John Crichton in the Aurora Chair
The Aurora Chair is a torture and interrogation device used by the Peacekeepers.
The Aurora Chair was invented by Scorpius to extract information in lieu of less reliable conventional interrogation methods. Often referred to simply as "the chair", it is employed throughout the Peacekeeper military, both in bases and on starships, and is considered one of the most effective means of gaining information from unwilling subjects. The chair can painfully sort through its subject's memories, pushing farther and harder depending on the setting. It is designed to sort through and uncover the mind's "layers", until all thoughts and memories are exposed and displayed on a screen attached to the chair. Because of the pain caused by this process, the chair can be used as a punishment device in addition to interrogation. In some cases, the Aurora Chair can also permanently remove information from its subject's mind, as it did with Co-Kura Strappa and his wormhole knowledge. Some species are more resistant to the chair's effects, notably Baniks and Humans.
Though some believe that the chair cannot be fooled, it is possible to implant false information into its output. This was demonstrated when the Peacekeeper technician Gilina used her skills to display a false memory on the chair's monitor.
Scorpius had an Aurora Chair at his Gammak Base and Commandant Grayza had a chair on her command carrier as well. Scorpius had put Stark through over 100 sessions in the chair in hopes of learning about the Scarran's Crystherium Utilia flowers before John Crichton arrived on the base. Believing Crichton to be a spy seeking wormhole knowledge, Scorpius put Crichton through the chair, hoping to unlock the wormhole information himself. The interrogation led to its use on Bialar Crais as well. Scorpius himself would be put through the chair over two cycles later by Commandant Grayza and Captain Miklo Braca.
Appearances[]
- (1.19 "Nerve")
- (1.20 "The Hidden Memory")
- (3.21 "Into the Lion's Den - Wolf in Sheep's Clothing")
- (4.02 "What Was Lost - Sacrifice")