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Lit Origins of fuel in the galaxy

Discussion in 'Literature' started by FTeik, Aug 10, 2016.

  1. FTeik

    FTeik Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Nov 7, 2000
    Origins of fuel in the GFFA.

    Looking at the source-material for StarWars - both Legends and Nu Canon - we learn, that energy in the GFFA is generated using a multitude of fuel-sources: radioactive gases, liquid metals, fission reactors and hypermatter just to name a few.

    If we now look at the real world, we’ll see, that a large number of conflicts have been fought over oil and that the companies that extracted, refined and sold oil became some of the largest and influential companies in the world, so much, that a lot of policy-making is concentrated around getting control and access of it (hello gulf-wars).

    Yet in StarWars, where we have several stories about rare ores or crystals unique to a single planet, fuel doesn’t seem to be a large issue.. The only instances where we hear about fuel are Wedge Antilles family, who owned a fueling depot, activities of the Rebel-Alliance trying to steal fuel from Imperial depots and convoys or collect enough money to buy fuel somewhere or an episode of Rebels, where the crew of the Ghost steals a few containers of fuel (which must have an incredible energy-density, if the few containers we saw can supply the entire Phoenix-cell) from the Mining Guild.

    So why is there no conflict over the control and access to the sources of fuel, especially hypermatter? Why do we hear of large shipbuilding-corporations, droid-builders, speeder-producers, fast-food-chains, but not the SW-equivalent of Saudi-Aramco, Exxon or British Petroleum? Is there a hypermatter-cartel (like OPEC in our world), but nobody bothers to annoy them, since they are in a similar position of power as the BoSS ( Bureau of Ships and Services) or what?
     
  2. Kenobi098

    Kenobi098 Jedi Knight star 1

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    May 8, 2013
    The naboo Crisis in TPM was partially over fuel. The naboo mined the abundant plasma from the planet and the trade federation shipped it for them. This was a Mutually beneficial deal for both but when the senate voted to tax outlying Trade Routes, the TF blockaded Naboo cuting off A major source of plasma to the galaxy.(naboo plasma had different properties than other places due to Unique geological conditions that made it more Stable).
     
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  3. FTeik

    FTeik Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Nov 7, 2000
    Wasn't there also a battle over Malastare as a source of fuel during the Clone-Wars? And one on the Dug-homeworld?
     
  4. Havoc123

    Havoc123 Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Jun 26, 2013
    Tibanna is pretty important and the Empire just moved in and took whatever it wanted whenever it wanted. I find organisations like the BoSS a bit too Dune-type. Yes, the galactic government is bureaucratic hell, but you're telling me Sheev couldn't axe a bunch of self-important hyperspace navigators? In my legendsheadcanon, the BoSS ceased being important some time after Contispex. His successors, though much more subtle than that dynasty, decided that the BoSS is too dangerous but instead of taking away their power in a single move they slowly turned them into what's pretty much an unimportant navigation agency. It's why BoSS is a glorified DMV in the Imperial Period rather than the Dune-style all powerful Navigator's Guild.

    But back to fuel, Kenobi098 points out Naboo's plasma resources. There's also the tibanna I mentioned, while the Empire claimed it plenty, it often fought over it with the Rebels etc. There wasn't a big deal post-Pellaeon-Gavrisom though because apparently Imperial Space even in its 8 sectors had plenty of tibanna gas (there's a mentioned Bespin-style gas giant in Bastion's system). From what I can tell, the Galaxy's so huge that even interstellar instead of galactic organisations like the Imp Remnant, Trade Federation and Hutts had plenty of sources for fuel. From KOTOR2 we find that there's asteroid fields chock full of it. Tibanna seems to be important like I said, but you'd need a company to each own about 5 out of say... 25 Bespin-type gas giants in the Galaxy to be on the level of Exxon, BP or Gazprom.
     
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  5. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord 50x Wacky Wed/3x Two Truths/28x H-man winner star 10 VIP - Game Winner

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    Sep 2, 2012
    Malastare is the Dug homeworld.
     
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  6. FTeik

    FTeik Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Nov 7, 2000
    Sorry, forgot about that with only Grans representing Malastare in the Galactic Senate.

    Could the Mining Guild play the role of OPEC? Tightly controlled by the Empire, but still independant (similar like the Iran, Iraq and Saudi-Arabia were protectorates of the British). On their Wookiepedia-entry http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Mining_Guild/Legends I've read, that they were powerful enough to negotiate truces between Rebels and Imperial Forces in some places.
     
  7. Dr. Steve Brule

    Dr. Steve Brule Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Sep 7, 2012
    Since petroleum comes from dead dinosaurs, I hope hyperdrive fuel comes from dead space slugs.
     
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  8. FTeik

    FTeik Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Nov 7, 2000
    Considering the energy-density of SW-fuel (especially hypermatter) I find it highly unlikely, that the stuff can be simply mined. Maybe a pre-product, but to get the real thing, it has to be refined in a probably complex and cost-intensive process.

    Havoc123:

    DMV?

    Dr. Steve Brule:

    Actually it were largely algae and plankton, that got converted into petroleum and such small lifeforms are much more likely to appear in open space (alright, clouds of hydrocarbons) than the titanic space-slugs of SW.
     
  9. Ackbar's Fishsticks

    Ackbar's Fishsticks Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 25, 2013
    As I recall from the prequel canon, the Commerce Guild was the megacorp that handled the mining and extraction of precious raw materials, right? Whatever the Star Wars universe's version of oil is, they probably had the monopoly on it.
     
  10. Taalcon

    Taalcon Chosen One star 4

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    Jul 12, 1998
    Lots of gas found on Tatooine, I understand.
    [​IMG]
     
  11. Gamiel

    Gamiel Chosen One star 9

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    Dec 16, 2012
    Is that still canon?
     
  12. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

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    May 23, 2005
    Look at the Kolto and Bacta cartels for the GFFA analogue to the Oil cartels.
     
  13. Sarge

    Sarge 6x Wacky Wednesday winner star 10 VIP - Game Winner

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    Oct 4, 1998

    Department of Motor Vehicles, where 'Murcans wait in line for untold hours to get driver's licenses and register their cars. Often considered the epitome of red tape, mindless bureaucracy, and uncaring, inept, glacially slow customer service.
     
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  14. Ackbar's Fishsticks

    Ackbar's Fishsticks Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Aug 25, 2013
    Well, pharmaceuticals cartels, in the latter case. I don't remember what Kolto is.
     
  15. AdmiralWesJanson

    AdmiralWesJanson Force Ghost star 5

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    May 23, 2005
    The Old Republic analogue for Bacta. Produced on Manaan, who forced the Republic and Sith to play by very strict neutrality rules, and somehow related to a sacred shark. Knights of the Old Republic game.
     
  16. Dr. Steve Brule

    Dr. Steve Brule Jedi Grand Master star 4

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    Sep 7, 2012
    There seems to be contradictory info - Ultimate Star Wars seems to have the info with Gran only being settlers on Malastare, while the Databank has it being their homeworld. Notably the Dug entry in the Databank doesn't mention their homeworld, though it does only list Malastare for their locations. It'd be funny if in the new canon, Malastare was the Gran homeworld while Dugs were the immigrant community.
     
  17. Matthew Trias

    Matthew Trias Force Ghost star 6

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    Sep 8, 1999
    In Clone Campaigns, one of the missions involved fighting over a planet that essentially made batteries for the Republic from the abundant thermal energy found on it.

    Don't ask me how the batteries worked. Supposedly the planet provided 80% of the energy for the Core Worlds.
     
  18. FTeik

    FTeik Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Nov 7, 2000
    Maybe their equivalent of Bolivia, which has the largest resources of lithium worldwide (and of which Tesla has contracts on three quarters of it for its electric cars).

    As an alternative it would be cool, if the energy is produced on that world and then sent per microwave or laser (or hypergate or hyperspace-tunnel) to the customer-worlds, although 80 percent for even parts of the core worlds sounds a bit unlikely). Maybe the planet is just the control-station and transformator for the actual energy-source, perhaps a Black Hole.
     
  19. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord 50x Wacky Wed/3x Two Truths/28x H-man winner star 10 VIP - Game Winner

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  20. LelalMekha

    LelalMekha Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Oct 29, 2012
    Tough call: Ultimate Star Wars has occasional erroneous content (the existence of synthetic Sith crystals), but so does the Databank (Obi-Wan's first lightsaber having a green blade)! :p
     
  21. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord 50x Wacky Wed/3x Two Truths/28x H-man winner star 10 VIP - Game Winner

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    Fang Fighter (Rebels) and Gauntlet Fighter (TCW) being treated as synonymous for a while, was what I remember most.
     
  22. FTeik

    FTeik Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Nov 7, 2000
    Why is the existence of synthetic lightsabre crystals erroneous context? We had them as early as the ROTJ-novel, where Luke creates a crystal for his new lightsabre.
     
  23. LelalMekha

    LelalMekha Jedi Grand Master star 5

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    Oct 29, 2012
    Because Pablo Hidalgo said so. Go figure!
     
  24. Iron_lord

    Iron_lord 50x Wacky Wed/3x Two Truths/28x H-man winner star 10 VIP - Game Winner

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    Sep 2, 2012
    I thought that was Shadows of the Empire - with the RoTJ novelization being vague as to how Luke had made his new saber?