#star wars Sy Myrthian

[sw5w]

The Naboo Delegation

STAR WARS EPISODE I: The Phantom Menace 01:26:58

[redsandspirit]

Matthew Stover ruined Dooku

It is perhaps generally accepted that Revenge of the Sith novelization by Matthew Stover is one of the best books ever written in the Star Wars universe, if not the best. It's not hard to see why, since in many ways the story is head and shoulders above the movie, and Anakin Skywalker is, in my opinion, better captured by the author than anywhere else in the Expanded Universe. Still, I can't say that I was completely satisfied with the novel. Count Dooku is one of my favorite EU characters and I was saddened by how he was portrayed by Stover.

Xenophobia

Matthew Stover's Darth Tyranus is a terrible xenophobe, who never fails to remind the reader of this even during conversations with his colleagues such as Grievous and Darth Sidious. He deeply believes that creating the Empire of Man is what he was born to do? Seriously? Dooku is so evil in this book that it seems as if he would have been able to carry out all of Palpatine's plans exactly to the smallest detail without the participation of Palpatine himself. I think Stover here erases the complexity of the character that Jude Watson and Sean Stewart were able to create, and that's something we'll come back to.

A government clean, pure, direct: none of the messy scramble for the favor of ignorant rabble and subhuman creatures that made up the Republic he so despised. The government he would serve would be Authority personified. Human authority. It was no accident that the primary powers of the Confederacy of Independent Systems were Neimoidian, Skakoan, Quarren and Aqualish, Muun and Gossam, Sy Myrthian and Koorivar and Geonosian. At war’s end the aliens would be crushed, stripped of all they possessed, and their systems and their wealth would be given into the hands of the only beings who could be trusted with them. Human beings. Dooku would serve an Empire of Man. And he would serve it as only he could. As he was born to. - Revenge of the Sith, 2

In the novels written before Revenge of the Sith, we saw many important episodes from Dooku's past, and there were no premises for xenophobia. As a child, he was constantly dealing with other sentient species in the Jedi Order, and his father figure was a literal gremlin. One of Dooku's childhood friends was Eero Iridian, who is also not human. Darth Tyranus shows some remorse due to the fact that he and Darth Sidious took advantage of the Troxans (a non-human species) to drain the Republic's resources. This definitely doesn't fit with the way in RotS Dooku gleefully imagines crushing non-humans under the new government.

“These are the envoys from Troxar,” his Master said. How could he know? Dooku didn’t ask. Darth Sidious knew. He always knew.“They are considering surrender,” Dooku said. “They claim they have a resistance planned, ready to rise in insurrection when the clone troops withdraw.” “No!” the flickering figure said sharply. “The war has already damaged the planet too much to make it worth saving. Its only value now is to chew up more troops and resources. Tell them they have to fight on. Promise them reinforcements—tell them you will be deploying a new fleet of advanced droids to retake the whole system within a month, if only they can hold on. Explain that such weapons will not be put in the hands of those who surrender.” “And when the month passes, and no reinforcements arrive?” “Help will come within another month at most. Promise them that, and make them believe it. I’ve shown you how.” “I understand,” Dooku said. How casually we betray our creatures. The hooded figure cocked its head. “Having an attack of conscience, my apprentice?” “No, Master.” He met the hooded figure’s hideous eye. “It was their own greed that brought them to you,” he said. “In their heart of hearts, they always knew what they were getting into.” - Yoda: Dark Rendezvous, 1

Technophobia

The next uncharacteristic trait that was added to the character is technophobia. Anakin Skywalker's prosthetic arm disgusts Dooku, and he almost spits bile while talking to Grievous. The aristocrat hates not only cyborgs, but also ordinary droids, calling them “repulsive” and hoping that they will be destroyed along with the General.

“Which is precisely,” Dooku said meditatively, “why it might be best if I were to kill him, instead.” “Are you so certain that you can?” “Please. Of what use is power unstructured by discipline? The boy is as much a danger to himself as he is to his enemies. And that mechanical arm—” Dooku’s lip curled with cultivated distaste. “Revolting.” “Then perhaps you should have spared his real arm.” “Hmp. A gentleman would have learned to fight one-handed.” Dooku flicked a dismissive wave. “He’s no longer even entirely human. With Grievous, the use of these bio-droid devices is almost forgivable; he was such a disgusting creature already that his mechanical parts are clearly an improvement. But a blend of droid and human? Appalling. The depths of bad taste. How are we to justify associating with him?” - Revenge of the Sith, 2

Dooku nodded judiciously to himself, frowning down at the translucent blue ghosts slinking toward Palpatine. “Sound the retreat for the entire strike force, General, and prepare the ship for jump. Once the Jedi are dead, I will join you on the bridge.”“As my lord commands. Grievous out.” “Indeed you are, you vile creature,” Dooku muttered to the dead comlink. “Out of luck, and out of time.” He cast the comlink aside and ignored its clatter across the deck. He had no further use for it. Let it be destroyed along with Grievous, those repulsive bodyguards of his, and the rest of the cruiser, once he was safely captured and away. - Revenge of the Sith, 3

Why doesn't this make sense? As with xenophobia, the previous books and comics do not contain any hints that Dooku has disdain or hatred towards people with prosthetics and cyborgs. Moreover, when Grievous proposed using Geonosian technology on the Jedi Padawans for experimental purposes, Dooku approved the idea. Not to mention, the Sith Lord enjoyed Grievous' training.

Grievous had been a delight to train, as well. - Labyrinth of Evil, 22

Love and friendship

Next, Stover gaslights the reader by talking about the friendship between Dooku and Lorian Nod. Because if we go back to Legacy of the Jedi, it turns out that Dooku wasn't such a bad friend. He cares about Lorian and tries to be careful with his words so as not to hurt his feelings. Then after Lorian betrayed Dooku by blaming him for stealing the holocron, did Dooku worry about his reputation? Sure, but what unsettled him was that he was betrayed by someone so close to him. Even after what happened, he considers Nod his friend and cannot decide to refuse his request.

He doesn’t remember quite when he discovered this; it may have been when he was a young Padawan, betrayed by another learner who had claimed to be his friend. Lorian Nod had said it to his face: “You don’t know what friendship is.” And he didn’t. He had been angry, certainly; furious that his reputation had been put at risk. And he had been angry at himself, for his error in judgment: trusting as an ally one who was in fact an enemy. The most astonishing part of the whole affair had been that even after turning on him before the Jedi, the other boy had expected him to participate in a lie, in the name of their “friendship.” - Revenge of the Sith, 3

His best friend had betrayed him. Throughout the years at the Temple, he could always depend on Lorian. They had shared jokes and secrets. They had competed and helped each other. They had quarreled and made up. The fact that this person could betray him shocked him so deeply he felt sick. Legacy of the Jedi, 3

Dooku didn't know what to say. He wasn't prepared to lie, but he couldn't say no to his friend. So he said nothing, and, after a long while, the two friends fell asleep. Legacy of the Jedi, 3

Was Dooku the perfect friend? Of course not, and his pride played a role in escalating the conflict, as did Lorian’s envy, but to reduce everything to the words that “Dooku was different and did not understand friendship” I think is a monstrous simplification. The loss of his friend played a big role in Dooku's life, and that's how the story ends.

Lorian had been wrong. Dooku's heart hadn't been empty. He had loved his friend. But he had changed. Lorian had betrayed him. He would never believe in friendship again. If his heart was now empty of love, so be it. The Jedi did not believe in attachments. He would fill his heart with nobility and passion and commitment. He would become a great Jedi Master. Legacy of the Jedi, 6

We further learn that Dooku cannot care about the feelings of other beings and does not even see those around him as entirely real. Now, I don't by any means think that characters with these traits are a bad thing, or that you can't do something interesting with them, but that's not Dooku. We've seen how important his relationships with some of the other characters are to him (there's a whole novel written about him and Yoda), and that he cares to some extent about the feelings of those around him. Moreover, Stover will not explore these new traits, because Dooku will die in the next chapter anyway.

He is entirely incapable of caring what any given creature might feel for him. He cares only what that creature might do for him. Or to him. Very possibly, he is what he is because other beings just aren’t very … interesting. Or even, in a sense, entirely real. For Dooku, other beings are mostly abstractions, simple schematic sketches who fall into two essential categories. - Revenge of the Sith, 3

Jedi Order

Stover's Dooku ideal Jedi Order would forcibly remove Force-sensitive children from their families. Perhaps it's just my opinion, but it seems strange in light of the fact that his rejection trauma, as described by Sean Stewart, is related to his parents and the Jedi Order.

And that Fist would become a power beyond any Jedi’s darkest dreams. The Jedi were not the only users of the Force in the galaxy; from Hapes to Haruun Kal, from Kiffu to Dathomir, powerful Force-capable humans and near-humans had long refused to surrender their children to lifelong bound servitude in the Jedi Order. They would not so refuse the Sith Army. They would not have the choice. - Revenge of the Sith, 2

Ultimately, I can make the case that the ending of Yoda: Dark Rendezvous may have served to develop Dooku and make him even more bitter, but that doesn't justify the radical personality transplant Matthew Stover performed. And now, I often see these lines used to say that Dooku was always pure evil, had no good intentions and was always pretending, and also see questions like "as a human supremacist, what did Dooku think of Yoda?" And how can we know? All of these things were added to the character at the last minute and didn't match anything we'd seen before. This is not my Dooku.

[mortallyclearwonderland]

Star Wars Alien Species - Sy Myrthian

Sy Myrth, formerly known as Far Barseg, was a planet located in the Jospro sector of the Outer Rim Territories. It was the homeworld of the Sy Myrthians.

By 25,100 BBY, Sy Myrth was known as Far Barseg. It was absorbed into Xim's Empire as he expanded his borders from the Kingdom of Cron. The planet eventually became a member world of the Galactic Republic.

During the Mandalorian Wars, Sy Myrth was the site of a battle won by the Mandalorian Neo-Crusaders. During the New Sith Wars, the planet was the site of a battle won by the Jedi.

During the Separatist Crisis, Sy Myrth was represented in the Galactic Senate by Toonbuck Toora until the planet seceded in 23 BBY. It was a founding world of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. During the Clone Wars, Sy Myrth was one of the most important factory worlds of the CIS, and part of the "Foundry of the Confederacy". At the end of the war, Toonbuck Toora continued to fight the Galactic Empire, the successor of the Republic, and Sy Myrth became the center of the Sy Myrthian Insurrection. The planet was besieged in 19 BBY by the 12th Imperial Sector Army and Toora was eventually killed at Trasemene.

The planet was later represented in the New Republic Senate.

The Sy Myrthians are large gastropods, and move around on one giant foot, shuffling and slithering for locomotion. They possess porcine-like noses, and beady eyes. Their entire body is covered with fur and males and females alike possess beards, often groomed into numerous goatees. Their arms tend to be tiny and underpowered for their large size.

A typical Sy Myrthian stands at 1.6 meters tall and weighs about 80 kilograms.

Sy Myrthians age at the following stages:

1 - 12 Child

13 - 18 Young Adult

19 - 35 Adult

36 - 55 Middle Age

56 - 79 Old

Examples of Names: Toonbuck Toora, Brookish Boon.

Languages: Sy Myrthians read and speak Myrtheen, a language consisting of deep, guttural noises.

[oh-no-eu-didnt]

Toonbuck Toora was a Sy Myrthian senator representing her homeworld, Sy Myrth. Beginning her career with an idealistic desire to end corruption in the Senate, Toora became disillusioned and greedy after experiencing it firsthand. Under her leadership, Sy Myrth joined the Separatist movement, and ultimately Toora led one of the final Separatist holdouts against the Empire.

Source: Star Wars: Episode I Insider’s Guide (1999)

First Appearance: Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace (1999)

Read more on Wookieepedia.

[padawanlost]

@professorerudite​ replied:

I would love to read a meta about how the Star Wars series views people with artificial limbs/prosthetics as being less-than-human. There's already discrimination in the Empire against non-human species.

We don’t have a lot of detail on all the Empire’s ableist methods and beliefs but we got a glimpse of it from Dooku. As someone who embodied the GFFA’s elitism, racism and ableism we could say a look into Dooku’s mind and what he hoped for the empire is also a look into the Empire itself.

A government clean, pure, direct: none of the messy scramble for the favor of ignorant rabble and subhuman creatures that made up the Republic he so despised. The government he would serve would be Authority personified. Human authority. It was no accident that the primary powers of the Confederacy of Independent Systems were Neimoidian, Skakoan, Quarren and Aqualish, Muun and Gossam, Sy Myrthian and Koorivar and Geonosian. At war’s end the aliens would be crushed, stripped of all they possessed, and their systems and their wealth would be given into the hands of the only beings who could be trusted with them. Human beings. Dooku would serve an Empire of Man. [Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith]

“But I must ask, my Master: is Skywalker truly the man we want?” “He is powerful. Potentially more powerful than even myself.” “Which is precisely,” Dooku said meditatively, “why it might be best if I were to kill him, instead.” “Are you so certain that you can?” “Please. Of what use is power unstructured by discipline? The boy is as much a danger to himself as he is to his enemies. And that mechanical arm—”Dooku’s lip curled with cultivated distaste. “Revolting.” “Then perhaps you should have spared his real arm.” “Hmp. A gentleman would have learned to fight one-handed.” Dooku flicked a dismissive wave. “He’s no longer even entirely human. With Grievous, the use of these bio-droid devices is almost forgivable; he was such a disgusting creature already that his mechanical parts are clearly an improvement. But a blend of droid and human? Appalling. The depths of bad taste. How are we to justify associating with him?” [Matthew Stover’s Revenge of the Sith]

If the idea that loss of limb = loss of humanity wasn’t ableist enough, we have evidence the Jedi Order had a similar mentality.

So even if members of the Jedi Council were prejudiced against people with prosthetics, it’s not a huge leap to assume the general population had similar views. I mean, if people were already so openly prejudiced during the Republic years, I’d say it’s safe to assume that shit was taken to the next level during the Empire.

Palpatine saw beings like Grievous and Vader as nothing but tools to be explored so I doubt he’d have any kind of sympathy for anyone in similar situation. Not like he had any sympathy for anyone anyway :/

We do have the evidence the racist and elitist agenda were certainly enough (with great brutality). And if we look at our own world and how the rise of racist, prejudiced and ignorant leader seem to embolden people into proudly express their own ignorance and use the situation to enforce discriminatory agendas, it’s not that far-fetched to assume the same happened in the GFFA.

Is there anything official on whether prosthetic limbs affected Vader's (or anyone for that matter) skills with a light saber or the force?

Yes! The EU is filled with moments that show how hard it was for Anakin to adapt to the suit and how it affected his body, his skills and his ability to connect to the force.

Anakin, as Skywalker, as a human being, was going to be extremely powerful, but he ended up losing his arms and a leg and became partly a robot. So a lot of his ability to use the Force, a lot of his powers, are curbed at this point, because, as a living form, there’s not that much of him left. So his ability to be twice as good as the Emperor disappeared, and now he’s maybe 20 percent less than the Emperor. So that isn’t what the Emperor had in mind. He wanted this really super guy, but that got derailed by Obi-Wan. So he finds that, with Luke, he can get a more primo version if he can turn Luke to the Dark Side. You’ll see, as this goes on, Luke is faced with the same issues and practically the same scenes that Anakin is faced with. Anakin says yes and Luke says no. - George Lucas for Vanity Fair, February, 2005.

James Luceno writes a particularly long and haunting portrayal of what the suit meant for Vader in the novel Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader. It explains in painful detail how much damage he suffered and how he adapted to it.

[…] Already he had experienced moments of claustrophobia—moments of desperation to be rid of the suit, to emerge from the shell. He needed to build, or have built, a chamber in which he could feel human again … If possible. All in all, he thought: This is not living. This was solitary confinement. Prison of the worst sort. Continual torture. He was nothing more than wreckage. Power without clear purpose … A melancholy sigh escaped the mouth grille. Collecting himself, he stepped through the hatch. [James Luceno. Dark Lord: The Rise of Darth Vader]

As for his skills, he had to adapt his fighting style to be able to keep up with faster (and healthier) enemies. There’s a lot of this in the darth vader comics and (if I’m not mistaken) the games.