Sarlaac Question

[Junghalli]

OK, so according to Jabba the Sarlaac digests you for 1,000 years. Thing is, if that's the case wouldn't you die of starvation long before you started to feel the acid? Any thoughts on this?

[Lord Revan]

IIRC the sarlaac can somehow extend the lifespand of it victims.

[Junghalli]

Hmm, so it's like the Queen of Pain in the Orion's Arm universe?
Or Jabba could have been using hyperbole.

[YT300000]

OK, so according to Jabba the Sarlaac digests you for 1,000 years. Thing is, if that's the case wouldn't you die of starvation long before you started to feel the acid? Any thoughts on this?

Because of its isolation, the Sarlacc rarely feeds, as it must rely on animals that stumble into the pit. As such, it has evolved an extremely efficient digestive process. According to lore, the stomach pit of the Sarlacc keeps its prey alive for a thousand years, slowly dissolving its meal into needed nutrients, while the hapless victim is kept alive in searing, endless agony.

[The Original Nex]

Because of its isolation, the Sarlacc rarely feeds, as it must rely on animals that stumble into the pit. As such, it has evolved an extremely efficient digestive process. According to lore, the stomach pit of the Sarlacc keeps its prey alive for a thousand years, slowly dissolving its meal into needed nutrients, while the hapless victim is kept alive in searing, endless agony.

[/quote]


Emphasis Mine

[YT300000]

Of course. Which doesn't invalidate the quote (which is saying that in-universe, its not totally known) in the slightest. There simply is no definitive answer.

Though... how long was Boba in the Sarlacc? If it was any real length of time, then the theory is probably true.

[Kurgan]

Now there's an idea for a SW story... it takes place 999 years after ROTJ, when Boba Fett's head is rescued from the Sarlacc (yes, only his head!) and he's given a robot body and then goes around having wacky hijinks in the new future! (think, 3001: the Final Odyssey with some Crocodile Dundee thrown in, hey, he's got the right accent now!)

[YT300000]

Now there's an idea for a SW story... it takes place 999 years after ROTJ, when Boba Fett's head is rescued from the Sarlacc (yes, only his head!) and he's given a robot body and then goes around having wacky hijinks in the new future! (think, 3001: the Final Odyssey with some Crocodile Dundee thrown in, hey, he's got the right accent now!)

Hmm... and then the Sarlaccs block out the sun...

[Imperator Galacticus]

Hmm, if I remember rightly, Boba Fett was near death when Dengar found him on Tatooine's barren, scorched surface. Ergo I have serious dubitations that the Sarlacc is able to hold its victims alive for a thousand years.

Then again, Boba was near death *on* the sand and not in the Sarlacc's stomach. But it's most probably only a legend, because I think logic and Occam's Razor simply take over for us. How exactly would a Sarlaac continue to hold a victim alive for a thousand years, besides some BS explanation?

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Of course. Which doesn't invalidate the quote (which is saying that in-universe, its not totally known) in the slightest. There simply is no definitive answer.

Though... how long was Boba in the Sarlacc? If it was any real length of time, then the theory is probably true.

Fett was inside the Sarlacc for several days at the least, but definately less than a month.

[Civil War Man]

My hypothesis: Sarlaccs don't somehow magically keep their food alive for a thousand years. It doesn't kill people outright (see Boba Fett), but those inside the Sarlacc will eventually die. However, food is scarce in that part of the galaxy, so it is likely that such a creature developed a method of preserving its food in some way (pickled Mandalorian, anyone?) after it died and then taking off bits and pieces for sustenance over a long period of time.

[Enforcer Talen]

he used explosives to get out of the sarlaac. acid, cleansing fire, and desert tempertures are not good for a man.

in tales of mos eisley, iirc, boba has a conversation with the sarlaac. it eats critters, and develops personality from it.

[Lone_Prodigy]

Several of the reasons why Fett was near-dying are:
–The jetpack he was wearing, while forced back against a wall, exploded while attached to him thanks to his intentional overload of it.
–This cracked his armor and so he was scalded by burning fuel and the acid.
–He was forced to use a grenade launcher in point-blank ranges to blow a hole in it.
–After several tons of sand fell on him, he clawed his way up to the surface then pulled of his burning, cracked armor.

[Stark]

So instead of 'they talk up the sarlacc, and it just eats you over a relatively long period' we're going with 'it's magic and keeps you alive'? :S

[Molyneux]

So instead of 'they talk up the sarlacc, and it just eats you over a relatively long period' we're going with 'it's magic and keeps you alive'? :S

IIRC, Boba was in the Sarlacc longer than he could be expected to survive without food or water; it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the Sarlacc, with all its creepy tentacle-things, would be unable to integrate its victim into its body somehow - connecting them to its bloodstream, basically, and feeding them just enough sustenance to keep them alive while it burns off their body a bit at a time.

Not the most economical trait as far as nutrition goes, but if the creature is actually semisentient and did enjoy the company...


Incidentally, when I was a kid, I thought that all the characters in Star Wars had incredibly long lifespans, thanks to the "digest you over a thousand years" crack and Yoda's line, "When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not...". I figured he was actually speaking literally, and that Luke would look like Yoda did when he got to that age...

What can I say? I was a weird kid. *shrug*

[Cykeisme]

If it was meant to be taken literally, whoever thought it up has as bad an understanding of thermodynamics as whoever decided humans generate energy out of nothing in The Matrix... but all the remarks about the "thousand years" thing do indeed sound like they're just according to lore, so that's a more likely prospect.

If the Sarlacc did indeed keep its human victims alive for a thousand years, someone should do some studies on it... the medical applications of a method for prolonging lifespans by over an order of magnitude could potentially make a fortune!

[Lancer]

If it was meant to be taken literally, whoever thought it up has as bad an understanding of thermodynamics as whoever decided humans generate energy out of nothing in The Matrix... but all the remarks about the "thousand years" thing do indeed sound like they're just according to lore, so that's a more likely prospect.

If the Sarlacc did indeed keep its human victims alive for a thousand years, someone should do some studies on it... the medical applications of a method for prolonging lifespans by over an order of magnitude could potentially make a fortune!

But then you'd have to go out to the ass-crack of nowhere and examine the sarlacc while avoiding Tusken Raiders and local crimelords, all without becomming it's next meal.

[Cykeisme]

True, but for the promise of a method of extending human lifespan to a thousand years? It's worth sending in a legion for!

[Lancer]

True, but for the promise of a method of extending human lifespan to a thousand years? It's worth sending in a legion for!

wow, that's going to be one happy Sarlacc. An entire legion in it's belly.

[EmperorChrostas the Cruel]

Sounds like bullshit, or the SW equivalent of an urban legend.
Figure out the callories needed to keep a brain alive much less consious for 1 year.
I believe it to be more than the entire body is worth.
For it to keep a brain alive for a thousand years would be a net energy loss.

How about this idea. The planet it is on is a desert hell hole. Inside the guts of this thing it is much cooler and moist than outside in the scorching sun. During the day.
Also, don't deserts get fucking COLD at night as well? Bet it it warmer than the outside.
So a creature falling into a Sarlacc, (IF it fell in feet first) would live longer than an unprotected and/or provisioned one on the surface.
Constricting it's prey slowly from bottom to top would force fluids out of the legs and into the body, partly counteracting blood/water loss. Like MAST pants. http://www.stevensurethane.com/medical/mast.html

Dying of exposure to the ellements could be a faster death than being eaten, and this gets morphed into "it takes a 1000 years to be digested.."

[Tychu]

Hmm, if I remember rightly, Boba Fett was near death when Dengar found him on Tatooine's barren, scorched surface. Ergo I have serious dubitations that the Sarlacc is able to hold its victims alive for a thousand years.

Then again, Boba was near death *on* the sand and not in the Sarlacc's stomach. But it's most probably only a legend, because I think logic and Occam's Razor simply take over for us. How exactly would a Sarlaac continue to hold a victim alive for a thousand years, besides some BS explanation?

Boba Fett kinda blew up the Sarlacc from the inside, if i remember correctly
it probally did some damage to the sarlaccs digestive system

[Darth Raptor]

If the whole reason digestion takes so long is to maintain efficiency in the face of scarcity, sustaining what you're digesting doesn't make any sense. Precious water and nutrients are going to be spent keeping the animals alive, and with so many different animal types, how can the insides of a giant spider keep carnivores, herbivores and totally foreign aliens alive not only for the rest of their natural lives, but past their natural lifespans?

It just digests them very slowly. Most humanoids would die in a scant few days. As to where the myth came from, accounts from recovered victims and local Jawa/Tusken folklore most likely.

Edit: Threepio's speel is almost certainly hyperbole. Are we to believe that the Sarlaac is "all powerful"? It exhibited no supernatural powers whatsoever. Jabba's a gangster, not a zoologist. "In his belly..." Bah. That was a female.

[Praxis]

Hmm, if I remember rightly, Boba Fett was near death when Dengar found him on Tatooine's barren, scorched surface. Ergo I have serious dubitations that the Sarlacc is able to hold its victims alive for a thousand years.

Then again, Boba was near death *on* the sand and not in the Sarlacc's stomach. But it's most probably only a legend, because I think logic and Occam's Razor simply take over for us. How exactly would a Sarlaac continue to hold a victim alive for a thousand years, besides some BS explanation?

Boba Fett was near death after detonating a thermal detonator in the Saarlac, wasn't he?

[Elheru Aran]

Hmm, if I remember rightly, Boba Fett was near death when Dengar found him on Tatooine's barren, scorched surface. Ergo I have serious dubitations that the Sarlacc is able to hold its victims alive for a thousand years.

Then again, Boba was near death *on* the sand and not in the Sarlacc's stomach. But it's most probably only a legend, because I think logic and Occam's Razor simply take over for us. How exactly would a Sarlaac continue to hold a victim alive for a thousand years, besides some BS explanation?

Boba Fett was near death after detonating a thermal detonator in the Saarlac, wasn't he?

Yeah. You think he's gonna take a TD going off at not much more than arm's length well?

[Draxle]

I'll offer my speculation, since more than anything, the Sarlacc has always been a source of interest for me:

1: There is a general debate among sourcebooks as to whether or not the Sarlacc is more plant than animal. If so, it would possibly function like a venus fly-trap and could be capable of, if not providing the enzymes capable of keeping prey alive, could at least preserve it well enough to keep for a thousand years.

2: In fact, there is no plausible explanation as to why the Sarlacc would prefer to keep its prey alive, unless you accept the short story "A Barve Like That," from Tales from Jabba's Palace, in which the Sarlacc is something of a "nighmarish soup" that feeds on the tortured thoughts and memories of its victims. During two particular scenes in the store, Fett actually lived through the memories of two Sarlacc victims: an unnamed Jedi woman and a Corellian gambler.

3: There are many accounts for what happens to the Sarlacc itself after Fett blows his way out. Some stories, like the "Mandalorian Armor" suggest that the Sarlacc is capable of regenerating itself. Others, like "Tales of the Bounty Hunters" simply state that the creature is dead and rotting.

And though it's unrelated to the bulk of my post, "A Barve Like That" specifically states that Fett uses his concussion grenade launcher to blast his way out, after the explosion of his jet-pack frees him from the Sarlacc's inner tentacles. Haven't not read any other accounts of his escape, I'm inclined to agree with that, especially since a thermal detonator would almost certainly kill Fett as well.