Lit The Essential Atlas and Galactic Cartography: Official Discussion

planet sized intelligent computers... where did we see this before? Ah right... hello Mr. Silentium! adults grow to planet size and are ballshaped then.

then again the BRT with the same name might be its child and a Silentium in disguise.

and about that Star Trek movie (which I personally liked; not Trek but the part about the sentient computer giant and how it got that way) I have to say, we survived Iskalonian Borg, so we can survive more Trek references.

 

yeah but nobody in the GFFA ever torpedoed God's floating blue head on a planet in the Deep Core

 

does an oversized Palpatine hologram on Byss count?

 

What does God need with a floating blue head in the Deep Core?

TC

 

I would agree that it was a tremendous crowning acchievement for Ackbar. Of course, any action leads to a reaction, so it is also fair to say that it made it a bit easier for Thrawn to consolidate his confederation of Imperial territories.

However, I would not say that this massive, multi-front offensive that Ackbar conducted was too ambitious. Afterall, the best way for the New Republic to strengthen itself was to bring new worlds into the fold. Beat a few warlords in the Outer Rim and suddenly hundreds of neutral worlds join the Republic. Capture Kuat, and suddenly you have access to one of the galaxies best shipyards.

The real lesson that the New Republic learned from Thrawn's campaign was that it was underdefended. Operation Shadowhand proved this even further. Hence why once the New Republic was back in power they began the New Class programs, as well as churning out MC90's and designing heavy hitters like the VIscount and Mediator. With the yards of Kuat, Dac, Corellia, Fondor, Sluis Van, and Bilbringi under your control, you can churn out a new navy ASAP.

--Adm. Nick

 

acc to STV, God needs a floating blue head to attract a spaceship to be his chariot!

I doubt the BRTs are Silentium, as all known Silentium are mobile, which BRTs are not. But as for the Unknown Regions planet Mnemos being Silentium, that is a brilliant idea.

 

What does God need with a starship? I think the point of the movie was actually that God did not need a floating blue head to attract a spaceship to be his chariot...

TC

 

I don't think we've ever heard of a grown member of the Silentium reaching planet sizes; they've only been said to reach about 50 km in diameter. Huge by any measure, but nowhere near planet-sized.

It's the *Abominor* that are known to grow to the size of planets. Which is more in fitting with the ominous, foreboding feel of the Unknown Regions threats.

 

"What does God need with a starship? tongue I think the point of the movie was actually that God did not need a floating blue head to attract a spaceship to be his chariot... happy"

Really? Or was it just that Kirk and McCoy didn't think he did, and God failed to live up to their preconceptions?

 

we didn't turn this holy Atlas topic into a trekkie conversation... no we didn't

but in case we did : what would Kirk and Gang think if they learn their gods are a fictional mythos and in reality Arkanians have genetically engineered and created them? or worse... those samples they had been created from, genetically altered, wern't even created by a god or another culture but lifeless stuff animated by Sith Alchemy? D'oh...

Arkanian in a spaceship with oversized blue Hologram head... now I am sure Kirk met his creator on Hologrum Fun World, an Arkanian Sith Alchemist versed in genetics, with a Kaminoan lover and three genetically engineered offspring.

 

ok sorry, I was just trying to illustrate that Rek I and V were lame to show why I did NOT want Mnemos to go that route.

The thing to ask is this: Is Mnemos a designation the machine uses for itself, or only given by outsiders? If Mnemos is (as I hypothesized) an "Old High Galactic" word, what would that imply about its origins? Could it be Rakatan in origin? Does Old High Galactic have Rakatan roots, or at least would it have been used by a Rakatan slave species involved in making the computer?

Mind you, the book mentions no Rakatan connection, but I am speculating here on why an Unknown Regions object would have a name similar to a human-built BRT. We also know (as the book emphasizes) there are many isolated human and near-human populations in UR, and Alsakan was certainly big on colonization!

Another question is the origin of the BRT's designation "Mistress Mnemos." BRTs are manufactured by Aratech, based on Carida, and Mistress Mnemos served on Obroa-skai, then on the Alliance safeworld Fusai. On which of these worlds she was given her designation we don't know, however Aratach seems to have given its models generic droid-style alphanumeric designations contatining the letters "BRT" (known examples AL-BRT-34-X3 and CUTH-BRT-92-X3), which, if used to derive nicknames, result in nicknames with a "-bert" in them, like Albert and Cuthbert. To me this suggests the nickname was given later.

The nickname's apparent meaning, "memory," suggests and its apparent derivation from a "cultured language" (my guess there) would be very appropriate if given by a nerdy, scholarly archivist or librarian at Obroa-skai, so I would guess there, and Obroa-skai scholars strike me as the type that would "play" with High Galactic the way traditional British scholars played with Greek and Latin (whcih High Galactic seems to be a pseudo-counterpart to).

So again, this suggests an origin of the Unknown Regions computer with Core World humans or a closely-connected species.

 

Hey Mr. Fry, I think I found a new planet for you (at least, I can't seem to find it in the OC). From page 14 of the Assault on Hoth rulebook:

"Harpoons - power harpoon cannons with high-tension tow cable and fusion discs - were an innovation of the noted Rebel tactician, Beryl Chiffonage. Knowing that Walkers were too large and well-armored for most of the Rebellion's weaponry, Chiffonage dreamed of a way to use their size against them. He realized that the Walkers' greatest strength was, potentially, their greatest weakness - if the Rebellion could find a way to trip them, they'd be crushed by their own weight. While on an expedition to the primitive planet Verig, Chiffonage found the answer. The natives of Verig, nomadic hunters, used a bola-like weapon (a long rope with stones tied to either end) to trip up the huge, elephantine Pryss-creatures. The Rebellion owes its success at Hoth to those primitive nomads."

Emphasis mine.

 

Decide Your Destiny #2 THE LOST LEGION
1) Ando Prime--fauna include snow beats, similar to Wampas, three times as tall as Clone Troopers, sensitive (like wampas) to certain sound frequencies, facultatively bipedal (also like wampas); indigenous Talid inhabitants are tribal nomads who use slughthrowers and scavenge higher tech,have long white hair they braid and coarse white hair on their legs, have thick hair and thick hides to protect them from the cold (note this indicates the Bendu Monks on Ando Prime in the Podracer game, who are insectile, are not Talids after all). Their facial features are kept hidden by masks and scarves (ala Tusken Raiders!)...however, I noticed the Podracer game showed a statue on Ando Prime with a vaguely human face, which is unlike that of the Bendu Monks, so could it be based on a Talid face?

2) the unnamed planet where the Lost Legion of the title is, um, lost. They arrive their from Ando Prime via hyperspace wormhole created by a hyperdrive warping device. None of the characters are able to ascertain the planet's exact location and identity, save that it is "beyond the Outer Rim"--the same terminology used for Kamino in AOTC, so I assume this means Wild Space. Interestingly, one character while on the planet is stung by a creature none of the character's can identify, but the description is a dead ringer for a kouhun. Could this world be Indoumodo, the kouhun homeworld, which we know is in Wild Space?

3) a few "non-carto" notes of interest: "ARF"s = Advanced Recon Fighters...how do these differ from ARCs? Skakoans lungs are located where a human' abdomen is. Skakoans also have something called a "filtration organ." Clone Trooper medics use FX-3 droids, cylindrical, 2-armed, capable of independent motion, but small enough to be portable and carried in a pouch. These droids can help with surgery, setting broken bones, making antivenoms, and diagnosis.

Decide Your Destiny #3 TETHAN BATTLE ADVENTURE
1) p 24 ship name "Jostaar Express"--Jostaar might be a planet name
2) phrase "like stealing camby berries from and Ewok." Seriously, is Leia the ONLY person who doesn't know about Ewoks! Assumedly, camby berries grow on the camblyictus trees of Endor (see Gungan Frontier)
3) Teth--fauna includes grass, vines, trees, and "randoos bushes"; p 36 the local B'omarr monastery is called "Hutt Castle" by the locals, and (I forgot to write down page number for this) is sometimes used as a smuggling base by Jabba; the Seps use it to store vertex crystals for use in the Death Star Project p. 170 (anyone interested in the DSP history needs to review this book); bloodworms and bloodworm farms are mentioned in the book in a way that might indicate they are a local thing, and one line indicates possible local nerf-herding; antoher line mentions "feng'aa chickens" in a context suggesting they are locally raised; local Janu Godalhi is portrayed as a retired constable and an already famous historian; sentient inhabitants include reptilian, avian, and mammalian species, inc. humans, Barabels, Trandoshans, Bothans, Miraluka, Devaronians, Sullustans, and Staglint
4) Bespin--p 105 a battle on Bespin with Glynn-Beti present...= one of the Bespin battles from the Boba Fett books? indicating this battle is roughly happening at the same time as the Clone Wars movie?
5) Brindal, a sentient species, at least one Brindal child present on Cloud City during above-mentioned battle, p 178
6) p140 mentions the Rutanian Senate...I don't think we previously knew Rutan had a Senate
7) p 173 says Barabels have teeth to rival "a Graculan", so Gracula may be a planet name
8) p 9 "P'frorin gotta-worm"--might be "P'frorin" is derived from a planet name
9) p 27, "Credaan spacer", a type of spaceship used exclusively by the Republic Military;
Credaan might be a planet name
10) p 114, "Staglint" a sentient species, blue, with 20 arms!
11) the "Rindoon Dart" name of a ship, class "Sandonian 4XA Pensile cruiser", said to be the fastest type of ship in the Galaxy; "Rindoon" and "Sandonia" could be planet names

Rebel Force UPRISING
1) p 125

 

It is really a pity, that we don't have a "bangs-head-against-a-wall"-smiley.

If the author of this text had read the TESB-novelisation he would have known, that it was Luke Skywalker who came up with the idea to use the harpoons and tow cables on the fly. He was improvising, because the armour of the walkers was too strong for the weapons of the snow-speeders.

Aside from that "tow cables" indicates, that the original purpose of those devices was to tow things. Like freight containers or stranded/damaged vehicles.

 

Doesn't matter anyway. Pretty much every source on the subject since then, including GG3, says Luke and Chiffonage developed the tactic together before the events of ESB, so whatever the ESB novel says is outdated.

 

First, the TESB-novel ranks higher than all the other stuff and even if NOT, the other explenation is still a soft, brown mass, if you get what I mean. I'm sorry if this offends people, but sometimes a spade had to be called a spade.

Care to explain, why the rebels in the movie didn't use this "new, already developed tactic" from the beginning?

 

Meh, if that's the way you want to see it that's fine. I don't know why the Rebels didn't use the tactics in the first place, and frankly, I don't really care. Someone who's better acquainted the subject matter can help you. I was merely noting that most sources give a different view than the novelization, regardless of canon level. Anyway, no need to clutter the Atlas thread. Bring the issue to the ground combat thread if you wish to discuss it further with others.

 

Just a brief question, out of idle curiosity:


On the "Ultimate Power in the Universe" map, is the "Rebel activity" around Coruscant meant to represent the "Death Star II" plans plot from TIE Fighter?

 

the poster's point was the existence of a system not already in the Atlas, and that system's existence is established regardless of who came up with the harpoon tactic. Jason includes systems as canonical even if the events surrounding them are in question

 

I...wow. It's just one of those things from the movies that multiple writers decide to explain. There's the idea that Davin Felth gave that particular strategy to the Rebels too...I don't why someone expanding on one of the existing explanations is something to get upset about. It's like the Death Star plans, or the bounty hunter from Ord Mantell. It's kind of dumb that even today we still get new stories about these events, but it's nothing unusual.

TC

 

They did. Attack Pattern Delta and the Bantha Decoy were also part of Skywalker and Chiffonage's collaboration, known collectively as the "Rogue Doctrine."

 

There's also the whole thing where they shoot, and then Luke realizes the blasters on their converted airspeeders are definitely too weak to do any damage, so they then go to plan B. You know, right in the movie.

 

Still doesn't remove the higher canon status of the novelization, though.

People get so riled up about that, but it's quite clear. That's what's so great about SW canon, it is tier-based and lower tiers can safely be ignored in inconsistencies. You can salvage it by saying he suggested something similar to Luke, but not exactly planned it far in advance.

On-topic:
I got a new planet "close to Coruscant" in The UK Clone Wars issue 6.7. It's a terrestial world surrounded by an asteroid/scrap belt, site of the Quingarus Deluxe Droid Systems Factory.

 

It upsets me.

I know it is a big universe and a lot of people are working in/at it, but six versions of Han and the Bounty Hunter at Ord Mantell, four versions of Boba Fett escaping the Sarlac, ten or more versions of how the RA aquired the DS-plans and so on are too much.

It is a sign that there is little coordination and little creativity. An entire galaxy to play with, to come up with new places and stories and we have to visit Tattooine or the battle of Hoth again and again.

Sorry, but I can do better with my time (like discussing the power and lenght of the SSD ad nauseam ).

Aside from that I consider to be expected to believe, that somehow a tool like a tow-cable is related or based on some kind of bola an insult to my intelligence. What was the galaxy using the 25,000 years before? Tractor beams?

The argument with the prepared or planned tactic doesn't work, too. Because in that case Luke and the other guy would have given some thought to the capabilities of their possible opponents and known as soon as they knew they were up against walkers, that using the lasers of the snow-speeders was a pointless excercise. It should have also been attemtped and worked more than once. No, the use of the tow-cable in TESB was an improvisation.