Taking over the world 101

[ultranos]

...why am I actually sitting down and coming up with a plausible way that the Ori could possibly conquer Earth? Because I don't think they'd nuke us from orbit, because they get their power from worshipers. (At least, as I understand it. I might have to go back and rewatch s10.) From what I understand of the 'gate-verse, Earth apparently has a population orders of magnitude larger than most other planets. The Ori would have to be not only stupid, but failing at the basic survival techniques. I kind of find that a bit hard to believe.

DISCLAIMER: Yes, I am going to be talking about religions. This will be in a purely theoretical sense. There might be some analysis too. Please do not think I am hating on your beliefs or anything.


The main problem is that, simply looking at the major religions of the world, most people who believe in something believe in it without proof. That is fundamentally different than what it seems like the rest of the galaxy takes as its status quo. The Goa'uld masqueraded as gods. A real, physical presence. For the majority of people, there was no reason not to believe. The reason everything kind of fell apart was because the Tau'ri have a history of not requiring proof for faith. The gods of the Tau'ri are largely unseen, and people still have faith. (Yes, I know I'm painting in hugely broad strokes. I am purposely making a broad generalization here to prove a point.)

The Ori seem to have largely stepped into a power vacuum left by the Goa'uld. Everyone else wasn't used to not having a very physical manifestation of whatever they believed in. You can make arguments about the true meaning of faith and whether or not it requires proof here. (If I were a theologian, I might. I'm not. I'm an engineer. If anyone wants to tackle that, feel free.) It's kind of a fundamentally different scenario, though, than Earth.

So, how would they do it? Having nations and governments surrender would count as a win nominally. But Earth has had countless wars over religion, and probably will have many more. Faith seems to be rooted in something different, and harder to dissolve. Conversion, true conversion, is hard.

Destroying major religious centers like Jerusalem (Judaism, Islam, Christianity), Rome (Christianity, specifically Catholicism), and Mecca (Islam) would get people's attention, but would probably serve more to piss them off. (Oh hai thar, Crusades.) The friend I was discussing this with suggested book burnings: theological and holy texts right along side science texts. It's an interesting thought. Also, a dismantling of a lot of the communications around the world. Keeping people from easily communicating with each other would help towards insuring that the knowledge that's being destroyed stays that way.

It's an interesting thought exercise. And the more I look at it, the more I see how bloody hard it would be. (I suppose you could scale this down to see why resistance groups always seem to be so very hard to root out to any opposing force.)

Comments

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Yeah, communication would be severely disrupted. While the internet was theoretically initially designed to survive a nuclear war, the only places where one could probably access it are military bunkers and certain universities.

Which brings me to the fact that most colleges would probably be first on the list, after holy centers and giant military bases, to go. Maybe some of them will survive, but they'd be the ones out in the middle of rural areas. Maybe.

(I think it'd depend on how much they think Earth is worth. Over 6*10^9 people is a lot of people...)

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

why would colleges be first to go? wouldn't the Ori want the young, the disillusioned and alienated, and those looking for Something To Believe In{tm}?
:D

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Possibly I'm seeing them like the Bolsheviks saw the young Intelligensia after the Russian Revolution. :) Destroy the institutions of higher learning, in order to keep the population ignorant and unquestioning.

[rodlox.livejournal.com]

interesting analogy. yet the Bolsheviks kept people like Lysenko around (and were willing to recall experts in space travel).

as to intelligence...
this deserves its own subject line; sorry...

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

True. But there was an intense anti-intellectual movement when Stalin took power. Despite the fact that it was the young, disaffected, alienated, Wanting to Believe in Something (TM) intellectuals who started the entire Revolution.

Soviet history is an interesting beast.

Honestly, I'm not sure how they would do it. I can see them trying to court the young disaffected college students who always Want to Change the World, and twisting that desire. Or I can see them stifling that. Funny how both can have similar outcomes.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

I think it'd depend on how much they think Earth is worth. Over 6*10^9 people is a lot of people.

But is it a lot of people in the grand scheme of the entire galaxy/universe?

And how much trouble is it worth? How many do you have to kill to get the rest? And do the Ori still gain power from people who only pretend to believe in/worship them?

Though I wonder if Earth has some degree of extra interest in their supposed goal of wiping out the Ancients - as the first planet the Ancients came to, maybe it has significance for that battle?

[ultranos-fic.livejournal.com]

Okay probably not a lot in the grand scheme of everything.

Although, as Earth is the first planet of the Ancients, probably before the split between the Ancients and the Ori, it could very well be a pyschological target. Possibly like how Jerusalem was during the Crusades. All of them.