# StarWars fanwank question **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 6, 2008, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215 "2008-04-06T20:32:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/81 "2008-04-11T00:33:08Z")
[QUOTE=Soul] He likely would have been a run of the mill [force adept](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Force-sensitive) since circumstances would never have conspired to raise him to, and then force him to fall from, grace. If the Galactic Empire had evolved into its canon form, just minus Vader, he might have grown up to be an [Inquisitor](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Inquisitor), an [Emperor’s Hand](http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Emperor%27s_Hand), or just judged as a threat and killed. [/QUOTE] Yep. In the EU, force powers without training tend to be a bit like a really creative mind with no skill to express it–pretty mediocre. And the Jedi training was pretty much the best around, even though other traditions (like the witches of Dathomir) did have ways of helping force-users direct their energies. On the other hand, as we saw with young Anakin, force powers can manifest themselves as skills in other areas. For all we know, he could have become a galaxy-famous podracer, and nobody would ever have realised it was because he was force-sensitive. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 12:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/82 "2008-04-11T00:35:28Z")
[QUOTE=mlees] If the sequence of events, as shown in the movie, are to be considered cannon, then Palpatine did not see that Vader would need help until _after_ the fight already started on Mustafar. Hence my nitpick. [/QUOTE] Speeds are definitely much faster-than-light, but we also don’t know exactly how far Mustafar is from the Core, do we? I don’t think they establish that. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/83 "2008-04-11T01:01:05Z")
[QUOTE=Speaker for the Dead] On the other hand, as we saw with young Anakin, force powers can manifest themselves as skills in other areas. For all we know, he could have become a galaxy-famous podracer, and nobody would ever have realised it was because he was force-sensitive. [/QUOTE] Actually, Anakin Solo (Leia and Han’s youngest child) manifests as a mechanical adept, doesn’t he? ---
**Author:** ![Soul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Soul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soul)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/84 "2008-04-11T02:13:17Z")
[QUOTE=Speaker for the Dead] Speeds are definitely much faster-than-light, but we also don’t know exactly how far Mustafar is from the Core, do we? I don’t think they establish that. [/QUOTE] We don’t know an exact distance, but we do know that Mustafar is an Outer Rim world (comprised of those worlds farthest from the center of the Empire) and that Coruscant is located at Hypersapce Coordinates (0,0,0), or the very center of Imperial Space. So, they’re likely pretty far apart. ---
**Author:** ![Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c77e96/32.png) [@Speaker\_for\_the\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Speaker_for_the_Dead)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/85 "2008-04-11T03:29:04Z")
[QUOTE=jayjay] Actually, Anakin Solo (Leia and Han’s youngest child) manifests as a mechanical adept, doesn’t he? [/QUOTE] Oh, certainly. I sort of tied those two together in my mind. > [@Soul](#): > > We don’t know an exact distance, but we do know that Mustafar is an Outer Rim world (comprised of those worlds farthest from the center of the Empire) and that Coruscant is located at Hypersapce Coordinates (0,0,0), or the very center of Imperial Space. So, they’re likely pretty far apart. Oh, I didn’t remember that they called Mustafar an Outer Rim planet. In that case, yeah… either Anakin is tough even when combusting, or that was a bit of Lucas’s handwaving. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/86 "2008-04-11T03:33:50Z")
[QUOTE=Speaker for the Dead] Oh, certainly. I sort of tied those two together in my mind. [/QUOTE] Oh, I didn’t mean that as a correction. Just an addition to the list, because you’re right about Anakin Skywalker probably going in that direction if he’d remained undiscovered. ---
**Author:** ![Mayo\_Speaks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c57346/32.png) [@Mayo\_Speaks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mayo_Speaks)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/87 "2008-04-11T04:02:57Z")
[This guy has more Death Star information than you’ll know what to do with.](http://www.theforce.net/swtc/ds/) ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/88 "2008-04-11T12:13:23Z")
[QUOTE=mlees] This implies that travel time is pretty darn quick, unless Vader somehow survived for days laying on that rock… [/QUOTE] I would think that a light sabre would cauterise the wounds quite well, minimising bleeding. That would help. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/89 "2008-04-11T12:28:19Z")
[QUOTE=Staggerlee] I would think that a light sabre would cauterise the wounds quite well, minimising bleeding. That would help. [/QUOTE] And, by the time Palpatine arrived I think the actual fires had run out. So, there you go. Practically perfectly healthy! -Joe ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/90 "2008-04-11T12:31:05Z")
[QUOTE=Staggerlee] I would think that a light sabre would cauterise the wounds quite well, minimising bleeding. That would help. [/QUOTE] Wouldn’t hot magma cauterize the wounds just as well? Fanwank possibility: Anakin knew how to go into a trance state through the Force, that slowed his body’s metabolism down enough that he could last until Palpatine arrived. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/91 "2008-04-11T14:13:30Z")
[QUOTE=Staggerlee] I would think that a light sabre would cauterise the wounds quite well, minimising bleeding. That would help. [/QUOTE] What makes you think a lightsabre blade can cauterize? ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/92 "2008-04-11T14:18:29Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] What makes you think a lightsabre blade can cauterize? [/QUOTE] I can’t answer for **Staggerlee** , but for me it’s the _almost_ total lack of blood generally associated with lightsabre wounds. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/93 "2008-04-11T14:49:07Z")
[QUOTE=BMalion] What makes you think a lightsabre blade can cauterize? [/QUOTE] I was under the impression that a surgeon uses some heated instrument to close blood vessels off in an operation, and lightsabres can sear through metal can’t they? Doesn’t someone cut through a door with one at some point? I can’t truly remember as those new films poisoned the others to me and I haven’t seen them in years. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 7:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/94 "2008-04-11T19:08:33Z")
[QUOTE=Staggerlee] I was under the impression that a surgeon uses some heated instrument to close blood vessels off in an operation, and lightsabres can sear through metal can’t they? Doesn’t someone cut through a door with one at some point? I can’t truly remember as those new films poisoned the others to me and I haven’t seen them in years. [/QUOTE] Yes, in Phantom Menace Qui Gon and Kenobi cut through a door. _However_, in ANH, when Ben whacks off the arm of the guy in the bar, there’s lots of blood on the floor. Methinks that the cauterization ability of the lightsabre is controlled by a plotoanium crystal. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/95 "2008-04-11T19:11:04Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Yes, in Phantom Menace Qui Gon and Kenobi cut through a door. _However_, in ANH, when Ben whacks off the arm of the guy in the bar, there’s lots of blood on the floor. Methinks that the cauterization ability of the lightsabre is controlled by a plotoanium crystal. 😉 [/QUOTE] It could also have something to do with the size of blood vessels and/or other physiology of the species of the victim. [/wank] ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/96 "2008-04-11T19:15:09Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Yes, in Phantom Menace Qui Gon and Kenobi cut through a door. _However_, in ANH, when Ben whacks off the arm of the guy in the bar, there’s lots of blood on the floor. Methinks that the cauterization ability of the lightsabre is controlled by a plotoanium crystal. 😉 [/QUOTE] True, but when Darth Vader takes Luke’s hand in TESB, there’s no blood at all, and the stump is burned black. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/97 "2008-04-11T19:21:15Z")
It’s been explicitly stated in several places in the EU that lightsabers instantly cauterize the wounds they cause. ---
**Author:** ![Merijeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f05b48/32.png) [@Merijeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merijeek)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/98 "2008-04-11T19:29:38Z")
[QUOTE=Miller] It’s been explicitly stated in several places in the EU that lightsabers instantly cauterize the wounds they cause. [/QUOTE] Well, as far as scifi retcons go, it’s a fairly tiny one. -Joe ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/99 "2008-04-11T19:43:04Z")
[QUOTE=Tuckerfan] Yes, in Phantom Menace Qui Gon and Kenobi cut through a door. _However_, in ANH, when Ben whacks off the arm of the guy in the bar, there’s lots of blood on the floor. Methinks that the cauterization ability of the lightsabre is controlled by a plotoanium crystal. 😉 [/QUOTE] \Well, obviously Aqualish[sup]1[/sup] flesh is simply uncombustible.\ [sup]1[/sup] The species name of Walrus Man (the victim of Obi-Wan’s casual saberplay) is the Aqualish. The actual personal name of the particular Aqualish who lost his arm is Ponda Baba. Many Bothans died to bring you this information…many neurons in my brain that could be storing otherwise useful information are occupied in keeping stuff like this around forever. ---
**Author:** ![BMalion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e274bd/32.png) [@BMalion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BMalion)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2008, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215/100 "2008-04-11T19:54:06Z")
Don’t feel bad **JayJay** , I’m 47 years old, successful, darn handsome and Ponda Baba is one of my favorite action figures. That and Porkins! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/starwars-fanwank-question/444215.md?page=6)