Mammon Hoole

Mammon Hoole's born took place on the jungle-covered planet of Sh'shuun, situated within the uncharted Unknown Regions, during the era when the Galactic Republic held sway over the galaxy. He was a member of the Shi'ido race, a species of long-living humanoids possessing the extraordinary capability to change shape at will. He had at least one sibling, Moloch, who later entered into married with Human female from Alderaan named Beryl. Due to the Shi'ido belief that all relatives are considered immediate family, Hoole readily embraced his Alderaanian kin as if they were his own.

During his school time on his homeworld, Hoole distinguished himself as a dedicated and exceptional student. Eventually, he departed Sh'shuun to pursue a career in science. He enrolled in the Chandrilan Academy of Sciences, where he formed a friendship with a fellow Shi'ido named Borborygmus Gog. Sharing a deep enthusiasm and ambition for research, they both graduated together. After their time at the academy, the two changelings went their separate ways for a period. While Gog infiltrated the secretive cloners residing on the planets Khomm and Kamino, Hoole chose to study with renowned geneticists on Ithor and Lur.

Hoole openly admitted to considering himself a brilliant mind, and he yearned for recognition in the field of genetics. He grew dissatisfied with simple cloning endeavors and desired to manipulate the creation of life itself. It was Hoole's scientific hubris that ultimately led him into a four-year period of his life that he would later deeply regret.

In the fifth month of the year 22 BBY, the erupted war between the Republic and the Confederacy of Independent Systems, a separatist alliance commanded by a former Jedi Master, Count Dooku of Serenno. Given that the Grand Army of the Republic consisted of clone troopers produced on Kamino, the conflict became known as the Clone Wars. Around 20 BBY, the Confederacy began utilizing clone-specific bioweapons. In response, Supreme Chancellor Palpatine, the leader of the Republic, initiated a new research project that reunited Mammon Hoole with his former colleague Borborygmus Gog.

Under the supervision of Sly Moore, Palpatine's Umbaran aide, the two Shi'ido were initially tasked with assisting the Republic's Ministry of Science in developing defenses against the Confederacy's attacks. However, their groundbreaking discoveries quickly captured the personal interest of the Chancellor. At his request, Hoole and Gog dedicated themselves to conducting experiments in abiogenesis, the spontaneous creation of life, rather than merely replicating existing life forms. Moore provided the scientists with a subject for their experiments, a compliant Human female from Bordal named Niobi.

The challenge of creating life was so thrilling and ambitious that Hoole and his colleague disregarded any moral or ethical considerations. However, their initial experiments failed, resulting in the creation of multi-headed homunculi with deformed limbs. Eventually, Hoole and Gog eliminated most abnormalities and produced a single viable specimen. However, the child was still a mutant and possessed a third eye on his forehead, which led to him being named Trioculus. Almost immediately, the newborn child and his mother were secretly taken away under the orders of Sarcev Quest, one of Palpatine's protégés. In their arrogance, the Shi'ido scientists blamed their failure on Niobi and began using themselves as test subjects for further experiments. They even went so far as to cross their Shi'ido genes with those of a Clawdite, another species of changeling from the planet Zolan, which enhanced their natural shapechanging abilities to an unprecedented degree.

Following the slaughter of the Confederacy leaders in 19 BBY, the Clone Wars concluded, leaving deep scars across the galaxy. Palpatine, who was secretly a powerful Sith Lord known as Darth Sidious, dismantled the Republic from within and replaced it with his authoritarian Galactic Empire. Hoole and Gog had completed what they considered "basic" experiments and required a larger laboratory. The newly appointed Galactic Emperor offered them a vast private laboratory on the world of Kiva, where they could explore the mysteries of life and death more freely. At the time, Hoole was unaware of the Emperor's true nature—as were most members of the galactic community—and he was too excited about the new possibilities to concern himself with political ethics, leading him to accept Palpatine's offer. In their laboratory, the geneticists realized that they needed to harness a tremendous amount of power to create life from nothing. To achieve this, they constructed massive generators capable of concentrating the energy of an entire star into a small test tube. Unbeknownst to Hoole, this process would inevitably lead to the destruction of all life on Kiva. While Gog was supposed to ensure the experiments remained within safe parameters, he deceived Hoole and assured him that they would cause no harm. However, the Shi'ido lost control of their experiments and, instead of creating life as intended, they unleashed a burst of energy that wiped out every living organism on Kiva, leaving its inhabitants as disembodied wraiths. Hoole attempted to broadcast a warning message, but the deadly energy wave disrupted the transmission before it could reach the Kivans. Only Hoole and Gog managed to escape the disaster by the skin of their teeth.

As a result of the accident that claimed the lives of millions of Kivans, Hoole underwent a profound moral transformation. Although Gog was clearly responsible for the events on Kiva, Hoole was too proud to place the blame on anyone but himself, believing that he should have recognized his partner's deception. Disgusted with his life and the Empire, he decided to leave the Emperor's service permanently after four years of perilous experiments. Gog, however, remained with the Empire and implemented Project Starscream, which aimed to create an army of supersoldiers. The Imperials blamed Hoole for the Kivan genocide, deliberately ruining his reputation and protecting Gog in the process. While the latter's involvement in the massacre was erased from all records, the Empire spread the rumor that a Shi'ido named Mammon had exterminated an entire civilization. Haunted by the horrors that had occurred on Kiva, Hoole was forced into exile. In an attempt to bury his past, he also chose to abandon his first name, which had become synonymous with a planet-killer condemned by everyone in the galaxy, including the Emperor.

Around 16 BBY, Hoole embarked on a new chapter of his life and enrolled at the Galactic Research Academy on Koaan. Upon completing his education, he became a professor of anthropology, dedicating himself to documenting the customs and traditions of various species throughout the Known Universe. Now recognized as a Senior Anthropologist, Hoole simply wandered the galaxy for a time, utilizing his species' extraordinary shape-changing abilities to infiltrate numerous alien cultures. He notably visited the sun-scorched planet Tatooine, where he studied the societies of the Jawa and Ghorfa. During his time there, Hoole gained acceptance into the Nkik clan of Jawas by disguising himself as one of its members, and he even temporarily resided in the palace of the local crime lord Jabba the Hutt. A detailed account of his Tatooinian experience was published under the name "(Indeterminate) Hoole."

During the majority of his years as an anthropologist, Hoole typically worked alone or with his custom-built research assistant, DV-9. He only took on an assistant when studying species that he could not mimic. Sadly, some of these assistants were devoured by Arachnors on Arzid. One such assistant to meet this fate was Chlar Kotchmin.

In 0 BBY, Imperial Grand Moff Wilhuff Tarkin chose to demonstrate the full power of the Death Star, a brand new moon-sized battle station equipped with a planet-destroying superlaser, on Alderaan, the homeworld of his sister-in-law Beryl and her relatives, the couple Kalf and Milessa Arranda. Their two children, Tash and Zak Arranda, were on a field trip off-planet when the Death Star's superlaser struck the surface of Alderaan, leaving them orphaned. As their closest living relative, Hoole became their guardian. He kept the children on his starship, the Lightrunner, where he and DV-9 educated them while Hoole traveled to different parts of the galaxy for his studies. He continued his work until the trio angered key representatives of the Empire by interfering in the affairs of Borborygmus Gog's Project Starscream, resulting in a bounty being placed on their heads. Unable to continue their research, the three settled into a home in an undisclosed location, possibly New Alderaan.

At his home-based laboratory, Hoole began compiling the notes and data he had collected into a book. With the threat of Imperial discovery diminishing, Tash and Zak went off to college. Once the data was compiled, Hoole sent it to professional writer Ann Margaret Lewis who, after completing the text, sent it to a publisher on Coruscant. Recognizing the significance of the book, the publisher immediately released it, and the reference book, entitled The Essential Guide to Alien Species, became available on most planets.

When interacting with his adopted niece and nephew, Hoole would often adopt a very Human-like appearance with a few distinct alien features, such as extra-long fingers and dark gray skin. Most of the time, Hoole could conceal his emotions, maintaining a stern and unreadable expression. When angered, his gaze was sharp and cold.

Even among the Shi'ido, Mammon Hoole was an exceptionally skilled shapeshifter. Legends even spoke of him assuming the form of a Whaladon on one occasion.

Mammon Hoole was first introduced in the 1995 reference book The Illustrated Star Wars Universe, where he was presented as the in-universe author of the Tatooine chapter. In that book, he was formally referred to as "(Indeterminate) Hoole." His character was further developed in Star Wars: Galaxy of Fear, a series of young adult horror novels written by John Whitman, which featured the Shi'ido scientist and his young wards. In 2001 and 2006 respectively, Hoole was once again used as the in-universe narrator in both editions of The Essential Guide to Alien Species. In 2009, author Adrick Tolliver revisited Hoole and his wards in Death in the Slave Pits of Lorrd, a short story published on StarWars.com. The story was presented as an essay written by Tash Arranda and edited by DV-9, accompanied by hand-drawn illustrations by Pablo Hidalgo.

In Army of Terror, the sixth book in the series, Hoole revealed that he had begun working for the Empire "almost twenty years ago" from the current time. According to The Essential Reader's Companion, the Galaxy of Fear series took place between 6 and 18 months after the Battle of Yavin, which occurred in 0 BBY. This places the beginning of Hoole's work with the Empire around 20 BBY. However, the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith showed that the Empire was not founded until 19 BBY, one year later. In Aliens in the Empire, an online supplement to the 96th and 97th issues of the Star Wars Insider magazine, author Abel G. Peña retconned Hoole's early activities as taking place during Palpatine's last term as Chancellor of the Republic.

Mammon is a biblical term that describes the love of riches, often personified as a deity. In Paradise Lost, the 17th-century English poet John Milton featured Mammon as one of the fallen angels in hell, alongside Belial and Moloch. These demonic names have been used in the EU as Shi'ido names.