SGHP 2: The lessons continue (Patreon)

*Antarctica, 7700 BC*

Hades was simultaneously amused and inconceivably angry. He had anticipated that his invention would be modified to better suit the image of a divine weapon, yet it seemed his role in its creation had been mostly overlooked.

Instead, Ptah and his team claimed most of the credit. Hades expected this to happen, but it still infuriated him. What frustrated him the most was that he couldn't do anything about it. Which Goa'uld would trust an unknown youngling over Ptah, the designer of the Ha'tak?

On the brighter side, he had acquired four Al'kesh vessels. Though they lacked mounted weapons, Hades didn't intend to use them for warfare anyway. His real concern was the trackers he found within the vessels, which he promptly removed. He didn't care much about who ordered their installation, but his guess was either Cronus or Ptah.

In addition to the vessels, Hades received around ten tons of Naquadah to use as he pleased, along with another two Tel'tak vessels.

The Goa'uld did not value these ships much, primarily because they were unarmed. However, they would serve well as exploration vessels for Hades, or more specifically, for his humans. Before allowing them to pass through the Chappa'ai, he intended to have them survey the neighboring star systems for some time, perhaps even further afield.

He would give these hunter-gatherers another century or two to develop, but soon his greatest test would be thrust upon them.

First, they had to demonstrate that they could apply what they learned. The biggest challenge Hades faced was the lack of manpower among the few primitive human tribes who were willing to learn from his facilities. However, over the decades, enough inquisitive individuals had settled close to his labs to form their own tribes.

To avoid detection, Hades kept the tribes small, but he might have to relocate his little students to the South Pole soon. He estimated that a few centuries was his time frame. A handful of humans who managed to discover agriculture wouldn’t concern the other Goa'uld. What would be alarming is if the humans suddenly began producing high-grade steel.

Although they were still quite far from that achievement, Hades had learned to expect the unexpected from humans, and he preferred to plan for surprises.

“I will have to start teaching the basics of using technology... navigation, reading sensor outputs...” Hades pondered.

He needed to provide them with the fundamental skills required to navigate the technology. They didn't need to understand it completely; that would come with time.

*Underworld Facility, Greece - 7614 BC*

Hades was captivated by the progress of humanity. Although they had never seen a proper navigation star map of the galaxy, some of them managed to connect the map he provided with the stars in the sky.

Hades may have nudged them in that direction by labeling a few celestial bodies in ways they would understand, but even so, it was impressive.

These humans had only recently progressed from using stone spears to working with rudimentary metallurgy, fashioning copper trinkets for themselves. Surprisingly, they had not yet begun to make weapons.

It seemed that, much like the Goa'uld, humans had a desire to be seen as special, albeit in slightly different ways.

The brightest among them would be given the first test: to explore their home system. Tau'ri had been designated a no-engagement zone by Ra himself, as this world was too important to destroy accidentally during conflicts among the Underlords. Therefore, flying a Tel'tak around the solar system would pose little trouble.

The humans would receive no special instructions beyond the simple directives: learn, explore, and don’t be seen. It was in this way that Hades htought to gauge their readiness to tackle foreign star systems.

It took some time for Hades to modify the Tel'tak systems to accommodate the rudimentary writing that the humans had developed, but he believed it would be worth it. Establishing a method for them to record their writing would likely lead to a significant increase in the complexity of their language, both spoken and written. Quite fortunate side-effect.

*Antarctica, 7600 BC*

It had only been four centuries since Hades arrived on Tau'ri, but his humans were already quite impressive. They had first explored their homeland, with the scanners aboard the Tel'tak teaching them far more than their eyes ever could.

For the last fourteen years, his pupils had scoured the planet, discovering animals and plants that even Hades had not encountered during his travels. Their scientific understanding skyrocketed once they were provided with even the most rudimentary scanners. Their language evolved rapidly to accommodate all the new information they were learning.

The most important aspect for Hades was that the Underworld facilities shared their knowledge. Unlike the Goa'uld, these humans seemed instinctively inclined to help one another. Or perhaps their society was still too primitive to hoard knowledge. Hades was uncertain, but his experiment became more interesting with each passing day.

Hades initially believed there was little for the humans to learn about in this solar system. However, the Tel'tak frequently flew to investigate nearby celestial bodies. Moons, rocky planets, and even gas giants were surveyed to the best capability of their equipment.

Surprisingly, scans indicated that the fourth planet from the Sun was once capable of supporting life, though that era had passed eons before the Goa'uld ever came into existence. This discovery was nontheless intriguing and something Hades considered when planning further exploration.

Hades' lab in Antarctica became his more or less permanent home and storage facility. It was the only place where his Al'kesh could safely land, and the place he kept the Chappa'ai partially buried in ice, only allowing it to emerge when needed.

This mechanism was designed to prevent anyone from accidentally stumbling into his home. For now, the Underlords were at peace, but Hades predicted that it would only be a few centuries before they began warring again, eager to deploy their new foot soldiers and test the technological upgrades resulting from their discoveries.

While these upgrades were fascinating, Hades anticipated another period of stagnation once the vessels were refitted. The Goa'uld were prideful and rarely accepted the need for improvement.

One notable leap in technological efficiency occurred after the Asgard completely destroyed the Goa'uld vessels over two millenia ago at this point. This lesson led Ptah to create new designs for the Goa'uld fleet, but afterward, development stagnated.

The designs were accepted as good enough until another major battle with the Asgard revealed the folly of the Goa'uld. Now, after a few centuries of technological advancement, progress was slowing down, primarily due to a lack of skirmishes with the Asgard that would otherwise drive innovation among the proud gods.

After more than a decade, the humans finally decided to explore further. Hades didn't even need to teach them how; they figured out how to enter hyperdrive coordinates on their own.

Their ever-expanding language was stored in the computers aboard the two Tel'tak vessels that his humans were using, and it was automatically uploaded to his central computer. This allowed Hades to learn from them and assist in the development of their language if necessary.

They set course for one of the nearest systems, a trinary system with two main stars orbiting each other and a third star orbiting the pair. Such stable trinary star systems are rare, and Hades was curious about what his humans would discover there.

As the findings began to accumulate, Hades was stunned. The system lacked a Chappa'ai, and the worlds orbiting the main pair of stars were nothing more than a useless pile of rock. Although rich in metals and even posessing some Naquadah, they could not support life, primarily due to intense radiation.

This alone would have been sufficient for the Goa'uld to dismiss the system as worthless. However, there was a planet orbiting the smaller, red star that had liquid water on its surface and an atmosphere capable of sustaining life.

Interestingly, the only organisms found on that world were photosynthetic bacteria. While this life form was not complex, it was still something. More importantly, this planet contained scattered deposits of Naquadah.

The humans may have just discovered Hades' key to independence.

Hades found himself lacking a workforce to mine the Naquadah from the newly discovered habitable planet, which forced him to do something unprecedented for a Goa'uld: automate. With slaves not readily accessible, he had to improvise.

He painstakingly used up most of his Naquadah to design an autonomous mining drone. This technology would suit his needs well, but no Goa'uld had ever created something automated to this degree.

After several years and numerous failures, he managed to develop an autonomous mining drone, though they were not the most efficient designs, even by Hades’ own admission.

Each mining drone measured nine meters long, six meters wide, and slightly over four meters tall, resembling a scarab beetle—a design Hades found appealing. The downside was that the drones could not fit through Chappa'ai; however, two of them could fit inside an Al'kesh.

The drones were capable of flight, courtesy of the Inertia Propulsion System, but they lacked hyperspace capability. This meant Hades would have to create a permanent base in the solar system where he would be mining.

If he was honest with himself, the Inertia Propulsion System was likely the pinnacle of Goa'uld engineering and Ptah's magnum opus. It was so versatile that it was used for everything from the relatively small Death Gliders to serving as sublight engines on a Ha'tak vessel.

Initially, Hades began mining the uninhabitable planets, directing the drones to deposit their cargo into all four of his Al'kesh he had stationed in the system. From there, he quickly designed a small orbital habitat around the smallest star.

It wasn’t large; enough to accommodate a few hundred people safely, but it would serve as Hades' hideout and a potential sanctuary for his humans if they were ever discovered and be expanded upon to accommodate for more people as the Underworld expanded.

The habitat was round in shape, featuring a small, pyramid-like tower in the center that would function as Hades' main laboratory. In a stroke of brilliance, Hades realized that with all the Naquadah he was now mining, he could automate the construction process as well.

Having gained some experience with autonomous drones, albeit limited, he set about building a powerful Naquadah refinery in the star's orbit. He had to construct this by hand, with the help of only his Al’kesh vessels, but from there, it took only a few of the newly created construction drones to complete the entire project.

These construction drones were very similar in overall appearance to the mining drones, resembling crabs in shape. Six meters long, and six meters wide, and three meter tall, they were smaller, slightly better designed than their mining counterparts, but there was still much to be improved in their design.

The important part was that the building process no longer required Hades' input at all. The drones simply followed the designs he uploaded into them. The best part? The drones could manufacture more of themselves and additional mining drones if given the necessary materials.

Over the first few months, the drones began producing more drones. With his small production line in place, Hades started building additional Tel'tak vessels. The basic models he had were relatively easy to produce and would not draw much attention if he were seen with several of them. He still was yet to get his hands on the coveted cloaking technology.

*Orbital Habitat - Proxima Centauri, 7550 BC*

Hades was pleased with his new home base. The hideout at the Tau'ri's South Pole would likely be abandoned, with only the Chappa'ai being something he might consider taking. However, doing so would disrupt his observation, so the gate would remain for the time being. Taking such important thing would be too much interference for Hades’ liking.

His humans were equipped with more Tel'tak vessels, and over the past few decades, they had begun mapping the space around Tau'ri. Each newly surveyed star system taught Hades more and more, almost like having lab assistants.

In Hades’ eyes, humans were wasted as slaves, especially since his workforce consisted of automated drones that only required liquid naquadah for operation, with refueling needed only once every few years.

Millions of slaves could not match the efficiency of his few hundred drones. A hyperbole Hades convinced himself to be completely true.

"Is that why the Asgard hold an eternal advantage over us?" Hades mused, realizing how blind he and his predecessors had been in their conquests.

Instead of enslaving people, they should have taken over and automated production. It was true that a single Asgard vessel could stand up to a dozen Ha'tak vessels, but what if automation allowed the Goa'uld to have fifty Ha'tak vessels for every single Asgard one?

Sometimes, Hades questioned how his species had come so far. They were gods, yet why were they so inefficient? Why were they so wasteful? Was he the only Goa'uld who thought this way? Many such questions raced through his mind as he observed the humans, who were still far from understanding how the technology worked, discovering and cataloging things the Goa'uld had never bothered to explore.

"I will have to introduce myself soon. Now that I actually have a base of operations, I can show myself to the humans," he sighed. The humans knew where his base was, of course; they had witnessed its construction.

He had simply instructed them to learn more before they could meet him personally, but that excuse would not keep them away for long.

*Orbital Habitat - Proxima Centauri, 7504 BC*

Hades walked from his personal quarters to the grand lecture hall he had set up inside the small station. Today, he would finally meet the humans. They would not be slaves; not in the slightest. In Hades’ mind, this day would mark the establishment of the Underworld as a legitimate learning institution.

The humans exceeded Hades’ expectations by miles. They began mapping out the galaxy merely five decades ago, and since then, they had discovered far more than Hades could have ever hoped for.

They learned and taught their offspring. While many still considered Tau'ri their home, they no longer had peers on that world, only their less knowledgeable kind.

From fewer than a hundred curious cavemen, there were now almost five hundred humans packed into the grand, and only, lecture hall, eager to see the one who had paved their way to the stars.

Hades strutted to the podium, his alien appearance drawing gasps from the assembly. He stood before the humans at last.

“Humans, people of Tau'ri,” he began his speech. “When we, the gods, found you, you were but a primitive rabble. But look how far you have come in less than four centuries.” Hades continued, his smugness evident.

“My brethren consider you and your kind nothing more than slaves, but I disagree. You have shown inventiveness, creativity, and a capacity to learn that surpasses all the gods, barring myself.” His declaration was loud and clear, and to Hades, it was absolutely true.

“But you still have a long way to go. You may have earned my counsel, but you are not yet ready to stand on your own. Consider this day the founding day of the Underworld Lyceum. It is now up to you to spread knowledge, teach your brethren, and explore beyond what you thought possible,”

Hades declared, throwing his arms up in a grand gesture, unveiling a large schematic of a Tel'tak vessel.

“For you to continue, you must know how to build the vessels you operate. I know some of you have already started studying those I provided.” Hades’ smirk was a mix of pride and smugness, revealing he was aware of everything that was happening with his ships.

“I will not have you build the fleet on your own, but you must be capable of making repairs on the vessels you operate beyond the basics,” he explained. “That means you will need to build one vessel that functions as intended. After I see that you are capable, I shall provide you with more.” Hades proclaimed this, fully intending to deliver on his promise.

He was confident that the ten Tel'taks currently in use would continue to go on adventures, but he would not provide these humans with more until they could properly care for the vessels beyond the most rudimentary maintenance.

“The Galactic south, further away from the core is completely unknown, even to us, gods. Succeed, and you shall be the first to properly map this galaxy! The first to venture where none have dared so far!” His last declaration roused the humans, cries of joy and murmurs of anticipation could be heard from the crowd.

“I have uploaded the schematics into your vessels and the computers in the Underworld bases back on Tau’ri. Make haste Humans, for knowledge waits for no one.” He said with a smirk before activating a ring platform to take him away, hinting at another technology their Tel’tak could be equipped with should they figure out how to build them.