John flips open the notebook at the back to the last blank page, begins sketching out two concentric circles.
"So, you know how in Cardiff you have your rift that things go in and out of. Well, the Ancients liked to build big things and that didn't just stop at big fancy ships. They built a network of devices that you could basically use to connect to each other with a wormhole, kinda like your rift only imagine you can direct it to spit you out somewhere specific every time you use it. So, we refer to these things as Stargates because the addressing system works with star constellations. You dial an address, it locks and opens a passage for you, then it closes behind you and you have to dial home when you want to head back."
"But, how does addressing work? You don't need the gene to use these, just to know where you're going. Think of it like your zip code going into a GPS. There are six constellations you pick, then a seventh is the last one you plug in which says where you're coming from. It kinda finalises the address. It's spacially like a cube --"
He flips over another page and begins roughly drawing one, then drawing six dots and joining them in criss-crossing lines.
"Where all these lines cross is your destination, and then the seventh tells you the direction you're coming in."
John draws a seventh dot, then connects it through into the centre.
"But getting the order is important. Six symbols? You've got seven hundred and twenty possible permutations of the address, so random dialling doesn't get you far. It's better if you know where you're going. Especially since, what, there's thirty eight symbols on a Milky Way gate and one point of origin? That's nearly two billion possible address, divided by seven hundred and twenty is like -- over two and a half million plausible addresses. There's thirty six symbols on a Pegasus gate, and one is a point of origin, so that's like -- over one and a half million possible working addresses give or take."
He squints a second, calculating, then flips back to the gate picture.
"Anyway, the six plus point of origin rule keeps you within the same galaxy. If you want to jump further out, for example from the Milky Way to the Pegasus Galaxy where Atlantis is, you need an extra symbol to help it make the distance calculation before you put in the point of origin. Now, a nine symbol address is what TJ says they dialled. There are enough lock points on all the gates for that, but we've never had a nine symbol address before. So! If eight symbols adjusts to dial another galaxy, what's the ninth do? Another distance adjustment? A longer jump? We weren't part of that project, though I think I remember McKay complaining about it once, so honestly -- I don't know."
But maybe TJ can explain that better. He glances at Ianto to make sure his brain hasn't melted, then up at TJ curiously.
no subject
John flips open the notebook at the back to the last blank page, begins sketching out two concentric circles.
"So, you know how in Cardiff you have your rift that things go in and out of. Well, the Ancients liked to build big things and that didn't just stop at big fancy ships. They built a network of devices that you could basically use to connect to each other with a wormhole, kinda like your rift only imagine you can direct it to spit you out somewhere specific every time you use it. So, we refer to these things as Stargates because the addressing system works with star constellations. You dial an address, it locks and opens a passage for you, then it closes behind you and you have to dial home when you want to head back."
He begins quickly drawing all the constellations around the circle, and nine lock points.
"But, how does addressing work? You don't need the gene to use these, just to know where you're going. Think of it like your zip code going into a GPS. There are six constellations you pick, then a seventh is the last one you plug in which says where you're coming from. It kinda finalises the address. It's spacially like a cube --"
He flips over another page and begins roughly drawing one, then drawing six dots and joining them in criss-crossing lines.
"Where all these lines cross is your destination, and then the seventh tells you the direction you're coming in."
John draws a seventh dot, then connects it through into the centre.
"But getting the order is important. Six symbols? You've got seven hundred and twenty possible permutations of the address, so random dialling doesn't get you far. It's better if you know where you're going. Especially since, what, there's thirty eight symbols on a Milky Way gate and one point of origin? That's nearly two billion possible address, divided by seven hundred and twenty is like -- over two and a half million plausible addresses. There's thirty six symbols on a Pegasus gate, and one is a point of origin, so that's like -- over one and a half million possible working addresses give or take."
He squints a second, calculating, then flips back to the gate picture.
"Anyway, the six plus point of origin rule keeps you within the same galaxy. If you want to jump further out, for example from the Milky Way to the Pegasus Galaxy where Atlantis is, you need an extra symbol to help it make the distance calculation before you put in the point of origin. Now, a nine symbol address is what TJ says they dialled. There are enough lock points on all the gates for that, but we've never had a nine symbol address before. So! If eight symbols adjusts to dial another galaxy, what's the ninth do? Another distance adjustment? A longer jump? We weren't part of that project, though I think I remember McKay complaining about it once, so honestly -- I don't know."
But maybe TJ can explain that better. He glances at Ianto to make sure his brain hasn't melted, then up at TJ curiously.