In this section I would like to unite 3 basic components of Star Wars, writing these articles I wanna mention facts from the films, from the Expanded Universe, and from gaming. But in general, I try to write all articles in this conception. But why this section called Holocron? Read the article!

Holocrons are artifacts in the Star Wars Expanded Universe. There are Jedi and also Sith ones. Jedi Holocrons are said to be the keepers of the ancient Jedi knowledge. They store huge quantities of information. (This section won't be even the younger brother of them, but it was funny to name it from the Holocrons.) Holocrons are a crystal lattice (often in cube form). In the era of the Star Wars films this technology is nearly lost. But there fortunately remained a few surviving holocrons that contain information on the collected Jedi knowledge on the history of the Universe, on arts, blueprints of ancient ships, individuals, and some other things. These precise Jedi Holocrons are made by Jedi, and also contain valuable information about Jedi (force) techniques, training methods, and lightsaber creation and forms. Usually, only Force users can access a Jedi Holocron, while other holocrons may be accessed by ordinary persons, usually by manipulating the facets of the holocron. A few stories about holocrons tell that they are quite sophisticated to support an intelligence inhabiting the holocron that can be called personality. In Light Sided Jedi holocrons, these personalities are named after a Jedi Master who added a great deal of information to the holocron, and are referred to as "Gatekeepers". This Gatekeeper of the holocron could refuse to divulge information to non-Force sensitives. These Jedi Holocrons also could sense the ability and level of a Jedi, and offer or restrict information accordingly so that the Jedi were not shown information too advanced and dangerous for their basic stage.

There was a Great Holocron, which is a 12-sided holocron, that is stored in the library of the Jedi Temple, is said to contain the greatest concentration of collected Jedi knowledge. It was designed to be very easy to use for all Force sensitive, even padawans. As of the prequel trilogy timeline, holocrons are locked away in the Jedi Archives to all but the most senior Jedi. In fact, most of the Jedi in the Temple do not even know Sith holocrons are also in the building! Those holocrons are kept in case the Jedi would ever face the threat of the Sith again, whereupon Jedi Masters could consult the holocrons for ideas on how to defeat them.

 

Some Holocron history:

Holocrons made their first appearance in the 1992 Dark Horse comics series Dark Empire. The resurrected Emperor gives one to Leia Organa Solo; the holocron possesses the repository of knowledge of an ancient Jedi Master named Boda Baas, with whom she could interact via a hologram of the Jedi emitted from the holocron. Count Dooku stole at least one Sith holocron from the Temple during the First Battle of Coruscant. Later Palpatine revealed that the remaining Sith holocrons in the Temple are forgeries, and that he had "inherited" several real ones from his master, Darth Plagueis, who was killed while slept...

Holocron in the Clone Wars story:

The first few episodes of Clone Wars season two shows the holocron story from a different angle. Palpatine (Darth Sidious) hires Cad Bane, to get a holocron for him from the secret Jedi Temple archives. He needs that to be able to read a data crystal, which is in the possession of a rodian Jedi, called Bolla Ropal. That chrystal need to be merged with a Jedi holocron to be read its contents. On the chrystal the Jedi saved the birth places and names of all Force sensitive children in the Galaxy. Palpatine plans to corrupt and infest them, so one day they will help his dark plans as a kind of secret Dark Jedi ally within the Jedi Order. Cad Bane infiltrates into the Jedi Temple, then into the holocron archives, where there are hundreds of Jedi Holocrons all over. Cad Bane randomly selects one, then escapes the scene with a clever trick with his valuable relic. They also need a Jedi to their plan, since only a Jedi is able to merge the crystals with a telekinetic method without touching them, opening up the holocron's crystal structure in a meditative concentrated state. After the hostage Bolla Ropal refused the assistance, they torture him to death, and capture Ahsoka instead, and they force his master, Anakin Skywalker to help in the process, otherwise they will kill his Padawan learner. Anakin must help them to prevent them letting Ahsoka out in to the vacuum, and helps them in that difficult and dangerous process, but in the right moment he rushes into his padawan's aid, saving Ahsoka from the certain death.

Holocrons in gaming:

KotOR series

Holocrons can also be used as a form of recording device for personal thoughts. In the game KotOR2, a Dark Sided character could discover a Sith Holocron on Korriban, containing a recording of Bastila, the love of the Sith Lord Revan, detailing her decision to follow him into the Unknown Regions. The holocron captured the appearance and thoughts of Bastila Shan, and transformed that into a three-dimensional hologram in front of Exile in the game.
Sith holocrons are rarely seen. Sith holocrons originated from the Rakatas, who were trying to gain the trust of the Sith. Sith holocrons emit a dark presence, creating tremors in the Force upon activation. Only a few known Sith holocron exists at this point, and Atris keeps some of them in the Telosian Jedi Academy. Very few incidents mention Sith holocrons being imbued with a malevolent intelligence capable of directly influencing their users, unlike the Jedi Holocrons, which have no such documented capabilities. Some Sith holocrons allow the activator unlimited access to its entire dark side repository. The gatekeeper would draw the user in with promises of power, and could even turn some Force-users to the dark side. The Jedi historian Atris discovers the Holocron's pull as she collects them; they slowly turn her to the dark side. In the game KotOR2 a LS Exile has to fight Atris, after her fall to the dark side and learns that the Sith Holocrons surrounding her actually spoke to her, and now also speak to Exile to lure him!

Galactic Battlegrounds

In the game Galactic Battlegrounds holocrons can be found lying around in the battlefield. Using a Jedi or Sith to transport the holocron to a Jedi or Sith temple can give a continuous source of nova crystals. Capturing five holocrons is one way to win the Game. (read my Galactic Battlegrounds article about this topic)

I plan to publish similar essay like, informative articles here in Holocron section. That is why its name is Holocron. This intro also was thought to be a little bit more then a simple intro. I ask you to stay with me, and read the articles I will publish for you, also in this section of the site. Thanks!

 written by: Norbert Rostas 2008.02.18.