Hi all, Solo Shodan here. This has been rolling around in my head for a while and I thought it was finally time to lay it down.
From Wikipedia: Fans of the fictional Star Wars universe keep track of the dates of key events with a dating system (or calendar) centered around the Battle of Yavin featured in Star Wars: A New Hope. BBY stands for Before Battle of Yavin, and ABY stands for After Battle of Yavin.
Approx. 91,428 years ABY…
The crowds teemed as they awaited the anticipated moment. Here on Coruscant, where the New Republic began, the one-time festival thrived.For millennia scientistshad calculated and recalculated the timesfor world upon world. Finally, Coruscant's time had come. Here, where a Jedi, aprincess, and an ex-smuggler rooted the beginnings of a prosperous democracy, its citizens were finally able to pay tribute to all that had been lost.
Night fell, and a somber silence washed over the crowd. Bells tolled, announcing the arrival of guests of honor, administrators, senators and family. They took their places, but no one was watching them; everyone's eyes, including those of theguests of honor, were glued to the nightscape. Thousands of people had made the journey from neighboring systems to be present at this momentous occasion. Stars twinkled and planets shone brightly, proud members of an Alliance born of rebellion. But one planet was the focus of tonight's festival – one light of the thousands in the sky was to be honored among all tonight.
Someone, probably one of the scientists, began a countdown. No one dared join in for fear of ruining the solemnity. One somber voice counted down from twenty until at last, upon reaching the silence where his "zero" should have resounded, a brilliant light erupted from the light on which everyone was focused. No one spoke, and it seemed as if the whole world stood still.
And then a voice, a child's perhaps, whispered one word – a word that soon began a mantra for the populous that had gathered. Though each person only said it once, it was said a million times over, repeated here and there throughout the crowd as if, by saying it, each person were more whole somehow than before.
When the last of the "Alderaan" chant had faded, the crowd erupted. Cheers for the victorious heroes of long ago, cheers for the sustained peace that had engulfed the galaxy, resounded in the square.
But mostly, it was a remembrance of a time long-forgotten of hatred, cruelty, and despair. With the destruction of one peaceful planet, the Empire was branded oppressive and tyrannical, while the rebels who had fought and died for freedom were honored and praised.
Some time later, when the festival had kicked off and people were smiling, talking, and laughing, one old man pulled out a holo-pad. Sitting down on a stoop, he clicked it on and a flawless image of Alderaan appeared. A child – who looked to be no more than nine – gazed at it and approached the steps. The old man smiled and held out the device to the child.
"Is that Alderaan?" the boy asked, his voice full of wonder.
"Yes, it is. This holo has been passed down through my lines since the days of the Empire," the man replied. His basic brown robes covered him almost fully, but upon inspection, the young boy noticed a small device hanging from the man's belt.
"What is that?" A pause, another glance,then a hushed whisper. "Are you a Jedi?"
"I am, child. What is your name?"
"Ada." The man nodded and closed his eyes for a moment, as if taking something in only his mind's eye could see.
"You are strong, Ada. You will be a great man."
"How do you know?" the boy asked sitting on the stoop below the man. The Jedi Master chuckled.
"My family has been gifted with seeing the greatness in people, even if they do not see it themselves. But fear not, young Ada. You will know in time." A few of the boy's friends joined him at that moment.
"Come on, Ada. Mother says you can stay over tonight," one of the older ones called.
"Just a minute!" he yelled, then turned to the Jedi. "What is your name, Master Jedi?"
"My name is Kyon'vo Solo." Recognition lit the boy's eyes, and he beckoned his friends over with a wave.
"Sir, you descend from the Beginners." A nod was all the man offered. He and friends shared looks before he turned back excitedly. "Can you tell us a story?" he begged.
"What story would you have me tell?" Kyon'vo asked, looking up at the sky where Alderaan's light shone no more. It saddened him, in a way. His ancestral mother had hailed from Alderaan, and he had sought its light on every planet he had visited.
"Tell us a story about…" the boy followed the man's gaze and he smiled. "…Alderaan; about your family." Master Solo pretended to think for a moment before settling back. The children sat around him, staring intently as he began.
"A long, long, time ago…"
Well, that came out better than I hoped. I do hope you enjoyed it.
I got to thinking while watching A New Hope. Even though Tarkin destroyed Alderaan, it wouldn't do much good to "strike fear into the hearts of the rebels" or whatever. Because Alderaan is, at best, 30,000 lightyears away from the nearest canon planet, the light from Alderaan would continue to shine in other planets' skies for at least - guess what - 30,000 years. After a few careful calculations (after coming up with the most accurate figures I could find), I discerned that Alderaan is approximately 91,428 lightyears away from Coruscant. That means the light given from Alderaan takes 91,428 years to reach Coruscant, so it's destruction would take that long to reach Coruscant as well.
Just a comforting thought to follow up: The Sun is 8.3 light minutes away from Earth (the light takes 8.3 minutes to reach Earth from the Sun). If the Sun were to ever, say, blow up, the blast would take about 10 to 15 seconds to reach us. So if it ever exploded, we would be wiped out before we ever knew anything was wrong.