Regarding the E2:ICS

Given the claimed LFL canonization of the other ICS children's books and the frequent debates regarding the Episode II Incredible Cross Sections book, I was asked to make additional comments about it.   For a site such as this one, which follows the Lucas/LFL canon policy, this was not that relevant.  The ICS, being part of the EU, was a fiction within a fiction.   Though it was a constant source of EU myth for the opposition, it was unimportant.

Nonetheless, a revelation by a previously-curious pro-Wars debater has shed some new light on the source of the oft-questioned values in the ICS.   

Why are those values questioned?  Because the book features never-before-seen (and never-before-claimed) firepower figures.   We're told of 200 gigaton weapons aboard capital ships of the Old Republic, kiloton-level fighter and anti-fighter weapons, et cetera . . . not to mention unusual theories such as the notion of invisible lightspeed turbolasers.   Several of the weapons given such huge yields were never seen to fire in the canon film, and those which were seen to fire did so without such tremendous effect as the ICS book claims we should see.

In short, the book makes firepower claims which are quite confusing when compared to the firepower shown in the films.   Though many asked nicely for additional clarification (myself included), few managed to get any answers out of the author, Curtis Saxton of the Star Wars Technical Commentaries and former pro-Wars Vs. Debater.

The result has been the drawing of battle lines . . . those who accept the E2ICS as the Star Wars technical bible versus those who are asking why the bible's version of Star Wars bears no resemblance to what we see in the films.   Those who analyze the canon are attacked for not making use of the E2ICS . . . those who use the E2ICS are attacked for not analyzing the canon . . .  those who question the E2ICS figures are attacked by ICS apologeticists for attacking Saxton.  So it goes.

Beyond the battles, there are the simple facts of the case.

This TheForce.Net interview contains Saxton's statements that, contrary to the popular apologetic myth, he did not have the completed film at his disposal.  Judging by Saxton's time comments in the linked interview, the book deadline was at least four and a half months before the film was reported complete.  Elements of the Geonosis battle sequence were not due for modeling or filming until months after the deadline, and other aspects of the film were not yet finalized (such as the role of the Geonosian fighters, which were virtually absent in the final film but figure prominently in the book).  Indeed, it appears that many of the FX sequences were not complete (and in some cases would not begin until months later) when the book's deadline arrived.  And so, despite claims by some that Saxton had carefully scrutinized the completed film, the facts show this not to be the case.  Working with concept art, unfinished test shots, what elements were considered complete, and so on, Saxton had divined many values without reference to the actual movie.  This is, no doubt, part of how Saxton arrived at figures for certain weapons that are hundreds and thousands of times greater than what is observed in the film.

(Incidentally, Wayne Poe has provided a quote which helps to further establish the facts in the interview:

""People might wonder about whether or not interviews are official. Every word I wrote in the interview had to be approved by Lucy Wilson before TFN could post anything." ---Curtis Saxton")

Others have questioned the result from Dr. Saxton's colloboration over the years with pro-Wars and Warsie debaters heavily involved in the Trek vs. Wars debates, such as Wong and Poe.   We know that Saxton was assisted by them in developing the firepower figures used in the ICS, given the mention in their private anti-Trek mailing group that they calculated figures for the ICS.   The group was also keen on making Star Wars look better than Trek.   And, of course, there is Saxton's own participation in Vs. Debates in years past, in which he derided Star Trek fans and pro-Trek debaters.  The pro-Wars side of the debate contributed greatly to the upward revision of the definition of "Base Delta Zero" which Saxton uses, as well as Jedi fighter firepower numbers based on false assumptions of later fighter firepower, and many other inflated claims.   In short, Saxton's work was sullied by falsehoods and may even have been intentionally geared towards inflating Star Wars beyond Star Trek levels.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, there is the fundamental disagreement between Saxton and Lucas as to what Star Wars really is.  Saxton's technical commentaries rely heavily on EU literature, gaming manuals, comic book drawings, and other similar sources.  Saxton feels that it is a "fundamental fact that entire SW saga occurs in the same universe".   Lucas, however, has made it abundantly clear that he places the "other world" of the EU in a "parallel universe" to his own. Therefore, Saxton's conclusions which utilize elements of the Expanded Universe are not 'just shy of canon', like some claim, but are in fact based on "interpretation and speculation", to borrow from Cerasi.   

In a similar vein, logical inference and back-engineering have also been brought into play to try to answer the many questions ICS produced.   One such back-engineering effort was confirmed by some SpaceBattles posters who claimed to have e-mailed Saxton and learned where he got his 200 gigaton starship cannon yields. You see, if you count the non-canon Base Delta Zero, then take the most energetic possible mixture of the definition and other comments, and then insert a few baseless assumptions, you can get up into the 200 gigaton range for capital ship weapons depending on how many guns you divide it into.   For example, if you take 64 heavy ISD guns (as per old non-canon sources) and 200 gigatons per shot, use Saxton's 1.7e24J BDZ firepower figure, and assume that the heavy guns fire once every minute, you get a half-hour (actually, 31 minute) BDZ.   All you need is total planetary slagging within an hour, if not minutes, which is what Saxton argues for on his site's BDZ page (because he picks from the air the value of one orbit for a BDZ).

Thus, it seems pretty clear that Saxton's 200 gigaton figure is BDZ-related . . . fan-inflated non-canon in the place of canon fact.  This must also have been how he determined that the Delta-7 Jedi fighter had one kiloton weapons . . . it's something of a compromise between the lack of such effect fighters have in the films, versus the requirement that fighters be at least capable of mildly annoying a capital ship.

But of course, as noted, many of the ICS firepower values were for ships and weapons never seen to fire in the film.  

In certain cases, though, we did see them fire.   Take, for instance, Boba's several shots against Obi-Wan on the Kamino platform.   In the canon novelization, we're told that these shots drained the energy packs of the weapon.

As you can see, there are impressive pyrotechnics, and Obi-Wan flew about three meters backwards (intentionally, according to the novel, though I doubt the harsh landing we see was perfectly intentional).   This would be roughly consistent with a few kilograms of TNT, or around a dozen or two modern hand grenades (at .25kg TNT each).  And yet, "... Slave I's cannon went silent, the energy pack depleted for the moment."

The discrepancy rests with the firepower figures given for that weapon in the ICS . . . 600 gigajoules, or 143 tons of TNT, per shot.   In other words, Saxton claims that the numerous shots shown above depleted the energy packs of a weapon which is usually capable of firing much more powerful shots.  Let's say, just for argument's sake, that the platform explosions were equivalent to 25 kilograms of TNT, and that it was one shot from the guns instead of several.  That would mean that the energy packs were depleted by a shot over 5,700 times less powerful than a standard shot.

For a comparison, let's look at one of the nuclear tests conducted by the United States.   In December of 1964, during the "Sulky" test, a small nuclear weapon of 0.092 kilotons yield (about 385 gigajoules) was placed 27.1 meters underground.   When detonated beneath the granite, it managed to produce sufficient fracture damage at the surface to create a rare retarc, 24 meters wide.   With a detonation closer to the surface, this would've been a 24 meter crater, given the "chimney" effect of underground detonations.

Note how, in the platform pictures above, there is no 24 meter blast area, nor anything close to it, even from all of the shots put together.  Obi-Wan, standing right next to the explosions, was barely moved by comparison. 

Some apologeticists have gone great lengths to try to rationalize this.   One of the most common efforts is to claim that the energy packs mentioned in the novel were still charging, though no such statement is made in the novel, nor can such a thing be inferred from it.   We're told that "Boba fired up the energy packs and clicked off the locking mechanism of the main laser", and that's it.  Even assuming that the packs were not charged, however, they had at least a full second in which to charge up . . . it therefore would've taken an additional 5,700 seconds (95 minutes) for them to have charged to the ICS levels, and that's just for one ICS-level shot.   Another maneuver is to attempt to claim that energy weapons and nuclear weapons don't act in the same manner, as if we're supposed to believe that a small area of very high energy density won't expand the same way because of where the energy came from.

In short, none of the "answers" work, either for the platform scene or elsewhere.  (For further example, take a look at the megaton-level Slave I main guns firing 20 gigajoule shots here.)   

We were left without any direct explanation of how Saxton arrived at these figures . . . until now:

Though Saxton hasn't replied to most of those who have asked him about the ICS, one of those Saxton has responded to was Wong's cohort "Ender" from the SD.Net BBS, who had this to say:

"I emailed him about how he achieved the values for the 900 Gigajoule
Blaster at the tail of Slave 1. He said that he went by the damage it is
shown to do to other vessels in the comics in battles and assumed that Boba
dialed down the power in the movie [...].  He chose official over canon."

If indeed the choice was made to accept a comic book over canon, that is absolutely awful.   It's even worse when you consider that, if it was determined that what Slave I had done to other vessels represented almost 0.15 kilotons of firepower, then similarly inflated EU values (in line with the inflated BDZ calcs, and as opposed to even the pre-existing canon) must have been used.

In short, Saxton's writing in the ICS not only isn't canon, but also bears no resemblance to the canon . . . nor does it even try.

Thanks to "Crossover Maniac" for having pointed out the Sulky test in an online discussion forum.   And extra-special thanks to Ender for the report on Saxton . . . and also for flipping out like a madman when he saw his quote being used here.