The ‘Great Works’ of Star Wars’ Republic, Explained

This week’s episode of Skeleton Crew began to peel back the layers around the mystery of At Attin—the world our young heroes hail from, and are (mostly) eager to get back to. But in doing so, it made some pretty intriguing connections to wider Star Wars lore… ones that could have some very interesting ramifications for the show’s place in the galaxy far, far away.

In episode three of the series, the kids and the audience alike learn from the avian astronavigation expert Kh’ymm that At Attin is the sole surviving world in a group known as the “Jewels of the Old Republic”: a series of at least nine worlds that were placed under Republic protection to be kept hidden in some form or another to safeguard some wondrous feature about them, either ecological or, as “Jod” believes, some grand treasure waiting to be plundered. All but At Attin have been destroyed outright since the establishment of the project, but while trying to figure out defining features of the world to narrow Kh’ymm’s searches down, Neel makes mention that no one on the planet is meant to leave the protection of a barrier of nebulae gasses, as part of what At Attin’s government refers to as “the Great Work.”

It’s not the first time in Skeleton Crew we’ve heard that phrase invoked. Fern’s mother, Fara, tells Wim and Neel’s class that their aptitude tests are designed to help children find their career path as part of that “Great Work,” in so much as serving the planet of At Attin at large. But this is the first time that someone makes an explicit connection between the term and the intent behind the Jewels—and in doing so invokes a particularly intriguing concept from long ago in Star Wars‘ chronology, but a little more recently in our own.

What Is a ‘Great Work’?

The act of describing a governmental project as one of the Republic’s “Great Works” became a prominent part of the worldbuilding for the High Republic publishing initiative depicting the golden age of the Galactic Republic, approximately 200 years before the events of the Star Wars prequel trilogy. There, the “Great Works” were a pet project of the then-current Supreme Chancellor, Lina Soh, and a term designated to particularly grand projects undertaken by the Republic to advance its expansionary goals and elevate its status as the de facto state of power in the galaxy.

What a “Great Work” could be varied—the construction of interstellar comms relays or the Starlight Beacon (a massive space station on the edge of Republic space in collaboration with the Jedi Order); the discovery of effective cultivation of Bacta as a medical aid; brokering a peace treaty between the Quarren and Mon Calamari; and even, perhaps most interestingly in connection to the Jewels, environmental restoration of worlds on the brink of climate-change-induced disaster. While all these projects were largely benevolent ones, the branding of them as Soh’s “Great Works” drew some ire within the Republic senate and among her allies in the Jedi, blunting their diplomatic intent into a self-serving vision of Soh’s own importance.

It has real-world parallels befitting an expansionary colonial endeavor like the Republic was meant to be at the time, too—one particularly disastrous “Great Work” was Soh’s Republic Fair, held on the planet Valo and ultimately assaulted by the piratical forces of the Nihil in 231BBY. Originally intended before its targeting to be a show of unity and a promotional celebration of the Republic as a federal entity and hub for technological advancement, it draws parallels to real-world colonial exhibitions such as World’s Fairs, or Great Britain’s Festival of Empire, masquerading Imperialist propaganda as a force for advanced civilization.

Are the High Republic’s Great Works and At Attin Connected?

There’s definitely a case to be made that the Jewels fit into something akin to the “Great Works” we saw in the High Republic material. But the jury is still out on whether or not that means that At Attin’s secrecy was something established during that time period, or if the world’s isolation has been for even longer than that.

It’s very intriguing at the least that while evoking the term feels like a deliberate nod to the High Republic, the term “High Republic” has yet to be used in relation to it on Skeleton Crew. So far in the show people have only ever described At Attin as being more broadly connected to the “old Republic,” rather than specifically the High Republic, and even that‘s vague. What is “old,” in this context? We know at the very least that At Attin’s populace (if not its government, so far) is unaware of the events of the Galactic Civil War. But is “old” the roughly 240 years or so since the golden age of the High Republic? Is it even older than that, perhaps into a time period the wider chronology that is referred to as the Old Republic, both in the expanded universe and current continuity? Has At Attin been hidden for hundreds of years, or perhaps thousands, predating the concept of the “Great Works” to even well before Supreme Chancellor Soh?

We’re not exactly sure yet—no doubt Skeleton Crew will begin narrowing it down for us as we progress closer and closer to finding out what At Attin is safeguarding from the rest of the galaxy.

Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.