Lost in Multiversal Translation

Merriam-Webster defines the word spectrum as, basically, the color spectrum, a range of light or energy, or another continuum. It says spectrum comes from the Latin specere, "appearance." The word specter actually comes from the word spectrum...much like the appearance of "magic" often comes from technology.

For once, the dictionary's got the history right! But to fully understand how the word first appeared, we must look beyond its simple linguistic roots to the crossroads of its mythological and technological origin: the great wizard Merlin, of King Arthur fame.

Merlin (Stargate: SG-1, S9:E1-3) was really an Ancient, a member of the advanced civilization that seeded our galaxy with human life before ascending to a higher plane of existence outside of time and space, where they exist as pure energy. When Merlin learned that our galaxy would be threatened by the Ori (evil ascended beings related to the Ancients) he returned to human form and began designing an anti-Ori weapon known as the Sangraal (a.k.a. the Holy Grail). Between galaxy-hopping trips to his lab to work and to his caches to hide encrypted clues and pieces to the weapon, he formed the Knights of the Round Table.

Morgana le Fay (also an ascended Ancient) initially opposed Merlin and worked against him, but later changed her mind and helped to conceal his work. She posed as a holographic AI in Atlantis (Stargate: SG-1, S10: E3) so that she could pass along information to SG-1 without breaking the rules of the ascended.

To any assistants or onlookers, Merlin's use of Ancient technology to make interactive, ghost-like holograms appear out of nowhere and to make himself and/or a vast treasure disappear and reappear, as well as Morgana's probably spectral appearances, no doubt seemed to be "magic." Thus, Merlin's work both reshaped Earth's mythology and inspired in our young language the words spectrum and specter.

Later (or earlier?) in history (Doctor Who – “Battlefield," S26: E1-4), The Doctor is identified as Merlin in a later conflict with Morgaine -- another interdimensional, non-time-bound being, a.k.a. the Ancient Morgana le Fay. Knights from a parallel universe arrive in England to retrieve Excalibur and revive Arthur for a "final battle." Morgaine and Mordred attempt and fail to destroy Arthur (who is already dead) and anyone standing in their way.

Notes: ​
✅(E2) Mordred uses a "brother-sword" to Excalibur with a glowing red Sangraal-like stone in the pommel to create an interdimensional rift from which he pulls power to summon Morgaine.
✅(E2) The Doctor's handwriting, etched in stone at the archeological site, looks remarkably similar to Ancient text.
✅(E2) Arthur's "bio-engineered" spaceship looks like a cross between Ancient tech and Wraith tech (ref. Stargate: Atlantis).
✅(E2-3) When Ace pulls Excalibur from the stone, a hologram monster appears and attacks (similar to the attacking hologram knight in SG-1). The Doctor pulls a lit-up crystal out of a panel in the wall (similar to SG-1 & SGA), and crushes it to vanquish the hologram.

But the impact of Merlin's spectrum-harnessing abilities did not end there. Humans and aliens alike have coveted "powers" like Merlin's and attempted to re-create them throughout history -- which has led to the development of tons of copycat tech and mayhem.

Yes, that's right: With the exception of a few Higher Evolutionary races, basically any time you see holograms, ray guns, transporter beams, cloaking technologies, or the like -- it's because somebody had your garden-variety spectrum-harnessing envy disorder (SHED) and a lot of 🍀.

There you go.

Also, don't go looking for the "pot of gold" at the end of the 🌈 -- it's all at the SGC (or in a parallel universe) by now.

Chicken: seems a little too smug now that two of the rambunctious "kids" are sulky and dejected and the other one went home...