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I honestly have no idea who made Reese. They definitely made the Asurans, anyway.
OK; history of the ancients:
The Alterans and the Ori
Millions of years ago, the (presumably) first evolution of mankind lived in a distant galaxy along the evolutionary path to ascension. At the time, the Ori and the Alterans were not distinguished from each other, and lived in one society. However, a philosophical division emerged. The Ori grew more and more fervent in their religious belief, while the Alterans (from altera, Latin: the other(s)), adopted a more scientific/rational outlook. Ultimately, their viewpoints diverged so much that the two groups split apart and began to oppose each other, culminating in the Ori attempting to destroy the Alterans. Instead of going to war, the Alterans decided to leave their galaxy, and began searching for a new home.
After much time, believed by Daniel Jackson to be thousands of years, the Alterans discovered the Milky Way, where they eventually built an impressive empire. The Ancients built Astria Porta (Stargates) across many planets, most of which were probably colonized by the race.Among the planets they settled was Earth, which they called Terra. The status of Earth in the Ancient empire is disputed. However, as the planet's original Stargate, eventually discovered by SG-1 in Antarctica, was the oldest gate ever encountered, Earth was probably one of their more important worlds. It was also once the location of one of the Ancient City Ships, Atlantis, before it moved to the Pegasus Galaxy, and it was where their descendants returned to after their defeat by the Wraith. Other important planets they have colonized were Proclarush Taonas, Dakara and Valos Cor.
Although exiled to another galaxy, the Alterans still remained in contact with their distant cousins, the Ori, evidenced by the discovery of long-range communication devices in both the Milky Way and the Ori home galaxy. Still, the two factions remained bitter enemies. Eventually, the Alterans were afflicted with a terrible plague that wiped out most of their civilization. It would later be discovered that what was known of this plague is very similar to the disease used by Ori Priors against non-believers, which had led Daniel Jackson to speculate that the pre-Ascended Ori might have been responsible for this plague.
Some Ancients apparently attempted to travel back through time to escape the plague, with not much success. It has been stated that the Ancients who remained in the Milky Way galaxy either ascended or died out. However, according to Anubis, the Ancients had attempted to recreate life after the plague in the Milky Way using the Dakara Superweapon. The current evolution of humanity on Earth could be the result of this attempt.
Pegasus Galaxy
Several million years ago, several Ancients departed Earth in their city-sized spaceship, 'Atlantis' which at that time was situated on Earth, on the continent Antarctica. The exact reason for their departure is unknown, although Daniel Jackson speculated that they might have left to escape the plague that was devastating their civilization at the time. One known Ancient (later named Ayiana by the researchers who discovered her perfectly preserved in Antarctica) was left behind. The fact that Ayiana was infected with the Ancient plague when she was revived would seem to confirm Jackson's conjections.
After arriving in the Pegasus Galaxy, the Alterans settled on a planet they named 'Lantea', calling themselves 'Lanteans' from that time forward (also, they have been referred to as 'Atlanteans' by members of the Atlantis Expedition - a name often used by the peoples of Pegasus to describe the expedition members). Finding Pegasus devoid of sentient life, the Lanteans dispersed humans and Stargates across their new home galaxy, protecting the newly-populated planets and occasionally inhabiting them (usually concealing their true identities as Alterans). The humans seeded by the Alterans came to know them as 'the Ancestors'. However, at some point they encountered a leech-like organism called the 'Iratus bug', which possessed impressive healing and immunological capabilities. Through feeding on humans (and processes of evolution), this organism absorbed genetic information from humans and eventually evolved into the vampire-like Wraith. Although it remains unknown precisely how this evolution occurred, the Ancients have confirmed that they were responsible for the species' emergence.
The Wraith, over a vast period, developed into an advanced but violent society (with vestiges of territorialism that were later harshly revived when their prey became scarce) - all the while avoiding the attention of the Alterans. When the sentient Wraith were discovered by the Ancients, it appears their ferocity, belligerence and large population were underestimated (in a rare display of imprudence uncharacteristic of the Alterans). The Lanteans sent a delegation protected by their most powerful warships to negotiate with the Wraith, the ships were ambushed and destroyed. The Lanteans and Wraith went to war, and despite the Ancients' technological superiority, the Wraith overwhelmed the Lanteans with their sheer numbers. During their war which lasted for centuries, the Wraith eventually conquered every planet in the Pegasus Galaxy until only Atlantis, the capital of their empire, remained protected by its powerful city shield.
The Lanteans were able to hold the Wraith back with their superior weapons and submerged the city in the planet's ocean to protect it from their enemy's attacks. But no matter how many battles they won, the Lanteans were unable to win the war. They started to make more desperate experiments, such as Project Arcturus, a failed attempt to draw Zero Point Energy from our own universe, instead of an parallel one like in Zero Point Modules. However, containing zero point energy in our own space-time caused serious containment issues, killing the Ancients and the people of Doranda, the planet it was based on. They also developed a race known as the Asurans, nanites designed to fight the Wraith on a cellular level, giving them aggression codes surpassing that of the Wraith. However, their creation took human form, and believed to have developed strategies that the Ancients thought to be unethical. Deeming them flawed, the Asurans were subsequently exterminated by the Ancients. Not wanting anyone to find out their mistakes, the Ancients deleted all references to the Asurans in the Atlantis database, save for the gate address. However, a few of the nanites survived and brought up a second evolution, creating millions of themselves until they looked human. The Ancients even created a device which caused explosive tumors to form in the bodies of exposed individuals, but this too was abandoned, as it affected all in proximity.
Eventually, the Ancients realized that the war was lost, and decided to return to Earth, the planet that had been home to them for millions of years. However, before this could happen, they come in contact with a human from 10,000 years in the future, Dr. Elizabeth Weir, who accidentally used a time machine in the Puddle Jumper bay. The Council of Atlantis, not wanting anymore damage to the timeline, ordered the scientist who built the machine, Janus, to dismantle it. They offered Weir to come back home to Earth except not in her time. Janus betrayed his superior by reconfigurated Atlantis' ZPMs to power the city in sequences. They evacuated the city via the Stargate, hoping it would eventually be rediscovered by their descendants. The remaining Ancients in the Pegasus Galaxy returned to Earth by ship, or chose to stay behind and ascend. Some of them even created a time-dilation field powered by a ZPM to speed up their path to ascension. Others attempted ascension on Atlantis by using a specific type of DNA Resequencer. This had varying results.
Return to the Milky Way
After the Lanteans return to Earth, they found only a harsh environment and primitive inhabitants. It was believed that there was no hope of rebuilding their former civilization. So they spread out to distant lands and helped to populate them. Others would depart the planet through the Stargate located in Antarctica, possibly seeking to live out their days on distant worlds within the Milky Way. The remainder chose isolation in which to meditate and seek enlightenment. This would eventually lead to a spiritual ascension for some.
Those Ancients who stayed on Earth and interbred with humans passed on the Ancient Technology Activation gene, as well as giving civilization to the people. They would also lay the foundation for the Latin language. Many Roman myths were also influenced by the Ancients, such as the myth that the "Ancient ones ascended to the Heavens". According to mythology, the Romans learned how to build roads from gods known as "The Ancient Ones".
The story of Atlantis and the Lanteans' plight may have had some influence on Plato's Timaeus and Critias. They tell of events which transpired some 9,000 years before his time and were written around 360 BC. Atlantis is mentioned only briefly in Timaeus but is described in great detail in Critias as a city full of great wonders and beauty. The Atlantians observed their laws, and spread generosity and peace for many generations. However, its inhabitants would later become greedy, villainous and power hungry and sought to control or wipe out any civilization who opposed them. Rather than having been defeated by a vampire-like alien race, according to Plato's tale, the Atlantians were brought down at the hands of ancient Athenians. As a final punishment the gods destroyed Atlantis.
The Arthurian Legends were also shown to be influenced by the Ancients, in particular the Ancient Myrddin/Merlin, who appeared to have ascended after returning from Atlantis, but to have de-ascended himself in order to create an Anti-Ori weapon. Merlin became known as King Arthur's wizard in mythology, and the Anti-Ori weapon became known as the Sangraal or Holy Grail. He also entrusted his secrets to a small group of nobles which consisted of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.
Some of the Ancients, presumably those who left Earth, set up the Alliance of Four Great Races including themselves, the Nox, the Furlings and the Asgard. Together, they created a "true" universal language. According to writings discovered on Heliopolis, this alliance lasted for centuries. It is unknown if this event took place before or after the Ancients fled to Pegasus. In the words of the Asgard, they "moved on from our region of space long ago", which could either refer to Ascension or possibly the move to Pegasus.
Recent Ancient History
After the Ancients' ascension, they continued to oppose their former nemesis, the Ori, who had also reached Enlightenment. Although the two factions are deadlocked in strength, the Ori are still bent on destroying the Ancients once and for all, sapping power from the second evolution of humanity created in their own galaxy to gather enough strength to attack the Ancients. In response, the Ancients chose to hide their own second evolution created in the Milky Way from the Ori. They also probably influenced the associations of fire, the central icon of the Ori religion, with demonic imagery. Still, they refused to take direct action.
The first ascended being ever encountered by the Tau'ri was Oma Desala, when SG-1 arrived on the planet Kheb in their search for Shifu, the young son of Apophis and Sha're. During their stay, the team discovered a Buddhist temple, where a single monk appeared to reside. The monk spoke in riddles, but spoke about a being called Oma Desala, a name Daniel Jackson translated as "Mother Nature". Eventually, when the team was preparing to defend the temple from several Jaffa warriors, Daniel discovered a non-corporal being living on Kheb. He eventually formed a personal bond with Oma Desala, who even helped him to ascend on two occasions.
Three years later, an Alteran woman, Ayiana, was found frozen in Antarctica near the location of the Antarctica Stargate. She revived herself when thawed, but was still infected with the plague and died exhausted from healing SG-1 and others from the Plague. Apparently, she was left behind in the Ancient outpost in Antarctica, for carrying the plague, when Atlantis left for the Pegasus Galaxy.
When an Aurora class battleship was discovered by the Daedalus, adrift between the Pegasus and Milky Way galaxy, the crew was still alive. As the ship was traversing the universe close to light speed, the crew had only experienced a handful of years since the evacuation of Atlantis, due to relativistic effects. After learning that Atlantis had survived the Wraith, they reclaimed the city. However, when the Asurans returned and captured the city, all the remaining Ancients were executed.
After Daniel Jackson and Vala Mal Doran alerted the Ori to the existence of another galaxy filled with humans, starting the Ori invasion of the Milky Way, millions of humans were converted to the oppressive Ori religion, feeding them only more power. According to the Ori themselves, the entire conversion of the Milky Way would probably give them enough strength to destroy the Ancients once the crusade was over. Still, most of the Ancients refuse to intervene, even though their own existence is threatened. Exceptions include Morgan le Fay and Merlin.
SG-1 eventually discovered Merlin in stasis inside a cave on a barren planet. He was revived by the team, and assisted them with constructing the Sangraal, the weapon he had designed to combat the Ori. Although he died before he was able to complete the device, he downloaded the necessary information into a Repository of Knowledge.
....and thats it.
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