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A container of the spice variant Giggledust
- "Glitterstim's all right if you're blue. Everything takes on a rise, a buzz, a life, as if your whole body had been made new and your whole future with it."
- ―Greglik
Spice, also known as narco-spice,[2] was slang for various mind-altering drugs. Varieties included ryll and the strongest (and most expensive), glitterstim. The planet Kessel was rich with these spices, which were harvested from dangerous mines, at one point in history by slave labor. Sevarcos II, Rori, Ryloth, Troiken, Gargon, and Mon Gazza were other sources of spice. The word could also refer to non-narcotic herbs and minerals used to give foods or drinks flavor.
Etymology
The term spice referred to any substances (either organically produced or mined minerals) that were ingestible although not considered foodstuff. Usually they could be added to food for seasoning and preservation while some had medicinal properties or enhanced bodily functions and experiences and used for their recreational effects. The latter included dangerous intoxicants that caused addiction and deemed illegal.[3]
One substance could have multiple uses: Andris was commonly used as food condiment and had beneficient effects, but other variants were addictive and were illegal, available only in the black market. Meanwhile, spices had different effects throughout different species: salt was addictive to the Arcona (and smuggled as a narcotic[4]). As such, the meaning of the catch-all term spice was nebulous.[3]
By extension, spice was figuratively any small luxury that added variety to life, such as wealth and entertainment.[3]
History
Spice being processed
Spice was known to have gained widespread use since the days of the Galactic Republic, even before 4000 BBY.
Most forms of spice were collected raw, then processed and refined. Some forms of spice were produced completely synthetically, without the use of any kind of natural material. Many organizations, and planets, took on this enterprise, notably the Hutts.
The spice found on Kessel was glitterstim, one of the most prized spices in the galaxy. This particular spice was created by a species of energy spiders that would spin the spice into webs. Any unlucky miner that came into contact with one of these creatures would have their life energy sucked out of them in seconds.
Glitterstim was mined on Kessel by criminals. Since Kessel lay within the Maw Cluster, in the unlikely event a prisoner were to escape they would not likely go far because of the surrounding black holes. Kessel had no natural atmosphere, and factories on the surface created air; however, the air was still too thin to breathe without an oxygen mask. Glitterstim was activated by light, forcing workers to work in complete darkness or under dim, red lights that lacked photons energetic enough to trigger it.[5] Along with the obvious dangers of energy spiders, glitterstim threads were very sharp, and could easily remove digits if the worker was not careful.[6]
Another kind of spice was ryll, mined on Ryloth, noted by its medicinal properties.[7]
The Galactic Empire attempted to keep a tight rein on the circulation of the various forms of spice, making it a frequent item for smugglers. Smuggling spice (buying without a receipt or transporting without a permit) was a class four violaton of the Imperial Code, punishable with a month in prison and a fine, which could reach up to 5,000 Credits. Possession and trafficking of illegal or restricted spice were violations of higher class with more severe punishment, including impounding of property and loss of certification; the penalty for transporting carsunum, for example, could reach 30 years in prison and a fine of 10,000.[7]
Almost every inhabited star system had various regulations on spice possession or transportation; violation of local customs was a class five infraction according to the Imperial Code, fined between 100 and 5,000 Credits.[7]
Spice markets could be found on shadowports; the Life section of the Vergesso Base shadowport had a notable spice market.[7]
In 13 ABY, Lando Calrissian bought the spice mines of Kessel.
The illegal spice market was virtually destroyed as a result of the Yuuzhan Vong War. With the Hutts attempting to fight off the Yuuzhan Vong, their contacts were stripped of their connection. Many people were forced to confront their addictions, and spice all but lost its worth. By at least 130 ABY, the spice trade had been rebuilt.
Wendell Wright-Sims was a Drug dealer of spice.
Behind the scenes
It has been posited that Frank Herbert's classic science fiction novel Dune (1965) had a heavy influence upon Star Wars. The drug known as "the spice" Melange plays a central role in the Duniverse.[8] Spice was first mentioned at the beginning of the original Star Wars with C-3PO's worry to R2-D2 that "We'll be sent to the Spice Mines of Kessel, smashed into who-knows-what!"
The concept of spice in the Star Wars universe appeared for the first time in Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope and is only mentioned briefly by C-3PO and Luke.
Since then spice has appeared in countless Expanded Universe works, and is even mentioned briefly in Star Wars: Episode II Attack of the Clones.
Prior to the New Game Enhancements introduced to Star Wars Galaxies, spice was a consumable within the game that players who chose the smuggler profession could craft. Once ingested, it would improve a certain number of stats at the cost of decreasing others. After the effect wore off, you would experience spice withdrawal for several minutes, prompting your character to appear to vomit and lowering all of your stats.
Author Kevin J. Anderson noted that some "politically correct" individuals at Lucasfilm almost forced him to characterize spice as a food additive in Jedi Search out of concern for characterizing Han as a drug dealer during his smuggling days. The matter was brought up to George Lucas, who confirmed that spice is a drug. Anderson compromised by adding positive qualities to the substance instead of categorizing it as a damaging substance like crystal meth.[9]
Appearances
Non-canon appearances
"Ghost" — Star Wars Tales 11 (Mentioned only)
Sources
Non-canon sources
Notes and references
- ↑ Planet of Twilight
- ↑ Galaxy Guide 6: Tramp Freighters, Second Edition
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
- ↑
Arconan Smuggling Cartel Dismantled — HoloNet News Vol. 531 #55 (original site is defunct)
- ↑ "The Last One Standing: The Tale of Boba Fett" — Tales of the Bounty Hunters
- ↑ The Paradise Snare
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 Shadows of the Empire Planets Guide
- ↑
Everything Star Wars Took From Dune by Lethbridge, Thomas on Screen Rant (October 20, 2021): "However, perhaps because of its shared genre, the book's most obvious descendent is probably the Star Wars universe. In fact, in the 2003 Herbert biography Dreamer of Dune, written by his son Brian, it is claimed that "(Herbert) & the other science fiction writers who thought they saw their work in Lucas's movie formed a loose organization that my father called, with his tongue firmly placed in his cheek, the We're Too Big to Sue George Lucas Society." This demonstrates the clear parallels that Herbert himself saw between his work and the Star Wars movies. Upon closer inspection, it's clear that he may have had a claim. Here is everything that Star Wars took from Dune. (...) One of the most important plot points in Dune is the so-called spice melange, a mind-altering substance that allows for interstellar travel and that's only known source – at least in the first book – is the planet Arrakis. Possession of the spice influences everything in the world of Dune and is one of the factors that shapes the Harkonnen/Atreides feud at the center of the narrative. Although the spice of Star Wars is not as significant to the overall plot as the spice of Arrakis, George Lucas' films do feature so-called spice mines on the planet Kessel, highlighting a clear connection between the two works." (backup link archived on October 29, 2021)
- ↑ Interview: Star Wars Author Kevin J. Anderson On 'Jedi Academy Trilogy', 'Darksaber', & 'Tales of the Jedi' on www.alternativenation.net (backup link archived on January 13, 2016)
External links
- Balancing the Books on Hyperspace (content obsolete and backup link not available)