3D-4X administrative droid

The 3D-4X administrative droid from Genetech Corporation was a third-degree humanoid unit, standing at a height of 1.7 meters. Its design included a torso, two arms, two legs, and a head unit. The head unit of the 3D-4X, resembling an inverted test tube, housed the droid's vocabulator and a single photoreceptor positioned slightly off-center on the right side. Located on the back of the head were three direct cranial uplinks, while the interior contained the droid's heuristic processor and a comprehensive internal business database. This database contained a vast amount of information on business protocols, financial algorithms, and administrative techniques. Auditory sensors were situated in the neck, just above the advanced communications scrambler/transmitter unit. The droid's internal database held knowledge of nearly 2.5 million communication forms, enabling effective communication with both planetary officials and commercial entities. The torso featured a recharge coupling in the center of the chest, and three storage compartments were located around the waistline, with at least one at the back, capable of holding up to two kilograms. Systems power couplings were also positioned on the back of the torso. The right arm of the 3D-4X had a panel concealing a microphone/stenographic recorder, and the index finger of the right hand contained a laser pointer for presentations. A hidden storage compartment was located on the left thigh, and exposed circuitry cooling cables were present at the knee. The 3D-4X was designed to be ambidextrous.

The resulting droid was known for its high intelligence and meticulous approach to work, exhibiting a personality that was simultaneously aloof and respectful. Some units, when not subjected to a memory wipe, developed a sardonic personality. While a memory wipe could remove this trait, owners were generally hesitant to erase the experience the 3D-4Xs had accumulated. The 3D-4X droids were covered in polished silver chromite plating, buffed to a shiny finish. Under bright light, the droid would gleam like a landing beacon, but the plating would become extremely hot under a hot sun. 3D-4X units were priced at 5,500 credits.

The 3D-4X administrative droid was marketed as a personal assistant for senior executives and traveling business people who needed a capable aide able to independently manage various tasks. The 3D-4X series focused on systems administration, business operations, and formal etiquette, but it was also fully capable of handling the daily requirements of executives in large businesses and corporations, quickly adapting to changes in routine or emerging issues. As a result, the 3D-4X droids significantly reduced the workload of their organic counterparts. In some instances, 3D-4X droids were found to have completely taken over their master's duties, performing so effectively that their organic employers had little actual work left to do. Droids of the 3D-4X series performed many of the same duties as a standard protocol droid, including translation and advising on proper decorum and procedure, but its focus on business and administrative matters made it popular with executives of major corporations. 3D-4X units were commonly used by their owners to begin preliminary trade negotiations with rival corporations or merchant houses. However, the droids did not have the authority to finalize deals, and the executives themselves would usually appear to sign the paperwork.

Many companies attempted to replicate the success of Cybot Galactica in the protocol droid market by creating their own units. However, the 3PO-series set the industry standard, and companies that tried to precisely copy the unit failed because they lacked access to proprietary hardware like the AA-1 VerboBrain. Genetech, realizing it could not compete directly with Cybot Galactica, chose to design a limited-service protocol droid focused on systems administration rather than diplomacy. This led to the 3D-4X administrative droid. Genetech contracted the factory world of Mechis III to manufacture the 3D-4X administrative droid sometime before 22 BBY.

The droid's sales were strong, and it became a common sight throughout the galaxy. During the Galactic Republic era, the Jedi Order maintained several 3D-4X droids within the Jedi Temple on the galactic capital Coruscant, alongside 3PO-series protocol droids.

Around 3 ABY, a quartet of independent IG-88 assassin droids targeted Mechis III as the initial stage of a plan to establish droid dominance over the galaxy. The lead droid, IG-88A, transmitted a copy of the self-replicating sentience programming that the droids shared to the planet's computer infrastructure and all droids on the planet. Each unit was reprogrammed to become self-aware and loyal to the IG-88s. The droids moved to eradicate the seventy-three Humans on the planet, including the administrator, Hekis Durumm Perdo Kolokk Baldikarr Thun, who was killed by his own administrative droid, 3D-4X. The IG-88s managed Mechis III as if nothing had changed, with 3D-4X maintaining the facade by responding to messages and signing documents in the former administrator's name. The factory world continued to accept orders, but the manufactured droids were modified with sentience routines to support the IG-88s' plan for galactic domination. Before the plan could be executed, the four IG-88s were destroyed in various altercations within a short period. Although Mechis III continued to operate for several years without organic supervision and without the wider galaxy knowing, the incident eventually became public, causing 3D-4X sales to decline as executives became concerned about the possibility of their droids turning on them.

In 22 BBY, a 3D-4X administrative droid was in the service of Mentis Qinx, a docking bay owner in Mos Espa on Tatooine. A young Boba Fett encountered the droid when he landed his Firespray-31-class patrol and attack craft, Slave I, at the bay before a meeting with crime lord Jabba the Hutt. Fett, falsely claiming to be his father, Jango, was confronted about an unpaid fee from Jango's previous visit to Mos Espa. Lacking sufficient credits to cover the fee, Fett attempted to negotiate with the droid, promising to settle the full amount after meeting with Jabba. The droid insisted that Master Qinx required immediate payment. Fett implied that the Hutt would be displeased if the bounty hunter was late for his appointment. After communicating with Qinx, the 3D-4X relented and allowed Fett to proceed.

Around 3 BBY, a 3D-4X administrative droid was part of the droid forces assembled by Iaclyn Stark aboard the Eclipse resort on Reltooine. Stark deployed the droids against Imperial Intelligence agent Jahan Cross, who was investigating "Iron Eclipse," a virus created by Stark to control droids. Stark's half-sister, Elli, begged him not to kill Cross, which he agreed to before his own father, Iaco Stark, impaled him from behind.

In 1 BBY, the Aleena crime lord Sollima used a 3D-4X as an accounting droid. The Galactic Empire coveted Sollima's gambling network and his casino-world, the Hollow Moon. However, the Hollow Moon was located in the Khorya system of the Si'Klaata Cluster in Hutt Space, and the Empire was hesitant to take direct action. One of Sollima's employees, Billal Batross, sold the droid to the Empire so they could extract information from its datacore to use against Sollima. The Aleena forced the smuggler Han Solo to retrieve the droid after he accumulated a large debt with Sollima. Forced to leave behind his regular partner, the Wookiee Chewbacca, Solo was partnered with Batross, who Sollima was unaware had sold the droid. Solo and Batross infiltrated the Imperial garrison on Moog Mot VI; during the recovery attempt, Batross revealed his involvement in the droid's acquisition by the Empire, and the pair were subsequently captured. During interrogation, Batross confessed first, and Imperial Captain Taavin offered them a deal: they would be released if they delivered the droid back to Sollima, rigged with a bomb, and disabled the Hollow Moon's security to allow an Imperial attack. They had convinced the Hutts that Imperial control of the Hollow Moon was in their best interest. Solo and Batross completed the mission and escaped the Hollow Moon with Chewbacca and Sollima during the Imperial assault.

Around 3 ABY, the administrative droid 3D-4X served Hekis Durumm Perdo Kolokk Baldikarr Thun, the administrator of the droid factory world Mechis III. The droid was always punctual with the administrator's afternoon tea and daily reports. After IG-88A corrupted his programming, 3D-4X killed the administrator with a blaster and loyally served the IG-88s running the planet, managing external communications and maintaining the illusion that everything was normal on Mechis III. At some point, a Ranat spy working for the Empire, searching for the IG-88 droids who had escaped from an Imperial facility on Halowan, contacted Mechis III to ask if the IG-88s had been seen there. 3D-4X spliced together holo-footage of Administrator Hekis to answer the Ranat's questions and was commended for his actions by the IG-88 units. Later, 3D-4X met Dark Lord of the Sith Darth Vader during his visit to the planet to ensure their order of new probe droids would be completed on time. Again, 3D-4X used holographic footage of Hekis and managed to deceive Vader into believing that the administrator was on the other side of the planet dealing with an emergency. Sometime before 24 ABY, the Alderaanian nobleman Tyko Thul bought the droid facilities on Mechis III and rebuilt the industry on the planet. 3D-4X was still operational and served Thul. He attempted to prevent several Jedi apprentices from entering the facility when they arrived searching for Thul—who was believed to be missing—but eventually relented.

In 25 ABY, during the war against the extra-galactic Yuuzhan Vong, a 3D-4X administrative droid was employed at Government House in the city of Worlport on Ord Mantell. When news of an impending Yuuzhan Vong attack on the planet reached the building, the droid informed the protocol droid C-3PO, who was on the planet with Ambassador Leia Organa Solo attending the Conclave on the Plight of the Refugees.

The 3D-4X administrative droid made its debut in Therefore I Am: The Tale of IG-88 by Kevin J. Anderson, one of the five stories in the Tales of the Bounty Hunters collection, published in 1996. While the story featured the droid 3D-4X, it did not specify the droid's model. Young Jedi Knights: Delusions of Grandeur (1997), also by Anderson, included a brief appearance by the droid. In 1999, The Essential Guide to Droids, authored by Daniel Wallace with illustrations by Bill Hughes and Troy Vigil, established that 3D-4X belonged to the 3D-4X administrative droid line and provided extensive details about the model's features, history, and creation. This publication also featured the first visual representation of the 3D-4X, along with a schematic of its major components.

A 3D-4X droid appeared in The New Jedi Order: Agents of Chaos I: Hero's Trial by James Luceno in 2000, and a feature called "Look Sir, Droids!" by Cory J. Herndon in Wizards of the Coast's Star Wars Gamer 3 in 2001 provided a short description of the droid. In 2002, Wizards of the Coast's Arms & Equipment Guide included the 3D-4X among a selection of droids available for purchase and use by players, providing roleplaying statistics for the droid. It also mentioned that players could choose to roleplay as a 3D-4X model.

A 3D-4X droid made a brief appearance in Elizabeth Hand's Boba Fett: Hunted in 2003 and was listed among droids available for purchase on Cularin in "Standoffs," an article published on Wizards.com for the Living Force Campaign in 2004. Issue 120 of The Official Star Wars Fact File included an entry on the model and provided new artwork of the droid. The class was mentioned in 2008's Coruscant Nights I: Jedi Twilight and visually depicted in 2009's Star Wars Adventures: Han Solo and the Hollow Moon of Khorya.

In 2001, a 3D-4 administrative droid was briefly featured in the prologue of The New Jedi Order: Edge of Victory I: Conquest by Greg Keyes, and a 3D-4 administrative droid was later profiled in 2010's Galaxy of Intrigue by Wizards of the Coast. Despite the similar names and shared manufacturer, several statistical differences exist between the 3D-4X and the 3D-4. 3D-4X droids lack a provision for a concealed weapon in their statistics, while owners of the 3D-4 droid can include one if they wish. The retail cost also differs, with the 3D-4X costing 5,500 credits and the 3D-4 costing more at 7,520 credits. Internal storage capacity is listed at two kilograms for the 3D-4X and five kilograms for the 3D-4. The main difference is the type of processor used: 3D-4Xs use a heuristic processor, enabling them to learn and use creative thinking and logical reasoning to solve problems, a key design attribute contributing to their success. The 3D-4 series uses only a basic processor, lacking this advantage and following instructions literally without independent problem-solving. For this article, the 3D-4 and 3D-4X are considered separate models due to these differences.