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Keeper of the Holocron's Blog
date posted: May 24, 2005 6:42 PM  |  updated: Mar 17, 2008 10:14 AM
What is the Holocron?
What is the Holocron?
In the fictional Star Wars universe, a Holocron is a device (usually cube-shaped) that serves as a repository of Jedi knowledge. The Holocron was first introduced in the Dark Empire comics. For the Attack of the Clones Visual Dictionary, Holocron "props" were built of a Jedi Holocron, a dodecahedron-shaped Great Holocron, and a pyramid-shaped Sith Holocron.

In the real world, the Holocron is an internal database maintained by Lucas Licensing that tracks all the fictional elements created for the Star Wars universe. The database includes material from the films as well as everything from the Expanded Universe (EU) which includes books, comics, videogames, trading cards, roleplaying games, websites, toys, cartoons, and just about every officially sanctioned fictional element of the Star Wars universe.

What are the main types of entries in the Holocron?
The Holocron classification system is loosely based on the one used in the Behind the Magic CD-ROM:
Character
Location
Alien/Creature
Technology (Droids, Vehicles, Weapons)
Group/Organization
Terminology
Event
Flora
Language

How many entries are in the Holocron?
The Holocron has well over 27,032 different entries. Here's a rough breakdown (as of 8/24/06):
Sources: 1,180
Images: 9,503
Characters: 8,742
Planets: 3,419
Aliens: 756
Creatures: 1,255
Vehicles: 2,716
Weapons: 1,130
Groups: 1,641

Is there any way to put on an online version that people could browse over for fun?
There are no current plans to make the Holocron available to the public either in an online or published version. In addition to being an archive for information that has already been published, the Holocron is a tool to track everything that is currently in development. Information is entered at the earliest stages, so there is information about products that won't be released until years later. It is also used to store unpublished reference information.

Are the entries in the Holocron sorted as canonical & non-canonical? Are there various degrees of "officialness"?
The database does indeed have a canon field for each individual entry and for sources, though the canon level of the entry would overide the canon level of the source since it factors in other sources associated with that entry. When determining canon levels for individual entries, anything in the films and from George Lucas (including unpublished internal notes that we might receive from him or from the film production department) is considered "G" canon. A new level we recently added is "T" canon, comprising of the theatrical release of The Clone Wars and the television series, in addition to the planned live-action television series. Next we have what we call continuity "C" canon which is pretty much everything else from the EU. There is a secondary "S" continuity classification used for older published materials created when there was less attention to making everything in the EU fit with everything else in the EU. But, if it is referenced in something else it becomes "C". Similarly, any "C" canon entry that makes it into the films can become "G" canon. Lastly there is non-continuity "N" which we rarely use except in the case of a blatant contradiction. Any contradictions that arise are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

Is there an Indiana Jones version of the Holocron?
Yes. We call it the Indycron.

Here's an article on Wizards.com from a few years ago that gives some additional insight into my role as Keeper of the Holocron.

DISCUSS HERE

Master Devwi
Star Wars News & Opinions
date Posted: Jun 27, 2005 5:27 PM
Tasty Taste, you're so luckey to be the Keeper of the Holocron! B-) I'd love to find out more about your role as Keeper of the Holocron, but the link to the article on Wizards.com isn't working! MTFBWY!
Leland Y Chee
Keeper of the Holocron's Blog
date Posted: Jun 28, 2005 4:04 PM
Hmmm, not sure why the link to wizards.com isn't working for you. I would suggest pasting the url into your address bar: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=starwars/article/sw20031204leland
DarthMKanis
date Posted: Jun 15, 2007 3:35 PM
I love the Databank. For years I've used it for more than just general reference; I've used it to aid in the RPG campaign I run. But as good as it is it has some shortcomings, which fans debate & flame all over the net, not just the official forums. Some are painful to read but there are consisten, valid points addressed. I have scoured the Technical Comentaries site, and I'm working my way through the Holocron thread for more info/insght.

DarthMKanis
date Posted: Jun 15, 2007 3:36 PM
Over the Years the Databank entry Super Star Destroyer listed the Executor as 8,000 meters, then 12,800 and now 19,000 meters. I understand this is an effort to reconcile multiple "official" published 'facts' for the vessel. Like thousands of fans, I do greatly appreciate what you've done. Yet debates continue and flaming rises.

DarthMKanis
date Posted: Jun 15, 2007 3:37 PM
I made a system that incorporates these contradictory sources, using the sizes Lucas conceived the Star Destroyers & Super Star Destroyers being, the published sizes, and the ratio seen on screen as the benchmarks of Lucas' vision. Into this loose framework I added the other SDs & SSDs from throughout the EU. This system works. In this system all published lengths are used, as different classes of a like design. It even leaves plenty of room for creators to make new ships in [the system] as well.
DarthMKanis
date Posted: Jun 15, 2007 3:38 PM
I would like to propose building on this as a meta-resource for writers. If I could get feedback from the creators [of the EU ships] I can plug their feedback directly into this system. So many ships have little more than a name-drop, but the fans want to know more. If details in the Holocron are scant , it may well put writers and developers off using something from EU's past. By further developing the less defined vessels makes them more accessable to creators [of comics, novels and other projects] and ultimately to the fans.
:D
DarthMKanis
date Posted: Jun 15, 2007 3:40 PM
Let me know what you think. BTW, kudos for Rebellion & Behind the Magic; I have ıthem both. I even stumped Chris Baker on the trivia challenge at CIV! [He didn't know ııStorım Commandoes appeared in Rebellion & Force Commander, as Imperial ıInfiltrators!]ı:p
Leland Y Chee
Keeper of the Holocron's Blog
date Posted: Jun 18, 2007 10:25 AM
We do indeed make note of all the known contradictions in the Holocron. We have no intention to retcon past discrepencies and different classes - the only one that most people are going to care about is the Executor-class.

For varying reasons, there's not a system in place that would allow us to insert official information into a unofficial site. That's why I don't post to sites like wookieepedia.
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