The People of M32-3R1 are the inhabitants of the planet known as M32-3R1.
Overview[]
Unusually for a human population in the Pegasus Galaxy, the people of M32-3R1 have a massive civilization of millions of people spread out across their planet. The people possess an industrial age level of civilization with technology such as ballistae, sailing ships, canals and barges. They also possess relatively advanced medical science compared to other Pegasus Galaxy civilizations and are aware of such things as brain swelling from head injuries and performing decompressive craniectomy to treat such an injury. According to the healer Jitrine, the people autopsy the corpses of prisoners, at least in the College of Healers in the city of Pelagia, to learn the causes of death a person can suffer. At least part of the planet is a desert, but people still inhabit it, particularly in the oases along at least one canal that passes through the desert. Another part of the planet known to be inhabited is an archipelago of islands north of the desert.
Unusually for a Pegasus civilization, particularly one so populous, the people are not bothered by the Wraith and are not even aware of their existence. Part of this comes from an Ancient energy shield that protects the planet from attack by space. The planet's Stargate, called the Gate of the Ancients by the people, is also inoperable and has been for centuries. While someone can dial in and visit the people of M32-3R1, they cannot dial out and visit the rest of the galaxy as they were once able to, effectively cutting the people of M32-3R1 off from the rest of the galaxy. Though the inoperative Stargate was studied by many scholars of Pelagia, they lack the knowledge of how the Stargate works and so do not attempt to repair it out of fear of breaking the Stargate further.
The planet is ruled by monarchy, with kings for each section of the planet. The king of Pelagia, a very big kingdom, is King Anados. All of the planet's kings fall under the rule of the High King who rules from the Holy Island. The High King is the representative of the people's gods and is revered by them as a result.
Each year on the Holy Island, the High King holds the Games of Life where contestants compete against each other in an underground labyrinth. The first person to emerge is richly rewarded while the rest are dedicated to the High King's service. These contestants are tributes given by each kingdom and by 2005, the number of people being given over to the Games causes some tension with people from the region known as The Chora and possibly other locations. (SGA: "Death Game")
History[]
For millennia, the people of M32-3R1 thrived due to an Ancient energy shield that protected the planet from attack by space, destroying any ship that descended too far towards the surface or too far up from it. The people were able to use the planet's Stargate, known to them as the Gate of the Ancients to trade with the rest of the Pegasus Galaxy and developed a thriving industrial civilization.
At an unknown point centuries in the past, the planet was discovered by a Wraith Commander. Rather than cull the population, the Commander decided to set himself up as a god to the people, using the more advanced Wraith technology to present himself as such to the people. The people fell for the deception and came to believe that the Wraith were gods and the Commander was their representative. The Wraith Commander set himself up as the ruler of the people of M32-3R1 and came to be known as the planet's High King, having authority over the human kings of the planet. As the High King, the Wraith managed to get a Wraith cruiser past the planet's shield and set up the Games of Life as an easy way to get food each year so that he wouldn't have to cull. The High King disabled the planet's Stargate as well so that no one could leave. The people remained ignorant to the true cause of the Stargate's inability to function or that their High King was a Wraith, a creature that had been preying on the other planets of the galaxy for thousands of years.
In 2005, the First Atlantis Reconnaissance Team and Doctor Radek Zelenka visited M32-3R1 where the High King's cruiser shot down the team's Puddle Jumper, leaving Lt. Colonel John Sheppard and Teyla Emmagan stranded in The Chora while Zelenka and Ronon Dex were stranded on the island containing the Ancient ruins the planet's shield was projected from. After learning of the size of the population and the fact that they possessed no knowledge of the Wraith despite their obvious presence, Sheppard and Teyla grew suspicious. Their suspicions only heightened after discovering the level of technology the people were allowed to reach. The two ultimately came to the correct conclusion about the identity of the High King and the planet's "gods". After being forced into the Games of Life, Sheppard, Teyla and about a dozen other contestants escaped with the help of Zelenka and Ronon who disabled the labyrinth's traps and destroyed the control system. Attempting to escape in a second Puddle Jumper, the Atlantis team came under attack by the High King in his cruiser. After a chase, Sheppard tricked the High King into slamming his cruiser into the planet's energy shield. The impact destroyed the Wraith cruiser and killed the High King and all of the Wraith on the planet.
Following the death of the High King and the other Wraith, the people of M32-3R1 were liberated from their unknowing servitude to the Wraith. Healer Jitrine suggested that with the High King dead, King Anados of Pelagia would attempt to take power as the leader of a new empire of men on the planet. Sheppard acknowledged that the High King's death left a power vacuum that someone would have to fill and King Anados might as well try. Doctor Rodney McKay, having repaired the planet's Stargate, offered Jitrine a choice: when the team left, he could disable the planet's Stargate again or leave it intact. With the Stargate disabled, the people could get rid of any scouting Wraith that came through and they would be unable to escape and alert the other Wraith to the size of the population on the planet. At the same time, the planet's energy shield would protect the planet from space attack. However, the downside would be that the people couldn't use the Stargate anymore either and would be cut-off from the rest of the galaxy. On the other hand, if McKay left the Stargate intact, the people could travel to other planets, but would be vulnerable to threat of the Wraith. Ultimately, Jitrine chose to leave the Stargate intact, allowing the people of M32-3R1 to rejoin the other peoples of the Pegasus Galaxy despite the dangers. She also promised to make sure King Anados left a guard on the Stargate day and night to watch for returning Wraith. (SGA: "Death Game")