The Asurans, referred to as Replicators by the Humans, were technological nanomorph life-forms from Asuras, a planet located in the Pegasus galaxy. Originally created by the Lanteans as a means of fighting the Wraith and were referred to as Replicators by the Asgard, and the Tau'ri.
Overview[]
History[]
Culture and Society[]
Very little has been seen of actual Asuran society, though it appears to mimic that of the Lanteans in design. However, as a civilization, its been noted that the species actually changed little since their original construction. Most Asurans decided to continue this way of living, though some wished to break the static society they live in.
Some Asurans - such as Niam - sought to fight their aggressive instincts and remove it in order to achieve Ascension like their creators. Despite the feeling of betrayal their kind feel toward their makers, they simply wish to emulate their creators to the fullest extent and become one with them. This group was considered renegades by the greater Asuran society, who did not hesitate to exterminate their kind.
Most of the Asuran species believe that they were betrayed by their creators and abandoned for the favored siblings; Humans. As such, the Asurans tend to lash out against Humans and seek to wipe out the last traces of the Lanteans. They view the Tau'ri with great envy and hatred due to the fact that many are direct descendants of the Lanteans, they are from Earth, the homeworld of the Lanteans, and they now inhabit Atlantis, the city of the Lanteans. They viewed organic-based life as being indifferent to their own and saw humans as simply another form of machine.
It was thought by some of the Asurans of this "heretical" belief system that they should not abandon their technological origins and sought an artificial means of ascension.
Technology[]
The Asurans had numerous advanced technologies at their disposal. More or less, however, they chose to imitate Lantean technology (most notably city-ships, the Aurora-class, and ZPMs) on a massive scale because they desired to equal their creators; it was also the most advanced technology known to them. It is unknown if any of their technology is unique to them, but it is unlikely as the Milky Way Replicators were unable to perform any research of their own and the Asurans have never shown any desire to advance upon their creators. The Lantean technology that the Asurans do use is usually inferior to that of their creators by the time they left Pegasus as they only had access to the Ancient technology used when they were nearly wiped out. This means that the shields and weapons of their ships and possibly their personal firearms are not as advanced as the Lantean counterparts. For example, while Asuran drones are unable to directly penerate an Asgard shield, the newer design of drone weapons used by the Lanteans near the end of their war with the Wraith might be able to pass through Asgard shields, although it's unlikely. They would put the shield under heavy strain, however.
The Asuran sensor technology appears to be inferior to the Ancients, as they are unable to detect ships in hyperspace, leaving Asuras open for a sneak attack.
With the help of Elizabeth Weir, however, the Asurans did begin to research an alternative to ascension.
Although they are unable or at least, unwilling, to create entirely new technology of their own design, they are capable of adapting their already existing technology to a variety of different purposes and create several unique devices.