Duttes Mer

A Human male, by 3 BBY Duttes Mer had attained the position of colonial governor of the Rafa system, a system in the Centrality renowned for the sprawling ruins of the long-vanished Sharu species. By that time, Mer had begun a partnership with Rokur Gepta, a member of the mysterious Sorcerers of Tund, who shared Mer's interest in Sharu artifacts. The two took special notice of the Mindharp, a piece appearing in a number of legends from the Rafa system's indigenous Toka, and one that Mer believed would allow him to subjugate the galaxy. Mer and Gepta stole a key reputed to open the way to the Mindharp from an offworld museum, and together formulated a plan to get their hands on the artifact. Although Mer—terrified of the powerful Gepta—behaved as his subordinate, Mer had his own designs for the Mindharp, believing that it would allow him absolute control over the minds over everyone in the Rafa system.

Mer and Gepta hired a local anthropologist, the Ottdefa Osuno Whett, to travel to the mining asteroid Oseon 2795 to seek out a down-on-his-luck spacer capable of taking on the job—an outsider was necessary to gain the cooperation of the Toka, who had prophecies telling of a stranger arriving to free their people. Whett would then entice the spacer to travel to Rafa IV with the promise of treasure, with the additional inducement of Vuffi Raa, a starfish-like droid of obscure origin that Whett would "lose" to the target in a sabacc game, but would require travel to Rafa IV to secure. Raa was programmed to aid the pilot on their journey, then immediately turn them in to colonial authorities once the Mindharp was in hand. To Mer's pleasant surprise, Whett hooked a target on his first try, a gambler and smuggler named Lando Calrissian who promptly traveled to Rafa IV to acquire Raa and search for the treasure.

When Mer confirmed Calrissian had arrived on Rafa IV, he sent one of his chief thugs, Constable Captain Myle Jandler, to apprehend him in his hotel room and bring him to Mer, roughing him up along the way. When Calrissian appeared in Mer's office, the governor threatened him with a serious of trumped-up charges for minor offenses, but as he proceeded to the second part of his plan—offering Calrissian a way out and securing his cooperation—Mer was interrupted by Rokur Gepta, who suddenly entered Mer's office by blowing a hole directly through the wall. Gepta sidelined Mer and took over the negotiation with Calrissian, coming to an agreement where Calrissian would take the key and go after the Mindharp in their employ, in exchange for a cargo hold full of valuable life-crystals. Calrissian and Raa set off for Rafa V to track down the Mindharp, while Mer remained behind in his palace in the city of Teguta Lusat.

Four months later, Calrissian and Raa suddenly appeared on the streets of Teguta Lusat with the Mindharp in tow. Fulfilling his programming, Raa immediately flagged down a passing constable and turned Calrissian in, returning the artifact to Mer. Mer assumed possession of the artifact and dispatched Calrissian to the penal colony on Rafa IV. Mer had seemingly achieved his goal—however, he didn't account for two things. First, despite his programming, Vuffi Raa had bonded with Calrissian during their quest for the Mindharp, and remained loyal to the smuggler after having turned him in. Secondly, Mer had not comprehended the true nature of the artifact. The Mindharp would not grant him control over minds—instead, it was meant to restore the Toka to their true forms, the long-vanished Sharu, and rebirth their civilization. Revealing his true intentions, Mer gloated to Gepta that he was planning on assuming total control over the Toka system, but after activating the Mindharp realized too late that his assumptions were incorrect. The power of the Mindharp destroyed Mer's body, fusing it together with the artifact in a radioactive mass and ending his designs on ultimate power.

Duttes Mer was a massive man, thickly muscled and extremely broad, with fine, feathery hair and a high-pitched voice that eemed incongruous with the body it emanated from. Within moments of meeting him, Lando Calrissian assessed Mer as a shrewd, merciless player who approached plans methodically, but would quickly complain and rage if the tables were turned. Mer saw little value in flashy displays of wealth and power—Mer was driven solely by power itself, and the ability to control the lives of others, which he symbolized with a desk constructed completely out of massive, incredibly valuable life-crystals.

The highly Humanocentric Mer got personal enjoyment out of manipulating the people he saw as beneath him, and regarded the Rafa system's native Toka as little more than domestic animals. Despite his imperious exterior, however, Mer was terrified of Rokur Gepta, referring to the Sorcerer of Tund as "Your Puissance" and groveling before him. Still, Mer was not cowed enough not to plot against Gepta, becoming obsessed with the Mindharp as he believed it would allow him ultimate power over all beings in the Rafa system. Mer reveled in the power that he believed the Mindharp granted him, anxiously trying to activate the artifact before incurring vengeance from Gepta, ultimately leading to his demise.

Duttes Mer appeared as a major antagonist in Lando Calrissian and the Mindharp of Sharu, a novel written by L. Neil Smith and released in 1983.

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