoryguy4277 *If* the orbital weapons we witnessed in this extended dream _do_ in fact originate from the Ancients, chances are this technology would be equal to whatever the Ori possess.
@@DarkNexariusThis weapon is a designed to destroy even shielded Gould ships without effort so it could probably stand a chance against 1 Ori ship if taken by surprise.
@@Ragitsu given that you seem so concerned about people suggesting that this be done to Russia don't you think it's a little odd you don't care that Russia is actually doing this for real?
The funniest thing is how fictional this is! In reality, I assume that weapon doesn't exist, the USA would never use it on Moscow if it did and they would never attack first! But hey, let the people believe the USA is untouchable.
@@Ragitsu I know right! My brother told me "they want them to do that". It's all rehearsed, planned and scripted. Don't get me wrong, it still makes for a movie, but one must remember Freddy Kruger, Toy Story, Titanic, Bad boys, etc are all made up. Avatar and the avengers are real though, I've got a pic with spider man.
@@brucewelty7684 people of the boomer generation yes, they know what it is like when a nuke drill took place, I don't know how the country thought that ducking under your desk or in the hallway with your heads between your knees were going to make you impervious to a nuclear blast, but you do you. This was made after, well after the fall of the USSR, so this whole story line must be from another dimension.
That's silly... Why would Daniel destroy people ? With the wepons orbital grid, he could neutralize any ICBM launch... and probably make peace simply by forcing any enemy troops from coming together --- Zap ! based DMZ no fighting allowed.
🤣 Of course, what this fails to mention is that either side will use it's missiles automatically in the event of an attack (mutual assured destruction). With Moscow destroyed, Russia would launch thousands of missiles (land & submarine based), along with hundreds of aircraft equipped with nuclear bombs, cruise missiles, and similar. The United States would detect those missile launches, immediately responding in kind. End of the world stuff.
@@Ragitsu .. That's the whole point of the current strategy of mutually assured destruction - so many nukes, fired from so many directions, defense is impossible. The premise is to make nuclear war terrifyingly unfathomable. Of course, flaws include the dependency on everything working perfectly, nobody making a mistake, and so on.
@@robinstewart6510 It assumes that both sides in a conflict are more-or-less evenly matched concerning their defensive technologies, yeah? Clearly, the United States under Daniel has a massive advantage; then again, he'd probably be content to sit in his shielded fortress and let Earth turn to ashes before he rises up to take ultimate control.
Actually, the Russian dead-hand system would need to detect radiation similar to a nuclear blast, but in the video it's stated that no nuclear fallout would occur, thus implying in no radiation. The dead-hand would not automatically activate in this scenario. Although I do believe Russian army would do it.
The current nuclear strategy is "launch on warning." Like us, the Russians are watching for missile launches and incoming missiles, prepared to launch on detection. They most certainly would respond in full if Moscow itself were destroyed.
Because this need large resources, and save period of time to build. It easy cyber pray to Asgard. They in civil war sustain. And that's this system be only on strategic place.
Goauld wasn't really thinking in defensive strategy. They were all offense and terror. Their military didn't really have any variety. No long ranged weapons for the troops. No mines, no artillery, no troop support vehicles. They didn't want to give the Jaffa too much toys. They might used that against them. They had the automated firing platforms that one Tokra operative used while hiding in a cave, that was in only one episode. Even those towers we seen in season 3 were an idiotic concept and never seen again. I mean the stuff is underground, so the operators were just sitting inside them all that time, waiting it to be raised? And their accuracy... Oh boy.
Also for all we know they probably do not have this technology. This is more ancient level and since this whole thing is basically a lesson the ancients are trying to teach Daniel about the dangers of having more tech than your ready for perhaps they have him access to their knowledge as well not just the goauld
Overconfidence. They only had to deal with uneducated slaves and each other. So there was never really a need to innovate or be efficient. And even if they did develop anything, they jealously hoarded it to themselves from the other system lords. This is why Earth stood any chance at all.
@@darwinxavier3516 They didn't have to deal with only "uneducated slaves". There were plenty of advanced civilization out there, the Nox, Asgard, Tollan. They somehow developed weapons to combat the Reetou. So they were innovative if they tried hard enough. They feared the Asgard like crazy, but didn't really tried to come up with new weapons until Anubis returned. In one episode, the Goa lost 3 Hataks to the Tollan ion cannons. If anything, arrogance was their downfall, for the Tollan aswell. Such an advanced civilization, they know an enemy empire is out there yet they never thought how boned they will be if the Goauld develops new shields or just gates in and send an army.
Could it be happening now with Elon musk and starlink?!?!?…joking aside, this is so easy to make real in today’s world….luckily for Daniel it’s was just like Dallas, all a dream….phew!
@@danielboatright8887 he doesn't want competition, it's just a means to an end. Same with Tesla. Same with Twitter. Same with Starlink. The only thing that Musk actually cares about is getting to Mars. Everything he does is in service of that one goal.
