Cybernetics

Overview

The galaxy possessed advanced technology that spanned centuries. This included the capability to replace, modify, and enhance bodies, though it came at a cost. Cloning was not only expensive but also outlawed on the majority of planets post-Clone Wars due to the horrors of that era. Limited limb regeneration was deemed acceptable, but the science involved carried medical risks and did not see much advancement in the decades following the Clone Wars for understandable reasons. For most galactic inhabitants, cybernetic replacements provided a cheap, effective, legal, and safe remedy for severe physical injuries.

Individuals willing to sacrifice flesh and money could "upgrade" their bodies, gaining additional skills and abilities. Some upgrades were minor, like the Shepherd chip given to military personnel. Others entailed modifying the patient's limbs and internal systems. However, like everything else in the galaxy, this came with potential costs, both monetary and in terms of personal identity. Overdoing it in an attempt to become "more human than human" was a real risk.

Cybernetics stepped in when organic parts failed, or even before. Prosthetic limbs and replacement organs powered by batteries and controlled by electrical impulses represented the lower end of these procedures. At the higher end were sophisticated cybernetic systems designed to improve or augment the recipient's body and mind.

Droids, such as the DD-13 medical assistant droid, could implant artificial organs.

Cybernetic types

Within the galaxy, there existed two primary categories of cybernetic augmentations: replacements and enhancements.

Individuals with cybernetic replacements/enhancements

Throughout galactic history, numerous beings have had prosthetic replacements. Several of these beings gained notoriety for their unique or extensive use of prostheses.

• During the Old Republic era, Darth Malak, a Dark Lord of the Sith, used a prosthetic voice box for speech and had a metallic jaw.

• Darth Plagueis was compelled to wear a transpirator mask after Maladian assassins nearly killed him in 52 BBY during an attempt on his life that resulted in a severed trachea and a significant portion of his jawbone missing. Darth Tenebrous, his master, wore a similar mask. [5]

• Shahan Alama had the arm of a combat droid's grafted onto his elbow.

• Rianna Saren, a Twi'lek mercenary, had a prosthetic replacement installed after having one of her lekku severed.

• After a near-fatal shuttle crash, General Grievous was forced to replace nearly his entire body with cybernetic components. While he kept his vital organs, such as his brain, eyes, heart, and stomach, almost everything else was cybernetic.

• Anakin Skywalker received a prosthetic arm after losing his own in a duel with Count Dooku. This arm was later replaced.

• The bounty hunter Cad Bane had a pair of cybernetic tubes attached to his skull to aid in breathing.

• During the wars on Cyborrea, Neks were enhanced with cybernetic implants for use as animal weapons.

• Darth Maul, a Sith Lord, was forced to wear a cybernetic apparatus in place of his legs, which were severed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the conclusion of their duel on Naboo. Maul would later reside in near-madness on Lotho Minor until his brother, Savage Opress, discovered him. He was then taken back to Dathomir, where Mother Talzin created a new pair of cybernetic legs for him. Later, thanks to Death Watch led by former Governor Pre Vizsla, he acquired a pair of human mechanical legs that restored him to his previous height. Savage Opress also received a cybernetic left arm from Death Watch.

• Clone Commander Wolffe lost his right eye during the Battle of Khorm at the hands of Asajj Ventress. He subsequently received a silver prosthetic eye to replace the lost one. [6]

• To guard the wreckage of the Sa Nalaor, which crashed on Cholganna following the Clone Wars, certain Nexu were enhanced with various cybernetics by Arkanian Separatist scientist Cratala.

• A significant portion of Darth Vader's ravaged body was supported by prosthetic replacements, which were of relatively poor quality compared to others. Vader's artificial limbs were intentionally poorly constructed and incredibly heavy, frequently catching on the inside of his suit. [7] However, despite their low quality, his artificial limbs never tired or weakened.

• Inquisitor Valin Draco underwent extensive cybernetic augmentation following a near-fatal attack by the Alderaanian Resistance beneath the Almas Academy.

• A'Sharad Hett lost his right arm in a duel with Obi-Wan Kenobi on Tatooine and received a prosthetic replacement. After encountering the Yuuzhan Vong, they restored his organic arm.

• Grand Moff Trachta was kept alive by a cybernetic respiratory system, and his eyes were replaced with ocular cameras, including a third "eye" at the back of his head.

• Slak Sagar utilized a respiration system that was similar to Trachta's.

• After Alora severed Rosh Penin's arm, it was replaced with a prosthetic one. [8]

• Luke Skywalker also received a prosthetic hand after losing his own during a duel with his father on the planet Bespin. During his brief service to the resurrected Emperor, this hand was replaced. [9] The replacement was later severed in a duel with Lumiya, leading to yet another prosthetic replacement. [10]

• The Sarlacc consumed Boba Fett's left lower leg. After escaping from its belly, he used a prosthetic replacement in later years. [11]

• Qorl, a TIE Fighter pilot stationed on the first Death Star, was shot down during the Battle of Yavin and again by Luke Skywalker after repairing his fighter. He sustained a broken left arm in his first crash. After Lowbacca, Tenel Ka, Jacen Solo, and Jaina Solo repaired his fighter, he was able to return to a Imperial loyal stronghold known as the Second Imperium. The Second Imperium provided him with a droid arm to replace his broken left arm.

• Lumiya, a Sith Lady, also received extensive prosthetic replacements after crashing her starfighter following a dogfight with Luke Skywalker. She claimed that high levels of prosthesis diminished an individual's sensitivity to the Force, although others, such as Darth Plagueis, disagreed. She asserted that this had prevented Darth Vader from reaching his full potential as a Sith Lord and also hindered her own attempts to master the dark side of the Force.

• Lauli Wahlo, the owner of a noodle shop, had a prosthetic eye.

• Gavar Khai, a Sith Saber, had his arm cut off at the forearm in battle with Luke Skywalker, [12] and he replaced it with a cybernetic arm that was stronger and faster. [13]

• Hogrum Chalk, an Imperial Knight master armorer, was maimed in an accident, forcing him to wear a life-preserving cyborg armor suit, as well as cybernetics replacing the left side of his face and eye.

• Azlyn Rae, an Imperial Knight, was fitted with a full suit of life-preserving armor made by Rawk and later with an artificial breather constructed by Hogrum Chalk after her lungs were burned during an assassination attempt on Darth Krayt.

Alternatives to cybernetics

The widespread destruction of the Clone Wars spurred advancements in this area of medical technology, and the replacement of body parts with realistic replicas reached its peak during the Galactic Civil War. However, not all prostheses were designed to replicate the real body part. Arden Lyn, a Teräs Käsi master, had a prosthetic arm that was noticeably disproportionate to her body and was actually a modified droid arm. Similarly, Darth Maul, the former Sith apprentice of Darth Sidious, narrowly survived his battle with Obi-Wan Kenobi, losing his lower half in the process. He created a crude substitute for his lower body, a prosthetic that resembled an arachnid more than the lower half of a Dathomirian Nightbrother. This was later replaced with a pelvis and legs that more closely resembled his original ones after his half-brother, Savage Opress, rescued him.

Although prostheses were widely accessible, not everyone accepted the replacement limbs offered to them. Tenel Ka, a Jedi, lost an arm during a practice lightsaber duel with Jacen Solo but declined a replacement, instead choosing to focus on her physical and Force-based abilities to compensate for the loss. Similarly, Wolf Sazen refused to have his arm replaced after Darth Nihl severed it, until later in 137 ABY.

Furthermore, the arrival of the Yuuzhan Vong, who possessed advanced biotechnology, opened up new avenues for replacing lost limbs. After being captured by the Yuuzhan Vong, A'Sharad Hett's synthetic arm was replaced with a grown organic replacement. Decades later, Hett, now Darth Krayt, ordered that Darth Nihl receive a similar organic replacement after the Nagai lost his right arm to Cade Skywalker.