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Hoffans

General info |  Wraith  drug  | Known Hoffans

General info

For generations, their culture has rebuilt itself over and over, determined not to be kept down by the Wraith. (Poisoning the Well)

Each generation records everything it's learned, and the information is stored in archives -- multi-story libraries hidden in various places, each containing a copy of the complete archive of all knowledge the Hoffans have ever learned. Only a few people know of the existence of the archives, to keep them safe. (Poisoning the Well)

Their society is industrial, but not high-tech. (Poisoning the Well)

Sheppard put their technological level at the equivalent of America circa 1918. (Poisoning the Well)

They worked hard after the last Wraith culling to rebuild their society, regardless of the fact that being too advanced would simply attract the Wraith. They refused to be cowed into not striving to reach their potential, believing that that would mean victory for the Wraith. (Poisoning the Well)

One of their biggest concerns is reliable power generation. They've been working hard toward developing geothermal power -- they want to " convert and utilize the intense heat trapped beneath the surface of [the] planet." (Poisoning the Well)

The main governing body appears to be a Council. (Poisoning the Well)

The form of government appears to have been some form of democracy -- when the drug began killing off the population in droves, the continuation of the innoculations was put to a population-wide vote, and the leaders agreed to abide by the will of the majority. (Poisoning the Well)

Either the government, or possibly a university/laboratory system, is headed by a chancellor. (Poisoning the Well)

Chancellor Druhin, when Sheppard's team was on the planet. (Poisoning the Well)

He comes across as a political force to be reckoned with, but could also simply be the head of the institution devoted to the Hoffans' technological advancement, which would carry a certain amount of power and prestige with it. (Poisoning the Well)

A hundred and fifty years ago, their scientists were close to a viable prototype on a drug that would make them immune to the Wraith, but died in a Wraith culling before they could complete it. (Poisoning the Well)

Ten thousand soldiers gave their lives to buy the scientists a few more hours to keep working, in hopes of leaving the most complete information possible for the coming generations. (Poisoning the Well)

As the culture rebuilt itself, new generations of scientists took up the task. (Poisoning the Well)

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Wraith drug

Farrol Mylan was the medical researcher who first discovered the key to the drug. (Poisoning the Well)

When one man managed to survive the Wraith, Farrol and his team investigated and discovered that he possessed a unique protein that interfered with the chemical released by the Wraith to precipitate the draining of life from their victim. (Poisoning the Well)

Farrol eventually managed to make a copy of the protein, and create a prototype of the drug designed to interfere with the Wraith feeding process. He died before it could be used to defend Hoff and its people. (Poisoning the Well)

He and his team worked till the last possible minute, still searching for anything that could further the process even with Wraith ships overhead, hoping to leave information behind for the generation that would survive. It helped -- his notes, journal, and research materials survived, allowing future generations to recreate his work and move forward from his stopping point. (Poisoning the Well)

Perna was the chief scientist in charge of the project when Sheppard's team arrived, and when Carson Beckett came from Atlantis to help. (Poisoning the Well)

With Beckett's help, they quickly developed a viable version of the drug, and the Hoffans rushed it into human trials with the aid of a terminally ill volunteer who was prepared to let a Wraith try feeding off him. (Poisoning the Well)

The trial was a success, and the Hoffans next rushed the drug into mass production, followed immediately by innoculations. (Poisoning the Well)

When they discovered that the protein mutated when it came in contact with the chemical the Wraith put into their victims' bloodstreams, and turned back on the Wraith as a toxin that killed them, the Hoffans were basically delighted -- now they had an offensive weapon, as well as a strong defense. (Poisoning the Well)

The drug turned out to kill fully half of the people who were innoculated with it -- they died from acute respiratory distress. The Hoffan people  (by  a  96%  majority) decided that a 50% mortality rate was an acceptable price to pay for being able to withstand the Wraith, and continued with the innoculations. (Poisoning the Well)

Druhin wanted to discuss disseminating the drug on other human worlds, with the help of the Atlantis folks. They refused. (Poisoning the Well)

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Known Hoffans

Druhin | Merell | Farrol Mylan | Perna

Druhin

Chancellor of his people. (Poisoning the Well)

He was showing Sheppard's team around for at least part of their visit -- he brought them down to the room where the Hoffans were trying to harness geothermal power, and then up to the labs where the anti-Wraith drug was being developed. (Poisoning the Well)

When Perna and Beckett told him that they'd come up with a way to ensure that the drug was thoroughly absorbed by the human body, Druhin praised them for their work then immediately started pushing for phase two -- human trials against an actual Wraith. (Poisoning the Well)

When the single human trial worked, Druhin again praised Perna and Beckett, and promptly started talking about suggesting to the Council that they begin mass-producing the serum. He was sure that one success was proof enough that the drug was completely effective. (Poisoning the Well)

When he heard that the drug had somehow poisoned the Wraith " Steve" , he was delighted, convinced that with such a weapon at their disposal, the Wraith would now leave Hoff alone. (Poisoning the Well)

Even if they didn't, the Hoffans had a way to strike back at the Wraith, which was just as good in Druhin's eyes. (Poisoning the Well)

He made his recommendation to the Council, which agreed with him, and innoculations of the Hoffan people had begun even before Sheppard and Teyla sat down with Druhin to explain that the Hoffans needed to shelve the project while everyone figured out a way to keep the Wraith from going ballistic on the entire galaxy once they found out about it. It was too late to stop the innoculations. (Poisoning the Well)

When it turned out that fully 50% of those innoculated died as a result, Druhin wasn't exactly happy, but he considered it an acceptable price to pay to finally be protected from the Wraith. He wanted to distribute it to all the human worlds, so all future generations would be safe -- he truly believed that absolutely everybody would be fine with the mortality rate. (Poisoning the Well)

Merell

He was in the final stages of a terminal illness when the drug that the Hoffans hoped would confer immunity from the Wraith was developed to the point where a human trial against a Wraith was possible. He understood the risks, and volunteered to be the test subject. (Poisoning the Well)

He believed that no matter what happened, his death would have meaning if he took part in the trial -- if the drug failed, the scientists could learn how to make it better in the future. (Poisoning the Well)

After the Wraith answered one of Sheppard's questions, Merell went into the cell, as he'd promised (despite Beckett's repeated assurance that he didn't need to do it), and went so far as to open his own nightshirt to give the Wraith better access to his chest. The drug worked, though, leaving him completely unaffected by the Wraith (other than small puncture wounds for each nail/claw and the " mouth" in the middle of the Wraith's hand). (Poisoning the Well)

He was found dead some time later, of causes that weren't immediately apparent. (Poisoning the Well)

He suffered a complete and sudden respiratory breakdown. (Poisoning the Well)

Farrol Mylan

He was one of the Hoffans' most celebrated medical researchers before he died in the last culling, 150 years ago. (Poisoning the Well)

When one man managed to survive the Wraith, Farrol and his team investigated and discovered that he possessed a unique protein that interfered with the chemical released by the Wraith to precipitate the draining of life from their victim. (Poisoning the Well)

Farrol eventually managed to make a copy of the protein, and create a prototype of the drug designed to interfere with the Wraith feeding process. He died before it could be used to defend Hoff and its people. (Poisoning the Well)

He and his team worked till the last possible minute, still searching for anything that could further the process even with Wraith ships overhead, hoping to leave information behind for the generation that would survive. (Poisoning the Well)

The last words of his journal are known to all Hoffans. (Poisoning the Well)

" The battle rages at the very threshold of our laboratory now. Those of us   working to the last know that these few final hours have been dearly purchased, but our concentration has not waned. We cannot hope to save ourselves, but we can hope that one last insight, one last revelation before we take our dying breaths, may prevent this terrible day from happening again."

His journal and research materials were carefully preserved, including some Wraith cells that were still being used in the Hoffans' research 150 years later. (Poisoning the Well)

Perna

Chief scientist on the project to develop the drug that was supposed to make them immune to the Wraith. (Poisoning the Well)

She was responsible for recreating Farrol Mylan's research and furthering it beyond the point he'd reached. (Poisoning the Well)

Working with Dr. Carson Beckett, she brought the drug to a viable point and used it in a human trial with a terminally ill volunteer -- Merell -- against a live Wraith. (Poisoning the Well)

When Beckett was obviously unhappy with the idea of human trials so soon after the initial development, she quoted Farrol's final words at him, making it plain that to her, what mattered was the research and what it could eventually provide her people, not the immediate danger to individuals. (Poisoning the Well)

She wasn't insensitive to the dangers, she'd just been raised in a culture whose individuals had repeatedly, willingly, sacrificed themselves for the continuation of research into things that could help the race's long-term survival. (Poisoning the Well)

When the drug went into mass production, she was among the first to be innoculated. (Poisoning the Well)

She was also one of the 50% who reacted badly to the innoculation -- she died with Beckett holding her hand in the medical center. (Poisoning the Well)

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Miscellaneous Races

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Daganians | Energy beings | Hoffans | Kids | Manarians | Orin's people | Proculans | Satedans | Shadow Entity