Karen Traviss at SWEndirect

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2006-03-20 02:30pm

TPM novel had 100,000 systems or so. The AOTC novelization had tens of thousands of systems (member systems I assume) and the ROTS novel mentioned "thousands" (Hell, Obi-wan mentions "thousands!")

talk about screwed up

Post by **Vympel** » 2006-03-20 07:38pm

Actually the TPM novel is one hundred thousand worlds rather than systems.

000 · Post by **000** » 2006-03-20 08:08pm

The Imperial Sourcebook gives the Republic a million ("thousand thousand") worlds.

Post by **Vympel** » 2006-03-20 10:19pm

I should add the proviso that the TPM novel extract is in relation to where the Jedi were active, not "the Republic consists of ..."

In any event, we know the Galactic Empire is larger than the Republic was.

000 · Post by **000** » 2006-03-20 10:26pm

Yeah, the Empire consisted of a million member worlds and fifty million colonies, protectorates, and so on IIRC.

The quote I'm referring to was talking specifically about the Republic though.

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2006-03-21 03:20pm

WEG was actually much bigger for the Old Republic - something like a million member systems and 50 million protectorates in one of the books (I dont remember which and I don't feel like digging it up) and later this was revised in later editions to "millions" of member worlds and "countless" protectorates and the like.

The problem is, of course, that that particular reference gives no context to timerame IIRC - we don't know if it was early on in the Republic or later.

The DK visual dictionaries (the DWR ones, that is) paint a somewhat larger picture than the novelizations: something like many hundreds of thousands of systems or millions potentially, given the existence of thousands of Senators each (supposedly on average, at least) representing hundreds of worlds (up to a thousand in Valorum's case) The AOTC:ICS increases this figure dramatically by implying that this might simply be the "member systems" and that the protectorates and the like represent orders of magnitude greater worlds per sector.

Of course, the above makes some assumptions based on a presumably small sample, so it could be argued as inaccurate in the face of the explicit statements (though you could still argue there are millions of "protectorates" and uninhabited worlds out there even with 100,000 worlds if you interpret that as "member worlds")

Amusingly, There are several cases in WEG where the Empire is noted to have "billions" of worlds/systems under its control (the ISB implies at least millions of member worlds, IIRC.)

Connor MacLeod · Post by **Connor MacLeod** » 2006-03-21 03:21pm

000 wrote:The Imperial Sourcebook gives the Republic a million ("thousand thousand") worlds.

The ANH novelization mentioned a million worlds for the Empire too, which is presumably where the quote originates from (alot of WEG material seems to originate with the radio dramas or novelizations it seems.)

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2006-03-22 10:09am

When will the next issue of SW Insider come out? (I was thinking of Odds.)

000 · Post by **000** » 2006-03-22 05:52pm

I think Odds is two from now.

Mange · Post by **Mange** » 2006-03-22 11:58pm

000 wrote:I think Odds is two from now.

No, Odds is to appear in SW Insider #87 (the next issue, which is why I wondered when it's released).

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-03-23 12:04am

It seems to me that the biggest reason for certain EU authors' preference for minimalism may be their own creative limitations. In short, I suspect that they have trouble imagining how they would set a story in a huge universe. There's a comfort zone associated with always revisiting the same small number of places, using a small number of characters, and reducing the scale of conflicts in order to make the actions of your handful of characters seem more important to the overall balance of power.

RedImperator · Post by **RedImperator** » 2006-03-23 12:11am

Darth Wong wrote:It seems to me that the biggest reason for certain EU authors' preference for minimalism may be their own creative limitations. In short, I suspect that they have trouble imagining how they would set a story in a huge universe. There's a comfort zone associated with always revisiting the same small number of places, using a small number of characters, and reducing the scale of conflicts in order to make the actions of your handful of characters seem more important to the overall balance of power.

Shit, I've been saying that for years. The failure of imagination on the part of the EU's authors is directly responsible for the abysmal quality of most of it.

000 · Post by **000** » 2006-03-23 01:02am

Mange the Swede wrote:No, Odds is to appear in SW Insider #87 (the next issue, which is why I wondered when it's released).

Ah, my bad. I got it mixed up with Pena's upcoming article.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2006-03-23 02:35am

RedImperator wrote:Shit, I've been saying that for years. The failure of imagination on the part of the EU's authors is directly responsible for the abysmal quality of most of it.

It doesn't help that every author wants his story to be critical to the balance of power in the galaxy. It's not as if every author writing modern fiction tries to make the fate of the whole world hinge on the outcome of the plot.

Post by **Vympel** » 2006-03-23 04:01am

Darth Wong wrote: It doesn't help that every author wants his story to be critical to the balance of power in the galaxy. It's not as if every author writing modern fiction tries to make the fate of the whole world hinge on the outcome of the plot.

The worst offender in that regard is KJA. His "Jedi Academy" trilogy was a travesty on both those levels (minimalism and making it Very, Very Important).

- an Imperial Admiral has four Star Destroyers! Oh moi moi, weesa in trouble now!

- Death Star? Destroys planets? Take Sun Crusher, destroys stars! And it's the size of Slave I !

- Luke Skywalker? Hah! Kyp Durron is more powerful!

Lord Poe · Post by **Lord Poe** » 2006-03-23 04:07am

Darth Wong wrote:It doesn't help that every author wants his story to be critical to the balance of power in the galaxy. It's not as if every author writing modern fiction tries to make the fate of the whole world hinge on the outcome of the plot.

That's why I love the original Han Solo trilogy. It was just Han and Chewie having adventures that didn't make a blip to the galaxy at large.

Imperial Overlord · Post by **Imperial Overlord** » 2006-03-23 04:43am

Lord Poe wrote: That's why I love the original Han Solo trilogy. It was just Han and Chewie having adventures that didn't make a blip to the galaxy at large.

And it showed us entirely new parts of the galaxy. The Corporate Sector Authority controlled just a whisp off a branch of a spiral arm, which ammounted to thousands of worlds. It introduced new races and technologies that completely fit in with the previously established universe.

Han Solo also shot first whenever possible.