
The Harcesis-child Shifu
In the
science fiction television show ''
Stargate SG-1'', a 'Harcesis' is a
Human child born of the hosts of two
Goa'uld mates when the hosts are still possessed. The Harcesis born thus would possess all the knowledge of the Goa'uld, and is generally considered an abomination for the same reason. It is also generally forbidden to create such a child.
Daniel Jackson's step-son
Shifu is a Harcesis - the only known. He is the son of
Apophis and
Sha're/
Amonet. Apophis fathered Shifu in the hope of taking over his body as a new host. After his birth,
Heru-ur planned to kidnap the child, but instead Daniel gave the child into the care of Sha're's father
Kasuf. ("
Secrets")
Shifu then came to the planet Kheb, where the Ascended
Ancient Oma Desala started to take care of him. It turned out that Shifu was genetically engineered to age faster, so that he could be taken over more quickly by Apophis. However, having the genetic memories of the parent Goa'uld, and in turn the generations of Goa'uld before them, would drive a being to madness. Oma Desala taught Shifu to forget, that the only way to win the battle (for relative sanity) was to avoid engaging in it. Later on, Shifu is shown to have become an Ascended being himself. He made contact with
SG-1 and then showed Daniel a vision of how such gigantic memory and the power which comes with it can corrupt a person. He then disappeared and has not been seen since. ("
Absolute Power")
The term "Harcesis" is likely derived from "
Harsiesis," meaning
Horus son of
Isis. Harsiesis was one of many names for
Horus.