Private Chronicles of Evolution

[Romi Jade]

JEDI TEMPLE
CORUSCANT

The vast expanse of space stretched out before the cockpit of Romi Jade's sleek starship. As it streaked through hyperspace, pinpricks of light blurred into streaks of brilliance, forming a cosmic tapestry that seemed both beautiful and mysterious. Inside the cockpit, her fingers lightly caressing the controls as she navigated the ship toward its destination. She was leaving Jakku.

Before long, the stars outside had shifted back into their familiar points of light, her thoughts turned to the purpose of her journey. She was on her way to Coruscant, the heart of the galaxy and the seat of the New Jedi Order's power. Her destination: the Coruscant Jedi Temple, and specifically the office of the chief archivist, Jedi Master Kassogtha Cthylla. Romi had heard about Kassogtha, a Pylantian whose appearance was as enigmatic as her reputation. The image of a writhing mass of tentacles, eyes, and mouths intrigued and unsettled Romi in equal measure. She couldn't help but wonder how such an interaction would go; she was excited at the thought of it.

She emerged from hyperspace, and Coruscant's sprawling cityscape spread out before them; she was back home. The planet-wide metropolis was a testament to the galaxy's diversity, its towering skyscrapers and bustling traffic representing a crossroads of countless cultures and species. Romi guided her ship toward the Jedi Temple.

Docking the ship in the Temple hangar, Romi descended the ramp and made her way through the familiar corridors. The atmosphere was a blend of reverence and anticipation, a palpable energy that reminded her of the weight of her pitch. She was not just a visitor here; she was a Jedi Master seeking to propose a significant change -- as she often did. Arriving at the entrance to Cthylla's office chambers, Romi paused for a moment, her hand hovering over the control panel. She took a deep breath, centering herself in the Force, and then pressed the button. The door slid open soundlessly, and she felt a renewed sense of purpose. She had honed her arguments and proposals during the journey, and she was determined to make a persuasive case for the changes she believed were necessary for the Order's future.

And she wanted Kassogtha to be at the helm of that change with her; hopefully.

She had sent a message ahead of today, requesting a meeting with the Pylantian.

The walls of the office stretched before her, illuminated by the soft glow of luminescent panels embedded in them. And, as she stepped through and made her way inside the chief archivist's office, she couldn't help but reflect on the ever-changing nature of the Force that had brought her here.

"Knock knock..." she threw her words as to make her presence known.

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

“Come in!”

The Head Archivist’s office was spare and minimalist, though one got the impression this was because the occupant hadn’t fully moved in yet rather than a deliberate choice. There was one desk at the center of the room. Kass’ anatomy didn’t permit her to sit down, so there was no chair behind it. Instead Kass had arranged herself comfortably on the floor, her tentacles sweeping away holograms and datapad screens so that she could give the visitor her full attention.

“You must be Master Romi Jade,” she said. Despite her incredibly alien appearance, she had a humanlike voice which conveyed friendliness and warmth. “Welcome to Coruscant. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

There was one other person in the room. An absurdly handsome man was reclining in a seat near her desk, his hands folded in his lap. He seemed a bit… ruffled, with his hair slightly mussed and his robes somewhat rumpled. One was left wondering what he had been doing there before Romi’s arrival. When she entered the office, he immediately rose to his feet, feeling (and probably looking) like a fresh-faced student again. “Master Jade,” he greeted her with a smile and a bow. “I am Master Oukranos Cthylla. I trained under you at the Jakku Enclave when I was a padawan learner.”

They hadn’t been particularly close—indeed, he wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t remember him, with all the other students she had taught and the passage of time to cloud the memory. It had been many years since the raid, and he had lost touch with many of his teachers and peers that survived the attack. But he held the utmost respect for Romi, and had stayed in order to see her again, even if only briefly.

Several of Kass’ numerous mouths curled into smiles as she looked at him. “As you can see, your efforts have borne fruit,” she said. "Oukranos has told me a great deal about you and your teachings."

Romi Jade​

 

[Romi Jade]

JEDI TEMPLE
CORUSCANT

Kassogtha's appearance was every bit as striking as Romi had heard. The Pylantian's pseudopods flowed and shifted like an otherworldly dance, and her eyes, a vibrant shade of green, seemed to hold the wisdom. Romi could feel the weight of Kassogtha's gaze, almost as if the archivist was assessing her very essence.

She ended her saunter just as Kassogtha spoke, her voice resonating with an unexpected clarity and warmth. Romi was excited at the thought of this encounter. "The pleasure is mine-oh" she turned her head to the male in the room.

She pretended that his ruffled appearance was just his natural flow of presentation, and nothing more...least she'd rather not entertain the thought of going there.

He was a former student of hers, she nodded and reached out to shake his hand, leaning into the familiarity of his aura but not being able to quite place it "So we meet again then, many years later. I hope all that harsh training did you some good?" She smirked.

"Yeah, well--I just hope he's shared fond memories," She'd burst into a small cadence of giggles.

"A slightly full circle moment...makes me even more excited for this meeting." A beat. "I've come to talk about the archives, and i'm told this was the place to be, and you were the being I should see Master Kassogtha?"

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

“Harsh, but necessary,” Oukranos said brightly. “Your training style helped me to become who I am today. Thank you for that.

“But, I know you came here on other business, so I won’t keep you.” He nodded to Romi and winked at Kass. “I’ll try to catch you later, if I can. Otherwise, farewell.”

After he had left the office, Kass gestured with a pseudopod to the now empty seat. “I am indeed the being. How can I help you?”

Romi Jade​

 

[Romi Jade]

JEDI TEMPLE
CORUSCANT

It felt good to hear that her work had been well received. Seeing something good come from Jakku after all that transpired since was reaffirming. She nodded in return. "Farewell."

A beat.

"For as long as either of us can probably trace back, our records have consisted of rooms adorned with ancient scrolls, holographic holocrons, and shelves of meticulously organized data tablets...the works right? Great. But we've also experienced raids, destruction, theft, and several other things since time immemorial -- things that have made keeping our repository updated and, safe an extremely hard task as you know i'm sure."

With a conviction, "Master Kassogtha, I really think the time has come for us to embrace a new chapter in the history of the Jedi Order. Our physical archives, though rich in knowledge, have limitations. We face threats, both external and internal, that put this invaluable repository at risk."

She continues, "I'm proposing the creation of a 'Cloud,' a digital repository that goes beyond the confines of a physical archive. It would be a fortress of knowledge, accessible to Jedi across the galaxy from anywhere, and a sanctuary that protects our wisdom and teachings."

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

Kass listened thoughtfully to Romi’s pitch. Then her many mouths began to smile, one by one. “Here I was about to suggest to the Council that we replace our original texts with copies and move the originals to a secure secret location. Your idea is better than mine, and no doubt less costly.” To say nothing of the labor involved in painstakingly copying ancient scrolls and books.

But nothing was wholly impenetrable. “I am very interested, but I must ask, what risks would there be to this Cloud?” She imagined any form of slicing or malware could do some damage, but even more insidious was the idea that the texts could be easily altered or deleted once they were digitized. Still, it was arguably the better alternative.

Romi Jade​

 

[Romi Jade]

JEDI TEMPLE
CORUSCANT

She nodded, "Risks could range, anything from insider threats, social engineering, astromech sabotage, cyber-force manipulation...data corruption. But, I do think we deal with those risks already, and I do like the idea of still keeping and maintaining a secure location for physical copies..."

She continued, "It's crucial for the Order to remain vigilant and continuously adapt its security measures to counter evolving threats, and I have thought of a multi-layered security system. There could be encryption algorithms and entanglement-based keys that render conventional hacking techniques useless. We could implement advanced AI-powered guardians programmed to identify any unusual patterns, unauthorized access attempts, or suspicious activity."

A beat.

"There could be an astromech defense grid, a network of astromech droids equipped with advanced scanners and countermeasures, for maintenance and detecting and responding to physical threats. Even a cyber-force shielding mechanism that adapts to external threats. Any attempts to hack or infiltrate the server triggers an immediate response from the field, isolating and neutralizing the threat within a contained virtual environment."

"Then there'd be the use of the Force, wherever the server's physical location is, it could be shielded by Jedi techniques, creating a barrier that repels dark side energies and prevents unauthorized individuals from entering such a sacred space."

"We could also back it up to somewhere else like the physical copies would be..."

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

The list of potential threats set Kass’ mind awhirl. But so did the possibilities. Just think of the things they could do with a freely accessible library…

Would it make her job obsolete?

No. Holobooks hadn’t nullified the need for libraries, and this would be no different. Students and masters still needed someone who knew where every piece of knowledge was stored and how to find it. She was an archivist, and she would remain one.

Kass bobbed along as Romi explained how they would protect the Cloud. She understood the gist of it, though cybersecurity was outside her field at present.

"We could also back it up to somewhere else like the physical copies would be..."

“Calling it the ‘Cloud’ makes it seem free and untouchable, but anything digital must still be hosted somewhere in the physical realm.” Kass paused, deep in thought. “It would have to be a secret location our enemies would have no other reasons to target. A place completely unaffiliated with the Jedi. Perhaps even uninhabited and isolated…” The name Kiva sprung to mind, but she waited to see if Romi had other ideas.

Romi Jade​

 

[Romi Jade]

JEDI TEMPLE
CORUSCANT

"I agree." She responded.

She thought to herself for a brief moment, choosing the right host location would prove vital for the longevity of a concept like this. Part of her agreed completely with the thought of it being somewhere uninteresting, uninhabited, and isolated...but then the other half thought of hiding it in plain sight, somewhere where the sheer force of sentience rendered it unable to be honed in on and sensed.

Perhaps both options were viable in a situation of this magnitude.

She glanced back to the Librarian, "Do you have any places in mind? I'll admit i'm a bit torn here...but I feel you probably know of more potential locations than I do."

Kassogtha Cthylla

 

[Kassogtha Cthylla]

"Do you have any places in mind? I'll admit i'm a bit torn here...but I feel you probably know of more potential locations than I do."

"The Force has given me the name Kiva," Kass replied. "Or at least, it's the first name that popped into my head. A desolate world, once vibrant and full of life, it became the casualty of an Imperial experiment in creating weapons of mass destruction. Its loss was overshadowed in the annals of history by the destruction of Alderaan." Having stumbled upon a mere footnote about Kiva in her research, she had been bothered by its obscurity. Why should such a terrible tragedy be forgotten?

Perhaps they could dedicate what was left of the planet to the preservation of memory.

Romi Jade​

 

[Romi Jade]

JEDI TEMPLE
CORUSCANT

"Kiva..." She responded.

"I hadn't heard of it before now -- and from what you're saying, seems poetic given the circumstances." She dwelled on it a bit. In fact she trusted Kass' judgment, she'd be the more knowledgeable source in this scenario. A dedication to something new indeed.

"Let's do it." She clasped both hands together. "Kiva it is."

"I can touch base with the Artisans, and see if we can get something drafted up in terms of hat the hardware would look like."

Kassogtha Cthylla