Description

Purpose

On the suggestion of Jedi Master Sifo-Dyas, who initially commissioned the clone army, behavioral modification biochips were inserted into the clone troopers of the Grand Army of the Republic as a safeguard against the clones being manipulated by rogue Jedi. Doctor Nala Se indicated that the implantation of inhibitor chips was common practice for various clone types. However, after the Sith commandeered the project, the chips were repurposed to enforce compliance with the execution of Order 66, which led to the extermination of almost all Jedi. These control chips proved highly effective in dominating the thoughts of those implanted, overriding existing biases and beliefs in the clone troopers and compelling them to eliminate the Jedi without hesitation. The clones were made to believe that their Jedi commanding officers were traitors, even if they had served under them loyally for years. These chips could be activated via voice command, requiring only Palpatine to utter "Execute Order 66" to trigger their function.

Clone troopers controlled by these chips would prioritize executing Order 66 above all else, even at the cost of their own lives. According to this directive, any Jedi leadership marked for termination, and any soldier failing to comply, would be executed for treason against the Republic. While capable of rational thought, these clones could not be reasoned with concerning the order and would relentlessly pursue even their own brothers if they detected disobedience. The brainwashed clones were also aware of Palpatine's true identity as the Sith Lord Darth Sidious, with clone officers immediately addressing him as "Lord Sidious" or "my lord" upon receiving the order, and clone troopers previously unaware of the Supreme Chancellor's dual identity referring to him by his Sith title. Before activation, the chips also caused the clones to experience nightmares related to carrying out the command, described as a "mission" by some dying clones. Clones under the chips' control would sometimes say, "Good soldiers follow orders."

While rare, some clones managed to resist the chips' influence and hesitated to execute the order, but such resistance was incredibly difficult. Only complete removal of the chip could liberate a clone from the compulsion to carry out Order 66. Clones who had their chips removed post-activation retained memories of their actions under the chip's control. Moreover, the chips' effectiveness diminished over time, even without removal.

A small number of clones exhibited immunity to the chips, with genetically defective or modified clones being more likely to possess this trait. Even if not entirely immune, mutations could still disrupt the chips' function. In such instances, chips could be amplified to ensure complete loyalty. However, immunity was not absolute; the chip could still be fully activated and induce brainwashing, provided it remained in place, through events such as head injuries.

The Galactic Empire later implanted these chips in enslaved Wookiees to maintain control. Imperial Advisor Gallius Rax also had biochips implanted in Rebel prisoners at Ashmead's Lock on Kashyyyk as part of a plot to assassinate officials of the New Republic. Upon discovery, the chips malfunctioned in a planned degradation before Republic slicers could extract significant information.

Structure

As their name suggests, these biochips were composed of biological material, specifically genetically engineered cells. The DNA within these cells differed from that of the clones they were implanted in. They were microscopic, amorphous, and featured a punctured, fibrous texture akin to muscle tissue. Their minute size and biological nature made them exceedingly difficult to detect using standard medical equipment. A Level 5 atomic brain scan was required to locate the chip within Tup's head, after lower-level scans proved ineffective. Ahsoka Tano later found herself unable to detect Clone Commander Rex's chip using the standard medical facilities aboard a Venator-class Star Destroyer, and instead relied on the Force for its location.

In the brain of the genetically defective clone commando Wrecker, the inhibitor chip was situated ninety degrees from the right orbital floor, below the parietal and temporal intersection. However, Wrecker's mutated nature resulted in structural differences compared to a regular Jango Fett clone. Clones who had undergone chip removal bore scars on their right temples.

The chips were durable, with malfunctions being uncommon. Out of the millions of clones in the Grand Army of the Republic during the Clone Wars, Tup was among the few who experienced chip malfunctions and subsequent erratic behavior. However, chip malfunctions could be lethal. After Tup's chip malfunctioned, it deteriorated and began to rot, causing his health to decline rapidly, ultimately leading to his death shortly after the chip's removal. Damage to the inhibitor chip could cause headaches. Tup reported a headache just before his chip malfunctioned, and Wrecker began experiencing headaches related to his chip following a series of head injuries sustained after Order 66.

History

Creation of the clone army

Prior to the Battle of Naboo, former Jedi Council member Master Sifo-Dyas engaged the Kaminoans to commission a clone army for the Republic. He provided the inhibitor chip as a safeguard against potential betrayal by rogue Jedi issuing orders to the clones. However, Sith Lords Darth Sidious and his new apprentice, Darth Tyranus, had Sifo-Dyas eliminated and seized control of the project, concealing it from the Jedi. They reprogrammed the chips for Order 66, setting them to turn the clones against the Jedi upon hearing an activation phrase. Kaminoans like Lama Su and Nala Se appeared to believe the chip was still solely for preventing rogue Jedi.

Conspiracy

During the Clone Wars, the control chip conspiracy nearly came to light when the Order 66 function in clone trooper Tup activated prematurely, leading him to execute Jedi General Tiplar during the Battle of Ringo Vinda. While the Jedi discovered the chips' existence, they never uncovered their true purpose. Chief Medical Scientist Nala Se claimed the chips were intended to reduce the clones' aggression compared to their clone template, Jango Fett, and to suppress any inherited insanity. Additionally, ARC trooper Fives, who was investigating the matter, was killed by Clone Commander Fox of the Coruscant Guard. The official explanation was that Tup and Fives were infected with a rare Ringo Vindan parasite that caused their chips to malfunction.

Despite Fives' warning that the conspiracy reached the highest levels and that Supreme Chancellor Sheev Palpatine had tried to prevent him from revealing his knowledge, Anakin Skywalker refused to believe Palpatine was capable of such actions. Fives died in the arms of his friend Clone Captain Rex, warning him about the chips and the scale of the conspiracy. Fives' last words were that the "mission" and "nightmares" were finally over. Due to Fives being covertly drugged into a state of incoherence before his death, making him seem insane, Rex mostly dismissed his claims. However, he couldn't entirely rule out the possibility of a hidden purpose for the "inhibitor" chips. Uncertain, but out of loyalty to his friend, Rex filed a confidential grievance report outlining the theory, aware it would likely be ignored. The Jedi High Council eventually discovered the Sith involvement in the clones' creation, but kept it secret, never connecting it to the "inhibitor" chips.

501st Legion medic Kix, who encountered Fives while he was on the run and learned he was being framed, grew suspicious of the official explanation for Fives and Tup's behavior. Sometime after the Battle of Anaxes, Kix discovered more than Fives, including the chips' true purpose and Palpatine's identity as a Sith Lord. However, he attracted the Sith's attention and was captured by Separatist forces sent by Count Dooku. Despite denying sharing his knowledge, his captors placed him in a cryo-cycle stasis pod for transport to Serenno for Dooku to interrogate him personally. However, the cruiser Kix was being transported on, the Obrexta III, was attacked by Republic forces en route, subsequently crashing into the remote planet Ponemah.

Order 66

When Sidious initiated Order 66, the chips functioned as intended, brainwashing the vast majority of the clone army into obedience, resulting in the downfall of the Jedi Order and the end of the Clone Wars. Exceptions included clones who removed their chips and those rare clones who were immune.

Rex's knowledge saved his life and that of Anakin Skywalker's former Padawan, Ahsoka Tano. At the war's end, Rex, promoted to Commander, was aboard the Venator-class Star Destroyer Tribunal, traveling from Mandalore to Coruscant. Having aided the Mandalore resistance in winning the recent siege, Tano and Rex were transporting the captured Sith Lord Maul to the Jedi Council. Both Maul and Tano felt a disturbance, a vision of Skywalker's fall to the dark side. Sensing something terrible, Tano ran to inform Rex. Upon receiving Order 66, Rex realized Fives was right, managing to resist his chip long enough to tell Tano to "find" Fives before attacking her. Briefly brainwashed, Rex ordered Coruscant Guard shock troopers to execute Maul, which they attempted before Tano reluctantly released the Zabrak as a distraction. After escaping the initial assault, Tano found Rex's grievance report, deducing the situation and capturing Rex with astromech droids to remove his chip, freeing him from mind control. Maul subsequently brought down the Star Destroyer by destroying its hyperdrive; only he, Tano, and Rex escaped the starship before it crashed. Tano and Rex then went into hiding in the Outer Rim to evade the new Empire.

Most members of the irregular clone commando unit Clone Force 99–nicknamed the "Bad Batch"–were immune to Order 66 due to their genetic modifications. In the case of Echo, previously a "reg" clone, Tech speculated that the experimentation he underwent at the hands of the Techno Union after his capture at the Battle of Lola Sayu had broken the programming that would have caused him to follow Order 66. However, CT-9904 "Crosshair" was the exception, with his inhibitor chip activating, though the effects were less evident than in normal clones. This led him to fire upon Jedi Commander Caleb Dume on Kaller when he and Clone Sergeant Hunter followed Dume into the woods after the death of Jedi General Depa Billaba, making Hunter's attempts to help Dume come off as insincere. When the Bad Batch was later imprisoned on Kamino following a failed mission to Onderon, Admiral Wilhuff Tarkin had the effects of Crosshair's inhibitor chip amplified, removing what loyalty he had retained to his squad and making him totally obedient to the Empire. The rest of the Batch shortly escaped from Kamino after a confrontation with their brainwashed former comrade.

Age of the Empire

Aftermath of Order 66

Following Order 66, Rex traveled to Saleucami, where he had encountered the clone deserter Cut Lawquane during the war. Cut had been unaffected by the brainwashing due to not hearing Order 66, and Rex warned him and his wife Suu about the inhibitor chips and how they had made the clones turn on the Jedi. After Rex left Saleucami, he began to fight the Empire and help those amongst his brothers who were outside Imperial control.

The day after Rex left, the Lawquanes were visited by the Bad Batch, who were also acquainted with Cut, and he brought up the implants Rex had mentioned. When Omega, a young enhanced clone who had previously worked as Nala Se's medical assistant, suggested that Rex had meant the inhibitor chips, Hunter was surprised to learn that the programming Tech had theorized about was connected to a physical device, although Tech had already come to that conclusion.

Subsequently, Tech came to suspect that Crosshair's betrayal was entirely the result of his inhibitor chip, although Echo was shocked that the chips were capable of such a thing. Tech began constructing a scanner to investigate the activity of the Batch's inhibitor chips and check whether they were truly inoperable. However, Wrecker, the Batch's strongman, received a head injury during a crash-landing on the Ordo Moon which began giving him headaches in the area of his chip. Hunter took notice of Wrecker's complaints, and after taking another hit to the head during a mission on Corellia, Wrecker passed out and mumbled the first words of the "Good soldiers follow orders" catchphrase. He was insensate for some time as the rest of his squad and the smugglers Trace and Rafa Martez fought attacking police droids, but came to after Omega contacted him and helped fight off the droids, still himself for the time being.

Some time later, Rex tracked down the Batch after learning of their location from the Martezes. He was concerned when he saw Wrecker having a headache and learned that he had been having them frequently, subsequently becoming alarmed when he learned that none of the Batch had removed their chips. Tech had concluded that the chips were not a danger to them, but Rex warned him otherwise, saying that they had no firsthand knowledge of how the chips made clones lose control. Rex had the Batch meet him on the junk planet Bracca to use the medical bay of a wrecked Venator to remove their chips. After reaching the medical bay, Tech used his completed chip scanner to assess Wrecker, but in the process, the large clone's chip activated and he attacked the others, decrying them as traitors. Eventually, after Wrecker had cornered Omega, Rex managed to stun him from behind, and his chip was removed. After Wrecker had come around and was confirmed to be okay, the other members of the Batch had their chips removed, and Rex parted ways with them.

The Batch was confronted by Imperial forces led by Crosshair before they could leave Bracca, and Hunter and Omega attempted to get through to him that he was being controlled by the chip. The claim seemed to upset him, but he ordered his forces to target the girl before the Batch escaped. After Bracca, the Batch began primarily using non-lethal force against enemy clones, not wanting to kill their brainwashed brethren. At some point, however, Crosshair had his chip removed, but remained loyal to the Empire anyways.

Growing resistance

As time went by, the control chips began to fail, enabling a growing number of clone troopers to question Order 66 and the further orders they carried out for the Empire. Some clones, despite their failing chips, remained loyal to the Empire, while others abandoned the Imperial Military. On Ryloth, Clone Captain "Howzer" publicly rejected the Empire in front of his squad, overcoming his weakened control chip and inspiring some of his squad to join him. Other members of his squad, however, refused. The Bad Batch later confronted Crosshair on Kamino while rescuing Hunter, who had been captured on Daro. After Hunter again attempted to appeal to him by saying serving the Empire was not his true personality, Crosshair revealed he'd removed his chip. The Batch stunned and captured Crosshair, before being forced to flee Tipoca City as the Empire destroyed it. Crosshair was left behind on Kamino after refusing his former comrades' entreaties to leave the Empire.

In the year 18 BBY, clone officer Grey, previously under the command of General Billaba, managed to break free from the influence of his control chip. He came to the realization that he and his fellow soldiers had been subjected to mental manipulation, compelling them to betray Billaba and her Padawan, Dume. Since the war's conclusion, Grey had dedicated much of his time to pursuing Dume, who had survived Billaba's sacrifice that allowed for his escape. Aware that his men were unable to overcome the effects of the brainwashing, Grey intentionally deactivated the deflector shields on their vessel. This secured Dume's escape at the cost of his own life, along with the lives of his men, when Dume's protectors, Janus Kasmir and Kleeve, destroyed the ship. Dume, who later adopted the name Kanan Jarrus, remained unaware of Grey's pivotal role in his liberation and harbored a deep-seated distrust of clones for many years. Eventually, Jarrus discovered the existence of the inhibitor chips. Ultimately, Ahsoka Tano dispatched him and the other members of the Spectres to Seelos in order to enlist Captain Rex, who was residing on the isolated planet alongside fellow clones Wolffe and Gregor, both of whom had also undergone chip removal. Feeling uneasy in the presence of clones, Jarrus recounted the events that had transpired to his Padawan, Ezra Bridger.

In the same year, 18 BBY, Ferren Barr, a Jedi Padawan who had previously trained in the Jedi arts and was now fleeing from the Inquisitors who were under the command of Darth Vader, Sidious' current apprentice, employed the Force to trigger the control chips within nearby Purge Troopers. He had observed that these clones were of a newer variety and had not yet undergone chip activation. Barr had just revealed that the Inquisitors present were, in fact, former Jedi, which prompted the troopers to turn their weapons against them. During the ensuing firefight, the Inquisitor known as Tenth Brother met his demise.

Occupation of Kashyyyk

After the Galactic Empire assumed control over the galaxy, it proceeded to enslave the Wookiee population residing on Kashyyyk. These enslaved Wookiees were subjected to the implantation of inhibitor chips, which could be employed to inflict severe pain upon them should they engage in rebellion against their captors. Activating the chip in a rebellious Wookiee would cause agonizing pain until the Wookiee either submitted or succumbed to the pain. As the Empire gained sophistication in its tactics, a prevalent strategy involved subjecting family or clan members to pain, as the Wookiees often demonstrated a willingness to sacrifice their own lives but found it unbearable to witness the suffering of their kin. During the liberation of Kashyyyk, a strike team spearheaded by Han Solo successfully disabled the field responsible for controlling the inhibitor chips. This effectively rendered them inoperative, empowering the Wookiees to strike without restraint, although this action was met with an orbital bombardment carried out by Star Destroyers belonging to the Galactic Empire.

Ultimately, the Imperial occupiers met their defeat when a small New Republic fleet, under the leadership of Admiral Ackbar and Captain Wedge Antilles, entered the Kashyyyk system, compelling them to surrender. Chewbacca's son, Lumpawaroo, likened the sound of the inhibitor chips to a song resembling the droning wings of a swarm of drriw-tcha blood-worm flies.

Furthermore, Rax implanted inorganic bio-chips into the brain stems of one hundred Rebel Alliance prisoners held at Ashmead's Lock prison on Kashyyyk. These prisoners were integral to a clandestine contingency plan aimed at assassinating New Republic government officials and military commanders during the Liberation Day celebrations on Chandrila in 5 ABY. Rax, along with his undercover agent Windom Traducier, employed a transponder located at the Hanna City opera house to transmit signals that activated the agents.

Among the prisoners who had been implanted with bio-chips were Brentin Lore Wexley, Jonda Jae-Talwar, and Esdo. These unwilling assassins killed multiple New Republic officials and commanders, including Hostis Ij, but were unsuccessful in their attempt to assassinate Chancellor Mon Mothma. The New Republic authorities managed to apprehend the prisoners. Investigations conducted by the New Republic Security Bureau and the slicer Conder Kyl led to the discovery of the chips. However, these chips experienced a planned degradation malfunction before the New Republic could proceed with further investigations.

New Republic Era

Approximately half a century following the conclusion of the Clone Wars, the wreckage of the Obrexta III was found on Ponemah after an ionic storm caused the ship's distress beacon to reactivate. Over the span of decades, the ship had become the subject of legends, rumored to contain a treasure of immense value belonging to Count Dooku. Given that Dooku had been the wealthiest individual in the galaxy prior to his demise, the wreck drew the attention of numerous bands of pirates who were prepared to venture into Ponemah's treacherous Sea of Sand in pursuit of the Obrexta III and its purported riches. The Hunt for Dooku's Treasure ultimately concluded with the crew of Sidon Ithano claiming victory.

However, their discovery was Kix, who had been sustained within his stasis pod throughout the intervening years. Ithano instructed the rest of his crew to evacuate with the delirious clone, remaining behind himself in what appeared to be a fatal encounter as a colossal sand worm obliterated the wreckage. Nevertheless, he survived and rejoined his crew, bringing with him the Obrexta III's memory core, which held the coordinates of every Separatist base in the galaxy, including some that had remained undisturbed. Kix recounted his story to the pirates, including his ill-fated attempt to disclose the truth about the chips to the Republic and the Jedi. With no other recourse, he joined Ithano's crew.

Behind the scenes

The initial appearance of control chips occurred in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode titled "Conspiracy," which was the first installment of a four-episode arc penned by Katie Lucas and released as part of The Lost Missions season. While initially identified as inhibitor chips, they were subsequently referred to as control chips in the Star Wars Rebels episode "The Lost Commanders," and were first designated as behavioral modification biochips in the tenth issue of the magazine Star Wars Helmet Collection.