1. Elizabeth is listed as the first leader of Atlantis, but the history books rarely contain any details about what she actually did. There's a name and a photo and a list of credentials, but somehow, there's never any mention of her brave negotiations with the Genii or the way she forged a thousand trade links that kept Atlantis alive during that first year without contact, or even her role in getting approval for the Expedition in the first place. And there's certainly no mention of the way her protocols and the enduring relationships she developed in the Pegasus Galaxy saved Earth years later during the War. Instead, all of the material on Atlantis focuses on the military-scientific exploits of John and Rodney, and the peaceful, diplomatic activities somehow fade into obscurity.
2. Sam does better in the history books--a lot of space goes to discussing her role in getting the Stargate Program off the ground, and her various scientific contributions as a member of SG1 and at Area 51. Much less space is given to discussing her time as a soldier. Somehow, the decisions that led to the pivotal role of the Hammond during the War end up attributed to her first officer. Sam is said to have retreated to her lab during that final battle, trying to perfect a weapon that she'd actually finished days earlier.
3. The official story, dutifully repeated in the history books, is that Colonels John Sheppard and Cameron Mitchell died off-world in the line of duty--two more lives sacrificed to save Earth during the War. The reality...well, the reality involves undercover operations and alternate dimensions and alien medical technology and psychic bonds, and fervent prayers by a number of people that they really were dead. Or happy and together and not suffering.
4. Some books insist that the SGC had once possessed the secret for eternal life (now lost, possibly during the War), and had chosen to limit access to that technology to its senior staff. The supposedly ageless senior staff might have laughed at that, if any of them had still been alive to hear those stories. (It wasn't eternal life--just extended. And it mostly wasn't the senior staff who were the recipients. They didn't need it enough to pay the price.)
5. The books say that Cassie accidentally started the incident that forced the Earth-wide reveal of the existence of the stargate. In truth, it was a carefully calculated move on her part, driven by her conviction that the long term survival of Earth required that people learn what was going on, and her certainty that the governments of Earth were not going to let go of that information in time.
The rest of reported history suggested she'd been right.
Five things that future history books get wrong (or right) about the Stargate and the SGC
2. Sam does better in the history books--a lot of space goes to discussing her role in getting the Stargate Program off the ground, and her various scientific contributions as a member of SG1 and at Area 51. Much less space is given to discussing her time as a soldier. Somehow, the decisions that led to the pivotal role of the Hammond during the War end up attributed to her first officer. Sam is said to have retreated to her lab during that final battle, trying to perfect a weapon that she'd actually finished days earlier.
3. The official story, dutifully repeated in the history books, is that Colonels John Sheppard and Cameron Mitchell died off-world in the line of duty--two more lives sacrificed to save Earth during the War. The reality...well, the reality involves undercover operations and alternate dimensions and alien medical technology and psychic bonds, and fervent prayers by a number of people that they really were dead. Or happy and together and not suffering.
4. Some books insist that the SGC had once possessed the secret for eternal life (now lost, possibly during the War), and had chosen to limit access to that technology to its senior staff. The supposedly ageless senior staff might have laughed at that, if any of them had still been alive to hear those stories. (It wasn't eternal life--just extended. And it mostly wasn't the senior staff who were the recipients. They didn't need it enough to pay the price.)
5. The books say that Cassie accidentally started the incident that forced the Earth-wide reveal of the existence of the stargate. In truth, it was a carefully calculated move on her part, driven by her conviction that the long term survival of Earth required that people learn what was going on, and her certainty that the governments of Earth were not going to let go of that information in time.
The rest of reported history suggested she'd been right.