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The Ori

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The Ori are fictional characters on the TV series Stargate SG-1. They are a group of Ascended Beings that rival the Ancients, who use their advanced technology and spiritual knowledge of the universe to trick humans into worshiping them as gods. They are somewhat similar, in their manipulation of the truth, to another species, the Goa'uld. Unlike the Goa'uld, the Ori's powers as Ascended beings are very real.

Doci

1 Religion
2 Difference in Views
3 Origin's Followers
4 History
5 The Plague
6 Celestis
7 Also See

Religion

The Ori religion, called Origin, is forced on all humans for the purpose of total control. According to Orlin, the Ascended being who became friendly with Samantha Carter, the Ori demand that others follow the religion of Origin because they derive power from the worship of the unsuspecting Priors and their other followers. In what has been described by Orlin to be a complex process, the Ori derive energy from their worshipers. They promise their followers Ascension but they don't deliver on that promise.

The religion that the Ori wish to impose on all sentient beings is called Origin, or the Path of Origin, and it is their way to assert dominance by promising to guide humanity toward Ascension. Its central promises are supposedly false, nothing more than a way to garner worshipers, which in turn increases the power of the Ori. To grant Ascension to all their followers would mean sharing their power, an idea the Ori find less than appealing. Followers of the faith receive nothing whatsoever from the Ori.

It is a dogmatic, proselytizing faith, which comes with a holy book called The Book of Origin. Specialized missionaries, called Priors, are enhanced humans who are able to demonstrate some of the Ori's powers. Priors are responsible for spreading the Word of Origin, and only designate a people for destruction if they deny Origin outright. The Book of Origin contains tales of how the followers of the Ori returned to the path to enlightenment, and thus achieved Ascension.

Difference in Views

The Ancients in the Milky Way galaxy called themselves Alterans; the Ori refer to them as "The Others." The two groups were not originally distinct from each other, and lived in the same society. At some point, the Ori became more religious, while the Ancients became more scientific. Ultimately their viewpoints diverged so much that the two races split apart and began to oppose each other.

The Ascended Alterans are well known for their fierce belief in free will. They do not interfere on lower planes of existence, even to prevent disaster. However, the Ori teach that failure to share the secrets of the universe with those on the lower planes of existence is an evil act, and that anyone not following their religion is evil and must be dealt with harshly. They have no rules against taking direct control of living beings or completely changing them to behave as the Ori desire.

The religion spreads its word through the use of simple, easy-to-grasp parables and aphorisms, using powerful and obvious symbolism and imagery of dark and light, the blind and the sighted, the right path and straying from it, and "good followers," who have set shining examples of devotion and faith.

The Ori constantly assert that they "do not require blind faith." They generate true belief in potential followers by showing them real miracles (created through their great understanding of the universe).

Origin's Followers

The Ori keep human followers at a low level of development, on par with the medieval period of English history. They use their powers to maintain a level of fear among the population, who worship the Ori as gods. Among the natives of the Ori home galaxy is a group of heretics who believe they are being oppressed, and seek to discover forbidden historical knowledge to show others that the Ori, though powerful, are not gods. These people are in a plight similar to that of the Jaffa. Individuals who show signs of doubting the faith are deemed to be under the control of demons and are said to be "overcome." They are put through a trial by fire. It is only through the intervention of a Prior that anyone can escape this ordeal.

History

The Ancients who came to the Milky Way decided to shield the second evolution of humans in the Milky Way galaxy from the Ori. It is their policy that humans may seek enlightenment through their own means, in the spirit of free will, which is what caused the Ori to find out about the Milky Way. Even though the Ancients do not believe in interfering in mortal affairs, it is speculated that they are responsible for generating the association of fire with demonic imagery in the Milky Way. The intent of this link is to shield humans from the Ori, as the central symbols of Origin involve fire. The worshipers of the Ori view fire as a cleansing symbol. As Daniel Jackson points out, seeing fire as a symbol of good is not illogical: fire provides warmth and light.

The Plague

It appears that the Ori sought to wipe out the Ancients. However, the Ancients fled to the Milky Way, probably forced to make that final jump toward Ascension when they contracted a deadly plague of unknown origin. Daniel Jackson posits that the pre–Ascended Ori may have been responsible for this plague.

The plague that the Ori use against human nonbelievers is very similar in nature to what is known of the Ancient's plague. The plague is made by modifying the DNA of a Prior and infecting a "Patient Zero," who feels no effects, enabling the virus to spread widely. The virus not only evolves rapidly, but can also become airborne across small distances, making quarantine almost unworkable as a means of prevention.

Celestis

The centre of the faith is the city of Celestis (also "The City of the Gods," according to the faithful), which apparently can only be reached by a Ring Transporter or by a sort of mental teleportation, which leaves the transported individual's body in the same place but brings their consciousness into the city. This is where the Ori are seen in the Flames of Enlightenment.