The ‘Nice Works’ of Star Wars’ Republic, Defined

This week’s episode of Skeleton Crew started to peel again the layers across the thriller of At Attin—the world our younger heroes hail from, and are (principally) wanting to get again to. However in doing so, it made some fairly intriguing connections to wider Star Wars lore… ones that would have some very fascinating ramifications for the present’s place within the galaxy far, far-off.

In episode three of the collection, the children and the viewers alike study from the avian astronavigation knowledgeable Kh’ymm that At Attin is the only surviving world in a bunch referred to as the “Jewels of the Previous Republic”: a collection of no less than 9 worlds that have been positioned below Republic safety to be stored hidden in some type or one other to safeguard some wondrous characteristic about them, both ecological or, as “Jod” believes, some grand treasure ready to be plundered. All however At Attin have been destroyed outright because the institution of the undertaking, however whereas attempting to determine defining options of the world to slim Kh’ymm’s searches down, Neel makes point out that nobody on the planet is supposed to go away the safety of a barrier of nebulae gasses, as a part of what At Attin’s authorities refers to as “the Nice Work.”

It’s not the primary time in Skeleton Crew we’ve heard that phrase invoked. Fern’s mom, Fara, tells Wim and Neel’s class that their aptitude checks are designed to assist youngsters discover their profession path as a part of that “Nice Work,” in a lot as serving the planet of At Attin at massive. However that is the primary time that somebody makes an specific connection between the time period and the intent behind the Jewels—and in doing so invokes a very intriguing idea from way back in Star Wars‘ chronology, however just a little extra lately in our personal.

What Is a ‘Nice Work’?

The act of describing a governmental undertaking as one of many Republic’s “Nice Works” turned a prominent part of the worldbuilding for the Excessive Republic publishing initiative depicting the golden age of the Galactic Republic, roughly 200 years earlier than the occasions of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. There, the “Nice Works” have been a pet undertaking of the then-current Supreme Chancellor, Lina Soh, and a time period designated to significantly grand initiatives undertaken by the Republic to advance its expansionary targets and elevate its standing because the de facto state of energy within the galaxy.

What a “Nice Work” might be diversified—the development of interstellar comms relays or the Starlight Beacon (a large area station on the sting of Republic area in collaboration with the Jedi Order); the invention of efficient cultivation of Bacta as a medical support; brokering a peace treaty between the Quarren and Mon Calamari; and even, maybe most curiously in connection to the Jewels, environmental restoration of worlds on the point of climate-change-induced catastrophe. Whereas all these initiatives have been largely benevolent ones, the branding of them as Soh’s “Nice Works” drew some ire inside the Republic senate and amongst her allies within the Jedi, blunting their diplomatic intent right into a self-serving imaginative and prescient of Soh’s personal significance.

It has real-world parallels befitting an expansionary colonial endeavor just like the Republic was meant to be on the time, too—one significantly disastrous “Nice Work” was Soh’s Republic Fair, held on the planet Valo and in the end assaulted by the piratical forces of the Nihil in 231BBY. Initially supposed earlier than its concentrating on to be a present of unity and a promotional celebration of the Republic as a federal entity and hub for technological development, it attracts parallels to real-world colonial exhibitions similar to World’s Gala’s, or Nice Britain’s Pageant of Empire, masquerading Imperialist propaganda as a drive for superior civilization.

Are the Excessive Republic’s Nice Works and At Attin Related?

There’s undoubtedly a case to be made that the Jewels match into one thing akin to the “Nice Works” we noticed within the Excessive Republic materials. However the jury remains to be out on whether or not or not that signifies that At Attin’s secrecy was one thing established throughout that point interval, or if the world’s isolation has been for even longer than that.

It’s very intriguing at least that whereas evoking the time period seems like a deliberate nod to the Excessive Republic, the time period “Excessive Republic” has but for use in relation to it on Skeleton Crew. To this point within the present folks have solely ever described At Attin as being extra broadly related to the “outdated Republic,” quite than particularly the Excessive Republic, and even that‘s imprecise. What is “outdated,” on this context? We all know on the very least that At Attin’s populace (if not its authorities, to this point) is unaware of the occasions of the Galactic Civil Conflict. However is “outdated” the roughly 240 years or so because the golden age of the Excessive Republic? Is it even older than that, maybe right into a time interval the wider chronology that’s known as the Previous Republic, each within the expanded universe and present continuity? Has At Attin been hidden for tons of of years, or maybe hundreds, predating the idea of the “Nice Works” to even nicely earlier than Supreme Chancellor Soh?

We’re not precisely certain but—little question Skeleton Crew will start narrowing it down for us as we progress nearer and nearer to discovering out what At Attin is safeguarding from the remainder of the galaxy.

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