KHALEK

Khalek was discovered in stasis in an underground lab on P3X-584, a planet with a peculiar security system that used a type of "call forwarding" to divert incoming wormholes if a specific authorization code was not received. When he was released from stasis and brought back to the SGC infirmary, he began to recover, and he said that he had been taken prisoner by someone who had performed experiments on him. Because the lab had contained a DNA resequencer, SG-1 theorized that Khalek was a victim of Goa'uld genetic manipulation, but the logs from the lab were written in Ancient, and Daniel determined that Khalek was in fact a genetic hybrid, created in the lab by Anubis.

According to the timeline in the log, Anubis had begun the experiments after his ascension. Using the DNA resequencer, he managed to replicate his pre-ascension DNA through genetic manipulation and combined it with human DNA, enabling him to rapidly grow a hybrid subject that possessed his own genetic memories and had some physiological similarities to the genetic characteristics of the pre-ascended Ancients. Khalek was an advanced human who was in essence the son of Anubis. Whether Anubis's intention had been to prepare a new host for himself or to create a race of servants more powerful than the Kull Warriors, his goal was apparently to develop a human capable of ascension. The lab notes indicated that the subject would get a treatment in the DNA resequencer during which certain physiological changes were made in the brain, then over a period of weeks or months the subject adjusted to his new abilities before receiving another treatment. The process was gradual, but eventually, with enough physical evolution and mental control, the subject would reach a critical stage in which he would learn to shed his physical body and exist as energy. Unlike the Ancients, no moral component was required if ascension was achieved through technology.

With his memories intact and his abilities increasing, Khalek posed a significant threat, and he was sedated with a dopamine inhibitor and kept restrained in Isolation Room 1 as SG-1 and Landry and Woolsey considered whether he should be kept for study, or returned to stasis on the planet, or terminated. Despite Landry's concerns, Woolsey insisted that studying Khalek as a means of defeating the Priors was worth the risk, and he demanded that Khalek remain on Earth. The brain scan component from the DNA resequencer was brought back to the SGC and used to monitor Khalek's synaptic activity. A normal human brain would show roughly 5 to 10% coverage, but Khalek had already reached more than 70%, despite being sedated. He was evolving before their eyes, and research theorizes that 80 or 90% activity is required for conscious, willful ascension.

As Khalek continued to evolve, he began to exhibit several higher powers including certain telekinetic and psychic abilities. Using telekinesis, he broke free from his restraints, but his escape was prevented when he was shot twice in the chest. Returned to his restraints, he began to heal quickly, but his evolution appeared to plateau at 80% brain activity. Because of the danger he presented, Landry overruled Woolsey's orders and prepared to have Khalek returned to stasis on the planet, however Carter determined that Khalek would need another treatment in the DNA resequencer to make the next step in his evolution possible, and returning to the planet was probably his goal. Once again, Khalek used his abilities to escape. He blocked the sedative, disarmed the guards, broke free of his restraints, deactivated the force field, deflected weapons fire, sealed the blast doors, and dialed the gate, all using the power of his mind. However, Carter had redirected the call forwarding security feature of the planet so that as Khalek stepped through the gate to his world, he was immediately rerouted to Earth. Focusing his mind to deflect the bullets from Mitchell's gun, Khalek was vulnerable to Daniel's weapon behind him, and as they emptied their weapons into him, Khalek was killed.

Following Khalek's death, Carter and Dr. Lee continued to research the information that had been gathered by the brain scan device. The data made it possible to identify the specific portions of Khalek's brain that were active when he was using the special abilities he possessed due to his much more highly evolved state. Hoping that the Ori were affecting the Priors in much the same way, Carter and Lee began developing an anti-prior device, technology that would use ultrasonic frequencies to target and neutralize those higher brain functions and inhibit a Prior's special abilities.

Portrayed by: Neil Jackson

Cross Reference: Major Altman, Ancient Stasis Chamber, Anti-Prior Device, Anubis, Ascension, Brain Scan Device, DNA Resequencer, P3X-584, Stasis, Richard Woolsey

Episode Reference: Prototype