The number of Key Star Systems in the Republic

[Who is like God arbour]

The here asked question and the following answers are, after it was clarified, what Dr. Nuvo Vindi has said, irrelevant. Please continue with reading this thread here.

• • • • I've just seen the Star Wars The Clone Wars episode »Blue Shadow Virus« [1, 2, 3].
        
        In it, a memory of a meanwhile dismembered droid is shown. It seems as if the droid, as he was still intact, has watched a little speech of Dr. Nuvo Vindi.
        
        The later has said, that he has enough of the Blue Shadow Virus to start filling the bombs. It would only be necessary to send one bomb to each ??? star system.
        
        What kind of star systems has he meant? I couldn't understand the adjective in the English version.

[ILikeDeathNote]

Naturally he would more properly mean one bomb per planet since it's just stupid to expect a virus to be able to propagate from planet to planet on its own.

Of course, this would imply that most inhabited star systems just have one inhabited planet, which would be consistent with what we've seen in the Star Wars universe so far.

[Airlocke_Jedi_Knight]

Naturally he would more properly mean one bomb per planet since it's just stupid to expect a virus to be able to propagate from planet to planet on its own.

Of course, this would imply that most inhabited star systems just have one inhabited planet, which would be consistent with what we've seen in the Star Wars universe so far.

with a few exceptions.

[ILikeDeathNote]

Hence "most" star systems :p

[Who is like God arbour]

The word I can't understand can't be »most« or »planets« because that wouldn't make sense.

He says- as far as I can understand it:

• • • • »Good news my soulless automated friends, we now have enough of the blue shadow virus to start filling the bombs.
        
        • • • [...]
        We will only need to send one bomb to each [???] star system. Work quickly, I want ... «

It's in the second part of the on YouTube findable video [03:40-04:11]. You have to hear it yourself.

What I think to hear, doesn't makes sense.

[Flectarn]

he says each key star system.

key
–adjective
34. chief; major; important; essential; fundamental; pivotal: a key person in the company; key industries.

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/key

[Who is like God arbour]

That's interessting because it allows us to have a conception, how many "key star systems" there are.

As Dr. Nuvo Vindi virtually has said ...

• • • • »Good news my soulless automated friends, we now have enough of the blue shadow virus to start filling the bombs.«
        • • • [...]
        »We will only need to send one bomb to each key star system.«

... there are as many bombs as key star systems.

• • • ּּּּּּּּּּ
      
      ‌‌ּּּּּּּּּּ

I've counted 20 bombs per line and 10 lines per group. With 4 groups, 2 per side of the room, there are round about 800 bombs.

• • • • Even if there are more bombs in a line or more lines, the magnitude won't change. Maximal there are 1'000 or a little more bombs.

That would mean, that there are round about 800 key star systems.

The question now would be, what qualifies as a key star system. But considering that one bomb was meant for Naboo, the demands can't be too high.

[ILikeDeathNote]

That's interessting because it allows us to have a conception, how many "key star systems" there are.

I know this has suddenly turned into a semantic debate on what "star system" and "key" means, but the fact remains that either 1.) most key star systems have one inhabitable planet of any real political or strategic consequence or 2.) In George Lucas-verse, according to the Laws of George Lucas, pathogens are capable of propagating across space by themselves.

At this point, I'm honestly believing the latter is more likely.

Maximal

[Mr. Oragahn]

A key star system can be... anything.

However, considering that there would obviously one bomb dropped on one world, at least one in each key system, we can exclude the following factor for sure:

- Hyperlanes and jump beacons, since a biobomb is totally irrelevant there as well.

It leaves obvious resources which are directly dependent on the biosphere and survival of species, or those which could be exploited by the CIS if the local populations were destroyed.

So we have worlds with resources which can be surveyed and completed with robotic labor, and used for artificial constructs, like fuel or metal for ships and droids.

We can also count political and economical centers housing batteries of diplomats and economists. Obviously, hitting a world which is in the center of a sector would literally make the local political sphere collapse.

More, we can count out farm worlds which produce and ship food to many other worlds, plus other medicines and possibly bacta.

Add a couple of worlds where they could be military academies or something like that.

Trying to avoid to repeat the same point and basically be circular, these bombs could only be used on worlds which can support life, and would more than likely be inhabited.

[Mike DiCenso]

A key star system can be... anything.
However, considering that there would obviously one bomb dropped on one world, at least one in each key system, we can exclude the following factor for sure:

They made it clear by Obi-Wan that it was better for one planet to be infected than the whole galaxy, so obviously in that context the CIS plans to drop this mutated form the virus into planets. Possibly ones where the virus can be spread quickly into a galactic pandemic across the Republic.

But usually in the SW-verse when they refer to system, for some reason that often refers specifically to a planet as well.
-Mike

[ILikeDeathNote]

Actually, I just thought of a side issue as well.

If the Separatists were counting on a loose quarantine and pathogen carriers (i.e. infected people) to spread the disease across to other planets, then the comment about only needing one bomb per key star system is still rather interesting.

If a ship is able to enter a hyperspace lane and be able to arrive at nearly any given planet within a relatively short amount of time, then they would need less than one bomb per key system.

It also still puzzles me that it's instantly fatal in its original waterborne form, but not so in its new airborne form.

[Flectarn]

could it be that Key system here refers primarily to transportation hubs?

[Mike DiCenso]

Could be, but just as easily it could refer to systems that are key producers of munitions, ships, food, or political support or any combination thereof.
-Mike