It's hard to identify exactly why us geeks like to bring things from our favorite fictional universes into the really real world around us. Yet whether we want to carry a completely functional lightsaber on our hip (and who wouldn't?), a wand we could actually use (holly with phoenix feather of course), or a sonic screwdriver in our pocket, the geek in all of us wants the cool devices and tools from the worlds that couldn't possibly be real.
However reality is vastly subjective. The world was changed forever because the original Star Trek series had flip-open communicator's. Many cell phone designers have admitted that Star Trek played a part in their concepts. And now we have even smarter, more capable phones that are more like pocket computers, very much like the Tricorders seen in Star Trek: The Next Generation and other Trek based media.
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| Exhibit A |
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| Look familiar? |
Let's be honest, I could write a BOOK about how much Star Trek has inspired the technology we currently have and will soon have. Everything from transporters, to holodecks (covered previously), and nanobots.
But I digress. I tend to do that if you haven't noticed.
Instead, let's focus in on the Star Wars stuff we want to be real. Because hey, I love Star Wars and you better too! Plus, while Star Trek is awesome as well, it's more realistic than Star Wars and you could argue that maybe all of the tech that is in Trek that we're getting we would've gotten anyway. You can't necessarily say that about everything in Star Wars.
Thus begins the things I covet most from the Star Wars universe.
This would be a good time for theme music, I'm telling ya.
Lightsabers
Let's get the most OBVIOUS one out of the way. You knew it was coming.
The most bad ass weapon ever dreamed of in the history of the universe...believe it. I could really just end it at that. The lightsaber can cut through almost anything and deflect everything. Plus, it just looks cool. What makes any kind of weapon awesome is basically cool looking + functionality = WIN. The cooler looking and more functional a weapon, the better it is. Personally, this is why I believe the lightsaber will never be dethroned.
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| All varying levels of cool weaponry, but can't hold a candle to the lightsaber. |
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| The M41-A Pulse Rifle from Aliens...the only thing that comes close. |
In all seriousness though, no other device and/or weapon has inspired such worship. From toy replicas to the various YouTube videos showcasing someone's lightsaber you can see how beloved and idealized the lightsaber it is. Hell, I've watched documentaries on the Discovery channel showing how scientists have tried to get them working and out there...especially in the face of military contracts. I actually have no doubt someday they will exist. Hopefully by that time our work in robotic appendages will be up to par. Haha.
Thermal Detonators
Ever since this little device was introduced in Return of the Jedi I have wanted one.
Don't know why and don't know what it does. It looks interesting and it is obviously dangerous since Boba Fett reacts so strongly when it is used in a threatening manner:
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| QUICK DRAW! |
Thanks to the MANY (almost sinful, unbelievable amount) Star Wars games I've played, I know that the thermal detonator is an explosive device that spreads out an incendiary wave coupled with some sort of almost fractal force that is concussive in nature spreading out in about a ten yard radius.
But is it canon one asks!?
Bottom line, it looks deadlier and far more awesome and appealing than the video games have shown. I want one.
Princess Leia
Okay, I know this one isn't techy, but I never said they would ALL be technological things items from Star Wars. Princess Leia was one of my first loves. One of the many iconic female heroines I grew up with both idolizing and somewhat falling for. Between the She-Ra's and Ripley's of the 1980's a template started forming within my young and impressionable mind of what I should want and look for in a woman. And Goddamit if Princess Leia didn't just about damn well break the mold (until a decade or so later when Buffy hit the scene).
Here was a gal with spirit! Intelligence! Moxy! Courage! Sass! Quiet reserve! Not sure if that last point deserved an exclamation point. When we first meet Princess Leia she is somewhere around her late teen's or early twenties and she's already a politician and rebel rolled into one! She's beautiful but strong and self-reliant. Indeed, when the boys come to rescue her all they really do is let her out of her cage...she takes over from there. She's badass, yet still vulnerable and soft. Stubborn and argumentative but passionate and idealistic. She's just as likely to argue with Han as she is to kiss him. This only adds to her allure.
And of course, the gold bikini doesn't hurt...
Boba Fett's Rocket Pack
This is just another example of something from Star Wars that screams cool. A rocket pack that fires a rocket. Effin' awesome.
It's also another example of something from Star Wars that has been spliced into the real world on everything from hoodies to backpacks and real life rocket packs!
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| Cool backpack for your kid today! |
And hell, the rocket pack thing has been around for years. Let us not bring up one of the coolest movies of all time, the Rocketeer!
Again, it's almost a question of who WOULDN'T want one?
But I want Boba Fett's. A rocket pack that can fire a missile up someone's arse while keeping me stabilized enough to open fire with my M41-A Pulse Rifle or throw my lightsaber at just the right speed and trajectory to decapitate you while blocking the laser bolt you just sent at me!
My God, that might be the coolest imagery I've ever put down to metaphorical paper!
The Millennium Falcon's Yoke
You're probably wondering what a yoke is. Well it's the control column of an aircraft. In this particular case it's the thing that you can sort of partially see in front of the seat on the left in the photo above.
In my lifetime I expect to see a lot of things. But getting to own and operate my own Millennium Falcon is not one of them. Still, I covet the hell out of that baby.
So for many years I have been quietly searching, scouring the internet for better pictures of the steering controls to the Falcon. I've been saving what I could and photocopying from books I've bought or already have in order to have the best representation possible of that legendary steering column. For one purpose.
One day I'm going to have someone fabricate an exact replica of the Falcon's yoke in order to transplant it to whatever vehicle I am driving at the time to be used as a steering wheel.
Yep.
That's quite possibly the geekiest thing I've admitted to on this site. You're welcome.
Even now with how far the internet has come, it's hard to find a good picture of the damn thing:
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| This might be one of the best representations I've seen on the net and it's from a toy! |
To me this is sort of like the Holy Grail of Star Wars. To have this one item would be amazing by itself, but to be able to use it everyday? Come on, that's immortal and amazing.
And I'm not joking. I literally have been planning this for years and WILL have it made one day. Mark my words, ladies and gents.
At the end of the day the geeky things we covet (especially from Star Wars) help to make the world a better place. Even if that world and that better place is just our own.
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