Society
Wraith civilization centers around massive hive ships, of which there are over sixty in the Pegasus galaxy. Most hive ships are ruled by Queens, although Todd mentions in "Be All My Sins Remember'd" that after years of conflict many hives are now without Queens and cannot replenish their numbers. The Wraith perform mass human cullings once every few centuries; the rest of the time they hibernate within their hive ships on the surface of planets, guarded by a small force of soldiers and the Keeper (of those who sleep). This hibernation allows the human population of Pegasus to replenish its numbers. During cullings, Wraith hive ships unleash hundreds of darts to scour the surface of the target planet, and dial the planet's Stargate to prevent escape. If given the opportunity, individual Wraith will self-destruct rather than be captured, using a powerful explosive device built into their armor. Wraith warriors are also equipped with homing beacons to signal for reinforcements if required. The Wraith are an extremely aggressive species; they do not tolerate the existence of advanced civilizations other than their own and destroy any culture that poses the most remote threat to them, such as the Hoffans and the Satedans. During the war with the Ancients, a splinter faction of Asgard settled in Pegasus to conduct human genetic experiments in secret, but after the war's conclusion, the Wraith immediately destroyed both the settlement and its intergalactic ships; the Asgard escaped, but were forced to remain in hiding for the remaining ten-thousand and five years on a planet with a toxic atmosphere. The Wraith also regard the Asurans as "abominations" because they are machines.
The Wraith have a strong territorial instinct and the various hives are largely autonomous from one another, cooperating only against a common enemy such as the Ancients or the Atlantis Expedition. In the later seasons of Stargate Atlantis, the Wraith hives engage in fierce competition over an inadequate human food supply, with civil war breaking out as multiple factions jostle for advantage. The Wraith language is a derivative of Ancient. A few Atlantis episodes have added complexity to the Wraith, particularly in the character of "Todd", who shows an appreciation for beauty, a personal code of honor, and even a sense of humor. In "Condemned", a Wraith states that some of his kind still enjoy "the finer things", human food and drink.
Read more about this topic: Wraith (Stargate)
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