By Mammon Hoole

The controversial manuscript of Arhul Hextrophon, available here for the first time in its complete and corrected form, is one of several that was discovered in his Chandrilan home thirty-six years after the Battle of Yavin. This edition corresponds to the most recent version that Hextrophon prepared, as confirmed by copies of the text transmitted to Q9-X7 and Professor Misqa Tonique, who worked alongside the historian in the final months of his life, and since stored in the databanks of Mistress Mnemos.

The transmission history of Hextrophon’s writing is complex. There are three basic periods of composition, with additional editing occurring between these periods. The unavailable, earliest manuscripts of the first period were composed immediately upon Hextrophon’s return from the region known as Otherspace—an event that occurred thirty-five years after the Battle of Yavin—and present a lengthier version than the one he next prepared during the second period, in which he removed significant portions in an attempt to make the narrative more palatable to the general public and, undoubtedly, more acceptable to the Historical Council. In the third period, Hextrophon abandoned this cautionary approach entirely and restored the deleted portions—this time with greater refinement and considerable expansion.

This final edition, considered the definitive text by Hextrophon, encompassed not only extensions of previously recorded material, with nomenclature, corrections, and details not present in earlier drafts, but entirely new sections. Additionally, there is substantial rearrangement intended to present events in a more finely delineated chronological framework. According to Q9, who oversaw most of this work (much of which was based on data he received from an advanced intelligence known as the Watcher), Hextrophon cited the reception of additional information which he incorporated. Of course, the uncanny nature of this and the controversial epilogue became a subject of extensive debate two years later during the now infamous meeting of the Historical Society.

A partial transcript of this private and rather heated meeting, replete with the transcriber’s personal thoughts, was included in the initial leaked version of Hextrophon’s manuscript, a version derived from a copy obtained from the middle period, which appears to have been stolen from Hextrophon’s Chandrilan home and sold privately to an unscrupulous black market antiquities dealer, from where it went through several hands before it was purchased and made available to the public by renowned adventurer, Myk Bidlor.

While Bidlor’s dealings with the black-market trade of illicit antiquities has garnered no small controversy unto itself, his motives were based on the belief that—left to the Council’s devices—the manuscript would never have seen the light of day. While we do not condone the manner in which it was procured, it should be noted that, given the vitriol the manuscript was met with (due in no small part to significant challenges it?makes to our understanding of cultures, events, and chronology), his fears were not unfounded. Bidlor’s efforts helped raise public awareness, providing the foundation for the corrected edition.

This final edition of Hextrophon’s text has been judiciously examined, collated, and prepared from the extant available manuscripts by a small team of scholars. These include Doctors Rygel Lawlins, Wes Adod, Trace Piskem, Royce Crater, Aryn Hort Thorn, Raphe Nahys, Obern Wentham, Grigem Etchill, and Watkins Milt. It also includes a complete transcript of the two days of debates by the Historical Society and their guests, as it has become connected to the work itself in the eyes of the public.

As to the question of legitimacy regarding the fantastic conclusion of the Council meeting, later called into question by several scholars who had not been in attendance that day and assumed it was added by a later redactor, presumably a Hextrophon advocate, I can personally attest to its veracity, as can numerous others.

In keeping with Hextrophon’s wishes, we have maintained his use of capitalizations and of certain words, for which he left behind the following commentary:

I have broken with the standard usage of the word sentience seen in modern scholarly and non-academic writings in favor of the older and more correct application. Sentience properly refers to any creature that can feel. Since it is undeniable that all creatures do to one extent or another, the word properly applies to them. Sapience, on the other hand, is the more precise word to refer to beings who can utilize language to reason and speak. The alteration of these words is egregious and not insignificant. Applying the word sentient to the latter group is not only erroneous in Basic but serves to remove animals and droids from the category of beings with the capacity for sensation or feeling, reducing them to nonfeeling thing, a trend derived from the agendas of those who determined that they were best regarded as commodities to be exploited. Henceforth, I utilize the word sapient for beings that employ language and sentient for those who cannot.

The publisher of this work has seen fit to enhance Hextrophon’s text with illustrations by famed artists Dirc Ch’los and Claudius Gemulo. They are based on Hextrophon’s own sketches, most of which were stored in the digital archives of Master Mnemon, with a few later discovered amongst his belongings, including those that grace the covers. A representation of his maps has also been supplied, as have various clippings and footnotes (which his droid insists on calling “Hexnotes”) that had been scribbled in the margins.

It is our privilege to thank the many supporters of this work. We are also grateful to the readers of the earlier version who championed our efforts to see a proper version published. To this end, we have made this edition available in a variety of formats.

May the Force Be With Us,?

Mammon Hoole