The Seventh Chevron in Stargate: Why Didn't Scientists Try All Combinations?

In the Stargate film, when Dr. Jackson discovers the seventh Chevron, it raises the question: why didn’t scientists before him simply try all possible combinations?

The Practicality of Exhaustive Dialing

If one were to dial through all 38 glyphs on a DHD (Dial Home Device), it would take an hour and 15 minutes, assuming one could keep track of which combinations were already tested. This is far from ideal, especially in a high-stakes environment. Here are a few points to consider:

A 61-symbol address system presents over 6.36 billion possible combinations. Most of these do not lead to a connected Stargate, making the process inefficient and prone to failure. If a Stargate is not connected to Earth, there is no DHD to update, and the Stargate network information would be outdated, leading to potential misalignments and rendering the gate unusable. Interstellar drift means that even planets close to Earth, like Abydos, would experience displacement after some time. Any Stargate from other worlds would be out of alignment, rendering manual dialing ineffective. The Stargate network is complex and possibly broken, making an exhaustive dialing process not just time-consuming but also potentially futile.

Motivations and Dangers

The decision not to exhaustively dial all combinations stems from a combination of practical concerns and historical events. Here are some key points:

Scared of the Unknown: The scientists were hesitant to use the Stargate without fully understanding it. They found limited instructions in the form of a cartouche, which only showed six symbols. The cartouche assumed that the adjoining planet would provide the seventh symbol for the point of origin.

Early Experiments and Tragedies: In the TV series, we learn that decades before the movie, a head scientist was lost after attempting to dial the Stargate without a clear understanding of how it worked. This event further discouraged undirected experimentation, as they witnessed the potential for disastrous outcomes.

Further Context from Stargate Media

The events in Stargate have a significant impact on subsequent teams' behavior. The fear of the unknown and the memory of the tragic incident led to a more cautious approach.

The TV show provided a deeper insight into the initial discovery and experimentation with the Stargate:

When the team first found the Stargate, they immediately began making manual attempts to dial it. However, after many failed attempts and a near-vaporization incident, they managed to successfully dial an address. The researcher then passed through the wormhole before it closed. As the team did not understand the Stargate's nature or its dialing process's significance, the event appeared like a sudden and mysterious death to everyone else. This further fueled their reluctance to experiment further without proper preparation.

This historical context underscores the scientists' reluctance to blindly dial all combinations.

Conclusion

The reluctance of the scientists to exhaustively dial all combinations is rooted in practical considerations and a dire historical precedent. The complexity of the Stargate system and the potential ramifications of misalignment, drift, and malfunctioning equipment make such an approach impractical and perilous.

This decision adds depth to the Stargate universe, highlighting the importance of caution and the consequences of premature exploration.