Holocron

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A Holocron is an artifact in the Star Wars Expanded universe.

Holocrons are a crystal lattice (often in cube form) in which people of old could insert phenomenal quantities of data. In the era of the Rebellion, the technology to make them is nearly lost. But the few surviving holocrons contain information on Jedi techniques, blueprints of ancient ships and histories of the universe. They are very valuable. Jedi Holocrons are a sub-class of holocrons which are made by Jedi, and contain valuable information about jedi techniques, training methods, lightsaber creation, and other useful knowledge. Usually, only Force-attuned users can access a Jedi Holocron, while other holocrons may be accessed by ordinary individuals, usually by manipulating the facets of the holocron (as shown in Darth Maul Shadow Hunter and in Cloak of Deception).

There exist Sith holocrons which are often in pyramidal form. The Great Holocron, a twelve sided holocron stored in the library of the Jedi temple is said to contain the greatest concentration of collected Jedi knowledge. It was also designed to be extremely easy to use for those sensitive to the Force, especially Jedi Padawans.^{[citation needed]}

Holocrons can also be used as a form of recording device for a Force user's personal thoughts. In the game Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, a character following the Dark Side of the Force could discover a Sith Holocron on Korriban containing a recording of Bastila Shan, the apprentice to the Sith Lord Darth Revan, detailing her decision to follow him into the Unknown Regions.

A few depictions of holocrons seem to indicate that holocrons are sufficiently sophisticated to support an intelligence inhabiting the holocron; in Light side Jedi holocrons, these entities' personalities are patterned after a Jedi Master who added a great deal of information to the holocron, and are referred to as "Gatekeepers" (as in, "The Gatekeeper of the Holocron will refuse to divulge information to non-Force sensitives.") Sith holocrons are rarely seen, and so the capabilities of their Gatekeepers (or indeed, whether they are any) are generally unknown. Two incidents point to Sith holocrons being imbued with a malevolent intelligence capable of directly influencing their users, unlike the Jedi Holocrons, which have no such documented capabilities. In the game Knights of the Old Republic II: The Sith Lords, the Jedi Exile is caught in a duel with Atris after her fall to the Dark side and learns that the Sith Holocrons surrounding her actually speak to her - possibly to communicate their desires. This raises the possibility that part of Atris' fall was due to the proximity of the Holocrons, their own malevolent will, and the power and knowledge of the Sith that they contained. In the Tales of the Jedi collection, Tales of the Jedi: The Sith War, Exar Kun shattered a Sith holocron in front of a crowd of Jedi students who had followed him to his strongholds on Yavin 4. The fragments of the holocron hit the students, and then sunk into their flesh, and apparently brainwashed them into becoming loyal Sith (or perhaps rendered them vulnerable to Dark Side mind control). Kun then was capable of ordering them to betray, hunt down, and kill their masters.

Holocrons made their first appearance in the 1992 Dark Horse Comics series Star Wars: Dark Empire. Leia Organa Solo was given one, which possessed 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.

In the game Star Wars 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 Standard Game.

[edit] Behind the scenes

• There is also a continuity/canon database maintained by Lucas Licensing called the Holocron, see Expanded Universe (Star Wars).
• Holocrons are featured in the game Star Wars: Battlefront II, where 501st legion has to capture them as mission objectives for Darth Vader.
• Holocrons are also featured in the game Yoda Stories, where they appear as reddish pyramids. Their purpose is to serve as highly valuable objects, used for important acts of exchange, or as highly efficient bribes for certain characters. The purpose of the Holocron is not revealed within the game - in fact, some characters who would wish to possess one, have no clear idea of its purpose, and think it is "some kind of clock."
• Holocrons are also featured in the game Star Wars: Galactic Battlegrounds, where the player must retrieve them to the Jedi temple in certain missions.

[edit] Star Wars Galaxies

In Star Wars Galaxies the Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game or MMORPG put out by Lucas Arts and Sony Online Entertainment, Holocron is the name for the Help interface, which provides players with links to:

• a knowledge database
• a Frequently Asked Question page
• a Customer Service inquiry page
• a Bug Reporting page.

There are also in-game Holocrons, both Jedi and Sith, similar to those mentioned above, which at one point were instrumental for a character to become Jedi. However, the rules of becoming Force Sensitive changed rendering Holocrons to be little more than interesting home decorations.

[edit] References

• Dark Apprentice, 1st edition paperback, 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 0-553-29799-6
• Champions of the Force, 1st edition paperback, 1994. Kevin J. Anderson, 0-553-29799-6
• Dark Empire, trade paperback, 1993. Tom Veitch, ISBN 1-56971-073-2
• Dark Lords of the Sith, trade paperback. Kevin J. Anderson, Tom Veitch, Chris Gossett, Art Wetherell, ISBN 1-56971-095-3
• The Sith War, 1st edition trade paperback, 1996. Kevin J. Anderson, ISBN 1-56971-173-9
• A Guide to the Star Wars Universe, 2nd edition, 1994. Bill Slavicsek, ISBN 0-345-38625-6
• The Dark Side sourcebook, Wizards of the Coast, 1st printing, 2001. Bill Slavicsek, J. D. Wiker, ISBN 0-7869-1849-7
• The Great Holocron: An Expanded Universe Artifact from Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - The Visual Dictionary [1]