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  1. In Memory of LAJ_FETT: Please share your remembrances and condolences HERE

Lit A long time ago.....in a galaxy far far away.......

Discussion in 'Literature' started by StarWarsFan91, Jan 19, 2013.

  1. StarWarsFan91

    StarWarsFan91 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2008
    What does this mean? Is it supposed to be taken literally? In other words, its saying that Earth (including the Milky Way Galaxy) does exist in the star wars universe, and the events depicted in star wars, take place along time ago from the perspective of our civilization? If that is the case, does that mean in the far future of the star wars universe, a human civilization like our own would exist on Earth?

    Or does this line mean something else?

    What do you think?
     
  2. _Catherine_

    _Catherine_ Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Jun 16, 2007
    It's the space version of "once upon a time in a faraway land." It's just the introduction to a fairytale, it lets you know that the story doesn't take place in the world as we know it and won't necessarily follow the rules of our world. Not really anything deeper than that.
     
    Ulicus , windu4 and CT-867-5309 like this.
  3. VadersLaMent

    VadersLaMent Chosen One star 10

    Registered:
    Apr 3, 2002
    The original drafts had it take place in the 22nd or 23rd century of our galaxy. As Catherine just pointed out the line makes for a more timeless tone. There is a timeline here on tf.net where at the end 3p0 and r2 land on Earth in California in the early 70s and are discovered by a young film maker who listens to their story. I always did like that.
     
  4. King of Alsakan

    King of Alsakan Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Nov 25, 2007
    If you want to take it literally, from the Atlas it says the SW Galaxy was formed 13 billion years ago and the universe is about 13.77 billions years old, so maybe were a few hundred millions years off from the events of SW Galaxy who knows.[face_thinking]

    Then you always have the easter egg in Episode I with the appearance the ET aliens as a possible connection to Earth.

    My interpretation of the line is that the story is a fairy tale that is grounded in our universe, or in other words fantasy elements in a sci-fi setting.
     
  5. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2011
    More like: "Space hobo crash lands on Earth carrying an old copy of the Journal of the Whills which he'd been using for toilet paper. Young filmmaker uses what material is left to make the OT, then uses every method at his disposal to extract a more complete history of the GFFA from the memory of the at-this-point quite deranged space hobo--whose knowledge of the history of the galaxy consists solely of what he's heard on the GFFA's equivalent of the Alex Jones radio show--and uses whatever the hobo coughs up as the basis for the prequels."
     
  6. Adrian the Cool

    Adrian the Cool Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    The events depicted in Star Wars happened somewhere in the distant past as seen from the 20th and 21st century, while the galaxy "Skyriver" (only known in-universe name) is located very far away from Earth.

    I assume it's in another universe, because it is the only way to explain different the physical laws. The physical laws in a universe must be the same everywhere, so if they're others somewhere, this can be only in a new universe. But, most space fantasy fictions are set in our galaxy while depicting "alternative" physics, too.

    If Star Wars is set in the same universe as Earth, then the Battle of Yavin happened roughly 185 million years ago. The Essential Atlas mentions the universe containing Skyriver galaxy is ~13,5 billion years old. Current science assumes our universe is roughly 13,7 billion years old. So if this is just the same one, then from a Star Wars point-of-view the universe has been created 13,5 billion years ago, from our point-of-view 13,7 billion years, which is a difference of 200 million years. But on Coruscant one year is a bit longer than on Earth, 368 days and not 365,25 days, what makes the SW "universe" a bit older.

    Humans originate from Coruscant within the Star Wars galaxy and have interstellar travel since at least 30,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, which is 185 million years in the past from now. Millions of years after the Battle of Yavin, maybe they've been discovering and settling Earth, together with other species they brought from Skyriver (like Ducks, Ponies, Pythons and Dogs), or these species were created/evolved on two or more planets independantly from each other.

    Summa sumarum: As seen from Earth in the 21st century, most Star Wars stories are set ~185 million years ago in a galaxy somewhere across the universe.
     
  7. cthugha

    cthugha Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 24, 2010
    =D=

    Also, vipers. And hot chocolate.
     
  8. Adrian the Cool

    Adrian the Cool Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 3, 2012
    And the language. Galactic Basic Standard was brought to Earth by colonists, must have became lost during the millenia, but was recreated through subconsciousness since medieval age. Other languages too, High Galactic sounds exactly like High Latin did at 1 A.D., Rodese became Aztecian and Sullustan is now Kenian, New Zealand's people are linked to Concord Dawn somehow, Russian has been build from Kaleesh language, German is based upon Faustese, Twi'lek accent sounds like French, the Neimoidian accent is known in South East Asia, Mon Calamari (language) is like Arabian etc.
     
  9. rumsmuggler

    rumsmuggler Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2000
    Yes
    I think our galaxy is far away from theirs and the stories took place a long time ago. I think it makes an interesting fictional universe where earth may exist, but it's beyond reach for most.
     
  10. Adrian the Cool

    Adrian the Cool Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 3, 2012
    In E.T. the protagonist E.T. mentioned his home is three million light years away, what leads to the Andromeda galaxy. But three million lightyears are not "far far away" in a cosmical scale. Also it has a second center (remnant of a dwarf galaxy) that the Star Wars galaxy has not, while Andromeda lacks Skyriver's companions like Rishi Maze.
     
  11. rumsmuggler

    rumsmuggler Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2000
    It's far enough considering we don't have interstellar vehicles.
     
  12. Adrian the Cool

    Adrian the Cool Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 3, 2012
    In the future we will.
     
  13. rumsmuggler

    rumsmuggler Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2000
    Hopefully, if we don't destroy ourselves first. :)
     
  14. Adrian the Cool

    Adrian the Cool Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 3, 2012
    The Janian Star Empire plans the official first contact for 2172 A.D.
     
  15. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Maybe the Yuuzhan Vong are the precursors to emos, who achieved intergalactic flight.
     
  16. Adrian the Cool

    Adrian the Cool Jedi Master star 4

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    Sep 3, 2012
    But emos only hurt themselves, look like women if they're male and are crying all the time.
     
  17. rumsmuggler

    rumsmuggler Chosen One star 7

    Registered:
    Aug 31, 2000
    Emos aren't violent killing machines though..
     
  18. GrandAdmiralJello

    GrandAdmiralJello Comms Admin ❉ Moderator Communitatis Litterarumque star 10 Staff Member Administrator

    Registered:
    Nov 28, 2000
    Oh sure, that's the problem with my theory. The part about super advanced biotech is totally plausible though! :p
     
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  19. rumsmuggler

    rumsmuggler Chosen One star 7

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    Aug 31, 2000
    Emos doing advanced science.. lol
     
  20. StarWarsFan91

    StarWarsFan91 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2008
    Hope that is not the case. I like to believe that the humans of the GFFA have no connection to earth civilization. I wouldn't want that to happen in the future of the GFFA, sound to much like BSG to me.

    And why are you calling the GFFA "Skyriver"? Don't remember that being an in-universe name.
     
  21. Lazy Storm Trooper

    Lazy Storm Trooper Jedi Master star 4

    Registered:
    Sep 18, 2012
    You guys are over-thinking this I think that I think while thinking during my thinking time in my thinking chair.
     
  22. thesevegetables

    thesevegetables Jedi Knight star 4

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    Nov 11, 2012
    As an easter egg thing, in ET, ET sees a kid dressed up as Yoda on Halloween and walks toward it, saying "Home...home...".
    Then, in TPM, there are some ET-like creatures.
     
  23. StarWarsFan91

    StarWarsFan91 Jedi Grand Master star 4

    Registered:
    Oct 14, 2008
    That's just an Easter egg, it doesn't mean the GFFA actually exists alongside 20th century Earth where star wars is fictional (but also somehow real in another galaxy).
     
  24. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2011
    Unfortunately for this theory, we have indisputable evidence from a host of scientific fields of study proving that humans and other familiar animals glimpsed in the GFFA evolved over the process of hundreds of millions of years from documented antecedents here on Earth. Therefore, humans must have been brought to the GFFA from Earth at some time in the distant past after anatomically modern humans already existed, i.e. approximately 200,000 years ago during the Middle Paleolithic. Since a human presence in the galaxy has been pretty much confirmed from as late as 100,000 BBY (if we presume that, regardless of their relation to humans, the Zhell are at least related to us in some way, either ancestrally or otherwise) then we can conclude that the events of the movies can have taken place no earlier than 100,000 years ago.
     
  25. The_Phantom_Calamari

    The_Phantom_Calamari Force Ghost star 5

    Registered:
    Nov 10, 2011
    The Child of the Green Planet from E.T. indeed must have hailed from a planet called Brodo Asogi in the Andromeda galaxy. Clearly, Andromeda is not the GFFA, so this cannot be the same Brodo Asogi from which Senator Grebleips hailed. Presumably the extra-galactic expedition which Grebleips funded was successful, and a colony ship full of representatives from his species eventually reached Andromeda and settled on a planet which they also named Brodo Asogi, after their original homeworld. E.T.'s apparent recognition of Yoda at Halloween suggests the Children of the Green Planet of Andromeda retain a rich memory of their ancestors' original galaxy*. It was probably during an earlier botanical survey to Earth that one of E.T.'s contemporaries misplaced (or possibly bequeathed) a copy of the Journal of the Whills, which was then utilized by a certain young filmmaker from Modesto.

    Clearly.

    *edit: Actually, given that E.T. so emphatically shouts "Home! Home!" upon seeing Yoda, I wouldn't be surprised if a few members of Yoda's species hitched a ride along with Grebleips' people way back when and started a parallel colony on Brodo Asogi of Andromeda.