True, but on the other hand, The Empire does make extensive use of forced labor; both in the form of conscripted labor, but also slavery. So it’s not like everybody working on the Death Star actually chose to be there.
If they’re even on board. Using prison labor to build parts for the death star is one thing, keeping a prison workforce on board. That would be like taking a bunch of people from jail and having them work on an aircraft carrier.
That would be like taking a bunch of people from jail and having them work on an aircraft carrier.
Is aircraft carrier a good comparison? The empire battleships seem to be the equivalent of aircraft carriers, the death star is more like a nuclear weapon carrying submarine turned into a giant sphere I think?
You know this got me thinking… I’m not super familiar with star Wars, haven’t seen any since I was pretty young, but I remember thinking the Death Star was like HUGE, with like the population of a large city living in its labyrinth.
If that’s so, the movie really should’ve shown the “average innocent” Death Star person on break just drinking at the local sector bar, getting surprised and the. blasted unceremoniously by some rebel. They probably had like whole shopping centers that could’ve been cool to show the banality of that evil. Would’ve really pushed home the “empire is evil” idea.
Or not because then it’s less useful propaganda. But I would’ve liked it at least
Slaves and conscripted labor were used in its construction, but by the time it was “fully operational” the slaves would’ve been shipped out and replaced with the elite of the imperial military hierarchy, everyone of the million or so personnel would have been picked from the top names of countless lists, the Death Star was the most prestigious posting in the empire and there’s no way slaves would be present in any significant numbers on such a mission-critical piece of tech
The battle station housed 342,953 members of the Imperial Army and Navy, 25,984 stormtroopers, and nearly 2 million personnel of varying combat eligibility. Furthermore, although there were communal barracks, there also were enough private bunks that most people could expect to receive one within three to six months after arrival. While enlisted personnel used walkways or turbolifts that could move both vertically and horizontally, officers had access to a high-speed, officer-only shuttle system that orbited the station. Massive housing blocks for enlisted personnel featured a large atrium for off-duty personnel to walk in. Officers could expect their own exclusive accommodations. Life-support modules inhabited by workers during the original construction of the Death Star could still be used in an emergency. The station featured several hospital wings. Several color-coded life-support modules existed in the station’s lower levels: gray for workers, red for overseers.
Meant to function as a world of its own, the Death Star had creature comforts most other Imperial Military postings did not: decent food, recreation areas, cantinas with latest-model bartender droids, and commissaries with selections of expensive treats and luxuries. The Death Star had its own commissary and bar. Off-duty stormtroopers were known to clandestinely meet to play violent, prohibited ball games in the station’s zero-gravity filtration system.
The station’s detention block, while large and formidable, was not intended to hold prisoners for extended periods of time. Instead, it served as a place for temporary detention and interrogation, pending transfer to planetary prisons, and execution. Prisoners were kept on the Detention Level in complete darkness, then moved to bright interrogation rooms
Meant to function as a world of its own, the Death Star had creature comforts most other Imperial Military postings did not: decent food, recreation areas, cantinas with latest-model bartender droids, and commissaries with selections of expensive treats and luxuries.
I’m laughing about the ridiculousness of this piece of lore and then remembering that the Green Zone in Iraq had a Burger King for the troops. They had their own little slice of suburbia inside the former government palace.
This is a good point, however the meme that OP posted is referencing the scene from “Clerks” that Arthur Besse posted below me.
The problem with the rationale of that scene is that the labor force that built “Death Star 2” would look more like the kind of labor force building modern-day Gulf State vanity projects, rather than US suburban contractors.
That’s a good point, though I wonder if they would have taken the risk of having slaves working onsite on such an important piece of equipment. Still, probably best to storm the place and capture everyone for trial. We can always blow the empty station and put it on the Holonet later
If the rebels had the numbers to raid the Death Star and arrest everyone on board, the asymmetrical warfare wouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.
That’s a good point, though I wonder if they would have taken the risk of having slaves working onsite on such an important piece of equipment.
If I recall correctly in Andor the build on site was made by robots. In Episode 3 there are a lot of military personnel supervising the thing with the Emperor.
In Ahsoka they have some characters working to covertly bring back the Empire. I think its an ongoing plot line, that the New Republic is packed to the brim with fascists who want to restore the Empire and their actions will lead directly to ep7 and the First Order.
i read this in a novel actually, the elites of the new republic liked the economic policies of the empire more so they backed the fascists that wanted to restore it
True, but on the other hand, The Empire does make extensive use of forced labor; both in the form of conscripted labor, but also slavery. So it’s not like everybody working on the Death Star actually chose to be there.
The benefit of blowing that whole shit up ASAP far exceeds the benefit of not killing the hypothetical forced labor on board.
If they’re even on board. Using prison labor to build parts for the death star is one thing, keeping a prison workforce on board. That would be like taking a bunch of people from jail and having them work on an aircraft carrier.
Don’t give
any ideas
Is aircraft carrier a good comparison? The empire battleships seem to be the equivalent of aircraft carriers, the death star is more like a nuclear weapon carrying submarine turned into a giant sphere I think?
You know this got me thinking… I’m not super familiar with star Wars, haven’t seen any since I was pretty young, but I remember thinking the Death Star was like HUGE, with like the population of a large city living in its labyrinth.
If that’s so, the movie really should’ve shown the “average innocent” Death Star person on break just drinking at the local sector bar, getting surprised and the. blasted unceremoniously by some rebel. They probably had like whole shopping centers that could’ve been cool to show the banality of that evil. Would’ve really pushed home the “empire is evil” idea.
Or not because then it’s less useful propaganda. But I would’ve liked it at least
Libs would just came out with “war is hell” take out of it
Big War Thing. The comparison is less specific than yours but I think it still works just fine.
Bringing galley slaves back.
True, and the main villain here is still The Empire who forced the situation.
Slaves and conscripted labor were used in its construction, but by the time it was “fully operational” the slaves would’ve been shipped out and replaced with the elite of the imperial military hierarchy, everyone of the million or so personnel would have been picked from the top names of countless lists, the Death Star was the most prestigious posting in the empire and there’s no way slaves would be present in any significant numbers on such a mission-critical piece of tech
I’m laughing about the ridiculousness of this piece of lore and then remembering that the Green Zone in Iraq had a Burger King for the troops. They had their own little slice of suburbia inside the former government palace.
This is a good point, however the meme that OP posted is referencing the scene from “Clerks” that Arthur Besse posted below me.
The problem with the rationale of that scene is that the labor force that built “Death Star 2” would look more like the kind of labor force building modern-day Gulf State vanity projects, rather than US suburban contractors.
The part in Andor where they’re in prison, those things they’re assembling are structural struts for the Death Star.
That was an interesting twist in Andor
That’s a good point, though I wonder if they would have taken the risk of having slaves working onsite on such an important piece of equipment. Still, probably best to storm the place and capture everyone for trial. We can always blow the empty station and put it on the Holonet later
If the rebels had the numbers to raid the Death Star and arrest everyone on board, the asymmetrical warfare wouldn’t have been necessary in the first place.
Morally best, not practically best for sure
If I recall correctly in Andor the build on site was made by robots. In Episode 3 there are a lot of military personnel supervising the thing with the Emperor.
Hey wasn’t that the dude who got paperclipped? great idea, I wonder if they did anything with it
In Ahsoka they have some characters working to covertly bring back the Empire. I think its an ongoing plot line, that the New Republic is packed to the brim with fascists who want to restore the Empire and their actions will lead directly to ep7 and the First Order.
i read this in a novel actually, the elites of the new republic liked the economic policies of the empire more so they backed the fascists that wanted to restore it
I didn’t see that part of Mandalorian, so I don’t get it.