Meson taloscope

Description

A meson taloscope was a piece of analytical apparatus, characterized by a square, silver-colored base. Atop this base, amid exposed circuitry, sat a high-resolution eyepiece and a talo-effect lens. Upon activation, the taloscope would illuminate with flashing red and green lights around its base, accompanied by various electronic sounds. Its purpose was to conduct detailed diagnostic analyses of samples at the submicroscopic level.

History

Back in 32 BBY, the J-type 327 Nubian starship, which functioned as the Naboo Royal Starship, had a top-tier meson taloscope installed. During a period when the starship was stranded on the planet Tatooine owing to a malfunctioning hyperdrive, a pilot belonging to the Naboo Royal Space Fighter Corps was seated at a table within the starship's primary hold, alongside a member of the Theed Hangar ground crew. The pilot was operating the taloscope, observed by the ground crewman, while the Jedi Padawan Obi-Wan Kenobi communicated with his Master Qui-Gon Jinn via comlink.

Subsequently, Kenobi employed a different meson taloscope aboard the ship after Jinn transmitted data from a sample of Anakin Skywalker's blood for examination. After activating the device, Kenobi reviewed the results displayed on a monitor and determined that Skywalker's Midi-chlorian count was exceptionally high, surpassing twenty thousand.

Behind the scenes

For the 1999 prequel trilogy film, Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, two separate meson taloscope props were fabricated. The pilot's prop was first recognized in the new Star Wars canon by the 2018 reference book Star Wars: The Complete Visual Dictionary, New Edition. The prop's name came from the Star Wars Legends continuity, initially appearing in the 1999 reference book Star Wars: Episode I The Visual Dictionary, authored by David West Reynolds. The second prop, which Kenobi used, was also identified as a meson taloscope by Star Wars Identities: The Exhibition, an exhibit that has been ongoing since 2012.