# Is R2D2 the most advanced hacker Droid in the galaxy? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 6, 2007, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-r2d2-the-most-advanced-hacker-droid-in-the-galaxy/425399 "2007-11-06T13:36:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-r2d2-the-most-advanced-hacker-droid-in-the-galaxy/425399/21 "2011-02-03T18:59:16Z")
> [@bugme](#): > > In ep5, R2 hacked the bay doors on Cloud City so that they could escape on the Falcon. > > In ep6, didn’t he use his hacking skills in order to open the doors to the second of the death star’s shields? > > In ep4, he figured out that he needed the restraining bolt removed when he was in Luke’s work shop. > > We can’t know if R2 was the most advanced hacker Droid a long time ago, in a galaxy far away, but he was one of the smarter characters in Star Wars, especially eps 4-6. They can’t make it without him. Clarification: in **ROTJ** , R2 was in the middle of hacking the door when he caught a blaster bolt that caused what appeared to be total system failure. So, he started hacking the door, but didn’t succeed. You’ll recall that right after that, Han said, “Well, I suppose I can hotwire this thing,” and on his first attempt he actually activated a second set of doors, sealing the shield generator even more. Just the sort of thing that can happen without R2. And in Ep. 4, my read on it was that R2 showed Luke just enough of the message to intrigue him, then passed on (through C3P0) the idea that “the restraining bolt might be interfering with the rest of the message”. This was, I think, a ploy on R2’s part to goad Luke into removing the bolt so that R2 could sneak away later and look for Kenobi. I suspect that the bolt wasn’t actually interfering with the message at all; R2 just said that to further his escape. ---
**Author:** ![Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Uosdwis\_R.Dewoh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uosdwis_R.Dewoh)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-r2d2-the-most-advanced-hacker-droid-in-the-galaxy/425399/22 "2011-02-03T19:11:53Z")
> [@Malvert\_P.Redd](#): > > Yeah yeah, many Bothan died for that information. Bothans don’t really make a lot of sense. According to Wookiepedia, Bothans are some kind of furry bipedal goat creatures ([link](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Bothan)). One would think that the Empire, known for its xenophobia, would have no problem keeping infamous spying goat people away from their vital information and installations. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2011, 10:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-r2d2-the-most-advanced-hacker-droid-in-the-galaxy/425399/23 "2011-02-03T22:45:31Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > R2D2 clearly has strong AI comparable to human-level intellligence, and when serving as a starfighter astromech can even communicate with the pilot by text. So why the heck doesn’t he have basic speech capability? Because most everyone who matters already speaks \*his \*language? The more tech-minded citizens of the FarFarAway Galaxy seem to be fairly conversant in Binary - certainly R2’s owners like Anakin, Luke and Cade seem to understand actual content not just tone. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-r2d2-the-most-advanced-hacker-droid-in-the-galaxy/425399.md?page=1)